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...

Another Checked Off the List...

So as we prepare to close another year I have been trying to check some to-dos off my list. For longer than I can think I have wanted to change my etsy shop banner. The photo on the top is of the old banner. It sufficed but was not very clear or classy. As most of you already know I am not the computer whiz I would like to be. Mr. C has always been that for me and done it all. However, when it came to my blogging and my etsy shop he was not interested at all. He was, after all, still working and did not have spare time for such nonsense. Well...

Mr. C is fully retired and when he was helping me the other day with my new blog banner I guess he heard me say I also wanted to change my etsy banner. Yay!!! He made me this new banner (second photo) and I so love it! Simple elegance. Thank you Mr. C...I love it!

Checked this off my list. It feels so good to head into a new year with a fresh clean slate.

What is on your list you would like to complete before 2011 arrives?

Happy creating...

Whew!!!

Whew!!! I have been wanting to change my blog banner to a collage of items I have created. Not being a computer person or software programmer or even remotely familiar with this type of activity I have been putting this task at the bottom of every list for quite a while now.

Well!!! Here is my new blog banner and I am so happy with it. Of course I had lots of help from Mr. C who is very familiar with computers and their nuances. Thank you honey!

I also had help from this wonderful blog tutorial http://memoriesoncloverlane.blogspot.com/2009/08/tutorial-on-how-to-make-blog-banner.html

Thank you so much Sarah for your help even though you don't know me or my blog. Your tutorial was the boost I needed to get started and spend the energy and hours with Mr. C to accomplish something I have been wanting to check off my list.

As 2010 comes rushing to a close I am reflecting and trying to finish some of the items I feel will help me most in 2011. Maybe my word of 2010 "Focus" really wasn't in vain after all.

What are you reflecting on at this time of year?

Are you completing tasks on your list before the new year arrives?

My grandmother (and now me) always had to have all the ironing completed before midnight New Year's eve even if it meant ironing frantically until 11:59 pm. The thought was that if it weren't completed it would merely continue to pile up all year long and it would never get done. So that is how I function and this week is my week to try to complete things before the new year. Hey...what ever works...right?!!

May you have a very relaxed and rewarding week...

Gifts Given & Time to Relax...

I love using wool felt and sewing with it. This is the back side of a tote bag I made.

Here is the front. I have added one of my wool flower pins that can be removed and worn on a lapel or such. The buttons add a nice touch to the handles I think.

The back side of another one I made for gift giving.

Here is the front with it's wool flower. I am thinking I really need to make some of these for my girls as they turned out so nicely. Maybe I shall start on Valentine gifts next.

Christmas was wonderful. Lots of family, friends, food, fun and gift exchanging.

Today is a day to relax and reflect. Mr. C took me out to a wonderful breakfast at one of our favorite local restaurants in town. Then we took the scenic route home and saw lots of very sleepy and rainy wet homes and businesses. Maybe they too are relaxing and catching a breath after the Christmas rush.

Enjoy your week and do what you really like doing.

Happy end of December to all...

I Have Been a Good Girl...

Hi Santa. I have been a good girl. I believe...oh yes, I believe! Today I am busy baking some desserts to take to friends as we celebrate Christmas Eve with them and their family. Oh and I am definitely baking you some cookies for your long and busy trek tonight. I will also put out a cold fresh yummy glass of milk with those cookies as I know it is your favorite.

I shall go to bed tonight and I will try to sleep but I will keep my ears tuned waiting to hear the sound of reindeer hooves on my roof. It shouldn't be slippery as the rain has stopped for a day and the snow is all gone. It will be a safe landing for you tonight.

I'll be in my warm toasty jammies but I will be peeking out the window every few hours just to see a glimpse of you Santa. I am so excited with the wonder of a child as I await your amazing visit.

Safe travels and a very Merry Christmas!

I do believe in the magic!!!

Quick Gift & Wrapping...

Here is a very quick and easy gift from my studio today. A lanyard charm with a lacey metal heart bead and top and bottom Swarovski crystals to add some bling. Where would you use one of these? A cell phone? Zipper pull? Notebook/Journal? Scissors fob? Keys? Hmmm...

And here I am again with the fabric serged to make a small bag. Then I wrapped the charm in tissue paper and placed it inside the little fabric bag. Next I stitched a button with cotton thread to close the top and tied a bow.

