Sympathy Card - Silver and Green Checkerboard

Sympathy card for a friend who lost his wife this week.

The card is Stampin Up Soft Suede.

The decorative paper is handmade paper which has been screen printed with the exact color of green and silver stripes in a checker board pattern. 

I made it a DSP Split card by cutting the paper at 3.5 inches and turning over the top piece to see the wheat colored handmade paper.  

I added triangles of the same card stock which crisscross each other so the meeting point is off center.  This provided a nice place to put the butterfly punchie (Martha Stewart) in the beige card stock on the left hand side.  It is adhered with a Bling Zot glue dot.

I added an appropriate white quarter sheet insert on the inside with an A2 white envelope.

Mailing this off tomorrow.

Card Exchange - Nov - Screen Printed Paper

This sheet of beautiful screen printed paper stayed with me when many of the other 12x12 sheets left last week. 

It had so many Stampin Up colors in it. Early Espresso, Kraft, Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip and Melon Mambo.

On this card I cut the decorative paper to 5.25x4.00 then placed on a Very Vanilla card base. I cut the paper following the floral design from left to right. I then cut a piece of Melon Mambo to finish the rectangle along the cards bottom edge.  This was adhered first then the decorative paper over top of that leaving a small border all the way around. I added rhinestones in the center of the flowers with Bling Zots glue dots.

On this second card, I but a piece of designer paper for the top of the cards and a piece of Melon Mambo for the bottom and chose a Soft Suede card base.  

I ran my piercing wheel tool to make some wavy lines in the solid card stock on the bottom to provide texture.  I adhered that below the piece of designer paper on the top.  

I added a piece of Very Vanilla card stock across the join of these above mentioned papers and adhered it with double sided tape.

I then punched a SU Five Petal Punch flower in the pink and then the ivory card stock.  I layered these and added a small yellow flower in the center. This accent is held together with a deep pink mini brad.  The flower was adhered on the strip of paper with 3D foam tape.

These are off to my exchange partners this week.

Sylvia Simple Shots

These days with my living room window facing east I get a very short time that the sun hits northern end of the patio door.  

This is a shot trying to take advantage of the last rays of sunlight on the table before it disappeared.

It was shot for a challenge of light and dark on Flickr.

I love how the glass shot some light into the dark just above the flame.  A reminder that a single candle flame can banish the dark.  

Continue to have hope against dark circumstances.  The light will return in full measure of time and things will be brighter and happier.

The Welcome Committe of Butternut Creek by Jane Myers Perrine was a light read.  A new pastor Adam Jordan arrives in town with his few possessions in his small car.  Miss Birdie and her friend Mercedes are the welcome committee who are there to show him the ropes about the parish and how things are run.  Of course, they have been at this church for years and it's more like this is how we have always done it so that should continue. He is a bachelor so they decide he needs a wife.

Sam Peterson has recently moved into his late aunt's house in town. He is veteran who lost his leg in Afghanistan and is struggling to find his place now he is not in active service. Sam wants to be left alone. Willow is a physical therapist who works at the hospital and leaves nearby. She is divorced and her two boys came to play in Sam's yard unaware that someone new had moved in. 

Birdie, Sam and Willow have to make adjustments in their lives to make the changes which will make them happy instead of staying stuck in their comfort zones.  It all works out in the end.

I have been using essential oils for a long time.  My favorite is Bergamot and Grapefruit which I bought as a body butter and a bottle of oil years ago at a craft sale. It was great.

During COVID I started using Lavender oil to help me naturally relax and get to sleep.

Of course, I chose to make some passive essential oil diffusers recently.

My sister gifted me a wool felt tree ornament for adding scent to my artificial tree so I needed Spruce essential oil.  I took a trip to the health food store and purchased a small bottle. It will last a long time. I bought some empty bottles as well so that I can mix up some bergamot and grapefruit diluted which I use during my morning exercise routine.

I found the book above at the Thrift store. I gather it came in a kit with essential oils. 

I found the book very helpful and very thorough ranging from how is essential oil produced, categories of oil, grades of oils, and which oils can be used to help with health issues.

I felt it was a very worthwhile and the price was not crazy high.

