Time To Shop!!!

Welcome to Wednesday!!!!!!  I have such a cute card to share with you today.  I made a punch art character that I learned from Ellen Kemper a few years ago.  I had kept mine as a sample to share with others.  When I came across it the other day, I decided I wanted to make another one and this time use it on a card.  My share for you today is that card.  Let's jump right in and get started.

 

I wanted to make my card resemble a store front.  Now I did not take into consideration that she might cover a lot of it up.  Anyway, I started with a base card of Wisteria Wonder measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".   Next I took out a piece of designer paper and cut it to be 4" x 5 1/4".  I cut a piece out of the center of this using my self healing cutting mat and my craft night.  This opening would serve as a window.  I attached a piece of acetate to the back of it for the window and then attached strips of designer paper with shoes and purses and cosmetics on to show through the window.  I know you cannot see them because she is standing in front of the window but I promise they are there.   The completed piece was attached using runner adhesive.

 

To complete my store front, I added an awning.  I took a piece of Whisper White card stock and punched out a bunch of word windows.  I added a strip of runner adhesive across the top to attach them.  I then trimmed off the excess that was hanging over.  I then added a small piece of dimensional under the bottom of each word window to make them pop out a little.  I stamped the name of my shop onto the awning using an alphabet set of stamps I have and Wisteria Wonder ink.  Of course it needed spartkle so I added a row of small rhinestones across the top of the card and some larger ones in between the words. 

 

Ellen Kemper called this character Little Miss Backside because the only view of her is from the back.  I just love her.  I have made several cards using her as a bride.  It is really easy to make and very cute.  I will just start from the top and work my way down.  First though I want to say I know you may think the colors clash a little, I do too.  However, I wanted her to stand out from the background and contrasting colors was a great way to do this.  Alright now onto how to make her.  I used Whisper White card stock for the hat and purse.  Her hat band, shirt and shoes are Calypso Coral while the skirt is Midnight Muse.  Her hair is Early Espresso.  Her back, arms, legs and hands are the retired Blushing Bride card stock.  Last but not least is her credit card which is brushed silver.  Here is a list of the punches used:

Hat - wide oval and 1 1/4" circle

Hat band - a piece punched with a 1 1/4" circle punch offset from a 1 1/4" circle hole

Hair - scallop oval

Back - wide heart from the retired heart to heart punch

Shirt - retired butterfly 

Arms - pieces punched with the wide heart from the retired heart to heart punch that is offset from a wide heart hole

Skirt - retired butterfly punch; butterflies are cut in half and layered to make the skirt

Legs/Shoes - word window cut in half lengthwise

Hands - ends of the modern label  punched with the 1/2" circle 

Purse Handle - large oval punched around the hole of the retired small oval

Purse - retired key tag; punch and then reinsert and punch again to shorten

Credit Card - punch from the little labels punch pack trimmed

I used several impression folders with my big shot to add design to my little lady.  Her shirt and hat band were run through using the perfect polka dots folder.  The hat pieces were put through with the square lattice folder.  For the skirt, I used the snow flowers and for the purse and handle, I used the fancy fan folder.  I added small black pearls to the purse and small white pearls to the hat band.  The skirt has some larger pearls on it.  All pieces of my girl are attached together using liquid glue and the finished girl was placed on the card using dimensionals.  

I had so much fun making this card.  I do hope you like it.  I will be back tomorrow with another share for you to see so be sure to stop by.  Thanks for spending some time with me today.

Royal Paper Dolls

Well we have made it to the middle of another week.  I think an appropriate name for this day is Wacky Wednesday because I always feel at my wits end by today.  I am usually ready to slow down and just relax but no such luck.  It would be wonderful if we could all live in fairy tales and our homes would always be clean and meals would be prepared.  We would never have to do dishes or wash clothes. We would all be the perfect size and have lovely hair.  Doesn't that sound wonderful.  It does to me.  However, last time I checked my life was not a fairy tale so today's card lends itself to my fantasy.  It is the perfect fairy tale card. Let's get started on this one.

This card was started with a base of Marina Mist cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I added a layer of Midnight Muse measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  By now I bet you could tell me all about the top layer but just in case there happens to be someone who does not know, I will tell you about it myself.  It begins with a piece of Whisper White card stock measuring 4" x 5 1/4".  I took out my pastels (chalks) and created the sky background on the card.  I then added a strip of Garden Green I had torn to the bottom of the sky to make the grass.  I attached the sky to the Midnight Muse and the Midnight Muse to the Marina Mist using runner adhesive.  

The final piece of the background it the castle.  It was cut out of Whisper White card stock using my Cricut machine and the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge.  Once it was cut, I added some Stickles glitter glue to different areas.  A magenta was added to the flags of the castle towers, yellow to the windows, brown to the door and silver to the pillars.  I allowed this to dry completely.  Once dry I attached this one using glue dots to the card.  

Now I had a choice to make a prince or a knight for this one.  I chose the knight because what girl does not want her knight in shining armor to come sweep her off her feet?  All of the pieces for the knight were cut out using the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge and Cricut machine.  I chose Brushed Silver for the suit of armor including helmet and for the sword.  I cut out the hilt of the sword again in Brushed Gold so I could layer it onto the sword defining the handle.  The body is the retired Blushing Bride card stock and his hair is Daffodil Delight.  All pieces are attached together using liquid glue.   I added the face using Stampin' Up! markers.  I also added Dazzling Diamond glitter glue to the suit and helmet to accentuate the details.  I then added gold Stickles to the sword hilt to add pizazz to it.  Once the pieces were dry, I attached the finished sword and knight to the card using dimensionals.  

