Creating a Bird Haven at Home

If you are a bird lover, chances are good that your personality is drawn toward bright colors, cheerful flowers, and a wide range of garden and landscape styles. I am the kind of bird lover who is always looking out her windows, at home and in the car, scanning for the flicker of colorful birds! I plant a lot of yellow in my flowerbeds, and I love the counterpoint of purples like hydrangea or climbing clematis. Have you taken the time to create a bird-friendly backyard?

Here are three tips I have found useful for making sure more birds visit my home! In my way of thinking, a landscape filled with beauty is not complete without a bird haven. Do you agree?

Two Major Bird Concerns The two biggest concerns for birds are finding food and being safe. I offer lots of vegetation like trees, shrubs, flowerbeds and vines, and this gives birds choices for safe landing spots. The foods that are most popular in my yard are insects, berries, and fruit. Seeds like no-mess blends are always offered, too, but alone, they are not ideal for attracting birds. 

Watch and Learn My large dining room window is my favorite perch for bird watching, and from there I realized that the neighborhood cat who is left to roam at will has been ruining my bird haven efforts! A friendly call to my neighbor has helped with that issue. The cover of sheltering tree limbs and ornamental grasses has helped birds feel safe in my yard. We often see hawks gliding in the thermals above our home, and a sheltering landscape helps small backyard birds rest easy about predators in the air.  

Stop Tidying Up By nature, I like to put things back into place at the end of each day. I'm a bit of a neat-freak. In my bird-friendly yard, a natural, more wild approach brings better results! Trimming back hedges and flowerbeds every week removes some of the insect-rich oasis for birds. It is good for me to be more casual in my yard work, as it lets me just relax in the lush, colorful space.

I would love to hear about your bird-friendly spaces!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

P.S. If you would like to see my latest colorful, handmade bird pillows, here is a quick link. Birds look great inside the home, too!

Top Ten Tuesday -- May 29, 2012

This has been a very creative week for me and I'm guessing that's why I have been attracted to many creative ideas and projects in my top ten list. There is almost always bright or intense colors that catch my eye, and when that doesn't work, there is always the needle arts to pull me in! This week the top ten picks include lots of color and needle arts, as well as a few finished-by-others items that will charm you to pieces. I hope I've found at least one item that will spark your creativity in the week ahead!

Crazy Quilt Stitches from Knick Knacks and Ric Rac

I always enjoy teaching crazy quilting class here in Colorado, so when this reference to the embroidery stitches fun to use in crazy quilting came my way, I knew I'd want to share it with you. The colorful presentation of the stitches just makes me want to dump my entire collection of embroidery floss and pearl cotton onto the kitchen table and start playing! You can find more information from Made with Love by Hannah. Enjoy!

Take a Sewing Class at Home

While we are talking about the fundamentals of embroidery, I want to share with you the wonderful new book I found at Landauer by Jan Vaine, Applique & Embroidery Fundamentals. This lovely book has such helpful photos and detailed stitch instructions that I think learning the 16 stitches included in the book will be very friendly, almost like have Jan right there beside you.

Message to Self

I thought that the message in this artistic print was right on target for me during the creative week I've had. It is tempting to follow along as a creative person because my mind is always seeking stimulation from other artists. This great poster on Olive Love Designs reminds me to express myself in my creative life! I also love how the hummingbird is gently flying while the other birds seem to be less serene. Perhaps being oneself is the path of least resistance...

Paper-Cut Garden is Architectural Creativity

I am always impressed by those folks whose mind works in three dimensions. Perhaps by saying this, you realize my mind tends to work in a flat, more 1.5-D sort of way? If you, too, are impressed with Mikro Store's architectural creativity, I hope you'll enjoy learning more about the 3-D Garden they've created. All of its natural imagery makes it a great way to combine slick materials with green places.

Irish Crochet Daisy Pin

I love the look of fine thread crochet and this brooch is a particularly good example of that. NothingButString on Etsy has included 15 petals on this flower, which is part of its charm I think: it looks intricate like a real flower. I am also quite fond of the leaf design in this made-to-order, handmade fiber jewelry. Well done!

Spring Garland of Flowers

As it seems I have embroidery and other traditional needle arts on the brain this week, I hope you will enjoy seeing this lovely silk ribbon embroidered wreath. I understand that there is a kit for this project along with Dupioni silk and a full set of instructions. I found this lovely item on a wonderful resource for fiber fans, the Tafa List. This particular treasure is the work of Lorna Bateman Embroidery, and I just love i!

