When the Red, Red, Robin

Challenge #326 has just gone live has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this Inspired By challenge celebrates Gratitude. 

Our challenge is generously being sponsored by Poppystamps and they are offering our Top Pick as chosen by the design teams $20 credit to their store!  

The Top Pick will also be invited to join Time Out as a guest designer in a future challenge.  Speaking of guest designers, our guest designer this fortnight is Stef Perry of Perry Papercrafts, and winner of Time Out #321.  Be sure to check out the Time Out Blog to see how how Stef and my talented team mates were inspired by gratitude!  

As an Australian, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving, so this card was a difficult one for me.  I didn't want to make something I'd never have a use for, but I thought this lovely sentiment (WMS Big Day Everyday Sentiments) might also work for a rather fancy thank you card and I always need Thank You cards!  So, instead of prevaricating about the bush any longer, I cut a panel and stamped the sentiment in the upper third with Memento Cocoa ink - though brown would look more rustic!

Next I went through my Autumn stash to find something that might fit the theme of Gratitude and this mushroom duo (Poppystamps Nordic Swirl Mushrooms) seemed like a good choice plus it's been languishing in my NBUS pile for far too long!

 Since I wanted a rustic feel, I cut everything from plain cardstock and used Distress Inks to colour the pieces - Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs, Carved Pumpkin and Mustard Seed.   Once coloured, the pieces assembled quickly and easily - as with all the other Poppystamps Nordic die sets I've had the good fortune to work with.  

I added the mushrooms to the base of the card raising the smaller mushroom with a piece of foam tape and then I realised my mistake - the sentiment was too far away, it needed something to sit in between!  

Rather than tossing the panel into my UFO box, I went in search of something to fill the gap ... perhaps a cloud ... or a butterfly.  The Nordic Butterfly I own was far too big (and wasn't NBUS) but I remembered I still had a set of birds (Poppystamps Nordic Birds of a Feather) that were small enough to sit on the top mushroom with the added benefit of being NBUS.

So I cut the whole bunch from plain card stock and used Distress Inks - adding a little Barn Door and Pumice Stone to his breast until I was happy with my little Red Robin ... and it filled the gap nicely.  

It was only when I was writing up this post that I realised Poppystamps was sponsoring this challenge so that was a happy coincidence!  

When my children were young, they used to ask me insist I sing to them each night.  My eldest came up with the idea of "colour" songs - he kept coming up with different colours which I knew was his way of delaying bedtime for as long as possible but I didn't mind most of the time!  Red, red, Robin was our red song so I don't know why I didn't think of putting this little robin up on a wobbler so he can go bob, bob, bobbing along - but I think I can still safely do that so will!  

I hope you can find some  Time Out  to come join us this fortnight and celebrate Gratitude!

I am grateful for and would like to enter the following challenges

NBUS Challenge #92 - NBUS Mushroom and Bird sets;

Ellibelle's I Spy With My Little Eye Challenge #42 - Autumn in the Woods;

Poppystamps Challenge PSC#144 - Warm and Cozy;

Triple B November Challenge - Just a bird;

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go away a little inspired!  Your visits and comments are always a joy and always appreciated!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and hopefully be able to find you!

Kate