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

Just Add Color ~

What a wonderful day it is.

Everything is not perfect but that just adds color.

How would would I know what was good if I didn't 

have anything to compare it to?

I can be among the... 

happy people

 by changing my focus which

changes my perspective which in turn, 

changes my thinking.

Sometimes, it takes some creative doing but if it

changes the color of my world, it's worth it.

Oh, I love this!

Color in a picture is like enthusiasm in life.

Vincent Van Gogh

Color! 

What a deep and mysterious language. 

The color of dreams~

Paul Guaguin

  Since the patina that occurs in our life is from our own

handprints, we wouldn't want to alter it.

But everyone needs a little splash of color now and then.

It sometimes comes through change. 

From external circumstances or something

of our own choosing.

It charges us and can re-fire our creativity.

It can be subtle or like a huge watercolor painting

that takes up a lot of room in your heart or home.

 I add color to my life every day by listening to

and playing music. Music is full of color!

Every color that you could possibly imagine.

People experiences and gratitude can add such rich

color to our lives. 

Color evokes emotions that move us and touch

in so many ways. It can inspire and encourage

or take our breath away with it's beauty.

Yesterday, we visited our daughter that lives 

in a group home. We had a lovely, long visit with her. 

When we left, the blues of missing her were splashed

over with the cheery colors of bright pinks, yellows, and

oranges with a mix of white!

~HAPPINESS~

Soon, I'll be leaving to see some of our 

children and grandchildren. Being with them

will brush vibrant, magical colors 

onto the mural of my life, adding yet 

another layer to my story!

The beautiful greens of the east will

take me back to my childhood days 

and will warm my heart with the memories

of my past.

What will you be doing to add color to your life?

I wish you joyous times filled 

with rich, colorful memories.

Thank you for coming by~

Please let me know that you were here and I'll

come by and say hello!

Tamara

XO

Art Inspiration: My Quest ....A Winter Canvas Collage and Keeping Inspired

 I hope that your week has been happy and inspiring. 

Inspiration is one of the staples that I live on.

It's so easy to get in a rut with everyday things. Not that we aren't thankful but it's good to have new experiences. 

I like to work at conjuring up happy thoughts 

and fresh things to do.

How do you keep inspired?

I am trying to work hard at learning new things

and today I wanted to share my winter canvas

with you. It started as a Christmas project but quickly was

set aside for seasonal activities.

So, I turned it into a winter project.

Isn't that one of things that is so lovely about art?

There are really no rules.

Allow yourself a lot of grace, flow with the 

circumstances and  follow your heart.

It's one of things that keeps the inspiration coming.

And how amazing to not have any boundaries or rules but full

freedom through creativity!

This is just one of the wonders of it all.

This project was inspired by 

Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist.

She is an artist of many talents! Lovely, creative and

whimsical. A person who celebrates life at every turn

and shares her inspiration with such generosity of spirit

through her beautiful photos. 

Thank you, Vanessa!

I saw one of her canvas' in a magazine and decided to 

try my own with a little different approach.

 How magical it was to enter this little world of make believe

with pretty papers, glitter and colorful paints to create 

a fairytale story through my imagination and art!

To get lost in it all was simply blissful.

Here are a few new things that I learned..

*large collage piece

*planning a story to tell in the picture

*drawing with detail

*painting animals with acrylics

I learned so much and it gave me confidence to keep moving forward.

By some miracle, I inspired myself.

Isn't it a good feeling to have dreams in front of you and 

to accomplish something that brings you one step closer?

Even if it's just a tiny step?

Most big things are accomplished through small steps.

Have you ever experienced that?

Please..

I would really love to hear about yours!

Thank you..

________________________________

Below are just a few photos of my life..

A bear sighting! :)

I was picking this up for my daughter at Christmas.

One of the ways to get inspired is to do something out of the

ordinary fun or even

a little crazy; like push a bear around the grocery store 

while getting your groceries. 

Smile..

That is a very large grocery cart with a very 

large bear inside!

Reading this Renoir book has been very inspirational.

I learned that many of the artists 

of his time carried their knapsacks 

to the fields and forests to 

paint because having a studio was a luxury.

