The beginnings of a Dream

Many of us have dreams that we don't share.
Quietly keeping them to ourselves.
Watching them come to be

or

watching them

 sometimes painfully

 fade away...

out of our grasp.

I've had a dream for a while.
Versions of it have already come to fruition.

Opening a magazine and seeing your words.
Your creativity printed before you.
It's an incredible feeling.
That version of my dream was

promoting my dolls and my business.

This new rendering of my dream

 involves sharing photos I've taken

 around the Farmhouse.
Being brave enough to share

 the most quiet thoughts 

I've only written for my eyes.

Able to reach back thru time 

by reading them again.

Reflections of myself

 only shared with 

blank pages of journals.

I wanted to make sure to find a magazine that
seemed to fit with the idea in my head
 of the finished concept.
Have been thrilled with the magazine I have already
been part of that Stampington &Company publishes.
Thought I'd lean towards another of
their amazing publications for this dream
to come to be.

A number of friends kept sending me messages
 and emails about the magazine "Bella Grace"
 that Stampington & Company publish.
Began thinking it might be the one
to look deeper into.

In the sharing of this dream and
the desire for this magazine,it was mentioned that
 it was difficult to find in my neck of the woods.
{It's a tad pricey and I don't have the extra funds
 to splurge at the moment.}
I was second guessing myself
and even the dream.
I thought further down the road
I'd spring for a copy and
be able to hold it in my hands.
See if this truly was the fit that
I was hoping it would be.


Beyond blessed to have people
in my life that wish to see
my dream come to life.
LOOK!
My amazing friend Sandra in Texas contacted me
and said she wasn't taking no for an answer.
She wanted my mailing address so that
she could send me a copy of the magazine.
She believed in this dream of mine.

Bella Grace blew me away!
What an amazing magazine and I may have been thinking
that it was too high priced but
it's so much more then the price.
This isn't a magazine that you casually read
 once {maybe twice}and then toss away.
I am guilty already of reading this issue 4 times!

You notice a photo or a quote that you didn't quite take
in fully the last time you read the magazine.
I can see this issue being read so many times I lose count.
The photography is sheer eye candy alone.
Inspiration and fuel for a creative soul.


On their website {and inside the magazine},
it's stated that Bella Grace is a special publication 
devoted to discovering magic in the ordinary. Our aim is to
 touch the souls of our readers
 through beautifully penned stories and 
striking photographs that capture 
life's beautiful journey.




Embrace imperfection.
 Celebrate your messy life.
 Shine a spotlight on small, 
everyday moments 
– they are special, 
and they are yours.


YES!
YES!
YES!

This is the magazine that holds
my dream and will bring it full circle
into being.

I am going to:
- read this cover to cover
{again}
- write
- edit and fine tune
- practice with my camera
-look thru the lens of my camera until
my heart shows clearly.

Then be brave enough to submit
something to this incredible magazine.

The next photo of me holding Bella Grace
will be where I'm inside of that issue.
Where a dream has come true.


*****

Trust yourself to dream.
Trust that desire enough to share it.
Share it with those that will fan the flame.
That will encourage you and whisper
their strong belief in you.

With that powerful energy surrounding you,
watch your dream explode into reality
 and place you exactly
 where you imagined you could be.

Tracy(Cedara)Dunn

Thru the Attic Door
{A Collection of Primitives, 

Mixed Media Paintings and more}
*LIKE* my Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/thrutheatticdoor

Newspaper Covered Wall and it's connection to my heart

We live in an old farmhouse that belonged to my husbands parents.

It's in the midst of renovations but some areas are

 getting closer to being finished.

 He and I both are drawn towards unique and eclectic items. 

We are not the type to be pigeon-holed
 into one style for our home.

This is upstairs and used to be two bedrooms. He took out the wall between the rooms and
 added an extra window for more light.
 This has been transformed into what
we use as a living room
while downstairs gets renovated.

 See that pile of pink and yellow insulation
 in the next photo?

That is where he built a small dividing wall.

