punch art

Daffodils in Spring Punch Art

March 31, 2010 By Connie | 4 Comments

My recent punch classes enjoyed making this Daffodil card from punches! I'm always amazed how easy it is to change the look of a punch by using it in a different way. I've noticed the warm weather has made all the daffodils pop out in my area! Love their bright yellow color!

The base of this card is Almost Amethyst and I layered on Lovely Lilac cardstock. I ran another piece of Almost Amethyst thru the Big Shot with the Top Note Die to cut the shape, then ran it thru again with Finial Press for the impressions embossing.

The greeting is from the Sale-A-Bration set, Vintage Labels (LAST DAY TO GET THIS SET FREE!) and punched with the scallop oval punch.

I free-hand cut the leaves for the Daffodil. The 5 petal punch was used for the yellow part of the flower and I used the dry embossing tool for definition in the petals. The center is the Boho Blossom from Pumpkin Pie and then I made a little "stamen" for the center. I think it looks pretty real!

I'm off to play with my stamping friend today. Taking the wedding invites with me to work on them. I did get the portfolio cut today, now it needs scored and the pocket put together. Slowly but surely!

March Tour de Freaks!

March 19, 2010 By Connie | 31 Comments

If you have arrived here on the 19th, not all links may be live yet. We're getting ready to go live on March 20th! It's time for the March Tour de Freaks by your favorite Control Freak Swappers! Our theme this month is SPRING! You've probably just arrived from Wendy Janson's Blog and her amazing ideas. You'll be able to go to the next stop when you click on the badge at the bottom. I always get some amazing ideas from this tour, I hope you do, too!

I was late getting ready for this tour…I definitely have "wedding" on the brain! I've been working on the templates for printing out my son's wedding invitations, plus buying the supplies I'll need to make 200 of them. The pocket invitation design idea has been done for a while, just needed to get started. But, thinking about it inspired my first project. And since the month of June is mostly in the Spring, I think it fits the theme!

I've had the Bag with Scallops XL die for a long while, but haven't used it for some reason! I pulled it out for this project. I thought one of the roses made from the XL Fancy Flower punch would be perfect on the front scallop! The bag and rose are both made from the White Shimmer paper…so pretty for a wedding! I added the half Scallop Oval leaves along the side of the rose, then added the White Satin Stripe Ribbon knotted along the other side of the rose. The front of the bag I textured with the Finial Press Impressions Folder that I ran thru the Big Shot. The bag was really easy to put together! I wrapped some more of the White Satin Ribbon around it to hold it closed (under the rose). Very elegant and I think they would be pretty at the place settings at the reception! I'll be making more of these Bag with Scallops…so fun and easy to put together!

My next card is a Mother's Day card for my mom. We both LOVE lilacs in the spring! I know it is finally here when my lilacs are in bloom. I've planted lilac bushes in every house we've lived in and will cut the blooms off to bring them inside so I can enjoy their fragrance. I've been wanting to do a punch art card using the Trio Flower punch to make some lilacs. I used Orchid Opulence and Lavender Lace cardstock and punched a BUNCH of them!

I started by placing the "stem" from the Two Bird Punch at the bottom of the Whisper White cardstock. Then I used the bird wings from that punch for my leaves. I just started adding a variety of the Lavender Lace and Orchid Opulence flowers in a cone shaped pattern. Each lilac is so unique anyway, it really didn't matter how I placed them! I added a little Orchid Opulence Classic Ink to the edges after I was done, just for some added shadows.

I layered the Whisper White on Lavender Lace and then Basic Black cardstock to make it pop. I tied the Old Olive Satin Ribbon into a bow and placed it at the top corner. Then I added the Old Olive Scallop Trim Border across the left side. Finally, I used the stamps from Tiny Tags and the Jewery Tag punch to make the 4 You tag and wrapped it with Linen Thread around the center of the ribbon knot.

Next stop is Mary Brown! I'm sure you will love her work! Have a great day!

Bloggers Challenge – Spring

March 19, 2010 By Connie | 27 Comments

Today certainly feels and looks like spring around here! We have been having beautiful sunny days (unusual for Ohio) and temps in the high 50s, low 60s. I can see the golfers playing from my house, so the course must be open.

Bloggers' Challenge for today is a Spring theme…perfect! I also combined it with another challenge and used Mary Jo's Monday Lunchtime Sketch to build the card for my punch flowers.

