Eileen Hull's 3-D Birdhouse Project

After another crazy weekend (drove to Northamptonshire to try out an 8 mile hike in advance of a youth camp I am organising, drove home to pick up my daughter and a friend, then drove to Watford to a Hawaiian themed dance, then back to Northampton on Sunday... LOTS of driving and walking, but good fun!) anyway, I compiled a pretty good To Do List this morning to catch up with the house, but then the post came, bringing in it Eileen Hull's 3-D Birdhouse Sizzix Die... figured housework can wait!

I've wanted to get some of Eileen's dies for a while, but they keep being out of stock in England, so I was really happy to get hold of this Birdhouse one.

I made three houses from First Edition's Floral Pavilion pad (it worked fine just using cardboard instead of chipboard or mat board, though I put in my own creases), and decorated them.

 For the first, I added buttons to the roof, and pom-pom trim round the roof edges. For adhering heavier items like those, I use Beacon's 3-in-1 glue, because it dries so quickly (kind of like glue-gun glue, but cold).

I added some leaves cut with the 'Branch with Leaves' Sizzlit, which I painted with Antique Linen Distress paint, and added some paper roses, and a little punched butterfly, with adhesive pearls.

 For the second, I added a metal Stampin' Up book plate, and made a mini strand of bunting (I put some twine through holes on each side of the roof, and used the Beacon 3-in-1 glue to add the tiny flags), and added more butterflies, and a strip of ribbon to the roof.

 And for the third, I added some Stampin' Up pink ruffled ribbon, and swirls cut from Tim Holtz's Festive Greenery die, a couple of paper flowers, and some birds cut from Karen Burniston's Birds on a Wire die.

I was also really chuffed to been chosen as one of Country View Craft Blog's Top Three winners, for their Die Cuts challenge, last month. I get to be a guest designer next month, and was sent this blinkie...

I entered a couple of different projects to the challenge, and they picked out my tealight holder:

Some of the products used: