Chipmunk Thanks

Happy Saturday, stampers!  I have a quick masculine card for you today! My birthday is coming up and my sweet step-father-in-law is always very generous, so I wanted to send him a special thank you card.  He's a no-frills kinda guy, so it's a no-frills kinda card, but I did manage to incorporate three challenges!  But first, my card:

TGIF Challenges wants us to use our paper scraps; Color Dare is featuring shades of brown; and Daring Cardmakers, a new one to me, wants us to use three of something!

You know how you always have those little strips of leftover DSP when you cut a mat for the front of a standard-sized card?  I took some of those woodgrained-pattern strips from the Neutrals 6x6 pad in Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, and Cajun Craze (that's my "three") and cut them with a cool little die from Ornate Layers....it's 4" x 7/8" and has stitching all around.  I placed them on an angle on my Very Vanilla card, butting the edges together, to create a little patchwork panel:

For my focal panel, I stamped the chipmunk in Early Espresso on a scrap of Very Vanilla, then used a square Stitched Shape die to cut it out. I took a B acrylic block, stuck it on a Crumb Cake ink pad, then "stamped" once on scrap paper and again directly on top of my critter.  The sentiment was stamped in Cajun Craze:

That's a fun way to add color and texture in a snap!  Now to get this out in the mail!

We do have a chipmunk that scoots around our patio and under our porch, but he is way too shy and quick for me to get a photo of him.  Last Sunday morning, however, we did "capture" this little guy:

He (or she!) has been a naughty little character, stealing whole blocks of suet from my feeders, and climbing up to the top of the seed feeders, helping himself to anything available!  This day, he helped himself to an apple inside of John's Have-a-Heart trap, and he was not a happy camper.  HOWEVER..... a few minutes after we discovered him, when John came to take him to the wooded area down the road and release him, he had ESCAPED!  Apparently the door to the trap has a tiny bit of play in it and he managed to squeeze himself under it!  SO....no more bird seed or suet until John fixes the trap!  You can't fool with Mother Nature....or brother raccoon!

Enjoy your day and be blessed!

Project Details—All Products SU! Unless Otherwise Specified
Stamps	Field Journal
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Neutrals DSP
Ink	Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Big Shot, Ornate Layers Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies, Acrylic Block B