summer journal idea:

I wanted to post last week, but forgot all about it! At the beginning of the year in Alaina's 1st grade class, her teacher handed out journals to each of the students. I believe that they had an allotted time each day to quietly write on their journals. It was so cute skimming through Alaina's journal at the end of her school year. She wrote about how much she loves her little brother, that she wants to be an artist when she grows up because "I'm really good at it," and about how much she and her dad love bacon..... the inner workings of a 6 year are quite humorous.

When Alaina asked me to make her a summer journal that she could take along with her on our trip, I starting thinking of an idea for what could be used to create the front and back cover of the journal. (It would have been easier to just use a compisition notebook but I really wanted something on a smaller scale. Pocket size or just a little larger.) I scoured my craft room looking for the right size chipboard to use as covers but didn't really find anything terribly useful...... until I saw a box of greeting cards!

A greeting card would make a perfect little journal! They're already folded and cute cards are readily available everywhere, but it's especially sweet if you can reuse a pretty card that was given to you. (Do you keep cards that you received? I always keep the pretty cards I receive for special occasions, I figure eventually I'll use them for something useful.

To start I trimmed down to size a small stack of graph paper and folded the sheets in the middle. Just use a couple of staples to hold the paper inside the card.

and no summer journal would be complete without a sheet of stickers. I used to be a sticker queen when I was little and I've obviously passed on the love to Alaina. (Chase too if you noticed his 4th of July flag below!)

There is my easy-peasy summer journal idea! Other add on ideas could be a sheet of printed titles, maybe add a roll of cute washi tape to hold paper notes, and a sheet or 2 of letter stickers. Hope you are able to make a few with you little ones and record those special summer memories!

scenes from the beach

thought I would pop in and share a few photos. We're hanging out at a McDonald's while I upload photos and the kids can play. It's my only option in this town for a good wifi connection. Beggers can't be choosers I suppose.

I took the kids to the beach for their first ocean experience a couple of days ago! You can tell my kids are tourists because they're clearly dressed for the snow instead of the beach. :) So beautiful but holy freezing Oregon coast!!

Tidal pools are always my favorite, and searching for sea shells. Alaina picked up a wee little hermit crab and screamed and complete terror. It's tough being a kid and growing up in the desert, we're so sheltered down there. Tomorrow will be another beach day for the kids. A sandy beach this time with no terrifying crustaceans!!

Paint Challenge

It's my turn again to post a challenge on the entreArtistes Magazine blog this month! I have been bitten by the paint bug, lately, when it comes to scrapbooking, so I knew I wanted to do a challenge that involved paint! So for my challenge, which is really simple, is to use paint to write your layout title.

I mixed together a few shades of acrylic paint in white/cream/sand shades. I like using lighter shade as my base. I tend to keep adding more layers of paint until I get the right consistency of texture and then I use spray paint. I love high contrast pages and it's hard to make a mistake with paint. Just remember you can always paint over something you don't feel belongs.

Oh and I also made a sketch! It's my first attempt at trying to make one on the computer rather than hand drawing one. I tried. :) Happy scrapbooking!

Guest Blogger: Jessica from Scrumdillydilly

hellooo from the road! Since I'll be away from my little craft space, I've scheduled a few scrapbook/craft posts over the next couple of weeks and I plan on actually uploading a couple of videos of our trip. (yep, you're going to get to hear my squeaking voice. :)) But first! I asked my talented friend Jessica, aka "Ms. Queen o'Crafts" if she would do the honors of being my first guest blogger. I thought it would be fun for everyone to see someone else on my blog for a change and I knew Jessica would put a great tutorial together!! Please say hello to Jessica for me!
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Salutations folks! This is Jessica here from scrumdillydilly sharing a little eye candy that is completely, totally and utterly inspired by Tara and her mad paper skills. I absolutely cannot adore her crafty brain enough, can you?

I have a few birthdays coming up and wanted to present the birthday peoples with happy scrappy wee notebooks. Inspired in part by Tara and her mad layering skills and in part because one of the notebooks I picked up has a big blazing word on the front that will not do for a gift at all I decided to create a tiny log cabin "quilt" from paper scraps to add a mad dash of color to the front of each notebook.

I gathered up my paper bits, scissors and my trusty glue stick and began with a mini wonky square.



Next, I added a thin scrap of paper to one side of the square and continued on my merry way, cutting and gluing and gluing and cutting.



I used an index card as my base and added paper until I had no more index card to cover. I flipped the card over and trim excess bits and popped the whole thing into my sewing machine.





I used a medium straight stitch and stitched around the perimeter of the card and then all the way across in a series of rows as wide as the width of my sewing machine foot.



After smothering the back of the stitch-happy paper with double stick tape, I positioned my little bit of color to the front of each notebook and did a little happy dance (along with a wee bit of rootbeer float as it was hot out and I was celebrating).





I think I may be addicted but I am flat out of notebooks. You can whip up your own books with scrap paper, cardstock and staples or cover a series of mini composition books. If yer really brave, you can switch to fabric scraps and whip up itty-bitty log cabin squares for embellishing all sorts of crafty fun. I hope you enjoy my tiny take on Ms. Tara's magic and don't be stranger if you have any questions.

4th spectacular

Happy 4th of July!!! Time to wave our flags, be grateful for our independence and watch the fireworks! Hope everyone has a safe holiday!

happy 4th by TaraAnderson featuring agate jewelry

my all time favorite rendition of our National Anthem. Nobody can sing it like Whitney!

inspired by: the 4th

We're celebrating the 4th here a little early this year and on Thursday I had a craft day for the kids and our favorite neighbor. I decided that we would try and make flags to hang and celebrate the holiday with. Any time I can let my kids create something and they get to use up those paper scraps (that pile up a mile high after each scrapbooking project) - is always a positive in my book!

