Sylvia's Simple Shots

I have finally been out with the camera a lot capturing nature in the form of flowers, birds and mammals.

I took a long walk around all three ponds at the Heritage Hills Wetlands this week.  I was up around 6am so seeing people was limited.

The rising sun lit the beautiful House Finch perfectly!

As you can see the leaves are growing like mad making spotting the birds just a little bit harder.

 

 

 

 

I finished this book this week - Beneath a Burning Sky by Jenny Ashcroft.  This book is based in British occupied Egypt in 1890. Two sisters, Clara and Olivia lost their parents as young children and then they were separated by their grandmother. 

Clara lives in Egypt and now Olivia is traveling there to marry a man she does not love but grandmother has arranged.

As the sisters get reacquainted, Olivia finds out who her new husband really is and how he treats her badly.  The boarder in her husband's house is a military officer.  He shows her compassion, friendship and protection.   The end is heart wrenching but also justice is served. 

This morning I was up with the birds and walking the John Poole Wetlands at the Lois Hole Provincial Park before 6:00 am.  I strolled the board walk as the sun rose and things got brighter.

I found the Barn Swallows flitting around and sitting on bulrushes near their nests which are located below the board walk. 

There were many pairs around.   I love the colors of navy and warm tones breast of these birds.

 

 

Of course, we can always count on the Mallard Ducks to be near all of the ponds in the area.

Love the reflections in this calm water and the curly feathers on it's rump.

In the duck family, the Mallard is one of the larger ones.  I saw a Mallard and a Bufflehead this morning and the size difference is significant.

 

 

I chose blue/purple flowers for my mosaic this week. 

The Pasque Flower in purple then the blue Grape Hyacinth and the lavender of Baby's Breath.

I was facing the opposite direction when this little fellow swam up, pulled a grass clump from the shore and walked back to the water and started washing his breakfast.

He is a muskrat and I did see his skinny tail.

The Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week is Orange.  

It provides a ton of subject matter in this challenge.

You can check my Flickr Photo Stream (SMDPics)  to see the image I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #133 and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #291.     Have a great week!

Allied Arts Council - 2021 On Line Seniors Show

Our Seniors Show is going ahead on-line as we are still under COVID restrictions.

These are the 3 pieces I submitted for this show.

Title: Distant Hills
Size: 8.00 x 8.00 inches
Signed Photography Print
Mats: n/a
Frame: n/a
Print: 8x8 inches

 

This was created using the technique of in-camera motion.  I took some of my background fabrics and hung them in my small studio.  Set up my lights to capture the reflective surfaces and them moved the camera by hand.  It means taking a lot of shots, hoping a few will be good ones.  

 

 

 

They all received some level of post processing to bring out the texture and pattern in the photograph.

 

Title: Darkness to Light
Size: 11.00 x 14.00 inches
Signed Photography Print
Mats: n/a
Frame: n/a
Print: 11x14 inches

 

This is another in-camera motion image with a filter applied to increase the contrast in the image.

 

 

 

 

 

Title: Leaves
Size: 8.00 x 8.00 inches
Signed Photography Print
Mats: n/a
Frame: n/a
Print: 08x08 inches 

I set out to capture an abstract image from Hosta leaves on my morning walk.  There were several plants and I tool a lot of shots.

This one worked quite well.

The awards and reception will be announced on Friday, May 28th, so I will update this post should I be win an award.

I am happy with getting an Honorable Mention in this art show!

It's always nice to know that my art has connected with the viewers.

You can check out the full show here!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

A visit to the St. Albert Botanic Park this week yielded more flower photos than I anticipated.

Here, I have captured one of the several colors of Pasque Flowers - Prairie Crocus blooming in the gardens.

They come in blues, purples, red, and white.  

Beautiful flowers!

During a trip to the country this week I also found a Greek Basil plant.  I have tried growing a plant since early March with no success.  I hope to be able to keep this one alive and harvest its leaves for cooking. It smells so good. I have it under my grow light for 8 hours a day.

My sister had an extra Greek Oregano plant so I asked for one of those. 

I have started using this gluten free flour for my pancakes, sauces, and other miscellaneous uses. 

After a much needed grocery shopping trip I made myself a trio of pancakes for breakfast on Saturday morning.

Served with a variety toppings with cream. 

Fruit syrup, fresh fruit and yummy chocolate hazelnut spread.

 

I use a book to keep organized and on track for my days out of the house.  I have been doing that for years.  I have always had coiled books which forces me into a chronological order.  I saw this small binder at the dollar store and decided to give it a try. 

 

 

 

 With 5 dividers I can organize the information. The pink for the trip checklist, the green for shopping list, the purple for the address I use often but don't know by heart.  That leaves a couple tabs for expansion as needed.

There is a space to store my store coupons, take out coupons and whatever else bits of paper I need.

