decorative, altered book... a dream is a wish that your heart makes

It's Thursday and the morning is quiet.

I'm listening to the soothing music of Eva Cassidy.

She has a voice like a songbird and 

the songs are very soulful.

It fits my mood this morning. 

I'm always tired after our evening of music.

It's so fun but you know that fun is usually work, too!

I've done my watering which takes

 about an hour and half.

The morning is beautiful and being out 

is one of my first loves. 

Just listening to the birds,

collecting squash from my garden and 

watching the butterflies flit about.

Liberty follows me around like my personal body guard.

Oh, how I love that sweet dog!

*****

Today, I wanted to share a couple of pictures from 

this altered book.

It's just an old book that I picked up from the Thrift Store.

I have made these to sell and they are gone 

so I'm making some more.

This time, I tried tone on tone and I love the way it turned out.

I'm sorry that my photos are not very clear. I even checked them in my

editing program and zoomed in.. They were clear. I wonder if it's blogger.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Here, I'm trying to sort out my layout. I used several different

mediums. Which is my favorite way to create. Colored texture paste,

gesso and rubber stamps.

I used an old library card to create the lines. 

I am very fond of the grunge look. 

The ragged edges with smudging and distressing.

I have learned to use a splattering technique 

and try it whenever

it fits a project.

Here is the finished book.

A DREAM IS A WISH YOUR HEART MAKES

What wish is your heart making, friend?

Life should be filled with dreams and wishes

and of course, seeing them come true.

And we know that takes sacrifice, hard work and holding on 

like your life depends on it! 

And in some ways it does..

Isn't there SO much more to life than just breathing?

And what is life without that hope of our dreams in our hearts?

It's NEVER too late to reach for the stars. 

So we keep it ever in our sights.

Here's a link to Eva Cassidy singing

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW

What a bunch of lovelies I'm with here. We were out for a movie.

We have a s historical theatre here in our town.

It was built in the early 1900s and we try to

 support them  as much as possible.

And of course our family is a little movie crazy!

It has a tiny concession area and the bathrooms 

can barely fit two people.

But aren't those places special?

They have history and character.

I'm so happy that the new owners didn't

do too drastic of an update when they bought it.

Just think of the lovely people that have 

gone on first dates there and

taken their kids for their birthdays.

Oh... What a magical thought! 

Brutus would like you 

to think that he's always working in the gardens but 

here is proof that he does nap sometimes. 

Haha!

What a cutie..

Do you love this brilliant color of Blue Flax?

I have always loved these in the wild and 

was thrilled to find them for sale in

a local nursery last year.

Celebrating life's special moments.

 Jeff surprised me for our

anniversary and made us both appointments for pedicures.

What a thoughtful and unique gift! 

Hello Beauties! 

I just love seeing these majestic elk. 

We see quite a few when

we drive to Alpine every Wednesday to play music.

Not a great picture; I took it on my phone.

Life is so full. 

I'm learning to navigate it without carrying guilt for the 

things or people that I can't get to.

I hope it's that way for you, too.

We do our best don't we?

And, knowing that, we have to let the rest go.

That's so healthy for you and I.

Clink.. clink..

HERE'S TO YOU!

Here's to HAPPY~

AND...

 here's to a lovely day, a wonderful weekend and

doing whatever is in your heart to do.

Enjoy

Relish

Celebrate

My heart is overflowing with gratitude for all that life is.

Thank you for coming by and s special thank you to those who take

the time to say hello!

Peace and blessings~

Tamara xo

Taking Time ..... Thoughts and an Altered Tea Pot

Hello and welcome to.. 

Where Blessings Gather.

If you're new here let me tell you a little bit about my blog.

It's where I share about anything and everything

as it brings a blessing to my life!

There are so many things in this world that enrich my everyday

 and I enjoy writing about them.

I'm a hugger, so here's a 

squeeze to new friends and old friends as well.

I hope you enjoy your visit!

I know life is not without it's challenges but I hope

 that each one of you have at least one special 

something gracing your life.

