Category Archives: Secret Garden

Purple Songbird All Occasion Greeting Card

Purple Songbird All Occasion Greeting Card with Gift Card Wallet and Button Card

Hello, Ribbon Lovers!  Are you up for one more project made with the Perfectly Purple Ribbon Club Mix from Really Reasonable Ribbon?  I have had such fun with these pretty purple ribbons. Today I have a Purple Songbird All Occasion Greeting Card to share with you.  It’s beautifully vintage and loaded with goodies on the inside.

Purple Songbird All Occasion Greeting Card by Kathy Clement for Really Reasonable Ribbon Photo 1

The inspiration for this 5″ x 7″ top fold card came from this gorgeous songbird image.  I found the French Post Card Bird Digital Images and they just flew into my shopping cart.  This lovely wee songbird is perching in a Country Chic Digital Frame.

I’ve had loads of fun finding purple papers in my stash to go along with these pretty purple ribbons.  This card features papers from Graphic 45’s Place in Time and Secret Garden Collections.

Here’s how I made this pretty bow cluster:

  1. First,tie a 3.5″ double loop bow from  Hyacinth Taffeta Ribbon on your Zutter Bow it All Tool.
  2. Next, tie a 2.5″ double loop bow from Crosshatch on Delphinium Satin Ribbon. Hot glue this on top of the taffeta ribbon, and adjust the tails.  Hold in place until the glue sets.
  3. Finally, thread a mother of pearl button with a thin strip of lavender cardstock and glue it on top.

Decorate the tops of each tag with a snippet of the crosshatch ribbon and a pretty flat back pearl cabochon.

How to Turn a Purple Songbird Card into a Gift

Turn this Purple Songbird card into a gift by adding a pair of pockets to the inside.

The top pocket contains this pretty gift card wallet.

A small tag makes a great tuck spot, and the pocket can hold a gift card, or a tea bag.  Making the gift card wallet is quick and easy:

  1. First, cut an 8×5″ long x 5″ tall strip of lavender cardstock.
  2. Score on the long side at 3.5″ and again at 7″.
  3. Fold to form a little wallet.
  4. Place 1/4″ Scor-Tape around the front, spine and back covers.  Then secure Crosshatch Delphinium Satin to form the ribbon closure.
  5. Add a rhinestone cabochon on the front of the gift wallet.
  6. Decorate the front and interior.
  7. Use a circle punch to create a thumb hole.
  8. Glue just the top and bottom edge of the short flap to form a pocket.
  9. Cut a tag from the May pages of Place in Time.  Glue just the bottom edge to create a tuck spot.

And what paper pretties do we find in the bottom pocket?

A sweet little handmade button card and a pretty postcard.

I love anything with vintage style bird images, so this Purple Songbird All Occasion Greeting card is precisely my cup of tea.  (Pardon the pun!)

I hope you’ve found some tips and tricks that you can use in your own crafty adventures.  If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

 

Celebrate Spring with Graphic 45 Secret Garden Tag Album Tutorial

Celebrate Spring with Graphic 45 Secret Garden Tag Album Tutorial

Hello, G’45’ers!  When I was a little girl, I spent many happy hours reading books.  I was often sick and confined to bed, but books transported me to many magical and enchanting places.  One of my favorite childhood books was Frances Hodgson Burnette’s Secret Garden.  I loved reading how Mary and Dickon discovered and restored that secret walled garden. While they were busy digging in the dirt and growing flowers, a true friendship blossomed as well.  It’s still a favorite today, and thinking about spring always brings fond memories of this lovely tale.  Naturally, I had to break out my Graphic 45 Secret Garden Deluxe Collector’s Edition papers and create a little tribute to spring.

Don’t you just love this sentiment? “Where you tend a rose, a thistle cannot grow.”  You could build your life around wisdom like that!  The base of this album is a Graphic 45 Staples 5×7 Kraft Book Box.  I created a shaker top and then decorated with pretty trims and Petaloo Canvas Briar Roses.

Shake Things Up with a Clear Acetate Cardstock Cover

Shake up your design by adding a shaker element to the box cover.  After you create your cover design (but before you glue it to the top of the box) go all the way around the edges with foam tape.  Fill the center with sequins, buttons, glitter, or small chipboard pieces like the ones I used here.  Peel off the liner from the top of the foam tape, place the trimmed acetate on top and press the edges to seal.  I added this pretty rose trim around the edges to finish everything off.

It’s very hard to photograph anything that is covered in clear acetate, but I gave it my best effort!  Those are real lavender buds inside the acetate along with sequins and small chips from the collection .

Altering Metal Staples

I wanted the album to have a real shabby chic feel, so I painted all my Graphic 45 Metal Staples with a coat of “Whisper” Chalk paint from Americana Decor.  When the first layer dried, I tapped the raised edges with Tattered Rose Distress Paint to create custom shabby chic metal accents. Then you can fill the piece with pretty flowers as I did here.

Or tuck a word inside the label holder as I did here. The spine is decorated with fussy cut images from the collection, Petaloo Sage Vintage Velvet Hydrangea and some vintage buttons from my stash.

The box is held shut with a 1.5″ Ivory Crushed Satin Ribbon and bow.   Would you like to see what’s inside?

I thought you might!  Just as Mary’s Secret Garden was hidden behind an old wall, this sweet little tag album is hidden inside the box.  It’s loaded with fold out pages, tiny folios, pull tabs and all kinds of wonderment.

Inside the front cover of the album, I created a pocket that I filled with sweet springtime greeting card.

Oh, how I love this collection!

Secret Garden Tag Album on YouTube

Rather than fill the blog up with dozens of photos, I prepared a very short 3 minute video that you can watch.

Snapguide Graphic 45 Secret Garden Tag Album Tutorial

As you saw in the video, the tag album is loaded with lots of fun fold outs and inserts.  I thought you might enjoy learning how I made the tag album, so I prepared a SnapGuide tutorial for you.

Check out How to Graphic 45 Secret Garden Tag Album Insert by Kathy Clement on Snapguide.

How to Make the Secret Garden Card

If you’d like to make the sweet card that is tucked in the front pocket of the album, I also prepared a SnapGuide Tutorial showing you how to build those layers and create the card.
Check out How to Quick & Easy Secret Garden Card W/Graphic 45 by Kathy Clement on Snapguide.

Secret Garden Tag Album Supply List

I hope I’ve brought a little springtime into your life today!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

 

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