Christmas Thank Yous

I used the gift wrap from one of my gifts to make my Thank You cards. I really appreciate those who remembered me this Christmas season in many ways.

I ripped the bold red and white snowflake paper.  I glued it to white card stock.  I then cut it down to 4"x5.25" and glued it to a black card.  I then added a strip of green card stock across the bottom third of the card.   I found this chalkboard background  onto which I added my chalkboard sentiment.  I printed them and trimmed them close.  It is mounted to the card front with 3D foam tape.

Here's another version as I have a hard time making all the cards the same.  Once the gift wrap was glued to a white card, I stamped the Stampin Up Print Pattern background stamp onto the gift wrap in black ink.  I then embossed it in clear powder.  I stamped one line of the pattern onto the white strip.  I rubbed the greeting with my Versamark ink pad and then added clear powder.

Merry Christmas

I'm wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.

This is the Nativity Set I bought last year for my home. It is black metal and is quite large at nearly 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide.  It allows me to add lights, and other embellishments with magnets if I choose. Here, I chose back lighting with real candles in pillar vases.  I added the electric candle holders in the front as well.  My blown glass birds were added for some dimension and color.  A large pine cone was placed in the center.

I'm sending this card to my on-line friends and those whom I communicate mostly by email.

Photo - Nativity Display

I attended a Nativity Display held by a local church yesterday. These are lent to the church from the congregation and those farther a field.  They were so well displayed with lots of room to have each have it own space.  I so enjoy seeing the variety in materials and design expressed.

The top left is a marquetry piece which is the method of using different colored woods to create a design. Wonderful simple design.  Top right is a corn husk set in a wood stable.  The centre one was quite small and likely made for children. It had 2 navy hearts as the platform and background then fabric and wood for the persons.  Add a glitter star and it's done.  Bottom left is a wonderfully colored resin nativity which was hung on a string.  The bottom right is ceramic in plain white with a matte finish. It is lit from the back.

Community Christmas Concert

I attended the Community Christmas Concert with my friend this evening.  It was a great concert.  I love Christmas music so there were many religious songs, carols and hymns.

My aunt's service group was handing out programs.

It was a great time but it was pretty cold.

Photo Challenge - November - Day 23-30

I'm participating in Kati's November Photo Challenge.  It's a busy time of year and the weather outside is not conducive to being there.

I'm posting photos for the last week.

Day 23 Path - Winter

This is the sidewalk with footprints.  This photo is from a couple of years ago but we received a pile of snow yesterday so I expect it looks a lot like this now.  It's very cold here and it's just too cold to be venturing out with a camera.

Day 24 Apple - Magnet

This is a magnet I made with a photo I took of the apples on my Mom's trees in her winter garden.  I love the colors and the contrast between red and green.

Day 25 Shine - Star

A star shines! This is an light ornament in the conservatory a couple of years ago.

Day 26 Food - Popcorn Snack

This is herbed popcorn I brought to one of our potlucks at work.  We do it at least 4 times a year. It provides fellowship, allows to get to know each other better, the food is always great and it's a good fun.

Day 27 Thankful - Conservatory

I'm really grateful I can go inside these pyramids and see flowers, fruit, fish and running water when it's so cold outside.  It provides stress release at the end of a silly day at work.  It allows my mind to let go of the day and focus on pretty things.

Day 28 Makes me Smile - Shred Snowman

This snowman was created by a friend at work. We decorate our work spaces every year. She took bags filled with paper shred made with the shredder. She made sure it was white paper to fit the need.  Added a face, a head, and buttons on his belly.  He is really cute!

Day 29 - Home - Mom's Nativity

This is the hand drawn nativity my Mom has put in her dining room window for years.  It makes me think of home.

Day 30 - Scarf - Pink!

This is one of my favorite scarves.  It's handmade by a friend who crocheted it.  Light to dark pink!  Curvy and swirly too!

Photo Challenge - November - Day 16 - 22

I'm participating in Kati's daily photo challenge for November.  It's great fun to take pictures and apply my interpretation of the prompts provided by Kati.  Christmas is starting to creep into my photos as I think and contemplate on this beautiful season.  I love Christmas

Here are my pics for this week.

Day 16 Red - Poinsettia

I took this photo a long time ago, several camera ago but it's still one of my favorites.  It was a gorgeous large poinsettia that arrived at the office during the Christmas season.  I could not resist taking the camera at lunch time and seeing what I could get.  It's an image I go back to often

Day 17 Hot Drink - Rooibos Chai

Another of the china cups I purchased at the sale a few weeks back. It's a simple and elegant pattern of blue brush marks with gold dots.  It is Radfords Crown China made in England.  A very modern design.

The tea is Rooibos Chai which is caffeine free and very flavorful.  It's my favorite year round tea. Starbucks JOY tea which only comes out at this time of year is a seasonal favorite. That reminds me that I should drop by and find a few boxes.

