Eclectic Bird Card

Good morning y'all!  Hope you're having a fabulous Friday wherever you are.  Right now, I'm looking out onto the deck watching the birds at the feeder and enjoying the sunshine.  Life is good!   I certainly hope that your day is just as nice.  Today I have a card to share that I made while visiting my sister.  It was fun playing with stamp sets she has that I don't own.  You know it's always fun playing with things you don't have at home, right?  Here's the card I made with her materials.

The stamp set used is called Eclectic Garden.  I'm not particularly enamored of the vegetable stamps in this set, but I really do like that little bird fellow.  So it was fun getting to make a card with it. 

To make the card, start with a card base of Cinnamon Cider 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  I chose that because I wanted to use this gorgeous print from the Hand-Penned Designer Series Paper.  There isn't a print in that whole batch that I don't love but hadn't used this one in a good long while.  This piece was cut at 5 1/4" x 4" and attached to the card front using adhesive.

I don't remember if somewhere over the years whether Stampin'Up! had a dark green suede finish paper.  I don't think they have, but they sure ought to.  Connie had this lovely paper, and I couldn't resist adding it to the card.  It was just the perfect addition.  The strip is 1" x 5 1/2" so it goes fully edge to edge.  It's attached with adhesive.

Stamping the bird was the next step.  We tried out several dies to find the right size and shape for the bird, and finally settled on the Tasteful Labels Dies found on page 166 of the Annual Catalog.  Did you notice the pretty embossed edge that this die leaves?  It just framed the bird so nicely.  

The bird was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink right in the center.  For coloring I used Stampin' Blends to give me just the right color tones and depth to go with the DSP.  For the bird, Pool Party Light and Dark, Bermuda Bay Light (just touches), Pale Papaya Light and Dark, Daffodil Delight Light, and Cinnamon Cider Light for the eye.  The stem was colored with Cinnamon Cider light and Dark, and leaves with Garden Green Light and Dark and Just Jade Light and Dark.

The hello was stamped with Cinnamon Cider ink.  I cannot remember which stamp set it comes from.  I was just paging through the catalogs to see if I could find it.  I was surprised by the number of hellos there are, but none were the correct size and font.   So, you're on your own to pick a sentiment that works for you.  Update - upon further checking I finally found the correct hello.  It's part of the Hello Ladybug set.

There was a tiny bit of sponging around the die-cut piece to help it stand out from the DSP.  I used Cinnamon Cider for that along with a Sponge Dauber.  It's amazing how that little touch of color on the edges really makes a difference.

On this pic you can get a real good look at the coloring and shading on the images.  I love coloring with the Stampin' Blends.  It's so easy to put a dark color over a lighter one and go back in and blend with the lighter color you started with.  You can even go in with a complimentary color and go back and blend to come up with something even better.  These Blends are simply amazing!

The very last addition is a few clear rhinestones on the die-cut.  I see I only added two instead of three.  Or maybe one fell off with packing cards up to bring home.  I might leave it like this or go on and add the third one.  I haven't decided yet.

I don't always share the inside of the card with you, but I really like how this one turned out.  There is a layer of Basic White cardstock that's 5 1/4" x 4".  The sentiment from the Eclectic Garden was used and stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.   I had a piece of the Hand-Penned DSP left over that was 4" x 1 1/8" that was attached to the bottom of the Basic White cardstock.  It needed more definition between the two, so I added a 1/4" strip of Cinnamon Cider cardstock just above the DSP.  That looked great to me and finished off the inside of the card nicely.  This was all attached inside the card with adhesive.  And another card has been finished.

Hope you like this card and you're encouraged to get out your Stampin' Blends and do some coloring.  Just remember that the color bleeds through to the backside, so it will need to be layered onto something else to use.  But it's so worth it to get those projects that are so much fun to color!  Be creative and have fun figuring out which colors you like to layer onto others for a different look altogether.  Remember, it's just paper.  If you don't like it, it's not the end of the world.   The sky's the limit for your imagination!

The Mini Cut & Emboss Machine is on sale!  Woo Hoo!!  And not only the machine, but a number of die and stamp bundles too.  Here's the listing:

150673

Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine

$60.00 $48.00

158382

All Squared Away Bundle

$50.00 $40.00

156227

Art Gallery Bundle

$56.00 $44.75

155834

Beauty of Friendship Bundle

$58.00 $46.25

154065

Celebrate Sunflowers Bundle

$57.00 $45.50

156220

Garden Wishes Bundle

$57.00 $45.50

159519

Hydrangea Haven Bundle

$58.00 $46.25

155674

Pansy Patch Bundle

$57.00 $45.50

155847

Quiet Meadow Bundle

$59.00 $47.00

158359

Seascape Bundle

$52.00 $41.50

155823

Sweet as a Peach Bundle

$41.00 $32.75

159529

Welcoming Window Bundle

$56.00 $44.75

155845

What’s Cookin’ Bundle

$51.00 $40.75

155507

Wild Cats Bundle

$43.00 $34.25

This sale ends the 31st of March, so get these items you've been thinking about before they are out of stock.  A 20% off sale is not to be missed!

Sending blessings and lots of hugs your way, 

Sharon