Sylvia's Simple Shots

Day lilies are amazing plants. The grow on boulevards, gardens, or any place with light.  They are hardy, frost resistance and bloom for months! Just doing what God made them to do. 

This flower is named Persimmon which I think is very fitting for this rich orange yellow flower.

This one I found at on city property when I attended an Art Walk recently.

It brightened my day!

I've moved my sofa for now so that I am less likely to lay down on it to watch TV.  That habit is not good for my back and I have been suffering the last couple of weeks because of it.

It is not the best placement of the furniture in the living room but it is temporary because the sofa will be going and the room will be emptied to install flooring later this fall.

Just trying to take care of myself for the long run.

I have several books by this author on my shelf but had not read one of them.

Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny.  She is a Canadian author so always good to support local. 

This is book is in her Chief Inspector Gamache series. It is book 14 and was written after her husband passed away.  Her husband was an inspiration for this character and she was not sure she could continue to write in this series once he passed but she produce 3 more books in the series.

The setting the province of Quebec in Canada.  It is winter which features prominently in the story. Inspector Armand Gamache is under suspension when he receives a letter which leads him to learn he has been assigned as executor in an estate. The catch is he does not know her.  The mystery is to determine who she is, why has she chosen these 3 people as executors and how money is there to be distributed.  I read this book in 2 days so it was very engaging and I enjoyed the book very much.   I am looking forward to read the other books she has written.

I bought this book mark at an art walk earlier this summer but forgot to blog it till now.

I can always use an extra book mark and this one was done in watercolor. 

I love the stack of books which is the main element.

It has been laminated so it will stay clean and last a long time.

I purchased some ceramic pieces recently.  The white dish on the left will be used for Macro Mondays. The star may but used in Christmas decorations and the blue dish was just really nice and is a good size for macro photography as well.

I spent the morning on Saturday with my aunt.  We met at the art gallery as we were dropping off our pieces for the Open Art Show.

We took in the farmer's market, the pottery guild shop, had lunch, discussed art and classes, then headed back to Michaels to investigate supplies which came up during lunch.

Lunch was at the Stony Plain and Parkland Pioneer Museum Tea House.

I had the hamburger soup, we shared an egg salad sandwich and I had lemon meringue pie for dessert.  I chose the blue and yellow teapot and the beautiful yellow tea cup.

I had several cups of Earl Grey tea.

We like to do this at least once a year and we had a wonderful morning.

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays was school supplies which I thought was a great idea. 

The variety of options is great.  Not too many of the photo represented what kids may take to school these days with all the technology.

On the right are pens and pencils where I focused on the ball point and lead.  Have keyboards replaced these in modern schools? 

The limit in size is 3 inches but these objects did not present a challenge there.  Some included the clip of a back pack which was a good idea. 

You can check out my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics100) to see my submission to the challenge.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #189 and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #353.

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.

Christmas Card Challenge - Watercolor - Silver Foil Joy

I had some small Christmas note cards featuring a wreath and Joy in silver foil on white card.

I decided to trim the card front off and water color the background with the Stampin Up Watercolor Wonder crayons.  I left the center of the wreath white.

On this card I used Tempting Turquoise with salt.  Once it was dry I trimmed it a wee bit. I added the TT Thread with a large round silver brad to hold it in place aligned the left hand side.

I adhered it to the Tempting Turquoise card base with double side tape.

This card features the same silver foil wreath with the Old Olive watercolor. 

This one was just a basic wash on the background again leaving the inside of the wreath white.

I found some coordinating round sequins in my stash and mounted them with tiny silver brads.  I chose some green and some silver.

The watercolor layer was adhered to the Old Olive card base with 3D foam tape.

A seasonal insert with a white envelope completes the card.

For this card I used the Brave Burgundy watercolor and created a gradient wash with it being light at the top and darker at the bottom.  I actually painted this upside because it works better to start dark and add water as you get lighter.

I chose 4 large silver star brads for this card.  I put them in the four corners.

I adhered the greeting layer to the card front with 3D foam tape.

I made 2 of each color so I have 6 more cards in the Christmas card box.

Watercolor - Birthday Garden

Another watercolor card for a friend who had a birthday in early August but I was dealing with funerals, etc.

