a few photos

in loving memory of my grandpa. This beach was our favorite, and we always stopped at the look-out to see the light house whenever I could visit. I took alot of photos these past 4 days of the coast line that he loved so much, I hope he would have liked these.

Sweet November Winner...

is:

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1
Max: 71
Result:
27
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Erin said...
Oh Tara you are so talented. I have enjoyed this week so much, I am so inspired. I would love to see what your creative space looks like as well as any winter, christmas crafting ideas/projects. I am also intrigued as to how you layer like you do! Ah so much yummy goodness, I could stare for hours! Thank you for sharing.
Erin
PS What kind of sewing machine do you have? I had to retire my grandmas vintage Singer, she just can't handle it anymore. Any suggestions, there are so many options out there :)

6.11.10

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~ Erin, please send your address to me, rosas07@msn.com, and your Autumn Journal will be on it's way to your home. ~

*** and for 3 more Sweet November - giveaways please hop over to Jessica's blog!!

(those are the lovely photos that I used for my Autumn Journal.)

Thank you so much for all of the comments! I have lots of new ideas for this little blog! I have a few extras from our crafty week that I'll be adding to my Etsy shop tomorrow night.... probably around 7 or 8. (I need to get 2 little kids ready for bed first. :)) I only have 1 or 2 of everything, but if you'd like something custom made or ordered, feel free to send me an email. I'm always available to talk about ideas!

Thanks again! I'll leave you tonight with a few photos from tomorrow's Etsy update.

Sweet November: a sweet giveaway

and what could be sweeter than putting together your very own Fall inspired art journal! I've created the prettiest of vintage kits, and it includes just about everything you need to create your own book!!

This kit includes:

a vintage book with 10 sewn pages
an envelope of gathered tags, leaves, and handmade sewn journal cards
a vintage flash & bingo card
a shipping tag full of vintage trims and handmade flowers.
2 handmade tags and a vintage fabric garland
1 sheet of handmade Autumn paper stickers
and so much more!



Hope you've enjoyed our week of Fall Inspired posts!! In case you missed a post, here is the official list:

Autumn Journal
Autumn Yo-Yo Wreathe
Place Settings
Pumpkin Butter recipe
Pumpkin Spice Granola recipe
Jessica's Fall Playlist
Jessica's Hullo Fall
Tara's Welcome to Autumn

To enter this Sweet November giveaway, I would love to know what type of tutorials you would like to see. - Easy enough right! I'll be choosing a name on Tuesday afternoon. Pop into Jessica's blog on Monday for another Sweet November giveaway! Thanks so much for joining us this week!! xo ~ Tara

Sweet November: something extra

Happy Friday to you! I decided yesterday, to do an extra post for today..... because today just seemed like a good day to share something special. :) Oh & before I start , check out Jessica's Sweet November recipe! I made some last night, and I'm excited to try some Pumpkin Butter with sweet potato fries. Sounds good doesn't it?

Double Oh!! Thankyou for all of the comments on my autumn journal!

Alicia had asked:
'I meant to ask.... Is the photos and chapter words with the scrolls around them stamps? or part of the old book?'

- Those words, are from a sheet of rubons... but I can't remember who made them!! So sorry! If I find the packaging, I'll be sure to post the name!! Also, if you have questions, feel free to ask, and I'll answer them in the next post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now that the holidays are inching closer, I'm thinking ahead to the dinner parties that we'll be hosting over the next few months. While, I adore the concept of name-cards.. (Little cards with pretty scrolled names of your dinner guests, placed ever so neatly at each table setting. Just an extra touch to let your guests know they were thought about before their arrival.) my carefully thought out seating arrangements never go as planned. It's usually Alaina that takes it upon herself to reassign everyone, more to her own liking.... of course.

So, this year, I'm one step ahead of the game! Instead of creating name-cards, each table setting will have a little place card with an Autumn word. I've used some of the words from the Autumn Word List from yesterday's post, and created a set of Fall place cards. (I also fully intend to do this for our Christmas dinner parties as well!) Each person can choose their own seat and place-card.

Autumn

Acorn

Cider

Persimmon

Leaves

Now that I'm thinking about it, wouldn't a set of placecards with the different tree names be pretty too!!: Cedar, Maple, Oak, Walnut, Cyprus..... just think of the many possibilities to create something lovely!!

Join Jessica and I tomorrow for a very Sweet November giveaway!!

Sweet November: an Autumn Journal

I love the idea of a field journal and a messy-layered art journal combined. A place to collect things and take notes, with layers of papers to paint & sew, and room for special photos. Designing your own Autumn inspired journal, is as easy as rummaging around your craft space and finding a new use from old-ish things!

Since my love of old books often inspires me to use them as new mini-scrapbooks, I headed to our local thrift store to look for a fall-colored vintage hard bound book. Hard-bound books make perfect minis- the size is great and you can use the inside pages as part of your book!

Let's go into your craft room or work space and look for things you can use. Here's my favorites list; envelopes, small favor bags, flash-cards, postcards,bingo cards, flash cards, extra or left-over chipboard album pages, shipping tags, transparencies, file folders cut to size and the inside book pages sewn together.







I've decided, for this post, to focus on some ideas for Autumn journaling prompts, rather that just the construction of your own book... because really, the journal is super easy to put together and doesn't require any in-depth directions. (As long as you have a good hole-punch, anything can be turned into a page & ready to use in a mini.)




