hello!

I've decided that in order to really tackle that to-do list and accomplish what needs to be done, that sometimes, you must take a vacation from your computer. Plus, this time of year is always crazy, even without having a massive to-do list. There was Easter, a visit to a neighbors ranch to see the new babies, Alaina's school talent show, Dr. apts, teacher appreciation week - all week - packing/planning, lots of Spring cleaning and Alaina has just 10 days of school left and then it is official: summer vacation. Ahh summer, where it's perfectly acceptable to spend the day in the pool and be completely lazy. Looking forward to it!







I have a new post up on the Crate Paper blog! I'll post all of the extra photos of my project on my blog later this afternoon. It's a project that needs it's own post, all to itself - there are oodles of pics to share! xo ~ T

a bunny tale

Years ago, I want to say like 3 years ago, right around Easter time I was patiently waiting for Jessica to restock her famous Easter Bunnies. I had missed out the previous year and this time I was determined to purchase a lavender-chocolate (fabric of course) bunny for Alaina. I scored and the bunny arrived just in time for Easter!

I was so excited to give it to Alaina, it came wrapped just like a little chocolate bunny. Totally cute, and apparently our black lab Dutchess thought so too because within hours of giving it to Alaina, the dog had tried eating it. (In Dutchie's defense she was a puppy, but that year she tore apart 1 Easter Bunny, chewed off Barney's nose, ate 6 of Handy Manny's tools and destroyed 2 Foofa dolls. It was not a good year to be a toy in our house.) I was mortified for Alaina and completely embarrassed to tell Jessica that all her hard work was eaten. So I stayed mum for a year, until Easter rolled around again and I purchased another bunny from her shop. I also came clean about the fate of the previous year's bunny.

So, if your looking for a cute-vintage and one of a kind Easter basket gift, look no further than a little love bunny!!

feathers: plumes tutorial

I have a new feather embellishment tutorial up on the EntreArtistes blog. It's a simple little tutorial but feathery and pretty and perfect for gift-wrapping. It's true, I am forever thinking of how to wrap the next gift. :)

Monday's Menu

on a Tuesday.... because I run about a day late with everything. :) Have you ever had one of those weeks when you crave a certain fruit... or salad? Of course it would be easy to say no, I crave sour-cream & cheddar potato chips, but really, we're suppose to be healthy here. So, my answer is yes, I've been wanting nothing but nectarines, blackberries, coconut and cabbage. Luckily for me, our grocery stores have recently stocked white peaches & nectarines!! Oh joy - oh happy day!

menu - 4-11 by TaraAnderson on Polyvore.com

This weekend, I made homemade lemonade with blackberries and big sprigs of mint. Not only was it perfectly bitter-sweet it was oh-so lovely. Seriously, I'm going to make it again this week just for the photos, it's really that pretty! I also tried Coconut Gelato for the first time yesterday..... maybe my new fav. dessert.

Alright, here it is. This weeks menu for those that emailed me needing ideas this week! :))

Monday:
Chicken Salad on Wheat with avocado & romaine lettuce
Honeydew Melon & fresh berries

Tuesday:
Southwest Chicken Taco Salad
Sweet Corn Bread casserole
watermelon

Wednesday:
Swedish Turkey Meatballs
Brown Rice
Sauteed Peas & Almonds
Garden Salad

Thursday:
tBLT's (turkey-bacon) w/ turkey & avocado spread on Honey Oat bread
Cantaloupe

Friday:
Broccoli & Beef Brown Rice Bowls
Edamame Salad
Fortune Cookies

Saturday:
BBQ Chicken
Cherry tomato, roasted corn, avocado salad with green onions
fresh melons & berries
grilled white corn tortillas


I cut probably 194,568.12 pieces of vintage fabric today.... Well, maybe not quite that many but I did spend the majority of my day bundling fabrics into kits. My work table is covered with little stacks of vintage florals. It's quite the sight and I've started to realize that I may have a problem with collecting vintage linens... if there is even such a thing! I'm going back to the cutting table this evening while the house is nice and quiet. :) good-night all!

happiness is:

one over-sized mug filled with hot chocolate, 2 handfuls of mini-marshmallows and 3 spoons on a Sunday morning.

Be back tomorrow to post the weekly menu and a photo of 2... today's hectic schedule has worn me out and I desperately need some beauty-sleep!! Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

a night-time hello...

Ok. I purchased a new camera and I'll admit, I really do love it. I had a Nikon D60 (the one that bit the dust unfortunately last week) and I was not too keen on having to shop for and learn how to use a new camera. I was just going to replace my D60, it's a sensible choice and I already know how it works, but I ran into the store and all they had was the Nikon D3100 and I needed a camera by 12pm yesterday. So Chase and I walked out of the store with a new camera in hand and ran back to the house to start charging the battery so that I could get back to work.

The kids were sweet enough to let me practice some of the new settings. My little guy is such a total ham when it comes to cameras or video cameras. No need to coax him into taking his photo!




I will say this, with the D60 I always had to edit my photos but with this D3100 there is almost no editing needed. The images are sharp, bright and clear which I love. It's been stormy and overcast here lately, so the lighting hasn't been optimal but by looking at the photos I took today, you wouldn't be able to tell. I think I'm sold!

and Alaina, I made her take a break from homework yesterday to take a couple of photos. I can't believe how much she looks like me in this one, I usually say that she looks just like her dad, but not so much here. It might be the lighting.... or my awesome new camera!



