09 Jul How to Make a Needle-Felted Blue Bird of Happiness (Part 1 of 2)
From the first day that we started our needle-felting series, I have wanted to make a needle-felted Blue Bird of Happiness. There is something so delightful about this little character, and I’ve always wanted one for my office or living room. The blue bird has long been a symbol of not just happiness, but of joy, hope, and luck throughout the world, and it is no different in our back yard. A blue bird always has the ability to stop any one of us in our tracks. We gaze in wonder at its beauty and grace, and at least for a moment, we feel the happiness that is promised in its name.
Today, we are going to walk you through how we made our own Blue Bird of Happiness in our Happy Handicrafts video, below. It’s something that you can make in one sitting, but we divided it up into two lessons. This first video is how to make the body of the bird. The second video will cover how to make the beak, legs, and finishing touches. We’ve divided it into sections for those who may initially feel like this is an overwhelming project. I want you to see how Part 1 is very similar to what we have been doing up until now. Part 2 is the introduction of a couple of new skills.
Materials Needed
If you’ve been following along with us in this needle felting series, you will already have all of the supplies needed to get started with this project. I am also including a few more tools and materials needed for the second part of this project so that you can get them now, and will have them on hand when making the second part. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
For the Body
- A ball of undyed or white wool roving
- A small amount of wool roving in the following colors: a blue of your choice, white, black, light pink
- A needle-felting kit
- A needle-felting mat
The Beak
For the Feet
- Copper wire, 24 gauge
- Brown floral stem wrapping tape
- An awl
- Round nose pliers (optional)
- Wire cutters
- Glue
Happy Handicrafts Video: How to Make THE CUTEST Needle-Felted Blue Bird of Happiness
We’ve been working on needle-felting for several weeks now, and I am getting more and more excited as to the possibilities of this handicraft. Because we’re enjoying this so much, we plan on continuing for several more weeks, attempting and exploring more complex projects.
If you are a homeschooling family using our videos for a handicraft curriculum, you can make the decision when to move on to another series. These upcoming, more complex projects are really meant for those who want to delve more deeply into the subject, and who are interested in becoming more proficient in the craft.
Making this needle-felted Blue Bird of Happiness is a great transition to more complex forms and sculptures in needle-felting. It introduces us to the use of wires for support. With our Blue Bird, we use wires for the legs, which allows our feathered friend to stand upright. In our upcoming videos, we will be using wires to create a base for an entire animal’s structure. You will be amazed at how realistic this allows us to get with our sculptures!
I really hope that as you are working through our different handicraft series that you are finding the joy in creativity. Yes, certainly there are times when learning something new can lead to frustration. But think of these frustrations as stepping stones to growth. They are growing pains as you move to a higher level. Growth, in itself, always brings joy. So enjoy the process. Involve your children. Teach them that happiness can come from creativity.
If you don’t know where to start, a beginning level is paper sloyd. We have several years worth of lessons on this blog for you to use.
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