I had this low tire pressure warning message show up on my car a while back and it threw me for a loop.  I had the puncture of a tire in May so I think I was hypersensitive about the issue.  I really had no idea what was going on. My last car did not have sensors and I did not have this issue with the original tires from this car. 

I made an appointment with the car company who installed the tires in June and I told they could not look at the car for 4 days. I checked the tires every day and I did not have a flat tire. So what gives?  I learned from a you tube video that this can happen when the weather changes. After talking to a couple of my siblings they have manual resets once they have checked the air pressure in their tires.  You tube recommended checking all 4 tires and the spare if it has a sensor, filling to the recommended tire pressure documented on the inside of your drivers door and it should just clear the message. I check with my dealership when it opened Monday morning and this was confirmed. So, armed with knowledge I was able to resolve the warning. I called the tire place back on Monday and cancelled my appoint. I am disappointed that they did not make this suggestion on Friday instead of just saying we can see you on Tuesday. What a waste of my time but I guess they had suggested that I leave the car for the whole day. They could do just what I did in five minutes and charge me a couple hundred dollars.  That would have been 5 days of my time without feeling safe in my vehicle. Yeah, Youtube!

While I was waiting and worrying about my car I made myself useful and cleared another round of card stock, designer paper and embellishments from my craft space. 

I had an IKEA Trofast Kids Wardrobe which I used store mostly 12x12 paper.  It was really too deep of smaller stuff.  With the goal of getting all the craft stuff to live in the craft room I pulled most of the 12x12 designer paper from my drawer storage and then decided to could keep that much 12x12 card stock from the shelving unit.  The rest had to go. 

I decided the shelving unit had to go as well because it was not conducive to paper storage and too big for my to handle and I needed to clear stuff from the craft room. This was it.

My sister picked up the shelf and the boxes of paper and craft supplies which will be used in her daycare. A win win I say.

F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton is a book I finished recently.

Another bit of time spent with Kinsey Millhone.  She is hired by Bailey Fowler's father to find out who really killed Jean Timberlake 17 years ago.  The murder his son was convicted of and the soon have he escaped from prison and has been on the lamb since then.

The murder took place in Floral Beach, a town a distance from Kinsey regular area of operation.  She travels and takes a room offer by the father who owns the hotel.  It is a small community, people are wary of a stranger asking questions, some people have moved away. There are a lot of dysfunctional family dynamics going on in this family. There's a mother who seems to be troubled with many health problems, the father has a few too, the sister had ended up being care giver for her parents as well as the hotel.

It was a great read with an interesting conclusion.

The couch was taken away on Sunday. I need to clear the living room and dining room with the goal of replacing the carpet with a hard surface flooring.   With the couch gone there is more room in the living room and less big stuff to manage when it comes time replace the flooring.

Of course the clearing in the craft room was also important for this upcoming project.

All the little steps will lead to the final outcome. As usual it takes longer than one anticipates. Just keep moving forward and I will get there.

2023 Wall Calendar - 11x17

I've designed my 2023 wall calendar for my office.  It measures 11x17 and I will get it printed at the local print shop.

I chose this image of a Commorant at Beaumaris Lake taken back in June this year.  

He is looking very stately on the rock along the edge of the  water. 

I love the color of their eyes.

I had trouble with my regular software and just gave up. I just found an on-line generator which gave me what I wanted and I was good to go.

I did remember to identify the regular holidays this year.  I just added circles on the dates in question.

I think it will work well and another thing off the to do list.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The weather did warm up somewhat and I took a walk in the river valley.  It was afternoon during the golden hour which is about 3:00 pm these days. 

The sun was setting and putting it's warm glow on all things.  Here, I captured dried grasses which will stay all winter against the snow drifts in the river valley.

I dropped books off at the small free library in the park to keep the clutter down to the minimum.  It is a lesson well learned and it is becoming easier just to let the books go and keep the stories.

Vegetable Frittata is a new dish for me.  My sister has made them for sure. 

Sauteed veggies - onion, garlic, celery, red pepper, and mushrooms in a cast iron frypan. Love that dish. I have placed a silicone wrapper on the handle so I was not sure I could put that in the oven so I transfered to this stoneware baking dish.

