Photo Blogging Challenge - My Choice

I found this Grey Shrike-Trush Grey Catbird near my home this month.

It is a new one for my Bird Photo List.  When I saw the red just below her tail I quickly assumed it was a Robin.  But the beak was not right as it was dark and a Robin beak is yellow.

So, the research began.  With the internet things are so easy to look up and I quickly found that it was a shrike and not a robin.






 

 I visited the Clifford Lee Nature Sanctuary this month.

It has wetlands and boardwalks through the forest and along side the water.

A road trip was undertaken as it is a few miles out of the city.  Well worth the visit.

There was a tussle between two Canada Geese and you can see the wings and water flying!

Oil on Water is an upcoming challenge so I decided I should get started early this week as there is some set up required.

I searched the web for some tutorials.  This one by Visual Arts Photography is the my choice to base my set up on.

Once set up then you can easily change out the background and keep shooting.   I use scrapbook paper, game boxes, and colorful advertisements.   Anything colorful will work.

When I used the Blokus pieces with great primary colors I was happy with the results.

This shot is a paper tole sheet.

I am working on getting a great photo for the a show later this year.

One of my challenges in May was water drops so I set out with my water bottle to find a sunlight dandelion.

We have huge forest fires burning here this month and there has been very little rain hence bringing my own H2O.

Love this shot against the blue sky.

I found this flower on one of my longer walks this month.

It is a Pasque Flower.   I love the purple color and the texture on it's surface.

It is quite a large flower but I like the bell shape of the it.


May's theme was our choice so I shared some of my favorite pics from May.


Sharing with the Photo Blogging Challenge hosted by PJ.

Recent Photos

There was heavy dew on the ground yesterday morning so I thought I would try to find some sunlit dandelions which should look great.

I did find some in a good place.

The fluffy ends of these dandelion seeds seem different to me than other years I have photographed them.  Maybe it is the moisture on them that makes them appear fuller.

I did manage some bokeh in the background from the other droplets of water on the grass.

There were not a lot of full ones and in this shot you can really see the individual seeds.

The crab apples trees were in full bloom. 

Gorgeous pink blossoms in beautiful clusters.

I managed to isolate this one a bit and it says SPRING to me.

The morning was gorgeous and I can go out walking with out an extra jacket. 

Great walk on Sunday morning.

This beautiful tree was found on my walk downtown one day this week.

Of course, I was attracted to the gorgeous color and variations in shades of the blossoms.

There were 5 or 6 of these apple trees lining a very busy road.


Great to see the river valley just below with the bridge going across toward the Conservatory on the other side.

As I took photos of the area I suddenly saw a shape that intrigued me.

Always on the look out of birds I saw this tail and had to investigate.

Aw, it was a robin and she is sitting on a nest!  Are there eggs or baby birds in there.

After waiting about 10 minutes I was rewarded by seeing Robin Dad show up with food.

Look at those precious hungry mouths just waiting for food.

It was a really special few minutes that morning. 

Amazing sight right next to traffic.

I finished the last bit of hand stitching on this quilt last night.  It is finished!

This features mostly Stampin Up 100% cotton fabric. It features Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, and Crumb Cake as colors. I added the striped fabric in similar tones.  I created the accent squares with solids in Cherry Cobble, Soft Suede and Crumb Cake.

I sewed all the 2.5 inch strips together planning on a JellyRoll style and then changed my mind and cup the assembled strips into 9.5 inch squares.

I used a Crumb Cake 100% cotton fabric for sash between the squares as well as the back. I used flannelette sheeting as batting.  The 5 rows of 4 squares were quilted to the backing as rows.  Then the rows were assembled as the backer was larger than the front squares.  The seams were ironed to one side and I top stitched along the seams which gives each square 4 seams.
My final analysis.  I would use a wider sash, less strips per square, and a wider edge binding.  I love the solid accent squares. I have found a Quilt as you Go assembly tutorial which I think will work better for me so I will let you know how it goes on the next quilt. 

The challenge on Flickr Macro Monday is Superstitions. 

I took this photo yesterday for "Step on a crack, break your mother's back."  There is a limit of 3 inches.  I found,  with out a foot this was not as effective as it could be.

Check out my photostream to see the photo I submitted.

Sharing with

Angie at Letting Go the Bay Leaf who hosts Mosaic Monday #29.

Mersad who hosts the Through My Lens 193.

Thank You Cards - Compassion House

During my clean up last week I found a bunch of old card kits. 

I decided to make some of these up for Thank You cards for Compassion House.

During my visit with my friend on Tuesday we both worked on these kits over a cup of green tea.

This card features a handmade paper heart which has been layered onto a piece of lavender Japanese Mulberry paper.

The card base is pink.  I added a greeting in pink punched with the Stampin Up Decorative Label mounted with 3D foam tape.




