Sewing Pouches and a Dress...

I was given a lovely zippered box pouch by my blog friend Robbie of Robbies Paw Prints and I shared it here.  I love it sew much I requested Robbie share the tutorial with me.  She did and this is the link.  I just had to make one...or two...or four.  After all I have November birthdays to prepare for.

Once I had them all sewn I didn't feel they were finished.  Oh Yeah!  Get out the beads!  Having my beads in my new/old printer drawers and all organized I am able to focus on just what I need to make beaded zipper pulls for each pouch.

Here you can see them a little better and if you click on each photo they will enlarge.  Now I feel like my double double toil and trouble pouches are completed and ready for gifting.

While I was cutting out the blue fabrics for the pouches I had just enough fabric for a Dress for Around the World Girls.  I was wrong.  It would have been way too tight around.  Sew...I went to my bin of fabrics and found just the right blue in the correct blue family.  This just might be my favorite dress to date.  Well you do know blue is my absolute favorite color of all time.  I love how this dress turned out and I can imagine a girl loving it as much as I do.
We are hoping for some rain tomorrow.  Mr. C has been weed-eating and raking and cleaning up the yard.  Unfortunately tons of leaves still need to Fall...right where he has raked.  I believe he has filled 8 Hefty bags so far. 
I am seeing lots of creative Halloween crafting in your blogs.  I am inspired and grateful that so much is shared in our blog community.  Creative Bliss to each of you...

Decor and Hydrangea Table Scape...

Each year I seem to acquire a new pumpkin of some sort or another.  Here is a mélange of some of my favorites.  I have them sitting on the formal dining table.  We don't seem to use the dining room as much as in years past.  Instead of larger formal gatherings and dinner parties we tend to have smaller more casual gatherings of friends.  And we tend to congregate in the kitchen and great room.

This lovely HARVEST banner was created a few years ago by my friend Theresa (no blog).  This year as I was pondering where to hang it so it wouldn't get in Mr. C's way I discovered it fit perfectly on the dining room hutch which is right near the dining table displaying my pumpkins.  I love it here and enjoy it every day as I pass by.  Thank you Theresa for this lasting gift.

I had a piece of home décor fabric which I just loved and it reminded me of my favorite hydrangeas.  So I got out the rotary cutter and sewed these table mats.  I have my dried hydrangeas in a vase sitting on the table atop one of the mats and I like this look.

You have already heard about these chairs but now I can attest to just how comfortable they truly are.  The table is getting uglier every day and we debate how we will deal with the table.  It is very good quality and is structurally sound.  I like the table for its size and purpose here in the kitchen East bay window.  I want to paint it Annie Sloan chalk paint in a black tone.  Mr. C wants it painted the correct way by taking it all apart and sanding and so on.  Not for me to tackle.  So we debate...
Still dry here and having some windy days.  No really cold snap even though the nights are quite chilly.  Autumn leaves are turning colors but nothing spectacular.  Falling leaves and pine needles and cedar tree seedling pods are making their usual mess everywhere.  Mr. C did a huge raking job.
From those of you living in Spring now your green lush gardens and flowers are spectacular.  I enjoy seeing them and reminding me of Spring we will eventually have once again.
Creative Bliss from sherry of createology...
I seem to be signing my name like this more and more and liking it quite a lot.  It reminds me of times gone past when people were recognized by their name and region or clan or such.  I quite like being sherry of createology. 
I am hoping to do some sewing today.  I will be sharing what I am sewing very soon.

Love Notes & Surprise Mail...

Happy Sunday and Autumn Weather.  Cooler temperatures and we actually had rain that measured about 1/2 inch.  Thank you Mother Nature and friends for keeping good thoughts for our rain.
I am participating in Love Notes and enjoying it so very much.  There is a FaceBook group but I believe it is closed.  I mailed this Sunflower postcard to my swap gal Randi.

Love Notes is such a simple task yet it has such a powerful appeal to us all.  For three weeks only we mail a postcard to our swap partner.  Each week we get a prompt from Jennifer who organizes Love Notes.  Doesn't this postcard just make you smile.  And that was the prompt...

"Smile because" [we] will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish. Mother Teresa  How smart and wise Mother Teresa was and she is still helping us all to be better humans.  Thank you Jennifer and Randi.  I am loving Love Notes.

