Retail Therapy

Aaah...sometimes you just need to do it! This weekend it was rainy and yuck outside so after cleaning the house, doing laundry and painting I put a roast in the oven and headed out to a few of my favorite shops. I hit TJ Maxx and bought some really pretty black and tan damask hand towels and some really nice thick tan towels for our bath. We have had the same white (some not so white anymore) towels for years and years. Some are threadbare and some are slightly pink. ahem...I somehow missed a burgundy hand towel tossed in with the white towels. mmm...mmm...mmm...I tried bleaching them but they are still pink and darned if they weren't our most fluffy thick white towels too! I also picked up this really black cat tassle for my china cabinet. He is perfect for the Halloween decor I am planning. I have a few swaps I am gathering items for as well so I picked up a few things for them too.

Next I had to hit Tuesday Morning and left with zip. Then off to Michaels and there I found some great stuff to play with. Shwew I feel better now. Sometimes the shopping bug bites me. I rarely go shopping like that or my husband would kill me, plus I have been donating so much to declutter the house and limit my buying decorative items. It's not easy, I tell ya'. I love to have pretty and cozy surroundings so sometimes I see something I feel I must have but I will leave it and then if I still want it after a few days I will go back and get it but most times, I decide I don't need it. I treat myself like a little kid. lol

Help, I need a new background and matching banner

I am on the hunt for a special custom made blog background and a new banner to match. If anyone can suggest someone whom is not terribly expensive, please do. I wanted to wait and see if I was commited to this whole blogging thing before I actually paid for a background. As you can see the lovely ladies over at he http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/ let me use this one for free. They have some of the cutest backgrounds over there but of course I am like my teenaged daughter right now and I want my very own identity, not something that someone else has. Sounds bratty, doesn't it?

Now that I have proved to myself (you can tell I'm a mom) that I am committed to blog land, I feel like I can actually have something special. It is so much fun finding kndred spirits who come from all over. I enjoy finding new blogs and reading the ones I have come to love. I do regret giving my blog my name, though. There are so many quaint names I could have chosen but who knew. I had read the first issue of Artful Blogging and was sold. Most of them were named after their creators and therefore, I thought I shoud do the same. Drats! There I go thinkin' again. Anyway, I was wondering if I could leave the addy the same but name my blog something else. What do you think? Please comment and please mention any pros and cons. Thanks a bunch!

Don't forget to leave a comment on my 100TH BLOG POST GIVEAWAY. I will draw a name Saturday, Oct. 4th. Good Luck!!

100th Blog Post Giveaway!!

This is what I am giving away for my 1ooth blog posting.
The list of items that are in this giveaway are as follows:
3 rubber stamps, 2 sticker stamps, 4 pcs watercolor paper, 2 watercolor papers with stamped image, 6 antiqued tags, 2 vintage postcards with writing, 6 sm pcs of parchment paper, 15 pcs. natural papers, 3 vintage french fable pages, 3 quotes, 3 sm. pcs vellum, 10 vintage travel postcards, 1 antique skeleton key, 12 pcs. misc. papers, 8 lg pcs wallpaper approx 8x12, 9 6-7" ribbons, 9' peach fun fur, 9' mint fun fur, 1 wooden bird cutout, 1 vintage childs photo, 1 paper frame, 1 pkg. handmade 3-d paper flowers, 12 sm silk flowers, 3 thank yous stamped, 3 B&W European images

If you'd like to enter to win this giveaway, then simply add a comment on this post. If you would like 2 chances to win this pkg, just give this posting a shout out on your blog linking back to this post and send me the link here, also. I will choose the winner next Saturday, October 4th.
GOOD LUCK!!

Friendship quotes and a poem

I was thinking of how much fun it has been to meet so many wonderful blog friends and how fortunate I am to have the close friends that I have and so I did a quick search for some of my favorite quotes so I could share them with you. Here they are:

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."- Anais Nin

"A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud."- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Happiness is time spent with a friend and looking foward to sharing time with them again."- Lee Wilkinson

Friendship's Flower© Helen Steiner Rice

Life is like a gardenAnd friendship like a flower,

That blooms and grows in beauty

With the sunshine and the shower.
And lovely are the blossoms

That are tended with great care,

By those who work unselfishly

To make the place more fair.
And, like the garden blossoms,

Friendship's flower grows more sweet

When watched and tended carefully

By those we know and meet.

And, if the seed of friendshipIs planted deep and true

And watched with understanding,

Friendship's flower will bloom for you.

