September 10, 2024

STRIPPY THANKS

If you're like me, you have lots of scraps and leftovers lying around from finished projects. Cardstock is so expensive, I really hate getting rid of even the smallest piece. Thus, when I come upon an idea that enables a crafter to make a cute card using up scraps, I'm all in!

You too? Keep reading for a tutorial on how to create a card like this:


SUPPLIES:
White cardstock
Assorted colors of cardstock scraps
Black cardstock

Big Shot
Amazing Thanks dies
Stampin' Dimensionals
Textured embossing folder

DIRECTIONS:
Fold a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of white cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

Cut a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of white cardstock. Use an embossing folder to add texture to this piece. Add it to the white card base.

Cut a piece of black cardstock to 1 1/2" x 5 1/4". This will be the base to which you will add your colored strips.

From assorted scraps of colored cardstock, cut eight strips that measure 1/2" x 3". 

Add the colored strips to the black, starting with the two on the ends and adding them at jaunty angles. It might help if you lay it out first to get the color order and tilts that please you. Then, proceed with the glue.

Using a two-part die that says "Thanks", cut the larger portion from white cardstock and the narrow part from black. Carefully adhere the two word parts together.

Adhere the word over the strippy section.

Wth Dimensionals, add the completed strip to the card.

Strippy
Smiles.

September 5, 2024

FOLIAGE BIRTHDAY

I am going to make a concerted effort to add more posts to my blog. Initially, I had planned to not renew my website when it came up for renewal this month. But, I decided to keep on keeping on rather than giving up on all my hard work over the many years.

Besides my periodic posts of my bird drawings, I will resume adding tutorials for some of the cards I continue to make. I offer kits to make four cards each month. These blog posts will be the creations for those kits.

One more thing: since I am no longer a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator (ignore that claim in my header. I don't know how to fix it.), I will continue to use my Stampin' Up! products. I will then refer to those items by the Stampin' Up! name. I will also be using non-Stampin' Up! products.


SUPPLIES:
White cardstock
Forest Foliage cardstock
Designer Series Paper

Forest Foliage ink

Big Shot
Oval dies
Unbounded Love dies
Linen thread
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.

Choose a piece of Designer Series Paper that you think would make a good background. Once your DSP is chosen, pick a piece of cardstock that works well with the colors in the DSP. Cut this coordinating cardstock to 3 1/2" x 4 3/4". You will be doing the next steps on this base.

From the DSP you've chosen, cut it to 3" x 4 1/2". Then cut this into three 1" strips. Evenly add these strips to the coordinating cardstock.

From white cardstock, die cut an oval that measures 1 3/4" x 2 3/4". In coordinating ink, stamp a sentiment that fits nicely in the center of the oval.

From some of the coordinating cardstock, die cut a decorative oval border. Carefully adhere this border to your white oval.

Take a length of linen thread, and after putting adhesive on the back of the oval, make loops, catching the thread on the adhesive as you pass over it. I added tape over the adhesive oncee my loops were in place.

Use Stampin' Dimensionals to add the sentiment piece toward the top of the card.

Leafy
Smiles.

September 2, 2024

THE DAILY BIRD FEBRUARY 2024

Unbelievably behind in posting my bird drawings. As you see in the title of this post, the birds I will be featuring are a handful of my favorites from FEBRUARY! 

This series, entitled The Daily Bird, began when I finished my #365birds. Yes, an entire year of daily bird drawings. Now, by calling my current challenge The Daily Bird, I have no ending in sight.

As I always do in these posts, I will indicate above each drawing the name of the bird, as well as  where in the world this particular bird can be found.

waffled curassow

tropical amazonian forest


ring-necked duck
north america

african grey parrot
central africa

clark's grebe
north america

white-naped crane
northern mongolia, southern siberia, korea, japan, central china

fulvous whistling duck
lowland south america, southern u.s., west indies

plate-billed mountain toucan
west slope of ecuador, extreme southern colombia

pale-billed flowerpecker
india

comb-crested jacana
australia

ruddy kingfisher
southeast asia

merlin
north america

green wood hoopoe
africa

And, that's it for the birds of February 2024. Stay tuned for more.