I believe everyone loves to get surprise mail when it includes a beautiful gift.  This Box Pouch is from my blogging friend Robbie.  She is amazing in her creative ventures and her work with fabrics is beyond perfect.  Please visit her blog Robbie's Paw Prints to see more of her works of HeART.

Here you can see some of the embellishing she does on her fabric pieces.  With thread and needle she stitches extra love into her works.  You can click on the photos to enlarge them and see her beautiful French Knots and stitches.  Robbie even sent me the link on YouTube so I can make these fun and practical Box Pouches.  Now I can share the link with you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KChUsEJPHqk&sns=em  These will make wonderful gifts for the upcoming holiday season.  Thank you Robbie for always thinking of me and gifting me with your beautiful hand crafted gifts.
I am seeing some new visitors to my humble little blog and I am very grateful.  I read every comment and I try to respond to each one.  As a long time blogger I am so happy to connect with other creative people all over the world.  I am always amazed at how I can type a few words and attach some photos and then someone from another country can read and respond.  Amazing and Wonderful.  I am truly grateful for blogging.  I am seeing more and more people who are leaving their blogs and are only doing FB or Twitter or Instagram due to the speed of sending a message or photo.  I will continue to blog as long as possible and I still write and mail the old fashioned way...letters and postcards.  I am so grateful to be able to connect with like-minded creative souls who share so generously what they make and many times how they make it.  Now I shall go write some Love Notes and Random Acts of Mail and my day will be complete.  Creative Bliss...

Halloween Decor & Twins???

October is the month of Halloween...Is it not?  After all, commercial establishments certainly think that this is true.  We are inundated with merchandise long before the actual holiday arrives.  In my case it means I eat far more candy than I ever should.  And the WW (Weight Watcher) scale proves it.  I am not one to buy a lot of silly knick knacks because I am in the downsizing phase of my life.  However I do have a few items from years gone by.  Frankie is my all-time favorite.  He came to live with me from a thrift shop.  I found him lying there with his foot showing signs of dog chewing...not too badly though.  I gladly paid my $1 and I simply love Frankie!

I keep all my décor very simple.  Nothing elegant and nothing over the top in order to keep Mr. C happier.  He is not a fan of holidays or celebrations in general.  Some childhood traumas that I honor.

I have been wanting to find a child's toy truck for decorating but am not interested in paying the high prices for rust and wear.  Fortunately when doing the downstairs reno I discovered this perfect wooden truck we already have which was living in the library on a top shelf.  What?  I love this handmade rolling truck!  It was a gift from friends long ago.  Now I no longer need or want some overpriced rusty metal truck.  It pays to shop our own homes.

I love everything I receive from creative friends and swaps I participate in and find it fun to display them for enjoyment each year.  Thank you clever friends who gift me.

I am still sewing for Dress a Girl Around the World and participate in Donna's group Dressed in Joy. There are links to each of these if you just click on them.  I wonder if there are any twins out there that would enjoy dressing alike?  Two cute dresses for little girls to twirl in.
I am off to the Chamber once again and I will no doubt get those questions.  We have not had the cold snap yet and the Fall colors are in stages of done, trying and not ready yet. 
Lets call this Finish it Friday so I feel like I have accomplished something.  My days are going faster and getting shorter in sunshine so I feel like I should be in bed and it is barely after 7 o'clock PM.
Creative Bliss as you enjoy your days making something wonderful...

Stitchery Pinbook Swap...

I participated in Jenny of elefantz swap for a Pinbook or Needlebook using a simple book design and one of Jenny's adorable embroidery designs.  Because I belong to her monthly Stitchery Club it was very easy to select one of my favorites of her designs.  My swap partner Lydia of Chalk Outlines likes green and purple so that is the color scheme I went with.  The photo above is what I created.

This is the sweet Pinbook Lydia created for me.  She hand stitched a heart with flowers and a bee.  She also added a pink heart button.  I adore this and thank you Lydia.

This is the inside of her Pinbook with a nice felt bed for the pins and needles to reside upon.

Jenny had a couple of added goodies we were to include with our Pinbooks and Lydia nailed it perfectly with what she included for me.  Butterflies on fabric and buttons and embroidery threads all in my very favorite blues. Great job Lydia.

