Robins & Birdhouses

Hi friends!  Are you stuck inside the house this afternoon like I am.  I just couldn't brave that wind today.  Although our spring time has seen a lot of rain showers and cloudy weather, there still have been enough days of sunshine to get outside and work in my flower gardens.  There's just something special about digging in the dirt and planting flowers.  And a special treat is watching the birds and listening to their sweet music.  I have a special little corner in the garden where I can sit very quietly and watch them dance and hop around in the branches overhead and listen to them sing to each other.  And I often think of Matthew 6:26 where Jesus says, "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?"  What assurance it is to know that God will provide for my every need just as He does for the sparrows.  Wow!

My card, today, is not of sparrows but of robins.  I always get so excited when I see the first robin -- and the first ladybug, too!  I'm participating in a swap where the challenge is thinking outside the box when it comes to the shape of the card.  We're to make any shape except square or rectangle.  So as I was searching the web for some ideas, I found this adorable birdhouse card on a blog called "Create! With Dee."  Dee has a great video tutorial on her blog that you can check out here: 
http://createwithdee.typepad.com/my-blog/2011/05/video-template-for-birdhouse-card-.html

So here's my take on it, and now I only have to make about (gasp) 13 more (a few extra than what the swap calls for).  This is just an adorable little card and the paper combinations are endless.

Dee doesn't give written instructions, but she does list all the supplies and tools she used.  In case you want to make one of these sweet little things, I've listed a few measurements and tips:
1.  The birdhouse is cut on the fold of a 4 1/4" x
     11" piece of CS, folded in half.
2.  For the roof, cut two 1" x 4 1/2" pieces of CS.
     Dee ran them through a crimper but I used a
     Cuttlebug EF called Distressed Stripes.
3.  Since I don't have a 1 3/8' round punch, I used a 1 1/2" round punch and it worked just fine.

Hope you give it a try!
Annie