Friday, February 13, 2015

Love Birds

Hello, everyone!  It seems I am really bird crazy right now! This card is a Valentine for my sister and brother in law. Sue is hosting "Winter Blooms" at Frilly and Funkie, and the Design team is sure to get you inspired to start twisting some spring blooms up .  She wants to see our handmade flowers this time, so I thought I'd try my hand at some tiny flowers using Tim's Tattered Flower Garland Decorative Strip die.  


My background was embossed using one of Tim's Texture Fades and a Reflections stamp.  I inked with Distress ink and stamped a birdcage image from 7 Gypsies on tissue paper so I could get the bird oriented the way I wanted.  This is a great technique to make mirror images of your stamps.


I stamped and water colored the bird from Tim's Bird Feather set--an all time favorite of mine.  Today my bird is a bluebird, since they are really prolific here this time of year. I gave him a little shadow and added micro beads to give a sense of motion. The banner is hand cut from tissue and stamped with parts of a collage image.





My flowers are a combination of colored card stock which I inked up a bit and watercolor paper colored with Distress stains.  I distressed the daylights out of the paper, soaking, crinkling, folding and pinching and finally shaping into extra tight flowers and left to dry 24 hours.  Can you see the dew drops on the petals? Everybody knows that's just tiny drops of Glossy Accents.




A little floral wire, string, a tiny silver heart and pearls finish this romantic Valentine.  Hey, I just realized I conquered a line in Annie's Tic Tac Toe Challenge over at A Vintage Journey with twine, die cuts and stains! As always, my inspiration comes from Tim Holtz in his techniques from his Volumes 1, 2 and 3 Compendium of Curiosities and from the versatility of his products.


 Thank you for stopping by and for all your lovely comments. Warm Valentine hugs!

Sara Emily

I would like to enter this into the following inspirational challenges:

Frilly and Funkie "Winter Blooms"

Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #9 "Think Pink"

The Artist Trading Post Exchange "Love is in the Air"

Inspiration Emporium "Love is in the Air"

The Artistic Stamper February's Creative Challenge "Love"

A Vintage Journey "It's Time to Play Tic Tac Toe" Wow!  I didn't realize I could play along! Yippee!  I used the 3rd vertical line-twine, die cuts and stain.

Craft Hoarders Anonymous February Challenge "How I Love Thee"

36 comments:

  1. Oh Sara this is beautiful, I love your handmade flowers and the pinks&greens in the card flow beautifully together. Looks lovely and vintage too xx

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  2. OK, first of all...did I miss a week, I could swear I was only gone for a few hours?? HAHA, busy girl you are! Secondly, are you sneaking around in my head, or maybe I'm sneaking around in your head...when you see my post tomorrow, you may recognize a lot of the same elements! We are completely in sync this last while.

    ANYWHO..let's talk about the beauty of your card! GORGEOUS! Your flowers are incredible, and glossy accents or not, LOVE your dew drops! Such a wonderful card Sara, thank you so much for playing along with us at Frilly and Funkie for our 'Winter Blooms' challenge! Hugs, Pamellia DT :)

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    1. Hi, Pamellia! Aha! I see what you mean now about those elements! Great Tim tag for February! And that's putting it way too lightly! I'm so happy to see your lovely comment here this morning--totally made my day! Warm hugs, my friend!

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  3. Oh STAHP it! I can't keep choosing your projects as favorites, or they'll accuse me of nepotism! This is GOR_JUSS! soooo romantic and soft and the bird image combined with the florals and and the inking and the embossing...Cupid's jealous! That's all I have to say! Wow! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Craft Hoarders Anonymous!

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    1. Kathy, I had a great big laugh when I read this comment from you! I could almost hear you saying it! Thank you for putting a great big smile on my face this morning, (again!, because I've already read this; just now getting a few minutes to reply) Still smiling!

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  4. Gorgeous card! I love how you used the Distress Stains. Thanks so much for playing at The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge.

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  5. I love this piece! So much texture and those beautiful flowers just really catch my eye! Thanks for joining us at Craft Hoarders Anonymous!

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    1. thank you, Glenda, for your sweet comment! I'm happy you like it!

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  6. This is fabulous Sara 😊 you have incorporated wonderful details as always and while I love your bluebird I just adore the dew drops on these cute flowers.
    Thanks for joining in once again with our Tic Tac Toe challenge at AVJ
    Hugs Annie x

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    1. Thank you, Annie, for this great comment--it really made my day!

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  7. Back with my ATP DT hat on and as I have said this is a beautiful make. Stunning colour palette and gorgeous details. still love those flowers. Great to have you join in with us at ATP Exchange this fortnight

    Hugs Annie x

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    1. oh! And again, thank you!!! I'm happy you like my flowers! I've never made these tiny flowers before--first time using this die. Hugs!

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  8. Nice card, love the handmade flowers and your color combo. Thanks for sharing with Craft Hoarders Anonymous.

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  9. Gorgeous colours and texture on this wonderful card. I love those lovely little flowers too! Thanks so much for joining us at ATP Exchange for this challenge. Juliax

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    1. Thank you so much, Julia! It's always such a joy to read your comments!

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  10. Lovely work Sara, love the way you have coloured 'Tim's' bird stamp as well as all the other lovely details. A gorgeous creation . Thankyou for joining us at the ATP Exchange ! Toni x

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    1. Thank you, Toni! This is such a generous compliment!

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  11. Beautiful project! Thanks for playing along with the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge.

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  12. Wonderful stenciled/paste background - pretty colors and lovely roses! the dew drops look wonderful - I'd be sure to touch them before they dried!!! Thanks for joining us in the AVJ Tic Tac Toe challenge Sara!

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    1. Julia, thank you for your sweet comment...just to clarify the background is not stencil and paste (not sure there is a stencil like that--hint, hint, Tim), but a texture fade with stamping done on it before embossing the card. Let me know if you have any questions! :)

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  13. This is so pretty in pink - great use of the embossing folder, and the bird looks fab. Thanks so much for joining us on A Vintage Journey.
    Alison xx

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    1. Thank you, Alison! I think I got a lot of use out of my embossing folders this Valentine's Day! :)

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  14. Great project!! Thanks for joining us in this month's Mixed Media Monthly Challenge!

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  15. Love the little flowers ...Thank you for joining in The Artistic Stamper Creative Challenge this month x

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  16. Totally love this Sara! Love the way the bird hovers above the embossed frame and the flowers are so beautiful. Thank you for joining us at Frilly and Funkie and A Vintage Journey. Jenny x

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  17. oh i really like this one sara! love the embossed frame behind that pretty bird. Thank you so much for playing with the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge!
    -Rachel
    rwkrafts.com

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    1. And thank you, again, Rachel! What a way to make me smile!

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  18. Oops - and thank you for playing along at The Artistic Stamper too of course!
    Alison xx

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  19. So pretty. I love that texture fade! You did a great job with it! Thanks for joining us at Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge!

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