make something: nests
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I was searching for some Easter table inspiration and came upon brown bag nests. Genius. (On a side note: the maker of these brown bag nests, Ellen Luckett Baker, whose work I have seen in some crafty books that I own, has an amazing blog called the long thread which has now made my to do list much longer!)
I had to make these nests, but the brown paper bag part really didn't fit into my vision for our table. I figured I could use any sort of shredded paper like the kind they sell as basket or package filler, and as I cruised the aisles at Michael's trying to decide what color I would choose, I found it: The Aspen Collection wood shavings by Excelsior. It really is Aspen mulch in all of it's eco friendly, biodegradable glory and oh, such a pretty color! I used super strong Elmer's white glue to bind it all together. These are really easy to make, you just need some plastic wrap and a small bowl.
I made my nests from memory and realized just now when I looked back at the instructions that she put the paper on the outside of the bowl. Guess I don't follow directions well. I smooshed all of my glue covered wood shavings into the plastic wrapped bowl, topped it with another piece of plastic wrap, pressed down to help form it and then placed another bowl to hold it in place. I kept the nests that way for most of the day to begin the drying process and hold their form, then I unwrapped it and let it dry the rest of the way until firm. Using the wood makes it sort of wild and twiggy nest which I love.
Now to figure out the rest of the table!
