Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Be Fearless Mixed Media Canvas and Random Life Photos From 2018


Hello and welcome to my blog.
Depending on where you live, there
are beautiful season changes
happening! May has shown up here in the mountains
in a summery mood
wearing her loveliest of greens.

There are little blossoms appearing and
all sorts of pretty things in the yard
today. All very small but 
very welcome and treasured. I
 will have to get out soon 
and take some
photos. 

There's been an assortment of fun projects
to work on in my little gypsy studio. 
Lots of painting and some paper collaging.
 Clay and glitter... buttons and gems.
It's all so magical and the messes on my table
come and go shifting from one pile of 
goodness to the next. 

I'm so happy that I'm finally 
getting the hang of this
new way of downloading my photos!
And I'm so much more consistent.
There seems to always
be something
stewing in my mind. And though
I'm not a fearful person, I am not
very assertive sometimes and have allowed
negative thoughts to stay too long in my
head. I never realized
that I was so negative inwardly.
 Toward myself.

But I am very happy to share that this
is beginning to change. 
Like a butterfly coming out of it's 
cocoon or chrysalis.
And as I promised, here is the finished
project that
was inspired by a tiny butterfly.

Butterflies don't fly around afraid
of what people think or
of what might happen. 
They are happy to flutter about and gather their
food and enjoy sips of water and take refuge when
they see danger.
This is a 9x13 canvas. I used gesso, acrylic paints, stamps, ink, vintage papers
and stencils as well as random things for texturing.
My beautiful, Sonoron shell 
pink guitar that my husband got me last year. 
I love playing it and get comments on it whenever I take 
it to gigs.  It's perfect for this Shabbi Gypsy!
They don't make them anymore.

I'm still playing a lot of music and am working 
on songwriting as well. There is so much to learn
but I think the most important thing is to
put our whole hearts into whatever we do.
Do you agree?
This beautiful leaf was collected two years ago. 
Did you know that you can use 
rubber stamps on leaves?
My lovely geranium from last spring is still with me. 
Last fall, it was nearly
 four feet tall and three feet wide. I had to 
trim her back some so she could fit inside
for the winter.
These two are so much fun. They are full of 
love and SHENANIGANS! 
Just as they should be ;)
Have you had a first time recently?
I boiled stinging nettle this morning and ate it!
It's very good. 
{The western version.} 
friend brought us some for making tea to
help with allergies. I scooped it out of the container
with my hands 
and my little finger is still stinging. 
haha.
If you look it up, you'll find that it's packed with
nutrients and is a complete protein. 
I found this little lady at Ross and thought 
she was so special,
I just had to bring her home.
Whatever you're doing this week, 
I hope you're finding
peace and rest and beauty in your days.
Four peaks in the Sonoran Desert.

It's music for me tonight and a month
from tomorrow, I leave to
head to Ohio to get my girl!

I hope that you enjoyed your visit.
Thank you for coming.
I hope you feel welcome and leave inspired.

Have a lovely rest of your week
and a Happy May to you.

Tamara 
Xo



Thursday, April 18, 2019

Create Your Bliss ~ Life Choices and a Small Mixed Media Project


Hello!
Today was my walk day and the
spring weather has been rainy and cloudy
and breezy. 
love these days.
Now, I have Primrose in my lap
and Liberty is eating smarties at my feet.
We're all enjoying a crackling fire.

*~*~*~*~*

Life is a wonder to me. 
There are mysteries about why things
happen the way they do. And then there are
the things that we set into motion.

With all it's uncertainties, it's a 
lovely life. There are times though 
that I wish that I had 
been more prepared. I wonder if most of
us feel that way.
Wiser in the knowing of how
decisions would affect 
our future. 
I was very naive.

Today I want to share a
simple project that was inspired 
by these thoughts.

Do you ever keep little scraps
that you might do
something with it?
I used to be obsessive but have
learned to be more selective.

Isn't it fun to think of the possibilities :)
I mixed some paint and texture paste to
spread on this piece of corrugated paper. I fussy cut
a flower left over from a piece of card stock.
That's a scrap of vintage trim under the words
that I stamped. I love using seam binding to add color
and soft texture. Stars are such happy and magical 
things and seemed just right for
the theme. I found them in my jewelry supplies.


 I heard a song that had a line in it 
that said,
 "Are you living the life you chose
or are you living the life that chose you."
In keeping this positive, 
I'm not saying that I have serious regrets.
Of course, there are things I wish 
I had done differently. But this is more
about the things that I didn't do.

So that's how I came up with the:
CREATE YOUR BLISS
theme. 

