Tutorial: 'Crazy Bird Lady' Art Doll

Hi, hi, hi.

Do you ever make a project which takes you by surprise? Something which you had the germ of an idea for, which you hoped would work, then you experimented with it and finally finished it ... and yet still after all that time it manages to take you by surprise purely because you like it?

You're not just 'happy' with it or contented at having completed a task. No, you actually really like it.

Well, that's how I feel about my Crazy Bird Lady plaque:

The initial thought came to me when I was wondering what to make for my Banana Frog Design Team 'LilyPad Lesson' tutorial and I landed upon the idea of 'stamped art-dolls'! Then I sat with all my sets in front of me working out which stamp designs could be re-imagined as items of clothing.

I've posted a full step-by-step tutorial showing how I put this doll together here on the Banana Frog blog, so do hop over if you'd like all the details.

Once I'd finished the doll I realised that rather than just photograph her for the tutorial then file her away as finished project I'd really like to have her on display.

So I:

• took a spare blank wooden page from a KaiserCraft album I made last year;
• covered it with Crate Paper and LilyBee patterned papers;
• added a few bird companions, a nest and a hanging ribbon; and finally ..
• gave her a title using October Afternoon MiniMark alphas and letters cut from an old sheet of Tim Holtz paper mounted on chipboard.

She's now hanging in my living room. Where most of my flock of bird ornaments roost too.

'Crazy bird lady' you say? Whoever can you be referring to ... ?

Make sure to check out the full tutorial here and then drop by Banana Frog again tomorrow [Dec 14th] as my Project of the Day is another version using the same technique.

See you then then.

Julie :-)