Love Birds

I've been waiting to blog about the sweet little love bird cake toppers I made for my son's wedding... until after the wedding. Sean and Nicole showed me a birdie bride and groom on etsy that they wished they could afford, but wondered if I might be able to re-create for them. So, with complete and utter homage to the amazing Tuck and Bonte, who designed the originals, I did my best.

Mine are ever so slightly different, but I was absolutely copying their design here, so don't want anyone to think they came from my imagination. If you want a pair for your very own wedding cake, please visit Tuck and Bonte's etsy shop and have them create them for you... as I will likely not make another pair until one of my grandchildren is getting married!

Having only the photos to go by, I had to figure out for myself how these birds were made. I started with little decorative birds from the craft store and stripped off all their feathers, then carved the underlying styrofoam a bit with an Exacto knife to get the shape of the heads just right.

They each received a coat or two of gesso, then wings and tail made of heavy card stock. The legs they came with were removed and in their place, I inserted long pieces of copper wire.

Masking tape was wrapped around the wire, and then a finer gauge of copper wire... to about halfway down the exaggeratedly long legs, to where we wanted their little feet to be.

Additional inches of wire below the feet allowed the birds to be poked into the cake so they'd stand there nicely, with their toes in the frosting.

Using Mod Podge, I then layered the birds all over with vintage dress pattern tissue, choosing symbols, words and other markings just so...

Gather... together... join to circle... bind.  I also chose some of the French phrases that were marked on the pattern tissue... just for Nicole.

The bride got red lipstick, lovely long eyelashes, a veil and pearls.

The groom... a tiny black felt top hat and satin bow tie. (Trust me, if you ever want a challenge, just try making a felt top hat that fits on the tip of your pinky finger!)

Each birdie also has a tiny gold ring on their left foot.

Only one thing could be better than seeing the look on Nicole's face when I presented the finished birds to her at her bridal shower...

...and that was seeing the final presentation, on top of that incredibly exquisite cake!

The wedding was just amazing and beautiful, with so many unique hand-crafted details. Despite the heavy rain that morning, it was the perfect afternoon wedding for this couple in love... my son and his beautiful bride!