Mosaic Monday - This Week

During my morning walk the other day, I had this Magpie bird following me along the trail.

It was sitting there and it looked like it was posing for a photo so I took one.

It was a lovely walk with a very nice temperature.  I always take my camera for just this type of opportunity.









We had a very stormy day last week where it rained all day.  The winds were very violent and cause a lot of damage to trees and other living things.

These three are the ones I saw on my walk the other morning.  It has been almost a week and only one of them had been addressed by someone.  I suspect it was not the city as the branches would have been removed.  It will take a long time to clean up from this record setting storm.





 I started my photo shoot for the 2018 Tea Calendar.  I just love setting still lifes with tea related items.  This year books feature in some of the photos.  I made an effort in the last year to collect book with nice covers so I could include them in photos.


Keep an eye out for it later in the summer.











At card club last night one of the ladies was selling tomato plants for a fundraiser to send kids on a trip to British Columbia.  These are yellow pear tomato plants and are ready for larger pots.  I will pick up soil today and give them a home on the balcony.  I should plant my herbs as well.

This is the ornamental plum tree at the seniors residence down the street.  It was in full bloom and absolutely stunning.

Every branch had clusters of lovely pink blossoms.  Tightly packed they were.

Such beauty fills my soul for another day.

I am linking with Maggie at Normandy Life who hosts Mosaic Monday#42.

Card Club - May - Stars for Dad

This was the Father`s Day card in this card club.
I started with a black card. I cut a piece of designer paper by Rusty Pickle - Game Time - Run It.  This is the back side which looks like wood grain. This was cut 4.00 x 5.25 and adhered to the card front leaving a small border. 
The sun burst is a thin die from Stampin Up.  I love this one.  It was cut from bronze heavy text weight paper which was larger than the A2 card front.  I used Scotch Quick Dry adhesive for this task. Once adhered to the card front the rays were trimmed to the edge of the card.  
The stars were cut from taupe card stock and the same heavy text weight bronze paper with the Sizzix Star 2 die which has 4 different sized of stars.  The large taupe star was adhered to the center of the start burst.  The greeting had the right hand end flagged then adhered to the center.  The bronze medium and the taupe small stars were adhered together.  This accent was then adhered over the large star with 3D foam tape.  The greeting can easily be left out or adhered on the right hand corner.

Card Club - May - Bright Blossom

This is a nice bright card.  It features clear embossed designer paper from a 12 x12 card stock pad by SEI - Bright Blossom.  The blossom paper was cut 4x4 which yielded 9 pieces.  I chose a solid pink card stock which coordinated, which was cut to 4.00 x 1.25 inches.  These were butted up and tape together on the back to make one piece to cover the yellow card front leaving a small border.  I did do the alternate colors where the card was pink and the ribbon was yellow.
The ribbon was pulled across the designer layer and the ends were taped to the back.  This layer was then adhered to the card front.
The greeting has a solid layer which is offset behind the white color printed greeting.  The label is the Decorative Label punch by Stampin Up.  The solid label is cut across on the center point.  The point is then cut off both pieces. The halves are adhered behind the greeting offset on the left and right hand sides.  This greeting was then adhered to the card front over the ribbon with 3D foam tape.

Card Club - May - Handmade Paper Diecut

The focal element on this card was made with heavy handmade paper.  I colored it with liquid acrylic ink in Olive Green, Purple Lake, and Indian Yellow.  I placed my three colors on my non stick craft sheet and spritzed with water in a spray bottle then placed  my sheet of heavy paper onto it.  It did not spread as it usually does on glossy card stock.  It absorbed quickly and completely.  It took 3 more tries to get the intense coverage I wanted on the handmade paper.  I did fill a couple of spots with a foam brush and color.  It was too thick to curl but it took over night to dry completely. 
Once completely dry, I die cut it with the Sizzix Happy Phrase die.  The die produces Ha and ppy is seperate die cuts.  I chose a deep purple card stock and a olive green accent layer, onto which I printed the word Birthday on the left hand side.  The greeting layer was ripped along the top and bottom edges then adhered to the card front.  Then I used Scotch Quick Dry adhesive in a bottle with a fine tip to adhere the handmade paper letters to the card front aligning them around the printed word.
This left room for the purple daisy confetti on the right hand side which is held in place with a tiny yellow brad.  Love the die cut.  Turned out exactly as I had hoped. 

