Lots of Random Things

Its been a crazy few weeks lately. Most difficult is the passing of my PawPaw on August 7th (just shy of the anniversary of my grandmother's passing in August 11th). He was 88 and fought a long battle with throat cancer and the heartbreaking loss of my grandmother. I have so many fond memories of many summers spent in Florida with my grandparents. We spen Friday and Saturday nights running the dog books to the area gas stations for the local race track. Nights bowling, playing cards and marbles, eating at Friendly's and Stavro's Pizza. He was a WWII veteran, a great husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. I suppose I get my love of animals and absolute stubborness from him. I'll miss him dearly, but I am so thankful he is finally at peace and reunited with Grandmother, the love of his life, once again.

PawPaw at my wedding

On a lighter note, Summer birding trips are winding down.  I went on the biggest trips BAS has which is the annual trips to see the Mississippi and Swallow-tailed Kites in the black belt of Alabama.  I'll post some pictures and trip reports later.  But they were a lot of fun as all BAS trips are.

We've been preparing for some incoming primates into the collection at the Zoo.  We're also getting a Mississippi Kite and 2 Golden Eagles in the near future! Super stoked to care for some native raptors.

And the biggest news of all, I am preparing to begin Veterinary Tech school! I will be taking an online courses through San Juan College starting in January.  Along with that, a volunteer helped me get a job with a veterinary dermatologist who sees patients at an emergency clinic on Wednesday nights.  I'm very excited to finally be starting this next chapter of my life.  I've wanted to do this since I worked at the wildlife rehabilitation center.

And I have one card to share.  This was a birthday card I created for my mother-in-law.

Inspiration came from user Reddyisco on Splitcoast Stampers.

Another Stencil Card

I was so proud of my last stencil card I wanted to do another one.  Our chapter of American Association of Zookeepers (AAZK) held their annual Bowling for Rhinos recently.  Chapters all around the country raise money that goes directly towards Rhino Conservation.  Along with donated door prizes and raffle items participants are supposed to get sponsors to increase the amount that the chapter  gives to conserving Rhinos.  I asked friends and family to sponsor me and was able to raise $295! So as a Thank You, I made a stencil card to send to them.  

I also added some heat embossing to the inside to add an extra touch.  

Thanks again to those that supported me and I encourage anyone to support Rhino Conservation!

Stencil Card

Excited that I finally had my Zing up and running, I knew I wanted to use it to make a birthday card for a coworker.  So many people on the Make The Cut! forum were posting pictures of their "homework" from the June 5th webinar which was to create a stencil card.  Since my coworker likes sea turtles, I decided to try my hand at it. After hours of downloading the video (thanks to ATT's crappy internet service) and searching for just the right sea turtle, I came up with this:

I didn't have my settings quite right and I was on my last sheet of green paper, so there are a few spots that are off.  I learned a lot about the software and my Zing.  

Sympathy Card

Here is a Sympathy Card I made for a friend whose mom had recently passed away.

My inspiration card was from Handmade by Michelle

And her card can be found in this post.

Bird Nerd Adventures

I'll start this new post segment by revisiting my last birding trip.  This trip was a last minute one planned because of a discussion about the Red-cockaded Woodpecker colony that has been established in a southern section of the Talladega National Forest.  In order to have the best possibility of sighting these endangered birds, we met at 4:15am to take an hour ride to the area where the birds were.  It was an absolutely beautiful country drive in the fog and early morning light. 

(photos courtesy of my wonderful husband) 

Bird List for the day: (S=saw, H=heard)

Red-cockaded Woodpecker - S

Indigo Bunting - S,H

Eastern Wood Pewee - S,H

Eastern Bluebird - S,H

American Robin - S,H

Summer Tanager (female) - S,H

Pine Warbler - S,H

American Goldfinch - S,H

American Kestrel - S,H

Red-eyed Vireo - S,H

White-eyed Vireo - S,H

Blue-headed Vireo - S

Scarlet Tanager (male) - S,H

Carolina Chickadee - S,H

Tufted Titmouse - S,H

Northern Cardinal - S,H

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - S,H

Black-throated Green Warbler - S

Black-and-White Warbler - S

Brown-headed Nuthatch - S,H

Northern Flicker - S,H

Downy Woodpecker - S,H

Prairie Warbler - H

Blue Grosbeak - H

Definately one of the best birding trips I've been on since joining the Birmingham Audubon Society.  I highly recommend you join your local Audubon Society and get out and enjoy nature!

Mother's Day Cards

This is my favorite card that I've made so far. I gave it to my mom for Mother's Day.  Sorry for the picture quality, I forgot to take a pic before giving it to mom, so I took it after I gave it to her.

Inspiration for the card came from a Pin someone posted and the original post was from SplitCoastStampers.

I just loved the image play and how she incorporated the birds.

This is the one I gave to my Mother-in-Law for Mother's Day.  Also forgot to take a picture of this one before giving it to mom.

And my inspiration came from one of my favorite card making blogs Simplicity.  Her blog title says it all; the sheer genius and beauty in such simple cards is truly inspiring.   

And I've really been subscribing to her rule of thirds.  

So, I've neglected this blog for over a year.  Terribly sorry to have disappointed anyone, but I'm back! Its been an interesting year.  I've changed positions within the Zoo and am working with the wonderful veterinary staff which I couldn't be happier about.  I've even started the ball rolling on going to Vet Tech school (of which I'm thrilled and terrified all at the same time).  I got the most wonderful birthday gift that I'm absolutely in love with...

Still learning the machine and the software as well, but the community support just can't be beat (instead of being the big bully Provocraft....you should take note and work a little more on your customer service and producing a quality product - just sayin'). Most of my creating has been cardmaking lately. I've been especially addicted to stamping and am starting to get into embossing. I've also decided I'm going to contribute to Operation Write Home. I've really felt a calling to do something for my country and something to support our troops and their families for all the sacrifices they've made. Its also going to help me be more creative and productive in making my cards. So I encourage everyone out there to support our troops, boost their morale and support our country!

Now for my returning FF post

This beautiful Luna Moth was spotted in Bankhead National Forest after eating our picnic lunch on a Birmingham Audubon Society birding trip.  Speaking of BAS and birding.  I've decided to begin posting reports of birds sighted on our trips and possibly a picture or two. (I say possibly because its so darn hard to take pictures when you've got binoculars plastered to your eyes all the time.) So stay tuned!