Sylvia's Simple Shots

The colors this fall are amazing.

Caught this vibrant orange maple leaf at the park on Friday.

It was perfect and the light was making it glow.  

We hardly ever get this kind of color in our fall leaves in the west of Canada.

I was thrilled to capture this one.  I did not even think to pick and press it.  I hope others enjoyed it because I chose to leave it behind.

The plants in the north window are doing so well. 

The spider plant is getting ready to produce flowers and propagate.  I expect these could become babies.

That must mean it is happy!  I am remembering to water it regularly and I gave all the plants fertilizer the other day.

I was given another African Violet by my sister.

I managed to get it to hang in the north window.  It is on the small hanger as the spider plant I just mentioned.

She gave it to me about a month ago now.   I do remember to water it from the bottom.  I will keep it away from the cold window in the winter.

I hope this one does better.

I used to able to grow these years ago and have flowers on them so that is what I am aiming for again.

I finished this book last week.  The Dance by Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley.

Marilyn is married to Jim Anderson, a successful businessman. After 27 years of marriage, Marilyn has had enough of feeling unloved and neglected. She wants to experience some measure of happiness before she's too old to enjoy it, even signing up for dance lessons, something Jim would never do, not even on their wedding day.

The dance is a metaphor for the relationship she has with her husband and the physical dance she so would so much enjoy doing with him.

They both meet older and wiser mentors who help them negotiate this crossroads in their marriage. 

I was glad it was the first book in the Restoration Series so if I chose to follow the series I am at the beginning.  I will not be chasing down the next books but we will see if another shows up sometime.

I finished this book this weekend.  The Return by Nicholas Sparks.

The story of an injured Navy doctor -- and two women whose secrets will change the course of his life. Trevor Benson never intended to move back to New Bern, North Carolina. Having been injured in Afghanistan and having inherited his grandfathers cabin he decides it's as good a place as any to figure out his way forward.  It holds wonderful memories of his childhood.

Natalie Materson is the deputy sheriff and Callie is a quiet, hard working teenager who lives in the trailer park up the road from the cabin.

A crisis triggers a race to uncover the true nature of Callie's past, one more intertwined with the elderly man's passing than Trevor could ever have imagined. In his quest to unravel Natalie and Callie's secrets, Trevor will learn the true meaning of love and forgiveness . . . and that in life, to move forward, we must often return to the place where it all began. 

I have been working on this project for several weeks.

I drew the original and did a test watercolor of it in this post.

Once I had decided which frame I was going to use I needed to enlarge it as well as make some design improvements.

Then it was suggested that I color the large one with the colors I planned to use in the final project.  That was completed this week.

I then had to transfer the design to the back of the glass.  You can check out this video for the instructions for Faux Stained Glass featuring Elmer's Glue.

The "leading" took less time to dry than I anticipated so I finished it yesterday and hung it with the hope of seeing the sun through it this morning.  Disappointed.  Overcast and cool all day so far.  Maybe tomorrow.

I hope to see the magic on the walls when the sun shines.

Progress is bring made on the Wall Christmas Tree as well.

I purchased a photo shelf for the space where the tree will hang.  The ring will be bolted to the shelf then the tree will hang from there.

I found the perfect s hooks at Ikea with one end bigger enough to go over the branches.

The star will also have to be painted gold because right now it is green.

Good thing I started in January. 

It will be ready to hang in early December.

The Flickr Macro Mondays Challenge this week was "smoke".  Steam was also allowed.  It was very challenging photographing something that just disappears so quickly.  

After check the group there are a few things that last a little longer - namely incense.

You can check out my Photostream (SMDPics)to see the shot I submitted.

2022 Photo Calendar - Nature

 Another winning year for nature photographs.  A lot of walks and visits to wetlands garnered some new species for me.  The Blue Heron was the first time I got a good shot of one.  I have seen them before but they were hiding in the reeds.  The Bunny and the Lesser Yellow Legs are also firsts. 

01 Jan - Lesser Yellow Legs                                07 Jul - Muskrat

02 Feb - Wasp                                                      08 Aug - Barn Swallow

03 Mar - Downy Woodpecker                              09 Sep - Dragonfly

04 Apr - Bunny Rabbit                                         10 Oct - Red Wing Blackbird

05 May - Rednecked Grebe                                  11 Nov - Fiery Skipper Butterfly

06 Jun - House Finch                                            12 Dec - Blue Heron                   

Are you a planner?  

