Birthday Cards for Mom

I made some ready made birthday cards for my Mom as a Christmas gift. She usually makes her own but it's nice to have a few ready to give cards.

I chose a warm dark blue which matched the bird nicely.  I added the blue bird (it's a post it note). Put a bit of white behind the eye. Added a wing which was cut with the Cricut and embossed with the Cuttlebug Devine Swirl folder.  Added a branch cut with the Stampin Up Little Leaves sizzlet. Added a SU Modern Label/Word Window greeting.  Designer paper by Karen Foster.

With the bird in the middle of this card I chose to just add a greeting in the bottom left hand corner.  I chose a medium pink card.

 

This one received a blue greeting instead of a pink one. I just love this paper.

The paper is Indigo Dreams Gypsy Stripe by Recess Carson-Dellosa.  A warm dark blue card base with a SU Word Window greeting.  I changed the orientation on the second one.

 

 

 

I am mailing a parcel to my parents this year.  That is a first time in twenty years.  I have almost always with my parents for Christmas.  Makes me sad!

Christmas Cards - Photo

I worked on Christmas card all day today.  

I decided to work with the supplies I had at home so I put together these gold trifold cards with my tiny nativity photo.  These are A7 5x7 cards.

Looks great.

I bought postage a while back so I have what I need with to trip out of the house.

I can just drop these in the mailbox.

The next card I paired the same gold tri fold cards with my Green Holy Family photo where it fit inside the card.

These will be in the mail tomorrow.

Another task complete.

On to Christmas tree, lights and door decoration.

Wall Calendars - 11x17

I created a couple of 11x17 inch wall calendars this year after getting a request for one.

This is the image I chose for myself and printed a couple just in case someone else might like to purchase one.

I have been very conservative in my estimates this year because I generally am too optimistic about sales and end up with stuff that does not sell.  It's calendars so they expire at the end of the year. No sales means I have wasted my money.

 

 

This is the image my friend order which she chose from my Flickr account.  SMDPics

It's in a mailing tube ready to mailed away.

Birthday Card - Candles

A birthday card for a boy who celebrated his birthday back in November.  I was just not able to make a card then as I was dealing with health issues.  I am feeling better and trying to get caught up on things that fell through the cracks.

I chose a yellow card to match the flames. I cut the candles with the Quikutz thin die.  It has 4 dies one solid and three patterned.  I cut the solid ones from the same yellow card stock. I layered the bright patterned layers on top and adhered with quick dry adhesive.

I added a bit of texture with a thin black marker.

The greeting is one I received from a fellow card maker so I have no credits for it.

It is late but on it's way.

Christmas Card Samples

I have had a client place a large Christmas Cards.  I prepared some samples for them to choose from.  I am posting the two cards which were not chosen.  I will post their selection later once the recipients have seen the card.

This card is a photo of my own Nativity.  It is the Avon porcelain one which is simple and elegant.  I photographed it with a black velvet backdrop.  In post production I added the bokeh in the top left hand corner then added the greeting as well.

It was printed on photo paper at 3.5 x 5 inches.  It was trimmed to 3.5 x 4.75 inches to leave an even border all the way around on an A2 card.  It was mounted on a heavy white card with a customized sentiment on a quarter sheet adhered on the inside.

I am really happy with the way it turned out.

I am working on the order and it will several days to get it done.

This the second card presented. 

It is a photo I took early this year of a friends stained glass Nativity set. I applied a filter to give me the silhouette in black you see on the front.  The silhouette was placed in front of a piece of alcohol ink background which coordinated with the Tempting Turquoise card stock. It was printed on photo paper and trimmed to 3.5 x 4.75 inches. The frame was printed with I did the credits on the back of the card.

Again, a customized insert on a quarter sheet insert. 

Really happy with this one as well.   They may become my Christmas card for this year.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I was out to a new to me wetland area this week.  There are several water ponds and some walk ways over the water which is frozen these days.

Ice had been cleared for a hockey rink and a skating oval.  With the pandemic raging here the locals have found a way to social distance and still get their exercise and fresh air.

