Friends Are Blessings...

 Some people are true angels here on earth.  After my beloved Sasha BooBoo kitty had to go to heaven the loviest lady got busy and made me some wonderful gifts that I shall treasure forever.  These gifts came all the way from AUSTRALIA from Judy of Fabrications blog. 
This adorable wall hanging is a kitty angel.  This is bringing me Joy Joy Joy. 

 Judy even backed it with kitty fabric.  And do you see the wire hanger shaped like a kitty head.  So very clever.

 Included is a wonderful fabric tray.  I can honestly say I am so making these for some upcoming gifts.
Do you see the cat card, cat charms, angel and heart buttons, bookmark, cat note pad, tiny cupcake tote and beautiful beaded flower?  Miss Judy was so very generous.  I am truly touched. 

 And included are some articles, patterns and a scone recipe.  Plus a birthday card. 

Judy is such a dear and she really helped me deal with my huge loss and sadness.  Thank you my dear friend.  You are a blessing indeed. 
Thank you to all my commenting followers.  You did a great job sharing your stories of shopping...or NOT!  I do enjoy each of your comments and always look forward to reading them. 
Nothing creative from me as I am spending my time handwriting my Christmas cards and hand addressing each and every one of them.  In this day of technology I just really enjoy the time and effort I spend on each holiday card I mail.  Do you still hand address your cards or letters?
Jingle Bell Joys...

Counting My Blessings...

This is the time of year that so many of us here in the US have much to be thankful for. 
We celebrate Thanksgiving with copious amounts of turkey, gravy, rolls, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry relishes, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie and lots of whipped topping...just to name a few dishes. 
We spend time with family and friends around large tables and in front of televisions watching the Macy's Day Parade and yards of football.  Sometimes a nap is in order...too much food I'm sure.
This is a great time to reflect on all that we are thankful for.  My list is long and I am truly grateful for so much.  I will keep my thoughts to myself at this time and know that I am sincerely fortunate for so many things and people in my life. 
A very Happy Thanksgiving to all my US blogging friends...

ATC Beauties Received...

 Do you enjoy ATCs?  I enjoy making them, giving them and receiving them.  Even better I love a little surprise Random Act of Kindness in my mail.  This lovely French themed card I recieved from the equally lovely and very talented Dorthe of Den Lille Lade.  The bits of lace and the wooden button really add such detail.  Thank you dear Dorthe.

These little gems came to me from Australia.  Judy of Judy's Fabrications is another lovely lady with lots of talents.  She created this adorable little fabric stocking ornament with beads sewn on.  I adore it and the card with the 3D candle and holly.  Thank you dear Judy.

 Look at this lovely pear.  This ATC is made with napkin applique and enhanced with some beautiful gold leafing which does not show up well in this photo.  Meet Daniella of Layers of Creativity.  I am certain we will be swapping ATCs on a regular basis as Daniella loves making these little works of art.

 This very Thanksgiving Autumn ATC is made by my friend Joy.  She does not have a blog...yet.  Joy is uber creative and has the most beautiful gardens surrounding her home.  I had sent her an ATC just because and that introduced her to this little bit of art and creativity.  Joy is now making beautiful ATCs and teaching her mother, Eva, to make them as well.  They are now looking to swap with others.  I am linking Joy to all the best people I know.  Under the little brown scalloped flap she has stamped swirls and written "Family and Friends" in the most fluid perfect cursive writing.  Thank you Joy...your little ATC brings me much "joy".

And here is Eva's (Joy's mother) gorgeous ATC that she also sent me last week.  I believe Eva fussy-cut the roses.  Remember years ago when we sat with tiny manicure scissors and fussy-cut tiny little scenes and then made framed 3 dimensional pictures?  I loved those.  That is when I learned to turn the paper not the scissors.  I am thrilled that our little creative world shares and allows us to spread all the happinesses that come from such wonderful talented artisans.  Thank you Eva for this little piece of art.  No link here as Eva has no blog, however she does want to swap ATCs with others.
I would be happy to pass along any swap info to Joy and Eva if you just let me know here in comments or via email. 
Blessings and peace as you enter this busy week of holiday preparations...Thanksgiving here in the US.
I am truly blessed and so grateful for the gift of blogging friends and gracious giving.

Birthday Gifts...

Happy Birthday Sisty.  Mr. C's sister is celebrating a milestone birthday in just a few days and we won't be together to celebrate it.  We live quite a distance apart and this is such a busy time of year.  Independent of Mr. C honoring her day I made Sisty this Origami Pouch in some beautiful fall fabrics with golden highlights shimmering throughout. 

I also put together this necklace and earrings set which utilizes the new acrylic beads that are super lightweight and very popular right now.  I am showing these because Sisty has received them and no surprises will be spoiled. 
My little studio has been quite busy lately as I am certain each of you have been.  This time of year can get so overloaded so easily and so quickly that it is important to stop and take a break from the hectic and just be grateful for even the smallest of things.  I am grateful for having my wonderful sister-in-law in my life.  I am also grateful for my family and my youngest granddaughter who is having a birthday this month.  Happy Birthday Amy.  I have so much to be grateful for and I feel very blessed. 
Now we interrupt this calm to get back to being busy and productive. 
Wonderful week ahead...

Celebrations Complete...

Ahh the Grand Lady, Elsbeth, herself. A gathering to celebrate her 90th birthday. It was a wonderful celebration enjoyed by many. The setting was beautiful. The food divine. Red Velvet cake for the finishing touch.

