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 

Mom's Birthday Cake and Cupcakes

My mother loves pansies.

Loves them.

So they were the obvious flower of choice for her birthday cake.

I started by making royal icing pansies.

And then basted her cake with butter cream and added a basket weave to the sides.

And added some of the pansies.

I added some cupcakes

to compliment the display

and finished decorating the top of the cake.

Happy Birthday Mom, I hope you enjoyed your special day, your party and your cake!

Easter Bunny Cake

I found inspiration here again for Easter!

Specifically on this page....how could I resist?

But instead of cupcakes, I tweaked it a little and made a cake!

And I couldn't find circus peanuts for the bunny's feet, so I used tootsie rolls.

Sarah's Sunflower Birthday Cupcakes

For Sarah's birthday I drew inspiration from one of my favorite Christmas presents:

There is nothing like a good suggestion to get your creative juices flowing!

Sarah loves Sunflower, so this was an obvious choice.

I'm not 100% sure how she feels about ladybugs, but they were too cute to leave out!

I made some of the cupcakes miniature and covered them with "grass" to add some dimension and interest.

And I added just a touch of brown icing in with the yellow to make the petals more realistic.

How to Make a Filled Cupcake

So you've filled your pans, baked the cupcakes, let them cool and your house smells like heaven. Have you decided how you want to decorate your cupcakes yet?

May I suggest an easy variation on the theme? One that provides a little surprise for the lucky recipient? Fill them with frosting!

You'll need a piping bag and a decorative tip. You don't need a decorative tip for the filling in the cupcakes, but since I am filling the cupcakes with the same frosting I am decorating them with, I used the same bag & tip for the whole thing.

The tip I used is over-sized. It is a Wilton 2D.

Take a small sharp paring knife and cut a cone shape from the top of your cupcake. It should be fairly deep (half the depth of your cupcake). Make sure your cupcake is completely cooled before you do this or you will create for yourself a mess of crumbs.

Turn the cone on its top and slice the tip off so it has a nice flat bottom. Go ahead and eat what you just cut off. You won't need it later and you deserve a taste.

Now put your piping tip into the hole you created and fill that cupcake up!

Then put your cap back on.

Add your frosting to the top. Using the piping bag to frost a filled cupcake is the best way to go because it will not pull and tug at the loose cupcake cap the same way a spatula might if you were to baste the cupcake.

Add some decorations of your choice.

Or a lot of them, if you want to.

No one will know there is a delicious surprise inside unless you draw inspiration from a famous filled cupcake. That might give them a little hint.

Now make sure you practice your most humble "thank you".

You put in a little bit of work for a big impact and your cupcakes are going to be a hit!

How to Fill Cupcake Pans

I always have trouble filling cupcake tins. It seems that no matter how careful I am I always end up with batter all over the pan. I've heard more than once to use a giant zip-top freezer bag as if it were a piping bag. I think its a great idea and here's how I do it!

1. Place a 1 gallon zip-top freezer bag inside a bowl and fold the zip top down. The zip-top freezer bag idea is excellent, but getting the batter from the bowl to the bag has been messy in the past for me. Until, that is, I figured out that if I put the bag inside a bowl, it would hold the bag up and open for me, especially once the bag became full of batter. No more bags tipping over and half your batter spilling all over the counter tops! I also fold the zipper top down over itself a few times. This helps the top of the bag keep an open shape. It also helps the integrity of the zipper; when it is folded over it is protected from spills and will have a watertight seal when you are ready to zip it shut.

2. Pour your batter into the bag. You will be glad you have that bowl holding your bag upright now because you will have both hands and your undivided attention to make sure all of the batter makes it into the bag.

3. Now you're glad you folded the top over, cause you dribbled anyway. I always do, even when I'm not pouring with one hand and holding the camera with the other. It happens; that's why you folded the top over.

4. Unfold the top, zip it almost all the way together leaving a small space open at one end. With just a small opening left, squeeze the air out the bag, then zip it completely shut. Now's your chance to wipe off the bag if you had any spills, otherwise, you are going to get it all over your hands.

5. Snip a corner. If you sealed your bag properly you can pick it up out of the bowl and tip it upside down, moving the batter away from one of the bottom corners. Pinch the corner and snip just a small amount off, leaving a hole. If the snip is too large, the batter will come pouring out and you'll have no control over it. If the snip is too small the batter will barely come out at all, temping you to squeeze the bag harder, and that's just an accident waiting to happen.

6. Fill your cups. While you are still pinching that end shut, turn the bag right side up and let the batter flow back towards the open end. When you are ready, let go of your pinch and fill the cups. You can pinch the end shut when moving from cup to cup or just time your drips carefully. Squeeze, roll, fold and scrunch your bag to get every little last drop of batter out. Enjoy an easy clean up!

I recommend freezer bags over regular storage bags. They are more durable and they stand up better during filling.