Pets Postcard

The last postcard that I worked on today was for another swap with "pets" as a theme. I think everyone knows that we don't ahve any real pets unless you could dust bunnies as pets. I considered doing something with photos of our rent-a-dogs but I saw the Bluebirds house shopping again today so I decided to try to make a bird nest. I love layering yarns so this is how I made these cards.

I started with gray felt as a base layer and added a layer of Mistyfuse and swirled a chunky tan yarn in a rough nest shape. The area is about 5 x 7 so I could cut it back to 4 x 6. I added another layer of Mistyfuse on top of the chunky yarn.

Next I pulled out 8 more yarns on various shades of brown and tan. I cut them into 2 - 3 inch pieces and arranged them in a circular, fused them down and added a layer of Mistyfuse.

 

The hardest part turned out to be making the eggs. I wanted to use silk fibers but I could not get the fibers under control to make an egg shape. I tried a few other things but settled on some blue yarn that I wadded into oval shapes. Then I covered the piece with tan tulle, fused a backing of Peltex and quilted around the eggs and then in a rough round pattern to try to highlight the nest shape. Here's the final card. I made 12 of these. Some of these will be birthday cards too.

Comments

[Marie]

WoW - i love this card! It's perfect..and I DO think we can consider birds our 'pets'!

[floribunda]

very cool! you and my sister must be separated at birth -- she loves doing that sort of thing, while I have such a hard time letting go and playing with things...

[quiltpixie]

Very cool. I love the nests -- it looks like a little shredded cheesecloth maybe got used too... whatever it is, the assortment gives a great sense of the eclectic nature of collected twigs.

Did you try a silk cacoon for the eggs?

[Terri]

You know, I think if you talk to your dust bunnies, then they do count as pets. Great nests!

[kayp]

what a perfect interpretation of the theme! love it.

[lisa thiessen]

These are truly wonderful! completely successful, wouldn't you say? (And I loved the pic of the naked little baby birds, too...)

[Ruth Lane]

Love the card Vicki! Did you try spray starch with your silk fibers? Once sprayed (on parchment paper), you can arrange them and then iron. Or you can make a big sheet that way and cut out your shapes. But perhaps you knew that already. Looks like you were busy this weekend!

[Mary]

THese are too cute and I'd certainly agree that the birds qualify as your pets.

I haven't tried using tulle but I bought some thinking I'd make some postcards using the quilted village type technique.

[Summerset]

Oh what pretty cards! The fibers and yarns are perfect - exactly like a bird's nest!

[Nellie]

Wonderful! Both the idea and the execution.

[Cindy]

Awesome postcard Vicki. It really looks like a nest. Great job!

[minou]

Very creative, Vicki!

[Tany]

Awesome work, Vicki! It's adorable!