Bird on a Branch cards

Bird on a Branch is another of the two-step stamp sets on special offer at the moment and it's another set that will work hard for you throughout the year. One of the things I love about it is the stunning sentiment. I like a 'thinking of you' sentiment when I'm sending notecards - and I use a lot of notecards!

The two cards I'm showing you today are very different.

The first is quite a wintery card - in fact, with a few adaptations this would make a great Christmas card. I made a background by sponging Whisper White card stock with Bashful Blue ink and added a piece of torn designer paper in Sahara Sand. (If you're wondering how I got hold of designer paper in one of the new colours - well it's from a whole paper stack of different colours! If you host a stamping party, it's one of the items you can choose for free if orders reach £150 or more.) The branch, the bird and the sentiment were stamped in Basic Black and the panel matted onto Real Red card stock. I added some of this glorious satin ribbon knotted onto one of the SU clip assortment and doodled a tiny heart next to the sentiment, then adhered the whole thing to a Kraft card blank sponged round the edges with Whisper White craft ink.

Supplies
Stamps: Bird on a Branch
Ink: Basic Black, Bashful Blue, Whisper White craft ink
Card stock: Kraft, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Designer series paper stack (hostess set), Clip assortment, Real Red satin ribbon, Real Red marker

The next card couldn't contrast more - it's got quite a tropical feel!

I took a piece of Whisper White card stock and sponged it with Tempting Turquoise, Garden Green and Summer Sun to make my focal panel. It's hard to see in the photo but I inked up the bird with Summer Sun and then added Handsome Hunter directly to the stamp with a marker to get a two-tone bird. Once I'd stamped it I went over it with a Versamark pen  and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder so that it would resist any ink I stamped over the top. Next I stamped the sentiment, the branches and the blossom, positioning them with my stamp-a-majig. The panel was matted onto Handsome Hunter card stock. I wanted this focal image to really stand out, so I mounted it with dimensionals onto another panel of Whisper White which I stamped with a random pattern using the blossom stamp. That in turn was matted onto Tempting Turquoise card stock, then onto a Whisper White card blank.

Supplies
Stamps: Bird on a Branch

Ink: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Garden Green, Chocolate Chip

Card stock: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Handsome Hunter

Other: Versamark pen, clear embossing powder, Handsome Hunter marker

I have had so much fun with this today! If you'd like to roll your own sleeves up and get inky with Bird on a Branch, the good news is that there's 20% off the price for UK customers in August. The set of 5 stamps was £14.95 and it's now a snip at £11.96 - yes, that's less than £2.50 a stamp! Have a look at the table at the top of my blog to find more stamp sets at 20% off and if you'd like to grab yourself a bargain, email me here to order.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
See you very soon.