Bug In A Box

I wanted to make something a little different for my Art Neko project this week.  The Whimsical & Kind Sayings set includes "Sorry You Caught A Bug" as one of the sentiments. Much as I love making cards which have bugs in jar, I already have two in my stash waiting to use and I didn't really need to make another. So I thought a little, and, with a little help from C who suggested the flower, came up with this idea:

(The little clockwork ladybird comes from Paris. It turns a somersault. We got it in the wonderful bookshop in the Tuileries, just beside the exit onto the Place de la Concorde. I don't think we ever go in there without buying something, often children's books.

I used my Sizzix matchbox die to create this, stamping the sentiment and ladybird before assembling the box outer.

I made a little insert with a tab and another of the sentiments. For my test piece I hand wrote the "lift here", but since I hate my handwriting, and happen to have black on clear tape for my Brother label printer, I did print a little label for the finished version.

And inside is the bug - along with a sprig of Cornus. That too is a Sizzix die from the Susan's Garden range. Lorraine - I think of you every time I use those nail-art styluses. whether it's for scoring details as here, or for adding tiny dots of paint.  The bug was stamped on watercolour paper with black ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. I used Inktense pencils to add colour, and went round the edges with a black marker after cutting it out. It's also shaped a little with a large stylus, and popped up on foam.
The flower stem is an ordinary piece of florist's wire wrapped round with brown florist's tape (although in fact both my supplies came not from a florist but from a cake decorating shop).

Here's the card I made to post to the Art Neko blog last week - if you want more details on the creation, they are on the blog HERE.