Reflected Seagull using Bird Punch

When I first saw this card by Stampin' with Blythe, I knew I wanted to try to turn the bird into a seagull.  On my first attempt, I used the bird directly from the punch without altering it.  I decided the seagull needed a bit more of a narrower neck and beak, so I trimmed a bit to give it the look I wanted.  Which do you prefer?

Instructions on making reflection bird card:

*Start with a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock cut to 8 1/2 by 5 1/2 and scored at 4 1/4.

*Sponge the edges with Sahara Sand to give it a sandy look.

*Use a piece of blue 3 by 4.   (I used a Baja Blue DSP piece from the Subtles DSP Collection).  Tear the top edge and distress.  I sponged the top with more Sahara Sand and the edges with Baja Breeze ink to resemble water.

*Adhere the blue piece to the card. 

*Punch a bird from Whisper White and a wing from Basic Grey.  Save the piece of Whisper White with the bird outline for a template for the reflection. 

*Color the beak with So Saffron. 

*Add a dot for the eye with a Basic Black Marker.  I then very carefully and lightly traced around the black dot with a Sahara Sand maker to make the eye look more realistic. 

*Sponge the edges of the bird and wing with Basic Grey.  I did not go over the head of the seagull since I wanted it to be left completely white like the seagull I was trying to create (a Great Black-Backed Gull.  You could certainly make his head black to make him look like a Laughing Gull.  I did a little research!  :)

*Next, position the seagull where desired on the card front.  Draw two legs using a Basic Grey Marker.  Adhere the seagull slightly over top of the drawn legs. 

*Using a blender pen, draw two lines with Basic Grey ink for the reflection.

*Using the Whisper White piece that you punched the bird from as a template for the reflection.  Layer it over the reflected legs.  Sponge lightly with Basic Grey to create the reflection in the water.  **Note: When I trimmed the seagull's neck down, I traced the slimmer bird and cut it out so the reflection would match the bird.  If you don't mind a fat neck and you skip the trimming part, you can use the punched template. 

*Stamp with sentiment.  I used "Remember When" from the Word Play stamp set.  Perfect for the summers I remember spending at the Jersey Shore! 

Punched Thank You

This card was so fun to create!  First, I used the Adorning Accents Edgelits to emboss the bottom of the card.  To emboss with edgelits or framelits, open the Big Shot platform to Tab 1.  Place a cutting plate, a silicone rubber pad, and your card stock on top.  Position the edgelit where desired, with the cutting blade up.  Add a scrap piece of card stock on top to keep the edgelit from sticking into the top cutting plate, then add the top cutting plate.  Please note that this is the way my Big Shot works; each Big Shot may be slightly different in tightness.  You should be able to very easily roll this sandwich through the Big Shot. 

The next step in this card is to use the new Paper Piercing Pack.  I simply chose the design that matched the edgelit, lined it up with my embossed image, and punched away.  I stamped the image from Flowering Flourishes and the sentiment from the Lacy and Lovely stamp sets using the new in color Raspberry Ripple.  I chose the oval shape and punched around the "thank you" from the Paper Piercing Pack.    Finally, I used the Modern Label Punch to punch out the words, then again to layer with Raspberry Ripple cardstock.

Thanks to Dawn's Stamping Thoughts for inspiring this card!

Birthday Ice Cream

A special card for a special person's birthday!  Happy birthday, Alice!

For this card, I used the Petite Pennants, Cupcake Builder, Word Window, Large Oval, and Scalloped Oval punches.  I used the Perfect Polka Dots and Final Press (retired) embossing folders.  The Designer Series Paper is from the Floral District set and the cherry was punched with Red Glimmer paper.  

Inside, the sentiment is from the Sweets for the Sweet stamp set and the Apothecary Accents Framelits were used to cut it out.  I love the inside pop up, which is actually very easy to create!

Questions?  Just ask!