Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Sylvia"s Simple Shots

The dahlias are in full bloom at the botanic garden.

The sizes vary, the colors are magnificent and it was a pleasure to walk around to photograph a few of them.

This is the Chilson Pride dahlia featuring white and lavender colors. 

I spent a couple of hours walking the full length and back.  Of course, most of the flowers are gone as the plants have been dead headed to keep the beds looking good.

I am heading out later in the mornings now that the sun rises later.


A bag full of cards is headed for the Cards for Seniors project organized by one of the scrapbook stores.

I have included cards received from my exchange partners, cards received from family and friends and some of my card kits which I made up to ensure they go to a good cause.

I refurbished those that needed new inserts, added a new card base in some cases and generally did what was needed so they would be useful again.



You may recall in my post last week that I had worked on the chair and tried to clean the seat.  That was not successful so I needed to cover the seat.

My office chair has a new seat cover.   

I searched my fabric stash for fabric that would be appropriate.  It needed to be heavy and with the right colors.  I found these one with a paisley pattern with a good variety of colors.  There was close match to the back rest so I proceeded.

I used a piece of paper to trace the shape of the top of the seat.  Cut it out and double checked and tweaked it a bit.  I cut the side piece 4 inches tall to allow for seam allowances both top and bottom.  I had to piece together 3 pieces to get a length of 60 inches.   I sewed the side to the top easing around the corners.  I folded over the bottom edge and sewed it down.  I found some black elastic in my stash which was in several pieces.  I concentrated on the corners but eventually I had enough to cover the full length.  It looks good, it stays in place and it is removable to launder when needed.

I finished this book this week.  Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende.  

Eliza Sommers is the central figure who has been adopted by  brothers John and Jeremy and sister Rose who are English. They live in the port city of Valparaiso, Chile in the 1840s. John is a sea captain, Jeremy works for an import company and Rose manages the house. 

She has an English upbringing with education, music, ethics and manners instilled.  She falls in love with a young man who came to the house to deliver goods.  It is a hot and heavy affair then he leaves for the Gold Rush in California.   She decides to follow him but must go quickly and quietly so she arranges to stowaway on a ship with the help of a Chinese man, Tao Chi'en.  He is a physician who has his reasons to be on a ship.  They disguise her as a boy to get her off the ship and she continues that persona in San Francisco. They establish themselves there, Tao Chi'en a physician and Eliza as companion and assistant. 

She decides to pursue her search for her lover in the midst of the gold rush and the chaos that it has created.  She travels with groups for safety and follows leads when she can.  She finds herself in an outskirt town and meets up with Joe Bonecrusher's travelling caravan of prostitutes and ends up travelling with them as cook and piano player.  Eventually, she realizes she does not love him anymore.  She continues to write to Tao Chi'en regularly and they maintain their relationship.  The Chinese man misses his assistant and friend.  He decides to go and see her.  He finds her and she decides to give up her search and return to San Francisco with him.  They set up his practice, have small garden to grow medicinal plants, and life is good.   She is tiring of have to pretend to be man, she is exploring her feelings for Tao Chi'en and one day she pulls out the suitcase she took with her on the ship many years ago.  It contains dresses and jewelry.  She decides to dress as a woman with out the corset and asks Tao Chi'en what he thinks.  He doesn't mind the new look and as far as he is concerned she is still who she has always been.  She decides to stick with dresses.   Very soon, after this the bandit, her lover is captured and killed.  His head has been preserved so the bounty could be collected and it goes on display for anyone who wants to see this infamous gangster. They visit to see the face and she declares she is now free.  They work together to save Chinese prostitutes and get them to a network which will give them a way to earn an honest living and a new place to live. Some go to Oregon, back to the East Coast and even some to Canada.

Another great book by this author. Loved it!

Look what I found hanging out a local pond.  I discovered this pond when I took a different road the other day.

It is quite large expanse of water and was covered with ducks, Canada Geese, Lesser Yellowlegs, and this wonderfully grand Blue Heron.

It was reasonably close and a got a much better shot of it this time.

So excited.

I found this heart on a wrought iron gate last week.  I thought it was wonderful.  

It was upside down, so I have turned it right side up, applied a watercolor filter to it. 