It has a slot in the front for a business card.  I have a hole punch th right size to punch my own sheets once I have used the ones that came with it.

The elastic keeps everything well contained within the covers.

A convenient place for a pen.

It lives in this bag I made a while back.  Feel good about this project.

Look at the cutie I found recently.  This is a bunny which comes from some domestic rabbits that were released from their hutches years ago.

We have hares in our province but not wild rabbits. You can tell it is a rabbit by the dark eye, the shorter ears and smaller size.

Very cute.  I will visit regularly to track the progress of the family as the young ones grow up.

The challenge for Flickr Macro Monday this week is Buttons.  There is potential for a variety of  buttons from the sewing kind to the ones on electronic or mechanical devices.  This shot is the snap fastener on my rain jacket.  You can check out my Flickr Photo Stream (SMDPics) to see the shot I submitted this week. 

I am joining the Mosaic Monday #132 hosted my Angie and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #290.   Have a great week!

Cards - Thanks

Another few cards for Compassion House.

This is reusing a small thank you card. The words are silver foil.  

I just swiped a bit of watercolor in yellow across the words. Then I paired it with a deep yellow card.  

I added a yellow handmade paper flower in the top left hand corner held in place with a silver flower sequin and a silver tiny brad.

This layer was then adhered to the front of the card.

I reused a nature print I did a long time ago.  This is a maple leaf print using a variety of acrylic paints - brown, red, yellow and orange.  Once dry, I spritzed it with orange red watercolor.

I paired it with a warm red card base.  The nature print was adhered to the card front.

I added an oval color printed greeting in warm orange tones and punched out with the 2" oval.

A deep brown card with a designer paper layer of warm blue grey stripes. I wrapped a length of ivory grosgrain ribbon and tape the ends to the back. This was adhered to the card front.

I added the scallop circle greeting in ivory and warm blue grey.  The punches are all Stampin Up - scallop circle, 1 3/8 and 1 1/4 inch circles.  This was mounted with 3D foam tape.

I arranged the 3 hexagons and adhered with double sided tape.  Cut with the SB Hexagon Nestablities.

Seniors Week - June 7-13 2021 - Card Donations

This is the reusing of a nature printing I made many years ago.  

Nature Printing is a process that involves using real leaves, acrylic paint and white card stock.  I spattered the prints with watercolor after they were dry.

I trimmed the green leave nature print to leave a small border.  I adhered it to the front of a medium green card base.

I added a sentiment made with a Stampin Up Modern Label punch from the same green card stock as the card base and a color printed SU Word Window punchie.  This layer was adhered with 3D foam tape.

 

This card was made with an old card kit prepared for a class at a women's residence. 

The grey card base was punched with a circle border punch.  The sentiment is held in place with a metal circle pronged through the card front.   I added 3 daisy confetti held in place with tiny black brads. The insert is the full half sheet so it will show through the punched border.

I am using up old card kits which did not get used in class.  There was a time when I prepared more kits because I was not sure how many participants would show up. Later, I got smart and made participants pay in advance so I only prepared the number of kits which were paid for.

This card has a lavender card base with coordinating designer paper in the diamond pattern.  Trimmed to leave a small border.

The gold border was wrapped around and the ends were taped to the back.  The purple Lattice die cut was adhered to the designer paper too. Then this layer was adhered to the card front.

I added a flower accent and a Stampin Up Modern label sentiment where the purple punchie was offset from the white one. This was adhered with 3D foam tape.

Another old kit.  

This card has a black card base with a piece of striped warm blue green designer paper trimmed to leave a small border.  I wrapped the ivory grosgrain ribbon and taped the ends to the back. This was adhere to the front of the card.

The three hexagon shapes in the same color scheme as background were cut from designer scrap book paper with Spellbinder Hexagon Nestabilities set. These were adhered aligned along the ivory ribbon. 

I added a ivory tag sentiment with navy cording.  It was adhered with 3D foam tape.

The stack of card is growing!  I delivered them on Friday, May 21st.  They were gratefully accepted.

Seniors Week - June 7-13 2021 - Card Donations

I worked on more cards for the Seniors Week Project.

I started with the yellow and blue layer which I made last summer.  It involves making a marking tool with old toilet paper rolls to create dandelion flowers.  

That layer was trimmed to 4.00 x 5.25 inches. 

I placed a piece of blue rick rack across the bottom third and taped the ends to the back. This layer was then adhered to the front of a medium blue card base.

I added a color printed greeting punched with the Stampin Up Decorative Label adhered with 3D foam tape.

This card was created with a 4x4 photo reused from one of my photography calendars. 

I trimmed the 4x4 down a bit to leave a bit more of a border. 

I added the vellum sentiment which I adhered to the photograph with gold flower sequins held in place with orange tiny brads.  This full layer was then adhered to the front of a yellow card base.

