A Christmas Card

Hey there.

Back with another Christmas card this Friday.

If you've got Punch Art Fun for everyone (Book 1) near you, you might like to open it up to page 39.

See the Christmas swag at the top?

This card is a version of that one, just using a few different punches.

I've just done a bit of a count and found 4 different ones.

The story behind it is that over the years I'd collected lots of different punches of different brands. When I did the books though, I used Carl punches almost exclusively because they were easily accessible over here. So, when it came to making up the book, I re-made some of my designs out of Carl punches, so I could put them in. Thus, the one above got turned into the one in the book.

Non-Carl punches in the card above?

• The green flower on each end. Can't really tell though, can you?
• The tiny bow.
• The teddy/gingerbread man.
• The bell.

Did you guess them?

Enjoy the card!

PS. To draw the swag at the top, trace something with a curved edge. Much easier, and neater.

In for repair...

Well, howdy!

Yesterday we talked about punch maintenance and today I want to talk about punch repair.

Sometimes the punches break and this is how they get dealt with in this house.

(On that note, yes, punches break sometimes. Place punch on desk top to operate. Seen that sticker on the Carl punches? If you put the punch on the desk and press the button, you're pressing the button only, which stops the plastic housing from breaking.

Hands up if you've squeezed a Carl punch in your hands to punch a shape?

Go on, admit it. We're all friends here.

We've all done it, but just be aware they won't hold up to the pressure after a while. The plastic around the toggles that secure the housing onto the metal will break. If it starts to do that, put a bit of sticky tape there and it'll hold it for a while longer. Make sense?

To explain: the Carl punches have plastic tops and metal inside. The plastic housing gets snapped onto the metal, and stays there, because little toggle things on each side hold it on. The plastic around those metal toggles will break away first. Have a look at the sides of some of your CP2 punches. See any hairline cracks? That's what I'm talking about. Put your sticky tape there.

I've broken about five CP1: 3/16" Circle punches over the years due to overuse. The shank (the actual die that goes down through the punch to punch the shape) has simply broken and fallen out. Hasn't happened with any other punch, only that one. Well used!

As far as other brands go, I've had no real problems that I can think of now. My Carl punches are the ones I've used the most over the years for the books and teaching classes. They've been hammered, so a couple of breakages is nothing, I reckon.

Read on below for my breakages report...)

As I was saying...

Sometimes punches break and this is how they get fixed in this house.

Firstly, a card.

(Sorry about the dark photo)

I like this card because it's simple. I've been saying that a lot lately.

I also like this card because it explains my husband to a T. He's all boy as you'll see below.

Here's my husband in his workshop. This is where he fixes things, builds things and basically fluffs around doing stuff. I fluff around doing stuff at my desk too, so I'm allowed to say that.

(Fluffing around is also called "chookin". What are you doing? "Just chookin")

This, as you can see, is a man's workshop. And in a man's workshop, things get fixed the man way.

Case and point.

See this punch? It's 2" circle and it got used so much the button started cracking. If you squint a bit you can see the crack on the left. See it?

Okay, so this punch still worked, but it hurt my hand because of the cracked plastic.

Andrew took it into the man's workshop and fixed it.

And I'm so sorry, but I just chucked the punch out when I did the move 'em on out a little while ago! And I'd been keeping it too. Well, I kept it because it still worked, and because it was funny.

He'd literally taken a block of wood (didn't sand it or anything - man's workshop, remember?) and stuck it to the punch button with a huge glob of red construction adhesive! That's the stuff they build houses with!

I ended up with a punch that worked, but was very unsightly.

It worked, but I couldn't store it in any of my drawers.

It worked, but it wasn't colour coordinated. Red and purple don't go together.

It worked, but I got splinters when I used it.

Men.

Next problem?

My Carl Punchmate broke.

What to do?

Get the man to fix it.

Got a pic this time!

Oh, there it is...

Yes, that's a garden stake.

When I saw it I asked if he was going to cut the pointy bit off the stake and sand the handle.

He said, "I didn't want to wreck a good stake until you approved the design!"

We both burst out laughing...

"What about splinters?" I said.

He didn't seem to worry.

Later I saw he'd painted it pink to try to rectify the situation in some way.

But it still had the pointy bit.

And the handle hadn't been sanded.

Would you use this? :o)

It works well, but it hurts!

(Insert laughter here)

Oh, man...

Oh, men!

Thought I'd finish off with this pic.

