a flock of bluebirds...

Here's the run down on these little birds: I used poplar planks. I cut them out (using the SAME template!) on my new scroll saw, Sawyer. I sanded each of them down, painted them up with acrylics and then sanded them again after that. Each little bird was rubbed with wood stain...some had a more pronounced grain that caught more stain than others. Once the stain dried I burnished them all with a wad of triple aught (and yes, I had to type that out...000 just doesn't read as well, IMO) steel wool.

As far as the packaging goes, with as worn and well-loved looking as these guys turned out I knew I wanted to use a vintage-y mailing label type thing so off I went, scouring the internet to find a ready made vector image. Couldn't find one. So at 1:00 in the morning I took an inordinate amount of time to make my own. I used a old timey typewriter font and my own handwritten font to make the labels and then printed them on grocery bag paper. My original plan was to tuck them into clear cellophane bags with some excelsior at the bottom, but then I remembered I had a stack of these card boxes. I think you'll agree, the boxes do a nice job, right? Anyhoo, I am pleased as punch with the way they turned out and I hope whoever gets them in the swap likes them as much as I do.

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