Lovebirds #2

Oh yes, more of the sweet tweets.

These come with a template you can download and instructions, hurray!

O.K. I actually debated whether or not to post this project. I just didn't have the time to do it justice but, I wanted to get it up before I went on vacation. Yup, I'm going on vacation (more about that later). So, I just whipped it up in a flurry. Since I have been promising free patterns for the people, I figured I'd better - as my grandma Alta used to say on canning day, "put up or shut up!"

Here is the finished piece of Love Bird loveliness.


What you will need is some felt scraps, small scissors and thread.
The background felt piece I used is 11"x8 1/2". You could easily use a piece of fabric instead. In fact, my original intention was to applique the birds directly onto one of my girl's jean jackets, until she tried on said jackets and discovered them much too small.

Next you will need to download The Love Birds Template here which looks like this.
Now, print out the template. Cut the shapes from the paper and pin them to the felt or trace them onto your felt. Cut the shapes out of the felt following the cutting guide given for each shape with small scissors. Once I have all my pieces cut, I like to lay them out how I want the finished piece to look.


Next I sew the wings onto each bird body. I simply used a straight stitch on my machine and stitched close to the edge, slowly.

For the next step I used a glue stick to set the pieces how I wanted them. You could also use a spray adhesive for fabric. I then stitched again, close to the edge of each piece with a straight stitch on the machine. I finished with a french knot embroidery stitch for the bird eyes, and voila!

This would be darling worked with hand embroidery. Make it into a pillow, sew it on a jacket or applique the birds and hearts onto a tea towel.
I made mine into a little Valentine Treat Bag for my girl since I wont be with her on Valentines day. I will fill it with special treats and fun stuff for grandma to give to her on the 14th.

If anyone wants directions for the bag, I would be happy to share that as well. Just leave me a comment or send me an email and I will get it to you.
Happy Crafting!

Lovebirds #1

Stained Glass Lovebirds

Today I was trying to come up with an artsy craftsy thing to do with my girl. With the holiday of hearts just around the corner I was thinking of other symbols of love. So, I pulled out the old art of ironing crayon shavings between two pieces of wax paper. (I found a link to some directions here but, I don't think Martha has a 3 year old on staff, so hers look a little more polished than ours.) I wanted some shapes that weren't hearts and thus the lovebirds were hatched.




We ended up with a huge mess,I will be days in cleaning up errant crayon bits. The truth is, sometimes a good mess is just what you need. I had a great time and the Little Bean thought it was pretty cool too.



They look so sweet with the afternoon sun coming through the curtain.