Do you want to see a date in the upcoming month?

Is your calendar stored in the black metal holder?

This calendar can deliver.   Just slide the current month up about a third of the way up to reveal the next month dates.

This idea came from one of my calendar users who has had one of these on his desk for nearly a decade.

Thanks for the tip!

2022 Photo Calendar - Garden Flowers

I have my 2022 Garden Flower photo calendar.  It is so wonderful that nature continues on despite the health crisis in our world.  I am so blessed to be able take photos outside.  I have captured some winners again this year.

01 Jan - Pasque Flower                            07 Jul - Pansy

02 Feb - Salvia                                        08 Aug - Dahlia

03 Mar - Grape Hyacinth                        09 Sep - Sunflower

04 Apr - Daffodil                                    10 Oct - Fuchsia

05 May - Astrantia Major Alba               11 Nov - Red Poppy

06 Jun - Pink Cosmos                             12 Dec - Late Tulip

Are you a planner?  

Do you want to see a date in the upcoming month?

Is your calendar stored in the black metal holder?

This calendar can deliver.   Just slide the current month up about a third of the way up to reveal the next month dates.

This idea came from one of my calendar users who has had one of these on his desk for nearly a decade.

Thanks for the tip!

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Wishing everyone  a Happy Thanksgiving as we celebrate in Canada!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I spotted this tree dropping it's red leaves all over the ground at the gold course.

We have so few red fall leaves here that it is a big deal when I see them.

I did walk the golf course when they were closed during the first bit of the pandemic but now that is not possible.  I would have liked to pick a few leaves to press.

I guess I will enjoy it from afar.

This is one of the books I bought at the large garage sale early in September.


A story of redemption and getting back to core values. Mary Bridget Washburn finds herself in Alexandria, where she hopes to bring happiness to a troubled widowed pastor and his three children. She is running from her past which included an abusive father, the loss of her children and being on the fringes of a meth drug business.

With a job and a place to stay God provides a way for her to remember her faith, her christian grandmother's influence, and her love of children.

The crisis comes of course in the last couple of chapters. The pastor as well has some turning around to do and manages to see the light in the end.

It has a happy ending and justice is served.

If you have checked out my posts this week you will see that I finally accomplished my Wall Christmas Tree. You can follow the link to see the full details of that project. 

I mention in that post that I wanted to make a bag to store it when it is not on the wall.

I dug through my stash of fabric and selected a dark green and green and white striped poly cotton fabric.  There was just enough with only small bits left over.

The bag measures 40 inches tall by 9.5 inches wide finished.  I had a strip of the striped fabric which I made into a tie.  I just attached it to the side of the bag and I can just scrunch the top of the bag and tied it around.

I also created a piece of cardboard about 8 inches tall and 32 inches wide to provide some stability when rolled up.  I placed the tree on a piece of cloth added the card board and rolled.  This was there is less likelyhood the wires or cords getting entangled.

Super happy with this.  It's so nice to ahve the sewing machine out all the time which allows me to just whip up a project.

This is still some fall color with folks putting out chrysanthemums in their flower beds.

I'll take it while I can get it.

These are a great pink color and I have seen white, yellow and orange ones as well.

It is getting cooler here and we are close to having below zero lows over night.

The challenge for Flickr's Macro Mondays this week is "stars".  Of course there are many options for this challenge.  To the right you find one of the shots I took featuring small paper clips with star holes in the front.  You can check out my Photostream (SMDPics) to see the shot I did submit.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #150 and 

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #307.

I hope you have a good week!

2022 Photo Calendar - Big Skies

I designed an new format of photo calendar for this year.

This is a 6x4 inch calendar which is in the wide orientation.  

I have been using square shots for the last 10 years in my tall calendars that it took a bit to scout out rectangular shots for this calendar.

The major change in this calendar is that the photography takes priority.  So many people don't use a paper calendar anymore that I decided to put the focus on the photo while still providing a minimal calendar.

The calendar is one line below the photo and has the holidays highlighted in blue.

I chose a narrower focus on the type of subject matter as well.   Being in Alberta with wonderful blue skies all year round I dug my photo stash for great sky images.

They can be placed in a black metal holder in the wide format very similar to the one for the tall calendar.

I did not think I took many landscape photographs but I am drawn to skies.

I have included many dramatic skies from the last year or so.

