Shadowbox Bird

I had a really tough time getting a decent photo of this 3D card, so I apologize for the shadows.

Trust me! This is one where you really want to click the second photo below to see the background close up, and other details...

(open view)

(closed view for mailing)

Card lying flat measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Before I start describing the process let me just say I was inspired to make card after Lisa S., a TechniqueJunkie designer, posted a beautiful card with this shadowbox form to the email group, and provided a link on her blog to the directions at SCS here. The beauty of this template is that the card folds perfectly flat for mailing and fits in a regular size envelope!

Almost all stamps are from a bird sheet (Time To Stamp) from I Brake For Stamps. I followed the directions in the link above, which are SO easy! The card just consists of a blue piece of 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" cardstock for the front, and a white one of the same size for the back, and they are only joined on the last 1/2" on each end.

*tip*

Avoid scoring until you have stamped the front and your ink will lay better.

I wanted a rustic birdshell look to the front, so I started with blue cs, stamped Stampin' Up!'s Linen background on it in Adirondack Mushroom, then overstamped this with SU's splatter bkgd stamp using white pigment ink (the best brand for this being Colorbox).

I didn't have an oval cutter so I punched a large oval out of cs (using an Emagination Crafts Inc. punch), laid it down on the cardfront, traced it with pencil, and then trimmed it out with a small blade scissor.

*tip*

If your cutting isn't perfect, sponge around the opening and layer embellishments over the horrible spots.

My cutting was pretty good LOL but I sponged Mushroom ink on the oval edges and outside card edges for definition. I stamped the images shown right over the background in Mushroom and SU Mellow Moss, and stamped other images on white scraps using SU So Saffron also and trimmed them out. The eggs were stamped on the oval I removed from the center, cut out and applied to the nest. The paper flower and leaves are connected by an antiqued flower brad and held down with a glue dot (if I put the brad thru the cardstock it might rub a dark spot on the white when going thru the mail).

For the inside I stamped the images as shown, going all the way to the top, bottom and side edges so that no matter how the card is tilted the entire inside is covered. To get the swirlies on the bird, after I had inked the solid stamp with Mushroom, I pressed the uninked rubber of the leaf stamp onto it, removing some ink and leaving a pattern. Then I just scored both pieces, folded and taped the very end panels. Sounds complicated - super easy!

Thanks for looking!