Saturday, November 18, 2023

Christmas Wren, Two Cards

Hello there!  I'm getting serious about the Christmas cards now.  They won't come in big batches, but I did make two cards with my Memory Box Backyard Wren which came with the Magnolia release in spring.  Hard to believe, but this is the first time I've put it on a card.

I constructed a wren when my friend, Nancy, came over with her gilding flakes (spring or summer?).  It was quite the fancy schmancy gilded bird.  However, it was too much of a good thing because all the detail was lost as one layer blended into the next.  A few days ago I separated the layers and turned one bird into two birds.





At first glance you may not notice the differences in these two cards.  Or maybe you would.  In a nutshell, I made use of copper and gold cardstock, and copper and gold embossing powder.  There's copper cord and gold cord, black pearls for the eyes.  The branch and plaid paper are from the Magnolia collection.  Circles and curved border dies are old Spellbinders.  When I cut the curved border I saved the piece that dropped off, turned it upside down and glued it to the first.  It made a rather cute little edge, don't you think?



I hope these pictures look okay on your device.  I had a hard time photographing all the different degrees of shimmer and shine.  The white paper is shimmery, too.

More cards are coming soon.  I had a few days without appointments so I spent some time in my room while Sophie was napping.  When she gets up and starts moving around I follow.  Accidents happen too easily, if you know what I mean.  For fun I've been putting her on a leash and taking her to visit the little girls next door.  A few days ago she went with us to our friends' house where she met their new puppy, Tommy.  He's a mini-Schnauzer, the same age as Sophie and won't get much bigger.  Sophie looks huge compared to Tommy.



 

I'm heading off to check on the family now.  I'll see you here again soon!




27 comments:

Yogi said...

lovely cards. Good choice of paper for either its body or wings. Have a great day.

crafty-stamper said...

Both beautiful cards love the gold,copper and embossed/gilded bird.Tell me about the accidents -having quite a few lately with our oldest cat-bless her although that's not what I just said for the second time in 15 mins!!!
Carol x

Diane said...

Wow, these are so creative, I love the look of gilding flakes but I sure make a mess with them, but how creative to use them on your birds, they are gorgeous! Speaking of gorgeous, so is Sophie and her friend, I imagine she isn't as big as she looks, it just that he is so small. So fun seeing them together, thanks for sharing with us and for sure I do know about not leaving her alone for long, even a minute can be too much, but as fast as time seems to go by it won't be long before all that fun puppy-ness will change and you can breath a sigh of relief!!

Marcia Hill said...

Both of your birds are GORGEOUS Leslie and I'm loving all the gilding flakes, and gold & copper embossing...what STUNNING images they make!! Lovely, lovely cards my friend and Sophie is just as adorable as ever!! Hugs. :0)

Liz said...

Lovely cards Leslie, your little wrens are so pretty. xx

Cat Craig said...

I love the effect of the gilding flakes. Two beautiful cards, and its lovely to see Sophie again.

Barbara said...

Stunning and so creative to turn this into two birds. They are so appealing on these backgrounds.

I Card Everyone said...

I love all the many metallics and shine on your wonderful cards, Leslie! You did a great job of separating them so that each bird has his own style!
Darling little puppy friends! Your time to craft reminds me of our baby napping days! It was amazing how much we could get done...
=]

HilaryJane said...

Your gilded birds look great. I think you did the right thing making them into 2, they look so special with all the shine xx

Evelyn S. said...

Your designs are wonderfully "elaborate" every single time! Layers, curves, pieced diecuts! Wow. As always, beautiful work, Leslie.

nancy littrell said...

I Love how you gently replaced a few of your gilded flakes die cut bird pieces with DP, Leslie. It really shows off all the die cut pieces of your beautiful bird:-) Great to add 2 more beautiful Christmas cards to your stash too.

TFS the adorable photo of Sophie and Tommy becoming forever friends:-) Just like their parents, who have been very close forever friends:-)

Denny got all the Fall leaves mowed...again, which is wonderful for the veggie/berry garden:-) We enjoyed seeing the green grass for 2 days...now with the rain and wind late this afternoon and early this evening the grass is covered again:-) It was quite the show watching all our beautiful colorful Fall leaves falling from the trees. Did not lose our power, which was a plus:-) Love this time of year. TFS your beautiful cards and adorable pups too:-) Love and Hugs..Nancy

aussie aNNie said...

