COLLABORATIVE BIRD HOUSE...

"Art is your emotions flowing in a river of imagination."

-Devin, Los Cerros Middle School, 1999-
I can finally show you the art piece that I sent to Diane(Diane Knott's Musings) for our Unfinished Project Swap as she has received it and posted it on her blog. Diane and I decided to send one another an unfinished project we had each started and have the other one finish it and send it back. If you missed seeing the beautiful collage she made out of my background, you can visit my post here.Diane sent me two 4"x4" Masonite tiles covered in beautiful embossed paper with vintage lace and the cutest paper buttons on them. Here is what she sent:I had originally planned on using them as an accordion book cover but that plan went awry in the execution stage so I scrapped it and started all over. While trying to come up with an idea I saw a little cardboard box sitting on a shelf that gave me an idea. With a few additional pieces of card board, glue, and various vintage book pages a bird house was born. Diane's tiles became the roof.Here is the finished project:

The tiny bird image below is one that Dawn (The Feathered Nest) shared on her blog quite some time ago. If you look closely, you will see bits of recent projects incorporated into this piece, such as the tiny nut sell egg:

Tissue paper printing on the front eve of the house and the hand dyed bits of fabrics:Egg made from left over paint paper on tag:Left over stamped coffee filter from the Alice "Drink Me" collage:This little bird is my favorite part! It is made from a stone that I found beside my garden pond. It was shaped just like a little bird body.

The stencil brush and twig chimney is a nod to Diane's beginnings as a painter and also to one of my favorite artist, Nina Bagley (Ornamental), who used a similar element on a piece of art she created for the book, In This House by Angela Cartwright (Said & Done) and Sarah Fishburn (Ragtags Studio Central). The rest of the design is purely mine.The egg shell is a real one that has been altered. The poppy pod is from my grandmothers garden and the moss is from a tree in my front yard.All the sweet feathers used in the project were gifts from real feathered friends who left little offerings behind on their trips to the bird feeders. Sometimes they do not share well and wings flap and feathers fly.Didn't it look so at home here at the Quill? Confession time, I kept it a few days just to enjoy before I sent it to Diane.I adored designing and creating this art piece for Diane and it truly was a collaborative effort. She was so sweet in her response that I was almost in tears. This was a fantastically fun swap and I would encourage you to do this with one of your blog buddies some time. It is a great challenge and stretch of the imagination.

I will be out of pocket most of the week this coming week so I have done some pre-posting until I can return. I'll check in and try to respond to comments as I am able. I did get quite a few items ready to list in the shoppe but they will have to wait until my return. I am so sorry I keep postponing listing but honestly we have so much going on here that it has just been a very low priority right now. I hope you all have a wonderfully creative and bliss filled week in my absence!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy