Share Your Cup - Cobalt Blue

I've been collecting a few pieces of cobalt blue glass ware to put together a table setting.  Here is the clear glass water pitcher with a blue handle paired with medium sized blue glasses.  They are probably juice glasses but they work great for water at the table.









I found a pretty cobalt blue vase with a clear glass fluted foot.  It's a good size proportionally for my table.  I've placed small silk daffodils in it today. 

Today the tea is Masala Chai with honey and cream.  Yum.  It is served in Johnson Brothers Regency White tea cup and saucer.  The teapot is by Stokes.  Can someone help with the type of tablecloth I have?  It is a bit heavy and has this shiny pattern woven into it. It strikes me as 1970s style.  Leave me a comment if you know something about this tablecloth. 

It's still apple & rhubarb crisp season.  The apples came from my Mom's trees and rhubarb from my sister.  The blue glass plates are Avon Royal Sapphire Cobalt Blue made in France layered with a simple white plate with a soft ruffled edge by IKEA - ARV.

I had my Mom over yesterday as she is in the city for treatment for the next few weeks.  We had a good visit and she is doing well but a bit tired.  I hope to have her over once a week.

The flatware has Splendide 18/8 Stainless Steel on the back.  Nice heavy utensils. 

Submitting to Share Your Cup #217
hosted by Carol at Art&Sand.

Mosaic Monday #9 - This Week

This is a few pics from my walk this morning.  The temperature was nice this am so a light coat was all I needed.

This is a path heading further into the river valley.  It's always interesting to imagine who walks this path.

The foliage is of much more neutral tones at this time of year.

The first on the top right I think might be Vanhoutte spirea.
The centre one is Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)
Bottom right is Dried Bull Thistle seed head.

This bench recently appeared at a condo on my regular walk.  It would be under full coverage of leaves in the summer and would offer respite from the heat.  As you can see the leaves have fallen and it's color fit right in with the dry leaves. 

This is whole wheat pancakes with a bit of high bush cranberry syrup and a touch of cream.  Yum!
A cup of chamomile tea rounds out the snack.  The white vase was a recent purchase at the thrift store.  In some of my shots for the tea calendar at my sister's we used hers but I wanted one.  It's been several months of looking regularly to find one not to big and simply white.  Happy with this one.

Sharing with Mosaic Monday #9 hosted by Maggie at Normandy Life.

Card Club - Incentive - Watercolor Thank Yous

These are cards I made for those ladies who signed up for all classes in this semester.
I painted watercolor onto small textured card stock Thank You cards with a medium paint brush.  On this set I painted a few brush strokes over the silver foil word.  I really like these.

These I painted a larger area on the card front in several different colors. I generally chose at least 2 to 3 shades of a same color.  I adjusted the level of water as well. 


These were pressed under books over night.

Card Club - Sept - Square Greeting

I wanted to include a card suitable for male recipients.
I chose an olive card and this designer paper from Bella Boulevard - One Fall Day by Stephanie Hunt - Needle in a Haystack. It was trimmed to leave a small border.
I then wrapped a piece of wide So Saffron ribbon across the bottom third of the designer paper piece and taped the ends to the back.
I trimmed the greeting close to the border then layered it onto a deep teal layer.  The greeting was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

Card Club - Sept - Floral Lattice Die

I started with the Stampin Up Lattice die cut from black card stock.
I then chose some small handmade paper flowers from Prima.
I selected a card which coordinated with the flowers.
I cut a piece of white card stock to leave a small border.  This layer was adhered to the card front.
The lattice die cut was adhered to the top of the card front leaving room for the greeting below.
I placed holes in the 5 intersections as shown with a push pin.  I then placed an iridescent flower sequin on a tiny black brad and then the turquoise flower. I pushed the prongs through the holes in the card front and spread the prongs apart on the inside of the card.
I glued the greeting punched with the Stampin Up Word Window punch onto the SU Modern Label punchie in a coordinating color.  This greeting was then adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

