mixed media bird Christmas ornaments

Mixed media bird Christmas ornaments are a painted and stamped version of this bird Christmas ornament.  Yes, I really like birds and I really like Christmas and it is never to early to start on your gifts or decorations.  To make the projects, I like to buy fancy embellishments when I catch them on sale at the craft stores. When the mood strikes I want to be ready with all the supplies and avoid a trip to the craft store. If you are short on time, you can order finished ornaments from my Etsy shop. But if you have the time, they are super easy to make once you gather all the supplies.

Supplies for mixed media bird Christmas ornaments:

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• foam board
• sanding sponge (or nail file)
• X-acto knife
• bird die cut
• Sizzix machine  (works great to gut thick items, fabric and is supervised child friendly)
• Glue
• sentiment stamp
• permanent ink
• Acrylic Paint

Instructions mixed media bird Christmas ornaments:

First you will need your bigshot pro to cut out your ornaments from Elmer’s foam board. The Sizzix BigShot Pro is perfect for this as it cuts heavy-duty materials very easily.

 

By using the die cut machine with the foam core, you get nice, even smooth edges. No need to sand. The die cut comes with a wing shape, but I am partial to teardrop. So I elected to trace 3″ teardrop onto foam core and cut out with an X-acto knife. You will need to sand the edges with a nail file (emery board) or a smaller paper sander made especially for paper crafting projects.
For the paints, I chose Lamp Black, Snow White and Antique White by DecoArt. I painted the wing shape one coat of black since I knew I would be covering with one or two shades of white to create a distressed effect on the Mixed media bird christmas ornaments.

I also painted the back of each foam core bird shape ornament black. Once the wing is dry to the touch, use a candle stick to randomly rub the surface.

Paint the wing two coats of white and then sand gently to remove areas where the candle wax was applied.

Paint the front of the foam core bird shape Antique White. Use an ornate foam stamp and the white acrylic paint to stamp the surface randomly.

For a layered stamp look, I used StazOn ink in black and a script stamps to completely cover the bird.

I painted the beak black and added a small black dot for the eye. I slightly inked the edges of the bird to give it an aged look. Add a floral embellishment, stamp a sentiment on the wing, glue pieces together and your die cut painted and stamped bird ornament is complete!
It bears mentioning that I hand dyed muslin using Rit Dye in Apple Green and purchased the silk flowers
Just think of how many wonderful, lightweight but sturdy birds you can get from one sheet of foam board!

Although I used my Sizzix BigShot pro machine, I tried cutting the foam core with my smaller, standard BigShot and it worked too for the Mixed media bird christmas ornaments. 

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