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Where to start?  At the top I suppose…her hair is done in a sweet little bun (a 3/4" circle) with a head piece made from the Scallop Circle Punch (only 3 loops, each punched with a 1/8" Circle).  The veil is simply the Tab Punch punched out of vellum cardstock (this is important, Vellum paper doesn’t work well in punches).  The scallop neckline of her gown is a small flower (from one for the triple flower punches) re-punched with the 1/2" Circle Punch.

Now, I prefer a dry tape (monoadhesive or Therm-O-Web tape runner) when working on large areas but for these tiny, delicate areas of scallops and lace, I used the Quickie Glue pen!  Love this!!!  It’s so precise…it let’s me get into all the little nooks and crannies!   Frances over at Hearts In Touch has them and has promised to order more to keep up with my demand Go ahead and email Frances directly if you’d like one of these nifty little pens, too!  Thank you, Frances!

Now, The flowers were so much fun!  I just went through my pile of spare ‘punchies’ and started playing.  The 3-D effect was created by cutting the flower (between 2 petals) about halfway across.  Then overlapping the petals to create a cone shape…the more you overlap, the smaller the flower.  I used the tape runner for this but very carefully…you need an adhesive that’s clear and will dry QUICKLY!  In a weird twist, I spent a ton of time on her arms and sleeves and you can barely see them!!!  Her arms are the the Word Window Punch (of course!)  The top of her sleeve is the end quarter of the Small Oval Punch.  This is trimmed with half a flower from one of the triple flower punches.  Her arms actually bend at the elbow to hold her bouquet!

Her bodice?  Well, she needed shape…a little nip at the waist and a flair at the top and bottom…sound familiar?  It’s the Tab Punch, unfolded!  (It’s hard to see from the photo because her flowers are in the way…but the little nip in the middle really looks like her waist!)  Her skirt: The tiers of ruffles  are just halves of the Scallop Circle Punch, layered over and over again.  The bottom ruffle was punched from vellum cardstock, with each scallop re-punched using the 1/8" Circle Punch.  Finally there’s a pair of wee, little shoes.  I used the 5-Petal Flower and cut off two petals.  I re-punched these using the 1/2" Circle to give the illusion of a pair of pointy-toed, high heeled shoes.  These are decorated with tiny hearts, cut from one of the flowers from the 3-Flower Punch.  

Yes, this was time consuming but I equate it with running a mini-marathon…I wasn’t sure it could be done…but now I’ve done it!!!

…all ‘punched’ in white!  Yes, I have finally lost my mind and attempted a Punch Art Bride!  This is NOT for the faint of heart…it took me over an hour to assemble her…on top of the hour that it took me to figure out what I was going to use to make her.  She is covered in little details (part of the reason it took me so long) and I will try to go over them here in a later post…but I encourage everyone to take a look at your punch stash and EXPERIMENT!  I promise…that’s all I do…I play with the shapes until they form the figures in my mind.  Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.  And don’t be discouraged if you don’t have every single punch that I have…some of my favorite Punch Art is the result of my trying to overcome my own LACK of punches  

As you can see from the horizontal picture, the flowers are cut and glued so they are 3-D (more on that later).  Her dress is essentially layer after layer of scallop 1/2 Circles in white and vellum.  In the end I think she may have ended up looking more "First Communion" then "Bride" but the long skirt is what’s killing me  I have another idea in mind that might turn into a "Punch Art Prom/Homecoming/Formal" but I need to think about it some more…Again, more photos and details are forthcoming…Right now, I need to rest, I’m getting a little "punchy"

 And a merry Mardi Gras???  Or, whatever…I was going to clear my workspace and put some of my punches away today and clear away some of the scraps when I started playing and before I knew it I had this:

Just in time to celebrate Mardi Gras!  If I had more time, I probably would have chosen jewel tones but you get the point.

Details:  The basic shape is the Tab Punch.  I punched the eyes out with the 1/2" Circle Punch…the green inserts are 1/2" Circles too!  The nose is the Small Oval Punch.  Then I just added layered flower punchies as my "decorations"…you can see how with a little stamping, glitter, ribbons, etc. you could go really crazy with this basic mask idea.

I’d love to see what you’ve created…especially if it was inspired by me, so be sure to leave a link to your works of art in my comments so I can check them out!  

