Every morning during this time of year, we are awakened by the sounds of birds chirping and chattering with each other right outside our window. We feel pretty lucky that we live in a neighborhood that is rather quiet and established so we get a pretty wide range of feathers to peep at! The robins have built nests in the backyard for years and often as the babies are learning to fly they end up on our deck catching a break. The quail love to trot through the side yard and hide in the dense plants while they are looking for their meals. The hummingbirds flit from tasty flower to tasty flower all around the house. The sparrows are particularly fond of the front yard and the nests they build in our spruces are right up against the large pane windows of the the living room so we have bird television for the cats in there! All of this wild life aside, what does that have to do with crafting you might ask...
I think that the trend of birds that has been growing stronger with each progressive season has come because of art mimicking our lives. We see these fantastic creatures that brush the skies with their tiny wings everyday and they inspire us to do the same. So let's explore the trend of birds in crafting, and maybe we will see how they might be used in even more of our projects than before.
Hero Arts has this set called Decorative Birds that have tons of personality in a fun four piece set.
Inkadinkado created this delightful Clear Inchie Stamp set called Birds that is wonderful for creating inchie sized projects.
Wanting to stamp but would like a few more options in shape and size in your bird? How about this huge set that was designed by Kim Hughes for Cornish Heritage Farms called Pretty Birds? It comes in a design sheet or pre-cut, and is one of the most commonly used set of stamps in my stash!
Graphic 45 has a fantastic image of a bird on this gorgeous piece of Botanicabella Birds in Paradise patterned paper. Just think how gorgeous this would be in a frame or on a piece of canvas as a piece of home decor, stunning!!
And if you are ready to get messy and play, this Flight of Fancy set of Glimmer Screens is definitely for you! the possibilities become truly endless when you incorporate masks into anything you are creating.
Thinking about adding a little bit of hardware to your next project? Tim Holtz knows how to bring trend to the table, and with the darling birds from this set of Adornments charms, you will be soaring in style!
This set of chipboard birds with mix and match wings makes my heart flutter! It is a mini set called Birds with Cages and works beautifully on cards or any other project you might have on your desk that needs a little bird.
Prima created these fabulous Canvas Fabric Birds, one is in a fun blue color and the other is just waiting for you to add your imagination! Paint, stamping, pens, ink or anything else your mind has in store can be done to this bird!
And for the ultimate in creative freedom, pick up the Nested Bird shaped dies for your die cutting system. With these you can create adorable birds out of fabrics, Claudine's Sticky Back Canvas, specialty papers, ribbons and so much more! And after they are cut the fun doesn't end there.
You can cut two opposites and make wonderful little hanging ornaments to decorate with or cut a bunch of them out of a heavier card stock, adhere them together and then cover with peanut butter and bird seed to hang outside of a window as a bird feeder!
The bird seed can be applied in a thin layer
Or a thicker layer than even this, up to you and whatever size of helper you may have!
Just make sure the cats can't get to your visitors ;o) This is a quick, fun and easy project that everyone from the youngest of crafters to the older will enjoy. And the opportunity to bird watch together is one that is hard to pass up!
Birds are a fun trend because of the amazing variety of product styles you might see, they range from the exquisitely elegant and intricately detailed to the simple and sweet. I hope you take a few minutes to relax and do a little bird watching and then maybe a little bird creating.
B-
