Owl Punch Class Door Prize Tickets

  Ok, so are you all sick of my owl punch projects yet?  I promise this is the last one I've got---at least for a while!!  Sometimes for my Stamp-a-Stacks or other non-hostess club classes I do a door prize for a free stamp set for all who attend.  For the Owl Punch class I wanted to show another sample of what you can make with the Owl Punch without having to have the ladies make another project (4 is probably plenty anyway!).  I decided to use the Two Tags die and make up a little folder for the door prize ticket.  I decorated the front with another cute little Owl Punch creation.

 How sweet is this???  I had seen several versions of Owl punch sheep so I wanted to make one of my own to put on the front of my door prize ticket tag.  First I punched out a 2 3/8" scalloped circle and ran it through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.  Then I used the Word Window punch with black cardstock for the feet, just punch one and cut it in half.  Next punch the body of the owl in black and trim of the feet.  Add the eyes.  Then I used the small scallop circle punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack to punch 3 shapes for the little tufts of wool on the sheep's head.

  I dressed her up with a little Pretty in Pink taffeta knot and added the same ribbon through the hole in the tag.  Inside I added the door prize ticket and adhered it with Dotto so it could be easily removed and the ladies could reuse the tag for something else.  I thought it would look cute for a baby shower gift tag or something like that.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?


Stamps: None

Ink: None


Paper: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Basic Black

Accessories: Two Tags die, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Owl Punch, 2 3/8" scallop circle punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, Word Window punch, taffeta ribbon,

Owl Punch Party Penguin

  Here is the last project my ladies did at my Owl Punch Class.  I saw several penguins made from the owl punch and thought they were so super cute I had to include it in the class.  One of my stamping ladies Sheila started making her card and decided her penguin needed little wings.  She took the owl ears she had clipped off and added them as wings.  PERFECT!  My original card didn't have this detail and as soon as I saw Sheila's card I knew that I had to add wings to the sample for the evening session ladies to see.  When we added the wings the penguin looked so much more ready to party.  Before he looked too serious.  What a party pooper!  So thanks to Sheila for improving the card greatly and for sharing her idea!

  To make the penguin all you do is clip off the ears and feet, add wings and then punch out the feet again in Pumpkin Pie and glue them on the back of the body.  Add a little triangle (or the heart from the owl punch) as the beak.  So cute!!  To make the balloons just punch out your circles as well as a few of the owl punch feet and use them as the little tied off end on the balloon.  The balloon string is some hemp twine that was frayed and pulled apart into 3 pieces. How cool is that?

  The penguins party hat is made by trimming the small start punch to get a triangle and adding just a little bit of hand cut cardstock for the brim.  Add a glimmer brad and this party outfit is finished.

  So I hope you all are convinced that the Owl Punch isn't just an owl!  To see the rest of my Owl Punch class projects click here and here.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Bring on the Cake


Ink: Tempting Turquoise

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Poppy Parade, Whisper White, Sweet Stitches DSP, Hostess In Color paper pack, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: Owl Punch, 2 Tags Big Shot die, glimmer brads, hemp twine, small star punch, 3/4" circle punch, dimensionals

Owl Punch Tulip Card

  I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter celebrating with family and friends.  We went to Connecticut to be with family and it was so great to see everyone but it is certainly nice to be back in my own house!  We got home late this afternoon, everything is unpacked, the washing machine is spinning away, the weekly menu and shopping lists are finished so now it's time to post another project that we did at my Owl Punch Class last week.

  I was hoping to get this posted either on Saturday or yesterday to wish everyone a Happy Easter but that just didn't happen.  You think that when you're not in charge of cooking or cleaning you'd have all this extra time to do some blogging....nope, I was too busy trying to keep my boys from wrecking the entire state of Connecticut!  That's a time consuming job let me tell you!  On to the card!

  To make the tulip you simply punch 2 of the owl bodies and then trim off the feet (don't worry, he can't feel a thing!).  Then trim one of the bodies following the lines of the ears to get 2 petals.  You'll have a little piece from the center that you can just throw away.  For the stem and the flowers you can cut freehand or I had a little template for my ladies to trace and cut out if they wanted.  Next, sponge all of your edges so you get some dimension.  Adhere one of the tulip petals to the whole piece then adhere the other petal so it slightly overlaps the first petal.

