Tim Holtz birdcage!

Embossed metal challenge 

My Friend Kim and I are doing a swap through Christmas and we picked items that were either new techniques or a challenge to us. This project incorporates embossed metal. Kim made me this gorgeous altered canvas with embossed metal, a Dress Form and Birdcage. I fell in love with it immediately when I saw it and it sparked something in my imagination to create something for her using the same exact materials she had used. If you would like to see more details about her canvas then please visit her blog:  http://littleredshood.blogspot.com/2011/09/grunge-altered-canvas.html

Now onto my project for this challenge! I recently purchased the TH Easel die and have been dying to use it so I decided to cut a piece of Matboard 5"x7" and create this Easel card for Kim!  I covered the matboard with paper from the Mariposa stack and then distressed the edges with a heavy grit emery board and brown ink.

 I also used the TH birdcage die and the TH alterations dress form die for the stand! The birdcage and stand were cut from a copper colored metal sheet and embossed with the TH patchwork embossing folder and then backed with chipboard to give it some stability. 

The Bird itself was cut From the TH Birdcage die with gold colored metal and then heated over a flame to get the cool color changing effect! The pumpkin was handmade by me.....I drew & embossed the pumpkin onto the back of a scrap of gold colored metal with my stylus , then hand cut it out with a pair of scissors and once again held it over a flame for the color changing effect. I then added a small copper leaf and curled a green piece of wire to give the pumpkin some personality!

The flowers and pearl flourishes are Prima. The orange colored gems I used for the birds eye and on the birdcage are recollections from Michael's dollar bin. And the little crown on the birds head was a metal charm I altered with a Dremel tool; I cut the loop off the top and also cut the bottom part of the crown off and then polished it.

I cut the Easel with the TH easel die from matboard and then adhered it to the back of the card with a few strips of red tape.

I hope you enjoy my project today and thanks for looking!