Punch Art Fun - Look in the Book - page 31

Hey there, how are you today?

I'm looking at page 31 of Punch Art Fun today. Wanna join me?

I always open a copy of the book in front of me to check things out as I'm talking to you about them. It's always a bit of a surprise to look at the pages again, especially for this feature on the blog-o. Makes me look at the punch art differently. Well, sometimes.

Today we're talking about Birthdays - gotta love a good birthday. In fact, birthdays probably started the whole card tradition. Maybe. Maybe not. Whaddya think?

Okay, I just googled "origin of greeting card" and found this. Interesting! They started earlier than I thought (like way earlier) and greeting cards for a wide range of events, and also non-occasion cards, only showed up in the 1980s. Are you serious? That late? Well, there you go.

Back to page 31.

I need to point out the swirl in the photo above. I've been doing the swirl for years and went through a real "put everything on a swirl" period. The life and times of a crafter, ha ha.

Man card - Swirl with frogs.

Lady card - Swirl with flowers.

Christmas card - Swirl with Christmassy things.

Sympathy card - Bought it from the shops - I don't make sympathy cards.

Mother's Day/Father's Day cards - see above.

Birthday cards - Swirl with birthday stuff.

Works!

Try it!

If you find the swirl hard, just do the card without the swirl and line the bits up in a row. Easy. Check out the border at the bottom of the page. See the little dots under each present? Add a few dots like that. Not five under each, probably just five, seven or nine along the bottom of the card. Odd numbers are good.

To do the swirl - practise first on a sheet of paper, practising always helps. When you're ready to commit, hold your pen vertically (not like a biro) and be confident as you swirl. Even though they're usually horizontal on the finished card, I draw my swirls vertically - easier!

Hello, patty cakes.

That's what we called them growing up. They're called cupcakes now.

A cherry or a jelly bean on top wouldn't go astray. No room for a candle :o)

I cut my own bases using the 2" Circle. I'd just use a rectangle now and trim it. And I'd make a template of a good one, so I could cut around it each time. Having to do things from scratch each time is too unpredictable. I've got a bunch of templates of things. I just store them in bags for future use.

The icing's hand cut too. Punched the 2" Circle in pink, drew the wavy bit and cut it out. Once again, template. Punch in a light colour, draw the wavy bit a thousand times until you get it right and cut it out. You'll never have to try to get it right again...

Happy Birthday to you too, girlie!

She has very neat hair and that's a little heart sticking out the top. Adds a bit of colour. A flower'd do the same.

I find on simple things like that, you have to add a little something extra. Tag, girl + something.

Two reasons: extra colour and extra interest. I doesn't have to be much, just something. Like I said, head band, flower, earrings. Done.



And here's a birthday card for ya.

(I didn't have a lot of square punches available back then. Now I do. I am grateful.)

Honestly, if you've got 20 people that you give birthday cards to throughout the year, why not make them the same card? Substitute boy, girl, man and lady and done. It doesn't have to be the card above, you could pick any card and just make 20 of them without changing anything.

You do it for Christmas cards, don't you? Make all the same one? Why not do it for birthday cards too?

Why not?

Psstt! It's allowed...

I guess it depends on why you make cards...

It's completely up to you how you do it.

One last comment: One of my all time favourite punches is the little candy. I use it all the time. For Birthday things, Christmas things and for fish by cutting one end off. A winner.

Another last comment: See those little lines that stick out of the ends of the vertical swirl on the left of the page? Those little ends that just go into infinity and are annoying?? I wish I could erase them out of all your books! They're all the little details that come with putting a book together. Some get noticed before going to print, some don't. It's life!