Christmas Decorations are up!

The front hall rectangular bowl has pine cones and mercury glass ornaments with the brass jingle bell.

The Christmas rose bowl with a red candle is sitting there greeting guests as they arrive.  I have replaced the real candle with a red battery operated one.  This was a gift from my sister who sent it from Germany.

The white ceramic tree works all year long and fits right in at this time of year.

I set up the large metal nativity scene for the first Sunday of Advent - Nov 30th. 

The candle holder in the front is my alternative Advent wreath since I just did not have the space for the large glass one. It will get spruced up next year but for this year I am just glad I have it up.

I set up my fluted tea cups as tealight holders which works well.  I put a crackled glass holder at the top for Christmas Day.  

I put real candles in the Advent Wreath and make sure I blow them out when I leave the room.

Here's the Christmas Tree all light up and decorated.

It looks so good.  

It was nice to open the boxes of decorations I have not seen since 2023. 

They are mostly glass with a few wood ones as well.

Some are ornaments we receive at our large family get together which we celebrate every other year.

There are a couple of very old ornaments which we had as kids.

It sits in the middle of the conversation corner between the 2 yellow chairs.

I have several nativity sets.  My large one is still packed so I pull out this medium one which sits nicely in front of the folk art painted fold out stable.

I added string of battery operated fairy lights and the green ceramic Christmas tree I found on sale at Superstore a couple of years ago.

The Reason for the Season.

I have several fireplace DVDs.  I chose this one for this year because it makes the TV look great and there is the option to only the fire crackle and no music.

I had it on went folks came to visit.

The Silent Night wax warmer from Scentsy which I received as a gift from my niece is putting a cinnamon scent in my place.

I love how it makes light marks on the wall at the back.

The wax plate is generous and wax lasts a long time.

Scentsy Cinnamon Vanilla is my favorite. After checking current scents I see it is still available.

I will check in my new town if there is a rep nearby.

I now have Mom's Christmas Candelabra.  I just love it.

I have it set up in the window in the craft room.

I will investigate getting LED bulbs for it. I can color them with alcohol ink to make them yellow.

DIY Project - Set Up Wall Christmas Tree

I knew that I would need a hook for the wall Christmas Tree.  At the downtown place it hung from the photo shelf.  Hence, I thought I would wait for the photo shelves to be put up before I hung my tree.  I was going to miss it.  My sister encouraged me to do what needed to be done to get the tree up. 

So the tools came out and I set out to see if I could find a stud in the wall and avoid electrical. 

I set up the hook below where the photo/art shelf  will go, I think. 

I found this hanger at the ReUse Center a while back because I was looking for option for hanging the tree since I moved.

I used the outlet below the table as a guide. I put in a blue drywall anchor from my kit and Dad's old drill and did it. 

Super happy.  It is a bit low but I can make it work. A decorate photo will be coming.

Christmas Tree & Nativity Up

The Christmas Tree is up.  It was getting late in the season and I was anxious to hang the tree.

This is my wall Christmas Tree that I made in 2021 that hangs from a photo shelf.  The lights are part of the tree so that is a real time saver.

All the ornaments were hung with care.

Most vintage because I have been hanging them on a tree for over 25 years. All with precious memories attached to them.

The teapot from my Mom & Dad's tree. The snowmen my brother-in-law made. The vintage ones my aunt gave me when she was downsizing. The glass star that I bought for my large nativity scene which is packed in boxes. The green ball, a keepsake from one of our family Christmas. Stained glass ornaments bought at the big Christmas craft sale in the big yellow building.

The chair had to be moved to make room for the 2 TV tables that support the tree table top decoration along with the snow angel, the mercury glass owl, the candle stick holder and the glitter NOEL.

The movie I watched after the tree was up.  I have not watched my traditional movies this year but there is still time.

I have Polar Express, Love Actually, and A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart.

This was just the right length.

Some eggnog with nutmeg and cinnamon and a bit of whipping cream for a seasonal drink along wit the movie.

It's nice to have traditions to keep my head on straight when lots of things around me are just upside down.

I put up the Snowpeople Nativity this year along with the LED tree, the green ceramic tree and the great mint green one I got on sale which lights up.

