Monday, April 26, 2021

Delight in Nature and Color

 


 Hi peeps! How have things been in your parts? Our weather continues to fluctuate- cold and windy, then a warmer day, then cold again...but this week we will finally have truly warm (up to 80 F-YES!) days to look forward to. And my hummingbird feeders are going out 😀

 We also have a finch nest that made its home in one of my hanging baskets not a week after I brought baskets home for hanging! That was fast work. I only caught it when I brought it down to water it:


Each day thereafter a new egg was deposited:





  As of today- 6 eggs! Notice that larger brown speckled one? Well, that is a Cowbird egg. I just learned that a female cowbird never makes her own nest but will look for another bird's nest (most often a finch's nest) to deposit one egg in. The finch will incubate that egg along with hers. From there we can only hope the larger cowbird baby doesn't kill the finch hatchlings. I was very tempted to remove the cowbird egg but then decided to just let nature take its course.

 For T Stands For Tuesday I will share with you the dinner I made on Saturday:


 Salmon Bruschetta on the grill with a side of stewed green beans and garlic and olive oil couscous. We chose a Bordeaux wine  to accompany it. Absolutely delicious all together. Hubby even deemed it restaurant worthy😉!  Cheers!

 The theme at Tag Tuesday is "Anything Goes" so here is the tag I made for it:


 and a close up of the flower to which I added glitter glue:


  I had received the beautiful painted tag from Valerie  and that pretty flower (which I LOVE) from Erika. I tinted the Tim Holtz Paper Doll with some of the new Distress Kitsch Flamingo ink. I also used a Tim Holtz Chit Chat Word Sticker. The silver star is a sticker. I scribbled lines around the edges of the tag with a Pitt Pen.

 In this post I shared the package of Iridescent Gelatos and painted papers I was gifted. I wanted to have a play with them so I made this "rainbow" page with Try It On Tuesday in mind - unless I'm too late. It started like this:


 The page was gessoed first. I then scribbled blocks of colors using a bunch of colors then activated them by going over them with a wet sea sponge being careful to rinse and squeeze excess water from the sponge after going over some areas so as not to create mud. While the page was still damp I used Dina Wakley's Mantras stencil and a baby wipe to remove color through the stencil. The finished page:


 I love this quote I found. The leaf is from the Curly Fronds Dina Wakley stencil. I painted through it then fussy cut it to glue on the page. It's really a shame the shimmer of these iridescent gelatos doesn't show in the photos. I will also link to Art Journal Journey one last time this month for the theme of "Inspired By" ( I was inspired to use the gelatos) which was to be hosted by Eileen who sadly is no longer with us. Erika and Chris graciously kept her theme and stepped in as co-hosts.

 One final journal page meant for Paint Party Friday and the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the theme "Add A Quote":


 I started with a mop up page from a stencil (Paper Artsy) used with Dina Wakley Gloss sprays. The leaves were outlined with a black Posca pen. I then painted a white circle, added the Dina Wakley Collage Collective image, then stamped the Circle Collage stamp (Stampers Anonymous) over it using Jet Black Archival ink. I scribbled more circles around it with a fine tipped black Posca Pen and added a bit of Dina Wakley Fuschia Scribble Stick to blend out the sides of the image and add a bit of color to the circle. I finished the page with a quote stamp from Inky Antics Muse News clear stamp set by cutting it apart after stamping it and outlining each line with  the black Posca pen.

  And that's this week's post. My next post will be in May! See you soon. Be well everyone.


 "There is no right path. Only the one that allows you to sleep soundly and wake up excited."     Jennifer Louden


31 comments:

  1. Beautiful artwork. I really love your blog banner too right now!
    As I was looking at the bird eggs I kept thinking...that one egg is not like the others. Very interesting. I have learned so many things while visiting my tea friends. :)
    Happy T day

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  2. I wonder how common those cowbird eggs are in nests. I've noticed some at my bird feeder this year and wonder what birds will be raising little cowbirds. Nice art too. That rainbow page is beautiful as is the quote. Thanks for sharing at both TIOT and AJJ. Much appreciated Linda. Hope your weather stays warm. We haven't hit 80 but otherwise your weather sounds like ours. Guess that's April. Hope you have a wonderful T day Linda. Hugs-Erika

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  3. An egg per day?! I thought they "do" this in one ... one... sitting? I also thought they sit on them all day. Boy, I feel dumb.