One of those things for me is the joy of taking a

simple object like a plain, black teapot and with paint,

paper and other materials,

transforming it into something that, 

hopefully, inspires or encourages someone. 

 Whatever you have sitting around that is calling to you to 

  give it a little makeover, might be fun to try!

Use any theme or colors that you love.

Working everyday or found treasures into something creative or 

unique is one of my favorite things to do.

And my message of course is to 

TaKe TiMe~

The bad news is that time flies..

The good news is that you're the pilot!

Michael Altshuler

Butterflies 

Flowers 

Bits and baubles

Paper and paint

Are what I like!

Ribbons

Beads

Stamps and ink 

A bit of wire

What do you think?

Just a little poetry fun.

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

I hope you're having a wonderful summer so far.

Some are talking the end of our fair season already!

My goodness! I hope not...

What a lovely summer it's been.

I know the time will pass but we can make the most of it

and find the magic in it.

We can find the hidden nuggets as we live in the present and not

allow circumstances to over-shadow the beauty of the moment.

Thank you so much for coming by.

I am slowly making my way around to visit again.

Blessings of beauty, joy and peace to you.

Tamara xoxo

An Ordinary Matchbox Altered For Spring

Happy day everyone!

I hope that your week is going well.

I have been absent again! 

I'm not sure where the time goes but I am determined...

to figure this out!

And I'm actually praying about letting it go for awhile.

I love it but I'm not sure if I can make it fit with 

the other things that I've added this year.

I need to simplify my posts.

I joke with my husband (though it's very true!)

about how I am SO good at complicating things.

But I am learning to turn that around.

YAY!

The magic and beauty of spring can be found 

all around. I have been walking about and finding lovely surprises 

all over the yard. The most wonderful have been the two peonies

that I marked off of my list of survivors from last year's plantings.

I am so happy and excited about seeing them come up and am anxiously

waiting for them to grow!

I want to share just a little project with you today.

It's an altered matchbox.

I love taking something ordinary and making it pretty.

Do you like to do that?

I apologize for the photos.

They aren't very creative or even good.

 I  covered it with some pretty, spring paper and gathered some embellishments.

Ferns are one of one of my favorite plants.

So I picked some to use.

 Boxes are so fun to decorate for gifts, craft storage or for decorations. 

And the possibilities for decorating are endless!

This one is pretty simple. I do love losing myself in creating with details though.

***********

I have been so very busy with family outings.

This last week I had a spontaneous shopping trip

with my youngest daughter, a visit over breakfast with two of my daughters and

granddaughters. Thursday, we took five of our grandkids to 

see Beauty and the Beast.

Family outings are so special and celebrating

those relationship often and having fun

makes lasting memories that we'll always treasure.

This evening there's a girls night out eating dessert and going

to the movie to celebrate a daughter's birthday

and then.....

tomorrow dinner with our oldest daughter and SIL to

celebrate their anniversary..

WHICH WAS IN NOVEMBER!

HAHA! ;)

With a (very) large family, and packed schedules, 

it sometimes takes months to squeeze those special outings in!

 Having girl time with Liberty is something I try to do once a week. 

That probably sounds a little odd, but she's getting older and 

she is a good, kind dog. She deserves special 

attention and I love doting on her.

It's always a good time to work on adding a little color or 

something new to add some cheer to my home.

There's something warm and wonderful that happens to a room

when you add something new. I can imagine it smiling.

A bit like getting a new scarf or pair of earrings! 

This floral cheer came from a flea-market.

I loved the colors and it was only a dollar! I was so surprised....

I bought a pile of pieces to bring home and sew into pillows or something.

I have been reading the most wonderful book!

It is packed with inspiration and wisdom.

I will share it with you soon.

(I need to get busy on my posts!)

The excitement of what I'm learning in my personal life or

through my reading sometimes bubbles over and keeps me up late

journalling and drawing.

Do you ever have thoughts or ideas that you want to get onto

paper before you go to sleep at night because you know it will be vanish

while you sleep?

