The Framing of Nature~ A Collage

Hello sweet people~

How are you?

( some music for you.. Brian Crain's  Summer)

I am FINALLY rested from my trip and have been successful in

fighting off a cold and stomach virus.

Life has been rich and full with 

visits, outings and celebrations.

Last Friday, three of my daughters and myself

watched Steel Magnolias and we

 had  the FuNnEsT  time....

Laughing ..crying... sitting with our mouths wide open in disbelief!

The gave me a card and the cutest little wheel barrow planter

made from rough cut lumber. It was a late Mother's Day gift.

They're so sweet

I will share that later.

**********

Today, Id like to show you all this little framed project using a few 

collected treasures from nature.

I painted my thrifted picture frame.

First I dry brushed the frame with Vintage White acrylic.

Then by mixing some paints, I created some colors that matched

and softly brushed and blended them together in a few places

on the frame to add a few highlites.

 French sheet music seemed a wonderful background for these natural beauties.

And here I share ONE of my treasure boxes filled with

collected treasures. Aren't treasure boxes so much fun?

I have several different kinds.

Special cards and notes..

Bits of papers from special events

and trips and places.

Trinkets... jewelry..

Do you have special treasures that you've kept tucked

away in a special place?

A beautiful, dried rose resting atop an old weathered bone.. 

It seems kind of strange but maybe they are a perfect contrast

of thought and substance~

********

Life is such a wonder and I've been enjoying it so much.

And of course there are the bumps too.

But they make us stronger and cultivate compassion in our hearts.

 And still, there's such beauty that surrounds and amazing people to celebrate.

And here we go into the next season of this year!

I hope that yours will be filled pleasures and quiet times of

resting in your special place reading or listening..

To your heart or .....

the buzzing of the bees and songs of happy birds.

HAPPY SUMMER

Thank you for coming by!  

Sending many good wishes your way.

xo

Blessings,

Tamara

Mixed Felt Florals and Lovely Patina~

A wonderful Thursday to you...

I just wanted to pop in and say hello and share

my little flowers and this lovely patina-covered tray with you.

I hope they brighten your day!

Warm evenings with the distant sounds of a Whippoorwill...

Playing guitar by the fire...

Trees and bushes bursting with life..

Flowers coming on and mama birds "setting"

Planting ever so many plants and rolling rocks with Jeff.

(yes..we get on our hands and knees and roll large rocks to where ever we

need them.. I'm sure we're quite the silly sight!)

These are just a few of the simple pleasures that I've been enjoying.

What's been happening with you?

Wishing you warm breezes and the sweet flutterings of butterfly wings~

Thank you so much for coming by :)

Hugs,

Tamara

Back From the Flea.. Inspiration and Happy Exhaustion!

Hello Dear Friends~

So many weeks have passed since we visited.

I'm sorry I have been away so long. 

I should know better than to make promises of visits 

and checking in.

I didn't make it to the library one time.

Next time I will declare a time of absence!

Honestly, when I'm traveling, I hardly have time to breathe.

By the time I get home I am literally ready to drop

into a happy heap. 

It's so delightful being held captive by family and friends.

Hugs 

laughter

 stories 

 talks 

movies 

and food.

There are two places where we eat that the 

pies are absolutely

HEAVENLY! 

And hunting for oh so many treasures!

At times I felt like I was over doing the shopping a bit

but I've learned when it's

available, you must dive in and relish

in the opportunities.

I sure hope that all is well with you, Lovelies. 

{{Hugs}}

This refreshing New Mexico rain shower left us

with a beautiful double rainbow.

It looks like that truck is headed straight for the

pot O' gold!

 Drying my anniversary flowers in the motel room.

Crossing the Mississippi is always a huge landmark. We always feel like we've crossed over from the west to the east. 

And actually, St Louis is considered the gateway to the west.

Remember learning about The Louis and Clark

Expedition? Do you love learning 

about the history and people of our land? 

I do.

 Do you keep your hands busy when you're on the road?

When I'm not watching the scenery roll by, I work on cutting out and sewing yo-yos. I love watching 

the pile of these lovely, pleated and 

colorful flowers grow. 