I started with a base of Old Olive cardstock and layered on a piece of Stampin' Up!'s Cottage Wall Designer Paper in the olive print. For the back layer, I ran the Pale Plum Cardstock thru the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots Impressions Folder and layered it on Rich Razzleberry. The next layer, I used the stripe pattern in Cottage Wall DSP and layered it on Rich Razzleberry cardstock again.

I used the Two-Step Bird Punch (and you thought it was just for punching birds…lol!) and created the vine from the leaves, then used the bird's wing and created the buds for the flowers. The Old Olive part of the bud is the wing with the point down and a V cut into the rounded part. The Pale Plum is the wing with the point upward for the flower bud. I sponged the edges of the Pale Plum with Rich Razzleberry and the Old Olive cardstock with Old Olive Classic Ink, too, for some shading and definition. I adhered them to Whisper White cardstock and layered that on Rich Razzleberry cardstock. Finally, I stamped Happy Birthday from Stampin' Up!'s Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set in Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink and punched it with the Word Window Punch. That was layered onto a Pale Plum Modern Label Punch and tucked under the front panel.

I loved Mary Jo's sketch, and I think it fits the Spring Theme for Bloggers' Challenge as well! I hope you have a great weekend! Come back tomorrow for the monthly Control Freaks Tour de Freaks Blog Hop! You'll be glad you did!

Elf Punch Art

December 15, 2009 By Connie | 1 Comment

This punch art elf is based on some of the images that have been floating around the internet, however, I thought he'd be cute holding onto a Christmas Letter to Santa!

I started with a base card of Bermuda Bay card stock and stamped the snowflake from Stampin' Up!'s Winter Post stamp set randomly across the top half. Along the bottom, I placed some Merry Moments Designer Paper in the red stripe pattern. I hid the seam with a strip of Basic Black card stock. The letter is made with the Scallop Envelope die, I folded it up and adhered the front side to the base card and stamped the snowflake around the edges. I used the Santa Postmark from Winter Post in Basic Black Classic Ink in the upper right corner. Merry Christmas is from the set, Christmas Greetings and stamped in Basic Black ink, too.

I made the Elf head with the Ornament Punch, the hat is also done with the Ornament Punch and then cut with the Wide Oval Punch. The pom pom on his hat is the scallop flower from BoHo Blossoms. His pointed ears are the star flower from BoHo Blossoms punch, too. His hands holding the Christmas letter are made with the Word Window Punch. The eyes are Bermuda Bay 1/4 circles with 1/8 Basic Black and highlighted with a White Gel Pen. I colored his cheeks with Blush Blossom marker and his mouth with a Basic Black marker. His nose is also a 1/4 circle from Blush Blossom.

I hope you enjoy my version of the Elf punch art! My classes enjoyed making him!

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Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge

November 28, 2009 By Connie | 8 Comments

It's Saturday and time for a new Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge! I'm going to be brief…I'm trying to get my Christmas stuff up today and tomorrow…always so time consuming! My husband says we need a smaller house so we don't have to put up so many things! lol! I do love it when it is up and finished!

Sketch 127 was a fun sketch! I knew as soon as I saw Stampin' Up!'s stamp set, Season of Joy, in my stamping stash that it would be perfect for this sketch!

I started with a base card of Real Red, then layered on Old Olive card stock. I ran a strip of Real Red thru the Big Shot with the Petals A Plenty Impressions Folder and wrapped the Old Olive Organdy Ribbon from Mistletoe package around it and tied a knot.

I inked up the focal word stamp with my Stampin' Write markers in Real Red and Old Olive on Whisper White card stock. I added three gold mini brads to the stamped poinsettia images and then layered it on Old Olive. I placed this over the base card elements. As a added touch, I punched the Curly Label Punch out of Real Red card stock and placed it under the focal element. I had the Poinsettia flower already punched from another project, so I used some Stampin' Dimensionals and placed it in the upper left corner. To make the Poinsettia, I punched two Real Red and one Old Olive with the 5 petal flower punch. I used my Piercing Tool and punched a row of holes in each petal and leaf. I cut out two petals for one leaf and one petal for the other and adhered behind two Real Red flower punches that I put together with three gold mini brads in the center. I really like the added dimension the piercings give to the petals!

