Allow me to elaborate, dear readers.

While spring might technically commence during the third week of March, in reality, the season rarely gets underway in any sort of serious way where we live until around mid-April to early May.

It is not uncommon for snow to linger on the ground and/or keep falling well into April around these Canadian parts.

So while plenty of corners of the world have been enjoying spring’s return since February, March, or April, I often associate May with the full-on start of this energetic season.

Spring is usually comically short-lived in our corner of BC (much as it is in a lot of Canada). It is not uncommon for us to go from temps in the range of -25C to +35C in the span of just four to eight weeks.

This means that spring – in its idyllic, mild weathered, new bloom-filled sense – is often over before you can even slip your rain boots on.

As layer upon layer of ice and snow gradually retreat, cocoa hued brown earth still damp and chilly from winter’s receding deep freeze meets us beneath our feet.

Overhead, skies so blue it almost seems as if someone took a fluorescent highlighter to them cradle fluffy, cotton ball-esque clouds and the promise of a few brief months of warm weather before we are thrust back into the snowy season once again.

While winter houses plenty of enjoyable outdoor activities unto itself (skiing, sledding, snowman making, etc), it is in spring when a lot of us reconnect with our favourite activities that are enjoyed in nature.

Last year my mom bought her first e-bike. Like many of us, she learned to ride a bike as a young child and while she has owned numerous bikes throughout her life, she’d not had one for a decent while now.

She immediately fell in love with her new set of wheels, quickly embarking on rides with both friends and with my husband, Tony (who is an avid cyclist himself) throughout the spring and early summer.

Save for the absurdly warm heatwave that struck much of British Columbia around the end of last June/start of July, it wasn’t the temperature that put the breaks (pun mildly intended ) on cycling for many folks around these parts last year.

Instead, it was the genuinely dangerous air quality stemming from the plethora of brutal wildfires that swept through this province during 2021’s toastiest months.

By the time the smoke had dissipated, the fires had burned out (or very nearly so), and the risk of evacuation was behind us once again, it was pretty much fall already.

Rides, as you might imagine, were quickly savoured by many a cyclist during that all-too-brief window between summer’s end and the return of snow.

Now spring is back and that means my mom, Tony, and countless others who like to cycle can hop on their bikes – be they e-bike, traditional bikes, recumbent bikes, or any other form of bicycle – and take to the open roads and nature paths once again.

For Mother’s Day (which transpires on Sunday May 8^th this year here in Canada + US), I wanted to make a festive card that tapped not only into my mom’s rekindled passion for bike riding, but also the earth and sky colour palette of springtime that is surrounding us at the moment.

Early Spring Colour Palette Bicycle Themed Mother’s Day Card

By my layer + embellishment adoring standards, this card is neither chock-a-block with such things nor did it take very long to make (less than three hours – which for me personally, is very speedy on the paper crafting project front).

Much as with the elephant card that I made my mom for her birthday last year, it was not until I sat down to craft a cycling themed card that I realized how few bike related products are in my current stash.

Surely, I would have guessed beforehand, I must have at least one stamp set that includes a bike. Nope, not as far as I could unearth that day, at least.

Okay, what about metal dies? Save for a small-sized penny-farthing die, again, nada.

Hmm, this is getting interesting, I thought. Will patterned paper come to the rescue?

As you can no doubt see from these project photos, that it did. Big yays all around!

But even then, this was the only cycling themed paper I could find in my stash (and that includes going through any 6×6, 8×8, 12×12, etc paper pads that might possibly have included a biking related print or two).

Given that both Tony and my mom are keen cyclists, going forward I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more bike riding related products.

The banner/bunting-shaped pieces here were simply cut from rectangles of brown cardstock and blue floral print paper, respectively.

To achieve the desired banner/bunting shape, flip your paper or cardstock over so that the backside is facing you. Take a ruler, align it with on bottom corner and at a 90 degree (or so) angle, make a straight line until you’ve reached the halfway mark of that piece of paper or cardstock.

Repeat the same thing from the other bottom corner, joining the two lines. You should now have the shape of a wide vee. Following the pencil lines you just marked, cut out that wide vee shape and, presto, your banner/bunting piece is good to go.

If you wish to create two or more layers of bunting/banners that will be stacked on top of each other, repeat the same process using gradually smaller-sized rectangles to create your banners/bunting pieces.

According to the Teleflora blog, approximately 1/4^th of all flowers sent annually on major holidays are purchased and delivered for Mother’s Day.

That is no surprise, really, as flowers are often one of the first things many of us both associate with Mother’s Day and which we are apt to give our moms come this special day that is held in their honour.

I was especially happy then that blooms appeared twice on the bike image that I fussy cut from a piece of Jillibean Soup bike patterned paper.

Not only do the flowers tap into that connection, but they speak to the eternal connection between spring/summer and blooms on this side of the globe.

Unlike real flowers, however, these beauties are not apt to fade anytime soon (which is another point in their favour).

I have always enjoyed working with brads in the context of my paper crafting projects but had not done so in a while. This prompted me to dive deep into my collection to see if I had any brown brads on hand.

Delightfully, the answer to the question was “yes”, and these good-sized cocoa powder hued cuties from We R Memory Keepers fit the bill to a tee.

A strip of heathered cream twill ribbon, complete with a matching bow, provides further dimension and visual interest to this fun Mother’s Day card.

Swap out the sentiment here and there is no shortage of other occasions that this same sort of card design would suit.

Birthdays, Easter, Father’s Day, thinking of you, happy travels, graduation, missing you, retirement, congratulations, or just because cards would all be good fits, amongst others.

If you are vibing with this charming bike themed card and would like to create one of your own, read on for a complete list of products used plus detailed step-by-step project instructions.

Products used to make this sweet and cute biking card

-Textured (or smooth) dark brown cardstock

-Textured (or smooth) mustard yellow cardstock

-Cream cardstock

-Blue-on-blue floral print paper

-Cream/flax and brown floral/damask print paper – Portrait of a Lady Collection Grace paper from Graphic 45

-Bicycle print paper – Spoonful of Soul Trust the Journey paper from Jillibean Soup

-Nested oval die set

-Tag/label die

-Circle design border punch – Double Bubble border punch from Fiskars

-Mother’s Day sentiment stamp

-Dark brown ink – Memento Dew Drop Ink in Rich Cocoa from Tsukineko

-Dark yellowy-orange ink – Memento Dew Drop Ink in Cantaloupe from Tsukineko

-Dark blue ink – Archival Cobalt Letter It Stamping Ink from Ranger

-Brown brads – Neutral Painted Brads from We R Memory Keepers

-Heathered beige coloured twill ribbon

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a wonderfully fun bicycle themed Mother’s Day card

Begin by making a card base from textured (or smooth) cream coloured cardstock. If working with smooth cardstock, you could also run it through an embossing folder with an understated design for some added texture as well (such as small dots, hearts, lines, leaves, flowers, or stars, for example).

Cut a piece of dark brown textured (or smooth) cardstock a touch smaller than your card base. Adhere.

Cut a piece of Jillibean Soup bicycle print paper slightly smaller than the dark brown cardstock layer. Ink all four sides (edges) of this piece of paper with Memento Dew Drop Cantaloupe Ink. Adhere to the dark brown cardstock layer.

