Birds On A Wire

Hi everybody,

Jill here, and this week, I’ve got a string of sweet birds sitting on a wire...

...using Lawn Fawn’s superb Simply Celebrate.

I used this set last week and as I had it out was looking at it and thought, ‘wouldn’t it be brilliant if those little balloons fit nicely behind those little birdies as if they were holding them....’ and low & behold, they did! Those smart cookies over at Lawn Fawn think of everything!

So straight away a little scene popped into my head if a string of sweet birds sitting on a wire sending celebratory messages!

I started by stamping all my elements out; the balloons from Simply Celebrate and the trees from Lawn Fawn’s Joy To The Woods I stamped directly onto my base card, and the string of birdies I stamped onto a separate piece of card. I then coloured everything using my trusty Zigs for ease and speed. I fussy cut around my birds leaving a thin white edge that I then coloured to blend in with my background.

I then cut the thinnest piece of black card to act as the ‘wire’ the birds are sitting on, and Waffle Flower’s adorable Tiny Twine Bow to tie it to the trees. I stamped my sentiment, again from Lawn Fawn’s Simply Celebrate, onto my card and heat embossed in red.

I finished by adding a layer of Glossy Accents to my birdies beaks and my bright balloons, and there you have it.

I really hope you like it.

See you next week.

Jillx

 

 

Cakes and Trees

I love blogging - where else can you bundle together something as random as cakes and trees and it still make sense!   Today I have two completely different cards to share - one fun interactive birthday cake card and one Christmas card inspired by trees and forest theifs!

It's the first time I've used the Interactive Birthday Cake die set from MFT but it won't be the last - it is such a fun set to make pretty quick and easy birthday cards with lots of impact!  It looks really complex but it really isn't.  I just used two shades of card and cut the layers and icing and decorated the bottom layer with some fun enamel dots.

To create the inner layer you  just use the little channel die that comes in the kit to cut a channel in your base layer and sandwich a slider (or spinner would work too) element between your cake and pull tab which also comes in the kit. 

Stick that layer onto your base card (I just used some old dp that matched the colours in the cake to make it more fun) using foam tape (ensuring your tab can still run freely) and then the recipient can pull the tab to reveal the hidden message from the corresponding Twice the Wishes stamp set which has great birthday themed stamps that work with lots of other images too.   My top tip for the sentiments is to curve them slightly to match the shape of the cake.   The bottom layer of the cake needs to be secured over the inner layer with just a very thin strip of foam tape down either end when the inner layer is in the "bottom" position.   I added a few candles (also in the die kit) to cover the channel and make it more festive.

I also really wanted to play with the new tree die from Avery Elle this week.  I was really excited by this set but I think it's hard to see what it "does" when you just see the raw die.

Basically with two branch sides and one straight side, you can create a wide variety of trees in whatever width suits your project :-)  It also includes some fun elements like knot holes in two sizes for critters to live in, a carved heart for valentines projects, a little bird house and some different shaped leaves.  It's a really versatile set for the price.

In my project I had the idea of the animals wanting to trim up the forest for Christmas so I created one chunky tree from kraft card stamped with Whimsical Woodgrain back ground stamp and used one of the knot holes to create a home for the chipmunk to hide his string of lights in.  The cardinal is busy tying a bow on the branch to hang his stolen ornament and I just couldn't resist adding the new beaver from Wood You by Avery Elle as I just adore him and I thought he just looked really happy and pleased with the decorations!  For the sentiment I went back to an old favourite from Wplus9 - Festive Greetings which is just back in stock.  The critters and ornaments are from Joy to the Woods.

NEWS FROM THE STORE

• We will have some Wplus9 restocks in store shortly.
• We have a few new Echo Park paper collection sets expected this week.
• Our Lawn Fawn restock is STILL in transit - it got held up in US customs for two days and is now currently on hold in Leipzig, Germany.  We hope it will be here early this week but we are powerless to do anything about it.
• We have the new release from Altenew in transit along with restocks on ALL the inks including the new full sized packs of the new pink/teal and brown sets.  We have some restocks too but not everything was available at the time of our order.
• The new release from Newton's Nook is also in transit so should be with us in time for release.
• We will also be placing an order for the new release from Winnie and Walter but as we didn't find out about it until late last week, it won't be here for release day.
• We have more Perfectly Penned from Concord and 9th in transit too but as we just got that set, it isn't coming the fastest way so may take a couple of weeks to reach us.
• We are also ironing out the final issues with our gift vouchers so hope to have those online by the end of the month, it is quite complex as we have to fit in around 2 different development teams time schedules so things keep slipping (we've been working on them for months!) but I have expressed the desperate need to have them in time for Christmas.  Unlike our previous vouchers, these are no longer handmade cards, you will get an automated email response including a printable voucher you can either email on to the recipient or print off and put in your own card.  As the store has grown I just don't have the time to make them by hand anymore - sorry.  The bonus now though, as a digital download, they are postage free and you will get them within 15 minutes of purchase ;-)  Watch this space for news of their arrival.