Party Puffins Meet Waves of Inspiration

For as long as I can remember, I've been fascinated by puffins. I just love these colourful, cheerful-looking creatures! Here I am with my puffin T-shirt and earrings on:

To commemorate my 50th birthday this year, I finally lived my dream of seeing not one or even a few puffins, but being among thousands of them!

Puffins live here in southwestern New Brunswick, but I'd never seen one as they can only be glimpsed on remote Machias Seal Island, out in the open ocean beyond the mouth of the Bay of Fundy. (Incidentally, this island and the surrounding waters are the only territory on the continent that's disputed by Canada and the USA - a souvenir of the War of 1812, which both countries seem to think they won. So here we are!)

Puffins congregate for just a few months per year on Machias Seal Island, which both countries recognize and protect as a conservation site. Only one tour company on each side of the border is allowed to bring a very limited number of guests to the island, for a few weeks each year while the puffins, tern, Common Murre, and Razorbill Auks are nesting. Consequently, tickets are hard to come by. But we were lucky to chance upon a cancellation, and so off we went! 

To reach Machias Seal Island from our home in St Stephen, we:

• drove 35 minutes to reach the ferry landing in Blacks Harbour
• sailed on the ferry 90 minutes to arrive on Grand Manan Island
• stayed overnight to catch our 7 am puffin tour
• endured a (very choppy!) 90-minute ride on a 45-foot boat to Machias Seal Island
• were led to our blind and instructed to be very quiet

And then - puffins, thousands of them, mere inches away from us! I've inserted one of my photos above.

To commemorate this amazing experience, I designed a card that combines the Party Puffins stamp set, Waves of Inspiration stamp set (Vagues d'inspiration en français) and Waves Dies:

To make this card, I started with a Pool Party 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" card base, then added a 4" x 5 1/4" Basic Black card mat. I stamped a wave in Pool Party ink onto a 3 3/4" x 5" Basic White panel, then overlaid a silver foil wave die cut. I stamped the sentiment in black onto a Pool Party die-cut tag, then fed the Metallic Mesh Ribbon through the tag before securing the ribbon to the back of the panel with Stampin' Seal. I next added a bow with Mini Glue Dots, then the stamped puffin, coloured with Stampin' Blends. Finally, I attached the panel to the card base with dimensionals. Watch my demo here.

Want a full supply list? Just click here. You can add it to your shopping cart with a single click and edit as needed.

Need some supplies? I warmly invite you to place an order with me. You'll receive a FREE handmade card of the month!  

Today's also the deadline to sign up for my paper-crafting fundraiser, to donate toward the Red Cross's hurricane relief efforts in the Atlantic Provinces. Click here for details.

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Thanks for visiting, friends! I'd love to hear what you think of my card - and any puffin experiences you've had - in the comments below!