Here is our princess.  I think she is lovely.  Again I used the same paper doll cartridge and my Cricut to make her.  Her body is the retired Blushing Bride.  For her hair, I chose to used Early Espresso card stock.  Her gown is Pink Pirouette while her shoes, crown and scepter are Brushed Gold.  Once I had all the pieces, I attached them together with my liquid glue. I added the face with Stampin' Up! markers.  Next came the embellishing of the pieces - my favorite part.  I added a pink Stickles glue to the dress creating my own design as I went and added some gold Stickles to the crown.  I allowed this to dry.  Once dry, I added pink rhinestones to the prongs of the crown and the scepter.  I then added a square "diamond" rhinestone to the scepter.  Once all the embellishments were on, I attached the scepter and princess to the card using dimensionals.  

I have had a lot of fun playing with this cartridge.  I am going to try to tear myself away from it and do something else for tomorrow and Friday.  However if the pull of the Cricut is too strong, I may have to play some more.  Again this is a wonderful one to work with children with.  They love to make all the elements and put them all together.  They even like embellishing them.  These cards can be used for whatever occasion you would like to use them for.  

I encourage you to do something fun today.  Make sure to have time to laugh.  I will be back tomorrow with another card to share.  Thanks for stopping by today and I'll see you later!!

More Paper Dolls

Happy Tuesday to you all.  It is funny how you begin a week with nothing on your calendar and end up having several days with things scheduled to do.  Now if it is fun stuff I am all for it.  The not so fun stuff I do not like.  Oh well.  That is just how life goes.  I think my daughter said it best yesterday when she posted on Facebook that it is a great day to be alive.  I am so thankful for every moment I have be given with my family and friends.  Now let's get busy with a card.

As I told you yesterday, I made a couple of cards using the Cricut machine and my Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge.  I really enjoy using this cartridge.  I have made paper dolls for my cards as well as made them for my niece and others to have to actually play with.  They love to work with this one because they get to pick out the clothes for their doll as well as the patterned paper to make them out of when its time.  These cards may seem silly to you but I do hope you enjoy them.  Let's get started with the card for today.

For some reason, making this first one seemed like the right one to do.  The dolls remind me a little of Pebbles and Bam Bam from The Flintstones.  While I still want to make them out of punches I enjoyed making them this way too.  I started with a base card of Crumb Cake cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I added a layer of Chocolate Chip card stock measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" and attached it using runner adhesive.  For the final layer, I took a piece of Whisper White and cut it to be 4" x 5 1/4".  I then chalked the sky background onto it (bet you guessed that) and added a torn strip of Garden Green to make the grass.  I attached this to the card using the runner adhesive once again.  

To make a complete background for this one, I wanted to add a little something to it.  When I was looking at the accessories I could make on the Cricut for these two, I happen to see the volcano.  I really liked it and immediately knew what I would do with it.  I cut it out of Chocolate Chip card stock on the Cricut.  Once it was cut out, I took my Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details glitter glue and added the lava.  I did this before attaching it to the card.  You will need to allow this to dry completely before you attach it to the card.  I used liquid glue to attach the finished volcano.  Of course it needed some smoke puffs so I used a retired flower trio punch I had and punched a set out of Basic Gray.  You can use the scallop flower from the itty bitty punch pack for these.  I attached them to the card using glue dots and then added Crystal Effects to the top of them giving them that puffy, glossy look.

I am sure you know that all parts of the boy were cut from the Cricut machine.  I used Daffodil Delight for the hair (after all Bam Bam was a blonde), Crumb Cake for his animal skin and retired Blushing Bride for the body. I added the eyes, nose and mouth using my Stampin' Up! markers.  I also added a brown glitter glue I happen to have to the animal skin to give it a print.  He had to have his club so I cut that with the Cricut out of Early Espresso card stock and ran it through the big shot machine using the new Woodgrain impression folder that will be available in the Holiday catalog as of August 1st.  All pieces were attached together using a liquid glue and the finished product was attached to the card using dimensionals.  

Again I want to be sure you know all pieces were made with the Cricut machine.  I used Real Red for her hair, retired Blushing Bride for the body, Crumb Cake for the animal skin and Very Vanilla for the hair bone and necklace.  Stampin' Up! markers were used to add all facial details to her.  I added some of the same brown glitter glue to her animal skin as I did to the boys.  This time I chose dots.  I just wanted to be different.  I also wanted to add a little something to her hair bone and necklace.  I went searching through my stash of rhinestones and found this set I picked up a few months ago at a local craft store.  They have an amber tint to them and I thought they would work very well for her necklace.  Luckily the set contained various sized so that I could use a large one for the hair bone and several smaller ones for her necklace.  

This card could be used for a child's birthday as a birthday card or invitation..  You could even use it for a get well if you wanted to.  I do think the paper dolls lend themselves to children's cards but use them for who ever you would like too.  The nice thing about these dolls is you can actually work with children to make cards using them.  They love to create a background for the setting and dressing up the dolls.  It is a wonderful project for them.  

I hope you like the cave people.  I will be back tomorrow with another paper doll card.  I hope you stop back by to see it.  Until then, thanks for stopping by today and I will see you all tomorrow!!  

Pretty As A Princess

Well, we all made it to Friday!!  I must say this has been a long week.  I have been trying to ignore outside distractions and just get through the things I needed to get through.  I am exhausted!  Hopefully, I will get a little rest this weekend.  Maybe we will even get some rain.  I sure hope so because the pressure changes have triggered migraines for me off and on all week.

By now I am sure you all know I love Disney things.  I guess I am forever the girl who wants only happy endings in life.  Since we have no control over reality, I enjoy watching the Disney movies where everyone ends up happy.  Well maybe not the villains but the good guys do.  Today's card features one of the Disney princesses and is one I think you will enjoy.  Ready to see it?  Let's go!!

It's Snow White!!  I started with a base card of Daffodil Delight cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added a layer of Night of Navy on top of that using runner adhesive.  This piece measured 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  For the top layer, I took a piece of Whisper White card stock and cut it at 4" x 5 1/4".  I ran it through my big shot using the Finial Press impression folder.  Next I sprayed it with my champagne shimmer spray.  I then added light blue rhinestones to the center of the flowers and then attached the entire piece to the card using runner adhesive.

