An Update

On May 5 I posted a photo of a leaf trapped in woodvine (known by some as Virginia Creeper).  On a recent walk I checked on it and it's still there--surrounded by new green leaves just as I predicted.  It's still in great shape and with all that covering from the elements I'm fairly sure it will stay that way through the summer.  I just knew you were curious to have an update.

Glassine

While going through my stash I discovered a piece of embossed glassine--the stuff the PO uses to make their envelopes for the stamps you buy.  I added it to a piece of green cardstock adhered the die cut flower and nail heads.  Some of those flower layers were cut from cardstock colored with the shaving cream technique we used a few years back.  They even smell good.

Flowery Heart

This lovely die cut would look great as a stand alone but for this card I chose to leave it attached to the base.  I left room at the bottom for a line of text and embellished with die cut flowers and leaves.  Once all the little bits are removed from the heart, it's super simple.

Masculine

This is another card I made while I was in the "masculine mode."  It started with three squares of glossy white paper to which alcohol ink had been applied.  The narrow flags were cut and layered between the orange and black mats.  Couldn't use flowers so I chose triangular nailheads.  There's room for text on the corner if I decide to use it.  This could have easily been a feminine card with different colors and the addition of ribbon and flowers.  I'd much rather do the feminine versions.

Ceramics Continues

Sessions with Judy at the ceramic shop continue and we are having fun and being productive.  Part of the enjoyment is not knowing exactly what you have until it is fired and you pick up your piece to take it home.  They have samples of the various colors of glazes, paints, etc. but as they are applied they don't look like they will after firing.  Here's an example.  I chose this canister and applied glaze and then the color crystals (those bumpy bits).  Looks like it will come out terra cotta but instead . . .


. . . . it looks like this!  Great golly, who would have thought it?

Colorado National Monument Scrapbook

An online tutorial taught me how to make a slide reel filled with photos and it seemed a good way to show a lot of the wildflowers which are abundant in the Monument this spring.  There's lots of color and the flowers range from tiny to medium-sized and from white to a vibrant red.  And they are quite different from the mountain wildflowers.  What was missing was the cactus blossoms so perhaps another trip in a couple of weeks is called for.

Gray Can Be Beautiful

This card started with a piece of security envelope which I thought had a particularly interesting design.  I think it's quite self-explanatory and I'll just add that the flower is a die cut with the yellow center punched.

Envelope Liner

I had some envelope liner that deserved reuse and this design resulted.  I cut off much of the front of the white card and added a strip of light gray at the edge.  Then I layered on the solid black and stripes.  The narrow black strip with the lace hangs over the other layers.  The flower is a die cut from Die-namics.  I think it's the greatest die cut since the hexagon--and you are well aware how much I like my hexagons.

Layered Flags

Do you ever think that packaging materials deserve a second purpose?  That was the case for me and this ledger paper.  I don't recall where it came from but it made a good background for a masculine card.  I simply added flags in various widths and embellished with some leaves I found in my stash which I had punched from soda cans.  The text is gold embossed.

The Background Was The Beginning

Unfortunately I don't remember how I created this background but I found it in my stash and it was the beginning of this design.  It's pretty simple really--I cut one corner off and matted it on dark blue, then white.  I die cut the flower and leaves and found the triangle nailheads in the clearance bin at Michaels for 80 cents.  Thought they were a nice addition and something different.  There's another card from this background.  Stay tuned . . .

Third Time's A Charm

Finally, on our third visit to the nest on the local Audubon Trail we saw the mama owl.  She was with one of the babies in a tree across the trail from the tree with the nest.  She was kind enough to be in the open so we had a better chance for good photos and she moved her head so we could get slightly different positions.  But this was my favorite.  They are great horned owls--I failed to mention that previously.

Cooperation

Now this is what I call cooperation.  Not only were these two sibling owls visible, one posed to show us a front view and the other posed to show us the back.  Their eyes were open and they hardly wiggled.  We didn't see the mama as we approached but she flew away, staying within line of sight of her babies.  These are older than those shown previously and there are two more, one on each side of these--but they were shy and hard to see.  This nest is in the Ella Sanctuary which is across the street from the Audubon Trail.  And it isn't as easily accessible.

Owl Two

We returned to the owl nest and the sibling wasn't so hidden.  The eyes were open long enough to snap this photo but as we watched he seemed to feel a need for a nap and the eyes grew heavier and heavier.

Baby Owl One

There's a nest of owls along the local Audubon Trail and its a treat to see these now furry birds.  This one was the smallest and quite cooperative in making him/herself visible for photographing. The two siblings were on branches which were seemingly chosen to hide them from view.

What A Difference A Day Makes

A week ago this  was the view of the sandstone formations at Colorado National Monument taken from near the picnic area.  Although it was overcast most of the day, the sun came out for a while. . . 

. . .but we went back the following day when there was fog in the area and this is the view from a similar viewpoint.  Eerie.  Moody.

Unfortunately the fog lifted quickly and I didn't

get other photos with the fog.  Maybe another time.

Hmmmmm

 Last weekend we went to the Colorado National Monument just SW of town to photograph wildflowers.  But you never know what you'll find on an outing and here's something we didn't expect.  See those people on the ledge?  Looks maybe a bit tricky to get there . . . .



. . . here's a photo of the whole formation where they were situated with the arrow showing their location.  I can assure you that you would never, ever find me there.

