My new look...

Well drum roll please....here is the new look. Ta-Da! I love it. It is like the papers I like to use in my artwork and look how cute my signature is. I have a button now, too. How cool is that?! I am going to start posting some of my favorite blog buttons on my sidebar, and that way they will be just a click away and it'll look so pretty. I had two different graphic designers working on this revamp. The lady that did my background, signature and button was Emily of Polka Dot Pixels and the lady who did my blog header and etsy shop banner was Carol of Tic Tac Togs . Both were really great to work with and fast. So if you need any help with graphics, check them out. Both are reasonable and very professional. No I am not getting anything by promoting them, I just really liked their work.

My Creative Muse found me today

Yep, I awoke with a full fledged cold and yet all sorts of things popped into my mind and were knocking to get out. So what's a girl to do...but listen. So off I went scissors clipping away, glue on my fingers, glitter everywhere, feathers flying, etc and voila I made a special banner to hang and also a guest book, so far. But there's more to come I can assure you. As soon as I can I will post some photos for you to see.
I came downstairs to add another load of laundry when I spotted the computer and thought...just for a second, I'll go see what's happening in the land of blog. Here I am and before I get sucked in, I am off to fold said laundry and toss in that other load. Hope you are filled to the brim with creative juices, as I am.
Hugs to all,
Tammy

My Computer Hard drive is full ;{

Well it's a rainy Saturday here in our part of the US. Dreary is an understatement so I kept the bamboo blinds closed today to keep the warm glow inside. Who needs to look at that gray watery mess, anyway? I finished an order today for some table numbers for a lady who also bought one of my guest books and reserved seating cards. I would show them to you however my computer decided to be full. So alas I cannot even upload my photos on my laptop. errrrr.... So now what? I guess I'll have to ask the computer geeks at that store what to do now. I've defragged, cleaned up files, deleted photos and moved them to a jump drive, not sure what else I can do.
Anyway, I cannot participate in the eco challenge on Inspiration Avenues blog for tomorrow, but maybe you can. I love seeing what everyone comes up with. It's great to see such a diverse group of people from all over the globe come together to share my favorite thing, art.

So I look forward to blog hopping and enjoying your photos. Have a great weekend.
Tammy

The Sweet Life

Hello All! This weeks Color/Word Challenge over at Inspiration Avenue's blog was Vintage. So, Seeings how I have so much vintage stuff lying around to play with I decided to try something new. I created a setting for this darling little girl. There are flower petals and vintage buttons, laces and rbbons. She makes me smile every time I look at her little face. I have just listed her in our team shop, with Free shipping. If you have a minute you can pop over and see what others created for the Vintage Challenge. Click here. The post will be up at 5pm EST.

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend. It is sunny and about 74' today. Just perfect!

Oh, by the way, I have enlisted a graphic designer to create a new blog header, etsy shop header and avatar all to match, so my blog look will be changing once more. I know, I know but it's like my obsession for shoes, and vintage linens. I can't help it. ;D

Xo,

Tammy

Antiquing and fun finds

So I had this past Friday off since I worked the previous weekend and Memorial day so I went to a fabulous antique store in a little Victorian town called Bellefonte. I picked up all sorts of goodies. Here is a sampling.

Laces, skeleton keys, seam binding

This image above was taken in the reflection of an old jewelry box I bought. Isn't it so neat. The brown spots you see are actually in the back of the mirror. Age spots, anyone?. lol

I bought old cigar boxes for a few fun projects I have up my sleeve. Stay tuned for those.

The front of thejewelry box.

More lace through the old mirror. You should try this technique. Got an antique mirror? Pull it out and play around with the images. It's fun!

I was gifted with this fun and pretty bookmark from the lovely Luthien of Pimp and Paint. We were involved with a Pay if forward sort of fungame on Tali's blog and you sent something from your shop to the next person that commented after you. It came all the way from Malaysia.

I have been working on my Vintage creation for Inspiration Avenue's Weekly Challenge. I can't wait to see all of the creations. Should be fun. If you can participate, please do. If you just want to pop over to see the creations, they are posted at 5pm EST on Sundays on their blog. Hope to see your work there. Also, we are looking for new artists to join our etsy street team. Just check out our blog to get to know us and let us know in a comment if you are interested.

Oh yeah the last day of September there will be a winner announced for this months Giveaway so hop over and enter here.