Take the blue-on-blue floral print paper and cut a rectangle a little over 1/3^rd the width of your card base. Ink all four sides (edges) with Ranger Archival Cobalt Letter It Stamping Ink.

Adhere this piece of blue paper horizontally in the middle of the card layers that you have assembled thus far.

Cut a rectangle of dark brown textured (or smooth) cardstock slightly smaller than the piece of Jillibean Soup bicycle print paper.

Use the Fiskars Double Bubble border punch on the bottom edge of that piece of cardstock. Adhere piece to previous layers.

Cut a piece of cream/flax and brown coloured Graphic 45 paper slightly smaller than the previous (brown cardstock) layer. Use the same Fiskars border punch on the bottom of this piece of paper as well. Adhere this layer to the previous brown cardstock layer.

Next, insert brown We R Memory Keepers brads through the top and bottom corners of these two layers, as shown. Adhere this stack of two layers to the previous card base layers.

Cut a rectangle of dark brown cardstock and a slightly smaller rectangle of blue-on-blue floral print paper. Turn the bottom of each piece into a banner/bunting shape using the method described in the section immediately above these instructions.

Ink the piece of blue floral print paper on all sides/edges with dark blue Ranger ink.

Adhere floral print paper on the dark brown cardstock. Then, take a small piece of mustard yellow cardstock, use the Double Bubble border punch along its bottom edge and adhere this piece of cardstock in the uppermost portion of the “vee” shape of your banner/bunting layers.

Adhere these banner/bunting layers to the previous card layers.

Run a piece of heathered cream twill ribbon/trim across the middle of the card, tucking its ends beneath the first dark brown cardstock layer of this card’s design.

Create a bow from the same twill ribbon/trim and attach it on the lefthand side of the middle of the card, as shown.

Die cut an oval from mustard yellow cardstock. Adhere to previous card base layers.

Die cut an oval from dark brown cardstock and adhere it to the mustard yellow oval piece.

From the same Jillibean Soup bicycle print paper that we’ve already used, fussy cut a single bike and adhere it to the brown cardstock oval.

Die cut a label/tag shape from cream cardstock. Stamp the Happy Mother’s Day sentiment in the middle of it with dark brown ink. Attach a slightly smaller sized (if you have two different sizes on hand, if not another two of the same size that you already used is A-okay as well) brown brad to each end of the label/tag.

Lastly, adhere the label/tag so that it overlaps slightly with the centre bottom portion of the oval pieces.

That’s all there is to this splendidly sweet card that is perfect for biking fans, lovers of spring, nature enthusiasts and plenty of others as well.

Given its relative simplicity and the speed that it takes to make this card, it would be a good design if you needed to make multiples for an occasion or event (including invitations).

Let’s ride!

As much as I wish I could, riding has been beyond the scope of my health for about twenty years now.

One recent summer, thinking maybe, just maybe, I could bear the immense pain + symptom flare-ups that cycling causes some of my chronic illnesses, I purchased a bike and rode it a couple of times.

Sadly, that was all it took for me to realize that no amount of hoping and gritting my teeth through the discomfort was going to make that possible in the long run. So, with tears in my eyes and heart alike, the bike was swiftly returned to the shop from which it was bought.

Thus, while actually jumping on a bike and hitting the open road is not feasible for me, thankfully, I can still delight in cycling vicariously through Tony, my mom, and other relatives who are avid bikers.

Plus, I can enjoy the ride in spirit via fun paper crafting projects like this, watching cyclists zip through our region of the province (including as part of the annual Ironman Triathlon that is held each summer about two hours south of where we currently live), and care of the tales about their rides that loved ones regale me with throughout the sunny season.

Whether you are a keen cyclist, have (as I do) fond memories of riding earlier in your life, or just enjoy images of bikes, I encourage you to take to your stash and whip up a biking related project or two this year.

They suit spring and summer marvellously and can be an awesome way to make meaningful projects that tap into the interest of friends, relatives, colleges, neighbours, teachers – your name it!

Are you a bike rider yourself? Do you enjoy making cycling themed craft projects as well?

PS: To all those moms, stepmoms, grandmothers, and others of all genders who take on the role of being a mama, may you have a radiantly beautiful and abundantly happy Mother’s Day tomorrow.

The post Early Spring Coloured Bicycle Themed Mother’s Day Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

I glanced out the window at the signs of spring. The sky was almost blue, the trees were almost budding, the sun was almost bright. — Millard Kaufman

Some areas of the Northern Hemisphere are already wrapped in the warm embrace of early spring.

Others, including our corner of Western Canada, continue to experience the telltale biting chill and starkly snowy landscape of wintertime proper.

Yet, even if a late-season blizzard comes barreling into town, there are usually captivating stirrings of the season that we are sitting on the precipice of. And that, for those who enjoy spring at least, is certainly a happiness-sparking prospect.

There is not a time in my life when I cannot remember madly adoring butterflies (and moths, too, for that matter – assuming they aren’t turning the contents of my closet into their own personal buffet! ).

It goes without saying that I am far from alone on that front. Countless others throughout the course of human history have been fascinated by butterflies and their immense beauty.

Items depicting or shaped like butterflies never seem to go out of style – and I highly doubt they ever will.

Though, that said, there have certainly been periods when butterfly-themed items experienced a notable spike in popularity.

One such time was the late 1990s and very early 2000, a point in history when I was in my teenage years.

From those super-easy-to-accidentally-bend-open-to-the-point-where-they-break mini butterfly hair clips to butterfly print tees (bonus Y2K points if they were cropped) to the revealing rhinestone covered Emmanuel Ungaro butterfly-shaped top that Mariah Carey famously wore to the VH9’s Divas 2000 tribute to Diana Ross, butterflies were landing everywhere and we could not get enough of them!

These days, with some of the fashions from that era enjoying their own moment in the sartorial spotlight, we are seeing butterflies appear a bit more often again in the clothing and accessory world. Right down to a Gen Z-led revival of those aforementioned butterfly hair clips.

And why not? Fashion was a blast back then. It could be glam and gorgeous, but it could also be silly, fun, girly, sporty, preppy, retro, OTT, sometimes futuristically inspired, and a million other things.

Though I am not slipping on a pair of wide-legged jeans that drag on the ground beneath my chunky (black) platform slip-on sandals, nor rocking a messy bun full of darling butterfly clips atop my head these days, my lifelong passion for butterflies is still going strong.

Butterflies are often one of the first harbingers of spring’s return. Their mosaic-like patterned wings flapping gracefully by our suddenly-once-again-open windows, taking said butterflies to land on the nearest flower, leaf, or other spot they wish to visit.

Recently, I found myself yearning to see real live butterflies again. Alas though, when I looked outside, the only thing fluttering around in the sky was a fresh load of snowflakes.

Knowing that I wanted to make a least one Ostara papercraft project this year, the idea quickly struck me to create one centred around the theme of butterflies.

As a big fan of these beautiful insects, I have numerous craft products that star their depiction. Therefore, I knew this project would not require much rifling around to find the products that I had in mind.

Once I had located them, I made like a busy butterfly and quickly set to work whipping up this vibrant, dynamic springtime greeting card.

Delightful butterfly-themed Ostara shaker card

While not a hard and fast rule by any means, generally speaking, it is somewhat rare for me to craft with the cheery, confectionary-worthy palette of spring – particularly outside of that season itself.

