Teapot Tuesday 54 (American Oyster Catchers)

Last week Cindy gave us a sneak peek at the next teapot. This is something new. She also gave us a teaword: botanical gardens. Well, I went off on a mini-vacation this weekend and while I did remember part of the picture, the word completely left me.

So here we have this week's teapot. Isn't it beautiful? I love the soft floral look. You should go and check out Cindy's card this week on her glob. It's absolutely beautiful and SO the teapot!

We did a lot of walking this past weekend. We went to Smithville and shopped and then we went to Barnegat Light and walked out to the point. When we got to the lighthouse it was high tide and water had come through the rocks on the inlet making pools that we had to walk around to get to the point. The rocks were on our left and on our right was a roped off area of the beach. This area is roped off because ocean birds nest there and you are not allowed to enter the nesting area during this time.

As we got closer to the point, the water got closer to the rope and at times we had to walk through it. It was during this walk that we came across this family of birds. The little chick kept wanting to go towards the water and didn't seem too worried about us being near, however, the parents were wary and kept trying to redirect the chick. They would peep back and forth to one another and walk around that young one in circles to get it to go the way they wanted.

These birds had striking coloring. The beaks were long and straight and bright orange, as were their eyes. I remembered last year we had seen some plovers, but these were definitely not plovers. It wasn't until I got home and did some research that I found out that they were American Oyster Catchers. That would explain the long beak.

The chick still has his juvenile coloring.


I knew the teapot that Cindy showed us had doves on it and I know that doves signify love. But I chose to add this loving family to my card this week. How much love did these parents show by keeping that little chick safe! They just fascinate me.

So here I have a little beach scene. The water, the sand dune with the birds and grasses and just beyond the dune you can see the tops of the beach roses that form a barrier between land and sea.

There's a ton of color on this card. I did go a little wild with it I admit. On our way home, while HWNSNBP is driving, I usually get to nod off and this time I kept seeing these colors in my head. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with them and then I remembered the birds and the beach and the sky and well, here's what I came up with.

Now, we're supposed to be having tea in the botanical garden in Dublin this week. Sabrina, one of our fellow tea partiers is hosting this week. I'm supposed to wear a hat so the birds don't christen me, but I've heard that that's supposed to be good luck, so I'll leave my hat home. Since my card is a beach scene, I will take a boat to the party and bring some oysters. Hopefully, someone will eat them, and maybe we'll get lucky and someone will find a pearl!

The papers used are: Apricot Appeal, Melon Mambo, Cameo Coral, Kraft, Taken With Teal, Bermuda Bay.

The Stamps used are: The More the Merrier, Trendy Trees, and Itty Bitty Buds

I used markers for all the coloring: Basic Gray, Only Orange, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal

And I used a white prismacolor pencil for the birds and, I hope you can see it, the froth of the water. All those flowers were cut out. (Yes, I know I'm nuts!!!)

Now, go check out Cindy's glob and make sure to look at all the other Teapot Tuesday 54 cards here.