I mentioned Camp Bluebird in a previous post. Well I am excited to be doing the craft this year! I plan on painting this bluebird with the campers, paint party-style. I always like to make an example in advance, just to make sure I have my ducks in a row! So here, just for you, are the steps in Jenny Hall’s first ever DIY craft tutorial:)
DIY Bluebird Painting
Supplies:
- 8×10 canvas panel
- Acrylic paint in tan, white, and blue
- large flat brush and smaller round brush
- Sheet music of your choice. Here is what I used.
- Black paint pen
- Mod Podge (I used the matte kind)
- water cup, Styrofoam plate, paper towels
Step One: Tear off all the clean edges of your sheet music. Don’t worry too much about getting a perfectly straight line. The distressed look is the idea here. 
Step Two: Paint the back of your sheet music with Mod Podge. Cover every little bit, making sure you get it all the way to the edges. 
Step Three: Using your fingers, press the paper onto the canvas. Start in the middle and work your way out, eliminating air bubbles. Pay special attention to seal down the edges. 
Step Four: Use the flat brush and tan paint to paint around the edges. You want this part to be bold and completely covered. 
Step Five: While the paint is still wet and you still have tan on your brush, feather the paint inward. The goal is not to make it perfectly smooth and blended, so relax:) 
Step Six: Blend a little white paint with the tan. Use this lighter color to lightly brush over the remaining exposed sheet music. You do not want to completely obscure the sheet music, you just want to create a faded effect. You can blend this lighter color into the darker tan a little bit as well. 
Step Seven: Paint the bird silhouette. Do not worry about the wing, legs, or eye. You will add these later. I painted with blue paint straight onto the canvas. If you are a little nervous about this part, then Google “bird silhouettes” and print one that you like. You can cut it out and trace around it with pencil before you paint:) 
Step Eight: Allow everything a moment to dry. This shouldn’t take very long and you will ruin your paint pen if you use it on a wet surface. Write your quote. Take your time and don’t fuss too much over your handwriting. You may need to say “my handwriting is charming” about three times out loud:) If it helps, then write your words in pencil first. 
Step Nine: Add the other black details. Remember to outline your bird, draw a wing, legs, and eye. I added the random polka dots during this step. I drew them sort of messy, a look I like better than perfectly-formed little circles. 
Step Ten: Add little flourishes of paint. I painted a little white inside the polka dots and added little strokes to highlight the bird. As an afterthought I added tiny white dots to the bird (I love polka dots). I’m trying to keep the art supplies to a minimum for this project, but this would also be a good opportunity if you wanted to add more color. I like the splash of red I used in this bird painting. 
Voila! You’ve just painted the lovely little bird I plan to make with my happy campers:) Canvas boards fit easily into a frame or can be propped on a cute decorative easel. 
Commission a painting or schedule a paint party
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