Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Two challenges and a nature drive

First of all, as I type this (it's 6:50am on January 31) there is a red glow on the horizon that looks like fire. It's been a very long time since I've seen such a colorful sunrise. There is an old saying, "Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning." Since we're going to be getting a HUGE winter storm in the next two days, the red sky seems appropriate.

Yesterday, my husband and two of our friends (Rich and Carolyn), went on an 'eagle hunt'. This time of year with the river frozen except for the channels and very cold temperatures north of us, the eagles are driven to small areas where they can fish. We have a route we take most years about this time. Just south of Bartonville, IL is a road to a boat launch called Mendenhall Road. It's not very long but it does lead to open water in the river. We saw 13 eagles on that tiny road. South through Banner, through Little America, on to Duck Creek Sand and Gravel where we were disappointed with only 1 eagle, past Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge and into Havana. Our total eagle count for the day was 66. If there were that many we could see, think how many more were out of sight. We also saw two flickers, four bluebirds, a small flock of song sparrows, a flock of Great Blue Heron (have you ever seen a flock of them? WE never have and there were at least 25), a herd of deer, more geese than we could possibly count, and twenty-five hawks (redtail, Coopers & Sharp Shinned). All in all, a very good day for wildlife in Central Illinois. If you live in our area, I highly recommend the drive (and the sky keeps getting more red - wowzer).

Now, about the card and the challenges. This card is for the Magnolia Stamp Lover's challenge - 'Glitter' and the Stamping Scrapping Challenge Central challenge 'Valentine'. My card was heat embossed with Zing Gold Glitter embossing powder. It's a very simple card but I think it has a lot of impact. I thought about using one of the glamorous Tildas but this image suits me, I'm a blue jeans kind of gal. I may trade this card for the one I originally made for me hubby. The edges of the layers were colored with my 18kt gold pen, I love the rich look of the gold with the red and it allowed me to layer the same cardstock. All in all, this card pleases me, but I wish I had colored her better. I've actually picked up some new techniques that I would have liked to use (with a wink to Zoe), but next card....

Paper: Stash; Stamps: Magnolia Tilda w/Summer Bow, Flourishes "I Love Roses"; Krylon 18kt Gold Leafing Pen; Spica Sand; Zing Glitter Finish Gold Embossing Powder; Copics: [skin R20, E00, E000, E01][Hair E30, E33, E31][Pants B91, B93, B96][Shirt/Hat E50, E53][Shoes E34, E35]

5 comments:

  1. I tried leaving a comment earlier this morning and I don't think it went thru, so if you get 2 from me that's why! lol I love this...so beautiful! : )

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  2. Beautiful card Cindy, I like the tilda and that beautiful rose.
    Kevin xx

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  3. it so so cute!! love all the glitter!!

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  4. Love the simplicity of this card...very elegant!
    Thanks for the nice email, too!

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