Gothic Arch for Mandy

One of my regular inchie swappers, Mandy, asked if I would like to swap an arch with her. I'm really quite keen on the arch shape and I love her work, she's a great stamper, so I did not have to think for long!!

I finished it today and the picture is a photograph rather than a scan as the blue rose is very 3D and this means that the scanner throws everything else out of focus.

I started the arch with a fabric/paper collage featuring stamps of birds and nests in the background as well as a lot of green and vintage texts etc. I used the Gothic Arch template from Gothic Arches challenge and cut it to size. I added the advert image which I obtained from a decoupage site on Ebay using Fabric ModPodge both to glue it down and over the top. For good measure I also sewed it down using green metallic thread.

I added another bird image to go with the birdies in the background. It's a piece of German Scrap which my mother gave me. She thinks I just accumulate things, rather than use them so this proves her wrong!

At the bottom is a (Mostly) Metallic Jacquard ribbon from Alphastamps which was stitched down. I found a suitable text: The amorous bird of night, and added beading around the advert, a large bead for the lady's necklace and the blue rose. To finish I added watercolour paper to the back and stitched it all together with a green metallic satin stitch. This will be on its' way to Mandy soon!