Tammy Gilley Studios

Mellow Yellow

2012-02-15T05:30:00.000-08:00

Mellow Yellow

by Donovan

I'm just mad about Saffron.
A-Saffron's mad about me.
I'm-a just mad about Saffron.
She's just mad about me.

They call me Mellow Yellow,
Quite rightly.
They call me Mellow Yellow,
Quite rightly.
They call me Mellow Yellow.

I'm just mad about Frontine.
A-Frontine's mad about me.
I'm-a just mad about-a Frontine.
A-She's just mad about me.

 

They call me Mellow Yellow.
They call me Mellow Yellow,
Quite rightly.
They call me Mellow Yellow.

Born-a high forever to fly.
Wind-a velocity nil.
Born-a high forever to fly.
If you want your cup, I will fill.

They call me Mellow Yellow,
Quite rightly.
They call me Mellow Yellow,
Quite rightly.
They call me Mellow Yellow.

So mellow yellow..

Electrical banana
Is gonna be a sudden craze.
Electrical banana
Is bound to be the very next phase.
 

They call it Mellow Yellow,
Quite rightly.
They call me Mellow Yellow,
Quite rightly.
They call me Mellow Yellow.

Saffron, yeah.
I'm just-a mad about her.
I'm-a just-a mad about-a Saffron.
She's just mad about me.

 

They call me Mellow Yellow,
Quite rightly.
They call me Mellow Yellow,
Quite rightly.
They call me Mellow Yellow.

Oh, so yellow..
Oh, so mellow.. 

I hope this brightens your day as much as it did mine.  Enjoy! 

Happy Hearts Day

2012-02-14T05:30:00.000-08:00

Wishing all of you a Happy Hearts Day, from my happy heart to yours. xoxo

Treasure Nests

2012-02-11T05:30:00.000-08:00

I'm so thrilled to be teaching Treasure Nests this spring at Wild at Heart Studios in Friday Harbor. It will be my first time to what I imagine is a lovely little town in the Puget Sound. All that water and green, green beauty...a wonderful getaway. And I'm excited to be able to teach this class over two days. It will give us a chance to make bigger baskets, or make several smaller ones. Awesome. It's such a meditative project. Once you get going, it's like walking a labyrinth. I absolutely love this class.

Here's a little glimpse into what's in store for you:

I call it nesting; that urge to surround myself with all of my little treasures and all the things I love.

These sweet little nests are made from scraps of your favorite fabrics, bits of yarn, and then embellished with your wonderful tiny treasures. After that, use them to store your crafty doo-dads, hold your jewelry, or sit on your coffee table with a stack of love notes and colorful postcards.

Treasure Nests are the perfect little happy place to showcase your bits and baubles and to stash your goodies.

Each student will leave class with at least one completed Treasure Nest, brightly colored and embellished with lots of your fun little treasures.

Wild At Heart workshops are held at Earthbox, "a retro motor inn" according to their website. FAB! And there's a spa. I know I'll treat myself to a little massage before teaching. Hey, if you're in need of a little getaway next month, why don't you come join me? We'll have a lot of laughs, get some stitching in, and who knows, maybe even spot a whale or two.

Up.Cycled.

2012-02-08T13:18:00.000-08:00

I love hats. And I have a lot of them. But this one needed fixing. Needed Tammy-fying. This particular logo? Not so important to me. (I'm afraid of the ball. If there had been a Snickers or Popsicle label on this hat, it probably wouldn't have been embellished.) I saw this post over on Alisa's blog many moons ago, and was totally inspired. At the time I didn't have a hat, or even an idea what I wanted to do. I just loved the way this looked! So, when this hat came into my life as my summer walking regimen morphed into autumn, I knew it needed a little somethingsomething.

Then I remembered Alisa's toot. FINALLY last weekend (this one was lost somewhere in my messy studio until I found it during The Great Purge of 2012)...anyhooooo, finally last weekend, I fixed my hat.

I got into my red and aqua scrap baskets, cut some strips, square, and a heart. And voila...this hat was made for walkin'.

And that logo? An improvement, me thinks. Sorry Phil.

Meditation Monday

2012-02-06T12:31:00.000-08:00

The Journey
By Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Feeding My Soul

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

It's finished.

I love it.

It will be the perfect talisman for 2012 to hang in my studio.

I'm going to quilt and bind it, give it a little sleeve for hanging.

What are you stitching these days?

C'est Fini

2012-01-23T18:00:00.000-08:00

So. It took a bit longer than anticipated, and was all-consuming for about two weeks, but IT IS FINISHED! My new and much improved studio feels so tidy, and organized, and like I can actually work.in.there. Huge! All last fall, it just sort of became a dump-off zone, until literally, I could not get more than a foot beyond the doorway. (Hanging my head in shame here.)

Just to remind you, here are the horrifying "before" photos.

Oh.my.nerves.

But now?! It's a veritable paradise. I have a little corner to sit and stitch.

My space is creativity-inducing. Everything now has a place. Yahoo!

I've got my worktable for painting and journal-making.

I arranged my desk so that I can look out the window while I work. Bliss.

My cutting table for quilting and applique and other stitch-y goodness.

And I have all of my goodies hanging about - lots of inspiration and eye candy. Lots more photos over here.

Speaking of fabric, I purged my stash. I've sort of been heading in a new direction with my art, so my fabric needs have changed. I have completely de-stashed and am selling cram-packed medium-sized USPS Priority Mail boxes full of fabric. Each box is $30, which includes shipping. You can get a box of fabric goodness delivered right to your door. And this is the.good.stuff. Fabric that was too special to give away when I last de-stashed my stacks. Sizes are usually 1/4 yard or less, perfect for small quilts, collage, mixed media, and the right touch of fabric texture or color to make your work sing. Mostly cottons, but vintage barkcloth, brocades, and more included. At this point, I'm not sure how many boxes there are, so if you're interested, please email me at good2btlg(at)comcast(dot)net and I'll put you on a first come-first-served list. Let me know if you want a specific color mix, or if want me to put together a lovely assortment for you.

One note: this is for US shipping only. But. I'd be tickled pink to ship a Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope to Canada and beyond for the same $30, though.

Joggle Me This

2012-01-15T19:47:00.000-08:00

Oh, I've got some fun classes coming up over on joggles.com! Barb does such a great job over there. If you've never taken a Joggles class, come on over and join in the fun.

On schedule for me this winter are three classes. Two are back by popular demand, and one all-new class.

Starting January 26th is Treasure Nests.

I call it nesting; that urge to surround myself with all of my little treasures and all the things I love.

These sweet little nests are made from scraps of your favorite fabrics, bits of yarn, and then embellished with your wonderful tiny treasures. After that, use them to store your crafty doo-dads, hold your jewelry, or sit on your coffee table with a stack of love notes and colorful postcards. Treasure Nests are the perfect little happy place to showcase your bits and baubles and to stash your goodies.

Each student will leave class with one completed Treasure Nest, brightly colored and embellished with lots of your fun little treasures.

On February 16th, In Stitches will begin.

There is something so meditative and zen about sitting down with a bit of hand-stitchery. I love the rhythm of the needle going in and out through the fabric. In this class, we’ll create a wonderful stitchery sampler that you’ll be able to refer back to for future embroidery projects. So much better than referring to a book or website, don’t you think? Plus, you’ll leave class with a beautiful piece of handwork that you can display in your home or studio.

Tammy will demonstrate simple stitches, and share techniques about how to layer stitching with other embellishments to create interest in future projects. This is a great class to learn basic embroidery and embellishment techniques, or to limber up your stitching fingers if they’ve been out of commission for awhile.

Lesson One: Stitch-by-Stitch
Basic embroidery stitches, techniques, and a bit of color theory.

Lesson Two: Adding Layers
Why stop at stitchery, when there are bits and baubles and other lovely things to add to our stitchery samplers.

And then my new class, An Artful Journal, will begin March 1st.

This class is scheduled to begin on March 1, 2012.

Whether you're a novice, have some journal experience, or are even a seasoned keeper of a journal, this three lesson class will give you some brand new jumpstarts to begin your journalling experience, or to enhance the skills you already have.

I will share a personal art journal page or two at each lesson. Additionally, I'll share tips and tricks for creating your own unique art journal that is sure to inspire you.

My own journalling practice began with cutting pretty pictures out of magazines or picking up little treasures from my everyday adventures and pasting them into a book to document all of those easily forgotten details that make up my life. My art journals have become a quiet refuge and a safe place to test new ideas, reflect, create my dream lists, and be oh, so very philosophic about the meaning of life.

I hope you'll join me for a lot of creativity, a dose of sage advice, and some pretty things to look at.

For more information or to register, click here.

Razzle Zazzle

2012-01-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, how.fun.is.THIS??!! I just got an iPhone 4S for Christmas, and wanted to get a cover for it. I didn't like anything I saw. And then I found Zazzle. Oh, Zazzle, how I love you! Now, I can carry my art in my pocket. Love that.

I Yam What I Yam

2012-01-13T05:30:00.000-08:00

Be daring, be different, be impractical,

be anything that will assert integrity of purpose

and imaginative vision

against the play-it-safers,

the creatures of commonplace,

the slaves of the ordinary.

Unknown

Purging and Stitching

2012-01-10T13:25:00.000-08:00

I may have bitten off more than I can chew. This is my studio. In it's before state. It's much better after the purgefest this past weekend, but still isn't done. *sigh* It is shaping up quite nicely, however, and I can see what it's going to look like when I'm finished purging. But the clearing out and letting go part of the project is taking longer than I anticipated. A few more hours here and there, and I should have it wrapped up with a big bow, and can show you.

In the meantime, I'm stitching. Still downstairs, otherwise my project will get lost in the sea of chaos that is my studio.

But I'm working on a sweet little sampler for the new year. My "feeding my soul" sampler I posted about a few days ago.

I have just a few little details left to stitch, and then I'll be on to quilting. I love the way it's going.

I started with a sketch, but once I added the main element, the design sort of stitched itself. I love when that happens.

Oh how I love a French knot. They are so much fun to do, once I got the hang of them. And not all of mine are perfect, as you can see here, but that's what gives the piece its wabi-sabi-ness. I love the imperfections of hand-stitching.

So. Just a little stitchery break from the studio purge. Keeps a girl sane.

Keep It Simple, Sweetie

2012-01-06T12:09:00.000-08:00

Some very simple stitchery I did last fall. One of several needlebooks I'll be listing on my Etsy shop soon. Just unearthed (otherwise, I would have listed them for the holidays...really the perfect gift for a stitcher...quelle domage) in the disaster area that I call my studio. Egads.

Definitely.Not.Feeding.My.Soul. The studio mess, that is. To escape it, I close the door and take my goodies downstairs to the living room. De-Nile ain't just a river in Egypt, lady.

So, the time has come. I've cleared the calendar and have two full days this weekend to pull every last bit of ***t out of that room, purge, sort, organize, purge, and then, hopefully (please dear God, let it be so) finish up late Sunday with a beautiful and tidy and inspiring space to create.

Do you think that's too optimistic a goal? To a mere mortal, perhaps. But whoever this motivated, energized, and clear-the-crap-and-get-organized crazy lady is who has taken over my body...SHE can get it done!

I took photos of said disaster area this morning to share with you. Hanging my head in shame. Fortunately (for me) they are super blurry and you can't really see what's going on in there. Come to think of it, maybe those are exactly the photos I should share. You know, like vaseline-covered lens close-ups? Mais, non. I think not. I want you, my bloggy friends, to see me for what I am: an unorganized, messy, creative soul. So, tomorrow. Before photos. Sunday. After photos. And maybe some wip photos, too (assuming I'll be able to find the camera).

