Having just heard the Royal baby news, I really should be blogging a baby boy card today, but since I don't have one of those prepared I'm sharing a leaving card instead!

This card was a commission for someone who needed a leaving card for a colleague. The person in question is known for her keen sense of style and for always having a bag, jewellery and accessories to co-ordinate with any outfit, even her flipflops match; she is also known for her love of animal prints. With this in mind, I set about creating a card that would reflect her personality and one of the things her colleagues love and would miss most about her. This is what I came up with:

A tic-tac-toe of shoes, handbags and jewellery, ready to mix and match. Here's a close up of the flipflops (I made a template by hand for these) - aren't they just the cutest?

The handbags were made using either a3/4" circle the vest from the owl punch, or in the case of the one below the cupcake builder punch and the petite curly label punch:

I used Basic Black and More Mustard as my base colours and created a custom sentiment. If you're looking at the sentiment panel and thinking it's the right shape but the wrong size for the Decorative Label Punch, you would be right; I created a custom label using My Digital Studio (MDS) and printed it out on my computer. You may have noticed the advert for MDS on the back cover of the new annual catalogue; as demonstrators we are getting early access to this new software and I'm really enjoying playing with it. I'll have more to share in the coming months, but for now it was the ideal solution to finding just the right words to finish off my card.

Back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, More Mustard (retired), Animal Print Papers - from my craft box (non SU)

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Basic Black

Tools: 1" Square Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch (retired), Owl Builder Punch, Petite Curly label Punch, Cupcake Builder Punch

Finishing Touches: Mini Brads, Basics Rhinestones

I've been taking advantage of the cooler temperatures today and spending some time in my craft room working on some punch art cards. I'll share these with you in due course, but today wanted to share a punch art card I made to accompany a lingerie gift voucher I gifted a good friend of mine on her birthday a little while ago. So here is my card:

There are lots of examples of how to create this kind of card on the internet and this is my take on it. The colour combo was inspired by the gift voucher itself, which you can just see inside the card: Rich Razzleberry on Pool Party. I then used my scoreboard to add the patterned edges to my layer with some pearls to finish off.

I love the fun nature of this card, which was shared by its recipient. Above all, so much nicer than the plain card I received from the shop when I purchased the gift voucher!

Back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stamps: Tea Shoppe (retired)

Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Blushing Bride, Brights DSP

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party

Tools: Heart Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Simply Scored Borders Plate

Finishing Touches: Basics Pearls

Today I'm back with the birthday card I promised yesterday: this time the card I made from her little brother. I saw a great card by Wendy Cranford on Pinterest a while ago and whilst this was for a LaLa Loopsy doll, I thought I could make a great likeness of Rebecca from it. Here's the link to Wendy's original card where she also provides a great video tutorial with step-by-step instructions on how she created her version. Now for my card:

I made my hair blonde and cut in a fringe - don't you just love the hair tied in bunches?! Also, instead of buttons for eyes, I used some punched navy circles and painted with Crystal Effects to make them shiny. Another sentiment courtesy of 'For My Family', this time pairing 'sister' with the 'Happy Birthday' from Wacky Wishes. Another set I'll be sorry to see go; if you would like to own this set, you need to host a party before the end of the month so get in touch!

Here's a close up of the little girl's face again:

I know, totally impractical for putting in an envelope, but I love the hair! So simple to recreate - just cut the card using paper snips into thin strands, then curl around a pencil - but so effective. The perfect card for little girls and I love that you can make them individual to look like the recipient. To be fair, this photo looks more like 'baby Rebecca' than my now 8 year-old - this is the photo that inspired my version of this card:

I guess in my mind's eye she will always look this way to me - beautiful!

Back tomorrow with another project - until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: For My Family, Wacky Wishes

Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy, Blushing Bride, Summer Smooches Parade Designer Series Paper

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Real Red, Melon Mambo, Whisper White Kraft Ink

Tools: Circles #2 Originals Die, Small Heart Punch, Corner Punch, Dress Up Framelits, Itty Bitty Punches (circle), Small Oval Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Finishing Touches: Basics Rhinestones

As promised, I'm back with the last of the current run of my patio Party birthday cards today, but first I thought I would share with you another somewhat unexpected challenge that found it's way into my craft room this week - half term homework! Both James juniors have had holiday homework this week - the youngest was tasked with making a sculpture (this is still 'work in progress' - I'll share a picture when complete!) whilst the eldest has this week to complete this term's geography project - an analysis of an African country of her choice.

With the bulk of the content complete, the important task of 'making it look pretty' came to the fore. Whilst working out the best way to draw/write 'South Africa' in big letters for the cover, I (possibly with too much haste!) suggested we could make light work of this by using Mummy's Alphabet typeset die and the Big Shot to knock these out in a jiffy. A few turns of the handle later and the cover was complete: 

I wish I could take the credit for the photograph here, but this is all Daddy's work, captured the last time we went on safari to Sabi Sands in South Africa. Thinking we were now done, Rebecca promptly announced that she wanted me to teach her how to make a giraffe like the ones I'd made in my last card class; oh and by the way, as she had written a piece about going on safari and the hunt for 'the big 5', if I could come up with an elephant, lion, rhino and buffalo too that would be great! I wasn't phased by the lion or elephant, having seen lots of examples of these on Pinterest, but a rhino ... and a buffalo?! Never one to shy away from a challenge, I set to it and by the time Rebecca had made her giraffe the other animals were complete. Here is my version of a punch art 'big 5': 

What do you think? Easy enough to work out which is which, but I'm not sure if you saw the buffalo out of context you would immediately recognise him as one!! Main thing is Rebecca loves them - and her project is finally complete. Who would have thought that Stampin' Up! punches would be so versatile?! I should just point out that I know technically these are not the safari 'big 5' rather Rebecca's personal interpretation - she substituted the leopard with the giraffe, because this was the animal she really wanted to make (that's 7 year olds for you!)

Lastly, for those of you who did check in today wanting to see the last Patio Party birthday card, here it is:

Same layout as yesterday's post-friendly card, but in the opposite orientation and picking up the butterflies in the paper pattern with a trio of co-ordinating ones flying around the sentiment.

Back tomorrow with another (non Patio Party!) project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies (for the card):

Stamps: Sassy Salutations

Cardstock: Primrose Petals, Whisper White, Raspberry Ripple, Baja Breeze, Summer Starfruit

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Midnight Muse

Tools: Large Scallop Edgelit, Beautiful Wings Embosslits

Finishing Touches: Basics Pearls

As promised, I'm back today with the last of the owl punch cards from this month's class. Our last card was another alternative use for this versatile punch; this time, to make a cute giraffe punch art card:

To make this card, the owl's body (minus his feet!) becomes the giraffe's head - clever, right?! We then used a variety of circle punches and the large oval punch to create the rest of him. The edges of the finished giraffe were sponged in So Saffron ink to add dimension and I placed him inside the card looking out, for added interest. The oval aperture was easy to make using an oval framelit and a few branches from the Bird Builder punch were added to give the giraffe something to munch on. I finished this card with embossed clouds and an 'Oh Hello' sentiment highlighted with a Cute Clip (love these!), but you could just as easily use a happy birthday greeting - I think this would make a lovely card for a little person.

I hope you like the finished card - there were a few interesting adaptations to this card by the ladies at my class: everything from hearts added to the sentiment banner to eyelashes on the giraffe. That's one of the things I love about teaching classes - whilst I scope out the original design, it can still be adapted or customised to make it individual to you. If you would like to attend my stamping classes, please do get in touch via [email protected] for more details. Next month's class is a One Sheet Wonder class using the Secret Garden stamp set and framelits. 

