Sylvia's Simple Shots

I don't do much with Halloween.  

I found this pumpkin when I was out of town to see Mom.

I have added the greeting.

I hope that you had a good day if you celebrate this day.

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley.  This is a time travel story by this Canadian author.

In present day, Eva returns to her childhood summer place in England following the death of her dear sister Katrina.  There, she is invited to stay with her childhood friends the Halletts at Trelowarth House. Susan and Mark are siblings the Claire is the stepmom. 

Trelowarth House is known for its roses.  They provide rose stock to many gardeners across the world.  

In the past, Eva returns to Trelowarth House who is inhabited by 3 men in the eighteenth century. Daniel Butler, his brother Jack and Fergal O'Cleary a friend.  The cove below the house features strongly in the past as the brothers run a ship name the Sally which transports goods of dubious ownership.

Eva puts Katrina's ashes to rest and decides to stay the summer with the Halletts and does promotional work for the tea house Susan is wanting to open. Research into those who lived here before becomes relevant as Eva spends time with these characters. 

There are several love stories in the present and the past.  I really enjoyed how the stories were entwined and the end of the story was very fitting.  Enjoyed it a lot.

I attended an art show on Friday afternoon when I hoped the number of people attending would not be too high.  

There were many artists represented, with a variety of mediums and skills levels.  I was surprised by the volume of pieces in the show.

I did not take a photo but there was a geode which looked so real I did not even question it.  Later, upon discussion with my sister, the color was gold which likely was not realistic, the size was 24-30 inches tall which if it was real would have weighed many pounds, and a real geode would not be in an art show. Later, I found out it was made of styrofoam but it was beautifully done.  Captured my imagination completely.

While I was downtown I decided I may as well take a walk along the river since it was such a beautiful day.

I walked up to the Children's Bridge and this is the view looking back from where I had come.

The river was moving quite fast, the breeze was touching the water surface, and the water is quite low.  

The fall colors are dropping from the trees and the leaves are mostly on the ground.

I had a wonderful walk in nature and it restored my soul some.

These days are numbered and we have been blessed with an extended fall and it Halloween was a great day with out the need for snow jackets under or over costumes for the little ones.

I did go to the Lois Hole Provincial Park after my visit down town.  

Someone before me had put seeds out several places along the walk so the birds were in numbers feeding. This gave me a wonderful opportunity for photos. Thanks!

I captured Black-capped Chickadees and Chipping Sparrows. It was a good afternoon.

Card Exchange - Oct - Blue and Orange

I put together some cards for my exchange partners.

The paper sure looks like SU but it was not marked so I guess not.

It matches Groovy Guava, Baja Breeze and Early Espresso.

I cut the designer paper to leave a small border of card color.  

Then I taped a length of Early Espresso Taffeta Ribbon and taped the ends to the back of the designer paper layer.

This layer was then adhered to the card front.  The card above is orange in Groovy Guava card base in wide orientation.

I then put together an accent with a SU Scallop circle of Early Espresso with a white silk flower layered on top followed by a large copper sequin which is all held together with an orange mini brad.

The flower accent is adhered to the card front with a piece of 3D foam tape.  A quarter sheet white insert was glued to the inside.

The second card is blue with Baja Breeze card base and has a tall orientation. 

These will be off to my partners shortly.

Small Gifts - Art Magnets

I used some of the watercolors I painted this year to make some art magnets. 

The fall leaves on my niece's card, the sail boat from my aunt's card, the bulrushes on my brother in law's card and the sunrise from my stained glass project.

I sized them to fit the magnets I had which measure 1.5 x 2.75 inches. I layed them out digitally onto a 4x6 document then had them professionally printed on photo paper.

I had sized them a wee bit bigger to allow for some leeway with placement.  I trimmed one side exactlyl then it was easy to lay that against the edge of the sticky magnet.  Once layed down I burnished them with a brayer to ensure good adhesion.  I trimmed the extra paper away with scissors then did the corners with my blue corner rounder which matched perfectly the corner on the magnets. Unfortunately, my signature generally in the bottom right hand corner was affected.

A beautiful set of magnets with watercolor images.  I made several sets.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

My sister cooked turkey for my visit following our Thanksgiving here in Canada.  I am lucky that my brother in law will eat turkey anytime.  They were with their daughter for the celebrations so there were no precious leftovers so it was good to cook a bird at her house.