Like it a lot.

A birthday card for my card box for upcoming family birthdays.

I chose a designer paper with a yellow stripe.  I die cut the greeting from a piece of card stock in the same color leaving a good amount below the word.

I trimmed the designer paper to leave a small border on the chocolate brown card base.  I adhered the greeting leaving the same border on sides and bottom edges. It was cut with the Memory Box Grand Happy Birthday die.

I die cut leaves with the Tim Holtz Mini Tattered Leaves set and added some chalk to provide a bit of definition.

Monday, August 23, 2021

Sylvia's Simple Shots

On the weekend I went for a big walk at the wetlands.  It has been so dry that they are in pretty sad shape and the wildlife must be wondering what is going on.

I did find a few dozen Lesser Yellowlegs in the river.  They were feeding along the edge of the river which also very low.  

These birds are shore birds which feed in marshy areas and muddy edges.  

I expect with the number I saw that this could be the start of the migration process. They will be heading to the southern states in the next little while.

Really a gorgeous bird.

I found a masher for my processing of fruit and berries.   I visited a thrift store which I have not been to since the start of the pandemic.

It has changed hands and now supports a different charity but mostly not much has changed inside.  I am just thinking now that I forgot to visit the second floor. Darn!   It is a bit out of the way so just a few customers, easy to social distance and good variety of goods.

I could have used a masher when I did my chokecherries so I had added it to my shopping list.  This one turns out to be Pampered Chef and it cost me a buck.  

Love it!

I worked on my office chair this morning.  It has been dropping black bits so I wanted to investigate if I could find out where and why.

I have own this chair for years!  I got it when it was being thrown out at the place I was working.  It was made by Doerner Faultless in Waterloo Ontario Canada in the early 1950s.  It was old when I got it, so now it is very old.  

As you can see I tried to clean a stain on the seat and made it worse.  I will sew a cover for the seat which can be washed.

I was going to get rid of it but I think I have solved the problem.  I have put paper down under it to see if any black stuff comes down from it in the next few days.  

I did learn what the three knobs under it did and adjusted it to be more comfortable to sit on.  


The Rudbeckias are a nice hardy flower and are still providing gorgeous colors in many of the gardens in my neighbourhood.

I love their bright yellow coloring which is similar to my favorite sunflowers.

I have taken many pictures of these flowers over the summer.  

I think this one may end up in my 2022 annual flower calendar.


I found this wonderful tea light holder at a small garage sale.

It was very dirty and cruddy so I had to soak it in soapy water then in vinegar to get calcification off from some of the areas.  Not sure what would produce that kind of residue.  It took several hours and some elbow grease to make it shiny and transparent again.

It showed no signs of having a candle in it.

I love the Moroccan star design with the textured glass.  Nice to have it clear which will go with any decor.  It has a long chain so it could hang on the balcony at night.  

Very happy with this purchase.

I saw Blue Herons at the river.  They were pretty far from the path I was on but I was so excited to see them.  The second photo is one stalking some sort of prey.  It was very focused and moving very deliberately.

The first photo shows that in many areas of the wetlands it is dry!  I have not seen that ever in the past.  When it has water you think there will always be water but I did not realize how shallow some areas were.  The ducks were sitting on moist dirt not even mud, I am sure wondering what was going on.  I wonder how many have perished due to lack of water.  There was still a bit of water in the deeper areas but not a lot for the number of birds who would need it.

Fortunately, it has been raining pretty steadily for the last 24 hours

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays was Leading Lines.  This photography technique is used to draw the eye of the viewer to a particular area in the photo.  This example would be better if the end of the grass stayed within the frame.

You can see the shot I submitted on my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics).

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #144 and

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #302

Have a great week!

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Watercolor on Handmade Paper

More reusing supplies from old card kits.  I just loved these small white handmade paper sheets and could not just give them away.  I have painted daisies on these in the past but I wanted to create new art on these.

I am using my Stampin Up Watercolor Wonder crayons in rich regals and brights color families.

This one is an abstract flower in the blue green color family.

I had to trim the handmade paper because the other flowers were not great.  This required an additional layer so i chose some Old Olive on some Not Quite Navy card base.