I tend to favour darker tones and autumn + winter palettes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy dipping my proverbial proboscis in the nectar that is spring’s upbeat hues from time to time.

Having selected the butterfly print papers that I would use on this project, I let them guide the remainder of the colour palette that I utilized here.

It is undeniably a bright, fun one. But it is toned down a touch by some mellow, sun-baked shades as well as hits of both navy blue and black.

I wanted a warm palette that was at once soothing and energizing at the same time, as that is a combo I often associate with spring itself.

This same menagerie of hues could very easily be used for craft projects intended for later in the spring, too, as well as those throughout the summer. Heck, I think it would even suit Mabon/the Fall Equinox as well.

Though there are a fair number of different colours at play on this card, I made sure to repeat some of them two or more times throughout its design so as to help create a cohesive overall look.

For example, there are three different areas of both pink ombre paper and dark gold metallic cardstock, four of light green cardstock, and some of the fussy cut butterflies are repeated as well.

In addition, all of those fussy cut butterflies have a twinkling line of Diamond (coloured) Stickles running down their thoraxes, thus unifying this bevy of winged friends all the more.

My choice of sequins colours echoes some of the shades found in many of the other elements of this card. This in turn helps them to look all the more coordinated.

This card design – for all that is going on here – is actually quite versatile.

For example, you could easily swap out the “Happy Ostara” sentiment for one pertaining to Easter, Beltane, Mother’s Day, Litha, Lammas, Mabon, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, christenings, graduations, retirement, bon voyage, good luck, congratulations, and scores of other events and reasons.

And if you are not feeling the palette, keep the general design but sub in a colour scheme of your choosing.

Products used to make this charming springtime butterfly shaker card

-Light green cardstock – Soft Tones 8.5”x11” Cardstock from Paper Accents

-Dark metallic gold cardstock – Foil Cardstock Paper from Recollections (Michael’s brand)

-All printed papers used in this project – Conservatory 12”x12” Paper Pad from Craft Smith (Michael’s brand)

-Clear acetate

-Smaller sized scalloped edge rectangular die

-Oval die – Nestabilities Classic Oval Dies from Spellbinders

-Larger sized scalloped edge rectangular die – Nestabilities Lattice Rectangles from Spellbinders

-Small butterfly cut out rectangle die (from AliExpress)

-Dark blue/navy blue ink – Memento Dew Drop Nautical Blue Ink from Tsukineko

-Iridescent clear glitter glue – Diamond (Glitter Glue) from Stickles

-“Happy” word sticker – Soup Labels Farmhouse Stew (Word) Stickers from Jillibean Soup

-Small black and clear letter stickers – Mambi Sticks Clear Stickers from Me & My Big Ideas

-Green and gold sequins mix – Evergreen Sparkle from Pretty Pink Posh

-Micro-sized gold heart-shaped sequins – Unnamed product from Pretty Pink Posh

-Pin sequins – Princess Sequins from Craft Medley

-White lace trim

-Peachy-pink crochet trim – Stella & Rose Hazel Memories Trim from My Mind’s Eye

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a beautiful butterfly themed shaker card for Ostara/The Spring Equinox

Begin by making a card base from light green cardstock (if you do not have light green, white cardstock would look lovely here as well).

Cut a piece of white lace trim the vertical length of the card base. Adhere on the left-hand side of the card base so that this trim extends out beyond the card base itself.

From the Conservatory paper pad, cut a piece of (white background) butterfly print border strip paper. Ink it on all four sides with dark blue or navy blue ink. Mat it with a piece of ever-so-slightly larger (than that strip) pink ombre print paper.

Layer and adhere this matted border piece along the left-hand side of the card, overlapping it somewhat with the white trim layer.

Cut a piece of gold metallic cardstock a little bit smaller than your card base. Cut two equal-sized pieces of peachy-pink crochet trim that are the length of the top and bottom of the gold metallic cardstock. Adhere trim to the underside of the top and bottom of that piece of gold cardstock, then adhere the cardstock to the card base.

Next, cut a piece of pink ombre paper (this paper, like all others used throughout this project, hails from the Craft Smith 12”x12” Conservatory paper pad; this is not a terribly old paper pad, so it may still be available at some Michael’s locations) just a tiny bit smaller than the gold cardstock layer. Adhere to gold cardstock layer.

Cut a piece of dark blue + multicolour butterfly print paper a whisper smaller than the previous layer. Adhere to the previous layer.

Next, cut out the border strip that says, “Happiness Blooms Within”. Mat it with an ever-so-slightly larger (than that strip) piece of the same light green cardstock you used for your card base.

Adhere the border strip to the green cardstock and then, using foam tape, pop dots, or a similar dimensional adhesive product, adhere the green cardstock to the far left-hand edge of the previous (butterfly print paper) layer.

Using the larger of the two scalloped edge rectangular dies, cut a rectangle from the pink ombre print paper. Then use the oval die to cut an oval aperture in the middle of that piece. Back the aperture with a piece of the same light green cardstock that you used for the card base. Adhere this scalloped rectangle piece to your previous layers.

Use the smaller of the two scalloped edge rectangle dies (mine comes with an oval opening in the center already; if yours does not, cut an oval the same size as the one on the previous layer in the center of that rectangular piece) to cut a rectangle from metallic gold cardstock.

Cut a small oval-shaped piece of clear acetate and adhere it to the back of the metallic gold rectangle.

Adhere the gold rectangle (with acetate) to the pink ombre rectangle so that the two ovals are perfectly aligned.

Flip that layered piece over and add in the various colours and shapes of sequins.

Use foam to create a border all the way around the oval shaker element opening. Carefully bring the green cardstock + ombre pink layer to the foam adhesive, gingerly apply some pressure to really stick the foam adhesive in place (as we don’t want any sequin going rouge and escaping our shaker! )

Next, measure and cut a piece of the same white trim that you used earlier so that it is the length of the pink ombre layer. Then cut that piece of trim in half, if so desired (only half of it will be showing, so why not save the other half for use on a different project?). Adhere the white trim to the underside of the bottom of the pink ombre layer.

Follow that up by adhering that rectangle layer “stack” to your previous card base layers.

Cut out a label piece using light green cardstock and the small rectangular-shaped butterfly (cut out) label die. Mat this piece with an ever-so-slightly larger piece of gold metallic cardstock. Adhere together.

Then adhere that “stack” a little bit below the central (rectangular layers), so that some of the dark blue + multicolour butterfly print paper is visible between the two-layered areas, as shown.

Use the “happy’ word sticker and black + clear letter stickers to spell out “Happy Ostara” (or the similar-sized sentiment of your choosing).

Take a piece of butterfly print paper from the Conservatory paper pad and fussy cut out several different sizes and colours of butterflies. Adhere them around the card as shown (or however you wish to place them).

Then cut out duplicates of a few of the butterflies. Apply adhesive down the middle of the backside of those butterflies. Gently bend their wings upward a bit, then adhere them down on their corresponding “flat” butterfly layers.

Lastly, take your iridescent glitter glue (be it Stickles or otherwise) and with a light touch, apply a small line down the thorax (middle vertical area) of each butterfly.

I know that the above instructs are a bit lengthy, but in reality, this project is not (IMO) very tricky and it does not take terribly long to complete. The most time-consuming part, by far, is fussy cutting the butterflies out.

