Another Owl Idea - just not mine...

I'm still playing catch up today - ideas in work but nothing finalized so I'm sending you...

To see Lynn Pratt.

Most of you probably already follow Lynn, because she just oozes talent - ALL the time. 

Today she has been playing with the Owl punch so you need to go see the cute kids she made using it.

If you haven't done it before, you NEED to explore her whole blog - maybe even invest in a tutorial or two.  Her work is fabulous and she is a creative machine - always something new.

GO SEE HER BLOG!

A CLUE about what I've been doing

I have been posting detectives and spies but no one has even asked for a CLUE about my new profile picture.  I thought FOR SURE someone would ask.

Guess I'll just have to tell you.

Hubby and I got to be the last minute stand-ins for a trip to a ranch in Wyoming.  That's right.  Me, city girl, went where they have horses, and fishing, and hiking, and antelope, and wolves and bears, oh my!

That is KC and Me.  And that big old can hanging on my belt is BEAR REPELLANT - didn't even know that existed but we weren't allowed to leave the yard of the ranch without it. 

Do I look natural in this environment?  Ha, the hat is from the Dallas Zoo when I need shade and the boots are my every day attire since they are the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned - and I live close enough to Fort Worth Texas (Cow-Town) that it isn't too strange for daily wear around here (although people do make occasional comments).

Had an absolute BLAST.  And while I caught no fish, I had a ball playing at it, in the river, with my waders that were 2 sizes too big - (profile pic)

I'm waiting to get the photos one of the other ladies took before I scrapbook the whole thing.

I will confess the best part for me was sitting around the fire pit each night - in a JACKET in JULY - sipping red wine on a full belly  (when someone else cooked the food and someone else built the fire) KNOWING it was near 100 back in North Texas.  I'm kinda mean that way.

Sorry for the no punch post - but obviously I lost some desk time while I was off in the great outdoors and I will now try to play catch-up.

Regionals - Coming in September to a place near ME!

I just signed up for the Stampin' Up Regional Event in Ft. Worth Texas on Saturday Sept. 11. 

If you are going, be sure to let me know - I'd love to meet you!

I Spy a Spy

Spy? or Detective?  I don't have a clue....

But I DO know it is another character using the fabulous new Owl punch.

Here are some clues on making him:

Hat, Legs, Shoes the same as Man of Mystery - from the Owl punch  (I just added a band to the hat)

Upturned collar - the OWL punch - upside down with the feet trimmed off

Body of coat - wide oval - shortened by reinserting into wide oval - then cut in half vertically - overlapped at the neck so you get a gap to see his pants

Belt - some oval or circle next to the same hole to get curved band - draw on belt buckle

Face - small oval

Moustache - heart to heart next to heart to heart hole

Nose - some little circle trimmed flat on one side

Arms and Hands - the usual - heart to heart arms, modern label trimmed with small circle hands

Note:  I outlined all the pieces with a black marker - thought they looked better.

Now, lets hear some clever captions - you all did so great on Wino Kitty - I bet you can help me out on this guy too.

Turn right, no the other right...

Have I given you directions to this blog yet?

THIS ONE RIGHT HERE - Crafty Cow Creations!

If I haven't sent you here before, I'm sorry for the delay.  Go check her out - she has loads more than just punch art but you can find a link to some really cute punch art in the right hand column of the blog.  (keep scrolling down to find Elvis)

And speaking (or typing) of crafty cows, how about a clever crafted cow by Laura Lipe?  You must see these - a torn strip of paper makes them look SO GREAT!!!!

Did those mooooo-ve your face into a grin?  They did mine.

P.S. I added a new "label" - links to other punchers - You can find it on the right hand side of the blog.

Yep, I did my best to go back through ALL the past posts and find the times I've sent you off to look at another punchers work.  I might have missed one but I tried to find them all.

Oh what a giggle...

The good folks at blogspot have added some statistics for bloggers so you can see who is referring people to your blog and the search keywords people are using to find your blog, etc.

I just discovered this feature (about 3 weeks behind the times) and as I was checking it out, I noticed someone had found my blog by searching for "how to talk to a cute boy by the pool"

Can you imagine the disappointment when that search brought her to THIS?

