Happy Hippo Punch Art

After two days of frustration with Photoshop (numerous crashes that it turns out could only be resolve by uninstalling and reinstalling the program) I was finally able to complete the instructions for my first Zoo animal punch art.

So today I have for you my happy hippo.

 

I created two cards to show how easily these critters can be posed in different positions.

 

Supplies used:

Card 1 - Father's Day Hippo

Cardstock: Bazzill

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes - SU

Punch: Medium heart - PB

Embossing Folder: Stylish Stripes - Sizzix - SU

Ink: Colorbox

Misc.: foam mounting squares, black Zig marker, White gel pen - SU

 

Card 2 - Celebrate Hippo

Cardstock: Bazzill

Stamps: Express Yourself - SU

Punch: Lace Ribbon Border - SU, Fla is an old Mega Nankong punch

Ink: Colorbox

Misc.: 3/8" balck gingham ribbon for bow, foam mounting squares, black Zig marker, White gel pen

 

Full punch art instructions below:

Note for the side view Hippo I used a Bird Builder wing for the tail.

 

Come back soon for details on the Rhino punch art.

Zoo Animals

So I finally had a chance to take a break from painting and spend a few hours in my craft room.
My first creation was a Father's Day themed card featuring a great, big, happy hippo. This led to a couple more zoo themed animals (with several more coming to life in my mind).

Here is a quick preview of what's to come in the next week (just need a little time to write the instructions).

 

Aren't they just adorable? As they are on the large size, these would be amazing on a zoo themed scrapbook layout.

 

I thought I'd also share a little before and after photo of our family room.

Now mind you the before is prior to starting any renovations and reflects the decorating style of the previous home owners (I personally am not a big fan of teal green walls and floral curtains). We did the floor and the fireplace tiles a little while ago. The wall paint, wood stain and new cabinet hardware is the current project.

I think it barely looks like the same room. Note that based on the items on the shelves we've also "matured" a little, lol. No more Disney Video's and littel TV. Instead we have a more grown-up DVD selection and of course my husbands "must have" big screen TV.

Unirtunatley that's all the time I have for today.
Come back later this week for the first set of punch art instructions for my Zoo buddies.

Lack of posts this month

I apologize for the lack of posts in the last 2 weeks. Unfortunately I won't be able to change this by much for a few more weeks. We are undergoing renovations at home at the moment and most of my free time is currently spent there and not in my craft room.

We have beautiful wainscoting throughout our main floor. Unfortunately it is an outdated honey oak as are the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room cabinets, all the doors, trim and stair banisters... you get the picture).
We debated back and forth for a couple of years now as to whether we should paint it all white or stain it dark. We finally reached a decision and dark won (for the most part, the railing spindles and interior doors will be white).

We are using General Finishes Java (very dark espresso colour) Gel Stain. The Family room (wainscoting and a build in wall unit around the fireplace mantel) and laundry room (cabinets) are pretty much done.

It looks absolutely gorgeous!

It's taking forever though as we needed to wash, dry and sand before staining. Then 3 coats of the gel stain followed by 2 coats of clear coat. Not to mention the optimum drying time between coats is 12-48 hrs (12 between 1st and 2nd coat, 24 between 2nd and 3rd coat and 48 hrs between the 3rd and the first clear coat as the stain is oil based and the finish water based).

Did I mention we are also painting all the walls? Too much to get into but let's just say my original choice of yellow did not turn out so well (yellow is a tricky colour; doesn't look the same in store as on the walls and you don't want green undertones, trust me!)

Up next is the hall and foyer, then the dining room and last the kitchen and nook (not to mention the upstairs; painting, new flooring, 2 bathroom renos...).

The good news is that although we are doing most of the interior reno ourselves (not the bathrooms or new countertops), the exterior we are contracting out. The large trees in our front yard are being cut down tomorrow (we will finally have some light in the living room) and the house exterior is being painted in 3 weeks.

Sure hope the weather holds home for a few more weeks so we can have everything completely ASAP.

