Pictures in Frames

 …finding ones that speak to you

You know how friends on fb share random pics of what they are doing? Well I have a friend that I don’t know well yet.(Tammy -full of great shares and humor.) One day, they were going bike riding, and she shared this Awesome Photo…

I messaged her asking if I could please have it!

The lines, the colors, all of it… spoke to me wanting to be framed and in my house!

I have a blue frame sitting empty waiting for me to find just the right pic. I will not admit how long it’s been empty, but I will say I can still count on one hand the lonely years it’s been incomplete and unloved.

Tammy took her pic with a cell phone, so the resolution wasn’t ideal for a 10x10” frame. 

What I usually do when that is the case, I play with it in Photoshop and add an effect!

Here is mine after adding aqua to the sky, applying a vignette, and playing around in the filter gallery:

And here it lives on the bottom shelf of a narrow side table in my front room.

Great Frame right?  These metal frames came from a Warehouse Sale at DCWV a few years ago. I looked around their website, but I can’t find they still have them. If anyone knows differently, maybe you could comment with info?

Anyway, I have a few in the house that I’ve filled with pictures that have meaning… old photos that speak to me.

Here is my older sister in my moms coat close to 40 years ago. (On the wall in my office.)

Here is my older sister and I…  Overly serious!   -Looks like an Instagram pic…

 Then I thought I’d throw in this last one, because this photo I also played around with to make it what I wanted. I took it on the beach in LA last summer… The gate had peachy paint peeling off, and I didn’t want that color, so I selected the gate and changed the color to green.

It's possibly time to get another print made. Nothing to say that a $9 expense can't be swapped out every 10-12 months right?

I used to have WAY too many pictures in frames throughout my house. I’ve toned it down, and I try to make sure the ones I do have like the room they live in.

Thanks for visiting ;)

I Love Her.

A man who once was an Engineer is dying. He’s lived a long life, and might not reach his 95^th birthday in a couple weeks. He survived the death of two wives, built the house he lives in, and has been one of the most capable individuals this planet has known. He’s my Grandpa.

He’s finally wearing out, and getting ready to take the next step in his existence.

A couple years ago my little sister moved in with him. She works full time, so she isn’t his care-er, but really, she is. She is the regular in his life. The one who has found him in a terrible state in the morning a few times. The one who knows exactly how he’s doing, how to do everything right, and the one who might just love him the most.

Caring for a person when you are a tender-heart, makes you love that person more. She has been the one to see and experience his rapid decline… while falling further in love.

Yesterday took a gruesome turn when he started coughing up blood. Normally he gets out of bed every day with help, to go sit in a chair. This day, not only could he not get out of bed, this man who never feels pain, and never complains, actually said in the throws of blood “I’m going to die”.

We arrived, he was comfortable. With only one eye and minimal hearing, my little sister knows where to position herself and how loud to speak so he can see and hear her.

My heart wanted to take a picture as she leaned down to his face and put her nose right in front of his so he could come forward and rub noses with her. Their regular way of kissing. (A nose with dried blood just inside it from his earlier horrific coughing spells.) Despite having so very little memory left, he knows her, he loves her, and he’s used to her.

Not having eaten anything this day, and up until this point not wanting to; my little sister went and got some applesauce. My older sister fed him. I sat as close as I could, stroking his hand and his head; smiling as big as I could so that his mind registered “happy”.
His memory is so short that a few times he looked around like he was just then seeing there were 5 of us in the room. My two sisters, my mother, and aunt.

What a dichotomy, wanting someone to pass away while they have loved ones surrounding them, vs wanting them to pass away in their sleep so the loved ones don’t have to have to witness it.  Only because some memories can be overly vivid for the rest of your life.

When Grandpa first took a bad turn, I went to see him, shouted my hello’s, and feigned “great” to see you. Nobody wants to see a sad face when a loved one looks at them.

Before I left, I crouched down and stroked his head. And in doing so, something happened to me… I saw his eyes close, the way a pet would at your loving touch, and he said “Thank you” as I stroked.

I realized in that moment, we don’t get too old to want a loving touch, to have your forehead stroked or kissed, or to feel someone’s loving hand on your skin.

Little sister is this person for him on a regular basis, and this warms my heart no end.

I think it’s possible some people don’t get to see what tender love looks like, the tiny beautiful things in life= the giant way a little love affects us. I say this about my grandpa receiving, and the rest of us giving.

Why did I feel the visit of us 5 girls as a beautiful thing and not a bad thing despite his skeletal frame, his bloody nose, and his liquid sounding cough?
I’ll tell you why --
Because the people in that room, especially the youngest one, love that man. They and want him to be comfortable. Giving him love through touch, smiles, and presence is what it’s about at this point. I hope his life is done, and suffering isn’t how his journey ends.

But if it’s not quite over, he has my little sister around, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have by my side if I were dying. She’s beautiful to the core.

