Felt Bird Ornament Tutorial

I think I have finally figured out this little guy so here is the tutorial I promised.  I hope you like it.  If you use any of the pictures here, please link back to me.  Thanks.

1.  I free-handed the basic shape of a bird.  I have never claimed to be a great artist, but I think it turned out well.  Then I drew in the features I wanted to include.  Basically, beak definition, tail feathers, a wing, and an eye.  I should not have done this with pencil though, as it didn't show up well in the picture.

2.  I placed my cut-out of the bird on a piece of felted wool skirt.  If you don't know how to felt wool, it isn't really that difficult.  (Click on the link for some great instructions.)  I pinned it down on a double layer so I could cut two out at the same

3.  After both pieces were cut out,I began stitching the features from the sketch onto the bird using 3 strands of embroidery floss.  I really like DMC .  I just used a basic stitch for all the features.

4.  I cut a smaller version of the bird from cereal-box-type cardboard and then used Aleene's Craft Glue to adhere the cardboard to one of the felt pieces.  I just waited for it to dry before sewing button eyes on. 

5.  I used six strands of embroidery floss to make the hanging loop and attach the jingle bell.  I used a blanket stitch to put the two felt pieces together.

And....that is my little felt bird ornament.  I actually like how they are all turning out and I may post later on when I have a whole flock to show you.

If you make some of your own, let me know. I would love to see how they turn out.

not quite a failure, not quite a success

Here is the little bird I made last night while watching "Manson" on the History channel.  It was a good docudrama, although it was awful to see inside the "Family" that Manson created and the havoc that they caused.  The little bird is made from grey wool, felted, that was once a skirt.  I like how he turned out, mostly, but have decided to put a stiffener in the middle to make him more stable.  Actually, BunBun suggested it when I held the little creature up to see what he looked like. So, tonight- more bird adventures and hopefully a tutorial within the next couple days. 

I will most likely be watching "Hoarders" tonight, all the while, batting my eyelashes at BunBun everytime he looks at me and the t.v. and me again, with that look of... "that could be you on that show, ya know."

Have a great night and remember, GOD is the architect, and master designer of our lives.