Birds. . . . . .on a bookmark!

The latest theme at Artful Times is 'Birds'. I love looking at the birds in the garden but really need to learn more  so I can identify them. Having a killer cat probably means that some clever species give my garden a miss on their daily flight over the neighbourhood!  I think their colours and markings attract me the most and obviously the way they fly to and fro collecting bits and pieces for their nests is always captivating. I would love to have a bird table but for obvious reasons that's not possible!

I'm also going to play along as a visitor, at 'Tag Tuesday'. They have a 'Gardening' theme at the moment and as birds are a very important part of gardening (not always in a good way when they steal our goodies which are growing!) I hope this bookmark will be applicable. Some amazing artists show their work here and I'm constantly in awe of what they produce! Very inspirational.

I love bird stamps and although my collection isn't huge, there are a few which I'm always looking for an excuse to use.

I tried to avoid making a tag as I seem to make so many of these and decided that something slightly unusual was needed. I read a great deal - mainly what my husband calls 'trash' (I love detective type thrillers and he's convinced I'm collating evidence to help with a future, perfect crime!!) - so with that in mind, I thought I would make a bookmark. I have an electronic device for reading but nothing beats handling a real book in my opinion.

So, with no further waffling, here is what I've made:

The elements used to make the bookmark. A brad and some jute thread were added later.

The completed Bookmark.

This close up shows the shimmer spray used on each of the bird 'tiles'.
(Shimmer spray was applied to all elements of the bookmark).

The jute thread was added to give a natural element to a nature themed tag.

This image clearly shows the shimmer on the bird tiles and the embossed edge given to each. The tiles were stamped using VersaMark and mica powder in various colours was brushed over the stamping. The edges were embossed with gold detail powder to give a framed effect.
The birds on background were stamped using the new spring Distress Inks which were applied to the stamp in random fashion. I wanted to achieve a watercolour effect by using the Distress Inks.

The coloured birds was stamped using Distress Inks and then blurred by spraying with water. Further colours were then sponged on. The music was stamped in coffee Archival ink. A quick burst of gold shimmer spray and some embossed gold detail powder finished the task. I repeated the same bird but stamped in Archival - I wanted to achieve a 'shadow' effect by placing the coffee coloured bird behind the main image.