Complete Valentine Swap

My completed swap for my Hot Swappin Mamas group.

Cupid

Mailbox from yesterday's post...

and the last element was simple...

I made the large heart with the Big Shot die - Hearts and Brackets

Arrow is 1/4 inch by 4.25 inch strip, Full Heart and Photo Corner punches

Heart to Heart punch in pink

Simple enough for anyone - as long as you have the punches, right?

I cheated on my swap colors and made Cupid with a blush blossom body (not on the approved list)  I think he is so cute that they won't care.  I'll let you know if I get in trouble.

Valentine Mailbox

Confession.  I promised myself not to sign up for any swaps (except my upline's) for 5 months.  Then I turned around and signed up for my Hot Swappin Mamas scrapbook swap again.  I am so naughty - but I had the Cupid idea and I just had to swap him with someone!  You understand right?  I'm not too weak and spineless, am I?

I am supposed to make three 3-D items for this Valentine Swap and am supposed to use Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, and Creamy Carmel (typing that name always makes me want sweets)

I remade Cupid with Close to Cocoa hair to meet the requirements and I made a mailbox for my second item.  This shows the completed mailbox plus just the "wood" parts so you can see how it is made.

Wood Post:
Stamp Chocolate Chip (yes, I said STAMP, I do own some Plenty!) with the Wood-grain background.
5/16 inches by 4.25 long for the basic post
5/16 inches by 1.5 long for the cross beam
1.75 circle punched around a 1 3/8 inch hole - cut into quarters for the curved piece
1/2 inch circle for knob

Box:
1.5 inch by 7/8 inch rectangle - round one corner, sponge with ink
large oval - trim sides "flat" and trim approx in half to fix box, sponge with ink

Small heart on door
heart to heart on 1/2 circle and scrap of read for flag (mounted with brad and yes, it is movable)

I love you THIS MUCH Turtle

I know I have already done a turtle but I didn't have a lot of time to punch for today's post, so I took a step back from the more complex stuff.

I started with an idea I got from a 1/2 inch size picture in a craft catalog.  It was the front view of a turtle with hearts as the shapes on his shell. 

Details:
Approx 2.5 inch circle from circle scissor plus for shell
1.25 inch circle - flat on bottom for head
3/4  inch circle - mouth
1/2 inch circle in melon mambo - tongue
New small heart and standard hole punch - eyes
Word window and 1/2 inch circle - front legs and feet

Shapes on shell are the small Heart to Heart hole with the NEW Small Heart punch around it - giving you a heart shaped ring

NOW.....
Have you seen Jackie Topa's fence using the NEW Medium Jewelry Tag? Jackie has been making amazing punch art way longer than I have been punching - she is FABULOUSLY creative and does way more than just punch art.  Make sure you check this out.

The Sailor's Sweetheart

I got a chance to punch Olive Oyl

She is made to a different scale than Popeye, so it is hard to put them together on a project...

Here she is up against his card - see? - she is too small.

The idea I had was to make a long card (business envelope) and have Olive with a thought bubble above her head - with Popeye's head in the bubble.  That is why I gave her the popped up heart on her shirt.  But I ran out of time.  Parental Health Crisis strikes again.

Do your best to imagine it and I'll punch again when I can.

My Heart goes Boop-Boop-a-Doop for you

I was looking at Popeye and realized his face cheeks are the same punch as Cupid's butt cheeks - ewwww, poor Sailor Man.

Moving on....

I still want to try punching Olive Oyl but she wasn't the female cartoon that the Inspiration Fairy wanted to do.  Oh no... the sweet little I-fairy wanted to do work on someone else.

While I was poking around on google images looking for help for the sailor man, I spotted a Betty Boop image and was INSTANTLY aware that Betty's face is the exact shape of Stampin' Up!'s Curly Label Punch. 

How weird is that? 

And why haven't I noticed before now?

Of course the I-fairy leaped onto my desk and started grabbing punches and handing them to me.  This is what we came up with:

"Blog Babe becomes Betty Boop"  - say that three times fast.  If you are new-ish to the blog you need to go look at the blog babes - one of my first "human" punch projects.

Something to learn from Betty:   I needed a certain size circle for her eyes. Standard hole punch was too small and 1/2 inch circle was too large and they HAD to be circles because that is part of Betty Boop.  WHAT TO DO?

The solution was to grab the word window punch (My first SU punch) - punch, then reinsert it so that just the end gets re-punched giving you a circle just the right size!  Victory!

I also needed a certain size circle for her mouth.  Fortunately, I still have the right punch.  Unfortunately, you might not because the Powers that Rule at SU retired it.  Fortunately, if you have a Crop-A-Dile you are in luck because the small hole punch of the C-A-D is the perfect size for Betty's lips.

