Category Archives: Birds

Love Warms Every Nest Springtime Vignette

Love Warms Every Nest Springtime Vignette for Petaloo International

Hello, Friends!  Don’t you just love springtime?  One of my favorite things about this lovely season is the return of all the little songbirds.  Birds will build a nest in the oddest spots. Last year, a pair of bluebirds built their nest in our neighbor’s mailbox, and all anxiously anticipated the arrival of those baby birds.  Thinking about this inspired me to make this Love Warms Every Nest Springtime Vignette for Petaloo International.

Love Warms Every Nest Springtime Vignette by Kathy Clement for Petaloo International Photo 1

Lovebirds Nesting in a Rusty Wagon

Love Warms Every Nest Springtime Vignette by Kathy Clement for Petaloo International Photo 2

I’ve been saving this little metal wagon for just the right project.  After treating it with Prima Rust Paste, it was filled with a bed of Spanish Moss.  Then I added this cute little bird nest.  Next I painted some miniature eggs with Distress Oxide Ink and added them to the nest.  Then I had the best time creating a garden full of pretty Petaloo flowers in shades of purple, green and white.

Love Warms Every Nest: Building the Base

Love Warms Every Nest Springtime Vignette by Kathy Clement for Petaloo International Photo 3

Earlier this year, I happened across a fabulous clearance sale at Michael’s where I found this chunky 4″ x 4″ canvas which was perfect for the base of my vignette.  I covered it with a green floral print from Graphic 45’s Place in Time Deluxe Collector’s Edition.  Then I wrapped it with these lovely bird feathers.  Next, the top was covered with more Spanish Moss and more pretty flowers and butterflies.

Love Warms Every Nest Springtime Vignette by Kathy Clement for Petaloo International Photo 4The chipboard tag is attached to a mini chalkboard that is in turn attached to a clothespin.  This way, I can just clip the tag onto the side of the wagon and it stands all on its own.  The tag is from Graphic 45’s A Place in Time Deluxe Collector’s Edition.

Love Warms Every Nest Springtime Vignette by Kathy Clement for Petaloo International Photo 5

Love Warms Every Nest Springtime Vignette by Kathy Clement for Petaloo International Photo 6

Making this sweet little vignette was almost as much fun as planting real flowers.  I hope it brought some sunshine into your life, too.

You can find a supply list at the end of this post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

Supply List

 

Joyous Greetings Woodland Christmas Card

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts: Joyous Greetings Woodland Christmas Card

Hello, Friends!  We are just days away from Christmas, and I am still working on Christmas cards!  Ay-yi-yi!  Thankfully, I found a way to make a truly fabulous Christmas card in very little time.  It doesn’t look simple, but I promise you, this Joyous Greetings Woodland Christmas Card comes together in a jiffy.  Beautiful chippies from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts make it sparkle and shine.

joyous-greetings-woodland-christmas-card-by-kathy-clement-for-gypsy-soul-laser-cuts-product-by-pollys-paper-studio-photo-1I added texture, shine and depth to this lovely card with the Medium Honeycomb & Bees set and my favorite Birds Scribble Frame.  The process is simple:

  1.  Paint chippies with Ivory Chalkboard Paint
  2. While Paint is still wet, sprinkle liberally with Stampendous Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder
  3. Gently tap off the excess and heat set.

It doesn’t get any easier than that!

merry-little-christmas-card-by-kathy-clement-for-gypsy-soul-laser-cuts-product-by-pollys-paper-studio-photo-2Once again, I pulled an “oldie but a goodie” from my Christmas paper Stash.  My Mind’s Eye Joyous Collection looks fabulous with these golden hues.  My focal image is from Polly’s Paper Etsy Shop.  The Scribble Bird Frame makes it pop right off the frame.  I added more circular elements with a Tim Holtz Rosette, a big red button, a sticker from the collection and some vintage gems. I diluted the chalkboard paint on my craft sheet and spattered it randomly onto the card to add the feeling of a snow flurry.

merry-little-christmas-card-by-kathy-clement-for-gypsy-soul-laser-cuts-product-by-pollys-paper-studio-photo-310 Easy Steps to a Joyous Greetings Woodland Christmas Card

  1. Create a 5×7 Kraft Cardstock card base
  2.  Cut a slightly smaller panel of the red glitter dot paper from Joyous
  3. Cut a 3.75×5.75 panel of red damask paper and glue in the top left hand corner of the card, leaving a 3/8″ border on top and side.
  4. Glue the prepared honeycomb over this panel
  5. Add a second panel of the same size using the red glitter text paper.  It should be aobut 3/8″ from the bottom edge and 3/4″ to the right of the red damask paper.
  6. Add the bird tag using waste chipboard on the back side to add lots of depth and dimension
  7. Glue Bird Scribble frame in place
  8. Make rosette and glue in place
  9. Top with button and sticker from collection
  10. Add bow, vintage gems and sentiment

