Sunday, June 5, 2016

Anything But Cute Challenge #14--The Birds and the Bees

Hello crafty friends! It's time for  new challenge at Anything But Cute where our talented  and always fun Niki of Pawsitively Creative has chosen the theme 'The Birds and the Bees'. I decided to make a little bird house and use my new Dina Wakely Little Birdies stamp set. I love these little birdies, but they border on being cute. Cute, of course, is not allowed at Anything But Cute, so I had to be sure to make them realistic looking. Beware: it's another photo heavy post--my apologies--there's no simple way to photograph a 3D piece. Welcome to the Love Shack!



Here is how Niki describes her challenge:  With the lovely warm weather in my neck of the woods, I am seeing so many wonderful birds and bee's, so I would love to see those in your mixed media makes! Pull out those bird stamps, think of feathers and maybe some honeycomb. Or you could even go for a non-traditional interpretation like a family crest that has a bird emblem on it. The sky is the limit but NO BUTTERFLIES please!  

Please be sure to pop over to Anything But Cute to see what my amazing teamies have created to inspire you!


I started by designing a template for the house and cut my pieces from chipboard from my cat food box. I am quite proud of my attempts at making my own birdhouse design, even if it is a little wonky! At first I thought I would be painting the actual chipboard, but I changed my mind and decided to make papers to cover it.  For the inside of the house, I used a wood grain printed paper from my stash and knifed a mixture of gel medium and Stampin' Up embossing glitter through Tim Holtz Honeycomb stencil. Once the gel was dry, I heated it to melt the powder. This is so shimmery in real life.



I die cut a piece out of a mop up paper from my stash  trash for the upper corner using Tim Holtz Mixed Media Thinlit honeycomb and reinserted some of the little interior pieces randomly. I painted in some of the other honeycombs and left some empty.  I applied Ranger Crackle Accents and DecoArt  Crackle Glaze in some of the honeycombs and DecoArt Liquid Glass in others. I smudged on Distress Crayon in Vintage Photo to accentuate the cracks, and then around the heat embossed honeycombs, as well. It's a little dark, but that's OK; it's going to be covered up mostly.




For the paper I  used to cover the outside of the house, I created a masterboard. Starting with one of Tim Holtz' newer mini stencils in a wood grain, I blended Fossilized Amber Distress ink through the stencil. I dried and realigned my stencil to apply Distress micro glaze over the pattern. I applied Antique Linen and Cracked Pistachio Distress paints randomly all over and wiped with a dry paper towel in a vertical fashion to simulate a wood grain. I then swiped my Distress ink pads (Frayed burlap and Walnut Stain) down the paper in vertical swipes direct to paper, and wiped with a clean, dry paper towel in vertical strokes once more. The micro glaze resists the paints and the inks, allowing some of the original grain to show through. I flicked on water and dried with a heat tool.




I added stamping using an Artistic Stamper Honeycomb Background stamp and Archival ink in Potting Soil. I again wiped to remove the ink from the micro glazed areas. I also stamped the accompanying bees from the same set this time using Antique Linen Distress paint, although they are very hard to see (I know they're there).  Now, add more micro glaze through the Tim Holtz Splotches stencil. I made a puddle of watery ink using Vintage Photo Distress ink and water on my craft mat and placed the masterboard into the puddle. I heat dried and wiped the ink from the micro glazed circles.


Lastly I added Distress crazing Medium in random areas, and through a TCW wood grain stencil, dried and smudged on Distress Crayons in neutral colors. For a final bit of visual texture, I splattered with Distress paints in Rusty Hinge, Black Soot and Antiqued Bronze. Once the masterboard was done, and pieces cut out, I adhered them to the already assembled house. Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of the completed masterboard (the photo above was taken before the Splothes and TCW Woodgrain stencils were used.




