Build a Bear Leprechaun

If you've been following my blog for a while, then you know that the Build a Bear dies are very versatile- they are NOT just for bears! You can use these dies to make people and other critters, like bunny rabbits :). If you liked playing with paper dolls when you were little, you will LOVE playing with the Build a Bear dies :D. I would like you to meet Shamus... 

Several punches were used to create Shamus' little scene. The Scallop Trim Corner and Scallop Trim Border punches made my square. I cut my Whisper White card stock 5.25". After punching the outside edges of my first square, I cut another Whisper White square at 4.25" and then ran it through my Big Shot in the Square Lattice embossing folder, centering it in the Scalloped Trim square. Shamus' beard is made with the largest petal from the Blossom Petals Builder punch. His head is the 1 3/8" circle punch. His little pot of gold is done with the Extra Large Tag punch and the Word Window punch. The legs of his pot were made with the Word Window punch. The pieces of gold are actually the Small Heart punch, layered. His hat is made with 1 3/8" circle punch, the Small Heart punch, and the Word Window punch.

The inside of the card has a 4.75" Whisper White square, also punched with the Scallop Trim punches, matted on Lucky Limeade card stock cut at 5.75" square. This card is going in the mail today heading to my daughter in Texas :). Have a wonderful day today! I hope that the weather where you live is as beautiful as our weather! Spring is here!

Blessings!
Barb

Certainly Celery, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Cajun Craze, Basic Black, Soft Suede Textured, Old Olive, Blush Blossom (retired) card stock
Garden Green, Blush Blossom (retired) Classic Stampin' Ink
Cajun Craze Stampin' Write Marker
Punches- named in my post above, plus 1/4" circle and 1/8" circle punches
Build a Bear dies- Bear and Beary Essentials

My Daughter's Card

My daughter stamped a card for me recently :). She doesn't stamp often, but I thought her ideas for this card were cute. She used the Build a Bear dies to make a gingerbread girl. Ahhh, a child after my own heart ;-). Yeah, she totally owns it, lol!

 She used a Sizzix embossing folder and embossed the background and colored it in with Stampin' Write markers. A white gel pen added the frosting to the ginger girl.

On the inside of the card, she used the zig zag from the Tasteful Trim die and added stamped candies at the corners carrying the gingerbread theme to the inside. She stamped her sentiment and punched it out, then popped it up on Dimensionals.

Her card definitely expresses a warm and cozy Christmas. I can almost smell the gingerbread baking :-). Have a great weekend!

Blessings!

Barb

Supplies used:
Paper: Garden Green, Real Red, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip

Classic Stampin' Ink: Garden Green, Real Red

Stamps: Sweets for the Sweet, sentiment from a retired set

Dies: Build a Bear- Bear, Beary Dressy, Tasteful Trim

Punches: 1" Circle, Decorative Label

Christmas Stocking Banner

THIS is the project that started with my creative spark from visiting the flea markets and antique malls over the weekend. I was so happy to be feeling creative that I stayed up all night on Saturday evening! I was tired on Sunday, but it was so much fun to be in the creative flow again, that I didn't want to stop :). I made a banner using the Stocking die in the Holiday Mini. If you don't have this die yet, you really should get it! I did individual photos of each stocking for you, with the full banner at the end. I plan to attach them together with seam binding ribbon, but I'm torn between Baja Breeze and Cherry Cobbler. Hmmmm, maybe Always Artichoke seam binding ribbon? I can't decide (sigh). My stocking banner spells out 'Merry' and I plan to use this in my Christmas decorating this year. I die cut the stockings and the cuffs from acid/lignin free mat board so that it would be sturdier and hold up for a few years :). I covered the stocking with Marina Mist, the cuffs with embossed Whisper White, and the little stocking toe and heel is die cut from Frostwood Lodge Designer Series paper in the Holiday Mini. A few of the elements in the stockings are die cut from mat board and covered with card stock or Designer Series Paper as well. If you make one of these, use your own judgement as to what elements you die cut from mat board. Timeless Type die cut letters were used for each stocking. The first stocking is the M in Merry. I used the holly leaves die cut from the Stocking Accents die in the Holiday Mini and added a jingle bell punch. The jingle bell is punched from More Mustard, backed with Basic Black, and the top of the bell only has been embossed with the Snow Burst folder (Holiday Mini). The bell was also inked with More Mustard ink. I stamped the little candy bag on vellum and adhered my Cherry Cobbler stamped candy to the back.

 Next up is the E stocking. I added a little note to Santa ;-). I stamped 'Dear Santa' in Cherry Cobbler and inked the edges with Crumb Cake ink. Crinkle up the paper a bit :-). I added a button die cut with the Sweet Buttons embosslit and tied with the Cherry Cobbler and White bakers twine.

