Recent Photos

My aunt and I visited the Art Gallery in August.  She is a painter so The James Morrice exhibit was the original draw.  A Canadian painter who spent a lot of time in France and painted in the early 1900s.

I loved the Hubert Hohn photography exhibit of doors of Edmonton homes taken in 1974.  What a great idea.

Samantha Walrod was in residence creating an eight foot collage.  Using paint, paper and other material.  My aunt especially liked this one with the chance to speak to the artist.

The Li Salay exhibit of Metis Artists was filled with many 3D pieces. I really did not connect with this exhibit.

A friend and I went to see this movie on August 23rd. It was wonderful.

How the animals help Christopher rediscover what is important in life.

We have found a theatre with great seats so we have lots of room which makes the experience very nice.

I made several more jars of Chutney this week.

Apple Plum Ginger

Peach Ginger

I tried carrots with the last of the blue plums with ginger.  We will see if that works or not in while when I open the jars.

 

I planted a row of flowers in a friend`s garden this year.  I wanted a few cut flowers for my table this summer.

I planted late so it took a while to actually get any.  I have picked 2 times.  Here`s one of the best I collected.

I am testing out a new background paper.  I love how I got just a few bokeh spots with this handmade paper sheet.

These yellow flowers are called Calendula. They were quite unspectacular when I picked them.

But a couple of days later they just opened up and looked wonderful.  I love them bright against this dark background.

I love the color of these flowers.  The smaller one is more orange than the large yellow ones.  My mom planted these all the time in her garden.

Sharing with Share Your Cup 305 hosted by Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson.

Gold Butterfly Card

I came across this wonderful butterfly image in my stash.  A layer from a commercial card gathered sometime along the way.

Once trimmed to leave a large border I mounted it to a salmon colored card front. 

Another quick card to put in my card box.

Would do nicely for a sympathy card.

Mosaic Monday - Brass Kaleidoscope

I found a brass and copper kaleidoscope at the thrift store yesterday!  I was over the moon because it was under $5 with the weekly discount.  There were one of the wheels had pieces missing, it was filthy and the pin was bent but that was okay. 

I brought it home and carefully gave the metal it's first polish in years.  It will need more but a little at a time will do the job.
I pulled out my container of glass gems and searched until I was able to replace the 5 missing pieces. 

I carefully used a Q-tip to clean all the glass pieces on the wheels.

The cylinder which holds the mirrors is brass. 
The eye piece, the wheel fitting and the legs are copper and have an incised pattern on them.  The bead edge of the wheels is also copper. 

The wheels contain a variety of glass.  Glass gems, stained glass, iridescent glass, colored glass and textured glass.  The shapes are irregular which enhances the shapes of the final images produced.

It is over 9" inches long including the wheels and front pin.

I need to find it a stand to support the brass cylinder.

It is a perfect retirement gift for me.  I love it!

Sharing with Mosaic Monday #99 hosted by Maggie at Normandy Life.

Exchange Cards - Red Prima Flowers

I made a couple of cards for my card exchange partners this month.

I started with these red shimmery Prima Handmade Paper flowers which I discovered when I was decluttering a stash of supplies.  Brand new boxes just sitting there!

I chose this striped paper to highlight the deep red stripe and mounted it to pea green textured card stock.

I added a length of ivory twill tape across the bottom and the ends taped to the back.  The designer paper was then adhered to the card front.  The accent is a small gold sequin, a red silk, a pink organza and a shimmery red handmade paper all held together with a gold mini brad.  The accent was adhered to the card front with a large Zot.

The card on the right was made with the same supplies but why make them both the same?

This one is portrait orientation.  I adhered the flower accent in the top left corner.  I cut a piece of twill tape, flagged the ends then adhered it to the card front.  The greeting was color printed and cut with the Stampin Up Decorative Label punch.  It was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

Mailing cards today.

Christmas Card Challenge - Sept - Silver Candle

The prompt for the Christmas Card Challenge is Silver Candle.

I chose to use the Tim Holtz Alterations Candlelight Bigz Die.  I cut the larger of the candles from silver non shed glitter paper. I cut the wax drips from white pearl card stock.  I cut the flame from gold non shed glitter card stock. The flame accent is cut from the pearl white card stock.  I assembled this accent with Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive.

I cut the boughs with Impression Obsession Pine Branch thin die from green and pearl white card stock.  The green was adhered to the red card then the candle was adhered over it. Then I added the pearl white and trimmed it to the card edge.

The greeting is grey printed onto a Stampin Up Modern  Label punch to which I added 3 silver rhinestones on the right hand side. It is adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

Recent Reading

This book is cleverly written which leaves us with a major twist at the end of the book.

A tragic accident. It all happened so quickly. She couldn't have prevented it. Could she?

In a split second, Jenna Gray's world descends into a nightmare. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of a cruel November night that changed her life forever.

Slowly, Jenna begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating . . .

I loved the living by the sea in a small cottage getting to know the neighbors and town folk.  Jenna working through trusting people again, going for walks and being in nature as a healing process.
 

Sylvia Compson is a quilter who returns to the family manor Elm Creek Manor in the south after inheriting it after her sister passes away.

She has built a business of providing quilting retreats at the manor where the guests stay and the Elm Creek quilters teach classes.

The Runaway quilt focuses on a journal Sylvia found in the attic of a early ancestor Gerda Bergstrom who lived at Elm Creek before the Civil War.

The Master Quilter brings another story of Sylvia Bergstrom Compson who marries her sweetheart.  The Elm Creek quilters decide to make her a wedding quilt as a gift.  The story has secrets, financial hardships, relationships struggles test the bonds of friendship.

I put a hold on this book at the library after I read a review from on of the bloggers I follow reviewed and highly recommended it.   I waited a long 6 weeks for notification that it was now my turn to read it.

