of feathers..lace and French sheet music

Happy greetings from the Az. mountains!

The weather has been sunny and so warm.

I have been secretly wishing and praying for snow but I'm getting past that point.

It may still come. 

The mountains are like that. 

We are just in such desperate need of moisture.

But these days have been beautiful and I've been getting outside more. As so many of you have, I've been working on getting my flower beds and herb garden cleaned up. Since we have the possibility of getting very cold

weather again, I try not to clean too deeply. 

The plants still need warmth and protection.

***

Here's some little pieces that I'm very fond of

 and so I put them together for our table centerpiece.

My favorite way to create a focal point is by 

using what I have. These are usually

 found and thrifted treasures.

I found this lovely piece at a thrift store. 

The shape, tones and details caught my eye.

I turned it over and this was on the bottom.

I covered some plastic eggs with some French sheet music..

Part of the joy is letting some of the beautiful details show.

I'm fairly obsessed with and inspired by

 many kinds of music. I collect as many of the lovely aged books and sheets of it as I can.

{Here's "la musique" 

that my daughter is working at on the piano..

It's written by Patrick Doyle and 

is from the movie Sense and Sensibility.

It's very beautiful and listening

 to her play delights my heart.}

Sweet found feathers~

He will cover you with His feathers and His

faithfulness will be your shield~

Psalm 91:4

Let me be as a feather.

Strong of purpose but light at heart~

ABLE to bend.

~Anita Sams~ 

Best wishes for enjoying whatever season is 

knocking at your door. 

 And may your cup be filled to overflowing 

with hope and inspiration.

Thank you so much for coming by!

I appreciate you. 

Tamara xo

Linking up at 
Simply Neutrals

Sweet Girl Rosette, Birthday Banner

The making of a birthday banner to

delight a little girl's heart.

acrylic paint

glitter

 card stock rosettes of various sizes

crepe paper streamers

rubber stamps

vintage jewelry

cabochons 

trims and ribbons

torn strips of fabric

strings of beads

cut out stars

1 1/2" mini clothes pins

 A pile of sparkles....

 Glitter on paint...

 Playing with paint and glitter...

 Using stamps in acrylic paint

Once Upon a Time...

there lived a little princess ~

"You are sweeter than sugar and more

precious than any pearl!"

She loved...

Pinks   blues   creams   whites

and 

ALL

things

SPARKLY... 

For the Beautiful, Birthday Princess~

My you feel priceless and cherished!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Wishing you all a day filled with dreams come true.

Thank you so much for coming by.

Tamara xo

Linking up

Share Your Cup Thursday

Shabbilicious Friday

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

Thrifted Lampshade: Reloved in Burlap

Hello and happy March!

This spring-like weather is really coming on fast here in

the AZ mountains.

Our Apricot tree is beginning to bloom

and this morning when I went out to water,

I heard the lovely sound of buzzing bees.

I'm normally excited about this but this year

it's too early and I'm a little concerned.

This morning I cut up a bag of crisp,

juicy apples and threw them in my

large crockpot on high.

I'm making applesauce and already the yummy 

aroma of roasted apples is floating through the house!

I do love the domestic life.

I've been working on my rosette project. 

Oh! It has been so fun and I'll be ready to share

it later this week. 

 I love it so far.

I have also begun the online course,

 Elements of Clay, with Alissa Millsap.

We will be working on some Bohemian- 

styled projects. I've never worked with

paper clay so I'm excited and thankful 

for the chance to learn.

I know me so I'm sure it will be slow going.

But that's ok :)

***********

 Today, I thought I'd 

share this little re-do project with you.

It was so easy and pretty quick!

I'm pleased with how it turned out.

I found a set of lamps at our local

pregnancy center, thrift store.

I really liked the pretty details and

thought maybe I could do something with the dirty shades.

If nothing else, they could be replaced.

I decided to give a try at re-covering them in burlap.

I didn't know how. I'd never 

done anything like this before. 

The shade has a bit of a curve to it and

I didn't really know how to measure the pieces.

So I just held the burlap up against the shade and judged

about how big the pieces needed to be.

I used hot glue to attach one edge and then 

pulled the remainder of the piece

as taut as I could...but also being careful at the same time

to not distort the weave and over all shape.

Keeping it as even as I could, it was glued in place.

I wanted to be sure that the lines were symmetrical.

I am not a fan of symmetry but in this case,

the lines needed to be close to perfect.

If you've never worked with burlap, it is easily pulled

out of shape.

 Once my pieces were secured, I trimmed the excess off

as closely as I could.

I then added the lace to cover the seams.

Again, being careful with the lines. 

A lamp with lovely details..

Embellished with a burlap rose.

 Here, you can see how I finished the underside.

Just trimming the burlap as evenly as possible.

I do enjoy the look of burlap. It's often used in a more

rustic manner. Here with the lace and burlap rose

do you think it has a bit of shabby country charm?
I enjoy beautifying my home and especially if I can 
re-love something that has had a previous history.

What's been happening with you? 

I hope that life is treating you well.

Thank you for stopping by!

Tamara xo

Partying at:
Wicked Awesome Wednesday

Share Your Cup Thursday

Vintage Charm

A Little Paper Project In Progress ...Making Rosettes

Happy Wednesday everyone..

I just wanted to quickly share a photo of a little project that I'm working on for a birthday girl.

She loves these colors.

And anything sparkly!

What I've used so far is:

card stock

crepe paper streamers

craft paint

pink and silver glitter

glue gun

UHU adhesive

I love rosettes.

I'm thinking I might put 6 or 8

together for some party decorations.

In ALL sorts of colors.

The fun is in the details!

I will share the completed project soon.

Blessings to you

and thank you for coming by!

Tamara XO