Michael Fulkerson's Hand Sewn Bird Mobile - UPDATE

I haven't blogged basically since becoming a mother.  I didn't want it to be like that but things got busy and I prioritized.  And my people come first!

But it has been a long while!  I mean that last post about Cody's first birthday cake?  Well, Cody's 4 1/2 now, so yes, it has been too long.

In the last few weeks I've started getting emails from people saying the link to the bird pattern doesn't work.  I had intentionally linked to the original pattern so that credit would be given where credit is due, and that was to a website belonging to a brick and mortar sewing shop in Philly, so I was really surprised to read that the pattern wasn't available anymore.

But the emails kept coming so I figured there must really be something to this and I checked it out.  Sure enough, Spool is gone.

My link is dead.


However, I did find a blog post that explained what happened and I want to share it with you. (click here!) It is written by Abby Glassenberg from While She Naps, and she explains that a man who worked for Spool, Michael Fulkerson, created the pattern.  And it is such an awesome pattern that it went viral but without much of any recognition for his work.  In fact, he was flat out getting ripped off.

That's how I learned that I had been giving credit for this pattern to the wrong people all along. 

So, in an attempt to make this right now that I know what I do, I'm posting Michael's pattern right here so you can find it, and so you know who really created this simple but graceful little bird.

And if you are looking for more of Michael's work, or how you can reach out to him yourself, you can find him at his Etsy shop, here .



For Part 1 Instructions, click here: Spool's Hand-Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 1.
For Part 2 Instructions, click here: Spool's Hand-Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 2
For Part 3 Instructions, click here : Spool's Hand -Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 3

Cody's First Birthday Cake

Today is our friend Cody's very first birthday party. He turned one yesterday and his sweet mommy asked me to make his cake!

She gave me free reign for design but mentioned that Cody reminds her of a little koala.

And she wanted one cake to cut...

9" vanilla cake with vanilla frosting
The colors in the picture below are the most true to life.

some cupcakes for the kiddos

Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting.
The ears are pink candy melts, the eyes are brown m&m's
and the noses are milk duds.

and a smash cake for Cody.

6" round vanilla cake with vanilla frosting.
The ears and nose are shaped cupcakes
and the eyes are junior mints.

Kayleen's Wedding Cake

A dear friend of my sister-in-law's got married yesterday and I was fortune enough to be asked to do her wedding cake!!

The bride added her own cake topper, which she described to me as a gold wire tree with fall colored crystals for leaves. That sounds really pretty and very unique!

There were a couple of firsts for me in this cake, but I think they turned out well and i was pleased with the end result.

This was my first three tiered cake and my first attempt at using fondant.

I brushed the fondant with copper edible glitter to dress it up a little more for a special fall wedding. I also thought the shimmer might go along with the cake topper.

And I added 24 cupcakes to go with it. She picked the most delicious flavors.

Decadent chocolate with peanut butter cups baked in and peanut butter whipped butter cream in between the layers of cake AND lemon cake with raspberry filling. And then the whole thing covered in vanilla butter cream. Delicious!

Spool's Hand-Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 3

Now that the birds have been finished, it is time to turn them into a mobile!

I played around with the layout on the floor; there are no right answers, only what looks good to your eye.

But there are some things to consider:

• different birds together
• different sizes together
• which birds would be alone
• where they'd be on the sticks
• which direction they'd face and
• how they would balance the mobile once they were in place.

For some of my birds I simply hot glued them to the stick. But for others (below) I added black thread to help anchor the birds so they didn't pitch forward. The added bonus was that the black thread could just look like their little feet perched on the branch!

Next, I added little eye screws from which I will hang my mobile. I was able to just tap them into the wood to start the hole, then screw them in by hand.

I added them in intervals which I thought would give some balance, but when I added the fishing wire to the eyes and tried to make it all balance, it took some trial and error. There isn't a way I can tell you to "get it right", I think you just need to keep experimenting until the balance works for you.

When I was finished, I put a white cup hook in the ceiling and hung the mobile.

It twirls a bit, but for the most part, I haven't had any trouble with it swaying or the birds pitching forward or backward.

And I love the way it looks! It is whimsical and playful without being too goofy and I think it will last for a bit in a little girl's room without feeling "baby-ish" in a few years.

For Part 1 Instructions, click here: Spool's Hand-Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 1.
For Part 2 Instructions, click here: Spool's Hand-Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 2
Link to the pattern doesn't work?  Read this: Michael Fulkerson's Hand Sewn Bird Mobile - UPDATE

Noah's First Birthday Cake

Noah's first birthday party had a jungle safari theme. It took me a while to decide how I might turn this idea into a fun cake for a little boy. The invitation was a great inspiration, so I started with a purple zebra on a round sugar cookie...

...and then added an elephant....

...and a lion...

...and a goofy giraffe!

I placed them all on cupcakes for the little ones to enjoy.

Then I made some other shaped cookies and placed them in the cake jungle.

This zebra was not as cute,

... but I do like how the lions came out!

And of course I made a smash cake for the birthday boy!

Stephie B's Wedding Cupcakes

My sister-in-law recommended me to her friend to do her wedding cupcakes.

She had the most fun and vibrant colors.

She asked for 150 vanilla cupcakes

with fun designs on them

and some with their monogram.

