Saturday, April 16, 2011

Spring Decor: Burlap and Birdies Wreath

I made a spring wreath today for my front door.  Want to see?
It was pretty easy, once I worked out a few details.  These were the basic supplies:

1 large styrofoam wreath form
Burlap 
Fabric Quarters


I started by cutting out strips of burlap, roughly 1-1/2 inches wide.  There was no need to be precise, so I just eyeballed it as I cut.
 Then, I wrapped my burlap strips tightly around the wreath form.  Since I had been warned that hot glue would melt the styrofoam, I just used small pins to pin my burlap on, at the beginning and end of each strip.
 When I was done wrapping the strips of burlap around the form, my wreath looked like this:
 Next, I made a pattern for my birds.  I wanted to have a fairly stiff pattern for easy tracing, so I just did a little recycler's trick and opened up an empty box from my pantry.
 I drew the little birdy shape that I wanted on the other side of the cracker box, and cut it out.  (Sorry, I free-handed this shape, so I can't tell you where to find one like it online.  I can tell you if you do a search on "bird crafts" you will find some printable patterns.)
 At this point, I used my pattern to cut out a bunch of fabric birds, which I fully intended to sew together and stuff.  Um, that was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  My first attempt was so pathetic that I went back to the drawing board, and found an easier way to make the 3-dimmensional birds I was trying for.  The second attempt was much, much better.  Here is what I did:

I cut out several cardboard birds and flipped them over, so the colorful side of the cardboard was facing up.
 Then, I squiggled a little hot glue across the birds, and spread some batting on top.
 The birdies looked like this, when I turned them over.
I put each bird on a scrap of fabric, and trimmed the fabric so it was a similar shape, but still had plenty of fabric around the edges.
Then, using my glue gun, I pulled the fabric around onto the back of the cardboard, and glued it down.
I basically upholstered those cardboard birds.  Crazy, huh?  Here's what they looked like, all glued up:
(Note: before I glued the entire bird, I made sure there was enough stuffing inside, so that it would be generously puffed.  If necessary, I pushed additional stuffing in with a pencil, before I glued the last bit.)

The final touch on each bird was gluing on a small burlap wing.
Next, I hot glued the birds onto the burlap wreath.
Along with this little nest, which I found on the ground near my mailbox, last fall.  It's the real deal!
I didn't want the nest to be empty, so I scrunched up some fabric scraps to make little "eggs" inside of it.

I used some burlap ribbon to tie my wreath onto the wreath hanger on my door.
At that point, I was pretty pleased with what I'd made...but it did seem like something was missing.

So I added a few small buttons with my trusty glue gun.
Buttons seemed to do the trick.
For this project, I specifically looked for fabrics that would be bright and cheerful for Spring, but would not be pastel.  There isn't anything pastel in my house, but there is lots of red.  I like the bright pops of color against the earthy burlap.

What do you think?  Do the birds make it feel springy, even without the traditional spring pastels?
I'm linking this post to the following parties:
And I'm entering this contest:

11 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving such a sweet comment <3

    This is soooo cute!! My hubbs even liked it :) I love the idea of the fabric covered cardboard birds. Super easy - no sew!

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  2. So cute! I LOVE the little birdies! You could do so many fun things with them!

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  3. Ooh!! I love this one! I am always in awe of the creative genius that you are!! I for sure want to try this!

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  4. very very cute! love the birds and natural nest! wow!

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  5. I love this wreath, and the clever way you made the birds! It's so great!
    xoxo,
    Amy

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  6. I don't always like burlap, but this is one of those times when I really, really, really do. It's the perfect backdrop for those birds, which are awesome. I featured you today on my favorite things :)

    http://sunshineandchaucer.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-favorite-thangs.html

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  7. This is such an adorable wreath! I love the fabric you used for the birds. You would never known they started from a craker box!

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  8. Adorable wreath Ruth! I have featured this today. Thanks so much for stopping by and linking up to the Sunday Showcase - I greatly appreciate it. Hope you have a wonderful holiday! ~ Stephanie Lynn

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  9. I love your blog, Stephanie! Thanks so much for the feature--I feel like such a proud mama--what an honor!

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  10. This is so sweet and I loved that you used some things that you already had.. Love the birds and burlap.. I love anything with Birds :) Happy Easter!

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  11. oh my gosh!! this is so gorgeous.. I love how you've made the cute little birdies.. *sigh* I'm going to try this for sure!!

    I'm your newest follower *smiles* Hope you'll come visit me at http://coloursdekor.blogspot.com/

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