Tim Holtz Bird Cage & Autumn Flowers

What a beautiful morning it is here in California! So many people ask me if, after having lived in New England for so long, that I miss the "Seasons" where I live now.

Well, contrary to popular belief, we DO have seasons here. They are just subtle. Okay, I'll admit- compared to New England, they are very subtle, lol.

Never-the-less, I do notice the changes. And this morning when I took my dogs outside I noticed a whole bunch of Autumn flowers that I do not think were there yesterday! Lol, I guess they must have been, but it seems as if they just bloomed overnight.

It was pretty early when I took these pictures. With the sun coming through, they were just beautiful. The downside was that a whole lot of bees thought so too, and being allergic to bee stings I didn't want to get too serious about trying to capture the perfect picture. But I thought these were good enough to share anyway.

So... after seeing those gorgeous flowers I felt a bit inspired. I had planned on spending the entire day in my studio yesterday but a migraine changed my plans. Thankfully, it was gone when I woke up this morning, so I have pretty much been in my happy room since :-)

My main objective today was to make a card for Pam's blog challenge (see my last post, below) and since that involved using something to do with a chick (bird, etc.) I thought why not dig out that awesome Tim Holtz bird cage die? I just had to have it the minute I saw it and ordered it practically as soon as it hit the internet. Yet, in typical Sarah fashion, it has only sat on my shelf since it arrived here. So today I put it through the Big Shot, and look what I did with it:

I must admit, I am pretty happy with the way this card came out. It was really fun to make!

Of course, If you know me, you know that I rarely make cards without using flowers. I have had a bit of a "Prima obsession" for some time now, which has only evolved into an "any kind of flower" obsession! So, after seeing my back yard flowers I knew I'd want to use some really pretty ones today. I added some Stampin' Up! Dazzling Diamonds glitter to these blue beauties. Mixed with the bird and cage I think they all look great together.

I just love this little bird! I die cut him using my new favorite product: Tim Holtz grungeboard. It is so fun to work with! I snipped off the bird's legs (eww, that sounds awful, lol!) as well as the branch, and covered him using a page out of a very old music book that I have been using for my card embellishments. The pages are already a naturally "aged" color, but I also inked the edges of his body and wing with some mulled lavender Distress Ink.

I wish you could see the detail of the cage in real life. I just love how it turned out. I was looking through my new book: "A Compendium Of Curiosities" by Tim Holtz and was really liking the look of his Shabby Chic Grunge. So, I tried it on the cage. I used my SU! large Filigree BG stamp and cloudy blue paint dauber. Isn't it cool? For a splash of red color, I added the little row of flowers along the bottom.

I also embossed the black card stock using the Filigree stamp and clear embossing powder. The Tim Holtz chain and the leaf ribbon (I forgot where I got that) look really nice with it, I think.

So there you have it. I finally used my bird and bird cage die, and I also made a card for Pam's blog challenge. Which leads me to this:

I used to be the master at CASEing cards, lol. But I don't do that much anymore. However, that does not mean I won't CASE a great idea when I hear one! And I love the giveaways I have recently shared with you from Doni and Pam. So... I think it's about time I have another giveaway myself, don't you? :-)

I am working on doing one for my 100th post- and I am only a couple of posts away from that. (Wow- how did that happen?!) I have made some changes to my blog since I first started and since I now have quite a few faithful followers that read my blog for their love of card making and paper crafting- along with readers who share my love of vintage and antique finds, I think I may have to do two giveaways :-)

I am working on figuring this all out and will be back soon with more details.

So keep checking back so you can join me as I celebrate my 100th post very soon!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope that you have had a wonderful weekend and will have a great week ahead. God's Blessings to you!