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Saturday, June 6, 2009

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

35 comments:

Terry said...

Howdy Miss Sandy
Congratulations to you .
What a thrilling giveaway.
I love visiting your blog .
I know that no matter what is going on in the world
I can come here and be refreshed .
I know I'll leave ready to fly back to family and friends in a better frame of mind.
Thank you for feeding my spirit.
God Bless you sweet lady .

lorhen82 said...

The bird journal is so unique, and I am completely in love with your collage! How I hope it can come live with me!!! I'm going to post your giveaway now! ~Lori

LiLi M. said...

Hello Miss Sandy!
Congrats on 300 posts! I do hope this is only the beginning and there will be a lot of posts still to come. I too think it is amazing how we all connect through this form of communication. I love visiting your blog and I hope I can do this for a long long time. Thanks for your visits, your friendship and your lovely posts. And I love your give away prizes already, I cannot wait to see nr. 3 as nr. 1 and 2 are both gorgeous! Those curling pages in that box...oh beautiful! Have a nice weekend!

Myrnie said...

What a lovely, lovely giveaway! Congratulations on 300 posts- quite an accomplishment :o)

Helen Read said...

I've been "away" from it all for a few weeks, finishing up the school year. But now, its fun to catch up with what you've been doing. I love your little bird journals. :)
Please include me in the drawing!

Carla in TN said...

Miss Sandy, these pieces are beautiful. My favorite thing is the little silver key on the book! How clever. Congratulations on your 300th post!

Susie said...

Sandy these are wonderful gifts. Don't include me in the giveaway since I have won before. I just wanted you to know how precious these lovelies are.

Anonymous said...

What sweet treasures you have created Sandy. Congrats on 300 posts - I love each and every one.

Cindy Is Crafty said...

Congrats on your 300th! I love both of your creations. They are awesome!

SharDon Exclusives said...

Miss Sandi, When I want words of wisdom mixed with creativity I come to your posts. The bird theme is right up my alley and both of the bird works of art are gorgeous. So much work...tks for your uplifting, sometimes funny posts.
Sharon

Lady Farmer said...

As always, your work is superb! That the giveaway involves birds ~ divine! I would love to win any of your offerings, but reading the story was a gift in itself. Please enter my name in your giveaway and I would love to mention it on my blog. May I use one of the pictures to go along with it? I will put it on my sidebar if you let me know it is ok.
Blessings!

The Feathered Nest said...

Dear sweet Sandy, you know I LOVE your artwork and if it has a bird theme AND a book theme, ohmygoodness!!!! I will DEFINITELY love it!! Happy 300th Post dear friend, I love your blog and your personality and style ~ you have such a gift for the written word, each post is a journey that I love to take, thank you for that!!! Wishing you many, many more posts ahead dear friend and please throw my name into the hat as I love anything you make!!! xxoo, Dawn

Ragamuffin Gal said...

Many Blessings on your 300th post!!
Your story is so delightful and the accompanying art pieces are stunningly beautiful. You are truely a treasure and inspiration to all of us in blogland. Many Blessings sweet friend and many more lovely posts! Katie

Myrna said...

What a beautiful blog you have! And I love your art!! Please enter me in your giveaway~Congratulations on your 300 posts!
Blessings,
Myrna

Coralie Cederna Johnson said...

Your artwork is magnificent! Wonderful bird pieces which I love!!!
Blessings from Coralie!

Cathy said...

Beautiful blog and beautiful artwork. What more could you want? Well, maybe to win one of your bird pieces would be nice. Thanks for the opportunity.

Cheptoek said...

Congratulations on your 300th blog! Amazing! What wonderful work. Thank you for all the encouragement and beauty I see on your blog. It truly uplifts me. Blessings!

she dreams big! said...

You have a lovely way with descriptions and stories and I always enjoy visiting your lovely blog. Please sign me up! uffda_68787@yahoo.com

Pellie / Penny said...

