First, I made a copy of a bird photograph and enlarged it to 150% of normal. (Easier to work with.) I then cut it out with small craft scissors, then traced around it onto freezer paper. Then, I ironed it onto fabric (shiny side down). At this point I painted over the image with acrylics (don't thin them down too much - the paint will bleed under the mask). Next, I thinned out the colors with water when further away from the bird to soften the effect. Two examples follow.
