One in a Minion

Months ago one of my cousins asked me if I would make him a Minion card like the Yoda one I made him for his birthday a few years ago. Of course I told him I would, and I had every intention of making the card and mailing it to him as a "just because" surprise. I even did a Google search for different Minion punch-art images.

But, as so often happens, life got in the way and I never had a chance to sit down and make the card. I left those search results open on my iPad, though, and I finally managed to make him a Minion card for his tenth birthday. Yay!

Supplies for the Minion character (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Just Jeans
Paper: Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Whisper White card stock; silver paper
Ink: Marina Mist, white gel pen
Accessories: Mini black brads (Making Memories); 1/2", 1", 1-1/4" circle punches; Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack; small daisy punch; Circles and Ovals Collection Framelits dies; Glue Dots; Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter)

Supplies for card base (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Labeler Alphabet, Party with Cake
Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Softly Falling embossing folder, Sticky Strip, Dimensionals

I have to say that I think he turned out pretty cute! And instead of putting my Minion on a "flat" card, I made him into an easel card (with a non-birthday outer sentiment) so my cousin could display it in his room if he wants to.

Here are some tips and measurements for my Minion:

Body - I started with a 3" x 6" piece of Daffodil Delight card stock and traced a circle Framelits die to make his head and an oval die to make his bottom. Here is a picture of the minion on my grid paper so you can get an idea of the size.

Hair - I hand-cut the little tuft of hair.

Eyes - I used the small circle from the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack with Basic Black card stock, the 1/2" circle punch with Chocolate Chip card stock, and the 1" circle punch with Whisper White card stock. I added highlights with a white gel pen.

Goggles - Silver paper punched with the 1-1/4" circle punch and a 1/4" wide strip of Basic Black card stock for the band.

Smile - I punched a piece of Basic Black card stock with the 1-1/4" circle punch, shifted the punch slightly, and punched again.

Arms and hands - I used 1/4" wide strips of Daffodil Delight card stock for the arms. For the hands I punched two Basic Black daisy flowers and then trimmed off some of the petals (see photo). I added teeny pieces of black card stock as the cuffs.

Clothes - I traced the Minion shape onto scratch paper and then sketched a general shape for the overalls. Once I was happy with the shape, I traced it onto Marina Mist card stock that I stamped with the Just Jeans background stamp and cut it out. The straps are 1/4" wide strips of Marina Mist, attached with mini black brads. I used a white gel pen to add stitching details. The legs and shoes are cut out by hand.

Here is a picture with the card completely closed. I wanted a neutral card base that didn't detract from the Minion, so I used Crumb Cake card stock. The plain card stock was a bit too boring, though, so I decided to emboss it with the Softly Falling embossing folder because it reminded me of falling confetti.

I scored the card front about 2 " from the bottom (unfortunately I didn't write down the exact measurement). Then I adhered just the bottom part of the Minion to the portion of the card front below the fold.

The card base is a standard A2 size (4-1/4" x 5-1/2"), but obviously the Minion extends past the edges of the card. Luckily I found an old store-bought envelope in my stash that was big enough to fit the finished card.

Finally, here is a picture of the inside of the card. To make the easel part, I spelled out the sentiment "You're one in a Minion" with the Labeler Alphabet stamp set using black and Marina Mist ink on Whisper White card stock. I trimmed out the words and adhered them to a piece of Basic Black card stock. Then I used Dimensionals to attach the panel along the bottom of the inside of the card.

For the upper panel, I cut a piece of Whisper White card stock and stamped it with a birthday sentiment. (The full sentiment is "It's time to celebrate with cake," but I just omitted the last couple of words to better fit my card.) I wanted to add a bit of yellow inside the card, so I colored in the first few words with my Daffodil delight marker.

And that's it! It really wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be when I started. And it's fun to make something a little different sometimes. So thanks for stopping by -- and remember that you're one in a Minion!