Sylvia's Simple Shots

The first snow arrived this week.

It was not much but it is time if there will be snow to protect the plants and provide moisture in the spring.

The guy with the bike has been through.  With the snow he has left evidence of his passing.  I have seen him a couple of times but he goes by more often than I thought.

The Firebrand by Susan Wiggs is the book I finished this week. This novel is set in Chicago in the 1870s. The central historical event is the great fire of October 1871. 

Lucy Hathaway was at a party and decided to flirt with a married man. On her way home that night she could see a warm glow in the distance and as she gets closer she can see fire.  Chaos reigns as you can imagine. Many people died, buildings burned and countless people were left homeless.  As she passes at hotel, a baby is tossed from an upper window and Lucy catches it as it falls. The building those inside are lost.  When she approaches her home she sees that she has lost her home as well. 

Her mother, Lucy and the baby start over.  She sets up a bookstore and the child grows. The parents of the baby are distraught, the father is badly burned and hospitalized for a good while.  When he recovers his marriage has ended and his baby girl is gone! He must pick up the pieces and carry on.  

He does well in banking and five years later Lucy meets the man from the party as the bank manager who will decide about her bank loan. A photo on his desk of a baby girl makes her realize that this is the father of "her daughter".  The romantic plot is predictable.  Susan is a good author and it was a good read.

I did a lot of work on sorting out what neutrals I could use to paint furniture in my place.  I generally, prefer natural wood tones with clear finish or tung oil.  I have a bench that my Mom made for me which was painted pink for the place I had in the 1980s. Now I would like to change that color. 

These are the colors I have selected that would coordinate with the floor, the counter in the kitchen and the Queen Ann Lace paint on the walls. Love that color.

I have chosen Intellectual for the stool and will paint that when I have time in then next few months.  I have chosen BEHR brand because I can get it locally.

It was a good week at the thrift shops this week.  There are several I visit on a trip to the city.

I picked up this Stampin Up stamp set called Papillon Potpourri.  Papillon is butterfly in French.

With my commitment to butterfly cards for IWin this will add another piece to my options to make cards for this charity.

I do not have the butterfly punch that coordinates but stamping them on tags or circles or label punchies will work.

There also a good variety of sizes as well in the set.

I got rid of all my large plates from my turquoise dishes before I moved.  I knew I would have less space but I did not understand how small the lunch plates were.

I found this set of white glass dishes at MCC this week. Two of each dinner plate, luncheon plate and soup bowl and all stack nicely.  They fit nicely in the bit of space I had in the cupboard.

I have misplaced my timer for the grow light in the office to keep my plants alive in winter. 

In a bag of electrical things I found 2 Westinghouse timers which are way easier to use than the old push clip version.

I replaced both the one in the bedroom that turns on my Starry Night Light an hour in the evening.  The grow light comes on for 3 hours in the morning before it gets light outside.

I can leave my curtains open now that snow has accumulated next to the fence. We have snowbanks there now the the bike man is no longer going by.

The plants I hope will survive and eventually thrive.

I replaced the outlet extender in the living room which is designed to go behind furniture so the plugs can have a lower profile. 

With the new extender, I get 3 plugs, I can still plug something in the lower plugin, and I can use the front facing one for the vacuum. 

Very happy with these upgrades all for $5.

I found this cutting mat with something stuck to it. I was not sure I would be able to remove it but I took a chance.  It was likely white glue and with a bit of soaking it all came right off. 

Now I have a cutting mat for the craft room and I know where it goes back to.

I have been on the look out for a couple more cobalt blue water glasses and the fit the bill.

When I got them home though and washed them I see that they have some dishwasher damage on them. 

I will continue to look.

Christmas Card Order - Layered Cards

More cards in the Christmas Card order. 

This is the QuicKutz Nativity Border die cut in black card stock.  It was mounted in front of a gold stars on a white background card stock.  I chose a black card to repeat the black in the foreground.

I added a punched gold star with the Creative Memories Sparkle punch from sticker paper and adhered it to the star above the stable.

This is a lot of gluing to get it well adhered to the card.

This is a nativity graphic I found on the web. 

I created a graphic which included the holy family and a greeting. This was then printed on vellum and embossed with silver powder. It was trimmed close the border.

The vellum was layered onto a piece of blue alcohol ink background card stock I created a while ago. 

I added 4 tiny pewter colored brads in each corner.  I placed 3D foam on each corner and adhered this layer to the blue card front.

I chose several pieces of alcohol ink backgrounds. This card features some aqua background paper with coordinating card stock.

