Category Archives: 3-D

Sweet Heart

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Some friends visited last week and brought along their 20 month old daughter.  We were enchanted with Kendall and marveled at how quickly we have forgotten the intense energy that is a toddler.  Kendall was bright, funny and very busy, and we enjoyed her immensely.  We were also grateful that the days of parenting toddlers are behind us.

I created a little something for Kendall and her mom and dad just for the fun of it.  I have to admit that I miss having little girls around – it’s such fun to craft for and with them.

A Sweet Heart for Kendall

  • On Board Heart Book
  • Welcome Neighbor Designer Series Paper (SAB)
  • Bermuda Bay, So Saffron, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink and Old Olive card stock
  • Heart to Heart punch and Sanding blocks
  • Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit and Naturally Serif Sizzlit Decorative Strip die
  • Old Olive 5/8″ Satin ribbon, Jumbo Eyelets and Crop-a-dile

And here’s the other side:

A Big K for Kendall

All the above plus the XL Two-Step Bird Punch, Serif Essentials Bigz dies and Sweet Pea Stitched felt.  Oh, and I sponged the edges of the bird!

My favorite feathered friend

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I’ve always had a fondness for birds.  Well, most birds – I’m not so fond of the ones that swoop down and scold me (or my ‘fraidy cat).  One of my absolute favorites is the cardinal.  Growing up in California, we seldom saw them, but here in Hawaii we have both the North and South American cardinals.  (The North American male is all red with a black mask, the South American male is grey and white with a scarlet hood, just in case you were wondering.)

It’s the North American Cardinal I enjoy the most.  Early in the morning, the male is usually the first bird to greet the sunrise.  He has a long, low call that begins when the sky is light but the sun has yet to peak over Haleakala.  It’s a lovely thing to hear as you’re lying in bed, trying to decide if you really do have to get up.

Watching my daughter go through her cupboards and closets has inspired me to do a little sorting of my own, and the other day I came across a bunch of tiny wreaths made from vines.  I’m sure they’ve been in my craft cupboard for years, and they were clearly waiting for This Moment.  As soon as I saw them, I visualized this:

My Maui Cardinal

  • Real Red, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip,  and Pretty in Pink card stock
  • Chocolate Chip Stampin’ Write marker, Signo White Gel pen
  • XL Two Step Bird punch and Pop-Up Glue dot
  • Heart to Heart punch, Tombo adhesive and Linen Thread
  • Real Red narrow grosgrain ribbon and LSS vine wreath

Yes, I know the real deal doesn’t have a brown wing, and yes, I realize I left off his mask.  But that’s ok because this is MY bird.  You can make YOUR bird however you like!

The Red Bird is attached to the wreath with one ginormous, super-sticky Pop-Up Glue dot, and the little hearts are stuck to the medium sized hearts with Tombo, the wonder-adhesive.  I stuck the green leafy bits to the Red Bird with Tombo before I put the glue dot on his backside.

I am very, very sorry to tell you that the XL Bird punch is currently back-ordered through Stampin’ Up!  Clearly this item was a big hit!  It’s currently set to ship the week of March 8 (I know!!).  You’ll just have to look at this one until then.

Just a little something

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I made these for “just because” to give to some friends.  They were quick and easy.

  • Real Red, Whisper White and Pretty in Pink card stock
  • Vintage Labels SAB set and Embrace Life stamp set
  • Scallop Circle, 1″ circle, Curley Label and Heart to Heart punches
  • Real Red Classic Ink Pad, Craft White ink pad
  • Tombo adhesive, Paper Snips, and a chapstick

You could whip out a classroom’s worth of these in no time.  They do make Spiderman chapstick, don’t they?

Valentine Bouquet

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I’m not a huge fan of punch art, but I do like 3-D projects.  These little flowers seem to be a cross-over project between the two:

Flowers from the Full Heart punch

Do you ever struggle with a concept that is perfectly shaped in your head but won’t take that shape underneath your hands?  No comments about the condition of my head, please!!   These flowers are cuter on their own than as a group.  I think I broke the Rule of Odds – odd numbers in an arrangement – and that may be why it doesn’t look quite right to me.  I don’t have any artistic training, so my problem-solving techniques amount to trial and error.

These were simple to make.