I always adhere handmade paper to cards with hot glue.  It works the best but you have to be fast before it cools.

This card features a multitude of pinky orange abstract flowers again.  Regal Rose and Old Olive are the colors used.

I did try to put a background of subtle color which did not really work great.

Mounted on a Regal Rose card base.

Each card gets a white blank insert on the inside.

I signed each one as well.






I started with abstract shapes on this piece of handmade paper.  

The colors used are Tango Tangerine and Marina Mist.

I dug through my bling box and found these butterfly confetti sequins which were the right blue color.  I then added them to the handmade paper sheet with orange tiny brads.

I like the fact that there are 2 different designs of butterfly.

Makes me think Santa Fe coloring.

Mounted to the a Marina Mist card base.






This card features Bravo Burgundy as the color in several shades for the flowers.  I was thinking of roses when I painted but I am not sure I succeeded.

Always Artichoke for the stem and leaves with a bit of mixed brown thrown in for good measure.

A bit of spattering in the main colors to lessen the white background.

Mounted to a Bravo Burgundy card base and a white insert.






I tried following the design of the small deep teal handmade paper flowers I had selected as inspiration.  

I had to remind myself - Stick to the 5 petals and make them rounder than usual.  Always Artichoke for the stem and long open leaves.

I mounted the small pale yellow flower then the bit larger teal one onto the watercolored on with a tiny white brad.

Mounted to a deep teal card base of textured card stock.

A bit of spattering to tone down the white background.






I painted the flower with More Mustard and a bit of Daffodil Delight with a lot of long slender petals. I think I should have overlapped some of them.

I really needed Summer Sun to match the card base but I did not get the yellow mix quite as good as I hoped.

A mix of greens and blues for the closed long leaves.

I mounted a small yellow handmade paepr flower in the center of the watercolored one, held in place with a tiny white brad.

These no greeting cards could go into the cards for seniors box but I am not sure yet.

Love the painting.

Monday, August 16, 2021

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The youngsters are growing up.   I found this juvenile Downy Woodpecker at a feeder yesterday morning.

Of course, it is the time of year when the little ones start being independent and making it on their own.

He is just starting to have the red patch on his head.

He was pretty small but the Downys are a small species.

I finished The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin this week. 

It has been a couple of weeks reading it because I can no longer read in bed because of the progressive lens in my glasses.  I have to sit.  

It is not a novel and covers some intensive subjects.  I will keep this book because I will need to read it again.  Because I will get a few concepts at a time.

Be Gretchen - the idea that you have to be you which means accepting yourself as you are. 

Live life with gratitude - A concept I have embrace and first read with Ann Voskamp and 1000 Gifts.

Clean out the clutter - You likely only wear the clothes you like anyway so get rid of the other stuff.  Yes, even if you paid lots for it, got a good deal, or it's the perfect color.  You don't wear it so pass it on.  

Happy or Right?  Work on your judgmental and critical nature.  Being happy is more important than being right. 

I purchased a silicone handle for my cast iron fry pan.  I used this tool nearly every day and having to use a pot holder all the time was a pain.  Now it stays on all the time so no worries about burning my hand.

As you can see though, it is too long and too wide. During my research I did not get the impression they are made in different sizes.  Most of them are also red where black might have been nice.

Makes my life better so that is a good thing.
I purchased an indoor timer to handle the grow light on the plants.  I just don't have to worry about turning it on and off.  

The plants get the light they need and I have less to handle.

As you can see the basil, orrgano and asparagus fern are doing really well.



The sunflowers are finally in full bloom.  I love sunflowers.  There are some in the community garden, flower beds, gardens and some have just grown volunteer in ground with the right conditions.

I found these at a Sunflower Garden.  There were hundreds of them.  We also have mazes in our province who use sunflowers instead of corn.  What a great idea.

I would love to have a few for my table but I will enjoy them as I see them around my travels.

Flowers are everywhere.  I have yet to get a nice pansy photo.  This one is the best.

Echinacea or the cone flower with it's orange center.  

Day lilies are very common in city properties.

The challenge this week at Flickr Macro Mondays is Paper Art.  You can check my Flickr Photo stream (SMDPics) to see my entry. 

