A Great Blue Heron Colony

A fun walk in Stanley Park (Vancouver, Canada) during the month of May is to visit the Blue Heron Colony. 

 The funny thing about this colony in Stanley Park is that it is right above highly used tennis courts and next to large apartment buildings and supposedly their nesting is supposed to be affected by humans coming and going from the area.

 The Great Blue Heron is the largest North American heron. It has a wingspan of between 66-79 inches and weighs about six pounds. The females lay three to six pale blue eggs. If the nest is destroyed they will lay another set. Eggs take around 28 days to hatch. If you find yourself  in Vancouver in May treat yourself to a visit.

A Fun and Easy Seaside Craft for Adults or Kids

Here’s a fun project you can do with the whole family. If you make enough of these they could become a fun screen.

You’ll need:

Beads with a large enough hole so that an embroidery needle can get through it. (I used 18 beads from an old necklace.)

Downloads of my fish patterns (shrink or enlarge to get a look you like)

Six feet of embroidery thread

Embroidery needle

A black Sharpie

Water colors

Water color paper

Paint brush

Download these:

Step one:

Trace my fish patterns onto water color paper (you can use a window as a light table)

 Step two:

Paint fish on both sides with water color paint.

 Step Three:

After your fish have dried draw over lines with black Sharpie.

Step Four:

Poke holes with the embroidery needle at the top in the middle of the fish and then poke another hole at the bottom middle of the fish.

Step Five:

Tie a knot where you want the first bead to be placed.Then with a threaded needle go through your first bead. Now make another knot to hold the bead in place. Repeat this step for the next two beads.

Step Six:
 Next string the fish on by tying a knot in the thread an inch or so farther down the string. Now slide the fish on so that the knot is against the front of the fish. Then wrap the thread behind the fish and pull it through the front. Tie a knot again on the front to hold the fish in place.

Step Seven:
 Repeat steps five and six until your project is complete.

Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity

I was lucky enough to see this show in New York at the Metropolitan Museum. If you love fashion it is a must see. It ends in New York on  May 27th and then it moves to Chicago June 26 though September 22, 2013.
I know for most of you that it will be impossible to get to New York or Chicago so I'm putting as much of the show on this blog as possible.

Albert Bartholome (French, 1848-1928)
In the Conservatory (Madame Batholome)
Oil on canvas
Musee d Orsay

Here's an excerpt from the article “Dandies and Muses” Vogue Magazine's February 2013 issue. It tells a wonderful story about the painting above and the dress below.

Summer Dress French 1880

This link will take you to the Metropolitan Museum website which has some of the highlights from the show.

http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2013/impressionism-fashion-modernity/images

Here's a few more photos from the show I found online. They give a bit more feel for the layout.

Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity

Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity

Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity 

Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity

Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity

Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity

                                           I hope you enjoyed the show. Have a great day.

Make a Crafty Pillow for Spring

If you want to wake up your indoor or outdoor decor here's a quick and easy DIY pillow project. 

Click on photo below for instructions.

                                                                    Patterns are included.

Free Clip Art (An Autograph book from the 1898)

I found this autograph book at an estate sale. It has fun illustrations. It seems to have been owned by a young woman getting married and sailing away. See what you think? It's fun to think about what happened to her. What was her life like? Was it happy or hard? Where was she headed? Was she excited or scared? You could write a whole novel about this autograph book if you wanted to. If anyone does please send me a copy. These will also make great clip art for cards and other projects. 

Armadillo Cake

Once again it's one of my sons birthday so I'm mailing him a cake. This year's cake: an armadillo.

Step one: make a couple of cakes you can cut into shapes and some

 icing you can use for glue.

 I also made Rice Krispy treats to mold into the head, tail and legs.
You can use the picture below as a guide.

Step two: make some marshmallow fondant for the skin.
Ice your cake and Rice Krispy Treat pieces then cover them with the fondant. 

                              Step three: I used food coloring and a clean paint brush to paint on my design.

                             I should mention my sweet friend Ruth cut out this cool grass he's laying on.

                                                  I made the flowers out of marzipan.

                                            His birthday hat and ears are out of candy paste.

                                 If you would like to make this cake let me know in the comments!
                                                             I would be happy to send you more details.

A Tribute to Mothers

Sometimes when you're raising children the days seem longer than the years. You're always thinking and questioning,"Am I doing this right?" To the world outside you feel under valued and minimized. To all you young mother's in the throws of it all, as long as you have love to give you're doing it right. The job you're doing no one else can do. You are special! And to all the older mom's here's some hard data confirming what we already know.

         Here's an excerpt from an article one of my son's recently sent me with some hard data.

 The Alantic.com Magazine: A new look at the famous Harvard study of what makes people thrive.

The warmth of your relationship with Mommy matters long into adulthood.

 Specifically:

• Men who had “warm” childhood relationships with their mothers earned an average of $87,000 more a year than men whose mothers were uncaring.
• Men who had poor childhood relationships with their mothers were much more likely to develop dementia when old.
• Late in their professional lives, the men’s boyhood relationships with their mothers—but not with their fathers—were associated with effectiveness at work.
• On the other hand, warm childhood relations with fathers correlated with lower rates of adult anxiety, greater enjoyment of vacations, and increased “life satisfaction” at age 75—whereas the warmth of childhood relationships with mothers had no significant bearing on life satisfaction at 75.

Vaillant’s key takeaway, in his own words: “The seventy-five years and twenty million dollars expended on the Grant Study points … to a straightforward five-word conclusion: ‘Happiness is love. Full stop.’ ”

for the full article 

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/05/thanks-mom/309287/#ixzz2Ry1D1cIC

Here's a couple of quotes from some of our Presidents that also seem to confirm this article. 

"My mother was the most beautiful women I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her."

-George Washington

"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."

-Abraham Lincoln

                   Have a Great Mother's Day you earned it!

What would you think?

This is very funny, I can't believe they were able to do it. 

I love the looks on the people's faces.

Brought to you by: Improv Everywhere

                                               Try to do something fun today, just for you.

Did You Notice?

Do we really take the time to notice what’s around us or do we sometimes see what we expect to see and don't give it a second thought?  I think that I’m a rather observant person. When I have time I walk rather slowly and take my time to enjoy where I’m going. My friends call it moseying and get frustrated with me because they’re usually trying to get some exercise.

On this day I was walking with my son who was showing me around his college. I saw some caution tape out of my right eye.  I wondered why it was there as it didn't seem to have much purpose and on I walked.

On the way back my son said,  “Did you notice what the caution tape says?” “No I didn't.”  “Look closely," he said. After taking a closer look I saw  the word "lovely" written over and over down the tape.

All I can wonder is how many other things do I miss everyday? It gives you something to think about.  

                                                        Click on image above to see my website.

Happy May Day to All My Friends!

Since I can't give each of you a basket of flowers, I thought I'd take some pictures to share with you. I hope you enjoy them and have a Happy May Day!

Have 

a

wonderful

May Day

and

                                                                                Spring!