Meet the Alpha Stamps Design Team Blog Hop!

Hey all traveling the Alpha Stamps Design Team Blog Hop and welcome to my little abode in cyberspace. 

Sit back, relax, grab your favorite beverage and enjoy.

My name is Caroline Ouzts Hay and this is my first year on the Alpha Stamps design team, but as many of you know I've been hanging out with the gals of Alpha Stamps for quite some time and loving every minute of it.  The women of Alpha Stamps have inspired me to grow and learn and helped make me the artist I am today.

I found Alpha Stamps about five years ago when in search of a Pierrot stamp

(this one, isn't she darling!)

and since then have fallen head over heals in love with everything they have!  My favorite themes are Ocean, French, Tea/Coffee, to name just a few off the top of my head. 

I like to tell stories with the pieces I create, and frequently it is a book or image itself that inspires me.  With a book I love to create new art to depict scenes and the overall emotions that it brings out in a reader.  When I set eyes on an inspiring picture I like to make up a story to go along with it. 

This is one of the coasters I created for the Bird in Hats Swap (you can sign up now, just click the icon below).  We all know the story of Marie Antoinette, well this is the story of two birds that were watching and just might have gotten a little too close. 

Constantly the woman of Alpha Stamps stun me with their talent and ideas and I'm looking forward to what is planned in the future.  I can't wait to see all the lovely coasters and am thrilled that I am hosting the swap.  In the upcoming year I hope to continue to build on the friendships this group has fostered, meet new artist and grow more as an artist.

Now onto the fun stuff, right ;)

Giveaway

A kit, to help you make my "Slices of a Birdhouse"

the kit will include

3 collage sheets, paper, trims, flowers, ribbon and a bird

and arrive to the lucky winner packaged in a hand stamped baggie. 

 

But in order to help you out and for those that may not win.  I am going to share some of the techniques I used to create this piece.  The following tutorials will appear over the next few days in separate posts to make them easier to find.

How to put together  "Slices of a Birdhouse"
to make it easier to see I've opted to use colored cardstock for this tutorial, you of course would use the chipboard houses.

Draw a line down the center of house #2 leaving a 1/4" gap at the top (you will not cut that area)

Draw a line down the center of House #1 a 1/2" long

Now using a matt knife cut along the lines, DO NOT CUT  past the lines or your houses will not slip together evenly.

Slip House #2 over House #1 until they fit together snugly.
(You might have to widen your cut on House #2, I suggest sanded it a little)

Now draw a line down the center of House #3

and cut it into two

Now comes the tricky part, you can eyeball this (I did) or get out a protractor. 
Twist House #2 until it is roughly at a 45 degree angle from House #1.  Glue this into place (I used E6000) and let dry.

Lastly put some glue (once again I used E6000) along the edges of each half of House #3 and place them into the open space (about a 45 degree angle)

All done!  Now you decorate.

***

The next thing I would like to share with you is a tutorial I found on Pinterest, tried out, and made a few alterations to suit my purposes and style.

Karen B. of Todolwen made some beautiful Hymn Page Feathers and supplied a wonderful tutorial

Here is an image of Karen's feathers

Alas I had no hymn paper, and Karen's feathers were way to large for me.  So what follows are how to make the feathers for the "Slices of a Birdhouse"

Print out or draw your own feathers.  The above are the sizes I used on "Slices of a Birdhouse" 

Trace the template onto your desired paper and cut the feathers out.
Because my paper was thin, when I went to cut the feathers out I stacked two sheets of paper together and then cut.  However if your paper is thicker remember you will need to have a front and back for your feather.

Now it's time to cut some wire. 
I used a medium gauge wire but suggest a nice thick one.  Cut the wire slightly longer than the feather.

Glue the wire in place and smush the feather pieces together.

Now it's time to really turn it into a feather. 
Start cutting downward from the edge towards the wire.  I like to make sure the cuts are nice and uneven.

Give your cut feathers a little edge ruffling by running your finger along them and curling the paper in towards the wire.

Karen wrapped her stems with matching paper, I had a really hard time doing that so I decided to wrap my stems in coordinating seam binding.  I dipped the wire end into the glue and curled the seam binding around it.  Once it was dry I cut off the excess ribbon.

For some reason I distress everything, so the feathers got a quick brushing of tea dye and vintage photo distress sinks.

Not so surprising is that I added glitter.  I put a small amount on my finger and ran it along the edge of the feather, then sprinkled the glitter on.

 And voila, mini feathers!

Thank you Karen for the wonderful tutorial and the inspiration to make them. 

Well gang, that's about it.  I know it's long but it's fun!

If you would like to enter my giveaway (winner will be announced June 12th) please leave a comment and a way for me to contact you.