I wanted to paint a flower garden and I think I got parts of it right. I started with a pinkish background made a while ago. I penciled my composition. With a few samples layout on the computer screen I chose a few I liked.  I love the dragonfly and the yellow flower. I think I did a decent job of creating the shorter greenery towards the bottom.  I think the spiky flower is too big. The green stems are too different in color. Should have stuck to warm green. 

I added a Stampin Up Modern Label punchie in Sage Shadow and added a Word Window greeting that coordinated.  I chose a Tempting Turquoise card base to match the dragonfly. It is off to my friend tomorrow.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

These rain drops on leaves was creating a magical world low down near the ground.

The leaf was turned upside down which happens when it rains.

There were some perfectly spherical drops and some fatter wider ones too.

I did get wet knees as I had to get really low to capture the magic.

I purchased this fused glass tree at the Art Walk in Beaumont a while back. 

I had seen them posted on Instagram in the spring and really loved them. I knew the artist was in that area and her work was in the local gift shop as well.  There was a good chance I would find them at the walk or the shop.  

The shop is called the Painted Door.  I did purchase some loose tea there as well.

I did purchase it from the shop but then introduced  myself to Chrissy (A Touch of Glass) at the art walk.  Glass is one of my favorite art mediums. 

I found another dessert plate for my Snow White Regency dinnerware.  I now have 7 which leaves only one more to complete a set of 8.

That works really well with the little book I bought a couple of weeks ago.

Totally Tea Time Cook Book.  What a cute little book published in 1995 written by Helen Siegel and Karen Gillingham.

I love the cover and that fact that the book is shaped like a teapot.

With chapters like snacks and sandwiches, Scones, Crumpets and Tea Breads and Tarts, Puddings and Ice Creams it should be ideal book for getting back to entertaining.

The Iced Tea chapter is ideal for this hot summer weather we are experiencing right now.

I am so glad to have found this small book.

I have been looking for a metal object which would fit on top of the stove and allow my pots to be higher than the top of the stove.

This plant stand will do the job wonderfully.  The metal was flexible enough to be placed in the firebox and provides at least 2 inches of open space which will allow air to flow and me to add wood to the firebox. 

I finished this book Fingersmith by Sarah Waters last week.

Set in London England in 1860's it had great potential for my kind of read.

I enjoyed the first part which described the lift of Susan Trinder, an orphan raised by a kind woman Mrs. Sucksby.  The house is occupied by various characters of dubious reputations.  Fingersmith is a word to describe a thief of which Susan is one of many in the house.  Goods are redistributed by Mr. Ibbs and Gentleman is a caller who makes regular visits to the house.

The other orphan is Maud Lilly who lives in a grand house outside of London in the beautiful countryside. She lives with her uncle and serves as his secretary for his business.  Her uncle is obsessed with books and had a grand library where he spends most of his time. His clients come to visit and time is spent in the library.  Eventually, one discovers that the books housed in this library all relate to unsavory subject matter. 

I skipped quite a few chapters which went into the library's subject matter which I did not need to know.  I read the last few chapters which concluded the story of these 2 young ladies. 

This is definitely a book for mature audience and I can not recommend it as a wholesome story.

With keeping with the way I had prepared the place for sale and I have decided to keep the counters in both the kitchen and bathroom as uncluttered as possible.

The stuff from the counter and from under the sink had just been stacked willy nilly thinking that all would be sorted out when I moved.

Alas, I am not moving as there is little movement in my market and the prices are so low that I could not move forward with a sale in this market.

I had to address the clutter in the cabinet so I purchased several clear totes and sorted things out.  I had hoped for drawers like I have on the other side but the P-trap position prevents me to put an identical drawer unit on this left side. 

At least they are clear and I can see where things are.  The small one on the top holds my everyday items - hair brush, tooth brush, glasses cleaner, etc.  Easily pulled out to access what I need and then placed back out of sight.

Watercolor - Blue and Yellow

A belated birthday card for my friend.

I was away last week taking care of Mom when the date went by.

I created a soft blue and yellow background wash which I allowed to dry completely. 

I chose tulips and daisy like flowers for this watercolor.  I placed my blue flowers a little too far to the edges for a perfect composition but I am still happy with it.  Mixed a warm green for the foliage. Added a bit of blue spatter.

I trimmed the watercolor once it was dry.  I chose a Brilliant Blue card base. I added the blue ribbon along the bottom half of the watercolor over the stems and leaves.  I added a blue greeting punched with the SU Modern Label punch, adhered with 3D foam tape.

