Chicken

For those of you who don’t know, I am obsessed with chickens. I fell in love with them during a trip to Key West years ago and have been in love with them ever since! For the past three years, I have been blessed with raising chickens and Peeps, one of my original hens, is my favorite. Peeps is a commercial breed — valued because they lay an egg almost every day for about two years. But she is my favorite because of her calm, loving personality.

When she was just a chick, she hopped up on my hand and we became fast friends. She doesn’t mind being held and hugged for a minute or two, is always curious and willing to try new things and is never afraid to take on a dog (through the safety of her fence).

I thought she deserved a place in the house, so I created this canvas of her.

I started by painting the canvas in Distress Paint — I mixed silver and a couple of blues.

Then I used Texture Paste and a stencil to add a chevron pattern. I cut out a silhouette of Peeps and adhered it with dimensional foam adhesive. The title is cut out of cardstock. The other words are rub ons from Tim Holtz. I love them … they are not typical rub ons and they go on easily on canvas, fabric, metal or whatever.

I used some leftover buttons and flowers and some feathers from the chicken coop … I think the little one in the front is actually from Peeps.

I added a little burlap behind the photo and used embossing paste and a stencil to add more dimension to the top. The tag is an actual tag that came on something my husband bought at the farm store. I thought it was cool, so I kept it and used it here.

I love how it turned out … it makes me smile every time I look at it. Peeps could use some love and well wishes right now … she is currently trying to fight off an infection that makes it hard for her to breathe. I’m hoping she’ll get better because I absolutely love my Peeps!!