Birthday Pig

This represents me today.  It's my birthday (how quickly THOSE roll around) and I will be eating all day today. 

The clip-art I "borrowed" this idea from had Miss Pig standing on a scale.  It's my birthday so I get to deny the existence of those torture machines!

Face – Full Heart

Chin – ¾ inch circle

Nose – ½ inch circle – repunched with same to narrow (put on a post it note so you can hold on to it)

Ears – small heart to heart trimmed

Eye white – small heart

Eye black – tiny owl or marker

Dress – 2 wide ovals

Legs – small oval cut in half

Feet – wide heart to heart trimmed

Arms – word window piece

Hands – ½ inch circle at ends of modern label

Draw on mouth and nostrils

Time to Squirrel away some Nuts

Just like yesterday, I don't really know why I punched this.

I guess you can use it on a recipe card for some yummy dish containing nuts...

He is an Unidentified Squirrel-ish Critter (USC)

Kinda reminds me of the prehistoric squirrel in Ice Age.

Ignore the black scribble on his arm - after assembly I decided I should have outlined his parts - then I messed it up - so I stopped.  You can use your IMAGINATION to ignore the goof and picture nice crisp outlines around his 'parts'.  OK?

How to:
Tail – 2.5 inch circle – repunch with wide oval on a slant – make a few snips for “fur” look

Body – large oval trimmed a little on his back to thin at top

Belly – small oval next to small oval hole

Arms – oval ring (large oval around small oval hole)

Hands – circle little bitty punch pack at tips of modern label

Feet – narrow heart to heart trimmed

Face – 2 small ovals overlapped

Head (can hardly see) ¾ inch circle

Eye whites – small heart – cut notch in bottom

Eye blacks – marker or tiny owl circle

Eyelids – small circle itty bitty punch back cut in half

Nose – ¾ inch circle repunched with same (put on a post it note so you can hold on to it)

Teeth – ½ inch circle trimmed flat on 2 sides

Ear - small circle itty bitty punch pack – trimmed to point a bit

Nut – Just like his nose - ¾ inch circle repunched with same (put on a post it note so you can hold on to it) outline the edges “jaggedly” in black

I Spy - Lil Devil

I spied Cathy Bell using the "lil devil" on a skinny bag of treats.  CUTE CUTE CUTE idea!!!

See it HERE

Singles Ad

Seeking Three French Hens who prefer bread and wine

NOT

'pina coladas and getting caught in the rain...'

I don't know why I punched what I punched- other than they amused me.

I hope they made you grin too.

Will they lead us to a weird version of the 12 days of Christmas? 

It isn't in the plan - but since I don't know from day to day what I'm going to punch or post...it could happen.

Body – owl - feet off-ears off – trimming in slightly from fattest part

Neck – modern label – trimming in from fattest part to middle bump at other end

Belly – small oval

Feet – narrow heart to heart – trimmed – draw on toes

Wings – scallop oval – cut in half to get 2 wings

Beak – word window shortened by re-punching, narrow heart to heart folded over

Eye white – small heart

Eye black – tiny owl or marker

Eyelids – circle itty bitty punch pack cut in ½

Beret – small oval – scrap “button thing”

Cigarette – retired slot (can use scrap) color tip red

Both Props – word window trimmed

Nancy Dawson has a great Recliner Chair on her blog - Look HERE

It uses the retired key tag AND the newest oval punch from Stampin' Up!.

I haven't bought the medium oval punch yet.  I have heard from a few ladies that they are surprised at how small it is. 

You know - Small is GREAT (said by the 5 foot tall woman)

Any punch SU will let us have is a good thing - and Nancy shows us that with her chair. 

Check it out!

Punch Art Book

There are some ladies that have been asking me to do this for a long long time.

I really am working on a book of punch art.  If you are interested in it - the poll in the upper right corner of the blog is the easiest way for you to give me input to make it something useful for you.

In addition to the poll, I'd love to get your input in the comments of this post -

• Which  past characters do you need help with?  (if any)
• What would you like to see in the book? 
• Are punch lists usually enough information for you or do you need pictures of the parts and the assembly?

Any other feedback, request or suggestion is welcome. 

