Sylvia's Simple Shots

 This tealight candle holder is likely the replacement for my Advent Wreath which is broken parts.

I bought it for $5 at a Thrift Store between Christmas and New Years. I like the lines, the fact that it holds 5 candles, and that there is space below to add decor for occasions throughout the year.  It will stay out all year long.  At a thrift store on Tuesday I found these beautiful tealight holders in green, red and amber glass.  Gorgeous blown glass holders. They are Christmas colors.

I have a year to find other candle holders.  I would like to have crackle glass ones again, crystal would be nice, cut glass as well.  What I want is the shadows on the wall which I had with the other one.  I recognize that my lifestyle is going for downsizing so this will be smaller than the other one. 

I bought this Stampin Up punch recently.  I think I will be making watercolor ornaments for Christmas cards and this was a good price.

It is from the Gleaming Ornaments Punch pack which included 2 punches and a stamp set.

I will be designing my own images to trace onto the watercolor punchies. 

You can see I was working of the lines for the hanger on the right hand one.

I was looking for a small scissor sharpener for my embroidery scissors.  I visited a couple of fabric stores and found this one.

I would say it is not the top quality but it has improved the sharpness of the blades so I can cut embroidery thread reliably.

The price was not as high as the Fiskars one I was looking for but the same basic design.

It has improved my experience so for that I am grateful.

It is dangerous to go into a fabric store.

I did come out with 3 small remnant pieces for about $1 each. Check out those flowers on the lace! I hope I can dye them, we will have to see.

The other two pieces are 100 cotton so they will dye nicely. Gauzy fabric to create texture easily on my big embroidery project.

I did buy heat and bond hemming for quick basting of my embroidery projects.

Another World War II story.  The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff.

I love strong female leads and Eleanor Trigg is no exception. This story runs in 2 time lines - 1944 London and Paris during the war and 1946 New York just after the war.

She works for the Special Operations Executive in London for the British Forces. Their male agents are being captured. There is the language and they don't fit in as well as needed. Eleanor is "just a secretary" but she proposes using women which would be less visible. Once the project is approved, she recruits female agents who will be working in occupied France assisting the resistance forces. Radio operators, couriers, and as it turns out much more dangerous tasks. 

Marie and Josie are 2 of these women.  They are sent to Scotland to train in the highlands. Combat, firing a gun, repairing radios, endurance training, learning cyphers to code messages being transmitted and received. 

Grace finds a suitcase at Grand Central Station one day and inside finds photos of 12 young women.  She is compelled to take the photos and she is not sure why.  She eventually learns the suitcase belonged to Eleanor who was killed that day just outside the station. When she returns to the station to put the photos back the suitcase is gone. 

She does eventually learn the names of the girls most of which perished in France just before the D-Day battle.  She learned who Eleanor Trigg was and her purpose for being in New York that day.

Very good book.

Muttart Conservatory - Christmas

The feature pyramid was decorated for Christmas.  There were beautiful poinsettias in a variety of colors on full display

I loved this variegated one.

The Hellebore - Lenten Rose was in bloom in the tropical pyramid.

I always love seeing this flower.

The tropical space had lost one of the main trees in the center so it was very much brighter but feeling a bit empty.

Fog was covering the pond in the feature space.  Love how the stalks just emerge from the mist and the silver ball reflects its surroundings.

Wooly penguins sporting red and white scarves where resting on a large snowflake.

Wonderful Christmas decor.

A clever tree decorating idea.

Beautiful clear glass spheres filled with red air plants.  They made a really nice looking tree.

The huge red star against the rock wall made for a great shot.

It would make a great Christmas card.

I was glad not to have missed this display as it opened some time in November.

It was pleasantly quiet as long as I avoided the group of  school kids moving from pyramid to pyramid.  I just skipped the Arid pyramid as I was getting tired and they were just ahead of me.

The gift shop has some really nice things for Christmas gifts.

Calendar - Countdown - Four More

Cool Snowman Countdown Calendar featuring the scene I created and photographed. 

On this 4x6 I added the "Days until Christmas" and the star digitally onto the photo that I took.

The birthday side features bright red polka dot designer paper with silver metallic balloon punchies with black strings.

This one got a black dry erase marker.

On this Green Red Ornament countdown calendar I used a red ornament on a green background with a pine bough.  I created this digital composition a few years ago. I created all these elements myself.

I added the star and the words digitally above the ornament.

The birthday side has some beautiful blue paisley designs with olive green and chocolate brown sprinkled around the shapes.

I chose the green dry erase marker for this calendar.

The calendar features a Bethelehm collage that I created on artist board. I painted the board a medium blue.  I then ripped cardstock paper that I had painted in deeper tones of blue.  The paper was also embossed with the Swiss Dot folder.  The darker pieces were adhered onto board leaving the blue color show in between.  

The Bethelem buildings a a similar design to my Simple Bethelehem.  They were traced, cut from card stock, painted with silver domes and lit windows. The bottom third was cover with crinkled paste paper in deep blues and purples. The silver band of metallic card stock was cut with the Creative Memories Decorative Trimmer and adhered over the collage.

I did have to manipulate a photograph of this artwork to make the silver band wider to allow for the words and space for the numbers.  

The birthday side is a piece of wonderful floral designer paper with purple and yellow flowers and yelllow bees. This calendar was paired with a purple dry erase marker.

Warm Snow Angel count down calendar was made with the photo shoot I did the other day.

I added the words "Days until Christmas digitally before having the 4x6 printed professionally.

