Bridle Tree Barn Raising Challenge 2023 - 2024

I just keep trying to raise a barn. The problem is - it's always COLD in December and I can never paint it. And I feel like I just can't seem to get it completed. So, I decided to build it in the spring and summer months and do the decorating piece for the actual challenge in 2023. We shall see what happens, as like other challenges, I don't seem to get things done.  

It took me most of the summer, but I was able to get the barn PAINTED and assembled!

Now, My Barn raising challenge will be to get it decorated - can't wait to decorate this year! We will see what I can do. I have a lot to finish for stuff in the barn.

Now to decide what my projects are and to do some fun pictures! The first picture set up is "CRISP."

Crisp Colorado morning in the snow chasing the donkey that got loose. 

I am still laying out plans for that image, but I have completed a TON of things for my barn! 

I am working on my grass base and a winter wonderland base and some gargoyles. AND I finally found the Christmas decorations for which I have to get a small tote to carry them in! 

Week 2 Photo Challenge - Squatters

Week 2 challenge

Little Barn Owls in the barn

Week three challenge:

Week 3

I also did some other Stablemate scale items for my barn. 

Week 4 Challenge: 

Mess - looks like my PORGS are making a mess of the barn. 

It's been fun. I am hoping to do the 2024-2025 event. 

January 2024 Crafting Month

 

January is a little light on the crafting stuff offered. 

First off was another soap making class using goat's milk soap - this is a lot thicker and a little harder to work with than the glycerin soap. 

The first one I used a bee honeycomb mold and did yellow color with Warm Vanilla Sugar scent. The second one was a mix of pink and purple color with Pink Vanilla scent. 

They came out nicely I think. 

I wanted to get into the candle making class to see if it was something different, but it filled up too quickly. 

I was able to get into the Glass Fusion Class. I was very excited for this because I have only done it a couple of other times. We made magnets. 

These were samples we could look at. 

       

 

Here is my piece as I worked on it - YES, I cut my finger on the glass. Nothing like a little blood on the project to make it look realistic (ahahah)

Completed - not what I had hoped, but I think pretty good for my first try. 

My third class was Tie Dye. I had been going to do this a couple of times last year, but it never worked out. We were doing Tie Dye bags! 

We chose a bag and it soaked for 15 minutes in SodaAsh then it was rubber-banded and the colors added. I chose a Sun Flare/Starburst for my bag. 

After it was dyed, it was wrapped in newspaper and a plastic bag and set overnight. The employees then wash and rinse it and this was my final result:

My fourth crafting class was wood burning! I did this like late 2022 or very early 2023 but it was mostly playing with the tools, so I was excited for this one. 

It's not great but for a free hand drawing and working with wood burning tools - not a horrible first try. I don't know that it's something that I want to do again or not, but it was fun. 

The final class this month, Ceramics! I was really hoping we could choose a project, but they chose it for us. I was very happy that it wasn't a mug this time. This time is was a plate (I had hope for the tea light holders, but they had to change them.)

And this is how it looks after it was fired:

This was a very busy art month, and I am very excited for all the things that I did. 

Bury Your Poverty, Dig Up Your Wealth 2023-2024

 It's New Year's Eve 2024!! It's time to Bury your Poverty and Dig up your wealth! 

Money Tree

I "stole" this concept from a fellow model horse collector, Chris Wallbruch, and I tried it in 2013 and it was an OK year overall.

I tried it again in 2014 and while it was a rough year - this DID work for me. 

I did this in 2015 and while the end of the year was not what I expected - it was a very good year overall - I still had income after I had been let go from a job and I was very glad to not be homeless. 

2016 was just a bitch and while I had no great windfall I have always had the funds to pay what needed to be paid. 

2017 I managed to get a little more than I needed, but again no windfall. 

2018 I have had a very good year - no windfall- but all the bills paid and I actually have $10 in my savings account (This is saying something considering I have had a $0 balance for a while). 

2019 brought a lot of change in aspects of my life and while again no windfall, I have managed to pay my bills (a little late sometimes) but again I have money in savings and a money market now! 

2020 was a suck year with the Coronavirus, the East Troublesome Fire Thompson zone, Cameron Peak Fire, and so much more - but I was given a gift of money to get a new rental home, pay my bills - all on time, help with my evacuation and pay for the things that I wanted and needed and overtime at work. I have to say that I have been helped this year more than any other and I am so very grateful. 

2021 has been the most generous and not so generous year to me. I struggled still from the Coronavirus issues like the rest of the world. I busted my butt at a job that did not appreciate me, I traveled, paid my bills and in October, lost my step-dad. I then proceeded to get a job that actually makes me feel appreciated and pays me well. It feels unbelievable, but I am SO grateful! This year, my cup hath runneth over. It may not be a windfall, but it is a wage and environment that is positive and good for me and that's better than the largest lottery win. 

2022 was a life changing year. I left that job in April that I thought was so great, took the whole month of May to find something, cashed out some retirement accounts and things, before starting a new position that ended up not being great in the sense of money but was awesome in the sense of friendships and the wealth of knowledge that I gained. I bought a 4 wheel drive truck in February and kept my other truck as well. I was able to travel and to do somethings that I wanted too. I got another job in October and I am liking it and the benefits. It was a still a struggle of a year, but I am grateful for everything and feeling good about digging up my wealth in 2023. 

2023 has been a good year. I managed to get money back from a company that had been overcharging me for 15 months. I sold a lot of art work - my best year yet, and I was able to pay my bills and help my mom out. I am truly grateful for 2023 and hoping 2024 will be even better. 

2024- This is the YEAR!

Wealth

It is time to bury your poverty!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this tradition, what you do is bury a dollar (or any amount above a dollar that you want) in the soil on New Year's Eve.

This can be in a houseplant if the ground is frozen or inaccessible, but I like to go outside, dig a hole, and drop my dollar in. (I put it in a plastic bag). As you bury said dollar, say out loud, "I am burying my poverty!" TIP - if you do this outside, make sure you place some sort of marker where you bury your buck so that you can find it again!

On New Year's Day, dig UP the dollar, and as you do so, say out loud, "I am unburying my wealth!"

You can't spend the money - you can either keep it or give it away to charity. Giving it away is the best so you are less likely to spend it. For me, each year I have given the $1 to a local Estes Park charity. This year I plan to bury more than $1 and give the local EP Charity more $$ when I dig it up.  

This tradition is supposed to give you an unexpected windfall of money during the year.

I have had money come to me over the years I have done this and I have always had money that helped me out of tough times so I am NOT complaining.

It is a tradition I plan on keeping every year and I thank Chris for pointing me to it!! Go bury that poverty and dig up your wealth! 

Dig up your wealth!

Money Pile

Happy 2024!