Friday finish!

 

This week was a short one, with the holiday, so I never got a chance to work on my quilt. I decided to whip up a couple of rocks so I will have a stash to hide this summer. I tend to work on night when I am tired and my arm is sore, so I make a mess. I think I do better with paint, since I can go over mistakes and fix things, better than with the pens. 

I saw these designs on the web and had to try them, mine are definitely not as nice as the originals. Working on rough rocks, doesn't help.

We got to spend time at the beach on the island. It is nice since we can walk, collect glass and bird watch. I finally got a look at the new baby, you can see it hiding under mom.

And the dad, he wasn't happy when I got closer from the other side.

With low tide, I was able to walk further into the marsh area. I caught this Glossy Ibis.

And a Snowy Egret with it's catch.

We were able to get out for a paddle one day. We went out of the harbor and stopped at the breakers.

On the rocks behind Bill, I caught these two Cormorants. 

Since my arm was doing good, we went out into the bay and paddled to the town beach. It was a nicer place to swim and enjoy a snack. On the way back, the wind picked up and the smoke got heavier, so it definitely wore me out. But it was nice to be on the bay again, next time I will use my sea kayak, which is easier to paddle in rougher waters.

Another day we enjoyed glass hunting, the views and more birds. I seem to be finding a few large pieces of old brown glass, but no real treasures lately.

I also got another look at mom and her baby. The baby is still to weak to stand up for long, it was trying but kept falling over. While baby slept, mom caught up on her preening.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend. We didn't do much since it rained more, late in the day, but it was nice getting out when we could.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I got a new resin mold and I wanted to try it out. It is a heart box, that has indents, so more of an ashtray. I like the idea of having something that I can give as a gift and add my sea glass. It came out pretty good, but I think I need to add less glass to let the light in and show off the glass. 

I had too much resin, so started filling the other molds to use it up. I tried some dye but I guess too much on the dog and lady piece, it came out too dark. The good thing is, I mixed the resin in the right amounts, so all the pieces hardened. I like the idea of doing smaller pieces, maybe get some ornament molds. The anchor was too thick to be an ornament, so maybe if I fill it with less resin, it will be the right thickness.

I also painted some new rocks. I love using the markers and paint pens, so much easier to do. This time I painted them white first, which makes the colors pop more. There are lots of designs on the internet that are fun to do.

Last weekend we went to the beaches on the island and enjoyed watching the birds. The Red-breasted Mergansers, are funny to watch. I also spotted a Red-tailed Hawk flying by and a Common Eider. With the mottled coloring, I would say this is a younger one.

We also stopped at another beach and it was where all the gulls were hanging out. I enjoyed watching them fly about and diving for fish.

I also spotted an all white one. I found out from a local group that is is a Glaucous Gull and I was the first one to spot one, so that was a thrill,

Today we went to the beach again and I had the camera out, just in time to grab a shot of this guy, as he came out of the water with his prize. It looks like a sea worm, not sure what type.

I hope you all enjoyed your week and have a nice weekend. We have rain again, then one good day, before more rain and snow. I guess we are in for a cold March, since we missed all the snow this winter.

Friday finish!

 It seems I did a lot this week and got nothing done. I did take down my Valentines decorations and started with Easter. I am trying to cut down on the amount I put up, so things don't look so cluttered, but I know I will end up making a few new things.

I am working on getting some quilts ready to quilt, lots that need to be finished. I also had some new paint markers to test and found out, they are just markers, no acrylic markers, so I had to redo them, with the better markers. Not as good, as when I use paint, and I rushed them, but a lot easier and less messier.

They do look better in person, the fresh gloss, makes them look worse.

Last weekend we took a ride, no luck with birding, but we enjoyed the views and a stop at the Westerly lighthouse.

On Sunday we took a ride to the fish hatchery in Connecticut. I heard there have been eagle sightings there. We got a nice walk in and as I was getting ready to leave, I saw a black bird in the sky. Thinking it was just another vulture, I wasn't quick enough to get great shots.

