DIY Week #2

DIY Week 2: Put a Bird on it. ... Literally.

 We all remember the first Sex and the City movie’s wedding  scene. Here comes the moment we’ve been waiting for, the moment we saw our beloved Carrie step into her bridal gown. Our eyes gravitated to her head, and I know we all thought, “Wait, what is that? Is that a bird?” Yes, indeed, it was a bird. Well leave it to SJP to get on top of the bird trend. Birds are all over Pinterest, clothes, and are seen at modern, vintage, rustic, well you-name-it-kind-of-wedding, and they are there. There are many ways to incorporate birds into your wedding day, but it doesn’t have to be on your head…

In my previous weddings, I’ve seen bird cages, bird décor, and even the occasional bird cake topper. So, today’s DIY are fabric bird cake toppers. In today’s world, there is no standard cake topper. The days of plastic bride and grooms are over.  Creating and customizing your own cake topper is the perfect way to tie your wedding theme all together.

 Here are the necessary items needed to complete this project:

-          Template (FREE!)

o   I have attached a template to the page.

-          Fabric (scrap fabric, or you can buy fabric to coordinate with your wedding theme) (Starts at $3.99/yd)

o   Get creative! You may use burlap, tweed, suede, linen, cotton blend, let your mind explore!

o   You will need a 1ft by 1ft square

o   Don’t forget to use your coupons if you have any!

-          Thread ($3)

o   Coordinate your thread with your fabric

o   You can also find thread

-          Needle (Small)

-          Fiber Fill

o   You will need a very small amount of fiber fill for the birds

o   If you don’t have fiber fill handy, or do not want to spend money to buy a whole bag, use cotton balls!

-          Fabric Scissors

-          Fabric Pencil

-          Straight Pins

Okay, let’s get crafty! First things first, print out the free template. Then, take your template and cut out the pieces. Place the pieces on your fabric and start tracing using your fabric pencil. If you have a difficult time tracing the template onto the fabric, feel free to use straight pins to hold it in place. If you don’t have a fabric pencil, use the straight pins to pin each piece and then cut.

 You will need:

-          1 head

-          2 bodies

-          1 chest

-          (Note: If you are using patterned fabric, be sure to cut on body with the right side of fabric, and one body with the wrong side of the fabric.)

 

Once your fabric is cut, it’s time to start sewing! Take your small sewing needle, and thread your needle. Make sure to use coordinating thread. Now, take the head and one body piece and sew the two together starting at the beak. You will be using the Whip Stitch. If you are unsure how to use this stitch feel free to check out the how to here:

http://www.holiday-crafts-and-creations.com/whip-stitch.html.

 

 

Once one side of the head, and one side of the body (make sure if you are using patterned fabric, you are using the correct side) are sewn together, do the same to the other side. Take your second body piece and sew it to the head, starting at the beak. Once you reach the end of your head piece, you can sew the two bodies together until you reach the tail.

Here’s the fun part! It’s time to decorate! You can take black thread to sew eyes, sew buttons for a tux (groom’s bird), use a running stitch to form letters, or a heart. You can also take coordinating scrap fabric to create a little flower for the bride’s bird. The options are endless so, get creative!

 

After finishing all your embellishments, it’s time to stuff the bird and sew it shut. Fill your bird with fiber fill and take the chest piece and sew one side starting at the tail. Sew until you reach the beak. Once you reach the beak, sew the second side to the chest until you reach the tail. Your bird should be completely sewn at this point.

Ladies and gentlemen, here you have it, your very own cake topper bird. You can also take wire and make feet for your bird. Don’t hesitate about getting creative! The options are endless for these fun little birds.

Good luck, and happy sewing!