Christmas in August...

Christmas in August. Not so far fetched an idea since the days, weeks and months are flying past so fast. I felt I would work on Christmas in August and this past week that is exactly what I did. My girlfriend came over and we spent an entire day preparing Christmas ornaments to donate and sell at the local elementary school annual holiday sale. It is so fun to watch the kids do their Christmas shopping and we donate 50% of our sales money to the school funds.

We aren't looking to get rich, merely pay for our supplies. These are some purchased snowflakes that we embellished with torn strips of fabric tied in a bow. I know it is hard to see them here but you can imagine how simple these are. We are trying to keep the price at 50 cents each for any of the ornaments we are decorating on a 5 foot tree.

Here are simple ornament balls, plastic so no breakage, embellished with more fabrics and then tied with a loop.

All of this takes a lot of time but we always think of the little first, second and third grade students looking to shop for just the right gifts they can afford. We usually make lots of various items which we plan on family members just loving what they get when they open their gifts. Bookmarks, towels, charms, note cards and tags, ornaments, and whatever else strikes our fancy. We try to cover all genders and ages which can be really challenging.

I also completed another gift item this week so I will share that soon.

The great outdoors is still requiring lots of my time and efforts as the weeding and plantings and yard re-do is taking lots more than I thought. I am grateful our weather has been very pleasant. We have not had any extreme heat unlike so much of the country. I think our elevation and all the pine and cedar trees are helping to keep it cool. We also are benefitting from what is called the "delta breeze".

Now I am off to get productive. I was found at the local Ben Franklin yesterday purchasing more fabrics and jewelry findings.

Wonderful Weekend to each of you...May you be enjoying your days relaxing and being creative...

P.S. Are you working on any Christmas projects? Can you share what they are?

Another Weekend???

This is a canal from the mining days. It is on part of our property and is owned by NID (Nevada Irrigation District) and they have easements to the canals and flumes as they maintain them.
Many people walk along the canals with or without their dogs. The walks are very easy as the canals follow a 1% slope. As you can see they are also extremely picturesque. We are fortunate to have this so close to us.

As a matter of fact that is our home in the background. What on earth is happening? A very large project to replace the old wooden flumes with new pipes which are much safer and easier to maintain...so we are told. This project should be completed by now but with our wet winter there were delays. Now this part of the project is on hold as the contractors are working backwards to address some sort of settling issue on the previous flume completed last year. We don't mind the delay however having a port o'potty and lots of debris and equipment as our entrance to bliss is getting a little stagnant.

The pipes don't look so large but as you can see both my husband and I had to venture in and walk through them. Kids will be kids as they say...

This is a view of the project in process before the delays. The old wooden flume built in 1928 will be torn down and the new pipe will remain. Oh the controversies that have ensued over this. Not to mention the lawsuits hampering all of this. Our entire county is rich with old mining history. I cannot even imagine the work and struggles the men and pack animals had to endure back in the olden days.

Here is my engineer, Mr. C, overseeing the entire project. He is completely able to understand every bolt and structure that is being used. Me...I just like to enjoy the progress.

Here is another view of the scope of this project. I like to call the excavator "Robisorus". It is an amazing machine that can do so many different jobs including tree stump removal. Yes, we have had loggers that came in to take out a giant pine tree. That is an entire story all unto itself.

And like all boys who love toys and adventure...Mr. C says, "Can we take it for a spin?"

I must admit I have been consumed with watching the happenings. Not much creating going on here. We are having the most glorious weather. Not too hot, blue skies and perfect temperatures. Just the right atmosphere for pulling weeds and triming and pulling weeds and planting some new shade plants and pulling weeds...you get the idea.

What is going on in your neighborhood?

Wonderful weekend to all...

Follow Up To Guess This Project...

Way back in May I posted a photo of these cardboard pieces and asked if you could guess what I was going to do with this "trash". It has taken a lot longer to complete this project however here is the reveal.
Each little hard cardboard tent got handpainted with gold paint. Then each one got a strip of gold paper attached to it. Then there was a lot of punching out names and hearts and attaching them to the little tents.