I adore fussy cutting, so do not mind. However, if it isn’t your favourite activity or if using scissors for a long time is difficult for you due to health (or any other) reasons, you could use similar sized premade butterfly die cuts, chipboard pieces, butterfly die cuts that you make yourself, punched butterflies, or stickers here instead.

This festive Ostara/Spring Equinix/Easter card is a pleasure to both make and bestow upon someone special in your life – especially if they are a big fan of butterflies.

Ostara – like springtime sunshine – returns with gusto!

North of the equator, March houses the Spring Equinox. From that day onward until the Summer Solstice we will be surrounded by the beauty, gentle warmth, and the general air of happiness that is inherent to spring.

On – or in the general vicinity of – the Spring Equinox, a fair number of witches/Wiccans/Pagans opt to observe the calendar year’s second sabbat: Ostara.

A lively, hope-filled celebration of the earth’s reawakening, new life, new beginnings, optimism, and much more, Ostara is, for many, a jubilant sabbat that bounds into our life as merrily as a baby lamb.

If you are not familiar with, or would like to read more about, Ostara, I welcome you to do so via the following entries that I have previously penned about this sabbat:

–10 Free and Low-Cost Ways to Celebrate Ostara

–35 Wonderful Ostara Crafts, DIY Projects, and Décor Ideas for The Spring Equinox

–Ostara Candle Spell for Clarity and Renewal (Guest post that I wrote for TheWitchofLupineHollow.com)

While relatively few who are not witches/Pagans observe Ostara in its 21st-century iteration, many individuals – regardless of their spiritual path – enjoy celebrating the return of spring.

The upcoming Equinox is a stellar time to do just that.

A lot of people in my life were born in the spring and numerous loved ones – including my mom and her only sister – rank springtime as their favourite season.

They are far from the minority there, as spring takes top billing for scores of folks around the world.

It is not hard to see why. After months of freezing temps, long hours of darkness, and the need to wear more layers than you’d find on mille crepe cake, many of us are champing at the bit for even the slightest degree of warmth.

Our patience is, thankfully, rewarded sooner or later. And then, after a few sun-kissed days, as if by magic, we often all but forget the lengthy cold spell that we just endured.

Suddenly our lives are illuminated in fresh, wonderful ways again. And while we know that winter will eventually return, for now, we are as far away seasonally from that point as one can possibly be.

And that, if you ask me, is worth celebrating and sending out a butterfly-themed card or two in honour of!

Additional gift of mini butterfly hairclips, 100% optional!

Do you equate butterflies with the return of spring (or autumn, if you live south of the equator)? What is one of your favourite things about the upcoming sunny season?

The post Delightful Butterfly-Themed Happy Ostara Shaker Card for the Spring Equinox appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

You will have to experiment and try things out for yourself and you will not be sure of what you are doing. That’s alright, you are feeling your way into the thing. ~ Emily Carr

The card in today’s post is definitely one that I feel falls under the header of what (fellow) British Columbian and world-renowned early 20th-century artist Emily Carr was speaking about in the quote above.

I’m not going to lie, this isn’t my absolute favourite card I’ve ever made. However, I do not dislike it and the more time that passes since I created it, the more this spring themed project is growing on me.

Thus far, I don’t have a lot experience when it comes to using pencil crayons with stamped images – let alone ones on black cardstock.

In setting out to do so here, I knew that I wanted to go for a soft, chalkboard-like look to the way the pencil crayon colour lay on the black cardstock. Happily, I feel like that was achieved.

The inspiration for this card lay in springtime itself (with the colour palette here tapping squarely into Springoween) and in various Victorian design elements.

Make no bones about it, I am not saying this card is not authentically Victorian looking. It most certainly is not. But it was inspired by various styles, colours, and textures of that era.

Actually, when all was said and done and I stepped back to look at this card (something I do with all of my paper crafting projects, as I find it helps me gauge if I need to change and/or add anything before calling a given project complete), I was struck by how it looked both a bit 19^th century and somewhat 1980s at the same time.

Hey, why not? I adore both of those time periods and am all for a fun, creative merging of the two.

This card was an experimental one for me and that’s totally okay. Not everything we create is destined to be our personal favourite, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn and grow (our skills) from it. Nor, just as importantly, that our recipient won’t appreciate the end result just as much as if it was our all-time favourite make.

Victorian Inspired Pencil Crayon on Black Cardstock Spring Greetings Card

On top of the inspiration mentioned above, the stunning Arabesque Medallion Stamp from Altenew (a wonderfully kind gift from a fellow paper crafting friend in the States) was a jumping-off point for this card.

The flowers in its design s struck me as being perfect for spring and were all but begging to be coloured with pencil crayon. Who am I to argue?

The sentiment stamp that I used here is not part of the Altenew Arabesque set. It is from a run-of-the-mill quality AliExpress spring-themed stamp set.

Unfortunately, as with many fine/small sentiment stamps (especially inexpensive ones), the size and intricacy of the stamps that I used for the embossed sentiment have a somewhat blurry end result. This is particularly noticeable in the portion of the sentiment that says “greetings”.

I’m not wild about that fact, but it looks a touch less pronounced in person, so I can live with it. I just wanted to mention that point here so that you don’t think my photos themselves are out of focus.

And, in the same vein, I am aware that despite prepping my black cardstock, a little bit of stray silver embossing powder stuck to the cardstock surrounding the Arabesque Medallion Stamp design.

Not much though, luckily, which is great. And honestly, in an appreciated bit of happenstance, it actually seems to help telegraph the look of chalk on a chalkboard all the more.

Also in person, the tulle trim and the colour of the (pencil crayon coloured) leaves in the stamped image are closer in tone than they rendered in these photos.

As I wanted to ensure that the stamped image remained the star of the show on this card, I didn’t embellish it nearly as much as I do many of my other cards.

Instead, I opted for numerous layers of cardstock, three different trims, and a pretty pink pearl flourish.

Even with the colouring, this card was quite quick to make (about three hours from start to finish) and I did sincerely enjoy colouring on black cardstock.

While not the first time I’ve done so, it’s been a number of years since I last partnered the two and this project helped to remind me of just how enjoyable an act that can be.

(Note: I did not use a colourless blender pencil, gamsol, or any other blending products with my pencil crayon colouring here. I simply laid down and lightly overlapped, in some areas, the colours and left them at that to heighten the chalk colouring look I was aiming for.)

Products used to make this elegant stamped and embossed spring card

-Black cardstock

-Pinky-light purple cardstock

-Light blue cardstock

-White cardstock

-Silver metallic cardstock

-Nested scalloped edge rectangle shaped die set

-Corner rounder punch – 10mm Corner Rounder Punch from X Cut

-Assorted colours of pencil crayons (I used Prismacolor Premier Pencil Crayons on this project)

-Large floral medallion design stamp – Arabesque Medallion Stamp from Altenew

-Springtime sentiment stamp

-Watermark (or other embossing suitable) clear ink – Watermark Stamp Ink Pad from Versa Mark

-Silver embossing powder – Silver Embossing Powder from Ranger

-Heat embossing tool

-Pink pearl flourish – Self Adhesive Pearl Flourish from Zva Creative

-Dusty teal-grey coloured tulle trim – Trendsetter Designer Trim from Webster’s Pages

-Grey crochet trim – Artsy-licious Kohl Splendid Ribbon from Chatter Box

-Narrow black velvet ribbon – Artsy-licious Kohl Splendid Ribbon from Chatter Box

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a springtime card using coloured pencils on black cardstock

Begin by making a card base from black cardstock. Cut successively slightly smaller pieces of pinky-purple, black, white, and black (again) cardstock, respectively. Adhere together and then adhere to the card base.

