Two-Story Birdhouse

Hello!  Hearing the birds happily sing this morning reminded me of a card I made a few weeks ago.  The end of the school year is a pretty crazy time around here, and I have several cards that I have made that I haven't had a chance yet to share.  

Pretty Pink Posh's May release included several bird and birdhouse products.  My mom loves birds, so creating with these was extra enjoyable.  One of my favorite products was the Decorative Birdhouses Dies.  I love the different shapes of houses and mix and match options.  As I was playing around, I thought "Why not do a double decker/two story birdhouse?"  And the more I thought about it, the more I loved the idea. 

I'm not a shabby chic cardmaker, but I did try to channel a bit of my inner Melissa Phillips while creating this card because shabby chic/folk art just seemed the right direction to go.  After all, I was creating a fancy birdhouse.  I started by lightly blending Pigment's Eucalyptus ink on my card base, making the card edges darker.  Then I blended Pretty Pink Posh's new Swiss Dots Stencil on top with Concord and 9th's Wheat ink. 

To create my birdhouse, I die cute the medium and large birdhouses from the Decorative Birdhouses Dies in white and kraft.  I blended Eucalyptus ink lightly onto the birdhouses to accentuate the scalloped white trim.  I also layered the rooftops and base pieces a few times, so there would be added dimension.  I added one of the doors from the Decorative Birdhouses Dies to the bottom house and opted for small circle (from the Spring Foliage Dies) for the upper level.  The stitched circle matched the stitched details in the birdhouses splendidly.  

On the bottom birdhouse I added a little flower and leaves (from the Spring Foliage and Nature Essentials Dies) to up the folk art feel.  I decided not to add a bird on my card to further highlight the "Missing You" sentiment (from the Spring Birdhouses Stamp Set).  I may be the only one who notices that little detail, but it makes me smile nonetheless.  

The last step to the card was to create a place for my birdhouse to hang.  I embossed and die cut the little circle loop in the Spring Birdhouses Stamp Set and hung it from some branches from the Spring Foliage Dies.  I mirrored the same look at the bottom of the birdhouse, but instead placed a heart in the center.  The final touch was adding a few Marshmallow pearls on the branches. 

Thanks so much for visiting!  I hope that you are having a lovely day!