Cooking up the Good Life

2012-01-02T15:01:00.000-08:00

Oh, I just love new beginnings. I'm not much of a resolution-maker, but I do embrace the idea of a clean slate. The first part of the new year always finds me looking back on the previous year, and dreaming dreams for the new year. This year is no different. (And, frankly, I'm glad to get 2010 behind me. A few bumps in the road there, better left behind. Way, way behind.) But this new year feels full of promise. I am simply bursting at the seams with new ideas. And they are all stemming from a mantra I've had in my little pea brain for several months: feed my soul. The phrase just kept reverberating in my mind. I found I was making decisions first by asking, "does this feed my soul?"

I remember last January, Rebecca chose a word for the year that would sustain her and keep her steadfast in her goals. I also remember loving the idea at the time. The memory of her post came back to me while we were at the beach last week, and inspired me to come up with all of the ways I could incorporate the "feeding my soul" mantra that I've been chanting for a few months.

And, oh! so.many.ideas. I filled and filled journal pages with ideas. And then I started stitching. It was so dreamy with my chair facing the big bay window overlooking the ocean, all curled up with my needle and threads, stitching up a small art quilt to hang in my studio that would remind me how I want to feed my soul, and to bring doses of artsy goodness to other creative souls, all year long. It's all percolating right now, getting all happy in it's little hot pot. What have you got cooking in your creative life for 2012? Do tell.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

I made no resolutions for the New Year.

The habit of making plans, of criticizing,

sanctioning and molding my life,

is too much of a daily event for me.

Anais Nin

(although it certainly could have been written by Tammy Gilley)

Creating Room for New Year's Goodness

2011-12-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

Well. Lots and lots of new ideas for projects whirling around in my pea brain these days. I have a very, very good feeling about 2012, don't you? And, to make room in my studio for some serious creativity come January 20th, I'm offering everything in my Etsy shop now at half-price.

Whatever you like: paintings, jewelry, stitchy goodness, doodads for journalling or gift tags...anything you might have been eyeing up to now, this is your chance, your ship has come in - that little treasure is half-price today! Yay for you!

I'm de-stashing and clearing out to make room for all of my fun new ideas for the coming year. And I am so, so excited to share it all with you in January, so be sure to check back here to see what I'm up to. Too.Much.Fun.

If you find a special treasure or trinket over at the shop, just use the coupon code HAPPY2012 at checkout, and magically, the price will vanish by half. Don't you love that?!

I'll run with this through January 20th. Then, it's on to new projects. Thanks for helping me clear some space in the studio!

A Very Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

A merry Christmas to you -
A Christmas bright and sweet,
With fun and loving kindness
And many a charming treat;
Of Christmas gifts
most new and rare
May you have a goodly share.

From a Victorian Christmas Card

Pre-Christmas Painting

2011-12-19T13:52:00.000-08:00

I recently decorated our home for the holidays. And I went all out this year...every stitch of Christmas kitsch I own is on the tree, on a surface, or on the wall. I haven't felt this festive and jolly in years! Seriously. Don't know what little elf got into me, but I'm definitely channeling the exact opposite of The Grinch or Ebenezer Scrooge.

Our thermostat is in our foyer, in this little nook for a bench or chest. Fine. But why, oh why did the builders put it smack dab into the middle of the wall??

Throughout the year, I hang a painting right over it, which my sweet friend Linda painted for me. With all the Christmas cheer set out on the antique stereo there, I decided I needed a painting that better reflected that jolly-ness. So, I went up to my messymessymessy studio, blazed a trail to my paint table, throwing things on the floor so I could sit in my chair and work.

And I worked up the little painting above. It sort of looks like our house (only ours is yellow and doesn't have polka dots or a green chimney, but other than that it's exactly like it - haha). And now this hangs over that damn thermostat. Fa la la.

So, here's hoping you're feeling the Christmas spirit and getting jolly at your house, too.

You Can Never Have Too Many Christmas Lights

2011-12-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

Rockin' my holiday spirit!!

STITCHED Workshops

2011-12-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

How fun are these??!! I call them Happy Strings, and I'm teaching the class over at STITCHED. Here's the skinny:

What is STITCHED?

STITCHED is a collection of 20 online video workshops by 20 talented fabric artists.

Each workshop provides you with high value and high content information

to get you sewing, designing and creating 20 unique fabric art and sewing projects.

How is STITCHED set up:

By registering for STITCHED you have access to all the STITCHED workshops all at one time. You are able to pick and choose which ones you want to dive into first. The workshops are available to you any time you wish, until STITCHED closes on June 1, 2012 10pm EST.

Once you are invited to the private STITCHED site, you are free to view and work on any workshop you want any time of the day, any day of the week. The workshops are designed so that you can watch and easily create the project. The workshops are self-guided and you can take it at the pace that you want. If you have any questions, you can post it in the STITCHED site, and the instructor will help you. It is that simple.

What do I get as a STITCHED student?

-As a STITCHED student, you have access to all STITCHED video workshops.
- that's right, ALL of them!!

The workshops have been designed and created by the talented cast of STITCHED instructors.

Each workshop includes a pdf file which you can print and keep for future reference.

Each PDF file contains information about each workshop, including a pattern (if applicable).

-In addition to the 20 workshops, you will also have access to a video workshop by Alma Stoller called Beaded Fabric Jewelry and 5 additional mini video workshops.

-STITCHED has received the support of several sewing, quilting and craft companies.

They have provided me with a wonderful assortment of sewing items.

Within the STITCHED site, we will host giveaways for all STITCHED students....from sewing machines, fabric packages, sewing and embroidery notions,.....just to name a few.

------

Registration Information:

Registration is open NOW!
STITCHED workshops will open on January 1st 2012.

To register: Click here to view more details

STITCHED is hosted in a private online site. Once you register, you will get an email confirmation.
On January 1st, you will receive an invitation to the private STITCHED site.

STITCHED workshops will be open from January 1st 2012 to June 1st 2012

STITCHED videos are not downloadable.

Registration is only $89. (USD)

(All sales are final.)

No refund after registration.

So, there you have it! How exciting is this?? Lots of good stitchy stuff, lots of creativity, lots and lots of fun. Can't wait for all the fun to start on January 1st!!

Again, to register:

Click here to view more details

Jolly 2011

2011-12-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

Well, Happy Holidays to you!

I've restocked my Etsy shop,

and am offering 30% off everything there!!

Woohoo!

Just use JOLLY2011 in the coupon code box at checkout.

But hurry, this coupon is only valid until December 15th!

Order now, and get it by Christmas! Yippee!!

Seeing Beauty

2011-12-07T15:50:00.000-08:00

...the song of the birds,

the scent of the flowers,

the laughter of the children,

the light of the sun,

the sighing of the wind,

and the gleam of the skies -

all the beauties of creation.

Victor Hugo

Announcing: STITCHED

2011-12-01T09:25:00.001-08:00

We've been working on it for MONTHS and it's finally here! I'm tickled pink to be one of 20 fabric artists teaching a variety of stitchery and sewing projects. So.much.fun.

I'll be teaching "Heartstrings". Happy, colorful hearts with lots of stitchy goodness and little treasures and baubles, all dangling from a string of yo-yo's and embellished felt beads. Happy, happy, happy! And the best part about these happy heartstrings is that you can make them from things you most likely already have in your crafty little area! Recycling at it's finest!

Be sure to pop on over to the STITCHED website and take a look around. Other stitchy topics include quilting, mixed media fiber art, accessories, paper piecing, embellishments and lots, lots more.

Registration starts today. And the first 10 people to register for my "Heartstrings" class will win a $20 gift certificate to my Etsy shop!!

Click here to view more details

Instant Gratification

2011-11-29T08:26:00.001-08:00

I admit it. I'm an instant gratification girl. I want to do the work, and see my efforts pay off immediately. The universe, however, doesn't work like that. So, I get impatient. I wonder if I'm doing everything I should be doing. I lament that my ship hasn't come in. In fact, I don't even see it on the horizon. I start to doubt myself, and what I'm doing. The chatter starts in my head, quietly at first..."what are you doing?", "what makes you think you can do this?". And it gets louder and louder..."you aren't good enough to pull this off", "you aren't a REAL artist". And on it goes swirling, swirling around my head, and spinning me into a freefall.

When I start to feel those old feelings of unworthiness start to take hold, I stop for a minute. I breathe in. I breathe out. And I try to find that peaceful place in my heart. The super-secret place where I keep my most precious dreams, and where, in that quiet place I can remember why I do what I do. And in my heart of hearts, I know that I can do whatever I want, be the person/the artist/the poet/the teacher/the... that I want to be.

And in that moment, I begin to hear my gentler, more loving voice telling me that these obstacles, these disappointments, are only setting me up for better days ahead. Because no matter how much I want to be in charge, no matter how much I want to control this journey, no matter how much I want to chart my course, the truth is, it's out of my hands, and there is a plan. There is the "dream come true". And it's all waiting for me. All I have to do is follow my heart, pursue my passion, remain open, and be patient. Because my plan isn't the plan. And what appear to be hurdles or delays occur only because the universe has a better idea, a better plan than I could ever imagine.

Amazing.

Color My World

2011-11-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

That's the name of my new class over at joggles.com! We'll be doing some very fun painting together. The fun starts tomorrow, so rush over here to sign up. Hope to see you there.

Rock On

2011-11-26T05:30:00.000-08:00

One is made by her belief.

As she believes, so she is.

Bhagavad Gita

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

The year has turned its circle,
The seasons come and go.
The harvest all is gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.
Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain,
So open wide the doorway~
Thanksgiving comes again!
~Old Rhyme

Warm wishes from our home to yours for a happy Thanksgiving.

Orange You Glad

2011-11-23T12:29:00.000-08:00

Orange is red brought closer to humanity by yellow.

Kandinsky

Thought you might like some orange eye candy on this lovely autumn Saturday.

Oh, how I love a combination of orange, turquoise and lime green. Yum!

Want, need, must have.

Maude-the-Pod's great orange auntie.

Get into my garden!

Orange Wellies! Let me at the rain puddles!

So pretty.

Pretty, pretty poppies.

Fueling my round-y vintage truck fantasy.

Vintage Orange.

Love and adore.

Hello!

Makes me want to go to the beach. Now. And have a big glass of wine to watch the sun go down.

Mark Rothko love.

Last, but not least, pure Vitamin C sunshine. Bon appetit.

An Artful Journal

2011-11-20T18:30:00.000-08:00

Every morning, once the coffee's brewed and the dog has piddled, I cozy in for bit of writing in my journal. It's a time of the day that I look forward to a lot. The house is very quiet, the sun's not quite up. I love having all of the curtains open and watching the day begin.

I write out my daily to-do list. I write about the dream I had the night before. I write out quotes that I love. Mostly, I just love writing whatever pops into my head and just blah-blah-blah-ing about it. From that, very often, springs something fun. A new stitchery idea. Blog post fodder. And, some days there's just really nothing. Just a lot of patter and rambling.

I started adding little doo-dads and images and phrases to my journal this summer. I don't know why this didn't dawn on my years ago, but what are you gonna do? So, now, I have all of this inspiration on each page, which will also give me something to write about. If nothing else, it's pretty to look at while I'm sipping coffee.

This is one of my favorite Oscar Wilde quotes. It goes into every journal I start.

This is what I wish my desktop looked like.

I think I've shown you some of these pages before, but this one especially I love. I don't know where I got this postcard, but it makes me happy. I love all of those curvy women!

And sprinkled throughout my pages are good reminders for me.

I've also created some of my own doo-dads from artsy tidbits I have in my stash. They give me a place to write something that I want to be able to see later as I flip through past pages.

I just affix them to my pages with a bit of decorative tape or ribbon, giving the pages some layer and texture. Yum.

