water color garden

Chase and I did a little gardening yesterday afternoon! I had picked up a few new succulents for my patio and found this beauty. The leaves remind me a bit of a water color painting and I love the tiny pink tips! Spring is definitely here!  

sewing layers - (a work in progress)

I have a date with my sewing machine today - trying to finish up some projects that have been on the table all week. It's been such a strange week, with all the sad events throughout the country this week, I've been watching more tv than usual and I think sometimes you have to force yourself to turn the tv off and focus on something positive, otherwise it gets very overwhelming quickly. Today will be a tv free day just cds, old dusty records, maybe a little piano playing, lots of sewing and a little painting with Chase! Here's to a positive and productive Thursday! 

April Color Combo and a little Paper

Hi there! As promised, a scrappy share for Friday morning but first, a pretty color palette. 

If you've followed my blog for awhile now, it's likely you already know of my love for color combos! Every project starts with a combination of colors. I think it makes the creative process easier too, to only work within a certain combination, limits your choices but in a good way. - I actually find myself spending less time trying to decide on what papers and embellishments to use because I'm only interested in things that match with my color combination. I do this whenever I'm a guest designer and need to create alot of projects. 

Here's my color inspiration for April! 

I was asked to be their guest designer this month for Little Black Dress kit club. Since I don't subscribe to any kits, it's kind of fun to be able to play with a new one every now and then!  I made a few layouts, a couple of cards and a library mini tag book!

 

 

I also made a mini book with the Pebbles library cards and pockets that come with the main kit. Chase loves to draw little happy faces on everything, so I finally decided on saving a few and creating something to keep them in. It's his 'Happy Face' book!

Thanks for looking and have a lovely day! ~ Tara

an Afternoon in Tucson

I say this often, but I think it's worth repeating. Sometimes, stepping away from the computer, disengaging from things that take up our time and refocusing that extra time into more meaningful experiences can be renewing. Like a breathe of fresh air. Speaking of which, it's Spring here and with a very rainy Winter it created a very green Spring. A few weeks back a friend on Facebook posted this quote about the desert:

         "In order to find the desert beautiful, you have to have very small eyes."

That is a perfect way to describe life spent here in the desert where our terrain is sometimes hard to see past. I wish someone had pointed that out when I first moved to the Valley, it may have made the transition a tad smoother. :) Now though, I suppose because I passed the 10yr. mark and there appears to be no immediate plans to move out-of-state, I try to take in little details. The cactus buds getting ready to bloom, the tiny hummingbird nest near our front gate, even the way the air smells  in the evening while the golf course is being watered. I think when you stop to appreciate all the small things, much like stopping to smell the flowers, it makes time slow down a bit. 

In honor of Spring, I wanted to take the kids out exploring and we decided to take a day trip down to Tucson to visit the Sonoran Desert Museum. Basically a zoo of native Arizona animals/reptiles, mixed with a Botanical desert garden. It's nestled into the rocky hillsides just outside of Tucson which created a perfect backdrop for photos and we were there in time to see the wild flowers still in bloom! The kids and I thought it was great, a little warm in the mid-afternoon (bring a hat & water and arrive early) - there was lots of walking and even more to see and discover! 

The kids gave the museum 4 thumbs up - Chase liked the animals and Alaina really enjoyed the walk through bird aviary and the hummingbird garden. Definitely worth putting on your list of things to-do when visiting Southern AZ!

Oh! and I even had some time to scrapbook over the Spring Break ~ in case you thought I had given up on scrapbooking :) I did a little guest designing for Little Black Dress kit club. I can post all of the photos later this week, it was a fun color palette to work with!