Its been really interesting making these because I've learned a lot while researching and through trial-and-error, of how to design these items. Each item had its own challenges and I tested the items myself and learned about any flaws they had first hand. Here are a few I've made so far:
Summer Tanager brooch, holding a berry which is a real ruby.
This bird was actually the second Summer Tanager I made, the first one was just a simple charm but the dimensions of the bill and size of the head needed to be larger. I think its a really unique and charming piece of jewelry.
Mouring Dove pendant, with a brass ring so it can be worn as a necklace.
The eye is a german glass eye, and painted with acrylic paints. I use Martha Stewart Craft Paint for all my birds.
White-eyed Vireo pendant with a custom made glass eye.
This was made with a Prairie Warbler charm, but that piece was sold.
Green Heron keychain or bag charm.
This one had a screw hook attached to the back of the birds head and then attached to the keychain hardware but this is not as secure as I like. Im currently testing an alternative, which can be seen on the Black-bellied Whistling Duck below.
A variety of bird charms/pendants:
(from right to left)
Eastern Bluebird, Purple Gallinule, Fish Crow, Barred Owl, Least Tern.
This photo washed out the color a little bit, the last picture does show more true to color.
Black-bellied Whistling Duck keychain.
This is the new style I'm testing where a wire goes through a hole in the back of the birds head.
This seems to be a lot more secure, but I do need to find a cleaner way to attached the bird to the ring rather than with just twisted wire (which actually isn't that sturdy).
A group photo of all the charms in this post for size comparison.
I always try by best to make my birds accurate to their life size. I research their sizes from data collected through field work, so they are usually down to the millimeter.
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