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4/5/13

N is for Nest

I have a post-it note beside my desk with the letters J, K, N, U, X, and Y on it. Those are the letters that are still missing from my list of Children's Crafts from A-Z. Trevor and I are determined to craft our way through the remaining letters as soon as possible. In the past few weeks, we've knocked Q (Quail) and V (Volcano) off the list. Once I finish this post, we'll scratch N off the list. N is for Nest!



Paper Plate Nest

Supplies: 

  • small paper plate (cake size)
  • brown paint 
  • shredded basket filler
  • cotton balls
  • chalk
  • googly eyes
  • crayon 
  • cardstock or construction paper 
  • scissors
  • glue

We started by cutting a paper plate in half. Each of us painted our half with various shades of brown to look like a nest. (Our plate started out blue.) Here's how my nest looked when the paint was dry.


To give the nest texture, we glued on some of the paper bits that came in a gift basket we received.



We kept going until our nests were well-covered.


The next step was adding cotton ball birds. We rubbed some chalk on cotton balls, then added googly eyes and little paper beaks. We tucked the birds behind the nest. Here's mine:

Trevor chose to make two pink chicks and one blue egg that hadn't hatched yet.



The final step was making a background. We started with light blue for the background. We cut brown cardstock to make a tree trunk and branch, then used a crayon to give it a more realistic tree texture. We cut out green leaves to attach to the branches. Trevor left his leaves flat, while I bent mine to give them texture. Finally, we glued the nest and birds in place.

Here's Trevor's artwork. Mine is at the top of the post.

Five letters to go!


9 comments:

  1. Oh, this is adorable. So clever. Love how you used the crinkle paper. It's perfect!

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  2. These are so sweet Cindy! The cotton ball birds were a fantastic idea and I love the way you used the crinkle paper.

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  3. So cute! I always appreciate a good letter of the alphabet craft. On the subject of nests, my craft sewing room is a finished room inside an old barn and this morning I discovered the beginning of a nest on my shelf between an old sheet and my stash of interfacing. I left some thread and fabric scaps out for mama bird. I hope she takes them!

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  4. Toooooooooo cute! LOVING how you used the shreddings from the gift basket!!

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  5. Absolutely adorable, Cindy! I love how you used the basket filler to create the texture of your nest! And those little birds are so darn cute! I always learn something new when I come to your blog!

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  6. Hi! I'm so behind on my blog love!
    This is so cute! Love the fluffy little birds and the whole idea of A-Z crafts!!
    Question: what do you do with all your finished products? With all the crafts you do I can imagine your house is busting at the seams! LOL

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    1. Many of Trevor's finished projects go directly into a tub and will be entered in the fair. Others go onto his art wall (http://www.cindyderosier.com/2011/06/drowning-in-your-creative-childs.html). Anything seasonal goes into the appropriate tub so that it will come out each year with the decorations. And, of course, we recycle or give away a lot of the stuff he creates.

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  7. Ooooooh....super cute! Love the texture on the nest!

    Hope you are having a great weekend!

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  8. I love the nest and hope to remember that idea to use on a layout. Thanks.

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