Drawing Mr. Cardinal For a Felt Ornament

Spying Mr. Cardinal the other day gave me the idea to include cardinals in my ornaments that I'm currently working on.  After all, I love them and really their profile is simple and easily recognized.  Above is a Christmas card I kept from several years ago; it is a Hallmark card and the cardinal is so bright and Christmasy.

I looked at my cardinal photos and sketched a little; I had problems with how plump to make him appear.  I've also exaggerated the crest; my little guy does not have such a prominent crest but it almost looks more 'cardinal-like' to make it higher.  I cut out the cardinal from that Christmas card which is a cute, rather styalized version of a cardinal.   The simpler the shape, the easier to cut from felt which was my goal this time for this particular project.

And here is my little cardinal embroidered ornament.  Such a bright, cheery bird to incorporate into my collection.  I chose the word "Joys" to write in running stitch; I love the cardinal and seeing him from time to time is a treat but really all the birds are my joys.