Bottlecaps and Baking...

 This is a simple and easy gift item I have been making.  Bottlecap necklaces.  Unfortunately I did not contain my making to the studio and therefore I have glittered my entire kitchen table and subsequent wood flooring.  A tablecloth on the table hides the telltale glitter but what about the floor?  I have tried everything to clean it up.  Well at least it is pretty. 

I made a bunch of these for the upcoming elementary school sale.  My time and supplies are merely my donation as the sale price of the item gets donated to the school for expenses to help the kids. 

 Meanwhile this is my front yard.  A huge irrigation project the county is doing.  There is a 1920s water canal system from the gold rush days and current technology is replacing the old metal water pipe with larger concrete carriers that are dug down deep and tunneled under our road.  This is a very controversial project and my neighbors are mostly against it and make it difficult for the workers.  My husband and I realize progress must happen and we have been very helpful even though it impacts us the most as it is on our property.  Of course the NID (Nevada Irrigation District) does have easements to the canals.  We the property owners really have no say so in the matter.  Some have sued and gotten monetary settlement but that merely delays the project and increases the costs to all of us. 

So I spent a day this week baking four dozen cookies to give to the work crew.  You should have seen their eyes light up when they saw the cookies.  One of the concrete truck drivers took a big bite and immediately said, "These are Snickerdoodles!" and took another bite.  Why yes they are!  My very favorite cookie which I learned to bake when I was very young and visiting a relative in a lovely old two story farm house.  I had given the box to the foreman and he was eating one and all the other work crew were way on the opposite side of a huge dug out hole.  When they saw the cookies they literally came running around the huge hole and all the equipment to get to the cookies all while saying, "Thank you!" to me with big smiles on their faces.  Oh it felt so good to have spent a day baking and making the boys happy. 
I continue to make my lists and check them twice.  It seems that for each item I check off I am adding several more that need attention.  Why is this the way it goes? 
Blissfulling sewing, beading, glittering, gluing and getting ready for the holidays...

Bottle Cap Necklaces...

 I have been having fun with some bottle caps.  These are not the purchased ones but they are real ones that my friends have popped off the top of their favorite bottle drinks.  Therefore the shapes are not perfect and the backs are original to the advertising or logo of the drink. I love the colors of them too. 

I purchased a sheet of bottle cap circle art...I apologize that I cannot give credit of manufacture name but with me "volume out" is the packaging and it goes first to make more room for art supplies.  I was hand cutting each little circle until I had a 40% off coupon and bought one of my favorite Fiskars easy ergonomic punches that cuts out the 1" circle perfect every time.  Some Ranger Glossy Accents and a little glitter and voila.  This one is particularly appropriate as September is following each of the months of this year as they really do fly past so fast.  I have used organza ribbon in place of the ball chain as I like this look and feel much better. 
This is such a fast and easy make.  Keychains would be this easy as well with just a short ball chain or a keyring loop.  Great gifts for all ages and genders.
Our weather has turned warm however still so perfect.  I am praying for all who are experiencing such horrific wildfires, no rain or too much rain, flooding, tornados and hurricanes.  This year has certainly been extreme for so many.
May creativity Fall into your minds and hands...

Happy Hearts...

Happy Hearts to everyone.

Aren't surprises just the most fun when they bring such creative joy and happiness? I certainly think so. In my mail was this super cute Birdie Valentine card and the little burlap package held closed with an adorable heart pin.

Surprise!

It held a beautiful charm domino necklace made by Sheila of Blessed and Distressed blog. I aplogize that my scan does not do justice to the glitter and beauty of this sweet little girl that Sheila made from a simple domino. Please visit her and see all that she does.

Thank you so very much Sheila. You are one of the wonderful and generous friends I have found here in blogland.

Heart Strings.

This scan definitely does not do justice to this lovely sewn string of hearts and butterflies and love that Miss Cory "Dogwood" handmade and sent to me. I adore it and its fluid movement as it hangs near my desk to inspire me. Thank you very much Dogwood of Pink Dogwood Blossoms blog. Cory and I actually live right near one another and have never met in person. We were matched up in last year's April Letter Writing challenge and have been corresponding ever since. Some day soon we shall meet especially since we both shop at the same Ben Franklin local craft supply store.

Creative Handmade Cards.

These are some Valentine cards I received from family and friends that are ever so cute and special as they are handmade. I must not scan so badly! I do cherish all of my Valentine goodies and the fact that they were created with love.

Chocolate...

Oh no lack of that. Just no photos or scans as I have eaten all of it. I did share a tiny bit with Mr. C since he likes chocolate also.

May you each celebrate this wonderful day and enjoy the love that surrounds us all.

Happy Hearts...

Winter Hijacked Spring...Again

The rain is so refreshing and clean and clear. I really do like it. However, Winter has hijacked our Spring again. Here it is April 28th and no sunshine again. When I took this picture it was just between hail and snow and a white layer on the ground. Snow level is 4000 feet today and we are 3400 foot elevation. The Sierra's are definitely getting another batch of snow. This rain is so good for our water table. We are on our own well so we are thankful for the rain. It also means we don't have to turn on our drip irrigation system yet.
Welcome refreshing rain.

I was going to post pictures of my clever creative artistic bookmarks I made however I seem to have some little (or big) gremlin who deleted the two pictures I needed. Afterall they were sandwiched in with Mr. Createology's car project photos so I can easily see how a couple of "craft" photos were not needed. LOL

I was going to show you how I use an old catalog for my gluing station. You probably already are doing this or know about this but just in case you aren't using this trick here it is. Get an old catalogue and instead of throwing it out just yet, use the pages for your base to apply glue to your pieces of ephemera. As each page gets messy just turn it over and you have a new clean page to work on.

I recycled some propaganda (so mysterious sounding) mail I had received and cut it into bookmark sized strips. It had some lovely flower photos on one side so I merely embellished around the photos. Some old sheet music, some glittery butterfly stickers, some text and done. The other side I glued my vintage wrapping paper to cover the strip. Some corner punches, a single hole punch and some ribbon finishes and a bookmark ready for mailing and using.

Very simple and kept some junk mail out of the landfill. As for my glue catalogue it takes a long time to fill every page with glue. Once filled you can use it for another art project.

P.S. I couldn't retake the photos because I mailed out all the bookmarks I made.

Do you have a handy tip for gluing paper or such things?

Valentine Hearts are in the mail...

These are some fun Valentine Hearts that were in progress when this photo was taken. These are now in the mail on their way to new homes. They had to hurry so as to be enjoyed before Valentine Day is over.

I of course would wear them anytime in the year as I love hearts and glitter and bling. I also wear lots of red or pink during the entire year so that works for me too.

These were extremely simple to make. Unfortunately they took a lot of hours and days to complete. It was fun to see how they came together. There are punched hearts from playing cards, eyelets, rhinestones, glitter, glue, dimensional glaze, beads, charms, fabric beads and ribbons. The time element was waiting for each glue or glaze to dry completely.

Patience is not easy for creative processes at all times. We are also having lots of wet soggy days so no heat or sunshine to help the drying phase. I know I could have used the hair dryer or the heat embosser. Luckily I did begin making these way in advance of my mailing date. Sometimes it is good to plan ahead. LOL

I have some additional ideas for ATC's in the Valentine theme using some, if not all, of these elements. Of course I have not started these and they would need to be dry and ready for giving this Sunday. No mailing of these at this late date. :o)

I also have another idea I will show after I have given them to some friends.

What are you working on for your Valentine's this year?

Happy Hearts to all and keep creating...