Naughty List

I know, I know.

I am on Santa's naughty list (and most of yours) as I have not been a very good blogger.  As some wise man said (and some folks sang) "there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven" and Autumn has not been punch/post season around here.

Thank you, thank you and thank you again for the continuing comments and emails of support and concern.  Honest, I'm fine.  I actually did punch - I recycled my jumping graduate for a couple of college grads that I'm really proud of - but nothing NEW has been created.

I just wanted to pop in and wish you all HAPPY HOLIDAYS and a very very Happy 2012.

keep punching (someone needs to do it)
hugs,

I Spy - firefighter

Tina Gillespie used my firefighter on a very nice card.  Check out the great job she did HERE to thank them for the great job they did with her childs' play group.

Do you know how much it THRILLS me when I see you gals actually using some of my ideas? 

I have gotten some of the sweetest emails about how you are using punch art in hospitals and card ministries, etc., to brighten peoples days and making hurting folks smile. Thanks for letting me know.

BIG SMILES on my face.

World Series

You didn't really think I'd let the Texas Rangers play in the 2011 World Series without some commemorative Punch Art, did you?

It has been a LONG time since I've punched so this is pretty simple - but hey, I gotta get started again somewhere...

And you could add a wimpy little moustache to represent our darling pitcher Derek Holland.  Way to pitch in the World Series Baby!

Punches needed: 1.75 inch circle, Small Tag, Blossoms Petal

Punch the circle for the ball
Punch the petal - reinsert it into the circle so you can see it and punch OFF just the bumpy ends - cut in half and you have the brim sections of your hat
Punch the small tag punch - either on the edge of the paper, or trim off one side slightly - insert in the circle punch to nip off just a tiny bit on the top of the hat

Outline hat pieces and draw lines on your baseball. Sponge a bit of ink on the edges if you like.

Ta-dah!

Whatever happens in Game 7, it was an AWESOME season. 

I love me some October Baseball!

Success!

Some of you might remember that I have been working on a HUGE Jane Austen scrapbook workshop project.  IT IS DONE!  And it was fun.

I had some of the loveliest ladies EVER in my classes and fortunately they LOVED what I had prepared for them.  I managed to please the newbies and give some tips to the experienced gals. 

I had a few students that hunted me down later in the conference - so I could meet their husbands so the guys would know who they had been talking about.  How sweet is that? 

And I had one hysterical gal that loved my sense of humor and we laughed every time we spotted each other over 5 days. 

And I think I might have inspired some ladies to run out and buy some new tools to add to their collections.  Now doesn't that sound successful to you?  Learning, Laughter and New Toys?

Hubby leaves in 2 weeks for Australia and then I should have plenty of time to start punching again. Soooo.... would the crafter who has borrowed my Inspiration Fairy please help her pack up her magic dust and point her in the direction of North Texas?  Thanks!

Just Talk

No punching has been going on.  As shocking as it might seem, there is more to life than paper crafts!

I'm fine.  I'm happy.  I'm busy.  And I haven't been posting 'cause I haven't been punching (or scrapping)

I could fill this blog with blather about life and my random thoughts and stupid insights -  but since most of you come here for the free punch art ideas, I decided silence was better.  But from some of the emails I've gotten, I thought I better check in with you gals and let you know all is well.

The girls are happy and settled in the same town (not this one) and hubby is preparing for a work assignment in Australia.  The dog and I have been (and will be) spending lots of quality time together. 

I've been painting and rearranging and organizing and reorganizing and moving the twigs around in my empty nest.  Still lots more to do. 

The idea is to be ready in case the Australia assignment turns a bit more permanent and we actually sell the house and move.  Right now, that is only a possibility but I want to be ready.  I have decades of crap to wade through and several household improvements to make.  And if we stay put - my house will be streamlined and in great shape.  I can already tell you that a decluttered home cleans a lot faster than a cluttered one!

Commercial Time:  I have a new addiction...audio books.  I LOVE being read to and our local library has LOADS of them to choose from.  I started just listening in the car but I have discovered that painting and cleaning are more fun with someone reading you a story.  TRY THEM!

Thanks for coming back to check on me.  I'm glad you noticed I was missing.  And yes, I hope to punch again but not right now.  Sorry punch fans.

The Fairy has been baking...

Don't worry, the Inspiration Fairy has been located.  Blog reader, Melanie Gunn, confessed that she has been at her house, baking cakes.  She helped Melanie bake this for a four year old:

Lucky four year old, huh?

I'm very glad to know that the I-Fairy hasn't been lazy!

Hoping while Melanie goes on her vacation, I can lure the fairy back to my punch drawer...  I have gotten a few requests and I hope to be able to help out.  Have fun on your travels Melanie! 

Call BPS

Someone needs to call BPS (Blog Protection Services) because I am SERIOUSLY neglecting this blog.

