Sylvia's Simple Shots

It is coming to the end of summer. Fall colors are starting to appear and I am not ready.

This little chipmunk is getting ready for winter. 

His cheeks were so full of seeds from this large rose hip. They create food storage areas called larders to give them food for the cold weather.

They eat seeds, fruit, nuts (acorns being one of their favorites). Worms can be in their diets but that must be only a summer food.  Hard to store food that walks away.

 

I was over visiting my aunt recently and she offered me some cosmos flowers.  I said yes please.

These make such nice cut flowers for the table. My Mom grew them every year. I did have a couple of vases which were not packed.  I love this cube vase.

I so want a flower cutting garden when I get a new place. Cosmos flowers are very easy to grow, come in a lot of different colors, last a long time in the house with fresh water, and make my heart full.

 

 

 

I am discovering that I really like books set in Ireland.  This book Four Letters of Love by Niall Williams was a pleasure to read.  The 2 main characters are Nicholas Coughlan and Isabel Gore. They are destined to meet but have many life experiences before that happens.

Nicholas has a tough life because his father quit his regular job because he felt that God wanted him to be a painter. The father spent a lot of time away from home painting then when he was home he was in his home studio. Painting did not generate a lot of money. Things from from bad to worse until he has lost both parents.

Isabel grew up in a good family but she felt responsible for an accident her brother had so that colored her world view. They live on a small island in the Galway bay.

When she finishes school she travels to Galway to attend higher education and grow up a bit away from Mom and Dad. She ends up with a job in a wool/tweed store and dating the son of the owner. 

Nicholas is on the hunt for one of his father's paintings which was given to Isabel's father for a poem he had written. He arrives in Galway and meets Isabel (who was home for a visit) and her parents. 

The ending was very good and worth the heartaches that these two young people went through to find each other.

I was out shopping with my sister this week when she came into town with my brother in law on errands. 

She was looking for art supplies. Earlier, I had a conversation with one of my aunts and she recommended Payne's Gray for outlining watercolor if the black marker was too harsh.

I also needed a very small brush to make thin lines and I found this set of brushes at the thrift store for a great price. 

We both found what we needed between Staples and Michaels. First time I used the coupon on my phone. Worked great.

I am working on watercolor Christmas cards again but inspiration is hard to find.

I picked up this small book a while ago.  A simple blessing by Michael W. Smith.

He describes when he started offering a blessing to the audience at his end of his concerts.

He wrote a blessing to cover certain things he wanted to share and pour out to the world at large.

It was well received and many of his fans communicated with him about what changed in their lives as a result.  Of course, it is very hard to give a blessing without it having some of it fall on yourself.

The practice changes Michael's live as well.

Just a nice positive and encouraging book.

Card Making Session - Art Cards with Pencil Crayons

I have been getting together with a friend to make cards once a month. My regular card club has been cancelled due to lack of participation.

I worked on Art Cards which needed to be colored.  I chose color pencils this time instead of watercolor and the water brush which I used last time.

I selected some blues and purples for this card. 

The greetings were printed in black on vellum and clear embossed with clear powder.  They were wrapped across the paint brush layer and the ends were folded to the back.  This layer was adhered to the front of a black card.

Tiny black brads were then placed on either side of the greeting through holes made with a push pin.  The prongs were press apart on the inside of the card.

I placed a blank white insert in the inside of the card.

The 3 designs and greetings are part of a greeting card gift set which will be donated to a fundraiser
at the end of April.

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.

The Craft Kingdom - Project 2 - Decorating Rocks

This is my second project from the book - The Craft Kingdom.  Check out my second post.  Find a link to the book here.






I hope that you are inspired to do art today. Check out the book at your local book store.
 
I chose Decorating Pebbles on page 32 of the book.
 

First I picked my rocks.

I chose smooth rocks with flat surfaces where I could paint.

I wanted to make one a Thank You one and others to just paint something interesting.

Pick shapes that appeal to you and sizes that fit with the art you are planning to paint onto it.