The wall looked like this....and yes....we've been painting color 

on a few of the finished walls too

This needed "something" but we couldn't
pinpoint what we wanted.

It's kind of an odd space to do.
Top of the stairs.

He looked at me one evening and said
I know what we are going to do
 on the wall.

Newspaper.

ummmm

say what?

{Looks to see how much wine

 is missing from the bottle.}

;)

Laughing,he explained watching me apply scrapbook paper
 to a canvas I was getting ready to paint
and the newspaper idea had come to him.

He explained his concept a bit more and I said alright,
 how about I take your idea
one step further?

I went to Facebook and asked friends from all around the world,

if they would send us a newspaper.
We'd end up with different

languages and we'd be able to look at the wall
and instantly think of each of our friends
 who sent us something.

He loved going to the mailbox
and bringing in the packages.

I am VERY blessed that so many of my friends
said they'd send us papers.

He liked hearing who the friend was
 and where I knew them from.

We had a fantastic stack of newspaper happening
and then the other day,

he looked at me and said we are going to start the wall.

He prepped it and we
spread papers on the floor.

 Chose sections of the paper that showcased
where the paper had come from.

Colors and headlines that caught his fancy.

 He applied the paper with this thick goop stuff.

 Wallpaper paste.
Seems to have worked with no issue.

 heehee

and this is the finished wall

that we are madly loving!

We are letting it sit and fully dry for a few days.
The odd wrinkle that appeared just adds to the

character of the piece.
He could have smoothed it out but 

wasn't worried about it.

He is going to apply a few coats of Varathane

and then we'll begin prepping the other wall
 in this same space.

It's a little bit larger so we'll be 
needing to get more newspapers ;) 

 

and then I met you

Woke this morning not really planning to write in my blog. Other things were on my agenda to get crossed off. While sipping my morning coffee and wiping the sleep from my eyes though, something kept jumping out at me, and I could no longer ignore the message it was sending.

While looking at what had happened on Facebook while I was offline (don't roll your eyes at me, most of you are on FB as well), a pattern started to form. In the crossword games I am playing, the same words were played in 4 games. Then reading posts by a few folks, the same words popped up.
It actually made me laugh and get to thinking about it.

Friends...... true friends...... Trues.

No matter how lonely you seem, everyone has friends.
Not everyone has friends that are "trues".
Those friends that no matter what is happening in their life, they will drop everything for you.
To be there. To hold your hand. To wipe tears from your cheeks and tell you things will be ok.
To sit silently while you vent and scream.
They are the ones who make you laugh so hard that you lose your breath.
Your side hurts the next day from the laughter lasting so long.

They are the friends that have seen you be your authentic self.
Not the "image" that is seen by so many. These folks have seen you be silly. Be serious. Be happy. Be sad. Be angry. Be everything you truly are in your core. They point out when you are being foolish about something. They have no issue with telling you when you are over reacting to something. They are the folks in your life that cheer you on like no other. Rush to stand by your side in any situation asking no questions.

This morning my heart smiled because I have those special friends that can be called "trues".
Whatever is happening in my roller coaster ride of life, they are the first to pop into my mind to talk to.
When I am up to my eyes in chaos, each has a special gift that calms me. That brings me back to center.
That makes me take a deep breath. Each has a way of making me laugh when I am positive that laughter can't happen. They are my light in my darkness.

Some have known me since childhood. Some have known me for a little over a decade. Some knew me for only a few short months and yet touched my very soul.
Instantly connecting on levels deeper then others. Understanding with one look. Feeling it so deeply with the sound of our laughter mixing together. Our shared tears. Sharing silence and yet the connection being deafening at the same time.

They are the ones who with everything about them, make me who I am today.
Make me proud and able to stand tall in my chaos.
Make me excited about life and our continuing journey together.
Not every day do we speak.
Some days, we speak too many times to keep track of.
Either way, when the contact happens..... it's like time has stood still for us.
We pick right up where we left off last time.

Friends. Real friends. Trues.
They are my trues.
I fully grasp that concept now.
My soul smiles because of them