More scrap stuffies and a painting.

"In a full heart there is room for everything..." Antonio Porchia

I have these 2 wonderful girls from the high school who come to do therapy with my children every week. They are the kind of girls I wish I had been like at 18. Dependable, and so amazing with my kids. They really go above and beyond with everything they do for our family, and I just love them. So for their grad gifts I thought I would make them each a stuffie that they had been admiring in my to do pile.

They are such good friends...

Pookie is shy, being an owl and all, but she would give you the feathers off her back! She is brave and so smart.

I put Codie's initial on the tummy for a sweet monogram touch that I really like. It's hard to see but she has tufts of fun fur poking off the top of her head.

Doodle is a kind and soft hearted soul. She loves that Pookie is always looking out for her.

I put Sara's initial on her tummy as well. I am hoping that they take them to college with them next year, so every time they look at them they will remember what amazing and special girls they are! We have been so blessed to have them in our family and I will really miss them.

These stuffies turned out so fun, I am having a really hard time parting with them though! LOL!! I will give them away...I promise...teehee.

Here is a little pear triptych I did. I used a gel medium transfer on the canvas, then painted the pears. I also used oil pastels, inks and stamps. Click on the image to see the details if you want. Ever since college I have loved to paint pears. I have no idea what makes me love them so, but I still haven't stopped painting them after all these years. Tomorrow I will show you this weeks obsession though. I have owls on the brain! As long as I don't have an owl brain I guess I will be fine. I heard they were not very clever birds...of course my source is the harry potter movie interviews...so perhaps its not that reliable. Haha!

Have a Bea"hoot"iful day everyone! Thanks so much for stopping by! xoxox Tam

Some studio day stuff...

Sometimes when I need to be really productive, and get stuff done I go into reverse. Does that ever happen to you? My husband says I "go Ostrich" and bury my head in the sand. LOL! I bought a table at the Women's show for October of this year. Its an amazing opportunity. I need to make ALOT of art and jewelry for it. I want to do it, but now I feel pressure and suddenly the laundry really has to get done...today, NOW!! Oh and that closet that I haven't sorted for 4 years...oh yes! VERY important that I get to that...today...NOW!! The closets are cleaned, all the kids clothes that are too small have been sorted, the magazines I have been collecting for 10 years...PURGED! You get the picture. Does anyone else do that?? Why do I do it? Sigh... I don't know. But its annoying! To do list...change annoying personality traits. Hmm, I must get to that...today...NOW!! Hahaha!

So yesterday I had a studio day, and started on some earrings.

Here's a painting I am working on. It still needs alot of work...

I started this one in Misty Mawns artfest class this year, and I still need to finish it up.

And these pics are of my first ever art journal page. I did it last night after reading Misty's new book "Unfurling". I love it! Its a really good book. I highly recommend it if you want to get some great creating and project ideas.

Do you find art journaling to help you sort through what your going through in life? I am hoping that is the gift I will get from it. Blessings to you all today!! Hope to have a lot more arty stuff to show you this week! xoxo Tam

Where did May go?

I have no idea how the month of May flew by, and I got hardly any studio time. Sigh. The best laid plans of mice and moms. LOL! Sick kids, dentist appointments and life kindof conspired to keep me too busy. Well, at least I got to get outside and plant my garden, and enjoy the sunshine. Here is a beautiful lavender plant, blossoming in one of my pots . Don't the petals on the top look like a butterfly?

I'm so amazed at the details of nature.

While at artfest I got to create with the awesome michelle allen. She did all these amazing doodles in peoples artfest books, then painted them in. I had never tried that before, but it looked so fun last night between bedtime routine stuff, I quickly sketched and painted this little guy...

Then did a bit of stuff in the background. I bought a tiny watercolor moleskine, and thought I should try it out.

Today, I get a whole day of studio time, and hope to accomplish lots. Have a wonderful day full of creative joy! xoxo Tam

ENJOY LIFE! This is not a dress rehearsal!!

That's right! This is not a dress rehearsal! There is no delete button or rewind for my life! I wish I could just live in the present without jumping ahead a few days, weeks or years...depending on the day. I want to.....
Take the road less travelled....

Notice the tiny details....

Make ridiculous, foot high rainbow birthday cakes....

look really silly more often...

experience pure joy....

create stuff....

and take time to smell the flowers!

"Now we should live when the pulse of life is strong. Life is a tenuous thing...fragile, fleeting. Don't wait for tomorrow. Be here now. Be here now... Be here NOW!"

