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.} 

A 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

Salvaged Wood Signs, Romantic, Shabby Paper Collage and Travel Plans

 Hello Everyone..

We're oh so close to all that fall goodness!

Are you looking forward to it?

I think I finally am.

It's hard to say goodbye to the loveliness

that summer brings and I
 like to reflect on the time gone by.

It's been a wonderful summer with many
happy memories made and some work done
along with letting go of some things.

Doesn't each season hold a magic and

uniqueness all it's own?

I hope that your summer has been a 
peaceful and fulfilling time with many happy moments
and adventures along the way.

And....
 with open hearts shall we 
embrace the new season that's upon us?

 Here we come!

Pumpkin goodies...

cozy sweaters and warm, 

crackling, fireside gatherings with family and friends
or what ever delights each of your hearts!

And.... so begins my candle season and 
even MORE twinkle lights!

Don't you just love the warm glow of all those candles

and lights.. and the scents??

Oh MY! 

Farm Fresh Apple

Pecan Pie

Sunny Pumpkin Fields

I've been looking for a place to buy candles in bulk and
good prices in general.
I finally found one.
They also have dripless in many colors
Orange Black and Purple

~*~*~*~*~*~

 I recently enjoyed pulling out some of my

pieces of old wood.

Sign making is a lot fun

and one can be so creative.

I always enjoy seeing what designs people make.

 The first two are a combination 

of stenciled and free hand painting

I am always intimidated by hand painting as I'm just learning.

I drew the flowers on with a white Stabilo pencil. 

It worked very nicely and is easily erasable.

I'm always inspired by Miss Mustard Seed. 

Have you heard of her? 

She's very talented and so kind and helpful

 to share little tips!

Here's  a video that I watched awhile ago..

It was helpful and just fun :)

 Beads strung on a thin wire...

I use them whenever I can for a project.

They're one of my favorite ways to embellish something.

 This was an oak stool that I picked up.

The paper I used was Romance Novel by Prima.

Paper LOVE. 

I often find my papers at Hobby Lobby or

Scrapbook.com for a very good price.

Sometimes half off~

After the glue dried, I sealed it with several 

light coats of Krylon Crystal Clear.

~*~*~*~*~*~

With one of my many rounds of flowers that I planted this year,
(I think I am officially a crazy plant lady now)
came a beautiful rose bush that graces us
with PINK and WHITE roses
at the same time.
It was....
SO very Lovely.
And I finally figured out to care for them.
That's another story.Liberty wanted a drink..

I love how she looks like a giant dog. 
Silly~ 
But it made me think of fairy gardens.

And then I found this little friend on the bird bath.

I'm sure it thought she was a giant!

Do caterpillars have thoughts?

I guess they do in Alice in Wonderland ;)

We've had some beautiful clouds with our season of rain.

I really do enjoy a cloudy day. 

I'm preparing for a trip to our beloved

 Sugartree in Ohio. We leave Friday.

I'm preparing for that and getting a few things done

from my ongoing list. 

It will be wonderful to see my brothers and sisters,

some of our kids and grand kids as well 

as a new grand baby along the way!

Antique shopping

junking... good food and just getting away
and some 
JUST PLAIN ADVENTURE!
I do love hittin the road.

Willie Nelson CD singin..
On the Road Again

 It's been a great summer but one

of very hard work and I need some 

rest and inspiration.

I wish you the happiest first day of fall.

I will be gone until mid-Oct but will be coming 

and going online. 

Have a lovely week, thank you for coming

and I wish you joyous blessings.

Hugs,

Tamara

************

Oh... a little p.s.  here~ 
Do you like the Junk Gypsies?

They have a new book coming out.
You can watch a video about it here and you
can pre-order their book 
HERE.

I pre-ordered mine several weeks ago.
Can't wait to get it.
Love them girls spirits and the talents that they have.

bye for now..

Joining the lovely party at
Share Your Cup Thursday

Come make some new friends and 
enjoy all  the fun and inspiration~

Have Courage...Random Art Paint Collage

 How has your week been? 

I hope it's been a good one.

Mine has been a perfect kaleidoscope of 

 wondrous adventures~

A mix of work and play.

Music always...

Dinner with some of our girls

A movie with my Honey

And there's the floors...laundry.... watering

I'm so glad that I enjoy every aspect of  it.

I'm also still working on projects.

I'm working on an angel made from an old spring

and angel wing ornaments.

Every border of the gypsy camp is overflowing with

spicy scented, yellow flowers...

Jeff and I sat there this morning

sharing our hearts, 

having a little prayer time together and enjoying a cup of tea.

One of the things that we talked about was achieving our dreams.

And we concluded that we have, to some degree, done that or at least begun to.

The realization has begun in a small way and we will enjoy the journey.

What are your thoughts?

It's so easy to feel like things are never enough or just beyond our reach.

I believe that we rob ourselves of the joy of the hard work realized

when we set our sights too high and don't believe in ourselves or our dreams

when they are in their small beginnings.

The mornings there in camp are a perfect blend of sunshine

 and splashes of shade.

All the while as we sit taking in the beauty, tiny hummingbirds 

come and lite on the branches

and little Pine Siskins visit the seed feeders in the trees.

There's a happy chirping that fills the air around us.