Day 18 Hands/Feet - Boots and Gloves

This is what my hands and feet are covered with when I go outside this time of year.  It cold outside and there is snow on the ground. These are my trusty Columbia winter boots which needed new laces this year. A pair of one size fits all stretchy blue gloves.  

Day 19 Family - Alphabet Photos

I put together a collage of Alphabet photos from my collection to make up the word - FAMILY.

Day 20 Wood - Angel

This is a wooden angel figurine.  Her skirt has swirls carved into it. She is playing the violin and has iron work wings.  I believe the trim at the bottom of her skirt is metal as well.  Amazing Grace a wonderful song. 

Day 21 Candlelight - Bird Tealight

This glass bird tea light holder was another gift. It is a Christmas Dove Tealight Holder. It is one of a pair. Shimmering blown glass love birds with antiqued metallic finish reflects the light of a tealight.

Day 22 Orange - Mandarins

Orange was a bit of challenge till I opened the fridge and there they were. Mandarin oranges!!! They are in the stores now.  They are delicious and a nice Christmas tradition.  This one is not a orange as the ones on the box but it tastes good. 

Photo Challenge - Day 9 - 15

This is my posting for Kati's November Photo Challenge.

Check out my photo then follow the link and see what came to mind for others.  It's a great creative challenge to interpret the prompt and take a picture.

Day 9 Song - O Canada

I chose O Canada since Remembrance Day here was this week.  I took the picture a couple of years ago in the summer.  I had lots of blue sky and Canada Flag pictures but I thought based on the occasion the photo should be more somber. I added the words onto of the photo with software. Thank you to all who serve to keep us free.

Day 10  Yellow - Letter N

I took this photo during a Scott Kelby Photo Walk.  It was a letter on the side of a building.  It was yellow which is one of my favorite colors so I snapped a photo.  I am always on the look out for letters for my collection of alphabet photos but I usually try for a more artistic interpretation rather than a literal one but if the shoe fits.

Day 11 Outside my Window - Work

This is the view looking out the window at my work. Yes, I face the river valley with the Muttart Conservatory in plain view.  This was taken at sunrise late in the year. The sky is so gorgeous.  I'm looking forward to retirement when I can go out when the sun is the best and not worry where else I have to be.

Day 12 Small - Snowflake

This is a small snowflake in sea of glass marbles. It has some empty space all the way around. It was created on a sewing/embroidery machine. From what I understand the operator selects the image from the digital selections, places a substrate in the machine and presses go. The operator comes back a while later to see the creation. It stitches onto the material which is later dissolved in water which leaves only the thread.  Pretty cool!

This one is even and measured precisely.  This photo was converted to black and white to provide the contrast I wanted.

Day 13 Large - Snowflake

This is a large snowflake in the same sea of glass marbles. This one takes up all the space.  This one was made by hand. It is crocheted by one who spent time with the thread.   It has it own character with incorporated by the maker during the stiffening process. This photo was converted to black and white to provide the contrast I wanted.

Day 14 Swirl - Glass Beads

When the object does not present itself, I choose to create it myself.  I placed the frosted glass beads in a swirl this morning on a large clear glass plate.   I chose to apply a color variation to it in PSE to make it more appealing.  The blue looks great!

Day 15 Animal - Bison Sculpture

I took this picture in a different Scott Kelby Photo Walk.  This bison metal sculpture is on display at the conference center downtown.  I love the contrast of the black against the clear blue sky.

Halloween Potluck Mosaic

We traditionally have a pot luck at work for Halloween.  It was great as always.  We had a wonderful table set with candles and other tablescaping items.  We had deviled egg eyeballs, spider web chocolate cake, and an arm made from bread and proscuitto.  It was all delicious and the fellowship was great!

I'm submitting this photo the challenge on Judith's blog for Monday Mosaic.

Happy Halloween!!!

Wishing everyone a Happy Halloween day.  Be safe and have fun.
We had our traditional potluck at work today and all the food was terrific. We had an arm, pepper stuffed with dip and a surprise, spider web table cloths, goblets for punch, mummy candle holders, eyeball devilled eggs and much more!  What fun.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving Day.  May you enjoy your day with family, friends, or favorite activities.

Family Get Together - Art Class

I just got back from a family get together on the weekend.  We had a great time with about 60 in attendance. There were great conversations with those from near and far and great food!
We had bingo games, raffle draws, a calendar fundraiser (more about that later), baseball, and an art class.
My aunt who is an artist held a class Saturday afternoon and I was one of the students.  This is my very first painting.  This was done with acrylic paints.  We did some charcoal doodles as practice to engage our right brain. Then  we sketched what we wanted to do on the canvas then we laid it out in the drawing in light grey to get all our elements in place then she gave us colors and we went for it.  I think we had about 12-15 folks paint canvas by the end of the afternoon.  It was a blast!!

June Photo a Day Challenge - Last 2 Days

Here's the last 2 photos for Kati's June Photo a Day Challenge.

Day 29 - Grass

I chose the clump of new sprouted grass.  I like the fact that the grass has variety of colors including red and green. The rock provides a decent background with texture.

