a Rocky Mountain bower of blossoms ... and Bluebird songs

Hello lovelies

clusters and clusters of these sweet, 

beautiful blossoms have created 

a bower of goodness over our humble garden

 area outside our door

fuchsia and white with tiny splashes of yellow

the bees are humming and buzzing about madly 

trying to get to each blossom

it's the musical sound of nature filling the air

and the aroma is SO sweet

don't you just love the

 the wonder of it all and just

stopping now and then to take it all in?

it reminds me of a song I sing..

"I've been watching the sunrise,

I've been listening to the rain.

I've been taking my sweet time and

letting the blue skies carry me away."

I love this time of year 

as the scents and sounds of nature surround us

 here at the foot of Flat Top mountain..

as harsh as it is sometimes, 

I still love being here

 anthers and anthers of sunshiny yellow!

 it's easy to see why the bees 

are buzzing about so madly

I hope this finds you well

what have you been doing?

this morning I was busy planting lilies and dividing

some hens and chicks

it was a deliciously cool 40 degrees

I was thankful for the warm fire in the stove when I came in!

I've also been

working on the rock pathway and buying some lovely

star lanterns for the gypsy camp

you can see them here

transplanting herbs

(trying desperately to grow some green!)

now that I've finished learning Rocky Mountain High

 on the guitar, I'm enjoying playing it often

do you enjoy playing music?

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

here are some blue bird photos that I thought

 you might enjoy

I was so excited to be able to capture the 

Mountain Bluebird and the Western Bluebird

in the same photo!

(these beauties are one of the reasons that 

I love living in the mountains) 

 a Mountain Bluebird in flight

if you'd like to hear the Mountain Bluebird song, click here

 a sweet pair

and to hear the Western Bluebird song, click here

I hope that you enjoyed your visit!

thank you ever so much for stopping in

I hope that your day is a joyous one

I'll be sipping some tea, taking a walk

and working on a project

Blessings to you all

Tamara

Vintage Patterns Make a Pretty Package

Hello and a beautiful Monday to you! 

It was a gorgeous weekend here

although at one point it would snow..

then the sun would shine!

It was cool and breezy and perfect for

working long hours outside

raking, hauling rocks, planting and planning..

and trimming back a very large poplar tree.

I hope you had a good weekend.

Do you have spring fever?

And all of the hopes of dreams that

come with pouring over the seed catalogues...

and taking walk-abouts around the yards and gardens to

see what's coming up!

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

Today I wanted to share a little something that

I do with vintage patterns that I find 

at the thrift shops. 

I really like the warm color of the paper and 

it just has that vintage look to it.

The pictures are so charming. If you like to

draw vintage clothing, these are perfect for

 reference pictures to practice from. 

You could even cut the pictures out 

and make sweet vintage tags for gifts!

 I  think I might want to try that.

The patterns can also be used for mixed media 

art for texture and filling for mailing packages.

I have used them in gift baskets and in place of

 tissue paper in gift bags.

Do you like using them for something?

Here I used one for a simple, victorian-style gift wrap.

I tied it with some seam binding, thin ribbon and lace. And then I added a little angel charm with a tag that I had made.

You can give without loving but you cannot love without giving.

Amy Carmichael

Are you a gift-giver? I am.

There are many kinds of gifts.

Kindness

Understanding

A listening ear

Compassion

Time

And then there are the ones that come in a package.

It's something that I can do to make someone 

feel really special. They're a wonderful way

to express appreciation or to say I love you or

I'm thinking of you.

 And I really enjoy dressing up the packages.

It seems to make them a little more personal.

Sometimes it can be simple.

Sometimes very fancy.

It depends on how much time I have.

Thank you so much for coming by.

Wishing you many good things for your week!

 Blessings,

Tamara 

Vintage Bottle Cap Creations

Happy Tuesday everyone! 

 I hope that your spring is off to a great start

and if you celebrate Easter, that it was 

filled with joy.

Ours was a full day with singing, playing outdoors

a lovely picnic and ending with the family

gathered around in prayer. 

A blessed and beautiful day.

(I had some fun preparing for the picnic that we had 

down at our gypsy camp in progress.

I was able to get some photos that I will share later.)

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

Today, I'd like to share a little project

that I made from some vintage bottle caps.

I found this box at a flea market for $1.

I just loved the look of the box. Sometimes I just buy things

for the vintage look and they are used to add color or charm

to my creative space. Do you like to do that, too?