I will get it to her shortly.

Watercolor - Sail Boat

I needed a birthday card for my aunt.  I was to join a party on Thursday but was called out to be with my Mom who was very ill and needed full time care for a few days.  She is doing better after a visit to ER.

This card will be late but such is life.  

I created the background a while back and I added the scene this morning.  The boat and sun have a white gouache base with watercolor on top. I created a custom greeting.  It was punched with the Stampin Up Artisan punch and mounted with 3D foam tape. It will be off in the mail on Monday. 

Watercolor Cards - Butterflies

I worked on more watercolor cards this week.

I needed a sympathy card and I have found that butterflies are a great symbol for that occasion.

I drew a basic butterfly outline that I will be able to use then adjust the shapes of the wings as I choose.

I again cut a long strip of 140lb water color paper and taped it to my desk.  I applied a light coat of color across the whole piece and let it dry.

Once dry, I cut it to 4" wide pieces then added my elements.

Here I have put the butterfly on the right and filled the wings with mostly lines.  I used a blue, yellow & green color scheme.  I added some color below the butterfly to make the bottom a bit darker which helps to ground the composition.

Once, dry I spattered a bit of blue and let that dry again. Trim the piece to it's final size and adhered it to a card base of Bordering Blue.

I created this butterfly with just lines in the wings put down with a Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment Black pen in size.4.

Painted with some pink, purples and blues.

Again, I added some additional color in the bottom left hand corner to ground the composition.  

A bit of purple spatter.

I believe the card base is Brilliant Blue.

Really loving the subtle colors in these cards.

I used my Lowe-Cornell watercolor palette.

The blue one will be mailed out today for a friend who lost her husband last week.  They have been married for over 70 years.

On this bulrush card I just lightly drew a rough composition with a pencil.  Started with my horizon line, added the sun, then the bulrushes.

I have a brown in this palette so I did not have to mix it but just darken it a bit.

I mixed a warm green for the bulrush leaves.

A warm golden yellow for the sun and some blue for the water.

I had to make decision about whether the bulrush stems were in front or behind the leaves.

Once dry I added a bit of yellow above and below the sun to have the sun glow.  This worked out very well this time.

Once trimmed I mounted it on a card base of Crushed Curry.

Each will get a blank quarter sheet insert and a white envelope.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

A nice walk in nature on a Saturday morning with my aunt. We walked along the Sturgeon River.  The wildlife was mostly missing from this day.  A few ducks on the river, no insects to photograph and a few flowers along the path.

I did get a wicked bite on my hand when we walked through a couple hundred feet of bush to get from one parking lot to the other. 

We stopped at the Farmer's Market for fruit.  I picked up some freestone peaches and her some blueberries.

Of course, the main event was the Rock'n August car show.  I wanted to go before the festivities started so I could be gone before the crowds got too large and the noise was at a fever's pitch.

Car show participants were setting up early so we saw a lot of beautiful vehicles.

]This one reminds me of a car my Dad had in the early 70s.  Ours was white and we piled 8 kids and Mom and Dad into it.  No seat belts in those days.

There were hundreds of vehicles on display, a lot of loud music, fundraising and generally a good time being had by most.

We walked out at about 10:30 am which was half hour after it opened.  We only saw about 1/4 of the cars on display.

My sister and I were joined by my cousin this year on our annual Saskatoon picking adventure.

The price was very good as it was nearing the end of the season.  It must be a different variety than we have picked at other farms. 

I picked 2 ice cream pails which gave me 4 bags of frozen berries for this winter.

I have purchased cultured blueberries at the grocery store.  They were 2 lbs for just under $4 which was a great price.  I have 3 bags of those in the freezer.  I did manage to defrost the freezer so that is all in hand.

I read this book this week - The story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski.  The story is of a mute book growing up in Wisconsin on a farm where his parents Gar and Trudy, raise "Sawtelle Dogs". 

They use signing to communicate which is a hybrid of the traditional and a bit of their own unique way of doing things. 

Things are going very well until the Dad's brother Claude comes to stay a while after being released from prison. The brothers still don't see life in any way the same so discord rules the day.

The day comes when Gar is killed, Edgar knows more than he is aware and when the work load is too much for the two of them the brother Claude comes in to fill in the gap in more ways than one.

Later, another death occurs at the farm when Edgar is about 14 years old. Trudy sends Edgar away to keep him safe.  He takes some of his litter with him.