I hope I won’t lose some of my new fans by publishing something that’s not <<GASP!>> Punch Art…but I thought I should at least try and stamp (big mistake, apparently…read on)  My mission this morning was to make a heartfelt card for a dear friend of mine who recently lost her mother.  Unfortunately, I was having a "bad stamping day"…the stamp wouldn’t ink up in the middle and I kept getting an incomplete image, I couldn’t find the papers I had in mind, smudges, smears, you name…it happened on this card!  I’m still not sure that if in trying to make lemonade out of this lemon I didn’t just end up with lemon juice!  

The papers I ended up with are close but not exactly what I had in mind (and yes, that bugs me!)  The angel was originally just going to be watercolored but with a snafu here and a heavy hand there…the only solution seemed to be "add a technique"!   Paper Tole, when done well…adds a beautiful, subtle, three dimensional effect to a piece…here, it covers a mistake or two (shhh, don’t tell…I have a rep to protect and lends a subtle accent to the angel.  HINT: This technique is MUCH easier to do with a stamp with solid lines!  The greeting was a whole other disaster…I wanted just a little ‘pop’ of gold and with all the rain we’ve had, the embossing powder stuck to EVERYTHING!  I ended up having to cut a separate piece and then I got creative with the brads…<<sigh>>  Now, I know it’s the thought that counts and I’m sure Elaine will like it….but, me?  I’m still on the fence.  

And then I went a played with the site…I’m still on the fence about that, too!  What do you guys think…Comments???

I finally had time to make this little bit of Punch Art magic!  Our little Curly Fries (her nickname) graduates from Middle School in June and I’m getting ready to have a High Schooler in the house <<sigh>> it seems like only yesterday that she was a toddler and needed my help getting dressed <cue sappy music>  The pose is an inside joke…it seems like every picture we take of her lately has her flashing the "peace sign".  I’m sure Graduation Day will be no different.  Well…at any rate, with a little tweaking (a change of hair color/style, a change in the color of the robe) this little graduate would be perfect for a card or scrapbook page for your own special someone.  

The details?  There’s a few…Her head and hair are pretty basic…I did add a neck this time (the Word Window Punch) it looked better with her arms/shoulders made using the Small Oval Punch with the end trimmed off.  Her hands are the Word Window Punch, again…as are her feet.  Her fingers and thumb are petals of a flower from the 3-Flower Punch.  Her eyes were made the same way…petals  trimmed off a flower from the Boho Blossom Punch.  The scroll is part of the large 6 petal flower SU! used to carry.  This was trimmed straight across and a narrow strip of red and a little pen work completes the scroll.  The mortarboard cap is actually three pieces.  The base is a 1" black circle, re-punched with the 5-Petal Flower.  The top is the 3/4" square trimmed to make an oblong diamond (sorry, there’s no punch for this!)  Now, the tassel was an ‘oops!’  I had intended to make a tassel out of floss but I can’t find my sewing basket at the moment so in desperation I made a paper tassel!  I punched a circle twice to get the narrow, crescent shape.  The tassel is the 3/4" square, fringed and rolled.  I’m really surprised at how cute it came out

*Re-Edit 2/20: I forgot to mention her gown!  Very simple…I used the large SU!Tag Punch and I just made it a little longer (see tutorial HERE) and clipped the "V" out for the neckline.

I admit, I may have gone a little overboard with this one (What? Who, Me???)  But, really how often do these occasions come around?  Some memories are worth the effort…

What’s a leprechaun with out his Pot O’Gold?  This pair would make a cute card or scrapbook page (Pics from the St. Patrick’s Day Parades in Savannah or New York?)  Or maybe on a sweet little treat box?  Filled with chocolate coins?  Yummy!  

Details:  The pot is the 1-3/8" Circle Punch, trimmed down, the edge of the pot is the Word Window Punch.  This punch also provides the little stubby feet of the pot.  The handle of the pot is a Large Oval with the Small Oval punched out of the middle.  The gold inside is half of the Scallop Circle punched out of Brushed Gold cardstock.  1/4" Circles glued or attached with dimensionals, give it a 3-D effect.

It was just too easy to adapt the Punch Art Santa to a Punch Art Leprechaun!   He’s basically the same concept…the face is smaller (1-1/4" Circle Punch) and for the moustache: I punched a 1" Circle, and feed this back into the 5-Petal Flower Punch (just like I do the hair for the Cheerleaders!)  His hat is half of the Keytag Punch with the Word Window Punch as the brim.  A little ribbon and a square of gold cardstock, complete his ensemble.  I did add ears this time…it seems to me that with all that gold to guard, a leprechaun would need to have excellent hearing…again, I used the Word Window Punch.  

