Minnie Mouse Visits for Birthday TWO!

I am finally getting around to posting the first granddaughter birthday for 2021, which was celebrated in late February, and I heard that her birthday party theme was to be Mickey & Minnie Mouse, using their traditional colors of red, black, and white.  I also heard that little Sienna would be dressed in her own Minnie dress in those same colors.  She would be TWO, so I needed to put on my creative thinking cap and find a card design that was appropriate. 

First,  I decided that I would stick to just a Minnie Mouse on the card so that it could be a big mouse with a big bow for her head.  I ended up deciding on a large Minnie punch-art head instead of a full-bodied Minnie.  Since the party theme was to be red, black, and white, I decided that would be my card colors as well!  Next, I needed some patterned papers, and I found a red with multi-sized white polka dots in my stash that I thought would be perfect.  I had some other red and black prints on standby just in case I needed a second pattern.

The card sort of evolved adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  I decided the white "head" background panel needed dressing up so I used a happy birthday embossing folder to add texture before adhering Minnie's head.  It occurred to me that it would be "cool" if the head parts looked like fur, so I used the Stampin' Up Subtle Dynamic folder to emboss the head and ear pieces.  I wanted the card to feature that it was her birthday number TWO, so I added a shimmery red number 2 to coordinate with the sweet, shimmery red and white diagonal striped ribbon that I found and thought I would use for Minnie's head bow.  

I continued adding background layering and popped the "head" panel onto the layered card base.  I was thrilled with the look and how well it worked to use the ribbon for the horizontal strip to host the die-cut birthday sentiment, as well as for Minnie's perky head bow.   Take a peek below at the finished card.  I was really quite happy with the results.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up cardstock:  Poppy Parade, Basic Black, Whisper White.  Recollections pattern:  Red Dots.  Recollections Foil/ Brilliant (red).   Dies:  Cottage Cutz Expressions--Birthday, Girl; Sizzlits--Mango Tango Alphabet/ Numbers.  EK Punches:  2-1/2" circle, 1-3/8" circle, Arrow Slim Edger (SU: Pinking Hearts retired), Victorner corners.  Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug--Happy Birthday; SU--Subtles Dynamic.  Ribbon Stash: 7/8" Metallic Diagonal Strip.  Size: 4-3/4x6 inches.

Happy Day to A Card-Making Buddy!

JOYFUL NEWS!

THIS CARD IS NAMED A 

SPLITCOASTSTAMPERS' FAVORITE 

OF THE WEEK ENDING - NOVEMBER 4, 2017

A lovely lady, who is a Stampin' Up demonstrator and cardmaking buddy, has an early November birthday, and I wanted to make and send her a birthday card.  I also wanted to use her card to catch up on the newest rounds of the Alphabet Challenge.  Letters A through L have already opened.  I've submitted a few cards for letters that are out of sequence, but have not designed and submitted for Letter A yet. There is a bonus challenge attached to each letter as well, using the alphabet letters backwards; therefore, A = double challenge Z for zebras and we are required to use black and white stripes on our card to meet the double challenge.

With these requirements in mind, I decided to use a cute little punch-art Asian geisha girl that I ran across on Pinterest for Dar's card and use a black, red, and white color scheme with a background of black and white stripes.  The original punch art character was designed by LeeAnn Greff, and I thank her for the idea!

To determine what my layout might be, I decided to check out other challenges on the Splitcoasterstamper website to see if any would give me ideas.  As it turned out two challenges wanted you to get inspiration from specific galleries...My Favorites and a Featured Stamper's gallery.  They both worked perfectly to get my mojo going.  Both had similar layouts, but with different embellishments and/or enhancements, i.e., like matting, ribbon, shaped mat for your focal point, etc.  My layout ended a using ideas from each inspiration card's layouts.

I think my little geisha girl turned out really cute.  After finishing the basic punch art tutorial, I added Wink of Stella-Clear to her hair and shoes for a light sheen, plus rosy cheeks using a Copic Marker, and a mouth with a fine-tip red pen.  To dress her up, I added scallop cuffs to her sleeves, and bitty black pearls on her belt and her hair.  I finished the inside with a bit of coordinating patterned paper borders and composed a verse.  I think Dar will get a kick out of her birthday card...take a peek below!

Ingredients:  Paper:  Stampin'Up Cardstock--Basic Black, Real Red; My Mind's Eye--Everyday Basics Pad (blacks); Doodlebug--Petite Prints/ Ladybug Daisy; Little Yellow Bicycle--Once Upon A Christmas/ OC-102; Photoplay--Holiday Cheer/ Holly Jolly.  My Favorite Things Dies:  Stitched Oval Scallop Frame (used inside cut-out/ red); ZigZag Stitched Oval STAX #2.  Punches:  Stampin' Up--1-1/4" Circle (head/ hair), 1/2" circle (shoes/ trimmed...Heart to Heart punch better), Extra Large Oval (2"x1-3/8"--body/ dress), Dotted Swiss Double Border (retired--trimmed: belt/ cuffs).  Queen & Co.--Black pearls.  Ribbon: 7/8" BoBunny Double Dot Sheer.  Computer sentiment/ verse.  Size: 4-3/4" x 6". 

