Preparation for Skiing - This is to remind skiers how to prepare for the ski season and to remind non-skiers why they do not ski.

***I did not write this, but as a skier who misses the snow and skiing like crazy, I am posting this as a reminder. It is supposed to be 104 degrees here on Saturday, so this might come in handy. (I miss Winter. Sigh.) And yes, that is me skiing in shorts and a cowboy hat. They opened the hill for one day in July and I was there. Life was good that day!

Preparation for Skiing - This is to remind skiers how to prepare for the ski season and to remind non-skiers why they do not ski.

-10. Visit your local butcher and pay $30 to sit in the walk-in freezer for half an hour. Afterwards, burn two $50 dollar bills to warm up.

-9. Go to the nearest hockey rink and walk across the ice 20 times in your ski boots carrying two pairs of skis, accessory bag and poles. Pretend you are looking for your car. (Awww, look at my babies, er skis, with snow on them. Happy day!) ----------------------->

-8. For ski boot simulation at home, put a pebble in your street shoes and tighten a C-clamp around your toes.

-7. Buy a pair of gloves and immediately throw one away.

-6. Go to McDonald's and insist on paying $6. 50 for a hamburger. Be sure to wait in the longest line.

-5. Clip a lift ticket to the zipper of your jacket and ride a motorcycle fast enough to make the ticket lacerate your face.

-4. Drive slowly for five hours - anywhere - as long as it's in a snowstorm and you're following an 18 wheeler.

-3. Fill a blender with ice, hit the pulse button and let the spray blast your face. You'd almost believe you're skiing in front of a snowmaker!

-2. Dress up in as many clothes as you can and then proceed to take them off because you have to go to the bathroom.

-11. Repeat all of the above every Saturday and Sunday.

www.etsy.com/shop/DeerwoodCreekGifts

A Concrete Idea

My son and I were at the hardware store and he asked if he could get a bag of concrete mix. Concrete mix??? I asked him why he wanted concrete mix and he said he "wanted to make stuff" with it.

Good enough reason for me. I am always up for trying to make new things, so we bought a 60 pound bag of concrete mix and we took it home.

Now, neither of us had any idea what to do with that 60 pound bag of concrete.

Did I mention the bag was 60 pounds? Sixty pounds is VERY HEAVY. 

We lugged it into the garage and since I did not want to move it from where we had lugged it, I wanted to make something so we could use up the concrete and not have to move that heavy bag again.

We went to the dollar store and bought some bowls, cups and some other shapes for molds.  We bought some gloves and went to work.

 We ended up making several tealight candle holders, flower pots, and bowls. It was so much fun! I think I am now addicted - just as I am with the logs - I love this stuff!

The concrete project I am currently working on is a concrete fire bowl. It is a concrete bowl with small rocks on the top around the edge, and then  a cannister of gel fuel is added to the center. They look really pretty at night, so I can't wait to see how mine turns out.

www.etsy.com/shop/DeerwoodCreekGifts

Get a log and a dremel.

A quick update:
I tried the dremel last night and I loved it! My son tried it first and he carved his name and the date on the side of a log - it was so cool! I suggest that if you want something fun to do, get a log and a dremel and start carving. :)

The Sewing Machine and The Dremel

I recently acquired a sewing machine and a dremel. Did I mention I have never used either? But, I am so excited to learn how to use both of these, I can't wait to get started.

My plan for the dremel is to engrave the logs, coasters, toothbrush holders and/or anything else I can think of. This came about as I was asked to make a log toothbrush holder and could I engrave the side of it as if someone had written on the trunk of a tree. Oooh, I don't know how to do this, but you can bet I am going to home tonight and teaching myself how. I love the idea and can't wait! So many ideas floating around in my head that I can't wait to make them concrete.

As to the sewing machine, it is something I have always wanted to learn, but never got around to it. I now have a sewing machine and am going to take a class to explain it to me. I realized when I was calling the thread "string" and had no idea what a bobbin is or is used for, that I need a class. I want to make decorative pillow covers, ring bearer pillows, ipad covers and/or anything else I feel like making.