Thanks dear punch fans!

Holly Jolly Baseball?

I'm sharing one page of a two page spread to show you that

1) We were given some AWESOME tickets to see the Texas Rangers play this season.  

and

2) You can use Christmas paper for other events - don't be afraid to try it!

The two Cherry Cobbler prints used in this layout are from the Jolly Holiday pack of paper in the main catalog.  When I fixated on the circles...



... the circles led to Baseball!

My most wonderful upline, Jenifer, was with me when I did this layout and she happened to mention that when she face paints she is frequently asked to paint baseballs - of course, I had to make her "prove it."

Sure enough, she was telling the truth - she does an awesome baseball from a circle punch! 

If I had relied on my own faint memory of what a baseball looks like, the stitches would have been closer to the edge of the ball.  It certainly wouldn't have looked this good.

See the advantage to scrapping with friends?

Dog on a Bun

Hot Dog! 

I get excited when my punch art comes out the way I hoped.

Is "Hot Dog!" used universally for expressing positive excitement? Or is that a Texas/Southern/American thing?

If you gave this little guy a different facial expression you could use him with "Hot Dog!" but with this look on his face I thought he was more "Ruff Day"...

I tore the paper and used the SANDED background for Ruff=Rough because I was being my usual "clever" self .   (Read "clever" with a very sarcastic tone in your eyes)

Here's the details for the Dog on a Bun:

Bun - sahara sand – curly label – rounded the middle point with scissors

Mustard – more mustard (surprise!) – same as bun but use the short side of curly label punch

Body – small oval

Tail – branch from 2 step bird (or cut a thin strip)

Neck – word window – trimmed thin lengthwise

Snout – small oval – trimmed to thin one end

Nose – tip of word window – repunched with same

Teeth – retired slot punch (could just use a strip)

Mouth behind teeth - ½ of small heart

Eyes – white – small heart

Eyes – black – tiny circle from owl (or use a marker)

Eyelids – circle itty bitty punch pack cut in half

Ears – small heart – trimmed with scissors

Feet – circle from itty bitty punch pack around 2 of the bumps at end of modern label

Add tiny white highlights with gel pen on nose and eyes.


I like this much better than my first dachshund attempt - so the moral of this story is...

Keep Punching - Improvement will come!

Suitable for "Framing"

You didn't really think you were going to get ALL PUNCH ART after a scrapping weekend, did you?

I won't make you look at ALL the 20+ layouts I finished last weekend- but I will be throwing some of them up here.

Today's "Lesson in Scrapbooking" - (said like I am some kind of expert - try not to laugh TOO hard) is...

Casing yourself.

First layout of the weekend was of my grand nephew and I thought it was precious (with a baby this cute - how could it be anything else?)

Here's a close up of the frame element

By the way, he cut his first tooth this week - right as I was making One Tooth Baby - we must have some deep connection - Mr. Darling Luke and his favorite Aunt Ellen.

******

 This open frame is SO EASY to make with your SU paper trimmer!

See the ruler on the metal?

See the ruler on the clear bar/arm that goes over your paper?

See the little pointy bumps on the orange blade cover?

If you can see those things you can make a frame!

(directions at end of post for the convenience of those that don't care)

I liked it so much that later the same day I repeated the frame thing in different colors for The Over Educated Waitress (formerly known as college girl - and these photos would have been during those college years)

See the texture behind this photo?  I didn't have my texture plates (can't take everything - it won't fit in the car) and the paper was too big for an embossing folder - so I pulled out my trusty crimper and ran the mat through that, turned it 90 degrees and ran it though the crimper a second time.  Great texture from a tool I sometimes forget about!

And you know I REALLY liked this frame thing because I used the same idea on this layout too...

On this one I put the frame element open AND another one around a vellum quote.  Perfect solution for adhering vellum because no matter how many adhesives I've tried - I can still see the "glue". 

This paper is the "blah" side of the Blueberry Crisp DSP in the current catalog.  I thought it was perfect for a manly page.

This close up shows the frames overlapping - I love that you can still see the darker frame through the vellum.

I happened to use a "pre-made" vellum quote I had in my stash - but you can run vellum through your printer and use any quote or use this spot for your title or journaling.




