Bird Ornaments Tutorial

 Hello Friends!  Today I thought I would share something other than miniatures.  Every Christmas, my sisters and I (along with nieces and nephews), have Crafty Christmas.  Instead of buying something for each other we make something.  This Christmas I made pans of cinnamon rolls for everybody, and I made clay birds for my sisters and mom.  I love making the birds so much that I decided to keep going after Christmas and hopefully by next Christmas I will have an entire tree filled with birds that I made!  I also snuck in Walmart when their Christmas stuff was 75% off and got a six-foot flocked and snowy tree for ten dollars!  This will be my bird tree!  I also plan on making some whimsical bird feeders and houses to go along with my birds.  With all that said, here are some of my birds and how I made them.

I hope you didn't expect them to not have glitter!  They've got to shine y'all!

First, I use aluminum foil and wad it up into as good of a bird shape as I can.  Heavy duty foil works the best and you don't use as much.  For the hummingbird I hot glued a piece of toothpick before I used the clay for his long beak.

Creative Paperclay is my favorite.  Just using a little water on my hands and molding it into shape is fun.  The not so fun part is waiting for them to dry!  They are usually ready to paint the next day, depending on how thick your clay is.  I really do love checking on the drying process with this clay.  You can tell by color or temperature.  If you pick it up and it is cold it's not dry yet.  

And this is me saying "Don't forget to press a small hole in the top of your bird for a 

hook to hang them up!"

When it's time to paint, I simply use a pencil to mark up my bird marking where 

paint colors will change.  I try not to be too accurate and detailed in the painting.  I could be, but when planning to glitter them up it's mainly just the colors that I want.  Just enough to be able to tell what kind of bird it is.  

This is by beloved Wood Thrush.  My favorite!

When I use glitter, I like to use Mod Podge and mix very fine glitter in the glue then paint it on.  This way the glitter stays on the project and doesn't leave a glittery trail everywhere!

I used one of my bird books for inspiration.

I just love them!  I can already see the tree all decorated up!  I've got a lot to do between now and December!  I also have a Mushroom Tree that I made mushrooms in this same way.  On that tree I also made acorns and pinecones.  

I hope you enjoyed this post!  While I LOVE making miniatures, my creativity does not stop there!  And I can't wait to share my Bird Tree with you next Christmas!

XOXO ~Laurie

dc nesting

Last summer I spied a nest in a tree behind the day care and between the ponds.  Or the pond and the pit rather.  I'm not sure really if I spied the nest or it's creator first.  The bird was a Baltimore Oriole with orange feathers as bright as the sun and quite hard to miss.  The nest is of the hanging variety... kind of like a sock.  I watched the male and female (who is not colored like the male) all summer long and continued to watch the empty nest, all of fall and winter, just wondering what it's next step would be.  Would it fall?  Would it's inhabitants come back this year to the same nest?  Would the nest be in any condition to live in again?

Today, I got my answer.  The kids and I took a walk to the dirt pile to check out the new piles of dirt Shaun hauled in last week and when we got back to the playground I just happened to glance in the direction of the nest only to realize is wasn't there.  Although the kids were already on swings, I excitedly almost panicked saying "The nest is gone!  Who wants to go find it with me?!?!?"  Of course they all did.  So we journeyed out of the playground once again and it didn't take me long to find it, thank goodness.  I admired it's building materials and structure and shared with the kids and we talked about it the whole way back.  I hurried inside to get my bird books to show the children what the owner's of the nest looked like.  They were pretty amazed and I was so proud.

We decided to go inside and gather scraps of yarn and string from the craft room.  We then went out front and tucked the strings away in the suet feeder so that maybe, when we find more nests, they might be made with some materials that we supplied for the birds.  I think that would be very cool.  I found a tiny nest over the winter that has, what looks like, my long hair (or someone's) weaved throughout the inside.  Birds are so amazing.  I am tickled to already be noticing more voices and even spotting some of the summer birds back already.  I am one who thinks of them flying over the ocean right now on their way home.

The tree you can see to the right and right behind the nest I am holding 

is the one the nest was hung from.

I would be so honored to find a nest with some of our string in it.  