The little bird is so easy to make.  I knew if I used the bird body from the bird builder punch that it would be way too large for her hand.  So instead, I took some Bashful Blue card stock and punched out the wing from the bird builder punch for the bird body.  I then punched a 1/2" circle for the head.  The feet were punched from Tangerine Tango card stock using the owl builder punch.  The eye is also the small circle from the owl builder punch.  I punched it in Basic Black and Pacific Point and layered them on top of each other.  The beak is a prong from the star punch included in the Merry Minis punch pack which is in the upcoming Holiday Catalog.  All pieces of the bird were attached together using a liquid glue and the finished bird was attached to the card with dimensionals.

The greeting is from the stamp set Itty Bitty Banners.  I stamped this using VersaMark ink onto Night of Navy card stock and then heat embossed it using a white embossing powder which I added some dazzling diamond glitter too.  Once it was embossed and cooled, I cut out the banner using the Bitty Banner framelits and the big shot.  I attached this to the card using dimensionals.

I learned to make Snow White from the punch queen Ellen Kemper.  Visit her blog to get a list of the punches used to make her.  I changed a few things for mine to have it look the way I wanted but the list of punched from her will give you the basic idea and get you off and running making your own.  I think I did a pretty nice job for the first time.  I am inspired to try making a few more of the princesses.  I have not seen any others made of punch art and may just have to give them a try myself.

I certainly hope you all have a nice weekend this weekend.  I do so appreciate the few minutes you take to drop in each day and see my cards.  I will be back on Monday with another card to share with you.  Until then, stay safe and keep stamping!!  See you Monday!!

Another Phineas and Ferb Character

Happy Tuesday to you all!!  I am happy to report my internet is working very well and I actually have a card to show you today.  It is really hard to be upset about the internet going in and out when it rains because we do not get a lot of rain here and it is a very welcomed thing as far as I am concerned.  I was just sad I could not get my photos uploaded so I could share with you yesterday.  But today is a new day and I my photos uploaded just like they should.  I am ready to get started so let's go.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a card featuring Phineas from the Disney cartoon Phineas and Ferb.  I have been wanting to work on some of the other characters but had not taken time to do so.  Well I rectified that this weekend.  I took out my stickers of the characters and one jumped right out at me as if to say "pick me pick me".  So I did.  Anyway, let me show you the card and introduce the character.

This is Isabella.  She has a huge crush on Phineas and yet he never seems to understand that.  Oh well, we are here to talk about the card aren't we?  I started with a base card of Melon Mambo cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I only added one layer to the front of this card.  It is a piece of Whisper White cut at 4" x 5".  I took scrap pieces of Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, and Gumball Green and punched out 1", 3/4" and 1/2" circles.  I added them to the piece of Whisper White using a runner adhesive.  I then punched out music notes in the same colors and added them using a liquid glue.  Once all pieces were secured onto the white, I ran it through my big shot using my Spots & Dots impression folder.  I then attached the finished piece to the base card using runner adhesive.  The pattern on it reminded me of those psychedelic colors associated with the 60's.  On one of the episode of Phineas and Ferb, these colors are used and Isabella gets frizzy hair.  It is one of my favorite episodes and when I was thinking of her and what to make as her base card, this idea came to mind first.  

The greeting is from the stamp set Curly Cute and is stamped using Melon Mambo ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I cut it out by hand and layered it onto a scrap piece of Basic Black.  I cut it out free hand once more making sure I left the black border showing.  I added a couple of music notes with liquid glue and added the finished greeting to the card with dimensionals.  

Now onto the star!!  Isabella is one of my own creations.  I have not seen her made as punch art before but she was actually fairly simple to make.  I used retired Blushing Bride, Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Rose Red and Whisper White as my card stock colors.  Let me list the punches I used:

Hair - wide oval punch cut flat on one end

Bangs - 1/2" circle cut in half

Bow - 1/4" circle punch and prongs off of a star punch in the Merry Minis punch pack that will be available in the Holiday Catalog beginning August 1st.

Face - 1" circle cut flat on one side

Eyes - itty bitty punch pack circle trimmed down for the white and the tear drop throw aways from the retired blossom bouquet triple layer punch for the black

Neck - 1/2" of a word window punch; I punched it along the edge of the card stock

Shirt - 1/2" circle cut flat on one side and a word window punched along the edge of the card stock and cut in 1/2 for the sleeves

Jumper - retired horizontal slot for the straps and a large oval trimmed for the dress

Belt - scrap of Rose Red card stock and the itty bitty punch pack circle for the buckle

Arms and Legs - word windows punched along the edge of the card stock

Socks - word window punched along the edge of the card stock and trimmed for length I wanted

Shoes - little labels punch pack - I used the one that looks like the decorative label; I trimmed them for look

I drew her nose and mouth on with a fine tip black marker and added white gel to the eyes and shoes.  All pieces were assembled together using a liquid glue and the finished Isabella was attached to the card using dimensionals.  She is just too cute!

I want to thank you for your understanding yesterday and for stopping by to see what I came up with today. I hope you enjoyed the card.  Please come back tomorrow to see what I come up with next.  Until the, be creative and let your imagination run wild.  See you all tomorrow.

Feelings, Feelings, Feelings

So I waited all day today to get my box delivered from the UPS guy.  It has all my new Stampin' Up! stuff in it and I really wanted to use some of it to created a card to share with you for today and tomorrow.  But alas, my box did not arrive until late in the day.  Now I did not waste my day but I also did  not get to spend it crafting.  It is that wonderful time of year when we have to fill out all new insurance forms for my husband's work.  This time they are changing out insurance carrier so we had a lot of paperwork to fill out as well as research to do about the company.  Not fun!!  Anyway, I did not get to play with the items today so you will just have to wait until tomorrow for me to show you a design using them.

