Monkey Punch Art

I've been keeping busy lately by making these checkbook covers and matching mini photo holders. Other than the monkey, I'll be decorating them with a dog, bear, kokeshi, girl, hula dancer, and ipu punch art. I'll post them as they get done. Thanks for always stopping by...

2 Blog Awards In One Day

I received this award today from both Jenny at Jenny's Creations and Kelli at Wink and a Smile Creations by Kelli. Thank you both for being so sweet as to passing on this award to me. I would like to send this award back out to others that I find inspiration from.

The rules for this award are:
1. Thank the person that nominated you for this award.
2. Copy logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link the person's blog that nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post a link to the 7 you nominated.
7.Leave a comment on each blog to let them know they are nominated.

Here are 7 things you might find interesting about me...
1. I have been married to my husband for 12 years, but together for over 19 years (he's my high school boyfriend).
2. I was a teacher for about 11 years before I decided to stay at home with my girls and start my own daycare.
3. I love animals. We have 2 dogs, 1 cat, 2 rabbits, and some fishes.
4. I have a fear of chameleons and geckos. Can't stand having them around... yuck!
5. I love chocolate, but my girls don't like even the smell of it.
6. I enjoy baking and crafting with my girls.
7. I love to spend time with my family. They mean the world to me!

Here are my 7 nominees...

1. Joy- A Place To Be Me
2. Enjoli- Stamping Under The Sun
3. Jodi- Inked Inspirations
4. Teri- Big Ideas From A Little Girl
5. Jamee- Pink Beach Ball
6. Janis- Creative Expressions
7. Jenny- Crazy For Paper Crafting

Girl w/Bear Card

Here is the first card that I made with the images from Kyoko. They are all adorable, but I chose to start on the one with the little girl carrying her bear because it reminds me of my daughter who loves to dance around with her stuffed animals! The sentiment is from Stampin' Up! I also used the SU textured plates on both the Whisper White and Lavender Lace CS though I don't think you can see it too well in the picture.

RAK from Kyoko

As I was about to leave the house today, the mailman gave me a package. It was a RAK filled with goodies from Kyoko at Cards and Tags Mania! Isn't she thoughtful? She gave me a Hello Kitty Notepad, all these stamped images, and a snickers candy bar too (sorry, I forgot to include it in the picture). I really love all these treats and just couldn't wait to start coloring these images. Thank you Kyoko!

Hello Kitty Steno Notebooks

With the start of the new school year right around the corner, I decided to make these steno notebooks to give to some special teachers as a "welcome back" gift. All I did was cover the front with some DSP, add the die cut of Hello Kitty, and then add on some ribbon. Really simple to make. I'm sure that the teachers will put these to good use... hope they like them!

RAK from Denise

I received this RAK in the mail the other day from Denise at Denise Loves Stamps. It was such a sweet surprise and it really brightened my day! Thank you Denise for being so thoughtful!

Hula Girl Instructions

Here are the hula girl instructions. I did however change it up a bit. After some friends told me that the coconuts looked huge (and they really were)... I saw it in a different light...LOL! I tried changing the coconuts to the 1/4" circles, but then they were too small. So as a compromise, I gave her a strapless top instead which I think looks much better. Thanks for the feedback. I really do listen and appreciate your comments. Oh yeah, don't forget to cut slits on the grass skirt (I didn't put that on the instructions). Happy crafting!

Another Blog Award

Jenny at Crazy for Paper Crafting was sweet enough to give me this Bloggy Friend Award. Please stop by her blog to check it out. She has some cute designs and I really like her pop-up cards that she makes! I send this award back out to all those who inspire me!

Hula Girl Card

Here is a quick card that I put together this morning for my daughter's Kumu. Sorry, I still need to put together the instructions for the hula girl. That will be my next project to post... hopefully! The girls will be having a pool party this afternoon for those who went to competition. So I'm off to finish putting together the photo album that will go along with this card before the party. Enjoy the rest of your weekend... it seems to go by so quickly!

First Set of RAKS

Here is my first set of RAKS that I made this week. My girls had fun helping me make them. I hope the ones receiving these will like them too. The first item actually holds a little colored notepad and pen. I used my Hello Kitty dies to decorate them along with some SU DSP. The second item is actually a mini post it note holder. This idea came from the Chic 'n Scratch website a while back. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend!

Coconut Tree Instructions

Sorry, I am just posting the instructions for this punch art today. I didn't have the time to make a sample card to go along with it... how sad is that? I've been pretty busy with my girls, but wanted to post a little something for you to create with. Have fun.....