I caught him as he flew over head. Then he landed on a telephone pole, way up on a hill and then he was joined by his mate. They were too far to get a close up and a river between us, so I couldn't get closer. It was still wonderful to finally find one.

We also saw a lot of other birds in the bushes, most were too busy to sit still and too shy, to let me get close. I think the first are Hairy Woodpeckers, the middle is a  Chipping Sparrow and the last is a Northern Mockingbird.

The Hatchery has a nice walk along the river and into fields, so we will have to go back to that area again. I hope you all had a nice week and get to enjoy getting outside and exploring your area.

Friday Finishes!

 I definitely need more time in a day or better organized time. So much to do in a week and I never get half of the things done, that I wanted to. I have several projects going on right now and more things to get ready for the holidays. 

I like having easy, smaller projects to do in-between other projects, so I made up a couple of pillows, stuffed with balsam. I have made balsam pillows, but most of mine are older and I need new ones. I also like to gift a few.

I also tested some new acrylic paint markers. I actually like them, but wish they had more prim colors. I did these up quick and it was a lot faster than painting and I only needed one coat, so a great way to do rocks without spend days, making them. They also work on fabric, so I may try them on a little pillow. These are the ones I used, Paint Markers.

Last weekend, we went for a walk at the bird sanctuary. Always a nice walk and lots of wildlife in the area. I was able to catch two new birds this time, an Eastern Bluebird and a Blue-headed Vireo. We also went to a few beaches, the wind was up and so were the waves.

And at home, a visitor who is watching and waiting for lunch. They do not like being watched when hunting, so he took off, which is good for the birds at my feeder. Cooper's hawks will go after birds when rodents aren't around.

I hope everyone had a good week. My day was spent, over cooking my cookies and then after spend the afternoon making homemade soup, a dish I took out of the oven, exploded. There was glass everywhere and the soup lid was off, so that killed all the work I did for dinner. Luckily the extra chicken was not in the area, so I can make weekend dishes with the rest. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday finish and starts!

 

This week seemed to go by too quickly and as usual, I didn't get as much done. More time spent getting ready for Easter and getting out on nice days.

I did put a new piece together, I have had it for years and decided it was time to make it. I have most of the pieces cut out, so I could make sure I got the layout right. The design is by Crane Design, called Lighthouse Landing.

I also painted some new rocks. I enjoy doing happy pieces that make me smile and hopefully, will make others smile when they find them.

Last weekend we took a drive to Connecticut. A few nice walks at a few parks.

One park still has the old farm buildings left.

And lots of birds at the parks, but as usual, they hid or flew away when I got the camera out. I found an owl in a tree, he stayed still.

During the week we spent time at the beach, in the afternoon. The tide was always coming in, but I still found some nice treasures and got nice walks in.

Today we got out for last minute shopping and spent the rest of the day, at the beach. This is a Long Beach, so we got a nice walk in and found some nice treasures, which are in the 4th glass photo. We walked as far as we could go, which ended at a rocky barrier. Next time we will have to find a place to park and walk all the way to the lighthouse area.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and a Blessed Easter Day. 

Friday Finishes!

 

This has been a busy week, but keeping busy, keeps me from letting all the crazy in this world, stress me out. I made a few new things and finished an old item. I made this rug, years ago but never bound it. I actually enjoy binding, I find it relaxing and it was so nice to see it done. The pattern is by Mad Hen Primitives and the kit was gifted to me, by a friend. I am still unsure about the bold blue on the wing, I may just change that.

I also saw a free pattern for cloth carrots, but of course I just made them myself. I just made some triangles, sewed them together and added strips of cloth for the top, fast and easy.

And I made another set of rocks, to hide. I love doing fun ones, an hopefully they will bring smiles to the recipients.

Last weekend we did a drive around the beach areas, it was cooler so we just enjoyed the views. Along the way we spotted a group of Red Breasted Mergansers. They are so funny, trying to impress the females.