Photos are all courtesy of my little sisters instagram where she regularly shares how much she loves him with her friends. 

Today when I asked for an update, she sent this:
"A little worse, hardly responds to me and just staring into thin air. He has been in a little pain so I gave him a tiny bit of pain meds and it's seemed to calm him down."

March 31, 1918 - March 10, 2013

Being Genuine …or not.

I have to admit… as much as I don’t want to look or feel old physically, getting older is awesome!
I am having the time of my life learning countless things. Maybe we all learn at a different pace based on our experiences, but when you reach a point that your learning (about anything/everything) speeds up dramatically, you suddenly love life.  I wouldn't go back 20 years for all the money in the world.

I hope that from this moment forward I never stop learning. That I continue having epiphanies; learning about people, learning who I am, and finding all of it interesting.

One of the things I’m seeing at this age is Genuineness. All around me people are showing me how genuine or unauthentic they are. The obviousness of it is amazing. Like suddenly some people have a purple head, and others a blue one... how this level of clarity is only finally reaching me I am not sure, but I will run with it.

I had a conversation with a friend today. As I hung up I felt like writing about it. The relationship I have with that friend is one of comfort. Neither of us have any reason to be uncomfortable when we speak. We don’t have to think of things to say, we don’t/won’t feel awkward or unauthentic with one another over anything. This Genuineness we share has everything to do with feeling secure and knowing the other person will not harm, will not judge, will not upset, will ONLY care and love.

This is what is missing from most relationships in life. Either we don’t know this can be the case, or people won’t allow it to be the case. I say won’t allow because they refuse to be safe… authentic… honest. All things that end up getting you to “genuine”.

If you find yourself NOT benefiting from genuine relationships, lock your ego in the cellar for a few minutes, and ask, are YOU genuine? Are YOU preventing genuine relationships? If you think you might not be genuine, you are truly missing out…

So next (still with ego safe in the cellar) Ask yourself what you might need to change about you… what qualities could be stopping you from having genuine comfortable relationships with people? THEN…. If you are brave enough to just answer that question, consider whether or not you might be brave enough to Change. (Maybe keeping that ego locked in the cellar forever is the best way to start)

I truly believe that liking who you are, and being the person you want to be, with the qualities you can admire in yourself, is the first step in being genuine so you can enjoy genuine interaction and relationships.

If you do this, and others do it, imagine the incredible life that can be lead…. Truly, just imagine the pleasure you get out of your everyday interactions if we all do this.

Without meaning to create an example, I did something today, and after realized I should share it.

I sent this email via “contact us” on a blog I really enjoy.

I wrote:

“I know that nobody needs little ol me to say how wonderful they are...

But I'm aware, that appreciation is appreciated.

So I just want to say:

You're wonderful... I need people like "you" sharing this planet.

Grateful you are here, doing all the wonderful things you do....

Your work is Enjoyable and Beautiful and Meaningful!!!!

Much love and Respect to "you"... however many of you that is.”

I have reached a point in my life where I like me. I am genuine. I want to be happy, I want others to be happy, and in living like this, genuineness comes out of me…

Then… I affect others. I am sure, that my words to “contact us” need to be read by someone. There will never be too many kind words spoken, too much respect given, too much enjoyment voiced…
Correct me if you experience too much of these things in your life. I bet you don’t.

Be someone you like, interact with people you like; the genuineness is delicious. 

Project Me

For so long my projects have all centered around my house. Paint, plaster, décor, and a bargain… The last few months, my projects turned inward and I have been mainly working on me.

Facing fears, finding words, figuring out who I am, and learning… Ya ‘growing’ is the annoying word for it, but genuinely, it all boils down to that… when you go through hard stuff, you grow.
I’m bigger, wiser, happier, and becoming more whole.

Anyone who has never had to experience feeling incomplete is lucky on one hand… it’s a painful place to be, but anyone who has had to experience feeling incomplete, and got to learn from it; becoming more whole… well, that person is the most lucky.

That perspective is like money in the bank, money that doesn’t diminish, cause you get to benefit from it again and again, creating new and better perspective.

I’m not kidding when I say my projects have turned inward. I literally have left my tools feeling extremely neglected. I’m spending a lot of time writing. Finding words for all the stuff I’m feeling, and finding a whole new hobby in getting to know myself and growing. Ya, the older I get the more corny I sound.
* So...

Verify your blog with Pinterest

You may have seen Pinterest notify you that you can verify your website (blog) now, which will generate more branding for you....
I tried to follow the process, found it very confusing since I had no idea what "Add this tag to the head of your index file" actually meant.

