Crafty Fun Time: Step-by-Step Mosaic Crow

I took a little break yesterday from my regularly scheduled arty happenings and had some crafty fun time, just for me. I made a mosaic crow using bits and pieces I had around the house. I took pictures along the way, in case you want to make one too.

First I made a simple silhouette of a crow. I knew I wanted it to sit straight on a shelf, so I added that rectangle on the bottom for him to stand on. I made a printable version for you too. Just click and print.

I cut out my crow template, traced it onto scrap plywood, and cut it out using a scroll saw. If you don't happen to have scrap plywood hanging around or you're not too handy with the power tools, you could use cardboard or paper or whatever you have on hand.

Then I painted my crow one solid color using acrylic craft paint. I decided to give my crow a base coat of red-orange because I knew that I wanted to use green and black mosaic bits so I wanted a color that would contrast nicely.

Next I cut a bunch of little bits of scrap paper in various shades of green and gray/black. I used leftover bits of cardstock and some misprinted paper dolls. It's a nice way to use up scrap pieces, and it doesn't take much paper at all. I used lots of different shades and textures to give my crow more visual interest

I drew a line along where I wanted the wing to be, giving myself a starting point. Then I started gluing. I used regular ole white glue, brushed on in a not-too-thick coat. (Mod Podge would have been better, but I couldn't get the lid off and Dylan was off at the post office or something.) 

I started with the bigger pieces, leaving some space between them so that the background color could show through. Don't worry if some glue shows around the edges, it'll dry clear. I glued 3 or so pieces at a time, blocking in the big areas first. Then I went back in and cut itty bitty pieces to fill in the gaps. You can be as fussy (or not) as you'd like. (I'm reasonably fussy.) Then it's just snip and glue, glue and snip. . .

I decided to add some shades of yellow for the boxy shape.

And before I knew it, I was done!

Lastly, I added a bit of embroidery floss on the back  so I could hang him up if I wanted to. I just glued down the ends under bits of scrap fabric using more white glue. Then I let it dry overnight. It totally worked.

Ta-Dah!

He fits right in on my Halloweeny shelf.

I hope you'll make one too!