bluebirds of happiness...

This year we made most of our presents in an effort to simplify and maybe save some money. I managed to size and crop some photos of one of my projects (being without a computer for a few days slowed me down a bit!)

A while back I saw a post on Brenda's beautiful blog, Cozy Little House, where she was making the prettiest birds in such beautiful, colorful fabrics! That project of hers immediately came to mind when I spotted this blue & white snowflake fabric at a junktique shop (and at only $1.00 for a couple of yards!). I decided to make each girl a "bluebird of happiness" as one of their homemade gifts and the snowflake fabric definitely fit the bill.

Now I am not a sewer or seamstress, so right off the bat I was off to a rocky start. The first bird, a prototype that I'm keeping, looked much more like a seal than a bird. And the next two, pictured above, came out much smaller than I expected (I forgot about that pesky seam allowance!)

After stuffing the birds, I attached a wing ornament to each. I purchased them several years ago but never got around to using them, so they came in handy for this project. I wrote the date and a little message to each girl on the underside of the wings.

I pressed sticky rhinestone eyes onto each bird (from my stash of craft supplies)...

...and finished them off with a vintage earring (again, from my stash) clipped onto the ornament ribbon around the throat.


To say these birds are a bit tipsy is an understatement. I hot glued a big flat button to their undersides, hoping it would keep them upright. And if you place them just so, they do stay upright...

So thanks for the inspiration, Brenda!! If I hadn't seen your fabric birds, I doubt that I would have thought to make these!

I'll share a few other homemade projects once I get pictures onto the computer!

Donna