A Critterful Surprise!

I got the most wonderful surprise the other day. I had been chatting online with one of the Canadian Artisans from Etsy, and we were discussing the pages on her blog website.

With me being an absolute critter nut, I was so happy to find someone who enjoyed crafting and nature and who is also a fellow Canadian.

At the time, on her blog, she was running a very special feature as her birthday was approaching soon and she wanted to celebrate her special day with everyone online. She was having a draw on her blog for a prize.

Well, I was the very lucky individual who got to share in her birthday celebrations by winning the draw!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Mary Ann

Mary Ann is a lovely lady from the Muskoka area in Ontario, Canada.

She has two great shops on Etsy.

BackyardBear.etsy.com

OldMavisVintage.etsy.com .

And a Beautiful Blog Website http://thebackyardbear.blogspot.com/

Mary Ann is such a sweetheart. She's got so much on the go both online and in her own life. A lot of us on Etsy do tend to juggle a lot with home life and online business. The enjoyable part truly is that we are doing what we love to do.

~ Artwork and Crafting. ~

Here is the wonderful gift I recieved from Mary Ann:

MUSKOKA MITTENS

I am a person who once loved fall & winter, but now that I am older I don't like the cold. These mittens mean so much to me as they will keep my hands toasty warm for the upcomming season. A neat bonus for me especially, is that they have the moose design on them, as I love animals so much.

Thank you Mary Ann!

&

I'm so glad you had a wonderful

BIRTHDAY!

Be sure to check out Mary Ann's etsy shops. She's got some amazing treasures in both of them!

One of My Very FAVORITES!

Mary Ann's artwork is captivating!
This  howling wolf painted on wood is gorgeous.
You can almost hear the howling going on.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/39995155/howling-wolf-acrylic-on-wood

She is such a talented individual! With the mittens, she enclosed a very well made and professionally presented brochure of many of her items. So informative, easy to read, and a great tool for any Etsy artisan to help promote themselves. I love this idea of the brochure. Beautifully done, Mary Ann!

There is so much I want to share about Mary Ann and her wonderful artisan lifestyle, but I encourage you to click through the links here and discover her talents yourself. She is a pleasure to talk to and is very easy going, very approachable and quite interesting to discuss things with.

It's been a real delight meeting Mary Ann.

Her shops are a must see adventure and her blog holds a wealth of further information about her and all her works of art, and tales of how she finds her vintage treasures she shares on Etsy.

It is truly worth your while to take time to discover as I have the very talented, pretty, and personable
Mary Ann Gonneau.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thank You Mary Ann!

~ UxCritter a.k.a Paula >^..^<

Busy Hands Keep Me Happy!

 

I have been knitting & crocheting slippers most nights while I sit with the family watching tv. I enjoy making them and it keeps  my hands and mind busy. I'm not much of a tv person except lately I've enjoyed American Idol. :-)

Slippers ~

I've been using up all the various scrap yarn I have accumlated. So multicolored slippers are the result.

~

Also the cats enjoy the many knit and crocheted cat toys I like to make and stuff with the catnip we grow.

A small sampling of the toys I've made for the cats.

Last night I recieved a new pattern book in the mail that I ordered from a friend's shop on etsy.

It's a critter book.

I started my first crochet project last night after it arrived.

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And for the JEWELRY I've been working on...

There is always something new in the works.

Summer is almost here and it's time for anklet's and toe rings.

Oh I love the warm weather!

~*~*~*~

Warm Weather is Here!

I've been waiting for the critters to show up to confirm that the season is really here to enjoy the warm weather.

First back were the robins.

And the robins came in full force. I've never seen so many.


Next I spotted a ground hog and that told me that the ground was unthawing and that was super to know.

It was still very cold at times and skiffs of sn*w still happening from time to time.

The oriole came back early this year. 

April 20th was much too early I'd think, but I wasn't the only one to see them. Sarah and John saw them too as we were putting up the gazebo netting.

I set out orange slices and filled the humming bird feeder as the orioles love that nectar as much as the humming birds do.

I'm sure all my neighbours thought I was crazy, as it was so cold they'd figure that any bird that enjoys nectar wouldn't be here yet. Besides we had a bit more of the white stuff after they arrived.

The killdeer showed up on May 3rd.

I heard it's arrival before I saw it. It's such a lovely shreaking noise when I haven't heard it for so long over w*nter.

Next came my most favorite little critter.

The hummingbird arrived back on the 12th of May. Since the oriole came earlier ,their food was already ready in the feeders for them.
But of course they started fighting over the one feeder so I got out another one for the other end of the porch and they seem to be happy now.

The cardinals and Jays have been with us all w*nter, and we enjoy them still with the warmer weather.

Each morning one of us puts out a few sunflower seeds onto the porch railing and the cardinals and bluejays come and have breakfast. Sometimes they even share in with us having our toast crusts and apple pieces.

It's so great to have the critters around. What characters they can be.!

~*~