'Save the birds' Crystal Hanger

 

Have you ever had birds fly into your house windows?

Yip - so have I!

Recently I cleaned my filthy windows and then the very next day, a beautiful wax eye bird was dead on the ground.

The windows simply reflected the native bush behind 'The Barn', and that poor bird thought it was flying into the bush!

So sad.

If you are a long-time follower of Mia Bella Passions, you are probably wondering, bush?

But the 'Mia Bella Passions' garden is Italian and cottage!

So...

I haven't told you about my new beginnings and the happenings over the past two years.

Now's the time to do that.

I made the decision to leave my marriage.

For myself.

Not for anyone else or because of anyone else.

Simply because it was the right thing to do after such a long time of unfixable unhappiness.

The truth is 'Mia Bella Passions' - the house, the gardens and the blog carried me through terrible years of sadness and difficulty.

Not long after the separation, I met 'Him'.

I exhibited paintings in a gallery he was the curator of.

Another creative.

My perfect match.

We became a team.

 I shifted from 'Mia Bella Gardens Homestead' and transitioned to a gypsy-type life travelling, photographing, writing, painting and melding into the amazing small Lakeside community I now live in.

So that is where the bush comes into the picture.

Our creative studios and office are in a big blue barn that backs onto the native New Zealand bush.

To create some reflective light in the windows so those poor birds do not think there is a bush ahead, I have made pretty beaded crystal hangers.

I call them my 'Save the birds' crystal hangers.

To make a 'Save the birds' crystal hanger, you will need

Glass beads in your choice of colour and shape.

Very thin wire or jewellery wire.

Jewellery crimps.

Pliers.

A larger bead and crystal for the bottom of the hanger.

Start by cutting the wire to about 20 inches long (50cm) and attach your bottom crystal through the top hole in it, and twist the wire.

Then add a feature bead.

I used a glass heart which had a hole through the bottom and top.

Add more beads in whatever pattern and size you desire leaving about 3 inches (7.5cm) of wire to create a hanger loop.

 Using a metal crimp place one at the top of the bead chain, and squeeze to flatten with the pliers.

Put another metal crimp on and thread the wire through to create a loop.

I actually put two crimps on for the loop but you only need one.

Squeeze the crimp flat and trim the excess wire.

Hang it in a window where the birds tend to fly into.

The beads create shimmer to distract,

and the crystal creates beautiful rainbow patterns on a sunny day.

This has been the perfect solution that stops the birds flying to the barn office windows.

And they are very pretty too.

#diycraft #beadcraft 

Easy Sausage Two Cheese Canapes

Need to whip up a finger food plate for visitors or a party?

These sausage two cheese canapes are small meaty bites that will delight!

They are great for a kid's party platter too.

Super easy to make.

All you do is:

Fry your sausages in a little oil.

Make sure you prick the sausage skins to prevent bursts out of the ends.

Cool.

Slice the sausages into 1-inch rounds.

Spread each sausage piece with a thin layer of cream cheese.

Pop a chunk of tasty cheese on top.

(I used creamy Danish Harvati cheese for the chunks).

Then on to that a dollop of tomato sauce.

(I used Texan BBQ flavoured tomato flavour).

Carefully put a toothpick through the cheese into the sausage if you wish to transport it to another venue.

But if you are serving them straight from your home kitchen, the cream cheese on the sausage holds it together.

Keep refrigerated until 10 to 15 minutes before serving time.

Plate.

Put a little parsley around the plate to decorate.

Easy, huh?

A favourite easy-to-prepare canape your meat-loving guests will love to eat!

Printable recipe HERE.

#Horsdoeuvres #appetiser #sausagecanape #canape #easycanapes

Halloween Cork Bats

 

Halloween cork bats are terribly cute!

And terribly easy to create!

You Will Need:

All you need are corks. (approximately 2inches in size).

Black felt.

Craft twine.

Black and white acrylic paint.

A paintbrush.

Scissors.

Hot glue gun.

I'm making 12 'terribly cute bats'.

With the thought on Halloween to gift away a bat to the little people trick or treaters.

To Make:

Copy-paste-print the pattern sheet.

Pin pattern onto black felt (or freehand cut if you are confident) and cut out a set of wings for each bat.

Then the ears for each bat.

The Next Step:

Using a hot glue gun.

Glue ears onto cork.

Then the wings.

Paint white circles of for the eyes.

(Dry with a hairdryer for fast drying)

(You could also use small-size plastic boggle craft eyes instead of painting them.)

Then paint the black pupil onto the eye.

(Dry again with a hairdryer).

Glue on a (twine or ribbon)hanger to the bottom of the bat.

Then display it on a raw branch in a vase.

You could paint the branch orange, black or white.

But I have left mine naturally raw.

Add to your Halloween display as a table centerpiece, to decorate your trick or treat table or on your sideboard.

#bats #halloweencrafts #halloween