Journaling Prompts
Journaling is always easier when you have an idea of what you'd like to write about! Keep these journaling ideas in mind to help create little Autumn stories throughout your book.

- a favorite Fall memory
- What are you thankful for this season?
- favorite Fall colors
- favorite Fall smells (cinnamon, pumpkin, wood burning in a fire place)
- What is your ideal Autumn afternoon?
- What is your favorite Fall event?
- Fall recipes (I used a mailing envelope to collect recipes written on little index cards)



Autumn Quotes
I love including a few quotes throughout my book! These are some of my favorite Autumn quotes:

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower. - Albert Camus

Autumn... the year's last loveliest smile. - William C. Bryant

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. - Elizabeth Lawence




This might be my favorite page. I made a list of fall-inspired words and then imagined colors that would best match each word. It's a fun project page to work on, especially if your creativity needs to boost for the day.



Fall word list:
crisp - cranberry - apple - acorn - harvest - cinnamon - cider - frost - berries
leaves - rain - nest - pumpkin - orchard - oak - persimmon - forest - maple
pinecone - branches - pear - squash - sunflower - cedar



Hopefully the Autumn season will inspire you to create an art journal for all of your special Fall memories! If you have an extra journal prompt, please feel free to share!! I always love hearing new ideas!

**a very special thankyou to Jessica
for providing all of the Fall photos for my book!!**

Sweet November photo group

Just doing a quick drive post tonight!! Jessica has started a Sweet November flickr group. Everyone is invited to share their inspiring November photos. From recipes and decor to crafts and nature photos... if it's pretty and inspires you, feel free to add your photos to our group!!



Wednesday is Day 3 of Sweet November! Join Jessica tomorrow on her blog, Scrumdillydilly, for some colorful crafty fun!!

Sweet November, Autumn Recipe

Welcome to Sweet November, Day 2

When we have overnight company, I love serving individual breakfast foods in small cups and tiny saucers. It reminds me of something you might have at a bed & breakfast. I combined 2 of my favorite breakfast items, yogurt and granola, to create a fall inspired yogurt-parfait. Hope you enjoy it!!

Pumpkin Spice Granola Parfait

Ingredients
1/4 cup wheat bran
4 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1 Tbls. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbls. vegetable oil

*vanilla yogurt
*ginger snap cookies, crumbled


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees
2. mix together, in a large bowl, rolled oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, sliced almonds, and pumpkin pie spice.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, vanilla, apple sauce and vegetable oil. Pour over the oat mixture, and mix until coated evenly.
4. Pour an even layer onto 2 prepared baking sheets, and bake in the oven for 1hr + 15min. stirring about every 20 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and stir in the raisins.



**NOTE** the granola will harden as it cools and not while baking in the oven. Trust me, you won't want to over cook the granola!! :)

Wait until the granola has cooled completely. Spoon yogurt into cups and add a small amount of the Pumpkin Spice granola on top. Finish the parfaits by adding a sprinkle of crumbled ginger snap cookies to the top.



*Other ideas for add-ins to granola: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sweetened flaked coconut, oat bran, flax seeds, wheat germ or dried cranberries. Because there are so many variations you can create by just using a basic granola recipe, you're sure to find one that fits your taste perfectly!

Sweet November, Welcome to Autumn

Hello there. Thanks for dropping by! This week will be something completely new for me! Jessica from Scrumdillydilly and I wanted to share a few crafty posts about our favorite season, and at the end of the week, Saturday, we will both be hosting a giveaway. Join me tomorrow night here and fall into something pretty with us!!

Something tells me that this will be a very Sweet November!

What is it about Autumn that makes it so irresistible? Is it the cool crisp air that renews our creative souls and awakens the dreamer in all of us? The golden leaves that lightly dance from the branches of an old oak tree? Or maybe it's the sense of nostalgia, memories from our childhood of magical Fall traditions?

For me, it's a little bit of everything. Although I never jumped into a pile of maple leaves or rode on a hay-wagon as a child, I did,however, visit my fair share of pumpkin patches and trips up to Apple Hill. My grandparents always made the Autumn season special for us girls. I suppose, I see Fall as a new beginning, a season that let's everything start over as something new and exciting again.

Want to hear my favorite song? If you close your eyes, you can almost envision walking along a Maple lined path. The wind rustling threw the trees limbs, and leaves scattered along the ground like confetti.

There's a small part of me, that... experiences some disappointment with living in an area that lacks clearly defined seasons, but as I looked around my home here in the high desert, I started to realize that I had prepared for the season in small, less obvious ways. (I haven't carved out any family traditions yet, but those are sure to come later on when the kids are a little older... and able to travel.) I did gather a small pile of tablecloths and blankets to take on crisp afternoon picnics in the park. My home smells like cinnamon, thanks to a pot of apple cider with cinnamon sticks and crab-apples that simmers on the stove. There's a vintage wire basket full of miniature white pumpkins sitting on the counter of my kitchen. I guess Autumn really is all around us, even here in the desert.

I also made 2 color combinations for this season!! I always decorate my home with the traditional warm Fall colors, but over the years, I've really enjoyed mixing in a few whimsical colors like limes and frosty pink. It keeps my traditional home new and bright!

sunflower - burnt pumpkin - olive green - walnut

frost pink - cranberry - cream - citron

So how do you welcome Autumn? Do you have fun Fall traditions that you participate in every year? Or maybe you're more like me and just appreciate the new season with friends and family. However we welcome Autumn, it's truly a season worth celebrating!!