Sometimes I just glue in a glassine envelop and put a decorated shipping tag in there. I've stamped "note to self" on this one, with one of my little "reminders to self".

Remember the pop-up books from when we were kids? That's what these remind me of. Little hidden treasures and secrets in my journal.

I make up a bunch of these doo-dads, so they'll be "at the ready" as I'm creating journal pages. I don't like to interrupt the creative flow to punch shapes from my vintage ledger pages, or stamp a phrase onto an envelope. I just want to slap it onto the page and move on! So, I have a little stash in with my art journal fodder. Very handy. I've done a bit of de-stashing, and have got several of my doo-dad packs for sale on my Etsy shop. Don't forget to use my HAPPYBIRTHDAYTAMMY coupon code at checkout to get your 20% discount!

Happy creating!

My Dad, My Hero

2011-11-17T06:52:00.000-08:00

Do you remember this commercial? Oh, it always made me cry (such a sappy girl!). The first time I saw it I happened to be watching tv with my dad, who was absolutely my hero. When the little girl asks him to do it again, I got all choked up. When I looked over at my dad, he was teary, too. One of those wonderful memories.

Miss you, Daddy. Miss you every day.

Playing For Change

2011-11-14T11:07:00.000-08:00

I was sent this link this morning. Love, love, love. Crank the volume, grab someone you love, and kick up your feet! Pass it on. xo

Getting STITCHED

2011-11-11T07:27:00.000-08:00

I'm really excited to have been invited by Alma Stoller to teach at her new STITCHED online class series. You can get all the details here, and I'll be posting about my class in the next few weeks. I hope you'll be able to join us for some good stitching fun.

Pillow Talk

2011-11-09T05:30:00.000-08:00

I finished up a couple of new pillows. A bit of fluffed-up stitchy goodness. I don't know about you, but I love little pillows tossed about hither-thither around our home. Sweet little bright spots on the sofa or window seat.

I added little stitched bits to the overall design - some crocheted cotton trim from my grandmother's sewing room, some vintage buttons and floral jewelry findings. Little bits of happy.

Happy little pillow.

The larger petals of this flower are from a vintage table cloth I got at a tag sale that had a whole bunch of holes (like really big ones - I have no idea what could have happened to it), but it was 50 cents. The perfect price to cut up and use for a project like this.

I added in a few little stitched flowers and vintage rick rack. So sweet.

Both pillows are available on my Etsy shop.

Happy Birthday to Me

2011-11-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

Hey, thanks for visiting on my birthday!

Two fabric poufs, two glass jars of pink and orange baubles.

So, I just realized that a few days ago I promised you a chance to win something today, as we continue the celebration, but I forgot to tell you what Oops! (I can be so impaired. Speaking of aging. Ack!)

A tinsel-y Christmas tree ornament.

Well, I've put together a collection of orange and pink goodness!! Every bit of it handmade and hand-picked by me.

A tube of magic, tied up with an orange ribbon and pink flowers.

I have been organizing my creative space, and as I was organizing, I thought it would be really fun to pick my two favorite colors, pull a little assortment together, and send it off to a new home.

A box of fifteen notecards...made by yours truly.

Look at all this loot! All for one of you sweet readers.

A mini-art print.

How do you win, you ask?

Orange and Pink Goodness

Easypeasy. Simply leave a comment here, with your favorite birthday story. It could be your birthday story, a child's birthday story, a friend's birthday story, whatever you want to share.

A glass pendant. I actually have mine hanging from my rearview mirror! Fun!

It can be a sweet story, a funny story, an embarrassing story...again, whatever! Just leave it here before November 14th.

A close-up of a pouf and the jars of baubles, buttons, and beads. Oh my!

Won't it be fun to read all of them?!

Stitched detail on the pillow.

On November 15th, I'll share my favorite birthday story with you, draw a winning story, and announce the winner here. Fun!

Detail of the art print.

Thanks for stopping by on my birthday. What a gift.

More pillow detail. All hand-stitched.

Work in Progress

2011-11-04T10:39:00.000-07:00

Just a little somethingsomething I've been working on lately. Can't seem to stop stitching. But that's pretty typical for this time of year.

It's a sampler of sorts. I'm using some of my favorite stitches, and learning some new ones.

Adding in my favorite vintage fabrics and buttons and other goodies.

Oh my, how I love me some French knots!

And what would a stitchery sampler be without a little heart? At least one seems to find it's way onto anything I stitch. Hope you're finding some time today to do something you love to do.

Don't forget about my Birthday Celebration over on my Etsy shop: 20% off all purchases, all month long! Just use the coupon code HAPPYBIRTHDAYTAMMY at checkout. Until next time...

Tie One On

2011-11-03T06:30:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit behind in sharing this with you, but this is a needlebook I designed for the May Arts "Happy Accident Ribbon Challenge" in October. You can see more photos of it over here. Thanks to Bethney at May Arts for pulling these challenges together every month. What fun! Get your crafty self over there and enter this month's challenge "Deck the Halls with Burlap".

So, just another reason to celebrate this month! Fun, fun. Don't forget to visit my Etsy shop all month long to claim your 20% savings! Simply use this super-secret code at checkout: HAPPYBIRTHDAYTAMMY. Goodies galore!

Remaining Open

2011-11-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast;

in the pool where you lease expect it, there will be a fish.

Ovid

Let's Celebrate

2011-11-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

It's my birthday this month! And I believe in celebrating all month long, not just the day of. So, won't you party with me? This is my mom and me, happyhappy as can be.

Anyway, let's start things off with a couple of gifts for you!

First of all, this tutorial...a free pdf download.

Second, come back on November 7th, my birthday, and have a slice of virtual birthday cake, then enter for your chance to win this...

And lastly, throughout November, celebrate in my Etsy shop with 20% savings, all month long! Just use this coupon code at checkout:

happybirthdaytammy

You can use it once, then come back again and again in November and use it again. Just in time for early holiday shopping.

Thanks for helping me celebrate this month!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

Here's wishing you plenty of treats, some tricks up your sleeve, and the happiest of Halloweens. xo

Creating a Creative Business

2011-10-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

I have big dreams. And I've had them for a long time. I know exactly what I want to do with my art and my creative business. But. It can be a bit overwhelming, the getting started part. I'm much more comfortable arting-it-up in my studio, or doing the research about the things I'd like to do. But when it comes down to executing my own dreams...I'm like a deer in headlights. Frozen. Can't.get.going. I recently dug this up. "My Creative Business" journal that I started two.years.ago.

This is the inside cover to my journal. Clearly, two years ago I was already wondering what I was waiting for. Again. Two.years.ago. Two years of my life have gone by, and I'm still wondering. Argh! I'm not going to candy-coat here. It's HARD! It is so hard for me to hold this very clear vision of what I want, and not have the wherewithal, the courage, the chutzpah to get myself and my art out there. What is wrong with me? What am I waiting for? I'm really not looking for sympathy. Maybe if I put the words in print, in black and white, where you'll read them, I'll feel accountable to someone out there. I'll feel like I'm letting you down if I don't get it together, and make some progress, some big, hairy, scary steps towards my dreams.

I've filled my creative business journal with bright, happy, and inspirational images and phrases. Don't get me wrong. The pages are pretty to look at, and very encouraging.

Here's the thing. As I write this, I realize that maybe I'm now beyond this phase. I've moved past needing the inspirational images and encouraging words, and need to move into the next phase. Maybe my next step is to create greeting card prototypes, even if they suck, just to do it. Perhaps in that exercise, the next step will present itself, and the next...and the next. Maybe I don't have to know it all now. Maybe I don't have to have formulated all of the plan now.

I think that's one of my biggest stumbling blocks in all of this: that feeling that I need to know how it's all going to unfold, logically and chronologically, before I can actually get started. Maybe that's not the right approach for me. (Because, clearly, again, two.years.have.gone.by.)

Maybe i just need to do.it. Whatever "it" is. Maybe today "it" is creating a few greeting cards. And maybe tomorrow "it" will be doodling up a stitchery sampler to sell. Maybe next week "it" will be contacting Tilde to make an appointment to show my paintings.

I love to create. And I love creating in different media. I love to paint and doodle and cut and paste. I love to stitch. I love stringing bits and baubles together to make jewelry. And I love that about how my brain works. I truly do. My brain and my hands work together to turn ordinary things into something special. Little works of art. Everything I create begins with something old: a discarded kitchen cabinet door, a length of vintage chain that once belonged to a piece of costume jewelry, or a reclaimed remnant of fabric. And then the magic happens. Inspiration takes hold, and out come the paints and the vintage papers, the beads and buttons and charms, the embroidery floss and fabric scraps and ribbons and trims. I love combining the old with the new, and coming up with something completely unique.

If I could just get that process to manifest in my "getting it out into the world" part. That's where I get stuck.

And there's always this:

That gets in the way of this:

But I am determined to make this happen. I am committed to my dream (even if I spelled committed wrong in my journal - haha).

It is scary, and requires bravery. But I think I've got something wonderful to share. And that I need to at least make an attempt. I have to trust my gut on this. I need to take the risk, not just talk about it. It will be better to have tried, than to wish later that I had done it.

Besides, there is a little voice inside of me that knows it's going to happen.

De-Stashing and Making Room

2011-10-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

Tis the season. Days are getting shorter, and I feel the gentle settling in of fall. Soups and apple crisps. Stitching and sipping (wine, of course.) Cozying in.

And with all of that comes a need, an instinct almost, do tidy up in the studio. Maybe it's anticipation of spending more time in there than in the garden during the coming months. In any event, it's time. So, I've loaded all sorts of goodies, supplies, baubles, and pretties on my etsy shop.

Breakfast of Champions

2011-10-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

A cup of joe in my favorite "Do Something Creative Every Day" mug from one of my favorite shops in the world, and a little bit of stitchery. A brilliant way to start the day. Drinking coffee, making stitches, cozied in under my quilt, with the dog at my feet (literally, at my feet, sharing my ottoman...I ordered an extra large ottoman for that very reason. Spoiled little pooch.) Anyway...my favorite way to start my day.

I'm just working on some little stitched bits right now, that will eventually become a journal cover, an apron pocket, or an embellishment for a tote bag. I've got a loooooonnnnnggg list of ideas that I'm working on, and it feels so, so good to have the creative mojo back!! Seriously, it's been waaaaayyyy tooooo loonnnnggg. (Oh, I just noticed, you can see how anal I am: my embroidery floss bobbins are, yes, labeled with the manufacturer and color number. Want to know another secret? I have SIX boxes of embroidery floss, each skein re-wound onto these bobbins and labeled. And each box contains it's own color family. It's the one - honestly, the only - thing that is organized in my world. Funny that I chose embroidery floss as my obsessive compulsion. But I digress.)

So, I hope all of you had a great weekend. It was a quiet one here, but it was sort of nice to get the toilets cleaned (my life: all glamour, all the time), watch our nephew play football, go out for a cold beer, and watch a movie with a big bowl of popcorn.

And, I'd like to go on record that I pop the best popcorn. (It's so good, I smuggle it into the movie theater in one of my ginormous totes, whenever we go to the movies. Haven't been busted yet!)

Here's my secret: start with this popcorn - it's the best for popping (yes, the kernels, not microwave). Heat a large-ish saucepan (one that has a lid), over medium-high heat. Swirl in about 2-1/2 swirls around the pan of olive oil (yes, olive oil. Trust me, you're going to love it.) Put in one kernel of corn, and cover pan with lid. When the kernel pops, dump in 1/3 cup of kernels, and shake the pan so they get happy with the olive oil. Once they start popping, turn heat to medium. Shake pan frequently during popping to avoid burning. When you can count two beats between pops, take the popcorn off the heat, and dump it into a big bowl for sharing. Add a little salt, or whatever you like on your popcorn, and enjoy! I seriously could eat a bowl every day. Let me know what you think!

