Flamingos Turned Vultures

Have I got a WAY fun, transformative Halloween craft for you today!!!!! I saw an image on Pinterest that just about knocked me down on my backside. I was maniacally laughing and so giddy to tackle the project myself =D. The image I pinned didn't have a tutorial but it's pretty straight forward. What you need are some lawn flamingos of any color (can you believe the ones I found were yellow?). We found them on a yard sale site making them WAY cheaper than Amazon but if you're in a pinch, Amazon will do. Libby even found mini ones on Amazon and we split them between us. Imagine, BABY vultures!!!! If you are determined to get a good price, I may suggest you wait till the beginning of the spring and or summer season next year and get them at the Dollar Store.

First things first, you must decide the color of your bird. I referenced the Jungle Book vultures for color ideas. We headed to Walmart and bought primer, Clarinet Wine (a nice deep maroon), a matte or satin black, and a semi-gloss clear to coat the finished bird and to help protect against UV rays.

Now, let's talk about primer...THIS IS IMPORTANT...we used two and they had VERY different outcomes when used on the plastic. I was on the spray paint aisle for forever reading the backs of all the cans. So many of them said that it would work on most plastics. I know that primer is very important and being a makeup artist and seeing the effects, I don't skip that step. Read here to chat makeup primer. I know that we needed to coat our birds with something that would adhere to the plastic and then allow any other paint we used on top, to adhere to IT. I know that if I were to have just gone in with the Clarinet Wine, it would have cracked and not covered well. We used a semi-gloss white primer + paint and then a matte grey primer. Who won? 

The matte grey primer hands DOWN!!!!! I think the sheen was a mistake on the other one AND the fact that it was primer + paint. the semi gloss white was extremely patchy and when it finally dried and we began to spray other colors on top....it crackled. We were SO disappointed and were left wondering if we had ruined a few of the birds. TRUST us, go with this matte grey primer for ALL your priming needs!!!!

We proceeded to wiped down our bird decor very well so that we wouldn't be priming and painting over dirt and grime. We also taped the beak since that would be a different color. We just stuck them in the grass and started spraying. Please be sure to do this on a NON windy day for yours and others safety!

Isn't that grey primer amazing? Look at that smooth finish!!! Now it was time to tape the neck since we will be painting the head and the body two different colors.

After the primer is dry, then it's time to grab either your deep red or your black. I decided to start with the head. I really loved the sheen satin when doing the heads. It gave it just enough luster without going too far into the glossy family and having them look too plasticy.

Are you already DYING at how amazing these are looking????? Well, we were LOL! =D Then we just needed to spray the bodies black.

 

At this point I was giggling like a silly school girl at how this craft was turning out LOL! We let them dry in the sun and then brought them down to the basement where we had glue guns, mini feather boas and black acrylic paint waiting.

We bought all these mini boas from Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts and they were the PERFECT size! A normal sized boa would have been WAY to over powering. We first measured length, then cut and used hot glue to attach them, making sure the seam would be at the underneath of the neck (just in case you could see it). We used white and brown and I can't tell you which one I liked more. They BOTH looked amazing!!! If I make any more, I will be using a brown speckled feather for sure to add some interest to this group.

Now, notice on this last picture how the paint is missing where the head and beak meet? Easy fixes, but it basically happened when taking the tape off. The tape would adhere to the paint and take some of it away BUT NOT TO WORRY!!!! I held up a cloth around the beak and just sprayed a touch of the Clarinet Wine and it covered it perfectly. You can do that with any color you are needing to correct. One of the gals even used a touch more of the black to blend her neck and head together just in case it showed under the boa.

We used black acrylic paint to paint the eyes and beak after gluing on the boas. Then we stuck them in the grass again to dry in the sun. After all was said and done we sprayed them with a few coats of the clear coat (same thing I used on my fairy village). This will give them luster and protection from the sun.

It's up to you how these new characters of yours will congregate on your lawn. Will it be over a grave with bones? Maybe a severed hand and or foot? Maybe attached to a branch of your tree? You can even perch one in your window box! SERIOUSLY I want to see if you do this and HOW you do it!!! Be sure to comment here or tag me on IG (Classy By Jen) or FB (Classy By Jen).