Sassy Unity Bird

This is what happens after almost 3 days of non-creativity and being mired down in taking care of two sick boys...I make a card that takes an inordinately large amount of time and borders on craziness. This card was inspired by this athletic top, from today's Inspiration Challenge (IC141):
I also used the sketch challenge for this month's Fan Club Dirty Dozen Challenges, and the product and materials focus of *bling*. This month's gallery theme was "All that Glitters", and let me tell you...it had some major glitter and bling!!

I used the top to inspire my colors and the swirls for my card. I LOVE the combo of the chocolate with lime green, fuchsia, and teal. So fresh, and yet so grounded. Really makes me want that top! *wink*

So, I started by stamping a swirl design from my Rhonna Ferrer Swirls set onto teal, green, and fuchsia patterned papers, and then cutting them out, using my finger-tip knife and LOTS of patience. (Thank you Mom and Dad for that architecture degree! See, I'm using stuff I learned...) After cutting them out, I adhered them to my Chocolate Chip card base.

*Tip: When cutting something like this, move the paper, not the knife/scissors...you'll get a much cleaner cut.

Then, I stamped this adorable little chick from my Unity Stamp Co. 'Hey Chick' set on Very Vanilla, and then again on the teal, green, and fuchsia papers. I cut out and paper-pieced it to create my colorful chick. I stamped the sentiment on another piece of VV, using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to rearrange the format. I cut the ovals and the circles using my Coluzzle templates, then used my corner rounder on the chocolate Chip circle to create scallops (the fourth circle from the center works out perfectly!)


After I had my shapes all cut, I added a swirled edging using the same swirl stamp I used for the background shapes. Don't they kind of look like feathers? Since this month's product focus is bling, I added rhinestones to the bird's wing and tail, using some open circles already on the stamp for my placement. I tied a reclaimed piece of ribbon (from a friend's wedding decorations!) around the green rectangle, and adhered everything in place, using dimensionals under the scalloped circle/sentiment.

Took me a seriously long time, but someone from the Dirty Dozen might look at it, so it has to be extra-awesome, you know? *wink* Plus, I needed the therapy! I think after the boys are in bed and I do some cleanup around the house, I'll head back upstairs for some more stamp-therapy *smiles*

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!
~Michelle

Supplies Used:
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla cardstock (SU!); green, teal, and fuchsia patterned papers (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Bashful Blue (SU!)
Stamps: Hey Chick (Unity Stamp Company); 'Swirls' by Rhonna Farrer (Autumn Leaves)
Other: Fingertip knife (Fiskars); Coluzzle cutting system; dimensionals (SU!); ribbon (recycled!)