This adorable card is so easy to make and hardly even requires stamping, it is mainly using the cut-outs that come with the Wildflower Birthday Designer Series Paper pack from Stampin’ Up’s January-April 2025 Mini catalog. It comes with the normal double-sided paper and then two sheets to cut-outs as well.
To create this card you just need a few things:
White card stock
Peach Pie card stock
Wildflower Birthday Designer Series Paper pack
Peach Pie ink pad
Paper trimmer
Adhesive of choice
Pop-Dots
To start cut your Peach Pie card stock into 4 ¼” x 11” and fold in half to 4 ¼” x 5 ½”. Then cut another piece of the Peach Pie card stock to 2 ¾” x 4 ¼”. Now take your piece of white card stock and cut two pieces to 4” x 5 ¼” and another to 2 ½” x 4”. The last is to take a piece of the Peach Pie Daisy paper from your Wildflower Birthday Designer Series Paper pack and cut a piece 3 ¾” x 5”. That takes care of all the cutting.
Let’s build our layers for the front of the card. Take your card base and adhere one of the 4” x 5 ¼” pieces of white card stock to the front of the card. Then adhere your Peach Pie Daisy piece of card stock onto the white. Add the 2 ¾” x 4 ¼” piece of Peach Pie card stock and then lastly the 2 ½” x 4” white piece of card stock. From the Wildflower Birthday pack take the larger peach cake cut-out from one of your pieces, along with one of the very small flower groupings and one of the cupcakes, I used the one with the peach paper and teal frosting.
First, take the small flower cut-out and adhere it to the cake base for decoration, then take the cake cut-out and add Pop-Dots to the back of the cake and adhere it to the center of the top white piece of card stock to finish the front of your card.
Take the last piece of white card stock for the inside of your card and adhere the cupcake to the lower right corner. For the inside greeting I used the Delightful Wishes stamp and die set where I took my Peach Pie ink and stamped “wishing” onto a piece of white card stock and then took the wishing die and cut out my stamped wishing. I adhered that to the top of the white card stock inside piece. Finally, I stamped “you a happy birthday” under the wishing die cut greeting. Now adhere your white inside piece to the inside of your card.
Wasn’t that easy and quick, and it is such a cute card.
These are all birds we were lucky enough to see and\or learn about during our safaris in Kenya.
Perching Birds
Cape Starling or Cape Glossy Starling (Lamprotornis Nitens) – Found mainly in southern Africa and lives in wooded or bushy shrub areas. In non-breeding season (March – August) they will flock into large groups. They are cavity nesters. They usually forge on the ground for insect larvae, grasshoppers, ants and beetles, but also eat fruit when available.
Hildebrants Starling (Lamprotornis Hildebrandti) – These Hildebrants Starlings can be seen in Kenya and Tanzania. It likes wooded and thornbrush areas. Nesting is March-May and October-December and in Kenya sometimes May-June. There nexts are usually built in crevices and both parents are involved in feeding. They eat a variety of insects and fruit, mainly beetles and grasshoppers.
Lesser Masked Weaver (Ploceus Intermedius) – Found in eastern and southern Africa, the Lesser Masked Weavers build nests in large colonies in trees, woodland or thornbush areas with other weaver species. They breed from September – March.
Lilac-Breasted Roller (Coracias Caudatus) – Also known as the fork-tailed roller or lilac-throated roller . Found only in Africa, and lives in woodland and savanna areas. They nest in natural holes in trees and eggs are cared for by both parents. This is unofficially the national bird of Kenya. They migrate from Kenya to Somalia to breed from late April to mid-September. Nests are built flat built of grass in a variety of dead tree hollowed out holes or possibly in the side of termite mounds.
Shrike (Disambiguation) – Also know as butcherbirds as the males impale their prey (insects and lizards) onto plant spines. They may not eat their prey, or not all of it and will store it for later. They are known to be able to imitate their prey vocally to lure them in. In some cases they eat a toxic type of grasshopper called Lubber grasshopper so they will wait a day or two before eating for the toxins to degrade. Shirkes are found in Europe and Africa. They are territorial by pairs and they tend to be monogamous breeders. This photo was take of shirkes sitting on the back of a rhino.
Superb Starling (Lamprotornis Superbus) – This species can live up to 15 years. Very similar looking to the Hildebrandt’s Starling, differentiated with the creamy-white eyes. They live in savanna, woodland or thornbush areas in Africa. Superb starlings are territorial during breeding season, but will flock with other species the rest of the year. Feeding is on small insects, termites, grasshoppers, ants and fruits.
White Bellied Go Away Bird (Crinifer Leucogaster) – They can be found in eastern Africa. Go Away birds fourth or outer toe can switch back and forth. Diet is mainly bananas or plantains giving them the nickname of banana-eaters. They live in wooded or savanna areas in families of up to 10 and do not migrate. They breed during rainy season and nests are built in acacia trees and both parents taking care of the eggs.