I created this card using the Penny Black Manger die on copper metallic card stock.  I added it to a green ornament die cut. This is the Sizzix Ornament #2.  It is held in place with a tiny copper star brad.  I added some dark brown seam binding on the ornament hanger. 

I embossed a piece of cream pearl card stock with the Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls folder.  I added it to the front of a dark brown card. 

The ornament was then adhered to the front the card with 3D foam ornament. 

I did a few with a cooler green colored ornament as well.

The order will be delivered today!

R2Go Christmas Kit - Teal Bethlehem Vellum

I printed the Bethlehem graphic with a teal - turquoise gradient fill onto a quarter sheet of vellum then covered it with clear embossing powder and heated it.
I cut the gold onto white starry night background card stock to 4.00 x 5.25 inches.  It is adhered to the front of a warm medium teal colored card.
The vellum was trimmed to the same size as the starry night background.  I ripped the top left hand corner from the vellum to reveal the gold stars. I added a bit of double sided tape behind the buildings and adhered it to the star layer.  Open the card and use a push pin to create a hole in the center of the yellow star.  Insert the prongs of the gold star brad through and press the prongs apart on the inside of the card.

Christmas Bethlehem - Starry Night

I purchased some of this gold starry white card stock this week and I wanted to know if it would work for some of my Bethlehem cards.  I trimmed it to 4 x 5.25 inches and adhered it to a purple card.
The vellum layer is a graphic of a wood cutting pattern which I altered by coloring it purple then adjusting the fill to provide variations in color from deep to lighter.  I added my own Bethlehem star graphic and printed that on a quarter sheet of vellum. I then coated it with clear embossing powder and heated it.  I found a greeting in my stash (Stampin Up Apothecary Framelit die cut with a SU stamped in purple) which was adhered to the vellum with 3D foam tape to the right side.  I placed some double sided tape behind the greeting and the town graphic and adhered it to the starry background.  I then added a tiny gold brad in the center of my star for a bit extra texture and some good holding together of the layers.  I think this paper makes an effective starry night for my cards.

Christmas Card Order - Manger #1

I received an order for Christmas cards recently.  The client created her own manger sentiment of the inside so she wanted card fronts that would speak to the child born in the manger.

This is a Holy Family decor set I photographed at a garden center several years ago.  I love the monochromatic feel to the image.  I printed it onto white card stock but decided after ward I wanted it warmer.  Out came the Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Stain and I applied it along the border and it was just what I needed.  I trimmed the image along the thin border then adhered it to a dark warm green card.  I was fortunate that the figures were quite tall so I placed my greeting along the bottom edge of the card front.  I punched a Stampin Up Modern label punchie from dark grey green and an ivory greeting with the SU Word Window.  These were adhered together then mounted to the card front with 3D foam tape.

I pulled out my trusty Bethlehem image for this one.  I added a starry night and made all the elements the same color, Cherry Cobbler.  I printed it onto a quarter sheet of white card stock, trimmed it to leave a small border and adhered it to the card front of a red card.  I had left space in the top right hand corner for a large gold confetti star which was adhered in place with a Zot.


I made some of the same design in Night of Navy.

This stained glass nativity is one of several I own.  I added a tealight behind the arch background as it was designed. I photographed it against a white background.  I was able to play with the image in post production to have several different colors.
I created the layer as a 3.5x5 photo with the greeting below.  I cut a layer of gold card stock to leave a small border and adhered it to the front of a kraft colored card.  
The nativity was trimmed to make it 3.5x4.75 inches and it was adhered to the onto the gold layer.
I added a strip of the gold card stock over the line between the image and the greeting.

Card - Christmas Cards for Girls

I made these cards as a result of a request from one of the girls at work for Christmas cards for her girlfriends and Mom.  I chose the Christmas Magic designer paper by Fancy Pants Designs. It was cut with the Sizzix Tim Holtz Cabinet die.  I added a Baja Breeze card and layered a piece of embossed vellum in between.  The embossing folder is Sizzix Textured Impressions Sugar & Starry Night By Basic Grey.  I wrapped white narrow organza ribbon around the die cut and tied it in a knot on the left hand side.  I punched the Cherry Cobbler color printed greeting with the Stampin Up! Artisan Label punch.  I punched another one from Cherry Cobbler and cut it in half width wise and then layered them behind the greeting.  I added a small bling rhinestone above the Merry.  This greeting is adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.  I placed 2 white silk poinsettias and a deep wine flower in the centre and pushed a hole through all the layers and held them all in place with a coordinating large brad.  The card on the right is punched with the SU Decorative Label punch.