For the Birds

Well.....

I finally finished my last project for the "bird trees".

You remember the edible ornaments Addie and I made on Wednesday.

This is the other project I mentioned in that post.

I wanted to make my own suet balls to hang on the tree.

There a lots and lots of recipes out there , but this is the one I settled on.

1 cup lard

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup corn meal

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup mixed bird seed

I liked the fact it was all equal measurements.

Easy to remember.

The recipe said to melt the lard over a low heat.

I'm not that patient.

I used a glass bowl in the microwave.

The main reason they wanted you to melt over low heat was for safety.

Please be safe if you do this.

I covered the bowl with a paper towel because of splattering.

and took it out every minute  to stir.

Here I had added the peanut butter.

Of course , I felt the need to make a double batch .

Not real bright considering I hadn't made these before.

And had no idea if they would turn out.

Next I added the dry ingredients.

Guess I didn't get a picture of that mess.

( It really wasn't that bad)

After it had cooled ( actually I ran out of time , so I did this the next day )

I formed them into balls.

I had made loops out of jute a head of time.

Good thing too, cause my hands were such a sticky mess I wouldn't have been able to do it as I went.

This is also why there are no pictures of this step!

Anyway....

I formed the balls around the loops of jute,

then rolled them in more bird seed.

Kinda cute huh?

A double batch made 1 dozen.

Then into the freezer they went for 2 hours.

Actually longer, I was distracted taking down the Christmas decorations outside.

We've been having absolutely beautiful weather !

Mid 40's in January is VERY rare in my neck of the woods!

Anyway....

Here are my trees.

On my back deck ( which was free by the way, YAH! )

You don't think this kitty will scare the birds away do you ?

Am I happy this project is out of my head ?

YES!

Did it turn out how I had it pictured in my head?

Not entirely.

Will I make these again?

That remains to be seen.

This wasn't a hard project, just messy.

And not quite as "pretty" as I wanted.

However, if it attracts more birds to the back yard, I just might.

Have you ever had one of those projects?

That looked better in your head than it did in reality?

Oh well.... at least my birdies won't starve.

polkadotsandplaid.tumblr.com via Pinterest

apassionforpapertrey.blogspot.com via Pinterest

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(Almost Wordless) Wednesday with Addie

I have had a project in my head for a while now.

It really needed to get out !

If you read my blog , you know I LOVE my birds.

Even though we have had unseasonably warm weather here in Iowa,

I still feed the birds regularly.

Emily got me these wonderful trees for Christmas.

Even though she thought it was a weird gift suggestion.

( Bless Her Heart)

Notice the snow on my deck?

This is the most  we've had.

That is NOT a complaint!

My idea is to take these little trees and decorate them with edibles for the birds.

I got a little inspiration from Pinterest.

sjarmerendejul.blogspot.com

Mine didn't turn out quite like these.

But.....

 writeclickscrapbook.com

Plus....

My Big Helper and I had fun making them.

First we cut shapes out of bread slices.

Then we spread peanut butter on the shapes.

( birds and butterflies)

Addie got a little ahead of me.

Then we pressed bird seed into the peanut butter.

Our finished project.

Close up.

We poked a hole in them with a straw and I tied jute through it to make a hanger.

I have one more project in this crazy head of mine ( that must get out SOON )

before I decorate the trees.

Bet you can't wait to see what that is huh?

Stay tuned !

serendipitychicdesign.blogspot.com

Sharing this project at :

http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com

http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com

http://www.atthepicketfence.com/2012/01/welcome-to-inspiration-friday-no-46.html

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/2012/01/feathered-nest-fridayand-giveaway.html

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

http://ornamentplace.com/

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Farewell Christmas .....

I de-Christmased my house.

I'm  a little sad.

I miss all the twinkling lights.

The house looks a little bare.

But it gets a good cleaning that way.

Although I think I will be finding glitter stuck to everything FOR*EV*ER !

But I have to decorate.

So I changed my "faux mantle" to a "Wintery" scene instead of Christmas.

Here's how it looked at Christmas.

My cardboard houses and cloches.....

*SIGH*

And here is how it looks now.