I am sharing with Angie who host Mosaic Monday #143 and
Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #301 .

Miniature Watercolors into Cards

I was inspired by a photography challenge to produce some art and I chose watecolor.  

I opened a pad of water color paper bought at a scrapbook store. There is no indication of the weight of the paper so I was not getting my hopes up.  

I cut down a sheet about letter sized into 4 smaller pieces.  Some square and others not.  I pulled out my Stampin Up Watercolor Wonder Crayons so I can match it will card stock later.

This one is a bit of a landscape with a tree, flowers, the sun and a few birds flying in the sky.  The paper worked really well in this small size.

I paired it with a piece of Bashful Blue leaving a tiny border and ripped the bottom edge.  I mounted that onto a piece of Passion Pink card base.  Stamped a greeting with Old Olive with a set of small clear stamps. I spattered the card once it was finished.

This next card features just a little watercolor using the wet in wet technique.  I sprayed the entire paper with clean water.  I then dropped spots of color - Rich Razzleberry, Regal Rose, Marina Mist and Old Olive. You can see where the colors mixed in place to produce a purple.  

I was going to define the pinks as flowers but I was happy with the composition so chose to stop.  I dried it with my heat gun and signed the bottom.  It was spattered with a bit of green.

I cut a banner of Bashful Blue and mounted it across an Elegant Eggplant card base.  Stamped the greeting again in the Old Olive color.  The watercolor was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

I started the composition with flowers in mind. I dropped the Regal Rose pink with a bit of Daffodil Yellow and the soft green of Old Olive in the background.  It was dried with the heat gun.

I then used a black Micron Permanent Black Marker and drew my flower petals and leaves.  I chose to add a bit more color to the leaves and petals.

I mounted it to a piece of Regal Rose and ripped the left hand edge.  I stamped a several butterflies on the left hand side.

This layer was adhered to a Garden Green card base.
Each card has a white quarter sheet insert on the inside.



Sunflowers are in full bloom around here these days.  I love them. 

This is my attempt on a sunflower against a pale blue sky.  I used some More Mustard and Daffodil Delight in the flower and Always Artichoke with Old Olive in the leaves. I mixed the brown for the center.

It was spattered with much watered down Old Olive once it has been dried with the heat gun.

Again layered on a piece of Bashful Blue ripped on the right hand side. Stamped the greeting in Old Olive. 

The thank you ones will be donated to Compassion Hosue and the others will be added to my card box. 

It was a lot of fun!

Sunday, August 15, 2021

Sympathy Card Digital

 I created this digital card for my cousin and his wife who lost their daughter in a tragic accident last week.

I started with a re-inker background which I made while trying to take an abstract photo for the upcoming art show.   The resulting photos were not what I wanted and not to waste the ink I captured the color onto a 4x6 piece of photo paper.  I tried several color variations

This morning I cut the piece of arty photo paper to 3.75 x 5 inches and started doodling.  I drew the flower and the ground and added texture with a black marker.  I then mounted it to a piece of coordinating card stock.  I scanned the card and added the sentiment.

The colors were bolder than I wanted so in my photo editing software I soften and manipulated the colors a bit.

I am really happy with the final result.  I was able to send my sympathies by email.

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Sylvia's Simple Shots

A walk to the community garden is always inspiring.  Plants are blooming, producing edibles and folks are harvesting at this time of year.

I just capture the wonderfulness with my camera.

Found this beautiful red poppy this week.

Speaking of harvesting.

I spent some time with my niece on the weekend and she helped me pick chokecherries.  In the end, I had 4 cups of berries to make pancake syrup.  This is the Chokecherry Syrup recipe I used.

With another camping trip under my belt I have honed my supplies and equipment.

I bought a larger tote to hold the kitchen stuff.  I added a stainless steel kettle, a 4L water jug, a second cooler and a mat. 

I am happy with my progress and hopefully I will get a trip in after school starts and things quiet in the travel business.

Maybe campsites will close after the September long weekend. I will have to check that out.

I received and paid for my first set of prescription glasses this week!  I have been making do with readers for years.  Not having sunglasses for driving was getting to me so I finally bit the bullet.