While trying to work out the best place in the house to take photos, we decided to try the workshop. Here's the set up we had. Thought the fluro lights above might've helped. They didn't. Not enough light.

Oh, well.

See you with another Christmas card tomorrow!

I'm going to be posting Christmas cards regularly, with a concentration on them in December. I'll post other Christmas things too.

Stay tuned for a blog promotion in a couple of weeks!

:o)

Punch Art Fun 1 - Look in the Book - Page 4

Well, hello! How are you today?

Today is LB - page 4.

So, what's on page 4?

More bits and pieces that I thought would be helpful for you to know!

(Got your book open?)

The other thing I didn't mention about page 3 was that we kept some designs at full size and reduced others. I talk about that in the little Space Savers section. I really wanted to give value for money and put a lot of things in, but was concerned that it might cause some confusion, well, because the designs were smaller than in real life basically. Hopefully it wasn't a problem.

The whole book was an experiment really. I made the best judgement calls I could according to what made the most sense to me. And then hoped it would make sense to you.

So, back to page 4.

Here's a card from page 4. I've always liked this simple daisy card. So nice and easy and simple and good.

And I've just realised that the version above is simpler than the one in the book. Hmmm, unusual. Usually they get more complicated...

So, page 4 talks about punching techniques/lingo. Repunching (from page 3), Cut and Paste, Mounting. I did this to give background info and just to help you out. Hope it did.

As I type now, I'm looking at the Trimming Punch Pieces section.

It was important to me to give as much info as possible in the book, so you'd obviously know which punches to use, but also what to do with them. For example, CP2: 1" Circle (trim for pot). I put little bits of info like this throughout all the instructions in the book. I think it worked well.

Just out of interest - I've got a copy of each of the books designated as the "to be fixed" books. If I find a mistake, or one is pointed out to me in class, I fix it in those books in big, black pen. My personality needs to do that!

I added the flower card above because of the pot. In the Trimming Punch Pieces section there's pictures of how you can turn a circle into a pot. I did this a lot. When the book was made, there were no pot or vase punches in the Carl range, so circles and squares were used instead. They made (and still make) good pots and show that you don't have to have every punch to have a nice card. What do you think?

The pot in the above card is an Emaginations one. Have you heard of that brand? All their punches were a maroon colour. I don't think the company exists anymore.

Now I'm looking at the Tips and Tricks section. Ah, tips and tricks. Knowing a few of these can make all the difference.

This is why I always encourage people to come to a class with me if they can. It's amazing how much sense something makes when it's explained to you in person...and I like sharing all the tips and whatnot I've picked up over the years. It's what I'm here for!

Tip 1: Complete card designs look good as a decorative element on a scrapbook page. Turn to page 38 as an example of this. The Merry Christmas card is actually doing dual duty - decorative element and title.

Tip 2: Borders become versatile when chopped up. The present/party border in the book can be shortened to the simple birthday card above. Easy.

Tip 3: Enlarge or reduce the designs you see in the book by changing the size of the punches.

We're all a little more punch savvy now. Back then we weren't. I wanted to mention all the basic things to get the creative juices going. And the brains ticking over.

Tip 4: Okay, this one's a kicker. All punch pieces have a right and a wrong side. I didn't know this in the beginning! I'd been doing punch art for about 10 months or so, and one day just noticed there was a front and a back to the punch pieces in front of me. What a revelation that was.

Tips about tip 4:

When you punch out a shape, it comes out bad side up. That is, if you put the punch flat on the table, put the paper in and punch, the punch piece will come out bad (wrong) side up.

On the wrong side the edge is rough and curved down slightly.

On the right side, the edge is smoother, rounded and curved up slightly.

If you punch a daisy, and then turn it over a few times on your desk top, you'll see what I mean. Makes a difference, hey?

Tip 5: Yep, always draw the face before you glue any hair or ears on. Particularly if you haven't done any in a while!

Tips 6 and 7: Maintaining those punches.

A lot of people get this one confused.

Problem 1:

Your punch is new, and it's sticking.

Lubricate it.

(You don't need to sharpen it because your punch is new and not blunt)

Problem 2:

Your punch is old, and it's sticking.

Lubricate it.

(This is normal. It happens)

Problem 3:

Your punch is old, it's sticking, and the punch pieces are more raggy than normal around the edges.

Lubricate it.

Sharpen it.

Lubricant - is that a word? - options: cooking spray (my go-to choice), sewing machine oil, white candle, white crayon, wax paper.

