Introducing my beautiful Snowbird Nest...

Imagine~
a wintry forest, 
  trees laden with snow and ice,
     sunlight filters through the dense woods
         casting glittery shadows all around...

 in the hush of the frozen forest~

the little Snowbird sings

her song...

Inspiration is a funny thing,

you never know when it will come to you,

and most always..

 it comes from a place

that you never expected...

 my inspiration for this beautiful

 "Snowbird" nest

came from one of my most favorite books,

"The Snow Goose"

by Paul Gallico

a hauntingly beautiful tale..

it is a tribute to the human spirit,

and the bonds that hold us together~ 

~

it is a story of love, bravery, loneliness,

and the healing of a beautiful

wounded Snow Goose..

   a wonderful heart-warming parable 

about love, friendship and loyalty 

during one of the hardest times in the world's history - WWII.

~

 a young girl brings the snow goose with a broken wing 

to a lonely and disappointed man...

 thus begins
 a very special friendship 

between the three. 

a couple of years ago,

while sorting through my books,

some of them going to charity,

keeping only a few of my

very favorites...

~

this beautiful book crept out from among the stacks..

it once again captivated me

and I sat down to reread 

the story...

~

from the minute that I first opened the book, 

seeing the soft and shadowy illustrations,

reliving the story through the beautiful prose...

I knew that I wanted to create

a beautiful icy nest...

 a place 
where a little 
winter bird might live..

 In my dreams...

this is where she lives...

this little book was first published in 1941...

 telling a sentimental story that happened 

on the Essex coast of England

 from 1930 to 1940. 

The "Snow Goose" is a short story 

about unexpected love--

wild love~
of an alienated, tender soul, Philip,

 a Canadian Snow Goose,

 and a beautiful young
 Saxon girl. 

in this beautiful wintry tale...

 every sentence seems to shiver with the salt-laden 

chill of the desolate landscape 

in which it is set~

The "Snow Goose"

was originally published as a short story

 in the Saturday Evening Post in the 9 November 1940 edition.

 A year later, it was released as a novella 

and won honorable mention in the 

O. Henry Memorial Prize 

competition. 

The "Snow Goose" was made into a special television movie...

the Hallmark Hall of Fame television production 

of this story in 1971

 was a priceless gift to those viewers 

lucky enough to have seen it. 

the program was run at least twice in the '70s 

but is now "lost" to the public --- 

no VHS, no DVD copies are available... 

but of course,

I found it for you...

if you wish, you can watch 

the entire 

Hallmark Hall of Fame production

via U-tube from this link

here

(scroll down to the bottom of the page for the link)
it is shown in 5 parts -- 10 minutes each,
they flow together smoothly from one part to the other..

you'll need tissues -- trust me on this!

~ 

those of you who purchase

this beautiful nest,

will find inside your package

a little gift from me...

a glittery glass

snowbird for your own little

nest...

~

(there are 2 variations of the little birds,

yours will be a surprise..

they are both lovely...) 

one of the most beautiful embellishments 

on this lovely nest

are the tiny crochet snowflakes

created by my friend Karen.

~

tiny, exquisite little snowflakes...

 they were generously donated

by dear Karen to grace this beautiful nest..

(you can find  her amazing artistic creations at her

own beautiful blog...Todolwen)
Thank you dear Karen
for your amazing, precious little gifts..
xoxo 

 Presentation is everything--
and I want you to say "WOW"
the minute that you open your box...
Your nest will be beautifully wrapped
with the lovliest tissue and tags
created by my talented friend
Sue Kosec.
(you can visit Sue at her blog by clicking the link above)

this beautiful "Snow Bird" nest

has been over two years in the making...

~

perhaps I could tell you

 a little bit about the making of a nest in my

"Designer series"...

~once the decision is made to create a themed nest

for the series...

the shopping is non stop for at least 2-3 years,

flea markets, antique stores,

yard sales,.... everywhere imaginable--

looking for the perfect vintage embellishments

for these nests.  

~

my craft room closet is full of tubs

that hold vintage treasures,

 designated for a special nest...

waiting to be brought to life sometime in

the future...

it. takes. years.

~

just in case you thought I might just say--

"lets make a Snowbird nest"--

and then magically, perhaps 3 months later,

30 of these little nests appear all

pretty and ready to come live with you...

that's just not how it happens in real life.

 once production actually starts on these nests...

it is a full year from start to finish

to make a 30 count series

of a themed nest.

~

And -- I can't do it alone.  

my (BFF) Mary is an integral part of this

"nesting" team....

(I simply could NOT do this without her help!!)
(a million thanks to my dear friend
for all the hours that she has
devoted to this amazing
project)
xoxo

We have both worked diligently all year to

produce this beautiful "Snowbird"nest...

(in between living our busy lives, grandbabies, travels,

and... did I forget to tell you that I still

work full time as a Neonatal nurse....) 

 the creation of these nests is a true 

and absolute passion for me...

I love bringing them to life,

using exquisite yarns and embellishments...

~

I love sharing each of their stories

 with you all...

 knowing that these nests
make you so happy 
and that they

serve a greater good... 

  as always,

my Designer nest series is linked to 

a charitable organization...

~

a few weeks ago,

my beautiful friend Liz 

was conducting an auction on her own blog

to raise money for 

several of the animal rescue centers

near her home in France.

(please do visit my friend Liz at her beautiful blog) 

she is continuing her charitable work for the animal shelters

by creating the most beautiful Lavender hearts 

to be sold at auction, benefiting

the animal shelters near her home.

~

I was so touched by her efforts to help

some of God's little 4 legged creatures

that I wanted to do the same... 

~

Winter

 is a terrible time to

be a stray dog or cat without

a warm and loving home,...

I know that our local shelters are full

 and overflowing

right now...

charitable funds

from the sale of these 

"Snowbird" nests

will be donated to local

animal shelters near my home.

~

your purchase of this beautiful nest

will help to care for desperately

needy and lost dogs and cats

through this winter
while they wait to find
their own forever
 homes...

Those of you who 

RESERVED your nests

will find them listed here in my ETSY shop...

~

all but 4 of these nests were RESERVED when I posted

about this nest last January...
(click the link above to see the beautiful Preview post from last January) 
~~~

If you would like to give a home to one of the

remaining little nests...

and in return...

 know that your donation

will go towards helping desperate

creatures this winter,

please visit my ETSY shop

here 
(please be sure to purchase a nest listing
that says "NOT RESERVED"

 thank you

for allowing my to live my creative dreams

and bring these beautiful nests

 to life...

~

I hope you have enjoyed the story

 of how this special nest came to be

and the hauntingly beautiful book

that inspired me to create

this nest...

xoxoxo

Vicki 
~~~~~

ps--

although the original book,"The Snow Goose"

is no longer in print production,

you may still be able to secure a copy

for  yourself from a vintage book seller.

I found some for you here... 

~

you can find later productions of the book 

here.... (but this is not the same version of the book

 that has the beautiful illustrations found

in the original printing of the book.

My copy is the original, first edition

printing of the book.... 

hold out for the original version if you can...

I thought you might like to see
how my "Snowbird" nest is displayed
in my house...
My "Snow Goose" book is resting on top of a
glass cake plate and my beautiful nest
is sitting on top of the book...