I will certainly be checking this area in the spring when the water is back.  Looking forward to it.

This is a seed pod of an unknown species of plant.  There a hint of snow on it.  I have not been so aware of how seeds get spread in the fall for growing in the spring.

I delivered 13 quilts to my charity contact this week.

These are some of mine as well as some of my sister's.

The box meant to store them was over flowing and I am grateful that they will be distributed to people in need.

The bag was dropped off on her door step at a designated time to ensure no contact.

I did not finish this book which was recently on my night stand. 

The novel is a story about a real life Erwin Schrodinger - was a Nobel Prize-winning Austrian-Irish physicist who developed a number of fundamental results in quantum theory: the Schrödinger equation provides a way to calculate the wave function of a system and how it changes dynamically in time.

This book was about his personal life - his marriage, his mistress and their child, his other infidelities and how he interacted with his colleagues.  A lot about how he was feeling and the internal dialogue going on in his head.

It takes place in Austria and Ireland during the Second World War.  It was quite depressing and I don't need that right now so I quit half way through.

 

The dryer vent has been reconnected!  We had the dryer vents cleaned a while back and the service person was not able to get around this elbow with his vacuum.

They cut a hole in the drywall, taped the joint on the bottom of the elbow back together, checked the bottom connection, and fixed the hole in the wall. 

I had to dismantle some of the shelving in the laundry area to provide him the access he needed.  I was finally able to get everything back in the space.   That was a week of no laundry but I had planned ahead so it was no problem. Great to get another thing off the todo list.

I was able to get outside and so a bit of photography as well.  The sun if having a hard time showing up these days still.  On Sunday it was predicted so I kept an eye out and when it appeared at 10:00 am I headed out with the camera.

The top leaf was with good sun and you can see the shadow and the sparkling snow.

The wild grass at the wetlands against a late afternoon sun with interesting clouds in the sky.

The bottom one is a very frost encrusted leaf in the snow.

Flicker Macro Monday challenge this week is "Bathroom".  Here's one of the shots I took.  You can check out my photostream SMDPics to see the photo I submitted.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #107 and Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #268.

Have a great and safe week.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I found this bit of snow which had collected on an aspen leaf that had settled in the evergreen tree at the park.

Its been a few days since it snowed and the temperature has warmed up so I see a bit of ice forming on the bottom edge.

I found it a nice image on my walk yesterday.

Jeopardy is one of my favorite shows and I watch it every day.

Of course, Alex Trebeck has been hosting for long time and it was very sad to hear of his passing.

I will miss this Canadian smile, kindness and class as he hosted some many people on this game show. 

No gimmicks just great show.

My first Granny Square since the 1980's.  I had to do a lot of research to find a pattern that worked for me.  Before the internet where would I have seen a pattern for crochet?

There used to be monthly magazines which you bought monthly. They had all kinds of crafty and food ideas.  This is the Christmas Helps from 1980.  I found a traditional Granny Square pattern in it.  And it is all contained in a single entry.  I was finding on the internet the information was spread over a few pages and no print file was available.

I made home made Ginger Chews recently.  I had discovered some packaged ones which tasted pretty good.  One of my favorite flavors in food is ginger so I went on the web to see if I could find a recipe.

I found Fiery Ginger Chews recipe which is very yummy.  It reminds me a lot of pulled taffy we used to make when I was a kid.

They are very sticky and I decided not to coat them in icing sugar as suggested.  I just wrapped them in wax paper.  

Very yummy and good for coughs and nausea as well.

The Macro Monday Challenge on Flickr this week was Spiky.  A lot of options for this challenge.

I found bottle brush trees, push pins and pods from the potpourri.

You can check my photo stream SMDPics to see the image I submitted. 

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #106 and 

Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #266.

How To: Photographing Bottled Light

My aunt shared with me a You Tube video a while back by one of her favorite photographers - Harold Davis.  It was how to Photographing Bottle Light.  I just loved it!  Check out his videos if you are interested.

I am offering my experience with the process.

Materials needed: Colored bottles, color for water in clear bottles, sunshine, a camera with a macro lens or at least a good macro setting and a very clean white surface.  I will cover some options in each area.

