Four Ways Friday #35 - 1 3/4" Circle Punch

This week's Four Ways Friday is all about the 1 3/4" circle punch!

I've been busy making treat bags for a party in Georgia...so, of course, peaches needed to be a part of the bag (and peach jelly bellies are the perfect treat)!  You can make this adorable peach using your 1 3/4" circle punch.  I found the instructions on one of my favorite punch art sites created by Ellen Kemper!  She is an amazing artist and does the most incredible things with punches!  This particular peach was created by her upline, Jenifer Lange.  You can find the instructions here.

Of course you can also choose to use your 1 3/4" circle punch in the simplest way.  Here I used it to layer a punched greeting for this masculine card.  It forms the perfect border for your 1 1/2" circle punches :)  The greeting here is from Afterthoughts and the circle background is from the Apple Blossoms hostess set, stamped repeatedly using the stamp-a-ma-jig for alignment.

Just in case you thought I was over my 3-D flower addiction...I'm not!  Here is a flower that I created using three 1 3/4" circles.  I did some crimping, cutting and fluffing...oh, and a little dazzling diamonding :)  I may try to put together a video to show you how I made it.  My guess is that if you take a pair of scissors, your imagination and a few 1 3/4" circles, you might be able to come up with all kinds of cool flowers!

The 1 3/4" circle punch can also be combined with other circle and scalloped circle punches to create adorable little signs!!!!  Here I used the Lovely Letters alphabet and punched the letters out with the 1 1/4" circle punch.  I then matted the letters onto 1 1/2" and 1 3/4" circle punches and finally onto the large scallop circle punch.  I hot glued the letters to a piece of ribbon and added a ring at the top and a bit of crochet thread at the bottom.  Here is a close up of one of the letters...

I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday!  Have a wonderful and creative weekend!!!!!

Broadsheet Alphabet Sweet Box

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Go On A Creative Excursion

I am helping make decorations for my nieces' 13th birthday party and I found myself in a craft store today.  I decided to just walk up and down the aisles and see what caught my eye.  I even stopped at the magazine rack and glanced through some magazines that I don't normally look at.  When you are receptive, it is amazing what ideas will come to you.  Over the next few days I will be working on the decorations and will hope to share them with you next week...hopefully the inspiration will turn into a great reality!  When was the last time you went on a creative excursion?
Today's project was a box that I submitted for publication...but I guess it didn't make the cut...I'll keep trying :)  In the meantime, I wanted to share it with you!!!!!!  I made the box by using a large matchbox holder as a template and cutting the card stock to match that template.  The letters were stamped with the Broadsheet Alphabet (I LOVE this alphabet!!!!).  I stamped using a combination of soft suede, chocolate chip and early espresso.  Of course I had to sponge them too and then added some champagne glass glitter (another addiction of mine) using crystal effects.  I embossed the Pretty In Pink card stock with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  The bow is a faux box (I have a video to show you how to make these bows if you've never tried them before - easy peasy!).  And yes...I guess I went a bit nutso and decided I needed to make some polymer clay truffles to adorn the box :)  Playing with polymer clay makes me fell a bit like being back in kindergarten :)  I adhered them to the box with glue dots.  Now I just need to fill it with some yummy chocolate and give it to my sweetie for Valentine's Day :)  I hope you like it!!!!

Fun Foam Balloon Medallions

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  You Can Still Sing Outside In The Cold!

The temperatures in Denver for the past 2 days have been brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!  When we looked out the window into the backyard it seemed very still this morning.  Usually our backyard is filled with activity - birds and squirrels gathering, burying and eating seeds and nuts.  Surprisingly, even in the freezing cold, it didn't take long for a robin to show up at the bird bath.  Then came the magpies and blue jays, followed by the flickers and sparrows - it was a party AND there was singing!  We started hearing the most beautiful bird songs even in the frigid temperatures.  Looks like the birds have taught me a lesson again - no matter what the weather, it's still worth singing! :)
Today I spent time working on decorations for my niece's upcoming 13th birthday!  The colors are purple and silver.  These medallions are going to be placed on the balloon strings - the strings will be adhered between the 2 medallions.  I found great self-adhesive glittered fun foam at the local craft store and it worked great in the Big Shot!  I love how you can cut so many different materials with the bigz dies in the Big Shot!  I used a combination of dies - the scallops #2 die, the scallop circle die, and the clear circle die.  I punched holes through the card stock with my crop-a-dile and then tied the silver and white ribbon (also from a local craft store).  I will do some more experimenting tomorrow - need to design some treat bags too :)  Stay warm and whether you are inside or out, take a moment to sing :)
I decided to add the card I made for the SCS sketch challenge to this post too...here it is!

