My daughter

This is my daughter. She is multi faceted. She is part tomboy, part athlete, part girly girl, part teenager, part young woman all mixed into one. She plays Lacrosse and you can see her in the picture catching the ball. She is a really good player. We enjoy watching her games. Yesterday she scored 3 goals in the game. Woohoo! Now for the tomboy side, she loves to play basketball and ride bikes with her guy friends, mows the lawn and is not afraid to get her hands dirty. She loves to wear quirky shoes and hoodies. The girly girl side loves to paint her nails, flat iron her hair, and put a little makeup on from time to time. No need for it though. She is lucky to have a beautiful complexion for her age.

I saw her shoes lying on the floor and couldn't resist photographing them. Journeys is one of her favorite places to buy shoes. Goofy, but fun stuff.

Being nearly 16, you can imagine all of the fun trials and tribulations we are going through. But it is all worth it because pretty soon she will leave the nest and go off to college. :( That will be so hard. We can only hope and pray we gave her a strong pair of wings. Hugs, Tammy

You've got to try this.

If you are wearing or preparing to wear sandals then you have got to get this. It is awesome! I bought this Ped Egg from Target and I will never go back to my many pedicure tools. I was using a pumous stone, a foot file, and a callus shaver until I discovered this pedicure egg and it is easy peasy and does a way better job than all of the old tools combined. I promise. Plus it takes a lot less time. It was only 9.99. Not bad! Here is the site to get more info: http://www.pedegg.com/ . I love to go barefooted in the summer so my feet need extra attention.

So now, I am proud to let everyone see my feet and no cracked heels. Woohoo! I love it so much I am sending my mom and my sister-in-law one for Mothers Day, plus other goodies, of course.

If anyone has any tips for their favorite products, please share. I love to share when I find something I can't live without.

Hugs,

Tammy

I am enamoured by sepia prints. They are so romantic to me.

These are three I took in Aruba. The brain coral was as big as a bowling ball. The sunset by the pool was so nice to watch every evening. The sailboat was mesmerizing. We went out on one and it was so relaxing and fun to see all of the fish from above.

Enjoy your weekend. I was asked to work 8 hours overtime tomorrow. Darnit. I wish I had said no but part of me will be thankful when I get my paycheck. :)

I am off to talk my dear hubby into going out for dinner. Wish me luck. lol He ate out for lunch. Chinese, he always has chinese with his coworkers knowing full well that I love chinese. The bugger!

Fun, and serene

Okay so the trio are from left, my son, Chris, my daughter, Alexandra, and my BIL, Scott. All making me happy and jumping for an action shot. I love it! This was on Myrtle Beach in December. The palm above captured my eye and the gate below was so serene against the sea.

I wanted a family shot sitting near it, but no. It was like pulling teeth. They all think I'm looney (sp?) because wherever I go, I like to take my camera. My son said he'd rather live in the moment than to capture them. Hmmm... he is 23 and thinks he knows it all. :-) mmm...mmm...mmm... So no family photo here but thought I'd share the peaceful moment with you. Enjoy!

Springtime greetings

Greetings from my garden. Yep, I had the pleasure of coming home for lunch and while taking my dog, Chance out I noticed these pretty blossoms reaching for the sky and dancing in the breeze. What a lovely day it was. Sunny and 67'F, with a gentle breeze. Hope you are enjoying sunshine, as well.

Come join me...as I daydream

Well, today it was so hard to stay focused at work. I came across a couple of post cards from our trip to Aruba 2 summers ago that I had sent to my coworkers and it made me wish I was there all over again. Their motto is "One happy island". I just love that. It is on their license plates. The people were so friendly and the food, entertainment and beaches were fabulous! We had the best time. Anyway, the trade winds were always blowing making the heat bearable. Snorkeling allowed for face to face contact with Parrot fish, colorful sea urchins, starfish and beautiful coral reefs. The fish were so colorful and so many varieties. The sea was a vivid turqouise and so clear. The sand was white and the weather was divine.

Anyway, thought you might want to daydream with me... so these are a few photos I took while there. Laying beneath a palm sipping your favorite drink and enjoying a juicy novel, all with the sounds of laughter and the waves rolling in, the smell of cocoa butter and pineapple in the air. aahhh...enjoy!

Small bits

Well, I have a whole mess of fabrics left over from various projects over the last several years and I just cannot part with the prettiest of them, so I decided to make a few things and these are what I ended up with. The first was a throw pillow for a little girls room with those good old fashioned paper dolls on the fabric. Then there were smaller bits that I used to create these heart door hangers for friends. Lastly, I have a large collection of vintage hankies so I took a couple of the hankies and made little pillow pouches to be placed inside anf filled with sachet scents and then just drew up the four corners and tied them off with a pretty ribbon.