Card Club - Sept - Warm Flowers

I designed a classic DSP split. I chose designer paper from We R Memory Keepers - Grandma's Kitchen - Pretty Pinwheel.  I cut it to 5.25x4.00 inches then cut again at 3.5 inches.  I flipped the small piece and taped the piece back together.  I place a piece of caramel ribbon along the join and taped the ends to the back.  This layer was adhered to the front of an ivory card.  I chose 3 warm colored handmade paper flowers which matched well with the paper. I placed the flower onto the ribbon and used a push pin make a hole through only the card front. I took a copper tiny brad, added a gold flower sequin, and place the brad through the large flower and the card front in the hole I just made.  Pressed the brads apart on the inside of the card.

Card Club - Sept - Bright Balloons

I created a bright card with balloons.  The balloons are punchies done with the Martha Stewart punch. The balloons were punched from designer paper scraps in my drawer. I chose papers that coordinated.  In this case the patterned and solid solids. I created a greeting layer and chose the colors according to the colors in the balloons.  The greeting layer is glued to the card front.  The balloons are then adhered to the greeting layer at the end of the balloon strings.

Share Your Cup #216 - Tupperware

I found these tall Tupperware Modular Mate Spice containers with yellow lids.  I've been using the containers from the store for the Greek Seasoning, Garlic Powder and Onion Flakes but they did not fit on my lazy susan carousel.  Now they fit on the carousel and are not sitting in front of the other Tupperware containers so they needed to be moved every time I needed something behind.

A bowl of gorgeous organic apples which I received this week. They are very much like Galas and are very decent size. 







This Tupperware Forget Me Not container in yellow was in my garage sale finds a couple of weeks ago.  The price was great and it is the large one so it holds an onion very nicely.  The other one I had was just too small.  I did not know they offered 2 different sizes.

Lunch was grilled cheese open face sandwich with fresh garden tomatoes with carrot salad.  Still have a few tomatoes left.

I found this Tupperware Modular Mate Keeper at the Thrift store the other day when just a couple of weeks ago I had made a mental note I could use another. These rarely show up because they are so practical.  The price was great and it's holding fresh garden corn for now.  The fridge is now pretty organized with containers for root vegetables, then celery & peppers, then bread, and fruit.

Submitting to Share Your Cup #216 hosted by Carol at Art & Sand.

Sympathy Cards - DSP Split

I made sympathy cards for ladies whose Dad passed away recently and the funeral is today.

It's basic designer paper split.  DSP cut to 4.00x5.25 then cut again at 3.5 inches. The smaller paper turned over and taped back together.  I placed a piece of pink seam binding across the join and taped end to the back.  The layer was attached to the pink card front.  The greeting was color printed the punched with the a Large Oval punch then mounted to the card front with 3D foam tape.

I had this set of sympathy cards in reserve so those are going to his companion.

Nifty Notes will be included with the sympathy card for the girls.

Nature Print Cards

I made some cards with the leaf nature prints from I made the other day.

This is an aspen leaf so I chose 2 different shades of yellow for this print - Cadmium Yellow and Golden Straw, the brown was Dark Burnt Umber.

I trimmed the print to 3.75x5.00 inches and layered it to a piece of warm golden yellow card stock.  I punched holes in the bottom left hand corner and inserted yellow eyelets with the Crop-a-dile.  I added grey cording and knotted it.  The layer was then adhered to a taupe card.

You can check out my HowTo: Nature Printing Tutorial.







On this card I swapped the colors around with grey eyelets and yellow cording.  This leaf is from an oak tree.  The coloring is very similar.  These are a bit more brown, where as the aspens can be bright yellow.

These cards are on their way to my card swapping friends. 

How To: Nature Printing

I created some Nature Prints last week.  I have done this many times in the past.  I came across the maple leaf the other day and thought I should make some more.  The leaves are falling here so it was time do it before there was only dried ones left.

I plan to use these four as a set of Nifty Notes for sale this craft sale season.

I have put together a HowTo tutorial to show step by step how to produce these lovely images from nature.  There are so many interesting shapes in leaves.  You will be able to pick supple ones not dried ones from the trees or the ground. Check out my HowTo Tutorials.