Now - for those of you who need a tutorial for the frame.

Determine your OUTSIDE measurements for your frame and cut a square or rectangle that size.
Determine how wide you want your frame to be (I think these were 3/4 inch)

Let's use 5x7 for our "sample" project and a 3/4 inch wide frame.

Seen separately you probably would never notice these are all the same idea - the subject, colors and paper changes allowed me to use the design over and over without it seeming too repetitive.

 

The moral of the story is:

When you create something you really like -

CASE YOURSELF!

Mr. Bluebird on my shoulder...

I'm a pretty handy friend to have around when you are scrapping with limited supplies (You can't take EVERYTHING on a scrapping weekend).  Not only did I make a baby for Jenifer's card but I made a tropical bird for Becky's layout.

Pretty big "Mr. Bluebird" on her shoulder, huh?

Becky had these great pictures from a recent trip but needed "something else" on the page - she laughed but didn't use my suggestion to have bird poo dripping down the page so we went with the bird instead.

Here are the details:

Body – 2 step bird

Tail – modern label- timed like grass on one end – folded over – trimmed end on a slant

Head – 2 red wings from 2 step bird

Eye area – part of small heart

Beak – part of wide heart from Heart to Heart

Black on face – circle from itty bitty shapes

Yellow feathers – tail of 2 step bird

Feet – end of branch from 2 step bird – snipped “v” into 2 of the leaves – cut the rest off

First Tooth

While away on our scrapping weekend, Jenifer asked if any of us had brought baby stamps since she needed a card for an upcoming baby shower.  None of us had any but, of course, I volunteered to make some punch art for her.  And I'm so glad she needed this.

I have shown you several baby ideas before

New Years Baby
Crawling Baby
Special Delivery Baby

but One Tooth Baby is now my favorite...(of the baby characters)

I made the baby - Eileen (my sideline) made the card - and Jenifer kept on scrapping while we did all the work. Small price to pay for getting to go off to her friend's cabin for the weekend, don't you think?

Here's the important info:

Body – owl – feet off – trimmed from fattest part up to neck
Feet – small heart
Collar - small Heart to Heart (trimmed diagonally)
Neck – word window thinned lengthwise
Head – large oval
Eyes – small heart – black dots (marker or tiny circles from owl punch)
Nose – circle itty bitty punch pack
Ears – Small heart
Tooth – scrap
Mouth – marker
Arms - modern label on the edge of paper so you just get 1 bump
Hands – circle itty bitty punch pack around tips of modern label

The "fabric" of his pj's is from the Subtles Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack.  The letters are from the "rough type" alphabet.  And it has my FAVE embossing folder - square lattice.  You MUST get your hands on this embossing folder - I LOVE IT!!!!

CUTE punch art!

Sending you to a blog I just found.  How have I missed this one?

First look at her blog banner - The OWL punch dressed up as the Wizard of Oz characters!

Then look at her version of a nurse owl - here 

Then poke around the rest of Kay's Creations on Paper - she has cute stuff you are going to like!

Operation

Christine Sowers sent a request for the character in the game "Operation" for a co-worker's card.  And here he is:

Not an exact replica but anyone who has ever played the game should get the idea.

I couldn't fit ALL the "parts" inside him.  I know I left off bread basket, tennis elbow, charlie horse and probably more.

He measures 5.25 inches tall so he will fit on a standard size card. (Barely!)

Basic body:
Body – wide oval
Arms – word window
Hands – ½ inch circle around modern label ends
Legs – modern label – trimmed to narrow at ankles and flatten on inside of legs
Feet – wide heart to heart – trimmed for toes
Neck – word window
Head – 1.25 circle
Hair – Full heart around 1 inch hole – trimmed at sideburns
Ears – wide heart to heart cut in ½ to get two
Eye white – small heart
Eye black – standard hole punch
Nose – word window repunched with same

I sponged some ink on for shading (cherry cobbler, I think)

Assembly photos:

Inside parts:

Adams apple – circle itty bitty punch back – trimmed with scissors, scrap stem
Broken heart – small heart to heart
Wishbone – small oval around word window hole – slot
Butterflies in Stomach – 2 small heart to heart – slot trimmed
Wrenched knee – circle from itty bitty punch pack around slot hole – slot
Knee bone connected to the ankle bone – small heart to heart and thin scrap
Writers cramp – slot – lead is from black marker and trimmed to point – eraser is tiny scrap

Slot punch is retired - use can substitute a tiny scrap of paper if you don't have it.

