Life is like...

This week my muse must have found me because I created these 6 pieces.

These are just little anging reminders of Love.

Mini pom poms are so adorable, aren't they?

Beloved, is my favorite one. She is longing for her love. Where is he?

Out of the blue, no pun intended, this quote came to me and the idea of paper quilting seemd perfect for it, as I am not a fabric quilter.

I absolutely love scrapbooking papers. I have hundreds in all different colors, patterns, and shades. They are my second favorite for collecting next to vintage linens.

"Life is like a patchwork quilt made up of beautiful moments" came to me after reading about a challenge in Cloth, Paper, Scissors. This does not meet the criteria but it inspired me, none the less.

I hope your life is full of beautiful moments. Remember to count your blessings. They are abundant if you just take the time to look.

Have a blessed day!

Travel journal, photo board and momento box

Traveling is an experience. It is an adventure. I created this travel journal to jot down favorite places, experiences on the journey and even tuck in a photo or flat momento here or there.

This page has Embrace Life across the leaf. Embracing life to me means exploring, learning, traveling, meeting new people, teaching, trying new things, etc.

Travelling is fulfilling. You get to find new places, eat new foods, sleep in a new place and experience life in another part of the world. It is exciting.

I would so love to see the world. Outside of the US, I've only been to Canada and Aruba. Travel agents must have fun, huh?
Good Times, is a magnetic board I made to hold photos, tickets, brochures, etc. from travels.
This 12"x12" box was created for travel photos, momentos such as seashells, brochures, business cards, souvenirs, etc.

This summer we are headed to the wonderful Charleston, South Carolina. I can't wait! I love it there. So quaint with a lot of history. The beaches are so pretty with white sand and palm trees. Aaah...I'm there already, in spirit that is.

A moment to be cherished

Okay so you know how I mentioned a few posts back about finding beauty in everyday things. Well, I was letting Chance out and noticed this lying on the snow, so in I went to grab my camera and capture this for you. Guess what it is...Yep a feather, but I saw a wink. To me I saw eyelashes. It made me smile.

Guess what? We have more snow coming down. Yep, the sky was gorgeous this morning and then this afternoon it went gray. Blah gray. But I have these to remind me of the beauty of the morning.

SAT's and 8 random things about me

Well, my baby girl has signed up to take her SAT's. Now we are looking at colleges.

Pre Med colleges, that is. Yikes! My baby wants to go out of state. So we are trying to figure out where she might want to go. It is hard being open and not giving my 2 cents but I am keeping all of my opinions to myself, in regards to her being too far from us and such. You always want your kids to be happy and to grow. This whole parenting thing is so hard sometimes.

On another note, I was tagged today by sweet Julie over at knitsational. I am supposed to share 8 random things about myself and then tag 8 others to do the same.

1. I wanted to be a psychologist, photographer or interior designer.

2. Strangers start conversations with me all of the time. Complete strangers share their personal stories. My husband and kids often ask me how I know that person and when I tell them I don't their mouths usually drop. My mother has the same thing happen to her.

3. I liked school.

4. I drive a fork lift, narrow reach truck and a cherry picker at work, daily. I am a receiving clerk but I often have to help unload and move freight when we are shorthanded.

5. Fresh flowers and sunshine make me happy!

6. I love animals and children.

7. I have seen most of the US.

8. I love to fly. I want to start enjoying my destination asap.

Okay, so now to tag 8 people. Hmmm... Who will take the time to do this? Okay, how about:

1. Lindsay-Ann of The Cross-Stitch House
2. Joy of Joy to the Blog

3. Elizabeth of Thoughts from and Evil Overlord (nothing evil there)

4. Sharon of Mana Moon Studios

5. M. Kate of La Vie Est Belle
6. Gin of Keepsake Moments
7. Lola of Lola Enchanted's Flea Market
8. Twyla and Lindsey of Two Crazy Crafters

Shwew...talk about pressure. Sheesh whiz. ;D Have a lovely week ahead.

Beauty in the simplest of things

Do you ever look at a common every day object and see beauty? I often look at something ordinary and see something beautiful about it. It may be the shape, the colors, the wood grain, or a shadow . Here is an example. This is a glimpse of my hamper lid. It is black iron and during certain parts of the day the light causes a wonderful shadow play on the wall behind it. I love the swirls and the varying shades of the shadows. I am reminded of the many decorative gates on homes in San Francisco, California. Many of the homes had either gated courtyards or gated entries. You see a lot of iron gates in the old South, as well. Charleston, SC for instance is made up of very elegant homes with lavish gardens surrounded with decorative fencing and gates.

So see, my hamper takes me to the opposite sides of our country every day. ;D To 2 of my favorite vacation spots. I challenge you to look be still and take in the beauty around you.

One World One Heart Giveaway

Welcome! I am so glad you are here! I think this was a brilliant way to bring together the blogging community from all over the world. Thanks Lisa!
These are my 2 giveaways for One World One Heart. This giveaway is open to all active bloggers. Just leave a comment here with your email address for a chance to win.

The first giveaway is this BLOOM garland. Bloom to me means to blossom where ever you are planted. It is an uplifting sentiment and meant to inspire. Good Luck!

