Welcome Baby Safari Card

A co-worker asked me to make a Baby Shower card.  The shower will have a Safari theme!  I have been wanting to do some Punch art so I used this opportunity to create this card.  It is the 3D card technique that I used to make the Circus train in May- you can find the link to the instructions under Blog Archive on the right of this post. 

 

The palm trees are from Memory Box.  The monkey is a Sizzix die - that I love!  The other animals are from Punch art.  I think it turned out cute!  I really had fun coming up with the design. 

 

 

Our Grandson, Ezra, came for a visit this past weekend!  It was a quick visit but I always love it when we see him.  He is really a great kid!  He can figure out any game on my tablet!  I really have fun watching him- when he gets tired- he makes me play!  I am becoming a GAMER!!!  Not really, but I can pretend! 

 

 

 

 

Easter Tilda

On our vacation, I purchased the shutters for my window die from Memory Box!  They are fabulous! I have several ideas on how to use them, besides as shutters.  More to come on that!  I used several Marianne Design dies for my flower box.  Oh, the flower box is from Memory box too!  You can't tell from the picture - but I used my crimper for the curtains.  This is a funky fold card.  Of course, that is Tilda, peeking out the window-a stamp from Magnolia! /The inside will say " from our house to your house"-with an Easter sentiment.   More shots below-

Cindy's Card

Friends are forever!

Our friend, Cindy is having a birthday! We met her when she was a SU demonstrator.  My sister's and I love her like another sister!  She isn't demonstrating anymore but we still have lots of fun with her!  Tonight is a get together with Cindy and her husband to celebrate her birthday and to just get spend some time together. What better way to spend a Saturday night!  
I used a Spellbinder's die to cut out the "window."  I cut the die cut in half and scored them to make the "shutters".   The faces of the women are made from- SU's  oval punch & tag punch.  I rounded the tag punch just a little to make it look more like a face.  The curly blonde hair are what pieces you usually discard of the Memory Box die called Honeysuckle Vine.  Hmmm.. I think the rest is really just made from whatever punch or die I have available.  For instance their bodies are made from SU's tag punch that I rounded somewhat to soften the look.   You can use an oval punch or a slot punch to make the necklines. The arms are, again, the slot punch, at least I believe that's what it is called. The mouths are hand drawn since I can't seem to perfect that look!  Here are more pics-

inside peek

Side view

Santa Pyramid Cards

I was inspired by NWilliams6's Santa Candy Holders that she made over on Splitcoast Stampers!  They are adorable!  I am making some to take to a Holiday Shopping Sale tomorrow.  Since I love Pyramid cards- I decided to make it into a Pyramid Santa!

Check NWilliams gallery here-

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2071872?&si=santa candy holders

Here are a few more shots of my Punch art work -

The beard is SU's ornament punch, the moustache is from SU's Bird punch-It was really easy to put Santa's face together!

Santa's hat is Spellbinder's Paisley Nestabilities!  That is also the die I used to make Santa's toy bag.



Side View!



The other side!

It should be a fun day tomorrow with everyone shopping for Christmas!  It is hard to believe that Christmas is not that far away! 

UPDATE:  Check out Sharon's blog for instructions on  how to make the "Pyramid" of the Pyramid card. I do use a  3 - 4 inch squares to make my Pyramid- and of course, no ribbon.

Wicked easy!

http://createdbyu.blogspot.com/2011/08/super-saturday-blog-hop-3d-pyramid-card.html

Sister's Anniversary

I purchased Valieta's beautiful Well- Dressed  Card instructions! I think it makes it an adorable card for a wedding or an anniversary.  Today is the 6th anniversary of my twin sister, Connie, to her sweet husband Russ.   Now, for some reason, I thought it was her 5th anniversary... oops.  I had to fix it on my card when I discovered my error.  Do you think they will notice?

Here is the link to Valita's instructions-

http://valitasfreshfolds.blogspot.com/

And more pictures of this card !  Have a fabulous day!



Side profile



Inside...oops!



Halloween Box!