Ground Birds
Common Ostrich (Struthio Camelus) – Also known as the Maasai Ostrich. They are flightless birds but can run for long times at up to 34 mph (55 km/hr) or up to 60 mph (97 km/hr) for short burts. The main diet is plants but they will eat beetles of small lizards as well. They live in groups of 5-50 and during mating males will fight for harems of 2-7 females. If attacked or cornered they will kick with their strong legs. They are farmed across the world for feathers and their skin can be used for leather.
Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida Meleagris) – They are native to Africa but have been introduced to West Indies, North America, Colombia, Brazil, Australia and Europe. They live in flocks of about 25 during non-breeding season and tend to run instead of fly and can run very fast. With their sharp claws like chickens, they scratch and dig in the soil for food. They can also eat a large amount of ticks, if available and will eat beetles or similar during breeding season. Their lifespan is up to 12 years in the wild. There are very beautiful with lovely black and white feathers and colorful blue, red and yellow heads.
Yellow-Necked Spurfowl or Francolin (Pternistis Leucoscepus) – The yellow-necked spurfowl can be found in the Middle East and Africa. They tend to be active at dawn and dusk and can live in agricultural areas and areas until they are heavily populated by humans. Males can be detected by spurs on the back of their legs.
Kori Bustard (Ardeotis Kori) – The are the largest bird of flight in Africa, with the male being the heaviest living animal with the ability to fly. During breeding the makes try to breed with as many females as possible but don’t help with taking care of the eggs or raising the young. Kori Bustards living grassy areas that usually have sandy type soil. Nests are shallow holes in the ground, usually near trees.
Secretary Bird (Sagittarius Serpentarius) – The Secretary Bird is a large bird of prey that has a body similar to an eagle but with much longer legs. They live mainly in open grasslands and savanna regions. Secretary Birds are known for being snake killers, though most of their diet is insects and small vertebrates. They are called the Secretary Bird because when they are eating, they peck and pound their food and it looks like they are typing. Breeding can be any time of the year, but mainly in the dry season and nests are built up in thorny trees.
Hunting Birds
Augur Buzzard (Buteo Augur) – This photo is of a younger Augur as they are more brown in color when young, and much more black and white in adulthood. They are found in central, eastern and southern Africa and enjoy living around mountain, grasslands and savannah areas. Most of its prey is caught on the ground such as insects, reptiles, snakes, etc. Pairs usually mate for life and build large stick nests in trees and they often reuse their nests by just adding to them in the next season.
African Fish Eagle (Icthyophaga Vocifer) – Also known as an African Sea Eagle that is found the sub-saharan areas of Africa near large bodies of open water with grasslands, swamps, marshes near. Pairs breed during the dry season and are thought to mate for life. They maintain two or more nests and tend to reuse them and build them up over years. They nest are built of sticks and pieces of wood.
African Kite or Black Shouldered Kite – The African Kite is a small raptor type bird. Unlike other Kites, the African Kite is likely to scavenge for its food. The Kite can be found throughout Africa. It looked more like the Black Shouldered Kite but they appear to live in Australia.
Lappet-Faced Vulture (Torgos Tracheliotos) – Also known as the Nubian Vulture which is more closely related to eagles, buzzards and hawks and other vultures as it doesn’t have the great sense of smell of the other families. They live throughout Africa in dry savannah, deserts, and plains with scattered tree areas. As with most vultures, they are scavenger birds feeding on animal carcasses they fine left from an animal kill.
Tawny Eagle (Aguila Rapax) – Tawny Eagles can be found throughout Africa in dry savannas or desert areas but require some trees in the area. The Tawny Eagles often scavenge on other animals kills. They can live up to 16 years. They may hunt in pairs as we found this pair together on our journey and often pair for life. Breeding season ranges depending on the area of Africa. Nests are large platform style nests made of sticks and even sometimes animal bones and tend to be open to the sky.
Verreaux’s Eagle Owl (Ketupa Lactea) – Also known as an African Owl, Milky Eagle Owl or Giant Eagle Owl and is the largest owl found in Africa. It is a strong predator eats birds, insects, mammals or anything else it can find. They live in areas with scattered trees or thorny vegetation in savanna areas. Breeding can take place at any time during the year, but mainly from February to September. They are very territorial and the pair will defend their area. Normally they will use old nests built by other birds.
Cranes and Storks
Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica Regulorum) – Also known as the African Crowned Crane or Golden Crested Crane. The Grey Crowned Crane is found only in Africa and is the national bird of Uganda. The Grey and also Black Crowned Crane are the only crane species that can roost in trees. They live in dry savannah or Sub-Saharan areas but will nest closer to water. These Crowned Cranes are omnivores that eat anything from plants and seeds to insects, frogs, small fish, etc. Evenings are spent in trees resting and they hunt for food all day.
Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos Crumenifer) – Also called the Undertaker bird. This wading bird is native to sub-Saharan Africa. Breading is in wet and arid areas, usually near human habitation or landfills. Has the largest wingspan of any land bird. They breed in colonies during the dry season when food is more available and nest in trees They can live up to 25 years in the wild. They feed similar to vultures by scavenging for leftover corpses of other animal kills.
Saddlebill Stork (Ephippiorhynchus Senegalensis) – This is also a large wading bird that lives in Sub-Saharan Africa. Like most storks they fly with their neck stretched. They prefer protects open water areas. They build massive nest platforms that are used season to season and are solitary nesters, but are seen in pairs during the non-breeding season. They look for prey by stabbing their bill into the water, mud or vegetation.
White Stork (Ciconia Ciconia) – They eat a variety of insects, fish, reptiles, small mammals or small birds. The pair mate for life and any time of the year, with both of them building a large stick nest which is reused many times.
Yellow-Billed Stork (Mycteria Ibis) – We were not able to get a photo of the one. They live south of the Sahara and into Madagascar. They don’t really migrate but may move slightly due to rain. Wetlands like shallow lakes and mudflats. These storks like to follow crocodiles or hippos through the water and feed behind them on organisms they churn up. Breeding seems to be stimulated by peaks of heavy rainfall. For breeding, males select a nest site in trees and wait for females to approach them.
Water and Wading Birds
African Darter (Anhinga Rufa) – Also called the snakebird from swimming with only its head above water as they are don’t have oil in their feathers like most water birds so are not buoyant. Since their feathers are not waterproof like most birds, they are often seen with their wings out drying off (like the photo we got). They live in sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq in open water areas. They build stick nests in trees.
Avocet (Disambiguation) – Avocets have upcurved bills that they run side-to-side when feeding in the wetland waters they prefer. They nest in colonies on the ground with the nests lined with grass. Since they are usually in large colonies, they are fairly aggressive and chase off other species of birds that try to nest near them.
Black and White Stilt (Himantopus Himantopus) – Found in Africa, Asia and Europe and is part of the Avocet family. They breed in marshes, ponds and shallow lakes. They pick their food from the sand and water eating mainly insects and crustaceans. Nests are build in bare spots on the ground near the water and they usually nest in small groups.
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen Aegyptiaca) – They can be found in sub-Saharan Africa and along the Nile River Valley naturally, but they have been introduced in Europe and the United States. These geese tend to eat seeds, grass leaves and plant stems, but will also eat worms, locust or similar. The pair can be aggressive in their territory when breeding. They nests are built of reed, leaves and grass and the parir take turns sitting on the eggs. They usually mate for life. Egyptian Geese can live up to 15 years.
Great Egret (Ardea Alba) – They are also called the Common Egret, Great White Egret or Great White Heron and they considered part of the Heron family. Breeding is in colonies in trees near lakes with reed beds or wetlands. Males choose the nest area, start the nest which they do to attract a female. They gather food in shallow water or sometimes drier areas and eat mostly fish, frogs, amphibians, snakes or small animals like mice.
Great White Pelican (Pelecanus Onocrotalus) – Also known as Eastern White Pelican, Rosy Pelican or White Peleican. It breeds in swamps or shallow lakes in April or May. They are found in Europe to Asia and in Africa. This species of pelican is very social and form large flocks. Their diet is mainly fish.
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus Roseus) – Found in Africa, Middle Ease, Europe, in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. They live in mudflats and shallow coastal areas that contain salt water. They use their feet to stir up mud and blue-greenalgae, then suck the water through its beak to filter out shrimp, crustaceans, seeds algae and larve. One egg is laid on a mound they build of mud. They can live up to 40 years.
African Jacana (Actophilornis Africanus) – Also known as Jesus Bird or Lily Trotter due to being able to “walk on water” due to their long toes and nails that allow them to spread their weight to be able to walk on floating vegetation. With the Jacana’s the females are larger than males which is unusual, and the males are responsible for incubating the eggs and taking care of the chicks. They eat mainly insects and invertebrates plucked from floating vegetation or on the surface of the water and some seeds.
Kittlitz’s Plovers (Anarhynchus Pecuarius) – These small shorebirds breed near saltmarshes, river banks or alkaline grasslands. It lives in sub-Saharan Africa, the Nile Delta and Madagascar, they will migrate based on rainfall. They are social birds in non-breeding season and live in small flocks of around 20 in general but sometimes can be found in much larger flocks. Parents are very territorial and defensive until the eggs hatch and both parents look after the chicks.
Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias Minor) – The Lesser Flamingo is the smallest of the Flamingos. Found in sub-Saharan African and western India. They feed mostly on algae in alkaline lakes but will also eat small invertebrates. The more blue-green algae they are able to eat, the more pink in color they are. Thousands used to migrate to Lake Nakuru for breeding, but with the changes in weather over the past few years, the water has become too high so many have moved to Amboseli and other areas of Kenya. As with most flamingos, they lay one egg on a mound built of mud.
Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle Rudis) – The Pied Kingfishers usually live in pairs or small groups. They are found in Africa and Asia. Their diet is made up mainly of fish but will also eat crustaceans and large aquatic insects. Nests are holes excavated in a vertical bud bank and about five feet above water with a chamber at the end. They are not territorial so several birds may nest in the same area. They sometimes reproduce “cooperatively” with young ones from the previous chicks helping or even unrelated older birds.
African Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis Aethiopicus) – The African Sacred Ibis is found in Africa and part of the Middle East. They may migrate due to rainfall. They dwell in marshy wetlands and mudflats. It will nest in trees or near water. Diet is mainly insects, worms, crustaceans, mollusks or other invertebrates and some fish. They breed once per year during the wet season from March to August. The nest is built of sticks in trees and they next in colonies with other wading birds. Once hatched one parent is always with the next for the first seven days and then will leave the nest to find food.
Spoonbill (Disambiguation) – These birds are found on every continent excluding Antarctica. They prefer fresh water to salt water, but can be found in either. To forge for food they move their bill side-to-side with their bill partially open and snap it close when insects, crustaceans or tiny fish are felt. They do pair for a season and nest in trees or reed beds. Males gather the sticks and reed to build the nest and the female makes it into a large, shallow next and both parents feed the chicks.
Visit by blog at www.daisychainfun.com to see other blog posts related to Kenya or other places we have visited.
If you would like a .pdf versions of this post, please email me at [email protected] and I will be happy to email you a copy.
Wikipedia was referenced for some of the detailed information in this post. Other supplied by our tour guides. All photos were taken by DaisyChianFun.
The Legendary Ride Authentic You birthday card is a fun card for the men in your life or for women who also enjoy motorcycles. This black and white car showcases the motorcycle.
Other items you will need are the following:
Legendary Ride stamp set
Legendary Ride die set or scissors
Basic Black card stock
Smokey Slate card stock
White card stock
Tire tread paper from the Legendary Rides paper pack
Basic Black ink pad
Metal Plate 3D embossing folder
Black or silver embellishment
Paper trimmer
Your preferred adhesive
Pop dots adhesive
A stamp block
Scissors
For the card base take a piece of basic black card stock and cut in half to 4 ¼” x 11” and then fold in half to 4 ¼” x 5 ½”. Then cut a pieces of white card stock to measure 4 1/8” x 5 3/8” for the front and a second to 4” x 5 ¼” for the inside. You will also need a piece of Smokey Slate card stock cut to 4” x 5 ¼”. Take the Tire tread paper and cut a piece to 2” x 4” and another to 1” x 4 ¼”.
Using the Metal Plate 3D embossing folder and the cut piece of Smokey Slate and emboss it. Adhere the piece of Smokey Slate to the front larger piece of White card stock. Then adhere this to the Basic Black card front. Now adhere the 2” x 4” piece of Tire Tread paper piece about a ½” or so down on the Smokey Slate embossed piece on the card front.
From the Legendary Ride stamp set, stamp the “Authentic You” stamp onto a piece of white card stock with Basic Black ink. Use the label die to cut a label. Adhere a black or silver embellishment to each side of the label for decoration. Put pop dots on the back of the label and adhere to the center of the Tire Tread paper.
Use another piece of White card stock and use your Basic Black ink pad to stamp the motorcycle from the Legendary Rides stamp set. Use the motorcycle die or scissors if you don’t have the die set to cut out the bike. Add pop dots to the back of the stamped motorcycle and adhere to the center of the bottom part of the grey on the card, about ¾” up from the bottom of the embossed Smokey Slate.
On the white card stock you cut for the inside of the card, adhere the 1” x 4 ¼” Tire Tread piece about ¼” up on the bottom. Take your Basic Black ink pad and the “Ride on it’s your birthday” stamp and stamp it toward the top of the white inside piece. Now adhere this to the inside of the card.
Z-fold cards are so fun and adorable, and this Double Z-fold card is even better and more fun as you can decorate across the second z-fold and\or on the card layers. This design takes that normal Double Z-Fold and flips it upside down as the second, smaller z-fold is usually toward the bottom. This makes it perfect for making cards with decorations that hang down.