(Remember the little area that I made for the birds and critters in the pines?

You can read the post here. Well, I found some very large footprints near the food and 

decided that it would be better to hang the seed in the trees if I wanted the birds to get any ;)

Below is an acrylic painting that I did awhile ago.

Do you have favorite words that find their way into your thoughts..

journals, doodlings or art?

Words that inspire or challenge you or that you might want to share with

others through letters or special little notes.

Aren't words powerful?

Here's a couple that I would like to share with you today.

 Life can hold some pretty hard things for us to go through.

But there's always a way to get to the other side.

Courage doesn't mean that you don't get afraid,

it means that you don't let the fear stop you.

Bethany Hamilton

Only those who will risk going too far, 

can possibly find out how far one can go.

T.S. Eliot

Success is not measured by what you 

accomplish

but by the opposition that you have encountered 

and the courage with which you have 

maintained 

the struggle against overwhelming odds.

Orison Swett Marden

Courage, dear heart~

C. S. Lewis

I hope that whatever you face that you can find the courage within 

you to press on and come to your place of triumph!

Remember, He is always near. 

 Volunteer Marigolds..

Who's that hiding in the beddy by basket? 

Who wanted to snuggle with the lamb and the bunny?

None other than BRUTUS~

He's such a character!

I have a really cute picture of hm that 

I'll share soon.

A sweet little one just crawled into my lap and it's time to start 

making popcorn for our traditional

MOVIE NIGHT.

Do you have Friday night traditions?

Have a wonderful weekend, dear friends...

Many blessings to you!

Thank you for your visit.

Tamara XO

Hope in Your Heart : Mixed Media

Here we are and it's Monday again.

We have only dipped our toes into the creative spring

of the new year 

and there's already so much inspiration 

to be found.

In our hearts and all around.

What inspires you? 

Some of my most inspired moments come through...

Writings

Music

Movies

Nature

People

Art

I love that moment when I read something or 

hear a song and for whatever reason

it finds it's way to the depths of my heart.

 I am somehow forever changed

and awed by the beauty of the moment.

Does that ever happen to you? 

**************

Today, I'd like to share with you

a mixed media piece that I made. 

It doesn't have a name but

HOPE in your Heart 

is the theme.

This is one of my all-time

favorite words. I think the reason needs 

no clarification.

Sometimes I just like to grab some things from my 

scrap drawer and from leftovers laying

on my desk and try to fit them altogether to 

create something.

C*R*E*A*T*E*

Have you been creating?

I try to work on something every day.

It feeds my soul!

The desire to create is one of

the deepest yearnings of the human soul.

Dieter  F. Uchtdorf
________________

May your basket of HOPE be full

to overflowing..

in spite of your circumstances.

 With God all things are possible..

Matthew 19:26

So, there's always reason to hope.
And I have always thought that hope is what 
sets us to action.
If we don't have the HOPES 
that things could be different or better
somehow, we wouldn't take that next step.

Now, I'm going out to take a walk. 
I promised Miss Liberty and she's waiting!

Thank you for coming by.

Blessings and hugs,

Tamara

mixed media collage..vintage sheet music and gray lumber

Hello everyone..

I'm posting from my creative space where I 

dream and dream some more.

In this cozy and sometimes, very cluttered room,

I also create. It's the place where I am learning to

define the gypsy soul that dwells inside of me.

I am seeking.

I am striving.

I am in it with all my heart.

Vincent Van Gogh

My thoughts and ideas stumble over each other and try

to find a place of validation through the work of my hands.

BLISS

Here is the place where I escape one 

reality to enter another.

Both are places of contentment but they 

are usually worlds apart! 

Upon occasion, they find a way

to blend in perfect harmony.

Today, I'd like to share with you one of the few 

mixed media projects that I've done.

I love to work in this realm.

It's like a reckless abandon through

 my creative spirit.

What would life be if we had no courage to

attempt anything?

Vincent Van Gogh

These projects usually take me a long time

because I have not yet learned to fully

let my heart lead and I worry about

making a mess or mistake. I also am

learning about color, texture and balance.

And I am always open to suggestions

 and re-direction :)

I have been thinking of beginning a

sort of study of the Masters.

Any suggestions or recommendations here?

I love this quote by Vincent Van Gogh.

I long so much to make beautiful things.

But beautiful things require effort,

disappointment and perseverance.

Does it speak to you?

******

There is so much going on here 

(maybe too much) that it would be too 

lengthy to explain the entire process. 

But here is a list of the "ingredients"...

vintage sheet music

gray lumber

gesso

acrylic paint

glitter

stamping ink

hot glue

tacky glue

matte gel

alcohol ink

rubber stamps

stencils

sissix dies

paint brushes

silk

paper

brads beads

string

rusty nuts

rusty washers

carpet tacks

fabric 

lace

buttons

old bookbinding

zipper

tulle

silk

 Gesso was brushed on the sheet music

 first and then I painted over it with

a creamy white paint to soften the white.

I painted a red heart and chose my

co-ordinating colors and began to build.

I'm learning to thin paint and to use it

to splatter.. I love the look.

Expression without a box.

Still in the planning stage..

Adding some sparkle and glitz...

All finished..

Wishing you good things and 

thank you so much for stopping by.

Tamara xoxo