KRAFTIN' KIMMIE - ARIANA

When I ordered this stamp I had my youngest niece, Alana, in mind.  She loves mermaids and with her birthday being yesterday I thought it would be perfect.

This was my first Kraftin' Kimmie stamp and I am impressed with how easy it was to colour in.  I did use Copics as I wanted to get the shading in the hair right.  The seaweed, and bubbles are also part of the stamp set.  The fishes and sentiment are from Hero Arts Oceans of Joy with the fishes being completed ages ago - I found them in a container where I keep finished images.  The background  is painted using Perfect Pearls and a paint brush.  It was a bit fiddly and at one stage I thought I would have to scrap it but in the end it turned out alright.

On the white cardstock background I used a CB border embossing folder and on the middle blue section I sponged the blue paper with Distress ink to get it to the colour I wanted.

GINA K DESIGNS - FUNNY FARM

This card was another in the card kit and only once I got started with it I realised just how fiddly and involved it was.

The colouring in is all with Copics (the kit provided paper specifically designed for use with Copic markers).  The ribbon came with the kit and I used a SU scallop border punch underneath it.  I did use chalk around the trees as I had allowed the Copics to bleed a little over the line and could not get rid of it.  The chalks seem to hide the problem.

GINA K DESIGNS - FUNNY FARM

This stamp set came with a free kit and instruction sheet and I thought I would try out their designs.

I do not think I would normally match these particular colours together but it is fun to try something outside of your comfort zone.  All the colouring in is done with Copics and the background is a CB folder which I totally forgot I had !  The cutting out as shown in the kit is wider and not as detailed as I would usually do but I thought I would follow the instructions.  I did add a little distressed ink on the sentiment band as it looked just a little plain.

STAMPOSAURUS STAMPS - WHOOPS RUDIE 2

Another cute stamp from the UK.  He appealed to my sense of humour !

I coloured Rudie in using Copics, paper pieced the present and added a couple of snowflakes from the set Sending Holiday Cheer by Hero Arts.  The sentiment is also from the same Hero Arts set and the background paper is CM.  I thought the Nestabilities Ovals, classic and scalloped, suited the image perfectly.

STAMPOSAURUS STAMPS - DUCK

I could not resist this stamp set on my recent trip to a craft store in the UK.  These little ducks stamp really well and are easy to cut out around the frame.

Using 3 different shades of Copic orange I coloured in the feet and beaks and used yellow for the small ducks.  When it came to the larger ducks I was not sure I had the right colour Copics so I opted to use chalks for them.  This gave it a subtle look which is what I wanted.

The embossed background is from a Sizzix folder and the orange strip is from a pack by Doodlebug Designs Inc. called Paperbug.  The sentiment is from the same Stamposaurus set.

With just having arrived back from a short break I have no finished projects to pop onto the blog.  I have, however, been looking through a few other blogs and think you might be interested in the following punch art projects :

• Paper Perfect Designs - Bookmarks
• Calla Lily Studio - Christmas Carolers
• Created by You - How to make an ice-cream cone
• Paper Punch Addiction - Snowman ornament
• Flower Sparkle - Dandelion bookmarks
• http://stampingaddict.blogspot.com/2010/10/free-pattern.html
• Stamp & Scrap with Frenchie - cute card
• Splitcoaststampers - Golfer
• Sarahs Ink Spot - Mr & Mrs Claus cards
• Splitcoaststampers - Get well Owl

Hope to be back to normal by Friday.  I have a couple of new cute stamps I want to try out.

HALLOWEEN TREAT BAG

I made this small treat bag using a paper bag from Merrypak on the inside and  black cardstock for the outside.  With the inside paper bag I used my SU scalloped edge border punch and then coloured it with Distress Ink to give a light orange colour.

The ghost stamps are from Peachy Keen Nikkity Knack Cat Gang coloured in using only chalks and the witches hat is from SU Wicked Cool.  The Spooky sentiment is SU Seasonal Greetings and the 'tasty sweet' one is SU Holiday Best.  The handle is twine from the local hardware store.

