Beaded Birds for Beverages - Tammis Keefe Project No. 2

As Sarah mentioned, we were thrilled when we received the big box of awesome fabrics from Michael Miller! I had a moment of inspiration upon seeing the prints ... I knew that I wanted to embellish one of the adorable prints in some way using applique.

During one of her many thrifting expeditions - using her thrifting mojo - Sarah picked up some awesome plain white Pottery Barn cocktail napkins. Score! I decided to spruce up those plain cocktail napkins with the two BIRD themed fabrics ( blue hoot (owls) and multi cage free (birds)) from the Tammis Keefe Tribute line.

If you've been reading our blog, you know we have a thing for sequins & beads (here & here)! And then it may come as no surprise, that I just had to use sequins & beads on these adorable birdy fabrics!

Here are some close ups of each finished cocktail napkin....  

this is my favorite one! I was going for an accent of the branches here ...

the cages here are highlighted with alternating bright and light pink sequins with black beads

little branch accents - teal sequins with silver beads

highlighting the BIG bird here with silver on silver (sequins & beads)

Making these was a breeze -a little time consuming, but nothing you cannot do while sipping a glass (or 2) of Two Buck Chuck!

Materials:

• Tammis Keefe Fabrics from Michael Miller - to cut out the BIRD shapes
• Iron - On Adhesive / Fusible Interfacing (I like Heat 'n Bond Lite, or Wonder Under)
• Coordinating Embroidery Thread
• Coordinating Sewing Thread
• Sequins
• Beads

Steps:

1. Pick the part of the fabric you want to cut out and use on a cocktail napkin. In my example, this is the owls on branches ... and the birds in cages.
2. Fuse interfacing / adhesive to wrong of that fabric - follow packaging instructions.
3. Precisely cut around out the shape. (This is easier to do once the interfacing is on there. It makes the fabric stable and so much easier to cut). I would recommend cutting about 1/4 inch around the shape so that when you embroider the material, you are not stitching OVER the cute cutout!
4. Remove paper backing and iron cutout onto cocktail napkin - follow packaging instructions.
5. Pull out 2 strings of the embroidery thread and whip stitch around the edges of the shapes (for decoration & to prevent fraying). You can go with a contrasting thread to highlight the cutout (like the green used on the Owl Fabric) or a coordinating thread that will not show up as much (ex: white thread on the birds). The Heat 'n Bond will keep the shape adhered to the napkin, but it may fray after washing(s) so this will help with that.
6. Using the sewing thread, highlight or accent the shapes or animals with a sequin / bead combination. You'll see that with each of these four napkins, I tried to accent something different! With the Owl Fabric, I went for highlighting the branches & owl eyes. With the Bird Fabric, once I framed the cages and on the other I outlined the big bird.
7. When you're using sequins, you'll see they are "dome shaped" ... place it life a "cup" such that the "dome" is upside down. Make any sense?
8. Pull thread from bottom of napkin to the top - thread on a sequin (like a cup) - thread 1 bead - push that combo taut to the napkin. Then, using the needle, go back down the middle of the sequin (beside your original point of entry) to secure placement. Repeat this step as desired.

These napkins would make a great gift for any entertainer  ... or a fun treat for yourself!

Oh, one more thing! I "tagged" the napkins by cutting out the "tammis keefe" name from the fabrics and sewed them onto the wrong side of the napkins on the edge. I love this added touch!

Thank you Michael Miller for letting us get creative with your Tammis Keefe Tribute line! We'll be back tomorrow (and lots more days!) with another project featuring these fab fabrics!

At the end of our showcase, we'll be offering a very generous giveaway (EIGHT YARDS of fabric & perhaps one or two of our completed projects from this Tribute... SO, be sure to stay tuned for the contest next week. In the meantime, you can like us on Facebook or become a Follower to catch the latest!