One of the wonderful things 
about life is that every day is a 
chance to make a change
or start something new. 

It's an open door to any place and we can
take the first step toward
something that we've always wanted to do.
My daughter
and I have talked about
her decisions and what she wants.
It's one of the reasons that she's coming home.
She is smart about making her choices to create the life that she wants to live.

These can be financial or relational
or even career related. When I was growing up,
we were taught to make a lot of important
decisions based on finances.
It didn't matter what your gifts or talents
were and what dreams you had or what 
you enjoyed doing.

If I could go back, 
I would study music and art.


That makes a lot of sense since my father was
from a poor family.  Having our families
live through the great depression was a huge influence as well, I'm sure.
It wasn't their fault. 
It's what they knew.
Here's the beginnings of a project 
that I just finished
and will be a post coming soon.
It's funny how I gravitate toward
certain colors for a period of time.

I understand that financial considerations are important
but so is listening to your heart. 
People following their dreams...
  Making decisions that move them toward
creating the circumstances that support
those dreams.


I understand more now 
how to choose carefully
the path that will lead me to my destiny.
Considering commitments, of any kind,
very carefully.

Sometimes, there are circumstances
that we can't control. 
During these times,
we know we can trust God and
the process. Remembering that we
will find nuggets of truth and joy
along the way.



I believe that it's never too late.
And I am so thankful everyday
that God has given me the opportunity
now to pursue my 
passions in a different way. 

I study books and work at these
loves of mine. I peruse the internet
and learn so much.
It's an invaluable resource.
And I'm so thankful for people who 
are willing to share their knowledge and gifts
to teach others.

I have told God that if He will
give me the time, I will work hard and
use it. I will give Him the credit because
He helps me every day.
I am amazed sometimes at what I
can accomplish!

Along with the magic and fun, 
we know that it takes a lot of devotion and
hard work.

What are your dreams and goals?
I'd love to hear about how you work
at fulfilling them.

I wish you courage and
and undying hope 
to accomplish what's in your heart.

You can Create Your Bliss~ 


I hope you have a lovely weekend and a 
blessed Easter. 

Thank you for coming by. 

Tamara XX

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

A Mixed Media, Thank You Card For Spring ~


I hope you are having a good week so far.
I am resting a lot this week after
really over doing it last week.

Sometimes life is like is that
but then we can pull back
and enjoy some quiet
and work on what is in our hearts to do.

I did enjoy a little 
clean up time in the
gypsy camp this morning.
I made a fire and made some toasted bread
 with cream cheese and cranberries. It
felt wonderful to be out!

I wanted to share this thank you
card that I made for my daughter.
She is so thoughtful!
I used some lace, old wallpaper
and layered several types of 
papers. I found these flowers
at our local drug store and loved the
crimson color and they came with
some wire fronds as well.

I used a bit of embroidery floss for the bow.
Last fall, I found a DARLING, child's
antique, sewing box and it was full of
so much colorful floss. 
I now have plenty to use
in my projects.


Making cards for people is one of my favorite things to do. It's so relaxing and
I love expressing greetings with
a hand made card.

Wishing you a lovely rest of your week
and thank you for coming by~

Blessings,
Tamara

Sharing today at:

Come and see all of the lovely
creations and talent!

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Hello Spring! You are Magical~

Hello.
I hope this finds you all well.

What a glorious time it is with
the weather changing
and all sorts of hope that seems
to accompany the arrival of budding trees and
baby animals and birds galore.

Springtime is the land awakening.
The March winds are the morning yawns.
Lewis Grizzard
The world just has a freshness about it and
 there seems to be a purity and innocence about the world and so a white rose.
She is gorgeous and somewhat regal in her
appearance.

Flowers bloom and sprigs
of all sorts of green come shooting up through
the cold soil to be touched
by the warmth of the sun. 

Came the spring with all it's splendor... 
all it's birds and all it's blossoms. 
All its flowers and leaves and grasses.  

William Wadsworth Longfellow      
Spring is a magical time but it 
comes late to the mountains
and so I have been gathering 
my own bouquets
of pinks and yellows to 
welcome this lovely season of new life.
How do you welcome spring? 

 I have some thoughts of some little vignettes.
Thoughts of faeries, little birds, nests and lovely
green mosses and paper flowers.

I'm slowly working but
life is bustling with all sorts of good things. 
It's all a lot of fun but hard work, too!

I'm reading the book BIG MAGIC
by Elizabeth Gilbert and it's so inspiring
and encouraging. I always thought it was 
about how to be creative but
it's really about how to manage
your creativity. It has been so helpful!