These cards are reusing a small card I made for a Stampin up party I held years ago.  I had leftovers and they just sat. 

The accent layer has a Tango Tangerine base with Tempting Turquoise designer paper.  I added an accent strip in orange punched with the Stampin Up Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch. 

The tag was stamped with the Too Terrific Tags set in Tempting Turquoise on Whisper White. Layer onto Tango Tangerine with a Tempting Turquoise grosgrian ribbon held in place with an orange tiny brad. 

The Whisper White layer was embossed with the Swiss Dots folder and trimmed to leave a small border. It was adhered to the turquoise card base.

The stack is growing!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I went for a really long walk Sunday morning but a bit more about that later.

The fruit trees are all in bloom.  These are the blossoms of a small crab apple tree.  It was full of flowers.

I love the deep rich color of the blossoms.

I found these at a park I normally visit once or twice a year.  It  has a large man made storm water pond and generally supports many waterfowl.  

The trail that surrounds it is 1.7 miles long. It was originally built in 1977 so an upgrade is due.

Unfortunately, with the significant renovations done to the path way which goes around it things will be disrupted most of the summer.

My regular entrance was cut off so I had to walk a ways just to access the water and the start of the grey line in this picture. 

Then I got to the end of the grey line which is where I found this sign. It led me to the neighbourhood to the north.  I should have paid more attention to the map because I spent the next 40 minutes walking on city streets trying to get back to my car. 

The best option would have been to turn around and go back the way I came, at least I would have seen more birds and wildlife.  I have learned my lesson.

These are some of the birds I did find walking along the trail on the edge of the water.

An American White Pelican but only one.  Generally there are a lot of them here.  No Cormorants.  

The House Finch was singing her heart out which did my heart good!

Many Mallard Duck couples were feeding and swimming.

As you can see the Red Neck Grebe was sitting on her nest with her partner very nearby.  In the past I have had a hard time finding nests but I found 2 on Sunday.

This is the book I finished this week.  I can always count on Nicholas Sparks for a family friendly story with heart.  

True Believer is a story about a science journalist, Jeremy Marsh from New York who visits a small town in North Carolina to investigate mysterious ghostly lights in a local cemetery.  The phenomenon brings much needed tourism to the area. Lexie Darnell is the local librarian who has returned to live near family.   She has had her heart broken and is not interested in going down that road again.

Lexie serves as local guide for Jeremy and the sparks fly but Lexie is cautious about getting involved.  Jeremy is head over heels. He works out the mystery but can he convince Lexie his love is true?

It all works out in the end.

We have had some gorgeous warm +20C days in the last week.

It was time to dig out the trusty Keens sandals which came highly recommended by my niece when I bought them.  I can vouch for this brand of sandals.  I have had worn a pair for at least 10 years. 

When I put them on yesterday but the elastic on one of them broke!  With a closer examination there were other issues so they needed to be replaced and quick!  I search on line and found a store in my neighbourhood, called to be sure they had my size and headed out to purchase a new pair. Yellow with black and grey, perfect!  In all of 10 minutes they were mine. They were pricey but worth every penny.
 

I had a challenge this week on Flickr which was letters.  I decided to do a still life and put words out into the universe that are life giving.

I created a small bouquet with dried flowers and grasses.

The letters are by Tim Holtz and I have had them for a long time but lost them for a while and recently rediscovered them.

Love the letters.  Wood blocks at least 1/2 inch deep so they stand on their own.

As you can see a variety of colors.  Love them and I have added them to the photography studio props.

Deleted Blog Posts! 

Did anyone else lose blog posts this week?  I had 14 posts deleted due to possible contravention of Googles Community guidelines.  I later got followup emails saying the posts have been reinstated but they are still gone.

The challenge on Flickr Macro Mondays this week was soap.  This is one of a few shots I took for the challenge.  A lot of potential in this subject matter.  You can check out my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics) to see the shot I submitted.

I am  sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #131 and 

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #289.

Have a good and safe week!

Clean Up - Craft Table

I have been working on cleaning up my craft table so I can move my work space from the dining room back to where it belongs. 

I have been at it for a couple of days and I have the table done.  I still have projects on the dining room table that can be migrated to the craft table and completed or otherwise handled. 

On left of this photo is a pile of stuff that came out of the front hall when I had flooding there in 2019. I will have to work on that project soon as well so I can access many of my tools that are stored in the shelving unit on the left against the wall. 

I have decided to so a reset and I am willing to chuck or donate cardmaking stuff down to what is in the storage units.  Then I can start again working on putting things back where they live when I am done at the end of the day.

It is a process and I will start again and move forward with a renewed commitment to the process.  I feel good about my progress.

Anniversary Card - 67 years

Mom and Dad celebrate their 67th Wedding Anniversary this week.  Love does endure.

I chose an ivory card base.  I added a layer of Anna Griffin designer paper leaving a small border.

I wrapped a piece of moss green satin ribbon around the designer paper, taped the ends to the back and adhered the layer to the card front.

I created the focal element with 2 Stampin Up Sweetheart punches in off white.  I embossed them then mounted them to the gold scallop oval.  The oval was adhered over the ribbon on the card front with 3D foam tape.

Wishing them many more years of love and happiness.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I captured this shot of the summer hare this morning.   I came loping across the grass into the shrubbery and I caught the movement in the corner of my eye.

It was on high alert but stood still for a bit and I managed several shots.

Love this one because the eye is great, the tree on the right is out of focus but frames it well.  

The photo has a cohesive color scheme in the warm grays and browns.

I finished this book - Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood on the weekend. I found it interesting though disturbing in some ways.  It chronicles the life of a painter artist Elaine Risley who is in Toronto for a retrospective of her work.  

Her early childhood was spent in northern Ontario traveling from place for her father's work as an entomologist.  They settle in Toronto when he gets a more stable job.  Her memories are not good.  Being the odd teen in a group of girls was hard. Clothes, hair, school politics, friendships and boys were all avenues she had to negotiate with rough patches at times.

It was a different kind of read filled with insecurity, lots of questions, angst, and disconnection.  I suppose it is part of adolescence and young womanhood which shapes the woman she became. 

I have been investigating the Asian food aisle at the grocery store for a while.   

I was searching for what I call glass noodles.  I was introduced to these at a potluck in high school where a dish contained them. The contributor was a school teacher of Asian heritage who came to teach at our school for a couple of years.   Loved the food. 

After, several purchases that were disappointments, I found them on my last grocery shopping trip.

I thought they were rice noodles but no so.  They are made with bean starch.

I cooked up a wonderful shrimp stir fry and these were the perfect accompaniment!

 These will be on my regular shopping list.

 

I have been doing some artistic photography work.  I was getting some pieces to enter an art competition.  I will blog the entries in a couple of weeks.

This piece was created with a process called Bottled Light.  I have blogged about it in this post. 

I loved the thread of green going across the composition and some of the complementary colors.

I love the jewel tone colors in this composition. The object I had the light go through was a blown glass ball.

I used another technique called In Camera Motion where you move the camera with a long shutter speed to allow the capture of the patterns of movement.

The lights and darks are captured during the movement. 

This is a piece of dark fabric with bling on the surface in spiral patterns.  By shining the light onto it, the bling reflects the light and produces light areas.  You can see hint of the spirals in the bottom third of the art.

I called this piece The Waves. I really like the patterns I created with my movement.

 It was great fun to be inside as it rained most of Saturday but the earth is grateful and putting out all kinds of green.

The challenge for Flickr Macro Monday is object with Zed in it's name.  I think this challenge will produce a lot of variety of subject matter today.  You can check out my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics) to see the shot I submitted.  On the left is the bezel on my cell phone.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #130 and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #288 .

I hope you have a great week and Be Safe Be Kind.

Mother's Day Card

I made this card for my Mom.  She is so precious to me.

Her favorite color is blue so I made blue poppies for her card.

I chose a true blue card base.  I added a piece of watercolor designer paper cut to leave a small border.

I cut the Memory Box Row of Poppies die from blue green and grey blue card stock.  I cut the flowers from the grey and glued them onto the green.  I chalked the flowers to add some blue shading to them.

I cut a piece of the blue green card stock the width of the card and ripped the top edge.  Adhered to card front with double sided tape.

Printed the greeting on white card stock, ripped the top edge again, aligned the bottom edges and trimmed to the edge of the card.

Pet Sympathy

I couple I know had their pet dog Hank pass away this week. I just felt I needed to send a card.  He was a good dog.

I found a outline graphic on line which reminds of Hank.  You can find the graphic here.

I printed it on card stock as well as the sentiment.  I chose chalk pastel to color the image and integrate the sentiment. 

I adhered the focal element to the front of a warm teal textured card. I aligned it to the left.

The sentiment was adhered above the image with 3D foam tape after I flagged the ends. Aligned to the right.

Exchange Cards - May

These are my cards for May.  Turquoise, white and silver is the color scheme.

The white card base has a designer paper layer with a plaid pattern.  

I created the focal point with SB Circle Nestablities in 3 sizes.  The large white was embossed with the Cuttlebug Script folder, then the middle circle is turquoise solid card stock then a silver foil layer embossed with the  Cuttlebug Diamond in the Rough folder. I added a white daisy confetti with a blue tiny brad.  

The greeting is color printed and punched with the Stampin Up Modern Label.  It was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

I flipped the designer paper over and used the polka dot side for this card and changed the orientation to landscape.

I cut the squares layers with the Sizzix Square Thinlits in the same colors as the first one. I added a little note brad in the center.