Man of Mystery

This little guy uses ONE punch - the Owl - and he just fell into place for me. 

I "saw" the hat and

**POOF**

the Inspiration Fairy waved her wand and there he was!

First the parts:

(Remember - these are ALL from the new SU Owl punch)

Now the results:

Pretty Clever, Huh?

Here is how you alter the punch parts:

Cut the owl foot off to become the moustache
One owl breast - cut at widest point to become the hat
One cut in half vertically to become his suit coat
The gray one shortened at the bottom to become his vest
Red heart trimmed "under" the bumps to become the bow tie

Cut the "spare" flesh circle down to become the neck - you don't REALLY see it but you need it to hold him together.

He can be a little taller and wider depending on how you glue your parts together.  Remember you can "roll up" mini glue dots and still use them on tiny parts (like moustaches and bow ties)

I used this little guy on a Birthday Card - Front says "Happy Birthday"
Inside says "I find no evidence that you have aged at all"

Of course I had to put the inside sentiment in a magnifying glass out of punches.  Sometimes I just can't stop.

Thanks for your support as a result of the prior post.  There is no way for me to know who submitted that particular card to Stampin' Up! - I only saw it by chance on someone's blog and she was not presenting it as her work - just sharing samples from the boards at convention. 

Hopefully my post will educate the demos that are getting ideas from others that adding a ribbon or changing a color on someone's original artwork does NOT mean you should present their work as your own.  This is a touchy subject and I know there are ladies that think "you shouldn't share if you don't want to be copied" - but let's remember to copy, giving credit.  And NEVER copy and submit for contests or publication.

Thanks!

Oh PLEASE

Ladies, I LOVE that you are able to use my ideas for your cards and personal projects.  BUT I need to tell you that I am EXTREMELY frustrated when I see things published online or submitted to Stampin' Up! that are IDENTICAL to things I have shared here when there is no credit given or link back to my work. 

I just saw a blog where someone was sharing samples she had seen at the recent Stampin' Up! Convention and there was my Donald Duck.  EXACTLY as I shared him here. 

I understand that two people can have the same ideas, but Donald was a complex piece of punch art and I have serious doubts that two of us created the same character, using identical methods.

Please ladies, do not submit my ideas as your own.  This makes me want to stop sharing any tips on how to make these punch art characters.  To be honest, I am thinking of ending the blog because this is definitely not the first time I have seen my work show up online without any credit.

Use my ideas but PLEASE give me credit and PLEASE do not submit them to Stampin' Up! or any other publication or company as your original work.

Thank you.

Gift Frame

I have a friend who's faith is very important to her - and this frame scripture project was for her.

You could do something similar with favorite quotes

 or spell out something like "friend" and have a flower or stamp with each letter.

Use your imagination!

Inch and a Pinch Swap Results

I hosted a swap for the VC Rocks Yahoo group - it was "Inch and a Pinch". 

We made 1.25 inch little pieces of art.  These can now be used on a card or a scrapbook page.

It is AMAZING what can be done on such a small canvas!

Wanna see?

Aren't they fabulous?
I will enjoy using these on projects - I think they are GREAT!

Here's lookin' at you...

And if yesterday's ghost isn't your thing - how about a one eyed monster?

SUPER EASY Odd Owl Use and Handy Tip

Here is a really easy idea to use your owl punch for another character.  How about a little Trick or Treat-er?

Yes, turn that old owl upside down - snip off his feet.
With the owl punch in black use the 2 smaller circles for eyes and 2 hearts for his shoes.
Add a little highlight mark on the eyes with a white gel pen.
That's it.  They don't get much easier than this!

HANDY TIP:

The owl can be a little hard to push down (it is cutting a lot of edges, after all) 

So if you only need the tiny heart or just the owl breast - put a smaller piece or smaller strip of paper into the punch - looking at the punch upside down to make sure you are getting the paper in the spot you need and PUNCH.  The punch will "do its thing" much easier with just the small bit of paper in it.

I have to put the punch on the desk and press down when I need the WHOLE owl and parts.

But if I just have a BIT of paper in it, I can hold the punch in my hand upside down and squeeze.

Try it and see if that works for you.