The Shelter of Sanctuary - Little Bird Nest tutorial

Maybe it is because the frogs are singing every evening already,

or because the temperature is in the 60 to 70 degree range, 

dangling thoughts of spring around my eyes and ears and nose -

(that warm sweet smell of moisture-rich air tempts and lures me towards the out-of-doors each morning).

   It's simply the luxuriousness of nature - all that texture and freshness (the grass is greening already) -

colors and sounds, promises and hope,

awakening the senses - both physical and spiritual...

to the simple treasures of these moments linking to hours and piling together into days...

of life - of being - of growing and creation glorifying the Creator...

These things, these simple things, 

the ones that mark the quiet momentum of life emerging...

the rhythm of time keeping -

all just compliment His leadings of late...His gathering together all the threads of His latest weaving...

that birds and nests and sanctuary really do form a parable of His love;

so it isn't really a surprise that we love them so well!

Be looking for registration to open for a mixed media exploration

on this topic, titled "The Shelter of Sanctuary" ...

The Tutorial...

I have a collection of little mint tins...waiting for me to really tackle the ideas that flock to me as I visit around the web!

Step 1

I finally decided to make a needle case, as I am always mislaying needles at the smocking guild meetings AND I love re-purposing things...

I will be making Miss Tweener one of these as soon as she decides what she wants on the cover...

         

Step 2

You can see the scratches from the sand paper...

Step 3

Step 4

You can see dents in the lid - oh well ☺.

Step 5

I can paint blobs (!) - no perfection needed...
in fact, nests look better if they are imperfect.

Step 6

More imperfect blobs as eggs...

Step 7

I used a shade of green craft paint called "Clover"...I liked the muted tones.  Another tip is I alternated size of brush with different colors...no exact way, just to add variety...

Step 8

I used a small liner brush to add the squiggly lines in the upper right of the nest...it just seemed to need something there to balance the leaves around the nest.

 

A little fuzzy, but you can still see it....

The case is small, about 1 1/2 inches by 2 inches, so this didn't take long to do...another plus!













Joining with Jennifer and other creatives at Studio JRU