You might have seen my previous post with this photo of two Halloween Nugget Rockers. This project idea happened by serendipity. While looking for a way to attach a paperclip leg to a rounded nugget top, I realized it would be easier to attach it to the flat bottom instead. I flipped the nugget upside down, and the result was Nugget Rockers. With a nudge from your finger, they tip back and forth.

The sample below is a cardinal for Christmas, but the techniques are the same. This tutorial starts with a supply list and includes complete directions with step-by-step photos.

Supplies

white cardstock, such as 80 lb Hammermill Color Copy Cover
1-1/16" x 3-1/2" designer paper
Fuzzy Halloween or Fuzzy Christmas digital stamps
markers or colored pencils
2 paperclips #1 size, such as from a vinyl assortment from Amazon
detail scissors
needle-nose pliers, wire cutter
3/8" Glue Dots
Tombow Mono Multi or similar glue
optional feathers, either individual or unraveled from a feather boa
Hershey’s Nugget chocolate
clear packaging tape

Directions

1. Print two matching bird images, one facing left and the other right. Mine were printed at 90% of the original size; the body and head measure about 1-3/4" high. Color by your favorite method. A coloring diagram is in my prior post: Copic Coloring Guide for Cardinal. Since I was making multiples of these, I colored once, scanned them, and printed them on cardstock

2. Cut out the images, discarding the legs. I prefer not to have any white cardstock showing near the edges, so I flip the trimmed pieces over and color along the edge with a matching marker. Use a light touch with the markers because you do not want the ink to bleed through to the front. Copic R24 and Y17 were used here.

3. Straighten out the larger loop of each paperclip. If you unbend them in opposite directions, you’ll have a right and a left leg. Cut off about 1/2". With pliers, bend the cut ends as shown.

4. Place one bird face down on your work surface. Use four Glue Dots to attach the two paperclip legs to the wrong side. One leg should be down and the other raised. Place four more Glue Dots on top of the previous ones, which will sandwich the paperclips between the Glue Dots.

5. Place the second bird face down on your work surface and run a thin bead of glue around all outer edges. Flip this second bird right side up and align it with the first bird, wrong sides together. Press the edges together to seal them, and also press the Glue Dots together.

6. Optional: Snip some feathers into several short pieces. Apply a small amount of glue directly on each feather’s shaft and attach them to both sides of the bird’s body. You can trim any feathery wisps that are too long.

7. Apply adhesive to the wrong side of the 1-1/16″ x 3-1/2″ designer paper and wrap it around a Hershey’s Nugget. Cut a 1/2"-wide strip of clear packaging tape. Place the wrapped nugget upside down on your work surface. The nugget’s flat bottom should be facing up. Position the bird’s paperclip foot on the nugget. Check that the bird stands and balances correctly, or bend the paperclip to adjust it. When positioning the bird, note that he should rock side to side rather than front to back. Tape the foot to the nugget.

You can set your little guy rocking by tapping his raised foot with your finger.

Two new image sets have just been released: Fuzzy Halloween and Fuzzy Christmas. There are several variations of cute crows and cardinals, with the option to add feathers. Copic coloring diagrams are below, as well as a sneak peak of a fun project.

Fuzzy Halloween

For more information, please see Fuzzy Halloween Digital Stamps.

Copic Coloring Guide for Halloween Crow

This enlarged diagram shows all the Copic color suggestions for this crow. Although the numbers are for markers, the same type of shading could be done with blended Prismacolor pencils or other coloring methods.

Fuzzy Christmas

For more information, please see Fuzzy Christmas Digital Stamps.

Copic Coloring Guide for Christmas Cardinal

This enlarged diagram shows all the Copic color suggestions for this cardinal. The same type of shading could be done with other coloring methods.

Nugget Rockers

Here’s a sneak peek of a new Halloween project, a pair of Hershey’s Nugget Rockers. The feathered birds are two-sided, so their backs are as cute as their fronts. This is easy to do because all the new Fuzzy bird images include both left-facing and right-facing versions. The crows’ paperclip legs are attached to upside-down nuggets, and they rock back and forth. This happy accident happened while I was trying to figure out how to attach a flat paperclip to a rounded nugget top. I thought it would be a lot easier to attach it to the flat bottom — and the Nugget Rocker idea was born. I’ll be doing a tutorial for these little guys soon.

Thanks for visiting.

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Copic [...]

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