In case anyone is interested I'll see if I can manage to post a before and after photo of the family room this weekend (I might even squeeze in some reno related punch art (would work great for Father's day).

Gift card set

When a friend or family member has commented on how much they enjoy my cards I have often made a gift card set for them for their next birthday or special occasion.

Generally I make sets of five cards with matching envelopes. Usually the insides are completed with sentiments that match the greeting on the front, but sometimes I have left them blank so the recipient can choose the occasion for which they wish to use the card.

Today I am sharing a set I made recently. As the recipient's favourite colour is a spring green, that was the colour theme I decided on.

Here is a look at the complete set of cards with the matching envelopes:

 

I like to use clear gift boxes for the packaging. I made the birthday tag using some of the left over scraps from the card set so that it matches the card you can see through the clear box.

 

Note that the "patterned paper" is actually another up-cycled Kleenex box. The silver paper is aluminium foil tape over basic white cardstock which I then embossed with different designs.

 

Supplies for the gift tag:

Cardstock: Bazzill (the green is very old, it is a smooth cardstock that has been discontinued. I think it was called celery)

Embossing folder: Vine Street - SU, Devine Swirls - Cuttlebug

Punch: Label Love - SU

Die: Accut Cut tag die (SU's new tag topper punch would also work really well)

Misc.: white paper flower (Dollar store find), 1/4" rhinestone, foam squares to mount the greeting, 5/8" white organza ribbon

 

And here are close-ups of each card with supply list:

 

Supplies for "Hello" card:

Cardstock: Bazzill

Embossing Folder: Square Lattice - SU,

Stamp: Tiny Tags - SU

Ink: Old Olive - SU

Punch: Jewelry Tag - SU

Misc.: 5/8" white organza ribbon, silver ribbon clip, foam squares to mount the patterned paper

 

 

Supplies for "Celebrate" card:

Cardstock: Bazzill

Embossing Folder: Square Lattice - SU, Honeycomb - SU

Stamp: Wonderful Words - SU

Ink: Old Olive - SU

Misc.: 4 - 1/4" rhinestones, 2 white flowers, foam squares to mount the greeting

 

Supplies for "Make a Wish" card:

Cardstock: Bazzill

Embossing Folder: Vine Street - SU, Regal Flourishes - Sizzix - Tim Holtz

Stamp: Perfect Pennants - SU, French Filigree background - SU

Ink: Old Olive - SU

Die: Banners Framelits Dies - SU

Misc.: 3 - 1/4" rhinestones, foam squares to mount the greeting banner 

 

Supplies for "Hello Sweet Friend" card:

Cardstock: Bazzill

Embossing Folder: Honeycomb - SU,, Everyday Greetings -  Cuttlebug

Stamp: Six-Sided Sampler - SU

Ink: Old Olive - SU

Punches: Small hexagon - SU, large Hexagon - Emagination

Misc.: 4 - 1/4" rhinestones, foam squares to mount some of the hexagons

 

Supplies for "Thank You" card:

Cardstock: Bazzill

Embossing Folder: Basket Weave - Darice, Devine Swirls - Cuttlebug

Punches: Scallop Square - SU, 1 3/8" square - SU, 7/8" scallop circle - SU, Petite Curly Lable - SU, Lace Ribbon border - SU

Ink: Old Olive - SU

Stamp: Pretty Petites - SU

Misc.: 3 - 1/4" rhinestones, foam squares to mount greeting

New SU Catty

Alright, I have no choice, I need to share this.
I received the new SU catty last week (thank you to my wonderful demo!). At first glance there were only a few items that spoke to me. After going through the catalogue a second time I decided to mark the pages with my trusty sticky tabs.

The results are rather scary.

I haven't had this many wants in a long time. I think I'm in big trouble (or at least my bank account is). Even if I narrow down my wants to my "must haves" the list is still soo long. I sure hope some of these items stick around for longer than the year so I have time to save the money needed.
On top of this there's of course also the worry that once the Holiday catty comes out I'll be in even more trouble.