Birds make an attractive theme for decorating and craft projects. The variety of different birds in different colors, shapes and sizes gives a wide scope for table decorating ideas. You could choose anything from a colorful tropical bird theme, silhouettes of birds sitting on a wire or in flight, or stylized owls. The bird theme that you choose can be incorporated into table decorating by using it for placemats, a centerpiece, napkin rings and decorated napkins. Does this Spark an idea?
Placemats
Placemats are simple to create from scratch, or purchase plain placemats to decorate with your bird theme. Find a patterned fabric featuring birds and sew a simple rectangular placemat. Cut two placemat-sized rectangles of fabric and apply a rectangle of fusible interfacing to the wrong side of one piece. Sew the two pieces of fabric around the edges with the right sides together, leaving a 2- to 3-inch gap, flip the piece right sides out and slip stitch the gap closed. Alternatively, cut a bird shape from the fabric leaving a margin around the edges and applique the bird to a plain store-bought placemat. If you do not wish to do any sewing, use fabric paint to paint a bird onto a plain placemat or use a rubber stamp or stencil of a bird with fabric paint. You can make a set of identical placemats or decorate each one with a different bird shape. Bird-themed motifs like feathers, a bird cage, branches and nests can be featured as well as birds.
Napkin Rings and Napkins
Napkin rings can be made from fabric or paper and are an easy way to include a bird theme in your table decorations. Find gift wrap, scrapbooking paper or origami paper that features birds, or draw or paint your own onto card stock. Cut a strip of the paper or card and glue or tape it together to form a ring. If the paper you are using is thin, take an empty toilet paper or paper towel roll and cut it into rings, then glue the decorative strip to the outside of it. You can further decorate the napkin rings with lace, ribbon or different colored strips of paper or cardstock as a trim.
Plain fabric napkins can be decorated with a bird theme in the same way as placemats, or you can choose bird-patterned fabric and hem squares of it to make your own napkins. Find bird-shaped novelty buttons or trinkets and sew one in the corner of each napkin for a simple decorative touch.
Trivet
If you have the appropriate equipment, you can create your own bird-themed trivet for protecting your table from hot dishes. Paint four plain bathroom tiles with bird designs. If you are artistic you can paint a bird free-hand, otherwise a black silhouette of a bird with a distinctive shape, like a swallow in flight, looks very dramatic stenciled onto a white tile. Set the four tiles into cement in a shallow wooden tray.
Centerpiece
A homemade centerpiece for your table can be created with a bird theme. If you can find a small, old-fashioned wrought iron bird cage, fill it with candles or flowers for a stunning and unusual centerpiece. Plain wooden birdhouses are available at craft stores. Paint one or several birdhouses to match your table decor and arrange them with some tree branches (real or fake) and a string of lights in the center of the table. Arrange thick plain candles of different heights on a plate and decorate with bird motifs. Cut bird shapes out of tissue paper or any thin plain or patterned paper and glue them to the outsides of the candles with craft glue. For safety, keep the shapes at least a few inches from the tops of the candles and do not burn the candles down to the level of the paper shapes. A fake bird's nest from a craft store can be used to hold candles, lights or flowers to complement the bird theme.
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