When Bear stayed recently I took some longer walks with him and we went to see if the swans were nesting in Beddington Park. There were lots of fowl on the water and under the weeping willow I spotted a very unusual duck.
He was all by himself among the mallards and had found himself a little perch to preen himself on.
Wow just look at this handsome chap....
The adult swans have moved on, just as they have at my local ponds, but the year old cygets were still there with their sweet juvenile plumage.
My challenge project today had to be bird inspired. It is a tag that I have made for Easter and features lots of birds.
I had a play with my Distress Oxide inks again both to make the background and also through my flourish stencil. I just love these inks. The bird on the branch is a Tim Holtz die and I have added crackle on top on my paints to give some texture. I tried stamping with archival under the Oxides and was delighted that this gave a very soft subtle background effect.
My tag was made for the following challenges;
A Vintage journey all aboard
Dies R Us 1/2 Easter
Crafty calendar April showers/ spring
The Artistic stamper 1/3 backgrounds
Love to Create 2/2 anything mixed media goes
Simon Says Wednesday anything goes
Simon says work it Wednesday spring
That's crafty 1/3 foliage and/or flowers
Fussy and fancy 1/3 embellish it.
Thanks for visiting me today. I hope you are enjoying your week? Our gorgeous sunshine is here again and the temperatures are still very mild indeed. My birthday celebrations continue today as my Hb is taking out to lunch in London. I shall take my trusty camera with me 😉
Back soon,
Bye for now,
Jane x
Happy Birthday my dear friend! Hope you have a marvelous lunch and fabulous year!
ReplyDeleteThat duck is just stunning, the colors are so crisp and designated. So handsome, thank you for sharing. Gorgeous card and a good reminder
xoxoRobin
Wonderful tag Jane! The birds are so cute & the colours & textures look fabulous.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining us at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge
Mandy xx
Love the tag Jane, the metallic look is great!!
ReplyDeleteMandarins are beautiful little creatures...aren't they!
Have a lovely birthday lunch and day out in London. :)
V x
Lovely tag! Thank you so much for sharing at Fussy & Fancy and good luck with the Challenge. Judy DT x
ReplyDeletelove the tag, I just got some of the oxides, love them already! hope you enjoyed the sun today in London, wasn't it gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness.. that Mandarin duck is amazing and fantastic.. you got some excellent photos of him! I hope his mate joins him and they have lots of babies. Your young swan is sweet, too. Your tag is wonderful! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous tag Jane!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful tag! Love that gorgeous background and the dies are colored so perfectly to contrast to the background. Thanks for joining our weekly challenge at Dies R Us!
ReplyDeleteLove your tag dear Jane!
ReplyDeleteI think I have seen a Mandarina duck before, a beautiful chap indeed!!
xx
That is what the duck is and it's so beautiful. Love your pictures and looking love your card as always. I do love the bird that is crackled...so cool.
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredibly ornate looking duck, I showed it to Ken and he said he had seen them at the Grove when he was a child but I don't think I've ever seen one before. Great photos of him. Love your bird tag with the gorgeous oxides background. Looking forward to seeing you Sunday. Annie from Scotland is coming too xxx
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Jane! Wow, that is one handsome duck! It's almost as if he's been painted by numbers! Such beautiful colour tones - would make a fabulous colour palette.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a bit grey and chilly here the last couple of days, but the weather's looking up for the weekend, so we're off on our travels again taking Daisy out.
Love all the textures on your pretty bird tag - I have been having a bit of a play with inky cards for ideas for a couple of workshop cards and although I'm not converted to messy crafting yet, it was nice to have a go at something different...though I saw the Brusho powders on telly yesterday...think I may need ANOTHER hobby?! Have a wonderful day, whatever you're up to. Hugs, Lisa x
What a beautiful tag Jane and OMG that 'unusual' duck is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the photos and details ... I've never seen anything like that around here. Fantastic! Thanks so much for playing in our ‘Easter’ challenge at Dies R Us! Please come back again soon!
ReplyDeleteDarlene (DRU Blog Leader)
DIES R US CHALLENGE BLOG
DAR’S CRAFTY CREATIONS Please come for a visit.
Gorgeous inspiration for a gorgeous creation!
ReplyDeleteHugz Tinz
Beautiful tag! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for joining us at Fussy and Fancy! :)
Hello Jane,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful duck, love those fibrant colors! And your tag is gorgeous too, with the same color scheme (and the crown!). Wishing you happy&creative weekend, Easter surprises bought already?
Yours,
Mia
Jane, your tag is beautiful and it just shouts Spring to me, with the beautiful birds and the lovely greenery. The crackle on the larger bird looks amazing and I just love the little crown! Love the duck and swan photos too, the Mandarin duck certainly does stand out in crowd!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for joining in our 'All Aboard' challenge at A Vintage Journey. Anne xx
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ReplyDeleteLove the tag you've created and the great photos. Thanks so much for joining in at Fussy and Fancy this time xo Julie P
ReplyDelete