I truly love making new items and being creative, it is so much fun. I can't wait to learn these two new skills and see what I am come up with. :)

Take care,
Cindy Breninger
www.etsy.com/shop/DeerwoodCreekGifts
www.facebook.com/DeerwoodCreekGifts
www.twitter.com/DeerwoodCreek

Hot off the presses. :)

Hi all! Here are some things we just finished making. :) 

We have a vase/pen holder,

a toothbrush holder,

a sliced log collage,

a three-piece mini log tealight candle set,

and a log tealight candle holder/ring bearer box or jewelry box. :) 

And this is me working away. :)

www.etsy.com/shop/DeerwoodCreekGifts

www.twitter.com/DeerwoodCreek

www.facebook.com/DeerwoodCreekGifts

It's Log! Everyone Wants a Log. Sing-along at the end.

My son and I went to the "log" store where we get our wood for making our items.  As we were loading up our logs into the back of the car, we spotted this big, lovely, beautiful piece of wood that we both had to have. This thing is a monster. It must weigh about 20+ pounds.

We took it home and my son sanded it. It is so smooth, it feels soft. I have no idea what we are going to make out of it or use it for, but we ended up bringing it in the house and used it as a footrest. It is so smooth, it feels really good on the feet. It is still natural without stain or topcoat, but I am thinking it might not need any, did I mention how smooth it is? 

Well, as of right now, I am keeping it as a foot rest unless we can think of a better idea. If you have any, I would love to hear them! :) 

www.etsy.com/shop/deerwoodcreekgifts

www.facebook.com/DeerwoodCreekGifts
www.twitter.com/DeerwoodCreek

As the song goes, (Please feel free to sing along):

What rolls down stairs alone or in pairs,

Rolls over your neighbor's dog?

What's great for a snack and fits on your back?

It's Log, Log, Log!

It's Log, Log, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood.

It's Log, Log, it's better than bad, it's good!

Everyone wants a log! You're gonna love it, Log!

Come on and get your log! Everyone needs a Log!

Craft fair update.

Hi all,  I thought I would give a quick update to our first craft fair.  We spent almost an entire month making new items. I would come home after work and we would go right to the garage, sometimes making new things for hours. I spent many nights worrying that I wouldn't have enough items to sell. I had put everything from hiking to skiing to horseback riding on hold to make new items. Fast forward to the craft fair and let's just say that we had way more than enough. I think there must have been 50 people all day, about 1000 less than what was expected.    

But, it wasn't a total loss as I met some great people and maybe some new potential buyers, so that was nice. It also showed me that I can make a lot of things in a short amount of time.

I have since learned to find out the type of crowds who will be attending the craft fair and what types of items they will buy.

Last night the kids and I realized that this was the first night in a long time that we didn't have to make anything and didn't have any worries about our business so we fired up the BBQ and relaxed........aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!  and I loved every minute of it!

As for doing another craft fair, I would love to.  I learned a lot and next time  I will be much more prepared. Oh, another positive is that now I have plenty of items in stock and will be ready when the next order comes in, so that is good.

So, here's to craft fairs and let's hope the next one is more successful. :) 

P.S. My daughter made these glow in the dark smiley rocks and shells the night before. The crowd was so small, we didn't even get a chance to give them away. Next time. :) 

www.etsy.com/shop/DeerwoodCreekGifts
www.facebook.com/DeerwoodCreekGifts
www.twitter.com/DeerwoodCreek

 

Handmade :)

A few days ago I wrote about the trouble brewing over at Etsy, the website that hosts my online shop. Apparently one of the shops they featured claimed to be run by a lady who handmade all her items by herself, but after some looking into, turns out she did not make her items and they were not handmade, at least not by her. 

Anyhooooo, another lady on Etsy thought it would be a good idea for those of us who do make our items HANDMADE, to change our shop avatar's showing our own hands. She then took those avatars and put them in a collective photo.

I wanted to share the photo as it is pretty cool. Mine is the third row up, third from the right. I am holding a green drill. :)

Here is the link to the actual photo, you can see it better.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41698614@N04/6985408074/in/photostream

www.etsy.com/shop/DeerwoodCreekGifts

www.facebook.com/DeerwoodCreekGifts

www.twitter.com/DeerwoodCreek

Fun with a 2X4, a saw and a drill.

