Valentine pockets............

 I joined a Valentine pocket trade on Red Lead this year and here are the ones I made to send in to them.  Red Lead is fast becoming one of my favorite places to buy stamps and collage sheets.  I love this bird!  I used my Brushos (water color crystals) to color a piece of water color paper and stamped the birds on it.   I also used them on a piece to get this beautiful pink tint and covered the tag and tiny card with it.  I cut out the hearts from one of Red Lead's collage sheets and glued one each to the tag, tiny card and pocket.  I then cut out the birds and attached them to the tiny card and the tag.  I stapled the ribbon along the bottom of the  tag and the pocked and across the top of the pocket.  I spritzed the pocked with white linen by Dylusions.  I also had these words on another little collage sheet from Red Lead.   The strip in the middle of the tag is part of a candy wrapper that I just could not throw away!  ")  The "air mail" and "parcel post" are pieces I had let over from another project.  I used the same ribbon to tie the top of the tag.

 Here is the tag in its little red pocket.  Red Lead had all these pieces cut and the heart brads in a packet they sent when I joined the swap.  Great little project for $5.

 This is the second set of the Valentine swap that Red Lead sent.  I love that it was a pink pocket to contrast with the red of the first pocket.   For this pocket, I used a tiny stencil and white stencil paste for the tiny hearts on the pocket.  I used a lighter piece from the paper made with the Brushos and cover this tag and tiny card.  I stamped the tiny musical circles and punched them out.   I glued two to the tiny card and three to the tag.  I stamped the bird, cut it out and glued it to the tiny card.   I also cut out the musical heart from the collage sheet and added it to the tiny card and the floral one to the pocket.  I added a piece of torn music to the tag, stamped the image of the boy and girl and cut them out.  I glued the boy and girl to stand on the torn music piece.  I glued dark pink ric-rac onto the tag.  Then I wrote the words on the tiny card and on the tag.  Lastly I tied the ribbon to the tag.
      This was such fun and very relaxing.   I had not felt well most of January and it was refreshing to be sitting at my art table creating something that I hoped would bring pleasure to another.   If you are not familiar with Red Lead, go visit Chris and Sharon at:  www.redleadpaperworks.com.  

Canadian geese.......

Several years ago I was able to photograph these Canadian geese that landed on the property next to us as they grazed for about two hours.   I think they are one of the most beautiful birds and could not resist the temptation to go out and photograph them.   They actually paid no attention to me.

A more recent photograph back at the beginning of their Autumnal migration, I was able to get close to the river bank (which is very high due the Corp of Engineers dredging out the river several years ago) and photograph these Canadian geese getting ready to settle on the river over night.  

Evening on the river....

This is a view to the west of our property on the river.  The water was as still as could be the evening I took this photo.  As you can see, a tree has fallen off the side of the bank due to river having been high for a while.  I love being there in the evening when the sun sets and the Canadian geese are coming in to rest on the river over night.  Their honking gives such an echo up and down the river.   It is always a sign in the Autumn of their southward migration and, then, in the coming of the Spring their flights back to Canada.