Card Club - May - 4 Squares

This is a nice simple card to start.  I used some coordinating designer 12x12 card stock from a pad by SEI - Nutmeg.  Pads are nice because they provide automatic card stocks usually solids and patterned that work together.
The greeting layer was designed and printed on ivory card stock.  The cross on the left makes aligning the squares very easy.  Printing was Early Espresso.  It was trimmed to leave a small border and adhered to a paprika color card.
I punched 1.5 inch squares from 2 different designer card stocks - green and brown with my Creative Memories punch.  The opposite corners were corner rounded and then I adhered them with the pointed corners into the center.

Baby Boy - Shower Gift - Yellow Duckie

I made this card for my nephew and his wife who had another baby boy recently.  This is #2.

I created a watercolor background with Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Faded Jeans, a bit of turquoise liquid acrylic ink and a couple of scribbles of Not Quite Navy watercolor crayon.  The color was applied to a acrylic sheet and spritzed with water.  I laid my 4x6 card stock into it and pulled it away.  It curled but when left to dry it flattened again.  Once dry, it was cut to 4.00 x 5.25 inches and adhered to the navy card front.

I found a clipart image of a yellow duckie which I printed and then cut with a smooth oval from the Spellbinder Nestabilities set.  I then cut a scalloped oval a medium blue card stock with the corresponding oval.  This was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

I printed a greeting in navy and yellow and fussy cut the banner with scissors.  It was adhered with 3D foam tape.

Books are my go to gift for babies.  I hope that books will always part of our culture.  I think parents reading to babies is valuable time spent.

You will notice a theme of yellow ducklings in this gift.

This is a great book with a nice plasticized cover so it can handle sticky fingers and it is easily wiped clean.

The illustration in the book is wonderful and the colors are lovely.

I chose the same duckling graphic for the frame for his room.  It contains the details of the day he was born.

It is a yellow good quality metal frame with a brilliant blue mat and a coordinating yellow mat.

I designed the information layer to fit in the 4.75 x 6 inch opening in the mat.  It was printed on white card stock and adhered behind the mat.

I hope it holds a place in his room for years to come.  I did similar item for his dad when he was born years ago.  It makes a nice keepsake.

Black Printing on Backgrounds - Cards

My sister was visiting me for a couple of days over the long weekend.  We tried out printing black images onto alcohol ink backgrounds we had created. 

The alcohol ink background was 4x6 so by aligning the graphic knowing that I needed to trim .75 inches off,  I printed it on the inkjet printer. 

Once trimmed, I adhered it to the purple/blue card front.  This water lily graphic is from CLker.

I added a layered Stampin Up Modern label greeting in coordinating colors adhered with 3D foam tape.

It allows for a reasonably quick card.

For this technique to work well you need backgrounds that are on the subtle side rather than bright and colorful. 

Sometimes in the process of making backgrounds I end up with lighter ones as I am cleaning up.  Of course one can make them lighter if you intend on using this technique. 

This card has a dandelion clip art again from Clker.
Printed, trimmed to 4.00 x 5.25 and adhered to the front of a warm teal green card.

I adhered a Stampin Up Decorative Label greeting with 3D foam tape.

These are off to my Card Exchange buddies.

2018 Teddy Bear Calendar - Debut

I have one 4x6 photo calendar ready!  I photographed this cute teddy bear in a few scenarios to create a cute calendar for 2018.  There are 12 month pages and one index page.  Some months feature seasonal themes. I have one for each of  Valentine's, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Remembrance Day and Christmas.  The others cover the beach, gardening, and games night.

I am donating this one to a baby basket for a silent auction being held at a Women's Retreat next weekend.  It will be great to mark the first year of a baby's life.  It is presented in a nice silver metal frame which would look nice on a dresser in the baby's room.

You will find it available on my Calendars page.

Share Your Cup - This Week

The pelicans were on the open water at the wetlands!