For the roof, I ran card stock through my wavy crimper (when's the last time I used that?) and painted with Antique Bronze Distress paint. While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled with brown Embossing Puffs and heated to melt and bubble. I flicked on Peeled paint Distress paint and added Peeled Paint stain to one end, spritzed with water and allowed it to run down. When the card was almost dry, I crimped it once more. Before adding the roof to the house, I threaded a chain through a hole I made.
Most of my outdoor shots are blurry because I hung the birdhouse in a tree, and the wind kept blowing it. 




The birdies were stamped with Potting Soil Archival ink on Ranger Distress water color paper, and I swiped on some microglaze where I wanted the areas to stay white. I water colored using Distress inks in Rusty Hinge and Salty Ocean and fussy cut. I sat the birds on branches I cut using a Tim Holtz oldie but goodie Bird Branch die. Before cutting, I added vintage book page to Grunge Board, and once cut, smudged on Distress Crayon in Walnut stain. I know it looks like I forgot to ink my edges, but I did. I used Frayed Burlap to edge everything, but it shows up pretty white in the photos. The words are also upside down, because when I was designing this, originally the branches were supposed to be on opposite sides, but I changed my mind again when my roof style changed. When designing a 3 D piece, your mind always has to think through all the steps in advance, and my mind just doesn't work like that when I create! (I believe the white spot on the bee's head is a reflection, because I just don't see it when I look at this in real life, but then, I'm halfway blind!)





The leaves are die cuts (Impression Obsession) from paper I prepared using Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters Distress stains. The flowers are Tim Holtz Tiny Florals Thinlits and cut from paper I prepped with Dylusions Lemon Zest spray and Abandoned Coral Distress spray. I also used my marker spritzer and Walnut Stain Distress marker to add some texture.  I added a couple of fluffy flowers from my stash.  The three bees are stamped in Archival Jet Black on heavy weight water color paper colored with Mustard Seed and Antique Bronze Distress paints and fussy cut.  The wings on the little honeybees were colored with Tumbled Glass Distress marker, and I added a second set of wings stamped in black Staz On ink on scrap waste acetate packaging, fussy cut and dried with a heat tool to allow them to shrivel and curl. I smudged on Distress Crayon for a little sticky honey look. That bluish spot you see on the wing is actually a reflection.

The brass toned hearts are from my stash, and I heat embossed them with white embossing powder, and the bow is hand dyed seam binding, colored with coordinating inks and stains. The hearts are a little fuzzy because I dropped them on my filthy floor when the powder was still a little hot. I liked the texture.








Here's one last look at my Love Shack. I hope you will pop by     ABC    to see what my talented teamies have created for The Birds and the Bees and that you will find times to join the challenge! The birds and the bees have sure been buzzing and flapping around my home--we have a garage full of fledgling House Wrens! The peeping is driving my cats crazy (and my husband!)


I hope I have inspired you in some way to enter 'The Birds and the Bees' challenge at Anything But Cute!

I would like to enter my bird house into the following inspirational challenges:
The Artistic Stamper June's Creative Challenge-Red, Blue, and Yellow Although it is not screaming red, I used Abandoned Coral on the flowers. Stamping: Listed throughout the post, but I did use the Artistic Stamper Honeycomb and bees stamp set.
Stamps and Stencils Floral Frenzy I know my birds speak volumes, but I hope my blooms stand out enough to be accepted into your challenge.
Our Creative Corner A Beautiful Mess My mess was made on my masterboard with so many layers of inks, paints, sprays, crayons, crazing, Micro glaze and splatters.
A Vintage Journey-Texture or Embossing Paste My paste is homemade; made with gel medium and embossing glitter.
Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #25-2nd Year Celebration!! I chose Dimension April's challenge #23.


