LOOK WHO'S COMING TO DINNER!

 

 Welcome to our home, Mr. Flicker.

  

We're so glad you could make it.

  

Come on in and take a seat.

  

Enjoy your meal!


With winter in full swing here in North America and a blanket of snow on the ground, I'd like to remind everyone to do what they can to provide food and water for feathered friends. Ideally they should be offered a variety of foods at any of the “big four” feeding stations: ground, table or window shelf, free-hanging feeders, and feeders fixed on tree trunks or posts. 

Now, how about a recipe for a yummy and easy homemade treat for the birdies? 

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POPCORN BALLS FOR BIRDIES

 

Ingredients:

2 quarts popped corn 

¾ cup chopped nuts, any kind 

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup light corn syrup 

¼ cup shortening or butter 

Grease a large shallow pan and spread with the popcorn and nuts. Combine sugar,  syrup and shortening (or butter) in saucepan and heat,  stirring,  until boiling.  Set to med-low and cook without stirring until 250 degrees. (Or test by dribbling a few drops boiling candy into cup of cold water. Pinch the sample with your fingers and if firm then its reached the right stage.) 

Remove from heat and add baking soda; pour at once over the popcorn and nuts. Toss rapidly with wide spatula until pieces are mostly coated. Let cool to touch and form into small (golf ball sized) balls. When balls have cooled completely,  tie and hang from trees with string using strong thread and large needle.

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The photos above show an example of only one of the many species of wild birds that visit my feeders here in the Shenandoah Valley. 

And they obviously provide an enormous amount of inspiration for my paintings and pottery! From creamer pitchers, platters, mugs and bowls to tiny ceramic clay goodies like pendants, needle minders and buttons.

Painted Pottery and Miniature Bird Ornaments

Ceramic Garden Signs

Ceramic Porcelain Clay Bluebird Necklace

Donkey Sculpture with Tiny Bluebird

Blue Bird Needle Minder

Hand Built Pottery Bowl

Tiny Blue Bird Ceramic Clay Buttons

To see more of my porcelain and stoneware ceramic goodies please visit Cynthia Crane's Pottery on Etsy. And for my prints and notecards please visit me here Cynthia Crane's Art on Etsy.

Thank you my friends for stopping in today. I hope you'll remember to feed the birdies, too!

 

NESTING INSTINCTS .... "Proud Parents" An Owl Family Watercolor Painting

I am happy to say that after far too long I am now settled in my new home nestled within the mountains of West Virginia. I am busy as a squirrel gathering nuts for winter as I create new paintings, many inspired by my beautiful new surroundings here.

I recently blew the dust off my paint brushes and created the owl watercolor painting below. The original 11 x 14 painting and prints in two sizes are available now in my Etsy shop.

Proud as a Peacock

Yesterday I received my very first Etsy sale and I'm "Proud as a Peacock"! Well, maybe not that proud, but I'm flying pretty high right about now. So since the peacock is back in vogue once again I thought I'd share a few lovely images. The first photo at the top was taken earlier this summer at the Norfolk Zoo. I managed to take quite a few very sweet animals photos that day, so they'll soon be rendered in watercolor and up for sale in my Etsy shop. The other is a large scale acrylic painting I've been working on for a couple of years now. Really need to get that finished! And lastly I thought I would show off some of the lovely handmade home decor from a few of my fellow Etsy sellers. From Right to Left we have a stunning feather wreath by pickypickypeacock, a beautiful hand-painted glass pitcher by marywibis, a slipcover for a lampshade (how cool is that?!!) by lauralishadieladie and a lovely pillowcover by JolieMarche. Now, go visit Etsy and get that holiday shopping started!

MY FEATHERED FRIENDS

Below is a sampling of many of my birdie paintings. You can find many of my original watercolor paintings and prints at my Etsy store: Cynthia Crane's Art. Be sure to insert your email in the box over on the right if you'd like to receive notifications when new work is available. Or feel free contact me (LINK AT RIGHT) for a special commissioned painting of your favorite animal or pet.