Cut pieces of white, pinky-purple, and light blue cardstock a little smaller than the width of your card base. Round the corners of each of these pieces, then adhere them one on top of each other. Adhere this layer to the back of your card base (aka, the back of the card).

If you wish, you can then cut a larger piece of cardstock or patterned paper of your choosing to cover the back of the card and (somewhat) camouflage where the cardstock is attached.

Alternatively, you could place the rounded corner layers beneath the first cardstock layer on top of your card.

Next, cut a piece of black cardstock slightly larger than the Altenew Arabesque Medallion Stamp.

Prep the black cardstock for embossing by using an embossing bag or similar antistatic tool.

Stamp the Arabesque Medallion Stamp in watermark ink. Top with silver embossing powder and heat emboss.

Using a selection of at least two different shades (one lighter, one darker) per colour, select pencil crayons in springtime-y shades of blue, pinky-purple, yellow, and green.

Colour in portions of the stamped and embossed Arabesque Medallion Stamp design as shown in the photos throughout this post, or however you desire.

Once you have completed your colouring, die cut a frame from silver metallic cardstock that leaves most, or all, of your stamped and coloured image visible. Adhere the frame to that piece of black cardstock and then attach the two combined layers to your existing cardstock base layers with foam squares, foam tape, or dimensional pop dots.

Adhere a pink pearl flourish to the lower left-hand side of the card design.

At the top of the card base, adhere a piece of silver metallic cardstock die cut with the same frame die that you used to surround your coloured image (you only need to die cut one of the four sides of the die here) and a strip grey crochet trim.

Towards the bottom of the card base, adhere a piece of grey-blue tulle trim topped with a strip of narrow black velvet ribbon and a piece of the same grey crochet trim.

Using two of the smaller sizes from the nested die set, die cut a piece of black cardstock and a piece of silver cardstock. Adhere together. Position both so that they create a diamond shape, as shown.

Prep the black cardstock for embossing, stamp your sentiment using watermark ink, and emboss with silver embossing powder.

Attach your sentiment “diamond” to the lower lefthand corner of your card using dimensional foam or a similar dimensional adhesive.

If you wish, arrange some of the pink pearl flourish so that it overlaps with the sentiment piece.

And there you have it, one eye-catchingly unique springtime card design created using a stamped and coloured image on black cardstock.

Making springtime cards while the sun shines

Much as the classic expression “make hay while the sun shines” reminds us to seize and utilize the moment, so too does each season encourage us to celebrate it with creative projects of all types.

I’ve felt even more pulled towards creating springtime cards this year than I have in ages. However, as the current season is starting to wind down, I’ll soon be shifting my paper crafting focus to summer and fall makes.

And, honestly, it wouldn’t hurt to get a jump on my winter holiday season projects, too – though I might be getting ahead of myself a tad there!

And, while I’m at it, this summer I’m planning to embrace Emily Carr’s words all the more and dip my toes into the pool of experimentation on a regular basis.

Why not hop in with me? The water is warm and, at the end of the day, even if an experiment is a total write-off, chances are you learned something and may have developed some of your paper crafting skills further in the process.

That is a win in my books, regardless of how your project turns out. (Plus – and trust me on this – we are often far harsher critics of our own skills and projects than most others ever would be of our work.)

The post Victorian Inspired Pencil Crayon on Black Cardstock Spring Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Of course, most of us are wild for a sizable array of techniques and products and it would likely not be feasible to include all of them in just one make.

Sometimes though, a project is able to house quite a few of your favourites and the end result is a card (or layout, mini album, tag, etc) that you not only love, but which has an innate ability to feel perfectly in line with your present crafting style.

The cheery and charming springtime card featured in this post is precisely one of those projects for me.

Ample layers and embellishments? Check!

A shaker element? Check!

Distress, inking, and general shabby chicness? Check!

Flower and leaves? Check!

Seam binding? Check!

And so on and so forth.

In short, this card is jam-packed with many of my favourite paper crafting materials and supplies (not to mention colours), and is a project that I’m truly delighted with in terms of how it turned out.

I created this shabby chic card as a general springtime thinking of you greeting, but it could just as easily work (with or without a relevant sentiment added) for everything from Ostara to Easter, Beltane to Mother’s Day, birthdays to anniversaries, get well cards to a baby shower greeting.

Items used to this beautiful spring flower card

-White cardstock

-Green cardstock

-Pearlized (or plain) dark berry red cardstock – Cranberry Zing cardstock from My Colors Cardstock

-Double sided houndstooth and floral print paper – Vintage Autumn Basics No. III from Maja Design

-Floral postage stamp print paper – Bloom Collection Petal Postage from Graphic 45

-Clear acetate

-Ornate frame die with coordinating corner dies (in this case, I used the A2 Filigree Delight Die from Spellbinders)

-Small leaf or vine die

-Dark purply-burgundy coloured ink – Gothic Purple Ink from StazOn

-Plum coloured sequins – from Pretty Pink Posh (product not specially named on its packaging)

-Earthy green coloured sequins

-Plummy-pink sequins

-Pink metallic flakes – from Craft Décor (found at various dollar stores; product not specifically named)

-Small burgundy and white or cream paper roses

-White seam binding

-White cotton eyelet lace (or other white lace/trim of your choosing)

-Stamp edge decorative edge scissors – Paper Edgers Stamp Scissors from Fiskars

-Green embroidery thread

-Purple heart shaped buttons, pale purple rhinestones, and aged brass metal heart charm piece all from the Gorjuss Charm Pack from the brand Santoro London

-Glue gun and glue sticks (optional but handy for attaching embellishments)

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a layered and detailed shabby chic springtime card

Begin by making a card base from plain white cardstock (earthy shades of green, taupe/very light brown, cream, plum, and whisper soft pink tones would all be lovely choices as well).

Cut a piece of pearlized berry coloured cardstock slightly smaller than your card base and lightly distress the edges of this piece.

Cut a piece of houndstooth patterned paper slightly smaller than the berry cardstock and likewise distress its edges. Adhere that paper to the berry cardstock and attach to your card base.

Next, cut a piece of green cardstock a touch smaller than the houndstooth print paper. Ink the edges of the green cardstock with dark purply-burgundy StazOn ink.

Use postage stamp edged decorative edge scissors to cut out a piece of floral print paper that’s a little smaller than the green cardstock.

Ink the edges of the floral print paper with the same StazOn ink, then adhere it to the green cardstock piece and adhere that to the houndstooth print paper.

To make the shaker element, die cut your ornate frame from pearlized berry colour cardstock. Cut a piece of the houndstooth print paper to the same size as the frame. This piece will be the background of your shaker element.

Cut out the word “Bloom” from the Graphic 45 Bloom Collection Petal Postage paper and adhere it to the houndstooth print paper, as shown.

Cut a piece of clear acetate so that it fully covers the oval portion of the frame (there is no need for it to extend beyond that portion of the frame) and adhere to said frame.