We all go through times in our lives where different emotions play a role in our outlook on everything. I have this chart that asks at the top "How Are You Feeling Today?".  I love to look at it because some of the faces just make me laugh.  When I was thinking about what card I wanted to make for you today, this chart popped into my mind.  So I thought why not give it a try.  This is a card I would send to a friend who is stressed about life or possible ill.  Let me show it to you and see what you think.

I used all the new in-colors on this card.  The only card stock other than those was the retired Blushing Bride for the faces and the Basic Black.  The base card measures 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  It is made using the Raspberry Ripple card stock.  Next I cut the Basic Black to be 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  I ran it through the big shot using the impression folder called Houndstooth to emboss it.  Once it was finished I attached it to the base using runner adhesive.  I took out a scrap of Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse, Primrose Petals and Gumball Green.  I punched out 2 squares of each using the 1 1/4" square punch.  (I chose the base card color based on the fact that I only used one of the Raspberry Ripple squares.)  I placed them all inside the Perfect Polka Dot impression folder and ran it through the big shot.  They are attached to the black using runner adhesive.  I really did not measure the spacing of the squares.  I just placed them until I was happy.  I used the 1" circle punch with the Blushing Bride card stock to make the faces.

For row one, I used expressions that said to me happy, sad/depressed and confident.  Now these expressions may say something different to you and you would be right.  I think this card is a representation of what we see in each face.  The faces were drawn on with pencil, traced over with black marker and colored in with colored pencils.  

Row two shows surprise, confusion and embarrassed.  Again, you may see something different in each one. I do not feel there are any wrong answers.  They were made the same way as row one.  

The final row's expressions say cautious, content and hopeful to me.  I wonder what you see in them?  I do hope some of you will let me know what you think of the expressions I chose and what they say to you. For now I have left the inside blank so I can use it for whatever I need.  When the right occasion pops up, I will either write or stamp something inside and send it off.  

I think the main reason this card popped into my mind is that I have had a flood of emotions over the last 24 hours:  frustration, depression, anger, despair and hopelessness.  Now these are not happy feelings and I do hope they change soon.  I think we all have times when we are overwhelmed with our emotions whether good or bad.  This card helps me to remember that we are all human and it is okay to feel however you need to in the moment.  

Now I have a box a goodies to go through after I get some cooking done.  Don't know why but my husband is under the impression his stomach is more important than my new Stampin' Up! box.  Go figure!!  

I will be back tomorrow with another card to share.  Until then, happy stamping and thanks for dropping by today.  See you soon!!

Little Mermaid

Did you ever see the Little Mermaid movie by Disney?  It came out around the time that my oldest daughter was born.  I watched that movie over and over with her and with my other daughter when she was born.  They loved all the characters and would just laugh at some of the antics they did.  For some reason, I happened to think of this movie today and decided I wanted to try my hand at making a mermaid.  So that's exactly what I did!

 

I was inspired by the water I did for the frog card I shared with you yesterday.  I really wanted to use something similar to it and this seemed to work.  I started with a base card of Island Indigo measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I cut a piece of Whisper White to be 4" x 5 1/4" and used my pastels to chalk the sky and water for the background.  I used my liquid glue to make lines in the "water"and added the same glitter as before.  It is called Ocean Spray and is one I got at a stamp convention.  I decided where I wanted to position my mermaid and chose a greeting for this card.  I used one from the set Curly Cute.  It is stamped directly onto the card stock using Island Indigo ink.  I set this aside to dry and then once it was dry I attached it to the base card using my runner adhesive.

 

Let me start with the rock my mermaid is sitting on.  I used the ovals die for the big shot and cut out the largest oval on it from Basic Gray card stock.  Using my paper snips (scissors), I trimmed the bottom flat and shaped the rest of the rock into a shape I was happy with.  I used Basic Gray ink with a sponge dauber to add ink to the rock.  This gave a texture to the surface of it.  It is attached to the card using a liquid glue.

For my mermaid, I decided to create her face using my wonderful owl punch people as a guide.  I punched a 3/4" circle out of Blushing Bride and then punched a 1" circle around the open hole from the 3/4" circle.  I trimmed the ring into pieces to use for her neck and arms.  The 3/4" circle was used for her face.  I also punched the smallest circle from the owl punch for the nose and a vest for the top half of the body out of the Blushing Bride.  Next I punched the owl feet using the Blushing Bride card stock for her hands.  For her eyes, I punched 2 of the smallest circles from the owl punch out of Wild Wasabi.  Her hair is the owl punched out of Poppy Parade with the feet cut off.  For her bangs, I used the 1" circle punch, punched it out of Poppy Parade and cut it in half.  A lot of times, I snip out little pieces to give the bangs a more natural look.  This time I decided to cut it in a wavy pattern as I cut it in half.  Her "headband" is one of the flowers from the itty bitty punch pack.  I punched out 5 of these from Shimmer White card stock and added a colored rhinestone to the center of each.  I picked these rhinestones up at a local craft store.  For her top, I used the other flower punch from the itty bitty punch pack and Daffodil Delight card stock.  I added some Stickles glitter glue to the 2 pieces.  For her fin, I started with the large oval punch.  I cut one end to be flat.  You will need to trim the vest of the body to get it to fit with the oval fin.  The fin is Island Indigo card stock.  The tail of her is also Island Indigo and is punched using the 5 petal punch.  I used my liquid glue to draw "scales" on her fin and added another glitter called Sea Nymph that came from the same stamp convention I bought the other one at.  I added black dots to her eyes using a fine tip black marker and drew her mouth on with a fine tip red marker.  All pieces were assembled using a liquid glue and the entire mermaid was attached to the card using dimensionals when all glitter was dried.

 

This is the inside greeting for this card.  I used a saying from the stamp set called Create A Cupcake.  It is stamped with Island Indigo ink on Whisper White card stock and punched out using the decorative label punch.  I created the frame for it using Pool Party card stock and the decorative label punch again.  I assembled the entire saying and attached it to the card using runner adhesive.  