I had a super busy - half way productive day. I worked on 2 tutorials today,
(here's a peek:



I cleaned a little (that boy of mine loves to open and pour out every container I own in my craft room), and I'm putting together the next color combination for May. You're going to love it, I just know it!

Oh! and probably the best - most awesome part of today - I got to talk to this lady on the phone tonight! If you knew me in real life, you would know that I have a ridiculous fear of phone calls. Always have. As far back as I can remember I have never liked calling anyone for anything on the phone. I'm an email-instant messaging kind of girl. Even the idea of Skype makes me a little anxious..... ridiculous, I know. So it was kind of a big deal to me. :))

I'm off to make a pretty flower garland and then some reading time. I just purchased this book, it's looks fun and I can't wait to see the photos. I love re-purposing design books!



I'll do a question/answer post too sometime this week. I have questions to answer from the blog and flickr, so I think I shall put them all in one post. If you've asked me something recently - I haven't forgot you!!

Spring Color Combos

Remember the posts Saturday Color Combination I did through the summer? Well, they're back, but with a new home & name. I'm going to be posting the color challenges on the Crate Paper Blog and because it's Crate there will be a fabulous prize for the winner of the challenge each month!

Here's my inspiration for this month's color combination - pretty - cheery and perfect for Spring! (although we are on day 3 of rain and cold temps. here - go figure!)




there's just a couple guidelines to go by if you'd like to play along with the challenge and the details can all be found on the Crate blog and here's my take on the color challenge this month:




I hope to see you over at the color challenge this month!

eeks!! - technical difficulties

The cutest boy in the world pulled my camera off the table and onto the tile floor below. Broke. I've been camera-less for the past week and it's not fun! So, tomorrow morning Chase and I are going on a mission to shop for a new Nikon. Be back soon with new photos from a new camera! xoxo~ t

I'm a guest!!

with Simply ATC for their Card #13 Which Magazine challenge.

When Angie asked if I'd like to be a guest again I couldn't resist another chance to create small art! The inspiration for this challenge was a collage of retro magazine covers and I must admit it was really challenging for me to create something.... less than frilly. :) Here's my take on the challenge!




and 2 of my atc cards have been published in the new issue of Create: Embellish Idea Book!! Both cards were made for Simply ATC, the very first challenge Alice and Wonderland & the Ampersand challenge. fun.fun.



I have no idea what this Saturday has in store for me, but I'm thinking maybe a trip to a thrift store with the kids to look for a few books and a little art making may be in the works for today! Happy weekend!

a little collection of pretty

Hello there, how are you this Thursday?



I made flowers all day today. Yellow ones, fuchsia ones, teal and green floral ones.. pretty layered fabric flowers, and while I was tidying up the craft room I spied one of my favorite mini's up on the shelf. A little vintage book filled with magazine clippings of pretty things and lovely color combinations. I made this book 2summers ago I thought it was about time that I posted some of the pages. It's my go-to book for color inspiration!
























I need to make a file folder for all of the extra clippings I've collected. I think saving things that you find inspiring is always a great idea for when you need a little boost of creativity!!

a little bit of this & a little bit of that

a glorious end to the weekend.



Alaina was on Spring Break this past week and me, well I was still in recovery mode. Recovery is such a pain, no lifting anything over 5 pounds, so that takes care of kids, little dogs, groceries... no pushing grocery carts, no exercising, and no vacuuming. I miss picking up Chase, when he sees me in the morning he'll run towards me and I'll catch him, lift him into the air and then he giggles and hugs me tight. It's so sweet and I miss my morning hug. I miss vacuuming too. I'm one of those weirdos who will vacuum a couple times a day because I like seeing the vacuum lines in the carpet. :) 5 more weeks, got to make it until then!

I've planned out my menu for the week. Has anyone out there been planning a weekly menu? Have you ran into any bumps in planning? With me, there is at least one day a week that I get stuck and cannot think of anything to make. nothing. It's usually the last day of the week and I just run out of momentum. I'm kind of thinking that maybe I should try a new recipe on the last day of each week? That might work!! So, here it is, Monday's Menu: (and it's actually being posted on a Monday this week - sometimes I surprise myself too!!)

Monday:
Organic Tomato Soup
Grilled Crab & Cheese on Wheat Sourdough (think grilled cheese, except imitation crab and jack cheese. it's a favorite of mine whenever I visit Florence Oregon and this little coastal cafe for soup and sandwiches.)

Tuesday:
Mandarin Chicken Rice bowls with peas, green onions, water chestnuts and cashews
Roasted Zucchini

Wednesday:
Fish Taco's
3 Bean Salad
Honeydew melon

Thursday:
Garlic Chicken with Farfalle Pasta
Caesar Salad
Cantaloupe

Friday:
Cobb Salad
Garlic Naan Bread
Peach, Nectarine Blueberry with mint salad

Saturday:
Grilled Petite Steaks
Caprese Salad
Honeydew melon
french bread

I spent most of the weekend working and taking breaks to play outside. It's so nice here. Warm and sunny.. I suppose that is the draw to Arizona, our weather. It's perfect picnic weather! I need to put that on the to-do list again soon because you can never have to many Spring picnics!! and I'm working on something big at the moment, I'll leave you with a sneak-peek tonight! :))



I'm calling it an semi-early night. I stayed up way too late last night watching the NatGeo channel. There was a new show-special on Egypt and I couldn't turn the tv off. Darn that channel, it gets me every time! good-night all ~