Birthday Niece #2 is a BIG Two!

This is my second great niece with a late September birthday, and she will be a GREAT big two-years old.  I had the chance to spend a little time this spring getting acquainted with Addie, and she is a delight!  She has such a funny little personality, and she is just as cute as she can be with her big blue eyes and her gigantic smile.  

I just love making children's cards because they are so much fun, and it gives me a feeling of  joyfulness during the entire process.  It allows the years to slip away and brings back fun childhood memories.  While in this nostalgic mood, I reminisced about how my brother and I used to look forward to Saturday morning cartoons, where one of our favorites was Mickey and Minnie Mouse and their adventures.  

Thinking about Addie with her adventuresome personality, I thought it would be fun to make her a really cute, little, girly Minnie Mouse card, but I needed a little help getting my children's cardmaking  mojo going after being on a sympathy card binge of late.  I went on line to check out Minnie cards on Pinterest, but found there weren't a whole bunch to choose from.  A few used embossing folder texturing and I like that idea, as it reminded me of my "happy birthday" embossing folder that I had used earlier this year on my young boy "Minion" card.  With mojo arriving, I decided on a pink Minnie rather than the traditional red, adding to my desired girly look.  Take a look below at my finished Minnie card inside and out!  I think it will bring smiles and giggles of delight when viewed by its recipient.

Ingredients: Stampin' Up cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Melon Mambo.  Dies: MemoryBox Stitched Scalloped Circles; Spellbinders Classic Circles; Cottage Cutz Expressions-Birthday, Girl. EK Punches:  Circles-2-1/2," 1-3/4," 1," Victorian Corner (modified).  Cuttlebug Happy Birthday Embossing Folder.  Ribbon:  Stampin' Up 1/2" Scallop Dots-Melon Mambo (retired); 1/8" Taffeta-Melon Mambo; Offray 3/8" Black & White Dot.  Uni-ball White Gel Pen.  Stash: Button, Rose Embroidery Floss.  Size:  5-3/8" x 6".

Birthday Niece #1 Turns A BIG Four!

I have two great nieces who have birthdays in late September.  For niece #1, I decided to use a little punch art to make a cute little girly dress on her card for her special day.  Over the last several years, I have seen several little girl dresses on card on Pinterest, some  done with punch art and some with dies.  Needing to get my creative juices flowing, I decided to re-visit "little girl punch art dresses" on Pinterest to see what I could find.  I found one that looked like a little tutu made from pink vellum for the skirt, using Stampin' Up's Blossom Builder Punch, which is now retired, but, I am happy to say is part of my tool stash.  

Looking at this Pinterest card brought to mind several little girls I had seen shopping with their Moms wearing tutu-style dresses, as it seems to currently be a part of a lot little girls' wardrobes.  These dresses seem to come in all types of styles and fabrics from really frilly and fancy silky fabrics with ruffled tulle layers to a little more casual style with a knit top and gathered ruffles layered about three layers deep.  

Well, my juices were flowing. . .I would use my seldom used Blossom Builder punch to make my skirt and my Spellbinders Decorative Dress dies for the bodice.  I would not use tulle or vellum, but rather complimentary paper patterns.   My little tutu dress card is VERY girly and VERY pink, and I think my two-year old great niece will love her new little dress card.  Take a look below at the finished card, both inside and out.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up Shimmery White.  Darice Core'dinations cardstock pack: Soft Side.  BoBunny Tutu Double Dot.  Recollection Glitter Iridescent White cardstock.  Recollections Itsy Bitsy Ditsy: Cherry Pie (floral).  Stampin' Up sentiment stamp:  Teeny Tiny Wishes.  Stampin' Up Ink: Melon Mambo.  Stampin' Up Labels Framelits.  Stampin' Up Punches: Blossom Builder, Curvy Corners; Word Window (all retired).  Ribbon: Stampin' Up-Melon Mambo 1/8" Taffeta; Offray 3/4" pink check.  Size: 6-1/8" x 5-1/4".

A Minion Birthday is LATE!

My nephew had a birthday in the early part of April, and I blew it all to smithereens!   In other words, I did not get his card made and sent on time.  It was not just a little late but a LOT LATE!  I was totally distracted getting ready for my trip to California to visit my Mom right around the time of his birthday.  I had not been down in two years, and it seemed I was just totally out of sync trying to complete my personal packing, my cardmaking packing (now that's a chore), plus finishing up personal business before leaving, i.e, Mr. Tax Man!  I'm sure it doesn't make my nine-year old nephew feel any better, but I missed making his mother's birthday card as well, as her birthday falls six days after his.  Note:  I finished her card a few days ago and both were hand-delivered together today!  Whew! Now I'm all caught up with by late cards.