It is neglect when you totally miss your child's birthday, right? 

The blink blog had its second birthday this week and I didn't even think of it.

Bad blogger.

Can't really say what will become of Blinky this year.  I have the kids settled and am trying to get the hubby ready to work on the other side of the world which should leave me with lots of time to craft and punch but I'm not finding the enthusiasm for that. 

My short term goals are things like cleaning closets and painting bedrooms. And important things like watching Netflix.  I'll be scrapping and I guess some punch art will be created occasionally for that.

If you have requests, go ahead and ask me - maybe that is what I need to get punching again.  Otherwise, it may be pretty quiet around here. 

Which one of you is the lucky new landlord for the Inspiration Fairy?  She is a lovely tenant.  Please tell her I'd be happy to have her visit me anytime!

No punchin ' - Just talkin'

Still no punching around here.  Back from dropping off the kiddo.  Hard but not impossible.  Teared up but no hard core sobbing. 

And even though neither of the girls live here, they can still stir up plenty of drama.

Oldest drove youngest's car to work while hers was in the shop.
Left her purse in the car.  (note: I have only told her 300 times to NEVER do this)
Broken window.
Bye bye purse.

Hello DMV and Bank and all the other places you must go to replace ID.  Hello hassles, it is NOT nice to meet you.

So in case your Momma didn't tell YOU

NEVER LEAVE YOUR PURSE IN YOUR CAR

or if you do just go ahead and leave the door unlocked so the thieves can just take it and you don't have to pay to replace the window and you don't have to vacuum tiny shards of glass out of your car.

Tissue Time

About this time last year, I advised you to buy plenty of stock in a tissue company in anticipation of today because today is the day I leave to take my youngest to college. 

I am ready for her to have her big adventure... to start her "big girl life".  But I'm not ready to change my job title.  I can't exactly claim to be a "Stay Home Mom" without a kid in the home, now can I?

I guess I am now "House Wife".... oh geez, that means I'll be judged on the cleanliness of my toilets and the tastiness of my cooking instead of the wonderfulness of my girls.

Cleaning and Cooking - oh yes, certainly reason enough to spend the day crying. 

Where was I?

I'm back - and I'm very near the end of the final blog hop of the 2011 VC Rocks Season - Punches Galore is our theme - I couldn't miss this!

Where have I been since last hop? My Punch Art should give you a clue...

I have helped a friend pack to move out of her HUGE house in Houston. 

I have been to Austin, carting boxes from my attic to my eldest daughter's first solo apartment. 

This next week I will move my youngest into a dorm at UT Austin.  (The girls are THRILLED to be in the same city)

And when I get home from that, I continue preparing for hubby's overseas work assignment. 

I am tired of the smell of cardboard but I'm now a whiz with packing tape!

IDEA: You could change this to be boxes of presents for a birthday or other gift giving occasion.  OR: You could easily change it to a huge layered cake (oh yes! yum..... I'll have two pieces if it's chocolate).

And you don't have to have gray sticky out hair or boots - switch them around so you don't look like me!  But if you feel the need to make ME and packing boxes, here is what you need:

Boxes - 2 rectangles of Crumb Cake - sponged  (1.25 x 1.5 inches approx)

Hair - Scallop Circle in Gray - put it on a post it note, reinsert and repunch offset - lather, rinse and repeat (OK, just repeat) and then do it again for a small bang piece.  Post it notes are a punchers friend - keep some handy.

Arms -  1.25 inch circle HOLE in a piece of  Real Red - punch around that hole with the 1.75 inch circle - cut the resulting ring in half to get the arms.  (In the spirit of honesty, I was actually wearing short sleeves through all this packing - we had 40 consecutive days over 100 degrees around here...and more in the forecast)

Hands - Modern Label in flesh tone (I still have a stockpile of retired Blush Blossom, you could use Blushing Bride) repunch each end with a 1/2 inch circle

Jeans - modern label on denim paper - trim the "bumps" off one end  (need 2 since I have 2 legs)  To make denim paper, simply rub your Night of Navy ink pad all over a piece of Bashful Blue cardstock.  (Yes, it is that easy)



Click Button to Go to Loni's Blog

Shoes - (supposed to look like my favorite and constantly worn Cowboy Boots) - 5 petal flower - trimmed with scissors.

Ready to see more ideas for punches?  Click on the right hand button to hop on to see what Loni Holt has for you...                             . 


Click Button to go back to Shirley's blog

If you like going backwards (some folks do) click the button on the left to go to (or return) to Shirley's Blog.

If you get lost, Blog Hop Home is HERE.

Hang on...

The two trips are done, I have taught 2 of the 3 on line classes and the pile of pages prepped for Jane Austen has grown significantly, but the moving humans around part is just starting... and that of course means more trips.  Geez, how did my life get so busy?

