Sylvia's Simple Shots

I decided to visit a different park on Sunday for a change of scenery.  I had to dress for a bit of coolness but it was a good day out.  

As you can see though the sun did not cooperate very well.   It tried but did not succeed in getting very bright.

After 2 hours out and as I arrived back home it finally shone but that was too late for me.

I loved the silhouette of the tree branches against the bright spot, looking up in mid afternoon. 

 

 

 

I finished this book in a late night reading session on Friday night.  I just needed to know how it ended.  Who had done the deed?

A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks was good and suspenseful.  Sarah as moved back to be near her family.  Miles Ryan is the local sheriff who lost his wife a couple of years ago and is raising his young son, Jonah.  Sarah is Jonah's teacher. 

With the son in common they spend time together over the schooling and a relationship grows.  Miles wants to know who killed his wife on a rainy night as she was jogging along the road.

The ending is very surprising and redemptive for all concerned.

Out of the 5 basil seeds I planted in this pot I have 1 tiny plant.  There was another but the seed casing was stuck on the top and it eventually just died.

I am watering, spritzing and provide light with a grow bulb in hopes of being able to harvest basil for my cooking sometime this summer.

It takes a lot of patience and attention to have plants thrive.

That little red mark is the only evidence of my first COVID Vaccine shot.

I had a sore arm for a couple of days but that was all.  I am very grateful as I hear some people have been ill following their shot.

Looking forward to the day we are all protected.

 

Here's a few more shots from the park I visited on Sunday.  A beautiful sculpture.

Vaulted Willow, a permanent aluminum sculpture by Mark Fornes, the pavillion is clad in mirrored triangles which is very cool, and there are several benches.  I loved the color of this yellow one.

Check out these thorns!  Wicked looking and very sharp.  These are on the Japanese Barberry bush.  It is helpful at this time of year to clearly see them.  During the summer when in full leaf they are harder to spot.

Still one of my favorite park bush always provides  great photos.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #124 

and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #282.

 

 

 

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays this week was awards. 

 

I was pretty stumped as what to photograph staying within the 3in limit.  After some rummaging in boxes I have not opened in a long while I found my high school grad ring. It needed a bit of polishing and the photo turned out alright.

You can check my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics) to see what other challenges I have been participating in.

Have a great week!

Copper Silhouette Nativity

This is the card selected by the client.

I used the Silhouette Nativity which I found the nativity on Image Arcade.   I printed it on vellum and embossed it with copper powder.  I trimmed this layer to 3.75"x5.00 inches.

For the next layer I chose an aqua polka dot layer.  The designer paper is by American Crafts - Gardenia - Breezy Garden.  This creates the feeling of stars in the sky or snow falling. It was cut to leave a small border of the teal card showing.

The vellum is held in place with 3 copper brads - 2 round ones at the bottom and one star one in the middle of the star above the manger.

The insert on the inside was customized with scripture chosen by the client.

Photo Challenge - Ordinary Photo

I'm submitting this to the challenge on Claire's blog for an "ordinary photo".

This is a picture I took over a week ago on a day of vacation.  After feeling yucky for quite a while it was great to be outside taking a walk with my sister. The sky was threatening but we wanted to keep going.  We almost got wet for our persistence and there was a bit of hail in the mix.

I was taking pictures of trees in hopes of creating a digital silhouette on a few for digital cards.  I hope it works.  Keep checking back and see the results good or bad!

R2G Card Kit - Vellum Nativity with Music

Another Ready 2 Go Christmas card kit.  I used the same sketch as my Christmas Challenge.

I made these different colors so as to offer some variety.  Black, purple, turquoise and navy.

The clip art nativity is printed on vellum and trimmed.  The sheet music is printed on white card stock and trimmed just a bit smaller. This is mounted to a color coordinated card.  The greeting is printed and color coordinated to the card as well.  I have flagged the ends and mounted it to the vellum with 3D foam tape.  The double sided tape for the vellum is hidden behind the greeting to ensure it does not show.

Christmas Card Challenge - August - Music

The challenge for August is to use music on your card.  That can include carols, hymns, music notes, carolers, drummer boy and much more.  It can be the background, the focal element, a 3D embellishment.  What will you use?

I chose a music background that I could change it's color.  I gave this one a blue hint of color.  I printed it and trimmed it to be smaller than my card front.  I found the nativity on Image Arcade. I made it navy and printed it onto vellum.  I trimmed it to be a bit bigger than the music background.  I added a color printed greeting at the top.  It was printed on white card stock and then I flagged the ends.  It is mounted to the card front with 3D foam tape.

I think I will make some of these in several different colors.

Card Club - March - Cameo

I started with the striped paper.  I chose the burnt orange color striped and matched the card. I wrapped the gross grain ribbon around this layer then glued it to the card front.  I cut the silhouette with a TH Mover & Shaper in brown, layered to a smooth oval of ivory then layered onto a dark brown scallop oval to create the cameo.  This is mounted with 3D foam tape over the ribbon. The only change I would make is to place it on right hand side.   On the card on the right I did make her face into the centre instead of the outside of the card.  This card had white ribbon and white back ground for the cameo.