 I also thought that I might be able to use bottle caps 

in mixed-media art or something.

Many of you probably have your own ideas 

about how you would use them.

Isn't creating so much fun?!

 My first project, was to re-purpose

them into keychains with hand-stamped sayings

and flat-backed cabachons and strings for bows.

I used the Pittsburgh 36 piece set.

It's an upper case set, reasonably priced that has been a 

good beginner set for me.

You can find the stamping set that I used here.

And I purchased the bronze keyring pieces here.

The process required me to flatten the lip of the cap.

Each cap was set on a metal plate and then 

I used a small hammer to gently tap on the sides

and this curled the outside edge up. 

It almost looks like a little flower.

After I decided on the sayings that I wanted to

stamp, I began the stamping. I have a tack hammer that 

I used. it took a little practice, but if you have a bit

of an eye for centering, it doesn't take too long!

Some of them turned out a little rough but I guess

that can add to the charming imperfection.

After doing the stamping, I used a q-tip

wet with black ink to smear over the words. Then I just 

wiped off the excess.

The little design above the word here was actually

 a leather punch that I decided to try.

I don't have a photo of the back. But they are cork.

In the stamping process, some of the cork broke away.

I just covered the backs with circles cut from pretty papers.

Do you like the lovely coloring of vintage packaging?

It's what so many artists try to re-create with

the distressing and tea-staining techniques.

And they do an amazing job of making it look authentic!

I love the look of the authentic AND re-created.

This was a fun project. My first attempt at metal stamping.

To attach the chain to the cap, I used a nail to hammer a hole

and then added a bronze jump ring to attach them together.

I hope you enjoyed this little project!

Are you working on something today?

If so.. may it bring you joy and clarity about who you are. 

Where you've been and where you're going.

Bringing you a few steps closer to dreams realized

and peace in your heart.

I was hoping to start transplanting some herbs today but

our spring winds have arrived and they are a fierce

60 mph! shiver...

It's enough to rattle the house!

So... I've been staying cozy inside and

 working on memorizing the chords

 to John Denver's Rocky Mountain High.

(I love to sing and play!

Along with God, 

it's one of the things that helps keep me 

centered and grounded. 

It delights my heart and sometimes the words from songs

help me to express what I'm about.

Is there something like that for you?)

His music has always been some of my favorite.

He was such a poet and so often wrote about nature. 

"The shadows from the starlight are softer than a lullaby."

If you'd like to listen to the song, you can find it here.

Wishing you a beautiful day and thank you for coming by.

Tamara XO

I'm joining the party at

Talk of the Town!

Vintage Charm

Craft Frenzy Friday

Springtime Thoughts in the Mountains and Wildflowers in the Pines~

Happy Spring to you!

And blossoming hopes for the coming months.

Are you busy about your dreams and plans? 

It's good to dream!

I hope you're holding tight to those

  that have been in your heart.

I'm making plans for my garden. I want to fill it 

up with lovely things1

And we will plant and sow good things for our table.

Today, I'm not sharing images of my own gardens but of

those that grow in the nearby mountain meadows,

near the lakes and beneath the tall pines.

 "Every spring is the only spring. A perpetual astonishment."

Ellis Peters

 glittery grasses and sunshine yellow at the end of feather wands~

 A fairy ring perhaps? 

 The day the Lord created hope, was probably the same 

day that He created spring ~

Bernard Williams

 Wild lilies

I call this God's garden.

It's perfect and beautiful.

 I'm so happy that 

He shares it with me~

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

_________________________________________________

Jeff and I had a wonderful getaway.

We learned some local history

had some very good talks,

ate delicious food and took a beautiful walk.

There was live music to enjoy

and a VERY large cookies and cream waffle cone!

We always have to do some thrifting and we brought 

home some real treasures! 

A gorgeous, in amazing condition, 

vintage 70's, classical guitar for almost nothing.

We tuned it up and have already been playing it.

That was special and lovely. 

I hope that your days are already filled with the

wonder of new life. Have a wonderful week

enjoying the next thing in your life that you

will celebrate!

Family... friendship...health...beauty...

accomplishment...

Or the gift of being alive.

We will celebrate one of my beautiful daughter's

birthdays and our risen Saviour! 

There's always someone or something to

celebrate, isn't there?

It's always a pleasure to have you come by and say hello.

Thank you for visiting and for your comments.

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