Easter Card

I pinned a couple of Easter cards made by Alecia Connelly onto my Pinterest board a few weeks ago and finally got time to make one of them.  She used a wood grain background and Crumb Cake cardstock but I wanted my bunny to be jumping down a hole in the ground so I pulled out my wonderful Inspired By Nature stamp (that hasn't seen as much ink as it should have lately) and stamped a grassy card front.  I used Certainly Celery ink first, then Wild Wasabi and last I used Garden Green.  Since I was going from lightest to darkest ink I didn't have to clean my stamp between each color.  I stamped the image several times with each color. 

Then I did the sky using a scalloped circle punch and Bashful Blue ink.  I placed the scalloped circle punched piece above the grass and sponged ink on, then moved the scalloped circle and sponged more.  I moved it 8 or 10 times and added ink wherever it needed it.  It turns out amazingly natural I think.

The punch art bunny uses quite a few punches, several circle and oval punches as well as one of the flowers from the Boho Blossoms punch for his cotton tail, the Ornament Punch is his face, and heart punch for his nose.  I love how you see the bunny's face when you open  the card.  How clever!

Admittedly, it took a little longer than some cards but that bunny coming and going is so cute that it is worth it!

We only have 11 more days until Easter, have some fun creating and brighten someone's day!

Get Well Card

I have a friend who has had to have surgery on both feet. Once last year and the other foot a few weeks ago. We were joking about it the other day and she said something about having Hoof and Mouth Disease. Well, after that, I just HAD to make her a card with a cow on it! I saw a card on Julia Bettencourt's blog that used the Round Tab punch for the base of a cow so used that as my inspiration.

I changed a few things but not much. The cased cows had smaller ears but I thought the wings from the XL Two-Step Bird punch would make dandy ears. I punched them in black and then punched the branch in Pretty in Pink and trimed the leaves to be the insides of their ears. The Small Oval punch makes their noses and I used the Crop-A-Dile for their nose and eyes. The one I cased had them reversed, the small punches for the eyes and large for the nose but I like it better this way.

I scored the Old Olive paper every 1/2" to make it look like a barn and cut strips of Whisper White at 1/2" wide for the "door frame". Stampin' Up doesn't carry the best sentiment for this card so I just typed one up, "Hope you are "hoofing" around better soon!" I think she will get a real kick out of it, I know I enjoyed making it for her! Hummm, I reckon I need to break out my White Signo and add a little sparkle to their eyes.

Edited to add: Several people have asked how I made the horns on the bull. I used the Round Label Punch and inserted the paper into the edge of the punch. I moved it in about 1/4" and punched again and trimmed the excess off then sponged Creamy Caramel on them. Easy but a little tricky!

Garden Giggles Layouts

I knew when I ordered Gretchen Baron's Garden Giggles directions that I needed to do a layout with these cute critters. Easter and Spring pictures gave me the perfect opportunity to try them. I designed 2 layouts for my scrapbook club, one had pink and the other was blue. The pink layout features pictures from the Easter pictures I got of some of my grandchildren. The bunny I copied from Nancy Dawson was great for the lower corner of this layout.

The other layout features pictures I took in my yard of some of my spring flowers. I think it must have been the long, cold, snowy winter we just went through but I was so excited to see spring come! What do you think, were these cute critters perfect for the layouts?

I used the beautiful Shades of Spring Designer Series Paper for the strips of paper at the bottom of the layouts. This beautiful paper is in the Occasions mini catalog which expires April 30. The stamp stamped in Certainly Celery above the strips of DSP is from the hostess set called Asian Artistry. If you look closely at the top of the layouts you can see that I sponged clouds using the Scalloped Flower punch and Bashful Blue ink. I also embossed the 5X7 piece of cardstock on the first page with one of the Texture Plates from the Backgrounds 1 collection.

The titles were cut with the Timless Type Alphabet Junior die cut set.

Owl punchart

My son-in-law is graduating from Optometry School this month. It's been a very long haul for him and we are all so excited (especially my daughter!). I remembered the punch art owl I made for a Halloween layout a couple of years ago so I thought I would recreate him for the card.

I used the scalloped circle punch for the feet and wings and double punched the wings with the 1 3/8" circle punch. That is how the inside of the wings is round. His body is the 1 3/4" circle punch and his head is the round tab punch.

To make his hat I cut a strip of black cardstock 2 3/4 inches wide and punched the edge with the heart punch to make it the 2 arches. The top is a 1" strip cut in diagonal pieces with a brad added to the middle.

I used a stamp from the Teeny Tiny Wishes for the sentiment. That set has a stamp for nearly every occassion! I think it is my most used stamp set, it was worth every cent! I added the owl and sentiment to a card of Chocolate Chip cardstock layered with Bella Bleu Designer paper.

Garden Giggles Card

I have been having fun playing with the Garden Giggles critters and made a card with one for a friend who is sick. I've got a few ideas for scrapbook pages too. These little guys are so adorable they might give my grandchildren some competition though!

Don't forget to sign up for the classes in advance so I can make sure I have a class kit for you. Remember, for the Garden Giggles class you will be making the 5 bags I posted Monday. There is still room in the Lacy Flower class and the Card Organizer class as well.

I used the Cottage Wall paper as the backdrop for this little bee. He is buzzing over an Orchid Opulence flower looking for something to help my friend get well faster. I hope just looking at the cute little bee will help.

Garden Giggles Class

Don't you just love these adorable little critters? They were designed by Gretchen Baron but I bought the instructions and with that purchace, I have her permission to teach the class! I'll be teaching the class twice, Friday, March 26 at 6PM and Tuesday, March 30 at 1PM. You will get a package of punched pieces to make the class quick and easy for you as well as the full 20 page, color instruction sheet. All 5 of these adorable little baskets will be taught in the class for only $20 or free with a $40 Stampin' Up order.

The other classes I have left this month are fancy fabric flower pins, won't these be great for your Spring jackets or even to pin on an Easter hat? My granddaughter wants some on clips for her hair. Since they are quick and easy to make they are great for gift giving too. For the class, you will have several different fabrics to choose from. For a class fee of $10 you will be able to make 2 flower pins to add to your Spring wardrobe. This class will be March 23 at 1 or 7 PM.

The Fancy Folds die that I used to make the flowers has 4 sizes of flowers on it. Since you use 2 layers of 2 different sizes you can make 3 sizes of flowers using the die. The largest flower measures 4 1/2" across and the smallest is 3".

And the other class I'm offering is the Card Organizer book, Wednesday, March 31 at 1PM. It has 12 pockets for cards with a calendar on each pocket to keep up with birthdays, anniversaries, etc that you need to send cards for. The class is $15 or free with a $30 Stampin' Up order.

Let me know if you are interested in any of these classes and I'll send additional information. I hope to see you soon!