Curiouser and Curiouser

2011-10-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

I love to learn new things. Given my druthers, I would have been a full-time student all my adult life.

(I get that the phrase "curiouser and curiouser" has less to do with wanting to learn vocabulary or how a steam engine works, but in fact with the opium-induced tale by Lewis Carroll of Alice falling down the rabbit hole and a whole preponderance of things making her adventures in Wonderland "curiouser". But, I like the phrase. So I'm hijacking it, and using it out of context, for this post.)

The day I learned the word "why", my mom used to say was the day that changed her life. After explaining "why this" and "why that" for a few years, she finally bought me a full set of World Book Encyclopedias, along with a set of "Childcraft". Do you remember Childcraft? Man, I loved those books. And my encyclopedias. I loved scouring the photos and captions, learning how things work, what is photosynthesis, how to make a sand candle. I could spend hours and hours. I loved writing reports in grade school. In high school and college, my favorite tests were essay format because I had to learn enough about a topic to be able to write a whole lot about it.

I was sort of a nerd. Cute (naturally), but nerdy.

Even today, if I'm curious about something, I'll first try Wikipedia, or do a broader Google search. I often find myself wishing I had an excuse to research something and write a paper about it. Sometimes, when I get hooked on a topic because I'm reading a book, I'll go a little crazy with it. Let me give you an example. I just read Leaving Van Gogh by Carol Wallace. (A great book, by the way, if you're a fan of Van Gogh or are just looking for a good read.) I've always been intrigued by Van Gogh. When I studied in France, Dear Theo was required reading, and thus my fascination began. But I digress. So, I finished Leaving Van Gogh the other day, which is a work of fiction (brilliantly done, by the way). And because it was fictional, but based on Vincent and his Dr. Gachet, my curiosity about Dr. Gachet and his relationship with Van Gogh was piqued. So, what did I do? Requested all the relevent books I could find from my library system. When they arrived, I learned as much as I could about Van Gogh's time in Auvers, and at the asylum in St. Remy, and his relationship with his brother Theo. Fascinating. And when I get my fill, I'm off to the next topic that pops up.

The same thing happened when I saw the movie "Frida". And when I fell in love with a portrait by Matisse. When I got sucked into The Tudors a few years ago...needed to learn all I could about Henry VIII. More trips to the library, more Wikipedia searches.

So, although research papers and essay exams are no longer a part of my daily routine, I continue to learn, I still ask "why", and I'm always curiouser and curiouser.

How about you? What are you curious about?

Journal Snippets

2011-10-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

I don't know about where you live, but here in Portland, that Indian Summer weather that I love has been replaced by rainy days. I don't mind it. I love making soups and wearing sweaters. I just hope we'll get one more autumn blast of sunshine before we settle into the rainy season.

The shorter days make it really inviting to cozy into my favorite chair with a cuppacuppa in the mornings before I head to the gallery. I've been doing a lot of writing these cool, dark mornings. I'm so glad I have taken that practice back up again. I sort of got away from it. It just starts my day off right.

I thought you might like to see a few page snippets from my current journal. I am loving my journal so much right now. It's so happy and colorful, and full of the things I love to read and look at. Makes me happyhappyhappy.

Hope that wherever you are today, you're having an amazing, inspired, and happy day, too.

Falling Forward

2011-09-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

Happy first day of Autumn!

I know. I realize the expression is "fall backward" with the clock and daylight savings and all that nonsense.

Right.

I don't know about you, but autumn is really like another "new year" for me. A sort of prelude to January 1st and all of those resolutions. I think of fall as one of my benchmarks for moving forward.

The lazy days of summer are over. Kids are back in school, and even though we have no children of our own, nieces and nephews and neighbors are all piling into school buses. School supplies jump into my cart at Target as if I've got a houseful of rugrats to send back to class.

Weather-wise, the last remnants of summer are hanging in there. We usually have gorgeous weather in September and early October...truly an Indian Summer, which I love. Late-blooming flowers are a cacophony of color, and people are out and about enjoying those last bits of sun-shiny weather. Evenings bring temperatures cool enough for a sweater.

This fall, I'm on a major self-improvement bender. It's amazing how one move in the right direction will encourage another move forward, and then another.

I'm re-evaluating my creative business (stay tuned). I'm eating healthy (and yummy - who knew?) foods. I'm moving my chubby self every day, walking a few miles along our beautiful waterfront in downtown Portland. b.l.i.s.s.

("Hello chubby girl, have we met? I'm your healthy and fit alter ego, and I'm dying to get out of this fat suit!")

It's fantastic. I haven't felt this good in...well, a long time.

These are little snippets of my afternoon walks. Fall is definitely in the air, but the sun feels delicious. How are you spending your time as the season changes? What sort of changes do you feel tugging at your heartstrings?

Making Me Happy Today

2011-09-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

1. My vintage sticky labels, and big, bold, encouraging words on my journal pages.

2. Two rainy days, followed by a sunny Monday and the forecast of sunshine for the next week!

3. Fresh peaches. Daily. Sweet and juicy and dribbling down my chinnychin.

4. New walking shoes and my view of the river when I take them out for my afternoon jaunt.

5. New embroidery floss skeins, wound onto plastic bobbins. Oh joy!

What's making you happy on this day? If you've got a blog and want to post your list, be sure to leave a comment so we can come visit you. If you don't have a blog, just leave your list in the comment section. It will be a big, online happy fest! Yay us!

Imagine

2011-09-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one...

The Write Stuff

2011-09-12T15:45:00.000-07:00

I've been writing in my journal. Like, regularly. As in every morning regularly. This is quite a feat for me, so I'd like you to be very impressed. ha ha.

And, can I also please tell you that I simply love my journal right now. Love, love, love. I've finally gotten it right!

I've been writing in some kind of journal, off and on, for.ever. Seriously. Since I could write my own name I've had lots to say and felt compelled to write.it.down. And I've tried, I can't tell you how many times, to create an art journal. But it has eluded me somehow. It feels overwhelming to me. And the pages feel like one big stack of blank canvases.

But I keep this travel journal for us of our adventures. It's a small and simple empty book I picked up a couple of vacations ago at Powell's Books at the Portland airport. In it, I glue/staple/tape little mementos from our day (ticket stubs, postcards, menu pages, tour maps, paper straw covers, whatever I scavenge throughout the day), and then I write little snippets about what we did. I am totally in love with that journal, and look forward to working on it nearly as much as I look forward to the vacation itself.

While we were in NYC this summer, I thought to myself, "why in the world couldn't I adopt this same idea for my personal journal?!" Duh. So. I did! (Don't you love that rubber stamp?! I don't remember where I got it, but I have several of those cut out and interspersed on my pages.)

Can I just tell you how much stuff I have collected over the years for my inspiration bulletin boards, and inspiration books, not to mention the boxes and files of snips and scraps. I've gotten it all into one central place, purchased my self this journal, and have gotten busy! I've been making pages and writing, ev.e.ry.day. all summer long. It' so fun! The paper in the journal is a medium-weight, and I cover each side with different papers: vintage ledger pages, graph paper, fun papers I've found at garage sales and office supply stores. That's my base. Then I weed through my images, words and phrases, and other goodies, and just stick them on pages. I always make several pages in one sitting, so that I have pages ahead of me when I'm writing. It's so fun to see this stuff again that has been sitting in drawers/boxes/baskets, and to finally put it to use.

Seeing Red

2011-09-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.

Gwyneth Paltrow

When the leaves start turning, I find this year's best red lipstick.

And who doesn't love a good barn-red paint?

I big, red heart L.O.V.E. this kitchen!

Red words.

First thing in the morning...

...and later in the day.

Well-read red.

Fun vintage fabric.

So sweet. Love, love.

Cheery peppermint stripes and toile.

My rock star fantasy. It could happen.

Oh la la.

Tie one on.

Indeed.

"how can you say that I'm too old,

when the angels have stolen my red shoes"

Elvis Costello, The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes

Hope your weekend is red hot.

And, we're back...

2011-09-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

Are you still out there? Have you completely given up on me?

It has been ages and ages since my blog post. For all I know, I'm talking to myself right now. Which, really? Is not all that unusual.

I guess I just needed a bit of a blog break, a Facebook break, a Pinterest break. I needed to chill out this summer. Re-group. Break away. I needed to look at what I was doing, what wasn't working, and what was. I needed some quiet time to imagine the life I really, really want, and then figure out how to make that life come alive.

It feels a bit strange to jump right back into blogging after such a long absence. It's like bumping into an old friend I haven't seen in a long time. I'm so happy to see her smiling face, but everything feels a bit awkward, and I feel a little bashful. I have so much to say to her, but nothing and everything runs through my mind so fast that nothing comes out of my mouth.

So, instead, I think for this first post I'll just say "hello friend, I'm so happy to see you again".

One Week and Counting

2011-06-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

New work, Happy Happy Home

I can't believe a week from today is the Retreat show! I feel so fortunate to have been asked to be a part of Deb and Bob's newest venture, because I'm in really good company, and still have to pinch myself. It is really going to be a fun weekend. My very favorite (aside from Kip) road-tripper, Christine is coming along for the adventure. Which sure is convenient, since I'm not sure how I would get all of my gear into Maude-the-Pod, and her SUV will do that quite nicely. Otherwise, I'd be borrowing my sister's mini-van (aka The Iron Maiden) which, as you know, fits the bill, but is all wrong for my image. haha

Anyhoo. Christine is coming over Thursday night to help me pack up, and just hang out. We'll get Kip to the kennel since my girl is out of town, and hit the road Friday morning. It's about a 4-hour drive to Camano Island, and we'll arrive mid-day to set up my booth. My brother, bless his woodworking heart, built me some fabulous 6'x3' panels to hang my paintings from. They are AWESOME! I can't wait to get my booth together. I'll take lots of photos next weekend to share.

Happy Happy Home detail

I really love doing shows and fairs and festivals. It's fun to see all of my heart's work all pulled together, dressed up, and polished and pretty. I also love meeting other artists and vendors and all of the wonderful peeps who come to the shows. It's good to get out of the studio, step out of my comfortable little colorful world, and make new friends.

Retreat is an antiques and art fair, which is a dream combination for me, since I love, love vintage goodness. I've found recently that I love painting on old kitchen cabinets and bits of reclaimed wood. I've got some small paintings on 6" pieces of 10" tall crown moulding which has a really flat surface for the painting, with a decorative top piece. So, in that respect I feel like Retreat will be a wonderful venue for me, and hope it will be a regular event in my growing show circuit.

New work, Get Happy, and a messy desktop

It's always a little scary putting my work out there. But I really love what's coming out of my paintbrushes and springing from my needle and thread right now, and I think my new assortment will make people smile. That's my hope anyway. I've got more photos of my newest paintings over here.

If you're in the Seattle area and decide to venture over for the day, please stop by my booth and say hello. I'd love to meet you. Have a great weekend!

Flying Lessons

2011-06-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

"Soak Up The Sun" detail

Oh, I hope you had as lovely a weekend as we did here in Portland. The temperature was warm, the sun came out, perfect weather for gardening. And that's how I spent my weekend. A little "dirt therapy", digging in the flower beds, planting flowers, making the garden summer-ready.

Midway through my morning on Saturday, while cleaning up my hosta bed, I noticed a small creature skitter along the back of the fence. I thought it was a field mouse, which is not an unusual occurrence when I'm in the garden. Always freaks me out a little, but once we realize the other is there, we call a truce and maintain a peaceful coexistence. A "you don't bother me, and I won't bother you" scenario.

