Birthday Bird House by Sue Smyth

Hi! Couture Creations Designer Sue Smyth here today. I love to make little off-the-page gifts and decorative pieces. Creating this standing bird house with everyday items and Couture Creations dies
is so easy to do. Just follow the instructions below.

I have used a small terracotta pot, which I have painted with gesso and misted with colored sprays.
I like to flick over other colors to give the pot an aged mossy look.

Add a faux bird nest and bird to the top of the pot, along with moss, feathers die-cut leaves and sticks.

To start, hand draw a bird house shape onto thick chipboard. Tip: If you struggle, just download a template from the net.

Smear the bottom of the house with texture paste and stamp into the texture paste with the Vine Frame Embossing Folder. Allow to dry.

Note: Clean the embossing folder immediately with water and a sturdy brush.

Paint the pot, chipboard house and a sturdy stick with white gesso. Allow to dry.

Spray the house with a selections of mists. Note: I have used a coffee and olive spray. When dry,
brush over the house with a little gesso to highlight the raised texture paste.

Cover the roof with Double-Sided Tape and peel off the backing with a Handheld Piercing Tool.

Cut four or five scallop rectangles from a terracotta colored cardstock using the Scallop Rectangle Nesting Dies. Trim off the long ends of each.

Layer the scallop cardstock over the tape, overlapping each strip, just like a tiled roof. Keep layering until the roof is covered.

Flip over the house and trim off excess cardstock from the roof with a Craft Knife.

Swipe gesso over the scalloped roof. Use a Paper Piercer to flick up each little scallop to resemble a dimensional roof top.

Cut a small scallop circle and circle from scrap cardstock using the Scallop Circle Nesting Dies and Circle Nesting Dies. Layer with Foam Mounting Tape and attach to the front of the bird house.

Use the Fence Die to cut a fence from white cardstock and adhere it to the top of the painted pot. Use a hot glue gun to attach a thick braided ribbon below the fence.

Attach an organza bow to the front of the pot using 3D Glue Spots.

Decorate the pot with paper roses, a faux bird nest and bird feathers. Cut leaves from green cardstock using the Ivy Die.

Adhere the house to the painted stick and insert the stick into the pot. Note: I have wedged a large piece of styrofoam into the pot to hold the stick secure.

Add finishing touches like a scroll with happy birthday, tiny daisies, moss and painted sticks. Make some handmade flowers using the Retro Flowers Die and a brad and secure them to the top of the house.

You can personalize the house to your taste and to that of recipient. Happy crafting!
~Sue

Couture Creations Supplies:
CO723041 Scallop Circle Nesting Dies
CO723040 Circle Nesting Dies
CO723047 Scallop Rectangle Nesting Dies
CO723531 Secret Treasures Collection - Ivy Decorative Die
CO723524 Secret Treasures Collection - Retro Flowers Decorative Die
CO723488 Sophia Collection - Fence Decorative Die
CO723642 Harmony Collection - Vine Frame Embossing Folder
CO721964 Double-Sided Tape
CO723963 Foam Mounting Tape
CO723817 3D Glue Spots
CO721986 Handheld Essentials Tool Kit

37 Weeks by Patti Hamil

 

Hi! Couture Creations Designer Patti Hamil here today. I wanted to show how to create a layout using scraps. I had some pieces left from the Damask Delight paper that I wanted to use. The colors were perfect for our daughter's photo taken during the last week of her pregnancy!

First I decided to take my smaller scrap, which was a striped pattern, and cut several sizes of circles using the Circle Nesting Dies. I started laying out a basic pattern that I liked for the page. Once I liked the look, I used Double-Sided Tape to adhered the circles to white cardstock. I took a green and blue marker that matched the paper and did some "faux stitching" around the larger pieces.

 

I wanted some blooms on the page, I'm a flower junkie, so I decided to just make some by hand. Very easy. You can use any of the Couture Creations Floral Nesting Dies or Circle Nesting Dies. For this type bloom cut 3 circles, 2 the same size and one smaller.

I then took blue ink and a Sponge Dauber and inked the edges of the die-cut layers.

I then layered and pinched them together. I crumbled each die-cut up first and then carefully unfolded it, then attached the layers together. Then you can just play with the petals until you get the look that you like! I used the cut off part of a stem from a manufactured flower, the kind that have the twisted ends, you can fray it and it makes a great flower center!

I needed some accent blooms, so I used the Retro Flower Die to make 4 flowers. I placed a  Moonlight Self-Adhesive Pearl in the center of each flower. I layered two flowers together for each little bloom.

I placed circles and blooms in several places and added a few Seaspray Self-Adhesive Gemstones as accents.

Here is another close-up of the little cluster.

 

Here you see the larger bloom and the little ones around it.