Orange you glad it's almost Halloween

Here is my submission for this weeks "Orange" Color Challenge at Inspiration Avenue's blog .

I love Halloween and of course I thought of it with the color orange and the time of year it is.
The witches hat was made out of paper clay and then embossed with the spiders web, painted with a beaded tip and frilly brim.
The pumpkin was made of paper clay and he has a little spiral stem at the top. Anyway, every week there is a new color or word challenge. It's fun! There's also a giveaway once a month. This coming weeks challenge word is "Vintage". I am excited about that. I love bits of the past showing up in artwork. If you want to join in on the fun just create something, anything having to do with Vintage. It can be a photograph you take, a piece of jewelry, a mixed-media piece, a tag, anything at all. The deadline for submissions is every Sunday at 5pm EST, USA. Come play with us. ;D
hugs,
Tammy

9/11 & Giveaways!

9/11 was an extremely moving time in our nations history. So many people came together to help others. It was very frightening for all of the US. This day is one we will never forget. So many lives lost...brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandmothers and grandfathers. It is a huge loss for all of us. My heart goes out to all of those that risked their lives and those that lost a loved one. I pray for their peace.
Now onto something a tad bit cheerier:
Inspiration Avenue is having a Giveaway. This bracelet made by moi. There is a Book Giveaway over at Elizabeths.
And a magazine giveaway at Restyled Home for 5 lucky winners.
Matthew Mead's newest Halloween magazine: Hundreds of Spooky Treats and Clever Crafts for the Best Holiday Ever! Beautiful photos of easy, creative and fun projects and straight-forward directions and patterns that will appeal to crafters of every age. I've seen it in several stores and the photos are amazing!
And here's a 5 card gift set from Shelly Simpson. She has a new blog, so go by and say,"Hi".
And here we have a fantastic grouping of books from Southern Hospitality.

This banner and another are being given away at Cherrie's Jubilee. GOOD LUCK!!!! Tommorow I will show you some of the treasures I came home with this afternoon. I went on a hunt in a lovely old Victorian town. Eeek! I can't wait to start creating with them.

Weekly Challenge "SUMMER" and giveaway

Hello all. This is my contribution to the Weekly Challenge at Inspiration Avenue. Directions were to create something (using whatever art medium you wanted) in keeping with this week's theme. This week's theme was "SUMMER". These colors remind me of the caribbean sea and thus inspired me to create this memory bracelet. Memory bracelets are called such because the wire has a memory. It encircles your wrist by being wrapped around it and voila...loveliness, then when you take it off it forms the circle again. It fits any size wrist.
I am offering it up to one of the lucky followers of our team blog Inspiration Avenue. So, if you want a chance to win, hop on over there and become a follower and leave a comment stating so. If you want a second chance just blog about the giveaway with a link to Inspiration Avenue and leave that link in a comment, as well. The lucky winner will be chosen via the Random Number Generator, on the last day of September. Good Luck!!

My son, Chris back from Nicaragua

My son went to Nicaragua to help build a wing on a high school. He went with 19 other members of his church. 20 minutes before they arrived the palm frond roof collapsed on the chapel that they were to sleep in. Some 75,000 palm fronds had to be gathered, tied and pulled out of the chapel after adding a new roof. That's Chris in the doorway. And below toting some away. One trip after another they toted away the palm fronds. He's in the hat above. Preparing the foundation for the new wing.He looks so tired and rugged after 7 days of hard work. He was asleep on the plane before it left the runway, according to his friends. lol. His group worked so hard to get everything done and then some. They apparently made a wonderful impression on the students and faculty of the school and were invited back anytime they wanted to come. I am so proud of my son. I love that he has such a big heart and a good head on his shoulders. He is 24 and attends college in NC so I only get to see him about 2 times a year. ;( I think it is amazing that when we have our children we realize a love like no other. We fall in love with those adorable little hands and feet and that sweet little face and then the joy of parenthood stays with us forever. Sure there are trials and tribulations but overall I cannot imagine not being a mom. My heart is overflowing with love for my two. My daughter is 17 and she tries my patience more often than not but still I see the young lady she is shaping into and I am proud of her strength and resiliency. Next summer I will be an empty nester. Shwew...writing that made a lump form in my throat. My chicks will take flight. I want them to soar.
Goodnight my dear friends.