To lubricate - go to pantry and get cooking spray. Ask yourself for the 100th time why you don't keep some in the office. Spritz a couple of drops into the back of punch. Grab a tissue and wipe around the metal. Push the button into the punch as you walk back into your office. Punch on white copy paper until there's no residue anymore. Punch away!

Sharpening options: aluminium foil, very fine grade of black sandpaper (my go-to choice).

To sharpen - Find sandpaper that you bought for that very reason and congratulate yourself that you didn't have to go down to your husband's workshop to find some. Put the sandpaper in punch and punch 3 times. Turn the sandpaper over and punch another 3 times. Punch out some card to see if it's punching more easily. Repeat if necessary.

Note: I don't sharpen my punches very much at all. They hold up really well and rarely need any maintenance. I might sharpen something once a year? Honestly, it's not very often.

And I'd lubricate a punch or two a couple of times a year. Not very often either. I know of at least one that needs some work, but I never remember until I go to use it. And then I flick it and choose another one...

Talk soon.

:o)

4:10pm Edited to add:

Guess what I just did? Yep, went to the kitchen and used ye olde cooking spray to lubricate a punch.

And it was the one I knew that needed it.

You know, the flicked one...

That one.

It's happy now because it's back in the rotation. It's what punches live for, afterall.

Ah, the life.

Summer's coming and we hope to do some of this.

What about you? Do you love summer, or favour the cooler weather?

I've never been a fan of summer. Let's face it, in Brisbane it can be so hot and humid. Yuk. I've tried to embrace it in the last few years because it comes around every year, so I might as well enjoy it!

Hello, Sakura-A

Hello there,

Some punch art for you today featuring one of my favourite punches, the Sakura-A.

Funny, didn't think I'd use this one much until I started using it all the time!

Good for flowers as you can see here, fish, rabbit ears and strawberries. Love making strawberries (see very first, or second, post of this whole blog).

Nice, hey?

Betcha want one now.

Yep, knew it.

A Christmas Card

Hi!

It's the end of the week again. Boy, time is flying quickly. The busy season is coming, I can feel it. What about you?

Wanted to share another Christmas card with you today.

Very simple. Very doable. Very cute.

Really, simple is good. Don't you think?



Punches (None of them are Carl, but their equivalents are):

CP1: Bow Tie

CP8: Star

CP11G: Bear

That star-like shape is called "Quasar", I think. It's an interesting shape, but I didn't use it much, so I think I sold it.

This is the bear I used to use all the time. It's a different brand - maybe Punch Bunch, or Nankong. I then swapped over to the Carl bear and started using him. Didn't like him as much at first, but soon liked him better. You just get used to what you use all the time, don't you?

Another Christmas card next Friday!

Punch Art Fun 1 - Look in the Book - page 3

Hi, today it's all about page 3!

I made up the Chat Pages because I wanted a place to put all the bits and pieces I thought the reader might want to know. It's the teacher in me, you know.

(And I really have to say this too. Being a teacher I find it hard to type words/phrases like, "gotta, whaddya reckon, ya, 'em" etc on here. I've tried to use the correct English and it just sounds so formal and stoddy and completely unnatural. I've relented and decided to use those words, because sounding natural is more important than being proper on here. Hopefully that makes sense!)

Back to page 3.

I used a lot of the information from the Chat Pages for my very first punch art class called (what else?) The Basics. Good class that. A bit of talking, but it orientated people into the world of punch art (and boy, is it a world!). We made two cards at the end, and the lights started binging.

I love it when people "get" punch art for the first time. Mouths hang open, eyebrows are raised and bells start dinging.

I've always enjoyed that bit.

Oh, another card from 2001. What's with the dating of some of the cards, Debra? I can't tell you, I really can't.

I'm a date person, so maybe I just wanted to know the date each one was made. Gotta admit, I like knowing this card was made in 2001. It's using the Kikyou flower in CP1, CP2 and CP11G. Really nice flower, that one.

(Circles are - CP1: 3/16" and 1/2" Circle)

And it's on a swirl. I chose this card for this page because of the swirl.

See the swirl on page 3?

Ah, the swirl. How many cards have I made with you as a base? Like, 2000.

Am I kidding? A bit, but it feels like 2000 because I have used you so much. Once you start to swirl, you don't stop!

