WISHING YOU

 Do you like to do a bit of fussy cutting? I do! This card features fussy cut stamped images to add a little interest to the focal point.

SUPPLIES:

White cardstock

Rusty cardstock

Patterned Paper

Rusty ink

Peachy ink

All the Best stamp

Big Shot

Deckled Circles Dies

Terra Cotta ribbon

Stampin' Dimensionals

INSTRUCTIONS:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of white cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

To this card base, add a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of your chosen patterned paper.

On white cardstock, stamp in rusty ink a sentiment. Die cut this with a Deckled Circle Die that measures 2 1/2" in diameter. Cut another deckled circle measuring 2 3/4" in diameter from rusty cardstock.

Adhere these two circles together.

On white cardstock, in peachy ink, stamp the floral pieces. Fussy cut the pieces. Arrange them around the sentiment as you wish. NOTE; I do not like how I placed mine, so, unless you like it, try to use a different arrangement on your own card.

Take a length of rusty ribbon and make two loops that can be adhered to the back of the circles, with the loops extending from the bottom.

Use Dimensionals to adhere the circle to the card, slightly raised from the center point.

Rusty 

Smiles.

THE DAILY BIRD JUNE 2024

Looking back at my The Daily Bird drawings from June, 2024, I was disappointed to discover the overall lack of quality. June was a really bad month for me, and it is obviously reflected in how I drew. My mom died on June 17. 

Anyway, as I said, I present to you a mere handful of the drawings I did during June, 2024. The quality just was not there.

As always, I will note above each drawing the name of the bird and where in the world this bird can be found. 

I should note that not only did I complete my personal challenge of #365birds, drawing a bird each day for a full year, but, once that was finished, I jumped right in to another bird drawing challenge, which I call The Daily Bird. As of today, I am on day 382 of that challenge. So, I have been drawing a bird a day for more than two years now, with no end in sight.

red-shouldered hawk

north america

potoo

central and south america

bicolored antpitta

colombian andes

tricolored heron

coastal parts of the americas

eastern wood-pewee

north america

ruddy duck

north america

araripe manakin

brazil

syke's nightjar

northwestern south asia

burrowing owl

north and south america

red-headed trogon

asia

northern pintail

north america, europe, asia

mountain bluebird

western north america

And there we have it. Another month of my bird drawings posted in Paper Seedlings.

I hope you are enjoying our bird journey together. With about 10,000 species of birds around the world, I have a long way to travel yet.

If you would ever like to own a print of any of my birds, just give me a shout. I would be honored.

Birdie

Smiles.

PEACE AND HAPPINESS

I thought it would be a good time to share a Holiday greeting card with you. This card is really very simple to create. Get out your tools and stamp along with me!

I apologize that the photo doesn't truthfully represent the beauty of the metallics and the rich colors.

SUPPLIES:

Light neutral cardstock

Night of Navy cardstock (or cardstock that coordinates with the patterned paper you are using)

A printed paper with metallic touches

Itty Bitty Christmas stamp set

Beautiful Baubles stamp set

Night of Navy ink (or coordinating ink)

VersaMark ink

Big Shot

Happy Little Things dies

Stampin' Dimensionals

Copper Ribbon

Embossing Buddy

Copper Embossing Powder

Heat Tool

DIRECTIONS:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of light neutral cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

Cut a seasonal piece of printed paper to 4" x 5 1/4". At about 1 3/4" from the top of the paper, add a length of copper ribbon, taping the ends oon the back.

Adhere the seasonal paper to the card base.

Cut a 3" square of the same cardstock  you used for the card base. Rub an Embossing Buddy all over this piece. With VersaMark ink, stamp the ornaments. Heat emboss the image with copper embossing powder.

Add this embossed piece to a 3 1/4" square of Night of Navy cardstock, or any other color that coordinates with the printed paper you have chosen.

Use Dimensionals to add this finished piece to the patterned paper, leaving even margins at the top and sides.

On a scrap of the light-colored cardstock, in coordinating ink, stamp a seasonal message.

