A Cardinal Ornament

After the Dove and the Chi Rho ornaments, I decided to do another Christmas bird, this time a cardinal. I found a picture of a snowy scene with a cardinal framed by icy branches to use for inspiration. 

I thought my cardinal turned out well for this little 2X2 inch ornament. I began the branches with grey glass for the branch itself, white for the snow on top, clear for the ice below, in imitation of the picture. I made the mistake of starting the background in green--like the picture--but soon realized that it wasn't a strong enough contrast. (When will I learn?!) You can see the discarded green glass at the top of the picture. I switched to the light blue (in the cup).

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I didn't realize until after I was done that I had accidentally moved one of the cardinal's legs when replacing with the blue glass. It does make him look a little awkward here, but oh well. You can see the dotted lines I wrote on the mirror with an overhead marker for where I wanted the other branches. I also began adding dark blue glass in the corners to sort of frame the picture.

It didn't turn out quite as beautiful as the photo I was working from. The branches do not come across clearly as branches. I should have simplified or perhaps used opaque glass for the branches. However, I was pleased enough.

I think the grouting went ok and the glass polished up nicely once I cleaned off all the excess glue.  Here are the three ornaments I had made up to this point: 

I decided that I really liked having a border and wish I had put one on this cardinal. I really like the border on the Chi Rho, but it takes up space. But it does make it look cleaner and more professional.