I hope this all makes sense.  If you catch mistakes, I apologize.  It is just another busy day for me and my brain is not working well.   Email me or leave a comment with any questions and I will happily answer them.  

I appreciate your stopping by to visit.  Please come back tomorrow and see what I have in store next.  See you all then!

The Owl Punch In Action Again!

Happy Friday everyone!  As promised I am finishing out this week using my owl punch.  I must tell you though that I still have more ideas for it so it may be back next week.  Today card is a combination of different materials and techniques.  I have used the punch art and pastel technique before but the new material on this comes from scrapbook packs and stickers.  I have been doing cards and some scrapbooks for a long time.  I have quite the collection of stickers and scrapbook packs in my home.  For the card I am going to share today, I turned to some of these for help.  How about I show you the card and you can see how I incorporated these into it. 

 

Today we find mod girl doing the job of a teacher.  The base card is once again Real Red cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added a layer of Basic Black on top of that using runner adhesive.  It measures 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".   Next came the Whisper White layer cut at 4" x 5 1/4".  I used my handy pastels to created the sky scene on it and adhered it using runner adhesive to the card.  I wanted to have a little grass so I took a scrap of Garden Green measuring 4" wide and tore a strip.  Again the runner adhesive was used to attach it.  

When you go to your local craft store, you can find themed pack of paper and cutout that can be used in a scrapbook.  That is where I found my school house.  Since I use to be a teacher, I have a couple of scrapbooks I made using that theme.  This piece was a left over.  As all good crafters know, you always keep your left overs.  It is a textured piece that give a nice look to the card.  It has no adhesive of its own so I used the same runner adhesive to attach it down.  I made sure to tuck it under the edge of the grass giving the appearance that the grass grew in front of it.  

 

Here you get a better look at the teacher herself.  As you can see, she is a product of the owl punch.  I am not going to bore you with the detail of making her since they are listed in previous postings.  The texture I created on her dress and headband were completely an accident.  I had put cute little glitter glue dots on both and set her aside to dry.  Well apparently I did not sit her far enough away from me.  I went to pick up my tweezers and brushed against the dots of the headband.  I knew I could not just redo the dots so I took my finger and spread out all the dots.  I kind of liked the look so I thought why not do that to her dress too.  So I did.  I am not sure if I like the dress as much as the headband.  Next time maybe I will leave the dots.  She is attached to the card using dimensionals.

The only 2 accessories she has are the glasses and her bell.  The bell was part of a sticker pack that was 3 dimensional.  I placed it under her hand and actually glued it into place on the hand.  The main part of the bell has a dimensional on it making it easy to attach.   For her glasses, I decided to once again use my Everyday Paper Doll cartridge and my Cricut machine.  It is a lot easier making it this way than trying to do it on my own.  

I left this card blank on the inside.  You could stamp a phrase if you want or write a note.  This is perfect for a teacher at the beginning of the year or the end of the year.  It is also perfect for a new teacher who is graduating and entering the education work force.  

I certainly hope all of you have a wonderful weekend.  I will probably be playing with my owl punch some more.  If you don't have one of these think about getting one.  You can visit my Stampin' Up! demonstrator site by clicking on the link in the side bar on the right under "Other Places to Find Me".  The punch can be ordered there.  I am so glad you decided to drop by today.  I will see you all on Monday.  Happy stamping!

The Mod Girl Gets A Job

Okay.  I am officially addicted to my owl punch this week.  I have had so much fun making all the little people with it.  I have been blessed with lots of ideas and just want to share them with you.  So of course, as I was laying in bed this morning I thought about the mod girls I made and shared last week.  I still think they look like go go dancers.  I just need to give them boots.  Well the thought occurred to me that these girls could be made into other professions.  I mean if a chef can become a fireman, why can't a mod girl become something else too.  So I set off to my craft room to make the magic happen.

As I was pondering what job I wanted her to have, I was also baking a dessert to take to our friends house for dinner.  They were so nice to ask us over so I wanted to bring something along to eat too.  Well all of a sudden, I knew what job I would do.  It is in honor of my friend Valerie.  She has been in this profession for a while and deserves to be honored.  I hope she likes this.

 

Now Valerie if you are looking at this little girl I did not make her to look just like you, but she is in honor of you.  I do not know how but somehow I managed to cut off one side of the edge of the card.  I guess my hand moved when I snapped the photo.  Oh well.  I think you can see the card pretty well.  So let's get started.

My base card for this on is done with Real Red card stock.  It is cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added a layer of Basic Black measuring 4" x 5 1/4" using runner adhesive.  For the top layer, I went with Crumb Cake card stock.  I wanted to be sure the nurse would stand out and this color lent itself to that.  It is cut to be 3 3/4" x 5".  Before adding it to the card, I ran it through the big shot using the Stripes impression folder.  It is adhered to the card using runner adhesive.  Once the base card was assembled, I was ready to begin the pieces.  

 

First up was the greeting.  Now since I knew I was making a nurse, decided to make this a get well card.  The saying is stamped using StazOn ink.  Now this saying does come from a retired Stampin' Up! set but I do not know the name of it.  I received this one as a gift from a friend and the name label was not on it.  Once it was stamped on Whisper White card stock, I punched it out using the decorative label punch.  I then edged it with Real Red ink.  I took a scrap of Real Red and punched out 2 more decorative labels and ran them both through the big shot using the Perfect Polka Dots impression folder.  I then made the frame for the greeting.  It is adhered together with runner adhesive and attached to the card using dimensionals.  

 

Since I have made these little mod girls before, I knew what the completed size would be.  I also knew I would need something else to go on the front of the card.  So I pulled another stamp out of the retired stamp set the greeting came from and stamped it using StazOn ink onto Whisper White.  I used my Stampin' Up! markers to color in the bottle and bouquet.  I added dazzling diamond glitter to the edge of the bottle cap and then attached it to the card using dimensionsals.

