Bebe, I wondered if you had seen the latest issue of Painting magazine? There is a beautiful redbird project on pg. 18 by Nancy Dale Kinney-Stout. I was reading through the instructions and was fascinated by how she had "marbled" the background. She had used the smoke from a candle and let it discolor her wooden plate, then sealed it with a matte sealer. It really looks neat, sort of like a cloudy winter sky. Have you ever tried something like that? She even explained how to get the candle to smoke by using a spoon over the flame. Not sure I'll ever try it, but it was interesting to read about. ;o) Luvs