In very little time I had made and wrapped and completed another gift for giving.

My list is in really good shape. Lots of things are getting checked off.

I am so excited for Santa to come and visit.

Happy Holidays to all...

I Do Believe...

I Do Believe...

I believe in all the magic and wonder of Santa

I believe in this season of joy

Now I shall be in the studio completing last minutes

Remember my mantra this year...

"Not everything needs to get done"

This is how I am reducing a lot of stress!

I am truly enjoying the sights, lights and sounds of this

Holiday Season.

I wish for each of you joy and peace.

I Do Believe...

Believe...

If you just believe...

The magic and wonder of this beautiful season...

Will keep you in the moment of all that is special to now.

Createology will be in the studio making a couple of last minute gifts

(photos later).

Also wrapping lots of gifts for friends we will see for Christmas.

May you have a day filled with all that makes you smile.

B E L I E V E . . .

Wishing You...

Wishing you each a very calm and peaceful week.
Take time to enjoy the beautiful sights, lights and sounds of this
Holiday Season.
Createology is busy in the studio making last minute gifts...
Wrapping gifts for those on the list...
Writing thank you cards...
Enjoying and staying in the moment.
Peace, Love and Joy...

More Wool Flowers...

Here we are at the end of another week. What I like to refer to as Finish it Friday.
My studio and I have been busy this week making more wool flowers. I love the feel of the wool.

The warmth of the wool. The textures in the fabrics. Of course I added lace just because I like the open airy look of lace.

This one I added a blue felt leaf and I like the dimension it adds. The buttons also give a personality to each flower. This particular button is a polymer clay button I bought along the way and had in my button jar. It has a lot of texture to it.

I try not to pick favorites however I am thinking this little green number just might be my favorite out of this garden of wool flowers.

This is merely the latest crop of wool flowers in my studio garden.

I feel warm and cozy surrounded by these. That is a good thing since we are having very cold winter weather. And tons of rain from La Nina. Now I must put on my rain boots and join the crowds shopping as the holidays are here and I am just not finished with my list.

Have a warm and wonderful day. What are you doing in your studio? Making any gifts?

Happy Holly Jolly Joy to you...

Blogland Gifts...

In the land of blog there are many kind and generous people. I have certainly met some of the nicest through my blog.
One of my previous posts showed something I made using buttons.

As a result one of my followers commented and asked if I would like some of her buttons.

What??? Would I!!!

In just a couple of days I received a lovely package containing this box of amazing buttons. All of which are vintage.

Please visit Lori Anderson and her blog Pretty Things and find out how wonderful she is and all of the things she makes.

I am very grateful to Lori for so generously sending me buttons from her very own collection. WOW!

I do love buttons and will cherish these lovely vintage beauties. Thank you Lori.

Blogland could very well be the best place on earth.

Happy creating...

Wrapping Presents...

Wrapping presents can be quite the chore and take lots of precious time...unless you enjoy wrapping and making each gift look special. My mother was the best at wrapping each and every gift. She would make the paper look extra special and you would never see any tape and every fold was perfection. Then she handmade each and every bow the old fashioned way. I used to take forever to unwrap a gift as I didn't want to ruin her hard work. I would untape and unfold and save every piece of paper with no rips or tears. Her bows got reused for years until they litterally became shabby before shabby was chic.
These gifts I wrapped with paper and ribbons and an ornament and tag. I am quite pleased with them. Then in a very few minutes each was opened and all was tossed in the trash except maybe the ornament and some ribbon.

Now this is how I am having fun this year wrapping some gifts. I have used felt or flannel and serged the little bags to hold a gift. This bag holds a ceramic ornament and can also serve as storage to keep it safe during the year. The photo colors are off but I added a green button and string to close the bag.

This square bag I actually serged entirely closed with the gift inside. Then I wrapped it with green string and a green button to look like a real package with a bow. What is inside? A package of note cards for the recipient who by-the-way loved the packaging and didn't want to ruin it by opening however a pair of tiny scissors did the trick. Even after opening, this little bag will be reused for another gift and sent along it's way.

These fabric bags take no more time to stitch up than wrapping with paper. I really think they are quicker and a lot more fun.

What is your favorite way to wrap a package?