I'm so drawn to these gypsy colors lately! 

 Looking for movie posters at the flea market was fun.

Here are two of our favorite 

hollywood stars together.  

Jean Arthur and Gary Cooper.

We love old movies!

This one would have been perfect but $995

was a bit out of our price range.

But so amazing.

Don't you love the vintage graphics and colors?

It may have been an original movie ad poster because it

was about 8 foot tall!

 The day we went to the flea market, it rained a good part f the

day. But we had such a great time as we met so many good

folks that inspired us with their hard work and dedication.

There so many vendors! One thing we learned and will do next time is to make a once around and make notes 
of those vendors that we'd like to make a stop at.
It was such a wonderful learning experience 
and so much fun!

 And oh my... look who I found.

My heart gets so thrilled when I consider Beatrix Potter

and her story.  Such sweet characters and beautiful

watercolors. What she accomplished in her day was

phenomenal! 

 And guess who came home with me?
 Miss Jemima Puddle Duck.

Doesn't she look like she's

 ready to go out and play in the rain with her
 smart little bonnet and jacket?
So sophisticated. 

Getting ready to load some of our treasures.
Chippy pink spindles. 
Oh my!

A Sugartree sunset and dreamy clouds~

It rained most of the time during our stay.

Back to everyday life which is anything but ordinary!

I'm so excited to slip back into it all..

Every day is a gift.. 

If I think of it that way, I hold the time close

and appreciate it more.

Isn't it just glorious to have some warm summer like days?

I'm so happy to be back safe and to have all those

wonderful memories tucked away in my heart.

What the extra-ordinary in your days?

Thank you for coming by. I'm looking forward to

catching up!

Tamara xo

Loading up... Visits and Flea Market Bound and..... Sweet Life Photos

Hello everyone..
Just a quick post this morning as 
we  pack up our 15 passenger van and trailer 
to pull out on Friday morning.
It's been pretty hectic trying to get ready to go!
But the loose ends always come together as we all work as a team
to pack, clean and load up all the while thinking 
of the adventure and reunions that are ahead!

It's hard to leave home but I told Jeff the other day
that someday I'm going to be very glad for  
making the 3600 mile trip to make those special memories.
My life is mostly about the people in it. 
I want them to know that I love them and 
that they're special to me.

This is my FAVORITE travel quote.

Spring is often the time of year that we travel back east.

My siblings are there and it's where I grew up.

I've posted about our Sugartree place before.

It's a wonderful little amish barn tucked back in the rolling hills

of  farm country in SE Ohio. I will leave this Friday to spend about

a month of treasured time with family and friends. 

So I will be checking in and out on my phone and laptop.

We'll be doing some thrifting and visiting the 

Washington Courthouse Flea in Ohio.
Here's a link if you want to read about it.
We've not ever been to one but the Junk Gypsies say it's
one of the best in the country!
It seems like a long way to go but we're going anyway
and the dates actually work for us.
And honestly a big plus to traveling there is the
prices are much more reasonable and there's so
much more available.

It's the first time we've taken our trailer.  

I'm nervous and excited at the same time.

We're pretty new at this so I've been doing 
research online. According to many,
 making a list is needful because it's so easy to
get caught up in all of the excitement and forget 
what you're there for.
That would be me!
I have been doing some research online
and here are some of the other suggestions that
folks make.

Such as..

*get there early
*bring a bag on wheels
*bring water/food
*carry cash
*make a list
*check items for damage
*make sure you really want the item by marking it up in your head
*wear layers and sunscreen
* don't haggle too much
(people have worked hard to get there)
I'm not good at that anyway.
I always feel badly about asking to pay less.
It isn't always about money.

I made up a little quote a few years back: 

Money talks but it shouldn't have the last say.

It's good to be sensitive.
(any suggestions on that subject?)

I do try to bundle a little though.
(Grouping things together for a total price which 
usually means a little bit of a discount. 
And most people are happy to do that for you.)



Maybe you have some other ideas that you would like to share.
I'd be grateful for any tips!