 

Finally, we come to the star of the card - our nurse.  If you remember, you only need three punches to make her:  the owl builder, the 1" circle and the 3/4" circle.  Once difference on this girl is instead of drawing her eyes and nose onto her face, I used the tiniest circle from the owl punch to make these.  The face, neck, nose, arms and legs are out of Blushing Bride card stock.  I used Wild Wasabi for her green eyes and added a small white gel pen dot.  Her mouth is drawn on using a fine tip red marker.  The back of her hair is the owl himself with feet cut off, turned upside down.  This is out of Soft Suede card stock.  Her bangs are 1/2 of a 1" circle with snips taken out of them.  Her face is a 3/4" circle.  Once it was punched, I punched a 1" circle around the hold left and cut it into 5 pieces: 1 for the neck, 2 for the arms and 2 for the legs.  Her hands are the feet off of a Blushing Bride owl.  For her hat, I punched a 1" circle around a 3/4" circle hole in Whisper White card stock.  I trimmed it to sit behind her bangs.  The top part is the owl vest cut in half.  Take the side with the "v" in it and attach it to the band with liquid glue.  I drew free hand the "+" using a red marker.  You will want to place this hat behind the bangs before attaching them to the girl.  The dress is a full owl vest and the shoes are the small heart from the owl punch cut in half.  All piece are attached together using a liquid glue.  I added dazzling diamond glitter to the entire nurse outfit (I did not cover the "+").  

 

For the inside greeting, I used a stamp I found on clearance at a local craft store years ago.  It is stamped on Whisper White using StazOn ink.  I colored it using my SU! markers.  I then cut it out using my big shot and the Labels Collection framelits.  It is edges with Crumb Cake ink.  I then cut our the next size up of the framelits using Crumb Cake and ran it through the big shot using the perfect polka dots impression folder.  I layered these together using runner adhesive and attached it to the card using runner adhesive.

I will admit, I am already trying to come up with another card using the owl punch for tomorrow.  It seems only fitting since all the other days are filled with owl punch creations.  So please come back and see if I succeed with an idea to use it once more.  If you have any questions regarding this card or anything else drop me a line and I will be happy to help.  Thanks for dropping by today and I will see you tomorrow!!

 

 

Make Way For The Mod Girls

You know I love to watch old movies and old television shows.  I guess I like how simple life seemed to be and how easily problems could be solved.  But another thing I get a kick out of is seeing the little dresses worn by girls and the poofy hair that they had.  I do remember that they usually wore go go boots too.  So when I saw this punch art little girl by Ellen Kemper - the queen of punch - I had to make one.  I made one for my sample punch art board but never on a card.  Well all that changed today.  I decided to make a card that I could send to a friend as a birthday card or a just because card.  I think it turned out cute.  Let me show you the full card and then I will show the individual girls.

 

How cute are they?  As always let's start at the beginning.  I started with a base card of Calypso Coral cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  Next I added a layer of Basic Black cut at 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".   For the final layer on my card front, I cut a piece of Whisper White to be 4" x 5 1/4".   Once it was cut out, I took out a scrap piece of Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, and Baja Breeze.  I punched both 1/2" and 3/4" circles out of these and scattered them onto the white.  Once I had the pattern I wanted, I adhered the circles down using a runner adhesive.  Out came my big shot as well as the impression folder called Music Notes and ran the white with polka dots through to emboss it.  I guess when I think of the 60's, I also think of music.  I must have been thinking that these girls might have been a singing group or maybe they are at a dance.  See what happens when I let my mind run wild?!  Let's look a little closer at each girl.

Here is my little girl in Calypso Coral with Daffodil Delight polka dots.

Here she is in Daffodil Delight with Baja Breeze polka dots.  

 

And last but not least, here she is in Baja Breeze with Calypso Coral polka dots.  All the girls are made using the same punches so I will just go through them once.  Believe it or not, it only uses 3 punches - the owl builder, the 1" circle, and the 3/4" circle.  I did use the Blushing Bride card stock for their skin and Soft Suede for the hair.  The face is a 3/4" circle.  Once it is punched, punch a 1" circle around the hole.  This will be used for arms, legs, and neck.  Yes you can get all five pieces from one ring.  Her hands are the owl feet.  For her hair, the bangs are a 1" circle cut to be the length I want.  I snipped a few pieces out to make it more realistic.  The headband is a 1" circle punched around the hole of a 3/4" circle.  I make it wider on one side so her headband will be wide.  The last part of her hair is the back part.  It is the owl turned upside down with the feet cut off.  Her dress is the owl vest and you can use the smallest circle from the owl to make the polka dots.  I chose to use one more punch and used a 1/8" circle punch to make mine.  Finally her shoes are the heart from the owl builder cut in half.  I drew her face on using a fine tip black marker.  She is fast and easy to make.  You will need a pair of tweezers though to pick up all her small parts.  I added some dazzling detail glitter glue to the open circles of the music notes and to the headbands for sparkle!!

I don't know why this little girl brings a smile to my face but she does.  I hope she makes you smile too.  Tomorrow I will have another punch art card to share with you.  Please come back to see what it is.  Thanks for dropping by today.

Short Post Again

Happy Monday everyone!  I am going to do an extremely short post today as I have a doctor's appointment to get to.  My doctor is one of those where I am always early and he usually runs late.  So it leaves me with little time to blog.

Today's card used a set I used on this one was one of my favorite sets out in the Occasions Mini last year.  It is called Easter Blossoms.  There were so many stamps in this set I loved I knew I just had to have it. 

 

My base card for this one is Pretty in Pink card stock cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  .  I then added a layer of Crumb Cake on top of that cut at 4" x 5 1/4".  For the final layer, I cut a piece of Perfect Plum at 3 3/4" x 5".  I added all stamps before I attached it to the card.  For the little girl, I stamped her with VersaMark ink  on the plum and then heat embossed her with white embossing powder.  I did add a rhinestone to her bow.  I used the blossoming branch stamp for the background for this.  I stamped the image on with VersaMark ink and let it dry.  You want to make sure you do the girl first since she will be heat embossed and the branches will not.  If you stamp the branches first, you run the risk of embossing powder sticking to them too.  I added white gel pen to a few of the flowers for visual effect.  Then I edged the plum piece with plum ink and adhered it to the other layers.  

