Just For Fun - Do What You Love

Hello Everyone!

I'm here with a just for fun card today. Thought I would slide back into a little mixed media and play with all my inks and paints!! I thought the sentiment was sort of apt considering how I do love to get messy in my craft room!!

I will be taking the week off come Monday, as that's when my Momsie arrives for a week-long visit!! I'm so excited to take her through some of my lovely trails and park areas, and introduce her to my new friends! I will try to check in when I can, but I apologize if I seem missing in action and I promise to visit everyone as soon as I can.

The background was done with DecoArt Americana paints (Melon, Flesh and Saffron) and Mustard Seed distress ink spray. I put down some texture with the Art Is Crafter's Acrylic stencil and then created a shadow with an Inktense pencil. The stamp sentiment is Just Say It from Wendy Vecchi.

Dies used: Poppystamps Chochitlan Wreath, Frantic Stamper Monarch Butterfly, Prima Leaves and Sizzix Celebration Words.

The flowers were handmade, you can find the video tutorial for that HERE. They were coloured with Distress ink spray Cracked Pistachio and Dylusions ink spray Polished Jade.

It's hard to see, but I hope you can get a glimpse of the lovely shimmer on this wooden flourish. It's covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust Crystal Glitter!! So shimmery! The yellow straws were a gift from my lovely friend Sanderijn of Live Laugh Love.

UPDATE:
My card won awards in the following wonderful challenges:

** - Little Red Wagon - Challenge # 338 - Text Me

** - Make My Monday - Butterflies
** - Scrapy Land Challenge #40 - Oh Happy Spring

  

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Took another new route for my walk the other day. The weather has been just wonderful this week and there are some bits of green starting to show through all the icky browns and greys!

I would like everyone to meet a very special guest. This is Mr Squirrel Bon Jovi and he lives in the small forest down the lane. He is blonde and very very rare!!! I spent quite a long time with him the other day, coaxing him to come out of the woods and take a peanut. Isn't he the most handsome devil you've ever seen! What a remarkable world this is!!

On a completely separate matter...

"I WAS WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED TO MY LAWNMOWER!!"

My token morning coffee shot, quite vibrant this morning!!

From my bird watching window this week is a Red-Winged Blackbird. 

FACT - Different populations and subspecies of Red-winged Blackbirds vary markedly in size and proportions. An experiment was conducted that moved nestlings between populations and found that the chicks grew up to resemble their foster parents.

I'm not sure that phenomenon is exclusive to just Red-Winged Blackbirds. Case in point...

Did you have to do a double take?? You can barely tell the difference, right? lol

That's it for today. Thank you for stopping in and for all the amazing comments. If you have any questions or interesting tidbits about today's wildlife, please let me know.

Frilly and Funkie - It's Not Easy Being Green

Hello Everyone!

It's time for another challenge over at Frilly and Funkie. The lovely and talented Suzz is our hostess and she has chosen the theme "IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN". In honour of Earth Day, Suzz would like you to create an upcycled project. Repurpose an existing item, recycle an element that would usually be thrown away, or use your paper scraps in a creative way. One lucky winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to Linda's shop The Funkie Junkie Boutique!

I decided to decorate the packaging off of one of my Sizzix Thinlits plastic packaging pouch. It's like an envelope, so it will make a great gift card holder or even a photo storage piece. I started by covering the from and back using papers from Prima Tales of You and Me. Then I added some Petaloo lace around the edges to cover the seams.

The angel piece is from Prima Tales of You and Me Chipboard package and the wings were made with the new Prima moulds and clay. I sprayed them with distress ink spray Walnut Stain and then painted them with Prima Metallique Vintage Rose paint.

UPDATE:
My recycled project won awards in the following wonderful challenges:

** - Cupcake Inspirations - Challenge 356

  

** - Try it on Tuesday - Moodboard Challenge

This is a special challenge for me, as this moodboard was put together using photographs supplied by TioT design team member Valerie. I visit her blog as often as I can so I can take a walk with her through the many gorgeous places she visits. She was actually the main inspiration for my decision to move out of the city. A decision that impacted my life so heavily that my health and spirit have begun to soar!! She is a wonderful artist and you should really give her a visit HERE. I was inspired by so many of Valerie's images - the pinks, the purples, the flowers...and of course the angel. 

Thank you to Valerie for sharing with us, all the beauty the world has to offer!!

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All of the following products that I used can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

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What a wonderful weekend it was here. Saturday it was 19 degrees, which is my perfect temperature. The sun was shining and I spent hardly a minute indoors!! On Sunday, it was twenty degrees so we went for a hike down at the river, but I took so many photographs this weekend that I will share just Saturday with you today.

My token morning coffee shot.

This little guy I met out on the trail. I always carry peanuts on me for just such an occasion, only now I leave a couple on the ground before I leave so they don't follow me home.

My first actual baby squirrel!! I can't believe how tiny this girl is, and what a sweetheart!!

Thanks to Julia for identifying this beautiful creature as a Mourning Dove. Fact - the oldest known Mourning Dove was a male, and at least 30 years, 4 months old. He may have lived much longer had he not crossed paths with a hunter in 1998. (men with their rifles - don't get me started!!)

From my bird-watching window I captured this little guy, a Black-Capped Chickadee. Fact - every autumn Black-capped Chickadees allow brain neurons containing old information to die, replacing them with new neurons so they can adapt to changes in their social flocks and environment even with their tiny brains.

I'm always joking with my hubby when he tells me useless, pointless things. I say "Why did you tell me that? My brain is full already, goodness knows what piece of info I lost to make room for that nonsense! What if I've lost the letter 's'...THAT WOULD UCK!!!" lol

That's it for today. Thank you for stopping in and for all the amazing comments. I read and appreciate every single one! If you have any questions, please let me know.