Edit for hair directions:
Punch the curly label next to the curly label hole - draw on the "part" with white gel pen

Punch the curly label next to the curly label hole AGAIN for the other side of her hair - it that slips behind her face (her right, your left)
Boop-boop-a-doop!

Raggedy Together

Had this punched ready to go but no funny comments, sorry. 

We are having a small parental health crisis so I'm scheduling this to post while I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to be three places at once.

I'll be back as soon as I can. 

Shiny Knight in Amour

Yesterday I showed you a Knight in Shining Armor.

Today I give you a Shiny Knight in Amour...

(groan)

Hey, I warned you about my sense of humor a long time ago. 

And the knight is shiny in real life (clear embossing).  Maybe I should add some glitter?  I can hear my sideline Eileen saying "yes, it needs glitter".

This will be going to a friend who has reentered the 'dating world' and is kissing toads again.

This is the sentiment I'm using...

You don't need a Knight in Shining Armor;

A Shiny Knight in Amour will be fine

I just hope he....

Treats you like a Queen!

I hope to make a chess piece queen from punches to go on the inside (maybe a pop up?) but I haven't done it yet - I have time before Valentines Day.

Knight in Shining Armor

He is my Knight in Shining Armor!

I made this for hubby because most days this feels true...

Of course there are a  few rare days when I want to harm him.  (That would be on my dragon days)

But I am showing you in case you can use it for a Valentine for your sweetie.

Here is the outside of the card...

Very Manly

And here is the inside of the card:

Pretty clever, huh?

And here is the sentiment from the retired NEW in mini catalog rub-on set Chat Room

He will be in full agreement...

(insert eye roll or smirk here)

Really, he is pretty wonderful (safe to admit without him getting a big head, he is out of town, too busy to read this)

I'm not doing a full tutorial on the card but I will show you this photo to help you with the Knight

Part of a 1.75 circle  - stamp with the new solid stripes set from the mini

For visor - take an ORNAMENT punch (no longer for sale) hole - re-punch a little bit above the hole to get this shape - You could just cut this by hand if you didn't take my advice and buy the ornament punch.  Draw lines by hand and add glitter

1 inch hole, punch around it with the wide oval, use the 1 inch circle to snip in both sides at the neck

large oval - stamp with Canvas (retired) to look like chain metal. (stamping pretty subtle, can easily be skipped)

I think you can do the face on your own.

The castle door was stamped with Wood-grain background and sponged heavily.  I got the oval shape for the door by tracing my scotch tape dispenser (like I did with the apron recipe holder).  Spiral punch for castle top.  Stonework done freehand (sloppily)

Love can sneak up from BEHIND

Doesn’t this rear view of Cupid just CRACK you up? (pun intended)

I grin every time I look at it.

The New Year baby got me thinking I could make Cupid. I started him while playing at my upline’s house but couldn’t remember what kind of hair Cupid had so Jenifer googled some images – lots to choose from –and it turns out Cupid can have lots of different hair styles.

However, one image had Cupid from behind.... So, of course, I had to try a version of that and well, it is all I hoped for.

Not that I spend a lot of time hoping to see cracks, but you know what I mean. The jokes and “suggestions” were flying around the room but I decided to keep this rated PG.

Body is wide oval reinserted into the butterfly punch - insert it from the opening so just one end of the oval is in the side of the butterfly – punch to get his rear cheeks. Then use the mat from the mat pack and an embossing tool to define the crack, add a little pink chalk to define his rear

Legs and arm are like the New Year Baby.

Butterfly wings - Iridescent Ice on the wings (suggested by my ‘glitter queen’ sideline, Eileen)

Snowflake and Heart to Heart for arrows

Word window for quiver

Scallop oval - re-punched to make smaller for hair

The first one I made didn't have the shiny wings or the chalk defined butt cheeks - and I positioned his legs a little differently - here they are side by side

I think I like the one on the left better for the leg out and the arrows spread - and the one on the right for the shiny wings and chalked rear.  Even using punches, nothing ever comes out looking EXACTLY alike.

Are any of you in the Valentine round of the HotSwappingMamas group?  This will be one of the 3D elements I make - sorry, one less surprise for you when your swaps arrive.

Dwarfs still on pause - I will get back to them but I am on Valentine mode for a few days.  Got to get these ideas out to you if you are going to have time to use them!

Cold then Cozy

First, a little proof that it is COLD here in North Texas

We haven't had precipitation since Wednesday

but I found this icicle on our house Saturday afternoon.

  Brrr....

Now something cozy and warm....

My friend, Jan, gave me this battery operated candle for Christmas - LOVE IT - you don't have to worry about an open flame but still get a great cozy glow and a delicious scent. I started to decorate this for a different project but liked the gingerbread man better than what I planned - and with the heart shaped cheeks I say the gingerbread man still works for Valentines!