Leprechaun Face Card - tutorial

This card is made similarly to my Santa Face card.

Hand cut beard and moustache that were run through the

Divine Swirls cuttlebug folder.

Paper punched eyes, eyebrows and nose.

Dimensionals and sponged inks for detail.

The finished card has a top fold.

It is 3 3/4" wide and 5 1/2" tall.

The hat brim is 4 1/4" wide.

Here are several step by step photos to help

if you'd like to make your own:

Start with a scrap piece of paper to make patterns.

Trace your patterns onto card stock.

You can cut them out now before running them

through the embossing folder or leave it as once piece

then trim them out afterwards. Just be sure that all pencil

marks are on the back or carefully trim them off

if they end up on the front.

I started with a 4" tall by 3 3/4" wide piece of

card stock for my beard and moustache,

keeping scraps to make eyebrows.

You may want to add more to the height so you have

more scraps to work with for the eyebrows.

Sponge ink onto the nose (3/4" circle punch)

then attach with a dimensional/pop dot.

Add ink for cheeks, too,

and freckles with an ink pen if you'd like.

You can make eyebrows any number of ways.

This is one trick I used.

Cut a 3/8" wide strip of card stock,

thread it through a Word Window punch

with one end sticking out (glue a thin scrap strip of

paper to it to make a handle, easier to work with).

Trim one end then carefully push it back in , keeping it lined up perfectly

and trim off the opposite end. You may want to add a mark where you'd like

to stop the punch at, mine as about 7/8".

The hat is made with a 1" tall by 3 3/4" long piece of card stock.

I trimmed the top two corners off by hand to round them.

The hat brim is made by running a 5/8" tall by approximately 4 1/2" long

 piece of card stock into a 3/4" paper punch to round the corners off

(like the eyebrows were made above). You cold also hand trim these if you prefer.

Make the brim no longer than 4 1/4" so it will fit in a regular invitation (A2) envelope.

Sponge inks along the edges.

Add a strip of black for a hat band if you'd like and

even a small gold square.

The eyes are made with 3/8" black circles and

1/4" white circles.

Thanks for looking =)

Green With Envy at AnythingButACard

Welcome to this months challenge at

Anything But A Card:

Green With Envy.

My project is a hand cut mat that I painted

a Patina finish on to frame an Irish Blessing

that I created on my computer.

There is a paper punch four leaf clover at the top

for a fun dimensional touch.

My Green With Envy project is also a sort of

Go Green project by repurposing old items, too:

matboard , frame and card stock scraps.

First, I found an old piece of matboard

that wasn't really nice enough to be used

as a mat alone. By covering it with layers of paint,

it hid the flaws so it could be useful once  more.

Cutting the rectangle part of the mat with my Alto's mat cutter.

It's nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.

This was the first time I've added an arch cut

to a mat. It was actually pretty easy and I

surprised myself by having it work successfully the first time !

No wasted matboard from a poor cut, yippee!

The patina finish was created with this really old,

never used, paint set I picked up at a yard sale.

The paints were still good surprisingly!

It's super easy to do:

Basecoat your project with a black green.

Lightly sponge on a minty green.

Lastly add some touches of gold.

I used a sea sponge to apply my paints.

This is after the first two coats of green, before the gold.

The matboard did warp from the moisture in the paint,

but flattened out nicely once dry.

It looks just fine in the frame.

I used a small paintbrush to paint the bevel edge gold.

Punch three or four hearts from green card stock.

Lightly score down the centers.

This score line will help in folding the leaves

up slightly for some dimension.

Cut a stem by hand.

Sponge a darker green ink around the edges of the hearts

before assembling your clover.

I ran a thin line of glue down the fold of each leaf

to attach them to the printed piece.

:

Thanks for looking =)

Be sure to visit the

Anything But A Card blog

to see more inspiring ideas every Sunday -

and link up your Green With Envy project, too !

Perfect Day for Chicken Noodle Soup

http://craftysahmiam.blogspot.com/2014/01/microwable-bowl-potholder.html

I still use the bowl cozies nearly every day ! 

I love them and they are easy enough to make.

Brrrrrrr! 

So cold and snowing again,

homemade chicken noodle soup is perfect for lunch.

I cheated and didn't use home made from scratch stock or noodles though !

I used this recipe today (minus fresh thyme and parsley)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-noodle-soup-recipe0.html

We've had more winter weather since Groundhog Day

(when he saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter)

than we have had all winter long, crazy! 

17th Birthday Balloons Card

I was asked to make a birthday card for a girl that used blues with a touch of green. This is what I came up with.  I realized after taking the photo that I didn't add a third string for the third balloon, gah! 


Thanks for looking =)

First Birthday Card

I was asked to make a birthday card for a boys first birthday.

Although I do like the card, I'm not sure that I really like it for a

First Birthday, but I don't really have any toddler type stamps.

The cute dragon is holding a cake with a single candle on it.

The #1 is hand drawn/hand cut.

The fold of the card is at the top.

The orange background was run through a Texture Plate.

The Darling Dragon image was stamped into White card stock

then water colored and cut out.

I slightly bent it in places to give it more dimension

before adhering it to the #1 card base.

Stamped and punched letters to personalize it, a touch of ribbon

to finish it off.

Thanks for looking =)

50th Anniversary Card

This is a pretty simple to make card and yet elegant enough.

Bonus, it's pretty flat for mailing! 

I combined several dies and an embossing folder then added cream colored 

baker's twine that had gold thread in it to finish it off.

Card stocks are cream and gold.

Thanks for looking =) 

Prima Flower Birthday Card #2

Another simple card made with "prima" flowers.

This time I created a tag and attached two flowers layered at the top.

The tag was stamped (no idea of the stamp name, it was from Stampin' Up!)

with black ink and the bottom punched with a scallop border punch.

I added a strip of pink card stock and torn polka dot paper. 

The edge had a black marker run along it.

White and pink card stocks.

Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Thanks for looking =) 

Prima Flowers Birthday Card

I love how this card turned out, and it was simple, too !

Embossing folder background (Cuttlebug).

Polka dot paper strip, torn (DCWV).

Assorted paper flowers (unknown, they were a gift).

White and pink card stocks.

Dimensional Pearl paints (Tulip) for the centers of some flowers.


Thanks for looking =)

Hearts A Flutter Valentine Banner Card

Although the ink pad, marker and card stock

are all Real Red from Stampin' Up!,

they don't match very well in real life.

(though it looks worse in these photos!)

Hearts A Flutter and A Happy Heart stamp sets.

Coordinating die stamp set.

Heart Trio paper punch.

Stickles glitter glue

Bakers twine.

Thanks for looking !

Washi Tape Valentine's Card

I am so pleased with how this simple card turned out !

I've only used Washi tape a couple of times and I rarely use extra embellishments, such as the rhinestones on this card, just randomly placed on a card. I normally incorporate them into the main image as a highlight or use them to anchor something.

The stamp set is from Hero Arts. I stamped it in red then went back over the "friends"portion with a black marker, stamping it onto scrap paper then tearing it out before adhering to the red heart.

The washi tape was found in the hardware section of our local Big Lots store a couple of years ago and I don't remember the manufacturer . The packaging is long gone since I took the tape rolls out and store them in an empty cylindrical container (originally held Crystal Light).

Thanks for looking =)