I Spy - Taz

Thanks to the Internet, I can see all the way across the Atlantic Ocean where Emma Daye (in England) used Taz for a card for her nephew.

I won't tell you what she did because I don't want to spoil the surprise. 

You NEED to check THIS out - it is very clever!

I had a fabulous weekend away with my stamper friends.  I'm unpacking while I catch up on email - and I have PLENTY of new ideas to show you over the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, I'll be working through the piles of laundry....

I'm outta here

Leaving this morning with some friends to scrap and punch and eat and laugh ALL weekend long.  We are leaving the make-up at home and taking the chocolate with us.

I packed up all my toys early so I can't make a cute little punch project for you.

SORRY!

But I'll be back next week - ready to roll out some new stuff!

Have a fabulous weekend!  I'm pretty sure I will!!!!!

Nurse Owl Request

I get lots of nurse requests.  I usually refer them to this gal. 

This week however, I got a more specific request (from Sharon McNeely) for a nurse from the owl punch.  And it just so happened that I read her email after eating breakfast with my favorite nurse, my friend, Liz.  

That little coincidence coupled with how easy it is to dress up the owl punch led to the immediate creation of...

Of course you can give her different props if that big old syringe scares you!

I had to give her supportive shoes from the small heart punch

I had to show her heart because we all know that nurses have BIG hearts!

Her hat is from the pointed end of the ornament punch (had to dust that one off - shocking, isn't it?)

The red cross is from the itty bitty punch pack.

Tater Tot How To

I decided to make the tiny tater folk into a card so you could see how small they really are.

Sentiment is from my Stamp Stash

I think making "little" characters is harder than large ones because

• its hard to adhere all those little pieces
• size is crucial - you have to have just the right size parts - there isn't a lot of "close enough is good enough" when things are very small.

So first, I want to say HURRAH for the Owl punch because owning that punch gives you more small circle sizes - and that makes small characters much easier!

Then I want to say HURRAH for Glue Pens and Paper Piercers, because you can stab a little piece of paper and deposit it right on top of the dot of glue you just made with the glue pen!!!!

For Both Mr. & Mrs Spud, (or Tater Tot, or Potato Head):

Body - owl in soft suede - sponged in soft suede ink - ears and feet cut off
Arms - oval ring in white (large oval around small oval hole) - cut the length arms you want with scissors
Hands - itty bitty punch pack circle around tips of modern label in white

Just For Him:

Ears - larger circle from owl punch in pretty in pink
Eyes - larger circle from owl punch in white - trim straight on sides, black dot from marker
Eye lids - small circle form itty bitty punch pack - cut in half (mine wasn't exactly in half and I kept it because it gives him more expression)
Eyebrows - small heart next to the top of small heart hole to get weird sliver of black- cut in half
Nose - started with small circle form itty bitty punch pack in pumpkin pie - trimmed with scissors
Moustache - ran scrap of black through crimper - punched with 1/2 inch circle then trimmed top
Shoes - small circle from itty bitty punch pack - trimmed flat, on retired slot punch (could use small strip or leave off)
Hat - top is 1/2 inch circle, brim is part of a circle ring from 1 inch circle punched around 1/2 inch circle hole

Just For Her:

Ears - circle from itty bitty punch pack in pretty in pink
Eyes - smaller (not tiny) circle from owl punch in white - black dot from tiny owl punch circle in black (or you can use a marker)
Eyebrows - small heart next to the top of small heart hole to get weird sliver of black- cut in half - position just above her eyes (more like eyeliner than eyebrows)
Nose - started with small circle form itty bitty punch pack in pretty in pink- trimmed with scissors (or use a scrap - not much circle left, huh?)
Lips - circle from itty bitty punch pack around the end of a modern label hole in real red
Shoes - toe part from 5 petal flower and heel is a retired slot punch (could use small strip) in real red
Hat - top is 3/4 inch circle, brim is part of 1 inch circle punched near small oval hole  in white
Flower on hat - itty bitty punch pack flower in white, center is tiny circle from owl punch in daffodil delight
 
 
TIP:  When you need just a tiny part of the owl punch - turn it over and insert just a strip or scrap of the color you need - positioning it in the right spot - squeeze.  When you are just punching a little bit you can probably punch upside down. 
 