Fun with a 2 by 4 and a saw! This was once a piece of 2 X 4 wood - nothing fancy. Well, nothing fancy, that is,  until last night when  my 13 year old son and I decided to see what we could make from it using our new saw.

We cut (we just figured out how to use the angle on our saw and had to try different cutting angles), drilled like crazy, (this wood is so easy to drill though, unlike our log candles, so again, we went a little crazy - hence, all the holes), sanded and then put on a clear water-resistant topcoat and whaa-laa! We have this these wood pen holders!

These are fun pieces and will make for some good conversation. :)  

Next time we make these, I think I will stain them. I am not a big fan of staining as it is messy and smells, but I sure do love how wood looks when it is stained. With that said, it will be worth the hassle.

Oh, tomorrow is our first craft fair - wish us luck.  It is www.thespringmarket.com

www.etsy.com/shop/DeerwoodCreekGifts
www.facebook.com/DeerwoodCreekGifts

www.twitter.com/DeerwoodCreek

Our "Shop" and why our skilsaw stays on the ground.

Hi all,

Apparently there has been a little trouble brewing over at Etsy, the website that hosts my online shop. Apparently one of the shops they featured claimed to be run by a lady who handmade all her items by herself, but after some looking into, turns out she did not make her items and they were not handmade. With that said, I thought I would show some pictures of my son and I making some of our items.  I know there was never any doubt, but I thought it would be fun to show you a little bit about how our log candles and wood items are made and the people who make them. 

Our set-up is pretty primitive, but works pretty well. We have the skilsaw on the ground. My son and I prefer it this way and there is no chance it will fall off of a work bench and since neither of us want to catch it, I am all for it.  We do the major woodcutting on the driveway as it puts out a lot of sawdust that I don't want in the garage.

Inside the garage, we have four kitchen chairs and a piece of plywood as our workbench. We have clamps at both ends holding the plywood down. We also have another clamp that holds the wood for drilling and sanding.

We recently acquired a new skilsaw and it is awesome - cuts through logs like butter!  On a side note, the man at the saw store said, "It will cut off your fingers before you even know they have been cut off." So, my son and I both remind each other of this before each cut and I do a visual of where all fingers and even toes are before we cut.

We have a radio that I always set to the country station, but somehow it gets moved to the newer pop station when the kids are out there. Funny how that happens.

I love being out there and seeing what we can make. Sometimes my daughter will have an idea and she will "request" that we make whatever she is thinking of. I like when that happens as it is fun to make her visions come to life.

We have been out there in the hot sun, the cold rain, wind, you name it, we have worked through it. Sometimes it gets so hot that the goggles fog up. Sometimes it is so cold, we have to put on several layers of clothes. But, it is all good.

I really love that I have found something that I enjoy doing and that my kids enjoy. I never imagined we would have a business - especially one where I am using power tools! I am even getting to the point where I can tell the difference between Oak, Olive, Walnut, Eucalyptus, etc.

At the beginning of January, I don't think I had ever used a power tool in my life. Ever. Now we have the new skilsaw, the drill, a sander and a jigsaw. There are so many new saws and drills and things that I am finding - I want them all! But, that will come in time, I suppose.

Well, take care and I hope you always enjoy whatever it is that you are doing. I know I am!

Cindy Breninger

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DeerwoodCreekGifts


www.facebook.com/DeerwoodCreekGifts

www.twitter.com/DeerwoodCreek



P.S. Don't forget to check out the Spring Market this Saturday. It will be our first craft show. http://www.thespringmarket.com/

The Spring Market - Our First Craft Fair

Nine days until my first craft fair and I am pretty excited! The craft fair is The Spring Market in Curtis Park on April 28. Look for Deerwood Creek Gifts.  Would love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find more information at:
 http://www.thespringmarket.com/

RIP Jeff the Tortoise, our family pet.

Kind of a sad day at our house today. Our pet Russian Tortoise, Jeff, died this afternoon. Jeff was a really cool tortoise. We used to take her for walks, well, those walks consisted of us standing around while she pretty much stood in the grass and ate whatever was in front of her, but they were always a good time. On a good day, one when she was feeling fast, we might have to move a few feet every 10 minutes or so to catch up with her, but I loved taking Jeff for a walk.


