This Gypsy's Early Morning 'Air Frais' Devotions ~

 It's 6:30 AM and I'm being called outside..

It's my gypsy heart that says

"Come on! Let's meet with the early morning. We can greet Him and the sun

with fresh energy and an open heart to begin the day."

The air is cool and smells of pine needles that blanket the ground under my feet.

One of those scents that I wish that I could bottle and save forever.

 I start a fire and the wood is damp from the rain..

the smoke billows and as it rises, assumes the form of the rays of the sun 

as they shine through the trees.

 I light the candles. 

 I have a little jar of dried flowers that I've saved to bring out as a

small offering of my gratitude for all the beauty that surrounds me and the 

blessings that abound in my life.

 There's a breeze but the candle in the wind burns strong..

I sit quietly and with a thankful heart. I think about God's faithfulness and the

the goodness of the earth and the richness of my life.

 There's just something so serene and reverent about being among the trees.  

It's as if every negative and stressful thought just seems to roll off and disappear

and peace rolls in like a slow moving train.

Steady and strong and sure.

It's the perfect place. 

For me.

I've always been that way. As a young girl, I would roam 

the hills and woods for hours at a time.

Rain... snow or  sunshine..

Beauty and blessings..

Every moment of every day.

They're always there.

Words from one of my favorite worship songs called 

All the Earth

All the earth will declare 
That Your love is everywhere 
The fields will exalt seas resound 
Hear the trees' joyful cry 
Praising You and so will I

You can listen to it here

Perfect illumination..

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

The AZ monsoons have started and the skies have been beautiful

all dressed in their layers of fluffy ruffles.

My flowers are loving the summer rains..

Colorful fabrics all washed and ready for projects!

I was so excited to find this little stack of joy at the flea for a dollar a yard.

Bliss~

I've been thinking pillows since I brought this fun fabric home!

They would look so festive with the white pom pom trim that I just ordered

from Wal-Mart. It was a GREAT price. I was going to share it with you but it's no

longer available at that price. But I found another source here

that sells 12 yards of 1 1/8" trim for $16. 

I love pom poms... and lace and seam binding...... ;)

Do you have a favorite trim?

Wishing you a wonderful week and 

many thanks for coming by!

TAMARA xo

Back From the Flea.. Inspiration and Happy Exhaustion!

Hello Dear Friends~

So many weeks have passed since we visited.

I'm sorry I have been away so long. 

I should know better than to make promises of visits 

and checking in.

I didn't make it to the library one time.

Next time I will declare a time of absence!

Honestly, when I'm traveling, I hardly have time to breathe.

By the time I get home I am literally ready to drop

into a happy heap. 

It's so delightful being held captive by family and friends.

Hugs 

laughter

 stories 

 talks 

movies 

and food.

There are two places where we eat that the 

pies are absolutely

HEAVENLY! 

And hunting for oh so many treasures!

At times I felt like I was over doing the shopping a bit

but I've learned when it's

available, you must dive in and relish

in the opportunities.

I sure hope that all is well with you, Lovelies. 

{{Hugs}}

This refreshing New Mexico rain shower left us

with a beautiful double rainbow.

It looks like that truck is headed straight for the

pot O' gold!

 Drying my anniversary flowers in the motel room.

Crossing the Mississippi is always a huge landmark. We always feel like we've crossed over from the west to the east. 

And actually, St Louis is considered the gateway to the west.

Remember learning about The Louis and Clark

Expedition? Do you love learning 

about the history and people of our land? 

I do.

 Do you keep your hands busy when you're on the road?

When I'm not watching the scenery roll by, I work on cutting out and sewing yo-yos. I love watching 

the pile of these lovely, pleated and 

colorful flowers grow. 

I'm so drawn to these gypsy colors lately! 

 Looking for movie posters at the flea market was fun.

Here are two of our favorite 

hollywood stars together.  

Jean Arthur and Gary Cooper.

We love old movies!

This one would have been perfect but $995

was a bit out of our price range.

But so amazing.

Don't you love the vintage graphics and colors?

It may have been an original movie ad poster because it

was about 8 foot tall!

 The day we went to the flea market, it rained a good part f the

day. But we had such a great time as we met so many good

folks that inspired us with their hard work and dedication.

There so many vendors! One thing we learned and will do next time is to make a once around and make notes 
of those vendors that we'd like to make a stop at.
It was such a wonderful learning experience 
and so much fun!