To make Parker's birthday card, I tossed around several ideas before leaving home,  and I even had a plan to color a cowboy crab at the beach. . .even down to getting the digi printed, with papers for paper-piecing and dies chosen, but I left home without them, so I had to start planning from the beginning all over again.  I was peeking at Pinterest a few days ago and saw another Minion card.  I've seen quite a few on Pinterest some with the whole card a Minion head, some with one Minion and a birthday sentiment, and several with balloons featured in some manner.  Balloons are my favorite birthday thing. . .I love to give them; I love to receive them; and, I also love to put them on cards for birthdays that I make.  My mind was made up. . .Parker's card would feature a Minion and balloons!

I was in luck. . .I had put in an order while here purchased the Stampin' Up Brights designer paper stack.  The Minion colors seem to be Pacific Point Blue and Daffodil Yellow, both from the Brights Color Collections.  I wanted to feature a layered frame look, so my new paper stack would work just great.  The first two layers of the Pacific Point blue cardbase and the patterned Daffodil Delight diagonal stripe are adhere together.  Then, smaller layers of the blue plus white embossed with Cuttlebug's Birthday embossing folder are adhered together and popped up off the cardbase layers.  I was thankful I brought along all my embossing folders from home, because I dearly love Cuttlebug's Birthday folder. 

My Mom just purchased the SU's Balloon Celebration stamps and punch, so I decided those would work in my card as well.  I searched for stamps sets in Mom's stamp stash to use on my balloons to indicate they were birthday balloons and found several to my liking.  I was also able to use stamps from Mom's stash for the inside "verse" as well.  SU's Owl punch is used to make the Minion.  Once I decided on my design and gathered all my tools, inks, and stamps, my card went together really fast.  Take a peek below. . .isn't it just too cute!

I finished my interior design in record tme as well.  I love the large birthday sentiment from Stampin' Up's Age Awareness.  I added a little BELATED from one of her Papertrey Ink stamp sets, a punched balloon out of patterned paper and a few starts from SU's Balloon Celebration stamp set.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Pacific Point Blue, Daffodil Delight.  Pattern--Color Collections DSP Stack--Brights-Daffodil Delight.  Stamps--Balloon Celebration, Pretty Petites (retired), Age Awareness (inside).  Ink--Pacific Point Blue, Daffodil Delight.  Punches--Balloon Bouquet, Owl Builder (Minion), Itty Bitty Pack-Circle.  Other:  Cuddlebug Embossing Folder--Birthday.  Papertrey Ink stamps--Inside & Out-Birthday (BELATED).  Size:  4-3/4" x 6".  (Thank you to Patty Bennett for her tutorial on how to build a Minion using the Stampin' Up Owl punch.)

Punch Art Angel - Christmas X10 - Card #1!

October was a busy month.  I went to another Christmas cardmaking event, Christmas X10, which was hosted by two great ladies and Stampin' Up demonstrators, Dara Peterson and Luci Kirchenbaum.  This is the first time I have been invited to one of their annual events, and I was thrilled with the ten card designs presented by these two wonderful ladies.  What a great and fun way to teach and demonstrator Stampin' Up products. . .a partnership where everything is shared.  I am sure these two have a great time together.  I met several new cardmaking ladies who love to craft as much as I do.  It surely was a fun-filled and enjoyable event.

Our first card was made from products featured in the annual catalog rather than the new 2015 Holiday mini catalog.  I so loved this card's design that in making my own card, I stuck to an exact replica of the class sample.  The cute little punch art angel and the tree were formed by using the Tree punch, and the angel's wings were formed by using the smaller round-winged butterfly from the Bold Butterfly framelit die set.  This was such a lovely card, presented in a beautifully simplistic style.  Please take a peek. . .you'll like what you see!

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Whisper White, Shimmery White, Dazzling Diamonds & Silver Glimmer paper.  Merry Moments dsp,  Stamps: Merry Everything.  Ink: Cherry Cobbler.  Punches:  2-1/2" Circle, 3/4" Circle, Tree, Itty Bitty Accent-Star.  Framelit dies: Bold Butterflies.  (Thank you Dara & Luci for the wonderful card design).

Thanksgiving Pressies!

My good friend and cardmaking buddy, Sandy, sent me the cutest darn Thanksgiving card.  She has been on a bing of cardmaking using her flip-it framelit die, because, as she says, "I've had it for close to a year now and never used it...shame on me!  Don't you think it's about time!"  But, not only did she use her flip-it framelit die, but she also created her cute little scarecrow with punch art, added with felt leaves and a bit of washi tape.  Take a look at this darling little scarecrow with the goolies eyes and yarn hair!  Isn't it just the most adorable thing ever!