  The base of this card is Regal Rose with a layer of Whisper White on top that was run through the Big Shot with the Framed Tulips embossing folder---fitting huh?  I adhered the punched tulip, stem & leaves and then put an organza fork bow (Click HERE for a fork bow tutorial) over the top.

  A quick little Easter greeting down in the corner and this super fast, super easy Owl Punch Tulip card is finished!  Remember it's not just an owl!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?


Stamps: Something to Celebrate (Occasions Mini hostess set)

Ink: Regal Rose, Wild Wasabi


Paper: Regal Rose, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White


Accessories: Framed Tulips embossing folder, Owl Punch, organza ribbon, fork

Little Man & Little Lady Owls

  This past Tuesday I had a class based on the Owl Punch and all the different things you can make with it.  As part of the class fee each person got their very own Owl Punch to love and cherish forever.  I know sometimes I see a new punch or a new stamp set and I think "what you see is what you get", then I start to blog hop or browse the galleries on Splitcoaststampers and I see all of these great ideas using the products in ways I never dreamed.  The creativity of paper crafters never ceases to amaze me.  I tried to put together 4 projects that would show how versatile the Owl Punch really is....It's not just an owl!

  Of course I had to show my class how you can make an owl gender specific or change his or her expression just by how you make the eyes.  So for these two projects the owl is really just an owl....but an owl with personality!

  Ladies first!   What I did to make this owl a girl is to give her a pink dress using Sweet Stitches DSP, a pearl necklace made from the adhesive pearl strands, an adorable little bow made from the heart on the Owl Punch (just glue them down point to point and add the smallest circle for the center), and last but not least, blue eyeshadow (cut one of the largest circles in half).  She is adhered to a 2 3/8" scalloped circle with the scallops pierced.  I ran a length of 1/8" taffeta ribbon underneath the scallop circle and around the back so it could be tied in a bow. 

Stamps: None

Ink: None

Paper: Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Melon Mambo, Sweet Stitches DSP

Accessories: Owl Punch, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch, paper piercer, adhesive pearls, 1/8" taffeta ribbon

   Moving onto our handsome professor sitting on his branch contemplating the mysteries of the universe....or just wondering what is for dinner!

  See how he looks slightly goofy compared to the little lady?  We just changed his eyes to give him a different expression.  Using the heart from Owl Punch we made a little bowtie the same way as we did the hair bow on the girl.  The little tiny button brads from the Vintage Trinkets accessories gives his vest some flair.  We perched the professor on a branch punched with the 2 Step Bird punch.  And we have the moon rising behind him.

Stamps: None

Ink: None

Paper: Crumb Cake, More Mustard, Garden Green, Soft Suede, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Elegant Soiree DSP (vest)

Accessories: Owl Punch, 2 Step Bird punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, Vintage Trinket brads, dimensionals

  These 3x3 cards are perfect as a gift enclosure or a quick thinking of you card.  Make a bunch at one time and keep them on hand for whenever you need them.  Using the Owl Punch you can make each one different using whatever scraps you have on hand.  One of the great things about the Owl punch is you can use a skinny little piece of cardstock and just slide it in to whichever shape you need.  You don't have to punch out all the pieces or waste whole chunks of cardstock just to get the little heart or one of the circles.

  The easiest way that I have found to assemble the smaller pieces of the eyes is to squeeze a little drop of Tombow Multi glue onto the end of a paper piercer, then touch the tip of the piercer to the punched out piece and pick it up, then just kind of push/slide it off the end onto wherever you want it.  A little bit of Tombow goes a long way so you just need a little bit at a time.

  I'll be sharing a few more of the Owl Punch class projects over the next few days so check back to see all the other fun things you can make with this one punch!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Another Just Believe Sympathy

  I did get some stamping done over last weekend and I finally had a chance to photograph the projects and will be showing them soon, especially the projects from my Owl Punch Class.....it's not just an owl right ladies??  So for today I'm sharing another sympathy card that I made to send to one of my cousins after my uncle passed away a few weeks ago.