I was expecting it to be good and it was terrific.

A story that covers 1913, 1975 and 2005 starts with a little girl sitting on a wharf in Australia with no one to take care of her in 1913.

The little girl does have a family care for her and when she finds they are not her real parents she starts the hunt.  When her father passes she finds has a fairy tale book which was in her small suitcase when she arrived in Australia. Eventually, she heads to England to discover the cottage during her time there. Her plans to move are interrupted.

When her grand daugther inherits the cottage she decides to visit England to find out more about grandmother Nell's family history and see the cottage and the secrets it may hold.  There is more there: The Blackhurst Manor, the Maze, the Walled Garden and the tiny cottage on the edge of a cliff.

I could not put the book down.  It is over 500 pages.  I did sleep but I finished it in 2 days! I loved it!

The layers of the  family  history is quite complex and I certainly will have to read it again in a while to absorb more of it.

Again, English and Australia settings are wonderful. Mothers, grandmothers, cousins and women are the focus of the story.

This book mark given to me by my painter aunt came in very handy with all the reading I have been doing.  I love the colors and texture of this piece of art.

It is becoming my regular bookmark in the book I am reading.

Looking forward to my next escape into a good book.

Christmas Card - Holy Family

I up cycled a commercial card front into a new card.

I trimmed the front leaving the square with the stable image and the greeting.

I adhered it to the front of a blue card.  I added a piece of silver glitter washi tape to coordinate with the silver greeting and scroll frame.

Another one for my card box.

Box of Cards - Donation

I am dropping off a box of 20 cards - mostly thank yous to The Compassion House which is where Mom stayed during her cancer treatments 2 years ago.  The need is mostly for thank yous but I included a few blank ones as well for any other need that would arise.

I am very grateful for the kindness and care the staff showed Mom during her time there.  It is a service so much needed as women go through their treatments while they are away from family and friends.

I was blessed to get some A2 envelopes recently for a very good price so it makes giving donations a little easier.

I hope this makes life for the staff a little easier with these at hand when the need arises.

Simple Sentiments - Thank You

I decided to add a few Simple Sentiments cards to the donation of Thank You cards.

These are created with some of my photos from photo calendars from other years.

This is a mosaic of a woman's face surrounded by green foliage.  The 4x6 photo was cut with the Sizzix Square Thinlits to 3 7/8 square.

The sentiment was printed onto the card base and the photo was adhered above it.

Quick and simple card making and great for a quick thank you.

I am adding these to the box of cards.

5x7 Photo Card Gift Set

Another set of 5x7 photo cards given as a gift to my aunt celebrating this week.

This is a NineBark variety called Summer Wine.  Love the way the leaves frame to the cluster of white pink flowers.


This is a still life I created a while with dried rose hips with grasses.



Tree Swallow                                                                                   

                            Yarrow                                  River Bank Grape

Gold Polka Dot HB

I made this card for my aunt who is celebrating a birthday this week.

I started with this die cut which I used a while back.  It goes really well on a 5x7 large card. The die is the Sizzix Flower, Leaves & Stem #4 which I cut the from black card stock. 

This is my last metallic Prima Flowers from my stash.  I guess I will have to cut them from now on.

I started with a black card scored and folded. 

I added a layer of gold polka dots on kraft designer paper from Recollections.

I added the die cut flower, the gold metallic, the small die cut all held in place with a gold mini brad.

I adhered the stem below the flower then added a ripped piece of black card stock to represent dirt.

Washi Tape Cards

Another set of cards, this time I used my Washi Tape collection.

I chose 1 colored tape and then added black and white ones on either side.  With different widths and patterns.

I cut a layer to coordinate with the colored tape. I adhered the washi layer to the solid layer.  I then adhered it to a black card base.

I punched a Stampin Up Modern Label in black and I added a SU Word Window punchie greeting.  It is adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

A couple of the cards have brads on the greetings. A couple of thank yous.

Glitter Cards - Thank You

I created these card with glitter card front which I water colored with Stampin Up Watercolor Crayons.

I coordinated the card with the largest flower and I added a quarter sheet insert.

I will add these to the selection for my upcoming project.

2019 Photo Calendars

My 4x6 Photo Calendars are ready for sale!  The calendar contains thirteen 4x6 photos which come with a clip to display it on a wall, bulletin, or file cabinet.  It can also be placed in a frame for an custom presentation.  The central image gives you a thumbnail of all the images in the calendar.

The Pretty Petals calendar features wonderful flower photos from my photo collection taken in 2018. Roses, lilies and a few different blooms grace the pages of this calendar. 

The Nature calendar features birds, animals and insects from my 2018 photo colletion.  The cutest squirrel, exquisite butterflies and a beautiful sunset are some of the images in this calendar.

As always there is a tea calendar. This year it is the Tea Pot Calendar featuring some of my tea pots and a few new ones acquired or borrowed to add some variety. 

An the fun calendar this year is Monkey Moments where the monkey is up to different antics and situations.  He is trying his hand at travel, gardening, painting and much more.

This Morning

It was a foggy morning.

I can`t see the end of the bridge across the river.

Great to get a few pigeons taking off!

It rained most of the day yesterday and it was cold this morning (6C) compared to +30C for most of last week.









Water droplets were everywhere.

Check out the thorn hidden mostly by the water drop.

This is Japanese Bayberry - Rose Glow one of my favorite bushes.  You  don`t the color here but it is great.




All the spider webs where highlighted with dew drops this morning.  It was spectacular.




This is a droopy rose with wonderful dew drops all over it.

I love the upcoming rose buds.

You can see the foggy morning still hanging in.

This is a pink cosmos which is called Cupcake which is a double bloom.

I found a nice collection of leaves too.