PTI Post Release Wrap-Up

Wow. Is it just me or has this week just flown right on by? You know what else flies right on by? Little Bitty Birds...

This set is so, so sweet! It just kills me. I wanted to integrate Background Basics: Sheet Music into this one and I have to say, I kinda love how it turned out! I love how curving the sheet music stamp on the block gives the effect of little birdie there singin' his itty bitty heart out. That totally makes me happy! I added just a bit of Happy Spots paper to the birdie's wing. So quick and easy to do. Just die cut the birdie, then stamp him both on the die cut and on the patterned paper. Cut the little wing out of the Happy Spots paper and stick it on the die cut. Super, super quick little detail but it really adds to the overall look. I added one last tiny detail in the sentiment... pretty much the same as paper piecing, but with the sentiment instead of an image. I just stamped it twice and cut out the "happy" part and stuck it down on the white sentiment. I do this a lot to really put the focus on one part of the sentiment and draw more of the color scheme together. Speaking of color schemes... a new one for me... Kraft + Scarlet Jewel + all the pinks & plums = love And lookie... I went all wedding-y with the Make a Wish birthday set! I added the Mr. & Mrs. sentiment from 2010 Love Tags to the bottom cake and look... the little scroll image from Mat Stack 2 Collection makes the perfect little frosting accents! Gotta say, I love that part. I stamped the squares and stacked them to assemble the cake. One tip... I used foam tape on the bottom two boxes but I used a thin foam on the middle cake and a thick foam on the bottom cake. That makes the cake layers really stand out and helps accent the graduated size of the layers. The buttons on top make for a sweet little cake topper. I made a little banner for the sentiment. Don't you think that the sentiment totolly works for both birthdays and weddings? I wanted to highlight the scallops so I stamped the same scroll image in each scallop... love how it fits right in there and looks so pretty overlapping at the sides! Something to note... when stringing buttons like this, do yourself a favor and take a little dab of liquid glue between two fingers. Then rub the end of your twine in it. That will stiffen the end of your twine and let you just slip it right through all those button holes without fraying. To make the actual card base I took a strip of kraft cardstock and die cut it with the scallops. Then I just scored the strip in the middle and die cut the other side, too. I folded the strip in the center and that formed the spine for the card. I added a panel of kraft cardstock and a panel of vellum inside the spine and went from there. After that it was time to go back to the basics with a one layer Love Birds wonder... Birdies. Birdcages. What's not to love? I punched a tiny hole in the top of the birdcage and another at the fold of the card so I could make the cage appear to hang from the twine :) A tiny die cut heart (using the Love Lives Here die) adds a little punch of color. And... finally... you guys know I have a special place in my heart for quick and easy cards. Especially quick and easy Christmas cards. {Because, just in case anyone's keeping track, yeah... I am so not even close to pretending to be finished with those.} So, obviously, I had to go use Year of Flowers: Poinsettia to make a no layer super duper easy Christmas card. I went with Raspberry Fizz on the Kraft to keep it fun. The versamarked Background Basics: Sheet Music in the background adds interest. And the sequins... yeah... I am totally diggin' the sequins. {I found these in a Making Memories Vintage Findings package, but you could pick up a pack at any craft store.} I added some Raspberry rhinestones to the centers to dress the whole thing up a bit. Whew. Seriously. What a whirlwind release week! Thanks so much to all of you for stopping by and for all of your encouraging words for my projects! You are loved! {Happy Bird} card Stamps - Little Bitty Bird, Background Basics: Sheet Music CS - Kraft, White, Lavender Moon, Aqua Mist Paper - Happy Spots Ink - Dark Chocolate, Fresh Snow {All the Best} card Stamps - Make a Wish, Love Tags, Mat Stack 2 Collection CS - Kraft, Vellum Ink - Versamark, Vintage Cream, Fresh Snow, Scarlet Jewel Embellishments - Cream button twine, Vintage buttons Other - White Filigree Detail Embossing Powder {That's Us} card Stamps - Love Birds, Background Basics: Text Style CS - Kraft, Aqua Mist, Raspberry Fizz Ink - True Black Die - Love Birds, Love Lives Here Other - Cream Button Twine {Merry Christmas Poinsettia} card Stamps - Year of Flowers: Poinsettia CS - Kraft, White Ink - Raspberry Fizz, Dark Chocolate, Versamark Ribbon - Simply Chartreuse Other - Raspberry rhinestones, sequins (Making Memories)