A Peek Inside:

merry-little-christmas-card-by-kathy-clement-for-gypsy-soul-laser-cuts-product-by-pollys-paper-studio-photo-4I added a stamped sentiment from Tim Holtz’ Doodle Christmas Greetings to the top half of the card.  The bottom half is a pocket stuffed with goodies.

merry-little-christmas-card-by-kathy-clement-for-gypsy-soul-laser-cuts-product-by-pollys-paper-studio-photo-5These tags and chocolate candy transform the card into a gift.  The tags make great tree ornaments.  I love to hang them from knobs to add Christmas cheer all over the house.

A Fond Farewell to Gypsy Soul

I wanted to let you all know that this will be my last post as a Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Educator.  Now that we live so close to our lovely granddaughters, I am spending much more time with them.  This makes my heart happy!  But it also means that I have to lighten my work load a little.  I had to make the tough decision to step back in order to keep my life in balance.  I have loved being on this team, and I will guest design now and again as time allows.  I’ll continue to use the product in my post, and will be sure to link to the shop for your convenience.  But I just can’t keep up with the time consuming tutorial writing.  Life is short, and “The Littles” will not be little forever.  I don’t want to regret not having made the most of the amazing opportunity to be with my precious grandchildren as much as possible.

So that’s it for me, my friends!  I hope I shared some ideas here that you can incorporate into your own crafting.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

Bluebirds of Happiness Christmas Card with Tag Pocket

RRR Blog Hop BadgeRRR Blog Hop: Bluebirds of Happiness Christmas Card with Tag Pocket

Hello, Ribbon Lovers!  It’s time for the December Blog Hop.  You should be coming here filled with Christmas cheer at Karen’s lovely blog.  Woodland themes seem to be very popular this Christmas, and that makes me happy, happy!  So happy that I created this Bluebirds of Happiness Christmas card  with gorgeous blue and silver ribbons from the Winter Blues December Ribbon Club Assortment.

winter-bluesDreamy, right?

chirstmas-bluebirds-of-happiness-card-with-tags-by-kathy-clement-for-really-reasonable-ribbon-product-by-pollys-paper-studio-photo-4These happy little bluebirds come from Polly’s Paper Studio Etsy.  Ginny knows how much I adore little birds, so she shared the Winter Birds Christmas Tag set with me.  I was thrilled to see how well they worked with the Winter Blues ribbon Club assortment! The Snoflakes on Electric Blue Grosgrain made the perfect belly band for my card.  And combining the Off white Shimmer Satin ribbon with Snowflakes on Silver Grosgrain Ribbon makes a very merry Christmas bow!

chirstmas-bluebirds-of-happiness-card-with-tags-by-kathy-clement-for-really-reasonable-ribbon-product-by-pollys-paper-studio-photo-2Awwww…I super love these little bluebirds of happiness! The tag detaches from the card front to become a bookmark or ornament.  How fun is that?

chirstmas-bluebirds-of-happiness-card-with-tags-by-kathy-clement-for-really-reasonable-ribbon-product-by-pollys-paper-studio-photo-1Because I wanted this card to serve as a gift, I created an inside pocket that holds two more ribbon topped tags.   And who doesn’t love a mini candy cane?

Now, hop on over to Cherry’s lovely blog to see what Christmas goodies she has cooked up for you!  Visit the RRR Blog for a complete list of all the blogs in this hop.  While you are there, you can answer Bonnie’s question of the month, and maybe you’ll be the lucky winner of your very own Winter Blues December Ribbon Club Assortment.  Wouldn’t that be nice?

You can learn how to sign up for the Ribbon Club HERE.  It’s a Christmas gift that you can give to yourself all year long!

Thanks for hopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

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Shabby Chic Sympathy Card: You’re in My Heart

Shabby Chic Sympathy Card for RRR

Hello, Ribbon Lovers!   I have another sympathy card to share with you today.  This one is for a family friend whose mother just passed away. No matter how old you are: you’re never ready to say goodbye to your mom!  Wanting to do something really special for this lovely individual, I pulled out gorgeous seam binding from Really Reasonable Ribbon,mixed media papers from Canvas Corp Brands,  elegant Petaloo flowers and my Distress Markers.  The end result is this shabby chic sympathy card.