And I included the front cover of my little punch art book (also shown in a previous post, but I've taken the photo again) to show you that you can use the swirl by itself as a little flourish to jazz up the card or whatever.

Another idea? Use a glue pen to draw a swirl and spinkle with glitter. Nice.

You see? Design really is just creative recycling.

:o)

Punch Art Fun - Look in the Book - page 2

Hello, and welcome to LB - p2!

I'm trying to use the short title...

So, for page 2, we're going to focus on the tools list.

We had Top 10 Punches, and I really needed to have Top 10 Tools.

Added this bee card (it's a gift card, ie. the front is 5 x 5 cm) for a bit of fun and colour, and to go with the bee theme of page 1.

If you're going to make one, I suggest gluing the wings behind his body, not just behind his head. They look better back there.

I wouldn't change the tools list much at all. I still need (and use) all those things.

I don't use fabric paint as much anymore. Not because it's not trendy, but because I just do different things now. If I made an older card again, I'd still use fabric paint.

There's the fabric paint bottle in the photo. It's made by Plaid and the colour name is Pure Gold Metallic.

Other things I wanted to mention:

Try to buy your flat tape (double-sided sticky tape) and the foam tape in different thicknesses and heights, so you have different options when putting your cards together. I particularly like to have two different thicknesses of foam tape.

That's the glue I use at home. Because I like to work quickly, and I want stuff to dry quickly, I use this white, quick-dry adhesive. I buy it in Big W for about $8 or so. It has a small tip and you can stand the bottle on the lid to keep the glue at the tip too. I really like it.

I still use two pairs of scissors. The pink ones are for paper, and the yellow/black ones are for tape. They have teflon coated blades, so the tape doesn't stick as much. If I lost these scissors, I'd buy another pair straight away. Love them.

Things to help you pick up the bits! In the photo there's a Jewel Picker by Marvy, and a Quick Stik by Quickutz. They work with the same principle of having something sticky that you press onto the punch piece to lift it up off the table and onto your project.

The Jewel Picker has a small red bit that's sticky. I like this tool. It's simple and you can wash the red tip to restore the stickiness if you need to.

The Quick Stik has more gumption, ie. more stickiness. You wind up the plasticine type stuff and pull it off when it loses it's stickiness. Once it's gone, you have to buy a new tool. That'll take ages! It also has another tool in the end (that pulls out) that you can use to help position the punch pieces.

They're great tools!

And here's my old favourite - the hockey stick tweezers.

I don't know what they're actually made for, I don't know where I got them, but they've been invaluable to me, and I'd replace them tomorrow too.

Don't know where from though, because the good ones can be hard to find. I'd be on the internet looking round for starters.

That's it for page 2.

Stay tuned for page 3!

Punches:
CP1: Vinca-B (the one on card is another brand).
CP1: 1/4" Circle.
CP1: Balloon.
CP1: 1/2" Circle (again, the circle above is another brand. It's slightly bigger).
CP11G: Balloon.

Keep punching!

Well, whaddya know!

After all my talk about envelopes the last couple of days, have a look at Kristina's video on the envelope maker she uses.

Kristina's video (scroll to Oct 18's entry) Watch how it tears the paper!

Funny how we've both been talking about making fun envelopes at the same time. And even suggesting the same idea of using Christmas wrapping paper. I'm so going to do that. Christmas wrapping paper envelopes.

Bye now!

The Stepping Stones of Creativity...

Yesterday I mentioned the stones. The stepping stones of creativity. I made that up, but I didn't make up the truth of it.

Case and point...

Months ago I made this brown butterfly card. Is it a moth? No, it's a butterfly. It could be a moth, but it's not.

It's a butterfly, and unfortunately, it happens to be brown, because that's the colour I chose that day.

Wouldn't chose that colour the other 364 days of the year, but on that day, I did.

It's brown.

But look what happened a few days later...

I made the card under it and the butterfly is pink. Oh, nice. Definitely not a moth!

And thus, I started walking the stepping stones of butterflies. Well, the stepping stones of creativity, but in this case it's butterflies we're yakking about. Or I'm yakking about.

Okay, here's where you start scrolling!

And look where the stones led me! Everywhere, man. Bright, matchy, not matchy - all over the place. A brown moth led me to something I like a lot more...a red butterfly, and butterflies aren't even red.

(The music paper butterfly was a bit of a left field ring-in to the process, but it was worthy of being included, so I included it)

So, there you go. Step on those stones!

Only if you want to, that is.

Only if you dare.