Cover that with a good strong cheddar cheese.

Then a mixture of eggs and cream with herbs.

Into the oven for about 10-20 minutes until the eggs are done.  A few minutes under the broiler to brown the top.

It is yummy and I have made it again this week.

I always enjoy a visit with Kinsey Millhone. D is for DeadBeat by Sue Grafton.  These are early in the alphabet series so her landlord Henry Pitts does not feature much in this novel. He does in later books.

The job was easy - find the fifteen year old kid and deliver a $25,000 cheque,  John Daggett is trying to make amends for some of his past misdeeds.  He drinks too much and it has not served him well.

He is now a dead body and a few people are not sad to hear the news.

Some folks think they are entitled to some of that big cheque and create turbulence in Kinsey's search for the boy.

Having a dead client puts a few wrinkles in the investigation and when the retainer cheque is no good that is a big disappointment.

Kinsey manages to sort it all out.  Another great book.

I saw this Snowshoe Hare on my walk in the river valley.  I think this my first time seeing one.  I am used to the larger white-tailed jackrabbit hare which has yellow eyes but still very big back feet.

It has changed color and with it's shorter ears and dark eyes I knew it was different.  An internet search solved the mystery.

Again, that golden hour sun was shining but the hare would not accommodate my desire to have it be in the warm glow.

It scampered off after I got a few shots of it.

Glad to see it!

I bought these Bailey's crystal mugs when I was shopping for One of a Kind Essential Oil Diffuser containers a while back.  They turned out to be much too big to fill so I decided to use them for hot chocolate.

They are wonderfully heavy and feel really great in the hand. 

I do like a bit of chocolate and having hot chocolate is less calories than a piece of chocolate bar and one is enough.

I make it very milky. 

The mug is about the 8 oz so not overly large for a bit of a treat.

I am always up for a Christmas story any time of the year. Christmas Homecoming is a collection of 3 stories.  A Place to Call Home by Diane Noble, The Heart of a Stranger by Pamela Griffin and Christmas Legacy by Kathleen Fuller.

I love Irish stories and this one is set in late 1800s when Rory O'Kelly finds himself headed to America. Olivia Endicott-Jones is doing charity work in Massachusetts taking care of orphans some of which are of Irish immigrants.  They meet when Rory is tasked with stealing the Irish children so they can be raised in the right culture.

Susannah Pruitt and Justin Rossiter meet again many years after they had spent time together as children. He comes to her rescue and she recognizes him but he not her.  Can she get past the idea that he may have killed her father?  What is the truth?

Josephine Patterson rides into town to hear the reading of her grandmother's will.  She expects to inherit it all which will go a long way to helping her pay off debts incurred when she was married to her now dead husband. There is a wrinkle because grandmother has left one half to Josephine and the other half to a man unknown to Josephine. She needs to get along with this fellow just long enough to get his half.  Not that simple.  It works out in the end.

1 Cup Measure - Upgrade?

I was looking for a new 1 cup glass measuring cup because the writing on my is disappearing.  Now I always use the imperial measure because that is what I learned in school. In Canada, we officially converted to metric in 1976. 

I've been looking for a while so when I found one at the Thrift Store on Friday I picked it up for $3.00. The numbers are red, they are easy to read and it turns out to be the same brand that I have, GREAT!

Well upon closer examination, maybe not. What are the differences?

Well, the thrift store one is thinner, it has a D-Handle instead of an open handle, the marking on the metric side only got to 200ml which is not 1 cup. 

I had upgraded years ago to to the open handle so that I could stack all my glass measuring cups inside each other.  Since then I have changed how I store my measuring cups and I kept the 1 cup measure closer at hand and put my Tupperware measuring cups on top as these are the ones I use the most.  So, going back to a D Handle is not big deal. Lucky Break!

Since I always use imperial measures the fact that this side does not include the 250 ml measure for a full cup again is another Lucky Break!

I was not able to establish when Fire King introduced the open handle but Pyrex started their in 1983. 

I see that the thrift store one is thinner glass as well so I'm not sure it was an upgrade. A new Fire King Open Handle 1 cup measuring cup costs $5.99 CDN. Not sure it was an upgrade.

