Monday, July 7, 2008

Hen Party (or, Kimba, this one's for you!)

Ever since reading this post on Kimba's blog, A Soft Place to Land I have wanted to find a little birdie to fix up and decorate with. I knew she got him at a dollar store but wasn't sure which one. Imagine my glee when I went to Dollar Tree one morning and found a whole shelf full of those tacky little birds!

Since I knew my bestest bud, Kat, would like one, too, I bought two little birds. When I got home I realized that I had grabbed two different styles, one of which was not like the one Kimba had. Since I am such a stalker and she's probably going to be very afraid of me after reading this post, I went back to the store and almost returned the "wrong" style, but thought better of it and just bought another little bird.

Came home, spray painted my heart out, and came up with this cute little hen party.

As cute as this is, this birdie bunch will not be together for long because I've promised my sister the "wrong" bird, and of course I'm taking one of the "right" ones to Kat's when I steal blueberries visit next week.

Don't look too closely, though, or you'll see my imperfectly beautiful fingerprint on Carlyn's bird



Which of course just made you look. Before she gets back from her vacation and picks up her little chicky, I'm sure I'll attempt to prime and paint that spot. Or maybe I won't. Maybe I'll call that my signature. Yeah, that's it.


Anyway, in case you're wondering how I did these, all I did was spray paint white primer on them, let them dry, then spray painted them glossy white. And added my fingerprints here and there. Well, not on purpose. I did really well priming and painting them since I had rubber gloves on (oh, my husband is going to have apoplexy when he reads that since they are NOT made from rubber but from some substance I can never remember but should since I'm married to a safety glove man) and could hold them by sticking my fingers in the hole in the bottom of them. That just sounds wrong, but you know exactly what I mean. But when it came time to set them down, I had to do it as gently as I could, even if that meant fingerprints here or there. I bet if I asked really sweetly my husband would build me a dowel kind of thingie to set them on and that way they could stay there after they were painted and I could go about my business without being stuck with a bird on my finger. That sounds bad, too. Maybe I should just quit while I'm ahead.

Thank you, Kimba, for your inspiration and for your welcoming spirit!

16 comments:

Kat said...

Aaawwwwww. It seems a shame to break up such a cute little hen party. I mean they are really cute all flocked together. But please do break them up. I want my birdie :)

Anonymous said...

I love your little birdies, and oil lamps, and that pretty little burgandy and white container....

Can I come live at your house? :-)

katylinvw said...

lol! i can just see you walking around with your finger inside a little birdie (there is no graceful way to say that) :) have a great monday!

Kimba said...

Ahhhhhhh!!!! I love it, you little stalker! And I really like the idea of putting them on some kind of dowel for painting.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I went back and bought 5 more a while ago. My grandmother always displayed red cardinals at Christmas and something about redbirds always makes me think of her. So I was thinking I would paint them red and put them on the mantel at Christmas. We'll have to see how that one turns out. I think they may end up looking a little creepy. :-)
!

Darlene said...

Oh, those are too cute....I have a Dollar Tree here.......ok now I have to find birds!!!

Heathahlee said...

Kimba, I LOVE that idea about the red birds! I have tables to decorate for our Women's Ministry Christmas Party, and I think I can come up with something using those birds! Oh, now I can't WAIT to get to Dollar Tree again!

Kat said...

The only thing about Redbirds is they have that little crest thingy on the top of their head. I know. I'm probably being too technical about it. But remember that I am decor challenged!!

Also, Fep saw this post and wants to put the bird in HER room!

Heathahlee said...

Tell my precious Fepper I will make her one, too!

And the bird could be a summer tanager. On vacation. So there.

Anonymous said...

Really do love the birds. I found a great white one at my local thrift not long ago, no painting required. Do love the idea about Christmas, though. I have bunco here then and want the house to look prettier than normal. May have to check it out.

For your plastic lid situation, I have a plastic bin in my cabinet that all of my lids fit in. That way, I never loose a lid. The color in my kitchen is Chestertown Buff by Benjamin Moore. I love the color. I've had for about 7 years now and still love the way it looks in my kitchen. It looks so pretty with black and red.

Anonymous said...

You did a great job on those little sweeties... I may have to get me some of those... Thanks, Susie H~

Mary said...

Birds look great. Very clever!

Trixi said...

Great job!!! I may just have to try this one

Anonymous said...

Saw your comment on Kimba's blog and had to hop over here to see your project. Fabulous! Those birds are the sweetest! I am so hitting the dollar store today. Thanks for the great idea!

-Hayley

Karen said...

Oh my, I had this bird in my hand yesterday and thought it was the wrong one! I was thinking where would I put him if I got him, he looked like he needed a little nest or something. I may go back and get one:)

Anonymous said...

LOVE IT!! Im so addicted to spray painting everything too, and if you stock Kimba, I guess I do too! lol We should create a "I stock Kimba's Blog" group! hehe
Thanks so much for sharing!

Anonymous said...

I'm new to your blog.. but I did the same thing after seing Kimba's birdies.. and now I'm here seeing yours.. not feeling like a copycat so much now! I bought one of each.. the right and the wrong..
Love Your blog!