Back tomorrow with another project - until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Oh Hello

Cardstock: Whisper White, Marina Mist, Pink Pirouette, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Certainly Celery

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Early Espresso

Tools: Owl Punch, Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, 1" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Oval Framelits, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch (circle), Large Oval Punch

Finishing Touches: Cute Clip

Good evening, blog followers! Apologies for the lack of blog post yesterday; things have been very busy in the world of the Crafty Owl this past few days and yesterday just ran away with me. Anyway, back today with a card I wanted to share in advance of next week's card class featuring my favourite punch of all time - the owl punch. This punch really is so versatile; there are many examples of alternative uses for this punch.  Today I'm sharing an alien pop-up card, inspired by the many examples found on Pinterest - this is the outside: 

Recognise the alien in the spaceship? An upside-down owl with one eye, along with some punch art planets and stars. When you open it up, the inside looks like this: 

A trio of aliens pop up to wish you a happy birthday! This kind of card is such fun - you can customise your aliens and make them different every time. perfect for a birthday that's 'out of this world'! The owl punch is the feature punch for this month's card class - if you live in Northampton and the surrounding areas and would be interested in attending one of my classes, do get in touch for more details. Right - I'm done with the alien puns; I'm off to try and schedule tomorrow's blog post as I'll be on a Stampin' Up! regional training day in Telford all day - should be fun! Until tomorrow, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Happiest Birthday Wishes (retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Concord Crush (retired), Poppy Parade (retired) 

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers: Concord Crush (retired)

Tools: Owl Punch, Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Oval Framelits, Bitty Banners

It's the middle of April and finally my tulips in the garden are starting to bud! Still not yet in bloom, unlike my neighbour's daffodils which cheer me up every time I drive on and off the drive. So whilst I'm waiting for the real thing, I thought I would share a tulip card I made:

Can you tell how I made the tulips? Yes, my much beloved Owl Punch was used to create the petals; a whole one (minus feet!) for the base, followed by two sections overlaid for petals. I sponged the edges of the sections in the co-ordinating ink colours to add body and tied the stems with some linen thread for simplicity. I also paper-pierced the background just for added interest; this was so easy with my piercing tool and guide template, yet quite effective I think.

This is just one of many alternative uses for the owl punch. I will be sharing this and many more of them in my next card class on May 15th; if you would like to attend, just contact me at [email protected] for more details. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Cardstock: Rose Red, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Lucky Limeade

Ink/Stampin' Write Markers:  Rose Red, Daffodil Delight

Tools: Owl Punch, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Paper Piercing Tool

Finishing Touches: Linen Thread

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I was on a team training day yesterday. One of the things we like to do at these events is share 'swaps', where we each make multiples of a card or 3D project with a particular theme in mind and then 'swap' with each other. This is a great way to share in each others creativity, inspire others and to be inspired and also gives lots of items to share with customers at parties and classes. The theme for yesterday's swaps was 'masculine' and whilst I often struggle with 'grown-up' masculine, having a 5 year old son gives me plenty of opportunity to design for 'young' masculine and I'm never short of ideas. As you can see in yesterday's post, Angry Birds is an ever-popular theme at the moment, so with this in mind I worked up a slightly altered version to a card that I seem to make quite a lot of these days. Here's my original card that I've made a number of times:

And here's the slightly altered version that I made for my swaps yesterday - can you spot the key difference?

Did you spot it? Instead of sponging around a template for clouds as in the first card (I use the top of the cupcake from the Cupcake Builder Punch for this  - it makes a great cloud!) I partially embossed the background using the new Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and sponged blue in between the clouds, leaving the bottom right hand corner un-embossed to allow me to stamp my sentiment onto a flat card surface. Another small difference is that instead of using Chocolate Chip cardstock for the slingshot, I used Crumb Cake, stamped in Chocolate Chip ink with the Woodgrain stamp. This last decision was prompted more by the fact that I had a large number of Crumb Cake card offcuts from a previous project that were perfect for use here (if you're reading this Chris P, this one's for you - I told you I'd find a use for those Crumb Cake offcuts!!) Punch art is great for using up all those odds and ends of cardstock left over from other projects, although having set out to make 30 of these, I did wonder if I should have chosen something a little more straightforward!