Thank you for stopping by today and for all your lovely comments! I read and appreciate each and every one of them! 
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily

32 comments:

  1. Wow Sara, you never cease to blow my mind with your creativity! This is so amazing and I can't believe it started out as cardboard, WHAT!!!! I love how you did the crackled honeycomb, and how amazing to actually get to watch your process for it!! The wood grain stencil worked so well, guess I'm adding that one to my wish list! lol. Although your birds are cute, they are cute in a realistic baby-birds-are-cute sort of way - not a cute-bird image sort of way. Does that make sense? Recap - I love them! Your flowers are all so beautiful, and what a great little touch to throw the bees in the mix! You have put together another stunning project Sara, thank you so much! hugs :)

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  2. Wow, Sara Emily, this is spectacular!! I can't believe this started out as a cat food box!! Amazing!! You've perfectly combined the birds and the bees!! The cracked honeycomb is amazing!! The birds are gorgeous and look just like the real ones I'm looking at right now at their bird house!! The flowers, the ribbon, the charm, everything is just perfect!! You are amazing!! Love it my friend!! Have a great day!! Big hugs :)

    Lisa
    A Mermaid's Crafts

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  3. OMG, Sara, it's a mindblowing bird house! I can't believe you've created your own bird house design out of a cat food box! You have managed to combine birds and bees in such a perfect way, my friend! Your cracked honeycomb is marvelous and those flowers are brilliant! I love that Dina's Scribble Birds stamp set so much! It's one of my favourites! What a wonderful coloring of your images! Sara, I adore every single detail of your spectacular bird house! Bravo, my friend! Big hugs and lots of love to you! Branka xx

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  4. Well I'll be tickled pink at this birdhouse! I am twitterpated! Hehe! The picture I saw was such a tease because this cat box never looked so good! So glad Roger could help out with this design and share his recyclables with you. Lol! Your 3D designs may be hard to photograph but ohhhhhh it looks so good! You always amaze me with your use of EP and textures. The final product with those wonderful (and not cute) birds and bees is Bee-utiful dearie! As Branka would say BRAVO! Awesome sauce, fantabulous, gorgeous and mouthwatering! Hugz to you muffin! ~Punkin

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  5. Stunning Birdhouse Sara!! Thanks for sharing process!

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  6. A completely amazing project Sara! The little birdhouse itself is so clever already, but then the way you have finished it, wow, I adore what ou did with the scribbly birds and then those wonderful flowers that come tumbling out, just brilliant! Oh and thanks of course for adding it to our challenge at MMM!

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  7. Oh my sweet little goodness! I love this sooooo much! I've been coveting those scribbly birds for a while now, but haven't let myself purchase them. You colored them to perfection. And the color palette of this assemblage is divine. You made me happy right down to the tips of my toes!

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  8. this is amazing Sara - what a wonderful piece - I adore all the details - those birds and bees look truely amazing! Big hugs clever lady xx

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  9. Wow,you made your own paste and your own design of birdhouse, very clever indeed and beautifully decorated too. I love how,you adorned the house with flowers and foliage, just gorgeous, thanks so much for joining in A Vintage Journey Challenge. Tracy x

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  10. This is a Sara Emily kind of project...lots of details, so many hours spent to make it and wonderful end result! Gorgeous make and wonderful take on the challenge!
    Hugs
    Samra
    Paper Talk with Samra

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  11. What a superb little bird house Sara, brilliantly designed and put together and I adore the contents and the way the bees seem to have taken it over. So clever. Have a great week. XxZ

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  12. This is amazing, Sara Emily!! So many textures and techniques...just awesomeness! You really did a great job with your birdhouse and everything in it...I love how it's filled with beautifully colored flowers and bees. I can why the bees are attracted - not only those beautiful flowers, but that wonderful honeycomb on the back wall! Love it!!!

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  13. Wonderful - so very sweet - but NO! NO! don't go in there sweet little birds - there is a bee and there and he does more than buzz!!
    Sandy xx

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  14. Your bee on his shimmering honeycomb actually made my mouth water Sara. I may have to go steal some honeycomb from our bees today!!! What a FABULOUS Love Shack. Wow. All the different textures and colors makes it an INTRIGUINGLY SPLENDID house that anyone bird or bee would feel like they were at the RITZ. And all those flowers - sooo lovely. It is so amazing to me how you create such a masterpiece from a mere stack of "stuff". YOU ARE AN INCREDIBLY CREATIVE little imp!!! XXj.

