Laundry Scent Booster Bird Sachets

Laundry Scent Booster Bird Sachets by Patricia Roberts-Thompson

Join me in making these scented sweet bird sachets, perfect for tucking into a lingerie drawer, or hang them up in your closets! Fun and easy to make with Makin’s Clay®.  One 120g package will easily make 4 to 6 birds.

Materials:

Makin’sClay® White 120g

Makin’s Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine®  

Makin’s® Texture Sheet Set D 38004 Woodgrain, or texture of your choice

Acissors, needle tool, paintbrush, small hole cutters

Art-C Gold paste, Art-C Turquoise

Inka Gold paste, blue, red , turquoise and Platinum

Black acrylic paint  

Americana DuraCoat Gloss Varnish, cornstarch, white glue, seedbeads size 6 or 3mm pearls or 4mm crystals

Laundry Scent Booster, I used ‘Gain’

White glue

25mm glass or stone cabochons, or glass nuggets

Glass or tile to work on.

Directions: 

Fig 1:  Cardinal - Print the pattern, then cut out the paper cardinal shape on the bottom. Each bird measures approximately 4 inches in length and 2 inches high. Condition a third of a package of white Makin’s Clay®, and roll it on a number 3 setting of the Makin’s Professional® Ultimate Clay Machine®. Dust a texture sheet with cornstarch and texture the sheet of clay if desired. Using a needle tool, scribe around the shape as a guide to cut, flipping the pattern over to make a second one facing the opposite direction. These birds need to be two sided to work. I used scissors to cut my birds, but a sharp craft knife can work also. Use a needle tool to mark the details of the bill, cheek and wing and tail and also mark where the eyes will be placed. I used a size 6 seed bead for the eye of the cardinal for each piece. To make the pocket that will hold the laundry scent booster chips, I placed a glass nugget in the wing area of the back side of the bird, then turned the bird over and placed it on a ceramic tile (glass works well also) The idea is to get the head and all the edges of the bird to stick to the tile so that these parts dry as flat as possible which makes gluing the pieces together much easier. If the clay doesn’t want to stick to the tile, spray a tiny amount of water on the back, wait 30 seconds or so and try again. I found it easier to cut some small holes over the glass nugget area while the nugget is in place, though you could poke some holes before placing, or even drill them after the bird has dried. I used two different sized bootlace ferrules to make my holes. The only thing you need to be aware of is that the holes should be smaller than the scent booster chips. Let the bird parts dry for 24 hours then, unmold the glass nugget from the back and if it has not completely cured allow a bit more time before assembling. When dried you can either paint each part now, or wait until it is fully assembled to paint. 

Assembly:  If you want the bird to hang, prepare a loop of yarn, string of narrow ribbon. Moisten the edges of the bird, keeping all water away from the pocket. Apply a bit of white glue to all edges on both pieces, again making sure the pocket stays dry. For the cardinal, I added a piece of yarn by dipping the ends in glue and placing it below the head. Add your scent booster chips in the pocket, they should heap up on the one side since when both pieces are together there is room for all the chips. Now press both sides together, matching as well as you can. You may need to hold the edges a bit to make sure they stick together properly. You will probably have some small differences which can be trimmed with a sharp knife, scissors or scraped with a rigid craft blade. When the glue has dried you can paint your bird. For the Cardinal, I used a base coat of copper and followed up with some Inca Gold Lava (red) and some gold Art-C paste for the bill, finally some black acrylic paint for the bib of the Cardinal. Lastly, I added a bit of gloss varnish, just to the black area.

Fig 2:  Bluejay. See general directions for the method. Cut the Bluejay pattern and use it to make two sides facing opposite directions. I used a 4mm crystal for the eye. On the blue jay I used a 25mm round glass cabochon, which gave me a more uniform pocket. Other things you could use would be a flat round stone, or even make your own form from aluminum foil. I painted my bluejay before assembling, and then had to touch it up after gluing the parts. I used Inca Gold Blue for the crest and back of the jay, Inca Gold Platinum for the belly, and black acrylic paint for the chest markings. When dried I touched up the black bits with gloss varnish. The advantage to this is not messing up the other side by holding the bird while wet. The photo shows only a small amount of chips, I added more before assembling. This one doesn’t have the hanger.

Fig 3:  Finch. See general directions for the method. The finch is a fun one to do, as you can get more creative with your color choices – realistic or fantastical. Cut the Finch pattern and use it to make two sides facing opposite directions. I used a 4mm crystal for the eye. And a 25mm glass cabochon to form the pocket. I used Art-C Turquoise paste on the body, Art-C gold paste for the bill, then a little Inca Gold platinum over the turquoise in the chest and belly area. The fourth bird on the cover photo was painted with Inca Gold platinum, gold and purple.

 The scent lasts a really long time, and it is possible to separate the layers in the pocket area with a sharp craft knife and add fresh scent booster chips, and re-glue.

These birds will make wonderful gifts, have fun with this project!