Earth Laughs in Flowers Card Folio Tutorial: Guest Designing at Little Birdie Crafts

Hello Friends!  I’m super excited about today’s post, as I have the honor of serving as a Guest Designer at the Little Birdie Crafts Blog.  I can’t think of a better match than Little Birdie Crafts Flowers and Graphic 45’s new Floral Shoppe Collection.  So I combined the two to create this Earth Laughs in Flowers Card Folio Tutorial for you.

This is a 5.5″ x 7.5″ card folio with a few mixed media techniques thrown in just for fun.  I’ve altered chipboard with paint and embossing enamel, machine stitched and even pulled out my paintbrush to add a little stenciling to the mix.

Of course, these stunning Little Birdie Flowers steal the show!  You’ll be able to see how I assembled this floral cascade in the YouTube video below.

I built loads of dimension and texture into this design…and boy, was it ever fun!

Working with these flowers really made me think of my mom.  She loved spending time in her gardens, coaxing a wide variety of cultivated and wild flowers to bloom in perfect  harmony.  I tried to re-create that mix of blossoms, colors and textures here.

Earth Laughs in Flowers: Gotta have a Pocket!

You all know how much I love pockets!  I decided to add one to the front of this floral delight.  The pocket itself is a fussy cut floral image from “Sunlit Medley” .  I sewed 3 sides of the image to create a spot to tuck this little bookmark.  The stenciled leaves were easy to add, thanks to Little Birdie Chalk Paint and stencil.  (I’ll have a complete supply list at the end of this post.)

Earth Laughs in Flowers Card Folio Tutorial: A Peek Inside

There are more pockets on the inside of the card folio.

The Floral Shoppe Ephemera Cards made it easy to create this 6.25″ x 4.25″ gift card/treat wallet.

Honestly, these ephemera cards are so pretty, it’s hard to choose between the fronts and the backs!  But I used the “B” side here, so that there would be lots of room to write a personal note.

And if you give a girl a teabag, you’d better include a honey stick!  So I did!

But enough chit chat!  Let’s get down to business and create this card folio together.  This is a long video, but I think you will find it worth watching.  We’ll being by learning how to create the card folio base.  Then we’ll stencil, build layers, distress paper edges and create the floral cascade together.

Next, we’ll learn how to make 2 kinds of pockets and the gift card/treat wallet.  Ready?  Let’s get our craft on!

Earth Laughs in Flowers Card Folio Tutorial on YouTube.

I’d like to close by thanking my friends at Little Birdie Crafts for inviting me to Guest Design on their blog today.  If you love flowers …and chipboard and paint and stencils…then you owe it to yourself to pop over to their blog for a quick visit.  And if you have a second, say hello!

I hope I’ve shared some tips, tricks and ideas 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

Supply List and Product Links for “Earth Laughs in Flowers’ Card Folio Tutorial

Little Birdie Crafts

• Fiona Mulberry Flowers (CR69591)
• Wendy Carnation (CR72061)
• Rosalind Candy Mix (CR69302)
• Bernice Purple (CR72658)
• Foliage Pollen & Tendrils Green (CR71090)
• Chipboard Damask Delight (CR72490)
• Leaf Recur Small Stencil (CR72380)
• Matte Acrylic Home Décor Paint/Sandstone (CR68486)

Graphic 45 Floral Shoppe Collection

• 12×12 Paper Collection (includes Cardstock Stickers)
  • Midnight Medley
  • Pink Lilies
  • Golden Serenity
  • Sunlit Medley
  • Scarlet Serenity
• Chipboard Elements
• Tags & Pockets
• Ephemera Cards

Additional Supplies

• Navy Cardstock 8.5″ x 11/2 sheets
• Olive Green Cardstock 8.5″ x 11/1 sheet
• White Cardstock/ 8.5″ x 11 2 sheets
• Iris Shimmer Satin Ribbon, White Netting, Jute String from my stash

Tools, Inks & Adhesives

• Scoring Tool, Stylus, Bone Folder
• Paper Trimmer, Scissors, Ruler
• Designer Dries Clear Adhesive
• Scor-Tape, 1/2″ 
• Vintage Photo Distress Ink/Blending Tool to ink cut paper edges
• Sewing Machine (optional)