I had a lot of fun playing with different fonts for their last initial.

I used candy melts

in a piping bag

and played with different sanding sugars

and nonpareils.

And made sure she got some extras

to freeze for her first anniversary

or taste test before the big party!

Spool's Hand-Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 2

This little birdie...

has some new friends!

I've finished hand sewing all of the birds I'll be using to make Baby Girl Alix's mobile!

There are BIG birds

Small birds

and original sized birds.

There are even extra birds!

(These birds were made from test fabric to see if I liked how they turned out.
I'll likely use them throughout her room for more decorations,
but not necessarily on the mobile with the others)

The next step is to gather some branches

and arrange the mobile!

For Part 1 Instructions, click here: Spool's Hand-Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 1
For Part 3 Instructions, click here: Spool's Hand-Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 3
Link to the pattern doesn't work?  Read this: Michael Fulkerson's Hand Sewn Bird Mobile - UPDATE 

Spool's Hand-Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 1

I kept coming across these beautiful bird mobiles in nursery pictures

Photo credit: Mrs.KLF

and after a Google search, learned they are all made from a free pattern provided by Spool. (click here for Spool's website and find the bird pattern on the left sidebar, or click here) They even have a whole Flickr page dedicated to them! I fell in love with them! I love the fantastic prints on the fabric and how the composition is really simple and incorporates the natural branches.

The directions are on Spool's pattern, but I thought I'd give you a play-by-play with pictures! The Spool pattern is for one size bird, but I used a copier to enlarge and shrink the pattern so that I would have three different sized birds.

I cut out the three different sized patterns; an enlarged bird, 2 original sized birds (because I knew I wanted the most of this size and wasn't sure the paper pattern would hold up to repeated use) and a smaller bird.

For the purposes of photographing and showing you step by step, I thought it would be easier to use the enlarged bird pattern. The pattern is enlarged to scale, however, so this should be identical, proportion-wise, to the original pattern.

The beauty of this project is that it could possibly be done for free using only materials you probably already have around your house! I used scrap fabric that I already had and loved, but didn't really have enough to do much more with than this!

Scrap fabric from Amy Butler Collection

After I had made a "test" bird, I purchased some fat quarters in fabrics I wanted to use in the nursery. These were the three main fabrics/patterns.

And here they are again with the additional complimentary fabrics. I'll use different combinations of these fabrics for the birds backs and bellies.

Begin by selecting the fabric you want to use for the bird's body. Fold the fabric and line up the Bird Body pattern so that the bird's back is running along the folded edge.

Pin it in place and cut out the bird.

For the Bird Belly, select another fabric and cut out one piece. (This does not need to be doubled or placed on a fold, so there is no photograph.) You will now have one Bird Body and one Bird Belly.

Place the two pieces right sides together (Body right-side-up and then the Belly wrong-side-up on top of it).

Slide the Belly over so that the curves of the tail on both pieces line up. Pin in place.

Work your way all along one side, matching the edges together and pinning in place. At this point the fabric will not lie flat - remember, your end product will be three dimensional!

Stitch all along the path of pins you have made along the edge of the fabric. I used a clear nylon quilting thread so that my stitches were guaranteed to be invisible. I also used a backstitch so that it would be a little more reinforced when I stuffed the bird later on. Place your stitches about 1/8 to 1/4 inch from the edge of the fabrics.

Repeat the whole process on the other side by first lining up the curve of the tail and pinning, then lining up the edges of the fabric all the way around, using the Bird Belly as your guide.

You will use the Bird Belly to know where to line up the fabrics and at the point of the belly your Bird Body fabric should naturally come together.

Once it does, line up the two edges of the Bird Body (by folding it where it was folded when you cut the pattern out of the folded fabric). This will line up the head and beak for you.

Stitch all along the length of the whole bird, starting at the tail and then stitching around the Belly and continuing to the remaining Body and around the head. Do NOT stitch the tail together!

At this point you will have an inside-out un-stuffed bird.

Because you left the tail open, use this to begin turning the bird right-side-out.

You may need a long thin object to help you turn the beak - I used sewing scissors, but be careful!

To help keep frays to a minimum, I folded the tail over and then began stuffing.

I used small amounts of poly-fiber fill that I worked all the way to the beak first (again, sometimes using scissors to help push the fibers all the way into the small beak).

Continue stuffing until you have filled the head and body and are close to filling the tail. Then, stuff the tail; being mindful of leaving some fabric to neatly stitch together to close the bird.

Fold your rough edges in, starting at the sides and then along the base of the tail, pinning as you go. For some variations I have seen ribbons and feathers added here to make a more dramatic tail.

Stitch along the edges to finish the bird. I used a whip stitch so that the seam resembles the
other seams (no top stitching). This is another reason I chose to use the clear nylon quilting thread.

You now have a finished stuffed bird!

With a beautiful belly and

a beautiful back!

You can add variations to this such as eyes, wings and tail feathers. Get creative! I'll show you how to add feet in the next post, when we put the birds on a branch and balance the mobile!

For Part 2 Instructions, click here: Spool's Hand-Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 2
For Part 3 Instructions, click here: Spool's Hand-Sewn Bird Mobile - Part 3
Link to the pattern doesn't work?  Read this: Michael Fulkerson's Hand Sewn Bird Mobile - UPDATE