Next came a thank you card from my sister, using Papertrey Ink's Quilted: Autumn stamp and coordinating die set.  Love that copper metallic crocheted lace bordering the leaf panel and the bit of burlap setting off her quilted leaf!  Thank YOU, Heidi, for such a lovely card!

Loving Pizza for a Birthday!

My oldest son, David, is celebrating his birthday early this month.  I have been a bit under the weather with some mouth surgery, and this is actually the first card I have undertaken since early in February.  I really felt like my creative mojo was just not with me.  I racked my brain, and then I remembered!  Daughter, Michele, yes, that's the one who moved home from West Virginia, is hosting the family for a pizza birthday dinner, dessert, and games night for David's birthday.  I had seen several punch art cards with pizza slices as the theme, and even one with a digital image of pizza in the last few months on Pinterest.  I thought, "That would be perfect!  David, not only loves pizza, but it is the theme of his birthday party.

With this thought in mind, I went off looking for papers that would work with a combination pizza, which is the most colorful of pizzas; therefore, it would make the best looking punch art pizza slice, right?!  At first, I decided on Bo Bunny Double Dot for the pepperoni meat, but then when I dug out the right color, the backside with cream mixed into the berry red color was even better than cream dots on the red.  It doesn't actually show up in the photo, but looks great on the real thing.  I raided my scrap box for pieces of green for green peppers, Natural Ivory for onion slivers, Hello Honey for cheese, and Kraft for pizza crust.  I found a diagonal plaid with rose red and cherry cobbler, which reminded me of a picnic tablecloth, and I thought it would work perfectly.  

I distressed all edges and pieces of the card and the punch art pieces with Colorbox Chestnut Roan.  I also sponged the Hello Honey cheese layer on its surface.  I though this gave the pizza the look of a cooked/ browned pizza fresh from the oven.  I'm just sorry the photo doesn't pick up on all these subtle additions.  I'm pretty happy with my results, especially because of having to push myself back into making it.  I think David will be pleased!

Below is the inside design and verse and I have created to coorindate with the outside.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up stamp: Delightful Dozen.  Memento Ink: Tuxedo Black.  Papers: Stampin' Up cardstocks: Kraft, Cheery Cobbler, Hello Honey, Old Olive, Basic Black, Natural Ivory.  Darice Core'dinations: Red Plaid.  BoBunny DoubleDot: Wild Berry Red Dot (backside).  Punches:  Stampin' Up - 1-1/4" Circle; Itty Bitty Punch Pack - circle.  EK - 3/4" Circle; Scalloped Scallop border.  Martha Stewart Corner Rounder.  Lifestyles: Scalloped Circles (#15-largest/ crust; #9-green peppers).  

Telescoping Snowman #4 - Folk Art Colors!

I finally finished my fourth telescoping snowman card for my fourth offspring.  Now, I do have to decided who gets which one, but I think I already have a pretty good idea.  I did decide to do #4 with folk art colors, and I found a piece of  Kaisercraft Christmas paper that had small squares of all the papers in the St. Nicholas collection.  It was perfect for this project.  I paired it with Stampin' Up's Old Olive for my cardbase and a mat layer of Red Glimmer to place my squares on.  My hardest job was finding a pattern I like for the middle body circle.  Don't why that was so difficult, but I had my heart set on the Peace, LOVE, and Joy label from the same Kaisercraft St. Nicholas collection, and I needed something to contrast but look like it belonged together.  I finally selected a Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium ivy paper.  I am actually happier with the final design than I thought I would be, and now it's time to share with you!

Recipe:  SU cardstocks:  Old Olive; Red Glimmer.  Kaisercraft St. Nicholas collection - Babbo Natale/ Papa Noel/ Mr. Claus.  Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium - Ivy.  SU DSP:  Be of Good Cheer (scarf).  DCWV Black Glitter paper (hat).  Paper Squares: SU 1-3/8" square punch.  Body part dies:  Spellbinders:  4-1/4 " Beaded Circles (bottom base); 3-1/4" Circles LG-#6 (bottom inset); 2-7-8" Scallop Circles SM-#4(middle base); 2-1/8" Scallop Circles LG-#2 (head base).  Body Part punches:  2-1/2" Circle (middle inset); 1-3/4" Circle (head inset).  SU Hat punches:  Decorative Labels (1/2); Word Window (brim);  Pinking Hearts border (band); Martha Stewart Aspen Corner punch (snowflakes).  Face punches:  Eyes-Martha Stewart 7-Heart punch (largest cut in half/ shaped); Nose-SU Small Heart punch (little less than 1/2), Highlights-Chalk Marker; Cheeks-Owl-Builder heart, Copic marker for blush.  Mouth: Ex. Large ZigZag Border (SU/Sizzix) used as template; Sharpie Fine-Tip: Lashes/ Mouth.  Scarf: 1-3/4" Circle punch shaping 3/8" deep curve; 2 Bitty Banner punch tapered.  Arms:  SU Snowflake punch: 2 using entire diameter/ cut off end only. (Card size: 5-3/16" square).

