DIY Project - Front Hall Art Shelf

 
I got out the tools - square, measuring tape, stud finder, level, drill, pencil, and the shelf.

I had a hard time finding a place on the right hand side above the light switch without electric.  Frustrating. I had some late breakfast and then tackled it again. I decided to align the right hand side of the shelf along the same edge on the mirror. I put it high enough for it to clear the closet doors. 

I used the blue anchors in my kit with a 1/4 inch drill bit.  I am getting better with the cordless drill which I inherited from my Dad when they moved to the apartment in 2015.  I have not used it much because I had a corded drill he gave me when I left home in the mid 1970s which works great too.

I did have to expand the holes a bit with the drill as they did not align as well as they should have.  I guess holding the shelf above my head and trying to find the holes with the pencil did not do a perfect job. Next time I will have to get a eye level.  But as you can see the shelf is level! Yeah. 

I got a chance to clear the DIY debris and the dust that had accumulated behind the Trofasts.  I washed the lace cover and then I could start looking for art for the shelf.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

Activity picked up a lot once I tested negative for COVID.  I confirmed my plans to host my siblings at my house on Saturday, Oct 18th.

I treated myself to a Turkey Sandwich at Tim's for Thanksgiving. I skipped the dressing on my sandwich. Picked it up in the afternoon and heated it up for supper.

It was expensive but really good.

The Canada Geese descended onto the pond this week which meant the Egret for itself another place to be.

All I see are bird butts in the air and feeding is going great guns.

With the windows open, I can hear them honking. They seem to head out towards evening.  Probably moving to harvested fields to eat some more.

I did not have enough cloth placemats for hosting my family so I decided to buy vinyl table cloth material from JYSK and cut it up to make placemats.

I had made my choice from looking on line but when I got there it was too yellow so I browsed and finally chose ALMBORG. It is embossed clear vinyl material which measures 54 inches wide and you can buy it by the meter. It has a geometric pattern.

They worked well I have 12 of them.  I cut them on my quilting mat with a quilting ruler and an Exacto knife.

I bought the MÅLERÅS picture ledge from IKEA. It is bamboo (a renewable resource).

Here I am vetting whether the color will work in the livingroom/dining room.


They will be set up aligned with the top of the bookcase in the livingroom and will go right across that wall to the far side of the dining room.


I consulted with the DIYers in the family and I will purchase metal anchors to install them. It is the wall between units so who knows where the studs are.

I used the leftover vinyl material from the placements to add privacy to my craft room. I generally leave the curtains closed since there have been times when people have walked by the window. It is at the back of the building I did not expect to have folks back here but it happens.


The vinyl is on the moving window and taped to the bottom 2/3rds so that sunshiine can get in but people cannot see in.


Really happy with this solution. The plants get some real sunshine as well.

I brought the craft table into the living room and left a walking aisle between the 2 tables. It did seperate the conversation corners but I was happy to have enough room. I am set up here for 8 but we ended up with 10 people for lunch.


I made home made chicken noodle soup. My sister brought homemade whole wheat buns, and I bought date squares and Nanaimo bars for dessert. Another sister brought Chocolate Zuchinni cake so there was plenty. There was just enough soup. I borrowed a dutch oven from my aunt since mine is still packed. Great time!

Journey of the Heart by Diann Mills was the book I finished this week. True love crosses cultural barriers in these two old west romances.


When her father dies, Katie Colter is forced to leave her home amoung the Comanches and return to live in the fort with her aunt and uncle. Her family is very kind, patient, and loving to her and she adapts to her people's ways. Long dresses, church on Sunday, bible study, military men in the community and less nature.


Lone Eagle still thinks Katie as his wife and eventually comes to get her. She goes with him to save the fort being burned to the ground. After a time, she is released after finding out interesting things about her past.

Bespoke Shelf Art

I wanted a piece of Christmas art for the shelf above my wall tree.

It's snowy and cold outside so not too interested in heading outside and shop.

I use the frame with the JOY word in the previous photo.  I cut a piece of paper to fit inside the frame (8x16 inches) approximately. 

I printed a few words with fonts that I liked and adjusted the size to suit the composition.

I traced the words onto the white paper then painted them with black acrylic paint. 

I added the holly in the corner for a bit of color. It was a quick solution for this year.  I really like it!

Wall Christmas Tree - 2021

My Wall Christmas Tree is up!

Thanks to my niece who came to visit this weekend for the help to installing the photo shelf at the top which holds the ring to hang the tree from.

I sprayed the star at the top with Brilliant Gold paint.  Very happy with that!

I was surprised to see that I had liquidated all the large ornaments last year so only the small mostly clear glass ornaments remained.  It seems it was quite clear to me that this idea of a wall tree was going to materialize! It did just as I imagined it.

The Nativity has been set up on the old trunk next to the tree. A soft light on the right lights the scene and the tree area for nice shadows.