He roams the Chequamegon National Forest with the dogs.  Scavenging food from summer cabins along the lakes, eating berries that grow wild, and making do with very little some days.  He decides to head for Canada. When one of the dogs get hurt he receives help from a man Larry who lives in one of the cottages.  He exchanges labour for food and a place to lay his head.

The story has a very sad ending.  There are mystical aspects to the story which are intriguing.  

The story does leave some questions though for me.  

Edgar goes to school but I don't know how he manages communication there.  There are several times in the story where he is unable to communicate with those outside the family which causes problems.  There is a lot of written about raising dogs in the book. Processes, procedures, documentation, etc which at times becomes a bit long. 

Forte is a mystery dog in the story - Edgar has seen him, there is a connection with Claude. He plays a vital part but we don't know much about him.  Was he a Sawtelle dog? 

Again, Claude is clouded in mystery.  He has been in the navy.  Is that related to the bottle with oriental writing on it? 

For me the time Edgar spending in the forest and with Larry was the best part of the story.  The early part of the book was good as well. Edgar's relationship with the dogs is so good.

There were birds at the car show.  A lady brought her exotic birds to interact with the public.  I don't believe they were restrained in any way.  They sat on their perches, walked around on the ground and returned to perches as they wanted to.

She had African Grey Parrots, Cockatoos and Blue and Yellow Macaws.

On the left, are African Grey parrots who live from 40-60 years in captivity.  Often a succession plan is needed to ensure their care beyond the life of their owners.  Love the red tails.

The Macaws are huge birds.  

I have seen them at zoos before but to see them sitting outside along the river was wonderful.

It's been a good week with a bit of very hot weather but not overwhelming.

Sympathy Card

My aunt passed away recently.

Her funeral was today.  Another occasion for family to get together and visit.  She was 79 and had health issues most of her life.  She leaves a husband, a son and daughter.

Butterflies are always a symbol of rebirth and life in a different form for me.

I gave this card to my uncle.

I should work on a watercolor butterfly I can use for this type of card.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I dropped by a green house yesterday on my way back from a short morning of photography.  I managed only 10 shots before I was out of battery and I had not recharged the extra from my trip the day before so more more photos for me.

I walked around the botanic garden just to get the exercise I needed and the greenhouse did not open till 10 am.

I was at the door at 10am and wandered around to eventually find the Sansevieria / Snake Plant / Mother-in-Law Tongue plant.

It measures about 7 inches high so the price of $13 dollars was worth it.  This is not likely the final decorative pot for it but it will do for the photo shoot.

I did some investigation of the Pothos or Devils Ivy and it is soaking wet so that is why it is not doing so well.   I have to learn to water according to the plants needs and not just once a week.

I am learning and now I have 7 plants which a huge improvement over 0 when I worked.  Just did not have the energy and connection to handle it then.

We had several days in the last 10 which were what I would call heat wave days.  Above 30C in the day and the overnight temperature not dipping below 18C.  

I had to put a dark sheet in the dining room window to keep the morning sun out of my place.

Thank goodness it did not last as long as last year.

I made a bottle full of Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette this morning.  Love this dressing on almost anything.  I use it for salads, I put it on my fish for the bake oven fish dish, and just to add a tang of flavor to a whole grain dish.

You can find the recipe here in Jenn Segal's French Grated Carrot Salad posting.

I just store in a cleaned out Dijon Mustard plastic jar in the fridge.  I double the recipe.

I enjoyed this book a lot. The Road Home by Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen.

It is a Naomi and Ruth story based on the bible but set in modern times.

The women are living in Las Vegas and have fallen on hard times.  They have both lost husbands in the last few years and Ruth is Naomi's daughter in law.  Naomi is now in her 60's and wants to go home to Pennsylvania where she grew up.  Ruth grew up in the foster system and has no real home so decides to make her home with Naomi. 

They travel across the country in an old Impala that Naomi's husband had both here years ago.  They work along the way to have enough cash to get HOME. 

Beautiful story!

I want to do some work on the kitchen.  

I painted the middle panel of the kitchen doors in 2017.  You can check out the improvements made then in this post. 

Now I want to paint all of the cupboards in order to freshen up the kitchen again.  I have chosen a light yellow and a warm grey in craft paint to paint paper which I will tack up against the cupboards to make a decision on a color.

