Stampin! with Jaydee

 

I love the speech bubble at the top of the card and knew that I could combine it with some fabulous Stampin' Up! DSP.

 

For the sentiment, I used an old super cute - and really affordable - set from Papertrey ink called "Wonderful Words Birthday"

 

I die cut the Birthday using Stampin' Up! Lost Lagoon card stock 3 times and layered them using Crystal Accents.  I then used some Ranger inks in various shades of blue to give an ombre effect to the die cut sentiment.  I know it's hard to see in the photo.. :-) ... but I thought it worked with the different shades of blue on the DSP.   

 

Here's my card:

 

 

I added a little shimmer to the blue balloons and the sentiment... here's a close up of the sentiment.

 

 On a personal note:

 

Today was a gorgeous spring day.... the sun was shining and it got a little warmer.  Very welcome after the freezing cold week we have had.  The chickadees were singing and the leaves on the trees are starting to sprout. 

 

Lou did a quick recon around the garden and we found that ALL of the trees that we planted last year are blossoming.  We were so excited about that.... even the two Ironwoods that we saed from being taken down in the lot two doors down from us, have settled in and seem to be happy.  Even the wild sedge grasses that came along with the trees are coming up.   I love that we were able to save these 30 year old trees... and import some native grasses along with them.

 

We had a visit from the Cooper's Hawk this week.... Sorry about the photo... I only managed to get a single shot before he took off.  

 

For years I have battled to determine whether we are being visited by a Sharp Shinned Hawk or a Cooper's... they are VERY similar and hard to tell apart.   However, I found this great Sharp-Shinned vs Cooper's comparison that was put together by Cornell.   I went down the checklist and it was then so easy to determine which bird visited us this week!   I love that you can learn so much online these days :-)

 

Talking about birds..... last year we had a Red-bellied woodpecker fly into our great room window.   I absolutely HATE that sound and it's really unusual for the woodpeckers to hit the window's with their heads as they tend to land feet first.... Sadly, the woodpecker did not survive.   I know many people just think of birds being killed with a window strike is just one of the things that happen when you build in a treed area... however, Lou and I don't feel like that.  I hate to feel that I have been the cause of an animal losing its life, especially when it was doing something totally natural.  

 

We had placed decals on the windows, but they really don't work.  Then I had a thought... we had just finished screening in under our deck and we used dark netting.  We called the very talented young man who did the screening and asked him if there was something he could do.  Absolutely he said!  Within two days he was back with specially made screens to fit over the windows.  

 

I looked for a before photo... but couldn't find a photo of the entire window... however, if you look on the left of this shot - you can see the trees reflected in the window.... it's hard to tell where the trees stop and the window begins.... the only thing that shows you - is the siding and the window frame - but on the glass... all you can see is bright green leaves.   No wonder birds were confused and couldn't tell the difference.

 

 

Let me try and show you the difference...  yes.. when the sun is shining and the leaves are on the trees, you can still see a little of that... but NOTHING like the raw glass.   I'm pleased to say that we haven't lost a bird since we put up the screening.   The best thing about it..... it makes no difference to us on the inside.  We have lost no sunlight and our view is still the same!
  

 

I'll be back tomorrow with another card.  In the meantime, warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.

 

Hugs

Jaydee