STAMPIN UP - OWL PUNCH

From the moment I saw the new SU owl punch being used on the various blogs I knew I just had to get my hands on one.

For the Halloween owl's wings I used a CB bat die.  The circle behind the owl was sponged using Spiced Marmalade Distress ink and the background paper, with distressed edges, is from a pad I have.  The sentiment is from the SU set called Holiday best and the die used for the box is SU Bigz XL Box #2.

PUNCH ART - MR ACORN

When I saw this idea  from Stamp and Scrap with Frenchie, who even has a video on how to make the acorn, I just knew I had to try it out. 

For the face I used the SU ornament punch, the mouth is a SU small oval offset and punched twice, the hat is SU medium and wide ovals and the top of the hat is a Fiskars punch.  The nose and eyes are brads, the eyebrows are hand drawn and the cheeks are done with a SU sponge dauber and SU Rose Red ink.  I sponged around the face using Tea Dye Distress ink and used a white gel pen for the dots on the cheeks and marks on the hat.  For the fringe and bow I used some raffia I had over from a flower arrangement.


The leaves are Hero Arts Real Leaves coloured in using SU crayons and a blender pen.  I did the same leaves with Tea Dye Distress ink to stamp on a piece of green bazzil for the background.  The sentiment is from the SU set called Well Scripted and the label punch is an EK Success one bought locally.  I used Tea Dye Distress ink on the stick-on paper ribbon.

POPCORN THE BEAR - SOUFFLE

Popcorn the Bear stamp sets are just so cute and this set has smaller images which are perfect for cards.  They also come with a full colour insert complete with 2 card ideas - it does not get easier than that !

The little chick was coloured in using Copics and the duvet was paper pieced.  I then cut the image out and placed it onto 2 Nestabilities ovals.  The background paper is from a thick pad bought at Simply Creative and the flowers and flower brad are from my stash.  The sentiment is also from the Souffle set.

INKADINKADO - DOODLE WINTER

This is a very simple Xmas card.  I stamped the image onto a Nestabilities label die and Distress inked the edges.  When I looked for background paper the red one had a small tear in it so I decided to distress the edges with a distressing tool.  I also did the green cardstock as well.

The sentiment is from Kaszazz and it fitted perfectly onto the SU Modern Label punch.

HERO ARTS - BABY REINDEER

Yes, I know this is a bright and gaudy card but every now and again I just need to do one.  The Hero Arts reindeer was bought from Ronita at Simply Creative as was the Nestabiities large scalloped square.

I coloured the reindeer in with markers and a blender pen and popped on some glitzy jewel type thingies (it's been one of those days and I cannot for the life of me remember what they are called !).  When I was looking for a Nestabilities to fit around the image the petite scalloped circles seemed to do the trick.  The sentiment is on a SU oval matted onto a another SU punch.  Background papers are all from a pad I picked up at Simply Creative a while back.

During my early morning trawl through various craft blogs I came across http://stamping.craftgossip.com/.  This is a fabulous site which gives you all the up to date craft info in one place.

Seems they look for freebies, as in digistamps, and new techniques.  It is a site which is well worth the visit.

HERO ARTS - WISHES COMES TRUE

I picked out some Xmas background paper the other day and thought one of my (many) new Hero Arts stamps from Ronita at Simply Creative would go well with it.

This is the sort of stamp which lends itself to mass production with having the image, easily & quickly coloured in, and the sentiment all in one.  Cut it out using Nestabilities Petite Circles, pop it on the paper and you have a card in about 10 minutes.

STAMPARVIE - GILLIAN ROBERTS - CHRISTMAS STOCKING

After stamping and colouring in this really cute stamp with SU markers and Smooches, I cut it out and embossed it using Nestabilities Circle.  Leaving the die still on the circle I sponged Distress Ink onto the cardstock.  This is a technique I love using as it gives an interesting result.  I then used Nesties Petite Scalloped Circles to mat the image on.

The embossed dots on the left hand side are a CB border folder and the sentiment is a Penny Black one.