Create a barrier with foam tape or foam pads around the oval window portion of the frame. Fill with sequins.

Remove foam tape backing and adhere the houndstooth print paper background piece to the shaker frame (bring the background to the frame, not the other way around, so as to not have your sequins mix fall out and potentially go everywhere).

Attach the shaker piece to the floral print paper layer using foam tape or dots, for an added hit of height and dimension.

Create two small rectangles of green cardstock, ink the edges of each piece, and top both with the same floral print paper. Place one at an angle towards the top of your card and one at an angle below the shaker element, as shown in the pictures throughout the post.

Attach a piece of white eyelet lace just below the shaker layer.

Next, fussy cut several floral postage stamp pieces from Graphic 45 Bloom Collection Petal Postage paper, as well as a strip of four continuous stamp images from the same paper.

Attach that strip immediately below the shaker element, allowing it to overlap somewhat with the white eyelet lace.

Arrange the fussy cut stamp images at lovely angles around both the left and the right side of the shaker element.

Once attached, intersperse small cream and burgundy coloured paper roses, two purple heart buttons (one on each side) laced with green embroidery thread, two pale purple rhinestone hearts, and some leaves/vines die cut from green cardstock amongst and/or behind the postage stamp pieces.

From the same stamp print paper, fussy cut two small butterflies, gently bending their wings upwards for an added sense of dimension. Attach one butterfly on each side of the shaker frame.

Die cut two ornate photo corner pieces from the berry coloured cardstock and attack them behind the layers on the front of your card, roughly at the halfway point of the overall design.

Lastly, make a multi-loop bow from white seam binding (I pre-crinkled mine before starting this project; it is not imperative that your seam binding me crinkled to work here).

Attach this bow to the middle of the card, just below the shaker frame. Top with an aged brass-coloured metal heart charm (or another embellishment of your choosing).

And just like that, your shabby chic springtime floral greeting card is complete.

Spring has officially bloomed on our end!

After a long, cold Canadian winter that began in mid-October and saw our final snowfall of the season on April 10^th, spring was the most welcome of returning visitors this year!

As much as I do favour the colder half of the year in many ways, I love spring and summer for a multitude of reasons as well.

There is something to be said for not risking frostbite when you step outside, daylight that lingers well past the dinner hour, and the vibrancy and optimism inherent to the warmer months.

This card was created to celebrate all those points – very much including the abundance of new blooms that are once again returning around these parts.

Another of my paper crafting favourites has long been the well-known brand Graphic 45, and their elegant cut-apart floral postage stamp print paper was a delightful way to inject even more floral charm into this shabby chic springtime project.

Spring is typically very short-lived in our area. Chances are we’ll likely experience summertime weather before May has wrapped up (it is not without good reason that the Victoria Day long weekend is often referred to as the unofficial start of summer here in Canada).

All the more cause to make and send springtime greetings while the sun is shining, birds are chirping, gardens are coming alive, and the joyful energy of this all too brief season is still going strong.

I hope that spring (or autumn, for my lovely readers south of the equator) has likewise sprung on your end at this point and that you have a safe, beautiful May – complete with blooms aplenty, be they the real deal or of the paper crafting variety.

The post Layered and Detailed Shabby Chic Springtime “Bloom” Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Each of our answers to these questions is apt to vary. They hold some universal similarities, however, and attest to the fact that a good many of us, especially those who are presently self-isolating, are missing loved ones, be they near or far right now.

The majority of my own (small) family, lives within about a three-hour radius from our home. As we’re all isolating though, we haven’t been able to get together for several weeks now and it’s anyone’s guess as to when doing so will be possible again.

My family is far from alone in this boat. It’s a scenario that many of us are experiencing right now and is, for some people, proving to be amongst the most difficult aspects of life as it presently exists.

I’m missing my relatives something fierce and have begun making thinking of you cards to send to some of them, as the pandemic stretches ever onward.

Recently I whipped up this eye-catching, generously sized thinking of you card for a younger member of our family who is the picture of au courant style, modernity, and hip personal taste.

Well before this thinking of you card came into being, the moment I saw Carta Bella’s chic, gorgeous Spring Market collection, its imagery and colour palette made me think of this person, so I knew it would be just the ticket for a card destined for them.

Modern shabby chic thinking of you card

What is modern shabby chic?

Glad you asked!

While I doubt there’s an official definition chiselled in stone anywhere, I personally tend to view it as a 21st century adaptation of the classic shabby chic style that has a youthful, slightly less vintage centred aesthetic to it.

Feminine details (such as flowers, gingham, ribbon and bows) can still be present, as can pale colours, but this take on shabby chic welcomes you to use darker hues, modern patterns, and fun, quirky details (oversized plastic fern, anyone?) as well.

Were we talking home décor, you might even find some industrial or Scandi details thrown into the mix, and of course they can come out to play on your paper crafting projects as well.

I hesitate to call it the millennial take on shabby chic, but objectively, that would be a fair way to describe it, if one was so inclined.

This is a big card. Perhaps the tallest I’ve ever made. While plenty of store bought cards measure eight inches or taller, we don’t tend to see nearly as many oversized cards in the handmade card world.

I tend to favour larger cards to begin with, so upping the height of mine a bit more than (my) usual wasn’t tricky at all.

I won’t be reaching for a card base this size every day, of course, but every now and then it can be heaps of fun to play with a larger card front that almost feels a bit like a small LO or a good sized mini album page.

The sentiment cut-apart piece was the jumping-off point for the colour palette and embellishments that I used here. A mix of white, pink, red, soft green, light browns, and eye-catching black, as well as a few hits of light cream peppered throughout the design.

Putting this feminine thinking of you card together

To start with, I created a generously sized card base out of basic white cardstock, followed by various layers of patterned paper and coloured cardstock.

I then mixed harmoniously hued patterned papers from the same collection here to add to the stylish modern feel of this design.

Two heart-shaped doilies (one red, one white), an ornate die cut rectangle and its respective frame (from glossy black cardstock), tags cut out of patterned paper, the sentiment piece, and some die cut grey and light brown branches/springs came next.

Once those elements were in place, I added a green plastic fern leaf, some paper flowers in various sizes and colours, a skinny text print strip (at the bottom of the card), and a few grey enamel dots to pick up the grey that appears in some of the other elements on this card (including the sentiment piece).

Unlike a lot of my makes, where I scrutinize every last detail, rearrange things multiple times, and generally take hours to create a single card, I took a much more devil-may-care approach, if you will, here and went with my first instincts on the entire design.

I have to say, it was both strange and liberating feeling to put something down and essentially let it live there when all was said and done. While I didn’t glue my card elements in place until I was pleased with the final design, again, I did take things easy and let the moment guide me.  

This wasn’t a card that felt like it needed to be over thought to death and I rather love that about it. 

Card making tips and ideas from this project

–Use the negatives (borders/areas left after you cut out a die cut shape) from your die cuts on your projects. While some might not work well in this capacity, others, especially when they create frames or easily recognizable shapes definitely can be used and they are a great way to get extra mileage out of your paper and card stock stash.

-Raid the artificial flower selection of dollar, craft, houseware, and big box stores for materials to use in your paper crafting projects.

Plastic, fabric, and silk versions of leaves, ferns, branches, and blooms can all be put to work on cards, layouts and other projects. Plus, in some cases, you may be able to get more flowers (or leaves, etc) for your money than with similar pre-packaged selections from paper crafting brands.