When my son was little, he would play Battleship with Jeff.  I still haven't figured out who won, but it was cute and he had fun.

Something I should mention about the name Jeff. Jeff was a female. When we first got her many years ago, we were told that she was a he, so my son named her Jeff. Well, we found out the he was she, but since we liked the name, it sort of stuck. So, our female Russian Tortoise went through life with the name of Jeff.

Years ago, we read that Russian Tortoises can live around 50 years or more. The kids and I used to joke that Jeff would outlive all of us and someday the kids would have to put her in their Wills as to who would get her.

Jeff was just cool. For a tortoise, she was kind of feisty and just kind of did what she wanted. But she was cool.

About two weeks ago, she seemed to sleep a lot. She wasn't eating very much and just didn't have her usual spunk. I thought she was sick so we tried to take care of her the best we knew how. Over the weekend, I was pretty worried about her as she wanted to sleep all the time and wouldn't touch her food. I stayed up with her and checked on her throughout the night. The next day she seemed to perk up a little bit. She ate a few bites and even opened her eyes. She wandered around her cage and the kids and I seemed to not worry as much.

Just this morning I put up a new post in a Russian Tortoise online group saying she was getting better and we were thinking she was getting back to her normal self. I was pretty happy.

Later in the day, I called my kids and asked how Jeff was doing. My son said he gave her a bath and she seemed really tired. But, we were thinking she was getting better so he let her sleep. When I got home, and after stopping by the store to get her some new lettuce that I thought she would like, I opened her cage and went to feed her....She was dead. I started to cry and then I told the kids. It was pretty hard as we really thought she was getting better. We just all stared at her cage in disbelief for a while and were sad. My son got a shovel and we buried her next to the side of the house.

I sometimes forget how important pets are and what a big impact they have on a family until they are gone.  I have to say that never in my life did I ever imagine that I would cry over a tortoise, but she became part of our family. Friends would often ask about her, the neighbor's cat would hang out with her and they would walk around the yard together, or the cat would try to steal her lettuce. I miss the Jeffers. She was just cool.
Cindy
RIP Jeff. 4-18-2012

For anything you need to know about Russian Tortoises, and a great group of people who are very helpful, please go to http://www.russiantortoise.org/

Trying Something New

With working full-time and raising two kids, life can get pretty busy. With that said, some days I am not sure where I find the time or energy to head out to the garage to make some new items.

I wasn't feeling very well this weekend, but I had a few things in mind that I wanted to make. I kept telling myself that I would hang out on the couch, relax and get better; however, I kept having this little nagging voice telling me it wouldn't go away until I made what I was thinking about.

I slowly got up off of the couch and lugged myself to the garage. I ended up making 16 new things this weekend! Even though I wasn't feeling well, I would have felt worse sitting on the couch with all those new ideas floating around in my head. Hours went by when I was sure it was more like 20 minutes. The time flew!

I came up with some new items for my shop. On a whim I bought some chalkboard paint. I had never used that before, but I love it!

There are so many different things you can make and they are fun and easy and practical. I can't believe I had never heard of this before, I was missing out. I ended up using a glass square vase, painted it with the chalkboard paint, and now I have this cute four sided chalkboard table number centerpiece. I also painted different wood shaps and made those into tags that can be used for a wishing tree, table numbers - the possiblities are endless!

My son and I also made a bunch of log drink coasters. Usually we put a waterproof clear coat on them, but I am going to see if people would rather have them completely natural. We have both so it will be fun to see which they prefer.

I also made a personalized log wedding guest book pen holder which can or, if you want, it can also be used as a custom rustic toothbrush holder as we burn your initials or a word you like right on it. I am trying to branch out and find new things to make. I think I want to try log napkin rings and personalized log slice cake toppers. Something new for me so that should be fun.

I hope you try something new today. Please feel free to share what you are making. I would love to hear about it!