The birthday side is a colorful wirly swirly designer paper featuring many colors.

I paired this calendar with an orange dry eraser marker.

These are ready to go!

Photo Shoot - Christmas - Cool Snowman

I worked on Christmas photography for cards this year.

This was a fun one.  This was created with free and found objects.

It started with the blown glass snowman I found at the ReUse Center.  I needed an environment for him and it took a few days for me to remember the little house and find it. 

It is a small gingerbread house that lights up.  I think IKEA but it is not marked.  

The white wood tree pick - I cut the pick to short and put it into a styrofoam block so it would stand.

The tiny bottle brush tree came out of an ornament which I managed to extract with a piece of wire.

The snow is fiberfill batting for quilts.  It is stretched, moved around, fluffed up and patted down as needed.  Added a bit to the chimney. The house and snowman are raised so they don't get lost in the snow. Need enough snow to cover the transition from the the table to the background.

The background is a piece of scrapbook designer paper in navy star night sky.  Perfect.

It is 12x12 designer paper by Creative Imaginations created by Helen Dardik.

I now have a photo that can serve different purposes.  Trimmed to the right size of 4 x 6 it will become a Christmas background for one of the count down calendars. More about that later.  It will need a few words and a star where the numbers can be written At this size it can also be used on a 5x7 A7 photo card when I add a digital greeting.  The shot can also be trimmed to 3.5 x 5 inches to be used on a 4.25x5.5 inch A2 greeting card.  This turned out so well.  

Oil Diffusers - One of a Kind - Set 2

 

Wings at Rest 

An elegant butterfly gently resting on a circle of leaves.  It is ceramic with a satin finish and features beautiful colors on the butterfly.  A reminder to breathe deep and rest for a bit. The circle rests on a crystal glass base with ivory felt in between to catch the drops which may escape from the butterfly.

Place 1-2 drops of pure essential oil on the butterfly to enjoy the scent in your personal space.

Tropical Fish 

Here, I have paired painted wood tropical fish with a turquoise felt and a yellow pompom.  It would work well in a sun room or a bathroom. It features beautiful bright colors.

Placed 1-2 drops of pure essential oil on the yellow pompom.  The turquoise felt will ensure that no drops escape onto furniture.

It is a bright and cheerful diffuser to lift our mood and brighten our day.

Caffe Latte is brought back from last year.  

It features a felt coffee layer then an ivory cream layer and topped with a cinnamon heart with a glass  bead with copper highlights.

One to two drops of essential oil on the bead will ensure the ivory layer is not stained by the oil. 

The blown glass vessel will protect your furniture.  Perfect for all coffee lovers and will fit into an office, a man cave, or maybe even a kitchen.

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

Recently

I bought this glass ball at the thrift store recently.  I love the colors in it as they are cooler than in the one I already had.

I have hung it in the east window so the morning light hits and provides splashes of color into my space.  I love the blurred background of the trees outside.

It is bigger than the other one at four inches and it required a sturdy hanger.










This is an experiment I did last night.  I am considering entering a show for art made from textiles. 

I took some pieces of white felt and applied some liquid acrylic and let them dry over night.  I was not sure what would happen.   I am very happy with the results. 

I am going to move ahead with the project and keep you posted here.

I just love glass.

These are a few glass ornaments I found at thrift stores in recent weeks.  They were not Christmas ornaments so I waited till now to show them. 

I love the texture on the largest one which is a peachy pink color.  The other with the star etching is similar in color.  They work well with the pink bowl.

The gold glass ones are nice as well.  Not sure where they will come in handy but for sure it will happen.

I am working on photographs for cards. 

I thought that watercolors would be appropriate for the art gallery. 

I sprayed the palette and the brush with a bit of water to add interest to the composition.

I love the variety of colors.

I attended a presentation on Golden Paints last Thursday as a member meeting of the Allied Art Council.

It was presented by Samantha Williams-Chapelsky who is a Golden Artist Educator.

The presentation was filled with lots of information on all the Golden Products.  I was very interested in the High Flow Acrylic which is the hot pink bottle in the photo.

My Recent Photos

Last week I took a trip to Drumheller for a photography job.  I spent the day before doing some sight seeing and visiting some of my favorite places there.

A visit to the Royal Tyrrell Museum was a must. It is a world renown museum for dinosaurs.  It is situated in a provincial park which has yield fossils.

This is an ammonite on display in the museum.  Gorgeous color and a wonderful shape.

This is a beautiful stone I purchased in the gift shop.  I think it might be quartz but I will have do more research. 


 
The dinosaur below is a Dimetrodon. It is an extinct genus of synapsids that lived during the Cisuralian, around 295–272 million years ago. It is a member of the family Sphenacodontidae.

Flowers are always objects for my camera.  The top one is Ninebark - Summer Wine.  The middle one is Echinacea Tiki Torch, a hybrid orange coneflower with large showy pumpkin-orange colored flowers.  The bottom is a beautiful sample of clover.





This is a pottery button about 2.5 inches across.  I bought it at the Pottery Guild's gift shop.  My aunt and I visited the shop before my reception on June 30th. It's nice to support other artists.


Blackberry tea with a few dried cranberries and a beautiful rose.  I took advantage of a Goodwill special recently of 3 vases for $1.00.  This square cube vase has a hole in one corner and a slant on the opposite corner.  I chose my Tea Lover's Teacup by Steeped Tea which is the same light clear glass to repeat the blown glass theme.  I served the cranberries in a small crystal glass.

Sharing with Mosaic Monday #91 hosted by Maggie at Normandy Life.