Hi Everyone.
Happy Tuesday. I hope you all had a wonderful and restful Memorial Day and that you were able to stop and give thanks to all those men and women who fought for our freedom and especially those that made the ultimate sacrifice for us all.
I did get time to play in my craft room over the weekend and it felt really good to actually get my fingers inky and flex my creative muscles. It's always good to have a break, but it is great to get back to it. Crafting really is a form of meditation for me and helps to clear my mind.
For today's card I used the sketch from casethissketch and the theme from showcaseyourstyle
I decided to use a soft, muted color scheme of Sahara Sand, Pool Party and a really soft grey from Papertrey Ink. I used the Tim Holtz Wildflower stencil to create the three vertical elements in the sketch and I inked the flowers in Sahara Sand.
I then look the "hello" die from the Stampin' Up! Hello You Thinlets dies and die cut it 4 times from Pool Party card stock. I layered the pieces on top of each other using Tombo Mono Adhesive and covered the top layer with Wink of Stella pen – I mean… who can resist a little shimmer and shine!
I stamped the "friend" in Basic Grey and then adhered the layers of "hello" above it. It wasn't quite finished but I wasn't sure what to do wit it. I walked away and watched the birds for a few minutes and came back to the card. I then realized that all it needed was a little butterfly and it was ready to go. I then set the focal layer onto the card base and I was ready to finish the inside and the envelope.
Here's my card:
I really do love the soft, muted color scheme. It's unusual for me, but I find it so restful. The little butterfly was cut from an old Stampin' Up! Christmas DSP. I only had a small piece left of the polka dot, but it seemed just the right softness of color to work with the card. I also found an old blue enamel dot heart that I added to the butterfly to finish it off.
I hope you will pop along to CasethisSketch and ShowcaseYourStyle and play along with the challenges, too!
On a personal note:
Lou and I were delighted to see this guy at the feeder….. I really apologize for the photo – it was really dull and grey outside – and I was taking a photo with my zoom lens – through the window – and through the thick screening…. so… not the best way to take a photo – but at least you get a view of him!
We were even more delighted when we saw two of them! We do hope that they will stick around and will breed. What makes this sighting so exciting? Well, the Redheaded Woodpeckers are one of the 13 species of birds that are under severe threat in Minnesota. In fact, their numbers have declined by 90% in the last 40 years. 90%! Mostly due to loss of habitat. We made a conscious decision when we moved into our new home to keep dead trees for as long as it was safe to do so. Most people in the area we live in cut down trees immediately they die. Doing so makes it very difficult for birds like the Readheaded Woodpecker to excavate nesting sites. This in turn has a downstream effect on the other birds that use these excavated holes.
So… we are hoping that the pair stick around and excavate a nesting site in one of the trees that we have left and that, in turn, it will create a home for other birds later in the season. They really are amazing looking woodpeckers and unlike any other woodpecker we have. Their flash of black and white with the deep Cherry Cobbler head is so striking.
It's been raining and raining and raining and raining….. luckily no strong storms here in our part of Minnesota. Unlike so many of you down in Texas that have been on the worst edge of the storms – again. Colleen, I hope you are safe!
We did manage to sit under the deck in our screened in porch for a little while. Luckily we made the decision to put a roof on it when we screened it in…. it was that decision that keeps us mostly dry while we are in the area. My new camera has a panorama shot option, so I decided to take advantage of that to try to show you some of the view that we have from underneath the deck. We have a 180 degree view, but I wasn't able to capture all of that before the panorama shot stopped…. but you get a decent idea of it!
the camera does give a strange sort of distortion on the end of the shot – making it look as though the area is concave… it's not… but it's a cool shot anyway!
On the far left you can see the River Birches that we planted last year. They really have come in very nicely this year. Our Sugar Maples have also come back healthy and the Ironwoods that we rescued have also survived winter – and the deer buck that decided to rub the bark off it! We ended up covering the trees to protect them from him as we were realy worried that he would strip off too much bark. He ended up going and working on a dead tree – which was much better!!!
Of course, Fred and Ethel are still hanging around:
Well, I will be back with another card for you tomorrow. In the meantime, warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.
Hugs
Jaydee
card recipe:
- Cardstock: Soft Stone(Papertrey Ink)
- Inks: Sahara Sand. Basic Grey. (Stampin' Up!)
- Die cut: Hello You Thinletss (Stampin' Up!). Stitched Rectangle die (Lil Inker)
- Stencil: Wildflower – Tim Holtz
7 Responses
Love your card Jaydee! The softness of the flowers looks so pretty with the pool party color of hello. Wow, the redheaded woodpecker is stunning! What a gorgeous bird! I’m so sorry to hear that they’ve declined over the years. I really hope they take residence in your trees and that you get to watch babies grow!
Squeeee! You saw TWO redheaded woodpeckers!!! I haven’t seen one in well over 15 years. Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing so much for the wildlife. You really “get it.” The decisions you’ve made and what you’ve planted and saved will positively impact the area for many, many years. I know so many people that wanted to live right on the edge of a natural area and then proceeded to destroy the very reason they moved there. Thank you, to you and Lou for making such a difference.
Ok, really wanted to comment on your card but got slightly distracted by the woodpeckers. I usually make cards that are bright and colorful but your card just blows me away. Never in a million years would I have put those colors together but they work beautifully. That’s the kind of card I would put in a frame and keep forever. I can’t stop looking at it. The butterfly adds the perfect finishing touch.
I am in awe of this beautiful card. The softness of the flowers in the background and then the Pool Party butterfly and “HELLO” make this card one of my favorites.
We have a red headed woodpecker that sits outside my window on the sunporch and pecks away in the tree. I just sit and stare. Such beauty. And I could sit on your porch forever. Thanks for sharing.
Love the red headed woodpecker. We have one in our yard, too. We’re about 18 miles West of Rochester. I was so excited and he seems to be sticking around. I hope a second one arrives, that would be awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Such a Beautiful card Jaydee. Like the softness as well as the colors.
With all the water we have here; Fred and Ethel would have a great time and would be in ducky heaven swimming around in the standing waters.
Have a wonderful and enjoyable day
Oh, this is so beautiful! I love the stenciled background! Wonderful take on the sketch!
Jaydee:
Back from Europe where I could not write on “tablettes” or ipads or ipods. Just wanted to say I loooooove your cards and your “On a personal note:” . . .
Marina . . . from far Africa