Birdie Tree~*

Here's how this one got started.
My Mom had admired my nail polish, so I thought I'd pick her up some.  I picked up a few shades, & was trying to figure out what I was going to put them in.  A while back she decided not to use traditional wrappings on gifts {too much waste}, which I thought was a great idea & have been trying to do as well.  I remembered I had some small terra cotta pots at home  & thought it would be cute to stick the polishes in one of them.
I got home, cleaned the pot & shoved the polishes in it & thought, "wow, that looks lame."  I decided to paint the pot, then add a few details using things I had laying around & things escalated from there~*

Supplies: 
Terracotta pot, paints & brushes, paper {I used patterned cardstock & solid origami paper}, yarn, glue {I used a glue gun, but any glue would do}, a nice shaped stick with branches {thanks to a recent windy rain storm, we have lots of those laying around the front yard}, scissors, a pencil & embellishments...& anything else you happen to have in the junk drawer~*

Wrap the stick with yarn.  Its 'bout as easy as it sounds~*

To make the birds, I drew a bird & wing shape on heavy cardstock & cut it out to use for a pattern.   I just free handed it, but I'm sure you could find a pattern on the web somewhere if needed.

I then traced the pattern on the patterned cardstock & origami paper & cut them out-- 3 of each shape per bird.

Glue the layers together using a dab of glue in the center of the bird body to hold.  Repeat the same process with the wings.  Don't worry about lining them up, you want the paper to show {I fanned out the wings before gluing}.  Use the pencil to curl the tips of the paper on the wings & tail.

Glue the birds to the branches.

I used different papers & varied the sizes of the birds a bit, just to make things interesting.  Odd numbers always look better, or at least I think so, so I made 3 birds all together.

I used a piece of floral foam in the pot to hold the "tree" steady, then covered that in Spanish moss {all of which I had laying around}.  The real irony of it is that I had a heck of a time getting the polishes to fit in!

By the time it was finished, it was literally time to go & I didn't get a full picture of the finished product until we were at Mom & Dad's.  I kinda figured she could put it on her picnic table {sans polishes of course} for a summertime centerpiece, but it could also hold necklaces or makeup brushes or pencils-- whatever suits your fancy!

It took me about an hour all told-- I put the pot outside in the sun to dry, which sped that bit up considerably.  I had originally intended to use my helvetica stencil to write "tweet," or some such thing, on the rim of the pot, but I ran out of time...would-a been cute though {sorry Ma!}

In thinking this project over, I think I may try to do a "serious" version...I'll let you know what I come up with!