 On to R... I used the Stocking Accents die to die cut the little Christmas Tree- covered with Snow Burst embossed Old Olive, the candy cane, and added a little package to the back. The package is just a rectangle of Designer Series Paper and the bow was made with the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch.

 The other R... I was trying to think of things that go inside stockings and decided that a little spin top and a little elf doll were just the things to add to this stocking :). The elf is made using the Build a Bear dies (you really do need the Build a Bear dies :D !) and the top is made from the ornament on the Stocking Accents die. I covered the mat board ornament with some wood paper from Frostwood Lodge Designer Series Paper, which was also inked around the edges and over the paper to lessen the white shock of the paper ;-)   I tied Cherry Cobbler and White bakers twine around the top of the top and added a Jewelry Tag punch under the twine. The tag says "Super Spin Top". The elf's little sign says, "Wish Big".

                                                   

 Last, the Y. The last stocking is a mirror of the first stocking, so it would be made exactly the same, just reversing the elements to the right side.

 And here they are all together in a row. Until I decide which seam binding ribbon to use, you'll just have to visualize that the ribbon is there :D.

See you tomorrow! Have a wonderful day!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Paper: Marina Mist, Whisper White, Old Olive, Real Red, More Mustard, Basic Black, vellum, Frostwood Lodge Designer Series Paper
Classic Stampin' Ink: More Mustard, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Old Olive
Stamps: Dear Santa, Sweets for the Sweet, Pennant Parade, Tagtastic
Dies: Holiday Stocking, Stocking Accents, Sweet Buttons embosslit, Timeless Type alpha, Build a Bear Bear,  Beary Essentials
Other: Snow Burst embossing folder, Jewelry Tag punch, 1" Circle punch, Curly Label punch, white gel pen, red gems

Skater Girl aka Build a Bear :)

Wow! It's amazing how fast time can get away from you when you are busy! Yesterday was the first time all week that I've been able to get into my stamping room!

This month marks my skater girl's anniversary :-). She got on skates for the first time in her life in October 2 years ago. She could hardly stay up on the skates! The owner of the rink saw her struggling and came over and told my husband and I about the beginner skate classes. We asked our daughter if she was interested in taking the classes and she breezed through all three levels and made it onto the Artistic Skating Team by that January. She just completed her first year of competition in August. The skate year starts in September each year. She won three 1st place medals at the Regional Championships in June. This earned her three places at Nationals. At Nationals, she came in 15th place in the nation in Figures, 13th place in Loops, and 8th place in the combined events. Not bad at all for the 1st year at Nationals! Since this is her anniversary month, I wanted to make her a card and we got her a cake to celebrate. Below is the card and the cake :-).

If you guessed that I used the Build a Bear dies, you would be 100% correct! I had to make some adjustments to the die cuts to make the skate dress. All the members of the team wear black velvet dresses or pants and shirt (for the guys). Each dress or shirt has the initials K.P. on the left side below the shoulder in swarovski rhinestones. The K.P. is in honor of Kyle Peck, the son of our world class coach (John) in Chicago. Kyle was hit by a car at the World Championships in Rome and was killed. He was only ten years old. It makes me very sad every time I think of this. Since then, all of John's (Kyle's Dad) skaters wear black (John's favorite color) and the initials K.P., to honor Kyle. My daughter even has KP on her Nationals jacket to honor Kyle. So now that you know why the skate dresses are black, the skirts also come down to a point in the front and a slightly longer point in the back of the dress. This is standard for roller figure skate dresses. Just so you know, the dress bottom of the skater on the card is not wearing swimsuit type  bottoms :-). She is wearing her dress in the points that skate dresses have. I used a pearl on the left shoulder to represent the KP because that sure wouldn't fit on the little skater in rhinestones! For the skates, I die cut them in Whisper White and then with a VersaMark pen, I colored in the very bottom of the shoes and heat embossed the bottoms in silver embossing powder. The plates on skates are silver, but my daughter pointed out that I could have done the very bottoms of the shoes in brown to match the heel and sole on the bottom of the boots. Just didn't think of that, lol! The wheels are done with a Whisper White 1/4" circle punch with a 1/8" Silver Glimmer Paper circle punch. Figure wheels are white so that's why I used white for the wheels :-D. For the skater's head, I used a 1 3/8" circle punch and for the hair I used a 1 1/2" circle punch. I punched out two circles first in Early Espresso and discarded the circles. Then I came back in with my punch and punched again twice, so I had the shape of the hair. My daughter actually wears this hair style. The floor is done in More Mustard and I stamped the Wood Grain background stamp on it in More Mustard ink. I sponged the very top of the floor piece in More Mustard to give the floor a little more depth on the card. The inside is stamped with, "Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams," from the Word Play stamp set. So there ya' have it... my little skater girl Build a Bear. My real little skater girl LOVES this card! What more could you ask as a Mom :-) ? Have a great weekend!!!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Paper: Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Basic Black, More Mustard, Early Espresso, Silver Glimmer Paper, Blush Blossom (retired- please contact Stampin' Up! and ask them to bring this color back :-D )
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Classic Stampin' Ink: More Mustard, Marina Mist, Blush Blossom (retired)
Markers: Early Espresso, Basic Black
Dies: Build a Bear, Beary Essentials
Punches: Modern Label, Word Window, 1 3/8" Circle, 1 1/2" Circle
Other: VersaMark pen, Basic Pearls, Pretty in Pink Stampin' Pastels, white crochet thread for the shoe laces