All the players are there - the Holy Family, the 3 Wisemen and the baby lamb.

The table was set up with the red table cloth and plaid place mats.

All looks festive and ready for a celebration, even if it is a quiet one.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

As we wait in the dark through the long night things can feel lonely, sad and discouraging.

We must remember that dawn does come.

Christmas can only be found.  

Christmas can not be bought.

Fill your heart with the hope an light that is coming.

I put up the tree this week as I was going to be hosting some teas for Christmas visits.

This is my wall tree that I made last year.  I still love it!

This year I decided to put some narrow green garland around the edge which nicely defines it.

I placed a couple of TV tables below it to allow me to hide the cord and put any other seasonal decorations I wanted.  Nice lacy tablecloth and one of my several Nativity sets as the main one is packed.  

I did not put all the ornaments I have on this year as I was up against a deadline.

It provides beautiful light to the living room.

Thank goodness the temperature warmed up a little this week and having friends over was possible.

I pulled out the red table cloth and the plaid Christmas place mats. 

A bit of healthy veggies and brie cheese with whole grain crackers were prepared.

Some clementines as there were not Mandarin oranges when I was shopping.  Supply chain issues.  I was grateful to get most of the food I was looking forward to.

I used my white Ikea dishes and mugs on the first tea and my White Regency for the second tea. 

A bit porcelain teapot of tea and a couple of hours of catching up and visiting with friends.

The Christmas Candle I received from my sister when she was in Germany.  It comes out every year. I have added a flameless candle to it in recent years.

I spent a day with my aunt making our traditional tourtieres (meat pies).  

We made a few small ones and a big one.  She is the one who makes the pastry so she decided that she was not making another batch so we just froze the meat in containers to eat in the next months.

The frozen filling may become pies or just eaten with pea and carrots which is my traditional way of eating tourtiere.

This tea with my friend featured just a few snacks.  Chocolate almonds, Ferrero Rocher and some cranberry and almond cookies.

Still a bit big pot of herbal tea and clementines.

I so enjoyed having a few people over this year for Christmas.

I set up one of several of my fireplace DVDs and just had the crackling fire for sound.  

It makes the whole living room feel very warm and cozy and festive.

The fireplace DVDs allow me the option of just fire, fire and crackle, or fire, crackle and music.  Some feature traditional Christmas carols and hymns.

I have one that features Christmas songs by Boney M. and another with nature sounds that I use after the Christmas season.

It works well for me.

I was given this book by a friend who enjoyed and thought that I would enjoy it too.

Miracles from Heaven by Christy Wilson Beam is a true story of the miraculous healing.  Christy and Kevin Beam traveled a journey of faith by putting one foot in front of the other. Their daughter Anna was diagnosed with an incurable, life threatening disorder.  The family endured through years with Anna suffering pain, invasive testing and treatments. Travelling many hours for specialized care, managing the care of their other children, the cost of treatments were part of their lives during this time.

When Anna suffered an accident that nearly took her life they thought it would makes Anna's life even worse.  In the days that followed her rescue she shared her stunning experience of heaven.

Anna was well following this experience. God is good!

Bespoke Shelf Art

I wanted a piece of Christmas art for the shelf above my wall tree.

It's snowy and cold outside so not too interested in heading outside and shop.

I use the frame with the JOY word in the previous photo.  I cut a piece of paper to fit inside the frame (8x16 inches) approximately. 

I printed a few words with fonts that I liked and adjusted the size to suit the composition.

I traced the words onto the white paper then painted them with black acrylic paint. 

I added the holly in the corner for a bit of color. It was a quick solution for this year.  I really like it!

Wall Christmas Tree - 2021

My Wall Christmas Tree is up!

Thanks to my niece who came to visit this weekend for the help to installing the photo shelf at the top which holds the ring to hang the tree from.

I sprayed the star at the top with Brilliant Gold paint.  Very happy with that!

I was surprised to see that I had liquidated all the large ornaments last year so only the small mostly clear glass ornaments remained.  It seems it was quite clear to me that this idea of a wall tree was going to materialize! It did just as I imagined it.

The Nativity has been set up on the old trunk next to the tree. A soft light on the right lights the scene and the tree area for nice shadows.