I am off to the studio to wrap some more as I need to get them in the mailing system very soon. I wish you a wonderful day of magic and creativity and hope you stop to enjoy the season.

Happy Holly Jolly Joy...

Following My Own Words...

As I read my very own recent post I realize it is so easy to say, "relax and enjoy the season". Fortunately I am following my own words and I truly am relaxing and enjoying this wonderful magical holiday season. I took some overview photos yesterday at my very favorite place to go.

This is the conservatory at High Hand Nursery in Loomis California. It is a wonderful place to visit and have breakfast, lunch or dinner. Shop for plants, accessories or fine gallery art pieces.

I was enjoying a very nice long relaxing lunch with my dear girlfriends. We were also exchanging our holiday gifts with one another. No rush, no pressure, no stress...just geniune friendship and laughter and sharing.

This is a large pointsettia blossom that sat on our table in this tiny little pot. I was entranced by the beauty of this simple blossom. The decorated trees in the previous photos are redwoods and are so beautiful with the simple red ornaments and small white twinkle lights adorning them. The hanging pointsettias are huge and so amazing.

So, do I naturally not have stress in this hectic time of the year? No.

I am truly working at being able to enjoy.

Am I behind on everything including personal and holiday? Yes.

However, I am finding it isn't the end of the earth if something is not getting done and must wait until another day, week or month.

I am enjoying my family, friends, and everything involving Christmas.

I do hope you are enjoying your favorites things too.

B R E A T H E and enjoy...

Part of a Treasury...

Dear sweet faerymoongoddess has included my fabric wrist cuff in her beautiful new treasury which you can view by clicking here. I wanted to post her beautiful treasury in it's complete glory however my blogging skills are still not enough. I keep learning as much as I can. :o)

Please give her a visit and see all the lovely items she makes and shares.

On another note...

Are you completely busy at this time of year? Running errands for the usual groceries, gasoline, dry cleaning, laundry and such along with wrapping gifts, delivering gifts, mailing gifts, writing Holiday cards and mailing them. Getting together with friends and family as often as possible? This is definitely a very busy time for so many of us. This year I am choosing to do a lot less of the errands and chores and more of the quality time with family and friends. Yes, the gifts are much less but the sentiment is much deeper and more meaningful. Oh I am certainly helping the economy and doing more than my fair share of spending but much smarter this year. I am really enjoying my time as I stop and smell the "pointsettias", watch the lights twinkle, see the glitter sparkle and simply enjoy this amazing time of our year.

Take a deep breath, sip your favorite tea or cocoa or beverage and truly be in the moment.

Now I am happy to get back to my creating...

Easy Scrap Tags...

Here is my wonderful worktable once again. This time I am making some fun and super easy tags out of scraps.
See if you recognize some of the scraps I have used:
Green Hardanger cloth from the local thrift store costing $1 for all 15 tags.
Ecru ribbon from local thrift store 50 cents and most of the roll still left for more projects.
Buttons, thread, paper shapes cut from recycled holiday cards, used holiday postage stamps, fabric scraps, Bounce dryer sheets that tear or cut wonderfully, painted Lysol cleaning cloths, crocheted snowflakes, scrapbook paper scraps and tape transfers.

No two alike. So fun to just put each one together. I sewed most of them on the machine and some just with needle and thread.

Each one unique with a personality of their own.

As you can see...really anything goes to make these fun and easy scrap tags.

Cost involved is virtually next to nothing.

Time involved is truly fun and rewarding.

These tags are also easy to mail to those far away whom you wish to remember at this holiday season.

I do hope you have been inspired to make some fun and easy scrap tags. I hope you share photos of the tags you make. The possibilites are endless.

Happy creating...

One Simple Decoration...

One simple decoration.

Brings joy and peace to this holiday season.

The angel is a metal yard stake that I simply did not want to set outside to rust.

Her metal post is way too boring so I merely took some graduated sizes of ornaments and stacked them on the metal post.

Now it is sitting in a lovely large vase in the dining room.

I not only love the simplicity of this decoration I love the jewel toned colors and the shimmery silvery color of the angel as she watches over us.

I like to think this angel is reminding us to stay calm and enjoy this holiday season for all the reasons it truly represents and not the commercial overdone frenzy and stress we sometimes get caught up in.