You will need the following supplies to make this card:
Night of Navy card stock
White card stock
Mediterranean Blooms designer series paper
Two different blue pieces, one with a larger print and one with a smaller print
Citrus Blooms stamp set
Scissors to cut out images
Paper trimmer
Night of Navy ink pad
Your preferred adhesive
For the card base cut an 8 ½” x 11” piece of Night of Navy card stock to 8 ½” x 5 ½”. Take one piece and fold it in half to measure 4 ¼” x 5 ½”. Then take the top panel and fold it back again so the front panel measures 2 1/8” x 4 ¼” which forms your first Z-fold. Take the larger print blue designer series paper and cut two strips to 2” x 5 ¼” and adhere these to the two small flaps of your Z-fold card. Cut a piece of white card stock to 4” x 5 ¼” and adhere that to the back panel of your card.
Then take other half of Night of Navy card stock and cut a piece to 1 ¾” x 8 ½”. Now take the smaller blue print designer series paper and cut a strip to measure 1 ½” x 8 ¼”. Adhere the smaller print designer series paper to the center of the Night of Navy card stock. Now fold this strip in half to measure 1 ¾” x 4 ¼” with the floral side out. Take the bottom portion and fold the blue print designer series paper to each other to form your other Z-fold going the opposite direction measuring 1 ¾” x 2 1/8”.
Adhere the two Z-folds together by putting adhesive on the outer half of the under side of the long portion of the strip , make sure you don’t get the adhesive to far or your Z-fold will stick together. Then put glue on the bottom of the strip half fold and adhere that to the bottom part of your card. You now have your Double Z-fold.
Now it is time to do the decorations for the card. Take the lemon designer series paper and use your scissors to cut out the large double lemons grouping and then single lemon. Adhere the single lemon to the back portion of the card hanging off the smaller strip Z-fold. Take the large grouping and put adhesive on one half that will stick to the front of the card and then also a bit at the top to stick to the strip, but make sure there isn’t any adhesive that is going to hang out the back that will stick your card together.
The last thing to do is to add your greeting. I used the “wishing you the brightest birthday” stamp, stamped it in Night of Navy ink and stamped it on the white background on the back of the card in the space next to the lemons to make sure it wouldn’t show when the card was closed.
These cards are so easy to make, the paper does all the work using the Refeshed Beauty designer series papers from the Stampin-Up online exclusives in 2025. I bought this paper pack just for this piece of paper. It makes all three cards really easy, and a total of 6 with this one 12” x 12” piece of paper and some card stock.
You will need the following supplies to make all 3 cards:
One 8 ½” x 11” Flirty Flamingo card stock
Two 8 ½” x 11” Peach Pie card stock
The peach floral piece of designer series paper from the Refreshed Beauty paper pack
Thoughtful Expressions stamp set
Flirty Flamingo ink pad
Paper timmer
Your preferred adhesive
Cut a piece of Flirty Flamingo card stock and a piece of Peach Pie card stock in half in either direction. Fold one of the Flirty Flamingo halves and two of the Peach Pie halves in half to form your card base of 4 ¼” x 5 ½” size.
Now cut two Flirty Flamingo and one Peach Pie piece into a background piece measuring 4 1/8” x 5 3/8”. Then take your 12” x 12” piece of designer series paper and cut one of the floral sections to 5 ¼” x 12”. I suggestion you cut for the top first so you are not cutting flowers off and are leaving enough plain space at the top to stamp a greeting if you choose to. Then cut a bit off the bottom to make the 5 ¼” x 12” piece. Then cut that into three 4” x 5 ¼” pieces.
Get your Flirty Flamingo ink pad and your stamp set. Choose your word stamps to use. You can stamp them directly onto the floral designer series paper, or you can stamp them onto a small piece of Peach Pie to make a label. For the label version stamp it onto a piece 1” x 2” with a background piece of Flirty Flamingo cut to 1 1/8” x 2 1/8”. I made one with a label which I placed toward the bottom (shown below) and two stamped directly onto the paper stamped at the top on a plain section of the paper.
Adhere your three floral designer series paper pieces to the three background pieces you cut earlier, and then adhere the background to the front of your cards of the opposite color. If you made any labels then adhere them together and to your card placed where looks the best.
On the card base that is made from Flirty Flamingo, you will probably want to cut a piece of Peach Pie or White paper for an inside piece for your note and signature. You can also stamp another word stamp in here if preferred.
These were really fun and quick to make, with just a bit of cutting and stamping. I hope you enjoy the design.
This lovely Z-Fold card is made using the Refreshed Beauty designer series paper from Stampin’ Up online exclusives from early 2025.
Other items you will need for making this card are the following:
Granny Apple Green ink pad
Stamp Set for a greeting (I used Cheerful Daisies)
A stamp block
Dies for labels (I used Sentimental Park dies)
Paper trimmer
Your preferred adhesive
Pop Dot adhesive
For the card base I used Peach Pie cardstock. This is cut to 4 ¼” x 11” then folded in half to make a card of 4 ¼” x 5 ½”. Now fold the front portion in half again making the front 2 ¾” x 4 ¼” with the back remaining the 4 ¼” x 5 ½”, this gives you the Z-fold.
