DIY Hanging Tailor Bird's Nest

Let's get started with the leaf!
To get the structure of the leaf, I bought this metal mesh at a local Hobby Lobby, and cut out a sheet then, started to form it in the shape I was happy with. Make sure you have plenty of room for the baby birds you will be adding.

Next, grab your sculpting wire and shape it to the back of the leaf. Then, with your needle and thread, start to "sew" the sculpting wire into the back of the mesh leaf. I don't know if this is the best way to do this, but it ended up working well.

Please note that the thread will NOT ignite with fire in the oven. Most polymer clay is baked at a low enough temp that it will not ignite.

Now let's just cover the whole leaf with clay inside and out, and smooth it out as much as possible.
I also added some thin strips of clay around the edges, and then shaped and blended till I was happy with it.

Let's start off by adding some of the veins.
I added another snake of clay on top if the sculpting wire, just to give it a little more depth.
To do the other veins that stick out from it, I rolled out a few thin snakes that came to a nice point at the end, and then placed, and blended in on the leaf.
Also, now is a good time to make the stem. Just add a nice tear drop shape, blend, and then add a hole!

For some more details, I just took one of my tools and cut some smaller lines next to the bigger lines to give it some more veins.
Then shape the sides and add some holes for the string to go through.
One thing I learned while threading the holes, was it is much better to make the holes bigger than smaller. Otherwise, you might have a tough time threading them..

Oh! Now you can bake according to your package instructions!

I really struggled with this part...
It took me 4 tries and I still didn't get the perfect look or size I was looking for.
My advice to you is to just keep trying!

Now, back to the birds!
Start by making a small ball of aluminum foil.(it makes the bird lighter and saves your clay)
Then wrap your clay around and blend till you are happy with the size. (I personally think I made mine a bit too small) Now start to pinch out a little tail and add a small mound for his head.
Next, pinch out a nice triangle shape and blend in on the head for the beak.
For the wings, I looked up a reference photo to try and get them as close as possible.
I rolled out a thin snake, shaped out the wings, and blended the insides in.

Now, let's add some more detail!
I took one of my sharper tools and started cutting out a nice feather pattern on the wings.
Also added some different textures to the back and stomach. You can experiment and see what you like best.
Add eyes, by rolling out small balls and placing them close to the beak on the head. For eyelids, roll out a very thin snake, wrap around the eyes and gently blend in.

Now for the fluff!
To make the fluff, I just took a sharp tool and swirled it on the clay and what I got from that, was a nice fluff that you can place in bits on the birds head, and around the neck.
I didn't worry about adding feet, because it would just be covered.
Add any other details you would like, then bake to your package instructions.

Also, I made 2 of these,but one was just a little bit fluffier.

I first got a bit of water and mixed it with some black paint. I then painted the mixture all over the leaf. The water makes the paint so runny, it should seap into all the fine details we put on. Such as the small veins in the leaf. Which makes them stand out more.
I waited for the mixture to dry, then put a thin coat of Orange acrilic paint on top.
I went over everything with a nice light green paint. You can see what I ended up with in the picture above.

One note is, I had to put 3-4 coats of green to get what I wanted.

We will start with the same black paint mixture from the last step and put that on the baby birds and let it dry.
Then go over it with a nice grey/brown on the back and head. And then a nice antique yellow and bright yellow on the stomach. Also paint the eyes black and let that dry. If desired, you can put a nice varnish on the eyes and beak. I thought it gave it a nice touch and made the eyes stand out more.

Note: I did have a reference picture on had to look at While painting.

Grab all your scrap cotton and string, and let's finish this!
First I put a bit of aluminum foil for a firm base and put that in. Then your going to want to start glueing your cotton or scrap material or even some twigs, to the foil base. Make sure to leave a space clear for your birds.

After you have all your stuff in, you can take your string and weave it through those holes we made towords the bottom of the leaf. Just to make sure it stayed, I dabbed a bit of white glue near the holes with the string.

Now time to add the birds to their nest. I put just a drop or two of hot glue on the back of their tails and gently pressed them on the back towords the back of the leaf. Then put some more cotton around them.

After all the glue was dry I went ahead and put a piece of string and added another smaller leaf ( it is basically identical to the bigger one, just smaller) and then tied it tight.
Now your done!

You have now finished your Tailor birds nest!
If you have any questions, or see something that you want to comment on, feel free to!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my tutorial!

Take care and God bless you!

See you in the next one!