Funky Pheasant...

Just a quick post today of a project I finished for the Mojo Monday challenge (yes, it's Thursday, but at least I finished it- even in the same week!). This week was a very versatile sketch and I can see it being very good for Christmas cards- exchange the star for a snowflake...you get the idea.

Since I had dug through the paper stash to find the Basic Grey "Mellow" paper for the last card, I sifted through that set again and found a really pretty piece that I hadn't noticed before. Just proves that going through the stash now and again is a good way to start a card or scrapbook page when you're stumped for ideas! I also really like the idea of sketches, for both cards and scrapbook pages, because it gives you a starting point and from there you just fill in your image and papers. There are some other great sketch sites that I'll share another day.

On to today's card- my funky pheasant. I can't say that I've ever seen a pheasant close up in the wild (they're pretty shy and scurry around in the brush), so mine has some poetic license in the color department. He's a combo of pheasant and mallard duck, made to match my patterned paper.

I started with a Chocolate Chip background for the card and added a layer of Very Vanilla and Baja Breeze. The Baja card stock was run through the Sizzix machine first with a metal embossing plate to give it that swirly texture, then sponged with Baja ink to make the embossed areas stand out. It looked so nice it was actually a shame to cover it up with the next layers!

I then layered the patterned paper on Vanilla and Chocolate, then adhered it to the card front before running the ribbon around the entire background piece. Isn't that ribbon gorgeous?! I also found that in the stash- I have to figure out where it came form so I can get some more!

So Mr. Pheasant... I stamped quite a few birds before I got him just the way I wanted, sort of brown and sort of rust. The main image was colored with Chocolate Chip, Dusty Durango, and Baja Breeze markers, then stamped on Vanilla. I colored and stamped another one with just Chocolate and Baja so I could cut out the pieces to layer on top. The image was cut out using nesting dies and sponged with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink with the die in place to give it a white edge. I like the dimension the pheasant gets with the extra layer, although it was a pain to cut out those skinny feathers!

He was layered onto a Pumpkin Pie piece which was sponged with Close to Cocoa (really a great brown for sponging) and mounted on the card with dimensionals. The greeting and a corduroy button were added to complete the sketch and he's done! My mom will probably be the proud owner of him for TG- she'll appreciate his funky look!

Thanks for stopping by- hope it's less humid and disgusting where you are!

 






Supplies:
Stamps: Autumn Days, All Year Cheer III (retired)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Basic Grey "Mellow"
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Dusty Durango, Pumpkin Pie, Baja Breeze, Brushed Corduroy
Accessories: Sizzix machine, steel embossing plate, nested label dies, tag die, Baja corduroy button, hemp twine, ribbon, sponge, dimensionals