I am very grateful for the thoughtfulness and willingness to do it on her part.

Of course, it was delicious and I brought a take away meal home as well which was fortunate because I was caught in a traffic jam on our biggest highway and got home two hours later than anticipated.  Someone died in the accident that caused the jam I was again grateful to be home with just the gas tank a little lower than expected.

I have spent the last few weeks reading non fiction for at change, not deliberately but it was interesting.

I was intrigued by the title so I brought it home.  If They Say No Just Say Next! by John Fuhrman. It is a sentiment I have come to appreciate to live a happier life. A no is an opportunity to change directions, change my mind, rethink where I am at.  It's not fun but the quicker I accept and move on the better for my mental health.

This book was written for a multi-level business model so there were parts I just skimmed over.  There were some good life lessons I was reminded of so it was worth giving it a read.

 

Chicken Soup of the Soul - O Canada - Jack Canfield Mark Victor Hansen Amy Newmark was the next book.  These are always uplifting stories.  I knew for sure that I would relate to some of the stories but I have to say though after the 6th hockey story I just started skipping the hockey ones.  It was likely half the book but the other half was good as usual.

Dropped Threads - What We Weren't Told - Edited by Carol Shields and Marjorie Anderson.  Again, the title intrigued me so I brought it home.

Stories of Canadian women from various stages of life and many walks of life.  I did read all the stories but some I really could not relate to.

It broadened my understanding of the lives and struggles of women not like me.  Those who were mothers, those who had high profile careers, and those who suffered injustices.

Definitely worth a read as I am sure there are universal women themes which will likely be relatable.

I am ready for a great novel.

I picked up this pretty daisy shaped watercolor palette in my shopping trips for unique diffuser containers.  

It was very inexpensive and I did think of making it a diffuser but no inspiration came of it so it has been moved to the craft table.

I went to visit Mom on the weekend.  She is doing so much better.  She has a ways to go physically by I felt I had my Mom back.  

We had a good visit and played a few games which was really nice.  I ran the necessary errands and she had a nap.

I stayed over at my sisters and we woke to heavy frost on the world around us.  It made all things sparkly and bright.  It was cold at -5C.

One the drive home I saw fog for a while but then the sun burnt it off the the rest of the few hours was great.

I saw Snow Geese up close for the first time!  In years past, I have seen them in fields in the spring on their way up to the Arctic. Earlier this month, on a trip see Mom I had seen them on one of the lakes but it is a busy highway and there was no chance to stop plus I was due someplace.

I went for a walk while Mom rested and I heard this cackling and looked around to see the source.  Across the lake I could see a sea of white.  I hurried back to the car and drove around the end of the lake to the other side. There they were!  All bobbing in the water, some slowly descending to the water surface.  Their distinct white bodies with black wing tips. The sound was loud.  The flock stuck together as they have been traveling in a groups for days already with a long ways to go.  During the hour that I spent with them they flew up into the air en masse a couple of times.  It is truly amazing. I am so glad that after glimpses I was able to experience them up close.  

Small Gifts - Oil Diffusers/Fresheners - Felt Balls Version 2

I decided to redesign these oil diffusers / fresheners.

They were longer than I thought they should be and when they are in your car air vents you would like to have less disturbing the air flow.

I tried this small one in the car and it would very well so I decided to do them all to be smaller with only one felt ball per diffuser.

I changed the attachment to the clothespin as well to have 2 stands of thread come up from a single accent on the bottom.  Then one goes through the hole in the pin one way and the other in the opposite direction.  Then a set of simple knots hidden between the ends.

Here I found a small blue shanked button for the bottom and a concave button in a similar color for the top.  Here it is clipped to the lamp behind the couch in the living room where I sit to read or watch TV.

I have redone all of the ones I made earlier.  I have tied a tag with a description.

I am using a clear plastic chocolate box where I have taped the pieces back to back.

I placed a piece of designer paper in the box so I could hide the chocolate logo still on the box.

I think the colors coordinated well with the colors of the diffusers.

Another task done!

Small Gifts - Oil Diffusers - One of a Kind - Set 3

I am loving this creative process of making cool felt diffusers for these diverse type of containers. 

