Inspired Designs

Goofy Owl Fun!

Oh man, do I feel yucky today.  I am just starting to get a summer cold and my head is pounding!!!  Summer colds always seem to be worse than winter ones.  I just hope it doesn't last too long.  Anyways, onto my owl card post - I can't even begin to tell you how much I love the new SU! owl punch.  All you have to do is scan the SCS gallery to see how much fun people are having with this punch.  I have seen the addition of scallop circle trimmed wings, colorful patterned bellies and even owls made into penguins.

I added two circular openings on my cardfront by using the mover and shapers die and the circle from the holiday windows dies.  I hadn't really played with these dies until recently and I have to say that I love them - they are so functional!  I created the look of a tree trunk by stamping the front with the woodgrain background in chocolate chip ink.  I added two diecut real red buttons with knotted linen thread centers.  I also decided to give this card a birthday theme by using the "look who's turning (     )" stamp from the On Your Birthday set.  I love the fact that you can add any age into this sentiment. 

Now onto the inside of the card.  I used the owl punch with a variety of different colors of cardstock and Greenhouse Gala dp to make my owls.  I also added a punched leaf/branch from the two-step bird punch.  The owls and branches were positioned so that they peek out of the holes in the tree trunk on the cardfont.

I decided to make one of my owls serious and the other kinda crazy because it fit so well with Ward Cleaver's sentiment from the Smarty Pants set, regarding age and goofiness.  The only changes I made to the owls was the position of the eyes and the pupils and I made my goofy owl hang upside down from his perch. 

I thought this card would be appropriate for any age group as well as males or females.  Infact, I just gave it to our friends who were celebrating their 40th birthdays.  I designated who was the serious owl and who was the goofy one on the card! ;) 

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday.  I will try to post my new scrapbooking pages tomorrow or on Friday.

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Stamps:  On Your Birthday, Woodgrain, Smarty Pants

Ink: Chocolate chip

CS: Crumb cake, real red, chocolate chip, pumpkin pie, old olive, whisper white, basic black, Greenhouse Gala dp

Accessories: Big Shot, movers & Shapers die, holiday mover & shapers die, buttons #5 die, linen thread, dimensionals, owl punch, two-step bird punch, 1 3/8" & 1 1/4" circle punch

Paper Crafters August Sampler - Nature's Beauty

August, it's the month that nature is at its fullest.  Home gardens are flourishing from the fruits of our labor.  Sea creatures are abundant, enjoying the warmth of the ocean.  Trees and grasses are seeding, preparing for next years crop.  Let's not forget beautiful marmalade sunsets.

The Paper Crafters August Sampler offers ideas for incorporating “Nature’s Beauty” into your artwork. Each design team member created projects based on their own “Nature’s Beauty” perspective. Projects range from oak leaf candles, button birds to a charming peacock pendant. You can purchase your copy of this month's projects at the Paper Crafter's Sampler homepage.

 

Here is a small sneak peek of my project for the sampler this month.   I love the colors of a gorgeous sunset and the silhouette of nature's beauty against this marvelous backdrop.  I am hoping you will like it too!

I have a few other projects to share with you that I have been working on this month.  Unfortunately, my dd had dance camp all last week so there was no time to post any new projects.  I am planning to get another post up later today or tomorrow of a cute owl card that my technique groups made this month.  I absolutely adore the new owl punch and so do my girls.  If you haven't purchased it yet, it is an absolute must!  I will also have a new set of scrapbooking pages to share - camping was the theme and I loved how they turned out.

Take care and enjoy the rest of your day!

 

 

Hula Bear on the Beach

I had the best week!  My sister came for a visit and then we went to a family reunion on the weekend.  The reunion was held in the town where I was born and where my mother is buried so I spent time at her graveside.  My mother and some of her sisters look alike and share alot of the same mannerisms so it was comforting to be in their presence - it brought back good memories of Mom.

Enough of my muttering - onto the hula bear card!  I saw the cutest tilt card idea on Patti Lee's blog - Creations by Patti.  I altered her card slightly and made a hula boy bear with a grass skirt.  The hula bear's top of his body shifts from side to side when the card is tilted back and forth.  Here are two close-up's that demonstrate his hula abilities.  Look at that hip action! LOL

  

I used the woodgrain texture plate to emboss the tempting turquoise cardbase.  I thought it looked a little like waves on the water.  The white and old olive mats are cut with the top note die and layered on each other.  I also cut a top note crumb cake sandy beach, tore the top edge and sponged it with soft suede ink.  I inked the palm tree image from the Tropical Party set with chocolate chip and old olive markers and stamped the image twice on the whisper white top note mat.  I re-inked the leaves on the tree with an old olive marker and stamped it on scrap paper.  I cut it out and used a dimensional to pop it off one of the images on the whisper white mat.

I thought my bear deserved to hula in sunny weather conditions so I created a sun using punches.  The pumpkin pie mat on the sun was created using a post-it note, the scallop circle punch and pumpkin pie cardstock.  I added a so saffron circle to the center of the sun and adhered it in the right top corner of the mats. 

The hula bear was created using the bear image from the Under the Stars set.  I stamped it in early espresso ink on crumb cake and soft suede cardstock.  I used the belly and snout from the crumb cake image and adhered them over the soft suede image.  I cut the arms off and repositioned them on the sides of the body and I cut the lower half of the body off.  The lower portion of the body will remain stationary on the card while the upper portion tilts.  I punched a few different colors of flower shapes with the itty bitty flower punch and created a lei for the hula bear.  I also gave him some Island Oasis dp shorts and an old olive grass skirt. 

I used the hobby knife and cutting mat to create an opening behind the bears upper body.  The body tilts with the help of a penny and dimensionals.  The matted top notes are popped off the tempting turquoise base with dimensionals.  This added height also aids the tilting motion to occur.  The lower portion of the body with the berumda shorts is adhered to the crumb cake beach and remains stable while the upper portion moves!

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Stamps: Tropical Party, Under the Stars

Ink:  Early espresso, soft suede, markers - chocolate chip, old olive

CS:  Whisper white, tempting turquoise, old olive, crumb cake, soft suede, pumpkin pie, so saffron, rose red, pumpkin pie, Tropical Oasis dp

Accessories:  Big shot, top note die, texture plate kit #4, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, itty bitty shapes punch, sponge, post-it note