I finally got around to taking pictures of the Jewels of the Sea Swap pendants I got...a week later! So, here they are:

Picture 1, left to right: Michele at http://www.lifeonthisgoodday.blogspot.com/, Michelle at http://www.ginghamworld.blogspot.com/

picture 2, left to right: Heidi at http://lournals.aol.com/?hwoodred/everyday-cookies/, Jessi at http://www.srappyjessi.blogspot.com/

picture 3 left to right: Julie at http://shabby-jules.blogspot.com/ and Wanda at http://wandamoi.blogspot.com/. The ATC is by Jenny at http://fatedfolliesstudio.blogspot.com...she/ made one for everyone in the swap! Nice bonus, hey?

I love swapping! Thanks so much, Heather! You rock the swaps, girl! Can't wait for the next one!!!

Okay, let's see...Here's a little peice I made reflecting my current mood. It's entitled Disheartened and I made it in my creative journal. I love trying to match my mood to my art. It helps me process, you know? The words at the bottom of the cage say "She sometimes felt disheartened". At the top, in the corner, it says "His affection for her soon sunk into indifference". I'm feeling a little bit "trapped" these days. Powerless, I guess, in certain areas of my life.

Soooo, enough moping, already!

On a more positive note...I have some of the BEST friends! Seriously! One of my dearest girlfriends just LOVES to give things to me. She's the one who gave me the red dogwood tree I blogged about a while ago. Just GAVE it to me! Well, she's gone and outdone herself! She has this wonderful husband who bought her a new camera for her birthday. An upgrade. She takes GORGEOUS photos of anyone that will let her, and even some who won't. So, she's got this new awesome camera, and guess what? She GAVE me her old one! Wouldn't let me pay her one penny for it!!! Actually, she is going to let me bake a cake for her son's dedication ceremony. Good deal, right? A camera for a cake!! Here it is:

LOVE IT!!! Well, I know I will when I figure it out! I don't know how to use the darn thing, so these pictures were actually taken with my faithful old Kodak. I've definitely gotta take some lessons from her. Thanks Cassandra! You are such a beautiful person and great friend! I am blessed by you...

Well, that's it for now. Have a great day!

Love,

Tammy

New projects and a new Bathroom

Heres a quick peek of a few projects I will hopefully be getting to this week. I thought you all might like an early look, since I usually forget to do before pictures. :)

So, the first is another house. Can you say fixation? Yes, I admit it. But, theres just something about that shape that speaks to me of, well, home! I got this at Goodwill, I think. And paid just a couple of dollars for it.

LOVE it!! As you can see, it's a shadow box, but it doesnt have the dividers they usually do.

Next, is a hotair balloon i have had for, probably, 6 months or more. I hadn't quite decided what to do with it. Do you do that? Buy something, or aquire it in some other crafty way, like digging it out of a FREE BIN. Gotta love the free bin. Anyway, I got it at a little independant thrift store and paid $8 for it!!!! I know, that's a veritable fortune!! So, I didn't know what to do with it, then I was inspired by Miss Jenn at Sweet Eye Candy Creations. She made some darling ones. Seriously...sooooo stinking cute!!! Go check them out! She blogged about them on June 30. But, while you are there, check out the post she did of the Whimsical Children's Room Blog Party. Dang, that girl can decorate!

Here's mine pre-decorating:

It was metal colored, with a natural basket, but I sprayed it off white, and we'll see where it goes from there! I think both of these items will be headed for Etsy, though! I'd like to have a few really adorable handmade things to put up when I open. And that will be...??? As soon as I can. Ugh! I've been sooooo busy this summer! Doing what, you might ask? Well....

for example, doing this:

Oh, I wish you could see how pretty it is...and how UGLY it was before! It is really hard to take pictures in a small bathroom! The vanity and mirror are definitely on the dark side for me, but, 1. my husband likes dark wood and 2. that was the only one they had at Sam's Club. It was waaaaayyyy cheaper there, so we went for it. I haven't actually gotten around to decorating yet, but, I do love it! And that tub is FAB! Thanks for looking with me!!!

Love,

Tammy

Who, me?
Li'l ol' me?
Oh my goodness...It seems as though I've been given an award. Gasp! I've never gotten one, never been tagged, or anything! So, please pardon my gushing from the microphone, here. I'd like to thank Margo at dningroomstudio for making this happen...(imagine me blowing kisses....)
Alright, alright. I'm done now. Seriously, I'm so thrilled. So, here it is...the Arte y Pico:

Here are the rules:
1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name of and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award.
4. The award winner and one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y Pico" blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.

Okay. So. The five I have chosen are:

1.Tiffany at shabbyscraps

2. Melissa at littlemelfie'sstudio

3. Karin at creativechaos

4. Beth at wordsandwhimsies

5. Donna at undertheredroof

whew! That was tougher than I thought it would be! I do hope you will check outall these wonderful blogs! I'm off to bed-- I really need to get out of this sequined gown...this strapless bra is killing me...not to mention these 3" heels...

BTW, does anyone know what the heck pico means?

Cutie Patootie

Here he is...my favorite boy in the whole wide world.

