Embroidered Folk-Art Bird

I finally buckled down and tackled a project that has been on my "to-do" list for ages: this rustic, Embroidered Folk-Art Bird. I was first inspired by a something I saw tagged on Craftgawker, and after a quick trip to Prints Charming I was completely sold on idea of an embroidered hanging. So, I grabbed some supplies I had in my craft stash and got to work!

1. I used 5 different floss colors on this project, along with a "natural" colored piece of craft felt. I also used a small embroidery hoop (sorry about the obnoxious color!) and a tapestry needle. For my pattern, I sketched the design on a piece of paper using a permanent marker. The marker was a conscious choice: the thick ink line would keep me from getting the design too intricate, which I was worried I couldn't embroider since this craft is very new to me!
2. To get my patter on the felt, I taped the pattern to my window and held the felt against it... thanks to the sun it works just as well as my light box (and isn't as much hassle to get out of storage). Then I used a fabric marking pen (the ink dissolves when you wet it) and traced the design. Then I popped the felt into the hoop and started embroidering. 
3. As I mentioned, I'm very new to embroidering, but I think the stitch I used is called Split Stitch. 
4. And after what seemed like a very short time, I was finished with the embroidery- so I used a wet towel to dab the fabric ink away.

As you can see, the back side of the project isn't very pretty, but that part is no longer visible! Once the embroidery was done, I flipped the design over, folded the remaining felt in front of the design, and used my sewing machine to sew around the design.

I left a bit of the design un-sewn so I could flip everything right side out and stuff if full of fiber fill.

Once I was finished stuffing I whip-stitched the opening closed and my Embroidered Folk-Art Bird was finished.

 Here's a close-up of the stitching - fun, right?

EMBROIDERED FOLK-ART BIRD SUPPLY LIST
Craft felt (I used a single piece of 9"x11"
Embroidery floss (I used 5 different colors)
Scissors
Tapestry needle
Design template (I used a marker and printer paper)
Fabric pen that dissolves in water
Sewing machine (optional)
Fiberfill
Embroidery hoop