Our urban and country views are included in this photography calendar.

I think of it as eye candy!

Here's the calendar sitting in a black metal frame which holds all 13 pages (12 months and the index). 

I have lifted the index page just enough to see the title all year long.

As the month changes just move the front page to the back.

The calendar gives you a quick look at the dates.

2022 Photo Calendar - Black and White Abstract

I have been working on 2022 Calendars.  I have created a Black and White Abstract one this year.

It features various shots I took this year converted to black and white.  I wanted images that were graphic and not necessarily readily recognized.

You can just slip this one into your holder from last year.  It has a good sized calendar with the holidays bolded.  By slipping the current month up you can see the upcoming month as well. 

I am happy with the way this one turned out.

Are you a planner?  

Do you want to see a date in the upcoming month?

Is your calendar stored in the black metal holder?

This calendar can deliver.   Just slide the current month up about a third of the way up to reveal the next month dates.

This idea came from one of my calendar users who has had one of these on his desk for nearly a decade.

Thanks for the tip!

Thank You Cards

I made thank you cards for those who helped with the Wall Christmas Tree project.  

I started with a pea green textured card. 

I embossed a white layer with Cuttlebug Thanks Words folder.  I adhered it to the card front with double sided tape.

I cut a triangle tree from SU Gumball Green and embossed it with a Cuttlebug lines folder.

The tree and the star confetti were attached to the card front with 3D foam tape.

These are on their way!

Wall Christmas Tree Project

I have completed the Wall Christmas Tree I envisioned back in January 2021.

I made a plan, sourced and purchased materials and supplies, and recruited help. 

It's been just under 9 months for the vision to come to life.  

My plan was for the branches to start at 4" and increase by 4" for 8 rows.  That would bring my tree to 4 feet tall and 40 inches wide.

I decided it needed to have some bling so I would include some crystal faceted beads.

I was going to make holes in the branches so I could thread my cord through rather than have the cord on the outside where it would show.

I investigated cording and consulted with my aunt  who does jewelry and we decided on nylon cord - C-Lon Bead Cord which has a tensile strength of 36 pounds. She was kind enough to lend me a spool so I could take what I needed. The color is flax.

Now that I had the cord I was able to do some testing about how I would thread it and the size of beads I could use.  I decided that I would put crystal beads above and below the branch and wrap around each of these.  I then would use crimp beads on the top and bottom of the sandwich to keep them in place when I stored it after the holiday.  The idea is that I just roll it up and put it in it's own bag (which I will make).  Easy peasy!

I needed to source branches so I made a visit to the country and had a friend help me cut some birch tree branches.  I wanted them no bigger than 1/2 inch and started at 1/4 inches.  I did not need a lot because some branches made 2 rows.  My helper drilled holes in the ends as well.

I visited my local arts and crafts store for the crystal faceted beads and crimp beads and they were on sale! Yeah.

Yesterday, I decided it was the day to get started.  I assembled my tools and supplies.

A saw to cut any bits off, drill to make new holes if needed, nylon cord, crimp beads, crystal beads, an awl to make the holes bigger, scissors to cut thread, the S hook was the one I used to test branch size, and crimp pliers I borrowed from my aunt. 

I cut 2 lengths of C-Lon nylon bead cord double of 12 feet to ensure they were long enough to go around all these beads and branches.  

I decided to start with a ring so that I would have a definite point on my tree. 

I chose a gold split ring because it was what I had and it turned out to be a good idea.  When I was stringing the lights on I was able to engage the wire into the ring because it was split. 

Cords added to the ring with hatch hitch knot.  

To keep the cords together at the top and start the bling I added a crystal bead.

Then I put an over hand knot with all 4 threads and tucked it just below the glass bead.

I then figured out which cord was which because one had been cut just a bit shorter than the other.  Now I had one cut length on the right with the center on the ring and another on the left.

I now could start to string beads on each side.  It took strict paying attention to make sure I got the beads in the right order. A crimp bead, a crystal bead, through the crystal again, then through the branch and around again, then a crystal bead and through again and finish with a crimp bead. 

This is the first row of the 4" branch.

I would not crimp the beads until the end.

I continued the process doing these steps on the right hand side then the left hand side of each branch.  I averaged between 5.5 to 6 inches between each row. 

Sometimes I had to adjust the distance because the branch was not exactly level.  Having not crimped my beads I could just adjust as I needed.