I love this photo where they are aligned almost perfectly.  This was my second try as the first attempt they were just flying off as I arrived.

They were feeding and just hanging out.  Zigzagging across the water in their flock formation.

It was time for Welcome to my Kitchen this week.  The hostess provided fruit salad, yogurt, cute cinnamon buns and a slices of cheddar cheese.  Of course tea and coffee as well juice was in plentiful supply.  We had a lot of women attend our last meeting of the season.  Twenty women attended and there was comfortable room for everyone!

We raised a good sum for our missions overseas.  I brought a few cards made from card kits which had been stored for a while.

Ladies could take some home for a donation to missions.

One card was immediately put into service to contain the names of those in our group who prayed for a lady who attended a gym class.  Tangible evidence of the support being offered.

This is the book I finished this week.  The Whitehorn Woods contains a well where people from far and wide come to bring their petitions for healing, husbands, new businesses and much more.

The book identifies a couple related people in each chapter.  If read within a short time a person would likely catch all the connections to others in previous chapters.  I did catch a few but I likely missed a few as well.

Interesting people and approach to writing.






This a to go mug of Earl Grey tea with a snack for my trip to the zoo today.  I want to go before the long weekend when it is bound to be much busier.

A royal gala apple which is always crunchy and delicious and a chocolate bran muffin.

I'm off the see what I can
find.


Sharing with Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson who hosts Share Your Cup #249.

R2Go Christmas Kit - Peace on Earth Dove

I created some Distress Stain backgrounds with Faded Jeans and Pine Needles.  Once dry, I die cut the greeting with the Sizzix Peace Phrase #2 die.

I designed the background by adding an earth clip art on the bottom left hand side which contain similar colors.  It was adhered to the green card front.

The PEACE die cut was adhered to the top center of the card.

The "in Earth" banner was color printed on white card stock then the end was flagged.  It was adhered just below the die cut.

I cut the dove with the Sizzix Dove die from white card stock.  It was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

R2Go Christmas Kit - Silhouette Holy Family

I started with a navy card.

I added a snowflake designer paper from the Michaels Recollections series - Snowflakes. This piece was trimmed to 4.00 x 5.25 inches to leave a small border and adhered to the card front.

I printed the Silhouette Holy Family image along with the greeting in navy onto a quarter sheet vellum and clear embossed it.  It was then trimmed to 3.75 x  5.00 inches.

It is attached to the card front with a tiny silver star brad in the center of the star and 2 silver circle brads in either bottom corners.  A push pin was used to make the holes to allow the brads to be inserted and the prongs pressed apart on the inside of the card.

R2Go Christmas Kit - Star of Wonder Copper

I chose this wonderful designer paper of stars by FlairDesigns - Star Bright in warm colors of chocolate, beige, rust, and caramel.  It is cut to 4.00 x 5.25 inches.

I paired it with a warm brown card.

I printed the greeting in Really Rust on vellum and clear embossed it.  I ripped the top and bottom edges. I added a strip of card stock under the words to provide the contrast.  The vellum and strip are held in place with 2 tiny copper brads.

I die cut a copper star with the Sizzix Star & Starburts die and I adhered it over the vellum greeting strip.

R2Go Christmas Kit - Teal Bethlehem Vellum

I printed the Bethlehem graphic with a teal - turquoise gradient fill onto a quarter sheet of vellum then covered it with clear embossing powder and heated it.
I cut the gold onto white starry night background card stock to 4.00 x 5.25 inches.  It is adhered to the front of a warm medium teal colored card.
The vellum was trimmed to the same size as the starry night background.  I ripped the top left hand corner from the vellum to reveal the gold stars. I added a bit of double sided tape behind the buildings and adhered it to the star layer.  Open the card and use a push pin to create a hole in the center of the yellow star.  Insert the prongs of the gold star brad through and press the prongs apart on the inside of the card.

R2Go Christmas Kit - Angel Espresso

The body of the angel is a triangle which measures 4" tall and 3" wide at the base.  The designer paper I used is by Anna Griffin.  A 12x12 sheet creates 21 bodies which is very efficient.

