Book Week is here again, and so begins the last-minute panic for a costume! Never fear, Macca the Alpaca is here (with his best pal Al)! Choose your favourite alpaca, or siblings/friends can recreate the dynamic duo from the picture book Alpacas With Maracas by Matt Cosgrove. These simple print o

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Mid week, beautiful morning, a frosty start, and off to the Myrtle Forest in the foothills of Mount Wellington, where it was even colder. But the birding was great. Hadn't gone more than a hundred metres when I spotted an all white bird fly up to a perch among the saplings, all this a good way off. My first reaction was a Sulphur-crested, which often roost around here, but thinking on, what was it doing among the saplings? A brief look through the glasses, and I realised it was a Grey Goshawk (white morph in Tasmania). Every other birder tells me about their encounters with this hawk, even get them in their gardens, but I always seem to miss out, so for me it was a good start. It even looked as if I had an evens chance of some photographs, but a pair of Grey Currawongs had also spotted it, and they proceeded to give it a hard time. It took refuge well up an old acacia tree, where despite their best efforts, the currawongs couldn't easily mob it, but not for want of trying. I got a few poor shots through the foliage. It was as I was watching the goshawk from beneath its perch, that I heard the first Pink Robin calling, and soon sighted it as it called from a high perch overlooking the track. Not more than a hundred metres on, and the second and third came in sight, both hawking in a clearing next to the creek. A Brush Bronzewing, one of several seen during my walk, flew up from the track with their characteristic clapping of wings, and I could hear another calling from the hillside. On to the picnic huts, and I could just hear another Pink Robin above the noise of the creek, together with a Golden Whistler, and the clamouring of a small flock of Black Currawong. I took the old fire track at this point, overgrown at the start, but I've found it offers better birding opportunities. The Tasmanian Thornbills were also in good voice this morning, and I found them at regular intervals during the climb. I stopped to try to photograph a pair, and failed, but I had the bonus of finding the first of many Scrubtits, mostly in pairs, and an unsighted, scolding, Tasmanian Scrubwren, which are common in the area, but were even more skulking that usual, and I presume they're breeding at the moment. Four more calling male Pink Robins on the track, one of which I spent some time attempting to photograph, top 2 shots. This bird was wary of me at first, but later seemed to accept my presence while it went about its business, albeit in poor light, under the tree canopy. Occasionally it propped only an arms length away--too close to photograph! Like most of our robins, the 'pinks' often hunt from a perch, dropping down and seizing prey, and I noted this one catch a variety of very small insects on the ground, but it also gleaned them from beneath leaves, as the thornbills do. At one point, it found an earthworm, bashed it a few times, before quickly swallowing it, something I've seen Flame and Dusky Robins do. The Dusky also takes skinks. Further up the track I came across one of several flocks of Strong-billed Honeyeaters, which judging by the frequent chasing, are, or soon will be, pairing up for breeding. I saw several Olive Whistlers, none calling as yet, and a few Golden Whistlers, that unlike their cousins, were in good voice, and paired. I counted at least 14 Pink Robins during my walk, all male, although one of them was still in the 'brown' plumage of an immature bird. I didn't see a single female pink. So I was left wondering whether they are breeding, or whether the males are advertising their territory to attract a mate. I've read various tomes that suggest that males, like the females and immature birds, wander during Winter. From my observations, males may range more widely during the colder months, but they can consistently be found at the same spots all year round, although, of course I have no way of knowing whether they're the same individuals! At the same clearing that I'd seen 2 'pinks' hawking earlier, one, very obligingly, posed in bright sunshine, and allowed close approach (image bottom right). A little perverse, when I had struggled to get any worthwhile shots in the 'gloom. But there's something about the Pink Robin that gets me trying to photograph them at every opportunity--they are gorgeous!

Sand Hill Cove Beach?

Hello Friends! OK, just a few tiny more pictures of Paris, and then we'll move on! :) I found another pic I had taken in my fave Mathilde M. boutique: Here at Chez Odette you can get mini-cream puffs in several different flavors, each represented by it's own adorable vintage French girl: The beautiful fountain in the beautiful Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens): A sentimental picture...I lived in this building once upon a time! It was so fun to walk around the old neighborhood! Beautiful fountain: Notre Dame on a beautiful summer day: Well, this looks a lot like Anthropologie: But it's not!! Just a lovely French housewares boutique! The beautiful department store, Galeries Lafayette: There is no denying the French do things beautifully. I do love Paris, and I was already planning our next trip there as soon as we got back! (More Paris and Provence pictures here and here.) And I do have some more creations to share with you: These are two ribbon and lace paper dolls I made for a Paper Soiree swap: And I'm really a novice at jewelry making, but I didn't let it stop me from making this bird's nest necklace for a swap at Marie Antoinette: I weaved the "nest" using lace and fabrics which I stitched to buckram. The chain is made up of a few different pieces, old and new. And I added some birdies and sparkly gems. I wanted to come up with a fun presentation that was quick and easy! So I just laid down various washi tapes onto the lid of a jewelry box. And added a chalkboard sticker. Hope you all are enjoying the last days of summer. Although I don't know why I say that, there's still technically almost a month of summer left, and it's in the 80s during the day here in San Diego. But the nights are cooler, it's breezier, and it just seems that the Labor Day weekend is more the mark of the end of summer. Freebies: Click to enlarge, right click and save!Enjoy your holiday! More Friday fun to be had at Fabulously Creative Friday! Lots of great ideas at Show and Tell Friday! Lovely blues at Anything Blue Friday! Lots of links to lovely pinks at Pink Saturday! Creative living, decorating, and craft ideas at Inspired Sunday! Lovely tablescapes at Seasonal Sundays! Cute and crafty stuff at Make it Monday! Be inspired by Inspire Me Tuesday! Vintage creativity at Vintage Inspiration Wednesday! For links to lovely, shabby, chippy whites, stop by Blissful Whites Wednesday! Beautiful greys at Grey Dey Thursdeys. Lovely things to be found at French cottagey links at Feathered Nest Friday! ♥♥♥ Thank you so much for visiting and for all your lovely comments!! ♥♥♥ Have a great weekend!