This is so lovely the design and image make a gorgeous card ♥ Sophie is so cute as is little Tommy x

Glenda said...

These cards are stunning! How clever to think to cut apart the one bird and create two cards. I'm afraid the original bird would have gone in the trash and I would have moved on. Sophie is really growing and she is such a beauty! Tommy is a cutie too but I do love me some dogs!

Birgit said...

Aren't you clever for making two birds out of the one, showcasing more detail on the darling bird. Your cards are delightful, Leslie! The picture of your sweet little Sophie and Tommy definitely brought back memories of my Hunter, when he was a puppy, meeting my mom's miniature schnauzer. Seriously???

Darlene said...

Both are beautiful and what a clever idea to separate the one and turn it into two birds ... Beautiful job with the gilded flakes ... I've only used mine on fall leaves and haven't done that in quite some time. Awesome inspiration as always my friend! OMG how cute is Sophie with her new friend Tom lol. Glad you're getting back in the swing of things ... we / I've missed you!!

Conniecrafter said...

I just finished a card for my niece using that same die, I love the sparkle and shimmer yours has and nice you ended up with two cards with it, I never would have thought of gilding flakes with them, but boy it sure is pretty, like how you used the leaves with the circles, we had the same idea, I will share my card soon :) Love the plaid with it!
So nice that Sophie has so many friends that she can play with, yes there is going to be quite the size difference for sure :)

Pauline said...

Both cards are gorgeous Leslie! Love the gilded flakes on the bird, so creative! Love both of your versions. Nice to add a couple more to your Christmas stash! Yes, Sophie does look huge, thanks for sharing the picture of the pups! Wishing you a wonderful day!

Margaret said...

Love both of your cards. That was such a great idea to separate the one and make it into two. I'm working on Christmas cards also. I'm doing a few pop up ones that I hope will turn out. Sophie is such a sweetie. Looks like she has made a friend.

Bonnie said...

I love your glamorous wrens, Leslie! The gilding flakes made these so unique! The curved edges and plaid papers are perfect complements to these birds! Love the photos of Sophie!

Lisa Elton said...

I like both of your fancy little birds, Leslie and you turned them into two wonderful cards! The metallics make them extra festive! Cute little pups too. We had a black and silver mini schnauzer. He was such a smart little guy!

laurie said...

Wow the wrens just turned out awesome...love the gilding flakes. And such a cute Sophie...what a lil blessing!

Christine Alexander said...

ooh such pretty shimmer and shine, love all the different metallics ♥

Sophie is growing up so quickly, she's adorable xx

Loll said...

Two beautiful cards Leslie. And what an amazing save of the gorgeous gilded bird by turning it into two so the layers were more prominent. LOVE the gilding with the copper card stock. Sophie and Tommy look like they have forged a great start to their friendship. :) xx

Ida said...

Oh wow those are simply gorgeous. Love the shimmer and the colors.
I wondered why that other dog look so small in comparison to Sophie. She's sure growing. So neat that she gets to play with other dogs.

Lynette said...

Beautiful birds and wonderful cards, Leslie. And yes, Sophie does look very big next to her new friend! I'm happy you had some time to make cards. I did finally finish up my calendars, but I still have several Christmas cards to make, and then finish the insides of 80+ of them. I'll get there.

Vicky Hayes said...

I love how you fixed the 'too much of a good thing' problem Leslie! The birds are both gorgeous and I like the border you styled them with.

Lovely to see Sophie growing and growing - it's what they do best! She is adorable and is bringing back memories of my Eva at that age. I love that you are introducing her to lots of other dogs so that she can learn her own language as well as 'Human'!!

Vicky x

Nanny's Pansy Patch said...

What pretty cards! I like how you separated the layer and especially the using the flakes. I so enjoy putting these little creatures together. Nice that Sophie has a little friend to visit. I never saw a mini-schnauzer before. Such a cute picture!