winter came back!!

We had spring like weather on Tues.  It was really pretty outside.  Then on Wednesday, it snowed!!  AGAIN!  It has snowed, with measurable amounts, three times this year!  I can never remember that happening!  One measurable snow is pretty neat, but three is just unreal!! 

 

The little tansy flowers that were blooming and attracting the bees got set back a bit.   The plants were not set back as much as I thought they would.  The leaves got frost bit some, but the flowers were not phased by the snow.  Amazing!!

Abraham, as well as the other dogs loved playing in the snow.  The were all digging and smelling in the snow.  I managed to catch Abe in a couple of pictures.  It is really hard to get pictures of the dogs in the snow because they are running here and there so fast.  

I love the way that snow looks on different vegetation.  I took a few pictures of different things with snow on them.

                                                        A yucca in the snow.

 

Grass in the snow.

Thistle in the snow.

The snow gives everything such a beautiful and different appearance.  I love it, but am glad that it doesn't snow around here very much!!

                                                                            

dreaming of spring

We're supposed to get anywhere from 2 to 6 inches of snow tomorrow!!  That's just crazy!  Once again it is cold and drizzly and gray!  Spring cannot be too far away though, it is getting to the end of February, isn't it?  I guess that the little flowers that I took pics of yesterday will be frozen tonight!

I decided to show a piece of spring that I did a while back.  I love birds! Birdhouses are something that I love to make.  I have done many different types of birdhouses, but this one is just so much fun.  Of course, it couldn't be kept outside, it is an inside birdhouse.  It took me ages to do this birdhouse, as you can imagine!  Things that take a long time are usually done a bit at a time by me.  I don't know how long I worked on this birdhouse, but it was in my way for many months!!  Once I nearly get through with a project, then I get busy and finish it, but, it's not unusual for a project to sit around in various stages for months on end!!  Drives my husband crazy!!  It just feels SO good when I do finish it!!

 This little birdhouse is covered all over with buttons, sequins, old barrettes, jewelry pieces and beads.  The edge of the house is covered with a strand of sequins.  The roof of the birdhouse is totally covered with blue and silver sequins.

Have a happy, cold day tomorrow!
Betty

spring is in the air

We've had a few sun shiny days lately and that always makes me want to get out and work in the garden.  However, it is still just February, so it is too early to work in the garden, so today I went out and took a few pictures of things that tell me that spring will be here soon.

 

This is a pesky little weed.  It's called hen bit and I'm not sure of the family that it belongs to, but it comes out early and adds a bit of green and lavender to the landscape.  The flowers are tiny.  I tolerate the hen bit in early spring, but as other flowers show up, the hen bit will have to go!!

This is a truly nuisance weed, mustard tansy, I think.  However, it is also adding a bit of color, so I will tolerate it for a while also.  It is serving a very good purpose right now though.  The bees love the tansy and since there are few things blooming now, the bees are staying around the tansy instead of me!!  And, let me tell you, that's a very good thing!

Ah, bluebonnets!  They are everywhere!!  They are almost solid in my garden.  We should have a beautiful spring as the bluebonnets have had the right kind of rains and weather for them this year.  My garden will be a solid mass of blue soon and it will be buzzing with bees and all kinds of other insects!

more hearts

I had some old fencing that is kind weathered that I use in various ways.  When I decided to see what kind of hearts that I could come up with, I decided to cut our some small hearts out of the fence slats.  I cut the hearts out in various sizes then did a little sanding on them.  I think that these hearts could be used in various ways, mostly in some kind of altered art or collage.

 

The heart that is shown here is 2 1/2 inches tall and 1 1/2 wide.  The heart is  1/4 inches thick.  My picture doesn't show the distressing that is on the wood.

 

These hearts are 2 inches tall and 1 1/8 inches wide.

 

These are the smallest of the hearts and they measure 1 x 1/2 inches.

They can be purchased at my Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/jackrabbitflats

                                                                              

Larry makes my day

This happened to me Tues. afternoon, Feb. 9, 2010.  I'm a little late on posting it, but thought that I would share it with everyone!!

I have 3 lacy dogs.  Lucy is my 4 1/2 year old female, Larry, my 2 year old male and Abraham, Roy's 1 3/4 year old male.  This story is all about my sweet, loveable, Larry. 