Repeated the process for all 8 rows, left and right it they were all in place.

I put the last of be beads in place late last night and decided I would only crimp the beads today after a good night sleep.

I made my final adjustments to the beads and the branches, etc this morning.

Once I was happy with the overall look I use the blue handled pliers and crimped all the silver beads above and below each set of branches both right and left.  

There is no going back now.  Things are securely held in place and no way to adjust or replace any of the beads.

This allows me to take down and store the tree with out my branches moving up and down the threads.  It was very good when hanging when gravity was doing its thing to keep the branches in place.

I dug through my bin of photography props to find the metal star.   

It is about 8 inches which which may be a bit on the big side.   Here is is hanging as a test to see what the final tree may look like.

I think this works for now.

Next, came the lights.  I had purchased the lights in January while they were on 50% clearance after Christmas.   A string of fairy starry lights.  Very tiny lights on a silver gold wire.  

I wanted them to be plug in type rather than battery operated so I had to go with a longer string.  At 50 feet of lights I thought it would be more than enough to do the job.

I measured my pattern which indicated I would need 44 feet so I left a few at the top for the star.   I hung the tree in my patio door on the first curtain rod so I had space behind the tree to move the string back and forth with ease.

The first time I went down the left side wrapping an the cord, then across the bottom wrapping around the longest branch then up the right hand side wrapping on the cord between the branches.  The second wrap was down from the top on the right cord across the first branch down the next cord across the branch till I got to the bottom. The third wrap was coming back up to the top catching the cords on the opposite sides and again every branch which left me at the top.  I then just wrapped them around the cord again on the right hand side and along the bottom branch to leave my plug hanging down in the middle of the bottom branch.   That was perfect!

It has turned out exactly how I wanted.  I have put a picture nail in the wall to hand for now but I will need a different hook so it will hang away from the wall a bit so I can hang dimensional ornaments as well.  I will have to check my supply of SHooks as well.  The next step is a bag to store it safely when it is not hung.

Sylvia`s Simple Shots

The weather man, the calendar and the leaves outside say that fall is here.

I went for a walk with my aunt yesterday and captured the colors.  Here we mostly have yellow leaves with very few red ones.

The temperature was in around 20C so that is summer temperatures so a vest and long sleeved shirt was enough for the afternoon walk.

Of course, it is cooler in the mornings now and I am choosing to walk later in the day most days.

Someone pointed out on Instagram (@smdpics100) that there are no bugs so that is a bonus.

I took a trip to the country last week which included a scouting trip for craft supplies (more about that later) and to visit family.

I came home with a bag of frozen raspberries which were quite unthawed when I arrived home.

I had planned a recipe of Raspberry Bavarian so early this week I made it up.  I like this dessert with chocolate wafers.

Last Christmas, in the height of pandemic I was not going out to buy them so I found a Chocolate Wafers recipe on line.  This way I can also control the sugar in the recipe.

Yummy!

It's time to do the running shoe shuffle.

The runners I have been wearing outside for the last couple of years have to go.

That means my indoor exercise runners will be demoted to outside runner duty.

That meant I needed a new pair of inside exercise shoes.

I am happy with these Nikes.

I will soon start up doing my exercises inside again as the weather becomes cold and then snowy later on.

I picked up this book at the large garage sale I attended with my sister and niece a few weeks ago.

I did not realize that it was part of a series but "The Waterfire Saga" was a clue if I had paid attention.  At least it is the first book.

It is a fantasy type story which takes place with mermaids under the sea.  

They have all the same trials with family, politics, love and friendships as we do.

The main character is Serafina of the princess of the Mediterranean Sea.  She has a dream that is foreboding of an evil possibly being released on the globe to reek havoc.

When the palace is attacked and she escaped with her cousin they are launched into a pilgrimage to prevent the release of this evil.

During my visit to the country I was on the search for small branches to create my new Christmas Tree.

You can check out this January post when I came up with the concept.

I have purchased faceted beads, borrowed some nylon cording which will form part of the project.  I have the hooks already.

It involves a drill to put holes in the ends and I have to come up with a plan for the star at the top and the trunk at the bottom.

I also have to find a hook which will extend from the wall a bit to allow space for some of my dimensional ornaments to hang.

I'm not sure how long it will take for me to complete it but I will post my results when it is ready to hang.

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays today is "Knots".   To the left are a three of the shots I took for the challenge.  