Here you see the finished project. Table place cards. A dear friend is having her 90th birthday and her stepdaughter and I are doing the table decorations for the party. In an earlier post I showed the ribbon bookmarks we made for each guest. We have also done candy bags with a cute header and edge punched and hearted with Happy 90th Elsbeth on them.

This is the special place card for the birthday girl. I think she will be pleased with the extra attention. This will be a grand celebration for a grand lady.

So never look at anything with only one purpose in mind. Anything is possible if you just imagine. My Grandma would be so proud that I learned such a valuable lesson from her. Thank you dear sweet Grandma. I absolutely know she is watching me from heaven and smiling.

My dear friend Lindsay reads my blog and guessed correctly. I think I may be putting the creative vibe in her mind as well. Good job Miss Lindsay Lollipop. :o)

Another week comes to a close and may you each have a terrific weekend. Celebrate the men in your lives as we have Father's Day this Sunday. I will be spoiling Mr. C as I am so fortunate he is in my life.

Happy Creating...

Happy Birthday Mr. C...

A very Happy Birthday to my dear Mr. Createology. Today is his special day. We will be celebrating at one of our favorite local restaurants tonight for dinner. As for projects...Mr. C wanted some new specialty car towels so he researched and this is what we did. Bought the nicest thickest plushest towels I have ever seen or touched. Of course in white! Next as you see in the photo above we cut them apart. Why? Because there can be NO banding or edging to impair the surface of the towel or cause any roughness or drag. So we cut the towels apart. Have you ever cut up a super thick plush towel? The "lint" is overwhelming and covers every surface...me, him, the cutting table, the floors, the carpet. What a mess.

This is just a small bit of the mess on the carpet in the sewing room. Looks like it snowed. :o)

Next we sew the cut towels. With a special cotton thread in white. No other blends or types will do for these car towels. Only cotton or the thread might scratch the car's surface. I merely zig-zagged the edges to control the amount of raveling that might occur. Then a nice clean run through the washer and dryer to remove any contaminants that the towels might contain. NO softner in the towels as that will hamper the ability to dry and buff. Alrighty then!

Now we have the new "required" car towels for Mr. C. One large bath towel minus all edging and borders cut in half and one cut in thirds. Special sizes for each special task.

Happy Birthday Mr. C.

P.S. I am still sweeping and vacuuming debris. This is one project I am glad to have finished.

What is the most unusual project you might have done? I would love to hear your comments.

Happy week and may the sun continue to shine for everyone. What? Really? More rain coming tomorrow? No thank you. We have enough water this year. I hear Florida might need some water table moisture...

DH Finish it Friday...

This week it turned out to be my Dear Husband's Finish it Friday...in my studio. It went something like this, "Can you clear a space on your table for me to work on something?" I cleared much more than he said he needed and it wasn't enough space so I kept clearing more. My table is over 4' X 8' and wonderful. We cut and taped poster board together to a nice large size. Being an engineer all his life everything must be very exact! Did I say we are Mars and Venus? Oh definitely! Total opposites in everything we do and say.

What is that black dirty thing you ask? His template. The current trunk liner that he must replace because he has been "engineering some improvements to his car" and needs a new one that is slightly different and will be custom made of aluminum.

Oh goody. Progress and the poster board for the most part is cooperating. Good news. This was a short project. Let's see, we have had a tea break and then a few more hours and we have had lunch. Back at the project. At least I was able to offer every type of scissors, ruler, rotary cutter, circle cutter and tool he might need. Who knew I could be so useful?! LOL

Uh Oh...furrowed brows. Not to worry. A minor adjustment, some more measuring, some cutting, some taping and good to go.
Oh my the evening news is on? Where did the time go today? We were just doing a minor making of a template for a pattern.
Well, lets see if it fits. (Me saying, "Oh let's not".) Out to the toybox...er...garage for the first fit.

Wow! One minor adjustment with the sharpest tiny scissors and eureka! We have a perfect fit. I said he is an engineer! Of course it was an all day project and we used every tool possible as happens with most projects.
Congratulations Dear Husband on Finish it Friday. You got it done and it is as wonderful as you.