   I don't think I'll ever get tired of the color combinations from the Elegant Soiree DSP.  They are perfect for some soft, calm cards or you can have them pop and be playful all depending on which stamp sets you choose.  I always look for designs that can be used on a variety of card types.  I had the DSP leftover from another project and just added it to my Soft Suede base after I adhered a length of Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon to the left side. 

  The flower image was stamped in Baja Breeze ink and then I sponged the edges with Crumb Cake ink.  I added some of the smallest adhesive pearls to the flowers and then mounted the image panel to a Crumb Cake Panel.

   The sentiment from Thoughts & Prayers is stamped in Soft Suede and punched out with the Decorative Label punch.  I popped the sentiment on dimensionals and then added a little Baja Breeze butterfly made from the Beautiful Wings embosslit which is also popped up on a tiny piece of dimensional that I trimmed with my paper snips.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Just Believe, Thoughts & Prayers

Ink: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze

Paper: Elegant Soiree DSP, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, adhesive pearls, dimensionals, Decorative Label punch, Beautiful Wings embosslit

Just Believe Sympathy

  There are just some cards you never want to have to make or put in the mail.  I made some sympathy cards last weekend to send out to my aunt and cousins after my uncle passed away.  I wanted to keep the colors soft and the images not too frilly.  I always see these great cards with the beautiful layers of color and I wanted to try my hand at it.  Not quite what I had envisioned but I still like the results.  I guess I just need more practice for this technique; but not for sympathy cards!

  First, I embossed the largest stamp from the Just Believe set.  I used white embossing powder on Whisper White cardstock.  Then I used sponges to sponge color all the way up the image.  I started with Wild Wasabi for the grass then Bashful Blue, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy and finally Elegant Eggplant at the top.  The ink doesn't stick to the embossed image so you can just wipe it off to leave the white popping out from the color.  I think next time I'll spend more time trying to blend the different layers of color.

  I mounted the image panel on another piece of Whisper White and then added some brads in each corner.  I cut out a little butterfly from the Beautiful Wings embosslit, added a tiny adhesive pearl and popped it up with a dimensional on top of one of the flowers.

  The base of the card is Whisper White with a Not Quite Navy layer that is embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  I tied a taffeta knot around the embossed panel and mounted the image on top.

  On another topic, I'm trying to figure out how to add watermarks to my photos so if my next few posts have pictures that are a bit wonky please bear with me while I work out the technical kinks!  I think the one on this photo is a little too small to read....but then again I think the photo seems kind of small to start with.  User error I'm sure!  Any tips are appreciated....I'm using GIMP on a Mac, well trying anyway!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?


Stamps: Just Believe


Ink: Versamark, Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Elegant Eggplant

Paper: Whisper White, Not Quite Navy

Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, brads, taffeta ribbon, Beautiful Wings embosslit, adhesive pearls, dimensionals, sponges, white embossing powder

Don't throw out those empty embellishment containers! Hostess Gifts!

  For this round of my hostess club I've been making a cute little gift item for my 2 hostesses for the month.  This month my ladies received a cute little embellishment container that I decorated and filled with some fun accessories (buttons, brads and I can't even remember what else!).  I had seen somewhere on the internet some other Stampin' Up containers that had been altered so I know this isn't a new idea but it's new to me and I thought I would share.  I grew up with my parents & grandparents saving random stuff "in case someone needed it" so it's no surprise that I have 6 or 7 of these containers stashed away in my stamp room.

 

  I had such fun sitting in my stamp room playing around with different ideas and papers and ribbons.   I knew I wanted to personalize each one with the first letter of their first names.  Then I just started pulling out DSP and ribbons and finding good combinations.

  To prep my empty containers I first tried ripping off the stickers on the lid and the bottom and for the most part they came off easily except for some of the sticky gunk that is always left behind (you know the stuff...it's on every picture frame right on the glass!!).  I tried scrapping it off with my fingernail but I think I would still be at it.  I headed straight for the Goo Gone when I knew my fingers couldn't take it anymore.  I love this stuff, totally took off the gunky stuff and smelled good too.  Just make sure you wash the container out with dish soap and give it a good drying before trying to adhere anything.

