Cuter than a Bug's Ear

I don't know how that phrase--"cuter than a bug's ear"--came into the English language.  But it seems like the perfect phrase to describe the Country Drive collection from Echo Park Paper. Country Drive is full of cute little bug images.  There are lady bugs, honey bees, and butterflies galore!  So, in honor of these cute little critters, I decided to create a trio of projects featuring bugs.  As you see in the above photo, I created lady bug card, a honey bee altered pocket planner, and a butterfly layout.  Read on for a list of materials and instructions for each project.

First up is the card, pictured above.  It's a card that can be given to a special little girl for virtually any occasion.  You will need the following materials (Echo Park stock numbers given) to create this card:

• CD16013 BIRDS ON A WIRE
• CD16005 BORDER STRIP
• CD16011 LITTLE LADIES
• CD16019 CLOVER/BIG SKY
• CD16014 ELEMENT STICKERS 
• CD16015 ALPHA STICKERS
• premade card base (optional)
• red pen (I used one by Zig)
• corner rounding punch (I used one from Creative Memories)
• light colored scratch paper
• regular and foam adhesive (I used 3M brand)

Instructions:

1. Cut a 8.5x5.5" rectangle from the red patterned side of the Birds on a Wire paper.  Fold it in half to create a card that is 4.25 inches high and 5.5 inches wide.  Alternately, if you are using a premade card base, you can cut a rectangle big enough the fit the front of your card base.
2. Cut a 5.5 inch strip from the lady bug border on the Border Strip paper.  Cut a slightly taller 5.5 inch strip from the blue patterned side of the Little Ladies paper, and mount the lady bug border on this strip.  With the red pen, doodle lines along the top and bottom edges of the lady bug border.
3. From the blue patterned side of the Clover/Big Sky paper, cut a rectangle that is 3.25 inches high and 4.5 inches long.  Round the two top corners.  Use the red pen to doodle a line around the edge of the paper. 
4. Now it's time to stick everything together.  Adhere the blue block of paper in the center of the card.  Adhere the lady bug border along the bottom edge of the blue block.  Adhere the lady bug sticker from the Element sticker sheet to a light colored scrap of paper.  Fussy-cut along the edge of the sticker, then use foam adhesive to mount it near the left-hand edge of the blue block.  Last but not least, use the alphabet stickers to spell "Hi there, lil' lady!" next to the lady bug sticker.  The cross-hatched pattern on the Big Sky paper will guide you in placing your letters in straight lines.  Your card is finished!

Next up is the altered pocket planner, pictured above.  You will need to purchase a checkbook-style planner.  Mine is from the WWP Resources corporation, and I purchased it for about two dollars at my local Hallmark gift shop.  Here are the other supplies you will need:

• CD16007 SUNDRESS
• CD16005 BORDER STRIP
• CD16019 CLOVER/BIG SKY
• CD16015 ALPHA STICKERS 
• CD16014 ELEMENT STICKERS 
• pencil
• corner rounding punch
• light colored scrap paper
• regular and foam adhesive (I used 3M brand)

Instructions:

1. Remove the planner from its plastic holder.  Place the cover on the side of the Sundress paper that is divided into four quadrants.  Be sure to place it at the bottom of the page.  With the pencil, lightly trace around the edges of the cover of the planner.  Use scissors to cut along the pencil lines, then adhere your cutout to the cover of the planner, with the orange/white floral side facing out.  
2. Cut the honey bee strip from the Border Strip paper.  Cut it into two pieces, and adhere the two pieces to the planner cover, as shown in the above photo.  Trim off the excess paper, and save it for another project.
3. From the blue/white/yellow floral quadrant of the remaining Sundress paper, cut a rectangle that is 3.5 inches high and 2.75 inches wide.  Fussy cut along the edge of the diamonds at the bottom of this rectangle, to create an interesting border.  Adhere this rectangle in the upper, left-hand corner of the planner cover.
4. Cut a strip from the Big Sky paper that is .75 inches high and 2.75 inches long.  Place number stickers from the Alpha Sticker sheet on this blue strip.  Adhere the strip near the bottom of the blue/white/yellow floral block.
5. Cut a rectangle from the Clover paper that is 1.75 inches high and 2.5 inches long.  Round the two bottom corners.  Center this Clover paper at the top of the blue/white/yellow rectangle, and adhere.  Use the miniature blue stickers from the Alpha Sticker sheet to spell "Busy as a" on this green rectangle.  Adhere the honey bee sticker from the Element Sticker sheet to a scrap of light colored paper.  Fussy cut around the sticker, then adhere it to the planner cover, as shown in the above photo, with foam adhesive.
6. Use the miniature blue and green stickers from the Alpha Sticker sheet to spell the word "planner" in the bottom, right-hand corner of the planner cover.  Place the stickers at jaunty angles, letting their sides overlap and their bottom edges extend beyond the bottom edge of the planner cover.  Then, use scissors to trim off the bits of stickers that extend beyond the bottom edge of the orange paper.  As a final touch, you may wish to use a pencil to trace along the edges of some of your elements, to give them extra definition.  I traced along the edges of all my paper strips and miniature alpha stickers.  Now your planner is finished.  You can slip it back into its plastic case and either keep it for yourself or give it as a gift.

The final project is a 12x12" layout.  You will need the following supplies to create it:

• CD16007 SUNDRESS
• CD16005 BORDER STRIP
• CD16015 ALPHA STICKERS 
• two wallet-sized photos (landscape orientation)
• two contact-print sized photos (landscape orientation)
• white or other neutral cardstock (I used a sheet from Wausau Paper)
• pencil
• pink pen (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cut out the 6x6" pink floral square from the Sundress paper.  Adhere the four photos as shown in the picture above, then adhere the square to the center of the neutral cardstock.
2. Use the alphabet stickers from the Alpha sheet to spell your title words above and below the square of floral paper, as shown in the photo above.  Because I created this page for a color challenge at the Color Room site, I then traced around the edge of the letters with a pencil, carefully removed the letters, and colored inside my traced lines with a pink Zig pen.  If you want pink title letters, you could do this too.  Or, if you prefer blue letters, simply leave the stickers where they are.
3. Cut the pink phrase strip from the Border Strip paper, and place it across the center of the floral square, as shown in the above photo.  Trim off excess.
4. From the orange floral side of the Sundress paper, cut four strips that are each half an inch tall and 10.5 inches long.  Cut dovetails at either end of each strip.  Adhere the four so that they frame the pink floral square, as shown in the above photo.
5. Fussy cut the following shapes: two apple-green butterflies from the Border Strip paper, two pink butterflies from the Border Strip paper, one orange butterfly from the Border Strip paper, one orange bird from the Border Strip paper, and five mini butterflies from the Sundress paper.  Adhere these cutouts to the layout, as shown in the above photo.
6. For a finishing touch, adhere the "Sweet Summer" and "The Good Life" sentiment stickers from the Alpha Sticker sheet near the contact-print photos, as shown in the above picture.  If you wish, you may add additional doodling with the pink pen (I added a few borders and dots), or you may leave your layout as-is.  You are now finished with the layout.  

Thanks for checking out this blog post.  Hope you've enjoyed these three bug-themed projects!