I stuck this cute little guy onto a peppermint candy (the other side is covered with gold cardstock) but he would be darling on a card, if you feel so inclined.  He came out so cute I’m thinking I may have to make another, laminate him and use him as an antenna topper!  Wouldn’t that be a hoot?  I’m sure that would bring me lots of luck…and maybe the winning Power Ball numbers!

In a previous post I mentioned that I have been "wicked busy"…I’ll let you be the judge:  My loving husband agreed to chair the annual fundraiser at the kids’ school this year (after I pleaded with him NOT to do it!) It’s a Casino Night and Auction and promises to be a ton of fun, but because his schedule is ummmm, erratic at best…guess WHO ends up picking up his slack?  That would be the Room Parent Coordinator/Room Mother/Squad Mom/etc….it’s also our eldest daughter’s last year at the school (next year she heads off to high school)…and because it’s a parochial school she has been at Guardian Angels for 9 years!  I had really wanted to focus on that and be involved with all her 8th Grade activities (field trips, retreat, dinner/dance, etc.) not banging my head against a wall running a fundraiser…<<sigh>>   Ok…that’s enough of THAT (did you bring some cheese to go with that WINE??? <snort!>)  Sooooo- been busy On this week’s schedule:  my birthday, Christopher’s presentation to the PFA about aforementioned Casino Night, the big Cheerleading Party and of course…all those Valentines!

 Our coaches are volunteers and they do an INCREDIBLE job!  (Thanks again Gina & Emily!)  They take 11 hyper girls from 4th-7th grades and transform them into a great little squad!  And then….at the end of the season they SPOIL the girls with gifts and awards (remember all those Punch Art cheerleaders?)  Well, I always give them something special to thank them for all they do for our girls…this year I wanted to give them something they could use during next year’s season:  A clipboard and a travel mug!  Instead of the usual altered clippie covered with a decoupage medium (too lumpy!) I needed something that could be really used. 

*Note: I apologize for the awkward picture angle, but I was fighting the reflection from the flash

The clear clipboards are from Wal-Mart (approximately $5) and the page is attached to the back.  Originally I was just going to laminate the page and then attach it…but as most of you know, laminating dimensional items (like the cheerleader) leads to air bubbles. Besides, I wanted the coaches to be able to add a photo of the team (note blank area) or change the whole page later if they wanted to.  To do this, I trimmed down a transparency sheet to exactly fit the page I made.  This would protect the back of the clipboard from spills and tears.  I used clear packing tape to adhere it to the back of the clipboard on the top and bottom.  I know it sounds unbelievable, but with the the rulers running down the sides of the clipboard and a little patience…you really can’t see the tape!   A bone folder helped to remove the air bubbles and I used an exact-o knife to trim the excess tape.  The poem reads, "Coach Meyers, You freely gave of your time and talent and taught us to cheer and play.  With patience and encouragement you guided us each day. You said perfection wasn’t everything-above all else have fun!  Well, win or lose as our coach you’re always #1!"

The travel mug is also from Wal-Mart (about $4) I wasn’t thrilled with the color (or the shape!) but I couldn’t find the clear mugs and I wasn’t willing to pay $15 for the ones at Starbucks.  In the past I have found these at my local dollar store, so keep your eyes open!  It was a little tweaky trying to get the shape of the insert just right, but after much trial and error, I did get it!  The mug reads, "There is no halftime for Cheerleaders!"  (Ain’t that the truth???)

Why didn’t I post this idea sooner?  Well, I literally whipped 30 of these up last night!  Last minute, I know (wicked busy on another project…more on that later) these were for my son’s class.  I hate the ones sold in stores and really, how many more years am I going to be asked to do this?  He loved the "different" candy I chose…I loved that the pack of 10 was only a $1 at Wal-Mart!  I thought the flower was sweet and in keeping with the holiday without being too ‘girly’.  The flower center is from the retired SU! set "Riveting", the printed paper is some scrap I found…the "leaf" is the large oval with a 1/2" circle punched in it.  I just punched and punched (and punched some more!) in front of the television  Super easy, really cute and simply sweet!  Hope you enjoy tomorrow with someone you love…doing something you love!  Happy Valentine’s Day!

A cute little Easter Bunny Treat Box is on its way…

…I used a half sheet of cardsotck (8.5" x 5.5") and created a basic 2-4-6-8 box.  To this I added these punched pieces: these were layered together to create the bunny’s face.  His paws were made from additional punched ovals and a small flower from the Boho Punch (?)  If he were going to carry a tag or hold a greeting, I probably would have left off his pink belly.   A little piece of pink grosgrain ribbon takes this from a box to a basket….and would make a cute embellishment to change Mister Rabbit to a Miss!  Hoppy Spring!