I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Hello fellow stampers, I hope you're all well.  I'd like to say a special hello to my new followers.  Thankyou for joining me on my journey of discovery.  I've only been making cards for a couple of years, so lots of things are still very new to me, so you'll have to bear with me if you think I'm teaching granny to suck eggs!
Don't you find some cards are very quick to make, and some can take all day?  I've been working on one of the 'all-day' ones.  In fact it took two days, as half way through I gave up and went to bed!
Anyway, here's the end result:

It was well worth the effort in the end!  I have been looking around for a bird cage die for ages.  This one is by Tim Holtz.  I dithered because it's quite big, but it was lovely to use.  I've cut watercolour paper as it's quite thick, nearly as good as chipboard.  At first I left it in it's natural state, but it was too pale, so I've coloured it with Early Espresso marker.  I cut out the bird, brushed it with Baja Breeze, then stamped it with my LOTV music stamp.  I cut a doily in Lucky Limeade and put it through the Bigshot with a polkadot ef.  I stamped two tickets, then added 'Wish Big' on one and the key on the other.  I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so I decided to use both.  To be honest, the backing paper was my starting point.  It was free with my magazine last month, and it's really pretty. 
This card satisfied my urge to make something with layers without adding too much for the card to fit into an envelope.  I still have a soft spot for this romantic style  (it always reminds me of something you might come across in your granny's attic) and think I'll try to make something like it once a month. 
Thanks for looking in today. I look forward to reading your comments.
Jane xx