Sylvia's Simple Shots

A new bird for me this week!  It' a  Say's Phoebe which is quite a small bird as the cable she is sitting on would suggest!

Beautiful bird! I did not hear it sing.  I checked on line and it is a quite subdued singer.

Love the coloring and the shine in the eye!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been looking for a container to hold some Extra Virgin Olive Oil need the stove.  The one I was using required that I tip it over a lot to get liquid out of it.

During my visit with my sister she said "Would this work?"  It is a bottle of coconut oil she purchased for her salad dressing.

"Yes!" I said. That would work very well. It has a nice pour spout, hold about 1 cup which is a great size, and it's easy to clean. 

 It works really well.  Glad to see manufactures adapting their bottles to what works for the consumer.

Love it.

The friend who celebrates her birthday this week shared her cake with me.  Her sister purchased the cake.

This is a Black Forest Cake created by one of the best bakeries in the city - Bon Ton Bakery.

It was delicious.  I cut the large piece in two pieces and enjoyed it twice with a cup of green tea.

I chose a few bugs for my mosaic this week.  The Spotted Tussock Moth Caterpillar comes out in August.  I remember being scared of these as a kid, still not that crazy about them.  I mentioned Dragonflies last week as predators.  The Yellowjacket Wasp was getting some moisture from this spot on the the wood. 

The challenge this week at Flickr Macro Monday is Push/Pull.  What a great choice. The variety of objects for this challenge is unending. Buttons of all sorts, zippers, rubber bands, tools, and so much more.  

You can check out my Photostream SMDPics to see which image I submitted.

Sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #93

and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #253

Have a great week!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I have been back to the front yard in the neighbourhood which is FULL of beautiful tulips.

I took another shot to show how many there are.  They are mostly red, orange and yellow.  I watched a video the other day where a well known photographer was explaining about seeing different compositions in a garden rather than the one everyone takes.  So I took an unusual shot for me.


The house is on the Historic Resources list - The Mountifield Residence which was originally built in the early 1900s.

On my walk to other morning I took a path I had not been down before.  It was in a ravine and just after a good rain I was expecting it to be muddy but it was pretty good.  It was great to be under the canopy of very large and old trees.  Green everywhere.  

I came across this patch of Forget-Me-Nots. A bunch of beautiful small blue flowers.  It was hard to decide which ones to photograph.

Forget-me-nots are perennials that regrow themselves year after year, which can be a blessing and a curse. On one hand, you don't have to plant them every year to keep your garden looking great. On the other, they can easily get out of control.
Later I found some in the front yards.

I found the Gray Catbird in its regular bush in the river valley recently.  I had seen one in a tree near the path last week.   

I expect that baby birds are in the making and it was sticking close to bush.  I have seen them near that bush in other years.  It is far enough from the path to allow that a nest would not be disturbed.

It was singing it's heart out that morning enjoying the sunshine and beautiful weather.

You can check out it's song.

The lilacs are in bloom.  After the rain on Saturday they were in full bloom this morning.

Their scent is so wonderful.   The color is beautiful.

I was thinking of the Fill the Frame challenge when I took this one.  With a bit of the background showing I was afraid that it would be disqualified so I entered something else.

Look at what I found at Beaumaris Lake on Sunday morning.   This is the best shot I got which I was not too happy with.  He just would not budge.  I did not see him in the water.

I love the big orange eye.  I saw one last year at a different lake.   I got closer to this one.  

No iconic photograph unfortunately!

Here his neck is quite compressed.  When he stands tall it so impressive but it seemed quite a small bird other than the long neck.

Love that white head feather!  




These are painted rocks created by kids in the neighborhoods surrounding the Heritage Hills Wetlands in Sherwood Park.  

I took my first walk around last Thursday.  There were at least a hundred rocks tuck in the trees, grass and logs in the area. 

It put a huge smile on my face I have to tell you! 

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #82.

and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #242.

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays this week was Fill in the Frame.  There can be no background showing.  I have had a photo disqualified in the past.  I found some African Daisies in a flower bed which worked really well to get close enough.

You can check my Flickr Photo Stream SMDPics to see the photo I submitted this week.  It got pretty good comments.

Be safe and have a good week!

Mosaic Monday - Tablescape

I've been inspired by tea related blogs I have visited through this challenge.

As a result, I changed up the colors in the cookie jar.  I replaced the red with the yellow freesias which I save and dried.  This color fits in better with the turquoise and golden yellow in the other items on the table. The napkins were a great buy at Superstore.  I purchased a new glass cream, sugar and bowl set which works well with all the other pieces.  Even the tea sachets are in the same color scheme.
I could not resist a macro shot of the round glass ball on the cookie jar.  Should have taken pics in natural light but worked on card ideas all day.

Submitting this to Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage hosted by Judith.

