I tutor kiddos part time after school (because I don't quite get enough of them during the day...).  Not really.  I do get enough of them during the day.  But love my after school kids because when you work with them one on one you have the opportunity to form a great relationship.  I have tutored one little girl (who is now a young lady) throughout her high school career.  I've gone to her house every Thursday for the past four school years.  I've seen pictures of every prom dress, every homecoming dress, heard about boyfriends, and I've watched her grow up.  Now with graduation on the horizon and four college acceptances, she doesn't need tutoring anymore and my last Thursday with her is this week. 

I tried to come up with a suitable graduation gift for her and couldn't think of anything.  When stuck for a gift idea, I rack my brain for days until I've run out of time and I end up just overspending on a bunch of crap from Target.  So those of you that have gotten a bunch of random gifts from Target shoved into a bag, it's because I really wanted to do something nice and unique but got stuck.  It's the thought that counts, right???

So I decided to make something.  I bought this book just after Christmas and have almost worn the pages out looking through it.  Now I finally had a reason to make a bird!

Why a bird you ask?  What on earth is a high school student going to do with a stuffed bird???  One of the projects is a bird in a nest.  And I thought of my student as a bird getting ready to leave the nest.  Since I don't have the money for a really nice gift and instead of buying random unconnected items at Target, I make things out of random unconnected items in my home.  Of course maybe one of the reasons I never have the money is because I keep buying supplies for projects I don't always get to, hence having all of the supplies to make a bird. 

The bird was relatively easy, but it is difficult working with pieces so small (especially with my fat fingers).  The bird from the book sits in a wire nest covered in thread.  But I didn't have any wire thick enough so I made a paste and used the last of my kitchen twine to form a nest around a measuring cup.  That was a small mess.  I think I had homemade paste up to my elbows trying to make a 1-cup size nest!  Another deviation from the project in the book was that I used beads for the eyes instead of embroidery.  The idea of trying to make something even remotely eye shaped using a needle and thread on that tiny head made me cringe.  So I took the easy way out and used beads. 




I hope she appreciates it 20 years from now (because right now I'm just expecting her to look at with a quizzical look on her face).  Anyway, I love my bird!