CRAFTS :)

My Grandmother used to always feed her birds and we would just watch them for hours at the kitchen table through the window.  She taught me so many birds by the way they looked and or the sweet sounds they make.  I have grown up and have my own little girl and have passed this love of birds and God's majestic nature to her.

We love feeding our birds and watching them enjoy their meals.  The fun thing is different ways of feeding them besides the regular feeders and just throwing it on the ground.  Winter here in Texas is off and on with temperature fluctuations but even with that the natural bug selection Thank God is scarce!

With that said I like to give the birds a little something extra to help fatten them up and supply much needed warmth.  In a magazine I have seen about peanut butter etc., but also the less expensive route in which we are using this winter is:  LARD!  I have to laugh, I don't cook with it but actually buy it for the protein for the birds!   Here is what we have on our tree branches/sticks now:

This is so easy here is what you need to complete this cheap, quick, easy, fun craft 

Bird Seed     a small tub of LARD     something to smear it on with, my $ store silicone brushes and TP empty rolls.   I absolutely love these little recycled things they make many cheap, fun crafts!

Next, get a roll, get some Lard on your brush of choice and paint/smear away!

Now for the FUN part!  When completely covered put it into the birdseed.

Just move it around and push it in a little with each turn

OK, now it should look like this! 

Now just decide where you want to put them and enjoy watching the birds have fun!  Our 6 rolls were ready to be replaced in less than a week once discovered!

Sure hope to inspire you to have a little craft fun and at the same time enjoy some of God's wonderful creatures!  

OK, I must be a total dork!  I can't figure out how in the world to post onto the tabs where I would like my posts except on my home page.  My home page lets anyone who follows, subscribes via email see my new posts and from what I know, can see, or try to under stand these tabs/pages don't let others know unless they visit your page or don't email!  I can't figure out!  So forgive the repeats as I just copy and post the things from my home page to the tabs when you look for stuff!  IF you have any pointers, guides or instructions PLEASE please let me know!  Email or comment, just let me know I need help and can't figure it out like all the blogs I love.  I have asked for help and still waiting.

Here is my next Tutorial:

Valentine Inspired Car Bingo Recycled Tin Tutorial

We live in the country and well, frankly, getting down our driveway is a mini road trip.  Our rock driveway is about 1/4 mile down to the actual Highway for us to go anywhere.  We are always on the lookout to see what we can see and, honestly, we can see a lot.

We have trees, telephone poles, our donkey GusGus, a pond which is a host to a lot of wild life not limited to but often seen:  Red Tail Hawk, an array of other birds, the tanks Blue Crane, Racoons, Skunks, Armadillos, Deer and Bob Cats to name a few!

I am always searching for Kendall to do something in the car on our drives other than play on her phone.  She likes to play games or text but if she does it for too long it makes her head hurt and not feel very good.  The car bingo we've had before engages her to look outside and keep her mind searching so with that in mind I created a special one for her.

My youngest brother years ago gave me some Brighton Cross Earrings that I just love.  The neat lime green heart shaped container they came in with fun writing on it was just to cool to not do something with.  There came the Valentine Inspiration as it is February 2, 2013 and this container is in the shape of a heart!  :)    So here is what I did to make this.  Realize, you can use any size tins to make it compact with a lid, I'm thinking an Altoid Tin for the next one Christmas inspired  ;)

I will give you a complete supply list at the end of this tutorial, enjoy!

Get some scrapbook paper, open your tin and cut out section to fit for both lid and base.

Open your tin and decide how many magnets you want to use so you can still see the pretty/fun paper.

Turn your tin upside down on the backside of your paper (easier to see on white ) and trace your shape for both bottom and top.  Cut out your shapes.

Next I used Elmer's glue and glued the paper into the top and bottom of my tin.
Then I went to Google Images for Road Trip Bingo and picked the one I liked and chose the things that would keep her looking for a while.

This is the one that I used and the website link is on the bottom of this picture!  She did a great job and for us it was the most easy to recognize via picture because my tin is so little I had to import the file and shrink it down to 3 x 3 and 3 x 4.   I printed 2 copies.
1.  I cut out the bigger ones to glue to the magnets
2.  I cut the smaller ones to glue stick to the base of my tin.

Now the hard part is just letting these dry for our next outing in the car.  Kendall is 11 and she loved the bright paper and the special tin made just for her.  She can keep it in her purse for use when traveling with friends or in our car; her choice.  This was just so quick, fun and easy I felt really good making it for her with things we had just lying around!  No $$ spent that's the way to have some free fun!

Supplies:
Tin of your choice
Pack of magnets ( craft section Walmart or Hobby Lobby )
Sheet of Scrapbook or any other paper you like
Elmer's School Glue and Glue Stick
Scissors and a pen or pencil for cutting and tracing your shape
Images or Stickers of what you want your little ones to look for

May your day be filled with SunShine, Joy and Smiles............. Have fun & God Bless