Been on that walk to find other interesting envelope paper options yet?

I've got another one for you...

Music paper.

I rest my case.

Flowers and the craft show

I'm lucky. My husband sometimes buys me flowers, but he also plants me flowers. Isn't that nice?

Last year he planted a flower garden for me and I photographed it two weeks apart. The growth was amazing. We probably had rain then!

He also planted this pot recently too. He thought I'd enjoy them, and I do! I can see them from the house and enjoy them all the time. So lovely of him.

They're pretty, aren't they?

Just letting you know that the craft show is on this week too from Weds to Sunday at the Convention Centre. Anyone going?

I'll be there demonstrating. And there'll probably be glitter involved! I get it all over me and it stays in the car for weeks...

Bye now!

:o)

What about this?

Hi, hope you had a good weekend!

I showed you this card a while ago. It's using actual road map paper from a big road atlas.

Today's idea - Why not use some of the maps as envelopes? Might as well!

Reasons why this is a good idea:

• The atlas paper is big enough to make envelopes. My atlas is A3. Great size.
• It's a good way to use up the old atlas!
• Who wouldn't like to get a printed envelope in the mail? Honestly, what's with all the white?
• It's cheap.
• It's easy.
• It's fun to do something different.
• Doing something different can spark other creative ideas.

Think of the atlas paper as a springboard to other envelope paper ideas...

What about wrapping paper for example? (the thicker stuff) You know all those ends of the rolls that you have hanging around? Use 'em up!

Or why not use Christmas wrapping paper to make Christmas envelopes! Ooohh, love that.

Ah ha, here's a good one. Use that scrapbooking paper you know you're not going to use. You know the stuff you can't throw it away because it just seems so wasteful? Use it for envelopes! Why not?

Or wrapping paper! Use your scrapbooking paper as wrapping paper! Again, why not?

Gosh, you could even use junk mail as envelopes if you wanted to. Anything big enough and colourful enough to make an impression in the letterbox is what you're going for. Old calendars? Old magazines?

Another reason this is a good idea to try? It gets your creativity going and you never know where that'll lead ya!

Ah ha, the stepping stones of creativity. My mum has done many (many) crafts over the years and she always says they were a path of stepping stones that led from one to the next. And sometimes the skills you get from one can be put to good use in the next craft. Or the 8th craft after it. Or not in craft at all, but life. That's true...deep, but true.

Go on, I dare you. Walk around the house and see if you can't come up with some other fun paper options for some cool and different envelopes. Might sound like a dumb idea, but you never know what other ideas it might lead you to!

Have fun,

Oh, and PS. I use envelope templates to make my envelopes. I bought some online at Sandy Jane Designs - plastic ones from Kreaxions. Or you can use the Enveloper from Crafters Companion I think it is (check Google or You Tube). Or you can even try googling envelope templates to see what you come up with. Finding a quick and easy way to make envelopes will make a difference as to whether you produce them or not!

A Christmas card, or two.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

Actually it started feeling like Christmas way back in August when I started making up this year's Christmas class. Feels like I celebrate Christmas for 6 months of the year!

These cards are not from this year's class. They're from oh, 2001. And I know this because I dated them.

Squint. See the dates?

These cards were made in my teddy-bear-with-fabric-paint era.

And the red-glitter-on-the-baubles era.

And the every-Christmas-card-I-make-is-red-and-green era.

And I didn't even remember that I used to use red glitter until I saw these cards! How quickly we forget these things...

Same card, two different colour combos. Which do you like? Red background, or green?

Today I'm going to say green. I think I like the green background.

The thing that hasn't changed about this card? It's still cute. And I'd still make it the same way, except for one thing.

I'd try to lighten up on the old fabric paint on the tree. Or leave it off altogether.

There you go.

Love ya, punch art.

8 years later and you're still kickin' it.

Punches:
CP1: 3/16" Circle (baubles), Bow Tie.
CP2: Bear.
CP8: Star.
CP11G: Tree.
And fabric paint in metallic gold. I'd go straight to Spotlight for that. Not even sure if they sell it, but that's the place to check. You can make the card without the fabric paint. Still looks good.

More Christmas cards to come!

Look in the Book - page 1

Hi, welcome to Look in the Book, page 1.

Got your copy? Flick to page 1 and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Things to say about page 1 -

That photo of me was taken at a birthday party. Rochelle just cropped and tweaked it. Done.

Ah, more little bees. I'm the top one. Andrew's the cool one.