More Loving Those Telescoping Snowmen!

After making my first telescoping snowman card, I decided I would make three others and give each one of my four offspring one of their very own little snowman friend for Christmas.  My goal is to design each with a different color scheme and patterned papers.  I have now completed three of them, so I thought I would also share the last two I just finished.  I haven't decided who will get each yet, but when I finished with number four, I will work on that dilemma.

I am refining just a few things as I go.  I went back and put a hat on the back side of each snowman's head so that when you turn him over when opened, he has a black hat too and not just a blank white thing!  I've also decided I like his rosy cheek rouge (colored with Copic Marker R30) better when colored around the heart shaping it like a heart rather than just a circle.  I tried this on the third version, which is the turquoise card below.  The light blue one's cheek rouge remains just a circle.  What do you think?  And now for the finished cards..........drum roll..........here they are:

Snowman #1

Snowman #2

Recipe:  Snowman #1: SU cardstocks - Baja Breeze, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer.  DCWV/ Black Glitter paper (hat).  Patterned papers -  Heidi Grace/ Shimmer Flocked; Imaginations/ Studio Basics 101; Paper Pizazz/ Let It Snow.  Stampin' Up punch: Pinking Hearts Border (hat band)

Recipe:  Snowman #2: SU cardstocks - Whisper White, Red Glimmer (#2).  Recollections/ Black Prince Glitter paper (hat - has navy sparkles).  Patterned papers - Jillibean/ Winter Tortellini & Sprinach Soup-Stewed Tomatoes; Stampin' Up/ Winter Frost; DCWV/ 2011 Christmas Stack.  Stampin' Up punch: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border (hat band).

Shared Items: Paper Squares: SU 1-3/8" square punch.  Body part dies:  Spellbinders:  4-1/4 " Beaded Circles (bottom base); 3-1/4" Circles LG-#6 (bottom inset); 2-7-8" Scallop Circles SM-#4(middle base); 2-1/8" Scallop Circles LG-#2 (head base).  Body Part punches:  2-1/2" Circle (middle inset); 1-3/4" Circle (head inset).  Hat punches:  Decorative Labels (1/2); Word Window (brim);  Martha Stewart Aspen Corner punch (snowflakes).  Face punches:  Eyes-Martha Stewart 7-Heart punch (largest cut in half/ shaped); Nose-SU Small Heart punch (little less than 1/2), Highlights-Chalk Marker; Cheeks-Owl-Builder heart, Copic marker R30 (blush).  Mouth: Ex. Large ZigZag Border (SU/Sizzix) used as template; Sharpie Fine-Tip: Lashes/ Mouth.  Scarf: 1-3/4" Circle punch shaping 3/8" deep curve; 2 Bitty Banner punch tapered.  Arms:  SU Snowflake punch: 2 using entire diameter/ cut off end only.  (Card size: 5-3/16" square).

Love That Telescoping Snowman Card!

Earlier this month, I made two telescoping snowman cards following a sample I had seen early last spring (see BLOG dated 12/8/14).  After making these, my mind began to think what if. . .  Some of my what ifs were:  

• what if, I attached him to a card base so he was on the front of an actual card; 

• what if, I attached his body parts closer together so he looked plumper instead of so tall and gangly; 

• what if, he had a scarf; 

• what if, he had buttons and hands.

• what if, he had rosy cheeks 

• And then I saw a non-telescoping punch art snowman on Pinterest, using hearts on his cheeks, and that became another what if!

I added another interesting feature for my paper background as well:  1-1/2" squares on Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper.  I think this really added to my card with all that bling peeking out between each square.  Here is my little snowman telescoping card, which incorporated all my what ifs and then some other features as well.

Telescoping Snowman - Closed.

 Telescoping Snowman - Open.

Recipe:  Bazzill cs: Stonewashed.  SU Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer.  DCWV Winter Magic Stack.  DCWV Black Glitter paper (hat).  Paper Squares: SU 1-3/8" square punch.  Body part dies:  Spellbinders:  4-1/4 " Beaded Circles (bottom base); 3-1/4" Circles LG-#6 (bottom inset); 2-7-8" Scallop Circles SM-#4(middle base); 2-1/8" Scallop Circles LG-#2 (head base).  Body Part punches:  2-1/2" Circle (middle inset); 1-3/4" Circle (head inset).  Hat punches:  Decorative Labels (1/2); Word Window (brim); Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border (band); Martha Stewart Aspen Corner punch (snowflakes).  Face punches:  Eyes-Martha Stewart 7-Heart punch (largest cut in half/ shaped); Nose-SU Small Heart punch (little less than 1/2), Highlights-Chalk Marker; Cheeks-Owl-Builder heart, Copic marker for blush.  Mouth: Ex. Large ZigZag Border (SU/Sizzix) used as template; Sharpie Fine-Tip: Lashes/ Mouth.  Scarf: 1-3/4" Circle punch shaping 3/8" deep curve; 2 Bitty Banner punch tapered.  Arms:  SU Snowflake punch: 2 using entire diameter/ cut off end only. (Card size: 5-3/16" square).

