Heaven and Nature Sing! The First Day

Christmas Open House, day one! Are y'all ready for wall-to-wall birds? If so, you're in the right place! Even if you're not much of a bird lover, hopefully this week will be a source of Christmas cheer and maybe even inspiration for a simple, old-fashioned, handmade Christmas, perhaps using a different theme. There will be tried and true recipes as well, so at least stay for the food!

All of the birds and animals I'm showing this week were made using free patterns from the lovely Downeast Thunder Farm blog. I'm so thankful for talented creators like her who so generously share their work. During the week I'll be sharing a few tips you might find helpful if you decide to make some paper pretties yourself. These can be as plain or as elaborate as you like, with or without embellishments, different sizes--all sorts of variations. I used a combination of solid color matte, pearl, and glitter paper. You could use patterned paper to give a quilted or fabric look, or even make these in pastels for a spring project. There's really no limit to how you could customize these birds and animals. And you don't have to make tons of them (though you'll see at the end of the week how making loads of them creates an eye-popping result). Choose a few favorites. Make ornaments or gift tags or cards or even a garland (oh my! I need to do that!). Break out the paper, scissors, and glue and unleash your inner second grader! 

These little adhesive embellishments from the scrapbooking section are perfect for eyes.

I couldn't decide in what order to show these, so I took the easy way and opted for alphabetical. Helpful since there are so many. Let's get started!

First up, the king of birds, the awe-inspiring Bald Eagle. They are so fierce looking, and I tried to capture that expression. Should they also be sparkly? Probably not. But this one is. Fierce and sparkly.

The Baltimore Oriole. We were stationed outside of Washington DC for ten years, and in all that time, I only saw these beautiful birds three times, and only as flashes of orange in the trees at that. A rare treat.

I love Blue Jays. I know they're loud and bossy, but their bright blue coloring is so pretty. I really enjoyed making this little guy.

TIP: Here's an easy way to make those squiggly wing markings: scrapbooking scissors! I also used the toes from the paw print punch to make some other markings you'll see.

Our first critter friend! Y'all. We have black bears where we live now. I've only seen one since we've been here and that was plenty. He was enormous, and although the locals tell us they won't bother you, I still feel... it's a bear. (Photobomb!)

Today's last bird is the Canada Goose. Such striking coloring and so much a symbol of Christmas, and of course, so much goose attitude (goositude?). 

Today's freebie is a classic. You may have already seen it--or even stitched it--but perhaps not. First Snow is too perfect for this Open House not to include.

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As always, the recipes this week are ones I've been making for us. They're easy and quick to put together, so you can get back to Christmas stuff. I'll be sharing a whole meal, with three main dish choices (all super easy slow cooker), two sides, and a dessert. 

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Flank Steak needs a little prep work, but the extra step is worth it. If you're pressed for time, you can definitely just dump everything in your slow cooker and it will still be good, but if you can, follow the recipe as is. It's delicious. And it's not spicy at all. Easy to increase the heat if you prefer, as we do. 

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Come on back tomorrow and see who else we have in the Christmas tree. We're just getting started!