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

Sharing Adventures and Passions Through A Series

Hello everyone. 

I hope you've had a wonderful week. 

Today, I'd like to tell you about

 something that I'm adding to my blogging.

 I had mentioned it

in my Grow Your Blog post.

It's going to be a little bit

different than I had

originally stated and intended. 

I want to begin to share

more of my 

inspirations and passions

in my very blessed everyday life.

 But I didn't want to do it in 

 random way.

I always felt like it all needed

to be connected somehow.

Like on a page. 

I had mentioned pages but have been 

unsure how to create 

it the way I wanted. 

And so, instead of publishing pages, 

I'm going to share the different 

subjects in an on-going series format.

I don't know exactly how many but

there will be several and 

I will do my best to make them 

inspiring and interesting!

Things that I dream about and 

see and work at.

Revelations.

Experiences.

On-going projects.

Words~Quotes.

Pictures.

Faith.

(And as always, 

the loveliness of life!) 

 I've decided to give them

 some fun names. Here are a

couple that I've decided on:

 ~Our Wanderings: Travel

~ The Ladybug Chronicles: Nature Findings

~ A Woodland Gypsy Camp:  Building A Place to

Play and Party 

~The Shabby Gypsy: Growing the Business  

I already have an Art Inspiration series.  

  

 There will be one about our music.

The music that I and my 

family enjoy and play for ourselves and 

sometimes share with others.

 I haven't chosen a name 

for that yet. And of course, I will continue

with the craft and art projects as well.

Each post will be proceeded by the series 

name to make it easier for folks to

recognize what the post

will pertain to. Doing this

 will help me organize my writings

and hopefully make it easier for

 others to follow along

if they would like to.

I hope that this all makes sense

and will make my blog a more useful 

and inspiring place to visit!

The first series to begin is 

Our Wanderings: Travel.

I'll be sharing some photos from 

our recent anniversary trip 

to San Francisco. What a time we had.

Unforgettable and perfect!

And soon to follow is 

The Ladybug Chronicles as

I begin to share about our three little

cotton tail bunnies that my daughter and

I are raising. They are just 

thee cutest things!  :)

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

It's Friday.

Which at our house means 

Movie Night! 

We pop real popcorn,

 slice apples and cheese and

 then grab the box of wheat crackers

and Hot-n-Spicey Cheez-its...

 enjoy a movie or two together

and sleep in on Saturday morning.

This has been our tradition 

for 28 years!

I'd love to hear about a tradition of yours!

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Blessings and hugs,

Tamara 

A Baby Bird and Altered Book Give Away .... Just Because

Happy Monday!

Was your weekend 

restful and productive?

I hope so. 

It's so good for the

 body and mind to 

take time to rest, relax and 

then get something done!

Do you feel just 

"all around better"

if you keep things 

in a balance? 

I do.

The weather is changing and many

of us are starting to focus

on outside projects.

That's always exciting

as well as a lot of hard work. 

We are working on an area

of our property that we

have had dreams about

working into something special!

I will be sharing about 

that in the future.

I know it's been a long, 

cold winter

for a lot of people.

It will be spring soon!

And...this is what 

we have to 

look forward to! Isn't it precious?

This is one of our Sugartree babies.

It's a little Fly-Catcher. 

You'd never know it but there 

are five of them in the nest. 

Those parent birds were

very busy!

*******

It's always fun to win something.

And during the 

2015 Grow Your Blog Party,

it was suggested that we

 have a giveaway.

However, I wasn't sure what to

 give and so I didn't have one.

But I thought of the books that

I had altered and decided

to offer one of those.

I have been wanting to host  

a giveaway for a while now.

I'm a gift giver for sure so this 

will be fun!

Here goes..

So, if you'd like

 to enter, just leave 

a comment. And if you're new

here, WELCOME! If you 

 find some encouragement 

or inspiration here, 

I'd love to have 

you follow along.

Here's the book that I

will send to you if 

your name is chosen.

The winner will be 

announced next Monday.

March 16th.

Thank you so much for stopping 

by and best wishes to 

all who enter!

Tamara xo

Grow Your Blog 2015

Hi.. My name is Tamara.