This makes a fun activity to do with your kids or grand kids.

Normandy Life #8 - Garage Sale Finds

I found these red, green and gold plaid Christmas place mats at a large community garage sale last weekend.  They look brand new and were a steal at .10 cent each.  The washed up beautifully. They work very well here with my red table cloth.  The ones I have had are headed to the second hand store.

This is a single blue and white dinner plate I bought recently for a couple dollars.  It is Liberty Blue - Independence Hall original copper engraving of historic colonial scenes printed on Staffordshire Ironstone.  I paired it with my IKEA Cobalt Blue cup and saucer on a warm blue table runner.  I used a white Battenburg Lace napkin to provide contrast against the blue table runner and the plate.

I bought this tea cup to pair with my Sadler tea pot.  It needed to be a warm background tea cup to work with the pink tea pot. It has roses and gold gilding which the tea pot has as well so it will work well.

You will see the table runner under the tea cup which is woven with some shiny threads.  I'm sure it is wool and is very soft and luxurious. Again, a find at the garage sale for a couple of dollars.  It has a great fringe.








Sharing with Mosaic Monday hosted by Maggie at Normandy Life.

Simple Squares Calendar

Update:  I have decided to add a Zutter binding instead of a clip.  I'm thinking these will be popular with seniors so a clip may be difficult to handle and all the pages will come apart very easily.  I chose to put a card stock back to provide a bit of color. 

I have been asked at crafts sales in previous years whether I had a plain calendar with large squares so they could write information on the calendar so I decided to make one this year.  I printed the calendar pages on heavy bond paper and provided a chipboard backer to keep it stiff.  It is all held together with a silver clip that allows you to hang it on a nail or a magnet.

Nature Photo Calendar

My last 4x6 photo calendar is ready!!! This one includes flowers, insects, interesting plants and one bird.  It has a warm color palette.

Share Your Cup #215

I worked on my lesson plans and activities for the Advent preparation class "Be Present for Christmas" which I am offering next month.  It is a class for adults to help us to pull back from the commercial aspects of Christmas and focus on the Reason for the season Jesus. It is based on the book "The Greatest Gift" by Ann Voskamp.  We will be having 6 lessons this time and I have updated 3 of the lessons so that it will not be the exact class from last year.  I will be posting my lessons as I teach them.

I brought some produce home from my sister's house last weekend.  I cut up this beautiful red rhubarb into chunks and froze it for crisps in the winter.  The tomatoes are grown by a friend of hers and there was a bag full of those in various stages of ripeness so I could enjoy them over a period of time.


We had a very good fellowship time on Thursday. I have taken over the planning of the group because I thought it was important that it continue.  The women really appreciated the time together to share prayer concerns.
I did a devotion on Tea - Is that a surprise? We mentioned Hospital - Tea, Hones - Tea, and a few more.  You can find it here.
Sharing with Carol at Art&Sand - Share Your Cup #125

Mosaic Monday #7

We had a great birthday card on the weekend.  There was a row of yellow happy face balloons welcoming the birthday girl.

We had to have a different plan because we could not hang them as they would have upside down smiles.  Do you know that sharpie markers are deadly to balloons?  Well, they are!  We found out.

My sister and I picked high bush cranberries.  They were very ripe and we had our hands very red before we were done.  We picked an ice cream pail each. The berries where processed into pancake syrup.  We each ended up with 10 cups of syrup each.  It was processed into jars and will be a welcome addition to breakfast during cold winters.

While I was picking I heard this knocking noise so I took a walk to investigate.  It was a woodpecker poking holes in the side of a garage.

I could not resist the wonderful yellow wood bench in the park where we picked berries.

Someone last week shared their apron.  I have not much use for aprons in my previous lives but I have been using one in the last couple of years.  I bought this one at IKEA in their Christmas clearance.  I liked the way the ties adjusted around the neck and down the arms to the waist.  Red was a good color.


Sharing with Maggie at Normandy Life and Mosaic Monday #7.