My" ice trees" ( I got the big one at the thrift store for $3 ), antlers. a pair of metal deer I found on clearance while shopping for Christmas groceries and my white poinsettia from the kitchen.

Love these deer!

 $5 each at Hy-Vee.

I am not a fan of Hy-Vee ( for many reasons),

but a  good deal is a good deal.

And these are AWESOME!

I've been playing with photo-editing in Picasa.

What do you think?

I'm still a terrible picture taker ( I will never call myself a photographer )

but the effects are fun .

I wrapped some snowflake ribbon around my deer like scarves.

I've had it forever but never used it much.

I used the snowflake ribbon as a garland on the large "ice tree".

I had a lot of fun with the photo editing ....

Do you still have your Christmas decorations up?

Or have you moved on like me ?

Did it make you just a little bit sad to see it go too?

But I am happy to welcome 2012!

Joining these fun "linky" parties:

http://youaretalkingtoomuch.blogspot.com

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com

http://my1929charmerblog.com/sundays-best-2012-link-party/

http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/


http://www.thegunnysack.com/



http://soverycreative.blogspot.com/2012/01/so-creative-party-time-18.html

Goals for 2012

I don't do goals.

Ever.

I'm very bad that way.

I am also VERY unorganized.

And a procrastinator.

And a bit lazy.

Generally I'm OK with this.

But since I started blogging ( which I really enjoy), I've had some real time management issues.

So I got to thinking,

what if I TRIED to set some goals,

what if I TRIED to be more organized.

could that possibly help ?

I'm sure it couldn't hurt.

I have some wonderfully organized friends.

One of them , Rhonda has sent me diffrent links and blogs to check out in a futile attempt to help me organize.

She shared this link from mysimplerlife.com

http://www.mysimplerlife.com/2012/Decluttercalendar2012.pdf

It's a 12 month calender with simple daily activities to keep your home clean and organized.

Sounded like a good idea.

Have I printed it out?

NO.

Will I ?

Maybe...probably...YES !

Then I was reading a blog I just started following recently, AskAnna , and she has a 14 day challenge to get clean and organized.

I decided to join.

I love a challenge.

Not that my house is that messy,

I would just rather decorate.

My closets are terribly unorganized ,

as are my kitchen cupboards.

Goal # 1~ Get closets and cupboards clean and organized.

Also since starting to blog, I haven't read as much.

I am an avid reader.

I LOVE my Kindle.

I usually read a couple of books a week.

Not lately.

 So....

Goal #2~ Read 2 books a month.

This one shouldn't be hard but I am going to have to  practice that time management thing !

I read for pleasure and entertainment.

I don't like to read serious stuff or self-help ( Heaven forbid!)

I like books with quirky characters.

Some of my favorite authors ~

Rosamund Piltcher, author of the classic The Shell Seekers (which I highly recommend) and my favorite Winter Solstice ( which I read EVERY December). She hasn't written anything for a while, but I love her style and interesting characters.

Janet Evanovich, author of the Stephanie Plum series. You don't get much quirkier than Stephanie's family , friends and felons. ( She is a bounty hunter, just not a good one) If you literally want to Laugh Out Loud, read a Stephanie Plum book! I've read them all, except the last one and I will be starting Explosive Eighteen next week!

Sarah Addison Allen , I first discovered Sarah a couple years ago her first book Garden Spells had me and I've read EVERYTHING she has written.  Her books always have quirky families and a mystical, magical quality I love.

 Sarah survived a battle with breast cancer this year but still released a new book , The Peach Keeper.

And my last goal ( 3 is pretty good for a non-goal person right?)

Goal #3 ~Stay healthy

I've been VERY lazy the last couple months.

I usually get that way in the winter, but we've had lovely winter so I can't really blame that.

I still exercise but not as much as I should.

I still eat right , just too much.

So...

Time to get back on track,

I've put some weight back on and it's time to get it under control before it gets out of control!

I've never needed to be skinny but my overall health is very important to me.

My family has a lot of health issues I do not want to inherit!

So there you have it.

3 goals for 2012.

From the most non-goal girl you will ever meet!

Are you a goals or non-goal person like me ?