You never know!

This is a picture of the kind of bird that made the nest.

Click the picture for more information about Baltimore Orioles.

Photo from www.allaboutbirds.org

  

bad news

Yesterday I came home and bee-bopped up the back steps after a happy jaunt into town to fill up Black Rose's gas tank not realizing I was being watched.  Shortly after I came home, Shaun went down the back steps to crank up the grill and saw something out of the corner of his eye.  A very large black snake had somehow slithered it's way up the 12-15 foot pole to the Eastern Phoebe nest where three fuzzy headed baby birds were.  I showed you all the pictures last week of feathered friend's nests around our home.  As I looked around to spy the mother and father Phoebes close by.  I felt their loss and fear of seeing that snake up there.  Shaun pulled it down with my sturdiest walking stick but for the babies it was too late.  How sad.  I have enjoyed watching the Phoebes feed their little nestlings and hurt thinking "now what will they do?"  The same thing I do I guess... move on.

Last year their first nest fell and tragedy for their babies struck as I came home and found their little bodies on the concrete.  Their second attempt at a nest and little ones proved wonderful.  So maybe their second set of eggs will be better than the first.  Nature can be unfair and hold brutal truth in life.  The snake is the only one who came away happy.  Shaun let him go.

I didn't even notice that you can see one of the parents back to the left on the fence.  Breaks my heart.
So help me if I find the snake visiting my hen house for eggs.  It will not be so lucky a second time.

babies everywhere

As I was unloading my beautiful seedlings/plants at the house after work yesterday, I couldn't help but notice that I was being watched.  From the basement I could see an Eastern Bluebird flying from the back side of the house to the trees, an Eastern Phoebe nearby in a tree watching me who has a nest underneath our porch and a pair of Carolina Wrens, one very verbally talking to his mate and the other with a mouthful of food or maybe building supplies.  We have several places purposely put out for our feathered friends around the outside of our home and this spring the birds are making good use of them.  I had to make supper and didn't have time to pull up a chair and wait around for pictures of the busy parents but I did want to share their homes.  And I did spy some sweet little Phoebe fuzzy heads in the nest.  Mrs Phoebe built in a better spot this year where she will be able to use her nest again.  Last year her first attempt fell and the second served it's purpose but wound up falling too.  

The bluebird house.

The wren household.

Mrs Phoebe's nest and fuzzy heads.

The sparrow family home.  They flew from the nest last Sunday.

And this is the Mourning Dove that is nest in the tree outside my bathroom window.  She has quite the camo going on.

She is actually to the left of the split in the crook of a fallen dead branch.  You can't see her in this picture.  I was making her nervous so I let her be.

We also have Starling babies in the shop which we aren't pleased with.  It's harder to get rid of them with little cheeps coming from the nests.  

I am positive I wouldn't have to go far to spy more nests of different kinds of birds.  It's amazing how close by the birds with nest to each other creating a wonderful kind of natural harmony.  Maybe a bird watch is in order for the weekend.

Gift Guide: For the Birders

 

Today's gift suggestions are designed around bird people.  People who like to feed wild birds, identify wild birds and watch wild birds.... people like me!

 

Black Oil Sunflower seeds can be found at any feed store or Walmart.  A true bird winner.  And while you are at Walmart, pick up a scoop and maybe even a bird feeder for your recipient.  This bird feeder is available on Walmart dot com.  I like it because it has a cage on both ends to put suet cakes that attract birds like woodpeckers and chickadees to feeders.

 

Magazine subscriptions are great because it will bring the giftee bird learning joy all the year round.  Bird Watchers Digest is issued six times a year and has great articles about birds.

Birds and Blooms is every month and has fantastic pictures, tips and stories from fellow birders.

 

These binoculars are a little pricey but are essential for birders to get a really good look at birds far and near.  These I found at Academy HERE.

 

I am drooling over Bird Feathers the feather identification book.  Being the "finder of feathers" that I claim to be, I would love a copy for myself because sometimes I am not quite sure which bird a feather came from.

