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

A Few Thoughts About Goals and Being Good to Ourselves

These vibrant flowers 

were for my birthday 

from a good friend of mine.

They are so beautiful! 

Such brilliant, cheerful colors.

And they are lasting so long.

This year I have dreams

that are re-surfacing and I'm finding 

myself on a journey back to me.

Feeling stronger and more confident. 

Finding it easier to focus. After so many years

of feeling like I was losing ground,

it's a relief to have direction.

 There a few things that I have learned.
One is that there is always hope.
No matter how small a thing it seems,
do something that keeps me moving toward
where I want to be.

Another is that not one person is without
challenges in their life. 
No one has an easy time of it
all the time.

One more is that it takes
a lot of devotion and hard work
to get where I want to go. 
Though we need to work hard, I'm learning
to not be too obsessive and to take
lots of mini breaks. 

And honey... 
one thing is sure.
If we give up, 
we will NEVER
get there. 
So we persevere.

This was the most delicious red velvet 

cake that my daughter made me. 

And I had been craving cake thick with frosting.

Is there any other kind? 

I wanted to get a picture of a slice 

but never did.

My two daughters and their families

surprised me with a late evening party.

It was so sweet of them! Handmade cards

and sweet gifts. 

So far, getting older has been good

to me. I try to exercise, a lot and eat lots of

healthy foods and keep my stress down. 

There are some things that 

I don't like about my appearance but I 

have decided to embrace all of me

and really work on loving myself. 

And being very good to me. 

I don't hold to the "hard road"

mindset anymore. Life has enough

bumps in the road

without inviting them! ;)

So let's laugh a lot and create

as many happy moments for ourselves 

and others that we can! 

How do you create happy moments?

Think lots of positive thoughts

and keep on the sunny side.

  These past couple of weeks 

have been a busy time

helping my daughter pack and move 

and helping with her sweet girls as

she started a new job. 

I'm glad that I started my valentines early

and I was still working on them

at the last minute! 

I love making them and get caught up in

the details. Here they are waiting 

for the finishing touches.

 Maybe I can squeeze in a post of close ups before the month is over. 

I have a favorite sugar cookie recipe

and I always use half wheat flour.

I try to make our treats a little healthier.

Did you know that you can substitute oil with

applesauce and it keeps your baked goods moist?

A little trick to save calories and make your baking a bit more healthy.

I baked these to take to the local

people where we play music on Wednesday

nights. They are so supportive and it's nice to 

give a little something back to them.

 We had a huge snow storm come through

last weekend. If you follow me on IG, you already know and have seen these.

With a foot of snow, the mountain was covered in

this frosty white blanket.  The birds were wanting to eat. I bought extra seed to make sure that they had plenty.

I hope your February has been delightful. It will be gone in a few days and March will bringing

with it many thoughts of spring!

Have a lovely week and thank 

you for your visit.

Big Hugs,
Tamara X

~ Paper Flowers and Eclectic Treasures For You ~

It's been a very cold, snowy day here.

I have a cozy fire and some little friends gathered

around. I keep hearing Brutus' snoring and the deep breathing of Liberty as she sleeps nearby. The dear dog is getting older.

I hope that you're enjoying your 

Valentine's week.

With all of the loving thoughts

and expressions going around.

"There is only one happiness in life;

 to love and be loved."

George Sand

Yesterday, I baked 5 loaves 

of banana and zucchini

bread. It was delightful to have that

sweet smell floating 

through the house.

And soon I am going to go

 make some cookie dough

 for sugar cookie hearts 

for friends and the grandkids. 

Are you baking for Valentine's day?

********

Do you ever think about how wonderful

it is to live in such inspiring times?

There are so many resources and ways to fulfill

the creative longings in our heart.

There are so many

fabulously talented and creative

people out there sharing their magic and

knowledge and skills.

I've learned so much and

I'm grateful!

And then there are books.

Are you a book person?

My grandparents always bought me new

books for my birthday. 

I still have some.

And I'm so thankful that my parents

always sent me back to school with

my Scholastic Book order

form all filled out and placed in an 

envelope with the money 

to pay for my new books.

Someday I'll do a book post.

"A flower cannot blossom without sunshine and 

man cannot live without love"

Max Muller

I've been enjoying this 

 mantel so much.

{The antique mirror with her elegant gold roses

feels very at home as the 

blush pink,  paper flower sits nearby.

Sparkling crystal is happy to be near

the Carnation Family as 

their colors reflect in the glass.} 

Do you like mixing old and new with

whimsical and elegant?

It reminds me of life.

All the goodness and textures 

blended together to display the

 beautiful and interesting 

and exciting story.

Do you like old tins?

I found this one at a thrift store.

I love the delicate roses and 

fairy-like butterflies painted in

the soft blues, yellows and pinks.

"Love planted a rose and the world turned sweet."

Katherine Lee Bates

Chalkboards are fun to 

share quotes and doodles on.  

This is a child's from long ago.

I wish I knew the story behind it.

Confession time. 

This saying is actually from three years ago

at Thanksgiving. It brings back such good memories that I am reluctant to erase it.

Paper flowers can be whimsical and pretty.

 They're fun and easy to make.

Their textures and puffy layers 

are cheerful and charming.

These colors make me think of winter.

Sometimes in the evenings 

we have beautiful pinks

as the sun slips away for the night.

Do you like the white flowers?

Since the growing season here in the mountains

is so short and I love flowers so much,

I have started collecting them from

different stores. 

Walmart carries a few pretty ones and

they are reasonably priced.

These looked so happy with their big, 

bright white

petals and soft pink centers.

"God's love is like an ocean;

you can see it's beginning but not it's end."

Rick Warren

Miss Prim ROSE is very curious.

I don't allow her to stay on my table because 

she is a bit reckless. 

haha

She found a sponge that I had been using for acrylics and had to smell it.

What a cutie :)

I hope,

 Dear friends,

 that you find your week is filled 

with love, laughter, friendship 

and many

ways to celebrate 

all the love in your life.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! 

XOXO

Thank you very much for 

your friendship

and for visiting my blog.

Love and blessings to you.

Tamara xo