Birdhouses & Die Cuts!

Hello!  Like many crafters I enjoy browsing my local Dollarama and Dollar Tree stores for items to use in my art and crafting projects - and I don't usually come away empty-handed!  Today I am sharing three "thinking spring" projects I worked on this week combining a few finds from the dollar stores with some die cuts made using several Stampin' Up! die sets.  I also used some Designer Series Paper, cardstock, and Classic Stampin' inks and refills.

For each of my projects I used a small wooden birdhouse - the two larger houses are both 4 1/2" tall, and the small house, which came packaged with four small markers, just over 3 1/2" tall. After I decorated the houses I decided to put them on bases - for each of the two larger houses I used a Dollarama Tree Trunk Slice (6" and 6 1/2" in diameter), and for the smaller house one of the Dollarama Wood Slices (these come in packages of two and have pre-drilled holes with twine loop hangers) - 3 1/2" in diameter.  To finish the bases I glued on small pieces of moss (also readily available at the dollar stores) - and for two of the projects added a few small bark pieces from my own "backyard" collection.

Just a brief summary of the basic tools and supplies I used to complete my projects this week:

• Paper Trimmer (item 152392) - for trimming and scoring the Designer Series Paper used to cover the roofs; 
• Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine (item 149653) - for all die cutting *Stampin' Up! advises that the Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine is currently not available for ordering but is expected to again be available the week of March 11, 2024*; 
• Paper Snips Scissors (item 103579) - these sharp scissors are great for trimming die cuts (i.e. snipping off a few leaves etc.); 
• Take Your Pick Tool (item 144107) - the paper piercer, mini spatula, and tacky putty tips are a great help for picking up and placing small die cuts - (tiny flower centers!); and
• for the main adhesive, Multipurpose Liquid Glue (item 110755).  To attach the moss I did use hot glue - definitely not my favourite with all the strings you are left to clear up!  

I found that the Classic Stampin' Ink Refills worked great for "painting" the houses.  I applied the ink refill to each house using a paint brush and water.  For the first house I used Basic Gray Ink Refill (item 149166) - with a little over wash of Pecan Pie Ink Refill (item 161669); for the second house I used Real Red Ink Refill (item 103287) for the house itself, and Pecan Pie Ink Refill for the house base and roof edges; and for the third house I used Balmy Blue Ink Refill (item 147168) for the house itself, and Pecan Pie Ink Refill for the roof edges.  To cover the roofs I used Earthen Elegance Designer Series Paper (item 161503) - Pebbled Path patterned for the Basic Gray house, and Pretty Peacock patterned for the Real Red and Balmy Blue houses.  I cut the paper to fit the entire roof, scoring down the center so that I could fold the paper over the roof.  Before gluing the paper to the roof I used a fine grit sandpaper to sand all edges of the paper.  For the Basic Gray and Real Red houses I also cut a strip of Copper Clay patterned paper (also from Earthen Elegance DSP) 1/2" wide x the width of the roof, folded in half lengthwise and glued over the roof peak.  For these two houses I also used the same Copper Clay patterned paper to cut a continuous strip 1/2" wide to wrap around the house foundation. Before gluing the paper I folded it around the base of the house, burnishing the corner folds with my Bone Folder (item 102300), and trimming to the required length to allow for a slight overlap along the back side of the house.  I sponged all edges of both the roof peak and foundation strips with Basic Gray ink (item 149165).  For the Basic Gray house I also cut two 1/8" wide strips of the Pebbled Path patterned Earthen Elegance DSP, edges sanded, for under the roof line on the front of the house.

For the wrapped "foundation" on the third house I initially cut (and then trimmed) from Old Olive cardstock (item 100702) borders cut using the Basic Borders dies (item 155558) - smooth curve and clouds borders - and the Delicate Forest dies (item 162679).  After trimming these pieces I shaded them with Old Olive ink (item 147090) and Mossy Meadow ink (item 147111) applied with Blending Brushes (item 153611) and Small Blending Brushes (item 160518).  After I added the additional die cuts around the bottom edge of the house not much at all of the base border die cuts ended up showing!