This time, however, upon closer inspection, I saw that it wasn't one of my mouse-y friends, but a baby wren. So sweet, and downy soft, and very obviously not flying yet. Trying it's best, bless its little heart. I have felt fairly certain we had a wren's nest in our clematis (a perfect place, because it was terribly overgrown, thick and dense with lots of places to hide from the raccoons and squirrels and that nosy cat next door who sits on the fence and makes Kip bark). I'd sit in my favorite spot near the window of our great room all spring, and watch the feathered couple fly in and out, taking bits of moss and twigs into the clematis. And more recently little seeds from our feeder and tiny worms from our flower beds. Such a fun discovery.

So, on Saturday, when this little bird and I found each other, we were both a little surprised. It skittered off into the ferns, and I sat back and worried that it had fallen out of the nest. As I sat there, along came mama and papa wren, loudly scolding me and telling me to please step away from their baby. Which I did. I moved myself quietly to my wicker chair under the dogwood, and watched and waited. Eventually, the little family forgot I was there. Each of the adult wrens would chirpchirpchirp and look at the ground. Chirpchirpchirp. Then a tiny peeppeeppeep. Amazingly, baby wren was responding. Mama wren flew to the feeder and got a seed, flew back to the ground where the peep came from. Where I was sitting, I could see mama swoop down to a large rock in the hosta bed, then peeppeeppeep, out came baby. Mama hopped down to the ground and baby circled her like a little toddler does with its own mother, then opened its tiny beak and mama dropped the seed right into it. They did a little dance together, and mama flew back to the fence.

That went on all day long. I stayed away from the hosta bed to give them their space, and would glance over periodically to see what was going on. And that's when I noticed the second baby! Two babies hanging out in my hostas. The only thing I can figure out, is that the wren parents pushed those babies out of the nest, and this was the weekend they were to learn to fly.

When I finished gardening on Saturday, I worried a little bit about the babies being in the garden overnight. How would that work? But, when I went back out to the garden on Sunday, there was our little wren family, mama and papa on the fence chirping away, encouraging the little ones to fly.

I didn't see them this morning, but mama was at the feeder. I can hardly wait to get home tonight to see what's going on. Such a sweet little garden gift. I hope your day is full of sweet surprises.

Things To Do Today

2011-06-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

I have a favorite little ditty I like to put on my artwork. I haven't used it in awhile, but it popped into my head today as I was ticking off the to-do list, and beginning to freakoutjustatinybit and I thought you might like it, too...

Things to do today:

Breathe in

Breathe out

Isn't that a great reminder? (If only I could remember it more often.)

So, if you're freakingoutjustatinybittoo, try taking a little time out, just you, and do one of these:

Twirl.

Sing yourself silly.

Color in a child's coloring book.

Watch the sunrise or the sunset. I mean really watch it happen.

Make a daisy chain.

Lay on a blanket in the grass with your dog.

Tell your toes a joke.

Pick a bouquet of flowers from your garden.

Make a boat from a milk carton. Sail it in your tub.

Doodle.

Swing in a hammock.

Check out a book from the library...one for the sheer pleasure of reading.

You choose. Pick one. Savor it. And then come back and tell me all about it.

Making Something out of Everything

2011-06-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

Frida is looking quite pensive, isn't she? I know how she feels. My pea.brain has been working overtime lately. I've been in one of those "so many ideas, so little time" modes. I know you know what I mean. I'm writing notes on cocktail napkins, sketching ideas into the margins of spreadsheets at the gallery. It's crazy. I can hardly wait for it all to sort of settle and gel so I can actually wrap my arms around it - something more concrete and tactile. It's all a bit gooey and gibberish-y right now. And Margaret Drabble's quote: when nothing is certain, everything is possible keeps popping to the forefront of all the gibberish. Thank you, Marge. I needed that.

Down-shifting.

2011-05-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we need a little reminder not to expect so much of ourselves. To give ourselves a break. That to give our best is absolutely good.enough. Because the world goes on around, no matter what. I love this poem by Mary Oliver, where she states this so eloquently.

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

If you've done all you can do today, and still feel the pressure of all that's left to do, give yourself permission, right now, to stop and breathe. You've come so far, accomplished so much. Hold that dear. Remember it. Feel proud. I know, we still can do so much more. And we will. But right now, let's just sit together for a quiet moment and just be.

Step by Step

2011-05-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

I can't remember where I saw these words awhile back...

"every step you take

is a step away

from where you used to be"

Don't you love that? It really got me to thinking about moving forward, making changes, improving...all of that. And really, I'm not talking about sweeping or radical changes. Just a tweak here and there. Making a conscious choice to make each step I do take a little better, a little more purposeful. And living life authentically. And what does that really mean to me? Hmm. I don't know about you, but I can get caught up in "the routine", and the to-do list, and the stuff. And through the busy-ness that all of that brings, I don't notice that my hostas are growing like crazy in the garden, or that the tiny birds with yellow bellies are flocking to my bird feeder. It's all about making choices, right? I can choose to go on autopilot through my day, ticking items off the checklist, rushing hither and yon. Or. I can choose to slow it down. Pay attention to the springtime smells when I've top down driving around town. Have my latte "for here" instead of "to go" in a paper cup. Mm-hmm. I'd like to slow these steps down a bit. It will all get done. This isn't a race.

Can't Top Muffin Tops

2011-05-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

They're the best part of the muffin, right? A few years ago, I bought myself a muffin-top-pan. Yup. Just makes muffin tops. Genius! If you don't have one of these, get thee down to the Bullseye Boutique wikiwiki and get one. You won't be sorry.

This morning I made Banana Chocolate Chip muffin tops, and I thought you might like the recipe.

Tammy's Can't Top Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin Tops

3 large ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
1 egg
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour, to make them feel healthy
1 teaspoon each, baking soda and salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips, semi-sweet is my fave
Turbinado sugar crystals

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease muffin top pan and set aside.

In a bowl, mash bananas - you should end up with about a cup. Beat in sugar, then egg, then butter. Stir in the chocolate chips. In another bowl, mix together your flours, baking soda and salt. Add to banana mixture and stir just until all flour is moistened. Pour batter into muffin top pan, a scant 1/4 cup in each. Sprinkle sugar crystals on top of each muffin top.

Bake for 15-17 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!

Wet Paint

2011-05-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

While I was at Artfest last month, I took a painting class from Syd. It was fantastic! I adore her style, and to spend a day painting with her was such fun! I've been playing around with some of her techniques, adding them to my own, and seeing what happens. Loving it!

Working as an artist and building my creative business has me doing a lot of exploring, discovering, uncovering. I feel a bit like Nancy Drew, with paint on my fingers. It's a good mode to be in, though, and one where I feel very comfortable. Things are moving along well in my studio. Summer is just around the corner, and I am applying for a few summer art fairs and artsy/antique-y festivals. Applications for fall shows are starting to come out, too. I've got no shortage of ideas for new products and tons of sketches to be painted. My estate sale wish list is loaded with "props" I hope to find for display in my show booth...things like a wicker plant stand for my art prints, tab-top sheer curtain panels for "walls", and old doors and screen doors to hinge together for a hanging system. A treasure hunt and future d-i-y projects. Heaven!

Hope today finds you full of inspiration and dream-doing. It's the stuff life is made of, n'est-ce pas?

Will Walk for Chocolate

2011-05-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

It was Groupon weekend! We had a Groupon for an over night stay at The Benson, which was so fun! We love staying downtown over the weekend, playing tourist. We are so good about exploring little neighborhoods tucked away in cities we visit when we travel. But we sometimes forget to do that in our own hometown. So, a few times a year, we'll spend a night in downtown Portland, and explore our fun city.

The Benson is truly one of my favorites. It is classic Portland to me. The Palm Court lobby bar is a wonderful place to take your book, have a glass of wine, and pretend to read whilst people-watching. El Gaucho has magnificent food. And the rooms are to-die-for-comfy. We had a junior suite this weekend, and enjoyed having the extra bit of lounging room (all the better to utilize those decadent bathrobes and slippers...with another glass of wine). The bathroom has a big cast iron tub, perfect for a bubbly-bath.

Also, aren't my new shoes a.dor.a.ble.???

The cherry blossoms are gorgeous right now. These are the late-bloomers. Big pink fluffy confetti poufs.

So, where does the title for this post come in? Well. We had a second Groupon for a Chocolate Decadence Tour with Portland Walking Tours. How.Fun.Is.That?! Highly recommend! It took about two-and-a-half hours, covering about a mile-and-a-half and about 6-8 stops along the way. Favorites like Cacao, Moonstruck, and even back to the Palm Court at The Benson for a chocolate martini.

While sipping, our tour guide Brad gave us a little run-down on the magic chocolate pod, cacao. Quite fascinating, really, how my chocolate bar comes from a seed pod.

These are little cacao nibs from the plant. Reminded me a lot of espresso beans. Upon tasting (like crunching on bark, frankly) you do get the sense of chocolate in there somewhere.

On the tour, we passed this bit of art, a tribute to the Zoo Bombers, as well as a place for them to store their gear.

Apparently, this group of daredevils rides Max up to Washington Park with their kiddie bikes, then bomb down, down, down all the way into Portland. Funny!

There is even a sightless person, who is called "The Blind Bomber" and rides on a tandem bike behind a sighted Bomber. Crazy.

A little sampling of our samplings. Each stop had several little tastings for us from truffles, to drinking chocolate, to bon bons, to, believe it or not, dark chocolate basalmic vinegar. Delish.

Surprisingly, we weren't completely chocolated-out at the end of the tour. Oh sure, we had our fill. We just weren't on overload. Perfect.

Some of the presentation was eye-candy itself.

Our new friend at Cacao, describing different levels of cacao within different chocolates. Really interesting.

Supersuperfun afternoon.

Recent Stitchery and Random Thoughts

2011-04-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

Just some stitched bits I've been working on lately. While I'm stitching, I have a lot of time to think. Because, as you know by now, if left to my own devices, I could sit and stitch and think for hours and hours. Every day. If only there weren't dishes in my sink, a dog to be piddled, and weeds already outgrowing my perennials. I might become a reclusive stitcher. Good that I've got other things going on in my world, I suppose.

Anyway. I've been pondering my life lately. Ooooohhhh, I knoooowwww...deep. Scary and deep. I am reading the most wonderful book: The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One. Oh.My.NERVES! Where has this book been all my life??!! I've really only just started it, but already I feel that Margaret wrote it just for me, me, me.

In my ponderings, I've been wondering, "am I too old?", "is it too late?", or plainly, "am I crazy?" The answer, my friends, is no, no, NO! Egads, what a relief. As I stitch and paint and ponder my way through my life, trying new things as they intrigue me, and really never settling on just one thing, it does make me wonder if there is something wrong with me. I know it's not commitment issues: I've been in a 21-year relationship with my one true love. It's not lack of interest: I have more interests than hours in the day. But, I do feel scattered and without focus a lot of the time. But this book! It's telling me there are more of you like me out there. It's telling me to go on with my bad self and keep doing what I'm doing. It's OKAY! And there's a promise later in the book, of how to channel some of this energy and inspiration. Hoo-RAY!

There are so many things I'd like to do. And I do feel like I have had a lot of false starts, going down one path and finding I'd rather wander over on that path over there. And I'd love to tell you I'm one of those, "hey, whatever...it's all good" people. But the fact that I can't "settle down" like "normal" people stresses.me.out. Some days. Other days, I do shift towards the "everything is happening as it should be" paradigm. But even those shifts feel manic and stressful.

It ain't easy being me.