You can check my Photostream (smdpics) to see the one I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #149  and Mersad who hosts Through my Lens # 306. 

Have a great week!

Cards - Gallery - B&W photo cards

I brought some new cards to the Art Gallery Gift Shop today.

I created a set of black and white images.  The photos are printed at a local photo developer and mounted to the front of a heavy 110lb card stock base.

The cards are A2 4.25 x 5.5 inches with a white envelope included.

The inside is left blank for a personal message.

In this image are the seashell with a black background and a grass seed head against a black background.

This card features a flower called Astrantia major "Alba".  It features a beautiful bokeh background.

It was photographed at the botanic park.

I brought 2 of each of these 5 designs. 

I also took the opportunity to bring home cards which have been sitting there for a while.

The card on this left in this photograph is dried grass in a snow bank but it could as easily be sand.

The one of the right is a cloud shelf where the clouds are heavier and darker.

It's been so long since I had been through the process of updating stock at the gallery.

Now that I am retired things are a little different in my record keeping.

Everything changes.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I took a trip to the country yesterday to visit my aunt and her husband.

We took a trip along the back roads and we spotted this pretty barn.

I love the two tone color scheme on this building.  The dormers in the roof and the cupolas on the peak add some interest to the architecture of the structure.

Judging from the ground floor doors and the hay loft door above them the inside of the barn is pretty huge.

The dark skies add drama to this shot.  It did not rain during the afternoon and it spit a few drops while the steaks were on the BBQ for supper.  Great visit

Garden veggies are the best at this time of year.

I have been fortunate to get some from my sister and my aunt.  I am so grateful to those with abundant garden who are willing to share the bounty.

Eating them raw is the best way.

Really enjoying them.

As a kid we picked them from the garden, barely got the dirt off them and ate them on the spot.

Yummy!

Same goes for fresh garden tomatoes.

Red and delicious.  Great to add to pizza, a salad, an open grilled cheese sandwich and a ton of other things.

I got some green ones which are doing their ripening in a brown paper bag.

Most folks here have picked their tomatoes as nights have gotten near freezing a couple of times.

I am working towards a stained glass piece of art.  I have always wanted one hanging in a window throwing some color into my living space.  

I am planning to buy myself one as a retirement gift but I had to put some thought into the subject matter.

I have decided on a sunrise.  The message being the future looks bright at the beginning of a new chapter.

I studied a lot of stained glass pieces then I drew what I wanted at 4" square.  Then I translated it intoo 8x8 inches and traced it onto inexpensive watercolor paper.  I painted this with watercolor and just stuck it into a quick frame.

I need to make some changes to the composition.  I  am missing the second layer of light yellow pieces on the left hand side.  I was having real trouble drawing the lines the right way on the left.  The suggestion is to reverse the right side and trace the lines then make some adjustments.  The larger piece of orange on the right needs to be made into 2 pieces.  The hills pieces need to be small and less similar. 

I will draw another 4" piece then into 8" piece.  It was suggested that I color it with the paint I plan to use for the 14" sample.  The 14" piece will be faux stained glass made with Elmers school glue and liquid acrylic color.  That one will be hung in the window for a while to see if it gives me the feeling I want.  If so, then I may have a piece commissioned if it is not too expensive.

I have been wanting a pansy for my 2022 Flower calendar so I have been check out all the ones I find.

It is so late in the season to find blooms still in good shape.

I found the two on the left in my aunt's flower beds. The one on the right I found at the park today.

The challenge at Flickr Macro Mondays was “Geometry Shapes”.  That leaves a lot of room for all kinds of images.  The image on the left is taken through the view finder of my Kaleidoscope. You can check my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics) to see the image I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #148 

and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #305.

Be safe and have a great week!

MY CINEMA LIGHTBOX MICRO - Letters

I created letters for my micro light box!

I found a sample on line and was able to determine the size of the acetate letters.

I used a layout program to align all the letters then printed them on a laser acetate sheet.

I printed 2 sheets of letters including numbers and punctuation symbols.

I think this will do me nicely.  It was sold at Indigo so I may check at Christmas time to see if I could buy another to get the letters.

Very happy with the project!

 

Garage Sale Bonanza

During a visit with my sister and brother in law and niece on the weekend we attended a community garage sale.  What a hoot!  All outside, a good amount of walking, and a ton of interesting things to look at.

I had a Tupperware Ultra21 Quiche pan on my list because I dropped mine last weekend.  It lost a piece and gained a crack so it's days are numbered.

