~ "The View from My Garden....continued" ~

This is a little mini album I made from envelopes and I use it to showcase photographs I have taken of the birds that visit my garden and also some I see when I am out walking in my neighbourhood.

Some of the stamps I used in my book are from Crafty Secrets Birdsong set.
I also used some pages from the Crafty Secrets Birds and Botanical Images and Journal Notes Pad which I have used in different ways throughout my book .

If you are interested you can see a video of my journal here

Sewing Card

I made this little card using some digital downloads I purchased from Crafty Secrets.

Digital Bobbin Cards T-14
Digital Printable Button Cards T-13
Digital Sewing papers DP-07

I made a pocket and tucked in some cards. I sewed some buttons to the button cards, dyed some seam binding to match the colours , added some co-coordinating ric-rac trim and some pretty buttons, a piece of tape measure tape.  I also made a felt and gauze rolled flower and cut the ticket and spool label elements from one of the papers.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog.

Little Sewing Pocket Book

I made this fun little Sewing Pocket Book by following a tutorial by Dar's Crafty Creations Blog

I used some digital downloads that I had purchased from Crafty Secrets..
Digital Bobbin Cards T-14
Digital Printable Button Cards T-13
Digital Sewing papers DP-07
and my Clear Art Stamp Set Material Girl

here are some photos of my little book....

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog.

More"View from My Window"and...

Just a little bit of this and that...

Not sure if I ever mentioned but I am undertaking a little project this year to endeavour to take a photo each day of the year...
It has been going very successfully and although there have been one or two days when I have slipped up and forgotten, I have managed to get a photo every day. I am finding  it is a great way to open my eyes to what is happening around me, nature and life in general.
I made up twelve little albums..one for each month of the year and at the end of each month, I print out my photos for the month, stick them in my book, write a caption and on the last page a little re-cap of what has been happening during the month.

It is amazing how quickly the months fly by and I have just completed my album for August...only four books to go!!

Now, what I really started off to write about today is what my photo happened to be for today.
This amazing bird was our visitor to the Grevillea this morning...

....it is a Black Cockatoo

Isn't he amazing... he is so big!!

Another 'view from my window' is this amazing fruit which I noticed in our garden this morning!!

It is growing on our orange tree and somehow has forgotten that oranges are supposed to be 'round'!! Very strange!!

Ben reminded me too that it has been a while since he made an appearance on our blog!!  So I need to put that right so here is a beautiful photo I took of him recently at his favourite place, the beach. He is almost 8 and a half now and a little whiter around his gorgeous sandy nose but ever so handsome don't you think??

Oh and just one more thing before I go and this  may surprise you....I actually finished a stitching project recently!! Yes, I am happy to announce that I actually did.  Here is my Shepherd's Bush In My Garden needle roll.  Quite appropriate really I guess since I have been talking a lot lately about the view from my window and what is in  my garden!!

" A good snapshot stops a moment from running away"

~ Eudora Welty

~ The View From My Window ~

With Spring only days away here in Australia, activity in our garden has been amazing.  I just love to watch the birds ....so busy right now as the weather warms.  We have actually had an early Spring really with quite high temperatures.  A few weeks back we noticed a little brown honey-eater taking a great deal of interest in our front garden and just by fluke as I looked out the window I saw this....

Nest ~ "A structure that birds make to keep their eggs and babies in"

Well actually, I saw the nest before she had taken residence. It must have still been a work in progress at that stage and then she was sitting in it... So cute and what a lovely little mother. Mr Bird helps with the babies and they are now chirping..ever so quietly, but enough so I can hear them and they are already growing feathers.  This has happened really fast as it was only July 25 that I first spied the nest (I know this as I wrote an entry in my journal) .

I love writing in 'The View From My Window'...my little book where I journal about just that :)

  

Here are the two little babies...ever so sweetly cuddled up in their little nest.... 

We are fortunate to have a big old Grevillea tree in our garden and it is a hive of activity right now and is a virtual Airport..with birds flying in and out all day long.  These are just a few of the regular visitors at present..

These two beauties make such a colourful picture

I love this shot of Nature's colour palette

.........Now it has been a few days since I started writing this post and just didn't get around to getting it finished so I was amazed today to see the little nest empty and the babies gone.  They were there this morning when I looked early and gone a few hours later. We have since seen the little ones trying their little wings.... 

"Jump, you little birdie!"

Hark! the mother sings:

"Fly, you little birdie,

Try your little wings"

See! the little birdie

Jumps from off the bough:

cunning little birdie,

Do be careful now!

You're so very little,

On that tree so tall,

That I tremble birdie,

Lest you get a fall.

Look! He's flying safely,

Flying without fear.

Ah!the little birdie

Knows his mother's near.

 What a wonderful thing Nature is... Keep safe little ones!!

~ What a Wonderful Bird is the Pelican ~

I remember my Dad many, many years ago when I was little reciting that little verse to me...

"What a wonderful bird is the Pelican

His bill can hold more than his Belly can"

Saw these enormous beautiful birds at Noosa on Friday. How funny are they balancing on poles while sleeping.  How do they do that without falling in the water lol!!

 Just looks like a big fluffy plump cushion!!

~ I Played Today ~

Today was a dull, wet, and cold winters day so this afternoon I played in my craft room and dyed some seam binding and played with my flowers experimenting with my Lindy's Magicals.

Pretty fairy colours don't you think?

Lots of pretty fairy flowers too.

All ready for future projects.

What fun!

~ Just Chat ~

Hi and if you are visiting my blog a big thank you for taking the time....

I have a couple of things to share with you today.  One, a beautiful little visitor who flew into the garden the other day and even came right in under our deck to look for insects .....

Look at this little treasure....

Isn't he just the cutest thing.  My research tells me he is a 'Striated Black-headed Pardalote' 

and was very tiny.Their size is about 9-11.5 cm.  I really hope he will come back again.

I just love when these more unusual birds visit our garden. Sometimes their visits are just very fleeting but they bring with them so much pleasure to us when we see them.  

Speaking of tiny things...

I made this tiny mini album recently for my beautiful daughter and thought you might like to see it. It is only about 2.5 inches square.

I didn't take any photos of the individual pages but I was amazed at how much I could fit into this tiny book.  Each page was a pocket page and had something tucked into it and I hung some charms from the side.

Autumn is here in Australia and even although we live in the sub-tropics we can feel a slight difference now in the temperatures particularly on our morning walks and it is that time of year when you need to change the bedclothes to something a little warmer.

My beautiful boy Ben,  hasn't made an appearance here for quite a while it is appropriate that I show you a photo of him this time as he turns 8 years old this Friday.  Love that boy!!

He LOVES the beach!!
 

~ Oh my gosh...two posts in one day!! ~

I just had to come back to show you this...

I happened to look out the window and here'Lizzy' was in the bird bath..... well she is a water dragon...

A bird came down for a bath whilst she was there, took one look and  thought... 'What kind of 'bird' is that' and flew off!!

I am so glad she is enjoying our garden!!

~ Some Wildlife in My Neighbourhood ~

Thought I would show you some Australian wildlife that I have photographed over the last few days....

Saw this Carpet Python while on our morning walk the other day.....  quite large and very beautiful....

This cutie lives in my garden and delights me with it's presence basking on my deck and waiting for insects...

 Although I am not sure if it a boy or girl  I have named it 'Lizzy'....very original don't you think :))

And finally these two were happily going about their business while some onlookers were standing close by taking photos....

Hope you enjoy seeing some nature from my neighbourhood.

Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful.  Everything is simply happy.  Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance.  Look at the flowers - for no reason.  It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are.  ~Osho