But this book is reminding me that when I started this journey towards living my dreams, I knew it wasn't going to be easy. And still? I chose it. It's not always easy, it's not always fun. But the days when I'm in the flow, and inspired, and on fire...those days make the scarier days so much less scary, and the awesome, goose-bump-producing, day-of-my-dreams days so much more so. And the beautiful thing about this book is that I realize I already know this stuff! I have it in me. Everything. All of it. It has just reminded me how smart I really am, how precious this life is, and how much freaking fun it can be! A gift. Grateful. Me.

Hard at Work

2011-04-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

As you can see, Kip-the-Wonder-Dog/Office Assistant is working hard this morning. Honestly, I can relate. I'd love nothing better than to laze about in a hammock, and read a book today. Sounds great, doesn't it? Outside, the birds are chirping the sweetest song, the sun is trying it's best to break through the low clouds. We had rain yesterday, and everything feels so fresh.

I haven't been doing much in the studio lately. This little pillow I finished awhile back. I seem to have these peaks and valleys...periods of lots of activity and creative flow, followed by periods of quiet. I used to get really worked up about the quiet times, always feeling I should be doing something. But I've learned these quiet spells rejuvenate me for the work and inspiration ahead. So, I try to relax into them. I could learn a lesson from my dog. I doubt he's worried right now, stretched out on the top of the staircase, about what needs doing, squirrels that need chasing, robins that need barking at. Nope. Definitely not. He's snoring to beat the band.

The timing for the Creative Souls Telesummit couldn't be better, really. During these down times, it does my muse good to seek out new ideas, read poetry, listen to wise souls. I'm excited about the first session today! I'll be at the gallery during the live webcast, so I'm happy they are making the sessions available later on their website so I can listen to it tonight.

Hope you're having a lovely Tuesday, whether its full of activity or just a quiet break.

Calling You Creative Souls

2011-04-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

I'm tuning in next week to the Creative Souls Telesummit.

It’s launching April 26th-May 20th, 2011. The Creative Souls Telesummit is specifically for Creative Souls like us…artists, renaissance souls, scanners, right-brainers, pioneers, visionaries, creative mavericks…to help us get clear, get into action and create financial flow with our creative endeavors.

There are 13 live speakers who you can listen to for free. FREE I tell you!! They will cover three weeks of content:

Week 1: FOCUS – How to Get Clear, Align with Your True Purpose and Be Your Authentic Creative Self

Week 2: How to Remove Blocks and Get into Action with the Steps and a Plan

Week 3: How to Turn Your Creative Fire into Financial Flow

If you’re a creative soul with creative endeavors that you would like to see come to fruition, then come on! Join us. It's free.

(Also, there are over 8 VIP Bonus Speakers giving their advice in 45-minute interviews. You can upgrade to receive all of these VIP mp3's to listen to at your leisure.)

The LIVE summit calls will be held from 12:00-1:00pm Pacific Daylight Time. If you can’t make the calls, sign up anyway and receive the recordings of all live calls in your inbox. For free. Check out the website for more details!

To sign up for the Creative Souls Telesummit, click here, or over there on my sidebar.

(Did I mention that it's free? Free is a very good price.)

Hello Again

2011-04-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

Artfest was fab! I'm so glad that I went - it was everything I hoped it would be, and exactly what I needed. On our way back last Sunday (literally, in the car on the way home) I caught the worst springtime cold on record, and was down for the count all week. So, I'm just getting back into the swing of things today. I promise you a nice juicy post in the next day or so. Today I am lowering prices on selected items in my Etsy shop. So, if you've been eyeing a bit of my art, that waiting may just pay off today! In the meantime, just wanted to say hello again and wish you a wonderful week, full of joy and creativity and fun.

Hitting the Road

2011-04-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

All packed up and ready to head to Artfest! Chatter with you on Sunday. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Sunday Stitches

2011-04-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

I had it in my mind all last week that I was going to change things up a bit and do some painting. I even prepped some cedar panels and sketched some drawings onto them. And then the siren call of my embroidery floss and silk scraps and vintage fabrics was too much to resist.

I abandoned those prepped painting panels and started a few little stitched bits instead. I joked about it not too long ago - about all I wanted to do was stitch. It seems to be, in fact, the truth. Because I haven't given painting a second thought all weekend. I'm content to stitch, stitch, stitch.

And. So excited - I'm headed to Artfest on Wednesday with my good friend Linda. I'm so looking forward to five days of arting, arting, arting. It's such a treat, and I feel so fortunate to be able to go. (Naturally, I've already begun packing up some stitching projects to do in the evenings. I may be taking classes during the day, but I'll get my stitching in, in case you were worried I might go through some sort of withdrawal. Seriously - do I need to find myself a stitchery 12-step program?)

Anyhoooo. I digress. Artfest. There's nothing like having a chunk of time blocked out for creativity. Just knowing that for those days I don't have to do anything but feed my creative fire - no dishes, no phone, no cute furry dog who needs a walk - it's blissful, just thinking about it.

Machine-stitching these polka dots was crazyass fun. But it appears that I may have been driving under the influence. (I wasn't. This time) Gotta love the wonkiness of it, though.

In other news, my little hat do-over was featured over here, which was a fun little surprise.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend, and finding time for your own creative endeavors.

I just re-read this post. It's a little pinball-slingy-crazy in its jumping from subject to subject. I started to revise, then decided to leave it as it is, because this is how my brain is working right now - in a pinball-slingshot-boomerang sort of way. I thought it might be more entertaining in its unedited form.

Working.

2011-04-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work. Emile Zola

A new sketchbook. It's like new school supplies for me. All fresh and clean. Empty pages, full of promise.

I'm working today. Working at my art. Doodling some sketches for some new paintings. It seems the muse has settled in, and there are some new things she'd like me to work on. Working on my art feels like a daily devotional practice. It quiets my mind and slows me down. Even when there are a gazillion new ideas buzzing through my brain. Only one thing can happen at a time when I'm working on my art. There is no multi-tasking. I have to focus on the piece at hand. And that feels so good. It's as if all the deadlines, marketing ideas, shop updates, article submissions, class proposals don't matter in this moment. Because, really? None of those things can happen without the work of art.

Sometimes I get myself whipped up into a lather about the things I need to be doing to put my work out there, only to realize that I haven't created any new work to put out there. So, these rare days when I have a new sketchbook, and a string of unscheduled hours to work in it, feel like a little luxury.

I hope you find a little time today to spend on whatever you're dreaming for your creative life.

Too Doggone Cute!

2011-03-30T11:33:00.001-07:00

Do Over

2011-03-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

So, I have this really cute hat.

But I don't really like the embellishment. I mean it's okay...but...

So, I fashioned one of my own. From my vintage millinery stash.

So spring-y, don't you agree?

Making me happy today.

Don't Be Fresh!

2011-03-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

Or. Do. Be fresh. Like these colors. Fresh, fresh, bright and fresh. I finally got around to my little flour sack towel project. I've had the stripes and trim (another piece from my grandmother's stash...it's no wonder we got along so famously - she had fabulous taste in trims!) stitched onto the towel for a couple of weeks. Then the whole thing sat patiently, longingly on my little table until I could come back to it.

I wonder if you can guess what's going on here.

Everything I'm working on these days seems to be in this palette - very springtime-y. And my motifs are the same...bright, fresh, springtime. And lots of white.

I realized that I need to get some new throw pillows onto the sofa. We bought a new sofa last fall, and the "came-with" pillows are tapestry and finefinefine for fall/winter. But the whole thing needs a bit of lightening up for spring. The sofa itself is a caramel color. I'm trying to figure out what would be pretty on it as throw pillows. Maybe a bright white set of pillows with appliqued bird's nests and robin's-egg-blue eggs. I like that color combination and the motif. I'm just not sure if it's enough color.

Maybe I'll pair it up with a long skinny strippy pillow in multiple springtime colors. Oooohh...with a strip of plain linen and a daisy chain like on The Bag. That could be fun! Add a few peony-scented candles on tables here and there. Swap out the flannel quilts for lighter-weight and brightly-colored cotton throws. Wash the windows. Let the light and air in in in!

How do you freshen up your home for spring?

Ta-dah!

2011-03-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

I finished the bag!

It's a ginormous tote! Just the way I like them! I used it the other night when we went out to dinner with friends. I sat it in it's own chair. It's that big. Sadly, I needed to get my glasses out of it, and my friend Tam was between me and The Bag, and when she handed it to me, she didn't lift with her legs, and I fear may have pulled something. haha

Pocket on back for cell phone and lipstick. Basic necessities. Easily accessible. Extra-wide, padded shoulder strap for comfy-comfort.

Cute hand-stitched daisy chain on front. Fun! And I added the black top-stitching after all. I like it.

I'm calling it the Red Vines Bag, because of the palette and the little flower vine/daisy chain.

Oh, there's nothing like a new bag to give one a cheery outlook on life.

Welcome Spring!

2011-03-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Spring,

I put on my pink bloomers, just for you. Welcome!

Love,

Tammy

My Name In Lights

2011-03-18T08:45:00.000-07:00

Well. Sort of. One of my pillows was featured on an Etsy Treasury today by Angie. How fun! Thanks Angie!! I just listed this one, and a few others, yesterday. They are all over on my Etsy shop.

It's Not Easy Being Green

2011-03-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Coffee + Stitches = Morning

2011-03-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

On the mornings that I go to the gallery, I like to wake up really early and do some stitching. It just starts my day off right to do a little something quiet and creative before I do anything else. It feels a bit sacred, a little meditative, and very peaceful.

I love the quietness of the house, with only the sound of the coffee brewing, Kip's kibble-nibbling, the tick tick tock of the big clock. I light a little candle on the kitchen counter, and cozy in underneath a quilt in my favorite spot. I only stitch and sip for a half an hour or so, but I wouldn't trade anything for that quiet little block of time that is all my own.

This is the piece I was working on at Christine's the other night. It's the front of a bag. I just love the little stylized daisy chain on the blue linen strip. I haven't incorporated hand-embroidery into any of my bag designs before, but I wanted to give it a try. This a new bag design that I ought to have finished by the weekend for a bit of "wear-testing". I always like to use a bag for a bit, see how it feels, make sure the position of the pockets is right, test the strap for weight distribution (since I have a tendency to design big bags - and fill them up accordingly), and just make sure it's perfectperfect before I write out a pattern or make any up to sell on my Etsy shop or at events.

When I got finished with the daisy chain, I decided it might be fun to add some black machine-stitched lines along the strip edges. Haven't done that yet...I think it will be a nice detail. But, in the meantime, don't you just love these colors? Yummy-yum-yum. The fabrics are truly large scraps from my scrap bins. I pulled big enough pieces that I could cut long strips. I'm using some yardage that I had on my fabric shelf for the lining and strap. It's so much fun when a bag comes together from scraps and fabrics that I already have. I can hardly wait to get this one finished and take it for a spin!

I originally sketched this as a shoulder bag, but I think I'm going to go back to my old stand-by and make it an across-the-body-bag. I think the bag itself is going to be to big (read: loaded up and too heavy) to wear on the shoulder, and will be much better if the strap is wider and padded and goes across the body to distribute the weight better. I've got one large shoulder bag that I love, but when I fill it up, it's sort of a nightmare to carry. I suppose I could write the pattern with both options. Maybe not everyone fills their bags to the hilt like I do. How about you? Are you a bag filler, or a minimalist?

Rainy Day Journal

2011-03-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

It was rainy and grey this morning. A good morning for a few journal pages.

I've not been good about working in my art journal. The truth is, I did several pages in this journal that I really didn't like. Now. I know, I know. My art journal is just for me, no one else needs to see it, yada yada, yada. But, when I opened up this journal and saw the pages and found them to be uninspiring, I sort of think that defeats the whole purpose for an art journal. It should inspire me. Well, anyway, that's what I think.