In creating our flags, I gave the kids each an 8 x 10 piece of cardstock and a pair of scissors. I sat out my container of scrap paper, glues, stickers, rhinestones, ribbons, paper punches and flowers and encouraged the little artists to create their own unique flag.

Be prepared for a mess!

**helpful hint #326: Glue Dots and a stapler will be your child's best friends with this project. I always try to keep our craft time to right around an hour, anything that takes longer than an hour is not going to end well for small children. So, it's always helpful to look for short cuts when working with kids!**

It was Chases' first experience working with children's safety scissors. :) His paper did start of as an 8x10 sheet and got smaller as the hour went on.

flag art by: Chase

Alaina wanted to use a little of everything on the table!

flag art by: Alaina

our favorite little neighbor Shavonne just discovered my secret stash of scrapbook flowers!

flag art by: Shavonne

and finally my flag. I sewed all of my layers to a piece of linen. I love the flexibility of linen! If you're making these flags with kids, make sure you use cardstock as your glue will not stick properly to linen.

I don't have a large flag to hang in the front of the house but I think this littler one will be perfect for our front gate.

Happy 4th of July - crafty Saturday to everyone!!

summer time clothes

a small post this morning inspired by the ocean and sea shells.

summer shopping by TaraAnderson featuring wedge heels

My plan for today: packing! yikes - vacation time is almost upon us!

I also used a few of my photos as inspiration for the styleboard above. I'm totally in love with that lavender/coral color palette, so much so that I think I will use it as a guideline for what to pack for our trip. It seems very beachy and pretty at the same time! My own personal theory when it comes to choosing what to pack is to choose a color combo. This way you can mix and match your clothing choices and everything should still look good together. (that's the goal anyway, as I hope I don't end up looking like a crazy tourist from the desert! ;))

Can you tell I'm excited to be going to the ocean? I have an Inspired by: post coming up a little later today. It's a fun kid's craft!!

getting ready & making a list

I don't know how most people go about packing for a trip, but for me it's something that I kind of look forward too..... and actually I think packing might just be the most exciting part of the trip. That sounds crazy right? Much like planning my weekly menus, I approach packing in the same way. I make a long list, write down each day and what I plan on wearing for the day - even down to the purse and shoes. Because I'm traveling this time with the kids, I'll do the same with their suitcases. All in a effort to keep things simple and hopefully I won't forget anything! ~ that's the plan anyway.

vintage inspired by TaraAnderson featuring travel bags

I've been playing on Polyvore - careful, it's addicting and extremely time consuming! This is what my mental picture of each day looks like. *dork alert* When I was a little younger, I would separate all of my clothes and accessories into individual bags with a label that had the day of the week. An entire outfit in a bag.... it took the guess work out of wondering what to wear in the morning.

Don't worry, I'm not nearly as organized when it comes to unpacking. In fact, I've been known to take my sweet time unpacking after a trip ~ as in weeks. :))

Monday Menu

It's been awhile without posting my weekly menu!

I actually enjoy going to the grocery store in the summer time. Not only is it about 40 degrees cooler than the blazing outside temps., now when you first walk into the store you can smell the nectarines & peaches. yummm! Plus, during summer, it's perfectly acceptable to serve salads every night of week and no one complains! So cooking during this season is super simple!

Here's this weeks menu.

Monday:
Fish Tacos
3 bean salad
watermelon

Tuesday:
Grilled Garlic Chicken
Mango Salsa
guacamole
Salad

Wednesday:
Eggplant Sandwiches
honeydew & blackberries with brown sugar lime sauce

Thursday:
Asian Beef & Vegetable Wraps
"fried" rice * I use brown rice with soy sauce to create an non-fried rice

Friday:
Terriyaki Chicken
Thai Coconut Rice with Mango's
Roasted Zucchini

Saturday: Breakfast night-
Grilled French Toast skewers
grilled white peaches with mascarpone cheese and honey
turkey bacon
eggs

Sunday:
either left-overs or Pizza

Now, time for a late night snack and some photo editing! night-night!

guest designing + Crate Paper

I think this month has been one of my busiest yet! Thankfully, it's almost over! I was asked to be a guest designer this month at Skissedilla - sketch blog.




I have this layout hanging in my studio right now, it's kind of inspired by the confetti packets I made for Crate Paper's wedding week. Who knew little paper circles could be so inspiring!

I also decided to host the giveaway for the sketch challenge as well ~ a little handmade & vintage embellishment kit, because everyone could use a little something extra!




On the Crate Paper blog today, my very first Crate DIY project has just been posted! Alaina and I got crafty and made a few Art display boards for her room, complete with tiny vintage tart-tin magnets. It's a fun summer craft project to try and it could be completely versatile! I plan on making another larger one for my kitchen pantry - to post the menu plans for the week and other lists.








whew!! I think that covers today's events. I have a whole day of apts. and errands and then a little dinner party to host this evening. Busy indeed - Happy Monday!

lovely sunday

color inspiration for the weekend - more suited for Spring but still pretty and light enough for Summer.

question of the day

What do you collect? Off the top of my head, I can think of 5 collections:

1. vintage glass containers/jars

2. postage stamps (especially birds, butterflies, and stamps from Malaysia & Singapore)

3. India flower vases
4. vintage cameras (of course! I have a particular love for Kodak cameras & Polaroids)



5. Orchids (I now have 5 plants living in my kitchen)


Do you collect something unexpected? I will admit, I never thought I would be a dorky stamp collector..... and yet, I have a great collection of pretty stamps. So, I will wear that title proudly!


Got to run and pick up the girl from art-camp. I have a bunch of projects to share for Crate Paper this week and a fun little giveaway as well. Be back soon!