 

I began by distressing an old book page by crumpling it and then sponging the edges and the entire crumpled page with a combo of soft suede, chocolate chip and early espresso ink.  I adhered it to the spritzed and sponged crumb cake card stock using tombow mono multi glue so that I would not flatten out the crumpled page.  I stamped images from Define Your Life and Artistic Etchings using chocolate chip ink onto the pink pirouette card stock.  I then cut a piece of ribbon and pulled some of the threads to give it a worn look and then sewed it to the pink pirouette layer with my sewing machine.  I stamped the brad with an image from the Artistic Etchings stamp set using black staz-on ink.  I love how you can customize the large brads this way!  The "amour" was stamped in Early Espresso onto the matchbox die label (1 of 3 labels that are a part of the matchbox die for the Big Shot) and then I distressed and sponged the label and added a small pearl.  I hope you like it! 

It's Cold Outside!!!!

 I decided to share a second post with you today since it's not every day that you wake up to your window in the craft room looking like this!!!!  brrrrrr!  It's -9 degrees outside so I'm staying in! :)  I've already been productive and made this card for the color challenge on SCS - river rock, whisper white, and basic gray.

 I stamped the basic gray cs with the en francais background stamp and basic gray ink.  I distressed and sponged the edges.  I sewed a piece of crumpled seam binding onto the panel.  I stamped 3 of the fifth avenue flowers with versamark and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  I then used my versamarker to color in certain petals to make them a shade darker.  The centers were punched using the flower from the trio punch and then rhinestones added to finish the centers.  The label is from the matchbox die.  I sponged the edges with river rock ink and then stamped the greeting from Sincere Salutations in basic gray.  I hope you like it!Stay warm wherever you are!

Simple Friends Furever Valentine

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Don't Text While Driving

I only caught the tail end of Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition the other night, but the message was powerful enough to share with you today.  I have to admit that I am not one to text while driving...or even text while doing anything else since I have one of those archaic phones that was made prior to the texting revolution.  But I have dialed a number while driving, which is as distracting as texting.
I think sometimes it's easy to think that we have been driving for so long that we can do almost anything while driving - eat, talk on the phone, read a book (have you seen these crazy people reading while driving on the highway?!), put on makeup.  We have to admit to ourselves that no, we are not superhuman and we, like everyone else, are distracted and our driving skills are negatively impacted when we do anything else other than drive while we are driving.  The family on Extreme Makeover learned the "don't text while driving" lesson the hard way.  Their daughter was texting while driving and when she didn't make it back to school, her mom went out to look for her.  She found her daughter before anyone else did.  The car was off the road and the daughter had been ejected from the vehicle and her daughter died as a result of the accident.  There was not another car involved in the accident - just a phone and her daughter.  So please, think about whether that phone call, that sandwich, that book or that made-up face are worth dying for.  And remember, it's not just about you taking your own life in your hands - you are on a road where other people are driving too.
Today's card is a quick and easy (and too cute) Valentine's card!  I made a horizon line with a marker and then used the stamp-a-ma-jig to place the greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes and the dog and bowl from Friends Furever above and below the line.  I colored in the collar and bowl and then added a bit of dazzling diamonds to give the collar some bling :)  Finally, I glittered a small piece of Melon Mambo card stock and punched it out with the heart to heart punch.  If you have 5 minutes, you can make this card!  What a fun way to say "I love you" to someone for Valentine's Day!

A Few Masculine Cards

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Creativity Creates Community

I had a Valentine's stamp-a-stack at the house yesterday and I am still smiling!  It's wonderful to watch a group come together and laugh and share stories and create.  What I realize is that creativity makes me feel a part of a community - whether that community is sitting in my home creating, or whether I'm connecting to people on-line/virtually.  I know I really don't know many of you who visit my blog - most of the time I don't even know you're here - other than to look at the scrolling information in the right-hand column that tells me someone has visited from Japan or London or New Jersey.  It's just amazing knowing that you are out there and that you take the time to come and connect with me - even by just stopping by or by taking the time to leave me a comment.  Thank you for being a part of a community that I cherish and am grateful for everyday!
Today's card is a card that I did for a SCS challenge last week.  I used the Bring On The Cake hand image over and over to create the background on the card and combined that with the fleur-de-lis image from Friends 24/7.  Chunky glass glitter adds a pop of dazzle, while still allowing this card to be appropriate for a guy (it actually became my brother's belated birthday card :)  Here is another, very simple, masculine birthday card that I did for a sketch challenge on SCS about a week ago.

I ran the background Soft Suede textured card stock through the crimper in one direction and then turned the paper around and ran it through in the other direction to create a grid pattern.  It adds a ton of texture!  I kept on adding texture by spraying a Riding Hood Red piece of card stock with water and then crumpling, uncrumpling and recrumpling the paper and then letting it dry.  I attached the eyelets with the crop-a-dile and then wrapped linen thread around the panel and attached it to the card using dimensionals.  The greeting, from Afterthoughts, was stamped in Elegant Eggplant.  I hope you like the cards and I hope they inspire you to try making a card that you feel would be great for a guy in your life!