Wedding Cake Instructions & Card

I guess you could say that I've been on a Hello Kitty kick lately (I kind of still am), but I wanted to show you something different today. So as I was flipping through channels last night, I came across a wedding show and it reminded me of this card that I made. It's hard to see in the picture, but I actually layered the rectangles on the cake increasing by one for each level to give it a 3-D effect. I also used the Together Forever stamp set for the background and the words. Have a great day... no daycare kids today so I'm off to run some errands!

Blog Award

Although I follow quite a bit of blogs and think they are all great, I would like to pass on this award to a few people who have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome in this blogging world. Thank you to everyone for being so kind and thoughtful!

Michele- My Simple Crafts
Linda- Simple and Sassy Creations
Michelle- Mushi's Creative Inspirations
Joni H.- Crafty Hula Hands
Liann- Creating With Aloha
Kyoko- Cards and Tags Mania
Denise- Denise Loves Stamps

Blog Award

I was surprised to receive this award from Michele at My Simple Crafts. She is so thoughtful and is always showing me new things in this blogging world. Without her, I don't think I would even have a blog...he..he..he! Thank you Michele for always being a wonderful friend!

Hello Kitty Box w/Cards

This box was made by Joni and given to me filled with 2 mini Bath & Body hand sanitizers inside. I wanted to make one of my own, but didn't have the large scallop circle die so I decided to make a similar version.



Instead of using the the large scallop circle on top, I went ahead and used another top note piece (I've seen similar ones on other websites). I decorated the bag and cards using the Fifth Avenue stamp set and of course, my Hello Kitty embosslits. I love the embosslits because you can just run them through the big shot and use it without doing anything else to it!

Keiki Hula Gifts

These are the gifts that my daughter gave to her hula sisters at the Keiki Hula Competition this weekend. They did a really good job with their performances and we are proud of them! The first is a notepad that is covered with some green galore/gable green cardstock and Rainbow Sherbert DSP. The other is a post it note holder. I used the Pink Flamingo DSP and the Hello Kitty embosslits for this one. This idea actually came from Michelle at Mushi's Creative Inspirations. She was kind enough to give these to us at one of our monthly meetings and I knew as soon as I saw it that I wanted to make these for the girls. Really simple and quick to make.... that's the best kind of projects to make when there is so little time! Have a great day!

New Catalog Stamp Camp

Just wanted to let everyone know that our stamp group, The Pacific Stampers, will be having our New Catalog Stamp Camp on Saturday, September 12th. If you are interested in receiving more information on this, please leave me a comment with your email and I will forward you the flyer. Hope to see you there because I would love to meet some of my blogging sisters!

Hello Kitty Box

This is a box I made for my friend (and fellow stamper) for being so sweet to my girls all the time. She is always so thoughtful so I decided to get her and her girls some Hello Kitty water bottles to put in this box as a thank you gift.

Fairy Instructions & Card

Here is another card that was made for a previous card swap. For this card I used the Nursery Necessities & Heard From The Heart stamp sets. Sorry, I do apologize for posting older cards, but I wanted to share my punch art instructions with all of you, but just haven't had the time to make new cards with them. I hope you like the 2 that I posted today. I will probably be MIA for the next couple of days since the Keiki Hula Competition starts tonight. Such a busy weekend, but I promise to share with you new projects soon...

Japanese Girl Instructions & Card

Here is a card that I made a while back for another one of my monthly swaps. I used the Ginger Blossoms DSP, Fast Flowers wheel, ABC Alphabet Lower stamp set, & Embrace Life stamp set. On my card sample I actually cut out one of the flowers from the DSP, but you can use the trio flower punch instead.

Big Shot Boxes

I designed these cute little animals using the Box #2 Bigz XL dies. For the monkey I used the following punches: 3/4" circle, 1/2" circle, 1/4" circle, small oval, and large oval. For the bunny I used the following punches: small oval, large oval, trio flower, heart to heart, 3/4" circle, and 1/4" circle. For the chick I used the following punches: 3/4" circle, 1/4" circle, small oval, and large oval. I also cut slits on the "large oval wings."




This little bunny favor was created using the Bag w/Scallops Bigz XL dies. I also used the following punches: small oval, large oval, heart to heart, 1 1/4" circle, 1 3/8" circle, and the round tab. I attached a pom pom on the back of the box for it's tail.

Dawney*s Blog Anniversary

Just wanted to let everyone know that Dawne at Dawney*s Delights is celebrating her blog anniversary with some blog candy. Go check it out!