These cards feature a die cut frame of designer paper layered over a white embossed layer.  It was embossed with the Cuttlebug D`vine Swirl folder.  I die cut Sizzix flowers and leaves  to place in the center.  Greetings were added in coordinating colors.

This card starts with a yellow base. I created acrylic paint paper on an orange base with red and gold paint.  This layer was cut to leave a small border and ripped on the right hand side and adhered to the card front.

The flowers are pages from a 365 day calendar.  The image was trimmed then adhered to a gold paper layer.  This was adhered on the decorative paper aligned on the left. 

I added a circle greeting on the right.



I am dropping these off today.

2019 Cardmaking - CH - Class 5

I brought Stampin Up Card kits for the class today.

These make great cards for guys.

DSP - SU Just Add Cake DSP custom cut with Cricut The label die cut is adhered in the top half of the card.

Card stock - Stampin Up Early Expresso & Wild Wasabi

Stars - Sizzix Stars and Star#2 cut in EE and WW with tiny star brad. The star accent is layered as shown then a hole is made in the centre with a push pin and the tiny star brad is put through.  This accent is adhered to the center of the DSP diecut with 3D foam tape.

Greetings -  Early Espresso ink on Whisper White Decorative Label with a HB Stamp  The greeting is placed as desired on the bottom of the card and then the excess is trimmed off with scissors. 

DSP - I started with the Stampin Up Prestwick Designer Paper which features Night of Navy, Basic Grey and Garden Green. 

Cardstock - I chose NofN and BG cards and 2 of the sheets from the DSP set.

Greetings - I chose the HB greeting from the Four Square Stamp Set stamped in NofN ink in WW.  I currently do not have a 1.25" punch so I had to carefully cut them with the paper cutter.  I layered it on a 1 3/8 inch punchie of Garden Green. 

I placed the striped paper on the portrait of NofN and the plaid on the BG landscape card.  I added a .5 inch strip of Whisper White then added the trio of squares.  I swapped the DSP for the additional squares so the plaid on the stripes and the other way around.  All squares got a GG layer.  The HB square is adhered with 3D foam tape to emphasize it. 


Unfortunately I was not able to get into the building today so the ladies did not get to make cards.

Recent Photos

I found a few open blooms on the ornamental chokecherry tree at the park this week.

It seems I have been waiting for them for a while.

Love these wonderful white flowers.  I hope to get some of the deep pink and burgundy ones as they open.










These are the birds I captured in recent days.  The top left is a female Red Winged Blackbird.  I did not know they have red on their wings as well until I saw this one spreading her wings.  Top Right: Male Red Wing Blackbird Of course, the males as always ready to strike a pose.  He was singing his heart out.
Bottom left is a Yellow Warbler.  These are so hard to spot.  I could hear it but it took me about 10 minutes to spot it in the tree now that leaves are appearing.  I swear it is the size of my thumb so it takes quiet and stillness to spot the movement way up there.  The bottom right is a Chipping Sparrow.  The birds were all in song this week. 

Working on organizing, de-cluttering and de-stashing.  I basically swapped these pieces of furniture.  The tray shelving used to hold the Cricut Machine in the craft space.  Now it holds my dry hydrangea in an olive oil bottle.  My Mom made this for me years ago.  It has not hung in this place and now it has a home.  Very useful to have a quick look before I head out the door.
I moved the tall shelving unit from the front hall to the craft space.  It now holds the Cricut as well as boxes of 12x12 paper.  Much of this will have to go because card making is no longer a product and skill I can sell in my market.

This is the project I worked on most of the last week.  I have a bit of a stash of fabric acquired when I was going to make aprons for Christmas last year.

As a first quilt in years it was a learning experience.  I worked on the Quilt as you Go method.  That was okay but the strips to bind was a bit of a challenge to get straight and cover the edges.

I am happy with the color combination.  This is Stampin Up fat quarters for the prints.  I was able to get a backer fabric in Crumb Cake.  The trio of small blocks was Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.

The project evolved from a jelly roll concept of strips to blocks.

I still have hand stitching to finish.  I used flannelette sheeting for a batting between layers.  It is quite stiff and heavy not sure it will do for giving to a charity that offers blankets to trauma victims.

Flickr Macro Monday Challenge this week was Copper.  I made a trip to the Antique Mall this week and found this half cup measure.  I love that you can see a finger print in the bottom right hand corner.

You can check out my Flickr photo stream for the photo I submitted this week.

Sharing with

Angie - host of Mosaic Monday #28

Mersad - host of Through My Lens 192

Welcome to my Kitchen

We had our get together for Welcome to my Kitchen this week.

Our host provided wonderful homemade bread with a nice variety of jams and jelly.

There was yogurt which a favorite of mine.

Of course, a great cup of tea and coffee was had by most.

We had a good number of ladies out and we had a baking fundraiser for overseas missions.