Here, I have a two inch square crystal napkin holder laid down flat with the hole facing up.  I made a different type of felt flower for this one.  You can find the tutorial for this flower here. 

Teal Blossom - I chose teal felt and cut six 2 inch circles then a yellow one for the center of the flower and a green one for the base.  I thought the green one suggests leaves without having actual leaves imposing onto the edge of the glass. I really wanted to be able to see the 4 corners of the napkin holder.

The video suggests hot glue but I chose to stitch this flower together which makes a cleaner end product.

I then stitched it to a white felt ball which helps the flower stay in place on the napkin holder.

This flower design is full and very easy to put together.

On the right is a photo of the top. 

With the oil being placed on the yellow center it will keep any discoloration to a minimum.

With Love Cup - This is a beautiful Mikasa - With Love pattern ivory bone china cup from the early 1980's.  

I decided to make the diffuser an ivory felt stuffy decorated with a  round petal pattern. 

I found this Petal Pattern video on line. The opening of the cup measures 2.75 inches but I needed to add some for seams and for puffiness. I cut 2 ivory felt circles measuring 3.5 inches in diameter and sewed them together with a 1/4 inch seam leaving an opening to turn it inside out. I then stuffed it with cotton batting and slip stitched the opening closed.  I then created the petal pattern according to the video using warm rose yarn to match the cup.

To accent the center I added a warm green circle topped with a gold metal filigree accent which was stitched on with the same yarn. 

I have created a spacer to place under the petal to keep it at the top of the cup.  I could keep the drops of oil to the center to lessen an discoloration of the ivory felt.  This diffuser would fit in nicely in a kitchen, a dining room, a reading nook or even on a bedside table. 

Time to Unwind - A ball of variegated yarn to encompass many shades of brown and reds which brings in the colors in the basket as well.  I created the ball by hand to be just the right size for the basket.

I created custom sized knitting needles from skewers cut down to about 4 inches.  I glued wooden beads to the blunt end.  Once the beads were dry I used Distress Ink of Antique Linen and Vintage Photo to add some color to the needles to be more in keeping with the overall color scheme. 

I added the More Mustard tag which was color printed and punched with the 2 inch circle punch.

Perfect quiet time to enjoy the aromatherapy of essential oils.

Triangular Trio - A set of three felt flowers with white pom pom centers set in a triangular bottle.

The flowers are purple, grey and light blue.  Each has a yellow fringe surrounding the white pom in the middle.

Each flower has a twisted silver wire stem which is terminated at the bottom with a iridescent ebead just before the end curl.

I have wrapped a length of yellow grosgrain ribbon around the neck of the bottle to repeat the yellow in the bouquet.

The essential oil can be applied to either the felt or the pom pom. The essential oil may discolor the white centers.

I wanted a less flowery option in a diffuser.

Tiny Beer - This diffuser started with a vintage etched crystal shot glass with a nice handle. It measures 4 inches tall. 

I rolled a piece of ginger colored felt to be the beer and placed it in the bottom of the glass.

Now I needed to create the frothy foam at the top of the drink.  I rummaged through  my yarn stash to find a messy white yarn which I wrapped around a white pom pom.  I secured the head to the beer with hot glue.

I think it looks great!

Christmas Tree Scent Ornaments

For those of us who put up artificial Christmas trees wouldn't it be nice to still have the smell of a real tree during the holidays?

I love the smell of a real tree.  I received one of these last year for my tree and I was on the search for the right scent.  I discovered that it can be tricky.  I believe we always had spruce trees at Christmas when I grew up.  Others will have different types of trees in their tradition therefore a different scent.

There are quite a few Christmas tree blends available as well.

I bought Pine Needles last year which was not quite right.  I will add Spruce this year in a blend and see how that goes.

I have hung these on a tree ornament stand.

I started with traditional green triangle trees for the first set.  I cut them 3.5 inches high and 3 inches wide at the base.  Triangle trees are very efficient in materials.  I cut 2 exactly the same size. I embelished the front triangles. On the left with red embroidered garland with gold e bead ornaments. On the right with small round felt button ornaments tied on with gold thread.  Of course the need a star and a trunk. 

Once the fronts were done, I layered them together, put my trunk and my hanging thread in between and sewed very close to the the edge all the way around.  The stars were added on last with a bit of hand stitching.