Die cut the sentiment with a small label die. Adhere the label flat about 1/2" below the square.

Holiday

Smiles.

BIRD SYMPATHY

Are you familiar with the type of card known as a Tent Topper? In this kind of card, the focal point extends beyond the fold of the card. 

I made this tent topper card as an oft-needed synpathy card.

Following you will find a tutorial on how to make this specific card.

SUPPLIES:

White cardstock

Garden Green cardstock

Bird-flavored Designer Series Paper

Garden Green ink

Big Shot

Seasonal Labels dies

Splendid Stems dies

Layering Circles dies

Blue flower embellishment

Dimensionals

DIRECTIONS:

Cut a piece of white cardstock to 4" x 8", folding it in half and creasing it well with a bone folder.

Cut a piece of the bird Designer Series Paper to 3 3/4" square. Add this to the card base, paying attention so the birds and branches are facing the right way.

Fussy cut one of the larger birds from another piece of the DSP, leaving a small white margin all around.

From the Garden Green cardstock, die cut a leafy branch on which your bird will sit. Set it aside for now.

From white cardstock, die cut a circle with a 2 3/8" diameter, then from Garden Green cardstock, a scalloped circle slightly larger.

Adhere these circles together.

Use Dimensionals to place the bird on the branch to the circle. Add a blue flower embellishment to the branch.

Putting adhesive only on the lower 3/4 of the circle piece, add it to the card, letting about 1/2" extend beyond the fold of the card.

On a scrap of white cardstock, in Garden Green ink, stamp "With Sympathy". Die cut the sentiment with a label die from the Seasonal Labels dies. Attach it to the lower portion of the card with Dimensionals.

Sympathetic

Smiles.

THE DAILY BIRD MAY 2024

Here I am, ready to present another handful of my birds from my personal challenge, The Daily Bird. I, at this point, am only SIX MONTHS behind, in that today I am showing you birds that I drew during May, 2024.

As always, I will note the name of the bird, as well as where in the world this particular specimen can be found. I hope you enjoy!

 great hornbill

india, bhutan, nepal, mainland southeast asia, sumatra

blue-naped chlorophonia

atlantic forest in brazil, paraguay, argentina, venezuela

cactus wren

southwestern u.s. and northern and central mexico

allen's hummingbird

coastal california

laughing kookaburro

australia

osprey

north america

veery

(isn't he veery cute?)

northern u.s. and southern canada

pyrrhuloxia

arizona, new mexico, texas and woodland edges in mexico

mourning warbler

california, eastern canada, florida, great lakes, mid-atlantic, new england, plains, etc.

pond heron

tropical old world

bufflehead duck

north america

whooping swan

alaska and "the north"

finland's national bird

european collared dove

europe and asia

red-crested cardinal

argentina, bolivia, southern brazil, paraguay, uruguay

And there you go. I must admit that, after drawing more than 900 bird profiles, I am becoming a bit "birded" out. I'm not sure how long I will continue on this avian path.

I would love it if you would follow me on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/paperseedlings/. That would thrill me no end!

If you would ever like to own a good quality print of one of my birds, please let me know!

birdie

smiles.

SAY IT WITH CIRCLES

Sometimes random is perfection. By doing random, no one is in control of the situation. It is always interesting, and sometimes surprising, what results when doing the random thing.

The only controlled part of this card is that I chose deeply saturated colors in cardsdtock. I wanted to place the random colors and circles against a black background, which added a lot of impactful punch.

Another random facet of this card is the die cut holes in the circles. However the circles came away from my Big Shot is how they were added to my card. I loved how this added to the total randomness.  

SUPPLIES: 

White cardstock

Black cardstock

Coordinating cardstock

Assorted cardstocks in saturated colors

Many Messages

Black ink

Big Shot

Spotlight on Nature dies

Coordinating grosgrain ribbon

Stampin Dimensionals

INSTRUCTIONS:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of white cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

For this card, I chose scraps of strong-colored cardstocks. Use one of these colors and cut it to 4" x 5 1/4". Adhere this to the white card base.