I loved this entry.. it came from the devotional:

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

I have to remind myself of this often and so it really spoke to me.

What speaks to you?

Well dear ones..

Here's wishing you a lovely new week!

Thank you for coming by. 

I hope you were able to take away something

with you that was encouraging or inspiring!

Blessings and hugs...

Tamara

Altered Writing Desk... Nature Friends and a Simple Painting

Hello dear friends..

I hope you're well.

There is so much going on right now...

Mucho mucho..

Probably for you also! I really have to pace myself .

I'm up early to get out and plant and visit my garden areas.

I am working on my 6th round of plants that we've bought.

Perennials... annuals... bushes...

What fun I've been having (and a lot of work too :) but I must get out before the sun

burns too hot. I plant something almost every day.

Today it was a pack of moss rose and six lilies.

The pulaski tool has become one of best friends

as I prepare new beds in this rocky Arizona terra.

It's all so inspiring and such good exercise.

And I'm so very excited to see so much more color!

And honestly, anything in this high dessert that's 

green, is a welcome sight.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Today I have a little project to share.

I wish I'd taken more before pictures.

It was a deep red and green writing desk that was decorated

with a primitive Santa. I rescued it from the 50 cent bin at a thrift store.

The hinges needed repaired and the paper santa motif was coming off..

Here are a few photos to show some of the changes.

Some vintage wallpaper.

I primed the desk and then painted it with one of my favorite acrylic colors.

Vintage White~

And I used some of my favorite scrap papers to decorate.

There was a little lid that opened at the top and I wanted to attach a 

chain to it to catch the door.

I did a little distressing with some fine sand paper.

And some blending with Frayed Burlap Distress ink.

It gave it that grunge worn look that I like sometimes.

And then I began to add little embellishments.

I love using odds and ends of rusty stuff for this kind of project.

I wanted it to look old and be like a letter storage box.

I'm sad that I didn't get many pictures of the finished desk

but you get the idea. The inside was all finished and the little lid had some 

extra details inside.

What're your favorite embellishments to use?

For the final look, I added very small rusted nails to the 

little ornate piece at the top. They became butterfly antennas. 

It was a really fun project and I'm happy to

say that it went to a new home in the Valley of the Sun.

Isn't it so fun to find old things and bring them back to life?

It's one of my favorite ways to create.

Now on to other things that I've been doing.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Meeting new friends in the garden is always a treat!

My thyme is home sweet home for this special creature.

When I drizzle the water over the plant, it scrambles out to say hello..

I love that!

Here is a White Admiral butterfly

I love what happens when I'm watering my plants and the water spills over!

It's magical...

All kinds of creatures come for a drink. 

I will share the movie I took when I figure out Hand Brake.

It's an editing tool that will resize my videos.

 Brutus taking a break from his garden duties.

He works very hard at re-arranging the catnip!
*A little update
(this morning, the little snoot chewed off a peony bush 
branch and broke another. 
STINKER! 
But who can resist that little fur ball when he's sleeping;)

Below are some of my new plants.
We've been having thunder storms.
The sounds of the rain hitting the roof is glorious and the smell after
the showers are so refreshing!
And the plants just seem to act so blessed to have that rainwater~

Here's a little painting that I've been working on..

I used to be so intimidated by paint. My techniques are very simple but it's a start.

Do you like to paint? 

I've been working on this post for days. Yesterday, our internet was down!

It's time to get it published..

Have a wonderful Wednesday and thank you for paying me a visit!

I always love to hear about what's happening with you.

A little side note.. I love to watch movies..
Many different kinds. Dramas based on true life experiences are
some of my favorites. They aren't always easy to watch but usually worth it.

I  just watched Nothing But the Truth.
It's a bit disturbing and it ended differently than I expected.


Love and hugs..

Tamara 

Art Inspiration: My Quest .. Insecurities, Commitments and Guarding Your Dreams

Hello friends.

I hope this day finds you inspired and at peace.

Today, I'd like to share some thoughts and

revelations that have been on my heart for some time.

