otterine

This beautiful carved pintail drake decoy is by Linda Master of Miracle Chicken. When she first posted these on her blog, I went weak in the knees. I think he will look wonderful with books all around him.

The nests are made from raffia cut into small pieces and glued in place. A quick wash of mixes brown paints gave the raffia a more realistic appearance. It might be a little out of scale, but I think it's convincing enough. Now I just need some hens, eggs and perhaps a few chicks! In the meantime, I placed this beautiful carved pintail drake decoy by Linda Master on the ledge. When she first posted these on her blog, I went weak in the knees. He will end up in the Brownstone, but for now he is the hen stand-in.

The entire piece was first treated with a wash of tan, black and brown. I had originally planned to paint the exterior white, and once that dried, to sand the finish to expose some of the stain beneath for a lovely rustic finish. I saw a lovely painted wall shelf at the 3 Blind Mice show and thought that finish would work so well here. BUT...I love the way the stain alone turned out. Once I paint, there will be no going back. So, for now, brown it stays. I used Greenleaf half scale speed shingles that I had left over from the Heritage gables for the roof. It, too, received the same paint wash. The nests are made from raffia cut into small pieces and glued in place. A quick wash of mixed brown paints gave the raffia a more realistic appearance. It might be a little out of scale, but I think it's convincing enough. Now I just need some hens, eggs and perhaps a few chicks!