May each of you take time to relax and enjoy the simple things.

Happy Holidays...

Winter Wool Flowers...

While out shopping one day I bought these yummy wool fabric scraps. I fell in love with the colors and the feel of the fabrics. Some of the pieces were rather small but I knew what I wanted to do with them so the size was workable.

I wanted to make some lapel flower pins for winter wardrobes. Clothing is the most common way to wear a flower pin however I also love to pin them to pillows, or draperies, or even a chair as an unexpected accent.

I have made these types of flowers for many years in all sorts of styles and sizes and designs. However I want to give credit to two wonderful bloggers who took the time to do tutorials so that all of us could see how easy and fun it is to make flowers such as these.

My all time favorite tutorial is by Roben-Marie and can be found here.
Next and also a favorite is by Thespoena and can be found here.

I never grow tired of seeing a new way to do something or a better way or a different twist on an old tried and true. In fact, all you need to do is Google to find more ways to make fabric flowers than you probably have time to watch. Most of all just cut some fabric and put the pieces together and embellish until you have a flower you like.

This one is shades and textures of blues and finished with a button and decorative thread.

Here is one I am showing on a blazer which has some lace layers to it.

Oh this is probably my favorite as it combines blue wools with some grey wools and some very fun plaid wool and a very vintage scalloped button double stacked with another button and decorative thread.

P.S. Pin one on your purse or tote bag or hat for a bit of fun and fancy.

As you can see these would make great gifts.

These are merely a few of the flower pins I have been making. I did list a couple in my shop just in case you would prefer to purchase your gifts ready made to save you time.

Now I must get back to the studio and create with all my favorite things.

Thank you for stopping by and I really do love reading your comments and reading what you are doing via your blogging.

Happy December Days to each and every one...

Quick Christmas Doily...

This is a quick and easy Christmas doily.

Size is approximately 14 inches in diameter.

I used a fun Christmas fabric, felt for the backing, fusible fleece interfacing to give it substance and a fun flirty ribbon ruffle.

You can machine stitch all layers together.

I choose to handstitch the ruffle on just so the back stayed smooth.

This makes a nice protector for any holiday table.

This could be used for a centerpiece with a lovely clear glass vase or candlestick.

How would you use something like this?

Happy Holiday Creating...

Fun Fabric Cuffs...

Here are some of my finished projects...Fabric Cuffs. I had fun making these. This one is black and light/white and has some adornment pearls sewn on each side.

This is a soft color combination of taupe, browns and off-white. I made these to self fasten with easy snaps. There are more photos of these online in my shop.

This is probably my favorite as it is black and a bit frilly. Romantic comes to mind when I see these fabric cuffs. Great wardrobe enhancer that looks wonderful with casual to dressy.

I have listed these in my etsy shop if you need an affordable gift for yourself or someone else. Please take a look and see if you think of anyone on your Christmas list to give one to.

I am making more of these to give as gifts to some on my Christmas list.

Thank you for indulging me with my self-promotion.

Have you worn any fun fabric cuffs? This is sort of like the prom flowers for your wrist so your dress or bare skin didn't get stuck with a pin.

Happy creating...

Button Bookmarks...

Button Bookmarks are very easy to make. I had made some and then discovered them in this button book.

I like to use grosgrain ribbon due to it's strength to hold up the weight of a button or two. You really could use any ribbon and either double it or sandwich it with some fusible interfacing. This bookmark actually has buttons on each side of the top. A plain side and a fancy side if you like. It isn't necessary to put buttons on both sides as it tends to make the bookmark too top heavy.

These fun pink bookmarks are merely folded over about an inch on the top and have a couple of fun buttons stacked and tied with twine or ribbon or crochet thread.

This one appears to be my favorite. I used some ribbon that my sister had wrapped my birthday present with. The fun flowers are perfect with this color combination.

I think once you get started you will find a ton of ideas just flood forth. The combinations are endless and the time is minimal for each bookmark. This would even be a good fundraiser item. Now I hope you will see your ribbons and buttons in an entirely new dimension.

Now back to the studio for more creative ideas. This is the season for lots and lots of gift giving and I am one who loves to give handmade gifts. Our family always believed those were the best gifts to give. Lots of time and thought and love put into each and every gift made.

What are you making?

Happy creating...