Year Ending Memories...

This is the week between Christmas and New Years and it has always been the week that brings these childhood memories back to my mind.  I have no vintage photos for this post however I am showing current time photos.  My laundry room as it looks right now, including me in the mirror taking this photo.  Lots of clothes to wash and then iron and fold and put away or hang in the closet.  Please note my new little rug that my girlfriend gave me for Christmas because it is so perfect for this room and it mimics my little hanging clothesline Mr. C put up.

 For the memories, my Grandma would never begin a new year with any laundry or ironing piled up.  So, every year before New Year's I make very certain that I have all of our clothes clean and ironed.  This little bottle stopper is actually from my mother who used it on a Coca Cola bottle to sprinkle the wrinkled clothes that she then would roll and place in the freezer to iron later.  When she did her ironing I remember her sitting on a chair in the closet door opening and ironing all the clothes on a mangle iron that sat in the closet.  I have never used one but I think it would be great for linens and flat things.  Fortunately I have always liked to iron.  Thank you Mom and Grandma for that. 

Looks like my supplies are all here and ready for my marathon week of laundry and ironing before New Years.  Midnight comes very quickly some years and I am still frantically ironing.  This year I hope to be finished and relaxing when midnight strikes bringing in 2012. 
Thank you Donna for hosting Memory Lane Mondays (which can last all week since I am late).
I am very thankful for this childhood memory.  I can only imagine how much would pile up and never get done if I didn't follow tradition and complete my laundry before the new year.
Gentle week to all...

Finding Nemo Silhouette...

 I am linking with Memory Lane Monday hosted by Donna of Brynwood Needleworks.  A few days ago Donna did a post regarding her husband's silhouette and how she was able to display it. 
I was remembering I had my silhouette done when I was a young girl and I should get it out to view.
As you can see, I found it.  Mine however is in terrible condition.  My mother's home burned down years ago and therefore it has lots of smoke and water damage.  I feel extremely fortunate to even have it after all those years. 
I remember when it was done.  Our family was at a state fair and one of the vendors was hand cutting silhouettes.  I don't have any idea how much it cost but I know my mother got one of each of three of us sisters. 

I was probably about nine or ten here as that is how my hair was at that age.  This photo is blurry but you can still see the incredible detail that exists in this silhouette.  I was so entranced with the man and his little scissors that I could hardly sit still for him.  I wanted to watch him cut that black paper.  When he was all done with the three of us girls I still wanted to watch him cut with his small scissors and his nimble hands.  So...

Just for me he took a very small piece of his special black paper and cut this tiny little bug.  To this day I am amazed at the details he achieved by just free-hand cutting with those ordinary looking small scissors.  I was over the moon when he generously gave me the little bug.  Ordinarily I would not want to be close to any bugs even if they are made of paper. 
Come to think of it...I have a passion for small scissors and cannot get enough pairs.  No...sadly I cannot cut paper into any silhouettes or bugs or anything else. 
It makes me happy to have my Silhouette by Nemo even in the sad condition it is in...frame and all.  You know that it is quite old as I am decades from nine or ten now. 
Thank you Donna for hosting Memory Lane Mondays.  I love reading stories that are shared from the heart. 
Happy Week of Productivity to all in this busy season.  Jingle Bell Joys...

Memories of Grandma...

This is my maternal Grandmother.  Her name was Dorothy but she liked to be called Dot by her friends. I have shared many times in my posts about how I learned so much from my wonderful talented Grandma. 
My Grandma was more talented than Martha Stewart or anyone else who has so successfully merchandised themselves.  Dot was clever because she had to be.  She was an excellent cook because that is what women did long ago. She sewed.  She ironed.  She washed walls and windows and scrubbed the floors.  I remember a time when I was at her home and I did the dishes.  I was always helping in the kitchen and thought I had done such a good job.  When Grandma went into the kitchen a little later on she called me in and told me I wasn't done.  What?  When I had washed the dishes (and dried them) I hadn't rinsed out the sink when I drained the dishwater.  There was food debris and soap scum and sure enough the sink wasn't clean and shiny until after I cleaned it out.  Thank you Grandmother for teaching me even the tiniest things that really make a difference.   

 Yes, you remember these.  The 1980's (could it have been the 1970's?) fabric and lace photo albums with the "magnetic adhesive" pages.  The ones we now know destroy all photos and papers placed on them.  I made this album for Grandma in her favorite colors.  A few years ago I decided to take the old nasty pages out and replace them with new acid free page protectors that hold a sheet of paper that I can attach photos and papers to.  Now I see that I never finished my job.  I got a good beginning but somewhere along the way I got distracted and never finished. 