–Let ornate doilies do the job of die cuts. You could easily use ornate (circular, heart-shaped, mandala, etc) die cuts here, if you wished, but as I had two lovely, fancy heart-shaped doilies on hand in colours that worked fabulously with my project, I opted to put them to work on this make.

And remember, you can altar the colour of many white or variously coloured doilies, if needed. I didn’t do so here, but had I wanted to, things such as light layers of spray ink, pencil crayons (colour pencils), pastels, chalk, ink, paint, glitter, and embossing power would have been ways of going about doing so.

-Repeat motifs in different sizes and materials. Here, the two heart-shaped doilies are joined by a dimensional cream coloured wicker heart to create that trusty design standard: an uneven number of similar elements.

-To convey a sense of shabby chic, tear or otherwise distress some of your papers and/or cardstock, as I did with one of the pattern paper layers.

-A card like this can get mighty busy, mighty fast, so aim for cohesiveness in your colour palette, pattern sizes, and the types of embellishments that you use.

-Sending or hand delivering bouquets or arrangements of actual flowers to perk up their day might not be possible at present, but we can convey a similar sense of floral cheer by including blooms of all sizes, shapes, colours, styles and designs on our cards.

-While I didn’t do so here, a card of this nature would take kindly to things such as a splattering of paint, gouache, or spray ink, if you fancied.

Products used to make this layered, contemporary style card

-White, dark red, light grey and light brown cardstock

-Glossy black cardstock – Glossy Black Mirror Card from Tonic Studios

-Various patterned papers – Spring Market 6×6 inch paper pad from Carta Bella

-Floral tag cut-aparts – Spring Market Floral Tags from Carta Bella

-Ornate frame die

-Branch, spring or slender leaf die(s)

-White and red paper doilies (or similar die cut hearts)

-Assorted sizes of black, pink, red, white and/or cream flowers

-Plastic fern, leaf or branch (or similar die cut piece)

-Cream or white coloured woven wicker heart (dollar stores, craft stores, eBay and AliExpress can be good sources for these kinds of woven heart embellishments)

-Grey enamel dots – Classic SS728D Enamel Dot Stickers from Forever In Time

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

Thinking of you cards are like hugs in our mailboxes

Given that a good many of us are presently in isolation, I realize that popping out to the mailbox (unless perhaps you have one located right near your house; which we do not) isn’t the easiest or potentially safest of tasks. As such, ending our handmade thinking of you cards out may not be a breeze right now.

If you are leaving your house, be it regularly or occasionally, that does make things simpler. If not, one option is to make cards and then take photographs or videos of them, sending those pics or vids to the respective recipients of your greetings.

When dashing out to the mailbox becomes feasible again, you can then post your greetings with a heartfelt personal message inside letting that person know how much they are (or were, if it’s after the fact) on your mind during the pandemic.

And, if applicable, perhaps inviting them together again once it’s safe to do so.

While I do plan to post this card on a future (rare) excursion out of the house, in general, that’s my approach between mailbox trips right now.

There are few things more heartwarming or meaningful than knowing you’re on the mind of someone who cares about you.

If you have the chance, I highly encourage you to whip up a few thinking of you, missing you, just because or similar types of cards for your loved ones to convey precisely that message.

Your thoughtfulness will brighten their day and hopefully help them to feel like the circumstances that are presently keeping you apart are a bit easier to bear.

Project share

Pin the image below – or any other in this post – to Pinterest, pop it into your Instagram Stories, post in on Twitter or Facebook, or share it anywhere else you wish to help yourself find it again and to inspire others at the same time.

If you make a project based on or inspired by this card – or want to share any of your other handmade crafts with me – please use the hashtags #WitchcraftedLife and #WitchcraftedLifeMakes on social media so that I see can your beautiful creations.

The post Modern Shabby Chic Thinking of You Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Winter is still holding on for dear life here in our woodland corner of British Columbia, but even with the lingering mountains of snow and nights that dip below freezing, it is nearly impossible not to sense spring’s return and to beam like the very sun itself over that fact.

The first two months of 2020 were heavy ones for our household and family. So much so, that in some respects, it feels like we’ve lived two years since the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve and the first year of the new decade sprang into being.

Amongst the thorns and uncertainties, challenges and obstacles of life, there have been numerous positives too, however, and I am wholeheartedly grateful for each of them.

Spring began to gently stir back around Imbolc and while it has yet to awake fully yet here, I know that we’re not too far away from that point.

As much as I adore the darker half of the year that houses fall and winter, I’m quick to usher in springtime all the same – even if it often feels as though it only lasts for about 5.74 seconds here in Canada.

This year, I’m getting a head start on my seasonal paper crafting projects and am delighted to share the first one of 2020 here with you today.

Shabby chic Be Amazing Springtime bird’s nest card

In for a penny, in for a pound, I’m keen on saying and that motto often applies with my seasonal paper crafting projects.

Once the creative springtime ball got rolling, there was no stopping me with this card. Flowers, leaves, whimsical little toadstools, butterfly ephemera pieces, soft hues paired with earthy kraft brown, tiny birds, and the piece de resistance (to my mind at least), the die cut bird’s nest.

I had the upcoming sabbat of Ostara in mind as I was creating this card, but did not include direct mention of either it or Easter, as I wanted this to be a card that I could send to a wide number of possible recipients (not all of whom observe one or both of those special days).

Yet by the same token, this design is 100% suitable for either occasion and the sentiment I stamp or write inside can easily be tailored to suit Ostara or Easter.

There’s nothing to say this card couldn’t be used for Beltane, too – especially if you live in a part of the world where spring doesn’t tend to appear in full force until around the start of May.

Or, perhaps with a different sentiment on the front, for Mother’s Day as well. (Adjust the colours if needed to reflect your mom or grandma’s personal favourites.)

Stop and smell the roses while you craft

Fun fact, like most of the cards I make, this one took several hours to complete. I am a methodical crafter and will often spread the creation of a single project out over the course of multiple days (especially since it isn’t always feasible for me to craft for extended periods of time in one go).

I delight in the process. In mixing and matching possible products to include, in how I arrange the end results, in seeing something tangible materialize before my eyes.

This card was no exception and while it was completed in a single day (a rarity, I assure you!), the journey from bringing my (plastic) bone folder down on the kraft cardstock base to the very last embellishment was a soothing, wonderful pleasure.

There is no right or wrong speed to craft at, of course. Some people seem to have an almost superhuman ability to create multiple detailed projects in a single day, others, like myself, work at a slower pace and may spread their work out across multiple crafting sessions. Plenty fall squarely in the middle.

Whatever speed or pace you tend to craft at, I encourage you to actively remember to savour the act of creating. Try to ensure that crafting continues to feel like you’re making artwork (which you are!), not simply working at breakneck speed on one project before plowing straight on to the next without taking time to delight in the creative process and the end result that you’ve spun into being with your own hands.

With spring’s return looming in the Western Hemisphere, now seems like an especially apt time to stop and smell the roses as we delve into a new season of crafting and enjoying the fabulous passion that is paper crafting.

Putting this beautiful springtime card together

A base of classic kraft cardstock – a perineal favourite of many a paper crafter the world over – kicked things off for this card.

