Bird Lantern 2-A Peek-a-Boo Project

 

Some Eastern Bluebirds Migrate south for the winter others stay if the weather is agreeable and nourishment is plentiful. In Pennsylvania, where I grew up they were rarely seen in the deepest part of winter. They would return in the springtide as assuredly as the red-winged blackbird.

Many artists still like to illustrate the Eastern Bluebirds in snow. They are the inspiration for this artwork.

You can be a bluebird of happiness to those along the way. How we treat others does really matter. We may be the only joy they know. A neighbor told me I was kind and an encourager. I said back…we brighten each others path and lighten the others load. Be of good cheer the rainbows will return and that which is frozen will melt, even a frozen heart or withered spirit. 

Supplies:  GSLC Bird on a Swing Shape Set , GSLC Tree 2, Small Metal Decorative Lantern,Cosmic Shimmer Lava Paste, Alcohol Ink in Brown and Green Tones, Small Plastic Spatula, Pearlescent Glitter, Fan Paintbrush, Gold and Copper Paints, Blue, Yellow, Pink and Orange Neon Paint, Adhesive Foam Circles, Moss, Battery Operated Tea Light

1. Gather Supplies.
   
2. Cover GSLC Tree 2 with Cosmic Shimmer Lava Paste Colored with Alcohol Inks in Brown Tones. Using a  Small Plastic Spatula to Randomly Spread Paste.
   
   
3. Apply Pearlescent Glitter while Wet so Paste acts Like an Adhesive.
   
4. Once Fully Dry fill in Gaps and Highlight with Alcohol Inks in Brown and Green Tones using a Fan Brush.
   
5. Paint Swing part  of GSLC Bird on a Swing Shape Set with Copper and Gold Paints.
   
6. Paint Bird Part of GSLC Bird on a Swing Shape Set with Neon Yellow, Pink, Blue, and Orange Paints.
   
7. Use Adhesive Foam Circles of Various Sizes to Adhere Your Painted and Prepared Parts. Allow to Dry Fully.
   
8. Add a bit of Moss and a Battery Operated Tea Light to Inside of Decorated Metal Lantern.

Final Thoughts:

In the deep dark winter depending on its severity we begin to get cabin fever or loose hope of brighter days. Bluebirds are a reminder to be happy in each day:

“Be happy!” This is what these 

   bluebirds say.

“Just be happy, there is some

joy in everyday!”

Be like the bluebird, who never is

blue. For he knows from his

upbringing what singing can do.

~Cole Porter~

The Bluebird carries the sky 

on his back.

~Henry David Thoreau~

This bright blue bird of Happiness,

I send across the miles,

To carry joyous greeting

And fill your day with smiles.

Be as a bird perched on a frail ranch

that she feels bending beneath her;

Still she sings away all the same,

Knowing she has wings.

~Victor Hugo~

There is a candle in your heart, 

ready to be kindled

    ~Rumi~

Carry a candle in the dark, be a candle 

in the dark, know that your a flame

in the dark.

~Ivan Illich~

Thousands of candles can be lighted 

from a single candle, and the life of

the candle will not be shortened. 

        Happiness never decreases by 

being shared.

~Buddha~

I cannot wait to see your interpretation of this project. Share it on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Craft Group Page on Facebook. I would love to see what new creations you are working on!

Bird Lantern 1-A Peek-a-Boo-Project

I’ve written about my fascination of birds in many of my blog posts before. From Walks in Woods-A Christmas Story, “He hears a chirping nearby and lolls up to have a dusting of snow fall upon his already frozen face.He sees the first chickadee of the day. The boy believes them the best of the snowbirds because they look like antique graying barns that stood whitewashed once brand new.  Read the rest of the story by clicking on the hyperlink above. 

A while back I was gifted a collection of ephemera with a variety or bird items among them, then another thoughtful  friend sent me a cloth calendar from 1987 that also featured birds upon it. This reminded me of one of the treasures I took from our ole homestead in Pennsylvania.It is a Vintage Bamboo Scroll Calendar we would get each year from R. S. Fought and Sons, a feed store where we would pick up our chicken feed. These are the inspirations 

for this artwork.

Supplies:  GSLC Bird on a Swing Shape Set , GSLC Catweed Shape Set, GSLC Fern Fronds, Small Metal Decorative Lantern, White, Gray, Tan, Yellow, Gold, Copper, Pale Green, Green Gold, Quinacridone Nickel AZO Gold, Radiant Yellow, Color Shift Green Acrylic Paints, Paintbrush, Adhesive Foam Circles, Moss, Battery Operated Tea Light

1. Gather Supplies.
   

   
2. Cover GSLC Catweed Shape Set with White, Gray, Pale Green and Quinacridone Nickel AZO Gold Acrylic Paints Randomly with a Paintbrush.
   
3. Apply Pearlescent Glitter while Wet so Paste acts Like an Adhesive.  Allow to Dry Fully.
4. Cover GSLC Fern Fronds with Pale Green and Quinacridone Nickel AZO Gold, Green Gold, Radiant Yellow and Color Shift Green Acrylic Paints Randomly with a Paintbrush.
   
