When I first saw the Elegant Bird Die in the Autumn Winter mini catalogue, I have to confess I was a bit ho-hum about it. Not that I didn't LIKE it, I just thought it was too big and wondered what on earth else you could do with.

Well, after a trip to Stampin' Up! Convention where the very talented Beth Stewart showed us some gorgeous projects using this die, and a bit of a browse through Stampin' Connection, our demonstrator forum, I found lots of inspiration.

My stamp club girls had lots of fun on Friday night making some very cheerful cards based on some extra colourful funny cards made by Betty Traciak, an SU! demonstrator in the US. I loved Betty's gorgeous primary coloured cards, however for our group, I chose Flirtatious Designer Series Paper for the background and Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Wisteria Wonder and Concord Crush for the co-ordinating card.

All of a sudden these aren't looking like the "elegant" birds they are supposed to be, but they just need a bit of dressing up!

With ties from the stamp set Best Dad Ever, and some adhesive jewels, rhinestone or pearl, these little chooks can be very comically elegant!

Some of them have been embossed using various Textured Impressions Embossing Folders. Others have been stamped for a bit of pattern.

I had such fun making these and playing with various other ideas using the Elegant Bird Die. The Autumn Winter Mini finishes this month, so make sure you check it out. And if you'd like to see some other gorgeous projects using the Elegant Bird Die, then be sure to book into one of my Christmas in July workshops as we will be using it there!

Christmas in July sessions start this Friday night, 7.30pm at my place. All the details are on my class page - just click the Class & Events tab at the top of this post.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Kathryn