Mosaic Monday - Canada Geese Story

Here's a few pics from my walk this morning.  I was up with the birds you might say.  I can see that the river is starting to break up and it will soon be flowing freely.  Magpies are one of the only birds here that are familar with people so they don't scatter like the others.  Happy with this shot.  Crab apples from last year dangling against the clear blue sky.  These last for shots of the Canada tell a story.  I heard them before I saw them.  The first quickly landed on the roof of the building but the other made several turns around the area.  The second picture you can barely see it through trees as it makes still another fly by.  Once it had committed to the roof they greeted each other.  Then they sat on the roof surveying the neighborhood.  Are they planning to settle in?  Who knows.

Card - Color Challenge - Blue, Green, Purple

I started with a Stampin Up Always Artichoke card.  I color printed the Joy greeting with a digi from the Eventful Year stamp set in Marina Mist.  I then stamped the Evergreen from the Lovely as a Tree stamp set in AA. I adhered this layer to the card front.  I added small ribbon flags in the upper left hand corner in MM, AA and Elegant Eggplant.  These are held in place with tiny white brads.

Submitting this card to these challenges:

Clean & Simple Color & Sketches #114 Challenge.

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Anything goes

Photo - Walk

Here's what I saw on my walk today. The wind was quite cold so a person needed to be well dressed.
The footprints on the left were from someone who did not stick to the sidewalk, the goose was stoic but cement has that effect, the little birds were feeding, the little brown bird was sitting in a pine tree all puffed up to keep warm, and the large tree down in the valley stood straight and true.

Cards - Shrink Plastic Flowers

Here are the cards I made with my shrink plastic flowers. Check this post for details on how to make the flowers.

I found yellow buttons to put in the centre of the flowers which I will string into the holes I made in the shrink plastic flowers.  I made a background starting with a white quarter sheet which I sponged with Tim Holtz Distress Stain in Tattered Rose (light) and Victorian Velvet (darker). I stamped the SU Background Builder (script) stamp with Paprika ink in several directions. I glued this layer to a warm rosy ginger card leaving a small border. I cut the stem and leaves by hand and glued them to the card front.  I tacked the flower in place, used a push pin to make the holes through the card front using the holes in the flower.  I strung yellow thread through the button, the flower and the card front and tied in a knot on the front.



For the card on the right I used  Tim Holtz Distress Stain in Antique Linen (light) and Crushed Olive (darker). I stamped the SU Background Builder (script) stamp with Paprika ink in several directions.

These cards likely will not go through the mail without extra postage.

How To: Mixed Media - Shrink Plastic Flowers

I have decided to stretch myself this year and try more mixed media techniques.  Today, I worked with shrink plastic and alcohol inks.  I used Ruff 'N Ready shrink plastic.  I used a collection of Tim Holtz® Adirondack® Alcohol Inks to color the ruff side. I placed a couple drops of each purple, red, orange, green, and yellow then used rubbing alcohol to dilute the colors as I applied them to the shrink plastic.  It dries really fast and you want it quite light because it will concentrate the color when it shrinks.  Once dry, I used the Sizzix Bigz Flower #2 to cut a large poinsettia flower that was over 4" in diameter. I used a 1/8" long reach hole punch in the centre of the die cut flowers.  I then placed them on a pizza pan covered with parchment paper in a 275F oven and waited.  Soon they started to curl and shrink. After a couple of minutes they flattened right out. The final flowers are half the size of the originals at 2" across. Check in a bit to see the cards I made with these flowers.

Blog Giveaway - Mixed Media Question

I'm wanting to expand my use of Mixed Media Techniques in my card making.  I started with Shrink Plastic and Alcohol Inks.  Check this post for how to.

Please answer this question: 

What mixed media techniques will you use or try this year?

I will pick 2 people randomly from those who leave a comment with a profile on this post. Anonymous comments will not be considered.  I will make the selections on February 20th, 2015.
I have the calendars below to give away.

I'm looking forward to reading what you are working on.

I did a bit of research on-line.

Alcohol ink on hard surfaces        Beeswax Collages                    Shrink Plastic accents             Packing Tape Transfers                Air Drying Clay                        Start an Art Journal
Mono Printing                              Sewing Machine Stitching        Using Fabric                                 Paste in a Stencil

Here are some sites which provide information on Mixed Media Techniques if you need some inspiration.
https://techniqueszone.wordpress.com/site-menu/mixed-media-techniques/
http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/mixed-media-collage/
http://mycreativescrapbook.blogspot.ca/2013/02/mixed-media-techniques-by-yuko-tanaka.html
http://artfulparent.com/2014/11/create-mixed-media-flowers.html
http://lindapetersondesigns.blogspot.ca/2013/07/8-of-best-of-mixed-media-monday-video.html