Saturday 22 August 2009

Watch The Birdy! An Altered Bird :O))

Hey Peeps,

Yipppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....I finally got to alter a bird! Tis a long story all about getting the birds imported into the UK...then paying an extortionate amount of import duty...but I can safely say it was deffo worth it...cos I looooved every minute of altering this little fella...and I got to play at Linda's house and I reckon some of her talent must have rubbed off on me...cos for the second time in a week I am chuffty tuffty with what I made!




I asked Grim to do the photo's with his proper camera cos the ones I took were naff...but I got let loose with Paint Shop Pro so blame me for the quality LOL




The bird started off as a Red Cardinal and as usual, I forgot to get a snap of him prior to the altering...but you can imagine...he was red and looked realistic and came readily attached to a little wooden block.





I had picked up a couple of little wooden cars in a charity shop a couple of months ago with altering in mind...and it was obvious that the bird needed to stand on one! Linda's John very kindly drilled the holes for me...he must have known I would have damaged something if I had been left to my own devices :O))




The bird came heavily painted and needed to be sanded properly...so after about 3 seconds of sanding I decided to just paint over the top...*patience is not one of my virtues!* LOL...I used Claudine Hellmuth's fabby Traditional Tan paint as a base and then Faded Jeans CracklePaint over the top of it...and then once all the paint dried and started to flake away and show the red thru again...and after a lot of laughing...I just slapped some watered down Traditional Tan on and hoped for the best!




The crackles have been filled with gold wax, so the red isn't so visible now!! I used Wendy Vecchi's amazingly wonderful Studio 490 stamps to add dots to the bird, car and for the headgear, wings and tail adornments...stamped onto Grungepaper...and then distressed.





The wings are a couple of Studio 490 leaves which have been held in by a gold tack...yes, I used a hammer...and no, I didn't hit myself with it!! ROFL The tail features a bottle cap filled with DooDads and Sepia Accents...and it says Trust Art...which I think is a perfect sentiment. I also made him some specs...using florists wire and a paintbrush...and then making them golden with Precious Metal paint. I think he looks rather distinguished!





The crown was made using a few Idea-ology bits and a fancy lionface doorknob thingy...and the Idea-ology spinner is there so you can point the bird in the right direction! The little car has also got hardware attached...to the hubcaps, the windscreen and I made a little "bumper" so it can be pulled along.



I think that is about it...it took a day to do but I looooved making this so much...and ... I have one more bird left to play with too! Oh, and this is a photo of my hand...after a day playing with ink n paint ... I somehow don't think I would ever get a job as a jewellry model :O))




Thanks for looking....please pop over to Linda's blog...cos her bird is making its debut there today too!

Hels x

32 comments:

Unknown said...

He looks fab hun ... totally gorgeous and I love the extra bits you have added ... Even if Graham took photos of mine ... well she aint gonna look that good XXXX

joanne wardle said...

it's really fabulous, but the little car is the perfect finishing touch!!

Hels Sheridan said...

Thanks! Linda..yours is perfect...and my birdy wants to know if your birdy will go on a date with him LOL

Anonymous said...

Oh how cool! A fantastic flight of fancy!

Unknown said...

Totally awesome!!!!

Art By Wanda said...

Oops, the comment from Nicholas was actually from me... forgot to sign out my son and sign me in.

Jean Franks Beck said...

LOVE your birdie - wonderful work, so much detail (golden wax??!! how wonderful!). And just whose bird fancies whose? ;)

Princess of glitter said...

Love it! Great colors and good use of bottlecaps!!! He is divine!

Lynn Stevens said...

Oh Hels,
She is so adorable, so prim and proper with her hat and smart glasses. I can just picture her strutting around in her sports car, she'll be the talk of the town! Love your inky fingers ,mine match your today LOL
Lynn

Ang C said...

Cant think of any other words to use other than its absolutely stunning!!!!

Andrea said...

well I never the bird actually works really great on her little Fiat 500 LOL oh Hels sorry I laughed at the thought of your bird sitting on a car, you have done a brilliant, super, divine bird, love it all xxxxx

Jennie -The Artistic Stamper said...

Absolutely love this birdie! NEED to see him in flesh please?
Hugs
xx

Claireabelle said...

This is fabulous Hels, I saw these on Wendy's blog but strugggled to find any over here! Glad you did as you've done a fantastic job
x

shaz earl said...

Well Hels!!! i am truly stunned...what a fabulous piece of art work i just can't believe the amount of work that's gone into this little treasure you truly have a talent, well done xxx

Angelnorth said...

Fab stuff Hels, love all the little details and his headgear is fantastic!

Jackie said...

WOW this is soooo fabulous what a wonderful idea. Your work is always beautiful but this wee birdie on his car is just great!

Craftyideas said...

Gorgeous - love the colours

Ann said...

WOW!! Absolutely outstanding Hels, it's so detailed - beautiful :-))
Hugs Ann xx

Chris said...

Totally fabulous Hels! Love the glasses and hat and the car is a wonderful touch.

Juls said...

very crative!! this is just fab!!

KAT said...

LOVE your bird - she's so chic! The dimensional items and the grungepaper you put are her are perfect and the little car is too cute!!!

Alyice said...

Such a cutie. I love all the little extras as it really brings the bird and the theme to life.

kerry said...

Well i really do have to apologise for laughing when you showed me the original bird held on top of a wooden car!!
What an amasing transformation --love the colours he looks wonderful.
Where do these idea's come from

xxx

Hels Sheridan said...

Thanks everyone for your fab comments! x

Anonymous said...

He's totally awesome Hels, from his little specs to his cool transport! Thanks for bringing him yesterday, so we could see his magnificance IRL! xxx

Joy said...

OMG that's left me almost breathless and definitely speechless!!!
PS I had a budgie that shade blue xx

Linda M. Cain said...

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!!!! I Love it
!!!! Wasn't it just the most fun to make? I had a blast,too. And your pictures make the whole experience so fantastic! TFS!!!

Your Friend in ART,
Linda Cain

voodoo vixen said...

I can see this little guy taking Rose for a spin in the car... he is gorgeous Hels, absolutely gorgeous!!

Liverpool Lou (Anne) said...

Oh how fabulous! I love him. I've been dying to have a go after seeing some on Tim's blog. Oo 'twil take an awful lot to get one looking anywhere near as good.
Anne xx

Shazza said...

I just LOVE this little guy and his specs are fab!
x

Minxy said...

Thats it, i'm quitting craft, i cant possibably compete with such brillance so i may as well give up now ;o)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Carmen said...

He is gorgeous, totally dapper and looks a fine gent. I love his head gear and specs... ooh and his motor too. All of him :D

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