Next, I layered a piece of cream/ivory cardstock slightly smaller than the size of the kraft base atop the base itself. This was followed by, once again, a slightly smaller layer. In this instance, a piece of cheerful green and cream polka dot print paper.

I then cut three equal-sized elongated rectangles of the same kraft cardstock that I used for my base (note that the third rectangle is largely obscured by the embellishment on the left-hand side of this card), each of which I topped with equal-sized rectangles of a sweet, springtime perfect floral print paper. The edges of both layers were lightly inked to help them stand out all the more.

Next, I cut another (longer) strip of kraft cardstock, which I inked the edges of and topped with a piece of the same green and cream polka dot paper that I used before. Before attaching this strip, I dug through my stash for some pretty pink trim, which I tucked beneath this horizontal strip.

With what I like to call my “base components” in place, I set to work die cutting up a storm, selecting premade die cut ephemera pieces, choosing embellishments, and arranging the layout of my final design.

The nest/wreath was cut from the same cream cardstock that I used for the second base layer and is comprised of two layers of the same die cut, to give greater depth to the bare branches that comprise its classic shape.

While similar in tone, I did not repeat the same kraft cardstock again the branches or leaves, opting instead for a very pale milk chocolate tone coupled with some branches cut from a dark brown woodgrain print paper.

For the die cut leaves and some of the vines, I used both a medium green cardstock that teeters on olive and a tone-on-tone green print paper.

As soon as I settled on the use of a wreath meets nest component for this card, I knew that birds were going to be involved. Two cute little avian friends appear here, both die cut from the same kraft cardstock and lightly inked just on the edges to add subtle depth and to make them stand out a bit more from their surroundings.

In the center of the nest/wreath area, I placed a simple die cut circle of the same floral print paper that I used on the three background strips.

I then placed these components on a piece of woodgrain paper (the same one that I used for some of the die cut branches) that I die cut a mini hole circle from.

After all of my manual die cutting was complete, I created a bow from olive green seam binding, selected the pre-made die cut shapes I’d be using, plucked some lovely little white dimensional flowers from my stash, determined what I’d be using for my sentiment here, added some super cute teal and white faux toadstools along with some pale pink faceted bling, and that was that!

While this card may, at first glance, look a bit fiddly or difficult to make, IMO, it really isn’t. Plus, so much of the fun of designs like lies in building up the layers and playing around with the arrangement of your design elements until you hit on a winning composition.

Card making tips and ideas from this project

-Layer or otherwise combined two (or more) of the same die cut shape in both a light and a darker tone to help give a greater sense of dimension as well as a potential sense of shadows.

-Base your cardstock colour choices off of the colours in the patterned papers that you plan to use (or vice versa) for added cohesiveness throughout your finished project.

-Use dies that are intended to be wreathes to make nests and vice versa. This die was designed to be a wreath, but it works like a charm as a nest, too (you could also cut more layers and curve them upwards on the edges to add to the sense of the dimensional quality of most real life nests).

–Not everything has to match perfectly, just stick with similar tonal ranges and colour families, striving for a general sense of harmony throughout each of the colours used on your projects.

-While I was fortunate to have some olive green seam binding to hand, it’s worth keeping in mind that seam binding, twill tape, and certain other kinds of trims and ribbons can often be dyed with various mediums such as spray inks or ink pads to match or coordinate with the colours of your projects. Just make sure they’re dry as a bone before using them on your makes.

-Going “off card”, especially with foliage related elements, is a stellar way to not only increase the overall size of your project, but to help create a more dynamic and visually appealing design.

-As upbeat and springtime-y as many of the colours that I used here are, we’re currently in the early throes of the season and so I wanted to ground a more Ostara/Easter appropriate palette with earth tones. This was chiefly accomplished via the cream, olive green, and browns.

If this was a summertime card, I might have opted for brighter or starker colours, such as white, aqua, yellow, or larger swaths of upbeat shades of blue.

Come fall time, this same design could be gorgeous with rusty oranges, dusty peach or rose, teal blue or forest green, and a dark brown cardstock base.

And for winter, shades of icy blue, white, grey and silver would no doubt turn heads!

-If you didn’t want to use birds here, you could make opt for any number of other critters instead from bunnies (perfect for both Ostara and Easter) to ladybugs – or simply forego animals/insects altogether.

–Use dies to create shapes or designs other than what they’re intended for. Here a wreath die helps to create a nest, but that is just one of an endless number of examples of when a die could do double (or triple, etc) duty in terms of the shapes and images it may be able to help you create.

-Blend nature themed and vintage inspired pieces together. The pair is a winning combo that has strong visual appeal and which helps each of these different components to highlight and enhance the presence of the other.

–Opt for uneven numbers of embellishments for greater visual interest. In this instance, I used five white flowers, three teal mushrooms, and two kraft birds partnered with a single nest. These elements themselves then become an uneven number of three groups of standout embellishments.

-Don’t be afraid to arrange your design elements – including your sentiment – at an angle. Doing so is often eye-catching, engaging, and one of those awesome paper crafting tricks that can help take your makes to the next level.

Products to help you recreate this Be Amazing Springtime bird’s nest card

-Kraft, cream, green, and light brown cardstock

-White and blue floral print paper and green + cream polka dot print paper  – both are from the Garden Party 12×12 inch pad from Pebbles (6×6 inch version available here)

-Dark brown wood print paper and green tone-on-tone patterned paper – both are from the Cider Woods 6×6 inch Mat Stack from DCWV

-Various small leaf and branch dies (included in the ones I used here are the Tim Holtz Alterations Small Tattered Florals Thinlits Dies from Sizzix)

-Circle die or punch

-Teal and brown ink – Tsukineko Memento Dew Drop Ink in Peanut Brittle and Teal Zeal

-Assorted vintage style ephemera die cuts – Simple Vintage Botanical Die Cut Ephemera from Simple Stories

-Small white paper or cream paper flowers (premade or store-bought; foam flowers can be used as well)

-Teal or other coloured miniature toadstools (check hobby shops, eBay, Etsy, craft stores, and shops that specialize in dollhouse supplies to find these kinds of tiny ‘shrooms)

-Pink trim – Lost and Found Christmas trims from My Mind’s Eye

-Olive green seam binding – Lost and Found Christmas trims from My Mind’s Eye

-Springtime sentiment sticker – Spring Fling Element Stickers from Echo Park

-Light pink stick-on gem embellishments – Pretty Pale Say It In Crystals from Prima

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

Here’s to an amazing spring!

As rocky and curveball filled as the first couple months of this year have been on certain fronts, I’m sincerely grateful for each moment they housed and am really looking forward to everything that I sense spring holds in store for us.

I generally celebrate Ostara on the Spring Equinox (which, for those north of the equator, falls on March 19th this year,) with the season of this sabbat extending for multiple days on both sides of that beautiful date.

Gradually, much like the returning season itself, elements of Ostara are weaving their way into my life, my witchy workings, and my paper crafting alike, so be sure to stay tuned here for more festive springtime makes between now and the Summer Solstice.

With all my heart, I hope that spring is a time of warmth, renewal, abundance, optimism, positive happenings, fresh starts and beloved longstanding favourites alike for each of us.

And, may it bring all of my fellow paper crafters and creative folks of kinds ample time to create a garden’s worth of exciting new projects!

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