Go on and Get your Craft on! (even if you're a procrastinator like me)

I was excited when Chris announced her “I can make that!” Party a couple of weeks ago. I decided that I was in and started making plans. Did I do all of this because I am an extreme crafter that cannot contain the need to pick up a glue gun or a pair of pliers?

The answer to that question is no, it because I am a Procrastinating Crafter. I craft when there is an event, a deadline, or someone I need to give a gift to pronto. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy crafting. Well, I really enjoy planning to craft something, organizing those craft somethings and then going to sit on the couch to watch more HGTV. I own all manner of crafting goodness, but most of it is infrequently used. So, when Chris announced her party I thought this is a great way for me to commit to start some of the Christmas stuff I wanted to do.

And boy oh boy, do I have a list of things that I want to do. The thing about getting yourself into this whole DIY/decorating/crafty blogaverse is that you are inundated with ideas. Now I am not one of those people that “thinks” up crafty ideas. However, I am good at knocking off something that other people have done or combining other ideas that I have come across.

Case in point is what I have created today - Fabric Birdies in Thread Nests

The reason for this creation stems from the fact that my mother-in-law loves homemade crafty things and loves birds even more. She is a quilter extraordinaire, makes all manner of cute stuff and can even paint. She is of the Uber-Crafter variety of MIL.

So, when I first saw these vintage thread nests that Cathe made over at her blog “Just Something I Made” I thought those would be something to keep in mind for my MIL.

(photo credit – Cathe @ Justsomethingimade.blogspot.com)

Then last week, Edie over at LifeInGrace featured these precious little birdies in her 12 Days of Handmade Christmas. They were made by Denise (visit her at Living Life Creatively) and she has given Edie a great tutorial on how to make these lil darlings.

(photo credit – Denise @ Livinglifecreatively.com)

So I thought, Thread Nest + Fabric Bird = MIL loves Jess. (That is simple basic math right?)

Now, I did not have a bunch of vintage thread like what Cathy had, but I did have this cheap thread sampler I got for a $1 from a bucket at Joann’s.

I unwound a couple of complementary colors in groups.

Voila, thread nest. Read up on Cathe’s post to see how to get these babies to stay intact with a little embossing powder.

I then used the templates and instructions from over on Edie’s site to create the little birdies. I know I should have ironed the fabric first, but it ended up being ok.

Now, I used a slightly larger bead to make the eyes (cause it was what I had) and skipped the wire leg step. Each bird takes about 30 minutes to sew together and I stuffed them with cotton balls instead of polyfil (again, cause it is what I have). I glued the little birdie into its color-coordinated nest. Total cost of this project was about $5 because I did not have the embossing powder and had to go pick some up at Hobby Lobby.

Now I have the cutest little gifts for my MIL.

(I just hope she likes them. Please tell me if these are horrible so I don’t embarrass myself!)

Head on over to Chris’s at Just a Girl and see what other goodness has been crafted up.

P.S. I am also linking up with Kimba!