Clever Organization Idea for Artistic Types

If you use pen-tip paints, dyes or glitters with any regularity, you will have empathy for the tragic "stuck in the bottle" situation I face from time to time. When I saw this clever idea on Pinterest, I knew it was perfect for my Nestle and Soar studio! You can find the full instructions for making your own storage "cookie sheet" at BeaOriginal.

Modern Mobile of Color

This is a case where a picture is worth a thousand words...French words, that is. I found this lovely, playful mobile idea on a French website, and the best I can tell you is that it is, in my rough translation, an homage to modern design, a good variation on a pendant light, excellent use of paper (tissue paper), arty interior design or a sculptural element for your office. Pretty fantastic! You may not be able to see the light bulb that is hiding directly behind the large red circular branch in the center of the piece, but it is there. You could make one of these swingy mobiles without the light and display it in the corner of the room where a breeze might make it even more playful. That last part I did not get from my high-school level interpretation of the original French...that is just what I plan to do with it! You can see the original source for this project here...voila!

Now for Something Completely Sublime

May I introduce to you the Vermonster, a stuffed animal monster that my kids would have adored! It is folk-arty and huggable. I love his eyes...each one looking up into opposite parts of the sky! This little monster needs a home: you can investigate adoption at Vermonsters109 on Etsy.

Funny Animal of the Week (in addition to the Vermonster)

You may not know what kind of animal this is, and neither did I until further investigation. It is a baby otter and I think I am in love! I adore the determined look on his face as well as his feet and soft fur. Have a great, determined, and silky-soft week ahead!

Thanks for stopping by,

Georgianne

Handmade Blue and White Vase (thanks to Kitty Cat)

There was a short line of women who wanted to buy this vase, and I was in that mix. The tallest lady looked like she might knock the rest of us over and pluck this prize off the shelf, and with those long legs, pay the cashier like a winner. I held my ground while I began formulating a consumer strategy.

A conversation began amongst these ladies-in- waiting, with a few nervous laughs thrown in, along with one elbow to the back of the mother-daughter team (who were the first to exit this consumer-dance). It was good to know that all the gals who saw this striking hand-thrown and painted vase knew they were looking at something impressive. And the color blue! I did not realize how attached some people are to this color. The words "perfect and cheerful" were used with such heart-felt emotion. I thought, I must wait them out.

In the end, it was a curious kitty cat that helped me purchase and bring home my lovely new vase. In this garden/art shop in Denver, the outside and the inside shop spaces flow freely, one to the next, and a curious cat had wandered into the room behind us. She had quietly leaped onto a rack of glass hummingbird feeders, and the next thing we knew, a crash with the sound of shattered glass was followed by surprised shouts and pointing by the vase-drooling ladies! This interruption and the frantic efforts of the sweet 20-year-old cashier to clear away broken glass caused the line to dissipate, and in about 5 minutes of deep longing, the vase and I stood alone, victorious.

If you look at the rhythm of the design on this vase and the charm of each element, you will know what I first loved about this simple vessel. The texture of the thick glaze helps me think about every brush stroke. I totally appreciate the skill displayed by this ceramic artist. I wish that the vase were signed on the bottom so that I could give appropriate credit. It just says "2003", which makes me wonder how in the world it lasted so long without a place to call home. It seems happy holding my daffodils and tulips today--perhaps even perfect and cheerful! I sincerely thank you, Kitty Cat. Your strategy worked for me!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Wool Bird's Nest with Wooden Eggs

My Wool Bird's Nest is available on Etsy.

The flowers are peeking up in my flower beds. The bird feeder is full and morning bird songs help me wake up as I walk around my neighborhood. My most organized neighbor has already raked his lawn and is watering today, and his yard will be emerald green for St. Patrick's Day! It seems like the perfect day to share with you my wool felt bird's nest.

I knit this nest with wool yarn---it looked like a winter hat for a gnome! I felted it in the washing machine, let it dry stretched onto the bottom of an up-turned sauce pan, and then I added wool yarn and roving embellishment. The wooden eggs were fun to paint, and I probably went a little overboard on the freckles...oh well...happy spring-like day!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Garden Walk on Wednesday

Wouldn't it be wonderful if this was a photo of my garden?! This lovely path is one I am walking down more often these days, but it belongs to the nice folks at the Denver Botanic Gardens. This is an ideal place for me to relax, sketch, and design the kind of wool art that I love to make. There is a program at the Gardens for artists to create art; botanical art is very popular. Held on the first and third Thursday of each month from 6:30-8pm, artists can meet one another, hear an informational lecture, and enjoy the Gardens. I will be sketching in the garden again on July 16th!

If you'd like to learn more about all that the Denver Botanic Gardens has to offer, here's their information. Denver Botanic Gardens

I send my best wishes and hope that where ever your path takes you today, it will be a lovely day for you--
Georgianne