Sunday 28 April 2013

Return of the Finches!

Well the Greenfinches have been pretty regular visitors to the sunflower seeds, but last week I thought I would switch the peanuts on to bird cam but it turns out hardly anyone visits the peanuts, so after we saw some Goldfinches in the garden on Saturday morning I switched the sunflower seeds back on to bird cam, and it's been like constant traffic ever since - the usual visitors of blue tits, great tits, robins and the greenfinches - but then on top of that it's been finch crazy Goldfinches, Chaffinches and a Siskin. Here are some more videos:


Another card

Here is another card I have made.....

I firstly brayered some ink on to the background but as it is quite absorbent paper it was quite pale so I then added a few sprays of Dylusions - I forget the actual colour names but they were blue and turquoise. I then used a ruler to tear out a neat square and went round the edge with salty ocean or maybe it was peacock feathers...haha one of the two anyway! Then I took some Graphic 45 papers the old curiosity shop and cut out the picture and then used a set of spellbinders to cut out the leaves - using a sheet of Graphic 45 paper from the same set. Then I just hand wrote Happy Birthday at the bottom.


Aquarium

The new letter in the dictionary challenge is A - it took me ages to find a word - there are a lot of boring or unsuitable A words it seems! Anyway I decided on aquarium and a plan soon came to mind....

I used the appropriately named Aqua colour paint dabber on the background; I then found a plant stamp suitable to use as a fish tank plant and stamped that in Mowed Lawn and Forest Moss distress ink. I stamped the two fish - one is Paper Artsy the other is Inkadinkado. Then I drew some bubbles with a fine liner pen and then used clear gloss to make 3D and more like water. I used a craft nib to colour in the fish with barn door, spiced marmalade and salty ocean distress inks. Finally I used a little peacock feathers around the edge.


Here is the link to the Craft Barn

Saturday 20 April 2013

Card

And finally here's a card I made....

I sprayed Dylusions on some paper.....yellow and orange for a sunny vibe.....then I stamped on the Paper Artsy birds in the grass, and Indigo Blu Happy Birthday - although I had a slight disaster when I dropped the inked up stamp on the page.....you can still see it but it's mostly covered up....phew!

I also stamped on the butterflies from the same Indigo Blu set using Spiced Marmalade and Walnut Stain distress inks.......and I just can't help it but after cutting out and sticking down the paper on the card I went round the edge with walnut stain distress ink.....nothing seems to be finished off without it :)


Magnesium and Aluminium


Here are the next two elements completed. I did the backgrounds ages ago, mostly Dylusions and stencils, and I've just got around to adding on the wording. Oh and there's a slight bit of Zentangle on the Magnesium letters that I was practising when I first had my Zentangle book but I've only just got around to adding in the rest of the words.

Walking around in Circles

Hellloooooooooo!

Craft barn challenge time again....actually I'm a week behind.....but that's why it's a good job there's two weeks for each letter, anyway this time it is W and you have to use circles on the background. So I was thinking Weather but when I checked my dictionary I had previously torn that page out for another project. Then my mom text me and suggested walking because I do a lot of it - and so I picked walk out of the dictionary. Even better I could link in the circles with the phrase "Walking around in circles".
 So this time I used Paper Artsy Fresco finish paints - I forget the actual colour names but a light pink and lilac - then I used a scrap bit of card that I'd previously been messing about with stencils and inks on and punched out the circles - I glued them down with sparkle mod podge - which has got glitter in it. Then I drew on the little stick people and stamped the signpost which is from one the Hobby Art scene it sets. Then I used purple archival to stamp the dots (Tim Holtz Ultimate Grunge) and and added some purple glitter. The I used black gesso and a lid to stamp some more circles; and I went around the edge with some walnut stain and dusty concord distress inks. Oh I also drew on some circles as well with a purple fine liner.

 Here's the link - letter W





Sunday 7 April 2013

Day of the Finches

So there's me saying oh I've never seen any finches in our garden....or even at all actually.....and earlier on we saw a new bird on the feeder and I think it was a female Bullfinch not 100% sure but it looks the most likely. And then I decided to switch two of the hanging feeders around so that the sunflower seeds are on camera, and almost straight away got a Greenfinch!! No way....I'm amazed I've learnt so much about birds in the last few weeks just never realised there were so many and without the cameras probably wouldn't even know they'd been to the garden....

Here are the videos....

And not to be outdone here is a baby Robin being fed by a parent whilst on the feeder!