  It's so awesome that the largest circle on the Circles #2 Big Shot die fits perfectly on the top and the bottom of the brad containers.  I used Pear Pizzazz DSP from the Level One In Color hostess DSP pack for the "B" container and some leftover, but still awesome, retired Sweet Pea DSP for the "A" container.  For the bottoms I just cut a matching circle of cardstock and adhered it to the bottom for a more finished look.  I adhered all the paper with Sticky Strip.

  The chip board letters were made using the Simple Alphabet dies and some thin cardboard and the DSP and then glued together with Tombow Multi.  I seriously don't know how I got along for so long without an alphabet die.  It's so fun personalizing things with these homemade chipboard letters.  The butterflies are made with the Beautiful Wings embosslit and adhered with tiny pieces of dimensionals.

  Of course I couldn't leave the sides of the containers naked!  Around the top edge of the lid the 1/8" taffeta ribbon fits perfectly!  I just cut the length I needed and rolled my SNAIL adhesive on one side and pressed it right to the plastic.  For the seam binding ribbon on the bottom I stuck Sticky Strip all the way around and then just pressed the seam binding around folding it over as I went to make the ruffles.  You just need to be sure not to put the seam binding too high up on the side of the container or the lid won't close tightly.

  I am really excited to make some more of these for all different occasions.  I think my next one will be for Ryan since he's turning 5 this summer and is going to start losing his teeth.  Wouldn't this make a super cute Tooth Fairy container?  Just boy it up a bit...maybe a punch art tooth?  Or the adorable Tooth Fairy single stamp on page 18 in the catalog.  Or how about a custom made gift box for jewelery?  There is certainly enough room for a bracelet & earrings in there.  You could coordinate it to match your purse and stash gum and mints in it!  What about one for every day of the week for a pill organizer?  It would look so much nicer than those boring plastic ones you get at the pharmacy!  Really the ideas are endless! 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?


Stamps: None

Ink: None

Paper: In Color Hostess Pack - Pear Pizzazz, Sweet Pea DSP (retired), thin cardboard, Rich Razzleberry, Rose Red

Accessories: Circles #2 die, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Alphabet Simple Letters, seam binding ribbon (Pear Pizzazz & Rose Red), 1/8" taffeta  ribbon, Sticky Strip, dimensionals, empty brad/button containers

Sew Suite Hinge Card

  Here is the final project we made at stamp club last week.  It's a super easy Fun Fold and comes together in no time at all.  I wanted to use a lot of Occasions Mini catalog items since they are only available for another month. Boo Hoo!  But the Summer Mini is just around the corner and it has some really cute stuff in it!

 

  I started out with a 9.5" x 4.25" piece of Wild Wasabi scored at 3.5" and then punched with the Scallop Trim border punch.  This piece creates the base of the card.  I embellished it with a piece of Sweet Stitches DSP and some Rose Red seam binding ribbon.

  The sewing machine from Sew Suite was stamped in Chocolate Chip and then colored with markers.  I punched it out with 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch and sponged some Wild Wasabi ink on the edges.   For the Rose Red panel I embossed it with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and attached the sewing machine and some paper buttons made with the Sweet Buttons embosslit die.  Now to put the pieces together to make the hinge.

  Make sure you adhere your Whisper White insert before making the hinge, it's just easier that way.  Fold over the punched side of the Wild Wasabi and adhere it just up until the scallops.  It makes a pocket.  You want to have a little bit of room underneath the scallops so your Rose Red piece can fit right behind it when you close the card (you can see this in the first photo).  Line up the Rose Red piece so it covers the insert and is flush with the rest of the Wild Wasabi base.  Using the small handheld circle punch or your paper piercer make a hold through the Wild Wasabi & Rose Red pieces and insert your brad to hold all the layers together.  I used the cute little button shaped brad from the Vintage Trinkets.

  Now you can open and close the top part of the card and have a sweet little message inside. 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?




Stamps: Sew Suite, Bring on the Cake

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi

Paper: Wild Wasabi, Rose Red, Sweet Stitches DSP, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise

Accessories: seam binding ribbon, Vintage Trinket brad, Scallop Trim border punch, 2 3/8" Scallop circle punch, markers, Sweet Buttons embosslit, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder

Sweet Choo Choo

  I hope everyone had a good weekend.  Our weather here was kind of crazy on Saturday, sunny, windy then got stormy with rain and hail.  Sunday was beautiful and I'm looking forward to a warm sunny week!  It might be hard to stay in the stamp room with 70 degree weather!

