Whether you call them ladybirds or ladybugs, I love to see these brightly coloured beetles in my garden. Given that one ladybird can eat 5,000 aphids in its lifetime, they’re very welcome in my vegetable garden. So when I saw the Wiggle Worm Stamp set I knew I’d have to make one of the bugs into a ladybird, and today was that day.

LADYBIRDS FIRST

I began with the more rounded smiling beetle and stamped her twice using Tuxedo Black ink, once on Poppy Parade Card and once on Very Vanilla. Next, using the cluster of tiny hearts image I decorated her body.

Just one more piece of stamping was needed, the “Happy birthday” sentiment, also from the Wiggle Worm Stamp Set. I stamped this onto Very Vanilla Card and I was ready to die-cut all the pieces for my gift tag.

WIGGLY BUGS AND SHAPES DIES

I began by cutting out my Very Vanilla ladybird using the coordinating die from the Wiggly Bugs Dies. Then from Mint Macaron Card I cut out the large leaf.

Next I turned to the Stitched Shapes Dies and cut out the sentiment using the #1 (smallest) of the four oval dies in the set. From another piece of Very Vanilla Card I then cut the tag base using the #4 (largest) oval die.

Before I could begin to assemble all my pieces I a little more work to do on the tag base. First I used some Stampin’ Sponge to add a light layer of Seaside Spray ink over the whole surface. Then I punched an oval hole at the top using the Detailed Trio Punch.

ASSEMBLING THE LADYBIRD TAG

To assemble my tag I began with the large leaf. The die completely removes the veins from the leaf, and I wanted to take advantage of this by inserting another colour. When making a previous project I’d ended up with a Granny Apple Green vein piece that I hadn’t used. So I inserted that into my leaf, and on the back added pieces of Stampin’ Dimensionals to hold in in place. Meanwhile the leftover Mint Macaron veins from today’s project were set aside to be used another day.

Next on the front of the leaf I attached the left side of the sentiment with a single Stampin’ Dimensional. Under the right-hand part of the sentiment I stacked two Dimensionals to keep it level when the tag was finished. With that done I could now see where to place my ladybird.

From the Poppy Parade ladybird I cut out just the centre section using Paper Snips. Then with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I attached this piece over the same area on the Very Vanilla ladybird. Of course strictly speaking the red spotted part is the wing casings on her back, but we’ll take a little artistic licence here. At this point I decided to colour in her mouth so grabbed a light Flirty Flamingo Stampin’ Blends for that.

Now I was ready to put a little liquid glue on the back of the ladybird and attach her to the oval tag. Then I attached the assembled leaf and sentiment.

To complete the tag I added a loop of Mint Macaron twine from the Nature’s Twine pack and tied it in a simple knot. One sweet birthday gift tag with smiling ladybird was done.

I do love the Wiggle Worm Stamp Set and Wiggly Bugs Dies they’re such fun and not just for children’s projects. You can see some other projects I’ve made using these projects in my earlier blog posts.

• Bugs I like in my studio
• Amazing word play

Today I need to do some work in my garden, I wonder whether something will inspire my blog project for tomorrow? I do hope you’ll come back to find out.

BONUS DAYS ENDS ON WEDNESDAY!

There’s only a few more days to earn a $6 Bonus Days e-coupon for every $60 you spend (before shipping and taxes). Did you know that if you ordered the Wiggle Worm bundle and added a single Stampin’ Blends Marker you’d earn a coupon? It’s that easy. Then in August your $6 coupon could buy another Stampin’ Blends marker, or go towards something else you want. It’s a great time to stock up on all those essential items you already know you need, so don’t miss out!

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Wiggle Worm Stamp Set and Wiggly Bugs Dies using a single ‘bundle’ item number. This meant that I saved 10% off the cost of buying the same two items separately. I’ve included both options in my product list so you can look at these in more detail if you wish.