Make sure to check out what the rest of the Stamping 411 Operators have done this week!

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Ornament Punch Flower

November 18, 2009 By Connie | Leave a Comment

I can see that I've gotten out of my routine of posting early in the morning! Part of it is because I've run through my stash of cards that are photographed and ready to post! Need to get another stash ready to go.

This one I made for my girlfriend's birthday (hi Annette!) a couple months ago. I was saving it thinking that I'd do it in a punch class, but with the Stampin' Up! Ornament Punch going away at the end of December, I know I won't have another Punch Class before then. (Hopefully the ornament punch will be in the new catalog next year, but you never know!)

I love the bright colors, especially on a day like today with gloomy clouds. I punched the ornament punch 8 times with Pretty in Pink card stock. I used a sponge dauber on the edges with Melon Mambo Classic Ink. In the center I placed a 3/4 punched circle from Crushed Curry, then added Crystal Effects and a lot of Clear Micro Beads. The leaves are the ornament punch, too, from Old Olive card stock. You can see I pinched the tips of the petals and leaves together to give them some dimension.

I started with a base card of Melon Mambo, then a layer of Rich Razzleberry. On top of that is Crushed Curry card stock, and a Top Note cut from Razzleberry Lemonade Designer paper to tie all the colors together! Happy Birthday was stamped in Basic Black on Pretty in Pink, then punched with the Modern Label punch and layered onto the same shaped punch in Movers & Shapers, but cut from Melon Mambo. I love that I can layer the Modern Label punch for some added interest!

Hope you like my bright card and it brings some cheer to your day!

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Bloggers Challenge – Fall Y’all

November 13, 2009 By Connie | 17 Comments

I love saying Happy Fall Y'all! Today's Bloggers Challenge is to create a fall card! I used the acorn designed by Ellen Kemper from Stampin' Up!'s Ornament Punch, but came up with a new card design to use it on for my Punch Class last month! I've now shown my punch class members two ways to use that Ornament Punch other than with the Delightful Decorations ornament stamp set…if they haven't bought it by now…they'd better get it soon! lol! I have a cute Valentine/Anniversary idea that I'm SURE they would love!

For this card, I started with a base of Soft Suede cardstock. The Sahara Sand layer I ran thru the Big Shot with the Perfect Details Texturz Plate to get the grid look. I added a strip of stripe paper from Autumn Traditions Designer Paper. I used the Modern Tag Punch with More Mustard cardstock and the Happy Thanksgiving greeting from Teeny, Tiny Wishes. For the acorn, I used the Ornament Punch from Sahara Sand, the Wide Oval punch and Large Oval punch from Soft Suede, the free-hand cut a piece of Soft Suede for the stem. I used the Sanded Background in Soft Suede on the acorn cap for some dimension and sponged around the acorn body with Soft Suede ink.

I mounted the Acorn with dimensionals on the More Mustard cardstock and layered it on Ruby Red. As a final touch, I added a bit of Soft Suede Polka Dot Ribbon, folded in half, in the upper right corner, placed under the layers. A very simple card, but easy to duplicate for the Thanksgiving holiday!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Looking forward to the Ohio State/Iowa game on Saturday! Go Bucks!

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Tree Trimmings

November 4, 2009 By Connie | 3 Comments

I fell in love with Lee Conrey's crimped background, so had to make one for myself. I was so excited that I taught this at my Technique Class last night! It was definitely well received!

You do need a lighter weight cardstock to get the best effect, so Whisper White worked perfectly! I also have an idea for a Very Vanilla card that I may try out today.

I started with a base of Real Red and added a layer of Soft Suede cardstock. I did the Crimper Technique with Whisper White, then trimmed it down to fit with the Soft Suede mat. I felt it needed trimming because the crimping will stretch out the cardstock a little bit.

For the focal piece, I stamped Stampin' Up!'s Tree Trimming stamp in Versamark on Whisper White cardstock, then embossed with Gold Embossing Powder. I layered it on Brushed Gold cardstock. Finally, I added a Real Red 1/4 Grosgrain bow to the top.

I love all the texture that this background has! So much fun!

If you are in the Columbus, Ohio area, make sure to sign up for my Punch Class next Wednesday, 11/11 @ 6:30 PM. I have three FUN punch art characters just in the time for holidays! You won't want to miss it!

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