Matchbox Popup

This sassy little number was made using my Envelope Punch Board.  I've used the board far more for cards and boxes than for envelopes.  The first photo shows the sleeve which is hand-scored and embellished with patterned paper, washi tape, ribbon and a label.

The second photo shows how the flowers pop up when the box is opened and there's room for a gift card behind the flowers.  I'm not sure I'd put this in the mail but it's good for handing to someone on a special occasion.  And, of course, all kinds of other things can pop up--like stars and balloons and . . . .

Back To The Zoo

Zebras have such a unique look and the pattern is different from one animal to the next for "easy" identification.  They are sort of an artistic horse--but don't say that when they are within hearing.  They are a beautiful animal.

Shaped Window

This is the second card I did for our stamp club exchange.  This time the window was cut using a label die but otherwise the layout is the same.  This one has more butterflies and no flower.  There's lots of possibilities with this card map, as was shown at the meeting.  Gotta love those maps as a starting point.

More Museum

I probably should have selected one of the bird dioramas to show you as there were many of those, too.  But since we don't really see wolverine in the wild, I decided to show those little creatures.  I understand they can hold their own in any fight but these looked friendly enough.  Guess they weren't feeling any threat.

Heart, Flower and Butterflies

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers who visit my blog.

I made this card for our stamp club exchange where we all used the same card map.  Of course the cards were all very different even though we used the same basic layout.  I opted for a window and made it a heart shape with the use of a die cut.  On the inside I adhered patterned paper so it would fill the window and added a multi-layer punched flower.  There's also some butterflies you can't see--I think there should always be something on the inside that you can't see from the outside.  As for the card front, I added a black flag with some washi tape added and the small strips are cardstock.  Dimensional paint added a few dots for cohesion.

Denver Museum of Nature and Science

This museum had changed names and was set up a little differently since we were there last but that was many years ago.  It still has the huge dinosaur skeletons and magnificent wildlife dioramas, mineral collection and even some special event areas.  We spent a couple of hours browsing through the three floors.  We are fortunate to have this resource so close at hand.  They really have done a nice job.

King

And this was the king of the zoo--Papa Lion.  I imagine he moved from that rocky viewpoint at some point but he was there when we entered the zoo and he was there when we left.  He prompted memories of the time we were in the middle of a lion's den in Kenya but that lion had many lionesses and cubs to provide for and no one supplying the meat but himself.  He was so concerned about our van in the midst of his family that he rolled over and took a nap.  I'll never forget that experience and one of the amazing things is that only one other van was anywhere in the area.  Usually when there was something as wonderful as that, there was a lineup of at least six vans full of people.  We were very fortunate and it was certainly the highlight of our trip.

Denver Zoo

The Denver Zoo has three giraffes and I this one was quite curious.  I have a fairly big lens plus a converter so I was able to capture his/her? eyelashes (so to speak).  What a great opportunity the zoo provides to see animals we don't usually see.  Our time at the zoo took us mentally back to our time in Africa as we saw several of the same animals.  Magnificent creatures for sure.

More Zoo

There were several camels at the Denver Zoo and these were more hairy than those we encountered up close and personal in Australia.  The ones we rode there (ours was named Nimrod) were very pleasant and we saw none of the reported bad habits like spitting, biting and kicking.  The camel trainer told us it's a matter of how they are treated.  We treated those camels to a newly-picked orange at the end of our ride to make sure they retain their happiness.

Denver Botanical Garden

We spent a couple hours strolling through the Denver Botanical Garden recently.  They have the grounds divided into different types of gardens and we saw all of them (including the children's rooftop garden) and took quite a number of photos.  The photo on the left is the original and although I like it, it seemed to be a good one for some blending.  I'll let that one speak for itself.

If you haven't visited the garden, I recommend it. 

Journal Page

Notice how the changing of seasons affects what we do?
Progress in my journal is slower than before because I now have to devote some time to yard duties but this is a finished page that I can share.  The background is stenciled with my gelli plate with some pan pastel added.  The flower petals are a die cut and I hand cut the stem and leaves.  I printed the text on my computer.  An art journal is a good place to experiment with various techniques before committing them to another project.

Also Rustic

This leaf caught my eye on a recent walk.  I was a bit amazed at how it was blown into the stems of the vine and probably remained there all winter.  But there were little signs of deterioration so perhaps it got blown there this spring.  In any event it was trapped and it provided nice contrast from its surroundings.  Soon it will be obscured by the greenery that grows on the vine.  Nature is amazing.

Embossed Label

This card was made with a Tim Holtz embossing folder.  I like the various levels of the embossing and the fact that it's done once through my Big Shot.  I used some pretty simple and classic embellishments for a spring look.  

Beautiful Burlap

Burlap seems to have been around forever and it has a rustic, country feel which is unique.  I wouldn't want to wear anything sewn with it but it's good for utilitarian purposes--and art.  I added paint to the background and used an unpainted strip for contrast.  The leaves are die cut, the butterfly punched and the flower is a commercial one.  What have you done with burlap recently?  It's quite popular right now.

Things To Be Happy About

More things that make me happy:

adventures shared with friends

Cadbury chocolate eggs

chocolate pudding

beautiful fabric

upbeat music

furry bunnies

acrylic paint

straight pins

deviled eggs

baskets