I wish I had more photos to show you.  I had taken this one and loaded it on my computer.   I usually take a few more before I blog but since my husband has the camera today I am out of luck!!   

I will be back tomorrow with a longer blog that has more than 1 picture.  I hope you all have a wonderful day.  See you tomorrow and thanks for dropping in today!!

"My Biscuits Are Burnin'"

Have you ever heard that phrase before?  Do you know who said it?  Well if you do then you know which Looney Toon character I will be sharing today.  I will admit, I made this one before about a year ago.  However, I did not take any pictures before giving it to a friend for his birthday.  So this is actually my second time making him.  Of course, it had been a year so there are flaws.  It was just like making him for the first time again.

I have rambled enough so let's get started for today.  Ready to see him?  Here we go!!

 

It's Yosemite Sam himself!!  I bet you knew that already though.  Once again, I turned to the punch queen Ellen Kemper to learn how to make him.  But as always, let's start at the beginning and move to the character himself.  My base card is Always Artichoke.  I have to tell you, I was really stumped on what to do for his backdrop.  As I was taking a shower it hit me.  I remembered the beautiful desert scene stamp I bought to do the stain glass technique with.  I decided to just stamp it using StazOn ink onto Whisper White card stock and color it in with colored pencils.  The scene seemed to suit him.  I layered it on a piece of Basic Black and then adhered it to the Artichoke card. 

 

I bet you see my flaw already.  When I was attaching his whiskers, I got a little glue on the top of them.  I tied to erase it with my adhesive eraser but it did not work so well and the result is what you see.  So Be careful when putting those pieces on but at the same time always remember the flaws simply add character to your card.  Overall lesson:  don't sweat the small stuff.  As I said earlier, I learned this from the queen of punching herself.  If you would like a list of punches and instructions on how to make him, simply email me or visit Ellen's Blog.  Look on her list of topics for people and you should find him.  The card stock colors I used are Crumb Cake, Tangerine Tango, Blushing Bride, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Cherry Cobbler, and Night of Navy.  I do like this guy to give to men.  He always tries to act so macho.  Let's face it, don't all men try to act macho at one time or another?  Sam here is just more up front about it. 

It has been a busy week so far.  I am glad tomorrow is Friday.  I hope your week is moving along smoothly.  I will return tomorrow with one more character for you.  Until then, thanks for dropping by today and I'll see you tomorrow!!

Another Use For Faces

My sister was over last weekend spending the day with me.  She works a lot so it is always nice when she had a day free to have lunch and goof around.  Even as adults we need to have fun.  We were sitting in my craft room looking at all the faces of the elves and Santa and Mrs. Claus and the Grinch.  I told her I had an idea of how to make a body for Mrs. Claus.  Well that idea turned into what I am about to share with you today.  I guess two brains are better than one. 

 

Ornaments!!!  They work great to make ornaments.  All you need is the head and a 2 1/2" circle punch.  I think they look wonderful.  Believe it or not, my mom had these satin green balls for out tree when I was little that had elf heads on them.  When I put that green guy together, all those memories came back.  They were some of my favorite decorations and I am thrilled to now be able to create a similar ornament to keep the memories going.  

 

As you can see, I did run each ball through the big shot using different embossing folders.  Some of them are from SU! while some are not.  For most of the ornaments, once the balls were embossed I glued the heads on, laid them aside to dry and then punched an 1/8" circle into the top.  I used silver elastic cord from SU! to string them with.  Now Mrs. Claus needed one extra step.  You see when you glue her head to the ball and then look at the back, she looks bald.  I could not have her missing hair especially since where I hung her you can see both sided of her.  So I punched a circle in Whisper White the same size as her face and glued it to the back of her head.  Then she had hair in the back.  I was much happier with her then.  

 

The Grinch's face comes down farther on the ball than the others.  This is just because his face is so long.  He still looks good.  I enjoy coming into my craft room and seeing these hanging off the garland over the half wall.  

Well, that is enough for today.  I am off to finish laundry and clean some.  I also need to decide what to share with you tomorrow.  Wonder what I will do?  Guess you will have to come back to find out if I manage to come up with anything tomorrow.  Thanks for dropping in today.  See you tomorrow.

You're A Mean One..........

I bet you can guess who I am going to show you today just by the blog title alone.  If guessed the Grinch, you would be right.  I really enjoy learning to make new characters and when I come across a wonderful, creative person who offers tutorials, I usually jump at the chance to learn from them.  I learned to make the Grinch from Bonnie Mountford.  I happened to come across her blog, saw a picture of the Grinch and bought her tutorial to learn how to make it myself.  Now since I purchased this and since she is the author, I am not allowed to include the instructions on how to make him.  I would encourage you to visit her blog.  She offers some tutorials for free while others are for sale at a reasonable price.  Anyway let's move on to my card for today.

 

This is of course the Grinch after he realized Christmas is not so bad.  While I cannot tell you how to make him, I will go over the rest of the card.  I started with Real Red cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  Cut a layer of Whisper White at 4" x 5 1/4 " and set aside.  Using Basic Black card stock, you will need to cut out a 3 1/2" circle.  I used my 3 1/2" circle die for the big shot to do this.  Once you have your circle, adhere it to the white card stock with runner adhesive.  Then place this in the Snow Burst impression folder and run it through the big shot.  For my greeting, I happened to find a stamp in my Christmas stamp drawer that I felt was perfect.  The writing looks whimsical to me and seemed to fit a Dr. Seuss character.  It is not from SU!.  I stamped it using Real Red ink on Whisper White, punched it out with a 1 3/8" circle punch, and sponged the edges with Real Red ink.  I then punched out a 1 3/4" scallop circle and ran it through the big shot with the Snow Burst impression folder.  Layer the white on this.  Place the Grinch on the black circles using dimensionals.  Then add your greeting using dimensionals.  