The wings is a heart die cut.  I used one from the Sizzix Heart #2 Framelit set and cut it from cherry red card stock. 

The head is a 1 inch circle punch from ivory card stock.  It is adhered to the card front just below where the wings and body meet.

I printed a greeting frame in Early Espresso on green marble text weight paper. It was trimmed close to the frame then adhered to the card front.  It allows easy alignment of the angel onto the card front. 

R2Go Christmas Kit - Angel

The body of the angel is a triangle which measures 4" tall and 3" wide at the base.  The designer paper I used is by Anna Griffin.  A 12x12 sheet creates 21 bodies which is very efficient.

The wings is a heart die cut.  I used one of the Sizzix Heart #2 Framelit set and cut it from cherry red card stock.  It was embossed with the Sizzix Softly Falling folder which provides a subtle texture to the wings.

The head is a 1 inch circle punch from ivory card stock.  It is adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape. 

I added a greeting frame to the card front printed in Always Artichoke.  It allows easy alignment of the angel onto the card front. 

R2Go Christmas Kit - Peace On Earth

I chose a pea green card of textured card stock.

I selected a 12x12 designer paper by Imaginisce - Cottage Christmas - Winter Woodlands.  The piece is cut 3.5 inches tall x 4 inches wide. 

The greeting strip is printed in brown on celery card stock.  I printed 7 onto a quarter sheet of card stock which makes it .75" T x 4.25" W.

I chose a warm blue card stock for the die cut.  I cut the large greeting word with the Sizzix Originals Die Peace Phrase #2.

The DSP is adhered to the bottom half of the card. The strip is adhered to the top of the designer paper piece.  I placed 3 pieces of narrow 3D foam tape to the back of the die cut.  It was then adhered above the greeting strip.
 

R2Go Christmas Kit - Holy Family

The Holy Family layer measures 3.25 x 4.5 inches. 

Using a piece of 12x12 silver metallic card stock I cut a layer to leave a small border.  The holy family is adhered to the silver metallic layer.

The greeting layer is color printed with a purple frame and a green greeting.  It is cut to 4.00 x 5.25 inches.

I selected a hunter green card.

The greeting layer is adhered to the card front.  Then the holy family accent layer is adhered to the purple greeting layer.

R2Go Christmas Kit - Bethlehem Triptych

I'm working on Ready 2 Go Stack kits for my class on June 5.

It features a Bethlehem Triptych with a gold foil greeting.  It is 3.5 x 4.75 inches.

I chose a navy card.

I trimmed the 12x12 gold metallic card stock to 4.00 x 5.25 inches which leaves a small border.  This layer was adhered to the card front.

I added 3 gold star confetti adhered below the greeting with Bling Zots.  I placed the center one first then evenly space the other two on either side.

Mosaic Monday - Blooms & Critters

Here's a few photos from the weekend. 

Pink and yellow tulips in Mom's vase for Mother's Day.

A soaked chickadee sitting on the bird feeder.  It rained non stop for 2 days.  There was water everywhere.

The shrubs have finally burst into flowers. 

The Red Winged Black Bird at the Heritage Wetlands.  I just  missed the pelicans so another trip is in order.

Squirrel on the wooden frame in the yard at Mom & Dad's. I don't know why he is not soaked like the birds.  He moves fast so he may be skipping the rain drops.

Sharing with Maggie at Normandy Life who hosts Mosaic Monday #40.

Mother's Day Card

I made a card for my Mom.  I generally have followed the commercial approach to Mother's Day and made pink cards but my sister reminded me a while back that Mom's favorite color is blue.  Very true.

I watercolored a flower then mounted it to a turquoise layer.  I added a black frame with a Sharpie marker.  Then mounted it to a true blue card.

I placed the vellum clear embossed greeting across the front.  Made holes with a push pin for the tiny black brads.  I trimmed the greeting to the edge of the card with scissors.

I am spending the day with my Mom.


Wishing all mothers a wonderful day.

Tea and Mother's Day Event

I'm sharing the page of my Tea Time Calendar for May.

It features a white bone china teapot by Mantles Kingsbridge.  It's matched with a  Royal Worcester fine bone china tea cup and saucer the pure white Serendipity pattern.