Then cut a piece of designer series paper (the yellow with birds) to 4” x 5 ¼” and two other pieces of designer series paper (I used the peach and a piece of the green with flowers) 2 ½” x 4 ¼”.
Take your card base, adhere the large piece of your designer series paper (yellow piece with the birds) centered on the back of your card base. Adhere the two other smaller pieces of designer series paper to the front (piece chevron) and the center (green floral) section of your card.
Die cut out two labels from white and a background label from Peach Pie card stock. If you don’t have dies or a die cut machine then just cut some rectangular pieces that will layer. For the front, stamp your greeting of choice (mine was “wishing you the brightest birthday from the Cheerful Daisies stamp set) with the Granny Apple Green ink on one of the white labels and adhere to the background label piece.
Turn your label over and place pop dots on the right half of your greeting label and adhere the popped dot portion to your front, centered in full card when closed. Then place your other white label on the back portion of your card for signature space but make sure it is also centered and doesn’t show when you close your card. You can also add an inside greeting if you choose, just make sure to leave enough room to sign the card.
Your card is now finished and ready to send to a friend for a birthday surprise.
Double Z-fold cards are one of my favorites to make and can be so fun to decorate. This design takes that normal Double Z-Fold and flips it upside down as the second, smaller z-fold is usually toward the bottom. This makes it perfect for things like the oranges to hang down.
You will need the following supplies to make this card:
Daffodil Delight card stock
Old Olive card stock
White card stock
Mediterranean Blooms designer series paper
A piece of the tiny yellow flower print
A piece of the large oranges piece
Citrus Blooms stamp set
Citrus Blooms die set or a pair of scissors to cut out images
Old Olive ink pad
Paper trimmer
Your preferred adhesive
For the card base but an 8 ½” x 11” piece of Daffodil Delight card stock to 8 ½” x 5 ½”. Take one piece and fold it in half to measure 4 ¼” x 5 ½”. Then take the top panel and fold it back again so the front panel measures 2 1/8” x 4 ¼” which forms your first Z-fold. Take the tiny yellow floral designer series paper and cut two strips to 2” x 5 ¼” and adhere these to the two small flaps of your Z-fold card. Cut a piece of white card stock to 4” x 5 ¼” and adhere that to the back panel of your card.
Then take your Old Olive card stock and cut a piece to 1 ¾” x 8 ½”. Now take the tiny yellow flower designer series paper and cut a strip to measure 1 ½” x 8 ¼”. Adhere the tiny yellow flower designer series paper to the center of the Old Olive card stock. Now fold this strip in half to measure 1 ¾” x 4 ¼” with the floral side out. Take the bottom portion and fold the florals to each other to form your other Z-fold going the opposite direction measuring 1 ¾” x 2 1/8”.
Adhere the two Z-folds together by putting adhesive on the outer half of the under side of the long portion of the old olive , make sure you don’t get the adhesive to far or your Z-fold will stick together. Then put glue on the bottom of the Old Olive half fold and adhere that to the bottom part of your card. You now have your Double Z-fold.
Now it is time to do the decorations for the card. Take the large orange designer series paper and either use the two large orange dies or scissors to cut out the largest oranges grouping and then single orange. Then also the small flower dies or scissors to cut out a few extra blossoms. Adhere the single orange to the back portion of the card hanging off the smaller strip Z-fold. Take the large grouping and put adhesive on one half that will stick to the front of the card and then also a bit at the top to stick to the strip, but make sure there isn’t any that is going to hang out the back that will stick your card together. Now take the cut out blossoms and adhere them around on the front with pop-dots to make them stand off the card a bit.
The last thing to do is to add your greeting. I used the “you’re the best kind of person” stamp, stamped it in Old Olvie ink and stamped it on the card in the lower right corner below the single orange, but you need to stamp it with the card closed to make sure you get it into the right spot so it doesn’t get partially covered when your card is closed. The other option is to stamp it to the inside so it doesn’t show until you open the card, but again you need to make sure you stamp it in a spot to be sure it doesn’t show when the card is closed.
I also made this card in the blue papers in the same Mediterranean Blooms designer series paper pack and then used lemons instead of the oranges. Visit my blog at www.daisychaingfun.com to see that post and many other ideas as well.
The Friendly Seagulls stamp set from the 2025 Stampin’ Up Sale-A-Bration sets is just so fun. It has three adorable seagull stamps and some cute sayings to go along with it. I used the “I love you more than french fries” but you can swap the french fries out for chips as well and then there is a chips stamp to use instead of the french fries. However, I liked the french fries because you could color it and make it stand out more, plus who doesn’t love french fries.
