Annie's Travel Toys

I finally found something I can make and pack for Annie to play with when we are out on the road.  Annie would rather play with her orange rubber balls but at $5 a piece, I'm always worried about losing them. Since I'm volunteering at FabMo so much, I come across some heavy duty fabric which is perfect for these fetch toys. They can get really gross (dog slobber and dirt) so I can either wash them or just throw them out. So far has worked out really well!

Things you do when bored

Lemon Mango Punch Tea is my latest obsession. It was served at one of my team building events and I've been back to Steepers in Campbell so many times, I now buy the tea by the pound - yeah that's a lot! Since I like herbal teas, I decided to make a version of a lemon grass, ginger ice tea I had when I was in Borneo. Everything but the ginger came from my garden.Turned out pretty good!
Lemongrass, ginger, Thai basil,
cucumber, lime, lemon, honey.

Traveling doggie toys

I've been making tote bags for the homeless who visit the local food shelter for the last few months. I pick up the fabric from FabMo, a local nonprofit that recycles fabric from the design center in San Francisco. I figured out I could make them into fetch toys for Annie using the smaller pieces of fabric. When we are out running errands we sometimes bump into some of Annie's buddies.  They always want to play but I never have anything in the car for her to fetch. Annie runs around like a crazy dog looking for a stick, leaf or scrap piece of paper to play with. Now I have a stash of these in the car and when they get super gross (dog slobber and dirt = GROSS) I can either toss them or bring them home to wash. 

FabMo Banners 2016

I'm volunteering at FabMo and there is a volunteer appreciation event coming up this month. At one of the planning meetings, they wanted  big bright banner flags so volunteers knew where to go. Having a small warehouse of fabric to choose from it was like a kid in a candy store! My sewing skills are getting better with each project I take on. Some day I may make something I can wear!
There's another project made from recycled wallpaper, but it's a surprise for the volunteers so I can't post until after the picnic. 

Morning Hike at Fremont Older Open Space

Fremont Open Space 2016

With the weather being a little cooler in the morning, I decided to go on a hike. It's a fun outing for both Annie and I. Annie gets to sniff new stuff and I get out of the studio to help clear out the cobwebs. Always so thankful for people thinking ahead about preserving open space. Wonderful place to hike!
I'm working on 2 new projects and one is a real brain bleeder! Technical stuff that is way over my head and trying to get them to explain everything in plain English so the rest of the world can understand what their talking about has been a challenge!

Pesto 2016

Pesto 2016

My basil plants are growing like weeds! This is the third batch of pesto I've made this year. With all the wild critters in the area (deer, gophers, rabbits and squirrels) I have a much smaller garden than I would like. Everything has to be grown in huge pots because I never know when a rogue gopher will tunnel in. After 3 years of battling the pests, looks like they have decided it's not worth the effort to go through the daffodils or horseradish barriers I've planted. I trapped a lot of them early on and because of the drought the surrounding hills have nothing growing on them. 

Using what you have list

I follow the Susan Raihala blog "Simpicilty" and in 2014 she posted she wanted to use everything on her list of supplies during  the 2015 year. I edited her list a little, since there are some things I no longer have. Being a list person, I love this!
So the things I have used in 2016 are highlighted in red.

1. Stickles
2. Stardust pens
3. Baker's twine/twine/embroidery floss
4. Wink of Stella pens...keep easy access
5. Alcohol markers (Bic/Sharpie/Copic)
6. Watercolor pencils
7. Watercolor markers
8. Twinkling H2Os
9. Colored pencils
10. Embossing powders and enamel
11. Geometric shape punches (circles, squares, ovals)
12. Punches
13. Deco Scissors
14. Border punches
15. Gold leaf
16. Rhinestones--cannot function without them!
17. Pearls
18. Water pens
19. Blender pens
20. Metallic markers...pry from my cold, dead hands
21. Chalks--Keep easy access
22. Ribbon
23. Scor-Pal
24. Brayer
25. Sponges
26. Stippling brushes...Keep easy access!
27. Glimmer Mist
28. Corner rounder
29. Metal embellishments 
30. Buttons
31. Fabric (muslin, burlap)
32. Assorted templates (Fiskar's ShapeCutter, plastic, brass)

When you see a list like this and start checking things off, you can tell the supplies you don't really use and have to wonder why you still have them in your stash!