Minis on Parade

In today's post I'm going to share all of the itty bitty cards that I packed in Sean's suitcase for his trip last week. The four square cards are 3 3/8" square and the rectangle is 2 x 3 1/2. Here we go!



This first one is a circle (the same size as the squares)! I used my Quickutz Cookie Cutter Nesting Circles Dies to cut the base. The little blue ring is also cut using those same dies. I stamped my sweet little birdies and the sentiment in Dark Chocolate ink. I colored with pencils and mineral spirits (as per usual) and die cut with a different set of Quickutz dies.

Recipe:
Cardstock: Fennel - Martha Stewart; Blue Textured - DCWV; Ultimate White - Strathmore
Ink: Dark Chocolate - Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Pretty Birds (Kim Hughes Collection) Cornish Heritage Farms
Tools: Nesting Circles Dies, Nesting Flowers Dies - Quickutz; Die Cut Machine
Other: Colored Pencils - Prismacolor; Foam Tape - Scotch; Mineral Spirits



Number two is a little "fly on home" kind of card. I stamped the images in the same brown ink as the first card. I colored the birdhouse with pencils and mineral spirits and die cut the entire panel with a circle die. Then, I layered my focal images on top of a slightly larger scalloped circle so you just see a tiny bit of dark brown peeking from behind the main image. I layered the whole thing on a Kraft base using foam tape. I rounded the bottom corner for just a tiny bit of detail.

Recipe:
Cardstock: Kraft - Papertrey Ink; Ultimate White - Strathmore; Brown - Bazzill
Ink: Dark Chocolate - Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Pretty Birds (Kim Hughes Collection) - Cornish Heritage Farms; Sentiment - Stampendous
Tools: Nesting Circles - Quickutz; die cut machine; Corner Rounder - EK Success
Other: Colored Pencils - Prismacolor; Foam Tape - Scotch; Mineral Spirits



The third card uses a color that I rarely touch...Purple. Sean is a purple fan though, so I thought I would incorporate that little pop of color in the series. He knows it's a special occasion when I use purple. For this card I stamped my chicky-poo in a little Charcoal Ink and colored him with pencils and mineral spirits. The sentiment is stamped in white ink directly onto the card base. I die cut the chick image and adhered it over my lime green polka dotted ribbon with foam tape. The bottom corners were rounded for that last little detail.

Recipe:
Cardstock: Purple - Bazzill; Ultimate White - Strathmore
Ink: Charcoal - Palette, Frost White - Colorbox
Stamps: Chick - Stampendous (I think...I bought it nearly 3 years ago and I unmounted it. I have the block somewhere, but it's two floors away, so I'm not getting up to check. Humph!); Sentiment - Clear $1 Michaels set
Ribbon: Lime green sheer Polka Dots - American Crafts
Tools: Nesting Circles - Quickutz; Die Cut Machine, Corner Rounder - EK Success
Other: Colored Pencils - Prismacolor; Mineral Spirits; Foam Tape - Scotch



Card number four was Sean's favorite. I stamped the focal images (with a little masking to make the bird sit in the nest - they're separate images) in the brown ink and colored again with the pencils and mineral spirits. I've been doing a lot of coloring lately. In fact, I colored all of these images while we watched episodes of The Wire together. He never had a clue. I'm so sly (HA!). The bird was die cut using one of my Quickutz dies and layered on top of a scalloped circle. The matted image was mounted on the card base with foam tape. The sentiment is stamped on the base using the same dark brown ink from the main image. This time all four corners are rounded to make this mini a little softer.

Recipe:
Cardstock: Blue - DCWV; Ultimate White - Strathmore; Brown - Bazzill
Ink: Dark Chocolate - Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Pretty Birds (Kim Hughes Collection) Cornish Heritage Farms; Sentiment - Stampendous
Tools: Nesting Circles, Nesting Flowers - Quickutz, Die Cut Machine, Corner Rounder - EK Success
Other: Colored Pencils - Prismacolor, Mineral Spirits, Foam Tape - Scotch



Last but not least - Card number five may be my favorite of the series. This one is a tall narrow card that opens on the short end. Oh for cuteness! The focal image was stamped in Charcoal and colored with pencils and mineral spirits. I cut out the image leaving a narrow white border all around the edge. The fiber is wrapped around the base and adhered under the focal image with a little adhesive and foam tape. The sentiment is stamped directly on the base using white ink.

Recipe:
Cardstock: Red - Bazzill; Ultimate White - Strathmore
Ink: Charcoal - Palette; Frost White - Colorbox
Stamps: Hearts & Flowers image - Stampendous; Sentiment - Heidi Grace Sentiment set (Fiskars)
Other: Colored Pencils - Prismacolor; Mineral Spirits; Yellow fiber - CTMH; Foam Tape - Scotch

Whew! There it is. Wow, that took awhile. I hope you enjoyed the mini card series. Next time your favorite somebody is away, try hiding a little note in their suitcase, briefcase, lunch box, or handbag. It makes them feel good and it makes you feel good, too! Until next time, take care...