Our table decorations were a welcome addition. Bookmarks and candy for all to take home.

Happy Birthday Elsbeth and may we celebrate many more.

This was also my annual girlfriend road trip and the week passed by so quickly. We leave the husbands and our fur-child kitty cats home and off we go. We spend the week with Elsbeth and have a great time telling stories, playing Scrabble, going out to eat when we aren't eating all of her delicious home cooking and relaxing at the dock on the lake. This year our trip was over July 4th so we enjoyed a huge fireworks show down at the lake and it was spectacular. I saw amazing fireworks I had never seen before and some of them had sound effects like sparklers. I lived many years right near Disneyland so believe me I have seen a lot of fireworks in my day.

It is always so good to be home and in my very own bed. My BooBoo kitty is not letting me out of her sight. I shall be spending my week catching up on laundry, grocery shopping and other assorted household and yard chores.

Most of all I am looking forward to catching up on my favorite blogs and see what each of you have been busy doing. I have sincerely missed you. I had no computer, no internet, no access of any kind for over a week and I truly missed my daily blog perusing. I know I owe some serious thank you notes and will get to them as quickly as I can. I had a stack of mail awaiting my return and fortunately little packages of bliss out-weighed bills. I will need to really use my time management skills wisely this coming week in order to get it all done.

Thank you for all of your comments and emails. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends. May you have a wonderful week and make all the creative art that makes you happy...

Grateful for Electricity Power...

How grateful I am for electricity.

Without power the house got down to 41 degrees indoors...upstairs.

Without power my beloved 17 year old kitty shivers until I hold her in my arms.

Without power it is very dark.

Without power is how many people must live.

I am so very grateful for the power I have and that it is restored.

Four days and nights without...yet I am fortunate.

I have a home.

I have warm clothes.

I have food.

I have so much to be thankful for.
You can be certain I will be donating many items of need to those without.

I am grateful.

Thank you for each of your well wishes.

I am blessed.

Goodbye 2010 & Hello 2011...

Let me begin by saying 2010 has been a good year for the createology household. Oh we had our setbacks and trials, yet we were always able to move forward and enjoy overall.
In 2010 I had chosen to select one word that would be helpful to me throughout the year. I have never been one to make resolutions since I don't follow a "throw a switch" mentality. I have never understood how one day, January 1, can make a person behave differently especially for an entire year or for life just by something they say. For me it has always been about making changes as I feel comfortable with the ability to actually change whatever behavior necessary.
My word in 2010 was FOCUS and it did actually help me through the year as I was able to recognize when I strayed from being focused.
So for 2011 I am again selecting a word that I believe will help me have the best life possible. I have put a lot of energy into this selection. I reviewed my goals and accomplishments in 2010 and found many of them I did in fact keep in focus and achieve. However I also realize that I lacked in areas or ambitions and did not get all that I wanted to get done.
So for 2011 I am selecting my word to be NOW. I know this seems like an odd word however it is the one word that kept coming to the forefront for me.
NOW will represent to me the following:
without further delay
present time
at once
immediately
Now will keep me accountable to doing things now as opposed to putting them off til later.
No more procrastination.
No more excuses.
No more waiting until the time or weather or lighting or supplies or ??? are right.
Now will allow me to get more things done and that will allow me to quit beating myself up for not getting things done or made or given. This can be quite the vicious cycle if you know what I mean.
Now will give me the freedom to focus on all that I can be in 2011 without waiting for the right time. When is the right time? Never or Now!
I am actually excited about this word as it has really made me stop and think about who I really am and why I do or don't do certain things in life. This just may be my year to really grow not only creatively but also as a human being.
Now for me will represent these things:
no excuses...
keep trying...
be accountable...
just do it...
there is no perfection...
Now I feel confident and comfortable to embrace this new year 2011 and be the best me! I shall continue to bring with me FOCUS as I travel my journey.
Thank you each and every blog friend and follower. Blogging has been such a great way to share and experience with others who share this gift of life and creativity. I feel blessed.
Onward and forward as we enter into this new year of opportunity...

Blessed with friends...

I feel so very blessed to have friends. This being Earth Day is another reason to feel blessed as I am so happy to be a part of this earth. I spent a wonderful day yesterday with my dearest and closest friend. We had to run errands and do grocery shopping but somehow it wasn't the chore it seems to be when done alone. We laughed, we shared stories, we split items that we didn't need a lifetime supply of, we were very helpful when one or the other couldn't decide whether to get something or not and we ate a leisurely lunch. All the while sharing a rare and wonderful friendship.
I am also blessed with friends whom I have never met in person. I have new friends that I have met through this amazing world of blogging and etsy shopping/selling. Each one unique and so very interesting and talented. I tend to be rather shy in person however I am not so shy online. OK I am not shy in person...I talk to anyone, anytime, anyplace. Sometimes I wonder why am I talking with this person?!! I am so like my mother was. The first time Mr. Hubby took me to San Francisco (just a decade ago) I couldn't understand why people wouldn't smile when I smiled at them. He cautioned me that, "You never make eye contact with anyone in a big city". Well, that is just not me. I had the hardest time looking everywhere but at people. I am a people person. People and especially events energize me. I come alive when I am around other people especially when they are having a good time. I am always in amazement when at Disneyland or DisneyWorld (actually any theme park) that too many people are frowning, mad or definitely not having a good time. Be happy comes to mind.
Thank you to all my friends, long time and newly found, for bringing me great joy and the feeling that I am blessed.
Happy Earth Day to all. May we take good care of our earth and our friends everyday.