 

Thanks for stopping by today!
~Patti

Couture Creations Supplies:

CO723545 Damask Delight Paper Pad
CO723040 Circles Nesting Dies 

CO723524 Secret Treasures Collection - Retro Flowers

CO721989 Seaspray Self-Adhesive Gemstones

CO721994 Pink Diva Self-Adhesive Gemstones

CO721998 Moonlight Self-Adhesive Pearls

CO721956 Sharp Point Scissors

CO721954 Precision LED Tweezers

CO723623 Sponge Daubers

CO721984 Double-Side Tape

Just for You by Patti Hamil

Hi! Patti here today with a sparkly card to share! Purple is my favorite color, so I decided to make a purple card! I used the Cheerful Embossing Folder from the Elegance Collection and the Ivy Decorative Die from the Secret Treasures Collection. 

 

Ink the top half of the Cheerful Embossing Folder with purple ink. Note: Make sure to ink the folder really well and to cover it completely.

Trim the excess white cardstock from the edges of the embossed piece.

Next, cover the cardstock with a light shimmery ink.

While the shimmery ink is still wet, apply Ultra Shimmer Embossing Powder and heat to set.

It's hard to see in the photo, but after embossing the cardstock has a really pretty shimmery look.

Use Double Sided Tape to secure the embossed piece to a card base cut from purple cardstock. The Couture Creations tape works wonderfully for heavy pieces like this that tend to "curl" at the edges. The Double Sided Tape keeps the cardstock right in place!

Cut two banners with the Craft Concepts Banners Nesting Dies; the largest banner from purple cardstock and the second largest banner from white cardstock. Outline each banner with a purple marker. Add a handwritten sentiment to the white banner. Adhere the white banner to the purple banner with Double Sided Tape.

For the finishing touches, add a purple flower, three ivy leaves cut with the Ivy Decorative Die and a white bow. Create a similar card with any of the Couture Creations embossing folders. The wide array of patterns are suitable for many occasions!

I hope you liked the card. Thanks so much for visiting!
~Patti

Couture Creations Supplies:
CO723282 Elegance Collection - Cheerful Embossing Folder
CO723531 Secret Treasures Collection - Ivy Decorative Die
CR721244 Craft Concepts Banners Nesting Dies
CO921985 Double Sided Tape

Nautical Card with Vicki Robertson

Hi! Vicki here today sharing some wishful thinking with you! February can't be over soon enough for me. This has been a cold, snowy month in the Northeast and I am thinking of summer, sand and being at the beach. That said, here's a card I created using the Couture Creations Harmony and Secret Treasure Collections of embossing folders and dies.

The card base measures 5 x7 and cut is from kraft cardstock. This is topped with a mat cut from cork specialty paper. Next, I embossed the lighthouse image using the Lighthouse Embossing Folder on natural canvas. The nautical theme is all the rage and this embossing folder is no exception. I gently inked over the embossed image with distress ink to enhance the embossing. A Vintage Gold Gemstone at the top of the lighthouse represents the light.

The Ships Wheel and Anchor Dies from the Secret Treasures Collection are also cut from cork. I adhered the ships wheel directly to the canvas and added black pearls. I gave the anchor added dimension with Foam Mounting Tape and placed it against the ships wheel.

The quote is printed on natural canvas and inked along the edges. I punched a couple of holes and added some yellow twine ties to the pennant shaped tag. The bottom corner is tucked behind the ships wheel while the rest of it is adhered to make it look like it is moving.

I hope you enjoyed my nautical inspiration!

Vicki
He"artful" Validation of Vicki

Couture Creations Supplies:
CO723628 Harmony Collection - Lighthouse Embossing Folder
CO723521 Secret Treasures Collection - Anchor
CO723520 Secret Treasures Collection - Ships Wheel
CO721990 Vintage Gold Self-Adhesive Gemstones
CO723957 Cutting Mat
CO721962 Foam Mounting Double Tape
CO723039 Precision Paper Trimmer

Couture Creations CHA Reveal 2014 - Part 2

Secret Treasures Decorative Dies

CO723515 Swing and Sing

 CO723516 Feather

CO723517 Party Banner

CO723518 Rocking Horse

CO723519 Fan

CO723520 Ship's Wheel

CO723521 Anchor

CO723522 Bird Song

CO723523 Perforated Mesh

CO723524 Retro Flowers

CO723525 Polaroid Frame

CO723526 Tabbed Journal Tab

CO723527 Classic Chevron

CO723528 Honeycomb Strip

CO723529 Panama Branch

CO723530 Aurora Vine

 CO723531 Ivy

CO723532 Tickets

 CO723533 Ornamental Rectangle



 CO723534 Square Plaque



CO723535 Cameo

CO723536 Decorative Plaque

CO723537 Look In My Window

Adhesives |  Decorative Frames | Bling Lanyards

Metal Adapter Plate | Quick Release Die Paper