 

Here is a close up of the Grinch.  Even though I cannot tell you how to make him, I wanted to be sure you got a close look.  He looks so sweet here, just like Cindy Loo Who said.  When it came to the greeting inside, I was stumped.  I wanted something that would be really appropriate for him.  I really did not think I had anything to use.  I had just about given up when I came across the perfect stamp.

 

Isn't it perfect?!!  It comes from the stamp set called Tags til Christmas.  I stamped it with Real Red ink on white and punched it out with my scallop square.  It is also edged with Real Red ink.  

I hope you enjoyed this card.  Be sure to visit Bonnie's blog to find the tutorial.  She is very talented.  Tomorrow I will show you something else you can do with all the little faces.  Thanks for popping in today.  See you later.

Festive Elves

Last week I shared with you the stack of Christmas faces I had made using punches.  I used the Santa and his Mrs. on a card so you could see how just a face can be used to decorate.  Sometimes I think people feel the need to create an entire character, body and all, to use them on a card.  However, that is simply not true.  So today, I wanted to share my little elf faces with you.  So here we go.

 

I love these guys.  They are so cute!!  I don't know if you remember, but I did share a card a few weeks ago with an elf on the front.  The face of that elf is the same as this one.  It's just I left the body off.  I decided to make my elves using Real Red and Garden Green card stock for the hats.  I think you need a closer look at one of these little guys.

 

During the adding glitter portion of the card making, I always seem to get glitter on sections that I do not believe needs it.  You can see this time I ended up with a little glitter on the eyes.  Now I do not know about you but when I think of Santa's elves working on toys in their shop, I always picture them as being jolly and even sparkly.  For me, the glitter works no matter where it ends up.  One way you could change the look of this little elf is to emboss his hat using an impression folder and your big shot.  I chose not to this time but who knows about the future.  

 

I wanted to show you a close up of the background for this card.  I looked and looked for designer paper to use and could not find just what I wanted.  So I created my own.  I started with a piece of Whisper White card stock.  I took some scrap Real Red and Garden Green and punched out 1/2", 3/4", and 1" circles.  I then laid them out on the white until I found the pattern I was happy with.  I attached them to the white using my runner adhesive.  Once all circles were secure, I ran it through the big shot using the Snow Burst impression folder.  The neat thing about this technique is the card stocks all meld together.  It's just so neat.

Tomorrow I will share another card with a face only.  I am not telling who it is but I think you will like it.  So until then, thanks for stopping by and I will see you tomorrow.

The Happy Couple

Have you ever had one of those days when you just feel like you can do nothing right?  Well, I am having one of those myself today.  Most of the time, it is all in my head and if I would look at things realistically I would see I am not a complete failure, a partial failure maybe, but not a total.  I sure hope I get rid of this blue feeling soon.  Oh well.  Let's move on.

I finally sat down and made a Mrs. Claus punch art face and then put a card together!!  Miracles do happen.  I avoided my stamp shelf until I needed a greeting for my card.  This is really a basic card mostly because I just cannot shake the blues and this was all I could come up with right now.  However, I must say it is cute.

 

The base card for this one is 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2" in Whisper White.  I put a layer of Garden Green cut at 4" x 5 1/4" through the big shot using the Snow Burst impression folder.  The greeting is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.  I stamped it in Real Red on Whisper White.  I punched it out using the word window.  I then punched a modern label out of Real Red and layered the white on top of it.  It is adhered to the card using dimensionals.  Now to the people!!

 

Here is the man of the hour himself, Santa.  Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved Santa.  Making him using punches was so much fun.  His hat is made with the wide oval punch.  The red part is embossed with the Snow Burst impression folder.  It is turned perpendicular to the  the white one.  The face is the large oval in Blushing Bride.  His mustache is made using the wings from the bird builder punch, while the beard is the ornament punch.  I ran the beard through the big shot with the Elegant Lines impression folder before attaching it to the face.  The eyes, nose and mouth are all from the 1/4" circle hand punch.  Layer your hat first and then add the face.  Place your beard next.  Using the top of the ornament as a guide, place an eye on each side.  Add the mustache with dimensionals and then put the nose on them where they meet.  Slip the mouth underneath and he is complete.  Add white gel pen to highlight the eyes.  Add dazzling diamond glitter to the brim of his hat if you like.  I added a pom pom ball to the hat to complete the look for me. 

 

Mrs. Claus is also pretty easy to make.  Her face is a 1 3/4" circle punch in Blushing Bride.  For her collar, I used the 1 3/4" scallop circle.  I did trim off some of the scallops to make the collar look right.  Her nose and black eyes are a 1/4" circle hand punch.  For the whites of her eyes, I used the medium circle from the owl builder punch.   For her hair, I punched out a 1 3/4" circle in Whisper White.  Cut it in half.  You will only need one half to do this.  On the flat side of the half circle, trim it to make her bangs.  Her bun is a 1 1/4" circle in Whisper White.  To make the ribbon for her, I punched another 1 1/4" circle in Real Red and then re-punched it to make it smaller.  It is layered on the white bun and then positioned behind the head.  I added red glitter to the ribbon, dazzling diamond glitter to the collar, white gel pen to the eyes, and drew on a mouth with a fine tip black pen.  I think she is beautiful!  I will confess that when I made another one of her I did add a couple of things.  I added ears using the medium circle of the owl builder punch and I put little rhinestone earrings on her ears.  I will try to get another card made with the new version of her for you to see. 

Once again, we are at the end of the week.  I will be prepping more punch art and cards for my upcoming class on the 19th.  If you are interested in coming, email me.  Cost is $10.  Class is from 10 am to noon, followed by an afternoon crop from noon to 4 pm.  

I wish you all a wonderful weekend.   To all the veterans out there, thank you for your service.  I will be back on Monday.  Thanks for stopping by today.