A bit of Fat Red Bird on your Christmas tree

So by now you may have figured out that I am a Christmas nut...I love Christmas...Love, Love, Love Christmas. I get suckered into new decorations and adornments every year, well and truly before I have unpacked my pre existing overwhelming stash. I must admit I have succumbed and bought a few beauties this year, but I am also trying to incorporate same handmade. Not the paper plate cut out style stuff that your kids bring home from school...you can't fool me I know you dislike them too. I mean some nice stuff, that the kids can be proud of and I don't actually mind hanging on the tree. So it was time to bring the Fat Red Bird into tree decoration form.

First we traced, then we stitched using 1/4 inch seam (start at the top of the tail & make your way around to the bottom of the tail, leaving the end of tail open for stuffing)..ooooh & we put in some cord to hang it on. Sandwich the cord between the two pieces of fabric just behind the head (make sure you keep the cord right out of the way when stitching around your birdie).

Then we turned it out (I used the cord to help me do this by giving it a bit of a tug when I got a bit stuck). Using some blunt & pointy to help push out all the bits of the birdie.

We stuffed it & stitched up the tail....no need for hand stitching or fancy stuff here....I love the frayed look to the end of the tail. If you don't have any proper stuffing you could use fabric scraps and we found stuffing it in then pushing it though the tail with a pencil helped a lot.

Then it was time to unleash some colour, I armed the kids with fabric markers and away they went. You could use glitter glues, or stick on all sort of decorative bits & pieces, let your kids go to town.

They were tickled pink with their bright little decorations and just quietly.....so was I.

Great result!! Want to make your own Fat Red Bird Ornament?...download the template here

Don't want to let your kids have all the fun? I totally understand, why don't you make some birdies from your favourite fabric scraps to adorn your tree.