Build a Bear Pilgrim

Surpise! A Sunday post! :-) I wanted to get this one posted early so I could participate in the SUO Challenge before it was too late.

If you've followed my blog for a while, then you will recall how much I love my Build a Bear dies that are exclusive to Stampin' Up! It's been some time since I've pulled them out, so I pulled them out a couple of days ago with a little Pilgrim in mind for a Thanksgiving card. I also wanted to participate in one of the challenges over at SUO Challenges. The challenge for the week was to use leaves, so I pulled out a few sets that have leaves, and this is the end result...

I used three stamp sets and a couple of retired Build a Bear dies to create my Pilgrim. His hat is actually made from the Large tag punch and the Large Oval punch, with a few alterations to the punched shapes. Please see below for the list of supplies that I used. Thanks for stopping by and have an awesome day today!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Paper: Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla, Basic Gray, Old Olive, Basic Black, Early Espresso, Blush Blossom (retired)
Classic Stampin' Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso, Basic Gray, So Saffron, Blush Blossom (retired)
Stamps: Falling Leaves, Season of Friendship, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Dies: Build a Bear- Bear, Beary Essentials, Beary Christmas (retired), Beary Girl (retired), 
Punches: 1 3/8" Circle, Large Tag, Large Oval, Boho Blossoms, 1/4" Circle, 1/8" Circle
Other: Stampin' Pastels- Pretty in Pink

Build-a-Bear Workshop Thank You's

Have I ever mentioned that I love my Build-a-Bear dies? They are NOT just for kids :-) ! If you loved playing with paper dolls when you were little, you will love playing with the Build-a-Bear collection of dies, lol! The Build-a-Bear collection of dies are great for scrapping those photos from Build-a-Bear Workshop, but kids love cards made with them, and so do grown ups ;-). Not only are there dies in the collection, but stamps as well.

I made a set of thank you cards yesterday with my Build-a-Bear dies. This year's Idea Book & Catalog brings us some new clothes for our bears, 'Beary Dressy'. I just love this little outfit- too cute!! This dress reminds me of the little sun dresses my girls wore when they were little.

Sponging ink around your bear, the clothes, and adding a little bit of Stampin' Pastel to the cheeks give your little bears depth and character. You can also use some of your other dies with the bears, such as the small butterflies from the 'Beautiful Wings' embosslit. Perfectly sized for little bears :-).

I mentioned that Stampin' Up! also offers stamp sets in the Build-a-Bear Workshop collection. One of the sets is a collection of Beary cute little sentiments, lol!

If you layer a sheet of card stock and a sheet of Designer Series Paper on your die and roll them through at one time, you will be able to mix and match pieces to get different looks for your bear's attire. I didn't do it on these cards, but usually, I add 'Crystal Effects' to my die cut buttons to make them shiny. Bears and buttons just seem to go together, don't ya' think :-) ? Okay, that's my post for today. Have to start school with my daughter. Have a wonderful day today!!!

Blessings!

Barb

Supplies:

Stamps: Beary Nice Wishes-118050

Paper: Pretty in Pink-100459, Whisper White-100730, Certainly Celery-105125, Very Vanilla-101650, Basic Black-121045, Bashful Blue-105120, So Saffron-105118, Old Olive-100702, Pawsitively Prints I (retired- but there is a Pawsitively Prints II- 117396- in the new catalog- whoo hoo!)

Classic Stampin' Ink: Pink Pirouette-111838, Bashful Blue-105209, So Saffron-105213, Old Olive-102277

Dies: Bear-117977, Beary Dressy-119986, Beary Lovely-117987, Buttons #5-113440, Beautiful Wings embosslit-118138

Other: Square Lattice Textured Impressions embossing folder-119976

Build a Bear Fourth of July

It's National Scrap-booking Month- whoo hoo! To celebrate, I made an 8x8 page for my Fourth of July scrap book using a new stamp set in the 2010 Summer Mini - July Fourth. I started out with Night of Navy for my page and stamped one of the fireworks with Versamark ink, then heat embossed with gold embossing powder for my background. I also added a die cut Build a Bear dressed for the holiday :-).

