Birdhouses Through the Seasons with Natasha Vacca

Hi my name is Natasha Vacca and I am so excited to be on the Spellbinders blog today!  I have had an amazing time working with the new release Birdhouses Through the Seasons by Vicky Papaioannou. These houses are so sweet and I am excited to show you how I created a house for each season!  I wanted to create a house for each season and showcase different ways to use these dies using both colored cardstock and by water coloring the die cuts!  I hope you enjoy them!   You can also find me on my personal blog at natashascolorfulcreations.com I would love it if you stopped by there too!

Build a Winter Bird House

For my first card I am using the beautiful die set Build a Winter Bird House. To begin I started by die cutting the birdhouse, mistletoe, holly leaf, holly berries, as well as the poinsettia. I used the Assorted Pack Color Essential cardstock by Spellbinders. I used a combination of colors and I am in love with this card stock! It was so easy to work with and the colors are beautiful! I set my die cut images aside. I die cut the bird using the Sweet birds on a branch die set.

I then die cut a background panel in white card stock and used the beautiful Sun Rays Embossing folder by Spellbinders. I ran the folder through my Spellbinders Platinum machine. I love the details in this new embossing folder!  I then trimmed down the panel using the Essential Rectangle die set from Spellbinders.  It was now time to assemble my winter birdhouse.  Once I decided on the layout I used foam tape to mount my birdhouse on my embossed background.  I continued to adhere all the elements together until my house was complete! I added a few embellishments in gold on the poinsettia, as well as the mistletoe.  I added a bit of sparkly glitter to my rooftop as well!  I then chose a sentiment from the Tweet Sentiments stamp set and heat embossed this in gold on white cardstock.  Finally I adhered a background panel (Pomegranate cardstock) to an A2 card base.  I then adhered the white embossed card panel and added the sentiment.

Other Supplies

110 card stock, Gold Embossing Powder, Stickles – Golden Rod, Simon Says Stamp – Unicorn Confetti

Build A Spring Bird House

For my next card I am using the gorgeous spring birdhouse die set!  I love spring!  I love to hear the birds singing and see the flowers begin to grow!  It is such a happy time! To begin this card I started by taping down a piece of watercolor card onto a hard board.  I used a premium watercolor set to color the panel of paper using a variety of shades of brown.  I added color several times and allowed it to dry between layers.  Once it was dry, I then die cut the house using my Platinum machine.  I added a bit of distress ink to the house as well to give it more of a rustic feel.  I love the details within the birdhouse! Then I die cut the fence, as well as the floral images and leaves using the Assorted Pack Color Essential cardstock by Spellbinders.  I also used the Sweet Birds on a branch set to die cut the branch.

I then started to work on the background for this card.  I used a stencil to create the background.  I placed the stencil onto watercolor cardstock and heat embossed this using a clear powder.  I taped down the panel and added a mix of color to create a setting behind the house. Finally it was time to adhere my card together.  I added a piece of pink cardstock to my A2 card panel.  I then glued down the stencil/watercolor background.  I glued down the branch and foam mounted the birdhouse.  I adhered the elements to the house.  Finally I added a glimmer Sentiment from Yana’s Sentiments.

Other Supplies

110 card stock, Canson XL watercolor card, Mijello Mission Gold watercolor, Gansai Tambi Watercolor, Tumbling Leaves Stencil – Simon Says Stamp, Clear Embossing Powder

Build A Summer Bird House

It was time for my favorite season – summer!  I love this gorgeous lighthouse die!  I die cut the birdhouse, plus the various elements in this set using the Assorted Pack Color Essential cardstock by Spellbinders.  Once they were die cut, I set these aside.

I started to work on the background.  I trimmed a panel of heavy weight cardstock to a mini slime line size.  I ink blended a cloud pattern on the cardstock using 2 shades of blue ink.  I then created sand by heat embossing a beige cardstock panel using a textured embossing powder. Finally I adhered the summer birdhouse together.  I foam mounted the lighthouse and added the various elements to my card (birds, shells, and more).  To complete the card I stamped a sentiment from the Tweet Sentiments stamp set onto the cloud panel.  Finally I adhered this to my card base.

Other Supplies

110 card stock, Layering Rainbow Stencil– Simon Says Stamp, Distress Oxide – Tumbled Glass, Broken China, WOW Embossing Powder – Karin’s Dream.

Build a Fall Bird House

To complete the year of seasonal birdhouses, I created a fall birdhouse! To begin this card I started by taping down a piece of watercolor card onto a hard board.  The process of water coloring this house is the same as the spring house as shared above.

I also taped down 2 pieces of watercolor cardstock onto a hard board.  I used powders on these panels to create a mix of colors for my fall leaves.  Once it was dry I die cut the leaves. I then created a bright orange background using a spray and die cut this using the Essential Rectangles die set.  Finally it was time to adhere my fall house together.  I foam mounted the house, as well as several of the leaves for added dimension.  I then chose a sentiment from the Tweet Sentiment Set and stamped this directly to my orange background.  Finally I adhered this to my card base.

Other Supplies

110 card stock, Mijello Mission Gold, Distress Inks, Color Burst Powders, Distress Oxide Spray Thank you so much for stopping by today!  I love these sweet houses and be sure to stop by the Spellbinders blog for more beautiful inspiration!  I hope you’ll stop by my blog as well!  Thank you so much!