300th Post Birds & Books Give Away Sign Up (UPDATED).....

Please note this Give Away is closed

"Pleasure is spread through the earth

In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find."

~William Wordsworth , 1806~

(click on any photo to enlarge for better viewing)

UPDATE NOTE: My sincerest apologies about not getting the update of the third offering in my give away up yesterday. You can scroll down in the post to see the added item. Have a wonderful day!

I recently reached my 300th post and to celebrate I am hosting a birds & books themed give away! My idea was to create three art pieces with the theme of birds & books to offer as prizes. I seriously and truly wish I could give something to each and every one of you who takes the time from your busy days to visit here at Quill Cottage. I am blessed by your sweet friendships, loving support, and encouraging words. I am so amazed at the connection that this modern form of pen pals provides. I appreciate each and everyone of you and thank you for your visits here.

The first offering is a "Sweet Tweet" bird journal. This darling bird journal was inspired by artist Vanessa Spencer of Stampington & Co., you can visit this post to learn more about the Stampington's video library and YouTube channel. This large board book journal measures 12"x5" and contains 14 journaling blocks. The journal is bound with a simple clip ring and embellished with a chocolate brown ribbon closure. Sepia tones with hints of chocolate and pink make this little bird sing with style. Her tail feathers and wings are ruffled with lace and trim and she had black button eyes. She is accented with stamped feathers. Mon cher petite bird only warbles in French as her beak is papered in French text .The second offering is an original mixed media nature collage creation by me. The dimensional collage measures 10"x13". The base of the piece is an old box bottom, the interior of which is collaged with a variety of papers and over stamped with butterflies. The exterior is covered in original handwritten text taken from an old composition book. The edge is trimmed in natural jute twine. The piece hangs from chocolate brown ribbon sewn on with buttons.This collage tells a story and it begins with a lovely young girl reclining under the trees at the edge of a forest reading a book. She is featured on the rubber stamped faux book cover. As she was reclining and reading she became drowsy, laying her book aside, she drifted off to sleep. As she slept she dreamed the strangest dream, of her storybook come to life. She had been reading "The Birds Nest" before drifting off, the tale of a darling little bird who lived in an enchanted forest where flowers sing and dance beside babbling brooks and the strangest and most magical of things happen.In the dream she was chasing and gathering the dancing flowers in her gathering basket as they played a giggly game of "catch~me~if~you~can". The colorful flowers weaved and bobbed on their dancing stems, little leaf petaled hands clapping in delight at being scooped up and lovingly admired as they were placed in the basket. You can see her gathering basket full of dancing flowers coming to life and slipping from the pages of the book, peeking just beyond the books open cover.The little bird who lived in the forest sat in a nearby tree watching with great interest the game being played below. She was resting from her labor of building a nest in which to lay her enchanted blue speckled egg. After weaving together traditional nest building materials like moss, lichen, and twigs, her nest was being feathered with snips and slips of dictionary pages. With these she would teach her little hatchling how to read and build good vocabulary skills.
"May I play?", little bird asked. "Certainly.", replied the little girl, as if talking birds and playing games with dancing flowers were an everyday occurrence. Amid a flutter of wings and flashing flower petals could be heard peals of musical laughter, all of which were being observed by an intruder hiding behind a big rock at the edge of the forest.The intruder wanted to capture the magical talking bird and the dancing flowers and sell them to the circus. Slowly sneaking upon the unsuspecting group, the intruder carried with him a cage that he kept under lock and key. He kept the key tied around his pudgy neck on a ribbon. Talking birds and dancing flowers were sure to fetch a pretty penny or two he thought as he rubbed his greedy little troll like hands together. He hoped to collect the little bird and her flower friends without the little girls notice.As he edged closer he kept his eye on the game and not upon his feet. He took a step forward and a loud "SNAP!" of a twig alerted the giggling group of his presence. They all spun as one in his direction as he made a giant leap over the brook, cage held high in one hand as the other hand tried to grasp a pretty purple pansy! The little bird was swift to take action and swooped down to peck his hand allowing the pansy to escape but a beautiful buttercup was not so lucky. She was swiftly nabbed and locked inside the cage.He turned his attention to the little talking bird. While she fluttered in place just beyond his grasp the stealthy little flowers tied the laces of his elfin like footwear together. She gave a little lower forward flutter and the intruder started after her, tripping and tumbling into the babbling brook. His grip slipped and the little girl seized the opportunity to grab the cage. The angry babbling brook tossed him to and fro, holding him in a wavelike grip. The little bird circled waiting for her chance to retrieve the key. The ribbon floated out from the pudgy neck upon which it hung and the little bird swooped down cutting through the ribbon with her scissor sharp beak quickly snatching the key before it could sink into the water.She placed the key in the palm of the little girls hand, who used it to open the cage and set the trembling buttercup free. Together they watched as the babbling brook further tossed and tumbled the intruder down stream where he was never heard from again.
The lovely young girl awoke from her dream and marveled at such strange and enchanted happenings. Smiling, she wished that it had been real, the pleasant game of playing with flowers and conversation with a real talking bird. Yawning and stretching she stood and brushed off her dress and pinafore which seemed to be littered with bits of paper. "Strange.", she thought as she bent to retrieve her book. Her hand stilled as her eyes fastened upon a shiny tiny silver old fashioned key tied with a snip of ribbon, a key exactly like the one she used to set the buttercup free. There it lay on the cover of her book. As she looked a wisp of torn paper fluttered down. A bright eyed little bird flitted down to retrieve it in her beak.Following the direction of the little birds ascent she saw a nest high above in the tree under which she stood and it was woven just as she had seen it in her dream. The saucy little bird gave her a sly slow wink. Was it real or was it a dream? What do you think?Most of the details of this artwork are woven into the story above and showcased in the photographs.

Offering number three is an altered book cover collage. If you look very carefully you will see that the background of this piece is the inside cover of a Little Golden Book. The leafy like background made it a perfect choice for a nature collage. The background is over stamped with feathers and a butterfly. A vintage button card layered over and aged blue paper and piece of handmade paper sports a little bird image. The nest is made from natural materials as well as paper scraps and is filled with handmade paper covered eggs. Vintage lace, ribbon, and buttons add fun embellishment. Cardboard stencils were used to spell out "NEST" with cute button brads adding accent color. The piece hang from simple twine. The back of the collage is covered in a dictionary page.

To sign up for the give away just leave a comment on this post. Winners will be announced on Monday, June 15, 2009. You do not have to have a blog to enter, anyone is welcome. There are no shipping restrictions. If you share this give away on your blog, please let me know so I can give you a special mention and a link back to your blog in the winning announcement post.

Have a super Saturday!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy