Black Friday and Holiday Shopping

Beginning today, I'm offering 20% off on all purchases from my Etsy shop Pretty Byrd Designs. All you need to do is use coupon code HOLIDAY20 at checkout.

My shop offers a variety of originally designed and crafted cards,



mini journals,



and tags!



The little journals make great stocking stuffers!

You'll find decorative boxes in a number of sizes. These boxes are perfect for presenting a gift, or can stand alone as a special keepsake.



I also have an assortment of small mixed media canvases, perfect for your holiday decor!



I hope you'll visit my shop, Pretty Byrd Designs, soon and find a special gift for a family member or friend. And, if you see something you like, but want a different message, just let me know. Custom orders are gladly accepted!

Don't forget -- 20% off on all purchases. No minimum required. Use code HOLIDAY20!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Beth

Gift Guide - Part Three

Hi all,

Today I am featuring the third shop in our Scorpio's Power Team -- ZcrochetZ.

Michelle describes her shop as "Zomething practical, Zomething affordable, Zomething handmade unique." She offers a variety of wonderfully made crochet items as well as vintage finds, too.



I love the colors in this great boho-style striped scarf. It's made with a mixture of yarns for lots of texture! This scarf would make a fabulous gift for anyone with a love of bright colors!



These sweet little pouches are so fun! They're such a handy way to carry coffee packets or tea bags! Fill them up with your recipient's favorite beverage and you've created a thoughtful gift, stocking stuffer or hostess gift.



Another awesome gift idea are these crocheted soap savers. Michelle says they are, "my practical and affordable way to save and use those special soaps or even your regular ones." They'd make a great presentation with handmade soaps, wouldn't they?

Well, I hope I've given you some ideas for gift giving this upcoming holiday season -- or for any special occasion.

Be sure to visit ZcrochetZ, Ceraminic, and ChompStomp soon. Don't forget Small Business Saturday on November 26.

Thanks for stopping today!

Gift Guide - Part Two

Hi everyone,

Today I'd like to introduce you to another wonderful shop from our Scorpio's Power Team -- Ceraminic.

Ildi's shop is full of the most beautiful ceramic home decorations and accessories that you will find anywhere. Her work features personalized dishes, ornaments, jewelry and bridal favors -- all made with love and attention to detail.



One of my favorites is this gorgeous ring dish featuring a green leaf. Isn't just exquisite? I love the color and know it would make a wonderful addition to a fall table. What a thoughtful hostess gift this would make.



If you are as big a fan of rustic decor as I am, I know you will adore these sweet acorn ornaments! The color and details are awesome! These would be a fun gift for a friend, co-worker or teacher!



In keeping with the woodland and rustic theme, I thought I'd show you these delightful floral earrings! The painted dandelions are outstanding -- and these earrings are available in studs or dangles.

Thanks so much for visiting today -- and pleasure be sure to visit Ceraminic!

Next time we'll visit the third shop in Scorpio's Power, ZcrochetZ! See you then!

Beth

Tattered Angels Rocks!!

Hi all,

Today I'm featuring a really fun and quite quirky project featuring Tattered Angels paints and rocks!! Yes, rocks!

The idea was to use any rock (or rocks) and decorate with Tattered Angels paints! Once decorated and adorned, we were to leave our rocks in a public place ... as a gift for an unsuspecting soul! Isn't this a fun idea?

I gathered several of rocks various shapes from my yard and other local places and sprayed them with Valentine Pink Glimmer Mist. I tried to find rocks of different textures to see how the paint would adhere to both smooth and rough surfaces.

I also painted two of the rocks with white acrylic paint, and then sprayed them with the Valentine Pink to add a bit of contrast.

For a finishing touch, I then sprayed all of the rocks with Tattered Angels Vanilla Breeze Glimmer Mist to add a sparkling finish!

Once the paint was dried, I adhered white decorative trim around each rock. I then added snowflake embellishments to each rock.

I liked the way they gave off a vintage vibe, but knew we were supposed to place them outdoors! The pink and soft grey colors looked so great on my antique platter!!

So here they are, nestled in my garden among the ivy leaves and mulch. The pink rocks really stand out against the green and brown background -- so here's my idea. I walk throughout the neighborhood every day -- so my plan is to place one of these lovelies in a special spot -- something similar to the backdrop I've shown here!! 

I'm hoping each one will be found before we have a deep snowfall! :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Beth

Gift Guide

Hi all,

Scorpio's Power is the name of the November Adopt a Shop group I am active with on Etsy. We are a group of four Etsians from the Strategic Promotion for Success Team and include:

Ildi from Ceraminic.

Michelle from ZcrochetZ.