One of the most fulfilling, inspirational ways to stir up creativity is to be someone else's inspiration and then help THEM accomplish

what you inspired them to do. 

I made a pillow.

My grand daughters saw it and wanted to make one, too.

So the other day, they spent about four hours learning how to hand sew these little pillows.

They did a beautiful job and were so pleased with their work.

It made me so happy to be a part of this 

fun and enriching time! 

Thank you for coming by.  

I hope you find some very lovely inspiration

and then have a wonderful time inspiring someone else.

I find so much creativity on many friend's blogs.

So thank you for sharing your talents and lovely ideas

so that others can be inspired and learn new 

ways to enrich our lives.

Wishing you a happy weekend!

Tamara XO 

Images of Green in the Garden and An Irish Blessing~

Hello..

It's wonderful to have you come by today!

Has it been a busy day for you?

It has been for me. 

Jeff and I are getting ready go on a short rendezvous!

 Doesn't it always seem like there's so much to do

when you have plans to escape for a few days?

Our youngest daughter will be here so she will keep 

the fire going and gather the eggs.

The chickens are actually her "particular friends."

She talks to them and they respond with happy clucking.

I know it's St Patrick's Day and I hope that yours has been

fun and that you've not gotten pinched! 

The other day, I was out enjoying some sunshine and

fresh breezes. (I was also pushing away dead leaves, cutting dry stalks and doing a little pruning.)  

Here are some of the sweet little startings of this year's

herb garden and a few other treasures 

that I have about in the garden.

 Comfrey 

 A little color gathered in Arkansas.

Sedum

Garlic

Common Chives

this sweet little girl is holding up her dress to feed 

her little friend

See who's waiting for spring to come after a long winter's nap?

  The chickens get a treat.. the grass dug up from the garden

and it's time to gather the eggs!

Please don't be shocked by the next picture!

It's my herb garden right now.

Spring time here in the AZ mountains 

looks very bleak.

But I have come to see it as an 

opportunity to hunt for hidden beauty and to 

find the "special" in the seemingly common.

A big thing for an Ohio country girl.

But this, my sweet friends, is what I have to look forward to!

It doesn't seem like much but
I love my little herb garden.

It's a work in progress just like myself.

But it refreshes me and brings me great 

joy in the hot, dry months!

I look forward to it's blooms and life. 

Gardening here is a big challenge.

The sun burns and the cold freezes. 

The zone is difficult because of the heat and

the high elevation. But I work at it and learn more each year!

And there are several praying mantis that come

 often to pray here! ;)

Happy gardening to you!

Spring truly is just around the corner.

I look forward to seeing all of 

your lovely, happy gardens.

Thank you for coming by..

And since I'm Irish, I'd like to share

an Irish Blessing with you.

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face.

And the rain fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Thank you for coming by and have wonderful

rest of the week.

Tamara xo

A Gathering of Nature's Treasures and a Change of Perspective

 simple treasures

When I take my winter walks,

there is the remainder of the summer's living plants. 

The shells.

Standing strong against the wind, they

hold a plethora of offerings for the

birds as they seek to fill themselves

and create a little warmth from the cold.

And, they themselves, clothed in muted colors and 

lovely textures, are objects of beauty.

And here, gathered together,

they offer themselves as pieces of art.

What wonderful gifts we are given!

Bark that fell from a logging truck..

And my favorite.

The native side oats grass...

 A delightful banquet for the birds..

(I added a chrysanthemum bloom from my birthday bouquet :)

On this particular walk, I noticed that I was 

anxious and distracted.. 

Has that ever happened to you?

I was pre-occupied and over-thinking some circumstances

in my life and it was robbing me of being present in

the moment and clouding my vision of the 

everyday beauty around me.

I'm so thankful for gentle lessons in listening to my heart

and for the opportunity to gather some of these treasures

as a sort of memorial of that special time.

 Finding joy in simple pleasures makes the way 

for a peaceful and contented life.

Thank you so stopping by on this Monday.

Another week to enjoy wonderful people and 

the beauty of our everyday lives.

 May you be SHOWERED with life's

BLESSINGS and all manners of loveliness

throughout your week~ 

Tamara xo

linking up at

Little By Little Blog

Roses of Inspiration

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