I used the Sizzix die that makes the box with 2 handles for my Halloween box.  I was really getting into the Halloween thing when I started this box tonight.  I have seen so many cute Halloween ideas over at Splitcoast Stampers and I love making Halloween cards.  The only problem is that it is hot and muggy tonight!  I was sweating by the time I finished this box!  Not Halloween weather here on the Coast of Maine tonight!!  My friends, Mr. & Mrs. Skeleton are from the Dollar store.  I think I got about 6 of them for $1.00.  Cool deal! You might find one popping out of a Coffin!!!    eeekkkkk....

More pictures of this Halloween Box-



Side view




Back view



I think I am ready for Fall weather!!

Downeast Village Birthday!

I saw this lovely scene on a calendar recently and just loved it!  Our daughter, Emily, was married a year ago in Yarmouth and it  reminded me of the same setting.  I used SU 's tag punch to create the village.  I also used Flower Soft for the grass and trees.  Tim Holtz's stamps completed my card. Here are some more pictures!

Dragonfly Birthday

This card was  made for my sister, Andrea.  Her birthday is in August too!  I used the Spellbinder's die for the Sunflower.  The dragonflies are from a Martha Stewart punch.  I colored them with Ranger's black lacquer and the wings with Ranger's pink glitter.  The froggie is punch art- an oval punch for the body, his legs from a heart punched out and cut in half.  His hands and feet are from Martha  Stewart's crown punch. I used my Copic markers to make the green lines around his body and shaded it a bit with Green Distress Ink. The paper is from Mind's Eye.  You can't see it but I have used Tim Holtz's easel die to let the card stand on it's own.  I hope Andrea likes her card.  I love the sentiment on this card- I found it on the internet.  Today, we will celebrate both sister's birthday. My sister's really are a joy to me! I hope these cards show it! 

Chef Louie!

I decided to do some punch art that I could keep for myself!  I love making cards and I love punch art-I always give my art away- which is fun- but I really wanted something for me.  Wow, that sounded selfish but there you are...!  I was inspired by the picture below that I saw in the restrooms of a local restaurant.  So while waiting in line -I had my sister take a picture of it ( sorry for the glare)!  I thought they were very cool pictures and I planned to attempt to recreate them in paper.   With all the time I have had at home- this was my chance!

I used Claudine Hellmuth's acrylic paint on canvas to create the background. I have had the paints for awhile but have not used them!  What fun it is to paint on canvas!  I really felt like an artist!!   The punch art was a challenge to see what dies I had that would help me make my Chef.   The face is the same technique I use for my clowns with 2 sizes of the heart punch.  The bike wheels were made from 2 sizes of the circle Nestabilities.  The bike itself was from the Marianne Design floral die pictured below.  The umbrella is the top part of the Marianne Design bird cage, again pictured below, and the handle is the stem of the MD floral die. I used the MD floral die to make the chef's hair, too!

Below is the punch art before I added it to the canvas.  I used Claudine's Matte Medium to adhere the punch art to the canvas.  I then went over the piece to seal it.  I am not sure that is the best technique-since the red ran a little and I had to wipe it alittle.  The rest of the colors were fine.  I used alot of Tim Holtz's ink to add shading, for example, on the bread and the chef's apron.  Wow, this was really a big project for me- but alot of fun.  I am going to hang this in my kitchen!!

Here is a close up of Chef Louie!

*****UPDATE******

It bugged me that I did not have the Rooster as in the inspiration picture.  So I added one! The body of the rooster is from Valita's owl punch tutorial.  Check out her blog -

http://valitasfreshfolds.blogspot.com/

  Here is my completed project!  You can click on the picture for a larger view.

 

Clown Tutorial

I thought I would show how I made my clown faces for my  "Happy Birthday Clown Card" that you can see if you scroll down.  I use 2 sizes of heart punches- Nestabilities would work well here but I happen to have the punches.  I also used Stampin Up's large oval punch that you can see I cut in half. I use any paper that has a light pink color because I like it to look like skin. The smaller heart is in white-glue that to the larger pink heart but make sure there is enough room for the colored pen to go around it.   The eyes are from SU's 5 petal punch-cut in half- and the medium heart punch-also cut in half.  I am showing you 2 types of eyes- just for fun! 

Once you have glued the eyes to the large oval half -you can see how I position them-you can go around the eyes with the colored pen. Glue the heart to the bottom of your eyes as shown above.   I used SU's owl punch to punch out a nose. 

