Nest letters

Spring has sprung on my mantel!! Finally...as well it should, seeing as it surpassed the 100-degree mark here this past week! A couple months ago, in my Simply Handmade magazine (which I *highly* recommend, by the way - awesome, awesome, awesome), I saw these NEST letters (order here), which were decoupaged and decorated and just so cute. I immediately thought I needed them, but wasn't quite sure. A few days later, I saw some bird houses at Wal-Mart, and snagged them, thinking they would go great with the Nest letters. (Have you noticed how everyone's loving birdhouses these day? Check out these cute ones my friend Deanna decorated!) And a week or so after that, my sister Karen told me about the little bird tealight holder from Target, which I *adore*.

Anyway, I've had the letters for several weeks now, but just hadn't gotten the time or motivation to get them decorated. I had started the birdhouses during my March craft night - and hadn't ever made any more progress on them! Last Saturday, after craft night the night before, and while Anthony and Darrell were working on their model car, I decided to get going on my letters.

The papers are the Amy Butler Bella line from K & Company. I inked around the edges with a brown Stampin' Up! ink pad. The bird is from Jo-Ann's. The moss and eggs are from Wal-Mart. The felt flowers on the "S" and the grosgrain ribbons are from Stampin' Up!. The buttons are from Making Memories.

I wanted one of the birdhouses to be raised, so I drilled a hole in the bottom of it, cut a dowel, drilled a hole in a little oval plaque, and glued the dowel into both the plaque and the birdhouse.

I'm quite happy with how everything turned out, and the colors go well with the Garden Party accessories in my kitchen, from Target. I'll have to remember to take pics of that stuff too...my table is looking rather cute, and I have an adorable apron to match!