PUNCH ART SNOWMAN

I cased this snowman from a blog called Bonnies Creative Place.  The scarf and face plus the sentiment are Peachy Keen stamps and the snowflakes are from a MS border punch.

For the snowman I used SU wide oval for his body and a smaller oval for the arms and legs.  The hands and boots are from a heart punch.  The hat is a Fiskars punch with the brim being a Peachy Keen stamp.  I made the fence from SU Word Window punch and the background paper is from a pad I bought at Simply Creative.  The 'snow' background is made using the CB Swiss Dot folder.

ART IMPRESSIONS - NURSE & PATIENT

You will have to excuse my photo's for this week as I am in the process of changing laptops and my photo editing program is on my old laptop and unable to be transferred over.  This card is a bit lighter in colour than is shown here so please use your imagination a little !

The Patient stamp has had the duvet paper pieced and the balance was coloured in using Marvy Le Plume markers.  I stamped the Nurse, coloured her in and then cut her out so I could pop her just where I wanted her to be.

Background paper is my usual CM, the border punch is SU as is the sentiment and the punch used around it.  The punch out under the sentiment is a new EK Success one I bought from Ronita at Simply Creative a few days back.

STAMPIN UP - HALLOWEEN TREAT HOLDER

After watching Angie from Chic 'n Scratch making this cute treat holder I thought I would give it a try.  It is really easy to cut out and make a whole lot of them for Halloween.

As I do not have a lot of Halloween stamps I used SU Twick or Tweet and edged the white cardstock with Distress Ink.

PEACHY KEEN - WINTER PEEKERS

I know, another snowman !!  Once I had stamped this image out I mistakenly thought this would be a quick and easy card.  Then I decided to 'build a wall' brick by brick and although my bricklaying skills do not look too bad on the card it was a bit of a struggle.  When it was complete I sponged over it with Tea Dye Distress Ink to give it an aged look.

The wall looked too bare on the top so I used a MS border punch to make the snow.  The sack is also a Peachy Keen stamp - Feed, Santa, Flour Sacks as is the sentiment.  The presents are a retired SU set.  The background paper is from a pad I have and the white embossed section is CB Swiss Dot folder.  I nearly forgot about the snowman which is coloured in using SU crayons and a blender pen.  To get the rosy cheeks I find it easier to use chalks than ink.  The chalk gives a more subtle look.

STAMPIN UP - HALLOWEEN FANCY FAVOUR BOX 

This SU die, Fancy Favour Box, is one of the most used in my collection of dies for the Big Shot.  I love making boxes and the SU XL dies make it just so easy.

The image on the front of the box is a SU Jumbo Rollagraph called Haunting from which I cut the portion required and sponged the edges with Distress inks.  The sentiment is also from a SU set called Holiday Best.  The paper is out of a pack I bought years ago and the handle is lacing twine bought from the local hardware store.

PEACHY KEEN - CHILL BABY CHILL SNOWMAN SET

This dear little snowman and his big brother, are being abused on this Xmas season's cards.  Just seen a blog which reminds us it is 13 weeks to Xmas !!  And here was I thinking I was being over eager in the steady stream of Xmas cards I am producing. 

For this project I took a brown card, used an offcut of green which I ran through the CB, popped on scalloped edge and classic circles (made from scraps), topped it off with a Nestabilities egg, edges inked, and the snowman which had been cut out.  The sentiment is Hero Arts on a SU  punch called Modern Label.

MAGNOLIA - SNOWMAN

Magnolia is not a stamp company I am terribly fond of as most of their images have no mouths !  This one came with a full face and, given my fondness of snowman stamps, he appealed to me.

I coloured the image in using Copics for the grey on his body and a combination of markers and Smooches for the balance.  He was easy to cut out and I popped him onto a large scalloped oval (red) and a white label both from Nestabilities.

The paper is from our local stationery store and I think rather fitting for Xmas.  The sentiment is Hero Arts and I used a Nestabilities label with 2 snowflake eyelets to complete it.

REINDEER STAMP - UNKNOWN ORIGIN

I found this image in one of my craft boxes and decided to use him.  I have no idea where he came from but he is quite cute.

