Hi everyone,
I was very happy when my new Wild Whisper paper collections arrived last week, and the first one that I was drawn to was "Strength of the Season". The colours are beautiful and there are so many life affirming quotes... I think it's a really stunning collection!
I had a photo filed away of a beautiful Bohemian Waxwing, that I wanted to use on a layout and the bonus sheet in the collection was the perfect backdrop for it. This beautiful photo was taken by Lilly Agnes. She shares many of her stunning photos on the Alberta Birds facebook page, and she kindly gave me permission to use it.
I had filed away this photo because I knew I wanted to use it on a layout that was inspired by the More Than Words challenge this month. The inspiration word is HIGHLIGHT, and the creative words are to use SUNSET COLOURS.
For me, a big highlight in my life is seeing all the birds and wildlife that come through the wild space behind our backyard. We live on the edge of a bird sanctuary and it is wonderful to see such an amazing variety of birds and animals up close. The Waxwings are a favorite of mine, they come to enjoy the saskatoons and Schubert cherries that I have growing in my yard.
If you're interested in seeing some of the animals that I have had visiting, I will share photos at the end of my post.
I chose to do a mixed media layout for this one, so I started by stenciling a background with Nuvo Glacier Paste in Haute Red, using Finnabair's Swirly Florals stencil. The two pieces of chipboard were embossed with Distress Ink "Aged Mahogany" embossing power.
For the paper stack behind the bird, I used pieces cut from Pam Bray's "Nature's Bliss" collection.
All edges of the paper stack as well as the bird photo were inked with black ink.
In the photo below, you can see that I embellished the photo with fussy cut flowers (yup... there was lots of cutting) that were popped up here and there for extra dimension. The fussy cut flowers are from a Hungry JPeg graphics collection called Autumn Vibes by a group of Russian artists called Little Magic Box. One of the flair buttons from "Strenth of the Season" added extra shine and "flair" to the flower cluster. The chipboard frame around the bird was embossed with Stampendous "Shabby pink" embossing powder and then I added Copper glass glitter to some of the berries. I also add the glass glitter and some "ManGo" mini prills here and there on the lattice trellis. Around the bottom of the flower cluster, I added some pearlized mica for extra shine, but it comes across as quite flat in the photo. It looks much better in real life!
The two little birds below, were part of the bottom chipboard piece. I cut them off and tucked them up at the top. This piece of chipboard was embossed with Stampendous "Shabby Pink" embossing powder. (True to my promise to myself, I am digging into some old stash and using it!)
The other bits of embellishing that I did, was glue on some "Pink Passion Pearls" by Prima, and add sequins from another new Wild Whisper collection called "Where to Next". Lastly I did a very fine splashing of watered down gesso over the whole page. (Except for the bird, I covered him with a piece of scrap paper while I was flicking gesso.)
The title of the page, was cut from "The Strength of the Season" card pack. I should also mention that the adhesive I used for everything was Art Ingredients "Heavy Body Gel." I love this stuff when working on a page like this. It's flexible but also really strong.
You still have until the end of the month, January 31st, to enter the More Than Words Main Challenge. Check it out! We have some great prizes up for grabs!!
Thank you for stopping by to see what I was up to today.
Don't forget to check out the Wild Whisper store to see all the new collections. I'm sure that you will agree with me that they are amazing! There's even a few Kit Collections still available at 20% off... so run, don't walk!
If you DO go shopping, don't forget to use my coupon code (DTLINDA) for 10% off!!
A few of the beautiful creatures that have passed through the yard:
This flock of Pelicans entertained us for weeks in the late summer months. They are such large birds and very fun to watch.
We frequently have coyotes come up to the fence, but upon this particular afternoon he decided to lay down and sun himself.
This pheasant has been particularly fun. He showed up in the fall last year. I discovered him when I heard tapping on my craft room window.
And here he is peeking in at me in my basement craftroom. He still comes by every now and then... just checking up on things I guess!
Deer are another animal that we see frequently. This photo was taken on a snowy day in May.
This is the same day... if you look carefully, you will see three of them. Two were curled up and having a nap. This little herd delighted us with a set of twins later in the year.
A little later in the year, this guy came by to raid the neighbour's bird feeders.
A handsome big owl that decided to rest in our Schubert Chokecherry tree for awhile. We kept a close watch on our King Charles Cavalier Spaniel while he was hanging around!
We're also frequently entertained by the black, as well as grey, squirrels that run along the fence and high up into the trees teasing our dogs.
The yard is also always full of sparrows, chickadees, bluejays, magpies, crows, house finches, goldfinches, red-headed blackbirds, yellow-headed blackbirds, ducks of all types, warblers, partridges, robins, wrens, hummingbirds, flickers, nuthatches, orioles... I'm sure there are many others that I have missed. Last, but not least, my favorite birds, the Canada Geese who come back in the cold, winter month of March, and sit out on the frozen ice patiently waiting for it to melt. They honk and carry on, setting their boundaries for their little patch of territory, and they make me so happy because I know when they arrive the winter will soon be over and spring will be here!