Who knew that things could be so complicated.  At least I can read the numbers.  I expect these numbers will last for as long as I need them.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

On November 1st I was out in fall coat, no boots, and dry roads to drive on.

November 2nd it snowed and turned cold. Temps in the -15C to -25C and the sky was overcast.

I can stand cold if the sun is shining.  

This was taken November 8th when the sun finally started shining.  

Today, is November 11 and finally it is -7C just after lunch.  I am heading out to enjoy it.

An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor - It was great to reconnect with these characters. Dr. Barry Laverty and Dr. Fingal O'Reilly who run a general practice in Ballybucklebo in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. The doctors see patients in the morning and make house calls in the afternoon.

Miss Kinkie Kincaid is still the housekeeper and chief cook for these hard working men. 

Dr. Barry has been at the surgery for about 6 months and is learning about a small medical practice, about the culture of a small village, and knows most of the patients he sees.  He is dating Patricia Spence a civil engineering student.

Barry had his medical competency questioned and is awaiting post- mortem results, Patricis is studying for a big exam which may change her next career move, Fingal meets an old classmate from years ago - Kitty O'Hallorhan, and the local pub the Black Swan maybe cease to be if the local councilor has anything to do with it.  Needless to say that tragedy must be avoided at all costs.  Totally enjoyed this book though it is earlier than some I have read so I know the outcomes of some of the situations in this story.

With the cold weather and the staying inside it was natural to turn on the oven and get some baking done.

I made Chocolate Bran Muffins for the first time in months and have resolved to have one a day.

They are chocolate and sweeten with applesauce, which contributes to a healthy snack or dessert.

I baked a roll of Chocolate Wafers which have been in the freezer for several months.  I should have rolled them out a bit more as these were pretty thick but really delicious.  I will have to make some more of Christmas.

The entry into the oven was a couple of chicken thighs roasted in my stoneware baker.

Here is supper that night with a good helping of coleslaw, fresh tomatoes, baked yams with some white rice.

Yummy and the house was warm from having the oven on from 2 - 5 pm.

Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber was a great read. Annie Marlow. a nurse, has been rocked by tragedy and is struggling to make sense of her new reality. She heads back to Oceanside in the Pacific Northwest to a cottage she spent summer by the sea with her family.

She rents the cottage, meets an artist who has lived all his life in sea side community, grows a garden, befriends her recluse landlady and enjoys her work at the medical clinic.  She learns to find peace and to trust again.  Annie finds that the surest way to fix what is damaged within to to help others rise above their pain and find a way to heal.  I would recommend this book.

I have started putting milled flax seed on my breakfast.   It is a healthy thing to do.

I buy the whole flax seeds and put 1 cup into the blender each week and store it in the refrigerator. I have put the extra bags in the freezer until I need them.

I always like to have a measure in the container for the things I use regularly. My rolled oats, my powdered milk, my Cheerios tupperware container so I was looking for a tablespoon measuring spoon for this jar of flax seed.  

The the thrift store a while back I found this gorgeous round stainless steel measuring spoon.  It is so cute and now I use it every day and it makes me happy!

Remembrance Day

The poppy reminds me of the sacrifices made for my freedom during times of war and peace.

Some gave their lives, many give time away from their families, their service may be far or near,  some stand in the gap for those who are vulnerable and in need but all do it for our sake.

I am grateful for the freedoms I enjoy in Canada.  

I give thanks for a warm and dry place to lay my head, the food on my table and my ability to move around my city in relative safety.

God keep our land glorious and free!

2023 Photo Calendar - Blossoms

Of course, taking flower and garden photos is always a pleasure.  I have the Botanic Park in St. Albert, the Community Garden in my neighbourhood and gardens found near and far on my morning walks.  I did find a few new to me flowers such as the Peruvian Lilies.

This is the 2023 floral calendar which I have named Blossoms.  Some years I have had garden shots but this year it is all flowers.