I have put my JOY alphabet photo letter art on top of the shelf for now.  I did some searching on the web and did not really find anything I liked. I will create a bespoke one for later this year or next.  I am loving the tree!

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.

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!

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!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I was out early Saturday morning on a photo shoot.  The weather was warm and the sun was shining so I took the opportunity to be out. 

I found a new park to investigate.  The walking was tough because it was quite icy in places. I fell Thursday after we had a dusting of snow so I was careful.   The park is long along the Fulton Ravine but is used as a off leash dog park.  I was early so it was not too bad for social distancing.

I captured the morning sun on this snow bank.  I just love the sparkle of the snow.

It was a very good 90 minute outdoor adventure.  I made several stops along the way to shoot architecture.

Very successful morning.

I have a plan for a new Christmas Tree for next year.  This one hangs on the wall.  It is made of birch tree branches hung in a triangular shape.  I had drawn up the design on paper but decided to make a mock up and hang it where I planned to see how it fit.

The triangle is 40" wide at the bottom and 48" tall. The trunk is extra.  On my last trip to the outside world I bought a 50 foot string of fairy lights which will light it.  That is enough to cover it twice which will be just right.

I plan of having crystal beads on the ends of each row which will prevent the branch from moving and capture the light.   The branches are about 5" apart which is tall enough for most of my ornaments. I most have clear glass or stained glass ornaments. I have work out the hangers for it yet.  

I hope to keep a few twigs on the branches sticking out to allow for a few special dimensional ornaments.

 I finished this book this week. A World Elsewhere by Wayne Johnston.  A Canadian author who grew up in Newfoundland.

Landis Druken is the son of a Captain on a sealing ship who had hoped to have him take over the Gilbert when the time came.  Landis attended Princeton for his higher education.  He met Padgett Vanderluyden and they became friends, were part of social scene and shared a house at one point. Padgett is very wealthy and plans to build an estate in Carolina and wanted Landis to join him. These two parted ways under bad terms.  Landis returns from Princeton and declares he does not want to head a sealing ship. For this, his father disowned him and he was left poor and living in an attic on Dark Marsh Road. 

He receives a letter from the wife of a man, Francis Carson, who sailed on his father's ship who has died at sea.  It's possible his father is responsible for this death. There is now a small son, Deacon and the mother can no longer care for him so he has been put in an orphanage. 

Landis rescues the 3 year old from the orphanage and brings Deacon to live with him. In some ways Landis is not prepared to be a father. He drinks too much, does not earn enough money to keep them both well fed, and the attic is very cold in the winter. The boy is small and frail and often travels on Landis' shoulders.

After several years, Landis being desperate writes to Padgett in Carolina and asks to come to Vanderland, the estate which was built in Carolina. Landis and Deacon move to Vanderland.  Things get complicated there with Mr. Vanderluyden, his wife and daughter. They are warm, well fed and Deacon is getting an education. Landis is teaching English to the 2 children and there are other tutors who all live in the Bachelor wing. 

Landis is very good at story telling, creating new words for things, creating poetry for songs, but he writes every day and burns the pages.  Things get harry in the final chapter but it has a good end.

I have put up 2 more framed photos on the shelf in the bedroom.  This shelf does not have the channel which the other shelf has but we'll see how it goes. 

After a bit of a exchange with an artist on my Instagram I have decided that I should have as much art on display as feasible.  I will enjoy it till the frames are filled with new photos and I will be reminded of the frames I have.  Why hide them away in boxes!

 

I recycled an old artist board (18"x 24 inches) I had into a photography backdrop.  I primed both sides with 2 coats of primer. 

I decided to have one side in cool tones and the other with warm tones.

This is the blue cool tones side.  I used Blue Velvet and White acrylic paint.  I watched a few videos on line about doing this process. 

I mixed my medium base coat by adding white to the blue. This was thinned with water and painted on.  I had prepared a darker version and a light version as well.  When the base coat was semi dry I applied the lights and darks with a round sponge.  I am happy with the results.

The challenge this week at Flickr Macro Monday is "Ribbon".  I had fun using a large assortment from my stash.  You can find the one I submitted on my Flickr Photostream (SMDPics).  The red one uses my new photo backdrop.  Really happy!

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #114 and with

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #275