Falling Stars and Field Mouse Framed

The frames arrived and I finished framing both pieces. I took the photos of Falling Star before the plexiglass is in place.

Some details of the piece -
The Bugs:

Right Reeds:

Left Reeds:

The Fence - the picture doesn't convey the agony I went through while stitching it (it looks more impressive in real life):

Tanja Berlin's Field Mouse,  finally got the frame for him (his name is Pierre):

Back to Camellia now. Sigh...

Blue Heron finished

Hugo is appropriated matted and framed. It is a standard mat and frame purchased from the craft store.  I had to put a spacer piece behind the mat so as not to crush the reeds. I also offset the piece so that the reflection and the reeds are closer to the edges, and a piece of the reed extends outside the mat.

What to work on next?

Blue Heron Done

I am very happy with how this turned out.

Detail of the heron. His name is Hugo.

Details of the reeds.

This will fit into a standard 5x7 mat in an 8x10 frame. I think a dark green mat in a wood frame will work nicely.
I have to get back to JE Camellia next - or - I can wait till my orders for Hydrangea and Antique Mirrors arrive. Or at least until the frames for Falling Stars and Field Mouse arrive, so I can do something fun in the meantime. Is that a good excuse or what?

Reeds for Heron

I had some perle cotton that were dyed using acrylic paint, which made them stiff. I used those as well as a couple of flower wires for the heron nest. These were couched with nymo threads.

I added some blending filament on the water, using one and two strands of blending filament by themselves. I have to add more reflections for the reeds.

Here's my Yoshi sitting on my JE frame, as usual.

Blue Heron and Reflection done

I re-did the pin feathers, using Kreinik silk Mori milkpaint color thread. For the breast feathers I split a soie d'alger silk thread. It was hard to stitch with it because it kept breaking, but it gave the right texture.

I adapted the JE technique - fuzzy effect for the reflection.

I'll add some reeds in the water next. Earlier I found some wrapped wires used for flower arranging - these may work. Their reflection may be tricky, though.

Blue Heron Head

I traced the head and the beak with tissue, and then basted it in place.

The head and the beak turned out much better. I need to remember to add a highlight to the pupil. I started on the pin feathers, but they don't look good.

Blue Heron

I have been collecting blue heron pictures for a while. This is a good time to try it out, before re-starting the JE Camellia piece. The photos that the piece is based on:

Today's progress - I used bullion knots for the legs. I will see if it works after I put the reflections in.

I am having trouble with the head and the beak. I already took it out a couple of times. I will have to review Trish Burr's techniques and then re-visit.