Peanut Butter and Orange bird Feeders...

Oranges Bird Feeders

The orange tree in Mia Bella Passions garden is bulging at the seams!
In fact, all the citrus trees are loaded with fruit this year.
And every season, we eat the fruit, bake with it, juice it, gift it, 
and share it with the birds.
Homemade bird feeders
And that's what this post is all about...
They are pretty simple to make...
In a bowl combine:
or whatever you have on hand:
The more dry ingredients you use, the more peanut butter you need.
 I added some of the diced pulp retained from the scooped-out oranges, and some of the juice too.
Mainly because the waxeye birds I am making these for,
 LOVE oranges!
Homemade bird feeders
Then all you do is stuff the scooped-out orange skins with the mixture.
Homemade bird feeders
And there you have it.  
Homemade bird feeders
This would be a great activity for the kids.
Kids love mixing messy stuff!
Messy play was always a favourite of my children when they were little, so keep this one in mind as a perfect activity to break the boredom of the summer holidays.
Homemade bird feeders
Once you have created these bird delicious treats,
 pop them out on your feeding table.
Or you could attach a string to the orange skins before filling
with the mixture so you can hang in the branches of a tree.
Homemade bird feeders
Believe me, it will not be long and the neighbourhood birds 
will be converging on these with complete delight!
These wee cuties are called 'waxeyes'.
 For those of you who are interested in more information:
 The Silvereye or Waxeye (Zosterops lateralis) is a very small omnivorous passerine bird of the south-west Pacific.
It is found in Australia and New Zealand.
Homemade bird feeders
My little feathered friends just went crazy over these Nutty Orange feeders!
I get the feeling I'll be making another batch next week,
 and the next week, and the next week!
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New Laundry Picture....

I stumbled across these FREE printables the other day 
while looking for graphics for my laundry makeover.
The laundry decor is tired.
Time to change the beach cottage styling
and create a little touch of French Country!
The first step was a new piece of artwork.
And boy was I excited to come across a blog called
'Dorothy Sue and Millie B's too'
Free bee printable
The Queen Bee Printable was perfect!
Available with a white or blue background...
(I chose white)
Or reversible graphic.
Pop along to
and have a look.
All I needed to do was print it, trim to size, and frame it!
Free bee printable
And here it is.
Free bee printable
 And here it is again on the laundry wall.
Doesn't it look cute against the blue?

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#Frenchcountry #Queenbeeprintable 

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting....

Oh my goodness...
This frosting is divine!
There's no artificial food colouring in it at all...
Only pure delicious strawberries!

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

With beaters - whip together 1 cup of soft butter 
3 and a half cups of icing (confectioners) sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
and 3-4 tablespoons of strawberry syrup.
 I made my own strawberry syrup which is simply 1 cup frozen strawberries 
that is simmered over heat until soft,
 mushed with a bit of help from my potato masher, 
and strained through a sieve...
(Blend the left over pulp for a fab smoothie 
with a scoop or two of icecream, 
a tablespoon of sugar and milk.  
YUM!)

So all you do is beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and syrup...
It looks a bit greyish to start with...
but just beat it...
 and beat it some more...
and a wee bit more..
Until it is thick, fluffy and the palest pink!

I baked a simple butter cake to test this frosting on, and it was perfect!
It would work well as a piped frosting, but I didn't have time to do this...

Basic Butter Cake:

125 grams soft butter, 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
3/4 cup superfine caster sugar
2 eggs
BEAT until creamy...
then add...
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour 
and 1/2 cup milk.
Place in a greased 19 cm cake pan. 
Bake at 180 Celsius for 20 minutes 
or until cake skewer comes out clean.
Cool, then frost.

(Note: this recipe makes a small cake 
so increase quantities if large cake is desired.)



Birthday Cupcake...

Delicious passion-fruit cupcake
Iced with passion-fruit butter cream icing...
Birthday Cupcake decorating ideas
Decorated...
with sweet fondant  and sugar pearls! 
Birthday Cupcake decorating ideas
Who needs a cake when you can have a birthday cupcake?
Birthday Cupcake decorating ideas
Blue fondant butterflies...
Birthday Cupcake decorating ideas
Gorgeous paper case...
Birthday Cupcake decorating ideas
 On a beautiful antique plate...
Birthday Cupcake decorating ideas

Beautiful Old China
This plate is 'Paragon'
Beautiful Old China
Pretty, don't you think?
Beautiful Old China
Fine bone china, made in England.
Birthday Cupcake decorating ideas
Birthdays are a time to celebrate...
With a cupcake made with LOVE!

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#cupcakebirthdaycake #cupcakebirthdaycakeideas


Stamped Gourd Bowl...


On my previous post about painting the back boards on the bookcase/shelf, 
you may have noticed the decorated gourd...
Many have asked me how this was done...



Here's a quick tutorial:
Paint the whole gourd (Cutting into a bowl comes later!)a base colour. 
 Here I have used cream.
Then stamp (I used a large shell stamp from the 'Stampin Up' range) 
using permanent black ink,
 spacing the shell stamps around the gourd as you go. 
 I guestimate everything...no rulers used!
Wait for it to dry.
Use a very sharp cutter to cut around the top of the shells, 
thus creating the bowl.
Paint the inside of the bowl.
Then using a sponge swipe contrasting colours of paint randomly around the gourd.
I used a bright yellow, brown and a gold.


Do your detailing.
I painted a border of brown.
Touched the shell stamp design  up with some bright yellow, 
and painted bright yellow around the cut edge of the gourd.
Join the shells and accentuate the top border using a permanent black marker pen.
When completely dry coat with clear varnish.
And there you have it.
Have a go if you can source a gourd.
They are so much fun  to paint and decorate.