Miss Sandy,
Congratulations on your 300th post - that is such an accomplishment. May we look forward to 300 more. Your give away items are just beautiful.
You are so very talented.

Anonymous said...

Miss Sandy, What a lovely story, I think it's true! What a nice give away and congrads on your 300th post. Please sign me up. Thank you! Vicki Page

AmyB said...

You post the beautiful pictures and oodles of inspiration. You create the lovely items. We just have to pop in and enjoy... and possibly win. How very generous you are! Congrats on 300. Here's to many more. - Amy Bauer amy@usdemolition.com

Tina said...

Oh - those two pieces are SO beautiful. Love your artwork Sandy.
You just beat me on the last one - I have just started to gather materiale to a piece like that. Two souls - same thought.
I would love to be entered.
Hugs, Tina xx

Anonymous said...

Those pieces are gorgeous. Please enter me.

Erin Parker

Vee said...

Shhhh, I'm here to pop out your player... something I do whenever things are too stressful to ponder words or familiar pieces of classical music. (Course it's getting more familiar all the time. :>) And congrats on your achievement...you have one of the most thoughtful and delicious blogs ever. I stand in awe of the One who created you to be so creative!

Decor To Adore said...

Mr. Decor recently asked, "So, do you have a bird decor fetish going on?" This of course after I brought home yet another birdie. :)

Congratulations on your 300th post!

Your blog is linked on my post today.

Linda said...

Hi,
This is my first visit, on the recommendation of the lovely Laura Ingalls Gunn.

Congratulations on your milestone and I just have to write that your blog is so lovely that it actually made me cry (in a good way). I'm just so awestruck over each of these lovely blogs that I find, and the magnitude of talent that God has bestowed on so many. What a blessing!

I'm happy now to be a follower here and I'm adding your blog giveaway as a link on my post today.

Kind regards,
Linda in Illinois

Pink Princess said...

What an adorable items you have, I am amazed.

I would love to be entered in your great give away if I may :)

Carole Burant said...

Omigosh, Sandy, I have never seen such delightful giveaways!! Your art is absolutely beautiful and reading the story of the collage (second prize) had me completely enthralled. I would be so honoured to win one of your gorgeous creations and I will mention it on my blog:-) Thank you for your generosity...friends made through blogging are indeed a huge blessing. xox

Elizabeth said...

I just discovered your blog.I loved the memories you shared of you and your grandmother,reminded me of mine.
I would love to be entered in your giveaway.
please visit me at simplepleasures
I will mention your lovely blog and giveaway there.
Elizabeth

AmyB said...

You post the beautiful pics and oodles of inspiration. You create the lovely items. We just get to pop in and enjoy.. and possibly win one of your wonders. How very generous you are. Congrats on 300 posts. Here's to many more!
-Amy Bauer amy@usdemolition.com

Mary Isabella and Kiley too! said...

What beautiful things you are giving away. My what a wonderful blog you have so much beauty here...m.

Dolores said...

Beautiful collage and journal. Congratulations on your 300th blog. Quite an accomplishment.

Jodie (everything vintage) said...

Hi Miss Sandy!
I found you through Lori and Linda and I finally made it here...what a treat it's been visiting with you! Your photos are beautiful, I could stay here all day!
Congrats on your 300th post...wow! I'll keep my fingers crossed to win one of your beauties! Thank you for being soooo generous~
everything vintage

bluemuf said...

My dear Miss Sandy. I have so enjoyed this post. You have created some lovely items for your 300 post giveaway. The bird journal is so sweet and I loved reading the delightful story that went with your beautiful mixed media nature collage. And last but not least is the altered book cover I love the theme of this gorgous collage.
I've so enjoyed all your inspiring posts and hope to be reading 300 more.

Hugs Karen

pam said...

Congratulations on your 300th post. Your artwork is just lovely, and the stories that go with them are inspiring. Please enter my name in your giveaway.

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