  1. Punch 6 hearts with the Full Heart punch.
  2. Use a sponge dauber to define the edges  of 5 hearts; stamp, emboss or texture each.  Score down the center and crease.
  3. Use the 6th heart as a base.  Attach 5 hearts in flower shape with Tombo Adhesive.
  4. Punch a 3/4″ circle of cardstock.  Layer the flower, the cardstock circle and a button and pierce through button holes with piercing tool.
  5. Set aside the button.  Use a needle and threat to tie the circle and button together with linen thread.
  6. Place the button on top of the flower and circle.  Use fine craft wire to attach the flower, circle and button to a bamboo skewer, twisting securely on the back.  Trim ends and bend in towards skewer to avoid sharp edges.

Back view of Heart Flower

It took me about 40 minutes to make 8 of these.  I’ll bet you could do them faster!

Sweet Baby Laundry Bags

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My dear friend Crystal is getting closer to her due date.  At her shower last month, she received a gift in the cutest little gift bag.  I looked at it and thought “I could MAKE that!”  Last week, I finally sat down to do just that:

Sweet Baby Girl Laundry Bag

Can you stand it? It’s so cute it makes your face hurt when you look at it, doesn’t it?   I’m still grinning.

Of course the baby boys need their own version:

Sweet Baby Boy Laundry Bag

  • Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Pad
  • Vintage Labels SAB , Teeny Tiny Wishes, and Sock Monkey Accessories stamp sets
  • Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, and Taken with Teal card stock
  • Big Shot and Build A Bear Beary Essentials die
  • Linen Twine, Rose Red and Pumpkin Pie 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon, Bermuda Bay Polka Dot ribbon, and Pretty in Pink 5/8″ Satin ribbon
  • Wide oval , Curly label , Heart to Heart, Horizontal Slot and Tag Corner punches; 1/16″ hand held punch
  • Tombo Adhesive, Mini Glue dots, 1/2″ Library Clips, Vintage Brads, and sponge daubers

I wanted to make these with colored bags, but I couldn’t find anything that wouldn’t compete with the outfits.  Remember, I live on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!  It’s kinda country here.

A few things to note:

  1. The linen twine is attached to the bag by piercing holes with a large needle and threading the twine through.
  2. The brads looked sort of like clothes pins to me, but I had to trim the sharp points off with my Craft and Rubber scissors.  Be really careful with those sharp little bits of metal.
  3. The little garments are held in place with glue dots – the brads and clips are more decorative than functional

I’d love to see what you do with this idea, and would appreciate a link back to this post if you publish your work.  Have fun!

Kellie’s Journal

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My friend Kellie came over yesterday morning to stamp, and one of the things she brought with her was a journal she’d made.  She told me she was tired of hoarding Designer Series Paper (who isn’t??) and decided to use her Urban Garden paper from last year’s catalog.  She put it together with the Bind-it-All and it is gorgeous!

Kellie's Urban Garden Journal

  • Urban Garden Designer Series Paper (retired)
  • Pretties Kit, Basic Gray Corduroy Buttons, and the Clips Assortment
  • Big Shot and the Little Leaves Sizzlet
  • Retired buttons and rub-ons
  • Non-SU ribbon and the Bind-it-all

You’re really going to love the inside:

Inside Kellie's Urban Garden journal

She used the Top Note Bigz die to create little pages for notes and photos, and turned each Designer Series Paper page up to create a pocket page when she bound it.  Genius!  This set of papers was so beautiful (and it’s not just my bias for Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss, either!) and the entire project is really stunning.  Couldn’t you see this in Cottage Wall? And I have a brand new package of Bella Bleu just waiting to be opened!

What could be cuter?

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There was a surprise shower on Sunday for my wonderful friend and upline.  There’s something about a new baby that brings out the best in a group of women.  We were all so happy to come together to celebrate Crystal and her February baby.

I was thrilled to be included and quickly offered to make favors for the shower.  It didn’t take me long to decide what to do – I’d seen a card posted on Lyssa Zwolanek’s blog  Song of my Heart and knew it would make a great favor.  There was a little trial and error involved to get the proportions right.

Scallop Circle Baby Carriage

  • Dotted Wheel (retired)
  • Bashful Blue and Close to Cocoa cardstock
  • Bashful Blue Classic Ink
  • Scallop Trim Punch (SAB Sneak Peak)
  • Big Shot and Scallop Circle #2 Bigz
  • Tombo Adhesive, Small Cello bag, and Bashful Blue narrow grosgrain ribbon
  • Retired button, Non-SU silk flower, DMC Embroidery Floss, and Hershey Nuggets

The scallop circles are adhered to a “2-4-6-8” box with the dimensions adjusted to 1.25 x 2.5.  Four Hershey kisses are squeezed into a Cello bag that fits perfectly into the box.  It was a little bit of work, but well worth it for a sweet baby and mama.