Day 30 - Looking Up

I've had this idea from the first time I read the theme for today. I bought myself a large bubble maker and set out. It's taken a while to get a shot I was happy with.  I went out several times in the evening but the wind was just too much.  This time I spent an hour in the morning, less clouds in the sky but also less wind.  Having to blow the bubbles then chase them around was an exercise.  I didn't really know what I had till I got home and looked at the pics.


I would like to thank Kati for this challenge. It's been fun!!!

June Photo a Day Challenge - Week 4

Here's another week's worth of pictures for Kati's June Photo a Day Challenge. We could post every day or once a week.

Day 22 - Green

I thought I would put a twist to my green photo and chose a golf green.  I was not sure if I could close enough with out getting beaned in the head with a ball but I just had to try.  It worked and there was no one around.

Day 23 - Pair

I found this pair of chairs at the Ellis Bird Farm on the weekend. They were located at the Wetland Center on the farm and the white and navy blue were perfect for the water focus of this area. They matched the trim on the building perfectly. Looks inviting!

Day 24 - Hot

This is a cup of hot tea!  I chose a different angle for this shot. I shot it from the absolute top which shows the doily encircling the cup. I'm happy with it.  

Day 25 - Cold

This is a cold lemonade drink we had at lunch today at the downtown square.  I love the idea of putting an actual lemon in the glass. It was full of ice cubes which put condensation on the outside of the glass. 

Day 26 - Thermometer

I chose an outdoor thermometer with a digital display.  It was a really nice day with a bit of a wind to cool me off a bit. The display rotates with the time so I had to wait for the temperature and ends up with several shots to get it right.

Day 27 - Fruit

I chose rhubarb as the fruit.  My sister gave me some on the weekend and I'm chopping it up and cooking it up to eat with yogurt.

Day 28 - Yellow

You will know that yellow is one of my favorite colors from my earlier post.  It has to be a golden warm yellow not the clear green kind.  My favorite flowers are sunflowers which are yellow.  I placed them in a nice yellow vase. I glad the shot work out so well.

Card - Geometric Label

I made a couple of these cards for my exchange group friends.
I started with a black card and added 2 pieces of geometric card stock.  I cut a black piece with Spellbinders Label 22.  I then layered a Stampin Up Decorative Labels frame lit die in the geometric paper. On to this a circle greeting was mounted with 3D foam tape.  It is comprised of a green 1 3/8, 1 1/4 circle then a 1 ink circle.  I stamped the greeting with Versafine on ivory then punched it out with the 1 inch circle.

Photo - Ellis Bird Farm

My sister and I visited Ellis Bird Farm on the weekend.  What a gorgeous day!
Mr. Ellis set out to provide a safe place for blue birds to nest and raise their young.  The farm has many bird houses. Birds like purple martins, wrens, cedar waxwings and others are flying over head. Bird song can be heard at all times.
Ms Ellis set up the gardens to attract butterflies to ensure pollination and production of fruit and berries.  There is a new visitor center building will be helpful in their continued education programs.
There is a wonderful tea house where we sat and enjoyed a tea and dessert.

June A Photo A Day Challenge - Week 1

I have decided to join this challenge hosted by Kati at Kati's Little Corner.  We could post every day or once a week.  With the class prep I had to do this week I decided to post at the end of the first week.

Day One - Leaf 

I chose the photo of a leaf with a water drop on it.  It had rained earlier and all the plants were wet.

Day Two - Favorite Color

Yellow is one of my favorite colors.  I have mugs, clothes, bags and my water kettle in this color.  My kitchen colors are yellow and navy.  Many years ago when I spent over a year unemployed I bought this kettle with my first pay cheque at my new job.

Day Three - Weather

I took this photo after I decided to join the challenge. It's rained quite a bit lately and this day I could see the clouds darkening so I chose to head to the river valley and what shot I could get.  I liked the bright green at the bottom against the dark of the clouds at the top.  It seems we have construction cranes everywhere this summer.

Day Four - On the Wall

I was looking for a mural painted on an outside wall but was not able to get one I was happy with so I chose a wall decal instead. 

One of the girls at work has this wall decal in her office.  It's a good philosophy and good words to live by. 

Day Five - Sunglasses

I took this photo of my Foster Grant sunglasses.  I wanted to take the photo from a different angle and I was able to get the name in the foreground.  Works for me.

Day Six - Dot

This is decorated paper I made myself this morning.  I made this polka dot paper with a technique I found on line a while back. I made some bright with purple and orange and pastel paper with blues and pinks for baby cards. Today, I chose red, green and gold because I will be making Christmas cards with this paper. The color is Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Pine Needles, Fired Brick and Tarnished Brass. Check back later to see the cards.

Follow this link for How To make this paper.

Day Seven - Water

I chose this reflection of a large building in the lake. I took a walk around this man made lake where I live and the water was not smooth for a perfect reflection but I thought it looked pretty good.  I love the blue sky.  One of the days recently when the weather was good, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and it was good the be outside.

Check back for my post next week.  Later.