Cut a 3 3/4" x 5" piece of black cardstock. You will use this as the base on which to add your circles.

Using the two small dies and the next larger die from the Spotlight on Nature die set, cut a variety of circles from the strong-colored cardstock. I used the circles with holes as they came off from the dies, without removing any of the little pieces that are stuck inside the holes. I love the random look of some holes empty/some holes filled. Your choice.

Anyway, add these circles to the black cardstock in a whimsical pattern. Trim the edges of any of the circles that extend beyond the edges of the black cardstock.

Adhere this circle layer to the card base.

On a 1/2" x 1 3/4" piece of white cardstock, stamp a sentiment in black ink. Add to the back of the sentiment piece a 3" strip of coordinating grosgrain ribbon.

Use Dimensionals to add the sentiment piece to the card in the lower right.

Random

Smiles.

DOILY HAPPY

Every once in awhile I get an out-of-the-box idea. I'm never sure where exactly it comes from, but when it appears, I am grateful and grab it with both hands.

I had been shuffling through some of my supplies some time back, and came across these lovely creamy doilies that I hadn't set eyes on recently. Aha! Let's make them go further than just a single use doily. Let's cut one into quarters! 

Since the doilies were symmetrical, this was very simple to do. Thus, each of the corners of this card are nicely decorative.

SUPPLIES:

Coastal Cabana cardstock

Vanilla cardstock

Beautifully Happy stamp set

Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Stampin' Blends in: Light and Dark Pool Party and Light and Dark Granny Apple Green

Big Shot

Ovals dies

Vanilla doilies

Gold swirl embellishments

Dimensionals

INSTRUCTIONS:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of vanilla cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

To this card base, add a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Coastal Cabana cardstock.

Cut a vanilla paper oily in exact fourths. Add each of these doily pieces to the corners of the Coastal Cabana layer.

Use an oval die that measures 3" x 4" and cut an oval from vanilla cardstock.

In Memento Tuxedo Black ink, stamp a flower stalk onto the creamy oval. Color the flowers and leaves as you wish. 

Add a shiny gold embellishment to the center of the large open flower.

Use dimensionals to add the oval to the card. It should fit perfectly within the space left by the doily quarters.

PLEASE NOTE: I am no longer a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator -- after 19 years! -- but I will continue to refer to some of the products I use in my blog cards by name. Obviously after 19 years, I have a TON of SU product, and will continue to use it.

Also, some of the areas on my blog are not correct, what with me no longer being a Demonstrator. Please ignore that. I don't know how to fix it. My apologies.

Doily

Smiles.

THE DAILY BIRD APRIL 2024

Still soooo far behind on posting my daily bird drawings. Today I am sharing a handful of my favorites from April, 2024. Yes, APRIL 2024. 

Above each of the drawings, I will give you the name of the bird, as well as where in the world this bird can be found naturally.

 albatross

pacific ocean

gray-bellied cuckoo

india, pakistan

hawaiian goose

hawaii island, maui, kauai

hawaii's state bird

tundra swan

arctic of north america

sarus crane

northern australia, southeastern asia, indian subcontinent

canada warbler

canada and u.s.

phoenix chicken

germany

tickell's blue flycatcher

tropical asia

whooping crane

north america

pigeon

worldwide

grey heron

temperate europe, asia, and parts of africa

dunnock

eurasia, including lebanon, northern iran, the caucacus

northern harrier

north america

treecreeper

palearctic and indomalayan regions, from western europe to japan and india

west indian whistling duck

west indies

golden-crowned kinglet

canada, northeastern and western u.s., mexico, central america

And there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this little foray into some of my bird drawings. Thanks so much for accompanying me on this journey!

If you would ever like prints of any of my bird drawings, please let me know. The drawings that I show in my blog posts are simply bad photos of the original art work. A print would, of course, be of good quality.

birdie

smiles.

PAPER PIECED BOUQUET

If you're like me, you love the look of paper piecing. The card I am sharing with you today is done with that technique. Join me in creating a card similar to this one by following the tutorial below!

