A Pie Pumpkin..All Glittered Up and Some Thoughts About Life

It's a very blustery day here in the Arizona mountains.

And tonight we're supposed to have temps in the teens.

I hope to get outside to day, brave the wind, dodging the 50 mph gusts and gather the rest of my flowers for some creative and fun way to enjoy them for a little while longer.

I cannot believe that I still have roses, 

cosmos, petunias and snapdragons.

What a beautiful fall it's been but I find myself standing 

by the wood stove quite a bit these days.

There's a very simple project that I'd like to share with you today.

I made a bunch of them while I was in Ohio and gave them as gifts.

And I brought several home to make more.

The materials needed are:

 *pie pumpkins

*acrylic paint.. your choice of color

(I used Vintage White)

*glitter (I used gold)

*ribbon, tulle 

*a button or some kind of embellishment

*hot glue gun

I put a coat of paint and let it dry.

Then painted the top half of the pumpkin

again and sprinkled it with LOTS of gold glitter :)

Oh my! 

At the Sugartree cabin in Ohio, I had glitter 

ALLLL over the place. It was so fun.

(Glitter and I mix like milk and cookies!)

After this dries, you make a bow or two out

of your ribbon. Then attach them and your 

embellishment with hot glue.

SO simple and pretty quick too. 

The drying time takes a bit.

I have given several as gifts. 

They would be perfect as a hostess

gift or for just someone special. I took one to the owner

of the nursery where I bought the pumpkins and

she asked if it had been for a fall wedding decoration.

 With Thanksgiving coming, there are endless ways

that one could use them for decorating.

They are very inexpensive to make and so fun and festive.

I took this one to my brother at the nursing home.

Just a small way to share a little love.

And we need lots of that don't we?

That's one thing that always makes a difference

in a person's life. Spread a little cheer and happiness

with a simple gift. Just let someone know that they

were thought of and loved.

Here's a lovely song for you today.

It's a moving version of 

What the World Needs Now.

ent

Yesterday, I made some special memories making

hot-cocoa mix with my granddaughters. 

And we also went about the yard

picking all the flowers that were still blooming!

They had little baskets to fill for their mommy.

They were so excited! 

Oh, the precious love of little girls for their mommy. 

Sweet sweet sweet!

I will share pictures later. 

It's time for some Christmas music! And

we've been working on some songs for 

sing-alongs and special events. 

There are so many special ones. 

Traditional, country, folk and it goes on.

I will share some of my favorites with you.

We had two birthday celebrations this week for my

husband's 60th birthday and there are more to come.

When I think of how much the average person

has to overcome in this life, by golly, it's good celebrate

 them and life at every opportunity!  

As we approach Thanksgiving, there are

a few things that I'm particularly thankful for today.

*A good dermatologist report.

I'm at high risk because of my years of over-exposure.

I have learned some very valuable things about protection.

If you are interested in knowing, I will share.

I will say that skin checks make a difference!

*My husband being here.

The two year anniversary of his roll-over accident

is almost here. His pick-up was totaled. 

He was treated and released.

(I lost my first husband in a roll-over accident 

when I was 24)

 *Protection from a black widow spider.

Yesterday, before the girlies arrived, I was

prompted to straighten a little pile of pillows where

they often play. There I found a very large widow spider.
A spider.. ewww  Happy thought indeed.

To quote Lizzy in Pride and Prejudice  

What are you thankful for?

What have you been doing?

Are you ready for the holidays?

I hope that life is treating you kind and that your days

are rich with love and the beauty of life.

Merci Merci 

And many blessings to you,

Tamara xo

Handmade Flowers and Re-Purposed Window Frame From 1850's Farmhouse

 Happy November everyone..

It's Monday and I hope you had a weekend full

of warm fall-ish moments.

November comes and November goes,

With the last red berries and the first white snows.

With night coming early and dawn coming late,

And ice in the bucket and frost by the gate.

The fires burn and the kettles sing,

And earth sinks to rest until next spring.

~Clyde Watson~

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

I have been obsessing a little  lot

over vintage Christmas ephemera and

focusing on getting things made and organized 

for a show toward the end of this month. 