Just letting you know that I am fine but little time to create and no time to punch.  Hang on... I shall return (just don't know when)

Swallow your patience pill...

Be patient with me for a little bit - I had a roll of posts going but that has come to a screeching halt.

I'm knee deep in Jane Austen.  Remember the big workshop I designed scrap pages for?  Well, now I'm doing assembly of the kits.  And completing 2 more Jane Austen tasks that I was "volunteered" for...

Plus I have to prep for 3 online classes for VC Rocks.

I have 2 fun weekend trips with girl friends this month.

I have one kid moving to an apartment and the other moving into a dorm during the first 2 weeks of August.

Can you say BUSY?

I'll post when I can.  Keep punchin'!

Anita and a Mouse

Anita is at it again - punching her heart out - and doing an AMAZING job.  This one will be really popular...

MINNIE MOUSE

She didn't leave any directions on the post.  And I can't immediately tell what she used for her cheeks but if directions don't magically appear on Lucia's blog, I'll try it for you.  All you gals that vacation at the Disney Theme Parks will want her, I'm sure!  Make sure you check this out and leave a sweet comment!

Cup of Tea

Welcome to my little portion of the VC Rocks Blog Hop.  Our theme this weekend is "Anything but a Card". 

No problem for me, since I so RARELY show a card. 

What I came up with (just for you) is a punch art bookmark.  Which is shown here in a good book I just finished, Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier.

.

Here is the WHOLE thing

Instead of Fiction is my cup of tea, it could have been Mysteries are my cup of tea, Romance is my cup of tea, Cooking is my cup of tea... well, you get the idea - fit the bookmark to your own needs - or make it "match" a specific book. (Gift Idea!)

So how did I make the teapot?

Start with the feather duster looking petal from Blossom Petal Builder Punch.  Trim as shown in photo.  Keep the "lumpy" bottom piece and the middle piece - toss the tiny tip.

The lumpy bottom piece becomes the "lid" of the pot - just add a small circle.

Handle is 3/4 inch circle around the 1/2 inch circle hole

Spout is the left side "part" of the small petal on the Blossom Petal Builder (see photo below)

I stamped on some little flowers, sponged all the edges and put it all together with mini glue dots.

The bonus idea today is to punch the "feather duster" in silver, trim the "lumpy" bottom off as I did for the teapot, leave the tip alone and you have a Hershey "kiss" shape. 

Easy, huh?  And it is easy to see more "non card" projects - just click the buttons below to continue on the VC Blog Hop. 

Home base is HERE if you get lost along the way (official hop start time is 9 AM Central)

Click the button on the left to hop backwards to see what Carey Rogers has for you or Click the button on the right to hop over to see what Karen Gibson created.  Happy Hopping!



Random Woman

Sometimes you have some smart or snarky sentiment but no image to coordinate.  This is the type project/card that I like to use a "random woman" on.  So here is a random woman punch art

The hair was inspired by some of the "dos" from the 60s as I was watching DARK SHADOWS on Netflix.  Hysterical - the special effects are atrocious, the phones are rotary dial and you get an AWESOME idea of the 60s fashions.  Unfortunately, I've finished all the instant watch so I'll have to wait for them to mail the discs if I want to find out what happens to Barnabas Collins and the rest of the Collins family (imagine spooky music here) 

Here is the punch list if you need to make Miss Random:

Neck and Chest - feather duster looking petal from Blossom Petal Builder
Eyes - leaf from Blossom Petal Builder (trimmed a bit on one end - stack them and cut both at the same time for matching eyeballs) and 1/2 inch circle and black pen
Dress - Full Heart
Face - Ornament
Lips - circle from itty bitty punch pack at end of modern label hole
Hair - large oval and large ovals near large oval holes
Necklace - standard hole punch (anyone else think of Wilma Flintstone when you saw this jewelry?)

And here are some other random women I've made, in case you need 'em or missed 'em.
Sample A
Sample B
Sample C
Sample D

In Color Clown

This started out as a color challenge but I got distracted and missed the deadline, so now it is just another piece of punch art for the pile.  Maybe you can use the idea.

Nothing wildly different about this guy - the hands are part of the butterfly punch - repunched with a largish circle - the pants are the breast from the owl punch - and the rest is pretty obvious.

Here it the link to another clown I did back in the early days of the blog that I think I like better - Click Here.  Maybe you can mix parts of the 2 clowns and add a dash of your own creativity for a new and improved version.

I'm not "clowning around" when I say THANK YOU DEAR READERS!!  Yesterday the blink blog passed a million page views.  Yes, I said 1,000,000 page views in less than 2 years.  I sincerely appreciate your support, your inspiration, your comments, and most of all your hanging with me through my emotional upheavals and scrapbook phases.  Love y'all!