Here is another view of my Pinbook I created for Lydia and sent along. This is the front and back view.  Jenny's designs are so adorable and easy to transfer and stitch.

Here is the inside view of the Pinbook. I included a green butterfly beaded pin and another beaded pin in purples.  As for the required buttons, fabrics and floss I included I neglected to get any photos of the packages I sent.  I was sew excited about the Pinbook I totally forgot to snap the rest.

These Pinbooks are quick and easy to create and would make great gifts for any time of year and for any occasion.  Thank you Jenny for a wonderful Stitchery Swap.
As a side note I have enjoyed belonging to Jenny's first inaugural Stitchery Club and now I have joined her second year club which will have even more goodies for us.  It is a gift I give to myself and even though life gets in my way of stitching everything I at least have lots of inspiration for future use.  Just click the link above to find out more from Jenny herself.  I am not affliated or compensated but merely a completely satisfied customer.
Big wind storms here and that results in pine needles covering everything.  The roads are so full and when cars and trucks go whizzing by the pine needles get clumped in the center of the roadway and look like large animals/deer.  I never drive over any of the bundles because I never know what might be inside of them.  Some people have tumbleweeds and we have rolling pine needle bundles.
October Falling Into Autumn Bliss and Halloween Happiness to you...

World Card Making Day...

Hello.  Did you know today is World Card Making Day?  I didn't until my emails sent me this... http://techniquetuesday.typepad.com/?utm_source=World+Card+Making+Day+2015+10%2F03+-+FINAL&utm_campaign=World+Card+Making+Day+2015+10%2F03+-+FINAL&utm_medium=email
Now I make a lot of cards for my weekly mailings of Random Acts of Mail Kindness however my cards are not at all fancy or fabulous.  I keep them simple but sincere.
My friend Theresa (no blog) makes the most amazing and beautiful cards and I am so happy to be the recipient of many she makes.  Thank you Theresa Dear.

The top photo is the front of this card.  When you open it up it has a pop-out rose.  I love butterflies and this one is gorgeous. When you open an envelope and see such a special handmade card how could you not feel extra special knowing it was created with love and care just for you?!!

This is another recent card I received from Theresa.  The depth of colors just doesn't show in the photo as beautifully as they are in person.  Theresa recently made it onto a design team and they are so fortunate to have her creative style.  Here is a link to Laura Denison Designs. Theresa and I have never met in person. We found one another through a swap of ATC's if I remember correctly and we have continued our swapping and friendship. 

This is an ICAD that Theresa created and also sent to me.  ICAD is a challenge of creating an Index Card A Day (ICAD).  This has such great texture and layers and of course my favorite beautiful butterfly is included.  I feel truly blessed to share Theresa and her fabulous art she creates and shares with me.  Thank you so very much Theresa Dear.   You are a real gem in this creative world.
On the weather front I wish to thank you all for your rain dancing.  We did get a little rain that watered our plants.  Nothing measurable for us but up the hill they had almost an inch at Donner Lake.  I was at my local Chamber of Commerce yesterday and I got the usual annual phone call with the question of the century..."We are thinking of coming to Nevada City next weekend and want to know if the Fall colors are showing?"  Every year hundreds of people call and ask that or a similar question regarding the Fall Colors.  I try to stay calm and polite which is not easy to do after 17 years of this same question.  No matter how I try to explain anything about the Fall Colors people just want the exact time that the colors will be the best to see.  Between you and I, I am not Mother Nature and I honestly have NO idea when the colors will be at their best.  Usually we need a good cold snap of weather to have the colors happen.  Some trees have already displayed their colors while other trees are completely green still.  And when the colors really begin to be at their very best we usually have a good wind and rain storm that knocks all the leaves to the ground where they are not very pretty to view.  And so it begins again...Ring, ring...Hello...We are thinking of coming...
I just have to smile and do my best.  After all we need and love tourists to come and visit our small historic town.  http://www.nevadacitychamber.com/nevada-city-photos-and-videos/photo-gallery/
So today lets take a break and make a card to mail to someone we want to honor.
Creative Card Bliss my friends.  Thank you for visiting.  I always love your reading your comments and I do try to respond if I have your email.  Lovely Autumn (Spring) Days...