Cardinals.....

I have been waiting for some time to post today's card and the projects I'm going to be sharing the next couple of days.  I had to wait until my class made them; I wanted it to be a surprise for mt ladies.  The three projects will all use the same little cardinal made with the 1-3/8" circle punch and holly leaves. 

I originally designed this card for an After Christmas Thank You Card Swap.  That's why I used the Thank U on the front.  The card itself is Always Artichoke, which is layered with Whisper White that I've run through the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.  I tied 5/8" Real Red satin ribbon around it and hung the tag on it with linen thread.  The sentiment is from the Cute by the Inch Level 2 Hostess set.  I stamped it first in Real Red and then stamped it again in Always Artichoke and cut out just the "thank" word to put over the red "U".

Here is a close up of that tag.  The sentiment is backed with an Always Artichoke tag.

To make the cardinal, I punched out a 1-3/8" circle and cut off a flat place on one side.  I added a tail made from one of the hearts in the Heart to Heart punch.  The wing is the wing from the Two-Step Bird punch. I sponged around the bird and wing to give him some depth.   The eye and the beak are both made from the smallest heart in the Heart to Heart punch. 

For the Holly leaves, I cut out rectangles and folded them in half, lengthwise.  I snipped out circles using the 3/4" and 1" circle punches.  I smudged color along the edges and down the center.  The berries are punched using the circle from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch pack.  I used the white gel pen to add some "reflection" to the bird, leaves and berries. 

Come back tomorrow to see the goodie box that goes with this card.   Smiles, Laura