Long legged spotted stargazers

Hi Everybody!

Hope you are enjoying your day. We are still enjoying sunny weather here, and we have a lot more 'freedom' because of the improvements in the Corona Statistics, but here in our county North Rhine-Westphalia I think they are moving too quickly. We have an ambitious 'overlord' who is hoping to be re-elected in November and he wants to be seen as a strong man. I think we know others who want to be re-elected in November....Perhaps it affects the character? I just hope it goes well! Today I went to the shops with Nathalie, we wore our masks as we have to, and I had gloves, too. We were  there early, so there were not many people, and I felt okay. But it was exciting! And shelves full of noodles and toilet paper and flour.  But I didn't buy any, I have enough! And the prices have all increased, some things by 20-30% and others by even more. I suppose it was to be expected.

I have been busy crafting this week. I found some simple bird templates I made many years back, and decided to play with them again. I used the paper template to trace the birds onto some white linen recycled from an ancient pair of summer trousers. First of all I ironed the material onto some butcher's paper to make it easier to handle. I coloured the linen with some distress ink in wild honey which I ironed to fix the colour. Then the 2 birds got different coloured spots - black spots for the 'female' and turquoise ones for the 'male'. I sewed around the birds with black thread and then cut the beaks and legs from gold cardboard. The wings and tails were made with scraps of gold netting, some sequined tape and gold netting. These birds represent the  long legged spotted stargazers, only to be seen in the land of Balconia-by-the-Rhine. These birds are always seen in pairs, and the female stands on the back of the male so that she has a better view of what is going on in the neighbourhood....In return, the female bird massages the back of the male while she is standing on it....

My birds have been placed onto a hand-painted and textured  A3 (12" x 17") background. The quote is by J.M. Barrie:

I am linking to Paint Party Friday

And  here are some more of the large and small birds that live here:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!