The grass is just a torn piece of Old Olive card stock stamped with the 'Dot, Dot, Dot' stamp and Whisper White craft ink.

Here's a quick close up of my little Uncle Sam bear. These bears are just too stinkin' cute, don't ya' think :-D ? I am most likely going to use this page as a journaling page and the first page of my Fourth of July scrap book. (Hey, it never hurts to get a head start on those pages we'll be scrappin'.) I'll use the the photo mat for my journaling, but of course, it could be used for a photo too ;-).

Happy National Scrap-booking Month!!! Sending out a wish to you that you can get lots of pages scrapped this month :-D. Have a great day!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: July Fourth- 120063 (wood mount- 118523), Dot, Dot, Dot- 115332
Paper: Night of Navy- 100867, Old Olive- 100702, Real Red- 102482, Riding Hood Red- (returning in July), Not Quite Navy- 101722, Whisper White- 100730, Creamy Caramel- 102514, Chocolate Chip- 102128, Basic Black- 102851
Classic Stampin' Ink: Bravo Burgundy- 105214, Night of Navy- 102977, Creamy Caramel- 103220, Chocolate Chip- 100908. Also used Whisper White Craft Stampin' Ink- 101731
Punches: 1 3/4" Circle- 112004, 1 1/2" Circle, 1" Square, Word Window- 105090
Dies: Stampin' Up! Bear- 117977, Beary Essentials- 117978, Beary Girl- 117982
Other: White gel pen- 105021, Real Red brads- 106957, Regal Rose Stampin' Pastel- 105542, gold gems

Happy Bearthday Boy

I've been working on building up my stash of cards this year and decided I should add some children's cards. Little boys seem to like bright colors, so I chose Tempting Turquoise and YoYo Yellow. When using very bright colors, it's always a good idea to break them up with a place for the eye to rest. To that end, I used Whisper White as a mat between my colors. I don't make many male cards so I really need to work on more of those :-).

The Build a Bear Workshop line of products, exclusive to Stampin' Up!, includes some adorable stamps, along with dies for making cute, cute bears. I thought these two stamp sets would be perfect for a little boy card.

I stamped this cute little bear with Black Staz-on and colored him in with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and a blender pen on watercolor paper. If I am going to color with my Watercolor Crayons directly on my card stock, I will normally use Whisper White or Very Vanilla. Both of these card stocks have a coating on them, making them perfect for coloring. Simply outline only the edges of your image with the Watercolor Wonder Crayon, and in a tight, tiny circular motion, pull the color into the center with the blender pen. Use gentle pressure so as not to pill your card stock. If I am going to color in my image by picking up the color directly from the crayons, I use watercolor paper. Watercolor paper is much more sturdy so it doesn't pill very easily. With picking color up directly from the crayon, you would use the same method of pulling in color into the center of the image, by starting your coloring on the outside edges of your image. To finish off my image, I used Bashful Blue chalk to color in the sky around the bear. I added just a bit of texture on the YoYo Yellow with the Perfect Polka Dots Impressions folder. Easy peasy card :-)
Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by- see ya' tomorrow!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: Beary Nice Wishes- 118050, Beary Best Friends- 118052
Paper: Tempting Turquoise- 102067, YoYo Yellow- 102824, Real Red- 102482, Whisper White- 100730, Watercolor paper- 105019
Classic Stampin' Ink: Real Red- 103133. Black Staz-on-101406. Blender pens- 102845
Watercolor Wonder Crayons: Bold Brights- 106695 (Brilliant Blue, YoYo Yellow, Glorious Green)
Earth Elements- 106696 (Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Old Olive)
Neutrals- 106746 ( Sahara Sand, Going Gray, Basic Black)
Dies: Stars #2- 113461
Other: Bashful Blue Stampin' Pastels- 105542, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions embossing folder- 117335

Build a Bear Workshop Easter Bunny

Sorry for being so late in posting and for not posting yesterday. My daughter is a figure skater (roller skates) and I made her a new skate dress for St. Patrick's Day on Wednesday so she would have it for class on that same day. It's emerald green, of course :-). I have a shoulder injury and amazingly, there is a lot of reaching when you sew- who knew?!! The reaching irritates the rotator cuff, so I needed to take a couple of days to rest my shoulder.

If you've been following my blog for a while, then you already know that the Build a Bear Workshop dies can be used for so much more than 'just' bears. This morning I was thinking about bunnies and an idea popped into my head, so I went to my stamping room and got to work. Yep, you guessed it, I turned the Build a Bear into a bunny... isn't he cute? :-) I love his little suit, lol!

He is all dressed for Spring and for Easter Egg deliveries! Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE my Build a Bear dies? Who says you have to have a child who is into Build a Bear Workshop to get these dies ;-)? Ah, well it happens that I do have a daughter who loves her Build a Bears, but I am the one who plays with the dies :-D.

