Bird House Stepper Card

This week, Simon Says Stamp and Show... House Rules! Well the talented design team covered all my ideas and I do like to be a bit different (what do you mean you hadn't noticed? :-), so here's a Bird House. If you've never made this type of stepper card before, it's very easy and there's a tutorial with all the measurements.

"Bird House"

The colour scheme of blue, brown, grey makes a great Winter-themed card for any occasion. I'll be giving this one as a "new home" card. The background is patterned paper overstamped with various bird-themed stamps using sepia archival ink. I love the clear definition that archival ink gives when stamping. The birdhouse foamboard diecut is embossed in a folder and covered with layers of distress ink, starting with picket fence to lighten the colour, and including some purple to give it depth. The roof and base of the birdhouse are cut separately and coloured using Adirondack alcohol inks dabbed on with a felt applicator tool. A silver pen is used to highlight all the card edges.

The sentiment is stamped in sepia archival ink straight onto patterned paper, then heat-embossed in clear before matting onto some grey card to match the base card. It reads:

"Be like the bird that, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she has wings"  Victor Marie Hugo
 

"Bird in Branch"

The other diecuts are from patterned paper, and the dies are used as stencils to add inky details with a sponge and distress inks.

"Bird House Card"

Ingredients:

Sizzix Bigz Birdhouse die

Sizzix Tim Holtz embossing folder: Wood

Marianne dies: bird on a branch (small), bird on a branch (large), tiny birdhouse

Crafty Individuals stamp sets: CI-287, CI-234

Distress Ink Pads & Stains

Archival ink pad: Sepia

Adirondack inks & applicator tool

cardstock: grey 300gsm, white 200gsm, foamboard

Entered for the following challenge:
Simon Says Stamp and Show - House Rules