Happy anniversary Dawne!

Thank You

It has been about a week since I started my blog and I just wanted to thank all of my new "blogging" friends (& old ones too) who have left comments. Even those who just stop by to check out my creations... thank you! I really appreciate all of you and hope that you like what I have been posting. I know that a lot of you like the punch art pages that I have posted and I wanted to let you know I have many more to share. I am finally getting the hang of this "blogging world" and thank you for your patience. Hope you have a great day!

Garden Greetings

Here are pictures of a thank you card and tags that I made using the Garden Greetings stamp set.

Card:
There is actually a pocket on the inside of the card. It will hold a gift card for a special person who has helped my daughter's hula halau in preparation with the competition. It's hard to see in the picture, but I actually layered the flowers using dimensionals and also added some dazzling diamonds glitter. Guess I need to learn to take better pictures...

Tags:
I belong to the PTO Teacher Appreciation Committee at my daughter's school and volunteered to make 160 tags. These tags will be attached to a "Welcome Back to School" gift for all the teachers and staff at my daughter's school. They have some of the best teachers there!

Ipu Instructions & Gift Card Holder

Here is something that I have been working on this past week. It is a simple gift card holder using the Do the Hula stamp set. I made 24 of these for the halau that my 2 daughters dance for. My oldest daughter and her class are preparing for the Keiki Hula Competition this weekend. This will be given to the dancers and all those who have helped the halau. Note: I used the 3/4" & 1" circle punches for the gift card holder so that it would fit on the scallop circle punch out.

July Card Swaps

Just a quick post today. These are card swaps that I received at our July monthly meeting. Aren't they cute? Thanks for stopping by....


Created by Jane...



Created by Joni H...



Created by Joni H (we have 2 Joni H. in our group)...



Created by Lorinne...



Created by Bess...



Created by Shelby...



Created by Michelle U...



Created by Naoko...

Ballerina Girl Instructions

Some of you have been asking which punches I used to make the ballerina... so here it is. For her cheeks, I used the top of a pencil eraser and SU pretty in pink classic stampin' pad. I used the technique of "stamping off" to get the cheeks a subtle pink. Also, if you plan on using her on a 3 x 3 card, you might want to lay her out on the card to make sure she fits. If you're doing a regular sized card, you don't need to worry about it. I think that's it. Have fun creating your own ballerina!

Win $1,000 at TheCuttlebugSpot.com!

I have just discovered that The Cuttlebug Spot is having a contest - "The Journey to 1,000"! They are trying to reach 1,000 followers by the end of July and need your help. To enter all you have to do is go to their site, sign up as follower and complete a few easy steps and you could win a $1,000 gift certificate to Custom Crops (

www.CustomCrops.com)! GO NOW and check it out at www.TheCuttlebugSpot.com

Make A Child Smile

Each month Joni at Crafty Hula Hands sends out cards to children from the Make A Child Smile site. I thought this was a great idea and wanted to involve my daycare children in such a wonderful thing! So since it rained this morning and we couldn't go outside, we decided to do a little stamping and collage art using my punch scraps. I explained to them what it was for and why we were making it. They were very excited and worked really hard on these cards. They even drew pictures on the inside for their "special friend." I think we'll start making this a regular monthly project. Thanks for the great idea Joni!

Ballerina 3x3 Cards & Holder

Here is the project that I designed for our meeting tonight. I had the hardest time deciding on what to make since there are so many talented stampers in our group! It is a set of 3x3 cards and a holder. My inspiration for this project came from having 2 of my daughters dancing ballet around the house all the time. I couldn't find any ballerina stamps to use so I decided to create them using my punches. I also used the new SU In Color cardstocks and Razzleberry Lemonade DSP.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Here is a preview of the card I made for our meeting card swap. My daughter had a great summer school teacher who taught them all about Eric Carle and his books. It inspired me to create my version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar using my punches. Hope you like it!

Happy Birthday Jodi!

Happy birthday to Jodi at Inked Inspirations! She is giving away some blog candy in honor of her birthday. Please visit her blog to send her some birthday wishes and to check out her cute cards/projects!

Recipe Book

Here are pictures of the mini recipe book project that Shelby taught us at our last group meeting. It was a cute project to make and Shelby is always so creative.... thanks Shelby! Making this mini recipe book has inspired me to design one of my own.... maybe I'll make some for Christmas. Guess I'll need to start early!

Speaking of meeting projects, I'm in charge of the project for this month's meeting. I will be posting pictures of the completed project later this week.... so stay tuned!