When you need the whole owl punch you probably will need to use it right side up on a table or desk.

Spuds in Duds

First. look at THIS where Clare (Crafty Cow Creations, from down under) made Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head.  Aren't they wonderful? (even with her ear color challenge issues) (grin)

And the always amazing and talented Lynn Pratt made some Potato Head cards early in the summer and she has her tutorial for sale.

I didn't see where Clare gave directions and I rarely purchase a tutorial so I had to make up my own spuds in duds. 

Three punchers making the same characters in three different ways will demonstrate that even though you may not own ALL the Stampin' Up! punches - you can take inspiration and use what you do own to create something fun!  OK, you might still have to buy a punch or two... that won't hurt you - they aren't THAT expensive.  And you can always come back here for other ideas to get your money's worth!

Here is my version of the Potato Heads - Spuds in Duds!

This uses the owl punch as the body (these are small - more like tater tots - but 'spuds in duds' was the better title)

I'll get a "how to'" written by tomorrow.
Have I convinced you the owl is versatile?

Don't have a cow, man...

Way way way back in April, Dee Dee requested Bart Simpson and I said "Sure, shouldn't be too hard". 

I'm guessing the Inspiration Fairy doesn't like the The Simpsons, 'cause she would never help me with Dee Dee's request.  I started him several times and put him away in frustration.  Punching should be fun -- so if it makes me want to "have a cow, man", I stop.

But Sunday afternoon, while I watched the Texas Rangers sweep the New York Yankees, he finally fell together.  (Go RANGERS!!!!)

I didn't have a punch large enough for his head (retired Key Tag was a bit too small) so I used a  1 1/8 inch by 1 3/4 inch rectangle, rounded the bottom corners and spiked the hair with the retired small star (you could use scissors)

Owl punch provided his shirt (feet and ears cut off) and his eyes.

Sleeves are small oval

Neck is word window

1 inch circle for his shorts and the legs are a scrap just a little wider than the word window.

Arms and hand are the usual heart to heart, modern label and 1/2 inch circle

Legs are 1.25 circle around the 3/4 circle hole - then cut that ring into the legs

Shoes are bits of 1/2 inch circle and retired slot punch

Nose - smallest heart to heart snipped with scissors

I edged most of him with black marker - (not the shoes because they aren't  "perfect" so I didn't want to draw attention to them)

Cowabunga, dude!

50 lashes

50 Lashes with retired ribbon is what I deserve. 

I am so behind on my blog reading it is embarrassing.  I snuck in a few minutes this week to try to make a dent and saw some WONDERFUL punch art and I should not have delayed pointing it out to you.

This will blow your socks off!

Anita (Mom of Lucia at Ink Me Baby One More Time) was once upon a time a copier of my punch art.  And then she took off like a rocket on her own original punch art projects - I have sent you to Lucia's blog before to see what "Mom Anita" has done. 

Well, she has done it again - TWICE!
One cartoon style - a darling dog
And one realistic style - a deer

Super Cute on the Dog but AMAZING on the Deer - GO GO GO and check it out!!!!

My Oopsies

I was at a Stampin' Up! Regional gathering earlier today - boy did I learn a lot.  I love the "Day of Gratitude' stamp set that we received.  In addition to the cute make and takes they let us do, there were some fabulous demonstrators sharing ideas.  You can't help but get pumped up after seeing all the great projects!

However, I made some 'oopsies' on the make and takes. I had a mis-aligned punch on a 3D item and some really crooked stamping on a 3x3 card.  Then I didn't want to make a 8.5 x 11 scrapbook page since I never use that size.  Combine the oopsies, the scrapbook supplies and a few extra pearls that I 'borrowed' from the supplies they had for us and you get...

