It’s here!  The 20th of the month, which means Tour de Freaks Blog Tour!  It also doubles as my Bloggers Challenge this week which is to use die cuts on your card! 

This month you’ll have 13 stops on the tour…I’m stop #4.  You’ve probably just come from Shona Watson’s BLOG.  I know you will enjoy the projects we have lined up for you to view!  The theme this month is In Colors!  The gals in this group ALWAYS do awesome work!  I’m so happy to have been invited to be a member of the Control Freaks Swap Group…it has been FOUR years this month!  Hard to believe!

My first project is a little birdhouse ornament.  Wouldn’t these look cute hanging on your Christmas tree?  Can you tell what I used?  Yes, the Matchbox XL Bigz Die!  I’ve had this idea in my head since I first saw the Matchbox die.  In fact, I did submit a similar one to Stampin’ Up!  

For the outside cover I used Bermuda Bay and punched a Scallop Oval in the top panel, then added some Thoroughly Modern Designer Paper on each side.  The inside box is Real Red.  I made a little scene with two birds from Cheep Talk and the Leaves Sizzlet die.  The nest is small slivers of Kraft cardstock crimped and curled into a ball, then stuck on with Mini Glue Dots.  The Cardinals are stamped in Real Red, with their beaks colored in with Pumpkin Pie and legs with Close to Cocoa.  I added a little roof made from Soft Suede cardstock and covered it with Designer Paper, too.  Before I put the two sides of the roof together, I added a ribbon hanger at the top.  (Check back next week for a little tutorial on how this was all put together!) 

Finally, to finish decorating the outside, I added the Snowflake punched from Faux Diamond Dust paper (Iridescent Ice EP over Whisper White).  Then stamped the trio of snowflakes from the hostess set Christmas Punch in Bermuda Bay and punched them out with the Boho Blossoms punch (did you know they fit perfectly???)  Added some Red Mini Brads to the centers of the snowflakes.  

This next card is a wiper card (purely coincidental that SCS has the tutorial this week)…mine has been done for ages!  I used the stamp set For All You Do and stamped the stems in Old Olive and the flowers in Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry.  The tag says Thank You and is punched with the Modern Label punch from Melon Mambo cardstock.  The Whisper White panel is layered onto Rich Razzleberry cardstock.  The base part of the Wiper Card is Crushed Curry and I ran the front and back panels thru the Big Shot with my Finial Press Embossing Folder for some extra texture!  The inside "wiper" is made from Whisper White and I stamped the greeting on it and rounded the corners with the Corner Rounder punch. Then I stamped the butterfly with Melon Mambo and cut it out and adhered it to the right right corner of the wiper.  When you press the sides together in and out, the wiper pops up, then hides inside the two sides.  Cute project to make for class!

My last project was also a card for my niece’s birthday last weekend!  I started with a base of Melon Mambo and adhered a layer of Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Paper across the bottom.    Some Crushed Curry Polka Dot Ribbon hides the seam.  I used the Flower Layers Bigz Die and cut flowers from Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo and Leaves (from Build A Flower Sizzlet die) from Old Olive.  I ran all of the pieces thru my Big Shot with the Finial Press Embossing Folder.  I used dimensionals between the layers when I stacked them together and added a Summer Sun Corduroy Button in the center!  I LOVE the outside…but wait until you see the inside!

I used the new Look Here XL Bigz Die cut from Rich Razzleberry.  I took the picture without the gift card so you could see it better.  I lined the back and bottom front panel with more Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Paper.  I punched the Butterfly from the purple pattern of Razzleberry Lemonade and added a Melon Mambo body with my Slot Punch.  And, finally I added the Birthday Greetings from On Your Birthday stamped on Crushed Curry and rounded the corners with my Corner Rounder.  She LOVED it!  (I’ll show you her brother’s card next week!)

Next stop is Mary Brown at StamperCamper Blog!  I’m sure she will has some FABULOUS ideas!

The box is made from the Matchbox XL Bigz Die in the Occasions Mini Catalog!  I LOVE this box…it is the perfect size to hold four Hershey Nuggets or other small items.  My father is diabetic, so I try to stay away from candy…he LOVES Cashews, so I found some Jumbo Whole ones and am filing each box with the Cashew Nuts.  The base of the Matchbox is done in Whisper White cardstock.  The sleeve is cut from Brushed Gold cardstock.  After I cut the sleeve, I ran it thru the Big Shot again with the Texturz Filigree Backgrounds plate…it really jazzes up the plain Brushed Gold cardstock! 

For the medallion, I used my Just Rite Stamper (gasp!…not Stampin’ Up!) with the wedding ensemble…using the Happy Annivesary ring.  I added the 50 in the center.  This is a fun way to personalize your stamper.  Each one was embossed with Gold Detail Embossing Powder on Whisper White cardstock.  After I made them all, I thought I should have spelled out Jerry & Donna…but…too late!  I’m not going to re-do them all.  I punched the medallion with my 1 3/4 circle punch, then used the Pennant XL Bigz die to make the scallop circle…it layers behind the 1 3/4 circle perfectly!  I punched a 1/8" circle in one of the top scallops and wrapped the White Stripe Organza ribbon around the box and tied on the Scallop Medallion. 

I love how these turned out and they weren’t really hard to make.  Before I put the cashews in, I lined the box with a small gold foil doily…so the inside looks pretty, too!

Today’s the last day to order the April Card Kit!  Don’t miss out!

Stampin’ Up! Backgrounds #1 Texturz Plates
#114512
Price:  $11.95

Tomorrow is Bloggers Challenge Day again!  I’d better get working on my submission!