I have put my JOY alphabet photo letter art on top of the shelf for now.  I did some searching on the web and did not really find anything I liked. I will create a bespoke one for later this year or next.  I am loving the tree!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I captured this cute squirrel having a late afternoon snack. 

He had been digging under the snow at the foot of a small birch tree and I wondered what he was looking for. When he found it he came and sat in this tree and nicely posed for a photo.

Love how the color of what he is munching on is repeated in the orange on his head and tail.

I have put up the second photo shelf in the front hall.  I placed my award winning "Silver Roadster" framed photo on it along with a white ceramic tree.

This shelf is Mosslanda from IKEA which is 21.75" wide which was perfect for this space.  They make on which is 45" wide which I will use in the living room.

I ended up with black ones because that is all they had when I went shopping. With shopping in the pandemic I was not willing to just come back at a later time.  I was really wanting to test out how these would work before I invested bigger money in the 6 or 7 needed for the living room wall.

I am happy with these and will move forward with getting the wider ones.  I means painting the walls as well so it is not a quick job.

This is the reverse side of the blue one I posted last week.  It is a back drop for my photo studio made with a 18x24 inch artist board which I recycled.  

This is the actual canvas textured side of the board. I was going for warm tones on this side.  I cleared out a lot of my acrylic paint a couple of years ago and only kept a small box.  

The color I chose is Artist Pigment Burnt Carmine which was lighten with Warm White.  I created 3 tones, the original color, the base coat which has some white added then the lightest with more white added.

The whole board was done in the medium base coat.  It was recommended that we then apply some dark and lights and work them into the somewhat still wet base coat. On this side, this process almost completely removed the base coat from areas.  Maybe it's because it had been painted before but I had put 2 coats of primer on before the base coat.  I did the best I could then let it completely dry.  I then went back it with all three colors to cover the near bare spots.  Turned out alright.   And as luck would have it, I found a large cellophane envelope this morning which will protect it when it is stored with the other backdrops.  Yeah!

I've changed up my exercise routine.  I have been doing the last one since October 1st. With a new year I was ready for a change of moves.  I started doing the 1st mile of this DVD by Leslie Sansone.  I can choose to do any of the 5 miles so I can a different routine every day.

I don't think I will ever do 5 miles at one time which would take about 2 hours.

I created a stand for my new backdrop.  

I used some 2x4 and cut it into about 6" tall pieces. I sanded the edges then held them together with very long nails. I drilled a pilot hole through the first piece so it would be easier. Worked great!

In the video, they used big clips which I did not have so I used 2 small ones. A bit of a pain but it will do for now.

 
The challenge at Flickr Macro Monday is "Lockdown Song".  Music is not a big part of my life and then trying to interpret it into a photo was very challenging.  I was ready to pass this week but I went on line and search happy song.  The song HAPPY by Pharrell Willimas from Despicable Me showed up.  I had a Minion toy so I thought this could work.  This is the shot I submitted because I did not have a lot of options. 

You can check my Flicker photostream (SMDPics).

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #115 and Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #276.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I was out early Saturday morning on a photo shoot.  The weather was warm and the sun was shining so I took the opportunity to be out. 

I found a new park to investigate.  The walking was tough because it was quite icy in places. I fell Thursday after we had a dusting of snow so I was careful.   The park is long along the Fulton Ravine but is used as a off leash dog park.  I was early so it was not too bad for social distancing.

I captured the morning sun on this snow bank.  I just love the sparkle of the snow.

It was a very good 90 minute outdoor adventure.  I made several stops along the way to shoot architecture.

Very successful morning.

I have a plan for a new Christmas Tree for next year.  This one hangs on the wall.  It is made of birch tree branches hung in a triangular shape.  I had drawn up the design on paper but decided to make a mock up and hang it where I planned to see how it fit.

The triangle is 40" wide at the bottom and 48" tall. The trunk is extra.  On my last trip to the outside world I bought a 50 foot string of fairy lights which will light it.  That is enough to cover it twice which will be just right.

I plan of having crystal beads on the ends of each row which will prevent the branch from moving and capture the light.   The branches are about 5" apart which is tall enough for most of my ornaments. I most have clear glass or stained glass ornaments. I have work out the hangers for it yet.  

I hope to keep a few twigs on the branches sticking out to allow for a few special dimensional ornaments.

 I finished this book this week. A World Elsewhere by Wayne Johnston.  A Canadian author who grew up in Newfoundland.

Landis Druken is the son of a Captain on a sealing ship who had hoped to have him take over the Gilbert when the time came.  Landis attended Princeton for his higher education.  He met Padgett Vanderluyden and they became friends, were part of social scene and shared a house at one point. Padgett is very wealthy and plans to build an estate in Carolina and wanted Landis to join him. These two parted ways under bad terms.  Landis returns from Princeton and declares he does not want to head a sealing ship. For this, his father disowned him and he was left poor and living in an attic on Dark Marsh Road. 

