Posted on by Lisa Cestkowski

Crafting | Decoupaged chicks

Mod Podge

I don’t decorate much for Easter these days. Primarily because most of my Easter decorations look something like this:

I admit I have a huge soft spot for kitschy flocked holiday decorations (which is why I own these chicks in the first place). But I don’t do pastels anymore. And most Easter decorations are some baby-soft shade of pink, purple or, like my little chicks, yellow.

Instead of leaving the chicks languishing in a box on a closet shelf again this spring, I decided I’d give them a makeover and then set them out on display. Step one in the makeover: Tear off the faux velvet covering…

… which left me with three naked, slightly scary looking plastic chicks. I grabbed a stack of old newspapers and a container of Mod Podge to proceed with the makeover when The Boss showed up.

I swear that cat has a sixth sense. He can be on the other side of the house — or the other side of the planet — but the minute I set a bowl of cereal or an open container of Mod Podge in front of me — BOOM — there he is. Blocking me from eating/decoupaging and shedding his fur all over my breakfast/project.

I  decoupaged the chicks in three parts: the wings and tails first, then the breast area and finally the head, using different parts of the newspaper as I went along.

When I started, I thought this was going to be a quick little project. But, as usual, I’d drastically underestimated the amount of time and detail work involved…

… and I forgot to factor in the additional time involved in removing each of the individual cat hairs that kept appearing in my Mod Podge.

I debated whether the chicks should have eyes or not. But they looked a little freaky being eyeless. So I popped the original plastic eyes back in initially.

After I was done with all of the decoupage, I scrounged around the house looking for other alternatives to use for eyes and found some old brads that were the right size. I thought the brads gave them a more vintage industrial look that matched their new personalities better than the plastic eyes.
Then I painted all of the beaks orange to match their feet.

Mod Podge
After a few touchups and a light coat of watered down white paint over everything, the chicks were done.

I dug out some dried moss and glass jars and started playing around with ways to display the chicks.
Mod Podge
Does anybody else see Dumb Donald from “Fat Albert” when they look at the chick above?

Mod Podge

Anyhoo, I liked how they looked under glass.

Mod Podge
And look who showed up again while I was taking pictures of the completed project:

I think he was disappointed to see there was no open container of Mod Podge anymore, so he quickly stalked off.

Mod Podge

30 Replies to “Crafting | Decoupaged chicks”

  1. I always love reading your posts, because they're so entertaining and crack me up 🙂

    The chicks turned out cute!

    Reply

  2. I agree with Rue…your writing is fantastic and always has me laughing! Love how you re-did the chicks…they look fantastic. I have three cats and they all are as nosy as yours and have that sixth sense when I'm in the kitchen and I open something that they just have to investigate. They're also drawn to the Sunday newspaper. If I'm reading it at the kitchen table, they must jump up on the table and paw at the paper. And heaven forbid if I actually have the paper or a magazine open on the table. That's simply an invitation for them to lie down on it. BTW, my oldest cat, Zippo looks just like your fur baby except Zip has a pink nose.

    Reply

  14. So clever. Love the whole idea and just the amount of decorations I want to put out. I'll see if the dollar store has something I can improvise.

    Reply

  15. You took your chicks from cute to art. Lots of work, but they are graphically interesting now and hold ones attention. I, like you, am amazed at how well our felines hear. I can pick up a bag that makes a sound like their treat bag and they are tearing down 17 stairs, from where I thought they were sound asleep, to get a treat.

    Reply

  21. I love it! Such a great update. I also tend to have the same types of decorations so its nice to see a great update that I can do. Thanks for sharing. I popped over from the Brag about it link party.

    Reply

  22. This is amazing! I absolutely love how you used the paper to create different shades on the bird. Would love if you shared this on the Spring Craft Blog Hop and Merry Monday Link Party.

    Reply

  23. Just wanted to pop over and let you know that your Chick Lits will be featured at the next Brag About It! Monday @ midnight. Congratulations! Love these little chicks!
    ~Laurie

    Reply

  26. I can't imagine the the kitty doesn't knock those pretty things off to the floor. They are so cute but can't picture myself being patient enough to do this. Thanks for sharing on Merry Monday.

    Reply

  27. So cute … great job. Makes me wish I had some plastic chicks to upcycle.
    Great job and congratulation on all the “featured” on the blog parties.
    Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures

    Reply
  29. Pingback: Crafting | Newspaper chicks wreath - Wisconsin Magpie
  30. Pingback: Decoupaged newspaper birds - Wisconsin Magpie

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