Category Archives: Personal time

playing more with watercolours…

More morning glories – cause they are so pretty!

These are “Artist Trading Cards”  – so the size is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches and I cut a sheet of watercolour paper to play with these smaller scale pieces.

Version 1:

stoping now: added texture and highlights

Version 2:

Final version with highlights

Watercolour adventures….

Having started my holidays with a plan to try more arting, an online workshop happened to be guiding the painting of thistles 💖 in watercolour😎…

so here’s what that has resulted in….

Stylized Thistles in watercolour by TAV
Morning Glory 1 watercolour by TAV
Morning Glory 2 by TAV
Blue cornflowers in watercolour and acrylic by TAV

Gonna go do some crazy baking next!

Part of something bigger- a mosaic to inspire….

I saw the ad on Instagram. to be a part of a mosaic of tiles created by artistic all across Canada… go here to see it coming together : MURALMOSAIC

Yes, I paid to be part of this- and we pay for therapy, experiences and supplies to help focus our tension on something positive all the time.

I am very pleased with the art I created, and I have some friends who joined in the journey and contributed  their own creations…

yay art!

Once I received the kits, I then offered up the choices to my friends. Blue went quickly, and then I awoke at 4:30 am with a vision for the red, so I chose it, sending green off with the third artist!

Reel of my iPad procreate video

and then I painted this with the acrylic paints provided:

And then I felt like I wanted to do more…

So I found some 6 inch ceramic tiles and created a quartet…

Please note that the red tile is a rough reproduction of my original one for the Canada Mosaic Project…it’s proportions are not quite the same, but it works and it’s all good!

 

digital arting again….

Thanks to a quick response from the fabulous SM Carriere this morning, I decided to share this little quick clip and possibly start adding more arting clips to my YouTube channel!

When inspired, one must ART!

Digital drawings are a fun way to quickly create without getting messy… and I am grateful that I am able to afford and use the equipment I have for this  – I use it for business mainly, but it’s helping when I’m not as booked with sewing clients…

and previously this week I had shared this one on my insta of my furry Muse @SprocketMinPin….

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tracey Vibert (@tavalonia)

Sunrise May 7, 2021 by Tracey Vibert

Photography – a hobby…

…for now…?  I’ve been taking photos since I was an early teenager and even did a year as yearbook photographer. I think I have learned even more over the years since that training course, but there are some things that just feel natural and I love capturing moments with my phone by instinct!

Every morning I am blessed with a beautiful neighbourhood that I can safely walk through and avoid humans. #sociallydistant

and I share my photos on a few online spots – I need to get better organized – either sharing them here or even getting back to using my Flickr account where there’s no question about my copyright…< fb/insta are handy but still evil….> but it allows me to share with folk who seem to really enjoy seeing the world through my lens.

Here is a fan fave photo I shared this morning  – and folks re recommending I send it in to the local news – but I have not yet figured out how to do that, so hopefully one of them will let me know!

Anyway – here’s a local shot of the sunrise I took this morning May 7, 2021!

Sunrise May 7, 2021 by Tracey Vibert
From the Minto Bridge the view of the sunrise is always beautiful, this morning it was exceptional. Photo by Tracey A. Vibert

Hmmm…Appreciating the little things…

Gifts of this life… #memories #pastandpresent

 

If we had company coming over, this would greet them.  When we have company again, the display may have changed, so for now – welcome to a glimpse into my world….

A corner display of moments in time.

The larger dried flowers are from my wedding bouquet – 23 years soon…

The smaller dried flowers are from a floral arrangement brought by my high school BFF, Deb, to our 20th anniversary party – almost  3 years ago.

It sits in a tiny plastic skull, a gift from JKL or KBL – from the sis in law/ niece – if I am remembering correctly.

The skull is filled with loose pearls and beads – the foundation of my creative sewing life…

The mini paintings I made on the only creative visit I’ve had with my mother. It was a good day, a few years ago.

And the present… presents from two creative souls for my b-day this year – thanks Sonia and Dar for adding beauty to my world during these crazy times…

Appreciate whatever you can, folks…

 

 

Red Lentil and Sweet potato soup

Super easy!

FULL CREDIT: I was inspired by the recipe I saw on minimalist baker  .

I opted to simplify some things – but feel free to pop over and follow the recipe there

My version

  • ½ white onion chopped
  • 1 celery stalk with leaves chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Saute onion and celery in the oil in a medium saucepan on medium heat.  Once the onions are transparent, add your spices to let them warm up a bit – you can do your own thing for spices – these are what I have handy…

  • 2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tsp pepper

then add

  • 2 sweet potatoes < medium size> – oven roasted , peeled and chopped. note:I had already done that – and I would likely micro wave them to bake them quickly if they were not already baked..
  • 60 grams dry weight red split lentils < I used my kitchen scale, not sure how much this is in cups>

and enough water to cover – I did not measure, but it was probably 3-4 cups – enough to make large bowls of soup for two.

Bring it up to a boil, then turn the heat to medium low, let simmer until the lentils are soft – maybe 15-20 minutes. Once they are soft, puree the soup with an immersion blender – or however you puree soup!

I served with Whole wheat coconut scones, based on this recipe

I just used 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all purpose flour and replaced the whipping cream with coconut milk.

I had meant to go completely vegan – but I did in fact, use an egg  – but you should be able to sub whatever egg substitute you like….

 

 

Steamed Custard Buns…

For this recipe, I followed the one shared by Woks Of Life Here:

Cantonese Steamed Custard Buns (Nai Wong Bao)

And it was super easy and successful! In spite of the small size of steamers I had available to use….

4 sort of fit in the small steamer I have…
this single guy had more space int he larger set up in my larger pot… and the parchment is perfect for them to slide right off!
Steaming away – and so easy!