In case you are wondering how I turned the bear into a bunny, I'm gonna tell ya'. The first thing to do is to die cut a bear from Whisper White card stock. Next, punch out a circle with the 1 1/4" circle punch out of a scrap. Flip the bear over so he is face down. Line up the edges of the circle with the very edges where the ear meets the head. The circle punch out will be on the bear's face when you are lining up the ears with the head. Trace around the circle from the top of the ear to the bottom of the ear. Repeat for the other ear. Now take your scissors and cut along your trace line, removing the bear's ears. Punch three Small Ovals from Whisper White card stock. Two of the ovals will be for the ears and one will be for a mask to color the inside of the ears. Now that you have that done, take some Almost Amethyst Classic Stampin' Ink and a sponge dauber, and lightly ink around the edges of the bear body, the muzzle, and the ears. I think it's very important to ink the edges of your bears, otherwise they just look flat with no dimension. Cut a small piece of Pretty in Pink card stock and layer behind the nose on the muzzle. Finish the muzzle with a 1/4" circle punch of Basic Black behind the mouth. Take one of the Small Ovals that you punched to use as a mask and lightly draw the shape of the inside of the ears. You will cut out the 'inside' of the ear shape that you just drew. You will have just the outside of the ear left. Lay the ear mask evenly over each ear oval, hold in place, and with Pretty in Pink chalk, chalk just the insides of the ears. Lightly chalk a little bit of Pretty in Pink chalk on the cheeks, using the perforation of the muzzle in the bear die cut as a guide. Now adhere the muzzle. Adhere a 1/4" circle punch in Basic Black behind each of the eyes. Add some eye highlights, a nose highlight, and two little teeth with a white gel pen. Dress your little bunny with clothes from the Beary Essentials die. I used the Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper for my bunny's coat and his bow tie. See how easy he is to make? Ya' really do need the Build a Bear Workshop dies ;-). See my Polar Bear Christmas card and the little elf under the category for Christmas in my sidebar and the pirate is under the Birthday category. These Build a Bear dies are too fun to play with!!!
I will be back on Monday! Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!!

Blessings!
Barb PS- the flowers were stamped with the small flower in Cheep Talk. Just stamp the flower once, then twist the flower and stamp again.

Supplies:
Stamps: Season of Friendship- 111776, Cheep Talk- 113204, Teeny Tiny Wishes- 115370
Paper: So Saffron- 105118, Bashful Blue- 105120, Certainly Celery- 105125, Almost Amethyst- 102158, Pretty in Pink- 100459, Creamy Caramel- 102514, Whisper White- 100730, Basic Black- 102851, Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper- 118060
Classic Stampin' Ink: Blush Blossom- 102609, Bashful Blue- 105209, Certainly Celery- 105217, Almost Amethyst- 101723, Chocolate Chip- 100908, Pretty in Pink- 101301, Crushed Curry- 115659
Stampin' Write Marker: Certainly Celery- 105106
Dies: Bear- 117977, Beary Essentials- 117978, Beary Hoppy Sizzlit- 117327, Beary Girl Sizzlit- 117982
Punches: Small Oval- 107304, 1 1/4" Circle- 104403, Scallop Circle- 109043 (to make the clouds)
Other: Pretty in Pink chalk- 105542, Stamp-a-ma-jig- 101049, White gel pen- 105021, green and yellow gems,

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Today I get to celebrate my Irish heritage- whoo hoo! My Great Grandparents came to America from Dublin, Ireland and settled in Paterson, New Jersey. Yep, I'm a Jersey Girl, although I haven't live there for a very long time :-). My Great Grandfather passed away before I was born, but I well remember my Great Grandmother. She lived to be 95 years old. I'm very fortunate that I have photos of her and a couple of things that belonged to her.

I made a card for all of you, whether you be Irish or Irish at heart :-), to wish you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

And some Irish Blessings for you....

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!

May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes- 115370
Paper: Certainly Celery- 105125, Very Vanilla- 101650, Old Olive- 100702, Soft Suede- 115318, Whisper White- 100730, Basic Black- 102851, Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper- 115671, Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper- 118060
Classic Stampin' Ink: Old Olive- 102277
Stampin' Write Marker: Old Olive- 100079
Punches: Small Tag- 108264, Word Window- 105090, Scallop Trim Border- 118402, Scallop Oval- 114889, Large Oval- 107305, Shamrock (non Stampin' Up!)- EK Success
Dies: Bear- 117977, Beary Essentials- 117978, Beary Lovely- 117987, Beary Hoppy- 117327
Other: Cameo Coral chalk- 105542, gold gemstones

Ahoy Matey!

