Pion Design - A Peaceful Christmas

Hello Everyone!

I love to mix and match Pion Design collections, so today I am sharing a wintery Christmas card featuring the papers from this year's Christmas collection "Long Ago in Bethlehem", and last year's collection "Greetings From the North Pole".

  

Pion products:

Long Ago in Bethlehem - Church PD9406

Long Ago in Bethlehem - Holy Scripture PD9410

Long Ago in Bethlehem - Borders PD9411

Greetings From the North Pole - Midwinter Night PD7601

Greetings From the North Pole - Snowflakes PD7604

Pion Design Palette - Pion White I PD6101

***

So I've been quite anxious to show you some photos of my almost finished garden patio, but I thought I should perhaps start with what it looked like before the construction. 

There was no roof and we tried two different umbrellas and one heavy duty gazebo. All three of them busted from the wind, and all three of them had dark brown fabric covers, which meant not only was the patio dark, but it made the house dark too. It was a dumping sight for every leaf, twig and piece of garbage that the wind carried, and the flooring was a complete disaster! Basically it was gross!!

It ended up being a big giant garbage area since it wasn't a usable space.

The clean up...

My first purchase for the new patio was my bird bath fountain...

First we built the frame which was quite tricky to design. I had to follow building codes, but yet allow for the storage room door at the end, the air conditioner unit, and how it was going to be constructed... since we are on the third floor, there's no way to get around to the outside to hammer in nails.

We installed clear corrugated roofing panels which will allow for lots of light but keep the elements and the garbage off of the patio. This part was also tricky since we couldn't get up onto the roof to attach it like you normally would.

Next I installed this 10" shelf to cover up the round plastic railing. This will give the squirrels a safe place to move around and a great photo environment for me.

I installed some lattice thinking it would give us privacy, but as you can see, it doesn't work that well. This autumn I will be replacing it with proper privacy lattice so people cannot stare up at me!

And last but not least, my carpet! This was a game changer. It's so easy to keep clean and it covers up that nasty nasty nasty flooring!!! It makes the whole patio feel like a piece of outdoor heaven!

So I set the fountain out, plugged it in and bought my first plant (which died because we had a cold snap, oops). 

Next time I will share some photos of the mostly finished patio as it looks now. Until then, no post would be complete without a couple of cute squirrel pics, so here we go...

"Listen lady, I haven't seen you in months... I'd take a heck of a lot more than just two peanuts if I could fit them in my dang face! 

~Missy~

"Nope, it wasn't me who ate all the cookies! I'm totally not guilty and you can't prove a thing!"

~Mama Maxine~

Oh Baby Kay, I do hope you grow into those ears! Lol

That's it for today. Thank you for stopping in and for all the amazing comments. If you have any questions or interesting tidbits about today's wildlife, please let me know.

Wishing You a Happy Christmas

Hello Everyone!

I'm excited to share with you today, my first holiday card featuring the new Christmas collection from Pion Design, "Long Ago in Bethlehem".

Pion Products:

Long Ago in Bethlehem - Shepherd's Watch PD9402 

Long Ago in Bethlehem - Mary and Joseph PD9401

Long Ago in Bethlehem - Blessings PD9407

Long Ago in Bethlehem - Church PD9406

***

I hope everyone had a good week. I got my railing planters installed finally, which gives me a wonderful layer of privacy and a great spot to hide the squirrel and bird food dishes. Still need a new couch and some new cushions for the chairs, but I feel like it's finally taking shape. Is it just me, or is a garden patio something that always needs just that one more little something. A project that never really gets finished. lol. 

"We don't need to explain our love. We only need to show it."

~Paulo Coelho~

"Crap, there's another one! I really need learn how to carry two peanuts at once!"

~Baby Cardinal~

When the light catches a male Mallard just right, their feathers are brilliant green, aqua and blue. The slightest movements can cause a colour change and it is magical to watch when they are wet!

"I am Mario. I bring you the love and I wish to be mine!"

"OK Mario, that's nice. Now can you back up a bit!"

The most amazing thing about being new to wildlife photography, is experiencing something for the first time. I actually squealed when I saw this handsome American Toad on the pathway. I took a few photos, then gently guided him to the safety of the grass. Thanks for my first toad experience little dude!

"FINALLY! Something to look at while I eat, that's NOT a frog's butt!" 

~Neddie (formally known as Nadia)~

 "Oooh myyyyy gaaaawd! Could the buffet line move anyyyyy slowwwwer!" 

~Petie~

 "Human, stop teasing me! I know just opened opened a bag of cashews, now hand 'em over!" 

~Baby Kay~

"Grateful for the corn, but any chance you could set this down on the ground next time? 

This dangling corn thing is playing havoc on my back!" 

~Mistro~

That's it for today. Thank you for stopping in and for all the amazing comments. If you have any questions or interesting tidbits about today's wildlife, please let me know.

Pion Design - Violet Easter Greetings with Video

Hello Everyone!

Today I'm excited to share with you my first video for the Pion Design Team. I have put together an Easter card using papers from The Easter Greetings Collection. I am so in love with the colour palette, I think purple is my new favourite!!

Click on any image to view the full collection:

    

Pion Design products:

Pion Design Palette - Pion Green I - PD6107

Pion Design Palette - Pion Green II - PD6108

Easter Greetings - Spring Fairies 6" x 6" - PD7101

Easter Greetings - Violet 6" x 6" - PD7105

Easter Greetings - Easter Basket - PD7002

Easter Greetings - Borders - PD7016

Images From the Past - Spring Greetings- PD1614

And here is the video for you. This one is a little different because I'm concentrating on layering and using these papers in the best way possible to show off the designs. Not too much in the way of mixed media, but I hope you will still enjoy it.

Card Series 109 - Violet Easter Greetings

I am entering the following wonderful challenges:

** - Artistic Inspirations - CHALLENGE 152 anything goes / twist of Easter
- Crafty Boots - Easter Challenge

***

More rain for us here, which quite honestly, I LOVE!! Just a few shots of my walk.

The all-too-familiar mark of death for a tree around these parts. It's just so sad!

To the chagrin of my hubby, I have taken out all of the screens from the windows, so that I can feed the animals and take photos. A decision I will probably regret when the bugs come out to play...pretty sure there's bugs in the country, right?? Well anyway, some rainy shots taken from the window. 

Thank you so much to everyone for helping me identify the small brown birds as sparrows, and thank you to Julia for spotting the Mourning Dove...I never would have gotten that one on my own! I have decided to hang a bird-feeder on the side of the house, just outside the patio door and I have some takers right off the bat!

This is a Black Capped Chickadee

This is a Red-Breasted Nuthatch

AND THIS IS A FREAKING RACCOON...
ON MY ROOF...
STARING AT ME WHILE I WATCH TV
WHAT!!!!!!

I've never seen a raccoon before, so this was a real treat for me! I only had a couple of seconds to grab my camera so I didn't have time to make any adjustments to the settings. It's a horrible shot, BUT WHO CARES...THERE'S A RACCOON ON MY ROOF!! ha!

Last but not least, my dear, hilarious, soaking wet Barry, eating his lunch, dangling from the screen door on the patio. He started this tradition to get away from the other squirrels, and it just sort of stuck. What a funny little guy! 

That's it for today. Thank you for stopping in and for all the amazing comments. I read and appreciate every single one! If you have any questions, please let me know.