I managed to find a brand new one for 3 dollars with the lid.

I use this to roast root vegetables.  Just love this ovenware.

It is no longer made and in a search on line I was looking at over $50 to replace it.  At the last house we visited!

I had a silicone trivet on the list for camping.  

This one will do nicely.  No brand name on it but the right size and material.  Nice color and pattern.

I think it was .25 cents.

They had one place with lots of books so maybe it was books from the library along with others that were donated.

Books were fill a bag for $5.  The three of us share the bag and cost.

I have not been to a library since the pandemic started so I 

I have been using small free libraries to get my reading material.  I quarantine the books for a week.  

I return them to the free libraries when I am done reading them.  I am sure there are others in the same place that I am.

I am happy with this selection.

I have always wanted a miniature tea set but to buy new they are pretty expensive.  This one is blue and white which is my favorite colors.  The tray is 4.5 inches wide and holds the 2 teacup and saucers, the cream and sugar and the teapot.  

This was a good score. This is a Hallmark 2007 Gingerbread Ornament Set and Display Stand.  

All the pieces are still there in their original packaging so I don't think it was every used.  Each of the gingerbread layers has small hooks on the underside for the ornaments. I believe it holds 12 ornaments.  No doubt at the time you could buy additional ornaments in the gingerbread style.

The three ornaments - angel, heart and snowman cookie ornaments are included.

I am always in for Christmas decorations.

I bought a rain stick.  

Yes, it is designed for kids but it makes a great sound.

Primary colors are find with me.

  

A set of vintage miniature fluted metal moulds also came home with me.  They measure about 1.25 inches to 1.5 inches tall.

Today, they can be used for candy, cookies, fondant, pastry, soap, tartlets, petit fours and a bunch more for sure.

I don't know what their original use would have been.  It must have been something very special because with only a few tins making any amount would have been very time consuming.

Again, just the right size for macro photography.   I'm not sure I will ever bake something in them.  You never know I might get inspired.

Small bottle vases are wonderful.  The first set was a scented oil diffuser set with the small ceramic discs for the oil.  The three glass vases are great.  I will not use the oil.  The set on the right hand side have a very nice feel.  About 2 inches tall so will do again for macro photography. 

Another small flower vase in a gorgeous red color.

I believe it is handmade.

It measures under 2 inches tall.  

I did get a package of dried flowers as well which will work well with these small vases and bottles for still life photography.

I have used the solid brass business card holder on the left in my purse for the last few years.   Gold is not really my color so when I saw the shiny silver chrome one I decided I would prefer that one.

The cost for the silver one again was less than a dollar.  After a bit of research turns out the brass one maybe worth a few dollars so I will see about selling it.

This is a battery operated candle. I have several plastic ones in white and red for photography.   

I seldom burn candles just because of the open flame.  There are times where nothing but the real thing will do. I use a wax warmer rather than scented candles.

This one is the best of both worlds because it is made of wax so it looks "real" from that point of view and is also battery operated.

Again, the price was a song.

A tiny blue glass swan in perfect condition.

Can be used for macro photography, love cobalt blue glass, and a beautiful object.

I have been wanting something to write quotes or words for my photography.

This turns out to be a My Cinema Light Box which came with letters originally.  I did look for the letters but they were not close by.  Of course they were clear so the light would show them nicely.  I did put batteries in and that works.

Here I have used Scrabble letters and I have other wood ones I can used.  I may consider printing letters on acetate so I could slide them in the slots. We shall see.

I used to have a large and small whisk and a while back I made the decision to get rid of the large one.

I have since regretted that decision.

A Pampered Chef Whisk still in the packaging.

Yes, please.

It has a skinny handle so it fits into my utensil caddy nicely.

A useful tool to have during a pandemic.

It allows me to open doors with out touching them, to use the bank machine with the touch screen stylus, bottle opener, elevator button pusher, and will hold my keys as well.

I have not been doing a lot of shopping in the last year and half.  The drugstore and the grocery store primarily.  I had not heard of these tools but at my last visit to the drug store the teller was promoting such a tool for $13.00.  I did not purchase one at the price but this one was .50 and still in the box.

For less than $20 dollars and a morning spent with family this was a great.  Checked off a few things from my shopping list with out going inside a store. The weather cooperated and it did not rain. It was cool but we were dressed for the weather.