Colored Bottles or containers - wine bottles, vinegar bottles, olive oil bottles, condiment bottles, etc.  Check the kitchen and cleaning supplies.  I found the dark green olive oil bottle did not light a lot of light through so great job for oil maybe less effective for this process. But use whatever you find and see what happens. Think of colored vases as well.

Clear Glass - bottles or vases of clear glass can be used with colored water.  

Glass texture and pattern - some texture or pattern in the glass adds to the refraction of the light.  I had a small etched vase where the etched areas became almost black.  Not what I wanted.

Color for Water - I have lots of liquid acrylic so that is what I used. Harold used food coloring.  It needs to concentrated and transparent.

White surface - It must be CLEAN and smooth.  The material should not absorb the light.  I used foam core board which worked well.   It needs to large enough for the light to be refracted beside the containers. 

Light - I found bright sunshine the best.  Any artificial light I used did not produce results I was happy with.

My experience with stemware was not very successful.   

Setup is entirely up to you.  Does the light go through one bottle to the next creating new color? Do you want the shape of the glass to play a part? Compose your art as you wish based on light, shape and color.

Very Important - You are photographing the light on the white not the light through the containers. 

 

Here are some examples of the photos I took over 2 photo sessions.

Post Processing: I had to trim all of my images because I could not isolate the light from the container.  All of these have been brighten and had some adjustment in the color saturation.  Rotate the image as you may see something you could see from the other direction.

Now, I don't have the imagination that Harold has to see objects within the abstract shapes.  Maybe that will come in time.

How about photographing the light through the glass?  Anything goes really.

This one has the large blue bottle in front of the olive bottle with an artificial light behind the olive bottle.  The bottles are overlapping creating the bright green color in the center.  It was nice to have the 2 small dots in the bottom right hand corner to provide a git of a focal element.

I would encourage you to experiment!  All you have to lose is a bit of time and colored water.

I am so glad I tried this technique!

Lest We Forget

The Remeberance Day Poppy on my winter coat which will not be worn today.

I am grateful to those who serve today, for those who served, did the right thing, made sacrifices,

and some lost their lives for the freedoms I enjoy today. Lest we forget!

Sylvia's Simple Shots

My aunt and I went on a last photo trip to the Lois Hole Provincial Park before the snow came.  We started at the Riel Recreation area and walked over.  I had hope the sun would come out but nay it did not. It was hard to get highlights on the eyes.

We found still a lot of birds - Canada Geese, Gulls, Tundra Swans, Coots, and ducks. There was other wildlife as well thinking the same I expect.  I was surprised the birds were still here.

Here is a munching muskrat.  There were many of them sitting on bits of ice that have started to form on the smaller ponds.  I love the water drops on his fir!

No beavers today though they are around.

This is the only sighting of the Wilsons Snipe this year. It's been a few years since my first shot of this bird.

It was feeding along the edge of the river so the angle of the shot was not ideal.  

I have not been doing a lot of take out food. I guess tired on my own cooking also. I was having a hankering for War Wonton soup from my local restaurant.  I was lucky that despite not having ordered ahead I did not meet anyone in the tiny lobby as I waited for my order to be prepared.  It was super delicious as always.

This is what breakfast looks like these days.

I decided to reduce the amount of dairy products I consume.  I had yogurt which has been replaced with peanut butter to get the protein I needed.

I am still having cream in my tea.

Almond milk or coconut milk are the alternatives I have been using for quite a few years.  Love the cashew milk as well.

We had our first big snowfall on the weekend and I see that the magpie that has started visiting was here this morning.

 

Recently, my aunt shared with me a webinar by photographer Harold Davis - Bottle Light.

I thought it was so cool!  

My first attempt did not so well but this morning with the biggest light available - the sun I managed some shots I was happy with.

I will prepare a blog post with more information in the next little while

I have direct sun for about an hour in the morning if it is shining at all. 

This book - The Lace Makers of Glenmarra by Heather Barbieri is a great book.

A book about women - mothers, daughters, best friends, sisters, and strangers who come from away and enter our lives and their relationships.