Basic Borders dies - 155558

Delicate Forest dies - 162679

I used watercolour paper for the following die cuts, which were coloured with Classic Stampin' inks applied either with a small paint brush and water ("watercoloured"), or Blending Brushes and Small Blending Brushes, or a combination of both application techniques:

• mushrooms, berry sprigs, and leafy branches cut using the Tree Rings dies (item 159888) - Pumpkin Pie ink (item 147086), Crumb Cake ink (item 147116), and Pecan Pie ink (item 161665) for the mushrooms; Old Olive ink (item 147090) for the berry sprigs; and Old Olive ink, Crumb Cake ink, Pecan Pie ink, and Early Espresso ink (item 147114) for the leafy branches;

Tree Rings dies - 159888 (also includes the Hybrid Embossing Folder)

• ivy and rounded leafy sprigs cut using the Lazy Days dies (item 161342) - Old Olive ink and Mossy Meadow ink;

Lazy Days dies - 161342

• fox cut using the Reindeer dies (item 159727) - Pecan Pie ink;

Reindeer dies - 159727

• the picket fence cut using the retired Bag of Bones dies (item 162218) - Crumb Cake ink, Basic Gray ink (item 149165), and Pecan Pie ink;

Bag of Bones - 162218 (retired)

• three small flowers (added to potted leafy sprig in the first project) cut using the Crafting With You dies (item 161225) - Daffodil Delight ink (item 147094); 

Crafting With You dies - 161225

• the two long narrow leafy branches used on the second and third houses and cut using the 2024 Sale-A-Bration Jungle Pals dies (item 162973) - Old Olive ink, Mossy Meadow ink, Crumb Cake ink, and Early Espresso ink; and

Jungle Pals dies - 162973 (Sale-A-Bration)

• small twelve-leafed sprig (glued flat on the base for the Real Red house) cut using the Notes of Nature dies (item 163203) - Old Olive ink and Mossy Meadow ink.

Notes of Nature dies - 163203

The remaining die cuts were cut from cardstock using the following dies and coloured/shaded with Classic Stampin' inks applied with Blending Brushes and Small Blending Brushes - the Small Blending Brushes are great for applying ink to small and/or delicate die cuts:

• double leaf cut using the Around The Bend dies (item 1600649) - cut from Lemon Lime Twist cardstock (item 144245), Old Olive cardstock (item 100702), and Mossy Meadow cardstock (item 133676), and shaded with Old Olive ink and Mossy Meadow ink (the Mossy Meadow cardstock die cuts shaded using only Mossy Meadow ink);

Around The Bend dies - 160649

• tall upright leafy sprigs (two used in flower pot on first house) cut using the Delicate Forest dies - cut from Lemon Lime Twist cardstock and Old Olive cardstock, and shaded with Old Olive ink and Mossy Meadow ink;
• grass clumps cut using the Playing In The Rain dies (item 160550) - cut from Lemon Lime Twist cardstock, and shaded with Old Olive ink and Mossy Meadow ink;

Playing In The Rain dies - 160550

• tall "wavy" leafy sprigs cut using the Natural Prints dies (item 158800) - cut from Old Olive cardstock, and shaded with Old Olive ink and Mossy Meadow ink;

Natural Prints dies - 158800

• circle frame for the Basic Gray house cut using the Stylish Shapes dies (item 159183) - cut from Crumb Cake cardstock (item 120953) and shaded with Crumb Cake ink;

Stylish Shapes dies - 159183

• circle frames for perch posts on the Basic Gray and Balmy Blue houses cut from Crumb Cake cardstock, with Crumb Cake ink sponged around the edges.  For these frames I first punched the 1/8" holes in the cardstock and then cut the "frames" around the holes using the small stitched edge circle die from the Paper Florist dies (item 161284);