Andy from ChompStomp.

And me, Beth from PrettyByrdDesigns.

Each shop offer a fabulous variety of original, handcrafted items that are sure to please that family member or friend on your gift list. Today, I'll introduce you to some of the delightful treasures that you can find at ChompStomp.

Andy is the curator and keeper of ChompStomp of Birmingham, England and his shop features a "menagerie of monsters, critters and creatures."



This is George the Cat -- a hand sculpted and resin figure. He has a rather stern expression but is certain to bring a smile to the face of the cat lover in your life.



This next delightful creature is Donny the Devil. He a resin figure, also hand sculpted and then hand painted with acrylic paint. 



Here is Rupert! This charming robot is made of polymer clay. He's been pained with artists acrylics and given a few coats of gloss varnish to protect his magnificent metallic form.

Andy's creations would make a thoughtful gift for collectors of figurines and one-of-kind hand sculpted pieces. Andy will be adding more creations soon so be sure to visit his shop often. He is also offering a discounted shipping for customers who live outside the UK. Visit his shop ChompStomp to find out the details!

Stop back soon to learn about another one of our November shops.

Thanks for visiting.

Woodland Themed Gift Tags

Hi everyone!

One of the ways to make your gift box or gift bag speical is to add a unique gift tag. They are so easy to make but make such a big impact. I recently purchased the Tattered Angels Calendar Mist Kit - Man Cave and found these mists to be perfect for the woodland tags I created for the autumn season.

The first set of tags I created features autumn leaves.

I sprayed manila tags with Simply Sheer Tangy Lime and Boardwalk Glimmer Mist. When the ink dried I used a dark brown ink to stamp the leaves onto the tag. I embellished the tags with ribbon, twine and burlap ribbon.

The next set of tags is a bit more rustic:

I sprayed the tags with Boardwalk Glimmer Mist as well as the Simply Sheer Rich Brown Mist. After the tags were dry, I stamped the leaves and botanical images in a variety of brown inks. Really striking, don't you think! Again, I added burlap ribbon, canvas scraps and twine to add to the rustic look.

The final set of tags is done a wonderful blue ink.

This time I misted the tags with Navy Blue Glimmer Mist. Such a great color!! I then stamped each tag with a winterberry stamp using a dark blue ink. I used dark blue seam binding and burlap ribbon to embellish each tag.

Gift tags are such a great way to add interest and that special touch to your packages! These tags were so fun to create and I loved playing with the different spray mist colors. 

Canvas Corp Brands Tattered Angels line of Paints offers such an amazing variety of colors and types that are perfect for your creative needs!! Be sure to visit them!!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Beth

Halloween Fun

Yikes -- Halloween is only a few weeks away! Here are some festive ideas to help you celebrate this fun holiday!

Add some fun to your Halloween decor with these bright tags! What a charming accent to your party table!

Or, they'd be a great addition to trick-or-treat gift bags!

It's always fun to send cards for holidays and special occasions, so why not send one for Halloween?My shop offers a variety of cards for anyone on your list. 

Decorative pumpkins ...

Black crows ...

Or how about an owl ...

Sometimes you just want to write a quick note. These little notecards would work perfectly -- whether it be pumpkins:

Or sunflowers:

My etsy shop, Pretty Byrd Designs, offers a variety of original cards, tags and other decorative items for your Halloween needs!

Be sure to check back soon for more ideas for the upcoming holiday season.

See you soon and thanks for visiting!

Beth

Decorative Boxes

I love playing with paper and making cards, tags and journals, but I've found a new joy in creating decorative boxes. Over the past couple of months, I've enjoyed transforming kraft boxes, paper mache boxes and plain old cardboard boxes into something quite different and amazing.

This sweet little box started off as simple heart-shaped kraft box. I distress-painted both the bottom and the lid with pale yellow acrylic paint. The bottom is adorned with white felt rick-rack. The lid is edged in white lace trim and features a shabby chic flower made of scripted paper.

The next two boxes started off as ... well, just plain cardboard boxes.

Again, I distress-painted both with acrylic paint -- one in sage green, the other in soft blue. I added burlap trim, shabby chic flowers and assorted embellishments. 

These charming boxes would make lovely keepsake gifts -- and they are sized perfectly to fit a gift card!!!

The last box I'm featuring today is a paper mache box that I distress-painted a soft ivory. The lid is edged with an ivory and brown polka-dot ribbon and the top is adorned with a wonderful shabby chic canvas flower. The center features a gorgeous vintage-style brad. 

I'll be posting more decorative boxes in the weeks ahead. You know the holiday shopping season isn't too far away!!