Cindy
www.etsy.com/shop/DeerwoodCreekGifts
www.facebook.com/DeerwoodCreekGifts

Three month anniversary. I still can't believe it. :)

If someone had told me in early January that I would be making centerpieces for weddings and people's homes, I would have thought they were crazy.

If that person said I would be making personalized log tealight candle holders for a friend to give her friends as a gift, I would not have believed them.

If the same person said I would be making slate and rock tealight candle holders, business card holders and jewelry, again, I would have laughed.

Fast forward to three months (opened January 11, 2012) since I opened my online shop and I have made centerpieces for a wedding across the country, made personalized log tealight candle holders for a good friend to give to her friends as a gift and made tealight candle holders and business card holders from slate and rock. I have also learned how to make jewelry and how to make a centerpiece for almost any occasion.

I bring this up because I am sometimes in shock at my etsy shop. What went from a fleece blanket and a log, turned into a new passion for me. I love to create things and especially love when other people love what I make.

I hope to keep going as I am having such a great time. I hope people enjoy what I make as that is really important to me. I hope you find something that you want to do and you go for it!

Cindy

www.etsy.com/shop/DeerwoodCreekGifts

www.facebook.com/DeerwoodCreekGiftsThree month anniversary. I still can't believe it. :)

Deerwood Creek Gifts and where it got its name.

I was reading how different show owners have come up with their shops names. Some of the stories are pretty funny, some very interesting, and some are unusual - but they were all fun to read about.

I came up with Deerwood Creek Gifts as thinking back to when I was a kid, I lived on a street called Deerwood Street. Behind our house was a ditch that my sister and I used to find lizards and bugs and we would play along the ditch. As a kid, I thought it was a creek.

When I was thinking of a name, I thought of that house and the "creek" behind it and the name just popped in my head. Since we sell gifts, that part was a given. If you have a name of a shop, I would love to read how you came up with it!

Take care all.

Cindy
www.etsy.com/shop/DeerwoodCreekGifts

The link to the four candles in the picture is:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/94728974/square-tealight-candle-holder-wedding
Deerwood Creek Gifts and where it got its nameDeerwood Creek Gifts and where it got its name.

The kids and I have started an online business!

In January, I bought my son a saw and a drill. We went to a firewood place and got some wood. When we got home, he went to the garage and started cutting away. I asked him to make me a log tealight candle holder. After several tries, he made one! I loved it and he made a few more.

Later that night, my daughter and I made two fleece tie blankets. A co-worker saw them and suggested we put them on Etsy.com to sell. I had never heard of Etsy, but once I looked into it, I knew it was where I wanted to sell my things.

On Etsy, you open a "shop" and sell your items. It is .20 to list a new item, so it is pretty inexpensive. We listed the fleece blankets and then the log tealight candle.

A few days later I opened my e-mail and there was an e-mail from a lady in MA who wanted us to make 60 log tealight candle holders for her wedding. My son and I were speechless. At first I thought maybe it was a spam e-mail - 60 candle holders? We had only made five EVER! I couldn't believe that someone wanted to use something that we created and wanted to use them in their wedding. It was a great feeling.

To be honest, I never imagined anyone buying more than three of our candles, so 60 was huge! My son and I went to the firewood place and bought a lot of logs. After cutting about 20 of them (on the neighbor's borrowed table saw) we realized that there were worms in the wood. No way was I going to send a bride for her wedding wood with worms!

We ended up giving all the wood to the neighbor to burn for fires and back to the firewood place we went. We came home and started cutting, drilling, sanding, cutting, drilling, sanding...it is exhausting, but a lot of fun! Also, very messy. I often came into the house with wood shavings in my hair, in my shoes - that stuff gets everywhere.

The only mishap we have had was my son walked into the house holding his pants leg from the inside and the drill bit sticking out of this leg! Apparently the drill had a malfunction and it caused the drill bit to slip loose and it went into my son's leg. I took him to the ER where he ended up getting seven stitches.

The next day I found him in the garage where he was plugging in the drill. I asked him what he was doing and he said he wanted to get the candles done for the bride and he was going to work on them. I asked him about his leg and he said it hurt, but we promised to make the candles and that was exactly what he was going to do. Finish the job.

