Saturday, December 1, 2012

CHRISTMAS SNOW BIRD

I have a thing for birds.  I can sit on my deck and watch the birds all day long.  I thank my mother-in-law Virginia for this obsession because she knows them all by name and she bought me my first bird feeder and a field guide to birds.  I made this little Christmas Bird frame to sit on a shelf in my kitchen.
When my friend Judy was here, she found these adhesive canvas squares at Hobby Lobby.  I had never noticed them before. 
 You can see that you get 4 of them for $1.99.  How does she find these things?  We each snagged a package of them, without a plan.  Then, in the aisle of all things wooden, I found this little frame.
 Yep...$1.59 AND....those little canvas squares Judy found fit into them perfectly.  Meant to be!  Suddenly, I had a plan.
I painted half of  my canvas a sky blue and left the bottom of it white.  I brushed some craft glue onto the white part and sprinkled some glitter.  Yes, glitter.....are you paying attention Mel from Mellywood's Mansion?...I used glitter!  (She knows I'm not a glitter girl, but she uses it fabulously!)  Now it looked like sky and snow.
I had a little metal bird I wanted to put on the picture, but I didn't want to fix it on there permanently.  You know I like to repurpose stuff and that bird was so cute, I was sure I might need him again.  So, I marked were I wanted him to be on the frame and drilled two holes through it so I could wire him on. 
Then I spray painted the frame and the bird silver.
Now all I had to do was peel the backing off of that little canvas square and stick it into the frame.  Too easy!  I drilled my holes right through the canvas....twice...because I miscalculated where I wanted my bird to be.  Duh.  I also decided to drill some holes in the 4 corner areas to string some ribbon through.  I thought a red ribbon might look nice to outline the frame a little and break up some of the silver.
 I couldn't just wire the bird on because that would be ugly. I thought maybe a wreath around the bird would be cute.  I grabbed a few supplies from my craft room and went to work.
I tied a piece of ribbon around a little gem I had in my jewelry findings and then ran a piece of green pipe-cleaner through the jump ring on the gem.  Then I put the pipe-cleaner through the pre-drilled holes.
I slid my bird in that loop and then fastened it from the back by just twisting it.  Now I can take it off if I want that bird for another project later.
I added a few jewels and then made a pipe-cleaner branch for the hangerI just ran it through the two top holes and twisted on the back, glued on a few red beads for berries and called it done!  Now I have this cute little winter bird to add to my hand made Christmas decor.  Do you like it?  
Since I had everything except the frame and that cool little canvas, this project came in under $4.  Gotta love that!  Merry Christmas....
tweet....tweet....so sweet! 

Linking up to any or all of the fine parties listed HERE...as well as....  
 countdown to winter 200
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31 comments:

  1. So cute! and I never would have guessed that the poor bird was being hung by the neck by that wreath, such a great use of pipe cleaner!

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  2. What a cute project! Love the bird. So cool that you planned ahead and made him removable! I love that!

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  3. Oh, Danni! Even I like glitter in this project! It's perfect for snow! You are such an inspiration. -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

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  4. I love this! (I use glitter on occasion.)

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  5. Why, Glitter Girl, this is a wonderful winter scene even if you did hang the bird by the neck. (I am glad someone else noticed this in case there is a trial later!) I have used those canvas squares and they are great in many different projects. Will you hang this on the tree?

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  6. I never use any glitter, either, but in this case it is perfect for your frame, Danni!

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  7. Lovely! it is very cute and christmassy! I love birds too, and yours is so pretty

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  8. This is so pretty and wintery! Of course, I think all things look better with glitter and so does your snow!

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  9. This is really sweet for now until the end of winter! Everything is very dimensional-
    which adds to the cuteness of it all. You scored another one, Danni!!! Bravo!

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  10. That is adorable! You are amazing to have put that all together like that! Love it. I have to say, I do love glitter and think the snow looks great!

    Karen

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  11. You are cranking out those Christmas crafts Danni. I am slowing down. Very cute.

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  12. Love it, it's so pretty. Funnily enough when I saw the picture in my reader, the first thing I noticed was the glitter! Christmas is glitter and your bird is beautiful xxxooo

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  13. I love it! So cute. Let's think of the little bird not as having been hung by his neck, but rather that he has been adorned with a wreath, like a winning race horse!

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  14. Oh, it's beautiful, I love it, Danni!

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  15. your project are ALL fabolous! I am pinning so hard, I will need 24 months long year :)

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  16. This is such a cute idea. This same concept could be used for a fancy greeting card. Love it!

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  17. It's beautiful! Love the bird necklace idea, too.

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  18. How cute is that! (I think I typed that same thing on your last post).

    Liss

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  19. Danni...I really like the glitter...What a great idea....Blessings, Becky

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  20. I hope someone TWEETS about this...it's so darn adorable. I love the 'snow' inside of the frame. This is absolutely precious.

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  21. Very cute and I love glitter. I suppose this could be adapted to many things so I think its a keeper of an idea.
    I will be following your blog
    Janice

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  22. So creative! A good idea for other holidays, too!

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  23. Danni, this is gorgeous! You have such an amazing eye for versatile projects! :) Thanks for sharing at the homemade holiday party.

    Marilyn
    4you-withlove.blogspot.com

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  24. Very cute! I love the bird. Where did you get it?

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    1. Michaels at Easter time...2/pkg. I think they were a couple of bucks!

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  25. This is really cute! Love the little scarf on the bird :)

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  26. What a cute project! Thanks for showing us how to you made it.

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  27. Danni,

    I love this project and post and I love that you are a backyard birder - SO AM I!!! I am THE crazy bird lady! I know way too much about backyard birds. I can identify most of our backyard birds by their call. I have a lot of bird field guide books. I call it backyard fishing...you never know what might bite/stop by for a visit. I have even made my own suet, I'll have to send you the recipe! My grandparents were BIG time backyard bird watchers, so that's where it comes from. My grandpa was famous for his inventions to try to keep the squirrels out of the bird food - one required a size D battery and a teeny tiny shock...but even that didn't work, the squirrels always figured out a way. Always! I would love to sip coffee, hang and watch the birds with you :)

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  28. Love this! I watch the birds at my feeder too and they inspire me every day! :-)

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  29. So cute and creative!! I love it. Thank you so much for sharing again this week at A Bouquet of Talent. Have a wonderful weekend. :)

    Kathy

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