 

Bird guides by each state is brilliant!  Author Stan Tekiela has a bird field guide for each state.  It's been a rare occasion that I have seen a bird that wasn't in my Tennessee book.  Look up Stan Tekiela on Amazon dot com to find your state's book.

Good Morning

I absolutely love Spring.  I love sleeping with the windows open and I love the sounds of frogs that we go to bed hearing and the sounds of birds that we wake up to.  I am a bird girl anyway so waking up to all the chatter is truly wonderful.  I lay there as long as I can, listening and sometimes knowing which bird is making which noise and other times wondering "who is that?"  If it wasn't dark I would get my binoculars and take a look. 

 

I hope you have time to relax this weekend in some way.  Here are two videos I took this morning out my bedroom window to share the sounds that I wake up to.  Sorry about the snort in the second one.  That's Shaun... I wake up to those noises too :)

 

 



This is my first time using the video on Shaun's fancy phone.  My phone doesn't have video.  Maybe I can catch the frogs in the evening for you.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Hooked On Henkes

Kevin Henkes is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors of children's books.  For the age group that I have it seems better that there is less to read and more to look at.  I simply lose their attention if the story is too long. 

I found my first Henkes book while looking for children's books about birds.  The cover was colorful and on the library's website it looked interesting.  So I requested it and picked it up the next Saturday along with another Kevin Henkes book about gardening.  At story time the following week, these were the weekly favorites.  So yesterday, when I visited the library, I searched the kid room for more.  I came home with four more although there were more than that.   I don't want to read them all at once!

I have already read one this morning.  I just love the small stories and how beautifully the books are illustrated.  It makes me feel that I could create my own book.  Maybe I will.

 

Birds at the DC

We like us some birds at the DC y'all.  We watch them out the front window as they frequent our feeder, we collect feathers when we play outside, we even had a Robin's nest in our tree we planted this past Summer!

This past Saturday I picked up a book at the library by Kevin Henkes called Birds that had requested.  So that is the book we read at story time.... four times.  Then during nap time I cut out bird silhouettes on card stock that I had printed.  After sleepy heads were up, we broke out colored tissue paper, circles and glue sticks. 

Sometimes I have to stop myself because of the ideas that are in my head of what I want the end result of a craft or plan to be and allow the kids to do whatever they want with the supplies they are given.  I get in there and create my own version and let them be the artist of their version.  It always works out beautifully and they are so proud of their work. 

This morning, on the drive to work (down the driveway), I stopped and picked up a couple of branches, which were a little icy.  They thawed quickly once inside and I strung thin embroidery thread from the branches to tacks and pushed the tacks into the ceiling.  The branches hung really nicely.  Then I tied the string from the birds to the branches.  I love it!  They are hanging in front of the window where our bird feeder is.

The kids were so excited when they got there this morning.  I love that feeling.  The little one always says "Oh thank you Waurie!" when I have done something new.  So very rewarding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birdwatching at the DC

A month or so ago, when my mom gave me a shepperd's hook that mounts to deck, I hung a bird feeder right in front of the front window of the playroom at the day care.  It seemed like it took forever for the birds to find my offerings.  I almost got discouraged thinking the feeder was too close to the house.  But finally I spied a few House Finches had begun to frequent and then a few Juncos, a few Chickadees and today we had a Red Bellied Woodpecker.  I was so very excited.  I called the kids over to watch as he took seeds from the feeder and flew to the Dogwood tree in the front yard to crack them open.  His red head really caught their eye.

To my delight the kids have begun to take an interest in our feathered visitors.  I even caught one of the boys at the front window with the play binoculars and I asked "what are you looking at" and he replied "I'm looking at the birds."  It just tickled me.  I wanted to make some sort of a log of the birds we've seen. I pulled out a felt board (that won't lay flat since the day I made it) and printed pictures of each of the birds we have seen so far.  I glued them to more felt along with the name of their breed, not specifics, and cut them out to go on the felt board.  It hangs next to the window where we bird watch.  It will help them recognize birds that frequent by picture.  I will add more birds as they come along and plan to offer a different selection of food for them this winter. 

I can't wait until tomorrow when I bust out the homemade suet I made yesterday. Boy is that woodpecker going to be jolly!