Maybe this could be a series- where oh where will the Birds appear next?
Here’s a project that I created for the ImpressArt booth at CHA. I used their cool metal alphabets to make a recycled soda can mobile. Once again the Bird die came in handy, as did the ScoreBoard Butterfly. Both are from my Sizzix Fresh Vintage collection.
First I cut the shapes from soda cans- two butterflies and birds for each hanging piece. I also cut one matboard shape as a base for each. I hammered the metal stamped words on the silver side of each soda can shape. Then I took alcohol inks and the foam blender and dabbed the color on. Each one is different- some I filled with color, some were sparsely inked and some were in between. What unified the project was the color palette- my favorite blues, greens, purples and yellows.
To finish, I hot glued the soda can shapes to the center of the matboard bases but allowed the sides and wings to bow out giving nice dimension. Then I punched a very fine hole in the top of the shape for hanging and threaded fishing line through each one. I thought I would go insane tying these on- fishing line is very annoying to work with! But it was worth it- the birds and butterflies look almost like they are floating in midair. I also added some beads to separate strands of fishing line to counterbalance the weight.
Another discovery- photographing a mobile is no easy task! I wanted good light so I carefully took the whole piece outside and suspended it from a tree branch. Every time I would go to take a picture, the wind would blow and everything moved! So I have about 30 horrible blurred pictures of this cool mobile. Finally I had to admit defeat, pack it up and send without getting a decent photo… Oh well…
The hardest part of this project was figuring out how to make the hanger part of it. I tried three embroidery hoops tied together with ribbon, and then wired frames in three varying sizes together, but they were too overwhelming for the delicate hanging pieces. I wound up finding a baby mobile at a thrift store for $5. After removing the A-B-C’s and 1-2-3’s, I added my own pieces. Recycling at its best!
Do you have a bird or butterfly project you’ve made with these dies that you’d like to share? Send it on over to me (EileenHull@aol.com) and I will feature it here!
Is spring really on the way? Seems like it in VA…