Birds sing after a storm;
why shouldn't people feel as free
to delight in whatever remains to them? 
      ~Rose F. Kennedy

Anyone who knows my family knows immediately who inspired this project. Yep, my adorable sister. She is a sweet tiny bird with a great big song she shares at churches, nursing homes, fairs, community theater  . . . shoot, I can't keep up with her. That little chickie takes that violin everywhere. 

See, Mom was a music teacher. So, all three of us kids got some music indoctrination.

Ah, 1968 . . . pointy glasses and high bangs,

My sister and brother have Mom's natural talent and they still play. I just assault the piano keys occasionally.

Here it is . . . one of my favorite pictures in the whole world.

I'm so proud of my brother and sister for continuing what Mom started. Ah . . . makes my heart all warm!

Oh, and sis, you're welcome! That's what happens when you trust me with the family photo album. Mwha ha ha!

This card is not really a card. It's a paper bag in hiding. See, I folded the bag in half and sewed the bottom half together to make two pockets. Huh? I got the idea from the uber talented Michelle Wooderson's Double Pocket Pretties. She has a better picture so you can see the genius behind this design.

I didn't get to put the finishing touches on this yet. So be forewarned; you'll probably see this again. I put about a gazillion squillion hours in this week at my day job. I'm so tuckered out, I think even my eyelashes hurt. But, I wanted to get Phase I to you in time for our Catered Crop Get Krafty Recipe Swap. You know it's not too late to play along and Perfect Paper Crafting shopping dollars are up for grabs.

My Tiny Bird is fussy cut, paper pieced and Copic colored. Her violin is cut from the same paper bag I used to make the flower. Her banner is made with circles folded over, zigzag stitched and coordinated with the My Mind's Eye assorted buttons.

Here are the markers I used and the rest of the recipe. Not pictured (apparently retired) is Stampin' Up!'s Kraft Taffeta ribbon and mystery (don't know where I got it) lace trim.

For giggles and grins (and because I just need to get out more), I'm playing along with the these challenges: 

• Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge 61 (punches and dies) 
• Scrapbookaholic by Abby's Dilo En Español http://www.scrapbookaholicbyabby.com/2012/04/reto-5-dilo-en-espanol-challenge-5.html (Use Black)
• Creatalicious Challenge Number #33 – Flower and Butterflies.

She's the sweetest little rosebud that Texas ever knew,
Her eyes are bright as diamonds, they sparkle like the dew;
You may talk about your Clementine, and sing of Rosalee,
But the Yellow Rose of Texas is the only girl for me.
   – Mitch Miller 1955 Rendition of Yellow Rose of Texas

Oh my! I kinda' went Texas Wild with this one. My daughter, who likes simple, single-layer cards, said it made her dizzy. If you like simple cards, be prepared with the Dramamine because this is super layered, embellished and just nuts!

Hey . . . you were warned.

I made this for the My Favorite Things March Guest Designer Contest (MFTGUESTDT0312) and Wednesday Stamp Club Getting Sketchy #61 (MFTSWC61). Trust me, the sketch really is there; it's just tilted to the side, contorted and layered.

So . . . follow along with me now. The theme for this month's Guest Designer Contest is "books."

• One of my favorite books is True Women by Janice Woods Windle. It's about three generations of Texas women who are so proud and strong that it makes you want to stand up and sing The Yellow Rose of Texas. So, my card is about how this book "roped me in." I know, bad pun.
• I used pages from the Western, Hell and High Waters. I found this book for a dollar at an antique store and I thought it'd be great for my Texas-themed projects. Of course, only after I tore out a bunch of pages did I learn it was worth $20 in the collector's market. So yeah, I'm still trying to get my money's worth.
• The inside flap holds a detachable bookmark. Ah, I'm so clever!

These contests are so addictive, I think it might be time for an Intervention. But, really, all of this was just an excuse to use my new Pure Innocence Country Charms VIP kit. Howdeeee I love this kit! (Yes, I'm channeling Minnie Pearl.)

I couldn't find any craft metal at my hobby store to make my star charm, but I heard you could cut open a soda can and use it to die cut metal. Being the Diet Coke-aholic that I am, I downed a soda, grabbed my Stampin' Up! Craft Scissors and worked away at the can. I'm telling you this because I never tried it before and – Holy Smokes! – it worked like a charm! (Oh, sorry, another bad pun.)

The aluminum in a soda can is so thin, it's like buttah, I mean, it's just like working with cardstock. I ran the new My Favorite Things Country Charms Die-namics through the Big Shot and didn't even have to add anything extra to the "sandwich." Then I layered the metal star with a rhinestone star (this is Texas after all) and a paper star cut from tea-stained, embossed paper. I dangled it from my Loopy Blossoms flower using a jump ring. Of course, you don't have to use a jump ring, but it dangles so pretty when you do.

Oh, I love it!

Did you catch the little freckles, Sheriff's badge, embossed leather accessories, and that cute calico dress? Here she is again just so you can take another gander.

I used the Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Oval Circles die to cut out a little half-circle of the outside of the card. When you flip the cover of the card up, here's what's inside . . . the detachable bookmark.

I used my Cutterpede Perforator Blade to make a perforated edge for the bookmark. You can almost see it in this picture of the inside of the card. When you flip the bookmark to the right, here's what the inside looks like. I made the inside pretty simple to make up for the craziness in the rest of the card.

I followed the general idea of Mary Brown's Splitcoast Stamper tutorial for making a detachable bookmark, here. I didn't have the Xyron kit she talked about so I winged it with my Perfect Squares, Perfect Layers and Cutterpede (see below). If you'd like a pictorial/tutorial on how I made it, just leave me a comment and I'll try to oblige.

Shew . . . are ya still with me?

Here are the Copic markers, the sketch and the rest of the ingredients.

Gracious, that was long winded. And I still feel like I left something out. But, it's time for this tired old cow to head to the barn. Just leave me a comment or two if you have any questions or if you just want to ask: "What in tarnation were you thinking?!"