I chose a turquoise color named Laguna, a green called Yellow Citron, my favorite Cadmium Yellow and Kelly Green.

I chose acrylic paint in a variety of colors and brands.  Make sure you have an opaque paint.  I have glazes and semi transparent colors.

I did not prime the rocks with white but it may have been a good idea.

I  did make a couple coats of color so that turned out okay.

I chose a plastic lid for a palette for the dollops of paint.  The middle rock is a mixture of the dollops once I was done with the others.

I chose a medium sized paint brush.

You have to plan because you will have unpainted spots where you are holding it.  Two times by 2 coats.  The acrylic paint dries very quickly.

Check out page 32 in the book titled decorated pebbles.

As you can see a pile of rocks was included in the book.  Lots of color and pattern was used.

Here are my rocks.  Spattering paint with a toothbrush is always a easy process for anyone to try.

I used a smaller brush to paint my flowers.  I love the shape and color in the turquoise one!

Watercolor Tea Cup

I stamped the tea cup oval from the Stampin Up Tea Party stamp set with embossing pad onto white card stock.  I embossed it with white powder.

I then selected 4 colors from the SU Watercolor Wonder Crayons - Night of Navy, Not Quite Navy, Garden Green and More Mustard.  I created pools of my colors on my palette then I spritzed the card stock, applied the color a paintbrush until I was happy with the result.

The small cup was cut with the Cricut and the Joy of the Season cartridge from white card stock at 1.25 inches. I then use Night of Navy to add some soft color to it.  I added a line at the base and the star with the same color.  The border on the main piece was also done in Night of Navy with a paint brush. 

I adhered the watercolor Cup of Tea layer to the front of a SU Night of Navy card.  I adhered the small cup to the left of the oval with 3D foam tape.

Submitting to
The Simply Irresistible Challenge hosted by Heather Telford and the Foiled Fox.

Coffee Loving Cardmakers Summer Blog Hop

Share Your Cup - This Week

I've made some more tea cup coasters because they are fun to make. You can find the link to the pattern in this post.  I'm not sure how I made one facing the other direction.  It was not intentional so I will have to work on the process to figure it out, then write it down.  These feature subtle and bright fabric.

I have decided to include some relaxation into my life regularly.  The tool I have chosen is coloring so I bought my self a small book. 

I used watercolor pencils on this fish page.  I bought them for a class I am giving in the spring and I wanted to try them out to see how they worked.  I colored them just as I would with colored pencils. 

Once done, I used a paintbrush with a bit of water to blend all the colors.  It makes the image well colored as any white space is given color with the water.  This paper is not the weight needed for much water and you can see the wrinkled edges.  I had to iron it flat once it had dried. 

I am happy with the results.  It took longer as the design was quite a bit more detailed and the water color added some time.

I spent some time viewing art with my aunts. 
One of the most interesting pieces was an art piece with with this kit designed by Victor Vasarely (French/Hungarian, 1906–1997) Planetary folklore Participations no. 1 , 1969. Mixed media sculpture edition plastic, paper, metal 20 x 20 in. (50.8 x 50.8 cm.)
The plastic pieces are held in place by magnets in a black metal box frame. The pieces can easily be re arranged to create a new piece of art.  I loved the concept.  I found these images on line as photos were discouraged.

I have been sewing too.  

Car Litter Bag

The piece of fabric on the left with the marbling pattern was too small to make a litter bag. I combined it with red fabric for the outer bag and chose solid red for the liner bag. 
I have been trying to decide how to design the way the bag is held in place in the car.  I have decided to make fabric ties of 12" as well as include a loop in the center.  Some cars have a hook in the foot well which is works nicely to hold this type of bag.  Again, it holds a produce bag placed inside a plastic container which makes the opening always open and the litter in the produce bag can just be tossed when it is full. 

 

Scrap Sack

This one is made of turquoise butterfly fabric with a pale yellow liner. 

Sharing with Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson - Share Your Cup #233.