Blossom Petal Builder Werewolf

I know this is a little weird for a July post...

but it is what sprung from more blossom petal builder playtime - I'm betting NO ONE else has made a werewolf with this punch (possibly from ANY punch).

Take 2 of the feather duster looking parts and two of the leaves for his ears, add a RETIRED AND LOVED small oval, small heart eyes, scrap teeth and a few pen marks and you are done.

HOW FUN!

Check this out!

Isn't that fun?

Didn't spy any directions but my daughter and her 2 'besties' are planning their first ROAD TRIP this month so I'm going to be trying this.  I'll let you know how my teen-ed up version comes out.

D is for Drum

Yet another "why did I make this?" project - but I was playing with the new pennant punch which has a scallop and plain version and this popped into my mind.

Yes, the top of the drum is the retired small oval layered on the large oval.  Not sure I'll ever forgive SU for retiring this punch.  I could resign in protest but ummmm, that would hurt ME, NOT the company, so I'll just keep buying product and whining about my loss periodically.

Bottom of drum is word window
Base is rectangle
alternated pennant punch - trimming to fit rectangle

Easy - and you can make it for your local garage band drummer - or maybe a Little Drummer Boy Christmas card...???  Mine will wind up in the box of unused punchart - pretty big box and pretty full -not really a waste however, since it takes so little cardstock and keeps you gals entertained for a few seconds. 

I think alternating the pennant punch (as on the drum) would make a great quick border on a scrapbook page.  You could space them like the drum or use more than one color and push them all together.   But I'm not going to try that today - I "owe" you gals a few more punch art days before I make you look as scrap pages again.

E is for Elephant

I am almost "giddy" when I can create a character using just ONE punch.  Man of Mystery from the Owl Punch was one of my most genius moments.
For today you get an elephant made entirely from the small tag punch (easily made from large tag punch too)

Here is the how to:

punch just a bit of the tag on the edge of your paper

 Punch one tag over the "hole" and 3 additional tags

 Trim 2 of the tags diagonally from the bottom corners to form the ears

Reinsert the remaining tag into the punch (twice) to remove the sections shown below (you can put your punch piece on a post it note to give you more to hold as you reinsert the punch piece) 

 sponge - draw on your eyes and nose "wrinkles" and you have an elephant

Pennant Hive

Yesterday, we had petals from the NEW pennant punch - today the same punch in the same color becomes a bee hive

Just trimmed the bottom the tiniest bit with scissors

Rounded the top (stuck it in the hole of the 1/2 inch circle, I think)

Draw on a few lines, sponge some ink , add a heart door

Bee is 1/2 smallest heart to heart with vellum heart wings (from owl punch)

Simple Pennant Petals

Simple little project - Used the postage punch for the flower center and the NEW pennant punch as the petals.  Leaves are the wide oval, folded in half and run through the crimper on the diagonal.

Tennis Power

Surprise!  Third post in a row...

I don't play tennis (I don't play sports - I think I'm "allergic" to exercise) but if I did, I would not want this character hitting a ball in my direction - this gal has some muscles!

Head - Owl punch (minus feet and ears)
Hair - NEW postage punch - as is, turned on the diagonal
Strip of something (I already forgot) for headband
Usual, usual usual  blah blah blah - legs are modern label with a line drawn to separate them. Lips are the tiny heart from the owl punch.

More Blossom Petal Builder Punch

Maybe if I write the name of this punch a few more times, I'll actually remember it.  As of now, I'm still having to look it up.  Blossom Petal Builder is the one that looks like a feather duster to me - Haven't used it too much so I tried another project and I think you might like this..

Ok, maybe you'll like it better next Easter instead of now but I haven't been turning out too many punch ideas so you best just take what I can give and don't be picky about seasonal timing.

Body - large feather duster petal from Blosoom Petal Builder
WIngs - large feather duster again (cut int half)
Beak - narrow heart to heart, trim bumps end off
Feet - I cut the little flower from itty bitty punch pack - but I should have just used the owl feet
Hat - medium oval
Hat brim - combo of ornament and large oval
Flower - itty bitty punch pack, standard hole punch center

Blossom Petal Builder Punch Pooch

Did I really NEED to punch yet another dog?  No, but let's just be glad I punched something...

And he did turn out kinda cute...

Head and Body - Feather Duster looking part of the Blossom Petal Builder (BPB), for head insert small end into 1/2 inch circle to shorten and round for his forehead.
Muzzle - large leaf BPB - trimmed on one end to "match"
Ears - small leaf BPB
Paws - small blossom BPB, trimmed flat on one side
Tail - large oval next to hole of same
Nose - 1/2 inch circle on edge of paper
Tongue - any small circle next to hole of same - trim end to round
Collar - 3/4 circle around 1/2 circle hole
Heart tag - small heart to heart (old tiny punch from SU  - might match eyes on the owl punch???)
Ring on color - circle from itty bitty punch pieces around standard hole punch hole
Eyes - small heart in white, standard hole punch in black

This was inspired by a stamp in a 2001 catalog that I am not allowed to name due to SU Cult Rules -Why are they paranoid about admitting other companies have nice product?  (I can't answer because I don't understand the cult mentality)

The real question is why do I still have ANY company's 2001 catalog?....  might be time to do some more purging around here...

