Sunday, September 12, 2010

Gone to the BIRDS...!

Ok-so, again, this is not the card I've been promising...but its good! And since my last post was well, about birds, too-well, this just fits! Enjoy!
Bird Watching...
One of the things we enjoy the most is taking our boat out on the water, anchoring in some of the calmer inlets and waterways, taking a swim, having a picnic supper and then just sitting and reading until the sun goes down. Of course, while we are doing that, being that my late mother-in-law was an avid naturist and bird watcher, that is something we do as well. It’s not unusual to see a number of sand pipers, pelicans, oyster catchers and, perhaps the most common, the egret.
They are beautiful, snow white majestic looking birds. And I was amazed at how realistic Artful Legacy’s rendering is! This
is an awesome "GOTTA HAVE" stamp! The deep etching and fine details made this the perfect stamp to use on one of my new favorite techniques–embossing and etching on glass. The mirror was a Wal-Mart purchase. I used clear contact paper and laid out the square of the mirror and then cut the oval from that, overlapping the right edge off the page/mirror.. It took two tries-the first time I forgot that I needed to work with a mirrored (reversed) image of my stencil. Ok-so at least I had plenty of contact paper on hand! I first lightly laid it down (without removing the backing!) and, using a detail clear embossing powder, I stamped the egret in the center of my stencil and heat-embossed it. I then waited for the mirror to cool (the glass gets HOT! Use caution!), removed the backing on the contact stencil, and made sure it was firmly adhered. Knowing the etching creme works quickly, so did I! I smoothed a thick layer over the stencil and set my timer for the required 5 minutes and went to pet Ms. Dolly. When it rang, I rinsed off the etching creme as well as the embossed image. Where the embossing was, there was now clear mirror. The oval surrounding area was etched, creating the "frame" for my handsome egret. Total time? Maybe ½ hr. counting my cutting twice and photography! What wonderful Christmas presents these would make! : )
As Ratty told Mole in Kenneth Graham’s Wind in the Willows, "there is nothing-absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Just messing...", I think maybe we’ll go and do just that! Maybe we’ll spot a few of our feathered friends along the way.
Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping.
Blessings, Sharon

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