Elmo card tutorial

A few weeks ago I needed a birthday card for a two-year-old, and I decided to go with a tried and true toddler favorite: Elmo. I know there are many punch-art Elmo cards out there -- and all the ones I looked at were adorable! -- but I wanted to create this one on my own, from scratch. So I pulled out some punches and Framelits dies and got to work.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Paper: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Basic Black card stock
Ink: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, white gel pen
Accessories: Ovals Collection Framelits dies; punches: 1-3/4" circle, 3/4" circle, extra-large oval; sponge; Dimensionals; Mono Multi liguid glue

I think he's pretty cute. And I dare those of you who are familiar with Sesame Street to not start singing (or at least thinking) "La la la la, la la la la, Elmo's World." I know that ran through my head a few times.

While I was making the card I remembered to take pictures of different steps, so I put together the following tutorial. You can click on the small pictures to enlarge them. If you have any questions, leave a comment below.

Step 1: Fold an 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" piece of Real Red card stock in half to make an A2-sized card base (4-1/4" x 5-1/2").

Step 2: Mark the center scallops on the largest die in the Ovals Collection Framelits dies. This will help ensure that the die is straight when cutting out the card base. (To do this I cut a scalloped oval out of scratch paper, folded it in half both ways, unfolded it and placed it back inside the die. Then I used a permanent marker to make a dot at the scallops next to the creases.)

Step 3: Cut the card base with the scalloped oval die. Be sure that part of the folded edge of the card base is inside the die. A little disclaimer: Framelits dies do specify that they are designed to be used with a single sheet of paper, card stock or other material. Although it was tight, I didn't have a problem cutting through both layers of card stock, but it could affect the product warranty if any damage occurs.

Step 4: Punch and cut out the remaining shapes: 2 large white circles (1-3/4" circle punch), 2 small black circles (3/4" circle punch), 1 Pumpkin Pie oval (extra-large oval punch), 1 black oval (third-smallest die from the Ovals Collection Framelits dies).

Step 5: Sponge the edges of the Pumpkin Pie oval (nose) and the card base with the corresponding ink colors.

Step 6: To make the eyes, glue the small black circles on the large white circles. Glue the eyes to the card base so one eye slightly overlaps the other and they both stick up above the top of the card base, hiding the fold. If desired, use a white gel pen to add highlights in the black circles.

Step 7: Use Dimensionals to adhere the nose so it overlaps the bottom of the eyes.

Step 8: Cut the black oval in half. Glue half of it onto the card base so it is under the nose.

Step 9: If desired, cut out a white oval to adhere inside the card for your greeting. I used the largest non-scalloped die.




That's it! Because the eyes stick out past the card base you will need a larger envelope for the card; I used a 5" x 7" envelope.

Thanks for stopping by!

Bright birthday banners card

I have a short blog post tonight, and it's not the post I was originally planning to do. In fact, I was near the end of a considerably longer blog post that included a tutorial and lots of photos when -- poof! -- it was gone. Argh! I don't have the heart to rewrite everything right now, so I'm sharing a birthday card instead:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Perfect Pennants
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Old Olive
Accessories: Banners Framelits dies, Itty Bitty Accents punch pack, yellow chevron washi tape (unknown), rhinestones, Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Mono Multi liquid glue

To make the focal image for this card I stamped the sentiment on Whisper White card stock and used washi tape to create a border above and below the image. I cut out the image with one of the Banners Framelits dies and layered it with two coordinating banners on the left side of the card base. (I made the colored banners by hand, cutting the V into strips of card stock). I stamped a polka dot border along the bottom of the card base and added a few stars with rhinestone centers. A fun, bright card that would work for anyone's birthday.

I'll try to get that tutorial written (again!) early next week. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by!

