CREATIVITY...

I used to always think I had a certain amount of creativity within.  I was a wife and mother, doing all the things that that job entails and was fortunate to not have to work outside the home.  I was very organized.  Back in the 70's or 80's, two sisters put out a little book that taught you how to become organized and how to keep your life on track. I can't remember the name of the book, but it taught how to arrange your life with the help of a card system.  There was a card for everything.  You got up in the morning and brushed your teeth, there was a card for that.  You made the bed, there was a card for that.  You got dressed, there was a card for that.  And so on and so on.  You get the picture, and after doing something for 27 times straight, it usually becomes a habit.  Well, hopefully it does.

It sounds very tedious, I know, but I have to be honest and tell you that it really worked. The bills were paid on time, the grocery shopping was done once a week, the house was always presentable if someone dropped by on the spur of the moment, the laundry didn't pile up, and dinner was on the table every night on time.  During this time the organization of the household was surprisingly easy and it left a few hours in the day for my favorite thing, crafting.

When we moved to Grass Valley, I tried to keep up with the system, but with all that goes into putting a house together and then I was fortunate to go to work at the school district, I had money to spend as I wanted, and those two things together kind of got me out of the habit of crafting.  Now fast forward a decade or so and I am starting to get back into it, thanks to all of you talented friends out there who are so generous with your ideas and projects.  I will not be doing it as extensively as I did before, but it is becoming fun again.

Where is this post going?? Well, you may remember that I have talked about the time when the Captain and I had a small antique/boutique shop.  We had a booth in an antique co-op and we did shows around northern California.  Our little operation was called "Country Cottage".  We had a van to carry the furniture that the Captain refinished and repaired and the ceramics and wood products that I crafted.  I had my own kiln and we had a lot of fun.  But the Captain had a full time job besides and we had our old classic cars and we wanted to play so something had to give.

So, I thought it might be fun to travel back down memory lane and share with you what went on way back when.  You have been seeing some of the things from the beginning of this post and here are a few more.

Remember when the all white animals were all the rage. I believe they were styled after the french faience pottery. I did a ton of those, from pigs, rabbits, chickens and lambs, which I still have a couple hanging out in the garden from time to time. They were a big seller.

I even painted a few pictures. I can put paint on if I have something to copy, because I can't draw a straight line!

I made a lot of mixing bowls.  They were a really big seller. People seemed to like them just as well as cats.

I sold a lot of these geese too.  I wish I had kept one for myself.

I had a large calling for sponge ware. I still use some of the pieces that I didn't sell.

I apologize for the quality of the photos. They have been in an album for a lot of years and I wasn't that interested in taking good pictures back then. 

Here are a couple of pictures of our set up in some shows that we participated in.

The following are sweatshirts that I hand painted and embellished. I had a little side business called "Bearable Wearables". I ran an ad in a national magazine, can't remember the name of it now as it is defunct but it was very similar to the Country Sampler magazine. I sold quite a few but the majority I sold when we did shows.

I hope you enjoyed sharing our creativity with us today and now I'm off to bed, because tomorrow the Captain is taking me to HomeGoods and Hobby Lobby for my Valentine's Day present. We are painting the back of the Cottage and I painted trim and fixed him a special dinner for his present..

I think I am getting the better of the deal and my creative juices are flowing!!

...Judy...

I'm sharing today with:

Saturday Show Off

Seasonal Sunday

Sunday's Best

Make It Pretty Monday