More Birds!

Have finally finished the pages for the Bird Journal jam over at our New Inspirations Group. These are Sherry's. Sherry's theme was 'lavender and lace' and we were told 'interpret how you wish'! I had some dried lavender so put some in a felt pouch which I attached to the bird on the left with the lace and ribbons. I found this quote of a lavender seller in Victorian London which I liked!

I also found a 'recipe' for lavender ink! It was designed for young Victorian ladies to use when they wrote letters to their 'heart's desires' so when the envelope was opened the 'mysterious scent would waft and linger'! I stamped inks bottles and nibs onto the background paper, added a vintage pic and put some more lavender in a vellum envelope attaching it to the bird's beak.

Wendy wanted 'birds, nests, eggs, butterflies in blues and greens. I used a K and Co tag on the middle of the bird on the left as it had a pretty flower already on it! I stamped some more leaves and placed a little gem in the centre of the flower and a watering can embellishment. The butterfly came from the same fabric I used earlier this week to make the ATC. this is much smaller and was a bit more fiddly but after treating to prevent fraying it turned out ok! The bird on the right is a paper collage made up from images courtesy of Flickr Collage Group and a couple of stamps and a large 'opal eye' gem for the birds eye!.

This is Sheila's. Her theme was 'birds and associated stuff' in browns, gold and creams. The images on both birds are courtesy of Flickr collage group too. I stamped and embossed the cherry blossom tree branches on both sides of the bird. The gold actually shows up far better in real life! I added a gem dragonfly and some gold braid to the one on the left and on the right some tiny flower gems and cream/beige fibres. The bead charm I have to admit was a straight copy of one that I received on an ATC some time ago and I liked the design so made one exactly like it! I think I may have gone a bit overboard with the feathers and I hope the bird doesn't start to 'moult' by the time it arrives at Sheila's!

This was for Maureen who wanted a theme of Birds and Flowers in a vintage style in pastel colours. I stamped the one on the left with various clock faces and flourishes then stamped the wording. I added a vellum butterfly and some fabric flowers and leaves. The right bird was stamped with leaves and I added a paper collage depicting a nightingale, a bird's nest and the music sheet 'A Nightingale Sang in Berkely Square'. The lace was from a pile given to me some time ago and I secured it on the right bird by using a K and Co flower brad.

Watch the Birdie!

I am taking part in a Bird Journal 'Jam' over at New Inspirations. Margaret suggested it after seeing how it was done from the Stampington tutorial.

Each person chose a theme and a colourway for their own little birdie book, with the 'journal' part being optional and each member of the group will complete a bird shaped page for all the others.

So here are my first birdies.

I chose the theme Vintage Floral with muted pastel colours (vintage - now there's a surpise for me!! Not!) and I stuck to a mixed media collage for both sides using lace, satin ribbons and beads.

Margaret chose Nature as her theme with the predominant colour being green. The background paper on the 'Wise Owl' page is courtesy of Flickr as is the Owl image. The eggs are actually cut down plastic eggs which were in a little bag along with a tiny bird in one of the drawers. I have no idea where they came from or how long they've been there but it just proves that my 'I'll keep it cos it may come in useful' habit DID have a purpose this time! The tail feathers are from a large 'peacock' feather that am afraid looked the worst for wear (again stuffed in a drawer!) so I just cut off the 'peacock eye' bit which was in a mess and singly stuck on the rest of the feathery bits. The other side is a distressed background (Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint Inks), with collaged images. Crows aren't known for their tuneful singing so it amused me to stamp musical notes from it's beak! I added a fabric leaf and stamped the leaf images, again using distress inks.

When each member has received all their pages, they're bound together so I will undoubtedly be adding some fibres etc for some texture round the bindings. And of course will be posting the others as soon as I have done them.

Rainbow in Paris!

I recently received some Paris themes ATC's as a result of a 'lottery' on the NI group. I have lots of themes that I like and Paris is included in the list! Consequently I have had some Paris themed ATC's from one to one trades in my album too.

It seems such a pity to own these little works of art and not have them on display so I decided to start putting them on 'Themed' canvases with the idea being that I put them on the walls in the 'den' and display them in rotation.

So here is the first of the themed canvas project which is entitled 'Parisienne Rainbow'! The background is chalked and stamped, with some beads and other embellishments added and the finished piece measures 15" x 12".

Paris Children

I am a member of a group called 'New Inspirations' and every month there is a 'lottery' to win all the ATC's made by other group members. The previous winner gets to select the next theme and this month's theme as selected by Trudy was Paris.

Crafters love anything to do with Paris! - there's so much scope to let your imagination run away!

Anyway I have had this paper for ages and have been waiting for an opportunity to use it. I again scanned it and made it smaller then cut out the images I wanted to use. After collaging, I used 'Tattered Rose' Distress Ink round the edges and overlaid it with 'Antique Linen' Distress Ink.

I love shrink plastic! So out came the stamps and the luggage tag, Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe were all stamped with Stazon and then shrunk!

I hope whoever wins this month's lottery likes it.