SBTD anything but a card~ Cardinal gift box

Anything but a card is our theme for the SBTD hop this month. I didn’t know what I was going to create and sat for a while before creating this cardinal treat box. To find out why I think my mom had a hand in this be sure to read to the end.

Are you as happy as I am that the Toile Christmas stamp set (150469) and Christmas Cardinal dies (150640) will be held over (at least) until June? If you love these products be sure to purchase the bundle (152367), to save 10%, before January 2nd. After this date they will not be offered as a bundle.

My project is a standard 2,4,6,8 box turned into a birdhouse. I used Very Vanilla cardstock and stamped it using the Birch Background stamp in Gray Granite ink. I love the tone of this ink which has a brown cast to it making this look like real birch bark.

This angle shows off the treat box a little better, don’t you think?

The next two pictures are the two sides. I created the greens by using the Frosted Frames dies (150658) and cutting out the center to form strips of greenery which I adhered to the roof edge. The snowflakes are also from this same die set. This set of dies will be retiring on January 2,2020.

The box opens by lifting the roof! I secured the one side with Tear & Tape and the other with a small piece of Velcro which can easily be lifted up. After the contents are removed they can then re-secure the roof and use it as a home decor piece!

If you are wondering how I colored the cardinal, I stamped it in Cherry Cobbler Ink, adding Basic Black (face details) & Crushed Curry (feet) Stampin’ Write Markers and then colored it using; light & dark Real Red, dark Cherry Cobbler, dark Mango Melody & light Cajun Craze Blends to give it a no-line watercolor look.

I hope you are enjoying our hop today. Be sure to check out what Susan has shared today.

Now for why I think my mom had a hand in this box. . . This time of year has me thinking of my mom and grandmother’s who all loved cardinals. As I create projects with cardinals I can hear my mom say,” You know, whenever you see a cardinal it is a loved one visiting you from heaven.” These past few years have been especially hard for me. I find myself creating cardinal projects when I find myself talking to mom as I am in my stamp room thinking of projects to create. I will look through my sets, and often, when I come across sets that have birds it seems she grabs my hand and has me pull one of these sets out. I think it is her making sure she gets in on the conversation! I know that mom and my grandmother’s, all would love receiving this special cardinal gift box filled with special hand made treats. You see, they all enjoyed the many special gifts I made especially for each of them as long as I can remember.