Images of November And Wishing You Many Days of Thanks

Hello friends...

and goodbye November

It was a particularly beautiful November

this year. And I spent as much time out

as I could. We usually lose our leaves

very early due to high country frosts but this

year for the first time we saw ...

LEAVES on snow. 

It was very beautiful. 

And so I just wanted to share with

you some of my favorite moments as this 

November fades into December and ultimately

a brand new year....

which will come bringing a beauty all it's own.

I'm also sharing some of the ways that I brought some 

of the gorgeousness inside our home. 

They bring such a pleasure as I decorate and 

share with my family and friends!

  

Warning :) 

There are quite a few photos.

 Tansy

Gold painted garlic seed heads.

I hope you are all happy at your work..

whatever that is. 

I realize that many people don't celebrate

Thanksgiving the traditional American way.

Sometimes my thinking is so small

and I don't see past my own life and ways.

But I'm trying and learning.

Whatever you do this last week of

November, I pray blessings of peace and 

and a bounty that graces your life in every way.

Thank you so much for coming by!

I'll be back next week to share a little 

about the craft show and my Christmas projects that

I've been working on.

Tamara XO

Vintage Suitcase Makeover Into Shabby Craft Show Sign

Hello Everyone..

I've been getting ready for the craft show this weekend.

I have been so busy but I wanted to share

with you all this little project

I found this vintage 60's suitcase at a thrift for 

2 dollars. It was an ugly blotchy gray.

I have misplaced the photo of it's original color.

But here it is primed and ready to paint.

 The name of my business is 

The Shabby Gypsy.

I had ordered this Genie font

stencil and thought it would be perfect for

the lettering style that I wanted.

I had originally wanted to hand paint it.

I even drew the letters on but decided it would 

take too long as I'm still learning

the hand-lettering techniques.

Well then I had to figure out how to get the pencil

off! I tried erasing it. But that didn't 

work very well. So I tried

the Mr Clean Magic Eraser. 

It was a life saver!

I just rubbed the pencilled letters

with a baby wipe to moisten the writing

and then rubbed the Magic Eraser 

over it. I had it all off in ten minutes!

I was so thankful!! 

 Here's the work in progress.

I had a lot of fun making the shabby flower.

Here's the finished sign.

I used Calypso Sky acrylic paint for the

lettering. I then dry-brushed the letters with a little

bit of Vintage White. After that dried,

I brushed the letters with some tacky glue and

glittered them up a little.

I also used a  flourish stencil and glue to put

a pretty glittered area in the top right hand corner.

This was a fun project. And now I have a sign

to use.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

I'll be back with some photos of my projects next week.

I made some Christmas ornaments and

did some paper crafting.

Thank you for coming by.

Blessings,

Tamara XO

The Savoring of Fall... Sweet Alyssum: Worth Beyond Beauty

Hello Everyone...

It’s been a while since I have written a post.

I have been so very busy with

family and preparing for the

craft show this weekend.

I don't do many craft shows as yet

but hope to increase my attendance 

little by little. I keep trying.

That's the main thing.

In a couple of days,

I will be sharing some of the things that

I have been making.

And I have been working on the house

just a little. Many of our kids are coming for

Thanksgiving and all the grandkids will be here!

We are very excited about that!

~FAMILY~

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

There is a lot of talk about the coming holidays

and I, myself, have been working on Christmas

ideas and working on projects. 

It's all very fun and exciting!

AND the reality of blog life and creating.

( I enjoy it :)

I L*O*V*E

the Christmas spirit, warmth..

the festive wrappings

and the personal, handmade gifts.

They have that home-spun

charm that keeps me in touch with

a simpler time.

But in my heart and home,

I try to keep the present sacred. 

Protecting it the best I can.

It's like living in two different worlds.

So here, I celebrate..

savor the last Sweet Alyssum of the season.

(And isn't her Zinnia friend pretty?)

In the language of flowers,

this dainty, gorgeous blossom means

~Worth Beyond Beauty~

Isn't that so very charming?

They are so gorgeous and the scent that

they offer truly is a sweet aroma.

But they are anything but delicate.

They can stand up to hardy frosts

and severe drought conditions.

A true, little lady

with a pioneer spirit.

There's a little story about these in the picture.

I searched and searched for some

at all of the big building supply stores.

And at as many nurseries as I could visit.

I was going to really stock up upon finding

how drought tolerant they are.

I had had them before but really didn't

understand their worth.

Well, there were none to be found

ANYWHERE!

I searched all spring and into the summer.

After returning from Ohio, after having been

gone for 6 weeks, there was a small patch 

of about two inches wide 

growing in my whiskey barrel.

I was so excited! 

I watered them and fed them and they filled that barrel from one side to the other.

Sometimes, when I don't have

a lot of something, I tend to appreciate

it more... to protect it and really

be attentive.

There are some things that I didn't know

about this precious plant.

She's edible, belonging to

the mustard family,

contains vitamin C

and can be added to salads

or sandwiches for a spicy flavor.

I will surely try this next year!

{Before the below-freezing temperatures came,

I pulled most of them from the whiskey barrel

and put them all around the house 

in pretty bowls filled with water.

I wanted to enjoy them for as long as possible!}

Aww..the Zinnia has a heart in the center! :)

Historically, they were used to treat 

animal bites and rabies. 

The name in Greek means:

"WITHOUT MADNESS"

They also have a bit of  folklore history. 

{I know this is getting a bit long!}

This part is just for fun.

She is said to be protective against glamour spells and hexes.

Plant it around the house to deflect spells intended to mislead you.

The sweet scent evokes peaceful energy and emotional balance.

Wear a sprig on your lapel or in your pocket 

to calm angry encounters.

(Possible aroma therapy?)

But, sincerely..

I hope that you enjoyed 

learning about this beautiful little flower

with her delicate petals,

and delightful scent. 

And if I could, 

I would offer each of my friends

a lovely bouquet of these

special flowers.

Thank you so much for coming by. 

I wish you blessings of peace 

and a creative week.

Tamara

 XO

Fall's Shadowy, Sun-Splashed Mountain Evening

Hello everyone. Would you like to take a stroll with me on 

on this beautiful fall evening in the mountains?

We will start in the back yard, then wander through the 

gypsy camp and then go a little ways up into

the foothills of our mountain, 

Flat Top.

It's not really our mountain. 

It belongs to the National Forest Service.

We appreciate them allowing us 

to wander there. 

We savor it's beauty... serenity and ruggedness.

 for my collection of hearts...

October's offerings...

fall is on it's way.

 Brutus had to be in the middle as usual.

drinking in the last rays of the warm, evening sun

a path through our gypsy camp

So many happy, fall faces..

Too many Liberty shots? 

Possibly. 

But it isn't intentional!

She seems to want to be near and

just happens to get in the photos. 

Thank you for joining me on my walk.

  

Beauty and blessings..

God given and meant to be shared.

Happy Wednesday 

Tamara

xox

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