Rainbow bird mobile or plant stake

Supplies: 1 sheet of watercolor paper or stiff white paper

1 sheet of newsprint or white paper

watercolor paints for rainbow colors black art pen small branch 1 crystal or bead

hand drill glue gun time: 4 hours

Step 1: Painting

begin by painting rainbow colors on one side of the watercolor paper. when that side dries, turn the paper over and paint the other side. (when the mobile is hung both sides of the birds will be seen and finished) to create a design pattern/texture I used a ruler and the black art pen to draw lines into the watercolor (both sides).

Step 2: Making the Birds

On a sheet of plain paper I sketched out different bird shapes. Using these shapes, I cut out rainbow birds. (a butterfly shape could be used, or bats or blackbirds for Halloween). Once I had the bird shapes, I used the black art pen to make checkerboard designs on both sides of the birds. Any design pattern could be made.

Step 3: Preparing the Branch

The branch can be left natural - I painted mine white with a bit of acrylic paint. If you are going to hang the birds as a mobile, drill a small hole at the top and bottom of the branch. the top hole will be threaded with a piece of string for hanging; the bottom hole will hold a crystal (more rainbows!) or a bead. To display the birds in a vase or a potted plant skip drilling the holes.

Decide on the placement of the birds. Notice that some of the birds are glued to the back side of the branch, some to the front side of the branch. Using a hot glue gun, glue the birds to the branch.

Step 4: Almost Finished

I used scraps of the rainbow paper to add bands to a few areas on the branch. I used a pencil to curl the strips of paper first so that they would wrap easily around the branch. Use hot glue to attach. NOTE: I burned my finger tips more than once adding the paper strips. I might have just used water color to paint the strips or decorative tape.

Add a crystal or bead to the bottom of the branch and a string for hanging to the top. If your string is too short the mobile will not turn much. I ended up hanging my birds on my black art wall and they show up beautifully as a piece of art, but the pics attached show them hanging. See the one pic of the birds in a potted plant.