Supplies:
- Download my chicken SVG file from my free library, which you can find by clicking here.
- Wood. I used 3mm Burch wood sheets from Menards.
- Chicken wire and maybe wire to make edges for your chicken wire
- Pliers and gloves to work with the chicken wire.
- Paint
- Moss
- Plastic eggs
- Fake leaves
- Sola wood flowers
- Hot glue and I recommend wood glue for attaching the chicken.
- Optional: sand paper
- Optional: clear gloss spray paint
Start off by cutting out the chicken design out of wood. I used a Glowforge to cut out my shape. Depending on the thickness of the wood you are using will depend on the side of the opening in the base. So, you may need to adjust this measurement. I used 3mm thick wood. If you do not want to worry about the measurement, then you can just cut out the chicken without the extra piece sticking out of the bottom. The piece at the bottom will just make the piece more secure.
Once your chicken is cut out, you can stain or paint it. Once my piece was completely painted and dry, I took a little sand paper and sanded a few edges of my chicken to give it a little extra character. I then sprayed a clear protective coat over the entire piece to give it a bit of a shiny finish. This is optional.
Next, I measured and cut my chicken wire down to size. I recommend wearing gloves when working with the chicken wire to help protect your hands. I used pilers to cut my chicken wire and to bend/round the edges. You can make a nice edge to the chicken wire by bending it, or you could make an edge with a wire of your desired thickness, and hot gluing the chicken wire to that wire. I wanted to test out a mini nail gun of my dad’s, but you could also attach the chicken wire with hot glue.
I then stuffed the chicken basket I made with moss. I hot glued some of the moss stuff in place to help it from shedding everywhere. I then hot glued some small plastic eggs and leaves I had. It still needed something else to give it a little more color. So, I decided to add some of my sola wood flowers.
To dye the sola wood flowers I started out by mixing my chosen paint colors with water and glycerin. The glycerin helps make the flowers softer and not as brittle. I then dipped just the petals in the paint, water, glycerin mixture. I rotated the flower in the mixture to cover just the petals of the flowers. One flower I only dipped the very tips of its petals in the paint mixture. I let them dry just a little, as I worked on dipping other flowers. I let my flowers dry in an empty egg carton. I then took a paint brush and dipped it in a yellow paint, water, and glycerin mix I made, and hand painted the center of my flowers yellow.
I let my flowers dry overnight and then hot glued them in to place the next morning. This piece could be a pretty Easter or Spring décor piece. I love the colors and all the different textures it has.
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