So, I got out my gesso, and slathered a bunch right over those uninspired pages. Then I painted over the gesso. The whole thing sort of gave the paper a glossy finish, and it no longer resembles the beautiful 140# cold press watercolor paper that it is. But. I'm making it work. And it's only the first ten pages or so (yes, I wiped out ten, count them t-e-n, pages). And in the end, I'm much happier with my journal, and think I'll be more motivated and inspired to work in it regularly. That, at least, is the hope.

Don't you love this vintage photo. I call it 'the three graces'. Adorable ladies, all in their hats, and one of them too shy(?) to show her face, her friends looking on, giggling. I always wonder what was happening when a photo like this was taken. What was so funny? Sometimes I'll just make up my own little stories, and tuck them onto my journal page. I haven't yet with this one, but the temptation to do so is strong.

All in all, I'm happy that I started the whole thing over. I've been toying with the idea for months, and just haven't had it in me to do the work of covering the old stuff up. But now that it's done, and I have all these pristine (albeit glossy) white pages, my muse is teasing me a bit with whispers, enticing me to attempt some new techniques. Fun.

In other news, my oldest nephew - Hogan, who is a sophomore in high school, is currently playing Jay Gatsby in his school's production of The Great Gatsby. I remembered reading the book in high school myself, but couldn't for the life of me remember the storyline, so it was fun to see the play with fresh eyes. Last night's adaptation was unique, and I really enjoyed it. Plus, hello? So proud of aforementioned nephew. I know I'm a titch biased, but he was remarkable. And so grown up! Wow. Really was a fun night, having started the evening with my brother and his family for burgers and beers. Then we all went to the play together (Hogan is my sister's oldest boy - if you're trying to follow my family tree). So. A fun family night. Afterwards, Hogan came out and said the same thing he always says to me after I've been to one of his productions:

"I knew you were here tonight! I heard your unique (read: loud) laugh in the audience." Followed by hugs all around, and excited chatter about the next family gathering. Lucky, lucky girl, this one.

Scenes from Craft Night

2011-03-11T15:32:00.000-08:00

It was craft night at Christine's house last night. I love craft night. We're a small group...just the two of us. I love spending time with my pal. We don't get together often enough, but when we do, we just pick up right where we left off. We've actually managed to squeeze a craft night in twice in the last month or so, and we're feeling pretty good about that!

This is a new stitch-y project (I know! Another one!! Are you agast??!!) Eventually it will be a really big bag. But right now it's getting a little vine and some daisies.

So, here's how craft night works for Christine and I. First of all, it's just the two of us (we have a bigger group that gets together very irregularly), and whoever in her family is home for dinner (she has teenagers, so it's always a question of who will be around). I get to her house about 4:30, and we commence with wine drinking. Because crafts go together so much better with wine. I sit in the kitchen while Christine cooks dinner. (This may be my favorite part about craft night, because I'm not cooking. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook. But I also love to be cooked for. Hello?!)

The term 'craft night' is used very loosely, for a myriad of reasons...

1) Wine. Sometimes it causes me not to want to craft at all. Not always. But sometimes.

2) Neither one of us really does crafts. I mean, there are no popsicle sticks or googly eyes within a ten-mile radius of her couch. Christine knits, and I work on whatever project beckons at the time of packing-my-vintatge-train-case-for-craft-night, usually stitchery or my art journal. I used to knit, but not so much anymore, because I taught Christine to knit, and now she's waaaaaay better at it than me, and it's just a little embarrassing.

3) Jane the Craft Dog. She loves me. She needs her head rubbed, please. Can't you put that needle and thread down and scratch my belly? Uh huh, that's the spot. And look how cute I am when I put my paw on your arm when you try to stitch again. (And when I get home, Kip takes one sniff and looks at me like, "Why? Why are you cheating on me?")

Can't wait for next month.

Joy.Full.

2011-03-07T15:55:00.000-08:00

Joy lies in the fight, in the attempt, in the suffering involved, not in the victory itself. Mahatma Ghandi

I like this quote. I found it just now, while google-ing "quotes on joy" for this post, for you, for me. My mind and my heart are both really working overtime on this whole concept of joy, and joy for the journey, and focusing less on the destination.

In the hurry-hurry-I-have-so-much-to-do mode in which I often find myself caught up, I have to physically stop my rushing around, put my hand to my heart, and take three deep breaths (did you know that taking three deep breaths - breathe in 1-2-3, breathe out 1-2-3, repeat two more times - will actually slow your heart rate? It's true.). Then, while I'm still, I let my eyes land on something and just take a moment to notice it.

When I did that this morning, I snapped this shot in my garden. Things are soggy and wet, but still pretty in their own way. I thought if I had this snapshot-in-time during a busybusy morning, it might remind me what I'll miss while I'm fighting, attempting, and suffering my way to whatever victory I'm seeking. It's all a process. And that in itself is joyful.

Hope you're finding joy in your day, too.

Using My Power for Good

2011-03-03T12:57:00.000-08:00

Sitting at a stoplight this morning on my way to the gallery, I happened to look to my left, and there on the opposite side of the street was a cherry tree, baaaaaaarelllly beginning to bud out. Little nubbins of buds created a velvety reddish-pink softness to the tree branches.

When spring begins to show signs that she will be arriving, in her time, I get a little bit wiggly. (I may have mentioned this once or twice before. Haha.)

And all of those new beginnings - budding cherry trees, sprouting daffodils, more birds at the bird feeder - inspire me to begin new things, too. Projects, sure. Always. But I find I want to work on me a little bit, too. I know that when the day is done, and my head hits the pillow, I will sleep more soundly knowing that the person I was today...

...laughed with someone else. There’s nothing like a good belly laugh with someone I love to make me giddy and gleeful. Conversely, a good cry on a trusted shoulder works wonders, too.

...sent loving thoughts to that jerk who cut me off in traffic. Instead of resorting to my standard M.O. (please don’t make me confess it here), I’ll smile and wave and graciously let him or her chase whatever fire they’re chasing. I’ll get where I need to be.

...kept positive thoughts and intentions front and forward, instead of saving them for “when I’m in a better mood”. Saying yes only to the sources that support my values and my mission. It’s my choice. Use my power for good. Let my light shine. Don’t let the dummies get me down.

...enjoyed the journey, and didn’t focus on the destination. I have lots of fun things to do. I have lots of good things going on. My focus needs to be there, and not on the longlongpainfullylong to-do list. This is the journey I have chosen. I want to enjoy every little bit of it.

Well. Where did that soapbox come from? Can you tell that I’m re-framing my perspective these days? Filling my cup. Imagining that glass as half-full. It’s a process.

Hope you have a positively wonderful day, too, and use your own power for goodness.

Stitching My Way To Springtime

2011-03-01T12:47:00.000-08:00

My stitchery projects definitely have a recurring theme: springtime. Rather than stitching and appliqueing with my felted wools and darker palette, I find myself drawn to my linen and cotton stash, and all their penny candy colors. Even the designs themselves are beckoning longer, warmer days - I'm stitching a lot of flowers and leaves and birds.

I'm longing for springtime, though, aren't you? I feel a titch guilty about it, because I'm not on the east coast or in the midwest where they are getting all of that snow. It is drizzly and grey here, as is usual for this time of year. And our summer last year was so very brief, that it left me wanting for more. I guess all of that is prompting my muse right now.

So. I stitch. Sending out a little request to Mother Nature with each tug on my needle, "if you please, send spring our way early this year".

I even found myself perusing my gardening catalogs and websites over the weekend. I'd like to do a few new things in my tiny little garden this year. For example, I have the sweetest metal bistro table and two chairs, that were my great-grandmother's. They are in dire need of a new coat of paint, and I'm sort of feeling turquoise. Yummy!

I'd like to add some delphinium to the flower beds this spring. And another clematis. And speaking of the flower beds...ack! We now have a dog living on either side of the fence, which is making Kip crazy. He can't stand knowing there's a doggyfriend over there who he can's see, smell, or play with. In an attempt to introduce himself to the neighbor's dogs, he's trampling my flowerbeds. So, before my hostas and bleeding hearts begin poking their tiny tendrils out of the soil, I need to find myself some cute flower bed edging. It needs to be tall enough to discourage Kip from leaping over it to the fence, but still pretty to look at. If you gardeners see anything out there that fits the bill, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Wherever you are today, I hope you're warm and safe and happy. Thanks for popping by.

Heart Art No. 20

2011-02-23T11:51:00.000-08:00

Heart Art No. 20 - As you can see, I'm still stitching. It's just that it's so much fun to do on these cold, grey days...curling up under a quilt, whitefurrydog at my feet, a cuppacuppa and a little nibble, some jazz or classical music playing - makes.me.happy.

I cut my shapes free-hand...in previous pieces I drew a pattern - also free-hand - then traced it onto my fabric. But, since my shapes are so simple, that just seemed like too much work. Plus, I just like the sort of imperfection of the whole thing, including the wonky letters and words. Makes it seem old and comfy to me. The background is a piece of aqua-colored linen. Oh, how I love, love, LOVE stitching on linen. It may have ruined me for anything else. Although, this weekend I have an idea for some tea towels, so I'm going to stitch onto a flour sack towel. (See: quilt, furrydog, cuppacuppa above.)

I like this one so much, I think I might need to paint-collage it, also.

In other news, my "Bloom" painting made it onto an Etsy Treasury. I'm thrilled, delighted, and tickled pink! It's a very fun treasury, and you can see it over here.

Snow is threatening here in Portland, starting tonight. We've had pretty mild weather this winter, and with all the tomfoolery weather-wise in other parts of the country, I am not complaining one bitty bit. (See: quilt, furrydog, cuppacuppa above.) Stay warm and cozy, friends.

Heart Art Nos. 17-19

2011-02-19T10:35:00.000-08:00

Heart Art No. 17 - More stitch-y, vintage-y, heart-y goodness. And sunshine. Yay sunshine!

A wider angle. And more sunshine. Making.Me.Happy.Today.

Heart Art No. 18 - When you come to the edge of all the light you have, and must take a step into the darkness of the unknown, believe that one of two things will happen to you: either there will be something solid for you to stand on, or, you will be taught how to fly. Patrick Overton

Heart Art No. 19 - When nothing is sure, everything is possible. Margaret Drabble

Heart Art No. 16

2011-02-16T18:25:00.000-08:00

Heart Art No. 16 - I've been stitching. A.Lot. I sort of can't stop stitching. I stitch in the morning before I go to the gallery. I stitch as soon as I get home. I stitch all night long. Hi, my name is Tammy and I stitch.

This is a bit of stitchy goodness on linen. Yummy yummy linen. My favorite thing to stitch upon, really. See the wrinkles? I'm not pressing them out. I like them there. Makes it all wrinkle-y and feel-y. The blue lace is from my grandmother's stash. Love the color. Love it. The heart is a bit of felted pink wool. Love that, too. I am loving mixing up textures and fibers...linen and cotton and wool, oh my! Even a bit of brocade under the mother-of-pearl buckle-y thing. Gives the piece some fun places for the eye to go, and some wonderful spots for the fingers to linger. Very tactile, indeed.

I took a little break from hearts to stitch this. Believe it or not, I saw my first cherry trees in bloom the other day. Just two, and barely blooming, but still. It counts, right? Spring is comint, is it not? Eventually? Anyway, in homage to those early bloomers, I stitched this. Pretty.Pink.Bloomers. 'Nuf said.