One of the points she makes is that 
she measures her success by how
devoted she is to her craft.
I love that. 


I'll be sharing some of my projects
soon. I've been having so much fun making things and painting.

I watered everything today. My perennials are coming along.
 It will be some time before I get to having
flowers. Even later
this year because.....

My girl is coming home!
She's moving back from Ohio and
I couldn't be any happier.
So I will drive out in June
and her dad will fly out
and help us pack the van and we will 
travel back together. 
We are ALL overthemoon excited :)
So, besides maintenance, my gardening
will have to wait to mid July this year.
But it's ok. 
My herbs will be thriving in the next 
month and I love them.
As I said, 
spring comes late to the mountains.
I hope that you don't 
mind if I share a snow picture.
I know some of you have had enough.
But I do love the mountain wildlife that come
to visit. They are about 10 feet from
 the back door. And as you can see,
they aren't afraid. 
I didn't even realize that 
I had gotten the one 
in the distance until later.
Some of you have met Sunny. 
He's a bearded dragon and the sweetest thing.
This is pretty much proof. 
These are two of my OK grandkids 
and Sunny now lives with them. 
And as you can see, 
they adore him!
He is so gentle and calm. 

I miss him but my son told me that he can
come and visit Grandma's house 
sometimes and we can share ;)
I have moved many of my things
and I'm still in the process of gathering 
and organizing. 
Sometimes it's fun and inspiring
just to do something different. 

With spring and life changes, I'm finding
that the neat little boxes that
 I've held my thoughts in for so long
are growing and changing. 

It's scary and exciting and liberating all at the
same time.
Do you ever feel like that?

Are there things changing in your life?
Are you working on projects?
Here's one of mine. 
In my new living space,
I wanted something to hang 
some jackets and scarves on.
I've been trying to add some color and chose
this red. I am so indecisive about colors so
I have LOTS of Home Depot samples.
They work great for small projects tho
and are inexpensive!
This is somewhat of a random post.
I really just wanted to come and say hello
and...
Happy Spring! 

Here's a funny spring quote that I found.

Finally my winter fat is gone. Now I have spring rolls ;)

Thank you so much for coming by.
 Have a blessed day! X
Tamara




Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Shabby and Vintage Valentine Tags (It's Still February! ;)

Hello and here I am posting 
for the second time in a week! 
I hope this is the start of a new trend...
I always want to but life seems to take over.

Specifically, practicing and learning
 new songs and techniques
on the mandolin and guitar. Family keeps me
very occupied as well. 
But they are loves and I wouldn't
want that any other way.

This post is especially for my sweet friend,
Karen, from Roosterhead Designs
She wanted to see close up shots of my
valentines that I made.
She is such a dear and makes beautiful
cards and creations!

I'm thinking that I shouldn't have 
edited these so much and they would have
shown up better. 
Lesson for the future ;)

I hope you don't mind another 
valentine post but I
guess it is still
 the month of love~
Every year we try to have a Valentine
meal with the kids and grandkids that live nearby.
We make valentines and give little gifts
or treats to each other.
It's such a fun time. 
This year my daughter had a
pink pancake breakfast. The pancakes were
so fluffy and delicious.
Grandma and Grandpa brought the fruit, 
sprinkles and 
whipped cream to go on top!
There were plates PILED with crispy,
crunchy bacon. 
Six pounds I believe!
A dozen bacon lovers around the table.
I have so much fun with the details 
when I sit to make projects. 

For these, I sifted through 
my ephemera and did 
my best to co-ordinate it 
with the gender, interests and ages 
of each one. I love finding things
 in thrift stores to use. 
The vintage looking valentines 
are actually stickers that I found 
at a thrift store many years ago.
I have a large paper doily collection
and old tickets that I have saved form different
raffles and events. Some of the pieces
are cut from old playing cards.
I did some fussy cutting.
 (I always thought that this term was so cute.)
There's a lot of layering and angling to get
the look that I wanted. 
I used some glitter, 
old buttons and one of my 
favorite things to buy on Etsy....
crinkled seam binding.
I put these all together
 on small shipping
tags that I purchased and 
larger tags that I made.
There are so many more projects in the making. Painting ... collaging and 
lots of thank you notes to 
make to send out for birthday gifts.

Thank you for coming by. 
I hope your week is going wonderfully and if you're wishing for spring,
hold on! It will soon be here.

Don't forget to pop in and say hi to Karen.
The love and details that she puts into her 
creations is beautiful and inspiring.

Blessings and joy to you.
Tamara XO