SUPPLIES:

White cardstock

Designer Series Paper

Paper Pumpkin Memorable Meadows, March 2024

Black ink

Big Shot

Basket Weave embossing folder

Green Baker's Twine

Stampin' Dimensionals

Sparkle

INSTRUCTIONS:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of white cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

Use a deckled edged rectangle die that measures 3 3/4" x 5" to cut a piece of white cardstock. Emboss it with a basket weave embossing folder. Set it aside.

Use the 2 7/8" x 4" deckled rectangle to cut another piece of white cardstock. On this piece, stamp the two- flower bouquet from the March 2024 Paper Pumpkin kit, or any other image that would work for this technique, using black ink.

Select a scrap of Designer Series Paper that would make a good flower, as well as one that would be good for leaves, and a little for yellowish flower centers. With the same black ink, stamp the flower, center and leaf elements onto the DSP. Fussy cut these pieces.

Adhere the pieces over their stamped counterparts.

Use Wink of Stella or any glittery pen you prefer to add a little glimmer to the centers of the flowers.

Tie a bow in a length of baker's twine and adhere it to the stem of the flowers.

Adhere the finished piece to the embossed cardstock.

Use Stampin' Dimensionals to add the finished piece to the white card base.

Paper

Smiles.

TIME AND MEMORY

It's one of those unfortunate aspects of life that we will all need to send out sympathy cardsat times. I experienced the outpouring of wonderful thoughts from others upon the death of my beloved mother not too long ago.

The card I am featuring today is a good example of how a hand created sympathy card can be made. I am working with tricky vellum, so read on to discover how I handled it.

SUPPLIES:

White cardstock

Old Olive cardstock

Designer Series Paper

Vellum

Bloom With Hope stamp set

VersaMark ink

Big Shot

Butterfly die

Embossing Buddy

Platinum Embossing Powder

Basic Pearls

Mini Glue Dots

DIRECTIONS:

Fold a piece of 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" white cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

To this, add a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Old Olive cardstock. And to this, add a layer of coordinating Designer Series Paper that measures 3 3/4" x 5".

Cut a piece of vellum to 2 1/2" x 3 3/4". Rub the Embossing Buddy over this. Stamp the words in VersaMark ink about 3/4" from the top, and emboss it with a Platinum Embossing Powder.

With a Mini Glue Dot in each corner, add the vellum to the DSP.

Place a pearl on each of the corners, covering up the Mini Glue Dots.

From Old Olive cardstock, die cut a butterfly.

Only putting adhesive along the body, add the butterfly to the lower portion of the vellum.

Adhere a pearl on the butterfly's "head".

Gently tip the wings upwards to give the butterfly the feeling of inpending flight.

Comforting

Smiles.

SENDING A SMILE

I apologize for the quality of this photo. The main portion of the card is a shiny metallic cardstock. No matter what I tried, I could not improve on it.

Trust me when I tell you that this is a simply exquisite card -- simple being the key word. In this card, we are letting the Designer Series Paper do pretty much all of the work.

Follow along for a tutorial on making a card similar to this one.

SUPPLIES

White cardstock

Specialty Designer Series Paper

Merry Messages stamp set

VersaMark ink

Big Shot

Something Fancy Dies

Polished Dots

Stampin' Dimensionals

Embossing Buddy

Copper Embossing Powder

Heat Tool

DIRECTIONS

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of white cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

Cut a piece of shiny metallic Specialty Designer Series Paper (or any other similar paper) with a face-to-face design to 3 3/4" x 5". Mount it to the white card base.

Since this DSP is so gorgeous on its own, we are not going to add too much to the card. Don't you agree?

Rub an Embossing Buddy over a scrap of white cardstock. In VersaMark ink, stamp your sentiment. Emboss it with copper embossing power. Use a label die to cut it out. The die I used is from the Something Fancy set..

Use Stampin' Dimensionals to add the cut out sentiment to the lower right corner.

Add a trio of shiny gems to finish off the look.

Shiny

Smiles.