January - Icelandic Poppy                                            July - Bachelor Button in neighborhood garden

February - Peruvian Lilies                                            August - Martagon Lily - Fairy Morning

March - Nastursium                                                     September - Sunflower at St. Albert Botanic Park

April - Dahlia - Jowey Linda                                       October - Day Lily - Persimmon - Beaumont

May - Perennial Geranium                                            November - Monkshood at Botanic Park

June - Wild Alberta Rose                                              December - Holly Hocks in a parking lot

2023 Photo Calendar - Nature

Here's the Nature 4x6 Photo Calendar for 2023. It's always so much fun to go through all my photos for the year, collect the best then choose 12 which will make it into this calendar.

I had some good bird photos this year and not so many insect pictures.  Not sure why that is. I had several first time birds like the Gray Partridges.

The calendar has 13 4x6 pages with 12 month ones and the index/title one.

January - Cormorant at Beaumaris                    July -  Grey Partridges at Patricia Lake

February - Honey Bee on Salvia                       August - Early Morning Sunrise

March - Yellow Warbler in river valley             September - European Skipper

April - House Finch in a Evergreen                   October - Barn Swallow at Big Lake

May - Common Conecap Mushrooms               November - Rocky Mountains from Calgary

June - Lady Bug on Crown Vetch                      December - Red Maple Leaf at St. Albert Botanic Park

2023 Photo Calendar - Gentle Glow

This is my other calendar this year over and above my flower and nature calendars.  This one features soft backgrounds (bokeh) with a good focal element. I have worked hard this year to improve my skill with this type of photography.

This calendar has 13 4x6 pages which is 12 month pages with an index/title page.

January - Snow Gently Falling           July - A leaf

February -  Crab Apples in Winter     August - Chokecherries 

March - Dry Grass Field                    September - Fall Leaves

April - Sunkissed Spring Leaves        October - Single Grass Blade

May - Golden Leaves at the Lake      November - Larch Pine Cone

June - Salsifiy Seed                             December - House Finch in Winter

Do you like to plan and would seeing the next month's dates be helpful?

It's easy. With a simple 4x6 photo frame you can pull the current month to see the next month.

Car Coasters - Set 2

I wanted to improve on my first set of car coasters, you can see here. 

I made these bigger so finished they are 3.25 inches in diameter. 

I used heavy navy felt for the large circle.  

Then I added the half circle of royal blue felt. 

A length of royal blue grosgrain ribbon to fit in the notch and help me take them out for laundering.

I sewed all the way around with a zigzag stitch with blue thread.  This seam captured the bottom of the half circle and the ribbon.  Then I went across the top of the half circle to stabilize the center.

I decided to add some cotton (2 thin layers) to the bottom to improve how the coaster absorbs moisture. These were captured in the seams then I trimmed them to be smaller than the navy large circle.

I decided to add a bit of stitching to the ribbon.  I found some purple to pink yarn in my stash and split into 2 strands and added a shape on the ribbon.

This gives me a bright spot to see them at the bottom on the cup holder and an idea where there pull ribbon is.

They fill the cup holder much better. 

We shall see if they work well.  I will post after some use.

Here they are in the car.

The felt fully covers the bottom of the holder. 

The tabs fit in the notches.

Coordinate well with my blue water bottle in the car.

Happy with these.

Christmas Card Challenge - Watercolor - Doves

I created watercolor backgrounds with the intention of using these dove brads for this set of cards. The watercolor has a bit of salt technique.

The doves come in right and left facing styles. I used a Sakura GellyRoll Stardust - Clear Star gel marker for the olive branch.

The circle behind the dove is a 13/8 inch circle punchie.

The greeting is a color printed double flag end banner I designed.

This card is Stampin Up Elegant Eggplant which is a deep rich purple color.  This card is in the landscape orientation.

On this card I used Stampin Up Primose Petal for the card base as I did not have any Rose Red card stock.

The circle is Rose Red.

The greeting is also Rose Red and I chose Peace on Earth in various fonts.

You can see the Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust - Clear Star gel marker on the image on the right. 

It just adds mostly sparkle with little colors so it works well in many situations.

 

These watercolor backgrounds were created with the Stampin Up Watercolor Wonder Crayons which makes it easy to match to the card stock.  

This card had lots of salt action on the color.

