Summery Watercolor Birds

This project is kind of a mashup of two other birds projects I’ve made.

I really liked how the paperclip feet birds turned out. That was a project I saw on another craft blog, and it came together super easy. And I really can’t stop making these watercolor blob birds. Every one of them is different, and it is super fun for me to add the little details with my black sharpie and watch them come to life.

For these, I traced off two sizes of circles from two different jar lids onto some watercolor paper.

You’ll want an even amount of each size – the bigger ones become the body and the smaller ones become the wings.

I then used watercolors to create totally abstract blends of color. Just like in the blobs technique, there are no rules. And no rejects. Every one of them turns into something. You just don’t know what it’s going to be until it is done!

Be sure to paint a little over the pencil lines so that when you cut them out, no white edges of the paper show.

Final assembly is super simple. Fold each big circle in half, and cut each small circle in half. Glue the half circles, one to each side of the folded big circle. Use a black sharpie to add details like eyes, feathers, etc. I added “stitch” lines on mine to mimic what you’d see if they had been made from felt.

It is much easier to do this detail work before you glue them up and attach the legs.

For the legs, you need two paperclips per bird. I still have some of those black and white striped paperclips left over the from paperclip feet bird project, so I used them here as well. You just unbend half of the paperclip to make a leg, and flattened the remaining part into a foot. Hot glue the legs inside the body. I tucked in a little embroidery floss to create the look of a feathery tail. Once the legs are set, glue the body together.

Once the glue is cooled and dry, you may need to carefully reshape the feet and legs so they stand up.

Pin this so you can make these when you are in the mood for some sweet little birds for your desktop!

This post will be linked up at these great link locations.