Sweet, simple Halloween cards

Can you believe October starts next week? I find it a bit shocking, actually. September just started, didn't it? Hmm. I guess if I want to send any Halloween cards this year, I'd better get busy.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Tangelo Twist card stock
Ink: Cajun Craze, Chocolate Chip (pad and marker)
Accessories: Pumpkins #2 die (Sizzix), gold sequin trim, sponge, Mono Multi Liquid glue, glue dots, Dimensionals

These jack-o'-lantern die cuts are fun to play with. At first I was a little frustrated that the faces were separate pieces to glue on the pumpkins because I kept losing little eyes and noses and having to re-cut them. But it does make the die more versatile, because you can use the pumpkins without faces for fall or Thanksgiving cards, and you can mix and match the parts to create different faces.

For this quick and cute Halloween card I sponged the edges of the jack-o'-lanterns with Cajun Craze ink and the stems with Chocolate Chip. I glued them in the middle of a piece of Crumb Cake card stock (the left jack-o'-lantern is adhered with Dimensionals) and used a marker to doodle a border around the card stock. For a little sparkle I added a few gold sequins, and then I used Dimensionals to adhere the panel to a Chocolate Chip card base.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Tangelo Twist, Chocolate Chip, Lovely Lilac, Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Basic Black card stock
Ink: Cajun Craze, Chocolate Chip, white gel pen
Accessories: Pumpkins #2 die (Sizzix), Bat punch, 1-3/4" circle punch, Mono Multi Liquid glue, Dimensionals

This card uses the same focal point as the previous card, sponging and everything. I moved the jack-o'-lanterns to the lower left corner of the card and added a few details to create a little Halloween scene. With a white gel pen I added highlights to the bats' wings and drew a border around the sky. Sweet and simple.

Thanks for stopping by!

Gently Falling leaves

I realized late last night that I only wrote one blog post last week -- oops! I'm going to try to do three posts this week to make up for it, and to start off I have a card with fall leaves to share:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Gently Falling
Paper: Naturals White, Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist, Mossy Meadow, Soft Suede
Ink: Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist, Mossy Meadow, Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso marker
Accessories: Autumn Accents die, Color Spritzer, linen thread, Dimensionals

I bought this stamp set last year after fall, and this was the first time I've used it. I have several stamp sets with leaves, but the selling point for this set was that it has an image of maple seeds. (We called them helicopters when I was growing up because they spin as they fall to the ground.) I don't think I've ever come across that image in a stamp, so I caved and bought the set.

To make the background, I randomly stamped the leaves, acorns and maple seeds on a piece of Naturals White card stock. I used an Early Espresso marker to spritz color in the white spaces and to draw a border around the panel 1/4" in from the edges of the card stock. I used a ruler to keep the border straight and stopped the line when it ran into a leaf.

I crumpled the the die-cut shapes a bit to add texture and then soothed them out. I adhered the leaves directly to the background, tied a bow of linen thread around the acorn stem and attached it to the leaves with Dimensionals. The last step was to adhere the whole panel to a Naturals White card base.

Thanks for stopping by!

Flower Patch sunflowers

We had our first real taste of fall this week, and I loved it. Crisp air, jeans and sweatshirts, and many cups of tea. Fall is definitely my favorite season. But I'm still not ready to leave behind the flowers of summer, so here are a few cheerful sunflowers:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Flower Patch, Remembering Your Birthday
Paper: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Whisper White card stock
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Flower Fair Framelits dies, Word Bubbles Framelits dies, Itty Bitty Accents punch pack, linen thread, Distress Stickles - Vintage Photo and Scattered Straw (Ranger), Glue Dots, Dimensionals

I really like using light blue card stock (here it's Soft Sky) as the base for flower images. It has a little more "oomph" than white or vanilla while still being clean and simple, and it creates an instant sky background.

I used Framelits dies and punches to create the little scene on my card: Flower Fair Framelits dies for the flowers and stems, one of the Word Bubbles Framelits dies for the clouds and, believe it or not, the little flower blossom-looking punch from the Itty Bitty Accents punch pack for the butterflies. I love those cute little butterflies! I gently folded each punched shape in half then wrapped linen thread twice around the middle and tied it in a knot to create a body and antennae. I added a little Stickles glitter glue to the wings of the butterflies, as well as the center of the flowers, to create a little sparkle.

To finish off the card I stamped the greeting in the lower right corner and then doodled a border to create a frame for my scene. Thanks for stopping by!