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  15. Back with my OCC DT hat on! Oh yes - I can see where you had lots of mess working on your masterboard Sara. It is truly a work of art. And artistically speaking - you used everything but your last paint brush on it! And WOW does it look INCREDIBLE. Such FABULOUS textures, colors and some realistic sweet honeycombs too! Thanks bunches for joining our "A Beautiful Mess' challenge at OUR CREATIVE CORNER! j.

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  16. Well if this isn't a floral frenzy and a birds and bees party - then I'm a monkey's uncle! lol! How amazing is the paper you made to cover your oh so clever birdhouse design (i'm copying)! Gosh, you are so creative. I NEED to have a play WEEKEND with you girl! Geeze! Love your layer upon layer of greenery dies & flowers and the AWESOME branches (again copying - sorry...) You amazing me time after time and I couldn't be happier to be your teamie! GUSH! ;0 Hugs, Autumn

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  17. Great little birdhouse!
    HUgs
    Dawn xx

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  18. I know I am going to date myself by saying this, but this blows my mind! It's amazing!!

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  19. I am back to thank you so much for joining in our Floral Frenzy challenge at Stamps and Stencils with this breathtakingly beautiful piece of art! Big hugs! Branka xx

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  20. My sweet friend, I am trying so hard to somewhat keep up with comments while dealing with pain but it is a slow process. I don't want to rush my bloggie love for you, so I will return to this post (and your most recent) this weekend, okay? In the meantime, I wanted to tell you that you are on my heart and that your work is endlessly inspiring. :o)

    Hugs and blessings,
    Karen

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  21. My dear Sara, I am back sooner than expected! Yay! Your birdhouse is nothing short of spectacular... I am still in awe! There are endless inspiring aspects, including the fact that it started as a cat food box. :o) All of the papers you made blow my mind... the honeycomb is jaw dropping! The interior and exterior scenes are both amazing, filled with detailing that no words can encompass. The little heart charms are such a sweet touch and the birdies themselves are gorgeous. They clearly love their new happy home. :o) You are amazing, my friend!

    Hugs and blessings,
    Karen

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  22. What a beautiful house you have created for these sweet love birds. The inside is gorgeous with all the beautiful flowers.

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  23. Another jaw-dropping creation, Sara Emily - you've surpassed yourself with this. The abundant flowers and the rusty roof and those adorable birds (definitely adorable rather than cute)... it's simply wonderful. A happy-making post!
    Alison x

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  24. Awesome work, very lovely! I like very much))) Hugs.

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  25. Amazing!! I love it!! First, I was taken by the colors - then the birds and then the details of the honeycomb in the background!! Beautiful! Thank you so much for playing with us at The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge's 2nd Anniversary!!

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  26. Very cool project! Thanks so much for joining us this month at the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge for our 2nd Anniversary Celebration!!

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  27. What can I say other than this is yet another of your 'jaw = floor' creations! Sara . Blown away with your amazing creative talent. The time you must have put into designing and creating this fabulous birdhouse from scratch is commendable as is the end result .
    if its ok I will now attempt to pick up my jaw at least until your next post........
    lol hugs x

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  28. Fabulous project with lots of wonderful techniques. Love the bird house you created and it doesn't look wonky to me. The crackled honeycomb is terrific (stealing that one) and the wood grain looks so real. Your birds are cute (going rogue now, I see) and they are beautifully coloured. Then there are the flowers lots of gorgeous blooms in bright colours - perfect for this time of year. Thanks for sharing this beauty at Stamps and Stencils.
    Hugs!
    Cec

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  29. hey Sara - I'm back with my DT hat on and I'm so pleased to see this project again - I love it even more! Thanks for joining the floral frenzy challenge at stamps and stencils this month! Hugs rachel x

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  30. This is 100% adorable, I love it !

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  31. So wonderful and amazing dimension! Just love it!
    ~kim

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  32. Your little love shack has so much going on – so much to drool over :) And that dripping honeycomb is spot on. Thank you for displaying your beautiful piece!

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