For the card base I used Crumb Cake cardstock to look like the color of sand. This is cut to 5 ½” x 8 ½” then folded in half to make a card measuring 4 ¼” x 5 ½”. Then I cut two pieces of white card stock to measure 4” x 5 ¼”, one for the front and one for the inside. Then you will also need a piece of Crumb Cake card stock cut to 1” x 2” and a piece of white card stock cut to ¾” x 1 ¾”, these are for the word label.
Other items you will need are the following:
Blending Brushes
Ink Pads
Jet Black Staz-On Ink Pad or similar
Smoky Slate Ink Pad
Boho Blue Ink Pad
Crumb Cake Ink Pad
Stampin’ Blends Pens
Smoky Slate Light Stampin’ Blends Pens
Smoky Slate Dark Stampin’ Blends Pens
Crumb Cake Light Stampin’ Blends Pens
Crumb Cake Dark Stampin’ Blends Pens
Peach Pie Light Stampin’ Blends Pens
Real Red Light Stampin’ Blends Pens
Paper Trimmer
Your preferred adhiesive
A stamp block
Scissors
Take one of the cut pieces of white card stock, your blending brushes and the Smokey Slate, Boho Blue and Crumb Cake ink pads. I started with Smoky Slate and blended it lightly for the start of the sky. Then I changed over to the Boho Blue and lightly blended over into the gray for the sky and then much darker for the water. Finally blended with the Crumb Cake to build the color for the sand. This forms your background for the front of your card.
I took a spare piece of white card stock and stamped the seagull with the french fries in his mouth with the Jet Black Staz-On ink. Then I stamped the french fries in the holder in the Jet Black Staz-On ink. Now take the second piece of card stock that you cut for the inside and stamp one of the other two seagulls in the lower right-hand corner in the Jet Black ink as well.
Gather your Stampin Blends pens. I used the light Smoky Slate to color the wings and tale of the french fry seagull and the inside seagull’s wings as well. Then the dark Smoky Slate I used to color the strips on the wings for both seagulls. Then color the feet and beak of both seagulls with the light Peach Pie. I then took the light Crumb Cake to color the french fries, the dark Crumb Cake to color the burger on the fry package and the light Real Red to color the french fry package.
Use your scissors to cut out the french fries and the seagull with the fries in his mouth. Adhere them to the sandy area of the sheet you created with your blending brushes for the front background. Then take your Crumb Cake ink and the shells stamp and stamp shells in the sand, I did one on each side of the seagull. Then take your Smoky Slate ink and the flying birds stamp and stamp that in the sky area, I also stamped those twice. Be sure to leave space for where you want to put your greeting.
Now stamp your “I love you more than French Fries” greeting in the Jet Black ink onto the white label piece you cut that is ¾” x 1 ¾”. Adhere that to the Crumb Cake piece you cut 1” x 2” and then adhere that to your card front. Adhere your card front to your card. Then adhere your inside white piece with the seagull stamped on it to the inside of your card. You are all done and I hope you love it as much I did.
If you are lucky enough to get to visit Africa and go on a safari, it is one of the most amazing experiences anyone will ever have while traveling. You will probably want to go back again as soon as you can as seeing this only once is not going to be enough.
One of the things I didn’t know before I visited Africa was something referred to as the Big Five. This is a list of animals who are named the Big Five based on their difficulty to hunt (originally on foot), the danger when hunting them, and also because of the threat from poaching or the decline in their numbers. The term was then adopted by the tour companies for the main five to try to see when visiting. They don’t all exist in the same areas, and some are harder to see than others.
The Big Five include the following:
African Bush Elephant
African Buffalo
African Leopard
Black Rhino
Lion
We were lucky enough to see all of them on our trip, though we went to Kenya and Tanzania, so we didn’t see the Black Rhino until we got to Tanzania but we got to see the others many times while in Kenya.
The African Leopard is supposed to be a hard one to get to see but we saw them twice in Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya and then saw another in Tanzania.
There are also a few other lists you may hear referred to as well, the Ugly Five and the Shy Five.
Then there is the Ugly Five:
Hyena
Marabou Stork
Vulture
Warthog
Wildebeest
The Ugly Five can also be seen on most safaris, we saw them all as well. Although I have to say that Warthogs were one of my favorites and their ugliness grew on me quickly and I fell in love with them. They love rolling around in the mud and their horns don’t help with their looks, but you see them running and their tail wagging as they run it is just so adorable.
And the Shy Five:
Aardvark
Aardwolf
Bat-Eared Fox
Meerkat
Porcupine
As far as the Shy Five, we didn’t see any of these except for the bat-eared fox. Most of these are nocturnal animals out only after dark so not easy to see. However, we did get to see an termite hill that an Aardvark had obviously been digging at during the night before.