The corner punch I used is a retired CM one I bought on eBay, the green background paper is CM, next up is the SU Big Shot die in Creamy Caramel, a red Nestabilities die from my stash and a striped red piece also from my stash.  The sentiment is Hero Arts and the punch out it is on is SU Modern Label.



PEACHY KEEN - CHILL BABY CHILL SNOWMAN SET

Yes, I know these are not normal Christmas colours but I wanted to do something bright and this seemed to fit the bill !

Each year I seem to focus on one festive season image and this year it has to be this dear little snowman.  He is coloured in using Copics and I used Nestabilities labels for the image and the brown piece underneath.  The red paper is from a large pad I have and the lime green is CM.  The snowflakes are the left overs of a MS border punch which is used more for the punch outs than the actual border it produces.  Not sure about the sentiment - it could be Hero Arts.

ART IMPRESSIONS - DANCERS

Another one of the Girlfriends series from Art Impressions.  The next time I will not colour in using Copics as you are restricted to stamping on special paper which only comes in white.  I think a watercolour paper / cream background would be more subtle.

The 'stage curtain' is cut from the new Tim Holtz edge dies and I sponged the edges with my usual Tea Dye Distress ink.  The sentiment is also from Art Impressions and I just love it !

MOTIVET - BOY BUILDING A SNOWMAN

The dilemma was what to do with all the Xmas images I had coloured in and cut out.  Then a new CB frame embossing folder arrived and even though it is not a Xmas one I thought it had potential.

After running the folder through the CB I used Distress ink around the embossed portions, took a Nestabilities scalloped rectangle and cut out the middle of the frame and popped a piece of paper in behind to represent a winter sky.  Put the image on top, stamped out the sentiment (think it is Peachy Keen) on red and punched out with a SU oval.

Of course I got a bit carried away and did another half a dozen cards with the same concept using different images.  That is what happens when I like an idea !

FLOURISHES - BABY LOVE EASEL CARD

Here is my version of an easel card on which I used buttons to prop the card up.

I used the same Flourishes baby stamp as before but paper pieced it in blue this time.  The background paper is the same as in the last post and the scalloped border punch is SU.

When I hit on an idea which is quick and easy like this card I tend to make a couple of them so as to have some spare to either use or give away as a gift.

MOTIVET - CHILDREN CAROLLING

Motivet is another favourite stamp company and I found this image quite easy to colour in.  I also copied their colour picture which came with the stamp so at least I did not have to think about colour co-ordinating.

With using a very thin paper to stamp the image on,  the background dotted paper shows through, almost like snow falling.  Ok, so perhaps you have to stretch the imagination just a little !!

The dotted paper comes from Australia, I used a Nestabilities label for the image and an EK Success border punch at the bottom of the card.  The sentiment is SU as is the square scalloped punch.

MY BIRTHDAY CARD FROM AUSTRALIA

I was thrilled to get this easel birthday card from my sister, Debbie.  The cute teddy stamp is from the Kaszazz range and Debs coloured it in using Copics.

The idea of the easel card is for it to not slide forward when it is in the position as the photo shows.  What Debbie did was to raise the bottom front section on rises and the top part of the card tucks in nicely behind it.  When the card is in the closed position ready to go into an envelope, the section with the teddy image is on the top. 

I recently made one of these cards (so nice to have one to copy from) and used an A4 piece of cardstock in the portrait position.  I used an envelope as a guide to see just how wide the card would be then trimmed off the excess.  I then worked out where I would score the card for the almost even folds and was pleased with the result.  The card is scheduled to be posted later on in the week.

ART IMPRESSIONS - GIRLFRIENDS

Art Impressions are among some of my favourite stamps and their new range is fabulous.

I coloured these ladies in using Copics for the skin tones and a mixture of Copics and Marvy le Plume II markers for the balance.  Once I started to cut the image out I realised it was not the easiest of tasks but I managed it.  The paving is also an AI image which I stamped onto a scrap piece of paper.  The background papers are my usual Creative Memories which I love so much.  The 'wave' punch is from Fiskars and the sentiment is part of the Girlfriends stamp set.