Several weeks ago, I shared with you the window frames

that I was so generously given by a friend of mine. She's actually

my sister's friend and I did a little horse handling

for her dad. 

Anyway, she had tried to salvage the windows but they

 were the originals and their two-story farmhouse was 

built in the 1850's!

Some of the frames were not in very good shape

with small pieces that had fallen off from weather rot.

I almost threw the pieces away.

However, loving junk the way I do, I 

just couldn't bring myself to do it. 

So here's what I made from those window frame pieces.

I had a little helper :) His name is Burlios or Burly for short.

Here, you can see how chippy and aged the wood is.
I just love the way it looks!

{And I think about all of those years that
that window protected them
from the wind and rain.}

And all those rough edges made it so perfect
for a fall sign. 

There are several flowers that I made for this project.
There are many tutorials on how
to make these but I found one here that is very clear
easy to follow. It is a bit time consuming but not
too bad after you make a few. After getting
the knack of it, I skipped the drawing part and
just cut them out by eyeing them.

I started out by making the paper version but
thought that felt would be pretty too.
I liked the way they turned out. They add
a softer texture and are a little more full.
The felt flowers are actually a bit easier to make
 because they don't unroll like the paper ones do.

 Burly likes to get real close! 

The yellow flower was made using the shabby chic

rose method. If you'd like to learn how to make these,

 this video will show you how.

 The creamy white, felt flower looks a little like a

Dahlia. They are very easy to make. Cut a strip of felt 

depending on the size flower you want. 

(Width and length will determine the size.) 

Fold it length wise and then clip 

the folded edge without cutting all the way through. 

Continue until you get to the end.

While keeping it folded, hot glue it as you roll it up.

It's very quick and easy. These are fun to make

in different colors to use for little girls hair clips.

Just add an alligator clip!

I hope you found some inspiration here. I would

 enjoy hearing about your projects

or things that you've salvaged. 

Have a wonderful week and thank you for stopping by

 Where Blessings Gather.

Linking up at:
 Cooking and Crafting With J and J

Tamara 

xo

Shabby Cowgirl Signs: Rusty Barbed Wire and Pretty Flowers Meet Re-Claimed Wood

Today, I want to share with you some of my favorite things to work

with. I can't resist mixing these ingredients to come up with this recipe for

 some rustic, shabby gorgeousness.

(at least I think so!)

*rescued wood

*rusty barbed wire

*thrifted lace

*yellowed fabric

Mixing these textures are rich.

 Creating an easy, rugged beauty

that speaks to me of simplicity.

The aqua sign wood was found just like that. The others I had

to cut from a board and paint and distress a little.

I wanted more of a white-washed look.

I tried gesso but it really soaked in and

 store bought is expensive!

And so I thought I'd try my kid's white tempra paint.

It went on very easily and the coverage was just right.

It dried very fast and then I just sanded it a little with

#60 grit sand paper.



There are a few other little charms for a splash of color.

The wire that I used for the hanger was too thick for the beads.

And so I used some of my dark brown jewelry wire to

string the beads on. I wrapped the end where I wanted to start the beads

 and then took a wrap and strung a bead..took a wrap...strung a bead

and so on until I

reached the desired length.

 I left a little space between to tie on the strips of

lace and fabric. It worked well and the strips covered the wire nicely.

 Perfect!

(which is not always the outcome with my ideas)



And some clear glitter for some sparkly goodness.

After I stenciled, and the paint was dry, I just brushed on some

craft glue and sprinkled the glitter on.

 Soft rufflles on chippy wood.

Do you like it?



Cutting the barbed wire was a little tricky. I had to ask my husband

how to do that. I first tried regular heavy duty wire cutters.

There was no way they would cut through a

wire of that thickness.

We have done some fencing and so we had

 some fencing pliers. I was concerned about

being able to cut it because my hands aren't very strong.

But they worked great without hardly any effort and

it didn't hurt to use them either.

I also wore a pair of leather work gloves.

How to attach the wire to the wood was another question.

I tried E6000 but I couldn't get the wire to lay flat.

I decided to try using some small rusty nails and just bending them

over the wire and tapping them down.