I did investigate replacing the hinges but that was a no go as they have changed - the holes are not in the same place and the plates are not the same size so I think they will just be painted.

I want to had knobs or handles to the doors and drawers but I have not made a final decision on those yet.

I will post updates as they happen.

I played hide and seek with a Northern Flicker the other day.  They are a wood pecker which spends a lot of time on the ground looking for food. 

An enjoyable time.

Flickr Macro Monday was Miniature.

I got this miniature Tupperware Thatsa Bowl key chain in my prize from reunion raffle.  It is so cute and you can see the lid comes off.  I have a couple of the regular sized bowls in the Tupperware in the cupboards.

Love the color of this bowl as well.  The ones I have are white and red.

Have a great week.

Exchange Card - August - Watercolor

I decided to make watercolor cards for my exchange cards for August.

I drew a few flowers with a pencil, traced the shapes with the black Micron marker then watercolored them in bright colors.

Once they were dry I went back and added the green wash to the bottom of the card.  

Once that was dry then I added spatter with blue water color.

The flowers are just designer shapes with no attempt to represent flowers realistically.

The stems and leaves were done in warm and cool greens.

The water color accent as adhered to to a Pool Party card base with 3D foam tape.

Great all occasion card.

I created some funky flowers on this piece of 140lb rough watercolor paper which measures about 3.5 inches square.

I drew the flowers with pencil, traced the shapes with a Micron permanent black marker, erased the pencil marks and applied watercolor.

I flooded the large center with yellows, oranges and a touch of red. The petals were left white. The leaves were painted green.

Once the flowers were dry a light green wash was applied to the background.

The Summer Sun card base had a length of satin stitched Gumball Green ribbon wrapped with ends taped under the focal element.  The watercolor square was adhered with 3D foam tape.

These are off to my partners this week.

Christmas Card Challenge - Watercolor - Aug - Salt Backgrounds

I created a watercolor background for my large Christmas greetings for this month's challenge.

I started with 140lb Arches watercolor paper I purchased from my sister. It had been rolled up so I spritzed it with water and let it relax itself to flatish.

I cut a strip about 6 inches tall and the width of the sheet.  I taped that down to my waterproof work surface.  I used my small watercolor palette I created the other day.  You can follow this link to the post which contains the details. 

I soaked the paper with my spray bottle then I just worked with the greens and blues in my palette. As I moved across I switched from the blues to adding red to create purples. Once I was happy with the colors I misted it again to ensure the whole surface was wet then just added some table salt to the surface.  It then dried for several hours.

I believe this is rough water color paper but is softer than the sheets have I have been using. I was very happy with the pattern produced by the salt.  Once completely dry, I cut it into 4.00 x 5.25 inch sheets.  These will leave a small border of the card base showing.  Since I was not using Stampin Up watercolors it took a bit of evaluation to see which card colors to use.

While the paper dried and searched the internet for some free large greetings I could use. The card above features the one I liked best.  The greetings were sized to be smaller than the watercolor background and printed grey on vellum.  They were then heat embossed with gold powder.  I ripped the edges to provide a more natural edge.

On the right I created some portrait (tall) cards with vellum greetings which also included images. This one is a Christmas tree. For most of  these cards, the vellum is adhered to the watercolor background with tiny gold brads. Then the watercolor layer is adhered to the card base with 3D foam tape squares.

The greeting on the card on the left has been around for a very long time.  It is very classic fonts and makes a great greeting.

The card base on this card is Marina Mist. The brads used on this one are larger sparkly gold star brads. 

I added some vellum adhesive in the opposite corners to keep the vellum close to the watercolor.

 The watercolor background features the transition from green to blue in my original painting.

This watercolor background was the toughest to match to card stock.  I tried Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum, Sahara Sand and eventually settled on Soft Suede. 

That is the challenge - when I was painting I did not measure the width of the colors so this piece ended up with some muddier colors with the n bright blue on the right hand side.  

This is the other portrait (tall) card where I combined an image and a greeting.

Again, I was not thinking of images at all when I was painting.  I had to trust I could work it out once the watercolor background was dry.

I think this worked out well.

This card features Bermuda Bay for the card base.  Another landscape (wide) layout.

This time tiny gold star brads in all four corners.

I will be adding quarter sheet inserts with a seasonal sentiment to each of these and pairing them with a white A2 envelope.

Another great set of cards for my box.  Ready to give come December st!

These worked out well and the background is worth considering again.