Birthday Card for Special Lady

I made this card for my niece and god daughter who is celebrating a big birthday.  She is a busy mom of 2 and wife to a great guy. Fall colors are her favorite.  I will have supper with the family.

I created a painted background on a half sheet of cream card stock.  I pulled several colors of acrylic from the box - Dark Burnt Umber, Dark Brown, Cherry Royale, Cadmium Yellow and Yellow Citron.   I started with a mix of the browns at the bottom then added the red. Mixed red and yellow for the next layer then added yellow at the top. The card stock was dried and pressed to make it flat. The background trimmed to leave a small border and was adhered to a warm green large half sheet card.

For the leaves, I chose dark brown, yellow, and orange and painted it with the same colors. I cut the leaves with the Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die. They were scored with an embossing tool to create some texture along the centre and veins.  They were adhered to the card with Quick Dry Adhesive.

The greeting was printed in warm pink on cream card stock, punched with the SU Decorative label punch and adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

I then spattered the whole card with a thin mixture of Dark Burnt Umber and Metallic Kim Gold which softened the look of the card.

I made several backgrounds so they will show up in cards later.

Share Your Cup #214

I took these shots at a small museum. I do not have any idea how old they are.  I am assuming they are good costume jewelry but again not an area I have much expertise.  I just thought the pieces were very pretty.

The first one I believe is moss agate and a quick search suggested to me it may the oldest piece. The silver and rhinestone on the right may be mid century and the blue silver one strikes me as 1950-60s.

The hollyhocks were wonderful on the grounds of the museum.  There were several colors and I have included a red one and a pink one.  The dandelion has good color against the dark background. The dandelion gone to seed is always makes for a good photo.

I was looking for a white placemat when I found this large lace doily which was rectangular in shape.  I think it would well for the few occasions I will need one.  Here is my snack today.  I did search out a few nice good quality spoons for my photography.  I have a couple of small drinking glasses in cobalt blue which works well with the blue french plates.  A cup of chamomile tea in the evening is what is on order to tonight.  All set against a heavy yellow tablecloth.


Sharing with Carol at Art and Sand for Share Your Cup 214.

Tea Gift Card Holder

I'm making some gift card holders with a tea theme.  Who doesn't love receiving a gift card from a tea or coffee company.  It would be great if the card hinted to the inside.

The cup was cut with the Cricut and the Joy of the Season cartridge.  The flower embellishment was cut with the Sizzix Flower Layers & Leaves die from felt and the same card stock. Held with a flower sequin and white tiny brad.




The tag and greetings were done with the back side of the designer paper.  I have included several greetings with pop dots and will leave it for the user to decide.

It includes a half sheet insert for the user's personal message. 

The envelope on the top half holds the gift card.


The envelope is blue to coordinate with the card.  This is a 5x7 card size so is a little larger than the ones I usually make.

Devonian Garden Visit

I took a day off and drove into the country to visit Botanical Gardens.  I knew that the flowers would not be as spectacular as mid summer but the end of the season has some beauty of its own.  They have a butterfly showcase with tropical plants.  The bees were trying to get to the last of the nectar.
This tree is magnificent! 

The Morning Glory is wonderful and it always reminds of my Mom growing them along the fence and gate with I was a kid. 
Sunflowers are always a favorite of mine. They were tall which isn't that tall for me, so between 5 and 6 feet. 
The Cone Flower Echinacea is sports great colors and holds it's own in the garden.

There is the Kurimoto Japanese Garden which features art, waterfalls, fish ponds, several bridges, a bonsai tree exhibit, a large bell and several pagodas.  

There are many benches to rest a while as the Gardens cover 240 acres so a lot of walking is involved to see all the different gardens.  I was there over 5 hours and took 400 photos. 

The day was overcast and quite cool but comfortable with a jacket. Despite the weather there were 2 wedding parties at the gardens and several families out taking fall photos which required managing where I was at any given time.  A couple of the features I was not able to get to because the demand was too high.

Sharing for Mosaic Monday hosted by Maggie at Normandy Life.