The card base, the circle punchie and greeting are all Marina Mist on the left and Always Artichoke on the right.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I don't do much with Halloween.  

I found this pumpkin when I was out of town to see Mom.

I have added the greeting.

I hope that you had a good day if you celebrate this day.

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley.  This is a time travel story by this Canadian author.

In present day, Eva returns to her childhood summer place in England following the death of her dear sister Katrina.  There, she is invited to stay with her childhood friends the Halletts at Trelowarth House. Susan and Mark are siblings the Claire is the stepmom. 

Trelowarth House is known for its roses.  They provide rose stock to many gardeners across the world.  

In the past, Eva returns to Trelowarth House who is inhabited by 3 men in the eighteenth century. Daniel Butler, his brother Jack and Fergal O'Cleary a friend.  The cove below the house features strongly in the past as the brothers run a ship name the Sally which transports goods of dubious ownership.

Eva puts Katrina's ashes to rest and decides to stay the summer with the Halletts and does promotional work for the tea house Susan is wanting to open. Research into those who lived here before becomes relevant as Eva spends time with these characters. 

There are several love stories in the present and the past.  I really enjoyed how the stories were entwined and the end of the story was very fitting.  Enjoyed it a lot.

I attended an art show on Friday afternoon when I hoped the number of people attending would not be too high.  

There were many artists represented, with a variety of mediums and skills levels.  I was surprised by the volume of pieces in the show.

I did not take a photo but there was a geode which looked so real I did not even question it.  Later, upon discussion with my sister, the color was gold which likely was not realistic, the size was 24-30 inches tall which if it was real would have weighed many pounds, and a real geode would not be in an art show. Later, I found out it was made of styrofoam but it was beautifully done.  Captured my imagination completely.

While I was downtown I decided I may as well take a walk along the river since it was such a beautiful day.

I walked up to the Children's Bridge and this is the view looking back from where I had come.

The river was moving quite fast, the breeze was touching the water surface, and the water is quite low.  

The fall colors are dropping from the trees and the leaves are mostly on the ground.

I had a wonderful walk in nature and it restored my soul some.

These days are numbered and we have been blessed with an extended fall and it Halloween was a great day with out the need for snow jackets under or over costumes for the little ones.

I did go to the Lois Hole Provincial Park after my visit down town.  

Someone before me had put seeds out several places along the walk so the birds were in numbers feeding. This gave me a wonderful opportunity for photos. Thanks!

I captured Black-capped Chickadees and Chipping Sparrows. It was a good afternoon.

Card Exchange - Oct - Blue and Orange

I put together some cards for my exchange partners.

The paper sure looks like SU but it was not marked so I guess not.

It matches Groovy Guava, Baja Breeze and Early Espresso.

I cut the designer paper to leave a small border of card color.  

Then I taped a length of Early Espresso Taffeta Ribbon and taped the ends to the back of the designer paper layer.

This layer was then adhered to the card front.  The card above is orange in Groovy Guava card base in wide orientation.

I then put together an accent with a SU Scallop circle of Early Espresso with a white silk flower layered on top followed by a large copper sequin which is all held together with an orange mini brad.

The flower accent is adhered to the card front with a piece of 3D foam tape.  A quarter sheet white insert was glued to the inside.

The second card is blue with Baja Breeze card base and has a tall orientation. 

These will be off to my partners shortly.

Small Gifts - Art Magnets

I used some of the watercolors I painted this year to make some art magnets. 

The fall leaves on my niece's card, the sail boat from my aunt's card, the bulrushes on my brother in law's card and the sunrise from my stained glass project.

I sized them to fit the magnets I had which measure 1.5 x 2.75 inches. I layed them out digitally onto a 4x6 document then had them professionally printed on photo paper.

I had sized them a wee bit bigger to allow for some leeway with placement.  I trimmed one side exactlyl then it was easy to lay that against the edge of the sticky magnet.  Once layed down I burnished them with a brayer to ensure good adhesion.  I trimmed the extra paper away with scissors then did the corners with my blue corner rounder which matched perfectly the corner on the magnets. Unfortunately, my signature generally in the bottom right hand corner was affected.

A beautiful set of magnets with watercolor images.  I made several sets.