5. Apply Pearlescent Glitter while Wet so Paste acts Like an Adhesive.  Allow to Dry Fully.
   
6. Paint Swing part  of GSLC Bird on a Swing Shape Set with Copper and Gold Paints.
7. Paint Bird Part of GSLC Bird on a Swing Shape Set with Gray, White, Tan, Yellow Acrylic Paints.
8. 
   Use Adhesive Foam Circles of Various Sizes to Adhere Your Painted and Prepared Parts. Allow to Dry Fully.
9. Add a bit of Moss and a Battery Operated Tea Light to Inside of Decorated Metal Lantern.
   
   
   

Final Thoughts: 

Lately I’ve been wishing my days away, wanting t change the pages on the  calendar, trying to get to summer. It’s not that I mind the cold or the winter season. I want this school year in particular to be over. I have a a few good classes and exceptional students in all of them, but a few have broken my spirit and taken away the joy of teaching. I am sure that the past three years have been challenging for many of us, but it has totally changed education and teaching. I’ll not dwell on it as I am on winter break as I write this and want to savor every moment of it.

I’ll instead focus on an all time favorite poem of mine:

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” 

by Robert Frost.

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

The little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and the frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep, 

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

“The Snow-Bird” 

by Frank Dempster Sherman

When all the ground with snow is white, 

The merry snow-bird comes,

And hops about with great delight

To find the scattered crumbs.

How glad he seems to get to eat

A piece of cake or bread!

He wears no shoes upon his feet, 

Nor hat upon his head.

But happiest is he, I know

Because no cage with bars

Keeps him from walking on the snow

And printing it with stars.

We must choose our own happiness and do waits within our power to bring light into our current darkness. A single candle lit illuminates a whole room.

Angels in Our Backyards-A Peek-a-Boo Project

 

I have always love the song, One of Us, by Joan Osborn, because it reminds us that angels are among us. I like to think we have all the divine within us, the ability to choose good over evil, to be positive in our interactions, to treato others as we wish to be treated. I am not trying to get in a huge theological discussion, my faith is a simple one, modeled in grace, and elevated in love for others. These are the inspirations for this artwork.

Supplies:  (2) Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Little Niche Scalloped,  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Petal Corners, Crayons, Permanent Ink, Wood Grain Texture Plate, Watercolors, Paintbrush, TH Distress Stains of Your Choosing, DecoArt Terra Cotta Shale Green and Red Clay Textured Acrylic Paint, Golden Blue Lagoon and Titan Green Pale Acrylic Paint,  Fan Paintbrush, Resized Copies of Prints of your Choosing- I Used Angels and Backyard Pictures, Scissors, UHU Gluestick, Heavy Gel Matte Medium, Clamps, Ranger Glossy Accents, Premium Gemstones, FolkArt Matte Design Cream Gold, DIY Modern Mini Repositionable Tile Stickers, DecoArt Matte Varnish Medium, Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold, Collected Bits and Bobbins,  Metallic, Green Gold Paint, Weldbond

1.  Gather Supplies.

2.  Use Crayons to Randomly Distress (2) Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Little Niche Scalloped

3.  Add Further Distress with Permanent Ink and a Wood Grain Texture Plate.

4.  Paint (2) GSLCuts-Little Niche Scalloped with Watercolors.

5.  Fill in Empty Spaces With TH Distress Stains.

6.  Add Texture and a Aged look with a Fan Paintbrush and DecoArt Terra Cotta Shale Green and Red Clay Textured Acrylic Paint.

7.  Add Another Layer with Fan Paintbrush and Golden Blue Lagoon and Titan Green Pale Acrylic Paint.

8.  Fold up Bottom Portion of GSLCuts-Little Niche Scalloped.

9.  Print Resized Copies of Prints of your Choosing- I Used Angels and Backyard Pictures.

10.                Cut to Size with Scissors and Glue to Cavity with a UHU Gluestick.

11.                Shape Bottom Portion of Niche and Glue Together with Heavy Matt Gel Medium.

12.                Hold Into With Clamps.

13.                Add Premium Gemstones To front Portion Of Scalloped Niche with Ranger Glossy Accents.

14.                Paint Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Petal Corners with FolkArt Matte Design Cream Gold.

15.                Once Dry Use Heavy Matte Gel Medium to Glue to Top Portion of Scalloped Niche.

16.                Cut DIY Modern Mini Repositionable Tile Stickers and Attach Where you Feel Best.

17.                Make a Stain of DecoArt Matte Varnish Medium and Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold.

18.                Use Ranger Glossy Accents to Add Collected Bits and Bobbins to Niche Frame.

19.                Use Heavy Matt Gel Medium to Glue to Add Collected Bits and Bobbins to Niche Cavity.

20.                Antique Bits and Bobbins using Metallic and Green Gold Paint.

21.                Use Weldbond to Glue Top Portion Frame of GSLC of GSLCuts-Little Niche Scalloped to Bottom Cavity.

Some Final Thoughts.

A few years ago there were two  movements-Do Random Acts of Kindness and Pay it Forward.  One ask the recipient to pay the act of kindness forward-"Do onto others as I have done to you"-the other remains random and anonymous.   I see these as ways for us to be mindful of those that come into our circle of communication, these good deeds can show the other person compassion and empathy. The gestures can be done out of the goodness of the person's heart. with zero expectation of reciprocation.  A kind word and treating others with kindness costs us nothing but we can brighten their world for that moment and it cheers our soul too.

 

Another song I feel helps emphasize this idea of "Angels in Our Backyards" is Hands by Jewel.