Nesting Matters...

Here it is--my one and only entry into Living With Lindsay's $5 Challenge I told you about here.
Except, its really a single entry but with THREE options for your decorating pleasure!




Sooooo...when I thought "Spring Decor" I immediately jumped to nests and eggs. I love the imagery of the nest and eggs as it relates to mothering/motherhood. (and I am the 'googiemomma' in case you haven't noticed)

In fact, I did a baby shower for a good friend a couple years ago centered around that theme. Aaaannnd...didn't take any pictures. :'( sniff, sniff...I handmade 150+ truffles which I coated in blue chocolate and sprinkled with cocoa, then nestled into little handmade nests wrapped with tulle tied with a bow and a tag that said "Welcome to the Nest {insert baby name}". Way cute. Way alot of work. Way worth it! Reeeeaaallly wish I had pics.

Shortly after that googiedaddy bought me this ring I found online while searching for shower ideas:



It had three little eggies, like my three little googies. And I wore it constantly.


Except, then there were four little googies! So googiedaddy, in all his sweetness, bought me this for our last anniversary:



He had it customized with four little googies/eggies. And I LOVE it. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT! (I know he got it on Etsy, I'm not sure where, but here are some gorgeous ones)

And now I've changed my blog header to a nest, totally coincidentally.


Okay, well that was TOTALLY off the point (sheepish grin)


So I headed to off to the Dollar Tree with a vague idea in mind~~and this is what my $5 net me:



 Unfortunately for you, I was feeling a bit...arty that day. So you must deal with my STUPENDOUSLY AMAZING ARTSY FARTSY photographs of what amounts to a $1 store craft. hahaha.


Step 1:Gather your styrofoam balls. Line up in the sunlight. Shoot 100 pictures of them.



Go outside* and, using an exacto knife, carve the top 2/3 into a soft triangle.(I used the medium sized ones in the package) Take more artsy photos:
    *trust me, outside is the best place for this--it gets messy.




Get some sandpaper, and gently smooth the triangle into a rounded egg shape. Take moooore photos:




 Will the fake egg please stand up, please stand up, please stand up?


Now take the light blue tissue paper sheet and tear it into pieces, and start plastering them on the egg with ModPodge or white glue, whatever you have.
Hot tips: I gave the whole egg a good coat of MP first to seal some of the holes. And stick a toothpick in it for easier handling!


(Pay no mind to the manicure fail in the photo)

Stick all the eggs in styrofoam to dry, and take more artsy photos.



I call it "Oeufs dans le soleil"


I did three coats of the tissue paper, letting them dry between. After they dried, I watered down a bit of gold paint and used my thumb to flick dots all over the top, desperately trying to restrain my inner Jackson Pollack. We're going for subtlety here, people.


The frame was ugly. Period. Soooo, a good coat of the same gold paint will help that! And I simply painted the cardboard backer a cream color.




While all that is drying, start nest building.


I took thin sticks/twigs (I think that's allowed per the contest rules. Everyone has access to sticks for free, right?) and broke them into about 3-4 inch pieces. Hot glue on a piece of paper them in a vaguely pentagonal-shape. Then keep building from there--layers of moss, a couple sticks, more moss. Keep it loose and random. Burn yourself frequently. (Do birds have this much trouble?) When it's looking nesty and cute, STOP. Don't overdo it or you won't have room for your eggs. Hot glue them in, and there you go:



 Reassemble your frame, trim the paper under your nest so you can't see it, and hot glue the nest on top of the glass.



So, this part technically only used four of my allowed $5. I had picked up the little blue bird picture at the $1 Store, thinking it could make a cute little grouping. And I tried, I did. All different spots in the house...but it just didn't work for me.

Option #1


So, back at the $1 Store again, where I found this little birdy statue. Cute, right? Every nest needs a momma bird. Now we're getting somewhere:

Option #2






But I have one more trick up my sleeve! Get one more $1 Store frame, paint to match:



Cover the mat in a cute paper from your stash, or paint it, or just leave it! Print out "N is for" from the computer (check out dafont.com for great downloadable free fonts. I used "Outlaw" and "Little Lord Fontleroy")




And frame it up!
Option #3




There you have it!! If you've made it through this entire book blog post, for your efforts you've received: $4 spent, and three ways to spend your last $1! Or, buy yourself a pack of gum and forget the additional item. In which case you have a $4 craft.
But that's not the name of the contest, now is it???

***I'm linking this as my $5 Craft Challenge entry. Head that-a way to see more entries, and maybe...maybe...vote for me???***

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