 I think this shall become a winter project that I shall finish.  There are bulging envelopes and notes and ephemera just crammed into the album.  I see why the ribbon ties are holding this album closed.  It is truly amazing that this album is still holding together and looks pretty good.

This is the very first page in the album.  I was able to save a note in my Grandma's handwriting...she was left handed...and this is a photo of me with her.  The bags we are holding she made using plastic canvas and yarn.  Mine has my initials and is in my favorite blue colors.  Hers in her favorite fall colors.  I still have my bag and treasure it!  My oh my how young and thin I was so long ago. 
During my daily activities I am reminded of my wonderful Grandma when I see my hands and fingers.  They are just like hers were.  Mine are not as talented but they are very good at so many things thanks to the patience and love my Grandma showed me as she taught me so much.  I always miss her so much. 
Thank you for letting me share a little of my Grandma with you.  There will be lots more sharing as the posts pass along. 
Thank you to Donna of Brynwood Needleworks for hosting Memory Lane Monday.
With my tears of joy I have now I shall go and sip a cup of tea and reflect on how fortunate I am.

Walking Down Memory Lane...

Here I am Walking Down Memory Lane on Memory Lane Monday that Miss Donna began a few months ago. This photo hangs on my "Rogue's Gallery" wall. I don't exactly know why but I like this photo. Then again this photo makes sad and happy at the same time.
I am the older sister pulling the wagon. I am about seven years old. My sister in the back of the wagon is 4 years younger than me so she is about 3 here. My sister in the front of the wagon is 12 months and 12 days younger than her sister so that makes her about 2 in this photo. That is a bottle hanging from her mouth.
I never look at this photo without thinking and feeling WAIF. We look like such waifs that are orphaned with no one to take care of us. All our worldy goods are on our backs...clothes that are very much hand-me-downs and definitely do not have any fancy designer labels. Marie has her bottle...and she is not letting go of it. Joyce and I each have a balloon. I am not certain why I would have a balloon because I really dislike balloons. Not in general but just for me personally. I don't like how they pop at any unknown moment. I don't like blowing them up because it hurts my head. I really don't like how balloons make your hands smell! Something like rubber which I dislike also.
We three sisters each have the same haircut but I can remember mine got a permanent. Oh how I really hated those days. Some woman cutting your hair when all you wanted was the long hair you had before she started. Then she would pull it and wrap it way too tightly around some little rod contraption until your entire head looked like you could receive radio transmissions. Uh-Oh...now comes the smelly stuff that always made me think I would pass out after throwing up! My poor eyes would water so badly that it looked like I was crying. My mother would be right there telling me to sit still and behave. How rude!!! I was being poisoned and she was happy about it. :o) Then the big heavy dome of heat that would burn your entire head but you sat under it until the hairdresser lady was done looking at her magazine or talking (gossiping) or maybe cutting some one elses hair too short. Whew! I am done with that torture and now I look like a frizzed out poodle. Not the look I ever wanted or enjoyed. What was my mother thinking? She had very long beautiful smooth hair that she braided in one very long queque down her back. No perms or hair salons for her. Why me? YUCK!
Life was simpler back in the olden days. I can attest to that. It is not often, if ever, that you see kids playing with a wagon on a sidewalk.
I love old black and white photos. It leaves your mind open to creatively color the images. To imagine what time of year it might be and what color the leaves on the trees might look like. Did I match my clothing or wear whatever was in the "play" clothes stack. We wore a dress to school and then came home and changed into play clothes. Do kids even do this anymore? Is this old REX wagon red? I love red wagons. In fact Mr. C has a red wagon that he used for hauling batteries and tires when he was racing cars and I will not let him throw that rickety old wagon away. I think some sub-contractor even ran into it with his truck but I won't let it go. We use it around the property and it resides in the garden house. Nope, cannot throw it away while I can still enjoy the memories of red wagons and childhood with my sisters.
Life was simpler back in the fifties.
Thank you for letting me share some of my memories with you.
I hope you get out some of your old photos and enjoy going down memory lane this week...

Generations of Memories...