Welcome to my blog and thank you for 

stopping by.

I've never done anything like this before so I'm

a little unsure of how...

but I'm looking forward to being a part and

excited to make some new

"blogger friends" and share the goodness.

Thank you to Vicki and her helpers

  for giving me the opportunity.

*******

My blogging journey has been rather

slow-paced. I have a very large family. A mix of 

wonderful, adopted children and 

wonderful, birth children! And

though I love the connections I have made
through blogging, 
most of my time

has been happily immersed in family

life and church ministry.

We're a home-schooling family and 

the youngest will graduate this spring.

And with this exciting event,

there opens a door 

into a new season in my life.

It's very bittersweet.

(We do still have precious, little ones 

running about.. 8 grand children

and another coming in April!)

Just mentioning the blogging friend 
connections that 

I've made isn't enough.

I am very grateful to all of those in the

blogger world that have 

been so kind, 

and are so talented 

and inspiring. 

It's been so fun, encouraging,
educational...and well... just
 a real pleasure to get to know some 
 other creative souls to share interests
and passions and friendships with!

(I have spent so much time reading 
and watching artist/craft videos that I feel
that I've taken at LEAST a 101 course! :)

I 

HAVE

LEARNED SO MUCH

 from these wonderful, 

 gracious folks!

It really has taken me a long time to 
"find my style" and get to know myself.
I have learned so much and I'm
still learning to follow my heart
and listen to the little whispers
that lead me. This journey of crafting
has truly opened up my life in so many ways.

(I have an ongoing series called "Art Inspiration" where I share
more of my thoughts about my journey.)

It's been discouraging at times
and the encouragement that I have found from 
other bloggers..artists.. God and my family 
has been priceless.


I'm so thankful that I have a supportive husband
 that sees the beauty in what I do.  What I make
and the entire journey itself. He's so sweet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've always enjoyed writing and

 the name of my blog reflects my belief

that there are beauty and blessings everywhere.

 And as I try to focus on the

 positive things, I hope to encourage people

and bring inspiration to others,

if even in some small way.

What do I like to write about?

There are many things that I 

find inspiration in..

Music

Nature

Handmade treasures

Art

Photography

People
Faith 

Books or 

just words..

(my list could go on and so I'll

 say "just life in general")

I love life ...even in the hard things,

inspiration can be found..if I'm willing

 "There is such 
beauty and inspiration in 

the every day." 

I have to work each day at making choices
that allow me to take them in.

{The tricky part is having enough time to write 

about all of the things that i find 

interesting and inspiring!}

And one of my 

blog goals for 2015 is to...

add pages...

and write more..

(I guess that's two)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's another part to my blog....

and that's about 

making beautiful 

and inspiring things.

My main thing seems to be 

shabby and vintage.

But I love paper...string..rust..

chippy wood.. wire..

fabric, glitter... and more.

 Up-cycling or re-purposing.
However one wants to say it. 
It's a fun and satisfying way to create.

I love to thrift store shop and once found a 

beautiful wedding dress 

with a gorgeous hat...

for... a dollar..

I am learning to make all sorts of things..

weathered wood signs..

jewelry... paper crafts, 

 altered things..
 bottles..books..clothes 

and sticks.

Furniture re-dos 

and so much more.

I really love the neutral colors 

and very soft pinks

but there's 

somewhat of a gypsy in me also.. 

I love traveling and those beautiful,

vibrant, flowing, Bohemian colors!

(This will shed some light on my 
"venture" name.) 

I have been selling a few things here and there,

and now that I have more time,

I have given my venture a name.

The Shabby Gypsy

Here are some photos of some of 
the things that I have made ..
I apologize for the quality of some of the 
photos.. I am still learning.

 An altered matchbox. 
(a not so good photo)

 An altered antique bottle.
Another not-so-good photo

An altered book.

 My first attempt at a mixed-media journal.
It was a lot of fun but I was advised by a very sweet,
licensed artist friend of mine that it's 
too busy. There is too much to focus on! 
Very true.

I find myself very 
drawn to nature.

the quiet..

the beauty..

 and all the little
lessons of life.

The following are some photos of 
some of my wanderings.. 
and findings..