We bought a boat engine for the tinny. That paragraph has made him quite famous. People ask me about him all the time!

Top 10 Punches - I really wanted to add this section because people asked me about my favourites a lot. We all want to know which ones to buy, don't we? My absolute favourites were, and still are, circles!

All circles. All sizes. All the time!

This card isn't in the book, but I chose it out of my stash because of all the circles on it.

Put them in a grid, add a couple of things, and you're done. The hardest part is lining up the circles. And all you do to do that is pretend there's a dot in the middle of each circle and line them up. Ignore the actual sizes of the circles, that'll confuse you.

I've made this card with a bear instead of a girl.

Or you could do a boy and then put a boyish thing in the corner.

Or a clown. What about a clown?

So, number 1 on the Top 10 Punches list - circles. The others were a bit harder to define because there were so many that I used all the time, but I narrowed it down eventually.

And I still fully agree with the paragraph down the bottom. Buy your punches in a theme, so you can make something as soon as you go home. No point having a star, heart and car and not being able to do anything with them!

Punches I'd add to the list now:

• Sakura-A (for strawberries)
• Holly
• Christmas Hat (Santa Hat)
• Momiji (for strawberries)
• Fern (for head feather on chicks)
• Boomerang (chook legs)

(turn to the Shadow Sheets on pages 41/42 to see them)

And ones I love now, but didn't exist back then:

• Scalloped circles
• Scalloped squares
• Border punches

Well, that's page 1.

Remember to leave a comment, or send me an email, if you have any questions!

(Don't be shy. Other people are probably wondering the same thing...)

:o)

Punch Art Fun 1 - Look in the Book - Cover

Gosh, the title's getting longer...

Alternative title: LB-C!

Okay, let's talk about the cover. How are we going to do this? What about some questions?

Wait, who's going to ask the questions?

Hmmm, I guess I'll ask myself the questions and pretend I'm you!

Right, here goes....

Questions I'd ask if I was you!

Why'd you do the book in the first place?
I always wanted to write a book. I was a school teacher, so I thought it'd be a book for kids. It turned out to be a craft book, but I've still got some ideas for kids' books!

Also, I started teaching punch art classes in 2001 and there was such interest in the craft that it was just a natural progression. We all just needed one. I wanted to write one, and the crafters out there wanted one. A book was born!

How'd you come up with the ideas?
The book came out in 2002 and I'd been doing punch art since 1999, so it was a compilation of all of my ideas up until that time. And a few new ones, of course. I just wrote a book that I wanted to read.

Who's that guy on the cover?
That's my brother, Peter. He's one of my favourite people!

Do you really scrap like that?
Yes and no.

I was nervous about scrapping for all three books actually. When I did Book 1, I was only really new to scrapping. I'd done my first page in Dec 2000, and I was working on the book a year or so later. And I'd only done basic scrapping in between! I'm talking photos on white backgrounds with a bit of colour - basic.

The scrapping was out of my comfort zone, but I went with the flow. I remember the scrapping for Book 2 being much harder.

How'd you come up with the cover design?
I didn't. My graphic artist (and very good friend), Rochelle, did. We talked about it and she came up with some ideas. We tweaked it and went from there. The girl's head was too big, so she got reduced, and a kangaroo got put in. We purposely included all colours on the front, as well as a scrapbook page to show that punch art was great in scrapbooks.

The background took the longest. We couldn't figure it out for a while there. I took a piece of vellum over to Rochelle (must've had some pattern on it) and she said, "So you want the background to look like scrapbooking paper?" "Yep!" Her next idea was the background you see. Fabbo! I think she drew the swirls herself too.

I've always liked the cover. It's fun and colourful and just my style! I didn't know I liked bright colours, fun, cute and simple until I got into punch art. Funny, huh?

What's with all the bees?
Debra means bee, so it suits the book to a T.

Also, one day I had an idea to include little bees in the corner because I thought it'd be cute and fun.

See? Cute and fun. Told you.

Actually a friend of mine saw my book and told someone, "It's just so Deb." How'd she know that? I didn't even know it was so me, so how'd she know? I guess others know us more than we think. And when you put your heart on a plate (that's what the book is), people recognise it because they know you and can see you in it. Hmmm, I found that interesting.

What's with the bear floating in mid-air? (Hey, that rhymes)
That's Carl. He's pops up throughout book. Another bit of cute and fun.