Shabby Chic Sympathy Card by Kathy Clement for Really Reasonable Ribbon, Product by Really Reasonable Ribbon and Canvas Corp Brands Photo 1Canvas Corp Brands has a great Mixed Media Origins line of papers.  After inking and distressing the background paper, this heart was fussy cut  and watercolored with Distress Markers. Next, my sentiment was stamped and heat embossed with superfine black embossing powder.  Finally, I punched holes up the center of the heart and threaded them with Gold Metallic Baker’s Twine.

You're in My Heart Sympathy Card by Kathy Clement for Really Reasonable Ribbon, Product by Really Reasonable Ribbon and Canvas Corp Brands Photo 2 Noble Peacock Seam Binding is the perfect ribbon to lend soft, shabby chic elegance to this card design.

You're in My Heart Sympathy Card by Kathy Clement for Really Reasonable Ribbon, Product by Really Reasonable Ribbon and Canvas Corp Brands Photo 5Inside, a second sentiment was stamped on 7 Gypsies Ordre du Jour papers.  Darling birds frame the journaling card where I’ll add my personal note.

This shabby chic sympathy card is very simple in design .  The detail work went into the stitching, water color and inking.  Soft ribbons and dreamy flowers give it the shabby chic vibe I was going for.  What do you think?  I’d love to hear from you in the comment section.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

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Altered Watering Can for Heartfelt Creations Alumni Hop

Delicate Asters and Botanical Roses Altered Watering Can: Heartfelt Alumni Hop

Welcome to the March Heartfelt Creations Alumni Blog Hop! Each month, on the last Tuesday of the month, the Heartfelt Creations Alumni Team participates in a Blog Hop! Be sure to visit each blog on the hop, and leave a comment, because one fortunate Blogger will be randomly chosen from one of the particpating blogs to receive a $25 gift card to Heartfelt Creations! The winner will be announced on Saturday, April 2nd, at noon. The March Hop starts 8am EST on Tuesday, March 29th and closes Friday, April 1st at midnight. You’ll find a list of all the HC Alumni participating in this hop below:

Kathy Clement (You are HERE) ♥ Glenda Brooks ♥ Amy Doria ♥ Vicki Dutcher ♥ Caroline Duncan  ♥ Regina Hamilton ♥ Ujjwal Gupta ♥ Gini Williams Cagle ♥ Sarah Miller ♥ Alissa Wells

With Spring in full bloom, I thought it would be fun to make a little altered watering can using stamps and dies from Delicate Asters, Botanical Roses and Birds and Blooms paper.  This was a challenging project for me, as with our move being imminent, I had packed up all my HC stamps!  Fortunately, I still had my papers in the Closet of Shame along with some plastic containers of “extra” flowers from previous projects so I was able to play along this month.

Altered Watering Can 01I picked this frame up at a yard sale, and it was U. G. L. Y!  Just the kind of “find” I like to bring home and work on.  I hardly recognize it now that the dark paint has been replaced with a fresh new look! Before it looked ready for the landfill, but now this altered watering can looks like springtime!

The entire frame was sanded, then painted with a single coat of Ranger Snow Cap White paint.  While that was drying, I went to work stamping and die cutting my asters and roses using white cardstock and Aged Mahogany and Worn Lipstick Distress Inks.  Each layer was heat embossed with clear embossing powder, then shaped, stacked, spritzed with Tattered Angels Silk Glimmer Mist and brushed with Dylusions White Linen Mist.  The centers were filled with Citrus Crush Superfine Flower Soft.

I added a coat of Ranger Tattered Rose Distress Crackle paint over the white paint layer, and set it under a lamp to speed along the drying/crackling process.  When applying Distress Crackle Paint, I always pretend I’m spreading mayonnaise or peanut butter on a sandwich, as that is the thickness of paint that leads to the best crackles.  Once the paint has begun to crackle, you can speed things up a little with a heat gun, but honestly…it works best if you leave it overnight.

Shabby Chic Watering Can 02You can really see the fine cracks  up near the handle.  Once the crackle was dry, I spritzed the surface with Tattered Angels Coffee Shop mist and then gently rubbed it in with a dry paper towel.  The dark color sinks down into the cracks and really brings them out.  I love this look.

I fussy cut my little birdie from the paper collection, as my bird stamps and dies are packed away, too.  Like I said….I had to get creative this month!  LOL

From here, you will hop on over and visit my dear friend Glenda Brooks who makes me weak in the knees with her gorgeous flowers!

Thanks for hopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy