Silly Peafowl!

We have a colony of approximately 200 peafowl that live near our neighborhood. We usually see a few in people's front yards or on the sidewalks when we drive by, but it's rare to see more than a handful at a time. If you go looking for them at the 6-acre nature center where they're actually supposed to stay, you're lucky to find more than a dozen roosting in trees, foraging on the ground, or otherwise hanging out. 

There was light rain on one of Trevor's first days of driving practice. I suggested he drive us by the peafowl property to see if we could spot any in the rain. They weren't at the nature center; instead, they were crowded onto neighboring porches and eaves, sheltered from the rain!

Silly Peafowl! (affiliate link)

I had Trevor stop so I could take some pictures. It was so funny seeing dozens of them all packed like that when they normally don't hang out in large groups. It was equally funny that a few of the peafowl perched on the roofs, just getting wet! There's always a kid in every class (and always a boy) that intentionally stands under the downspout at school on a rainy day; apparently, there are peacocks like that too. Silly peafowl!

Peacock Diamond Art

I did a lot of crafting during my pre-COVID-19 days, but the amount I do now that we're home 24/7 has increased significantly. I've made time to work on some big projects, including this FABULOUS Diamond Art peacock (affiliate link here and below).

This was the first large (14.6" x 16.5"), full-drill (dots covering the entire surface) Diamond Art project I've done. I didn't keep track of how long it took, but I'd estimate somewhere between 30 and 40 hours. Honestly though, the time flew by. I worked on it an hour or so at a time and loved seeing it come together. The sparkle and shine are amazing. Here's a close-up of the peacock's face:

I've mentioned before that our neighborhood is home to a flock of approximately 200 peafowl. I absolutely love them. Other neighbors, not so much. There is an ongoing battle between those who love the peafowl and those who inexplicably bought or rented a home where a flock of 200 birds that they don't like have been living for the last century. We've been living here for 16 years and the Peacock War has been raging the whole time. While there is no easy compromise between "I love the peacocks!" and "I want the peacocks gone, yesterday!" a group of neighbors from the former group stepped up with a partial solution. They feed the peafowl at a dedicated spot within the preserve in our neighborhood in order to encourage them to roost, scratch, and poop there instead of at people's houses. 

Peafowl food isn't free. To do my part to contribute, I'm selling this completed Diamond Art to the highest bidder. It is unframed (because I'm not going to a framing shop during a pandemic) but can easily be framed or mounted for display. I'll deliver locally or ship elsewhere. Since the materials alone are around $25, that's the minimum bid. If you'd like to bid, contact me at cindy.mycreativelife at gmail.com.

If you have 40 hours to spare and have Diamond Art experience, I'd encourage you to make your own Diamond Art peacock! However, if you've never done Diamond Art, I'd recommend starting with a much smaller project. The Beginner kits only take a few hours to do and will give you an idea of whether or not this craft is for you. Either way, I HIGHLY recommend my favorite magnifying lamp when doing Diamond Art. What a difference it makes! 

Long live the peafowl! 

Paper Plate Peacock

Our neighborhood has a flock of about 200 peacocks. They've never come to our street; they hang out a few blocks away. We see them almost every day as we head to school or the park. The people in our neighborhood network are divided into two distinct groups: those who love the peacocks (us and everyone in our immediate area) and those who hate the peacocks (those who actually have peacocks in their yards, on their roofs, blocking their driveways, etc.). It's possible that if I were regularly cleaning up peacock droppings and watching them eat my landscaping I might not love them as much as I do. But since I love the peacocks, I decided to make a paper plate peacock. Affiliate links below. 

Paper Plate Peacock

Materials:

• blue paper plate
• acrylic paint (navy blue, turquoise, light green, grey)
• foam brush
• chipboard
• scissors
• googly eyes
• light blue feather

Steps: 

Use a variety of greens and blues to create a background. The colors should radiate from the center out toward the edges. 

While the plate is drying, cut a pear shape from the chipboard to make the body of the peacock. Paint it dark blue. Cut the scraps to make a tiny triangle beak and long, skinny legs. Paint the beak and legs grey. 

Use your pointer finger to dot light green evenly on the plate. These will be the peacock's eyespots, so they should radiate outward as well. When the light green is dry, use your pinkie finger to put a dark blue spot onto each green fingerprint. 

When everything is dry, it's time for assembly. Use a hot glue gun to attach a feather to the back of the peacock's head, then glue the bottom of the body to the edge of the plate. Glue the legs underneath that same edge. Add the googly eyes and beak. Here's a side view:

I really do love peacocks.