This is what the bride-to-be had to say

The bride-to-be rec'd her Wedding guest book Wednesday in the amil and this is what she wrote:

"The book arrived safely today and it is just amazing! I cannot wait to show it off on Saturday. It is exactly as I envisioned it - you really understood what I was looking for and added your vast creativity to the idea. Thank-you so much - we will both treasure it; and with the thoughts and memories it holds, it will be something we pick up from time to time and display in our home. If I ever need another book or journal, I will be back. I'm sure there will be some babies in our future ;-)thank-you again! I hope you enjoyed working on it and that it inspires others."

I was thrilled that she loved it . After I mailed the pkg. even her fiance took the time to email me. Pretty amazing considering my husband would never even think to do that nevertheless take the time to do it.

Here is what he had to say:

"hi tammy, Im scott.. fiance of kristen whom you just completed the wedding guest book for.. just wanted to tell you what a cool job you did! i had no idea what to expect (of course, im probably kept out of the loop) its so unique i love it.. kristen had a definite vision for this wedding and vendors..... i mean artists like you have helped to bring it together. thanks much, scott

I was thrilled that they were happy. It means a lot having your work be appreciated by others. So often I am on pins and needles until I get the feedback.

My Favorite Things Swap Loot

Well, much to my delight I rec'd a fun package from a fellow blogger via the "My Favorite Things Swap". The idea was to send your partner a package representing some of oyur favorite things. Some of her favorite things were; PEZ in strawberry, raspberry and orange. Those are also one of my daughters favorites so needless to say I lost half that pkg. immediately. Another of Tricia's favorite was a breakfast cookie and orange Tic Tacs, also swiped my my daughter. In the package there were a slew of these small papers with inspirational quotes on them. I love these, too! I plan to display them somehow. Still working on that.

Tricia knowing I like to create with paper sent me 2 of her favorite Tear papers. She says when you tear it the color on the other side shows through. Cool, huh? I'll have to try it out. There were also some stickers, postcards, a frame and a small bag holder for the car. Cute, huh?

Swaps are fun because it's like Christmas when you receive a pkg. The anticipation of the other person opening your pkg and receiving a little piece of your world. Happy Swapping!

I love Damask!

Damasks can be so versatile. You can use them in a cottage, beach house, a traditional home, art deco, or modern interiors. They come in all sorts of colors and styles. Some more fussy than others.

These pale colors are so sweet. I can imagine them in a cottage setting. Very serene.

These damasks are all yummy!

I especially love the photo featuring the black and white shade. It is gorgeous! Anyway, formal or informal there is a damask for everyone.

Finding the cheapest gas in your area

A friend sent me this link and I thought I'd share it with my blogging friends in the US. It is a site that you simply enter your zip code in and it will locate the least expensive gas prices in your area and it even has a little map to get you there. Our gas is not too bad at $3.69/gallon. I say that now that they have made us think that is a good price. :) Anyway in my sons area of the country (NC) the gas rose 70 cents in 5 hours due to hurricane Ike. They were at $4.40/gallon. Have a lovely Sunday. I am off to clean my front porch. It is a mess! We have been using it for some storage since we have been working on the basement but quite frankly I am tired of looking at it. So off I go. Oh here's that link: http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx

Victorian Inspired Wedding Guest Book

This is a sampling of the 40 paged victorian inspired wedding guest book that I just completed and sent off to the lovely bride-to-be. She needed at space enough for at least 130 of her guests to sign, give advice, share amemory , etc. on. She also sent me the cover of an antique 1890's Scrapbook cover that she bought off of ebay to use. I created the pages with heavy watercolor paper that I tore the edges on. I connected the pages with strips of fabric hinging tape. Next I antiqued each page with tea stained ink and off I went to create the tags, cards and layout of each page. It was a lot of fun, a lot of work but a lot of fun. I used antique laces and some vintage ribbons and the postcards she sent along. I hope she likes it. It is unique and one-of-a-kind, an heirloom for sure.

My chauffeur

Well, I now have a chauffeur. Yep, my daughter is of the driving age and wants to drive myself and her father everywhere we need to go. This has turned out to be good quality time. I have her undivided attention. She is a good driver, so far. I say so far because she has only had her permit for 4 weeks now and we have yet to encounter winter weather or rain. Anyway, it is nice being taxied (sp?) around for a change. My vehicle is a 5 speed and I need to teach her how to drive that next. I believe everyone should know how to drive a stick. Especially at this age. God forbid she is out with friends and something happened that she had to drive and there was only a stick available. So, off we go for another spin. More errands to run. Bye for now.

I won a giveaway! You can too!

Wow, I feel so lucky today! I just rec'd an email informing me that I won a giveaway being hosted at Aged Vintage Papier sponsored by Quilly Silly's Vintage Boutique . Cool, huh!? I never win anything so this is a real treat. Never mind that it is for some really pretty items, as seen above. I am so excited. Quilly Silly's shop is full of wonderfull of wonderful items for sale. Also, Aged Vintage Papier will be hosting another giveaway soon, so check our the blog.