Here it is Monday March 28, 2011 and I am participating in Memory Lane Monday via Brynwood Needleworks post. This is done the last Monday of each month and this is the first time I have been able to participate. I have always been very sentimental and when Donna came up with this idea I just knew it was for me too. Mr. C is always aware that if I begin to look through old photos I am "going down memory lane". The same thing happens when I am supposed to be cleaning or organizing...I end up "going down memory lane". Now there is nothing wrong with this except I get side-tracked and never complete whatever task I was on. :o) This photo above is a treasured black and white I have framed and hanging on my family gallery wall. It is a four generation photo which includes my Great Grandmother in the center back. I really never knew her unfortunately. I only remember that she had diabetes and back in those days her doctor told her to eat five (5) bunches of fresh parsley per day. As a child I thought that was horrible. Now I wonder if it was a smart healthy prescription. Facing the photo on the left is my Grandmother. I just love her so much and she was probably the most valuable influence on my life still to this day. On the right side is my mother at 24 years of age. I have always heard how beautiful she was. Growing up as a girl you didn't think of your mother as beautiful. And of course mom is holding me the fourth generation in this photo. Oh how I would cherish having that little dress now. See there is the sentimental me. I have always adored this photo and been so grateful to have possession of it. Now for this home-taken photo...what a rogues gallery this is. Here we have five (5) generations all together. On the left as we face the photo is my mother. Then I am the tall one with my eyes closed. Next to me is my Grandmother...getting shorter as life progresses. Next is my daughter the young and beautiful skinny one. My daughter is holding her daughter and our five (5) generations are complete. As the years pass it is so rewarding to have such a photo. If we were to take a multiple generation photo now it would only be three (3) generations. Me, daughter and granddaughter...granddaughters as there are two (2) lovely girls my daughter has. Maybe we should schedule this photo and make it a priority for the future generations to come. You do know that I will continue looking at old photos and "going down memory lane". Thank you Donna for such a great avenue to share and reminisce. Can you figure out the decade or year by the way we were dressed in each of these photos? Funny how old and how young I feel at the same time while writing this post. May you enjoy the past, present and the future...be it through memories, actuality or dreams...

Sorting Jewelry...

Apologies for these fuzzy photos. I believe I am feeling as fuzzy as these photos. This is the second set I took and both times the images were not clear. I understand I have no expertise in the photography department and further understand that I do not wish to learn photography as it seems to be far more complicated and time consuming than I have patience for. Mr. C is an expert and we never agree on my need to learn and take my time to photograph things. So I am posting these lovely fuzzy photos because this post is not about the pictures but the object of them.

Over a week ago I decided to gather all of my costume and semi-precious and general jewelry. I thought it would be a good idea to sort it all out and then organize it so it would be quickly recognizable and usuable for my crafting.

What was I thinking?

I started out strong. Then I lost the momentum for sorting all of this stuff! I decided to purchase some clear medium paint pails from the local craft store. This way I could see what I have and access it easily.

Okay so far so good.

Now I have some of it sorted. Earrings in one container. Bracelets in another. Pins separate from tac pins. Broken pieces of jewelry by themselves. Necklaces...oh far too many to fit...Oh yes a very large glass container that was only holding ephemera. Jewelry is so much prettier to view and inspire my creative ventures.

But wait...I'm far from done...

I have run out of steam yet I have so far to go to complete this task.

What happened? Well, I began straying down memory lane with some of the pieces I was finding in my stash of jewelry. Some of it brought me great joy and some pieces brought me great sadness. With my Grandma and my Mother both gone it was bittersweet to come across a piece of their costume jewelry I just cannot dispose of. And with the rain and very gray days it is not a good time for me to become sad. So, I have officially put this project on hold until the brighter days of summer when the sun shines and I feel so much happier. In the meantime I shall merely gather up all of this and put it in a bin which I can set aside.

In gratitude for the pieces I am finding I have been thinking of some wonderful ways to honor my Grandma and Mother and leave bits of memories for my daughter and granddaughters. Knowing that none of them would ever wear any of the pieces I shall create some sort of mixed media pieces. Ahh...that will be for future projects. Already I am happier just knowing I shall be able to create some sort of legacy to be handed down to the next generations.

Now for getting my vanity back to normal.
What would you make with costume jewelry?

May you have a wonderful week and enjoy the celebration of St. Patrick's Day and wearin of the green...

Thank You Donna of Brynwood Needleworks

I want to thank Miss Donna of Brynwood Needleworks for her brilliant post today. I think most of you follow Donna and her beautiful blog however if you don't you will want to. Today she is thinking of a wonderful monthly stroll down memory lane. I agree that I often go down memory lane, especially when being creative as my mother and grandmother were super creative and taught me so much. It will be fun to read what stories we bloggers share. I believe the first date is Monday January 31st.