Sweet, sweet boy

Hang in there, moms...all that hard work will pay off someday...in the form of a sweet, lovable, oh-so-returnable grandchild! Love this little guy so much!

Hellooo-oooo, out there!!! How is everybody? I have just a few things to show ya today...I'm supposed to be gettingready to go to our big water park today with the kids. But, I know I've been slacking a little in the blog department lately, so I thought I'd share some of my recent favorite finds...This darling little Avon dish is the first decorative purchase I made for our new bathroom. It is transparent, like milk glass. So, so pretty!



This is a darling peice of oilcloth for lining shelves...I think it will look so cute in our soon to be remodelled kitchen...It's only about 2 yards long, so I'll have to be selective about where I put it, but, I fell in love anyway! And it was a bargain!


And lastly, I eeked out a tiny little bit of time to create. Life gets so busy, but, I really NEED to have at least a little time to feed that part of me, or I get a little nutso. So, last week I got this UGLY 1980's house shaped clock with nasty little silk flowers and old lace and, well...it was ugly. But, it was house shaped, and I love that! So, I stripped it down to the basic shape and here it is...I incorporated some personally representative elements a la Corey Moortgat. The same day I found the clock, I got this stack of old Seattle times newspapers. The ads are so much cuter than they are now! So, there are 4 girls, and little baby Tyson (my super adorable grandson) and me and Keith. I am not quite sure it's done, though. I have to live with it a while. What do you think?



Okay, I'm off to get ready for the water park...I just hope the weather cooperates! After all, it IS Seattle...

Remodelling and a funny conversation

I know I have a picture of my ugly bathroom somewhere on this computer, but I can't for the life of me find it! So, try to imagine: A leeettle bathroom, circa 1962, preserved in time, as though someone cherished the styles from that era...enameled steel tub with the straightest back you can imagine, not just uncomfortable, but icy cold when you first lean back against it...cracked window...handmade vanity in a funky shape, painted dark brown and topped with red starburst covered white laminate...ugly white vinyl on the floor...gold walls with a half finished rusty iron fence stencilled on it....toilet that threatened to crash into the crawlspace below it, taking me down with it, pants around my ankles...

Oh, but the best part? The thin little aluminum tiles that the bathtub surround was made of(????????) started popping off, oh, about 6 months after we moved in. My husband decided to "temporarily" fix the problem with plastic sheeting and DUCT TAPE (I have SUCH a love/hate relationship with that stuff!). Temporarily meaning 71/2 years. 71/2 years with plastic and duct tape in my shower!!!! All around!!!!!!!! Ugh. Oddly enough, he had his little feelings hurt when I didn't say "Why, dear, what a wonderful fix! Aren't you clever!!!

It's also the ONLY bathroom we have.

Got the picture?


So, we're remodelling. Finally. We lived with it for eight years, the last four months without a vanity. Yep, FOUR MONTHS!!!!! Hubby started, then got scared off by the dryrot. I travcked down a wonderful contractor who goes to our church, and he has been working away...we're almost done...here is a peek. Everything is so light and fresh...especially my JACUZZI TUB!!!! Can't wait to show the finished product...heck...I can't wait to bathe in that thing!!

I also wanted to show you my mirror I made for the bathroom. It was a $3 shutter and a $1.99 mirror from St V's. I think it's cute...but, dang, it's hard to photograph a mirror, especially when you don't want your crap in the picture. But, Halle was happy enough to stand in.

My 10 year old, Emma, said the cutest thing the other day...Here's how the conversation went:

6 year old: I don't think grown ups can go on bouncy slides.

me: Oh, yeah, honey, they can. I saw lots of Mommies and Daddies on the bouncy slides at the carnival last year. Just not fat mommies, like me...

all three children: MOM!!! You're NOT fat!!!

10 year old: No, mom, you're not fat, just cushiony.

Guess I need to loose some cushion.

Well, first of all, I want to say THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH for each and every comment you all have left...I appreciate them so much! It's a little like Christmas to open my email and see I have had 17 comments left on my blog...I get positively giddy!! And, if I could figure out how to do it, I would write you all back, even if to just say thanks for looking!

Do you remember in one of my early posts I had mentioned that we were dealing with a scourge? Namely, that most devious and heinous pestilence from the very pit of Hell itself? Well, after over a MONTH of battling (and washing hair, and combing with very tenny tiny toothed combs, and doing load after load of laundry), I think I have finally managed to send it back to the pit. For now. My little girls are apparently like luscious lice candy, or something, the little buggers just love them for some strange reason! Please, God, in your infinite mercy, protect us from the evil scourge!!!!! Amen.

On the brighter side, we are remodeling our bathroom. It was the original 1962 bathroom, and so we are updating with a Jacuzzi bathtub (YIPPEE!!!) and a new vanity with a beautiful granite top, and wainscoating on the walls...Oh my gosh, I am so excited! But, I've been busy, as you can imagine. In fact, we're going to Lowes in a minute to pick out some stuff. It's hard for my hubby...he has such a hard time making decisions and an even harder time just letting me choose...

Anyways, I just wanted to say HI and maybe, share a little collage I made back in April with you, since I haven't been able to create much at all...

Have a wonderful evening!