I made 3 felt ball wreaths with these non traditional colors of white, black and aqua.  I strung them onto string cotton thread and tied them really tight.

I added a white thread hanging loop.

For these ornaments I would recommend put the oil on the black balls so no discoloration will show.  For the other ornaments I would put the oil on the back so again if the oil causes some discoloration it will not be on the front.

I made some round ornaments featuring reindeer die cuts.  The white one is sporting the red nose of Rudolph. 

The reindeer were layered on a medium circle then onto the 3.25 inch circles.  The reindeer and the medium circle were attached to the front large circle then they were sewn together very close together in coordinating thread with the hanging thread in between.  

The one on right I tried making my own grey hanger and on the second I just put a small circle of felt in between the large circles and stitched it in. 

I made one with a white snowflake die cut on red medium circle on dark green large circles. Then used a small felt circle for the hanger. 

On the right, I made a non traditional colored one with purple, white and some blues.  The focal element are white and blue layered hearts to which I stitched some silver ebeads. I added an tiny felt button with silver ebeads again on the right hand side. These were stitched together with a small purple felt circle hanger with white thread loop. 

I ended up finding some die cuts in my stash which I used to make a couple more.

The pink and white dove has a pearly ebead for a eye and again is in not traditional colors. The wings are stitched on both sides and it has a felt hanger.

The gingerbread man was cut from ginger looking felt and blanket stitched around both layers with a piece of red fabric put in between for the hearts and a bit of white for the eyes.  The mouth was outlined with black permanent marker.  Just a simple thread loop to hang.

These can just be ornaments on your tree with out having scent added to them.  If you are going to add essential oil to them be sure to put it on the back in order to avoid discoloration on the front of the ornament.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

This is a shot from a long walk I took with my aunt on Sunday.

It was new to me and it was really nice as the number of people around was very few.  That may have been because it was late Sunday afternoon on the Thanksgiving long weekend and folks were eating turkey.

The weather was beautiful. As you can see the colors were gorgeous.  There was enough leaves on the trees to create the nice arch over the trail head.

The sun is dappling through the trees and creating a magical atmosphere on the trail.

Another terrific book by Sue Grafton - U is for Undertow.

Michael Sutton aged 27 appears at Kinsey Millhone's office asking if she could look into a kidnapping he might have witnessed back when he was six years old.  He saw 2 men burying something wrapped up as he was visiting a friends home.  Horton Ravine has a large system of trails which connect several neighbourhoods in the area. 

It turns out there were 2 kidnappings the summer of 1967 within a few days of each other. It was the summer of love. There were wayward children into free love, baffled parents, drugs and illegal activities all involved in the warm months of that year.

Kinsey does her best and there is a revisiting of the site in question but only the remains of a dog were found.  Interesting but not the little girl in question.

I really liked this story.  Not too many characters to keep track of. A good story and an interesting conclusion.

I was very grateful to be invited to my aunt's for supper on Sunday.  It was pork loin and veggies with blueberries and yogurt for dessert.  Bengal spice tea afterwards.

I had been to see Mom this week on Wednesday and we had a really good day.  I spent the night at my sister's and had a great visit with her has well.  My other sister was away seeing her daughter for the long weekend. My family time had been good. 

My aunt and I talked photography and art and good time was had by all. 

Supper was delicious.

Here's another shot from Sunday's walk.  The Sturgeon river in this area just meanders with a lot of curves in and out.

The river was very low and there were only a few ducks in the vacinity.  I had seen Snow Geese on a lake on my drive back on Thursday but with nowhere to stop and take pictures.  Very disappointing.

Here, I caught the dried wild grasses along the shore while getting the sparkle on the water in the river a distance away in the background.

Really happy with the bokeh background.

I read this small book this week as well.  Old Songs in a New Cafe by Robert James Waller.   An interesting collection of stories.

I have read a couple more of his books.  Of course, Bridges of Madison County is one of my favorites and I own the book and the movie.

I may decide to keep this book as well.

I will keep an eye out for this author in my travels of thrift stores.  I was lucky on Friday to find I could find a shopping basket with books for just $10.   I believe I came away with 12-15 books so my reading bookshelf is full for a while.

