Die-Versions Heart Release

Darlene surprised me today with the release of my last assignment.  Well, I should have been ready to publish this, I just haven't had the time to post anything.  Seven skunks, two opossums, cottontail bunnies, a host of baby birds, and already the second batch of baby squirrels keep me hopping non-stop. 

But that's another story.  Need to describe and explain my creations here, so please bear with me!

Darlene sent me these intricate dies with a comment that these would be great for a wedding theme.  I took a deep breath when I read that, I have only been to one American wedding and that was eons ago.  Hailing from Germany, my own first wedding had been very small and frugal, so I had to do some serious research. 

American wedding cakes can be extremely elaborate, and don't ask me why, but that was the first thing that popped in my head: make a paper wedding cake.

To make this I cut out two same size cardboard circles and one larger one for the bottom piece.  Then I cut the side walls and scrored both sides about 1/2 inch in and then cut triangles to the score line to make the cardboard bend smoothly and to use the triangles as glue attachments.  Let it all dry and then decorated the cake with white and yellow paper. Then I added four die cuts of the Love All Around die equally spaced around the sides and one DVS 4x4 110 Heartthrop circle die on top.  .Then I cheated and used Perfect Pearls as embellishments, but they are a little more runny than I had wanted...

For fairness' sake I have to state that the topper is actually a large Martha Stewart punch.  I folded each punched shape in half and then started gluing it together making sure everything lines up perfectly.  How many or how few you use is up to you, but it should end up in a nice round shape.  I than added silver glitter glue. 

The bottom of the cake has paper cream dollops which I fashioned with a circle punch and then patiently glued  together.  These have about 20 folded circles per dollop.  After glueing them in place I glitter-glued them as well.  The large half-circle shape around the bottom of the cage is a deep edger from EK Success. 






 I made another wedding cake after sending this one off to Darlene, more tiers this time.  And I used scalloped circles and a different die from Die-versions but from the same set.














Next up in the video is the shower invitation.  Everything I saw in the stores was white and formal looking, so I decided to add a little fun to the whole thing. 

I made the card first and then the envelope to fit with the MS Scoring Board.  The card's border is a MS punch around the corner set, the ring set comes from a Cricut cardtridge (Sweethearts, I think), and the stamp I found on clearance at Michaels a while back.  Card and envelope are color coordinated.  To add a little interest to the envelope I first cut out the die on the flap part and then reinserted it after gluing the contrast flap color in place.  Simple to do...



 

I chose to be more formal for the wedding card itself.  The border punch is very similar to the one I used on the cake and is also from EK success, and I laid out the card so front and back would look the same.  Then I draped some sheer veil material over the card and adhered it along the inside of front and back flaps, made some ribbon roses, and added a simple tag using corner rounders with color coordinated stamped greeting.  I then used a darker piece  of purple cardstock and punched out the starburst pattern.  Finishing the inside hides the glue strip for the fabric and gives the card a professional feel.  

For the final die I decided to make a treat bag.  I don't have any dies to cut one out, so I winged it.  Cut a loooong strip the width of the bag and the entire length plus flap and scored it where I wanted the bag to fold.  Then I punched out the flowers with a MS Punch all over the page punch and glued light paper behind that to accentuate the punch's design.  Next, I cut two strips about 1" wide and 2/3 the height of the bag and glued those into place alongside the bag.  To get the bag to close easily I creased the upper half of the side strip.  I glued on the Die-Versions circle die and added a handmade flower and Velcro dots to open and close the bag.  Put in two little candies, done. 

I hope these explanations help.  If not, I will try to make up examples step by step and post them as well.  Right now I have to stuff a hungry Cardinal baby's beak again and go clean cages downstairs again in preparation of dinner for the wildlife soon.  And then it's already time to feed the baby squirrels again!

08-06-12 Butterfly and Crane Mobile.AVI

6 August 2012

Today is the anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb onto Hiroshima, and to honor that date I made two cards with Japanese images.  Both use Cheery Lynn dies, the oval lace and lace frame dies, and I hand folded the cranes and the fan in typical Origami fashion.  For the Oval lace frame card I chose some of the favorite colors in Japan:  pink and light blue, reminiscent of Cherry Blossom season.  Last but not least, I added a koi card.  This, however, is not my original design:  I used a rough design by Cheery Lynn because I liked it so much and embellished it.

A little over a week ago I got a pin prick bite from a baby skunk I highly suspected to have rabies.  Even without the miniscule but potentially deadly bite I would have submitted the animal for euthanasia and testing since rabies destroys the brain and causes a painful death.  The poor animal needed to be put out of its misery. 
This happened on a Friday night, and the following Monday I had to go to the local hospital for my rabies booster shots.  They give those at the Special Procedures department, and this is also the department where chemotherapy patients are treated. 
I felt so grateful that all I needed were two booster shots whereas there is so much more serious illness happening within these walls that I wanted to do something nice.  So I decided to try making a mobile with butterflies and cranes.  I've never made anything like this before but had a lot of fun making it even though it was a frustrating challenge at times.  The slightest alteration shifted the weight and threw the entire mobile off balance, and it took quite a bit if tweaking here and adjusting there to finallly get it to look the way it does now. 
The final challenge will be to bring it to the hospital without it all getting hopelessly tangled up  Wish me luck! 
As for the baby skunk, it DID test positive for rabies, so taking it out of the population was the right thing to do. 

The butterflies are mostly intricate lace dies made by Cheery Lynn, and I also used one large butterfly die from Memory Box.  I cut out the intricate pattern dies twice to add the design on both sides of the butterfly's angel wing (the solid contrast color in the center).  I wanted the butterflies to be pretty and colorful no matter from what angle. 

I have sooooo much to write about and soooooooo little time right now, so please be patient!  July turned out to be the month of the skunks, and I now have seven in my rehab room. I am also getting dowsed with one bird after another, and tonight arrived yet another little Cottontail bunny after I just released my other one a few days ago...  And on 22 July my first newborn red squirrel baby arrived, round two has already begun!  That means around-the-clock feedings and very little sleep... 

More soon, I promise!