Artful Avocations

Hula Girl w/Build-a-Bear

I'm back from a week in beautiful, GREEN Oregon and have a post for you of my little Hawaiian girl using the Build-a-Bear die and the Ornament Punch from Stampin' Up! that I made before I left, but didn't have time to post.

Here are the punches/dies I used:

Body - Build-a-Bear
Head - Ornament Punch
Ear - 1/4" Circle Punch
Nose - 1/4" Circle Punch, cut in half
Hair - Retired Dog Tag Punch and Large Oval Punch (snips cut with scissors for bangs)
Flowers - Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack

Dress, Leaves and Flip-Flops are cut free hand.

Use a Basic Black Stampin' Write marker to draw her eyes, eyebrows, and mouth.

Use a Sponge Dauber with Classic Pretty In Pink Ink to sponge on her cheeks.

Use a Signo White Gel Pen to add centers to the flowers and highlights to her eyes and cheeks.

Tip:  To cut dress, flip body over on top of your Island Oasis DSP.  Trace around shoulders and body to create a basic dress outline.  Remove body, then finished outlining the dress shape and cut out.  To create the shadows in the folds of the dress, use a little Classic Ink on a sponge dauber.  Here I used Tempting Turquoise to create the shadows and to darken the edges of the dress.   For flip-flops, fold a small piece of card stock in half and cut both flip-flops at once, cutting ends a little wider than you need.  Glue to feet and trim off excess.

Hope you like it!  Thanks for stopping by.

MDS Beer Mug - Cheers!

Maybe you're one who likes a cold beer on a hot summer day.  Personally, I'd rather have a Diet Coke.  Those of you that own My Digital Studio know how fun and addicting it can be.  After I made that pirate last night (ok, in the wee hours of this morning), I woke up this morning thinking the rounded corner punch would make a good handle on a mug.  I know, I know...weird thing to think of first thing in the morning.  Anyhow, after getting a few things done around here, I started playing on MDS and this is what I came up with.  The Beer Mug is made entirely of punches in MDS, stretched, shrunk, layered, and shadowed.  Cheers to your day!

Thanks for visiting.

MDS Pirate Card

So...my friend, Carolyn, needed a pirate card for a birthday party that's coming up and wanted me to make one for her like the one I cased from Barb R.  Problem is, I won't be able to get it to her before she needs it.

I challenged myself to come up with the next best solution - Create one using My Digital Studio and e-mail it to her.  She can print it out or have it printed in an hour at our favorite big box store.

Completely done in MDS and saved as a jpg file, then I opened it in my Windows photo viewer and cropped it.

It is completely made of punches in MDS and some tricky layering.

Leave me a comment and let me know how you like it.

It's almost 2 am, so I'm off to bed.  Have a good night everyone.

Pirate Birthday Card - Using Build-a-Bear

I needed to make a pirate birthday card the other day and was feeling a little tired and lacking creative mojo, so I cased this card from a very cute one I saw on Stampin' Connection made by Barb Rose and changed up some.  Sorry, but you don't have access to Stampin' Connection unless you are a SU! demonstrator, so you can click her name and see her card on her blog.

Hey, it's worth it alone to become a demonstrator just to have access to the Stampin' Connection site!!!  I'd love to have you join my team and be able to access all the awesome ideas on the site!  To sign up, just go to my online store and click the "Start Your Own Business" button in the upper right corner.  The password is PAPERCRAFTSWITHSHARON.

Ok, back to my card...

The pirate's body is the Build-a-Bear Big Shot die and..."Off with yer head!"  {Sorry, had to do it!}  The head is the Ornament Punch turned upside down.  The shirt and pants are from the Build-a-Bear Beary Essentials die.  I just trimmed the ragged edges on the sleeves and pant legs.  The ear and the nose were punched with the 1/4 circle punch.  I punched the earring first with the 1/4" circle punch and then with the 1/2" circle punch.  The scarf on the pirate's head is also the Ornament Punch, trimmed down.  Everything else is cut free-hand.

Hope you like this little pirate as much as I do!  Have a great day and thanks for visiting.  :D

My Little Red Wagon

Here is another idea I've had for quite some time.  I really didn't have in mind using the Sock Monkey for my wagon, until I saw the new More Monkey Accessories stamp set...with a wagon!!  How perfect is this set for my Little Red Wagon?!

Again, I really wanted to share my wagon with everyone, so I went ahead and wrote up yet another tutorial.  I used all Stampin' Up! materials which can be purchased in my online store.