I have did visit several stores on Friday looking for unique vessels for my oil diffusers.  You can check out Set 1 and Set 2 with these links.

Here's a set of gems I found at the third thrift store last week.

These are Sloane Tea Company double walled hand blown tea cups. They match perfectly with my Primula blown glass fluted clear teapot which you can see in the background.

The price was just over $2.50 for 4 cups in their original box so they will be safe when I move.

I am so blessed.

Looking forward to serving tea in these to friends and family in the days to come. Have a great week.

Sharing with Mersad - Through my Lens #358

Small Gifts - Car Cup Holder Coasters

A car coaster collects the drips, drops, spills, crumbs and other stuff that ends up in our car cup holders.

I made up some with supplies I had on hand. These were made with felt circles.

I started with an 3.25" circle which was hand cut.  I stacked onto it 3 more circles of various colors and sizes.  I took them to the sewing machine and stitched in a spiral manner from the outside to the center of the coasters. Since the circles were felt buttons I added a coordinating thread through the whole coaster and knotted it on the front.  This can be used to remove the coaster from the holder.  These can be washed and reused. 

I made 10 sets so we will see how things go.  I mixed and matched a bunch of colors.  Red and White Canadian in the top left corner, the Elks one in position three in the top row with a few summer colors and Christmas red white and green.  The tags are 2.5 inches with rounded corners and it was placed between the 2 coasters which are back to back. They are stitched on with white cotton thread. 

Small Gifts - Car (Cup Holder) Coasters

I came across this idea doing research the other day.

In many places they are called car coasters but they are really coasters for your cup holders in the car.  There are a variety of sizes available and some being sold on Etsy at 2.5 inches were getting feedback that they were too small. The hard ones also provide a thumb notch so they can be removed.  They are meant to collect condensation and spills from our drinks.  They would gather crumbs, dirt and miscellaneous other stuff that ends up in there.

In my opinion, these should handle the moisture that accumulates in these holders, be easy to remove, washable and I should have 2 sets so there is always a clean set.

I decided I should have at least one set of these. I chose navy and yellow felt because they are my favorite colors and go with the car color. I measured my cup holder bottom and they are about 3" in diameter. I could place a 3" circle of paper on the bottom.  Of course, depending on the material used it will affect if they can still be 3 inches.

I cut the navy bottom circle at 3" in diameter and the yellow top circle at 2.75".  I added a navy grosgrain ribbon tab in between the circles to be able to pull them out.   I sewed a seam 1/8" from the edge of the yellow circle all the way around. I started the seam on the tab and then with the back stitching needed it provides reinforcement to the point of stress.  

Here they are in the cup holders in the car. These are very plain jane but generally I will not see them much because I carry a water bottle and a tea travel mug most places I go. 

I will have to decide if I will embellish them and how to do that efficiently.

I hand cut the circles for these because my diecut tools are packed at the present time. It would be make nice clean edges and time saving.

I will have to think about what my second set will look like. 

Well, adding a couple more circles to these coasters has uplifted their personality quite a bit. 

I layered red and green circles in 2 different sizes onto the yellow layer.

They are held in place by stitching through all layers with navy cotton thread. 

These are getting their test run tomorrow.

Small Gifts - Oil Diffusers - One of a Kind - Set 2

I have started another set of bespoke oil diffusers.

Ice Cream Cone - This is a ceramic Easy Tiger Matte Ceramic Ice Cream Cone mini planter.

I paired it with a warm and fuzzy yarn in peaches, creams and aqua color.  I created one ball for the ice cream you can see then a small one to anchor this one in the cone.  I stitched them together.

I used a silicone bead with a piece of yarn which I wired to keep it up in position as an accent on top of the cone. The tones all work together in this piece of art.

The oil can be dropped on the cherry on top or the ice cream.  

The ceramic cone will contain the oil. 

Red & White Bouquet - A clear glass bud vase holds a red and white bouquet of pom pom flowers.

I have used another wooden spiral to hide the wire armature of the bouquet.

The bouquet is weighed with a wood bead on the inside of the spiral.

The red pom pom flowers can be used to hold the essential oil with little concern of discoloration.

Again, the glass vase will protect your surface from any drops of oil.  

Just 2-5 drops of oil will be enough to give you scent for 20 minutes to 40 minutes.