Lost

Lost

I think we'll have to call June 2011 the "Lost Month" on the Blink Blog.

Went over to my former upline's house this week thinkin' she'd light a fire under my lazy crafting butt. But she was not up to that monumental task - I sat and visited with her while she scrapbooked. I punched a few pieces with a new pennant punch that is coming out July 1- but made exactly NOTHING worth sharing.

She was working on an old Halloween page where her son was TAZ. So we pulled up my punched Taz on her laptop and she recreated it. I just kept looking at it thinking "how the heck did I ever figure that out?" I was amazed at my former self - that was definitely genius compared to what I've thought up lately.

I have a couple of ideas that are flitting around in my head. Maybe July will be a better month.

I'm HOME

Hey blog readers.  Did ya notice I was gone?

Been "on the Vineyard" with my girls and my brother's clan and my mom (SO very nice to have relatives that plan your trip for you!)  Got home a little before 2 am - TIRED - so we all slept in

But I just had to post a little VICTORY announcement in case you didn't notice that our beloved MAVS are the CHAMPIONS in the land of the orange round ball and hoops with cute little nets dangling from them.

Hubby didn't travel with us because he had TICKETS to all the home games in the series and had to leave on a business trip before our scheduled return.  When I talked to him, he was so excited I think he could have gotten to his destination without the plane - we are flying high around here!!

I did snap several photos with punch inspiration while on our trip so I hope to actually have some punch art for you soon.  Sadly, first I must do laundry and grocery shop.  Vacation would be so much better if there wasn't a full day of CHORES tacked on to the end of it, know what I mean?

18th Birthday

Here is how my smart nerd wanted to celebrate her 18th birthday:

She had never had a bounce house for her birthday - Check that off the list.

I am heading off with the girls on a fun trip for a few days.  They tell me I'll have Internet but I certainly won't have any supplies to punch you anything. 

Why don't some of you punch me some dolphins so I can scrap these photos when I get home? 

Buttons Busting

Baby girl (also known as "kiddo who lives at home" will graduate from high school tonight.  And let me BUST MY BUTTONS with pride telling you that her class rank is 11 out of a class of 760.  If you need me to calculate that for you, she is in the top 2% of her class.

I hope you are impressed because we are so so proud.  Smart smart smart (and cute and sweet) just like her big sis.  That is also smart like her mama and cute like her daddy  (neither of us are very sweet)

I told her she was EXTRA special graduating 11th in 2011.   And I'll be beaming from the 4th row as she walks that stage.

Way to go kiddo!!!!!

but did you have to grow up so fast?

Wanna see something new?

No, not from the new SU catalog (available to everyone July 1)  - I'm too tight to expedite...

This is a new download for MDS called Hello Baby - and it has a pennant punch which makes pennants and  easy turned down corners too.

and there is PINK in the kit too

you have to order the kit to get the MDS pennant punch right now - I'm betting it will be available separately at a later date - but that is just my guess.

No punch art book from me...

Last fall I told y'all I was working on a punch art book, and I was.  Then Daddy died and I got off kilter.  Yesterday's announcement retiring the small oval punch(sob!) made it clear to me that a book just isn't practical to do - when the punches are not available for purchase, who would buy a book? 

And basically, half the punch art on this blog is useless without this punch.  Never thought they would retire such a basic shape - but alas, Stampin' Up! is focused on stamping not punching - the company is not called "Punching Up!", now is it?   (grin)

As disappointing as this is, we will all survive somehow. 

Yes, life will go on without the small oval punch, and it will CERTAINLY go on without my "1/4 th written" book ever seeing the light of day.

I still get regular emails from some readers asking about this project, so I thought I'd let you ALL know to stop expecting it.

Now, if you don't already own them,  go order those punches before they are all sold out!

Retiring Punches

Today is the big day - when Stampin' Up! announces the retiring stamps and accessories - and nine out of ten demo blogs will have that info for you.

I just want to give you a head up on punches - in case you don't have some of the retiring ones.

Spiral Punch - love it for it's intended purpose - makes great "film strips" - makes cleats for baseball and golf characters - you NEED this one

Bitty Bat - bye bye - won't really miss it

Cogs Double punch - bye bye - won't really miss it

Designer Label Punch - Perfect for skeleton skulls, I think I used it for lanterns too - can't remember much else -  you can survive without it unless you are a Halloween Freak (and then you might want the bat punch too)

1 3/8 x 5/8 oval- when I saw this I thought it was the new oval but girls - I think this is the "small oval" which is CRUCIAL for punch art.  If you don't have it ORDER TODAY  - NOW While supplies last!!!!!  I suspect it is used for 1/2 of my characters - this is a top drawer - easy reach - used ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photo Corners Punch - used to make a "few" things.  And I like it for photo corners.  I recommend you get it while you can.  It is a keeper!