My grandson is turning eight years old on Friday (where did that time go? I swear, he was just a baby a few days ago!) and he is having a pirate party this year. Grandma (aka me) is baking him a pirate ship cake with some pirate cupcakes to go with it. You know I had to make him a pirate card ;-) ! To make the pirate, I turned to the Build a Bear Workshop dies. They are great dies to have on hand because you can make more than just bears with them. I used the Ornament punch for the pirate's head and head scarf. The little tie on his head scarf is the little heart from the Heart to Heart punch. The white polka dots were done with my gel pen.

His pirate clothes are indeed the little bear clothes die, but I cut his clothes on the sleeves and the pant's legs to make them raggedy and more like a pirate. His little neck scarf was once upon a time little bear shoes and a little bear shirt cuff :-). His ship is also made with the Ornament punch and the Small Oval punch. And you thought you could just make ornaments with the Ornament punch :-D.

Awwww! He even has a pirate earring and an eye patch! The earring was made by punching an 1/8" circle punch into a scrap of Crushed Curry and then I used a 1/4" circle punch to punch around the first hole. I cut a little slit near the top of the earring so I could layer it front and back, creating his little ear. Highlights on his eye patch and his eye were done with a white gel pen. This cute little pirate was so much fun to make and my daughter (mommy to grandson) assures me that he will love it ;-). I hope he does! I will be making him a pirate birthday banner with my Pennant die that I got for Christmas from one of my other daughters and I haven't even used it yet. This is a great time to use it- can't wait to make that banner!

If you don't own the Build a Bear dies yet, you really do need them!!! They are not 'just' for bears, lol! Wishing you a wonderful week and hope you are having pretty Spring weather where you live. Thanks for stopping by! See you tomorrow!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Paper: Blush Blossom- 103318, Real Red- 102482, Close to Cocoa- 101341, Chocolate Chip- 102128, Soft Suede- 115318, Apricot Appeal- 105124, Barely Banana- 102701, Crushed Curry- 115319, Old Olive- 100702, Whisper White- 100730, Very Vanilla- 101650, Basic Black- 102851, Ballet Blue- 100613
Classic Stampin' Ink: Apricot Appeal- 105218, Creamy Caramel- 103220, Bashful Blue- 105209, Barely Banana- 101170, Chocolate Chip- 100908
Stampin' Pastels: Cameo Coral (color on pirate's cheeks)
Punches: 1" Circle- 109046, 1/4" Circle, 1/8" Circle, Ornament- 116794, 1" Square, Heart to Heart- 113694, Scallop Circle- 109043 (to make clouds), Small Oval- 107304
Dies: Build a Bear Workshop Bear- 117977, Beary Essentials- 117978 (bear clothes), Birds & Blooms Sizzlits- 113485
Other: Black Journal Marker- 105394, White gel pen- 105021

Build a Bear Polar Bear Christmas Card

For several days I had a polar bear on my mind, so I finally got around to creating him. I just love the Stampin' Up! exclusive Build a Bear dies- they are too cute! Since I had a request for a tutorial for this card, please read below for instructions :).

1. Cut a card base 7" x 10" from Night of Navy and score in the center so that your card base measures 5" x 7" folded. Cut a mat 4.75" x 6.75" from Certainly Celery. Cut Whisper White 4.50" x 6.50".

2. Die cut the polar bear from Very Vanilla and ink the edges of the bear with Bashful Blue Classic Stampin' ink. Ink the edges of the snout with Bashful Blue. Glue a scrap of Basic Black behind the face for the eyes, nose, and mouth. Add a little light blush to the cheeks with Regal Rose chalk. Adhere the snout to the face.

3. Die cut the bear's clothes from Bashful Blue (shoes from Basic Black) and ink the edges with Bashful Blue Classic Stampin' ink. Adhere the cuffs to the lower part of the sleeves on the jacket. Stamp the snowflakes on the bear shirt with Versamark and apply Iridescent Ice embossing powder and heat emboss the snowflakes. Thread gold cord through the holes in the shoes for shoe laces and tie in a bow. Adhere the clothes to the polar bear in the following order: shoes, pants, shirt, jacket.

4. To make the hat, punch out an oval with the Wide Oval punch from Bashful Blue and cut down one end of the oval to fit the bear's head. Hand cut the band of the hat with a scrap from the remaining part of the oval, rounding the ends. Using a stylus, emboss the curved lines in the cuff of the hat. Ink the edges of the hat pieces with Bashful Blue Classic Stampin' ink. Adhere the cuff to the hat and adhere the hat to the bear's head. Punch the small flower from the Boho Blossoms punch and ink the edges with Bashful Blue Classic Stampin' ink.

5. Add flat backed gold pearls to the bear's jacket for buttons and add Dazzling Diamonds to the sleeve cuffs and the pom pom on the hat. Set the bear aside to dry.