I would be delighted to have prints made of any of my birds for you! Just hit me up for which of them you would like to own. Keep in mind that the photos I have here are quick snapshots of the birds, not the quality you would get in a print.

Birdie
Smiles.























August 9, 2024

SERENE SILHOUETTES

I know I reported in a recent post that I was going to let my blog, Paper Seedlings, go. I just can't do it though. I feel that I still have too much to offer as far as my original intent for my blog goes: Planting little paper seedlings, ideas that I hope can inspire you, that you will nourish with care, and allow to grow into full-fledged beautiful papercrafting projects.

Although I am no longer an active Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I still love making cards and sharing what I love with my blog readers. I will no longer be purchasing new product from Stampin' Up!. However, I will continue to use my products in my creations, although I will be using more and more retired products. I still have and use a few current items, so you will recognize some things as we go along.

As with any papercrafting projects, there are always lots and lots of ways you can be inspired by my creations and use other products to get a similar effect. 

Let's give this a renewed try together: Me posting creations to inspire you and you actually being inspired by my little paper seedlings.

I will probably only post one photo in each of my blog posts, unless there is something that I think needs additional focus. Then I might include two or more photos.

Beneath each photo, I will include a tutorial on how to create a similar card, only using products you already have on hand.

Ready?


SUPPLIES:
White cardsdtock
Real Red cardstock
Black cardstock
Designer Series Paper

Serene Silhouettes stamp set

Black ink
Dark Real Red Stampin' Blend

Big Shot
Word dies
Red/White Baker's Twine
Basic Pearls
Stampin' Dimensionals

INSTRUCTIONS:
Fold a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of white cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder

To this card base, add a layer of colorful striped Designer Series Paper that measures 4" x 5 1/4".

Cut a piece of white cardstock to 2" x 4". On this strip, in black ink, stamp the silhouetted flowers.

Add the stamped strip to a 2 1/4" x 4" piece of Real Red cardstock. Set this aside for now.

Cut a 1" x 5 1/4" piece of white cardstock. Mount this to a 1 1/4" x 5 1/4" piece of Real Red cardstock.

Tie a length of red and white baker's twine into a bow at about the halfway point on this strip.

Add this to the layered piece about 3/8" from the bottom of the stripes.

Use Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere the stamped panel about 1/8" - 1/4" from the left edge of the stripes. Adjust the red and white bow so it is tight to the right of this panel.

In black cardstock, die cut the shadow portion of "thanks" and in Real Red cardstock, die cut the main portion of the word. Put the pieces together. Center this on the remaining white strip to the right of the baker's twine.

Add three small red pearls around the sihouette. I used Dark Real Red Stampin' Blends to color Basic Pearls.

I apologize for my header that states that I am an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, although this is no longer true. I had hired someone to do this part of my blog for me. She is no longer doing this, and I tried myself to correct it, but was unable to do it. So, until or IF I can figure out how to fix it on my own, please just ignore that line.

Striped
Smiles.




August 3, 2024

THE DAILY BIRD January 2024

I present to you a selection of my drawings from The Daily Bird of January 2024. I will label each drawing with the name of the bird, as well as where in the world the bird can be found.

crested barbet

angola, botswana, burudi, democratic republic of the congo, eswatini, malawi, mozambique, namibia, rwanda, south africa, tanzania, uganda, zambia and zimbabwe


plain prinia
southeast asia

red-breasted merganzer
throughout much of the northern hemisphere

purple gallinule
extreme southwestern united states

king bird-of-paradise
mainland new guinea

collared trogon
mexico, central america, northern south america

diamond firetail
eastern australia

red warbler
mexico

black-hooded oriole
tropical southern asia

black-bellied whistling duck
southern texas, louisiana, arizona, florida, mexico, central america, northern south america, 
the caribbean

masked cardinal
trinidad, far-eastern colombia, northern venezuela

crested penguin
new zealand, subantarctic

pileated woodpecker
canada, pacific northwest, eastern half of the united states

As always, please respect that this is my original art. If you would like a print of any of my bird drawings, please just let me know.

Birdie
Smiles.