Star Punch - I don't use it for a lot of punch art but come on - we need a star punch for STARS!!!!  I recommend you buy this one too.

That is my 2 cents - whether you pay me or not!

Heritage Page - in Pink?

Bella Rose paper is a BRAND NEW download (of retired designer series paper) for MDS and I thought it would work with heritage photos  - then, based on that paper, I decided to use one of the photo effect tools and tinted the focal photo pink.  I think I like it!

This would be my father-in-law's aunt.  Isn't she gorgeous?

I wish I knew these people

I am working on my husband's family - heritage type album, so don't expect a lot of out of me over the next couple of weeks.  We also have a graduation and a birthday and a vacation.  I may pop in with a random story or two but you punch art fans better look elsewhere because the Fairy is still MIA.

As I said, I am deep in the Kemper Family past and gosh, I wish I knew some of these people...

I'm not really into the whole genealogy thing -- birth, death and marriage dates are necessary but what I'm loving is finding little tidbits out from their lives - which isn't easy unless you get lucky and someone saved a diary or a letter or two (obits only tell so much)

Found a great great Aunt (her father fought in the civil war) and have a copy of a letter she wrote in 1936 (just a few year before her death).  It includes stories from her childhood - stories of her dad - prices and weird items she found in his store records and she ended it like this:

This is a terribly written excuse for a letter but I doubt if I would do any better if I tore it up and wrote another so read what you can and guess at the rest and write to me sometime but don’t spell all the words right or make the letters too near perfect for it might discourage me from ever trying.  Love to all, Cora

Doesn't she sound like someone I'd like to have known?

SEW crazy

I really wasn't going to bore you with my digital scrappin' for awhile, but I'm so excited about the Simple Stitching download - I just have to show you some layouts - the first one is not the newest stitch download - the second 2 photos are.

sketch from Alesha Walls

Next, my idea (yes, it does happen)

Third, the  5.26 Sketchy Thursday Sketch

You might notice these are OLD photos - pre-digital days - I love MDS so much, I am scanning in my photos from DECADES AGO so I 'll have more to digi-scrap.  (yes, I realize that is pathetic) 

Link to Builder

Clare (Crafty Cow Creations) had Bob the Builder on her blog today.  I don't have little boys and I never watched his show or read his books or whatever the heck Bob the Builder has out there, but this would be a great start for any handyman card or layout.  Check it out!

Spring Break for Adults

Look at the first small photo on the first page - yes, there was a lady using a walker with a grass skirt...

Hornets

Saw a plea for a hornet over on SCS so I jumped into action with this:

Body and wings - large ovals
head - small oval
eyes - small heart cut in half
Legs and antennae - wide heart to heart next to hole of the same (antennae need to be trimmed)

Stripes were just drawn in - lay an oval down, trace the edge, move & repeat - color between them

What she really wanted was a "brown hornet" and when I googled that I saw the old cartoon The Brown Hornet from the Fat Albert show - Hadn't thought of this Super Hero in decades!  But he screamed PUNCH ME, so I did:

I didn't "fine tune" him since I have no use for him - but maybe one of you will need him - or he will trigger another idea for someone.

His face is medium oval and 2 small ovals
Hair - small oval
Neck - word window
Kerchief - wide oval, small heart next to same hole
His shirt is the butterfly punch trimmed
Muscles and Sleeves are the medium oval
Gloves are narrow heart to heart and  1/2 inch circle at the ends of the modern label
Narrow waist is the Blossom Petal Punch
Shorts - 5 petal flower trimmed
Shoes - wide heart to heart
Legs - wide heart to heart next to same hole

Never Give Up!

Never Give Up!

This post title could be talking about the Mavs - Thunder playoff game last night, where the Mavs were down 15 points with less than 5 minutes to play and came back to win by 7 points in overtime... but it's not.   (GO MAVS!)

Never Give Up, in this case, refers to talented crafter Barbara Diane, who also happens to be a faithful Blink Blog reader and commenter.  She has not given up asking me to punch Snow White since I did the 7 Dwarfs.  I kept putting her off.  I tried referring her to this beautiful Snow White but she wanted one in "my" style.

Famous characters are hard because they have to be "just right" since everyone knows what they are supposed to look like.  Famous PRETTY characters are even HARDER because those attractive faces aren't exactly your basic punch shapes.  But Barbara Diane, for YOU,  DEAR YOU, I have attempted Snow White.