I live in the beautiful White Mountains of AZ.
It's not always this green. These were taken
after the summer rains.

And then..here are a few of my other projects.

My husband is excited to retire 

so we can do this full time.

But that won't be for several years yet!

So.. for the time being,

 I will be working on my projects

 as much as I possibly can.
Enjoying my family and life while

 learning more and being open to the

opportunities that I have.

 My creative space is a work in progress
and I hope to have it 

ready for Karen Valentine's next

"Where Bloggers Create" party in July.

Here is the link to last year's party.

Well, thank you so very much for stopping by.
I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

(I hope I did ok and that it's not too long.)

Blessings to you,

and I look forward to our "meeting!"

Tamara xo

Some Thoughts About Adoption and a New Blog Header

Hello friends.. I hope your week has been extra-ordinary so far!
Most of the time it's not what's happening, but the perspective I take.
Would you agree or disagree?

 

My life is extra-ordinary.

 

Sweet.

 

Any day that I can get out of bed and enjoy my family and
the "everyday" of life,

 it's good and I feel blessed.

 

I hope you feel blessed, too.

-------------------------------------------------------- 

Yesterday was a hard day. I was so tired.

And I had court.

We've been going through this thing with our Charlotte.

 

She's our adopted, special needs daughter. 

She needs a guardian, but she didn't want us and she'd

like to spread her wings.

 

Or so she thought three months ago.

 

It gets really complicated.

 

Anyway, it's been a process to help her find a safe place.

 

We found one. Now she's changed her mind.

 

{She understands what family really is.}

 

Wow.

 

That's pretty profound.

(I'm not sure that I even understand that.)

 

The judge was speechless at that point.

 

But he ordered it anyway.

 

She'll be living in a group home.

 

Close but not here.

 

I think back to when we picked up this little bundle from the hospital.

 

We had many different ideas.

(we didn't know she had developmental challenges)

 

And dreams of filling this little heart with good things.

 

Holding her hand through the pilgrimage of

 

of her journey and questions.

 

 

I guess we did that.

As much as we could.

But as a parent, I wanted to help her more.

Get her closer to her place of

 peace.

 

Happy

and

fulfilled.

 

It's hard to not take on that feeling of failure.

To shoulder it.

To track back to all the mistakes.

 

But I know I did my best with what I knew.

 

We were so unprepared.

 

She wasn't the only baby bird we took into our nest.

 

As we watch her fly, she's a little wobbly on the wing.

 

Though we can't take the wobble out,

 

we can be here for her when she lands.

 

And we will be.

-------------------

 

It really wasn't my intention to share that.

But it just came out.

Our adoption journey has been a

very diverse one.

 

It has covered the ground from absolute bliss to

 almost as broken as broken can be.

 

I would like to share more as time goes on.

 

Maybe it could help encourage someone or give them clarity.

 

If you're reading this, and have questions, please feel free to ask.

 

We've adopted 5.

 

2 sisters and 3 half brothers.

 

What were we thinking! :)

 

With two stepchildren and a birth child on both sides of the adoption,

we were in for

 

 t h e   r i d e   o f   o u r   l i f e!

 

\\ that's 9 total in case you're wondering //

 

I absolutely see adoption as sacred and a privilege.

 

But not without realities and a high price.

 

 

Though I have been a step-mom

an adoptive mom and a

natural mom,

the bottom line is that I've just been called Mom.

 

=================

 

About the header..

I really don't like to let tired keep me from productive.

I don't mind rest  I love to rest and read...watch movies.. and stuff...

but I can't rest for hours.

 

So my desperate need to have a header

gave me something to work on.

It was a lot of fun.

I used Picmonkey.

It was easy.

 

It isn't a perfect representation of my vision.

But I like the colors

and the mix.

 The truth is I'm not a very good designer.

But I did it and it's something.

 

And I'm learning.

 

That's valuable.

 

And even more valuable is that

this self-raised kid is learning to

embrace and be at peace with less

than ideal.

 

Because I didn't have a guideline, I have set my bar

WAY TOO HIGH.

 

Can you relate?

 

Any thoughts on the header??

 

On adoption?

 

Have a beautiful, beautiful day friend.

 

 

 XXOO