On the way home, we decided to go to the old base, to see if the owl was around.  I was thrilled to find her in an area that I could get some nice shots. She is so beautiful, but it won't be long before she leaves.

We also spent a few days at the beach. Beautiful weather and great way to get some exercise, as we find treasures.

Today Bill had the day off, so we took a ride to Newport and spent our time at the bird sanctuary. As usual they all flew off when we got close, but I was able to get a few shots of a Northern Mockingbird and a Song Sparrow.

The walk around the point is beautiful, surrounded by the ocean. You can see a lighthouse in the distance, even though it was foggy around the little islands. On the way home we stopped at my favorite beach and found more glass. The Newport Beach has mostly white pottery, so it was fun to spend a little more time on my favorite beach.

I hope everyone had a nice week and fun plans for the weekend.

Friday Finishes!

This week I worked on finishing the new stitchery by Kathy Schmitz. This one was fun to do and I did more fancy stitches, as well as add a border to mine. It is fun having something new and quick to do, each month. I am seriously thing about doing sales again, I have way too many finished pieces, starting to pile up.

For fun, I decided to try some new rocks to hide. With the nicer weather, it is fun to place a few, at a time, in places we visit. With everything that is going on, I felt like sunflower pieces were nice to show our support. With my bad arm, it is harder to do a lot of detail, so I kept them simple.

Our weather is up and down lately, rain, warm and then cold again, so one day we went to the kids and spent some time with the boys and a little party for my son's 40'th birthday. Afterwards we drove around their area to look for an eagle they spotted. No eagle but we found an old mill site.

Remnants from the old mill.

The next day we spent some time at the beach. It was a bit cool but I finally got a pair of Bogs, so I was able to walk along the water without having to worry about getting my feet wet or cold. Bean was happy to go along, and the low tide meant, he had more places to explore.

I found some nice treasures and thrilled to find another marble and a large piece of lavender.

On the way out of the beach, I noticed a bird sitting at the Osprey nest and stopped to take a photo. It seems a Red Tailed Hawk and his mate have made a home in the nest. I am sure the Osprey is not going to be happy when it returns and sadly, it will kick them out, so I hope they havn't laid eggs yet.

I also got a surprise in the mail, a gift from Kathy Schmitz. She has a contest each year and this year was to make 6 of the same items and post a photo. I posted a photo of my pillows and instead of picking a winner, she sent all of the girls who posted, a gift package.

I hope this finds you all well and enjoying time creating and time exploring your area. Warm weather is heading our way, so Bill has two days to take off so we are planning some day trips this coming week.

Friday Finish and Fun!

This weekend we got to enjoy time at the beach and time with Nick. He loved visiting his Great Aunt,  especially her new puppy. And of course there is nothing better than exploring the beach with Nick.

It was a beautiful day on the beach and lots of sailboats enjoying the breeze. Grandpa and Nick were being silly.

Nick found a shell tree and added his own shells.

And he loved exploring the beach, he even found some glass for me and a few hidden crabs.

And we had a nice haul, lots of larger pieces too and some fun new shapes.

And that gave me inspiration to make some new things. I used a couple of the larger pieces of glass and painted some nautical designs on them. I used acrylic paint and a coat of gloss over the design to protect them. I left the rest alone, so the frosted glass shows. I like the idea of mounting the larger pieces and working on some ideas for ornaments I can give as gifts.

And used some of the rocks to paint more smile rocks. We will be hiding them this week, when we go camping. If you want to know more about my group, you can visit at DSmiles4Miles on Facebook. The heart rocks are something fun and easy, that anyone can do.

And after all that work of hunting on the beach, we took a swim. Nick loved bobbing up and down on the waves. We will be camping locally, our cat sitter isn't feeling well, so we will stay close to home. That way we can come back every day to take care of the kitties. I hope you all have a wonderful week.