They are black frames with checkerboard pattern on the sides. I got progressive lenses which I was quite unsure about but it is working out well.

The lenses darken in the light and even in the car behind the windshield.  They have a scratch resistance coating and anti glare coating for night driving.

A lovely microfiber cloth to clean them with a special spray, along with a sturdy case to store but most of the time they will be on my face.

I had to make a few adjustments at home as well so the computer monitor had to be lowered so that it aligned with the bar on the progressive lens for that distance.  

It took a bit of fiddling and something that was adjustable so it is a stack of old Somerset Studio magazines which came to the rescue. 


It was nice to spend time with family.  We celebrated my grandniece's birthday which is in April but was postponed due to COVID restrictions.  With all of us vaccinated, we were free to enjoy time together.

I visited the wetlands near my niece's house during my visit on the weekend. What a lovely area with wide open spaces but still within the city limits!

A female Redwing Blackbird, the bulrushes are tall, and the ducks are swimming around after raising their young.  

I expect the red berries are not edible but very pretty.  Update - Red Baneberry - poisonous.


The theme for Flickr Macro Monday this week was "foil".  With foil used as packaging for all kinds of things there was a good variety of pics.  You can check my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics) to see my entry. 

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #142 and
Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #300

Have a great week and be safe!

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Sympathy - Tragedy strikes

This card is for my aunt who lost her granddaughter in an airplane crash this week.

The young lady had moved to California with her husband.  She had just finished her education.  Due to COVID she had not been back to visit and now it will not happen.

She was 33 years old with her life in front of her.  It is very sad.

This is one of my photographs with a filter applied to create a black and white stylized evergreen branch.  Printed on heavy card stock, trimmed to leave a small border and mounted to the front of a Kiwi Kiss card base.

I used a Modern Label punchie with a color printed greeting. Chalked with green to coordinate and mounted with 3D tape. 

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Sylvia's Simple Shots

Ladybugs are brightly colored to warn predators that they taste bad and should not be eaten.  They do secrete a foul smelling substance from their body which makes them unappealing to those who may want to munch on them. 

I headed to the grounds of the Conservatory for my walk yesterday.  I am not sure yet about being indoors with other folks.  There was lots of room outside and I was there before the place opened at 10 am.  The parking lot was quite full when I got back to the car at 10:10 or so.  Our Covid numbers are climbing again so it behooves a person to be careful.

I found this Hosta bud just waiting to unfurl into beautiful blooms.

I love the lovely soft colors against the wonderful large green leaf.

We have had some rain recently which has allowed the plants some reprieve.  The lawns on the south side of most places are parched and brown.

I have not posted my books for a while.  This book was very interesting.  Again, I am struck by reading a book with a main character having mental struggles.  

A Cry in the Night by Mary Higgins Clark.

Divorcee Jenny MacPartland struggles to support herself and her two small daughters. The father and ex-husband is of no help. She works at an art gallery where one day she meets a new man. Rich, handsome Erich Krueger sweeps her off her feet, they marry and she moves to his mansion in the country. Everything seems to be perfect, and Jenny feels like a fairy-tale princess. But gradually the fairy-tale turns into a nightmare. Something is very wrong in the great house that has slowly, imperceptively, become her prison. Something that threatens her marriage, her life - and her children.

The ending is a big surprise but a welcomed end to the story.
Murder inside the Beltway by Margaret Truman. 

A Washington call girl is found bludgeoned to death in her Adams-Morgan apartment. As police detectives scour the apartment, they find a digital video camera nestled high among books on a shelf. Had she used the camera to video some of her clients during their sexual romps?

Then they discover a small, book-sized DVD case, full with the exception of two slots. Could they possibly get lucky? Is the murder on one of those disks?

As the investigation picks up steam, the business of Washington, D.C., rolls on. It's an election year and the sitting president, Burton Pyle, is running for a second term. His opponent, Robert Colgate, is odds-on to defeat Pyle.

Then, on a lovely Sunday afternoon on Washington's famed Mall, the daughter of Bob Colgate's closest confidant and advisor is kidnapped.  The these events connected?

