A Rockin' Birthday...

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This week I have the honor of being the Featured Artist on the Pals Paper Arts Challenge, which is a color challenge! The combo is a fun springtime mix of Certainly Celery, Lavender Lace, and Barely Banana. I thought I'd veer away from the Easter card frenzy today and do something a bit different. For all of you who read TSB regularly, you know I love punches and today I have a project that utilizes several Stampin' Up punches to create a cute little rocking horse.
The punches used are the Round Tab, Modern Label, Heart-to-Heart, and Designer Label. All are faves of mine, but the one that got me inspired to create today's project was the Round Tab. I've always thought the curve at the bottom looked like the legs of a rocking chair or horse, and I wondered whether I could create one with it. In case you are wondering, here is a list of horse parts and their corresponding punches used to make them:
*Rocking Horse Legs: Round Tab Punch. Fold the punched tab in half as you normally would. Cut out the middle to form legs.
*Body: Designer Label Punch. Fold punched label in half vertically.
*Head and Neck: Heart-to-Heart Punch. This was a little bit tricky, but the hearts used are the two largest (the smaller being the head and the larger the neck.) Fold each in half lengthwise. (Bean Tip: Score down the middle first for a cleaner and easier fold.) Glue the larger heart over the smaller after cutting a portion off the tip to trim. If I get enough interest in a tutorial, I'll take pictures! Snip the tip of the larger to create ears.
*Saddle: Modern Label Punch. Punch twice with two different colors. Glue one on top of the other and fold over to back, trimming away excess.
To make the tail and mane, I used brown embroidery floss and for the bridle I used purple. I was pleased with the results!
The remainder of the card is fairly straightforward, as I wanted to showcase the rocking horse. A big fat ribbon (sentiment stamped directly on with Craft Ink) and a few gemstones and I was all done. I chose to make this a birthday card because for now I don't have any expecting friends, but my son has plenty of little pals with what are sure to be rockin' birthdays!
BEAN NOTES: (Unless otherwise noted, all materials are Stampin' Up) Birthday Whimsy (sentiment) Stamp; Lavender Lace Craft Ink; Designer Paper (unidentified); Lavender Lace, Creamy Caramel, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery Cardstock; Sizzix Top Note Die; Big Shot; Ribbon Bundle Grosgrain Ribbon; Ticket Punch; Brown and Purple Embroidery Floss (generic); Gemstones (generic); Foam Dimensional Squares (generic)
HAPPY BEANS: Round Tab, Designer Label, Heart-to-Heart, and Modern Label Punches