Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Bride & Groom Card for 2 Sketches 4 You #36 & a Trick to Fix a Punch


I found out yesterday that my husband's brother had a surprise wedding this past weekend and we have a new sister-in-law. I wanted to make them a special card and I decided to use the current sketch challenge at 2 Sketches 4 you as my starting point.

The sketch is on the right and here's my card:
I have decided to start listing supplies and product info at the bottom of my posts so that you can quickly and easily figure out what supplies are used. I have been noticing a lot of blogs set up that way and it does seem to be a very clean way to do it. What do you think? I really would like your opinion on this idea. Let's try it tonight and see how we like it, shall we?
I would like to tell you a little story about the border punch I used. I used a coupon at Michael's to buy this Martha Stewart Doily Lace Border Punch at 40% off last week and I was so disappointed when I got home and the punch didn't work at all. All it did was rip apart any paper I put in it.

Since Michael's is so far away, I decided to try to fix the punch myself. I remembered watching a video a long time ago where a woman tried out all the suggested ways she could find to fix or sharpen a punch that has stopped working. After trying several things- including punching through tin foil- she found that the only thing that really seemed to work was punching through an aluminum soda can that was cut apart. So I tried it. What did I have to lose?

I headed out to the garage and rummaged through the recycling until I found a soda can (Miller Lite can actually!). The first thing I noticed was how surprisingly easy it was to cut it with regular scissors. It works best if you just poke the scissors into the side of the can and start cutting around the can to remove the top and the bottom.

Once you have a nice flat piece of aluminum can, take your punch and punch through it several times. I had a very hard time with this border punch but luckily my husband walked by and was so intrigued by what I was doing that he was more than happy to help me out. We (actually, he) punched through the can about 6 times and then I punched through some wax paper to clean the punch and lubricate it. I've heard that's a good thing to do.... I don't know if it's true or not.

To my astonishment, the punch was then good as new when I tried it out on some cardstock and it now seems to be working perfectly. So, now you know how to fix a punch that isn't working well or needs to be sharpened.

Okay, back to the card....
The cake is colored just a tiny bit with a marker and blender pen and it's also slathered with lots of Swarovski crystals which make it look so amazing in real life.

And here's the inside with a little bit of detail to match the card.

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the new supplies format at the bottom. I've tried to (and will continue to) link any products that I can to a place where you can see them. In most cases, I will link either the manufacturer's website page for the product, or a reputable place to purchase the items, BUT, sometimes, if I can't find those things, I will link to a site that I don't know the reputation of because that's all I can find. If you want me to recommend a place to purchase any item, please email me or comment and I will do my best to provide that info for you. I guess what I'm trying to say is that just because I link a site here, it is not necessarily a recommendation of that company from me... it's more so you can see the product. I will tell you though, that I will NOT ever link a company that I've had a bad experience with. (I hope this makes sense... I'm waiting for a sleeping pill to kick in and maybe I'm rambling....)

Have a great day and I will see you again next time!

Paper: White & Black Cardstock, DCWV All Dressed Up Stack (pink & black paper)
Ink/Coloring: Black Pigment Ink with Clear Embossing Powder, Pink Marker & Blender Pen
Accessories: Black and pink grosgrain ribbon, Martha Stewart Doily Lace Border Punch, Swarovski Flat Back Crystals (rose & light rose)

17 comments:

Milnie said...

Hi Tara!

What a beautiful card! I love the colour combination!

Much love,

Mélanie

Giselle said...

this is beautiful Tara..!!!

masha minaeva said...

So beautiful wedding card!
I think it is good idea about listing supplies.

Laura Davis said...

Wow this card is stunning! Good job fixing your punch. Martha herself would be very impressed :D
Thanks for playing at 2S4Y.
Laura

nise said...

Great card, excellent fix on the punch (thanks for sharing that valuable info), like the supplies at the bottom and {HUGS} to you and your family. You're in my prayers. Stay warm and well.

cnelson said...

what a gorgeous, gorgeous card! love it sooooooo much!

Shari Nelson said...

Love the new supplies format! Your card is fantastic! Super beautiful!

Kathleen said...

Beautiful card Tara! I like the supply list at the bottom. I think I'm going to adopt that for my own blog. You got me thinking about which format I prefer when I'm scouring blogs, and it's the list at the end.

Kathleen

becky said...

I like having the list of supplies with the post, I like knowing what someone uses. I enjoyed seeing your card and as always your work is beautiful. Congats to the newlyweds.

Amy C said...

Beautiful card!! Great tip about punches....I sometimes have problems with mine, too. Fabulous take on the sketch!!

Arielle H Gordon said...

Wow - this card is SO beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Love Love Love this card. The cake is beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Forgot to leave a comment on the supplies used....I love it. Great idea. I tried doing that and it was great until it started leaving a space inbetween every line. I didn't like that. So if that has ever happened to you and you know how to fix it...please enlighten me.

Live Love and Scrap said...

This card is STUNNING!!! I am a pink freak...so you know I love it!!

I also wanted to thank you for the tip on sharpening the border punch...I cant wait to try it!

thanks so much for sharing your talent,
Sarah

Kim Sonksen said...

Fabulous card. Love it.
Congratulations on making the fab five at http://2sketches4you.blogspot.com/

Arielle H Gordon said...

Way to go on making the FAB FIVE!!!

Alice D (Israel) said...

Hi Tara,
It is a beautiful card, I love it!