Wasn't it convenient that we had some apples left from our lunch so I could stage the autumn theme? 

Showing off the Rear Views!

I'm off having a good time at Stampin' Up! Regionals in Ft. Worth today.
Leaving you a little video I was playing with...


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Always HOT!

The lil' devils can be used for more than Halloween.

For example, here is the front of hubby's birthday card...

I will not reveal the personalized inside sentiment but you can come up with something like...

• 'Still Hot'
• 'You old devil'
• 'It's Hotter than _____ with all the candles on THIS cake'

And then there are all the innuendos you can make having to do with horns.

- too many possibilities to list them all!

The important thing for me to say today is...

 Happy Birthday Honey!

Oh you Little Devil!

On a Halloween roll this week...

Lil' Devil is loosely based on a clip-art devil I spotted.

Parts Photo - list is below

Head - owl punch with feet cut off
Cheeks - small oval
Ears - wing from two step bird
Nose - 1/2 inch circle
Eyes - narrow heart to heart in vanilla, standard hole punch in black, gel pen highlight
Beard - small heart to heart - bumps cut off (I curved my cut just a little bit, it wasn't a straight snip)
Mustache - small heart to heart - cut in half
Horns - 1/2 inch circle next to 1/2 inch circle hole
Neck - small arrow (retired) or just a thin strip of paper
Body - 3/4 inch circle
Arms - piece of an oval ring (large oval around small oval hole)
Hand - circle from itty bitty punch pack at tip of modern label
Tail - branch form two step bird - most leaves cut off, small heart to heart
Feet - small ovals - layer together - at same time punch tip with scallop oval
Pitchfork - 1/2 or less word window in black, 3/4 inch circle around 1/2 inch circle hole - snip part of the circle - add a scrap for middle tine - trim to point with scissors

Assembly Photo

The horns attach to the owl ears - so don't cut them off.
That is also why I left the end leaf on the branch - to attach the heart for his tail end.
I cut the "arm" piece in half before attaching - so one arm could turn up and one down.
Sponged real red cardstock with cherry cobbler ink
Sponged crumb cake clothing with soft suede ink
Drew on eyebrows and mouth with marker.

Simply by leaving off the facial hair and making the nose smaller you can have

Lil' Devil Baby!

I think he is so cute!

The smaller nose is one of the circles from the owl punch.

Definitely NOT Edward

If you are on the Halloween Punch Art Blog Hop and arrived here from Kim Score's Paper Punch Addiction
            

WELCOME!

(And those of you didn't come from Kim's site are welcome too!)

If you weren't hopping but want to, you can go back and check Kim's work then continue on the rest of the hop.

Ready for Punch Art?

Today, I give you a FRUSTRATED Vampire...

--- he is frustrated because his nose is soooo big,

he can't get close enough to bite any one's neck.
(grin or groan - I can't see or hear you so it won't hurt my feelings)

Parts list and tips: (you can easily give him a smaller nose if you prefer)

Head - large oval

Hair - 1 inch circle around the top of narrow heart to heart HOLE - see photo below

Nose - wing from two step bird

Mouth - end of word window

Fangs - tiny scraps

Ears - end of word window - slanted with scissors

Eyes - small heart to heart in white, a standard paper hole punch in black- gel pen highlight

Eyebrows - small heart to heart repunched next to the same hole at the top - which gives you a weird sliver to cut in half for two eyebrows that will fit exactly above the white of his eye

Neck - word window

Neck of cape - 1.75 circle repunched with smaller circles to get curves on each side (bottom)

Cape 'wing' - wide ovals repunched twice with small oval - layer and punch both 'wings' at the same time

Shirt - small oval

Collar - small heart to heart - trimmed with scissors (you are trimming from the middle of one side to the top of the next 'bump' to get this collar shape)

Pants - breast from owl (upside down)

Bow Tie - plus sign looking thing from itty bitty punch pack- cut in half

Shoes - small heart to heart - cut in half


I did his skin in blue since I am so "culturally aware" (hee hee) and read in a highly popular vampire series that vampires are cold and hard to the touch.