All of these animals: big, ugly or shy are just amazing to get to see and experience their traits and how they live. If you are able to make it on a safari in Africa I would suggest jumping at the chance. Our safaris have been my favorite travel experience of everything we have been lucky to experience.
Note that all photos used in this post were taken by DaisyChainFun.
Amboseli National Park is in the southern part of Kenya in the Rift Valley. The Amboseli National Park is 353 square kilometers (219.3 square miles) and the game reserve portion is 243.65 Square Kilometers (151.4 square miles). The views of Mount Kilimanjaro make it worth coming to this park alone, but it is also known for its large elephant population.
Mount Kilimanjaro sits across the border in Tanzania and is a dormant volcano. It is 5,895 meters (19,341 feet) above sea level. It is the highest mountain in Africa, the highest free-standing mountain in the world and the highest volcano in the Eastern Hemisphere. This mountain is a major spot for hiking\climbing, there are seven established trails to Uhuru Peak. There is a large ice cap and glaciers which are the largest glaciers in Africa. It was created from volcanic activity more than 2 million years ago.
Lake Amboseli has some dry lake beds, at some point it was a very large lake and does fill up some during the rainy season.
Observation Hill is a high point in the park that offers great views of Mount Kilimanjaro’s peak, the plains of the park and the swamp areas. There is a variety of animals inhabiting Amboseli including Maasai Giraffe, zebras, cheetahs, monkeys and baboons, and a large variety of birds. There are multiple swamps throughout the park, which is why the elephants are drawn to living in this area.
There are 58 families or herd of elephants with a family consisting of 12-36 elephants. In 2010 when they started tracking the Elephants in Amboseli there were approximately 1,200 elephants, in 2018 the numbers had gone up to around 2,000. Elephants live an average of 60 years in the wild. As of 2020, Ganesh was the oldest elephant in Amboseli at 56 years old and is the oldest elephant in Amboseli as of that point.
This is a herd of elephants coming out of a deep swamp area.
The very young baby elephants walk underneath one of the adult females, usually their mother, as the swamp is over their heads so they can’t see where they are going. They hold their truck up to get air while crossing the swamps. This is a photo of two of the babies coming out of the swamp. The smallest was completely submerged while the other was big enough to cross as you can see how deep the swamp was based on the mud line on the larger baby.
The gestation period for mother elephants before giving birth is 22-27 months. The herds are all females and babies as the females work together to take care of the young. The oldest female elephant lead the families. Males are near but do not stay with the herd. An elephant average weight is 6-7 tons.
Elephants have elbows on their front legs and knees on their back so they bend differently. Their feet absorb the pressure of their weight which is why they are able to walk so quietly, you literally can’t hear them make any noise as they move along. You can also tell if an elephant is right or left-handed by their tusks, if the shorter tusk is on the right then they are right-handed.
They can communicate semi-sonically so you don’t even hear them talking. The males can leave the group and go off alone but know where their family is so they are able to join again later. They also have very good memories, they can remember things for up to 10 years.
When driving around the park you will see large fenced in areas, they have to fence in huge areas for 5-6 years to let the vegetation grow back after elephants have devastated it. Elephants eat about 300 pounds of food per day and drink about 200 liters of water. With each elephant needing to each that much and Amboseli having a huge population of elephants, they can clear vegetation of an area fairly fast so the park has to help manage letting areas regrow.
The hippos love the swampy areas of this park as well. Hippos are the most dangerous animal in Africa.
Amboseli is home to “White Wildebeest” which is different from those you see in the Serengeti or other areas of Kenya. They have white stripes unlike the others. The White Wildebeest don’t migrate like the other Wildebeest. Those in the Serengeti migrate in huge herds.
We also so Warthogs, Zebra, Giraffe and Ostrich.
There were also so many water birds along the swampy areas and the lake. There are now Lesser Flamingos in Amboseli, this has only been since about 2018 as thousands have always migrated to Lake Nukuru. But with the changes in weather and more rain then in the past, the water level at Lake Nukuru has risen and the algae that the flamingo come to eat can’t grow like before so they are finding other places in Kenya to go and Amboseli is one of those places.
The park supplies a few places to stay with Kibo Camp and Ol Tukai Lodge. We stayed at Kilima Safari Camp. It was a lovely place with beautiful grounds, lovely restaurant and the “tents” were huge. This was our “tent.”
Camp is really a deceiving term, while you are in a “tent” it is really like a hotel room that just has a few canvas walls. There was also a lovely pool.
Amboseli Nation Park and Game Reserve was gorgeous place with so many different animals and birds and the amazing views of Mount Kilimanjaro, you just can’t beat that view.
Note that all photos used in this post were taken by DaisyChainFun.
