AVIAN REAL ESTATE .....

Here in the South, Spring is in full swing. The trees are bursting into leaf, flower buds are ready to pop open, the grass is green and the regular mowing schedule has begun. Our garden is alive, with birds collecting material for nests ... building nests ..... and preparing for the next generation, and I LOVE it !!!!

We had one birdhouse in our garden last year, that was home to 2 sets of little wren babies - this year, the house sparrows have claimed it first. The decorative African mask we have on our back patio is home to little wrens every year .....

A couple of years ago, we organized a Scout Recruitment event, and there were 4 birdhouses that the little boys "painted". Let's just say, I saved them from the trash !!! They've been sitting in our garage for a while, so this year I decided that they were very much needed in our yard. I gathered up some patio paints, brushes and lots of ideas (thanks Pinterest .... again !!!), and got to it !!!

They were very ugly to start ......

Amazing what a few coats of paint can do !!!!
The "Mushroom Cottage" has some detail on the sides too:-)

"Chickadee House" ..... hopefully some little lovestruck birdie couple decides to call this home.

We chose the trees we wanted to put them up in, then Hubby came up with a way to attach them .... I can do the creative part - I'm not that good when it comes to the practical, that is his domain !!!

Here they both are, up and ready for the taking !!!

I have two more still to paint ..... best I get busy..... Spring waits for no one :-)

PERLER BEADS ......

I am so late to the party with these lovelies, that it's ridiculous. Yes, my kids had them when they were younger, and yes, I may have ironed the odd beaded creation here and there, but I never paid them much attention ..... that was until a couple of weeks ago.

I'm not sure how they made an appearance on my Pinterest feed, but they did, and I'm mighty glad about that.

I was totally amazed at the wonderful things one could make with these little plastic beads, and just how many people there are out there, who make a living on Etsy, selling those wonderful creations.
The timing of this discovery was perfect - I'm taking part in a year long craft along hosted by my friend Val (click on the badge on my sidebar for info ..... it's not too late to join in on the fun !!!). March's crafty challenge was to "Seussify" something, in honor of Dr Seuss's birthday. One particular Perler item had caught my eye ...... Coasters !!! I've been meaning to make a couple for my "office" for forever, but have just never quite got there ... well now I have, and it's another thing crossed off my (ever growing) To Do List..... with the added bonus, that they're super cute, super colourful, and just make me smile !!!

I found some charts on the net and Pinterest, that I could adapt or use as was ..... and here are the results. Grinch, Lorax and Sneetch !!!! Mr Grinch is my favorite :-)
In my research, a number of crafty people, suggested backing the coaster with cork, once you'd ironed the beads and melted them - Great idea - it makes them non slip, and it helps absorb any liquid, should that be necessary.

When I shared them on the swap blog, one of my good friends and fellow zombie doll maker, suggested that a zombie coaster would be quite fantastic ....... Sooooo

I made these two ugly, adorables, and popped them into the parcels with the dolls from yesterday's post :-)

Brittany and I sat for hours (and I mean HOURS!!!) over the 31/2 snow days we had, creating. She made some gorgeous round coasters with designs she made up ..... I'll share those with you in another post. Those buckets of beads should come with a warning that reads "Addictive". I can see so many possibilities  ..... scrapbook embellishments, card embellishments, mobiles, tree decorations, boxes,magnets ......etc.

Time for you to go and dig in your kiddos toy cupboard and see if you can unearth a tub (bet you can) of these little beads ..... pull them out, have a little play around, and you'll understand exactly what I mean :-)

CLOTH DOLLS .....

Hello again ..... two posts in two days .... I'd say things are looking up at the moment :-)

Type "Cloth Dolls" into the search box on your computer ..... you'll be transported to a place of such creative talent !!! There are hundreds, if not thousands of cloth dolls out there .... and Oh My Goodness, so many of them are drool worthy !!!!

Needless to say, the bug bit me, and I had to  ..... just HAD to ..... make some. I raided my stash (these are great projects to use up all of those little scrappy bits on) ... fabric, buttons, lace, ribbons and even my scrapbooking inks, paints and jewelery making waxed threads .... anything was fair game.
I was particularly taken by some dolls I'd seen on Pinterest, that, to quote a friend of mine, "were so ugly, they were adorable" .... I couldn't have agreed more. All primitive looking (a little zombie .. ish to be honest :-)

I coffee stained my main fabric, and free hand drew out some pattern shapes that I liked.
Saturday morning, I jumped out of bed and tip toed to "my office", while the rest of my family were still in dreamland. I popped a Queen CD into the CD player (I'm well aware I've just aged myself :-), Made myself a mug of coffee, and let my creative side run wild ....... It was total, complete, absolute bliss!!!!

See what I mean so ugly, they're adorable !!!!
I winged my way through both of them ...... sewed where I wanted to sew ..... painted where I wanted to paint ..... it was honestly creative carte blanche !!! I'd recommend it to anyone ..... no rules creating ... It sent my creative mind into overdrive !!!

Boy, do I adore him !!!! He was Brits favorite :-)

And her too !!!

I sent them off to two of my sweetest bloggy friends ever ... Girls who have the same need to create that I do :-)

I have drawn out more shapes that I'd love to try .... Oh My a family of Ugly Adorables ... I can hardly wait !!!!

PINCUSHION & THREAD CATCHER ........

Well hello there everyone .........

Spring is here, and we're emerging out from under two snow episodes, that were wonderful, but very un Texas like !!!

A couple of inches both times ...... enough to play in and build snowmen and an active snowcano (just love those baking soda and vinegar experiments they did in Elementary School) ....... It's fair to say, that I no longer feel cheated of a real Winter now !!!

Snow Day 1 .... My Snowbabies :-)

Snow Day 2. Newly fallen snow

I have been busy, creatively creating. I haven't shared much though, as most of my makes have been gifts for friends, and I had to wait for them to arrive at their new homes before sharing them here on my blog ...... what's the point of a birthday gift if someone spoils the surprise !!!!

First up .... this adorable pin cushion/thread catcher combo ....

It turned out so well ... THIS is the pattern I used. I purchased it off Etsy. It was well worth the money spent, as the directions are so well written. The only thing I did differently .... and this only happened by chance ..... was that I didn't need to use the boning that the pattern called for. I did have it, and intended to use it, but the batting/heavy interfacing I used was really heavy, so the thread catcher stays open, without needing the boning in the rim. I have already cut out another one, to make up for another friends birthday, but I'm sure there'll be plenty more of these made over the next little while. I need one for myself :-)

Here's the birthday card I made to go with the gift. Really quick and easy, but I love it !!! Four rows of complimenting washi tape, and the negative image from a butterfly punch :-)

Happy Birthday Jill ...... Hope your day was full of fun !!!!!