Nav bar

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Bird Nest Topiaries - A How-to


I love a good bird nest, don't you?
I bought a few little white pots a couple of weeks ago at the GW and thought I'd use them for herbs.


But, how many times does something actually turn into the first thing we envision? In my case, not often.
So while I waited to find just the right vinyl font for the herb lettering, I changed my mind.

Playing in my craft room while getting ready for the flea market, I discovered I had moss, styrofoam balls, birds nests, and a slew of embellishments. So, I decided to create topiaries instead.

I gathered all of my goodies and started to see what I could up with.


1. I started by pushing some flat circular foam pieces into the bowls. They fit really snug so I didn't have to bother with any glue at this point.

2. Next, I pushed a small styrofoam ball onto a little dowel rod. I made the hole, then backed the rod out and filled the hole with glue before putting it back in so the ball would stay in place.

I still wasn't sure what I wanted to put on the pots so I decided to go ahead and fill them with moss while I thought about it.


3. I covered the foam with a lot of hot glue and then packed the moss on top.

At this point, I decided to try putting some pretty rub-ons on some of the pots. Worked great.
(Can you see there is no rhyme or reason to my order? I had 4 of these to do, so that's why this one doesn't have the moss yet - Iwas playing, obviously out of order.)


Next, I put a little moss on the nest and glued in a few eggs, then pinned it in the moss bed
(See that turquoise strip? That's some Martha Stewart Crafts decorative tape. Actually, it's an adhesive ribbon that's extra sticky, so I thought I'd see if it worked on the pots and it did. You'll see a pink one also.)

4. The final step was to put the moss on the styrofoam balls. To make this easy, I layed a lot of moss on the table and squirted the hot glue on it. Then I rolled the ball over the moss and covered it up. When it gets fully covered, be sure to press down all over it to pack it in place.
After I got that finished, I remembered that I had some metal birds I picked up at Hobby Lobby that I wanted to put on the top. I burried them in a blob of hot glue and held it in place while it dried. Then I added turquoise rhinestones for eyes.
Here's the finished topiary!

 I completed 4 of them, and here they are.




Aren't those birds wonderful? I wish I could find some more. I took all they had when I found them.

(I made a few more just like these after the market to sell, so you'll see them show up somewhere soon.)

Tell me about the bird stuff you have around your house.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
It's been a while since I made the rounds, so I'm linking to all of the following this week:










26 comments:

  1. Very pretty, Polly! I do love those birds! I haven't seen anything like them and they fit your toparies so nicely. Love the rub-ons and ribbon you added to the pots.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love those. The rub-ons are a great touch to the pots. And those birds! How cute are they! I'm so jealous! Thanks for sharing them!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very cute! I'm crazy about topiaries & love to make them & blog about them, too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great project! I love the little birds on top. Rub-ons have been a favorite of mine since back when I was doing more scrapbooking. They really are a versatile embellishment and were perfect for your pots.
    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  5. Those little bowls sure turned into cute topiaries. Love the rub on. Where did you find them? I have birds displayed throughout my house...under cloches, sitting on my entry way table, in my entry way niche, in my entertainment center, in my China hutch, on my coffee table...get the picture....I love birds. Yours are especitally cute and different.
    They really say Spring.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love it! You're so creative. I love birds and have them all over...actually they are in my bedroom....along with my collection of birdhouses and cages.
    Happy Easter!
    *hugs*deb

    ReplyDelete
  7. I especially liked that there is "no order" to what you created so beautifully!!! They are whimsical with charm!

    I am currently working on sketches of birds. Hoping to show them soon!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your topiaries are lovely and deceptively simple in construction as the best designs usually are. Well done!
    xoxo,
    Lisa & Alfie

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have never used rub-ons but they are terrific on your topiary pots. Did you put them on the birds or did they come that way?

    ReplyDelete
  10. The birds are terrific! And so are your topiary's. I have birds throughout my house as well. My two favs are black iron and sit near my bamboo plant...keeping watch. Loved this project!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

    ReplyDelete
  11. WOW....gorgeous! I love every one of them! ~Liz

    ReplyDelete
  12. Those are so cute! I especially love how you decorated all the pots...very creative!! Great job!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. wow.. those are really gorgeous!
    great job!
    ~Tana

    ReplyDelete
  14. I’ve recently come across your site and it looks like you do a lot of interesting and creative projects.

    I’m wondering if you’re familiar with Rub ‘n Buff? This is a product that my company markets. It’s made from carnuba wax, and comes in a variety of colors, the most popular being metallic silver and gold. It’s used on furniture, chandeliers, lamps, home décor, frames, crafts – the possibilities are endless and I’ve seen a lot of great uses. If you’re interested in trying and commenting about it on your site let me know and I’ll forward samples. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  15. Gorgeous! I love those birds too...that are amazing! I am blogging birds today too...
    www.thecountrychiccottage.net

    ReplyDelete
  16. Those are just beautiful! Thanks for sharing the DIY! Coming over from Somewhat Simple and a happy new follower!

    Jeanine

    ReplyDelete
  17. These topiary are really cute. Love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  18. These are beautiful! I love them!

    Thanks for joining Get Your Craft on Thursday. Please join me next week for another wonderful party!!

    Please stop by next week I am having guest over each day and I would love for you to tell them HI!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I really love these! I would love you to link this post on Favorite Things Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Polly,

    like the little birds and the topiaries-
    the little bowls turned out so nicely with the added rub-ons and ribb-ons!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Both the embellished pots and those precious birds are cute as a bug's ear. And everyone knows that's my highest admission of flattery!
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  22. Holey what's happened here? Polly, the craft is fabulous but so is your new blog layout! I love it!!

    Ok, I'm in happy shock. I need to go back and look at it all. :)

    Donna

    ReplyDelete
  23. Very cute! I love the transfers on the pot and I love those birds. I bet with your crazy sewing skill you could duplicate those into fabric.

    ReplyDelete
  24. These are wonderful, love how they turned out! Happy Easter!

    ReplyDelete

I realize we all have busy lives, and taking the time to comment is not always easy. When you do find that time, it makes me appreciate you even more. If you like what you see or read, feel free to pass on the link to my blog with others. Thank you so much for stopping by!

I try to respond to everyone that comments, so if you do not receive a response, it's possible that you are a "No-Reply Comment Blogger" and may not know it, which means I can't find your email addy. Copy and paste this link in your browser to find out how to fix it.

http://makeminebeautiful.blogspot.com/2010/02/are-you-no-reply-comment-blogger-and.html

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails