Die Cut Foam Board Painted and Stamped Bird Ornament

Can you believe the most merry day of the year is approaching us faster than we can say "ho ho ho?" I still have some bare spots on my nature themed tree that could still use some ornaments. At this late point in the game, I still have the spirit and desire to create but not necessarily the time to spend an entire day searching in stores and online for the perfect materials.

I created these die cut foam board stamped and painted birds for my etsy shop sometime back and the response has been terrific!

 

If you happened to catch my post on these fun, easy, die cut foam bird ornaments covered with veneer sheets you have discovered how easy it is to turn out a quick "wood" ornament using a Sizzix BigShot Pro die cut machine, the "Beautiful Bird" die cut by Brenda Pinnick for Sizzix, foam board from Elmers and finally real wood sheets from creative imaginations. I promised you three ideas for using the same die to create beautiful ornaments and here I deliver. Be sure to catch my post on the Crafts and Things Blog tomorrow for some fun ornaments made from ticking fabric.

Ok. So back to the painted and stamped version. First you will need your bigshot pro to cut out your ornaments from Elmers foam core board. The Sizzix BigShot Pro is perfect for this as it cuts heavy duty materials very easily.

So 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 teardrops. So I elected to trace 3" teardrops onto foam core and cut out with an X-acto knife.

You will need to sand the edges with a nail file (emory 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.

  I aso 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! 

I bears mentioned that I hand dyed muslin using Rit Dye in Apple Green and purchased the silk flowers from Scrapbook.com. 

The flowers are from the Tasha collection and the tones are "midnight."

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. Scrapbook.com carries this machine as well as a similar bird die cut that would work well for this project.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how easy it is to create with die cuts and foam board. Dont forget to jump over to the Crafts n Things blog to see my post on the the ticking fabric birds! And also check out these birds featured in my etsy shop.

Live Life Creatively,

 

Comments

[Patent boxes guy]

So, so pretty, and so straightforward to make!