Key to my Heart - A crystal glass candy dish holds a set of 3 felt hearts.  This were hand cut to match the shape of the glass dish.

I chose red, pink and white in graduated sizes. I added a small gold tone metal key held in place with 3 tiny stitches of cotton thread.

The stitches also hold the 3 felt hearts together.  A Zot on the glass holds the hearts in the proper place in the dish.

The oil should likely be applied to the red heart to avoid any discoloration to the white heart.

Again, the glass dish keeps your surface free from damage from any oil drops.

Sunflower - A handmade felt sunflower in a clear shallow glass vase.  If I had to guess it's original purpose may have been has a terrarium.

Well, it still holds a flower but now it has bright colors of orange, golden yellow and sunshine yellow with a brown center.

I made the flower following this tutorial. Check out the following link for the details. DIY Felt Flowers - No Sew Fabric Flower Tutorial   It fits in the vase perfectly.  

The dark center will be ideal for the drops of essential oil as discoloration will not show.

Glass will protect your surface from stay oil drops.  Love it!

A Glass of Sherry - I wanted this small vintage glass to look like it was filled with sherry.

I chose a loose burgundy yarn with a hint of gold among the threads to fill the bowl of the glass.   I wrapped it around a felt wool ball to give me a stable core and for it to assemble easier.

I chose a gold metal filigree at the top to cap the loosely wound yarn.  I topped it with a glass & gold bead which is held in place with a tiny gold ebead.  It was strung together with gold metallic thread which holds the accent, the loose yarn and the wool ball core as one piece.

Zots hold the nest of yarn to the glass which will protect the surface from oil drops.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The Canada Geese are gathering in large numbers.  It is the time of year.  We have been experiencing wonderful weather for October.

The geese were communicating, honking and flying over head.  I expect they are in fields feeding on harvest leftovers and I was grateful to see so many on Saturday morning.

This is the largest pond at the Heritage Hills Wetlands.  I did a large walk because I walked along all 3 ponds that morning.

The weather was perfect and I had such a good time.  The sun rose of course as I was out there and it affected my photos.

Sunrise and sunset are getting closer together.

I finished this book earlier this week.  The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards was an interesting read.

There are two story lines for a set of twins - Paul stayed with his parents David and Norah.  David a doctor gave away his daughter because she had Down Syndrome.  This decision made this couple absolutely crazy.  I just quit reading that story line about half way through the book.

Phoebe was given to the David's nurse, Caroline to be delivered to an institution for disabled persons.  In the 1960s this was common.  She could not leave the baby girl in this very sad and desperate institution. The night the baby born Caroline meets her future husband and makes a move to ensure that Phoebe survives and thrives.  This story line was so much more positive and uplifting.

When I quit the first story line and when to the last chapter and read back a few chapters to get the end of the story.  Saved the book for me.

I received a bowl full of beautiful cherry tomatoes from my aunt.  I am so grateful to have these delicious fruit to eat for the next few days.  I have a bunch more green ones which will ripen over the next couple weeks.

I roasted some the other day that were the last of the ones I had bought from the grocery store.  They burst and were delicious.  I ate them with the pizza that was in the oven at the same time.

Harvest is such an amazing thing.

I finally got one of these vintage pencil sharpeners.  We had one of these when I was at home and going to school.  With 8 kids in school you can bet it got a lot of use.  It was rescued when Mom and Dad left the house in 2015. 

I found this one at the thrift store the other day and check out the price of $2.  Once it got a real good cleaning I discovered that the suction cup on the bottom still works as designed.

I tested it out before I took it home and it will be appreciated for the next long while.  I use colored pencils mostly because I use mechanical pencils for writing.

Very grateful that it showed up after looking for about 4 years.

Every Step she Takes - K. L. Armstrong was the book I finished in the last couple of days.

I did finish this one but it was another story which was pretty crazy.  The murder mystery was interesting and compelling.

It was not for me but I am sure it works for others out there.

A beautiful fall shot of the yellow leaves in this season of autumn.

The challenge for Flickr's Macro Mondays is "Open". This was a great challenge and allowed a wide variety of subjects.  The shot on the right is an open container of leads for mechanical pencils.  You can see my submission on my Photostream (SMDPics).

Have a great week!