Time for Snowmen!

At a cardmaking event that I attended earlier this year, one of the attendees brought a sample of a telescoping Mr. Snowman card that she had made at a card class she attended in her home town over 150 miles south of us.  We were all oohing and aahing over her very cute card, so our hostess held another card buffet making class with her version of Mr. Snowman for the participants to make.  Unfortunately, I missed this class due to traveling, but one of my cardmaking buddies made a picture of her completed card for me to see.  

I decided to try my hand at my version of Mr. Telescoping Snowman. The first sample I saw was done in pink, and the second in blue.  I decided to do my first attempt at the card in blue, as this color always makes me think of snow and cold when making Christmas cards.  My second version is done with purple as it makes me think snow and cold as well.  (Don't your hands turn those colors when cold?)  I decided my little hat and its brim would be embossed with an Argyle embossing folder, though it doesn't show up very well in the picture.  I also scalloped all my snowman's body parts, and I made a Christmas verse to fit inside his body balls.  

First I stamped around the verses with snowflakes, using the stamp-off technique.  Next, I completely finished the entire snowman's head with hat attached.  My third step was to attached the completed head to the white only of middle body ball and followed by adhering the blue scallop behind the middle ball, which embedded the brad's pointy ends in between the layers.  In step four, I inserted the bottom brad through the completed middle body ball and the white only of bottom body ball in the same manner as the head to the middle.  The last step was to adhere the bottom blue scallop ball to the back of white bottom ball.  When completed, all snowman circles will twist to stack on top of each other and telescope out to open.

Below are the completed blue and purple versions.  Next, I think I am going to make a pink girl version with a hat made using the Stampin' Up Large Tab punch that has retired.  It will be a cloche-style hat aka flapper hat.  She should be really cute!

    

Mr. Snowman in blue - Telescoped Open

Mr. Snowman in blue - Closed

Mr. Snowman in purple - Telescoped Open

Mr. Snowman in purple - Closed

Recipe:  SU carstock:  Marine Mist, Whisper White, Basic Black, Perfect Plum.  SU stamps: Snow Day (snowflakes), Stylin' Snowfolk (nose), Holiday Invitations (holly-2014 Holiday).  Stampin' Up Ink: Marine Mist, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive.  Spellbinders dies: Circles LG, Scallop Circles LG.  Stampin' Up punches: Decorative Label (hat), Word Window (brim).  Stampin' Up Embossing Folder: Argyle.  Stampin' Up 1/8" Silver ribbon (2014-15 Annual).  Other: rhinestone.  Circle sizes: 4-1/8"/ 3-1/8"/ 2-3/8".

Bride of Franken-Owl!

Still on a roll making these cute little mini album cards.  Well, I made Mr. Franken-Owl, so why not a mate for him?  I thought I'd help out with a bride for him.  

Off I went designing a little lady Franken-Owl.  I decided she must be dressed in purple, with a pinked skirt and a bow in her hair.  Unfortunately, her creator was just as bad at finding her a matched pair of eyes, and thus, she has a mini googlie eye and a small googlie eye just like her beau! 

I pretty much followed the same theme as the first Franken-Owl, but with different papers for this little book.  I was truly liking her when I was done.  I planned this one for a cardmaking buddy, and I hope she likes her Bride of Franken-Owl as much as I heard that Franken does.  I heard they are already engaged and ready to tie the knot!

Front Cover with Bride of Franken-Owl's graveyard scene.

This is the centerfold of the feminine version of my card book.  I added a tag with a Halloween verse and Martha Stewart bat stickers.  I also added a little drill to the edge of the verse pocket, fitting for a female card!

Back cover, adding Beware by using the Sizzlits Halloween Set #2.  Dazzling Diamonds-Silver glitter adhesive also added to letters for a little bling!

Recipe:  Papers:  SU Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Black, Whisper White; SU Core'dinations - Black, Basic Gray.  DCWV--Halloween & Fall (2011/ 2012), Bewitched Mat Stack; stripe/ argyle (pocket).  Core'dinations - Black Tie Glitter (bats).  White paper sack: 9" x 4-3/4" (Michaels).  SU Stamps: Best of Halloween.  Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black.  Dies: MFT--Spooky Scene (gravestones); Sizzlits--Halloween Set #2 (Beware); Sizzix TH Alterations--On the Fence; Spellbinders Labels 11 (tag).  Punches: Studio G--Mini Bat; EK Pointed Flower Border; SU Owl Builder, Bird Builder (owl wings).  Die-cuts: Martha Stewart Bat stickers.  Other:  SU-Dazzling Details/ Silver, 3/8" Dotted Grograin; Ki Memories--rhinestones; Online jpeg--Spooky Tree.  Stash: Googlie eyes--mini/ small, Black pearls (buttons)

A Nursing Graduation with High Honors!

