A card made with freebies...

Do you receive Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine? If you do, then you know about the freebie papers and tools that come with each issue. I like to try and use at least some of them right away. There are always several examples to inspire the readers on the inside of the magazine, so I study these for a bit, and then see what I can do that is just a bit different.

A couple of issues ago, the magazine came with these:



I was intrigued by the square embossing folder (it's the only square one I have), so I opted to use it and the birdcage and rose stamps.

Here's what I came up with:

After embossing my cardstock, I sanded the design to make it more visible. I then stamped my birdcage and my sentiment with Versafine ink. Finally, I matted my card front with black CS and added two Spellbinder's corner die-cuts.

There was something about a lone bird in a cage that made me think of a sympathy card. Maybe it's because a caged bird always seems lonely to me - similar to the loneliness one might feel after losing a loved one.

When I die-cut a bird and birdcage, I like to put the bird on the outside of the cage. I always feel better about them having the ability to fly where they wish, I guess.


My siblings and I actually had a pet silver parakeet named Silver (we weren't very imaginative with names!) when we were young. We have photos of ourselves with Silver sitting on our arms. I'm not sure whatever happened to him, but I hope we were always gentle and took good care of him.

 On the inside of my card, I used the rose stamp from the freebie set and stamped it twice with lavender ink. I love adding stamped images on the insides of my cards whenever I can.

Well that's it for me. I have grandkids coming over soon, so I'd best get ready for them.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl