Cardinals

I love cardinals.

I love their redness.

I love their song, it is so distinctive.

When the trees have no leaves you can spot them way at the top by following their song.

They are just a speck up in the top of the tree.

Here are a few that I have found that I have.

enjoying the outdoors

We found some comfortable furniture for the covered porch.  The chairs swivel and rock.

Tom got himself a Genesis Weber Grill, that he just loves.

Then we have an outdoor bar.

The logs in the bar are from an old fireplace. They are the ceramic logs and are heavy.

Where we live it seems to be very windy and they are keeping the bar in place.

Tom was pooped from putting it all together...etc.

He was watching a Tigers game and enjoying his new bar.

The blue mug is called a Bubba Keg.

A gift from a buddy.

dogwood-1st layer

I like to build layers on my watercolors.

Here is the first.

dogwoods

An assignment was given in my Religions East and West class. It was to do two projects that we could choose from a given list.  My first that I chose was to do a research paper on Cults.  The second I chose was to study Japanese Art and to render something.  I decided to draw and watercolor a picture with Japanese Dogwoods, an Izu Thrush which is native to Japan and the symbol for Beauty in Japanese.  Japanese art is based on nature and so I combined these elements. 

Here is the drawn picture. It was done in a 4H pencil so it is very light.  Click on the picture to make it easier to see.

More New Cards

I needed a new baby card and a sympathy card.

Here is what I came up with.



sympathy cards

I like to have some sympathy cards on hand.

Again since I had my stamps all out I did one for male and one for a female. 

The Tree, words and hanging heart are all from Judith

another card

Same Stamping set (since I already had it out) just different colors.

Same companies Darcies for the stamps and K and Company for the patterned paper.

I used Cats Eye, Versa Magic and Martha Stewart Inks to get the right colors.

flower card

I was in the mood to stamp tonight and made a birthday card.

The background paper is from Kand Company and the stamps are from Darcies.

It's a very happy bright birthday card. 

photo shoot

Here are the professional pictures that came from the photo shoot of our fireplace.

The pictures will go on the front of the boxes selling the fireplace screen and then also selling the tools, as in the fireplace utensil and the wood holder.

Also if you look hard there are differences in each picture.

Photoshop is an amazing program.

Plates and Cups

This little salad plate is made by Noritake and the pattern is Conservatory.

Pansies are one of my very favorite flowers.

This is a definite springtime plate.

This charming cup and saucer are made by Lenox and the pattern is Butterfly Meadow.

The plate has a raised flower in the bottom.

And the cup handle is a butterfly with little ladybugs in the pattern.

I just love it!

What I thought was neat about this was the whole deal.  The way the cup holds the teapot.

I also liked the bold colors of the butterflies.

It is made by Burton and Burton and the pattern is wings of grace.

This wonderful little red and white plate was one that I inherited from my Mom.

It is made by Royal Dalton and the pattern is Calico Red.

I have had these next plates for 30 years now.

Gone With The Wind is one of my favorite books and movie.

Scarlett and Mammy

Dashing Rhett Butler

Cats

I opened the window for the first time the other day and he caught wind of it.

His nose was just twitching at all those good smells.

The stare down.

This is the way it is with these two.

The one on the floor doesn't want to look at the one on the bed.

He might jump on him.

He looks so sweet, but he is really a barracuda.

This guy was playing so hard with this squeaky mouse.

We caught him in the rest period phase.

Springtime

Doing some Easter Decorating.

Moved the chair and table into the foyer.

I am pleased with the results.

The colored eggs are painted shells.  The ceramic painted egg was my Mom's.  She was going to sell it in a garage sale and I just couldn't believe it.  I snatched it up.

The big white bunny was a Big Lots buy.  I just love him.

The little bunny bowl was a freebie from the Hallmark store.

The sheep had originally been my Moms.

I love the sugar egg in the back.  It has a frosting scene in it.

Another little egg with a scene in it.

A fun little springtime tree.

My sister gave me the handmade bunny.  He is holding a tiny little terra cotta pot with clay carrots.

My Mom had picked up the beautiful ceramic egg ornament on her travels.

The other egg was made by the same person of the painted eggs.

Cute little chick coming out of the egg.

Here is a Grandmothers Flower Garden Quilt.

I think this was made by Tom's Great Grandmother.

It is in fantastic shape.

I just love these birds and nest.

Birds Eye View

Blue

Here are pretty blue glass items that look good on the tub.

The blue heart my niece Angie gave me.The dolphin my Mother-in-Law brought back from Florida.

Someone made the candle.

I like it with the tiles.

I made the needlework picture.

Inspiration wall

It was fun to go through things to find new items for "the wall".

The stained glass foam Jesus one of the kids made in school.

The wooden bird house my brother made.

The old marbles Tom's Grandmother had.

The ceramic pansies picture Sam picked up for me in a ceramics shop.

The cardinal and blue jay my niece Angie gave me.

The little crackled pot with the Easter egg, one of the boys teachers gave them. 

This is my prized Scooby-Doo bobble-head that Kevin gave me for Christmas one year.

A friend embroidered the picture, tea stained it and painted and distressed the frame.

When I was young I collected little animals when I went on vacation, or I got them as gifts.  This wall will be the perfect place to show them off.

The worms are funny with their hats and the bear and cat are the size of the pinky fingernail.

The mouse my Mom gave me when I had my tonsils out, the raccoon was picked up on vacation, the glass elephant my Mom gave me and I must have picked up the cat.