Our card ministry for those on our prayer list is paying dividends as we heard from a lady this week who very much appreciated the card, thoughts and prayers.   Excellent.

We will be having our wrap up for the women`s groups in early June.

Sunday Brunch

Mom and Dad celebrated their 65th Wedding Anniversary last week.

The card base is brown.  I embossed a cream layer and added a bit of fiber before adhering it to the card front.

I die cut hearts with the Sizzix Tipsy Heart die.

I embossed them then layered the light in front of the dark. Added a button on the light one.




A couple of my sisters & brothers in law and niece took them out for Mother's Day and the anniversary.

The food was excellent.  Eggs Benedict was very good and the desserts were delicious.

The hotel did really well to accommodate the crowds for Mother's Day.   We were seating quickly and had time for visiting, reminiscing, and catching up on the news.

My other sister was there on Saturday and permed Mom's hair and looked at her 65 year old Jaguar sewing machine.  It is needing a few new parts.   It was the first zigzag machine model sold in Canada.  I can tell  you that machine has sewn a LOTS of clothes and quilts.

I'm so glad as daughters we each have our strengths and help Mom and Dad in different ways.

Artist Get Together - Printmaking

I hosted a morning of mark making, paint mixing and playing with texture with a couple of artist friends.  They were in town for an art show set up later this afternoon.

The 2 ladies MS & DM arrived at 9:30 am and the space was all ready to play with paint, paper, and texture.

Of course, the coffee was on.

The tools and supplies were out.  Craft table, work space mats, acrylic paint, water spray bottle, rubbing alcohol and rags for clean up.

Tools were brushes, collagraph plates, rubber stamps, brayer, stencils, and gelli plates.

Texture -The first was playing with texture and the ladies had brought collagraph plates.  Paint was applied with brushes then a damp piece paper was laid on the surface and pressed with fingers into each nook to capture the print.

This is a plate created by one of the ladies.  It is sort of trees.  It is hot glue onto board.  What a fun thing to do - creating art with hot glue.

Rubber Stamps - Paint was applied to the gelli plate and used like a large ink pad.  The stamps were pressed onto the plate and stamped onto white card stock.


The advantage of this method your print is permanent when dry.

Stencils - The gelli plate was cleaned with rubbing alcohol.  The stencil was laid onto the plate and paint was applied with a brayer.  The stencil was carefully removed and then a piece of white card stock was placed onto the gelli plate to capture the print. 

In a couple of hours several prints were created with various methods, we got to know each other a bit better, the creative process include collaborations and discussions and a good time was had by all.

This is one of the pieces created by DM

It was created by using rubber stamps as texture on the gelli plate then capturing the print onto card stock. 

I think it is wonderful.

Some of the prints stayed at my house as they were not dry yet.  I will connect with MS in a couple of weeks.

Recent Photos

I found this Robin at the very top of an evergreen tree.  I could hear it but it took me a while to find it.  I always look in the tree but generally the birds are up high taking in the rising sun!

One and half hours this morning for my walk because it was above 0C for a change.  Last week it was freezing at -4C and I have found that as the sun comes over the horizon it gets colder.  Gloves and tuques last week wonderful temps this week!

One of my challenges on Flickr was fences so I found quite a few this morning.

I created a mosaic with three that I shot on my walk.

I have said for years I would not start quilting but I have capitulated.  I did make several in my 20's but it has been years.

Now that card making has gone to the way side I have to have something.  I have all this fabric I bought for aprons which was a bust.

Now, I will be making a few quilts for trauma victims.

I was able to find at mat at the ReUse center, blades for my ancient rotary cutter, a selection of fabrics and a large square quilt ruler.

I am going to be using the Quilt As You Go Method.  I will post a photo when I am done.

This Dark Eye Junco was also filling the air with its song on my walk.  It has a chirping sound so I thought it was a Chirping Sparrow but when I downloaded it, it was a bird of a different feather.

Lovely bird sitting high in a tree and nice to spot as the trees have little leaves yet.

The challenge at Flickr Macro Monday was Four Elements - Fire, Air, Water and Earth. 

I chose Fire and Water in this shot.  You can check out this link to see the one I submitted as I was able to get earth in there as well.

I am sharing with

Angie at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf who hosts Mosaic Monday #26.

Mersad at Through My Lens #190.

Have a great week!

Sympathy Card - Funeral

I attended the funeral for a friend today who was gone much too soon at 64. She was hospitalized for about 3 weeks and then gone.

She attended my Card Club for a few years.

She moved on to the quilting group and participated for quite a few years.  She was involved in the Fabric Frenzy fundraiser for grandmothers in Africa.  The fundraiser is being held today.

I did not know her very well but she was a service oriented person who sang in the choir, cared for her small dog, regularly met with friends, visited family and baked really good cookies.