We have now had a few more orders and I love selling what we make. It is a great feeling to know that something I made makes others happy. I have a regular full-time job, but once I get home, I love to create things. I love the time spent in the garage with my son sawing, drilling and sanding. I love being the house with my daughter and making up new wedding centerpieces. She is very creative and has great taste, so it is a lot of fun. They are great kids and this is something we are doing together.

If you would like to see our shop, please stop by.
http://etsy.com/shop/DeerwoodCreekGifts

http://www.etsy.com/listing/92509520/peace-love-happiness-centerpiece-log
http://www.etsy.com/listing/94513364/blue-and-purple-wedding-centerpiece

Brothers and Sisters

While waiting for a moving company to haul away our old treadmill, I asked my son if he could think of anything else in the house that takes up space that we didn't need anymore.

Without missing a beat, he looked at his sister and replied, "Yes, and I am looking right at her."

Brotherly/sisterly love at its finest.
2011

Do not interrupt me. No exceptions. Well, except maybe for this.

A few years ago, while looking for a job, I finally landed a phone interview. The one and only rule I had for my kids during this phone interview was: Do not interrupt me. No exceptions.

As I was speaking with the lady and trying to sound very "business" like and less "been-out-of-work-home-with-kids-for-too-long-frazzled-mom" like, my son poked his head into the room and I quickly gave him a "shhhh" and indicated I would be another two minutes until I could get off the phone. He quietly closed the door so I figured everything was fine and continued on with my conversation.

A few minutes later my son was back and I was getting a little annoyed. "What could possibly be so important that he keeps interrupting my call???"

He quietly handed me a note and then quickly left the room. I glanced at the note and then had to read it again to make sure I read what he wrote.

On his note he had written:

Mom. The tree out front is on fire!!! And so is the grass!!! Some kids had matches and they lit some paper on fire and now the fire is getting bigger. Sorry to bug you.

I quickly explained to the lady that I had to go as our grass was on fire and hung up. We called 911 and once the fire was out, I asked my son how long he had waited to tell me and asked why he took so long. He said, "Well, I was going to tell you right away, but you said not to interrupt you so I waited as long as I could. I tried to tell you once, but you told me to come back in two minutes-so I did."

Parents, take note, if you tell your kids not to bother you for a few minutes, make sure they know it is ok to bother you if anything is on fire, there is blood, or bones are broken. Just a reminder.

2010 Cindy Breninger

How Many Cookies???

Yesterday my son called me at work to tell me some "very exciting" news that just couldn't wait until I got home. "Hey Mom, guess what? I used my allowance and bought 10 boxes of Girl Scout cookies! I had enough money and bought 10 boxes!"

Stunned into silence for a moment at the thought of 10 boxes of cookies, I replied, "You spent your money on 10 boxes of cookies? Why didn't you wait until I got home to ask me first?"

Silence on his end of the line....and then he said, "Well, if I had waited to ask you first, I don't think I would have 10 boxes of cookies, do you?"

Good point.

2010 Cindy Breninger

Ahhh, brotherly-sisterly love.

My daughter just walked into the room and said to her brother, "Ya know, if we were both toys, you would be on the Island of Misfit Toys and I would be under the tree!" And then she smiled and walked out of the room.

If that's not love brotherly-sisterly love, I don't know what is. Kids. I tell ya.

2009 Cindy Breninger

If You Are A Black Widow, Don't Get Married!

My ten year old son and his buddie were talking about black widow spiders. They wanted to know why they were called black widows. I said the black part was because of their color, and the widow part was because after the woman spider makes a baby with the man spider, the woman then eats the man spider and then she becomes a widow when he dies.

Both boys were quiet, or shocked, and they decided that it was mean of her to kill the male. But, after thinking about this awhile, one of them had an idea about what the male spiders should do, or what he would do if he were a black widow spider, it went something like this:

"Ya know, if I was a black widow, I would just hang out and be friends with the girl spiders. I wouldn't marry one or have babies or anything. I would just be a black widow spider who has lots of friends who are girls and I wouldn't get married and I would say no to making babies! I think that would be the safest thing to do." Hehehe. Kids kill me.
2009 Cindy Breninger