Beaded Bird ATC

We often have a little competition for our Social Evenings at the Oxford branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild. This year we made ATC’s based on a sheet of wrapping paper. We could choose any of the motifs on the paper and embroider them anyway we liked. I choose a little bird motif.

I decided bead it using some of the beads left over from Floral Melody. I wanted something unique and unusual for the background fabric but did not want to do what I did last time, i.e. spend hours and hours making a fabric that would not even show in the end!

Rummaging through my stash, I found a pack of silk hankies. I used one hankie folded in half and half again to make four layers and trapped some gold leaf flakes beneath the top layer and tacked this onto a piece of vilene to give it some weight for beading.

© Carol-Anne Conway

First I outlined the wings with #15 gold beads ...

© Carol-Anne Conway

... then the head and tail with #15 bronze beads with a few silver beads for his beak and a Swarovski crystal for his eye.

© Carol-Anne Conway

Then I just ad-libed, filling the spaces with whichever beads took my fancy. I didn’t think that I could go far wrong because I already knew that the pallet of beads worked well together.

© Carol-Anne Conway

I would have like to use a few different techniques but this is a very small space and I thought that if might get messy if I tried to do too much. The finished card is just 2.5 x 3.5 inches.

© Carol-Anne Conway

Pictures of the ATC's made by other members will be appearing on the Oxford Branch Blog over the days leading up to Christmas with the winning being shown on Christmas Day.

Happy Stitching