Here's what we'll be looking for:
   
*Vintage glassware for display to brighten up my dark kitchen.
*Unusual items pertaining to movies and theatre 
(We have a 30 year old Friday night movie tradition)
*Industrial pieces
*Corbels, decorative trim
*Urns, statutes,  
*Old rugs
*Items for re-purposing/re-loving to sell

What're some things that you would like to look for?
*********



Here are some photos of my life in the past few months.

A birthday bouquet..

So BEAUTIFUL... 
pinks and blues with cheerful splashes of green~

Out for a smoothie and a walk with three of my sweet, beautiful girls.
How I do love them and we have SO much fun together!

Making cupcakes and memories with sweet cakelets!

Their creations..
Oh my the hundreds and millions all over the floor! 

A place where hopes and dreams are swirling all around.
I'll share more about this later!

I've been playing some music.
Guess who wants in?
My little pal.  Sweet, Miss Liberty :) 

An early morning visitor.
It makes getting up early so exciting!
I DO love seeing them.
But unfortunately, she and her family are so destructive.

Awwwww... what a beauty.
I just want to pet her and let her stay forever.
I do love country living!



******

I will miss being in touch on a regular basis.
But I will be checking in as often as I can!
Lovely lovely wishes to you
and thank you for your visit!

Hugs,
Tamara 




Another favorite John Denver song that we sing~
and appropriate for our trip.

Take Me Home Country Roads

Denim Hair Flowers for Spring.. And a Little History

Hello.

I hope that you feel beautiful today because you are!

  One of a kind with special talents and an inner-beauty that is

unique to you.

Your story is special. 

I'm just learning this myself and learning how

 to really love myself.

It's slowly changing my life!

Not comparing.

Not doubting.

But just moving forward in the hope, 

inspiration and beauty of it all!

I used to think it was a little late.

But it's never too late to learn who you are, 

listen to your heart and follow those whispers.

*******

I have a bouquet of hair flowers to show you today. 

I was inspired to make them from my pile of worn, denim jeans. 

I love the look of anything made with denim. 

Dress is up or dress it down~

All of those different shades... 

And I love how denim is timeless!

 It's one of those styles that

crosses over into every generation

and has for decades.

To read some history about denim you can go here.

I find it fascinating!

Some materials that I used..

denim

old shirts

glitter 

beads

lace

yo-yo flowers

rhinestone cabachons

acrylic paint

buttons

flower dies from sissix

hot glue

craft glue

As you can see, I just layered co-ordinating pieces.

I did some edgings with glitter and dabbed a bit

of matching acrylic paint on some of the petals.

 I don't have a photo of the finished back.

I'm sorry.. I am a quirky blogger and sometimes forget to be thorough in my photo process :/ 

I'll try to do better!

To keep in the hair, 

I attached the double pronged alligator clip. 

Click here to watch a tutorial on how to line your clip.

This isn't a necessary step, however, it gives your

finished bow or flower a clean, professional appearance.

 I made these to sell and so I had to make a way to display them.

I used a piece of wired, burlap ribbon that you can find in

most craft stores. I attached it to this plastic ring that I had.

I glued some white ribbon on the sides to decorate it a bit

and it was finished! It was perfect for attaching my flowers to.

 The photos also show some little felt

hair-flowers. They are SO easy to make! 

Don't they look like mums? I'm sorry I don't have a

photo how-to for these but they are so super easy 

that I can explain the process.

Decide what size you would like to make. These are 

about 2 1/2 inches wide. Cut a felt rectangle about

3 inches wide and 7-8 inches long. 

Fold this in half length-wise and then cut small strips about 3/4

inch through on the fold. This makes the petals. Take care 

not to cut all the way through.

Then just roll this slowly while gluing it as you go.

It makes a lovely mum!

These were all fun to make. Sometimes I just get inspired to make something from my pile of jeans. I've given some to my

grand daughters at times.

Do you have spring plans?

To take a trip or work on a project? 

Maybe it's time to garden or do your spring cleaning.

We're preparing for a trip. I'll share 

more about that later this week.

I hope that your Monday is wonderful. 

Thank you so much for stopping in! I always

appreciate your visits and your comments so much.

Blessings,

Tamara xo

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