A couple of images all colored up!

Hi everyone! I know it's been a while since I posted here...spring is always an insane time at work for me, so I have had very little time to craft at all, much less post. I'm really hoping things slow down a bit in the next few weeks, although I think the busy times will transfer from work to home life in these next few weeks as the kids wrap up the school year. Are any of you feeling a little overwhelmed right now too?

Anyway, I wanted to share a couple of digi images that I colored with my Prismacolor pencils yesterday. Both are from Mo Manning, and I have really fallen in love with her images. I can't believe how long it took for me to start using her digi stamps, but they are so cute!

The first one is called Bronte Kisses. How sweet is this image??? I colored this one while I was on my lunch break. Lately, I've been either rushing through lunch, missing lunch, or working through lunch, and yesterday I decided I just needed to get off the grid for a bit and have a little "me" time. And although a couple people looked at me a little strangely as I sat there with my bowl of soup and my pencils, blending stumps and Gamsol around me, I had a great time. :)

The next one is called Prince Edward Island. As soon as I saw it I had to have it! My best friend and I were huge Anne of Green Gables fans when we were girls. Have you read the series? It's just delightful - and I have been rereading the first book over the past couple weeks when I have a few minutes here and there. My favorite as a girl was Anne of the Island, and I wonder if my taste has changed now that I am older. But knowing that Anne and Gilbert are finally going to end up together...sigh. :)

This was my first time coloring on kraft cardstock. I used a tutorial over at Dorcas Designs to help me with the flesh tones. Not nearly as good as hers, but I was happy with the result for a first try. I really like how the colors pop on the cardstock. With kraft you don't use Gamsol or other solvents to blend the colors, rather you layer the colors on top of one another. The photo makes the coloring look a lot lighter than it is in person, but still, the overall effect is a lot like pastel chalks on paper. I worked on blending on Anne's face & body, but left her carpet bag less blended, trying for more of a tattered look. If anyone read the book, they would remember that she held onto her old bag when she met Matthew because the handle was broken and she knew the trick to keeping it closed. :)

The next step with each of these images is to put them on a card. Hopefully I'll have a chance by the weekend to do that, although first I have to dig my desk out of the piles that have accumulated over the past couple of weeks. I've also been working on my quilt here and there, and pulled out the knitting needles to work on a preemie hat. I'd like to get a few together and make a donation to the NICU at the local hospital. Ever since my colleagues twins were born at around 21 weeks in October, I've had preemies in the back of my head. The twins are home now, both well over 9 lbs and happy and healthy. Modern medicine really amazes me, but knowing that there is also a little something I can do to help these tiny babies makes me happy.

Lastly, an update on our duck. She laid a total of 11 eggs, but never returned to incubate them. Perhaps she was a young duck and didn't know what to do, perhaps she was frightened off, perhaps (and I really hope not) she was attacked and couldn't return. We kept our distance from the nest for over a week, but never saw head nor tail feather of her. Maybe she will try again next year...but it will have to be in a different spot since I still plan to dismantle the crumbling stone grill this summer.

Oh wait - one very last thing! Today is Teacher Appreciation Day in the states, and I just wanted to take a moment to wish our teachers a very happy day! We set up a lunch for the teachers at my son's school, and my daughter gave her preschool teacher a wooden birdhouse she painted herself. I'll have to post a couple pics of that...her furrowed brow as she concentrated on her art was adorable to watch. She was very proud to give it to her teacher when I took her to preschool today. :) So to all teachers (including my hubby!) - a very Happy Teacher Appreciation Day to all of you. Thank you for all you do for our children!

We have a new feathered friend!

Last year we had a Robin's nest just outside our kitchen window. The whole family was excited to watch the tiny bright blue eggs hatch and see the chicks grow and eventually fledge.

Yesterday we found a new surprise:

9 eggs! A Mallard duck has taken up residence in our crumbling stone grill/fireplace and has built a rather cozy nest. We had actually planned to finally take the grill down this year, but obviously that will have to wait. :)

I'm really excited to see if Mama Duck is able to successfully hatch a brood of little ducklings. It's odd that she chose our backyard, because we aren't within visual distance of a natural water source. But then again, I'm not a duck, and she obviously picked our yard for a reason. She may still be in the laying stage; I'll keep an eye on the nest over the next few days to see if she lays more. She wasn't on the nest all day, which apparently isn't too unusual until she finishes laying and begins incubating. She finally settled in for the night at around 6:30 this evening. Her head just peeks out from the top of the fireplace and she blends in perfectly with the stone. Pretty smart actually...she is protected in the back of the fireplace and has a bit of a vantage point off the ground which hopefully will protect her and her ducklings. The large barking Rottweiler in the yard behind us doesnt seem to bother her too much. We will just have to establish some ground rules with our kids and the other neighborhood kids to be sure everyone stays away from the nest for a while.

The kids are excited too, and already we have been doing some research on Mallards and the nesting/hatching process. Watch this space for updates on the nest this spring! :)