I also used SU's owl punch to punch out the eye balls and added a little bit of white gel ink to make my clown come alive.  Use your fine tip pen to make the lines above and below the eyes.  I used Martha Stewart's crown punch for my clown's hair- I did use Tim Holtz's Distressed ink to give it a little style.  You really would be surprised at what punches will work as hair-most of your leaf punches really look great!

I used SU's slot punch for the mouth but I also will sometimes just draw a mouth!  You can really be creative with your clowns and get down right silly!  If my clown doesn't wear a hat- I  usually give them drawn eyebrows.

I wanted to show you the end result!   I haven't finished my card but I might not until I have a need for a clown card.  I might use it for a "Get Well" card or a "Happy Birthday" card or even a "Thinking of you" card. I want to keep my options open for now. I should add that I made the umbrella from the top of the Marianne Design bird cage.  I hope you enjoyed my tutorial!  Let me know if you should have any questions!

Jordan's Card

I am finally baaackkk...!!  I had knee surgery on Friday, April 1st.  A little nervous about that date!!??! But everything went well.  I had a Meniscus tear and torn cartilage.  I have been able to spend about 30 minutes at a time in my Studio.  Then about 2 hours of the ice pack and rest.  Needless to say, this card took a little time.  It is for a local 13 year old boy who is suffering from Stage 4 Cancer.  His family has asked for cards for him.   I hope he likes my card- I really don't know what a 13 year old boy might like since we raised 2 girls.  But I know my Grandson loves cars!   I was inspired by Tracim's card- I don't have a stamp so of course, I had to recreate it in Punch Art.  You can find Tracim's card here-
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/600117?&si=riding along in my automobile
Mind didn't come out like a roadster- I think mine is more like a buggy but I liked it anyway.  I really hope Jordan likes it, too!   The card itself is a Tri-fold card. I have some more pictures below.  You can click on them to make them larger.

                           

ARRGH!

Another Disney inspiration! We took a boat ride from Boardwalk to Hollywood Studios while we were on vacation last week.  You see this boat as you pass the Dolphin and Swan resorts.   I have made boats before but the sails on this boat really caught my eye and it is what inspired me to make my Pirate ship!

I haven't decided how I will use this card- as a birthday card or just a Hello!  I am thinking of sentiments like,  Ahoy Maties!  or It's Yar Birthday!  I won't add sentiments until I am sure. I saw several Pirate owls that certainly inspired my owls.  I loved the owl that is shown here-

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1795552?&si=pirate owl

  I thought I would show you a few pictures on how I made the boat. I used Sizzix Spiral die for the boat.

                                                              

Birdcages

This is the last post after spending all day in my studio.  Well, I did take a little nap in the afternoon.  It's back to work today after a week of vacation in Florida.  What a luxury to be able to work on anything you want!  I love it!  I have made birdcages before with Tim Holtz's die but these were made from a new die I purchased from Marianne Design.  I bought it on ebay since I believe it is not offered in the US.  I love this die and have already purchase another die of fronds and leaves.  The bird is from the SU bird punch and are made from paper that I bought while in Florida.  It is from the Mind Eye company- The Stella & Rose line.  This paper is fabulous!  It almost feels like cloth!  I love the colors that are offered and the feel of the paper!  I plan to get some more of this great paper! I took a 3" x 3 " square of paper and scored each side 1/4 inch.   After cutting one little snip on each corner up to the score line- you can fold your paper down and make the floor of the birdcage.  I used this to attach the panels of my birdcage with glue at the bottom.  Then  you can fold in the top part of the cage and glue just the tab at the top.  This is easier to make than Tim's birdcage since it is square.  Although, I love Tim's die too!  Here are some more pictures of these cages!

This is a picture of the die I purchased!  It is very light weight- more like Spellbinders.  It cut perfectly for me and I had no trouble getting it out of the die.  For my birdcages- I cut out one of the doors so the birds could get in and out with ease!  You can go and see some more samples of Marianne Design dies at Elly's blog-
http://ellyscardcorner.blogspot.com/    This is a wonderful blog with all kinds of beautiful cards- check out some on the links on her site - they have beautiful ideas, too!