I only had a few small ones though and so I had to find something

else. Down to the garage I went to look through my Honey's nail

I'm going to have to figure out to rusty up some nails before I

can make any more of these!





There's just something about old, rusty barbed wire...

All the wood and wire was found here on our place. I have piles of wood

that I choose from and there are tangles of rusty

wire (barbed and baling) that I cut my pieces from.

I not only love working with these materials but

it's important to me to create another life for things once used.

  It's an old farm/ranch that sits at the foot of a mountain.

A wonderful Dr. and his gracious wife generously sold a part of it to us.

 They were from Holland.

(Just think.. the barbed wire I used for re-creating was once used to keep

these dear folk's horses corralled! To me, that makes it special.)

I would love to hear about some of your favorite things that you create with!

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Blessings to you,

Tamara

 I'm linking up at:

                                                          http://shabbyartboutique.com/

My Girlish Whims

Simple Fabric Rose Embellished Slippers

 

A good Friday to you.

And it has been a beautiful one!

I hope yours has been lovely as well.

 

I wanted to share this little project that I did just recently.

It's very simple but it gave these plain slippers a

little more personality.

 

I found the slippers quite a while back and was getting kind

of tired of them. They were still in good shape though, so I

decided they needed a little sprucing up.

 

I really like adding bits of lace to things and

this flat lace was the perfect color.

Creamy....

to go with the chocolate brown.

And off white is one of my favorites.

 

I just hot glued the lace on which was very quick.

(I wondered about the hot glue holding on

in the wash but have washed them since

and it did just fine.)

 

The rose is made from a scrap

piece of valour. My daughter had just cut off her

sweat pants.

 

If you've never made a fabric rose, they are very easy

and I really like the soft, feminine look that they add.

(the slippers are anything but feminine looking!)

 

 

The size of the rose you want

will be determined by the thickness of the fabric and

the length that you cut.

 

I cut this piece about 1 and 1/2 inches wide and about 10

inches long. Then it was folded in half lengthwise.

(Tearing the fabric gives the rose a nice ruffly edge

if you can manage it with the fabric.)

 Folding the velour side to the inside so

it would show. The next step is to turn it over so the fold side

is facing up and begin to roll it up. With a

needle and thread, begin sewing the rolls together on the

bottom until you are done. Tie it off.

 

Now it's ready to position and glue into place.

 

And that's it. Pretty simple, huh? Fabric roses

are so nice for so many projects. If you need a lot of them,

they can be a little time consuming but with some

planning ahead it can be done while traveling or watching

a movie!

 

 

A finished slipper.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Blessings to you,

 

 

Lovely Flowers to Make

          Swing into spring with these fun, easy-to-make, inexpensive flowers! Are you looking for a VERY easy accent for your spring party decorations? I think you will enjoy this addition to your party decor. Each one takes about 5 minutes to make.They are simple and festive yet add a touch of elegance.

                                                                   
                                                           

                         There are a few different types of paper that can be used. Rolled Crepe paper and tissue paper come in gorgeous colors. They make beautiful flowers and they're easy to work with. You can even use facial tissue for lovely white flowers!

You'll need a pair of scissors and the paper of your choice. Pipe cleaners and green tulle are optional. First, decide what size flowers you want. Next, layer about 5 to 10 pieces of  the paper you've chosen. Then, cut the paper in squares and fold in a fan.

If you would like scalloped petals just trim the ends round.

Following  these steps, take your fan and fold it in half. If using a pipe cleaner, take as much of the end as needed to make it secure. The rest acts as the stem. If you don't have pipe cleaners on hand, floral wire will do or even a twist tie.

You then proceed by taking each layer of paper and pulling it to the middle where it is secured. Continue until every piece is pulled. There you have your

 flower!  It may need a little shaping.

Above is a photo of a flower that  we used for a tea party decoration. We added green tulle as leaves and then attached it to the pink tulle bow.

If you have  green tulle, you may want to add leaves. If  so, just cut a piece about twice the width of the flower. You can then tie it around the base of the flower.

It's as simple as that!

Enjoy making these as a craft or for party decorations. Be creative with mixing the colors and textures!