But no one is prepared for the explosive development that erupts when the daughter of Colgate’s closest friend is kidnapped and Detective Mary Hall and rookie cop Matthew Jackson uncover a shocking connection between the abduction, the Curzon case—and a killer no one will see coming.   

I enjoyed the fact that the lead detective is a woman.  I will add this author to my list and check out more of her work.

This was the sun day before yesterday.  Rising red orange.  The haze in the air very visible.  

Forest fires still raging on all sides of our province. 

I discovered this 2 spotted lady bug on rose bushes recently. 


The whole purpose for the Ladybug being brightly colored with spots is to ward off predators. The Ladybugs want to let their predators know that they taste bad and could even be poisonous.  They do secrete a foul smelling substance from their body which deters predators.

Genes determines the number of spots on a ladybug.  They can be several different colors and have 0 to as many as 24 spots.

I had to replace the lamp switch when it stopped working.  The one on the lamp was a nice Bakelite kind of dark hard plastic. It screwed together very nicely.  The lamp is 30 years old so things were made differently then.  

Thank goodness for you tube.  I sorted out which wires went where. The cord did not have the ridges the video described so I had to mark the leads with tape to make sure they were attached properly to the new switch.  Part of maintenance when you own stuff for years and years.

I am always up for a book with tea in the tittle. I found this one at the small library at the park.

The Color of Tea by Hannah Tunnicliffe.

A story about following your dreams and passions.  

Macau: the bulbous nose of China, a peninsula and two islands strung together like a three-bead necklace. It was time to find a life for myself. To make something out of nothing. The end of hope and the beginning of it too.

After moving with her husband to the tiny, bustling island of Macau, Grace Miller finds herself a stranger in a foreign land—a lone redhead towering above the crowd on the busy Chinese streets. As she is forced to confront the devastating news of her infertility, Grace’s marriage is fraying and her dreams of family have been shattered. She resolves to do something bold, something her impetuous mother would do, and she turns to what she loves: baking and the pleasure of afternoon tea.

Grace opens a café where she serves tea, coffee, and macarons—the delectable, delicate French cookies colored like precious stones—to the women of Macau. There, among fellow expatriates and locals alike, Grace carves out a new definition of home and family. But when her marriage reaches a crisis, secrets Grace thought she had buried long ago rise to the surface. Grace realizes it’s now or never to lay old ghosts to rest and to begin to trust herself. With each mug of coffee brewed, each cup of tea steeped and macaron baked, Grace comes to learn that strength can be gleaned from the unlikeliest of places.

A delicious, melt-in-your-mouth novel featuring the sweet pleasures of French pastries and the exotic scents and sights of China, The Color of Tea is a scrumptious story of love, friendship and renewal.

I would recommend this book as I enjoyed it a lot.

This week was my second time camping and sleeping in my car. 

The bag on the left holds the window coverings I made for the car.  These are black and held in place with magnets. Quite effective actually.  The second photos is a small IKEA hanging container I put on the back of my front seat to hold my keys, my watch, and cell phone.  White makes easy to see even in the dark.  I have repurposed an old vinegar jug for drinking water while camping.  My sister is using squarer jugs which may be more stable as this one fell over and dripped water onto the carpet in my car.  I will check those out when I go grocery shopping this week. 

Sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #141 and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #299

Sunday, August 1, 2021

Card Exchange Cards - Tangerine Tango & Baja Breeze

I started with an orange card base which I think is Tangerine Tango.

I added a layer of Baja Breeze polka dot designer paper from the Palette o' Prints collection.  I ripped the right hand edge and aligned it along the fold. 

I added a length of Tangerine Tango Scallop Polka Dot ribbon to the designer paper layer and taped the ends to the back.  I adhered it to the card front.

I cut one of the labels from the Apothecary Framelits set from Baja Breeze card stock. I added a greeting from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set color printed on white card stock punched with the Large Oval.  I added tiny orange brads on either side of the greeting then adhered it to the card front with 3D foam tape.

I added 2 small buttons in coordinating color on the bottom right hand corner with small Zots.

The same basic supplies for this card but I switched up the orientation to landscape.

I turned the Baja Breeze designer paper over to the other side to show the floral design.

I put quarter sheet inserts on the inside and added a white envelope.

These are headed out to my card buddies.