Speaking of giveaways. I am making one for my 100th Blog post. So, check back soon to enter. I will post pics soon of the giveaway item/s.

Collecting

One of my all time favorite things to collect are skeleton keys. They are small. They have character and they make me wonder what they once opened and to whom they belonged. I have purchased them all from all over the country, even New Orleans. I have this display just inside my front door. That is not a stain on the wall. It is a shadow. weird lighting made it look really yellow. I like to incorporate keys into some of my artwork, as well. I am drawn to birds, keys, leaves, and just about anything with damask. Oh and anything in the gold, burgundy, muted green or black. The colors of our home.

Collecting is fun for me as long as it is not something I have to worry about dusting. No miniatures here. I can't be bothered. What about you? What do you like to collect?

911...We'll never forget

I posted this earlier but my internet service went bye bye, so here it is again. 911 was 7 years ago today. It doesn't feel like it though. It seems it just happened a couple of years ago.

Pray for our nation and that we make the best possible choice for our next president. Pray for our men and women troops serving our nation. Lets not forget the heroes that helped get so many out and through the utter chaos that day at the Trade center. We must not forget those who died and their loved ones. My wish is that those you love will know it because you told them so.

~ We have a WINNER!

And the winner is...drum roll please... Ms. Catherine Holman! Yay! Catherine wins a handmade item created by myself. I will also post a photo of that in a week or two after I know she has rec'd it. She guessed that the items shown in a couple of posts back were for the wedding guests to write down advice. Well that is exactly what they are for. All of the pieces are going to be included in a custom wedding guest book being created for the bride-to-be. She sent me a victorian scrapbook cover from the late 1800's and wanted me to create a unique wedding guest book inspired by the images on the victorian postcards which are also to be included in its' pages.

The fall wedding is to be held at The Castle on the Hudson River in New York. She loves victorian but didn't want it to be too feminine. So there you have it. I will post pictures of the finished project. Thanks for playing!

A few great places on the web

BUBBLE MAILERS
Here is a great place to buy your bubble mailers. They are inexpensive and I was not charged any additional fees for them to be shipped. They also ship quickly. http://www.royalmailers.com

FAIRS AND FESTIVALS
I came upon this website for arts, crafts, music and home festivals and fairs across the US and Canada: http://festivalnet.com/

SWAPS
If you like Craft challenges or swaps check out this site:
http://www.craftster.org/forum/ and of course the swap site here: http://swapdex.blogspot.com/ or http://www.swap-bot.com/

INTERNATIONAL MAIL CHARGES FROM THE US
http://www.shelfmasters.com/InternationalRateChart.aspx

2 Clues for ya' Guess and win!

Read this and the previous post for a chance to win something handmade by moi.

Cards and tags to be used in this project. Here are 2 clues for you. Clues #1. It does have to do with a wedding Clue #2. It will be a keepsake. Okay, now whatcha' got?

Have a lovely day! It's sunny and only 66 degrees! Gorgeous!

Tammy

Latest Project...Can you guess and win?

This is a custom order...you have to guess what the order is for. These postcards will be used in it along with everything else you see plus some more items but I can't give it all away now can I.


A pile of tags for what? It's a secret. You have to guess. Hmmm...what might they be for? Anyone?

Before/After antiqued tags... I used plain packaging tags you can pick up at any office supply store. I ripped the bottoms off of them. I then used a foam brush and a rag to apply and take off a mocha glaze mixture. 2 parts glaze to 1 part water. I then pounced the rag over the tag until it looked good and then I let them sit overnight. Then off I went to my workroom to embellish. That's the fun part!

The before and after tea stained papers

Tea stained papers: I used 4 black tea bags and 6 cups of water. The paper is 140 lb.watercolor paper With my bamboo tongs in hand I gently placed 3 pieces of paper at a time into the solution and let them sit for 3 mins. I then removed them and placed them onto a cookie sheet while I placed the next batch in. So after the second group came out, I drizzled more tea water onto the first batch and so on. I let them sit overnitght and this is how they looked this am.

Ooh... I just love yummy supplies like these delectable ribbons. Nothing gets me more energized or inspired than fun stuff to play with.

A little glimpse at some small note cards that will accompany the above items...

These are so sweet. I am thinking of creating some for my shop. My poor shop has been so neglected since July.
Well, I have to get back to this project, so I will leave you hanging for a few more days and then when I am ready I will unveil the project. If you guess right, I will send you a small handmade gift. Good luck!