Giethoorn é um vilarejo na Holanda que tem como principal meio de locomoção, pequenas embarcações que circulam pelos seus canais. Encante-se com a cidade!

In honor of the 50th anniversary of their arrival in the U.S., these photos of the Beatles show a different side of the iconic band

In honor of Paul McCartney's 70th birthday on June 18, LightBox culled various photography archives to feature 70 iconic images of the Beatle—one for each year of his life.

Every artist was first an amateur. Even The Beatles

Macca the Alpaca wants to be COOL! In this activity you get the chance to give Macca a makeover! You can give Macca four brand new looks by drawing over the top of his portrait. Think hairstyles: curls, mullet, waves, mohawk, spikes, pigtails. Think accessories: glasses, hats, jewellery, bows.

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The Titan Tapestry Crochet Bag is an easy to make bag that looks beautiful! Learn tapestry crochet to take your crochet to the next level!

This is one of those DIY's where I will have to come back to keep updating my projects because there are so many of them I want to try! I have seen a handful of neat ideas over the years with doilies but it seems like over night they are making a real come back, it is getting harder and harder to find them in thrift stores and at yard sales. This weekend scavenger will not give up however, there is just something so enticing about delicate lace; so feminine, so beautiful. Here are several wonderful Doily inspired DIY's I have come across on my search to soften my world and satisfy my creative urges. Keep scrolling for at the end of the inspiration piece I will include three items that Dylan and I have created with the simple addition of cotton lace doilies. Lovely! from Trash to Couture this woman has amazing ideas, I will probably link to her time and time again! Doily table cloth, I love this look! There is no DIY for it but it is as simple as overlaying different doilies and hand stitching with a matching embroidery thread onto a muslin like material of your choosing. This doily dream catcher from Calico skies is so sweet and delicate, I cant wait to try! This creative gift wrapping would work well for every season, I must admit with so many other uses for doilies I might have a hard time giving it up this way. I might do the paper version here or spray paint over the paper version to leave a soft lace imprint...hmmmmm. Delicate yet bold necklace, you might have to have a larger frame or long neckline to pull off this beauty...I think this or a lace broach in the same fashion would make a great holiday gift! Embroidery hoops and doilies, I think this would be the way to go if you wanted to preserve a family heirloom. I can Imagine a wall with sweet black and white photos of grandma or great grandma (also in embroidery hoops, maybe printed onto canvas) amongst various sized works of her hand craft preserved this way. Swoon! That is how I feel when I see this beauty from Ruby Chic Originals on etsy. Original indeed, I must give this artist props, I saw this dress long before the doily craze begun, sadly it is sold but isn't it just perfection! I am having a hard time linking to the original post from where I found this easy little DIY, just like the table cloth this would not be a very challenging project. If you have an existing pillow case with a hidden zipper you could remove and hand sew the doily on or make your own custom pillow case then sew. Doily table runner from Ucreate is so sweet and so simple. It may eat up your whole vintage doily stash, but the end result is worth it! This was another I could not link back to, I found it on pinterest. I mostly added this last one because of the baby onesie. You could add this sweet detail to so many simple onesies, shirts, dresses, the possibilities seem endless! Alright after that sweet eye candy here are the Lace Doily projects Dylan and I created... First I went "shopping" in my closet and found this sheer skirt I was rarely wearing. I really wanted something cute I could wear for the rest of my pregnancy that would also be practical for the summer heat. I also pulled out the scrap material you see on the right to later make straps with. I then hand pinned not sewed down my doily to the dress in various sections. The straight pins were not seeming to hold well enough and I wanted the lace taught along the shoulders so taking the extra time to hand pin before I sewed with the machine proved vital to the success of the dress! I then pinned down my border and straps to the dress and connected to the doily. I was nervous about taking the machine to such delicate piece of cotton lace, but seeing as I was going to wear this many times over the next 3 months it seemed like the smart thing to do. I was careful and methodic with this part of the process and sewed the edges down well. I also went in with the machine and did a couple of stitches in the center. Being home alone and impatient I had to take pic's in my messy poorly lit bathroom, but you get the gist. The end result was exactly what i wanted; pretty, comfy and most importantly breezy! The back is obviously my favorite part! What do you think? This next project Dylan went about on her own and didn't record it with pictures but it was very simple and with great results. Love the oversized look! This next project is almost exactly like the one Dylan did above except I used a rectangle and she used a circle lace insertion. Before I first took in the sides knowing the shirt would get a bit too large after the lace insertion. I pinned the lace over the top of the shirt and then sewed across the top and down the sides. In this picture I had already sewn down the furthest edge and was sewing down where you see the pins to reinforce the shirt. After sewing I turned the shirt inside out and cut out the material that was left in the center getting as close to the edge as possible without cutting the lace insert. I also went ahead and trimmed the bottom so it would be only a little bit longer then the shirt. I took those trimmings and made lace straps, and there you have it! After I look forward to after pregnancy when this shirt hangs loosely, I think the silhouette will be more pleasing. =) I have more lace doilies just waiting to be used, I think the next project will be the table runner or maybe... Peace -Gypsy Lov'n

"Heidi stood still and listened" Illustration by Edna Cooke Shoemaker in Heidi by Johanna Spyri. Translated by Helen B. Dole. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, c1927. PZ7.S772 H30 1927