Hope you all have a wonderful week, basking in this special gift of your life. Be here now my friends! xoxo Tam

Scrapbooking and Studio bits...

Do you ever feel that you love too many kinds of creating? I do. Sometimes I wish I could narrow it down a bit, just so I could get really good in those few areas...but then I think which ones will I give up?? Uhh...long pause. Creativity is hard to pin down, and force it to go the direction you think it should. So on a completely different note, here are some scrapbooking pages I have done. :o)

"Boyhood Wonder"

" You Color My World"

Detail of "Giggles at the Seashore"

"Giggles at the Seashore"

"Beach Beauty"

"You Are Loved"

"Love bears All Things"

Tiny collections to use someday!

MORE ribbon and glitter!! hahaha!

Little Raggedy Anne with her friends.

A reminder for me this week..."Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." Lao Tzu

May the whole world belong to you this week! xoxo Tam

And the winner is...ALL OF YOU!!

YES! Doesn't that make you laugh out loud with joy!!

(I'm sure my son will want to kill me when he's older for putting this picture on my blog!!LOL!) But for now, i just wanted to say thank you so much to everybody who was so kind and left a comment :o) Please send me your addresses so I can mail you a little present. It may not be an owl for everyone...we will see if I get bored with them to quickly, but I will send you something! Yay!! You can send me an email at tammcgee@gmail.com so your address isn't out there for the world to see! xoxxo Have a super sunny day!!

I am a bird whisperer...and a GIVE AWAY!! Whoohoo!!

For Mothers Day, I got to sleep in, then my husband made me blueberry pancakes (he's a keeper!) and then we went to visit some wonderful friends on their acreage. Kids and hay bales!

They had baby chicks and 3 day old turkey chicks! So adorable...as I held one of the turkey chicks it fell asleep in my hand and my friend said I must be a bird whisperer. Hahaha. Technically a turkey whisperer. That will look great on my resume don't you think?? However I may start to feel a little guilty at thanksgiving!

Nothing says sexy like ginormous rubber boots! Oh ya!!

Ok, OK! What about the giveaway?? First, I need your help...I would like your opinion on my art dolls hair. Does it work?? I am not sure, and I would love to have your thoughts on it. I have bought a table at a huge Women's show in October, and I was thinking of trying to sell these...but I am not sure if the hair looks good. So If you leave a comment (constructive and honest please) I will enter your name into my little draw to win one of the tiny baby owls from the last post!! Sound fun? So here are 2 of the dolls...Love and Faith.

They won't have pins sticking out of their arm joints when they are done, but after a drill bit breaking and then drilling a hole through my finger this winter, I am a little power tool shy! Waiting for hubby to have time. LOL!

I have never made dolls before, so if anyone has any tips on making them or attaching hair, I would love to hear them. I am off to clean my studio! I have to make a ton of stuff for the show coming up, so hopefully you will all get some more arty eye candy over the next 5 months.
Have a wonderful tuesday everyone, and don't be shy!!! Leave a comment so you might win!

xoxox Tam

Some handmade love...

It has been a very long week, filled with government meetings fighting for the kids funding, transition meetings trying to get support for the kids next school year, dentist appointments and such! Whew! I haven't had any time to be creative...but I don't like not sharing for so long! So here's some things I am working on or made in the past for you to have a peek at!
The girls are slowly progressing.....they hate being bald, so maybe today they will get some hair!

My princess birdie...

I made these bird assemblages a while back, and they were so incredibly fun to make! Photocopies of bird heads, copper and tin wings, old junk jewelry and of course some glitter!

The winter bird...

Sorry the pictures are not the greatest, they are hard to photograph.

The Showgirl from Las Vegas bird! LOL!!

Sweet Seaside bird...I love the ocean.

Teeny tiny owls that are perfect to use up those small scraps of a favorite fabric. I made these with my mom. We had seen the idea on a blog a long time ago, I am sorry I do not remember where so I can give credit to the original artist.

hoot hoot!

Have a super monday everyone! xoxox Tam

Happy Birthday to...myself!!

This was me 35 years ago...eeek! For my 35th year I hope to stretch, reach, shine, love and be utterly grateful for my life each day.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend."

Melody Beattie

I am painting the above quote on a big 5 foot by 6 foot canvas to hang in my kitchen. Gratitude is the secret to a joyful life. It gets you through the hard times, and makes the days full of goodness almost too wonderful to bear. I hope you all are blessed with overflowing gratitude for your life this year. xoxo Tam