Spring Is Just Around The Corner?

I know looking out the window today and the fact they're calling for more snow come Monday, that the silly groundhog says winter is going to be over soon. Right.
With the wonderful sunshine we had yesterday, I decided to venture out and take some more pictures. I found the icicles hanging like stalactites funny. The ice was so thick I could walk on top and not bust through it. Jenna pulled a slab of ice off of her slide that was almost 2 inches thick and she informed me it was quite heavy.
So with all this wondering about taking pictures of the icicles etc., thinking I was cold and it was time to go in, as I open the back door, I look down into my flower beds.....the daffodils are starting to come up!

Maybe the little fur ball was right.

Laters,
Jodi

Birds on Ice

Happy Thursday everyone - day 3 of no school. I have to admit I've enjoyed my leisurely mornings drinking my coffee and watching the birds. I love birdwatching. It's been particularly amusing here the last couple days because of all the ice. We have a Shepard's hook out in front so I can watch the goings on from our living room picture window. The big draw is the suet - they all like that. It took the woodpeckers to get thru the ice covering on the feeder, then everyone started coming round. I hadn't seen any Red-Bellied woodpeckers here lately but now I've been seeing a Flicker. At first I thought it was just an enormous Red-Bellied, but it's not. He's not used to me yet either. The rest of the little birdies are used to me having my face and camera shoved in the window taking pictures, but he's new and a tease. I have to move slowly and now I can sit down on the couch and watch him, but as soon as the camera shows itself, off he goes and watches me from the trees.
Anyway, all the little guys (chickadees, sparrows, dark eyed juncos, etc.) would land on the curve of the Shepard hook and just slide around the corner and down. Poor things. Then we had the Ice Capades on the patio - a Morning Dove literally looked like it was skating (gliding in all, it was just missing some tiny little skates) across the patio getting what the others chucked out of the feeders.
I think I managed to see at least 10 different birds hanging around. It was like a little show - one or two would hang out, they'd fly off and then another would show up - it was a birdie conga line.
So, here's a few pictures to enjoy.
Stay Warm,
Jodi

My little Chickadee

Tufted Titmice

Common Flicker and Sparrow

Nuthatch

Not Necessarily For Christmas

Holy Cow! 2 posts in less than a week! What will the neighbors think! LOL

Ever since I came back from my first CHA (Crafts and Hobbies Association) show last summer, I have become a huge of Tim Holtz and all he does. (Meeting him had nothing to do with it, although it didn’t hurt.) I never used to like distressing my work or grunge.  After seeing all his samples and playing around with some of the techniques, I have become hooked. (I’m also a huge fan of Clearsnap products, but that’s a post for another time, we’re talking about Tim right now.) I waited with baited breath for Tim to do his eve popular “12 Tags of Christmas” to see what sort of glorious things he would create and I wasn’t let down. I had a new list of products I had to have for my Scrap ‘N Friends. (I could only do so much with what I have.) I was even so excited; I did a technique class of my own version on Tim’s tags in December. I think I ended up doing 14 samples when all was said and done and I actually gave most of them away on Christmas presents. It was just too much fun! The difference between Tim’s work and mine though, is that pretty much all of my work is in brighter colors, and I experimented with some different products too. Some was done with Close to My Heart (stamps and inks), some was Ranger Products, I used Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels, and Smooch from Clearsnap. That said, the only real constant through this phase has been Grungeboard. I absolutely love this stuff! You can heat emboss on it, dry emboss it, paint it, stamp on it, cut it out on a Cricut…I could go on and on. My Scrap ‘N Friends all joke that I’ve become addicted to chip board, and Grungboard is a sort of chip board, but it’s more flexible. (literally) Anywho, I’m attaching some of the favorite tags I created for your enjoyment. Keep in mind, you don’t have to save giving these ideas a whirl for just Christmas, just think of what gorgeous Valentines you could make, birthday cards or a note to brighten someone’s day!
TTFN, Stay Warm!
Jodi