They’re around 2.5" wide. Walnut, ash, sycamore, poplar, mahogany, pine, elm, mother-of-pearl, abalone shell.
The feather shapes and black border lines are imperfect and uneven, by design, to make it feel more organic and less cookie-cutter.
I haven’t applied a finish yet. Might use an acrylic clear-coat spray. (I’m still not very adept at finishing.)
The construction is in layers with veneer and inlay:
Those are lovely! How are you managing the alignment of tiny pieces like on the wing?
For the wing, I engraved sockets for the ‘feathers’ to fit into.
For the body, I made an alignment jig, a simple wooden outline of the body. Then:
Very cool! I knew there had to be a tidy process behind it. 
Those are both adorable and classy!
Those are just THE cutest! What an elegant design!
Those are all lovely! I really like the different colors in the wings, especially the top one.
Thanks! Veneer variety packs are fun, aren’t they? Here are some of the trial pieces, with the above-mentioned veneers plus lacewood, tamo, pod mahogany(?), cherry, flakey oak, and fiddleback macore.
Awesome! I don’t think I’ve worked with veneer yet. I do need to get some.
So cute!!
These are so adorably wonderful! Thank you for sharing another fun creation!
Man those turned out really awesome!!
They are so delightful! I especially love the abalone addition.
Poly sprays work fine.
For truly deep colour/grain improvement I’ve found nothing to beat tung oil. You mix the pure stuff 50/50 with mineral spirits, stir until it gets all filled with bubbles and then smooths out (about 30 seconds for a shot glass worth which would cover an entire 8x10x8 box in multiple coats) and then paint it generously (not dripping) over your wood. Come back a few hours or the next day and if it’s not quite there sand it lightly with 400 grit or higher (I use 1200 cuz I’ve got a lot of it) and do another coat. The more coats the shinier it gets.
Clean your brush immediately with a baby wipe and you can use the same one over and over again. If it dries completely it’s trash.
thanks! i’ll try both options.
Those look terrific. that many small pieces make my fingers hurt just looking at them.
The things I learn here! Thanks for the details.
@ca_worth I’m discovering tweezers are my friends; the sharper the better.
ya I get that. one thing I got for Christmas last year from my daughters is one of those lighted magnifying lights. made painting in some scored stuff quite easy.
Tweezers are essential. Another great tool is a small scrap of masking tape, for picking up and maneuvering small pieces. Less strain than tweezers, easier to pick up odd shaped pieces, and less risk of the piece flying across the table if you slip.
Very nice! Hmm…inspirational too’