6. To create the snowy background scene, tear two pieces of scrap paper into hill shapes and place on the 4.50" x 6.50" Whisper White card stock. Do the right hill first. Ink around the edges of the scrap paper with Bordering Blue Classic Stampin' ink. Repeat with the left hill. Before you remove the masks for creating the two hills, stamp the pine trees with Old Olive Classic Stampin' ink. With a Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write marker, add the trunks to the trees. Remove the masks. Stamp one more pine tree in front of the left hill and add the trunk as you did with the other trees. To add a little more depth to the snowy scene, tear the shape of the right hill from Whisper White card stock. Ink the edges with Bordering Blue Classic Stampin' ink and adhere over the right hill. Next tear a foreground piece from Whisper White, ink the edges with Bordering Blue Classic Stampin' ink and adhere to the bottom of the Whisper White base overlapping the bottom edge of the right hill.

7. Create the sky with a scallop circle punch out and Bashful Blue Classic Stampin' ink. See tutorial for the sky here.

8. Adhere the Certainly Celery mat to the Night of Navy card base. Adhere the Whisper White snowy scene to the Certainly Celery. Add Dazzling Diamonds to the tops of the hills and the top of the foreground snow. Set aside to dry.

9. To create the sled, punch a tag with the Tag punch from Close to Cocoa card stock. Using an embossing stylus, emboss lines in the sled. Ink the edges of the sled with Close to Cocoa Classic Stampin' ink. With the Word Window punch, punch once from Chocolate Chip card stock and once from Going Gray card stock. Cut both Word Window shapes in half lengthwise. Adhere one half of the Chocolate Chip Word Window shape to the top area of the sled. Adhere one half of the Going Gray Word Window shape to each side of the sled, curved edges facing out. With a 1/16" circle punch, punch out two holes in the top of the sled and thread a piece of hemp cord through the holes and tie the ends in knots. This cord is the rope for the sled.

9. When the Dazzling Diamonds on the card base is dry, adhere the polar bear to the snowy scene, making sure that the back of the sled rope is behind the bear's hand (add just a bit of glue to the back of the hand to keep the rope in place). You want the front of the rope to be on the front of the bear's hand. Add some glue to the sled and adhere the sled in position on the card. At this point, you may add some Dazzling Diamonds to the top and left bottom side of the sled for snow.

Please let me know if you have any questions :). Supplies list following post. Have a wonderful week!!!

Blessings!
Barb

Stamps: Lovely As a Tree, Four the Holidays
Classic Stampin' Ink: Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Bordering Blue, Close to Cocoa
Card Stock: Night of Navy, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Going Gray, Basic Black
Dies: Stampin' Up! exclusive Build a Bear Bear, Beary Essentials
Punches: Wide Oval, Boho Blossoms, Tag, Word Window
Accessories: Gold flat backed pearls, Iridescent Ice embossing powder, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, gold cord, hemp cord

Build a Bear Card for my Grandson

This is the card that I made for my sweet little grandson- yes, he is adored by all the family :-), and he does love to get mail too. He sometimes makes cards with me and he just thinks his grandma is so smart- uh huh, he knows how to rack up the brownie points ;-). So I always make him a special card for all the holidays. Since he makes cards with me, he knows that they take a little bit of time to complete and he appreciates them- who could ask for more? I am training him well :-D.

I used the Stampin' Up! exclusive Build a Bear dies to create this card for him. You can see the tutorial for making the sky background if you scroll down a bit on my blog and you will also find the instructions for making the pumpkin with the Wide Oval punch. This card measures 5" x 7" so that there would be plenty of room for my bear and for his Autumn scenery. I brayered the grass with Old Olive Classic Stampin' ink and the sky was done with the Scallop Circle punch. You can find a tutorial for creating the sky here. It's after midnight, so I am going to add the supplies list and go to bed :-) !

Blessings!
Barb

Stamps: Season of Friendship, Holiday Best (Hostess set)
Classic Stampin' Ink: Apricot Appeal (sky), Barely Banana (sky), Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Ballet Blue
Card Stock: Certainly Celery, Ballet Blue, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive
Paper: Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper
Dies: Stampin' Up! exclusives Build a Bear Bear and Beary Essentials
Punches: Wide Oval
Accessories: White DMC embroidery floss (shoe laces)

Adorable Little Elf

I recently visited Andrea Walford's blog and discovered an awesome video tutorial for making an elf's head from the Stampin' Up! Ornament punch in the Holiday Mini. He is soooo cute! You can find Andrea's video tutorial here. I really liked Andrea's elf head as soon as I saw it, so I set out to make my own. While I was making his head, I was thinking that I would sure love for him to have a body. Soooooo..... I pulled out my Build a Bear Workshop 'Bear' die to see if the bear's body would fit his head. And it is the perfect size- whoo hoo! His clothes are die cut with the Build a Bear Workshop 'Beary Essentials' die. Even if you don't have small children, you still NEED the Build a Bear Workshop dies so you can make little cuties like this elf ;o). Lol!

