Fanciful Flight Birdhouse with Card Gift Set

I was excited when I discussed this project for the April 2009 issue of Crafts ‘n Things with Dawn Gehring, managing editor. With birdhouse in hand, I envisioned stamped panels in the window openings that would match a stamped card set. When Dawn asked if the cards would fit inside the birdhouse, I remembered there had been larger houses on the top shelf at my local Hobby Lobby. With a trip back to the store, the project took on a new dimension. After removing the rope from inside the birdhouse and gluing the roof pieces together, I found that the birdhouse was a perfect repository for a 4 1/4” x 5 1/2” card set.
Now the real fun began. The patterned paper that I used, Twelfth Night from the Poetry Range by Scrapperdashery, is by my friend Judi Hodgkin. I’ve enjoyed using her papers since we met at Ranger several years ago. The stamp set, the Bird’s Nest from Oxford Impressions, is by fellow Tennessee stamper, Suzanne Melvin. Suzanne continues to amaze and inspire me with the variety of her collections and the quality of her stamps.

Here’s a “bird’s eye view” of the birdhouse:



Now, for the cards that were featured:


The birdhouse was painted with Adirondack® Acrylic Paint Dabbers. Images were stamped with Coffee Archival™ Ink and colored with Adirondack® Dye Ink Pads. For details, see pages 56 – 57 of the April 2009 issue of Crafts ‘n Things. For eight additional cards using the same supplies, see the previous post.

More from the Fanciful Flight Collection

I guess I might as well admit it. I got carried away and couldn’t stop. When I began to create cards for the “Fanciful Flight Birdhouse” feature for the April 2009 issue of Crafts ‘n Things, I kept thinking of additional ways to use the Bird’s Nest set (Oxford Impressions) on the Scrapperdashery Twelfth Night patterned paper.
Below, you’ll find the eight cards that were not published. After creating twelve different cards, I told myself that enough is enough – even though I still had more ideas. (As with the four cards and the envelops that were published, the images were stamped with Coffee Archival™ Ink and colored with Adirondack® Dye Ink Pads.) The Bird’s Nest is definitely a versatile set. I think that my next post will prove that.

Step Up Your Stamping with Foam Stamps

In the December 2008 issue of Crafts ‘n Things, I had two projects using foam stamps: the first, a tray in which a large stylized leaf and a circle stamp were turned into vibrant poinsettias, and the second, a set of holiday cards. In the April 2009 issue, you’ll find four more cards that prove that foam stamps can be sophisticated or just plain fun.
Once again, I’ve used some of my favorite supplies – Adirondack® Acrylic Paint Dabbers (and Adirondack® Metallics Acrylic Paint Dabbers,) Adirondack® Dye Ink Pads, Perfect Pearls™, and Stickles™ Glitter Glue. The foam stamp transformation is made complete with an Inkssentials™ White Opaque Pen and a black pen (Pitt Artist.) For more information on how to “Step Up Your Stamping with Foam Stamps,” check out my article on pages 78 – 79, and you too will join the glitz, glitter craze!

Better Backgrounds: Masking with Die Cuts

Die cuts are meant to be embellishments, right? That's probably how most people use them, but I enjoy finding possibilities for product beyond the intended purpose. To find out how die cuts do double duty as masks in stamping projects, see my Better Backgrounds column in the April 2009 issue of Crafts 'n Things. Die cuts by Spellbinders are teamed with Ranger® Adirondack® Dye Ink Pads in this fun technique.

One of the things that I enjoyed was using stamps by fellow Tennessee artist Roann Mathias. ("Sing to the Lord" above; "Imagine" below) I've long been intrigued by calligraphy, and her work is beautiful. You can find more of Roann's images at the Stamping Studio. (Other stamps for these two projects: Rhonna Farrer for Autumn Leaves)


Above: Friends (Just for Fun)
Below: Irene (B Line Designs)

With die cuts that are elegant or simple - country or sophisticated, add a little ink and your background is ready for stamping or embellishment.