Spring Decoration with Bird’s Nest!

I’m so excited about this sweet little spring decoration! I made this for the Michaels/Hometalk Pinterest Party going on across the US and Canada on February 16! I’m going to be helping out at a local Michael’s- (I’d love for you to come hang out with me and get crafty!

I’ll be doing one of these as a demo…(but there will be loads of  Pinterest projects to choose from and you’ll be able to add your own touch!)

This little project was easy…

All you need…

*Clay Pot

*Paint (a green and a white for aging the terra cotta & a coordinating color to paint your chalk board)

*Small grapevine wreath -the same size as the opening of your pot

*Styrofoam

*Straw for making little bird nest (found in floral design section)

*Small chalk boards

*Sheet Moss w/ adhesive backing

*Balsa Wood stick (one that’s flat on both sides)-found with the dowels

*Little Bird or eggs…

*Chalk Marker

*wet cloths (I use baby wipes)

*Sandpaper

*glue gun

*paint brushes

*Scissors

I LOVE to “age” terra cotta. I posted a tutorial HERE …

But that technique involves stone spray paint and takes a little time to dry…this new technique is sooooo easy – maybe you’ve done it before! Take your two paint colors & first paint the whole pot with the white…don’t cover it throughly …it’s almost a dry brushing…

Now…with a smaller brush add some light brush strokes of green…

Quickly use a damp cloth and gently rub off some of the paint until you get an aged patina look…work quickly…

If your paint dries and you aren’t completely happy with the patina, use your sand paper and hit a few more spots, focusing on the edges…

Using your coordinating paint, paint the chalk board and a piece of the Balsa Wood…let these dry while you finish your pot…

Cut a few strips of sheet moss…

Wrap it around the lip of your pot…if the adhesive gives you any trouble just use the glue gun! Cut the styrofoam to fit down snugly into the pot…

Use the glue gun to adhere the wreath to the top of the moss… if you want to , add a narrow strip of moss to the top of the grapevine wreath…

Form your straw into the shape of a little nest, making sure it fits into the top of the grapevine wreath…

Hollow out the straw and tuck it into the opening…

When your chalk board and balsa wood stick are dry, glue the board to the stick.- I glued mine at a bit of an angle…use scissors to puncture the Styrofoam and stick the balsa wood stick in. Don’t make your hole in the Styrofoam too big, you want the sign to stand up!

Now all that’s left to do is add a few eggs or a tiny bird!

This little decoration will be perfect for the den or on the screen porch…it would also be a super cute hostess gift for Easter Sunday! Or, how about making a bunch of them for Easter party favors!?

And here’s my other little project…

And for those of you who like your creativity in video form, I uploaded the video tutorial for the Spring Welcome Bird’s Nest Project!

Here’s a little more information about the Michaels & Hometalk Pinterest Party! If you can get to Acworth Michaels friends, we’ll have some fun!