As many of you may have read, my youngest daughter complete her R.N. degree back in December, 2013 and passed her R.N. NCLEX licensing test in early February, 2014.  We are, as we should be, extremely proud of her.  She gave her all in the pursuit of this goal, working only part-time, and living at home again.  The results were graduation with high honors of a 4.0 GPA and a Presidential Medal Nominee.  As she says, I may never "walk" for a degree again with high honors and two gold cords, so she plans to do just that.  Her next goal is to complete her B.S.N. at the University of Washington, and I'll be greatly surprised if she isn't just as successful with that course of study.  But, as she says, "I'll be working full-time as an R.N. and going to school part-time, so I may not have as much time to focus just on school work."  She laughs and adds, "And besides, I'm not getting any younger!"

To commemorate achieving this goal with such success, I wanted to make her a special card.  I made several "owl" graduation cards a few years ago and decided to use owls again for Jackie's card, but there would be two owls on her card, one with a cap and gown (and gold cords, of course), and one transforming into nurse scrubs.  I hope Jackie likes her little owl graduation card, as it was a lot of fun making it for her.

Recipe:  Papers: Recollections Navy cs (cardbase); SU Lucky Limeade; SU Soft Suede cs (tree/sponged); SU Always Artichoke (sponged); DCWV Collage Art Stack; MME Everyday Tango Collection; Recollections Essentials Distressed (blue inside); DCWV Shimmer Stack; October Afternoon: Cakewalk/ Hula Hoop (stripe); SU Red Glimmer paper.  SU stamps: A Dozen Thoughts.  SU Punches: Owl Builder, Itty Bitty Circle (cap)/ Flower (nurse cross) punches.  EK Punches: 3/4" Square (hat-cut to diamond), Fancy Photo Corners (inside). Dies:  Lifestyles-Eyelet Ovals; Nesting Ovals (modified smaller). Sizzix Sizizlit: Little Leaves.  SU Woograin EF.  Lion Gold Metallic fine yarn. May Arts: Hemp Twine.  Uni-ball Signo White Gel pen.   (Size: 6" square). 

Punch Art "Otzi the Mummy" for Halloween!

After making Scary Mr. Frankie (and a pirate punch art card in between), I decided why not a mummy, so I put myself to the task.  I have seen several rectangular cards made with mummies and even made one at a Liz Thayer cardmaking class in September.  Liz's card was my favorite of all that I've seen because she used the torn paper technique, which I thought made the bandages more authentic.  So, I decided to try my mummy with the Top Note die punch art technique, which was one I have never seen done.  I then made up a little verse and complimentary inside decorations.  My sister was particularly fond of Otzi the Mummy when I finished him, so I thought it only appropriate that he go to here to wish her a frightful Halloween!

Recipe: SU CS: B. Black, Tang. Tango, Ivory Naturals-torn. Echo Park Chillingsworth Manor: Apothecarthy Labels green chevron. DCWV Halloween/Fall 2011 Stack-dots. SUInk: B.Gray-distress, B.Black-markings. SU TopNote die-head. SU Punch: Circles-3/4"-iris, 1-1/4"-eyeball, 1-3/8”-eye orange; 2" Ex Lrg Oval-ears. EK Stickos-pupil. WRMK Deco CornerChomper. SU ChalkMarker. M.Stewart Halloween ribbon. Stash: Black/Orange seambinding.

Punch Art Busyness for Halloween!

I love to make Halloween cards!  So many thoughts and ideas roaming in my head.  I wanted to try my hand at Top Note Die punch art.  My first attempt was Scary Mr. Frankie whose inspiration came from Jacqueline Dorer-Russell (http://sugarssmilinpapercrafts.blogspot.com/2013/09/frankenstein-card.html) when I saw her Frankie card on Pinterest. I decided to tweak his ears a bit, as she is now using the Stampin' Up Decorative Label as shown on her video tutorial.  I also wanted to use patterned Halloween papers from my huge stash.  I decided to put him on a 3/4 front-fold card so I could use SCARY alphabet letters beside him, and give him a bow-tie as well.  I designed an interior to compliment the outside and added a little verse that I composed.  Scary Mr. Frankie will be going to my son Mark and his wife Ginger, to wish them lots of fun on Halloween!

 

Recipe:  SU Basic Black cs, Wild Wasabi cs, Recollections Spice Market Burnt Orange cs, Karen Foster: Spooky Collage, Bazzill cs: Honeycomb; DCWV Halloween & Fall Stack (dots). SU Top Note die (head). SU Punches: 3/4" circle (eye pupil), 1" circle (eyeball/ lids), Round Tab (nose), 2" Extra Large Oval (ears), Decorative Label (mouth). Sharpie marker. SU Chalk Marker. SU Ink: Basic Black (distressing). Sizzix Wingo Zingo Alphabet Sizzlits. SU Dazzling Details (frost). Stash: 3/8" dot satin ribbon, Halloween Baker's Twine.

Jolly Roger Brings Birthday Wishes!

It's my nephew's birthday this month.  I recently saw this cute little pirate punch art card by Rae Harper (Wild West Paper Arts) inspired me to make this little pirate card that I thought would be perfect for Landon.  As I did with my Frankie card earlier this month, I decided I didn't just want a card made in the shape of the punch art head, but that I would incorporate the head as the main feature of a layered card.  I also decided I liked the 3/4-front fold layout of my Frankie card, so I would repeat it with "Ahoy!" as my vertical word.

While I was doing errands the other day, I found a fat-quarter at Wal-Mart with skeletal pirate heads and I thought it would be perfect for my pirate card that I planned to make the next day (though I have never used fabric when making a card before).  But, I thought, "Oh well, let's give it a whirl and see if I can figure out how to make it work."  I am pleased to say that I did!  I took a piece of cardstock and the fabric and hand-cut them to the same size.  Next, I rolled my tape gun in very close vertical and horizontal glue strips on the piece of cardstock.  I adhered my fabric onto the cardstock, and it adhere very well.  The cardstock gave the fabric body, and I was able to treat it just like a single piece of cardstock that had always been a unit.

Most of Captain Pirate's parts are cut with punches and used just like they punch out.  But, there are a few exceptions that were a bit challenging to modified, such as the 2-1/2" circle cut for the mouth and teeth.  These circles need to be re-punch cutting them into approximate 1/4 moon shapes with the teeth being slightly smaller than the black mouth.  The top curve of both then needs to be hand-cut to make a more shallow curve.  The mustache is part of the side of the Top Note die with the perforated edge hand-trimmed away and the lower shape hand-cut and shaped to match the top.  The scarf also ended up being a bit of trial and error to get it just right.  I started with a circle a bit larger than the Top Note head, but the crown was too rounded.  I re-cut it, using an oval to make it shallower and trimmed the sides to fit the width of the Top Note.  I ended up trimming the crown even more with scissors so it was curved just above the edge of the top note.  I decided to make templates so that I would not have to re-created them from scratch if I wanted to make Captain Pirate again.  Here is my finished card for Landon's birthday. . .I think he is going to like Captain Pirate a lot.

Punch Art Pirate head inspiration from Rae Harper (Wild West Paper Arts).

Recipe: SU Papers: Basic Black cs (base), Real Red.  DCWV La Crème Paper Stack. SU Ink:  Burnt Brown Sugar (pirate distressing), Basic Gray (verse distressing).  SU Die:  Sizzix Top Note (head/ mustache).  SU Punches: 1/16” circle (patch punches), 1/2” circle (earring hole), 3/4” circle (pupil/ earring), 1-3/8” circle (eyeball/ eyelid/ patch), 2-1/2” Circle (mouth/ teeth), 2” Ex. Lrg. Oval (ears), Owl Punch (nose). Scarf/ Tails:  Hand-drawn/ cut.  Sizzix Wingo Zingo Alphabet Sizzlit.  SU Chalk Marker. SU Dazzling Details: frost (alphabet glitter).  SU rhinestones (Copic colored).

Mr. Frankie Re-Created...

I saw this Punch Art Frankie head on Pinterest about three weeks ago and it was LOVE at first sight! I traced him back to his author: Jacquelyn Dorer-Russell (www.sugarssmilinpapercrafts.blogspot.com) and left a comment on her Frankie blog entry.  She was kind enough to respond to my comment and offered to send me instructions for Frankie via email, which she did!  Since then, she has also posted a video on her blog with instructions for making him.  

My creative juices have been bubbling and fermenting for about two weeks, and I could no longer wait to make him so I began the hunt for the perfect papers this morning!  I decided I wanted him to have a little bow-tie and place him on a 3/4-top-layer card in order to be able to add the vertical word SCARY  beside him, which is actually adhered on the inside layer of the card.  I also decided to add a little glitter to the letters to make them stand out more.  I will now be able to use another Top Note die inside to hold my Halloween verse.  I am pretty stoked with how he turned out since it went just the way I pictured it in my brain. . .I hope you like him as well.

Recipe:  SU Basic Black cs, Wild Wasabi cs, Recollections Spice Market Burnt Orange cs, Karen Foster: Spooky Collage; DCWV Halloween & Fall Stack (dots). SU Top Note die (head). SU Punches: 3/4" circle (eye pupil), 1" circle (eyeball/ lids), Round Tab (nose), 2" Extra Large Oval (ears), Decorative Label (mouth). Sharpie marker. SU Chalk Marker. SU Ink: Basic Black (distressing). Sizzix Wingo Zingo Alphabet Sizzlits. SU Dazzling Details (frost). Stash: 3/8" dot satin ribbon, Halloween Baker's Twine.