There is also a Build a Bear Workshop die with a Santa suit and clothes for Mrs. Claus, or should I say Mrs. Claws (uh huh- pun intended)? These dies are available right now in the Holiday Day Mini, along with other wonderful new stamps and products.

If you go to Andrea's blog to view her tutorial, you will notice that I added ears to my elf's head. I used the Five Petal Flower punch to make his ears. Instead of using a pom pom for his hat, I used the smallest flower in the Boho Blossoms punch. Whisper White card stock is cut at 4.25 wide and torn across the top to create the snow. I inked the edges of the snow with Bordering Blue Classic Stampin' Ink and added some Dazzling Diamonds glitter for sparkle. I stamped two of the trees from the Patterned Pines hostess stamp set on Old Olive card stock with Garden Green ink and cut them out leaving just a smidgen of a border around the trees. Easy Peasy!

I made a girl elf today so will be posting that tomorrow as soon as I get her onto a card. Have a wonderful day!

Blessings!
Barb

Details:
Stamps: Patterned Pines (hostess set Holiday Mini 2009)
Card Stock: Old Olive, Real Red, Blush Blossom, Whisper White, Basic Black, Night of Navy
Paper: Sale a Bration 2009 -no longer available :(
Classic Stampin' Ink: Garden Green, Bravo Burgundy, Creamy Caramel, Regal Rose, Bordering Blue, Tempting Turquiose; Black Stampin' Write marker
Punches: Ornament, Five Petal Flower, Boho Blossoms
Dies: Build a Bear Workshop Bear and Beary Essentials
Other: white gel pen, gold cord, Stampin' Up! Dazzling Diamonds glitter

Build a Bear Workshop

Stampin' Up! introduced the new Build a Bear Workshop dies in the Holiday Mini 2009 and they are sooooo cute! My demonstrator order arrived yesterday so my 15 year old daughter and I decided to play last night. My daughter LOVES Build a Bear Workshop and she has more than one bear from our three trips 150 miles away from our home to visit Build a Bear. Yeah, her Daddy loves her very much :o). She has been creating and crafting since she was old enough to hold a crayon in her little hands and often times she sees things 'out of the ordinary' in the ordinary. Sometimes it just amazes me the things she sees in ordinary objects. When we were making our bears, she saw puppy ears in the backpack of the 'Beary Boy' Sizzlet!!! Who would have thought you could use the 'backpack' to create a puppy from your Stampin' Up! Bear?! Below is her Build a Bear Workshop puppy with her Build a Bear 'die cut puppy'.

And here is a close up of her patriotic die cut puppy. She used the star stamp from 'Snow Buddies' to stamp the stars all over her puppy. She used Brilliant Blue and Read Red Classic Stampin' ink. She shaded the edges of her puppy with Going Gray Classic Stampin' ink. The puppy's nose is Real Red card stock and her body is Whisper White card stock and mounted on mat board. She trimmed off the sleeves from the shirt and the legs from the pants on the 'Beary Essentials' die to create the swim suit. Isn't she cute?

The last visit we made to Build a Bear Workshop turned into a family affair, lol! My very sweet husband asked me if I wanted to get a bear too. I must confess that I really did want the limited time 'Autumn Hugs' bear :D. That bear is just too cute! I had a tiny little leaf stamp in my 'Lovely As a Tree' stamp set, so I used it to stamp the little leaves on her body in Pumpkin Pie and then colored them in with my Summer Sun marker. I inked the edges with Creamy Caramel Classic Stampin' ink and she is die cut from Very Vanilla card stock. Her clothes were created with the 'Pawsitively Prints' DSP and Whisper White card stock for her shirt. She was also mounted on mat board.

And here is my little die cut 'Autumn Hugs' bear with the real 'Autumn Hugs' bear from Build a Bear Workshop. So there ya' have it- you can use the tiny stamps that come with some Stampin' Up! stamp sets to create little die cut bears that look just your child's 'furry' Build a Bear Workshop stuffies ;o).

The little die cut Build a Bear Workshop bears were so much fun to make! I know we will be making many more, and if I know my daughter, she will have a die cut bear to match every single one of her 'furry' Build a Bears :D. Happy Wednesday everyone!

P.S. You can use repositional stencil adhesive on the backs of the clothes so they be removed and reused.

Blessings!
Barb

Details:
Stamps: Lovely As a Tree, Snow Buddies (hostess set in Holiday Mini 2009)
Ink: Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Going Gray, Pumpkin Pie, Creamy Caramel Classic Stampin' ink
Summer Sun marker
Card stock: Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Real Red, Basic Black, Pretty in Pink
Paper: Pawsitively Prints DSP (Holiday Mini 2009)
Dies: Stampin' Up! Bear, Beary Essentials, Beary Boy Sizzlit, Beary Girl Sizzlit