I picked this pose because my vision of her is standing in the forest singing to all the woodland creatures with birds landing on her outstretched arms.  Too many years since I watched the movie, but that is what I remember.

Face  - 1 inch circle - trimmed in slightly on one side (for cheek bone)
Hair - 1.25 inch circle and 1/2 inch circle
Bangs - 1/2 inch circle cut in half - cut edges are hidden under the headband
Headband - 1 inch circle near same hole, top of small heart for bow (middle drawn with marker)
Face - drawn on (don't laugh at my attempt)
Neck - word window
Collar - 1 3/8 inch circle - trimmed
Chest - medium oval
Bodice - Owl punch (yes, you read that right) - insert head end into bottom of the ornament punch to get pointed part at the waist - repunch foot end with 1 inch circle to get curved neckline
Strip on bodice - word window at edge of paper (super thin) - didn't attempt to adhere to front - wrapped the strip around the bodice and attached in the back
Skirt - wide oval
Sleeves - large oval, both ends repunched with 3/4 inch circle, then throw away bits of the brand new Blossoms Bouquet Triple Layer Punch (in Summer Mini) in red
Arms - wide heart to heart next to same hole
Hands - small heart to heart trimmed down on the thumb side

Color your hair and find a new career...

Once a brunette baker, next a blond artist, this same "face" now belongs to a Red Headed Science Major.

or maybe a lab tech, or maybe a doctor - give her the prop you need for your project  (Graduation card perhaps?)

Face from THIS POST
White coat - large oval - cut flat on bottom, cut in V at neck.  I actually cut the thing in half to make her coat but it is exactly the same size so I recommend you just draw the line down the middle and keep the oval whole - draw on collar and buttons
Sleeves - 1/4 small oval
Arms - large oval around small oval hole - cut to get the pieces for her forearms
Pocket - end of word window
"dress" behind the coat - just a couple of tiny rectangular scraps (no punch needed)
Legs - one word window with line drawn down the middle to get 2 legs
Shoes -  drawn on - I tried the smallest heart to heart around a small circle hole  (small part and hard to attach - recommend you use liquid like Tombo Multi if you choose this option)

A Little Artist

So the baby steps continue... I took the first baby step face again and instead of making her a baker - I made her a blond...

This hair looks like one of kiddo's best friends, who happened to be in my kitchen at the time of creation so I asked her what she would like to be and she answered "Artist, artist with a green smock".

Just a few minutes later I had this done so I guess I am starting to find my groove.  I just need the I-fairy to find her way home and we'll be totally back in business!

Face, Neck and Hair info - HERE - from 2 or 3 posts ago  (I added another scallop oval behind her head to fill in the hair totally)

Beret - small oval and slot punch (slot is retired, use a tiny scrap)

Smock - half a medium oval at the top, wide oval trimmed (diagonally on each side) draw on the "gathers"

Sleeves  - wide heart to heart

Hands - itty bitty circle at ends of modern label

Palette - medium oval trimmed in, standard hole punch paint spots

Brush - tip of one of the Blossom Petals and word window on edge of paper

Hello Kitty - a "borrowed" punch art idea

When you lose your stampin' mojo, casing someone else's work is a great way to get back in business.  Well, that works for punching too.

This is NOT an original - I got it from Quiltmaniac46 on SCS right here and click HERE for her instructions.

I made a couple of adjustments but this is basically her Hello Kitty:

Here is what I used:
Dress - scallop circle - trimmed like hers
Head - wide oval - just like hers
Ears - narrow heart to heart
Shirt - small oval
Sleeves - medium oval cut in half to get 2
All paws - 1/2 inch circle
Face - drawn on  - just like hers
Bow center - itty bitty pack circle
Bow loops - 1/2 inch circle - trimmed

Another Baby Step

Slowly getting back to punching - continuing the baby steps....

Nothing fancy, no sponging, nothing complex but a character that you can use for just about ANY recipe card... or a card for a cook... or a scrapbook page about cooking up trouble...

oh, just use it for SOMETHING

How to:
Face from previous post
plus
Hat - 3/4 inch square (retired punch, just use your paper trimmer to make one) and small oval
Arms - large oval around small oval hole - trim to get the parts you need
Hands - itty bitty circle at ends of modern label
Chest - small oval - trimmed
Apron/Dress - first I punched the neck hole with that retired 3/4 inch square - then punched the 1.25 square around it, then trimmed the sides on a slight diagonal - so you might as well free hand this (sorry)
Bowl - 1 inch circle on edge of paper
Spoon - itty bitty circle - put on a post it note, the sticky part, and repunch with same to get oval spoon shape - add narrow strip of word window punch for spoon handle

Baby Steps

It really has been a loooooooooooong time since I punched.  I actually had to open a drawer and hunt for mini glue dots for assembly.  (I have plenty, they had just shifted to the back)

With the Inspiration Fairy MIA, (my MDS obsession must have hurt her terribly - but I LOVE me some MDS)  I will just have to start again with baby steps... baby steps back towards punching.