For those without hankies, I came up with the same pillow pouches filled with sachet scents and then put them in organza jewelry puches. After pulling the pouch tight I made a bow with ribbon. These are nice to toss in the linen closet or in your drawers or in the out of season clothing bins.

Spring Journal Swap

Well, today when I arrived home from work there on my porch sat a package all the way from sunny California. Yay! I love packages! Upon further inspection, I discovered that it was from my blog "Journal swap" partner, Michelle. If you have a minute check out her cute blog and shop at: http://ginghamworld.blogspot.com/ .

We were to use a composition notebook and dress it up however we wanted. Fun, fun!

Michelle chose to use a floral vintage fabric, a pink polka dotted ribbon and rickrack. She embellished it with one of her sweet handmade flowers. On the inside is polka dot and pink paper. Isn't it so pretty?!

I plan to use it for sketching out ideas, inspirations, etc. It will bring a smile to my face every time I see it. Oh and she tossed in a little extra surprise. Isn't she so sweet? It is a birds nest necklace. Thanks, Michelle!! I love the journal and the necklace!

A beautiful new banner

Well, I wanted something fresh and light for spring so I went on a hunt for a new blog banner via my favorite place: http://www.etsy.com/ and found what I feel suits my needs just beautifully. It is feminine, has vintage ephemera, pretty colors, flowers and jewels. And I ask you, what girl doesn't love jewels & flowers!?

The lovely seller (Christine)on etsy has a pretty blog to match. Christines etsy shop can be found at: http://www.bellacolle.etsy.com/ . Her blog's: http://www.mybellacolle.blogspot.com/ or http://www.mybellacolle.typepad.com/ . Have a peak.

So let me know what ya' think of my new banner.

Hugs to all, Tammy

TGIF

Yay! We made it through another week. Halelujah! This was a tough week. Very busy and a little crazy at work.

I am finishing up 4 custom orders. A bench, a journal and 2 recipe binders. The bench is in need of the lake and cottage painting and that should be finished this weekend. The journal is for a 13 year old girl whom is receiving an award in NY for her writing. How cool is that?! Her family must be so proud. I know her aunt is! As for the recipe binders one is in an italian theme and the other a modern fabric.

I just completed a journal for a blog swap. It was fun to create. We all had to embellish a composition notebook. I sure hope Michelle likes it. It is sunny like her.

My daughter has a Lacrosse game at home on Saturday. It will be nice not to have to be gone the entire day for a change.

What do you have planned? Anything fun? Please do share.

Beautiful Sunday

Today was a gorgeous spring day! 62 and sunny! My husband had ths grand idea to take me to the PA Grand Canyon and along the way we stopped to enjoy the river, a waterfall, the tiny little victorian town of Wellsboro and a quaint little shop full of all sorts of goodies. We gazed at the hawks soaring below over the river running through the canyon. It was just a blissful day. Just the two of us enjoying the scenery, the farms, good conversation and the peacefullness of it all.

We even stopped for barbeque ribs, chicken and pulled pork on our way home. Great little mom and pop place.

Hope you are enjoying beautiful weather, as well.

Hugs,

Tammy

The Whatnot Box

Okay, so as you can tell the pictures are not fabulous, but that is beacuse I took them with my old camera before my husband so kindly gave me a new one with more megapixels for my birthday.

But you still get the idea here. I took a plain unfinished box and with acrylics painted the whole thing black, then I took a crackle coat and put that over the lid. Next, I came back in with a burgundy paint and then added simple uplifting words such as: Keep life simple, Live joyfully, dance, dream, create, inspire, etc. Then I further embellished with a black paint pen by adding vines and flowers. Next, I added coordinating buttons by literally sewing them onto the wire mesh that was in the lid. And finally, I put a clear coat on the whole thing for durability.

I can say that this little box rec'd a good home when a surrogate mother bought it from my etsy shop and sent it to the expecting parents with a sonogram and positive pregnancy test in it. How sweet it was of her to let me in on her plans and how sweet for her to be so kind to the expecting parents. I love stories like that.

This weeks projects

Well this has been abusy week. Several custom orders.Sure wish I could go where I send some of my packages. This week was New York, Hawaii, California, Lithuania and Sweden. Etsy is a wonderful place. To be able to sell something you create to someone halfway around the world is just amazing to me. What a great thing! So this week was a busy week for me.

Now I have a custom order for a bench. Yep, a custom built bench for a Michigan cottage. I will paint it white with a painting of a cottage on a lake on the seat and she wants a saying across the skirt of the bench. Should be fun. Who knows, it may be a new niche. Never know.

Hugs,

Tammy