I also wish to thank Donna for sending me one of her giveaway mug mats. It arrived wrapped in beautiful green tissue, soft beige ribbon and an adorable acorn tag with her handwritten note. This photo is after I already opened the package as I just could not wait to see inside. :o)

And inside...pure sunshine! Donna is an extraordinary quilter and seamstress. I can guarantee this little beauty is not going to get mugs of any kind sitting on it for spills of anything. I have something much safer in mind to honor it's beauty. Thank you Donna as I adore your mug mat.

Today Mr. C and I took a stroll in our little town as the sun was shining there (but not at our super cold and wet wintery home just 1.5 miles away) and the temperature actually got to 60F. Oh the sun felt so warm and wonderful as it touched my face. We sat at a little outdoor coffee house and enjoyed watching all the people out and about. We spent several hours just enjoying the day. Then it was off to get ice cream before heading home.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend just as you most like doing.

Happy enjoying...

Journal of papers...

Journal of papers is just that. I selected some random papers and cut them to approximately 5" x 7". Here you see some lined paper and some vintage Wilson Jones ledger paper.

This page is 1/4" graph paper on the left. The blue is an envelope to tuck in receipts or ticket stubs or candy wrappers (yes I am known to save everything!).

Some watercolor paper on the left and some vintage Vernon McMillan columnar paper which is now sideways.

The right is some note paper from a tablet. The left is some more vintage Wilson Jones ledger paper now sideways.

After cutting the paper to size I then punched holes in them with my vintage punch which is perfect spacing for old fashioned Acco fasteners.

For anyone who worked in an office or bookkeeping world I am certain you recognize all of this.

Two covers cut from some glossy paper in my favorite blue colors. Hole punched and then I tied fun ribbon through the holes. I left it loose so the pages will lie flat for journaling and gluing.
At first I put metal rings in the holes but felt they were too large and stiff. I much prefer the ribbon as it is flexible.

This is merely a journal of papers right now.

Ahhh...but in the future it shall hold many memories of a trip I shall take.

Happy journaling...

Merry Christmas...

May you each enjoy today as we wind down to celebrate Christmas Eve. Some will gather with family and some with friends to share this joyous time. Eat, drink and be merry.

Tomorrow may you be overjoyed with your gifts. May you have food a plenty. Make lots of family traditions and memories to last a lifetime and beyond.

A very Merry Christmas to all.

Happy Thanksgiving...

May each and everyone enjoy a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Whether you spend it with family and/or friends make the most of your time together and savor the memories you will be making.

Stay safe and well.

A very Happy Thanksgiving 2009.

It's good to be home...

Oh it is so good to be home. Dear Hubby and I are safely home after spending 20 days away. I am still recovering from exhaustion but today finally feel like I will survive. This is the only photo of me that I do not look as weary as I felt every day. This was early in the day before the grind of museums or hill towns got me drop dead worn out.
Our destination was Italy...Florence, Cinque Terra, Pisa, Tuscany, Umbria and Rome. In the next few weeks I shall tell more in detail. As for now we had beautiful weather with only one morning that rain drenched us and shortened our plans. We had excellent travel with planes, trains and automobiles. DH plans everything so well that we really were well prepared for this trip.
As you can see from this photo we ate our way through Italy. This was homemade granola (muesli is what they call it...I prefer granola as it sounds so much better to me) with some strawberry yogurt. I have lots of photos of food that we enjoyed which I shall share along the way.
My goal was to find bead shops in Italy for my new jewelry line "Adorn Me!". Well that proved to be very difficult however I did manage to find a couple and will share these adventures as well.
As for now, I am catching up on tons of laundry, reacquainting myself with our beloved aging fur-child kitty and enjoying friends who are all too willing to listen to our travel tales. This entire trip was a no techno gadget time for us so you can imagine how much I missed reading all of your blogs and now I am catching up on those too.
"There is no place like home" and it is so good to be back in my beautiful cozy familiar home. I am extremely grateful for the trip of a life time and the experiences and memories it allowed me.
Now it is time to get into the studio and get to making jewelry.

November Update...

This is the lovely fall month of November and the leaves, pine needles, cedar debris are all definitely falling. It is much cooler and thankfully we have had lots of rain and dampness so all the natural trees and plants are very happily drinking in the nutrients of mother nature.

The Createology studio is very busy these days. Completing lots of projects is the daily goal. Many of the items are gifts for loved ones of family and friends as we approach the holiday gifting season. Some of the items are excitedly awaiting their debut on our new Etsy shop which is very soon to be open for business. More on that in our next blog.

We Saucy Chicks wish everyone lots of things to be thankful for as Thanksgiving holidays arrive. Sharing good food with family and friends and making memories to last a lifetime.

Creatively Yours,
Saucy Lorraine and Saucy Sherry
aka Saucy Chicks of Createology