I saw some really cute stamps on a blog that I am FORBIDDEN to link you to because they sell competing product (GASP!)   but a cute stamp by a company that is NOT SU (GASP! again) is my inspiration for this start:

1 3/8 circle  - HEAD

word window on edge of paper to make a narrow strip - NECK

scallop oval punched next to scallop oval hole (and shifted so one end is narrower than the other) to make 4 locks of -HAIR

simple simple simple drawn on - FACE

now I just have to decide how to dress her?  Baker?  Princess?  Party Girl?

Tune in later for the results show...

Anita Anita ANITA!!!!

While I'm waiting to get my punch mojo rolling, let me show you who is Rockin' the Punches again...

It's ANITA (click on her name) - she turned the stamp set Totally Tess into punch art.

Mom? why can't you give ME cute stuff for my blog?  Oh yeah, you don't even remember I have one!

Great job Anita (as always and forever)

Honest, I did pull out punches

Honest, I pulled out punches today - didn't finish anything but I have 2 "in work"

Then I left that mess on my desk and hopped on the laptop and made this:

which makes the mess on my desk look pristine!

Digi Punch Art (kinda)

The oval blob in the middle of the page during my "watercolor" tutorial made me think of this.

Hope someone out there can use an over-caffeinated bug...

Color My World - Digitally!

Welcome to the first VC Rocks blog hop of the 2011 Season - Color My World!

If you were not "hopping" and just popped in to see me, why not follow along the hop trail and see what great things my fellow VC Rockers prepared? 

Home base is HERE. 

To go backward click HERE.

To go forward click HERE. 

To see how to watercolor in My Design Studio (MDS) scroll down.

WHAT?

Watercolor Digitally?

You betcha!

I about panicked when I found out our blog hop theme was "Color My World" since coloring is not my strong suit - but then, I remembered what I learned from Leah Fedynak on mydigitalstudio.net

This technique involves NO water. I'm going to show you how to color simple things like the center of the flower from Sweet Details (digi download) in a soft watercolor style.

First, I created the basic layout using Framed With Love, a photo replicated 3 times but cropped each time so it looks like I cut it apart, and a daisy from Sweet Details.

so it would look like THIS:

Then I added an oval (see the gray blob in the middle of the screen below?)

Then in the design center (right side) I added a drop shadow  - increasing the opacity to 100% and the blur to "full" - and I changed the color of the shadow from black to Rose Red (see photo below)

This next part is gonna seem a little weird but hang with me. 

While you have your oval selected, in your Design Center click on "paper fill" and fill the oval with ANY paper (I used a black stripe) - see it in the middle of the photo below?

Now click (or double click?)  on the 'paper filled oval' and you will get a screen where you can pull the paper down OFF the oval - see photo below:

So now, you have a blurry edge Rose Red oval in the center of your page. 

I'm betting you know what happens next....

I moved the oval over the flower center and rotated it slightly to match.

You can see that I zoomed in so I could place it correctly.

Zoom is at the bottom of your Design Center.

You may (or may not) want to adjust opacity to get the look you want .

It took many photos for me to teach you - but in reality it just takes SECONDS to do this.  If there is a punch you can use (or stretch and distort) to fill the area of a stamp you'd like to color, you can color it faster than you can walk to the sink and fill an aqua painter with water.  And with this method you can change your mind and switch colors as many times as you'd like without wasting supplies!

Want to know another cool MDS color trick?

You are not limited to SU colors

What if I wanted my background to be Rose Red?

When I did that - the center of my flower doesn't look the way I want.

But I still want ROSE RED as my flower center. 

Stomp foot decisively!

(Stomping will not help)

But, I have a solution.

Click on your oval and click drop shadow again - and click to change the color

Instead of picking one of the SU colors shown so nicely in little boxes -  click on the tab above the colors that says HSB

Then you can move your cursor to pick up a lighter or darker color - slightly off from Rose Red.

Below, you can see where I chose a lighter shade for the Daisy Center.

This HSB color choosing is also how you can have tone on tone stamping.

There is no Versamark in MDS.

You can also "color match" in MDS - there is a little dropper where you can exactly match another color in your photo or project but I'm not getting into that today.

I hope you learned a trick or two about MDS

Have fun with digital coloring!

One more time: 

VC Rocks Blog Hop Home is HERE

To go backward to Maddebug Designs, click HERE

To move on to see what Kelly Mayou, The Weekend Stamper, has for you, click HERE

VC Rocks has all kinds of classes, swaps, challenges and fun.  We are accepting new members this month ONLY.  I learn so much from the Rockers.  Come give us a try (if you can stand our chit chat!)  Read the side bar on the Blog Hop Home page and you'll learn a little more about VC Rocks!