I call this my journey.. my quest.

 I have been blogging/journaling

about it because someday, I may want 

to re-trace my steps or share.

This involves many aspects of my life. 

There are the personal parts that

involve my own discoveries about myself

and how I have lost layer after layer

to get to who I really am.

Finding my heart.

Silencing the noise.

Unloading the clutter.

And it's also about:

CREATING

I hope that you don't mind my sharing.

(I guess that's partly why I title it like I do.

So readers can filter.)

I must say though that I find such inspiration

and feel a real connection when people

share their stories. 

Sometimes, they can be 

gritty and raw.

 I like raw. 

Raw is real.

And real is authentic.

It's where we live and learn. 

**********

This part of my journey has been difficult.

This has been a choice.

And a hard one.

But sometimes often times it's necessary to 

make hard choices to get you where you

want to go and it's wise to count the cost.

I'm not trying to be mysterious.

It's just difficult for me and it pricks my heart 

and brings tears when I think of it.

I have had to begin guarding my time very

carefully in order to 

protect it from being whittled away.

Please don't get me wrong,

I love people and doing what I'm able to 

help ease their burdens. 

And just spending time with people.

(With Quality Time being 

my first Love Language,

cutting my time with others

 has been very difficult!)

However, sometimes it can be 

unhealthy for others and yourself

if expectations and motives are out of balance. 

Recently I have begun to notice that

after hours of phone calls and texting and

visits that there is very little...and I mean

VERY little time to work at what

God has put in my heart to build on and work at.

  IF YOU DON'T 

BUILD YOUR DREAMS,

SOMEONE WILL HIRE YOU

 TO BUILD THEIRS.

Why I do what I do.

And here is the not-so-fun part of sharing. 

~Transparency~

I can be very insecure.

And so sometimes I do things for people 

because it feels safe. Then I will be liked. 

Or it makes me look good or if I am helping someone 

else, surely that makes me a good person.

Or maybe I wouldn't be liked, if I said no.

(And unfortunately, the latter has happened.)

But anyway

It's been very enlightening and freeing

 to work through all of that.

Facing my own insecurities.

The anger and disappointment of others.

The loneliness.

Sometimes it can be very lonely.

But the quiet is what I need to focus and create. 

Some understand and respect the need for

time and space and it's beautiful when that happens.

It's been a matter of serious consideration,

 getting over feelings of extreme guilt and feeling

selfish because I have had to begin to say.. 

I'm sorry.. I can't right now.

(And it's not easy because I really do care.)

 At times, it's not even people asking.

My personality is that of a nurturer

  and so it's been a combination of 

wanting to and feeling obligated.

In order to guard the time that I have to study, learn 

and create, I have had to consider my motives for and

commitments to others very carefully. 

Being very sensitive but paring down. 

Anyone who wants to dedicate time to learning and

creating knows that it takes a lot of time of focusing

and hard work!

THE ARTIST IS NOTHING 

WITHOUT THE GIFT

 BUT THE GIFT IS NOTHING 

WITHOUT THE WORK. 

Emile Zola 

I am happy to say that the most difficult part of this 

journey is past. I have come to a place where I can 

give time to people in a more pure and balanced way. 

My husband and I talk a lot about these kinds of things.

And one of the things that I want desperately for my

children to get is to be wise in their decisions.

If you have dreams, and most people do, be careful

not to create a life that locks you into spending 

most of your time doing what you HAVE to do,

 instead of what you want to do. 

Those have-tos can be created

very easily and it's SO very difficult to 

then carve out time for your...

~DREAMS~ 

Some people spend literally hours every day

working at what they love and pursuing their dreams

and goals. I would have been very grateful as a young adult

to have these nuggets of truth safely tucked away

in my treasure chest of wisdom.

But I know as I have said before, 

~I can TRUST GOD with the 

TIMING of MY LIFE. ~

I do so hope that this has been encouraging to you

today. I hope the rest of your week is filled with peace

and fulfillment.

As always, I'm grateful for your visit here.

Thank you!

Tamara Xo