As for me and my projects? Well, nothing got finished for me today but I did start a few more things which I shall share at another time. It was a much better feeling today to spend time in my studio observing and helping (?) my wonderful Dear Husband. If I ever need a template I will definitely have him help me...provided I have lots of time to spare. LOL

I hope you each had a productive Friday. It was perfect to be inside as the rain was non-stop all day. Our ground is so saturated and soggy and muddy. But the plants love it. Come on Spring.

May you each enjoy your weekend and do what makes you happiest.

Finish It Friday...

Happy Friday and the sun is shining. I declare this to be "Finish It Friday". I must have at least five unfinished things/projects sitting here on my desk all at once. Yes I have a very large desk as it is at least 3 feet by 6 feet and I manage to fill up every flat surface space there is. So that is how I have so many projects and unfinished things around me all at once. No, that doesn't count the ones that are in the studio or in the sewing room. I don't think I could count that high or if I could I would drop from exhaustion. LOL
So getting back to "Finish It Friday" I am planning on completing at least the five projects I have right now on my desk surrounding me. None of these will take more than a few hours each so therefore I definitely have enough time in the 24 hour clock.
I have the right supplies to finish each of them so what can my excuse be? Lazy? Procrastinator? Undecided? Not Me! I merely begin more than I should all the time. Can anyone relate to doing this? I recently read that we don't finish things yet begin new ones because it is more exciting to start something new. Well, here I am declaring this to be "Finish It Friday" and before I go to bed tonight I will have completed these five projects. I know I will feel amazing after I am done. I know I will have renewed energy and excitement from such an accomplishment. I know I will feel good that I no longer have to worry about getting these done in time as some have critical deadlines I must meet.
So beginning with the picture above...I purchased these little canvas bags at the $1.29 store in town and embellished them for St. Patrick's with some green ribbon and one of my little green fabric heart yo-yo's I have been making. These are for my friends when we get together for lunch on St. Patrick's day. Of course I am putting a little surprise inside for the ladies but shhh I want to keep that a secret for now.
I will be sharing my other projects in future posts however for now they shall merely go on the endangered UFO list. I must get very busy as my clock is ticking away and I have very few hours left to complete my mission.
Would you like to join me in "Finish It Friday"? I know I will feel better and less overwhelmed.

Hello September...

Hello September and welcome. August has come and gone in what seemed like record time this year. It was a very busy month and I enjoyed it very much. Even getting older wasn't so bad. I had wonderful times with family and friends celebrating and enjoying food, laughter, shopping and stories. So now we welcome September. The evenings are getting just a little cooler and it is beginning to feel like fall is in the air.
So with the coming of September I am reminded that Christmas is not far away. Therefore I have begun to work on projects that I always set aside. No photos for this post as dear hubby has my camera with him in Bonneville at the Salt Flats. I sewed some comfort dolls to send to Pat Winter. www.comfortdolls.blogspot.com This is a wonderful effort and you should check it out. Nothing feels better than giving to others.
I had some vintage Christmas stocking panels and decided to make those. I already have plans for them this year. I also have more projects to finish however I thought it was amazing I got this much done.
Now I am on to more projects which I will share later.
Have a wonderful week and enjoy the upcoming Labor Day weekend. Stay safe and healthy.

Inspiration today...

Well, today was the best day in a long time for the Saucy Chicks and Createology. We spent all day in the studio and were creatively inspired. We made plans for what we want to make and accomplish the next few months. We inventoried some of our supplies. We began to finish some of our current projects. We cut fabric and sewed, sorted buttons, sorted charms, arranged beads and findings and discovered we need to place an order with our favorite gem supplier. We siliconed some glass pieces together so they can cure and adhere to one another. It felt so wonderful to get our hands and creative brains actively combining our thoughts and talents. We focused on what we do not want to do. This is very important so that we can spend our precious time doing what we want to do the most. We have some new ideas and are planning ahead about 15 months out. In the next few weeks we will complete several unfinished projects and gifts. We will prepare and complete lots of holiday gifts to check off our lists.
We also kept our thoughts open to our upcoming plans for expanding our sales. This is probably one of the most challenging topics we discuss. It is a big unknown and not in our comfort zone. However, we do know we can accomplish this if we work hard and continue to challenge ourselves as we travel along this Createology journey. Thank you for reading our blog and we welcome comments. In fact, is anyone out there reading this blog???