Birds of a feather

So, who else is *so happy* that spring is here?!? I know I am!

Today I want to share a tutorial that will bring a little bit of spring inside your home, though originally I made it to use as a decoration for a bridal shower. I didn’t think at the time to take step-by-step photos as I was making it, because at the time I didn’t intend on doing a tutorial. But then Lindsay posted about her Five Dollar Challenge, so I decided to go ahead and enter it. Hopefully I can explain it well enough for you all.

Supplies – I bought everything I needed from the Dollar Tree, and used some supplies we had on hand. Here’s what you’ll need:

For the Base – I used a black metal tea-light holder that had a pedestal base, and it also had sides. If you can’t find it, I’m sure you can find something similar – a normal glass candlestick would probably work too. You just want something with a little height wide enough at the top to support the base of the nest.

For the nest – I found a two pack of Styrofoam discs, about an inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. I used one of these for the foundation of the nest. I used a bag of Spanish moss to make the actual nest. I also gathered some twigs from a few of our many mulberry trees. 😀

Something to put in the nest – Since it was originally for a bridal shower, I used two “lovebirds” to put in the nest. You should be able to find them near the front of the store, where all the little knick-knacky things are. (Assuming all Dollar Trees are laid out the same – every one I’ve been in is.) But you are free to use your imagination when it comes to putting things in the nest – I think some eggs would be nice, or maybe one bird and some eggs, or a small glass dish with jelly beans or those “robin’s egg” malted chocolate candies !

Ribbon and some small artificial flowers – I had these on hand, and I used baby’s breath for the flowers.

Putting it all together:

The base – I decided to spray-paint the tea light holder, so two coats of cream spray paint was the first step.

The nest – First, I arranged five little twigs on the top of the Styrofoam disc, with ends joined in the middle. Think like a pie cut into five pieces. Of course you can use more or less twigs, or none at all.

Then, I took small pieces of the Spanish moss and hot-glued them all around the edges of the disc. For the top of the nest, I took one big chunk of moss, formed it into a circle with a “well” in the center, put a bunch of hot glue on the top of the disc and over the sticks, and gently pressed the nest in place. Then I went back and filled in any gaps were I saw the Styrofoam peaking through with more hot glue and bits of Spanish moss.

Attaching the nest to the base – This part took some thought and a few tries. I wasn’t sure if the base would support the nest with the birds in it without being too top heavy and tipping over. I tried gluing the nest to something and sitting it down inside the base, but then the nest didn’t sit flush with the top of the base so I pulled it off. In the end, I took the base and sort of pushed it into the bottom of the Styrofoam disc to make a little “ditch” and then just ran a thick line of hot glue around the rim of the base and put that into the ditch I’d made. I held it firmly until it dried, and it worked well.

The nest looked a little lopsided on the base since I didn’t center it exactly right, so I just balanced it out by gluing another clump of Spanish moss onto the one side.

Decorating – I placed the birds into the nest to see how I wanted to arrange them, then I took them out, put hot glue on the bottom of them, and set them back in. Then I made a small bow using some ribbon, and glued it and a flower to one of the twigs sticking out. Then I randomly artistically glued a few more flowers to the other twigs, and when it looked nice and pretty, called it a day.

Here’s another photo:

Cost breakdown:

Base – $1

Styrofoam disc – $0.50 ($1 for a 2-pack)

Spanish moss – $1 for the bag, I used about half

Birds – $2 ($1 each)

All other supplies – on hand

Total cost: $4.50

Okay, I hope that was clear enough! Happy crafting and if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer!

I’m also linking up to DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land