Purse from scratch

Here is my newest purse- from scratch.























I used some leather like material I got several years ago (and never used) for the outside. The inside is made from the pants pocked of an old pair of jeans. For the flower, I cut circular shapes with indentations. Then I burned the edges to give it a darker brown trim. The hardware are clasps from a pair of overalls and the hooks of a worn out purse.


The Peacock on the front was a broken broach that I sewed on.


This has turned out to be a great little purse.

Pottery- Date night

I decided that for date night we needed to do something DIFFERENT! I found this pottery class on a Saturday night and you were to bring a DATE. So I signed up me and my man! We had so much fun. My man was really frustrated at first because the wheel flung mud all over his nice black pants. But, since he was already dirty, he really got into it! He made 3 items that were keepers (and two more that broke apart on the wheel). I only made two items (plus one that did not survive the wheel) So we got a total of 5 pottery items.
Here they are. I put decorations on my two projects,
a dragonfly and flowers. The others were painted solid colors.
I highly recommend this to anyone. We really had a good time. And it was outside of the norm!

Tiffy's Living Room -REDO-

Before - Tiffy's living room.AFTER---TA DA!!!

I painted the walls a lovely chocolate brown with a green stripe.

We found a bunch of picture frames Tiff already had and painted all of them silver to create a collection. We then put baby pictures of each family member in the frames and mounted them along with the silver mirror (which she previously had hanging over the fire place.

Tiff added brown ribbon to the green pillows which helps tie things together. Tiffy had purchased the new sectional before we started to tackle the room, so since we were changing things up anyway, why not go all out.

We decided to use the old entertainment center (which was still quite nice) as a sofa back table.

We also hung a curtain that really accentuated the colors in the room.
We relocated the TV to over the fire place. But before we could put it on top of the mantel, I had to extend the mantel to make it big enough to mount the TV. (Yes I did mount the TV! It is bolted to the mantel)

There are still a few things we are working on. The new entertainment center needs legs and grout on the new tile top. Were are still getting a cord organizer for all of the unsightly electrical. But overall, the room has a new appeal. It is quite inviting and very functional.

Butterfly, butterfly

Butterfly, butterfly, flit and fly!

I am visiting my sister in North Carolina. I was looking out her window at the pretty flower bushes. What to my wondering eyes should appear but huge butterflies and in yellows and blues! These creatures of color were as large as my palm, at least. I was loving it!

Butterflies are so good for the garden and they bring a touch of whimsy with their effortless flitting. I snapped a few shots. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
--Tara

Man thing

A few years back I was coming into town to visit my family. I was to stay at my Dad's house, in his office/spare room. He was cleaning out his office with the help of one of my sisters (Summer). I have a reputation for being a little ruthless when it comes to cleaning out stuff. So, Summer was helping with the preparations and had utilized a couple of boxes that were full of items for my dad to sort through. When she told him that he needed to sort this stuff before I got there, he grabbed the two boxes, one under each arm, and went over to the door leading to the garage. He paused in front of the door just long enough to declare "Sanctuary" in a very clear strong voice that carried through the vaulted ceiling. He then headed into the land of the untouchable. (garage)

So, when I saw this sign, I simply had to have it! I mounted it on a nice piece of wood and put mounting brackets on the back so it can be hung--immediately.
This is my Father's Day gift to my dad. I love you Dad!