Hello Maja fans & friends!  Nancy Hanttula here, back again to share a mixed-media project I created with the gorgeous Walking in the Forest paper collection. I love the Fall and I love owls. The Walking in the Forest collection is rich with the gorgeous tones of a beautiful Fall day. I knew this paper was going to be perfect to create an owl inspired project. I started by choosing my background paper…and because I wanted to create a night-time sky, I chose the dark blue paper aptly named, Jeans.  Next, I chose a lighter colored paper (Autumn poem) for my actual tree so that it would provide a nice contrast to the dark background. I roughly sketched out my tree onto the Autumn poem paper ….. …and then cut it out. Then, I stamped onto the tree trunk and limbs and inked the edges to add dimension. I punched out several leaf shapes from the beautiful papers, using a variety of prints. (papers used for the leaves included:  Autumn in the Air, Autumn poem, Teal Socks, Cozy Scarf, & Mountain Ash) I sketched out my basic owl onto white cardstock. After sketching out the owl, I cut it out so that I could use it as my pattern. I then pieced my owl together and positioned it on the lower tree branch. To create my owl’s eyes, I used my McGill starburst punch. I wanted to add some extra texture and dimension to my owl, so I drew a border onto the edges of the owl using a pencil.  I then pierced holes along the pencil line.

Then, I erased the pencil line and hand-stitched details onto my owl.

I also added some stitched details to the wing.

I wanted to add some “patchwork” type details to the piece as well.

Above, I pierced my border holes.  Below, is the stitched-on “patches.”

And there you have the basic construct of this project.

Walking in the Forest paper used for this project included:  Jeans, Autumn poem, Flannel Shirt (words), Fresh Air, Knitted Sweater, Autumn in the Air, Cozy Scarf, Teal Socks, Mountain Ash, & Die Cut Sheet.

Other supplies used for this project included:  Ink:  CTMH, Staz-On, & Ranger; Stencils from The Crafter’s Workshop, & Crate Paper; acrylic stamps from CTMH, Kaisercraft, Stampendous, & Prima; black pearl dots from Prima; punches from Martha Stewart, EK Success, & McGill.

Thanks for looking! and I hope this has inspired you to create something today!