If you're interested in more decorative boxes, please visit my Etsy shop Pretty Byrd Designs and find more decorative boxes here.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Beth

Father's Day Cards

It's hard to believe the month of June is nearly half over!! And, I realized that Father's Day is almost here, too. Here are a couple of cards I created for dad's special day:

This one features an adorable bulldog image. I've had the stamp for a while but never used it until now:

Here's another one with the same stamp:

This next card has a nautical theme and features Coral Claws and Shells on Ivory Paper from 7Gypsies:

For more of celebratory theme, here's a card with a bit of glitter and gold!

These cards are all available in my Etsy shop Pretty Byrd Designs.

I hope this inspires you to find the perfect card for that special man in your life!!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Vintage Owls - Woodland Dream Cards

We've made it to the end of March and I am looking ahead to lovely spring days and spending time outdoors! When I saw Deena's (from Ewe-N-Me Printables) Hang Tags - Vintage Owls I thought of a woodland forest and the beauty of nature. These images are truly striking!

While the colors remind me more of autumn than spring, I couldn't resist using them to make a few any occasion greeting cards. There are three different images and you will get three larger images and six smaller ones on an 8.5 x 11 page. I used the larger size for my cards.

I started with a brown card which I then layered with a panel of ivory textured paper. I stapled a strip of brown burlap to each card and then glued the owl image to each. The images really stand out against the ivory and brown background.

For a bit of decoration I added a paper square stamped with inspirational words in brown ink. I then adorned each card with a vintage style embellishment. 

I had so much fun making these cards and just love those owls! 

For more inspiration, be sure to visit Ewe-N-Me Printables and check out all of the great hang tags available for your crafting projects.

Thanks for visiting today!

Beth

Hi everyone!

While sorting through and organizing my stash of supplies recently, I came across five rectangular chipboard pieces. I thought they'd be great for creating ATCs which is a project I haven't tried before. Lucky me, they worked perfectly with Ewe-N-Me Printables Hang Tags - St. Patty's Day Tickets.

There are five different ticket designs and you will get two of each on a page.

I started off by spraying each chipboard card with a gold mist paint (it's hard to see in the photo but the mist leaves a shimmery, gold finish). When the paint dried I glued the five different images to each card.

The printable tickets fit perfectly onto each card (the size of the cards are 2-3/4 x 3-3/4). 

These images are so festive and I love the variety!! As a final touch, I added some embellishments that I had on hand -- green and gold gemstones.

Making these ATCs was so much fun and I love the way they turned out. 

I hope I've inspired you to try something new. Be sure to visit the Ewe-N-Me Printables website for more hang tags and inspiration!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all! See you next time!

Beth

St. Patrick's Day Cards

Hi all!

In two days it will be March and that makes me happy for two reasons. First, Spring arrives ... yeah!!! That means the beginning of blooms and blossoms and the return of all things green, including St. Patrick's Day -- which is the second great reason!

With that in mind, I'm posting a couple of cards I created especially for that day. The paper I used for these cards is from the St. Paddy's Day Digital Paper Pack from Cornucopia Art Design on etsy.

The first was created with a panel of  "lucky" paper adhered to a white card. I added strips of both a patterned green ribbon and sparkly silver and white ribbon. The gold gemstones and sparkly white buttons add to the festive feel.

The next card features green and gold! The panel of striped paper is backed by a white card. Shamrock paper and gold mesh ribbon adorn the "Happy St. Patrick's Day" greeting. The sparkly gold brad coordinates with the gold ribbon ... and makes me think of the pot of gold waiting to be found!

My final creation is a set of four little note cards adorned with a charming shamrock on the front of each! I used my heart punch to make these delightful shamrock flowers ... using shamrock paper! I stamped a stem on each and added a gold gem stone to the center of each. Simple -- but so sweet!

I'm lovin' all this green and I hope you are too!

Thanks for stopping today. Be sure to visit Cornucopia Art Design!

Beth

Whimsical Mini Journals with Victorian Cats

Hello all!

Today I thought I'd bring a bit of whimsy and feature several mini journals I created using Deena's (from Ewe-N-Me Printables) adorable Hang Tags - Victorian Cats. These images were irresistible -- the kitty faces are so sweet!

There are four different images and you will get two of each on an 8.5" x 11" sheet. 

The colors on the images are soft so I decided to cover each of the mini journals with pastel cardstock. 

I adorned each journal with lace or a decorative trimming and a vintage style embellishment!

But, my favorite part was adding the printed words to give a whimsical touch. It was so much fun to match up the words with these adorable kitties!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Please visit the Ewe-N-Me Printables website for inspiration for your creative endeavors!!

Beth

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