Why does Bella like him best if he feels like cold stone when she could have the super hot werewolf?  Please note: That was a rhetorical question - all you Edward fans need not respond. 

Of course, if  I was going to be true to that book series, I could never have given him that big honker of a nose - since all vampires are extremely attractive (this also makes casting for the movies much easier, I'm sure) ;)

This photo isn't the entire vampire, but it shows the hair piece and part of the assembly, so it might help you.

For the hair - the point goes on the front of the oval and the sideburns slide behind the oval
It just slips right on
(trust me)

In the mood for more Halloween Punch Art?
Of course you are!
Click HERE to see what Vicki at It's a Stamp Thing has prepared for you.

Enjoy!

Recycling

I'm being a bit lazy today and recycling a past character.

She began as a generic woman and with a few simple changes and a wave of my wand...

Oh my!  It's almost a self portrait (needs bifocals and a few more teeth)

Nothing hard - you should be able to see the shapes.  Yes, her eyes are two different size circles.  The point of the hat is not a punch  - just cut a scrap into a narrow triangle with your paper trimmer.  Teeth are scraps too.

I Spy - Halloween kitty

I have decided to add a new "feature" to the Blink Blog.  And we are going to call it "I Spy".

When I spy someone using one of my little characters or critters and it looks so fabulous that you NEED to see what they have done, or they have taken one of my punch projects to the next level, or just in general made me proud that I inspired them to punch their project....  I'm going to link to them so you can see it too.

I wish I had started this sooner because I have seen some fabulous projects but starting NOW is better than never showing you, right?

Our first I SPY is Vicki at It's a Stamp Thing with the cute cute treat bag she did with the black cat.   Go check it out!

Parental Guidance Suggested

Attention:   The following material is rated PG and is not suitable for all audiences.

(And if you are still going to look, you probably should swallow your coffee now)

I woke up yesterday morning with the idea of punching the back view of a golfer (hubby does have a birthday this month).  While attempting that, the classic plumber's crack came to mind.  So, I looked at some clip art and well, ya know...

I HAD to do it!

Surely you can think of some clever use for this character

• 
  
  even if you don't send cards to your plumber
• 
  
  even if your "man" isn't a handy kind of guy
• 
  
  even if you do all the house repairs yourself. 

'Cause you have to admit, you grinned when you saw it..... didn't you?  And don't you think that is worth passing on?  Make it and Mail it!

Now I'm out of here to spend the long weekend with the family.

Have a Happy Labor Day! 

See you again on Tuesday.

Ice Skater Boy

I guess the penguin got me on a winter theme - or maybe it is wishful thinking for cooler weather. 

Either way, today you get Ice Skater Boy (as opposed to just Skater Boy)

Yeah, I know his nose is a little funny - too much glue dot and then some overlapping of the eyes.  You can fix that when you make him.  OK?

I wanted him to be part of the BIG FOOT series but the big feet I came up with were TOO big.  Here's the proof.

Made the right decision, didn't I?

In this second picture you can see that his pants are a little odd - I use the breast from the owl punch - cut in half and overlapped them at the top so his legs could be separated to show him skating.

The smaller skate is the wide Heart to Heart for the boot and a small oval and word window for the blade.

And here is how you do that:

Punch the word window.  Punch the oval hole at the end so that you only have a blade's width of paper showing above the tip of the word window.  Then trim on each side with your scissors.

Old Craft Project Inspiration

A million years ago, (or maybe a dozen) I did "other than paper" crafts.  Shocking, I know.

Here is one I did

It is made from the finger of a garden glove (painted), a bit of felt and ribbon, and 2 wood hearts.  Originally it was a pin, but I switched it (by putting a magnet on the back) and now he goes on my fridge at Christmas time.

I was rummaging around the other day and spotted it and of course thought - PUNCHES! 

Check it out

Or

 SO Simple - SO Easy!

I LOVE the smile drawn on his beak!

All you need to know:
Body - wide oval
White - large oval stuck into the small heart to get indention (NOT the small Heart to Heart)
Beak - small heart  (NOT the small Heart to Heart)
Flippers - small oval (whole or cut in half)
Feet - wide heart to heart or full heart (I wish we had a size in between)