Song Bird

I thought I would share with you my process for making this card.

First I grabbed a piece of watercolor cardstock and coated it with Distress Collage Medium.  I tore a piece of the Aviary collage tissue and stuck it down and then coated over the top of the entire panel with more Distress Collage Medium. I let that dry thoroughly.

Next I painted a light coat of Dina Wakley White Gesso to tone down the background and let that dry completely then trimmed it to 5x3 3/4 inches with my Deckle Trimmer.  I lightly went around the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink and very lightly blended some Saltwater Taffy and Speckled Egg Distress Oxides.

I set that panel aside and went to work on my components.

I die cut the birds from Tim Holtz Feathered Friends die set out of some 120lb card stock in white. I chose the smaller bird for this card. I will use the larger one for another project.  I colored the base part of the body with some Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress inks.  For the color part of the body I blended some Saltwater Taffy Distress Oxide around the chest, then blended Speckled Egg Distress Oxide from the outside into the Saltwater Taffy. I then edged the whole thing with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Finally I did the wing with Speckled Egg and the very bottom with some Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxides. I glued it all together then used my black paint pen to color in the legs and feet and some accents around the head, tail, and feathers.  

To create the branches my song bird would sit on with her nest, I used the branch die from the Small Tattered Florals set and cut out two out of the 110lb white cardstock.  I colored one branch with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and the other with Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide. I set those aside and went to work on my nest.  I made a little video to show you how I create nests below.

After I had my nest and branches and bird ready, I went to my computer and created the sentiment which is a line from a Fleetwood Mac song and the inside Celebrate Spring Sentiment. I printed them out on 80lb card stock and then cut them out.  I colored the front sentiment lightly with the Saltwater Taffy, Speckled Egg, and Vintage Photo combo and used my thread cutter to roughen the edges then edged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  I glued some of the thread and some of the leftover wreath to the back.  

I cut a branch and flower from the Funky Florals die set and colored the branch and flower base with Bundled Sage Distress Oxide, I left the flower petals white and edged them with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and glued them down. I colored the center part with Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide and edged it a bit as well with the Vintage Photo and glued it down.  I then cut the flower from the branch and tucked it into my nest and glued the stem to my sentiment from the back.

Next, I glued the whole sentiment bundle to a piece of muslin that I had died with the Saltwater Taffy Distress Spray Stain and set that aside.

I glued my panel down to some Kraft cardstock and trimmed around the edges with my deckle trimmer so it peeked out as a slight matt behind my main panel.

I grabbed a background I made before using the new Damask 3d texture fade folder from Tim Holtz and Sizzix.  After I embossed it, I colored with Brushed Corduroy Distress Oxide and painted the 3d parts with Distress paint in Salvaged Patina then poured Salvaged Patina Distress Embossing Glaze over the top and heat embossed.  I edged it with Walnut Stain Distress Ink then glued it down to a Kraft card base and set something on it to dry.

I cut 3 pieces and 110lb cardstock to 3 3/4 by 4 3/4 and glued them together then glued them to the back of my top card panel to give a little height.  I then glued the top panel onto the embossed panel and let it dry.

Time for assembly! First I glued down the branches and the bird nest on top of the branches. I popped the bird up on some foam tape and stuck her down. I then glued down the sentiment.  

For the inside of the card I sewed down some of the Aviary tissue paper onto a 4 x 5 1/2 inch piece of card stock and then deckle trimmed the edges and went around the edges with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink then glued it to the inside. I cut some more Kraft paper and trimmed it down to fit just inside the stitching and edged it with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  I then glued down the remaining part of the sentiment. 

Supplies Used

Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, and Antique Linen.

Tim Holtz Distress Oxides in Saltwater Taffy, Speckled Egg, Chipped Sapphire, Brushed Corduroy, Gathered Twigs, Bundled Sage, and Fossilized Amber.

Tim Holtz Distress Paint in Salvaged Patina

Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Glaze in Salvaged Patina

Distress Collage Medium

Collage Paper in Aviary

Tim Holtz and Sizzix Dies

Funky Nature 665215

Funky Wreaths 664434

Feathered Friends 664433

Small Tattered Florals 661806

Distress Spray Stain in Saltwater Taffy

Reptile Adhesive

Accent Opaque 110lb and 80lb card stock

Generic Watercolor Paper