Hope you're finding little miracles in your day that are announcing the coming of spring. And if you're still stuck under a snow drift, I hope you've got lots of cocoa in the pantry. xo

Heart Art No. 15

2011-02-14T21:41:00.001-08:00

Heart Art No. 15 - You may remember this painting..."remain open"...an awesome reminder for me, which inspired the painting. Well, now I'm thrilled to tell you that this sweet little birdie was featured by The Brave Girls Club in a recent email - "A Little Bird Told Me...Your Daily Truth from the Brave Girls Club". I'm tickled pink! Subscribing to their "daily truth" emails is easy, and each one is a ray of sunshine in your inbox. You can see the email which featured my art here. And for your own daily reminder to remain open, I have this painting available as fine art prints and notecards, over here. Thanks again Brave Girls, Wendy and Kathy. What fun!

Heart Art No. 14 - a two-fer

2011-02-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

Heart Art No. 14a - This is just a silly little painting I did for My Valentine. Because - you're no bunny 'til some bunny loves you.

I know. Sorry. Couldn't stop myself.

Heart Art No. 14b - A felt pillow. I think "be mine" is my favorite Valentine's Day sentiment. How about it - will you be mine today?

Now, go forth and shower the ones you love with love. Get mushy-gushy. Sign all your emails with x's and o's. Eat heart-shaped sugar cookies. Sit down and get cozy with yummy chocolates in a big red velvet heart box. Greet your Valentine at the door with a flute of champagne, wearing nothing but your knickers (hopefully they're frilly with little hearts all over them). Fill a vase with red tulips. Cut out hearts from vintage text pages and hang them all over your windows. All you need is love. xoxoxo

Heart Art No. 13

2011-02-13T11:54:00.000-08:00

Heart Art No.13 - I made this sweet little heart from a vintage doll's quilt that was very raggedy and well-loved. It was falling apart when I bought it at one of my favorite antique malls. But I loved the colors and the wonderful feedsack cloth patches so much, that I brought it home and re-purposed it into a bunch of little hearts that I've long since sold. This is the last one. I hope I'll stumble upon a little quilt again soon when I'm out treasure-hunting.

I finished a couple of paintings yesterday. Cheery cheers to you. I love the vintage feel of this one - NEWS FLASH: we interrupt this program to pause and enjoy the sunshine pouring into the window...aaaaahhhh bliss. Okay...I'm back. Anyway, I had this chipboard stencil of the word "cheers". I got it at The Bullseye Boutique a hundred years ago. I've had it sitting on my shelf, just by itself in all its cheery goodness. Meanwhile, I've been struggling with how to use this long skinny canvas. Remember these commercials: "Hey! You got chocolate in my peanut butter!" "Hey! You got peanut butter on my chocolate!" And voila, Reese's peanut butter cups (must get to The Boutique and get some spring-color-foil-wrapped peanutty-chocolatey goodness as soon as I'm finished posting). Same thing happened here. I set canvas on previously-mentioned shelf, next to "cheers" and said, "Hey! Cheers, you fit onto that canvas! Jump on over here!" The canvas was already painted a lovely cherry red. I added polka dots and a vintage paper moasic-ed border. Then I traced "cheers" onto black and white gingham fabric, and affixed that to my canvas. I think it needs to go into my dining room.

This is the second painting I finished. I'm playing around with different textures and media to try to get a rusty painted metal feeling in my focal points, in this case the flower. I want it to look like these:

I've got a little work to do...not quite there yet. But I am LOVING the background of my painting. It's all fade-y and weathered-y, like the side of an old building. And that's exactly what I was hoping for. I'm so in love with it, that I've started three more backgrounds on canvas. With that, I'm off like a prom dress! Those canvas (canvases? canvi?) are ready for the next layer.

Heart Art No.12

2011-02-12T08:45:00.000-08:00

Heart Art No. 13 - Oh, how I love a little stitched heart. Swoon. The heart is vintage bark cloth. This is in one of my art journals. I think I might need to re-create this into a little dood-dad for a sweet little pillow or cheery door hanger. Wouldn't that be cute?!

Hurrah, lots getting done in the studio! Had a full day yesterday, which was awesome! Thought you might like to see what's going on over here...I got out the paints and brushes and papers and glue. Played with some ideas that have been swirling around in my pea-brain for awhile. One of the canvases that I'm finishing up is on about its sixth generation of paint layers. I've had a lot of false starts lately, which has been frustrating. But yesterday was a good day with the paints and brushes. I think some good stuff is going on. Do you get stuck like that, too? Man, it can be tough to crank through that!

This is one of the pieces I'm working on. I'm playing with texture and backgrounds. I'm trying to achieve sort of an aged concrete-y, stucco effect, and giving it a simple focus point. A little different from the cacophony of color and shapes that I was doing last fall. Same palette, same feel I think, but a little different. Does that make sense?

I tried a new gesso that I'm having to get used to. It's a little slicker (I guess the technical term would be "glossy", but it's slick, there's no getting around it) - anyway, it's slicker after it has dried than the one I was using before, which gave me more of a matte finish. I think I like the matte finish a little better, but I can make this slick stuff work (I guess I had better, since I have a whole tub of it! Who knew gesso wasn't gesso wasn't gesso, right?)

I've been so creatively befuddled lately, but something shifted yesterday, and it felt really good to be painting. I think I sort of let go of the outcome, and just enjoyed the process. Which is always the right thing to do, but sometimes I forget. Things get forced. And then painted over. In the end, though, I think I'm going to wind up with some pieces I really like.

In other news, I've been invited to be a vendor at Retreat Vintage Market on Camano Island on June 25th. Super fun! Super excited! I've started working on my list of vintage-y, crafty goodness that I want to create, I've sketched out my booth already (must get to Goodwill for some sheer white cotton, tab-top curtain panels), and am really jazzed about this show. It's orchestrated by the Diva herself, Deb Kennedy and her husband, Bob. Love them! I'm excited to show you what I'm planning for the show, as things begin to come together. Until then...back to the paint brushes. Have a great Saturday, y'all!

Heart Art No. 9, 10 & 11

2011-02-11T07:09:00.000-08:00

Heart Art No.9 - Your work is to discover your work, and then will all of your heart, go give yourself to it. Buddha

Heart Art No.10 - When friends meet, hearts warm. proverb

Heart Art No.11 - a journal cover. Umm...yes. That's meant to be me. I probably should not quit my day job. haha

TGIF everyone! What's on the docket for your weekend? My Beloved is working most of the weekend...'tis the season - state swimming championships coming up...so, I think Kip and I are going to hang around the homestead all weekend. Cook some yummy, healthy things to eat. Go for walks. Make some stuff. I love weekends like this! Don't get me wrong, I love the going-out-and-playing weekends, too - dinner with friends, shopping at places like this and this, puttering around here - but sometimes, a clean-slate-of-a-weekend, with nothing on the books, endless possibilities - sometimes that just gets me all a-wiggle with giddy-giddy-ness.

It can be a curse, though, too. With all that un-calendared time ahead of me, it's easy to let it get away from me - a little straightening up here, run get a latte there, walk Kip to the park - before I know it, it's Sunday night and I've gotten nothing accomplished!

Fortunately, the to do list is raw-ther lengthy right now, and I've been down with a cold lately, so I'm super-motivated to get going in the studio. I don't think I'll have any trouble filling up my hours this weekend.

What do you have going on, friend?

Heart Art No. 7 & 8

2011-02-08T12:59:00.000-08:00

Heart Art No. 7 - from my art journal. A happy heart.

Heart Art No. 8 - Another art journal doodle. Lots of heart motifs in my art journal. I should have this disclaimer in my art journal: "Hearts. Not just for Valentine's Day."

A few more heARTists have joined in the heartfest - Stacy, Stephanie and Judy are heart-ing it up over on their blogs, too. Pop over and take a lookie-loo.

Heart Art No. 5&6

2011-02-06T16:18:00.000-08:00

Heart Art No.5 - So, this one, as well as #6, are works-in-progress. Which I suppose is sort of cheating. But the good news is, you'll see the finished project later in the month. How do you feel about that?

Heart Art No.6 - I love this little bird. He's fashioned after the hooked bird I did in Mary's class at Artfiberfest a few years ago. This is a bit of painted duck cloth that is about to become a little zippered pouch to put in my handbag (because I have a gazillion little things flying around in there and can never find anything). I'm piecing a little patch-y backside to the pouch, which I'll show you later.

Deb and Sandra are posting hearts on their blogs. So, be sure and go see what they're up to. If you're heart-ing it up over in your world, leave a comment here, and I'll post links to your blogs. Fun!

Heart Art No. 3 & 4

2011-02-04T14:13:00.000-08:00

Heart Art No.3 - This scrappy little heart is from the same piece of hodge-podge stitchery that I posted the other day. It's all vintage silks and brocades and yummy-ness. In fact, the heart itself is from a bit of silk that was from my grandmother's sewing room. I'll bet I've had this bit of fabric for...hmm...a loooooooonnnng time. Every bit of fabric she owned was pink, or had pink in it...unless it was a black and white print. Very fun.

Heart Art No. 4 - just playing in my art journal this morning. Love that phrase from the song from way back when. Love.the.one.you're.with. And who are you with 24/7/365? Y.O.U. So, come one! Let's stop what we're doing, and thrown our own arms around our own bad selves and have a great big love-myself-fest!! And say "I *heart* me!" Are you feelin' it? I'm feelin' it!

Heart Art No. 2

2011-02-02T17:57:00.000-08:00

It is only with the heart that one can see clearly.

from The Little Prince

Heart Art No. 1

2011-02-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

How is it possible that it is already February? Seriously. I do love February, though, for all the things it brings with it: the possibility of spring right around the corner, days that stay light later than 5pm, chilly enough weather that I can still wear my favorite boots, and of course, Valentine's Day. And you know my propensity for hearts.

So, I thought I'd create a piece of heart art each day from now through the end of February to share with you here. Hey, why don't you join in the fun? You don't have to do it daily, if that teeters on the heart-y overload for you. And it doesn't have to be a heart you created. It can be a heart-shaped rock, a heart lovingly "painted" into the foam of your cappucino at your corner coffee house, a Valentine you're sending to a secret love. Whatever. Let's just get some hearts out there and share some love. We'll have a virtual love fest this month. Doesn't that sound fantastic??!!

My heart today is one I created a while back, part of a larger art quilt that's not quite finished. It's completely hand-stitched - which is why it's not finished. I have a tendency to get into a project like this for awhile, then get uninspired or bored and put it away for later. But it seemed like the perfect piece to jumpstart "A Heart A Day".

Have a lookie-loo around your corner of the world, and see where you heart is. Then spread the love. Can't wait to see!

A Year in Provence

2011-01-31T13:35:00.000-08:00

I have read Peter Mayle's book every January for the last, hmmm, eight or nine years. My mom gave me the book (naturally) one year for Christmas, hmm, probably (dare I say it?) 20 years ago. (I was three at the time. haha) I "studied" in Provence my senior year at Oregon State (Go Beavers!). But that's an entirely different post.

I read A Year in Provence in January because it's just a nice, cozy book to curl up with after the hurly-burly of the holidays, and the drizzly, dreary weather of January. It reminds me of my time there - which (naturally), I loved. Plus, I love Mr. Mayle's, Peter's, writing style. (Sheesh, I've read the book 17 times now, at least. I think we're on a first-name basis.)

His stories about daily life in the Luberon are charming. And even the first time I read it, I felt that I really got to know his friends and neighbors: Faustin his vigneron, Menicucci his plumber, Didier his contractor, Masot the crazy old guy down the valley. He sprinkles his narrative with enough French phrases that I have to consult my French-English dictionary on several occasions (which I dig). His references to places I visited (and fell in love with) make my little coeur go pitter patter. Oui, c'est vrai.

Every night, after I turn off the light and before my pea brain shuts down for the day, I allow myself to dream about selling everything and doing what he and his wife did all those years ago: packing it all in and moving to a charming old farmhouse in the middle of a lavender field. C'est parfait, non?

What do you dream about in those sweet moments between wakefulness and sleeping?