You can purchase my Little Red Wagon tutorial here or on the left sidebar for $5.00 US.  It's a downloadable multi-page pdf with step-by-step instructions, diagrams, and photos so you will have no problem making our own wagon.

Little Red Wagon Tutorial  $5.00 US

My "Wooden" Wagon

Is this cute or what?!  It's NOT wood, it's Crumb Cake card stock!

I've been wanting to make a little paper crafted "wooden" wagon for such a long time and I finally did it!  {Yes, I love summer!  Time to create!}  And...guess what?  I actually wrote up a tutorial before anyone asked.

I've got to tell you, I'd rather be making things than writing up the how-to's, but I knew I'd get asked for this one and I do want to share it with all of you, so I wrote up a multi-paged tutorial with step-by-step directions, diagrams, photos, embellishment tips and ideas, and even a quick "how-to" for my favorite wood grain technique.  It's actually pretty easy to make, too.  (Much easier than writing up the tutorial! smile )  I used all Stampin' Up! products to create it, which are available in my online store.

I love the way my "Wooden" Wagon turned out and hope you do too.  I made it to fit regular A2 (4-1/4 x 5-1/2) cards and envelopes, but as you can see, I decided to make mine into a little table top arrangement.  I have lots of ideas to make some other "Wooden" Wagons that I have shared in the "Tips" section of the tutorial.  My "Wooden" Wagon is available here or on the left sidebar.

"Wooden" Wagon Tutorial $6.00 US

More Purses & Cards

Here are two more purse and card ensembles.  Don't forget you can click on the picture for a larger view.  Hope you like them!  Thanks for visiting!

Tropical Purse Ensemble

Finally!  I've been able to photograph some of the things I've been making over the last couple of months.  (Yes, months!)  Here is one of the purses I've made and the cards that go inside.  Although I usually make up my own templates and patterns, I fell in love with this style from Becky Roberts and purchased the file from her.  If you're into purses, she has added some more really cute purse templates to be used as gift card holders.

All materials used for these projects can be found in my online Stampin' Up! store.  The Island Oasis Designer Series Paper is only available through August 31, 2010, so if you want some get it NOW before it's too late!  (I love, love, love this paper!)

I'll be back later to post a few more purse ensembles later today.  Have a great day!

New Digital Downloads Released Today!

I know I've told you before, but I have to say it again, "I Love My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up!"  I'm so excited to see they are releasing new downloads so often and even more excited to see these brand new punches as the newest digital releases!  Take a look and remember these are instant downloads.  As soon as you purchase them, you download them and start creating!  As all Stampin' Up! products, these are available in my online store 24/7.  Have a great day!

 

Item	Description	Price
122150	Eyelet Border digital punch	$.95
122151	Dotted Scallop Border digital punch	$.95
122152	Bitty Bat digital punch	$.95
122153	Two Step Owl digital punch	$.95
122154	Ornament digital punch	$.95

New Idea Book & Catalog and Other Great News

It's that time of year!  The NEW Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog went live on July 1.  Packed with some awesome new stamps and products, you can check out the new items now in my online store.

Here are some Cool ways to get your hands on a new the new catalog.

$5.00 w/purchase of $35.00 - $74.99 (before s/h & tax)
$9.95 without purchase
FREE w/purchase of $75 or more (before s/h & tax).
FREE when you host a workshop.  Contact me today to make your choice!

Stampin' Up! is also offering THIS:

If you're a prior demonstrator that misses all the fun and excitement that being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator offers, I'd love to have you join my group!!  Simply click here and select me from the demonstrator locator to sign up.  I would also love to have you contact me personally to discuss this great business opportunity.  Send me an e-mail and include your phone number and I'll give you a call.

If you're not a prior demonstrator, but would still like to find out more or sign up to be a demonstrator, please contact me at the above e-mail address.  If you already know you want to sign up, you can sign up online HERE.  Just click on the "Start Your Own Business" tab on the upper right and enter PapercraftsWithSharon as the password.

The Summer Mini Catalog
The Summer Mini has some great products and, of course, the BEST stamp sets.  It's good through August 31, 2010, so take a look at it and place your orders before it's too late!  Click on this picture to see the Summer Mini.

COLOR RENOVATION
As you may know, Stampin' Up! has done a COLOR RENOVATION and added some terrific and trendy new colors and retired some of the old favorites (boo hoo).  They are offering some great kits to help you retrofit your Stampin' Up! color collections.  Here are the details.  To download a printable pdf click  Download ColorRenovationKits_0610_US (2). Well, that's about it for today.  I've got some new project ideas for you.  I just need to get them photographed and posted.  It seems to take me forever to do that!!

Thanks for visiting!