What's Freedom Art?
That me. That's the name I design under. And the name I sign on the back of all my cards.

How long did it take for you to write the book?
Hmmm, about 3 months? Actually, not sure. It was in the works for a while and I tried to do it while still teaching punch art classes. I wasn't getting anywhere and had to take some time off in the end. I think things really picked up in April - June 2002. And I babysat Rochelle's children for 3 weeks in July so she could work on it during the day. We wanted it done by August, and we did it with a big push in the end.

How'd you come up with the title?
I'd been thinking about titles while putting the book together and then one night it just came to me. I knew it was the right one. I've always liked it.

Anything you'd change about the cover?
No, not really. It wouldn't be my book cover from 2002 if I changed it.

Actually, I'd put Freedom Art in the top in a basic font with no italics. And I'd put a drop shadow on the bee in the corner. A drop shadow is the shadow that graphic artists put around things to make them look better. See the blue shadow under the orange of my name? That's a drop shadow. Learning about all the graphic art stuff - what a learning curve!

And that's it. That's the cover of Punch Art Fun!

Thanks for joining me. If you've got any other questions you'd like answered, you can put them in the comments section, or just send me an email.

Okay, bye now!

Punch Art Fun 1 - Look in the Book

Well, hello and welcome to the new series I'm calling, "Punch Art Fun 1 - Look in the Book!"

Yep, that's the title because it accurately depicts what we're doing here.

It's kind of a long title, hey? I'll probably shorten it to "LB".

Ah, love abbreviations. It's our culture, mate. Can't be wasting too many words on things we don't need to.

So, back to LB.

Simply, we're going to look through Punch Art Fun for everyone page by page. We'll chat about the cards, scrapbooking pages, the little bees in the corner and any other bits and pieces that come up.

A bit of a behind-the-scenes look? Yes

A bit of fun? Yes

An opportunity to look a bit closer and enjoy the punch art as we go along? Yes

An opportunity to see a few new ideas that aren't in the book? Yes

An opportunity for you to ask questions in the comments as we go along? Yes

In preparation for all this I've been finding cards from each of the pages, and photographing them, so they're ready for their day in the spotlight. Some cards are exactly as they are in the book and some are different.

Some pages will have one card featured, while some will have more. Depends on what's on the pages, and what I have here at home already. I'm really just making this up as I go.

I'm going to do "Look in the Book" entries a couple of times a week, and on the other days it'll be back to our regular, random (but always crafty) programming.

Well, that's the plan anyway.

One thing I've learnt in life, and in craft, you can start with a plan, but you don't always end up where you thought you would!

So, are you ready?

Okay, good, we start tomorrow with the cover!

Sorry about that...

This first introductory entry was supposed to be about the cover, but I had to explain myself first!

I might be an Aussie, but I've sure got a lot of words! In my defense, Australians don't necessarily talk less, they just abbreviate all the words they say! Ha ha.

See ya tomorrow arvo!

PS. It'd be a good idea if you have your copy of Punch Art Fun near you when you're reading each entry. I'm going to have mine open when I type, and I'll be referring to things that won't have photos in the posts.

PPS. What? You don't have a copy? Why not? You're missing out I tell ya, but I'm biased, of course. I can sell you one, or you can buy it (them) at Photo Continental.

PPS. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Pennyroyale

Hi!

Thought I'd show you some different types of cards today. They're using the Pennyroyale collection from Kaisercraft.

I bought a couple of papers with a set of the die cut elements to try them out. Just for something different, you know?

I went into my own stash to find things to put on the cards.

You know, the feature.

The main event.

The thing that makes the card worthy of being called a card.

Finding ye olde feature can be easy, sometimes it can be hard.

In this case it was medium. Actually no, it was fairly easy. The antique flower charms (had for years, but knew they'd come in handy) and the antique brads - they worked well. And the flowers, they worked well too. It was just placement in the end that took a bit of time. Always does.

A couple of questions:

1. Do you use old product? Or are you a trendsetter and only use the new stuff?

2. Do you like trying new things in your craft?

3. Do you mix and match ranges and bits and pieces, or are you a one-collection-at-a-time-kind of girl? (Or as my sister would say - matchy matchy)

My answers:

1. Yes, I use old product that's worth using. Love new stuff! Add it to stash!

2. Yes.

3. Mix and match if not too much thought. I'm really not into thinking too hard about it these days. Been there, done that. Loving using one collection at a time - it's good!

Enjoy your day!