  Here is another project my stamp club made last week.  I have had the Choo Choo set for quite a while and have only used it on a few projects and never for a class so I thought it was high time to break it out!  That, and I had a few of my stamping ladies ask about using wheels.  I have to admit I've always been a little bit "wheel-phobic" even when I was just a customer.  So I decided to take the plunge and ordered the Stampin' Around wheel guide and some uninked cartridges (page 193 in the catalog) to use with my one wheel.  I figured I needed to practice before my stamping ladies could have a go at it.  I found that if you just follow a few simple steps the wheels are super easy to use.  1) make sure you've inked your cartridge really well.  I had to do it several times as it just kept absorbing ink but now it's nice and juicy.  2) practice with the wheel guide a few times on scrap paper before using it on your project 3) standing up was key for me getting a nice even image  4) steady pressure all the way across the project.  We wheeled along the bottom of the card front as well as on the Whisper White insert inside the card.

  Another trick that I showed my ladies was to make your own Stamp-a-ma-jig image sheet for wood mounted sets that you always want to have lined up just so.  I found that maybe I didn't use Choo Choo as often as I would have liked because I would have to dig out the Stamp-a-ma-jig and use it for every single train car (and I would always smear some ink on my hand somehow and it would end up on my project!).  I used a 4 x 4 square cut from the thick Window Sheets (page 205 in the catalog), used the black T part of the SAMJ, and black Stazon ink.  I just stamped the train cars on the window sheet like you would normally do for the SAMJ just using Stazon so it would be permanent.  I put one train car in each corner of the window sheet and it fits right into the stamp case.  Now I line everything up really quickly without having to clean the window sheet between each use!  Pretty cool huh?  Go ahead and see which sets you've been neglecting and make your own SAMJ imaging sheet.

  The rest of this card is pretty simple, used some free Sale-a-Bration rewards for the embellishments (aren't you sad SAB is over and we have to wait another year to get all those great freebies??) and some Basic Gray ink stamped 4 times without re-inking for the smoke. 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Choo Choo, Right on Track (wheel)

Ink: Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Basic Gray


Paper: Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White

Accessories: Ice Cream Parlor Ribbon & Button pack (SAB), wheel handle, wheel ink cartridge, glue dots, window sheets, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Hippity Hoppity Petal Cone Carrot

  So sorry I've been MIA for a week.  I just don't know where the time goes sometimes!  Just when I think I've gotten organized to be able to do everything something comes up and there go my great plans!  Oh well, I'm sure you all have days/weeks like that right?  Please say yes so I feel better!  =)  Anyway, I had a great turn out this week for my monthly stamping event.  For any of you that are in the Richmond, VA area who might be interested in attending one of my events I've now added a Tuesday morning session (9:30am-11:30am) to my schedule.  So check my calendar of events HERE to see what is coming up!

  To get ready for spring and Easter we made these adorable carrot treat holders.  It uses the Petal Cone die shown on page 15 of the Occasions mini catalog.  This is the same die that I used to make my Valentine's Day Heart Banner.  I love being able to make so many different projects with just one die!

  First we cut out our pieces with the Big Shot.  We needed 2 Pumpkin Pie pieces for the box and then 4 Old Olive half scallop circles for the finishing touches at the top.  We inked up the Sanded background stamp with Pumpkin Pie ink and stamped both pieces of the carrot.  The heart shaped pieces don't fully fit on the background stamp but you don't have to worry about getting the stamp on the flaps since those will be covered up by the Old Olive pieces anyway.

  We used Sticky Strip to put our carrot together and then punched 2 small holes on opposite sides to run our taffeta ribbon handle through.  We attached the Old Olive pieces and then held down the flaps with a dimensional.

  And of course you can't leave a treat box empty right??  We filled up a small cello bag with spring M&M's and tied the top off with some hemp twine.  Totally fun right?  Wouldn't this look cute hanging from your kitchen chairs when your kids got up on Easter morning? 

Stamps: Sanded

Ink: Pumpkin Pie

Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive

Accessories:  Petal Cone die, Sticky Strip, Old Olive taffeta ribbon, small cello bag, hemp twine, dimensionals, M&M's

Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?