Get The TechniqueYou may remember when our colleague Kristin received an unusual and extremely thoughtful Christmas gift from her boyfriend: a collection of friends' artistic interpretations of her pet bird, Pico. Here at work, we're no strangers to how obsessed this girl is with her bird, so for Kristin's April birthday, we coworkers figured there was no better gift than to pitch in a few more crafty portraits for her wall. Hosanna chose to stitch an embroidered Pico, and I quilled the little ladybird. We went slightly overboard, and we think they turned out kind of fantastic/hilarious, so we wanted to share them with you here.
Hosanna's embroidery on canvas (holy crap):
My paper on more paper:
Just goes to show that a photo of just about anything can inspire - from your friend's pet to a neighbor's garden to a relative's home - and the crafty results make great, personalized gifts.
For embroidery instructions and tips, check out our great little how-to slideshow. And if you're interested in paper quilling, look no further than this MS show segment with Quilling.com's Sandy Watson, where you can download basic quilling instructions and some flower patterns to get you started.
From: kristin | 4/20/10 at 8:07 am
you have no idea how excited I was to receive these! I hope one day to fill an entire wall of Pico portraits. Thank you ladies for putting the icing on the cake— this birthday was over the top!
oxoxo
From: Anita P | 4/20/10 at 10:32 am
What a lucky bird to be the muse for so many creative expressions!
From: Gisele | 4/20/10 at 6:06 pm
Love the quilling. I wonder how long it took to to it. The beautiful things you can do with paper. What a lucky bird.
From: Cheryl Oz | 4/20/10 at 7:36 pm
The quilled bird is just so fabulous! I really appreciate the details.
From: Ann Martin | 4/21/10 at 8:12 am
Here's to going slightly overboard! Both interpretations are wonderful additions to the Pico art gallery.
From: rough around the edges | 4/21/10 at 2:01 pm
wow great job! these pico portraits are amazing!! how on earth do you two do that?? xx
From: Linda B. | 4/21/10 at 9:55 pm
Oh, those are fabulous! Happy Birthday Kristin! Love each time you are on the show.