He receives a letter from the wife of a man, Francis Carson, who sailed on his father's ship who has died at sea.  It's possible his father is responsible for this death. There is now a small son, Deacon and the mother can no longer care for him so he has been put in an orphanage. 

Landis rescues the 3 year old from the orphanage and brings Deacon to live with him. In some ways Landis is not prepared to be a father. He drinks too much, does not earn enough money to keep them both well fed, and the attic is very cold in the winter. The boy is small and frail and often travels on Landis' shoulders.

After several years, Landis being desperate writes to Padgett in Carolina and asks to come to Vanderland, the estate which was built in Carolina. Landis and Deacon move to Vanderland.  Things get complicated there with Mr. Vanderluyden, his wife and daughter. They are warm, well fed and Deacon is getting an education. Landis is teaching English to the 2 children and there are other tutors who all live in the Bachelor wing. 

Landis is very good at story telling, creating new words for things, creating poetry for songs, but he writes every day and burns the pages.  Things get harry in the final chapter but it has a good end.

I have put up 2 more framed photos on the shelf in the bedroom.  This shelf does not have the channel which the other shelf has but we'll see how it goes. 

After a bit of a exchange with an artist on my Instagram I have decided that I should have as much art on display as feasible.  I will enjoy it till the frames are filled with new photos and I will be reminded of the frames I have.  Why hide them away in boxes!

 

I recycled an old artist board (18"x 24 inches) I had into a photography backdrop.  I primed both sides with 2 coats of primer. 

I decided to have one side in cool tones and the other with warm tones.

This is the blue cool tones side.  I used Blue Velvet and White acrylic paint.  I watched a few videos on line about doing this process. 

I mixed my medium base coat by adding white to the blue. This was thinned with water and painted on.  I had prepared a darker version and a light version as well.  When the base coat was semi dry I applied the lights and darks with a round sponge.  I am happy with the results.

The challenge this week at Flickr Macro Monday is "Ribbon".  I had fun using a large assortment from my stash.  You can find the one I submitted on my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics).  The red one uses my new photo backdrop.  Really happy!

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #114 and with

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #275

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I have joined a 52 Week Photo Challenge hosted by Kevin.  

This week's challenge was Nature.  I was out yesterday morning for my walk with good temperatures.  Unfortunately, not much sun.

I captured this Scotch Pine Bough which is nature.  I love the soft background of snow but it is beautiful out of focus.  

 

 

 

I finally got myself a new pair of jeans at the thrift store this week.  I was swimming in my old ones because I have lost 22 pounds in 2020.

I could not try them on because of COVID restrictions so they are not as great as I would have liked but much better than what I have been wearing.  I even had a belt in my cupboard that matched.

I did have to hem them.  One pair of pants I can wear out in public that fit well, not that I am going out except for groceries and prescriptions. This was my 2nd thrift store visit since August. 

This book Ruby by Cynthia Bond was very multi layered. Ruby is a young girl of color raised in the 1950s in the state of New York.  It is a story of survival with love, sisterhood among women, and brutality.

I found it hard at times to keep the characters straight because of the interrelationships.  Ruby is the main character and the man who loves her, Ephram.  There is a lot of sadness, pain, growth, and extraction of demons from her past. 

I am glad I read the book despite it being difficult at times.  It was good to know what growing up black is like.

I made some improvements to the photo studio.  Consistent lighting was really necessary.  Now with all daylight LED bulbs it is low energy consumption and good light.

The power bar allows me to shut off all the lights at once.  When I take the camera to review the shots then come back and adjust my composition, etc. Having light from above is also great when trying to eliminate shadows.

Also I am not running cords across my walking space which was a tripping hazard.

When I picked up this book I thought it was about Maud Lewis the artist but it is about Lucy Maud Montgomery the author.  Maud by Harry Bruce.  

A young girl growing up on Prince Edward Island in Canada in the late 1800s when women were not given many opportunities to have independent lives.  She becomes a teacher while constantly writing. She does not let rejection letter dissuade her.   She slowly gets more and more writing published, then getting paid for the stories being published.  She is the author of the well known Anne of Green Gables.

I picked up the 5 DVD set of the TV series Anne of Green Gables at the thrift store the other day. I had just finished the Maud book so the story was fresh on my mind. There are times where there is not much wholesome on TV so this will give me something to watch.

I have decided to install photo shelves in my place so that I can change out the art and photography at will instead of making new holes in the walls. 

I bought 2 last fall sometime but my life took a bit of turn health wise so they were never put up.  This week I had a plan as to where I would put them but it turns out there is cement behind the drywall so I could not sink the anchors far enough in.

Change of plan.  I have put one up in the kitchen which holds the art from my niece and her trip to Italy and the vase of sunflowers.

The Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week is "beverage".  A bit challenging with a 3" limit.  To the right is a small cup which is filled with eggnog and cinnamon. You can check out my Flickr photo stream (SMDPics) to see the image I submitted. 

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #113 and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #274.