Well, after googling help, and finding some frustrating instructions, I finally found one that worked!
So.... in case you see this, and want to do it without being frustrated, I'm going to share the link to the wonderful clear explanation.

http://www.scatteredthoughtsofacraftymom.com/2012/11/how-to-verify-your-blogger-blog-on.html

(Since I'd already had a few failed attempts, I used the advice of adding it right below the opening tag. That's what worked for me finally.)

Thanks Jamie!!!

AND now I totally know what "Add this tag to the head of your index file" means!!!

Not like we need more fun stuff to make, but....

My friend Krystal, needed to come up with a gift for a co-worker. Like the smarty-pants she is, Krystal went looking at that co-workers pinterest boards. She found something that the lady had recently pinned and would be fun to make!  While she was at it, she decided to make more than one for Christmas presentsJ

So this post is not made by me, just written and photographed by me.

Since last years Christmas time project was also inspired from a pinterest image, I thought I'd stick with that theme. The so many great people with great ideas theme...

Since it’s always handy to have more than one reference before doing a project, here’s where the idea came from:

http://babypmakesthree.blogspot.com/2012/03/gumball-machine.html

Keep in mind, the type of candy and style of the ribbon can be changed to suit the current holiday... So this isn't just a Christmas idea!

This project uses: 4" Clay Pots, 5" Clay Saucers, Glass Bowls, Wooden Knobs, Ribbon, & Spray Paint. Oh ya, and some glue. Krystal Used E6000.

Click on Read More:

So many great things get shared

If your're a regular to fb, (which I am, and hate admitting) you no doubt have countless inspirational sayings you come across that you share, but just get buried on your wall.

I have realized that since there is no image folder for the things we share, I could keep track of all these great sayings if I were to save each of them and then post them as though they were mine.  So, ya... I don't.
I have to scroll through my timeline and find them if I want to remind myself of these great images and cool epiphanies someone had and turned into a graphic.

Yes, there is also Pinterest, but that too would mean effort and I just never have time to prioritize fb "images".

Once in a while you come across a gem that speaks to you. This saying spoke to me, and frankly I don't have reason. ~ I just like it!
It says:
"Lighthouses don't go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there and shine."

I chose a font that fit the saying, and I laser printed it on plain old white paper, in a size that looked right. (Lucky for me, the size I guessed was the right size on the sixth try... jk, it took me two goes.) Then instead of having any straight edges, i cut out all the words with curves just like this.

Seeing the Potential

I've said before I can't leave anything alone... and while that's not entirely true, it is for all the cheap things I manage to get my hands on.

Everything in this image was cheap, and 5 of the things are different now than when they started.
Frames painted white, dresser stained with handles painted, lamps painted, decorative circles painted green, and flowers totally altered.

This next pic is kind-of a before pic, although I didn't get all the frames in the shot. I had 8 white empty frames on the wall. Dresser off center because of a heater vent, and this little arrangement in the middle... which I'm quite fond of.

This post is specifically about the flowers...

Booked a Mannequin...

… with Winnie the Pooh.

Wow that really doesn’t make sense, but truly, it’s what I did… I took Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne, and I covered a Mannequin with it. Turned - out - GREAT.

I’ll elaborate.

I’ve got this mannequin; I bought her on ebay for about $35 when I was making jewelry. I needed a way to assemble some necklaces, and then a way to photograph them. She didn’t work so great being black, so I spray painted her top half white. 

Anyway, here she hangs out looking all strange, and I had this idea…. Cover her in text from a book, then decorate her in fancy trims.

Once I finished covering her in the book I decided against the fancy trims since she looked so cool.  Fancy trims will go elsewhere.

Here’s what I did…

Same Chairs Underneath

One of my oldest and best friends is my biggest fan.... Irrespective of a blog, regardless of any outside influences, she tells me that her newly remodelled home "has you in every room". (If that isn't enough to make a girl feel good, I don't know what is....)
We brainstorm together, we talk about what we want to achieve, figure out how it can happen, and then slowly but surely move forward... Sketching out everything that requires figuring out. Talking about it to give ourselves the girl-confidence required to "rip and tear, hoping to repair".

So... This friend; lets call her Trisha, She is nearing the end of a remodel on her home that started with her, a sledge hammer, and no commitment of cooperation from any family members. (this has since changed)
Her style, her dream, her home, is turning out just awesome!! I was there yesterday taking pictures for this post, and wow.... these things take time when you do them yourself, but the end result is beauty and satisfaction that keeps you grinning like a Cheshire cat.

K, back to why I'm here posting....
I did a makeover on a round table, (antiqued it) and shortly after I did, I got another old table that I did a make over on, and ended up not needing the first table. It went up into a spare bedroom until Trisha's make over, and her old black table was no longer what she wanted. Since my round table was going unused, and it was the right size for her space, she took the table but needed chairs to match.

"Where am I going to find 4 matching chairs?" She wondered.
Well, four black NOT matching chairs are available for a make over....
So, she sanded down her old 4 chairs and brought them to me.