I usually take a nap around 2:00 in the afternoon. I was lying on the couch and Lucy was intently staring at something out the door. I look outside and see Larry off in the distance rolling in something. I, of course, know that it is either something dead or cow poop. Since it has been a while since the cows have been in that pasture, I have to assume that it is something dead.

The funny thing about that is that off in the trees, I can see a deer trying to figure out what the dickens Larry is doing!! Larry is having such a good time that he doesnt even realize that the deer is right there!!

Larry gets to smelling good enough and comes across the field and soon comes in the doggie door. Skunk smell had NOTHING on him!! The critter must have been dead just long enough to get good and slimy. He has slime all over him! Instead of getting my wonderful, refreshing nap, I have to bathe Larry.

I turn on the heater in the bathroom and start drawing warm water for him. I prefer to bathe the dogs outside, but even tho the sun is shining today, it is too cold to bathe him outside. I get the slimy collar off and put it in the sink and am going to soak it while I bathe Larry. Larry is plenty for me to handle, but I get him into the bath tub. I am finally getting all of the suds off of him and I knock over the shampoo bottle. I look around to make sure that the shampoo is not running out, which it isnt. HOWEVER, when I put the collar in the sink, I left the water RUNNING!! My bathroom is standing in at least an inch of water!!

I have a sopping wet dog in the bathtub that I cant let go of. I have an electric heater running, standing in water. I guess the house is a little unlevel, the water is standing in one corner, but I'm not in water yet. I turn the bathtub water off, let go of Larry, telling him to 'STAY'. Of course, that works well!! I get the sink water turned off and realize that I have to unplug the heater, which by now, I am standing in water!! Now Larry is shaking like all dogs do when they are wet. I get brave and jerk the plug out of the heater and tell Larry to 'GET OUT'. He is more than happy to do that!!

So far I have filled up the first container of water in the carpet cleaner. Even after I get the water out of the carpet, I will still have to clean the tub, the walls, the cabinets, the tub, the sink and lastly, myself. THEN, I have to go remove the stinky, slimy whatever it is so that sweet Larry wont roll in it again!

Some nap!!

Betty

button cross

Sometimes I take on projects that are more time consuming than they are worth while. Being a person who hates to say quit, I either put them back and never finish them, or in this case, persevere until I finally finish it.

This cross started as an idea that I would do several of them because I have so many buttons and thought this would be a good way to use some of those buttons. WRONG!! It took so long to wire the buttons on that I will never do another one! But, I was pleased with how it turned out.

The cross is made up all kinds of buttons. They are all used buttons. There are mother or pearl buttons, work shirt buttons, rhinestone buttons, just all kinds of buttons. There are two wire crosses, one covered in buttons, the other covered in white ribbon with gold wire wrapped around that. The gold wire is really picked up by the few buttons that have 'gold' around them. There are several large buttons glued on the center of the cross.

This cross measures 6 1/2 x 9 inches. It has a wire hanger on the back. The cross can be purchased at: Jack Rabbit Flats

new cross

Taking a break from the hearts today.

I finished a new cross last week. I had it in a state of 'what do I do now?' for a while. I had put a cup handle and a bowl handle on the cross with the intention of being able to drape purple fabric over it for lent. However, when I finished the grouting and painting, I didn't like those handles just being there. I tried several different things that just didn't seem to work, when I ran across a beaded necklace that I had done. Tried the necklace and just loved it!! It is permanent, which was not the original idea. But, I like it and think that it adds a lot to the cross.

This cross has a wooden base. The tesserae are from old dishes. The yellow, green and coral color are from damaged, old Fiesta dishes. The pretty blue pieces are from Harlequin dishes. The white and lavender are just from vintage dishware and vases. The focal is from a beautiful old plate. The flowers that were added were from a damaged covered bowl. The base has been painted blue to match the blue tesserae. The beaded necklace is made from glass and plastic beads. The beading isnt showing true to its color on this monitor, so it probably isnt on other moniters, but it is a pretty purple and lavender that matches the colors in the focal.

This cross can be purchased at: Jack Rabbit Flats