Paper Florist dies - 161284

• for the circle frame on the Balmy Blue house - cut from Crumb Cake cardstock, with the edges sponged with Crumb Cake ink, I used the smallest circle die from Stylish Shapes dies and the small plain circle die from the Paper Florist dies;
• "flower pot" for the front of the Basic Gray house cut from Pecan Pie cardstock (item 161717) using the lantern die (upper lantern portion trimmed) from Lighting The Way dies (item 160496) - edges sponged with Pecan Pie ink;

Lighting The Way dies - 160496

• "soil" for flower pot cut from Early Espresso cardstock (item 119686) using the Grove dies (item 157844);

Grove dies - 157844

• centers for small flowers on potted leafy sprig on Basic Gray house cut from Early Espresso cardstock using the Paper Florist dies (item 161284) - after gluing the centers to the flowers I used a larger headed stylus and a mouse pad to "cup" the flowers;
• the three six-leafed sprigs used on the Real Red house cut from Mossy Meadow cardstock using the Around The Bend dies - shaded with Mossy Meadow ink;
• the three daisies, centers, and trimmed curving leafy sprig (back of house) from the Real Red house, and the single daisy and center from the Balmy Blue house cut using the Dainty Delight dies (item 160674) - the flowers from Basic White Thick cardstock (item 159229) - centers shaded with Daffodil Delight ink; the centers from Pecan Pie cardstock, edges sponged with Pecan Pie ink; and the leafy sprig from Old Olive cardstock and shaded with Old Olive ink and Mossy Meadow ink;

Dainty Delight dies - 160674

• the three single broad leaves glued to the base of the Real Red house cut from Lemon Lime Twist cardstock using the Paper Florist dies, and shaded with Old Olive ink and Mossy Meadow ink; and
• the five-leafed sprigs glued onto two of the broad leaves on the base of the Real Red house cut from Lemon Lime Twist cardstock using the Grove dies, and shaded using Old Olive ink and Mossy Meadow ink.

I liked the "spring foliage" effect of the shading of both Old Olive and Mossy Meadow inks on the Lemon Lime Twist cardstock, with some of the cardstock left un-inked.  One of the many things to look forward to in spring is the wide spectrum of greens that burst forth!  Think I will definitely repeat this ink and cardstock combination on future spring-themed projects!

Now a few project photos!

The Basic Gray House

The Real Red House

The Balmy Blue House

Thank you for visiting my blog!  I had a lot of fun working on these birdhouse projects and looking forward to spring!

If you are interested in purchasing any of the available Stampin' Up! products I have used in my projects, and you live in Canada and do not have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, please do not hesitate to visit my online store found on my website https://archiesatelier.stampinup.net/ at your convenience, or simply click under the "Shop With Me" tab on the right sidebar of my blog, which will take you directly to my website and online store.  I very much appreciate your business, and if you need any assistance please do not hesitate to contact me (lmccoyarchie@gmail.com) - I would be very pleased to be your demonstrator!  The digital versions of both the May 2023-April 2024 Annual Catalogue and the January-April 2024 Mini Catalogue are available for you to access at your convenience on my website (https://archiesatelier.stampinup.net/).  

Although the annual Sale-A-Bration Promotion has come to an end the good news is that on March 5, 2024, Stampin' Up! is introducing new products as Online Exclusives, and you will be able to view these new products on my website starting on that date!  Stampin' Up! has advised that the Simply Zinnia stamp set (item 163472) will not be available until the week of March 11, 2024, and that consequently both the Simply Zinnia Bundle (item 163480) and the Flowering Zinnias Suite Collection (item 163485), which both include the stamp set, will not be available until the stamp set is available.  However, other items in the Suite Collection, such as the Simply Zinnias dies (item 163479) and the Flowering Zinnias 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper (item 163469) will be available for ordering on their own as of March 5, 2024.

Have fun creating!

Laurel

*It has come to my attention that quite often email correspondence from me is delivered to the recipient's spam or junk mail folder - if you have corresponded with me I have replied so be sure to check your spam or junk mail folder!  Thank you!! 

Staking claim on the best book!

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