Anyway, I was really pleased with the way the all turned out. The design of this bird is slightly different to the red bird on yesterday's bookmark - I think the eyebrows make him look angrier. Here's a close up of the detail:

I love the beak too - there's just so much going on in this card, even after making so many I don't really tire of it. All my swaps were exchanged yesterday so I can't show you a photo of all 30, however I did make a few extras for some upcoming birthdays so I'll leave you with this last group shot of the little red fellas getting ready to be launched from their slingshots:

On that happy note, I'm off to start prepping; the Easter holidays are finally over and the children are back to school tomorrow. i'll be sad to see them go, but on the up side I'll have more time to spend in my craft room and I have lots there to keep me busy. I'll be back tomorrow with a new project - and possibly a 'sneak peek' of one of the cards we will be making in Wednesday's card class. So come back tomorrow and check it out; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Stamps: Wacky Wishes (Hostess), Woodgrain

Cardstock: Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Whisper White, Crumb Cake

Inks: Real Red, Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue

Tools: 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Small Heart Punch, Owl Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch (circle), Big Shot, Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Sponge Dauber, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Finishing Touches: Linen Thread

I've been enjoying a quarterly training day with my wider Stampin'Up! team today, so have lots of lovely new craft things to share with you over the next week or so. The theme of our swaps today was 'masculine'; I'll share mine with you in the next day or two when I have a half-decent photo. Meanwhile, to get you in the mood another non-card project today, keeping with the masculine theme: I made these Angry Bird punch art bookmarks a while a go and for the 'little men' in my life, they were certainly a big hit:

Aren't they just the cutest? They take a little while to make and use lots of different punches, but they're really effective. Guaranteed to make even the most reluctant reader want to open their storybook! They also make a great party bag gift for a child's birthday, either ready made or in kit form: contact me at [email protected] if you are interested in either of these. I made lots of these so here's one more picture of the whole collection:

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Cardstock: Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Basic Black, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango

Tools: Heart Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Small Heart Punch, Owl Punch

I hope everyone has been enjoying a lovely Easter day, with plenty of chocolate eggs thrown in! This is my last Easter offering to share with you all and was inspired by one of my other hobbies - biscuit making. I recently enjoyed a fun day out with a friend at the Biscuiteers Icing Cafe in Notting Hill, where we spent a pleasant morning icing Easter bunnies in various poses, spring lambs and Easter eggs. My favourite was a lovely pale brown bunny with floppy ears, that shows him from behind with an iced bunny tail - he inspired this punch art bunny card, which shows him with a couple of friends:

I love the simple design with the polka dot paper and oval framelits, with just a touch of colour to each bunny tail to make them 'pop'. I didn't add a sentiment because although this card was for Easter, I wanted it to be able to use it for any occasion. My biscuits from that day are all long gone but I have the same cutter to make more at home and so designed a co-ordinating gift box, which is just the right size for a similar biscuit to fit in and would make a lovely gift for someone special:

I just made a simple shallow box with a Whisper White base and Marina Mist lid using my Simply Scored, then attached the punched bunny oval to a belly band made from the reverse side to the spots on the card, which just holds the box securely together. Next time I make one of these I'll try and include a photo of the biscuit too, although they don't hang around for long in our house, it has to be said!

Back tomorrow with thoughts of spring - until then, eat lots of chocolate and happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up Supplies:

Cardstock: Marina Mist, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Crumb Cake, Polka Dots Parade DSP

Tools: Owl Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Ornament Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch (flower), Oval Framelits, Simply Scored

Finishing Touches: 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon Marina Mist, Basics Pearls