#gourdart #gourds







Shelf do-up...

I have been looking at bookcase do-overs on Pinterest.
 Which, if you didn't already know, is my other 'happy place'!
There are so many clever ideas to be found there for shelf.
Wallpaper on the shelf backboards.
Painted wood
Fabric mod podged on.
The list goes on.
Restyling wood furniture with paint.
I have always disliked my bookcase.
Ornaments just don't display well because the wood is so dark.
The 'Sitting Room' where the shelf resides has a lot of red and white in it, and it's pretty bright.
To fix these issues, I decided to simply paint the backboards of the shelf white, while leaving the dark wood everywhere else natural.
Restyling wood furniture with paint.
And what a difference it has made!
Restyling wood furniture with paint.
 My ornamental collectables stand out!
(I am wondering why it took me so long to do this!)
Restyling wood furniture with paint.
It has brightened up the wall too!
Restyling wood furniture with paint.
And the best thing is...
 My cute flying pig has wings for all to see!

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#paintingwoodenfurniture #diyshelfdoerupper
#restylingwoodfurniturewithpaint.

George...

Now don't you be fooled 
by his butter wouldn't melt in my mouth good looks...
Hungarian Vizla
This dog has serious attitude!
Hungarian Vizla
Meet George...
Using the word mischief to describe him is an understatement!
Here at Mia Bella Gardens, we call him a work in progress.
Apparently, the  'Hungarian Vizla' breed is a work in progress for their lifetime!
(I'm still coming to terms with that!)
They are known as velcro dogs because they have to be close to you.
I'm talking, actually sitting on top of you when you are trying to watch TV!
Hungarian Vizla Dogs
George is probably just darn happy he found us.
He was sad, neglected and abused before he came to us.
Seriously underweight, weighing in at only 17 kilos the day he arrived,
George is now happy, healthy and loved!
He has found his forever home,
even though he drives us completely crazy with his naughtiness.
(Now here's the reason why I do not have a lovely wreath on the front entrance door, 
and why I made a sturdy silver platter welcome sign.)
Currently, I'm in a creative planning phase, 
redesigning a gorgeous front porch entrance...
that is 'George proof'!
Hungarian Vizla Dogs
We love him to bits!
How could you not love that face?

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Welcome Door Sign...

I found this cute little silver platter in the thrift store the other day 
and thought wow I can do something with this!
It has the most beautiful detailing around the edge.
DIY Home Decor Projects
So out came the paint!
DIY Home Decor Projects
I wasn't feeling too bad about painting over it because I don't think it 'real' as it doesn't have any makers marks on it.
DIY Home Decor Projects
Using a gorgeous yellow colour, I applied two
coats to the middle, leaving the  detailing around the edge as is.
DIY Home Decor Projects
While it was drying I went on the net and found some free printables. 
http://thegraphicsfairy.com/ is a great place to look.
I couldn't decide on one so I printed three.  It took me a while to choose,
 but I opted for the bee.
Plus printed out a Welcome word using a pretty font.

The clever reasoning of this is hubby is learning all about bee keeping at the moment, 
so I thought he'd approve of my new piece of clutter!  (My plan worked!)
DIY Home Decor Projects
 Mod podge the graphics on to the platter.  
When dry, mod podge over the entire painted area.
DIY Home Decor Projects
 Then I made a wire hanger using contrasting coloured beads.
DIY Home Decor Projects
And here it is - the first part of my front entrance upgrade.
 It is so cute!
Bonus is - it is completely George proof!
Check in tomorrow and find out what I mean....
until then, have a fabulous day.

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#diyprojects #upcycingideas #DIYhomedecor


Gouldian Finches...

Mia Bella Gardens aviaries have new additions...
two breeding pairs of Lady Gouldian Finches.

They are amazing colours don't you think?
The male has a gorgeous dark purple breast...
And the female has a pale lavender breast.
Don't you think those wings look angelic?

For more information on these finches visit:
http://www.efinch.com/species/gould.htm

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#finches #gouldianfinches #angelwings



Lavender Crocus

Crocus Plants

The crocus is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family. 
They are perennials that grow from corms.
Flowers can appear from autumn through winter, to spring.
Crocuses are native to woodland, scrub and meadows.
They grow from sea level to alpine tundra 
in Central and Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. 
They thrive in a range of environments, from meadows and grasslands to rocky slopes. Their versatility in adapting to different climates makes them a gardener's favourite.
They are especially cold-hardy.
Crocus varieties include spring-blooming types like the large-flowered Dutch Crocus (Crocus Vernus), which is notable for cultivars like 'Pickwick. 
A smaller species of crocus is Crocus tommasinianus.
Another type, Crocus sativus, the source of Saffron, blooms in autumn.
Did you know that you need approximately 150,000 flowers to produce just one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of saffron?
Saffron is the stigma of the flower.
That explains why it is such an expensive spice to buy!

Crocus Plants
There are around 90 different varieties of crocus, with an array of colours, shapes, and sizes!
I snapped these photos so you could see how gorgeous the
 lavender flowers with bright yellow stamens are!
I'm not sure of the name of this one, but these crocuses grow in pots and in the garden beds of 'Mia Bella Passions' gardens.
I think they make a stunning display in a beautiful glazed pot.

What's not to love about the crocus?
Potted Crocus Plants
You might like to create this temporary indoor display of crocus.
Find out how HERE.

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#crocus #allaboutcrocus