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!

Crate: wedding week

Over the past few years I've been adding various DIY ideas to my wedding-redo file. How many times have you thought "if only I could re-do my wedding, I would have done _______ differently?" Luckily for me, Peter has promised that when we renew our vows, that I can have that big wedding reception I've been dreaming of and planning for!! So, I've been storing away ideas; from color combinations to flower/plants, place settings ideas, decor concepts and a few menu ideas.

but then.... this week Crate Paper gave us the chance to create something wedding-theme-ish and I got to test out some of my ideas. Since I couldn't choose just one project, I created a few smaller project-ideas. If you don't have a wedding in the near future, I think any of these projects could easily work for an outdoor dinner party too!!

{I did a little write-up about each of these projects on the Crate Paper Blog.} My concept was: vintage cameras mixed with pretty scrapbook supplies.

{Table Number Cards}

{Table Seating Name Cards}

my favorite project! {Tear & Toss Confetti packets} I used a wax tissue paper and sewed them into small bags, filled with some handmade Crate Paper confetti and sewed a small tag across the top!

{mini paper garlands} ~ made from Emma's Shoppe and Portrait scraps

The Crate Paper Blog today, is giving away 2 Portrait Collections, pop over there and leave a comment to enter the giveaway and to see the rest of the design teams wedding creations! xo~ T

from the studio this morning

I have a few scrapbook layouts and maybe an atc or 2 and a color combo. on the agenda for today. An entire day devoted to being creative... hopefully. :)

Alaina and I love this song right now! Even little Chase dances around the studio when it plays. It's a fun song to listen to while working!

Enjoy your Tuesday!

weekends were made for the zoo

Warm Sunday morning at the zoo +
Picnic lunch under a shady tree +
Icees to keeps us cool +
2 Enthusiastic kids +
1 cute friend +
= a perfect weekend!