 And oh my... look who I found.

My heart gets so thrilled when I consider Beatrix Potter

and her story.  Such sweet characters and beautiful

watercolors. What she accomplished in her day was

phenomenal! 

 And guess who came home with me?
 Miss Jemima Puddle Duck.

Doesn't she look like she's

 ready to go out and play in the rain with her
 smart little bonnet and jacket?
So sophisticated. 

Getting ready to load some of our treasures.
Chippy pink spindles. 
Oh my!

A Sugartree sunset and dreamy clouds~

It rained most of the time during our stay.

Back to everyday life which is anything but ordinary!

I'm so excited to slip back into it all..

Every day is a gift.. 

If I think of it that way, I hold the time close

and appreciate it more.

Isn't it just glorious to have some warm summer like days?

I'm so happy to be back safe and to have all those

wonderful memories tucked away in my heart.

What the extra-ordinary in your days?

Thank you for coming by. I'm looking forward to

catching up!

Tamara xo

Vintage Bottle Cap Creations

Happy Tuesday everyone! 

 I hope that your spring is off to a great start

and if you celebrate Easter, that it was 

filled with joy.

Ours was a full day with singing, playing outdoors

a lovely picnic and ending with the family

gathered around in prayer. 

A blessed and beautiful day.

(I had some fun preparing for the picnic that we had 

down at our gypsy camp in progress.

I was able to get some photos that I will share later.)

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

Today, I'd like to share a little project

that I made from some vintage bottle caps.

I found this box at a flea market for $1.

I just loved the look of the box. Sometimes I just buy things

for the vintage look and they are used to add color or charm

to my creative space. Do you like to do that, too?

 I also thought that I might be able to use bottle caps 

in mixed-media art or something.

Many of you probably have your own ideas 

about how you would use them.

Isn't creating so much fun?!

 My first project, was to re-purpose

them into keychains with hand-stamped sayings

and flat-backed cabachons and strings for bows.

I used the Pittsburgh 36 piece set.

It's an upper case set, reasonably priced that has been a 

good beginner set for me.

You can find the stamping set that I used here.

And I purchased the bronze keyring pieces here.

The process required me to flatten the lip of the cap.

Each cap was set on a metal plate and then 

I used a small hammer to gently tap on the sides

and this curled the outside edge up. 

It almost looks like a little flower.

After I decided on the sayings that I wanted to

stamp, I began the stamping. I have a tack hammer that 

I used. it took a little practice, but if you have a bit

of an eye for centering, it doesn't take too long!

Some of them turned out a little rough but I guess

that can add to the charming imperfection.

After doing the stamping, I used a q-tip

wet with black ink to smear over the words. Then I just 

wiped off the excess.

The little design above the word here was actually

 a leather punch that I decided to try.

I don't have a photo of the back. But they are cork.

In the stamping process, some of the cork broke away.

I just covered the backs with circles cut from pretty papers.

Do you like the lovely coloring of vintage packaging?

It's what so many artists try to re-create with

the distressing and tea-staining techniques.

And they do an amazing job of making it look authentic!

I love the look of the authentic AND re-created.

This was a fun project. My first attempt at metal stamping.

To attach the chain to the cap, I used a nail to hammer a hole

and then added a bronze jump ring to attach them together.

I hope you enjoyed this little project!

Are you working on something today?

If so.. may it bring you joy and clarity about who you are. 

Where you've been and where you're going.

Bringing you a few steps closer to dreams realized

and peace in your heart.

I was hoping to start transplanting some herbs today but

our spring winds have arrived and they are a fierce

60 mph! shiver...

It's enough to rattle the house!

So... I've been staying cozy inside and

 working on memorizing the chords

 to John Denver's Rocky Mountain High.

(I love to sing and play!

Along with God, 

it's one of the things that helps keep me 

centered and grounded. 

It delights my heart and sometimes the words from songs

help me to express what I'm about.

Is there something like that for you?)

His music has always been some of my favorite.

He was such a poet and so often wrote about nature. 

"The shadows from the starlight are softer than a lullaby."

If you'd like to listen to the song, you can find it here.

Wishing you a beautiful day and thank you for coming by.

Tamara XO

I'm joining the party at

Talk of the Town!

Vintage Charm

Craft Frenzy Friday