    Yes, we call them "Kuckuckseier" from the Kuckuck or cuckoo.
    Let´s hope for the best. Looking forward to baby-birds.

    Hmmm "restaurant worthy" is a real compliment I so far never got! Cheers!

    Rainbow-lover (seen too seldom). Wonderful work!
    (We saw a little rainbow on our wedding day, not kidding! Friends had to show me, LOL)

    Henry for a reason loves and joins your last page, LOL!

    Happy T-Day!

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  4. Beautiful art, so many wonderful pieces. And no, you're not too late for TIOT, thanks for joining us! And I love the tag you made for Tag Tuesday, gorgeous. Good luck to the finch with all those eggs, and hope the cowbird fledgling behaves itself! Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

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  5. Fabulous post! So wonderful to find birds nesting in your hanging baskets again and how naughty those Cowbirds are, but as you say that's all part of nature 😁. Your rainbow page is beautiful, thanks so much for joining us at Try it on Tuesday. Sounds like spring weather is with you now after all that snow - yay! Wishing you a very happy T Day! Hugs, Jo x

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  6. Beautiful rainbow page, and LOVE all your other projects! Just stunning! Thanks for joining us at Try it on Tuesday!

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  7. Love your rainbow art which I just spied on TIOT That certainly is a lovely rainbow of colour Linda.
    Love the flower you had sent to you by Erika, it looks so pretty with the sprigs of flowers on it.
    The star of the post has to be the birds eggs - how fascinating for you to be able to see all this activity. Please do let us know what happens next.
    Hugs, Neet xx

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  8. If you have several posts from me, I am sorry! My Google account signed me out and I have had fun trying to get back in. Love your food and wine picture Linda. Yum.

    What fabulous egg pictures - the speckled egg is so pretty. I have never heard of a cowbird but they are sneaky to be laying eggs in other's nests!

    Your art is so pretty. Great tag. Great rainbow page (love the dual wording and all the colors). Super SSS Challenge page too - those words are so true and the splattering is perfect with them. I feel that way about art - definitely!!!

    Hugz

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  9. What a shame that the Cowbird spotted that nest. I hope that the finch can handle the chick but suspect that the Cowbird will win - it will be interesting to see! I love that tag - that happy girl aways make me smile. Your journal pages are fabulous. Thank you for joining us at Try It On Tuesday, Chrisx

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  10. We too have had a lot of sporadic weather. This week is supposed to be warmer.
    I love your journal pages. What a great technique you used for the crayons and wiping away the color through the stencil. Love how it turned out.
    The salmon sounds yummy!
    Happy Tea Day,
    Kate

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  11. I'm loving the bird egg photos! We don't have any nests on our patio this year, but we do get cowbirds. Some birds will build a new nest or poke a hole in the cowbird egg or push it out, but most birds can't tell the difference. I read somewhere that the cowbird keeps an eye on its egg and if the host bird kicks out that egg the cowbird kicks out the host bird's eggs. You just can't win with cowbirds :( Besides, they're natives and so protected. On the other hand, they have a pretty little call :)

    I like salmon but have never grilled it. Happy T Tuesday!

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  12. What a surprise to find a nest in your hanging baskets! Not so nice to have an invader. Here in Europe we have cuckoos that lay eggs in other birds' nests.(I don't think we have cowbirds)
    Your salmon meal looks very delicious indeed. What a compliment to have it labeled as restaurant worthy. I find it difficult to produce meals for two people (having been used to feeding a family). And making couscous for two? How do you do it? (The amount in your photo is perfect)
    Happy T-Day,
    Hugs,
    Lisca

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  13. What a gift that bird nest with eggs is! Gorgeous ~ My hummingbird feeder is out too ~ Gorgeous and colorful art here ~ Xo

    Living moment by moment,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  14. Wonderful rainbow quote and magnificent and happy colors in your artwork ~ Xo

    Living moment by moment,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  15. I've never even HEARD of a cowbird. Of course, all I can identify are robins and cardinals. I hope nature is kind to the finches, but that is a very large egg, so I worry it will win.

