Great Backyard Bird Count 2010

I want to share a fun and important opportunity with you that I have participated in for the last few years and encourage you to get involved this year. It is the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). Why have I participated? Part of the allure is being able to contribute data as a citizen scientist to a worthwhile research project. Also, I enjoy either watching and counting the birds from my dining room or getting outside to a park or other good bird watching area.

I could go on, but there is so much more info by the organizers of this event, that I encourage you read their press release to learn more about how you can help and to see some amazing photos taken during last year’s event.

This worthwhile project can be great fun for you and your family, so I hope you will get a chance to participate. Happy counting!

Heart Your Valentine

Give your heart to your Valentine with one of the following gifts available from EDCCollective or EclecticSkeptic. (Click on the image to enlarge it.) For more information about an item or to purchase it, head on over to the shop listed under each item.


Did you see something you liked, but it needs a cute flying pig charm? Or perhaps it’s the other way around? Many of these items can be made with or without the flying pigs. To see if I can add a flying pig to a featured item, contact me at EclecticSkeptic. For items sans piggies, contact me at EDCCollective.

Design This – Native American Hair Accessories

I described in an earlier post how an Etsy alchemy listing led me to include feather wrap pendants to my offerings at EDCCollective. A recent alchemy listing inspired me to add feather hair accessories as well. The title of the alchemy listing was “Native American Necklace and Hair Accessories”. That peaked my interest and I clicked on the request to read the description. I responded with one of my feather wrap pendants and was told that a different style necklace was being looked for, but was asked if I could make something similar in a hair thong?

Hair thong, now that was a new term to me, so I did some research on the web and came back to my prospective customer with some ideas and questions. After getting some feedback, I sent a photo of mock ups of three different types of feathers that I had on hand that I thought would lend themselves to this project. My customer liked the design and feathers of the middle one the best, so I proceeded to complete a pair of Native American inspired hair thongs based on it.

I liked the way the gray and white feather mock up looked, so I made a couple of pair of hair thongs based on that design for my shop. The third photo in this post shows the completed custom hair thongs as well as the ones for my new shop listing. While looking for hair clips for this project, I found some that would compliment other feathers that I had in stock. I used these colorful new clips to create some peacock feather hair accessories.

I have really enjoyed working with the feathers and creating these wonderful hair accessories. The natural beauty of feathers allows them to be used for a variety of projects. Stay tuned to see what new creation I’m inspired to come up with next.

Cards for Many Occasions

Sometimes you need a card for a specific occasion such as a birthday or holiday greeting and appreciate the preprinted text that comes with it. However, sometimes you want to be able to express yourself without those words getting in the way. That is when you reach for your stack of blank cards.


Blank cards are great for sending out thank you, just thinking of you, congratulations and many other messages. If your stack of general purpose blank cards is getting low, Eclectic Design Choices can help. Both EDCCollective’s and EclecticSkeptic’s Etsy shops carry a variety of blank holiday and general purpose cards. Images on the front of these cards are either my original or altered photos of a variety of subjects. Images in addition to those currently listed may also be available.

Design This – Carnelian n Pearl Bracelet

A couple of months ago, in another “Design This” post, I mentioned that my customer also had a bracelet project for herself in mind after I finished with her daughter’s jade and pearl necklace. During our discussions about the necklace, a few directions emerged for the custom bracelet order. My customer liked the tigers’ eye beads that she had seen, wanted to use some of her leftover pearls, liked carnelian and wanted the bracelet to be double stranded with an ornate clasp and gold plated findings.

Before I began a design, I took a photo of some of my carnelian and tigers' eye beads with a couple of pearls for size comparison so that my customer could let me know which ones she liked or disliked. (see photo #1) Next, I put together three different patterns with the beads that made the cut, along with the tigers’ eye beads and leftover pearls. (see photo #2)

While we were exchanging design ideas, I needed to locate a clasp and spacers for a double strand bracelet. Since I hadn’t made one before, I didn’t have these supplies on hand. I appreciate my customer having faith in my ability to tackle a new form. (I found the double strand bracelet to be a little more challenging to finish off than a single strand, due to the proximity of the second strand. I also had to be careful as the natural components had to be matched for size to keep both strands the same length. Other than that the process was essentially the same.)

When my supply order arrived, I strung up a design based on my customer’s feedback and sent a photo of it before finishing off the other end in case any adjustments to the design or length were needed. (see photo #3) The reply I received back was, “I really love it, can't wait to wear it.” With that, I finished off the other end so that I could get the finished bracelet off to my customer as soon as possible. (see photo #4)

Custom work is really gratifying when my customers are so thrilled with their orders. I also have to admit that this was the first custom piece that I was sorry that I hadn’t designed for myself, so I’m glad it was well received. Contact me if you are interested in discussing a custom design project.

Fellow Etsian Sightings – DivaDea & ItsMeCheri

Ok, so I wasn’t actually “out and about” when I sighted these items from two great Etsy artists. Their items are actually hanging on my Christmas tree. My family always wonders how I am going to find places on my tree each year for all of my ornaments, and I must admit that I pass up many more than I buy now because I’m starting to see their point. These two were just too adorable to pass up and I wanted to share how wonderful they look on my tree.

I giggle every time I look at the penguin tangled up in Christmas lights. DivaDea has a whole line of endearing penguins. She makes penguins that represent many different holidays, occassions and vocations. You will also find wonderful polymer clay beads, jewelry, home décor and more at DivaDea’s shop on Etsy.

This past summer ItsMeCheri created a cute collection of Lil HeartBirds. The blue one reminded me of a bluebird of happiness that needed to fly over and perch on my Christmas tree. ItsMeCheri is another very talented polymer clay artist with a shop on Etsy.

I hope you and yours are enjoying this holiday season and I wish you the best for the new year.

Winter Garden Clean Up

If a killing freeze has turned sections of your garden from vibrant to drab, you need to do a little “winter cleaning” for the look and health of your garden. Annuals that have turned brown need to be taken out and perennials that go dormant over the winter need to be clipped back. Not only will this maintenance make your garden look better, but it can improve the health of your garden by removing hiding places for pests to spend the winter in. This is especially true for beds of asparagus.

After pulling out the dead annuals and clipping back the dormant perennials, you may discover some winter weeds that need to be pulled. Once you have completed these tasks, it is a great time to freshen your mulch. It is easiest to do now, when there are no plants to mulch around. If you are in a part of the country with mild winters, you may even want to put in some pansies or snapdragons.

The photos accompanying this article are of a portion of one of my front beds. Annual cosmos predominates in shades of yellow and orange during the summer, right up to the first freeze. After the freeze, the now brown plants were taken out and the ripened seeds scattered back into the garden for next year. I added a layer of no float cypress mulch before putting out my polar bear holiday decoration. I will put in some cold hardy annuals along the edge of the walk after the holidays.