Hey Chick CAS Cards

A couple of quirky images, some embossed panels, and two fun sentiments was all it took to make these clean and simple cards to add to my stash. 

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Tutorial - Nest Card

Every little bird needs a comfy nest to come home to.

Luckily for us, we can create a nest using a few simple items that you may already have in your stash.

1. Start with this little bird from the Blue Wrens set. I've used one of the images from the Blue Wrens cut sheets, but you can stamp and colour your image if you prefer.

2. Use a small pair of scissors to remove the legs and branch from the bottom of the image, then separate the legs from the branches.

3. You'll need a piece of paper for the background, a scrap of kraft cardstock, and a small piece of hessian or burlap. Use a pencil to draw a rough outline of a nest, which will look a bit like a curved sausage... it doesn't have to be perfect as it will be covered by the hessian. Make sure your nest is big enough to hold your bird.

4. Cut out your nest shape and colour it roughly with different coloured brown markers or pencils. Again, don't worry too much about the colouring as most of the nest will be covered by the hessian.

5. Pull the hessian apart so you're left with lots of strands.

6. Apply a generous amount of glue to your cardstock nest and start securing the hessian strands over the top. The strands should run roughly in the same direction, but make sure they cross over, intertwine, and have messy edges.

7. I added a few sprinkles of flower soft for a bit of variation. You might like to look around your craft room for little pieces of thread or yarn, or perhaps go outside and collect some very tiny, dry twigs.

8. To construct the card, I secured a large kraft cardstock frame around my patterned paper with foam tape. Then I played around with the positioning of the nest and branches. Once I was happy, I began to secure the different pieces in place, starting with the main branch that will hold the nest.

9. I find it easiest to secure the little bird and the end branches to the back of the nest rather than adhering them to the paper. It's easier to adjust the placement first and then adhere the whole thing to the background.

10. Now add the panel to your card blank and you're done!

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Reminder: Digital Store Closing

Our digital store is closing at the end of June 2025. No new digital stamps are being released.

Our blog remains as busy as ever with plenty of regular content,

new physical products, tutorials and inspiration.

What's Changing?

- No new digital stamps

- No monthly challenges

What's Continuing?

- Regular card making and paper craft tutorials

- The freebie library will remain

- The A-Z of card folds will remain

- New physical products will be regularly released

- Monthly newsletter will continue

When Is It Happening?

There will be no new digital stamps and no monthly challenges from the start of 2025.

The digital store will close at the end of June 2025 giving people the opportunity to use store credit.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Store credit must be spent by the end of June 2025.

Tutorial - Christmas Chickens III

Welcome to part three of the Christmas Chickens tutorial.

(You can find part one by clicking this LINK and part two by clicking this LINK)

Adding a string of lights is one of my favourite techniques for altering images. I usually create my wire with a black pen, but today I wanted to show you how to do it with a piece of heavy thread, which will give you a fabulous 3D look.

You'll need a set of images, a piece of patterned paper for the background, a needle and some heavy thread, and mediums to create the lights. I used a combination of Nuvo drops (for dimension) and stickles (for colour and sparkle).

Use the needle to poke holes on either side of the chicken's beak. Don't make the hole directly on the beak as you want it to look as though it's being held in the chicken's mouth.

Draw the thread through the first hole leaving a tail about 2" - 3" long. Bring the needle and thread up through the second hole, making a stitch at the back of the image.

Use glue and/or double sided tape to secure the stitch and prevent the thread from being pulled further through the holes.

Now do the same with the second chicken, leaving another 2" - 3" of thread between the two characters. Secure the stitch on the back of the second chicken with glue and/or double sided tape.

Repeat the process for each remaining character, leaving enough thread between them to create loops.

Secure the central character to your patterned paper with glue or tape.

Secure the right-hand image slightly over the top using foam tape to add height and dimension.

Do the same for the left-hand image.

Now it's time to create the loops and knots in your string! I find it easiest to squeeze some glue onto my finger and then onto the thread. You want to secure the thread on either side of each chicken's beak to make sure it doesn't obscure the eyes or face, and then at the beginning, middle and end of each loop. Add glue in any place where the thread needs securing.

To create the lights, I applied some white Nuvo drops for dimension, and some red stickles for colour and sparkle. Alternatively, you could use rhinestones, pearls or enamel dots.

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