Starfish Buckle

I've always been fascinated by the fun & unexpected possibilities folks find in Stampin' Up Punches. For instance, the flamingo from the XL Bird Punch rocks my socks. As does changing the ornament punch into an elf! (You'll see more on that one soon). Then, The other day I was suddenly inspired by my 5-Petal Punch to create a starfish (or sea star as the marine biology teacher in me wants to insist).

Lucky for me, a box with my new Tropical Party stamp set had just arrived. That gave me the perfect accompaniment for my new echinoderm friend! This project also is my second go at making a buckle card & I really do like this new format. It gets my head to think in new ways which is always a good thing!

Flamingo Friend

Cute, isn't he? I owe a huge thank you to my upline, Cindy, for introducing me to this little guy. She featured him on our make & take from this week's team meeting & he just makes me smile.
Of course, I couldn't just assemble the card as planned; I had to make it my own. For one thing, he simply screamed for a google eye! I also really like how the flowers from Tropical Party layer nicely with the Five Petal Punch. Once I got those layers going I realized that the background was in need of flower stencils. It's fun how one thing leads to another!
You've seen just how much I enjoy my XL Bird Punch, but this may be my very favorite use of it. Who knew it had all the bits for a very happy flamingo?