Reminders of What Is Important To Us

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Reminders of what is important to us

Most of us live on the edge. Although we live in cities, suburbs, rural towns and out in the middle of nowhere, we choose to live apart from what is considered to be "normal" nowadays. Even if we're surrounded by people or close to them, we are living on the edge of the mainstream because we've changed our mindset; we're on a slower and gentler journey.  And it is for that reason that I want to encourage you all to highlight what is important to you - to express what you love about the various things we do that others don't.  This is a reminder, or encouragement, if that's what you need today, about the life we live and why we live like this. People in the mainstream have a monotonous stream of information, advertising and peer support about their lifestyle, spending, shopping and fashion. That keeps them going - it reminds them of what they love, what is important to them. If you watch television, listen to the radio, surf the internet, read magazines or walk around the city, you'll see the current constantly changing cultural must haves; the products and services that help people live lives of convenience. 

All that glitters is not gold.

Floral fabric Birdhouse

      So now that we have fed the birds and given them nesting material, I thought they might need a place to build that nest. I went through my Mother's stash of quilting fabric for inspiration and added some touches from the sewing supply stash of mine. this is what I came up with.........................

I used Mod Podge to glue the fabric, ribbon and buttons to a wooden birdhouse. I painted the base with a coordinating color, added a thimble on the the roof top and then gave the whole house a coat of  outdoor clear coat spray. I am so happy with the result I will be making more!

Check it out at LifeSeasoning on Etsy - I will be adding a kit to make this soon too! Happy birding!

spring craft for kids and birds

Spring Break Activities For Kids

Spring Crafts For Kids – Helping Backyard Birds with “The Backyard Bird Bag”

The spring birds in our backyards are busy this time of year building nests for their new families. Your family can create and hang this bag from a tree in your yard to provide a new bird family with food and nesting materials made from recycled items in your home!

Click for a larger image

Backyard Bird Bag Materials – What You Will Need

• 1 square foot burlap (biodegradable, please!)
• Scissors
• Ribbon
• String
• Yarn or twine
• Strips of fabric or cloth remnants
• Shredded paper
• Leaves or pine needles
• Nuts, seeds, or even stale bread
• Optional: horse hair (we used sheep’s wool!)

Lay out your burlap square on a table or desk. (Make sure it’s biodegradable)

Fill the burlap square with all your collected materials like nutritional nuts and seeds and items that the birds can use to construct a nest! (Make sure to use pretty spring colors as we’re sure the birds want to be ‘in season!’)

Collect the four corners of your burlap square, but make sure there’s enough room in between the corners so the birds can pull out all of the goodies inside.

Tie your ribbon around your Backyard Bird Bag with a bow.

Hang the Backyard Bird Bag from a tree (close to a window in your house!) and watch the birds go “nuts”! Then pat yourself on the back for doing something nice for others that share our planet.