My sister helped me with this table scape and we added  a peony in a crystal vase.  It is a beautiful pink and it adds a bit of height to the table.

A white cloth napkin with a crystal napkin ring.



We hosted our Mother Daughter Sister Friend event on Monday night.  You will recall that I blogged the tea cup coasters I made earlier this year.  We had 80 attend who enjoyed a wonderful roast beef dinner.



We decided to use teapots as center pieces for the 10 tables.

The teapots featured as follows:

a navy one from Ikea,
a Japanese with a wrapped handle,
the cute pink one,
an earthenware glazed in bright colors
a ceramic one in bright green with white flowers,
an elephant in a shiny black glaze,
a blue and white tall one,
a classic Brown Betty,
a clear glass with a fluted body and
a Bone China Royal Albert Petit Point pattern.

Here's how our tables were set up with the cute tea cup coasters.  Each coaster had a pink tag which shared this message.

"A gift for You to help you encourage others.
A teacup coaster to place under
your daily cup.
Should God place someone on your mind as you relax and enjoy your cup.
Make a call, send a text or email, give a card, or plan a visit. Stay connected."

We provided coloring pages and word scrambles as activities for the young ladies who attended our event.

I brought one home and colored it as a way to unwind after a long day.

I chose bright colors with yellows and pinks and purples being featured which were our colors for our event.

I love this fine porcelain tea cup by Adeline.  It features pink and yellow chrysanthemums with gold accents.  The top is not round and features a wavy top edge.

The tea pot is white porcelain by PC.

I added some books in the background along with a vase of pink roses to repeat the pink in the photo.  

I brewed Jade Citrus Mint green tea leaves in my white teapot.  I enjoyed a wonderful cup of tea this afternoon.

  





Sharing with Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson who hosts Share Your Cup #248

Bernideen's Tea in the Garden

Ruth at Antiques and Teacups - Mother's Day Tea Battenburg Cake

Mosaic Monday - Wildlife

This is a bit of wildlife I saw this week.  It was a trip home to be with Dad while Mom went for her cancer surgery followup. 
Top Left - Bison - Elk Island Park
Top Right - Deer - Elk Island Park
Bottom Left - Red Wing Black Bird - Lois Hole Park
Bottom Right - Beaver - Lois Hole Park

Joining Mosaic Monday #39 hosted by Maggie at Normandy Life.

Christmas Card Challenge - May - Oval/Black

The challenge for the May Christmas Card Challenge was Oval and Black. 

I chose some Anna Griffin designer paper featuring ornaments.  It has various neutral colors in greys, warm whites, and river rock. 
I chose black for the card base, cut the ornament paper to leave a small border. 

I added a length of black grosgrain ribbon across the bottom of the decorative layer taping the ends to the back.  I adhered it to the card front.

The black oval greeting was printed on river rock card stock.  It was then punched with the 2 inch oval paper punch.  It was adhered with 3D foam tape.

Mosaic Monday - Wetlands Visit

I took a visit to the one of our nature parks on Saturday.  I was celebrating getting my taxes done and I will receive a small refund.  This week is going to be a full one so I put all my photos into one mosaic. 

The day was one of the first where we can see that summer will get here.  I invited my aunt to come with me and we spent some time on the board walk which goes across a small portion of Big Lake. There was still ice on the some parts of the lake.  We did see a kayak and a paddle board so folks are desperate to have seasonal temperatures.  The clouds were amazing.  Of course, Canada Geese are a staple in our marshlands in Alberta.  I have  never taken a really good photo of the Red Wing Blackbird but there he is sitting on a dried cattail.  The new ones will be a while coming but there is hope of summer sun and green grass.  The highlighted photo is of a male Golden Eye Duck. 

I totally enjoyed the afternoon.  We headed inside to warm up and have tea.  They have a bistro, several specialty stores and the Hole's Greenhouse at the Enjoy center.  The bedding plants were pouring out of the greenhouse! It was a wonderful visit and I will be back!

Sharing with Maggie at Normandy Life that hosts Mosaic Monday #35.