Chubby Lovebird Cake Toppers DIY

Hello!  Today I thought I'd pull out one of my wedding crafts.  My husband and I have large families who all wanted to help with our big day, but we knew that would mean they'd spend time preparing things instead of relaxing and enjoying the moment.  We chose to spend money for comprehensive catering and a full-service reception facility so they wouldn't have to worry.  This did, however, mean we were going to spend quite a bit.  I had a vision for our wedding that was already morphing due to larger-than-expected guest lists, so it was very important for me to hold on to any of my visions I could.  This meant I learned to DIY just about everywhere!

For about a year before Mr. M proposed, I already knew I wanted these cake toppers.

However, this shop was the seller.  I couldn't pay $145 for two small pieces of clay!  This was one of my first projects.  Michael's sold this clay that I thought would make sturdy, easy-to-mold  birds just like them.

If anyone has worked with this stuff, I must first say it's great if you want simple, air-dry products.  It'll even feature in a future wedding post for our favors.  However, it weighs about twice as much as play doh.  I made my first adorable little birds from about a quarter of one pack, just to find they each weighed about four pounds.  That'd sink straight into my cake!  Luckily, this awesome pack showed up the next time I stopped in to the store.

It cost about $3 for a pack, which easily made both of my birdies.  It's extremely light and super soft.  I absolutely loved forming them.  Unfortunately, like most of my wedding projects, I didn't take pictures of the forming process.  I just didn't think I would ever start a blog, so it didn't occur to me to document it.  This time, I don't think it takes away from anything.

STEPS:

Form the clay into a ball as smooth as possible.  You will get little wrinkles.  I didn't use water to smooth them out since it wasn't regular clay.  I just kept rubbing over them until they blended in enough that i was satisfied.  

Pinch a portion of the circle to make a beak.  It will morph the sphere you have made, so once you make the beak, reshape the rest of the ball back as smoothly as possible.

Follow a similar process for the tail.  This should be wider (of course) and much more flat.  This is where I had the most wrinkles, but since it's the tail, I didn't mind too much.  The paint will fill it in.

Push the birds onto a flat surface to make a flat base to stand on.  Be careful not to make marks on your pretty bird body.

Let dry for SEVERAL days.  Mine just wouldn't change for quite a while.  I touched them a few times before they were, and really regretted it.  I basically had to reshape all over again.

Once you're perfectly sure they're dry, paint.  I wanted a really smooth coat, so I worked on several layers to get it even without brush strokes.  It is still like clay, so it'll absorb the first couple and need thick paint.   I used this one in champagne for a lovely sheen.

• Paint your face and details.  My bride had pretty eyelashes and a gold pearl necklace added on and the groom a sweet tie.  I took time to plan them out, and drew them in pencil so they would be symmetric.  I doubt it's super close, but either way, they're good enough for me.  For the details, I used gold from the same brand.  It took less than a quarter of the bottle.
• Make a veil for the birdie bride.  She got a gold ribbon detail over some cheap tulle I had from another project.  It was actually a scrap cutting.
• Mr. M has wire-rimmed glasses, so his groom birdie got some glasses as well formed from some floral wire.

Veil:

The veil was made and attached using scissors.  My veil has a scalloped lace patter, so I cut scallops into the tulle, which was very easy.  They weren't measured or anything, but no one was going to measure them the day of, so I didn't care.  If you want the cut the same way, this is the "pattern."  Cut along the dotted lines once you have a rectangle.

Once you've done this, then you can gather the straight, long side to make the part that sits on the bird.

Either pull the side with the dotted line together, or if you're fancy (unlike me), stitch a simple line here and pull the ends to gather properly and tie off the ends.  After you've done this, glue it to the bird head.  Finally, glue gold ribbon to the edges to make it pretty.  Some people might want a few rhinestones at the top like a headpiece, or maybe a sweet flower.  I did a pretty crappy bow, but to each her own.

Here she is!

Glasses:

The glasses really were easy, especially compared to the veil.  I took floral wire and wrapped it into two tiny rectangles.  Then I make a small connector piece that I wrapped around the short sides of each rectangle.  To glue them on, I actually used mod podge and held them on with my fingernails until they stayed.  Not smart... I'm not sure of an easier way to make it work.  A glue gun wouldn't work, because the hot glue would be too visible.  Let me know if you have ideas so I can update this!

Attach the connector at these two points.  Try to make them the same height, but I don't think mine were...

Here he is!  I was more excited about his little glasses than anything else!  Mr. M liked them too!  My brother, who I toss all these ideas to, said they looked like onions from the front, and my mom thought the pearl necklace looked like the teeth of a Cheshire cat or something.  I didn't care.  I learned early on that I would love certain things others wouldn't, and it was okay.  I made these and I'm proud of them.

Total cost: $10

Clay - $3

Champagne paint - $3

Gold paint - $3

Paint brushes - $0.50

Tulle - $0 (scrap)

Gold ribbon - $0 (scrap)

Floral wire - $0.50 (estimating)

Not bad for a copy of a $145 set.  I like mine better, they're chubbier and much more like us -- a little rough around the edges but awesomely cute together!

And here they are at the wedding!

I will say that mine are really different from the gorgeous models, and if you have the funds, that Etsy shop makes gorgeous love birds.  Really gorgeous.  I just couldn't afford it.  Also, you could totally change these by using your own details.  You could make a little birdcage instead that came in front, or make them taller and more like the original.  Your groom could have a little vest with his tie, or a bowtie instead, maybe even made from fabric.  I just love the idea of customizing them.  If you do make some like this, let me know!  I'd love to see them!

Have a beautiful day!