The second giveaway is for this necklace and earring set. Both are created using antiqued copper elements. I have 2 photos here to show you what either side of the pendant looks like. The square glass pendent measures 1" square. The necklace length is 20" (50.80cm). The earrings from the end of the fish hook loop measures 1"(2.54 cm)

To be a participant in the One World One Heart , you can click on the badge above to transport you to the page with all of the details.

The One World One Heart Giveaway will end February 12th. I will announce the winners here, on February 12, 2009. Please make sure you have included your email address in your comment so that I may let you know you won. Good Luck and again I am so glad you stopped by to say, "Hello".

Bathroom Before, During and After Pics

Before the drywall went up. Pretty bare bones. We had concrete floors, cinder block walls and a bulb hanging overhead.
During The green board is a waterproof drywall. It was a shockingly dark color when I walked in.
This is the after shot from the same angle so you can see the transformation. I love the contrast of the white fixtures, mouldings and doors against the Khaki paint and tiles.
The tiles look great and have a itty bitty bit of a shimmer in them. They are otherwise a matte like finish with a great textural look with the variegated coloring runing through them.
This medicine cabinet/miror combo works great because inside it is all mirror too so if you open the door you can get closer for applying makeup.
These doors created a laundry nook on the rt side of the room and that one at the end goes into Jack's workshop. Next up is decorating it. Woohoo! My fave!

Brrrrr....

Every where I look I see this powdery white stuff! It was 0'F this morning when I went to work. We had a real feel of -30'F. Bitter cold. It takes your breath away and makes you cough when it is this cold. It's best to breath through your nose.
This image is so adorable, however a broom would hardly help us right not. We have about 5" of snow on the ground over about 1/4" of ice. You should see some of the snow mounds. They are about 15' high and look like big hills. Over time they will start to melt and look really yucky. That's about when we are yearning for springtime.
Hope you are staying nice and toasty. I am thankful for a warm home and proper clothing for this weather.
Tomorrow I will try to remember to post pics of our new bathroom. The contractor finished it on Tuesday and we are so glad to have the second bathroom. Sharing 1 between the 3 of us daily and then when we had holiday guests it was a bit of a drag, as you might imagine.
Well, this weekend I must play with some of my new supplies. I stocked up last Sunday. I say stocked up as if I didn't have a bunch already but there were some great sales at Michaels that I could not pass up. I loaded up on 12"x12" scrapbooking papers because most of them were 7/$1. That's crazy cheap! Who could resist? Not me! :D

Shining lights in our lives

Hello, I wanted to share this sweet handmade pin given to me by a lovely little lady at work by the name of Judy. She is our plant expert. Judy is in her 60's, a retired art teacher and a wonderful artist herself. She buys handmade gifts made by local artists every Christmas. This year she gave me this very sweet handmade and handpainted porcelain pin and a loaf of fresh bread made by her. I just love her. She brings joy to everyone she spends time with. Judy lights up and says, "hello Tammy", with a big smile and such excitement that she has a way of making you feel very special. Every Mother's day she makes me a very large pot of flowers for my porch.
Is there anyone who has brought joy to your life in such a way? Judy is a wonderful example of a bright shining light. I always tell her that, too. If we could all be Judy's this world would be a very special place.

Books and Snow

Wanna come play with me? I think maybe we will make a snowman tomorrow. Today it snowed all day long and now it is sleeting. The snow I love, the sleet not so much.Doesn't the snow make everything look so nice and clean. I had a little white tailed bunny run right in front of me when I was snapping this picture of our backyard. He was too fast to get a pic of but he was small and gray with a white cotton tail.
This is a book that a friend at work lent to me. She finished it in 2 days and said she could hardly put it down, that I had to read it. It is intriguing and I will share it with you all when I am through with it. She does not have a family to tend to and therefore can sit and read uninterrupted, so it will take me a bit longer to finish.
So these are the 3 books on my reading list. I finished the book "The Secret Life of Bees" last weekend and have to say it is a quick and enjoyable read for sure. It is based in South Carolina in 1964 before the Civil Rights Movement. It is heartwarming and inspirational. The main characters are a 14 yr. old white girl, her african american nanny and 3 african american sisters. The 14 yr. old girl(whom lost her mother) and her nanny run away from trouble and end up in the home of these 3 sisters whom teach them alot about life and give them the love, compassion and strength that they were missing. The sisters keep bees and so the story is laced with all sorts of honey. It is a good book and I would highly recommend it. I know there was a movie made based on this story but I have not seen it. I will rent it now, for sure.
When I finish "The Shack" I will start "The Mermaid Chair by the same writer as "The Secret Life of Bees", Sue Monk Kidd. Stay warm and enjoy your weekend.

Let it snow...Let it snow...Let it snow...

We are having another 6-10 inches of snow tonight into tomorrow. Yay! I love snow! It makes everything so beautiful and pristine. If you are not having any snow yet or are in an area with little snow, don't fret, you can build a snowflake here:http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com/ You can even save it to a gallery and go and check out the amazing snowflakes that others have created. Hope you are having a wonderful Friday! I have a good book calling my name tomorrow. I'll share about the one I just finished then, also. Love a good read. Hugs to all!