Dasher on the Wall

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Doesn’t he look marvelous?  As though he could just Dash Away!?

I love the Clement Clark Moore story…we own multiple versions of the book, and it was a favorite read for our family at Christmas time when the children were small.   It’s been a long time since bedtime stories were read in my house, but I still get out the children’s Christmas books and put them in a basket near the tree every year just in case someone wants to read one.

This handsome fellow is the Level II Decor Elements Hostess award.  I’ve had him for quite a while and originally thought I’d put him directly on the wall.  The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to find a way to enjoy his elegant profile for a few years.  My brilliant friend Crystal came up with the idea to apply the Decor Elements to canvas.

Dasher

This is a 16 x 20 inch thin canvas board, not  stretched canvas on a frame.  Cost is under $7, and that’s a Hawaii price, so you mainland crafters will probably find a better deal.  I painted it very lightly with a bristle brush using a linen color of craft paint – you know the stuff,  a 2 ounce bottle for about $2.  I kept the strokes horizontal and the coverage light to allow the texture of the canvas to show a bit.

Once the canvas was thoroughly dry, I applied Dasher.  You gotta put on your patient hat when you apply a Decor Element with this much detail!  I carefully burnished all the dots and swirls before peeling off the backing, but still had to go very slowly and give a little extra attention to a couple of stubborn areas.  This image was easy to fit to the 16 x 20 canvas, and the application was much easier than the burnishing.  There’s a very small amount of texture from the canvas visible under the larger areas of the vinyl, but you have to be looking for it to notice it.

Crystal added a bow and some bling to her Dasher, but I decided mine was going to be a Manly Sort of Reindeer.  I used the Crop-A-Dile (seriously!!  it worked great!) to add a pair of Jumbo Eyelets to the top corners, and broke out my precious stash of retired Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain ribbon to thread through the eyelets and tie in a bow.

Here’s a closer look at the canvas…

I really love the effect of the texture.

On a personal note, I’m really happy to be back to blogging.  Life throws a curve ball once in a while, and it was just my turn up to bat.  I didn’t hit it out of the park, but I took a good swing at it and I’m working my way towards home plate.

See you tomorrow!

An elegant package

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Here’s a gift bag worthy of royalty, in my humble opinion.  I am really pleased with the elegant simplicity of this stencil – and I am really pleased that Stampin’ Up!’s Decor Elements line has introduced stencils as a design option.  They’re easy, they’re fun, and they can be so much larger than stamps!

  • Vintage Ornaments I Decor Elements Stencil
  • Always Artichoke and Ruby Red Craft ink pads, Encore Gold ink pad
  • Stampin’ Sponges
  • Very Vanilla and Always Artichoke cardstock
  • Purchased kraft bag, gold wire ribbon, and tissue

I used a sticky note to mask off the top of the ornament in order to make it a proper gold hanger.  This image is equally beautiful using Classic ink, with a softer, more vintage look.

I’m looking forward to stenciling some canvas bags with this image.

 

Build-a-Santa-Bear

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Last weekend was the final class in Anne and Crystal’s fantastic Holiday Series.  This bag definitely got high marks in the cute department, and would make any boy or girl – big or small – anxious to get a look inside.  We all agreed that you couldn’t put a gift for Just Anyone in such a cute bag…it would have to be a special someone, a someone who would appreciate both the Cute Factor and the effort that goes into attaching all the little pieces that make this bear so darn…well…cute!

BAB_bag

  • Big Shot, Stampin’ Up! Bear die, Stampin’ Up! Beary Merry die
  • Stampin’ Up! Pawsitively Embosslit, Stampin’ Up! Backgrounds 1 Texturz plate
  • Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White, Basic Black, and Summer Sun cardstock
  • Many Merry Messages stamp set
  • Scallop edge punch, 1 3/4″ circle punch,  Gold Elastic cord, Old Olive 1/2″ striped grograin ribbon
  • Purchased kraft handle bag

I’m a big fan of gift bags.  In addition to being the easiest wrapping job you could imagine, they’re re-usable.  I’ve noticed a big difference in the amount of trash we collect on Christmas morning since we’ve started using more bags.  They’re not peek-proof, though, and I usually have all the gift bag gifts hidden (and hidden well, I might add) to be placed under the tree on Christmas Eve.  Just because my kids – and dear husband – are mostly grown up is no assurance that they won’t peek.  They all like to poke, prod and shake, and gift bags are just too great a temptation.