    You have a ton of art this week, Linda. That tag is wonderful. I've always loved that little girl and she goes so well in pink. I was also impressed with the Dina inspired art, too. It is beautiful and I like how you outlined the leaves.

    And of course, I am incredibly impressed with your Inspired By journal page. It is stunning and beautiful. I like how you removed color through the stencil. That really made it pop and the sentiment was very clever, too. And true of course. Thanks for sharing this with us at Art Journal Journey honoring Eileen's theme.

    I've smoked salmon, but never grilled it. Yours looks wonderful. I am also a BIG fan of couscous. I could eat it every day, but it's hard to find in Wichita. I'm sure the meal went well with your wine, too. Thanks for sharing your lovely tag, art journal pages, grilled salmon, and wine with us for T this Tuesday, dear Linda. And thanks again for the gift, too. I'm thinking these tapes will go great with ICADs this year.

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  16. Lovely artwork. Sweet nest and eggs. I read cowbirds will lay eggs in any nest so their offspring have a better chance of survival. Your food is beautifully plated. Restaurant worthy, indeed. Happy T Day

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  17. Lovely photos of the bird eggs, so many too, I’ve never heard of a cowbird! Will be interesting to follow what happens when they hatch.
    Your artwork is lovely, a pretty tag with the girl and flower too.
    I love salmon but my husband cooks it in the microwave with white wine, lemon juice and garlic, it’s delicious.
    Sorry I’m late commenting, we’ve been finishing cleaning around the garden from the storm but then we had another storm last night
    Have a lovely week
    Jan x

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  18. I really like your artwork. Your Anything Goes tag is so pretty, and thanks for explaining how you did the one project with gelatos. I will try this! Happy T Day!

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  19. Great photos on the Finch eggs and that is interesting on the speckled egg. Your dinner sounds so good. I love Salmon. Beautiful art too. Have a nice weekend.

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  20. Happy PPF and have a wonderful weekend, hugs, Valerie

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  21. Lovely art this week Linda! So interesting about the finch next and that cowbird egg! Good of you to keep them all.

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  22. From yesterday Thursday 29th we here in Trinidad and Tobago are in another lockdown. All for the good Too many positive Covid 19 cases for this month.
    Happy PPF. Thanks for your lovely art and words of inspiration.


    Much💛love

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  23. Our weather is changeable too. lovely art and photos.

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  24. Really beautiful artwork, Linda!
    Lovely colour eggs. Too bad the cowbird Mamas do not raise their own.
    Your dinner looks inviting and so tasty.
    Have a wonderful weekend.

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  25. Great art work again, and the bird eggs are wonderful. I had never heard of a cow bird, had look it up. have a great weekend.

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  26. Beautiful tag art ~ Awesome ~ Xo

    Living moment by moment,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  27. We had similar weather a few weeks ago, now we are having 2 days sun and 3 days rain and then repeat. Hoping May is a bit drier. Oh good, you are using the Gelatos. I got mine out and almost used them but it didn't work out. That's an interesting way to wet them, a sea sponge. Looks like the wipe picks them up well, as I can clearly see your stencil there. Oh and I'm glad you did not remove the cowbird egg, because it's illegal to do so, some U.S. Migratory Bird Law. Only reason I know that is we had the same thing happen. The Bolivar Flats Bird Sanctuary is just a few miles from us and we have brown cowbirds here year round. We are seeing a LOT of hawks now... XOX

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  28. We have similar weather. Yesterday it was a lovely sunny day but today cloudy and cool wind...
    Beautiful art again!

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  29. Beautiful rainbow page ~ inspiring quote too ~ Xo ~ Happy Week to you.

    Living moment by moment ~

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  30. not sure why, but that face hit a string of memory I can´t pinpoint, weird!

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  31. Such gorgeous projects, your work always amazes me! No you are not late I am with my comments!! Sorry about that but thanks for sharing with us at Tag Tuesday.
    Pinky

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Thank you so much for your comments; it's a pleasure to connect with you!