Bird Cage

 

When my granddaughter was an infant, her aunt would call her “Bird” because of the way she pecked at any surface that she came in contact with. While the nickname didn’t survive into toddlerhood, it did provide the title of a layout that I created in July 2012.

The Prima birdcage that came in the September Mixed Media Kit from Très Jolie put me in mind of that project; I selected the companion photo from that day to work with.

Here’s what I came up with:

I had scanned the original photo so it would be available on my hard drive.

 As you can see, it came out with a slight greenish tinge. I played around with it using PSE until I was satisfied with the results and printed it out.

                I put it aside and went to work on the birdcage.

 

I removed the back with the aid of a pair of small pliers.

 

I covered the entire cage with white gesso, allowing a little of the rust surface to show through here and there.

I sprayed on a little of the Lindy’s that came in the kit and blotted it. The color just didn’t seem to be what I had in mind. I wanted a better background to bring out the colors of the photo.

 

I took out a bottle of Distress Oxide spray from my stash and gave it a try, spraying and blotting and repeating this process once. The results were just what I wanted. I put this aside to air dry.

 

I selected four of the ATC cards to form my title. After inking the edges, I fanned them out and used a stapler to hold them in place.

 

I cropped the photo to fit, inked the edges and backed it with a piece of packaging to give it depth and stability.

Using the gel medium from the kit, I attached it to the ATC cards, making sure that it would all fit perfectly.

I wanted my image to be close to the front of the cage, so I backed it with a lot of layers of packaging, using the gel medium between each layer.

My bird needs a nest; I placed a little sisal from my stash on the bottom.

Once the layers were set, I adhered the piece to the back…

… and re-fastened it to the cage, allowing the corners of the cards to peek out of the top.

 

While I had the Oxide Spay out, I used it to color one of the flowers to match Bird’s sweater.

I used some of the gel medium to adhere some of the glass beads to the flower and dried it with my heat tool.

Lastly, I gave it another coating of spray to cover all the surfaces and put it aside.

My cage was missing the bird, so I went through my stash and found this little guy. I gave him a coating of the Lindy’s and after drying it with my heat tool, I applied a light coat of gel medium and covered him with glitter.

 

And then for some reason, I got so caught up in assembling my project that I forgot to take photos. Here are some closeups, along with a few words of explanation.

 

After attaching the vine to the side of the cage, I added the glittery bird.

I embellished the other side with flowers from the Emerald Dream package, topping it with the altered bloom.

I added a few of the smaller blooms to the front, leaving a gap in the center for Bird to peek through.

The Bird Cage was finished by tying several lengths of dyed seam binding through the ring on top.

 

 And I called it "done".

 

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*****Supplies*****

 

***Très Jolie Mixed Media Kit***

Prima – Frameworks – Metal Birdcage – Rust #584993

Prima – Pretty Mosaic Collection – Flower Embellishments – Spinel #646851

Prima – Pretty Mosaic Collection – Flower Embellishments – Emerald Dream #646905

Prima – ATC Cards – Vintage Alphabet Card Set in a Box #584283

Lindy’s Stamp Gang – Moon Shadow Mist – 2 Ounce Bottle – Phantom Fuchsia

The Crafter’s Workshop – Gloss Gel Medium – Clear #TCW9050

Mill Hill – Economy Pack – Glass Beads – White #20161

Très Jolie – Glitter – White

 

***Other***

Prima – Garden Fable Collection – Wood Embellishments – Icons #579562

My Scrap Cabin – Hand Dyed Seam Binding – Persian

My Scrap Cabin – Hand Dyed Seam Binding – Baby Pink

My Scrap Cabin – Hand Dyed Seam Binding – Raspberry Sherbet

Sisal

 

***Mediums***

Golden – Gesso

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Distress Oxide Spray – Shaded Lilac #TS067887

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Distress Ink Pad – Mini – Gathered Twigs #TDP40002

 

 

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As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.