There is heart break, good times, teaching, learning, new ideas, and taking risks to improve life.

It is set in wonderful Ireland and the main character is Kate Robinson from Seattle who is taking a trip she planned with her Mom but things changed and she is doing it alone.

There are men too - some hardworking, some abusive, some lazy and taking advantage, some with very rigid opinions and a father who spoke up when it mattered.

I would recommend this book!

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #104  and 

Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #265.

 The challenge for the Flickr Macro Monday this week is Puzzle. You see a few pieces of a jigsaw puzzle here.

Check out my Flickr Photostream (smdpics) for the image I submitted.

2021 Photo Calendar - Nature

I found a few new to me bugs this year!  A good variety of subject matter for this calendar.

01 Pond Reeds                                 02 Milkweed Beetle                  03 Pussy Willow

04 Ink Cap Mushrooms                   05 Mallard Duck - Male            06 Bubble Bee

07 Red Turnip Beetle                      08 Phoebe                                   09 Rust Lichen

10 Water Drops                               11 Common Skipper                   12 Lady Bug

They are for sale on the Calendar Page.

2021 Photo Calendar - Garden Flowers

 

This calendar features blooms found in our gardens.  I am grateful to those who plant flowers where I can photograph them. 

01 White Anemone                       02 Peony                             03 Lavender

04 Hosta Bloom                            05 Tulip                               06 Double Click Cosmos

07 Chinese Globe Flower             08 Forget Me Not                09 Sunflower

10 Red Stem Filaree                     11 Red Poppy                     12 White Geranium

They are for sale on the Calendar Page.

2021 Photo Calendars - For the Birds

 My 2021 Photo Calendars are ready!

I am really pleased with the bird photos I took this year!  The calendars are 4x6 printed on photo paper and include 12 monthly pages and 1 index page.  

I thought that I would identify the birds included: 

01 Bufflehead Duck - female    02 Red Wing Black Bird - male      03 Downy Woodpecker

04 Black Terns                           05 American Robin                        06 American Coot with chicks

07 Black Capped Chickadee      08 American Avocet                       09 Cedar Waxwing     

10 Hooded Merganser - male     11 Barn Swallow Fledgelings        12 Black Billed Magpie

You can find them for sale on my Calendars Page.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I captured the seed pods of the Field Pennycress last week on one of my walks.

I love how the sun backlit the pods and the seeds are so visible.

We still have nice weather and super temperatures so walking is still good.

Several days have been very overcast so not so great for photography.

This is the second book I have read by Patrick Taylor. This one set is later than the first one I read but this is book one in the series.

The practice has been purchased by Dr. Fingal O'Reilly the intern that came to work with the original doctor.  Now, a new intern named Dr. Barry Laverty comes to practice medicine in Ballybucklebo.  Mrs. Kinky Kincaid continues to be the one to keep the doctors fed and generally the house organized.

The young doctors starts to learn the human side of practicing medicine.  How who the patient is dictates to some degree what medicine is needed. Dr O'Reilly has some very creative approaches and Dr. Laverty brings some new medicine to the practice.   Great book and high recommend it.  

What a wonderful book - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.  

A man who recently retired gets a letter from an old friend which prompts a walk across England.  He believes as long as he walks she will live. His adventures, lessons learned, and troubles are included in this story.  

There are a few surprises along the way.  I loved reading about well know English locations as he passed through. 

I would highly recommend this book.

I have decided to add a savory snack to my list of regulars.

After considering hulled sunflower seeds which would disappear too quickly I revisited sunflower seeds in the shell.  These will not disappear so quickly as I have to work to get the goodies inside.

I have been hoping to buy a large bag but was only able to 210 g / 7oz bags so far.  I manage to keep to my 1/3c serving at a time which takes about 20 minutes to eat.  Then I am satisfied and move on to whatever else I am supposed to do.

Loving it!

Leaves from my walk recently.  I put the Swiss Chard one in there for the fun of it.  

Amazing how things continue to grow.

Sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #103 and Mersad who hosts Through My Lens #264.