Today I:

made turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry relish, sauteed peas with almonds, green bean casserole and fry bread with honey (which we're just finishing now.) It was just us this year, Alaina is sick and in an effort to contain the germs, we decided to stay home. The first time in.... actually I think it was the first time we didn't have company over for Thanksgiving, or spent the day with family. It was nice and quiet. Perfect.

This morning I woke up called the kids into bed with me and we watched the Macy's Day Parade... just like I use to as a kid at my grandparents house. Alot of today was spent remembering what the holiday meant to me as a child and I hope I can give my kids the same memories that I have.

I hope your Thanksgiving was memorable for all the right reasons!! Happy Thanksgiving. xo ~ Tara


*my shelf, decorated for today*

Cute & Easy Fabric/Ribbon Bandaids

Kids and ouchies seem to go hand in hand... or maybe that should be 'on knee & knees'? If you have children or have a child occasionally in your care, there's a really good chance that you have a small stash of boxes, with bandaids in different sizes and colors, ready to go at a moments notice! (Just ask Alaina's teacher!!)

Since I'm almost positive that my children see bandaids as removable body-art stickers, it was quickly becoming an expensive new hobby for us. With this simple idea, there's no need to purchase those neon shades or the cartoon character bandaids anymore. Now you can make your own cute fabric bandaids with just a few materials and only 3 quick steps!

Materials:

Glue Dots - Craft
Fabric Adhesive Bandaids (I like the generic fabric bandaids)
ribbon or fabric scraps




Directions

1. Unwrap the bandaids from package and place 3 glue dots on the top of the bandaid



2. Add a small piece of fabric or ribbon on top.



3. Trim the excess fabric off from around the edges of the bandaid.

Alaina and I had alot of fun whipping up this cute little tutorial.. hope you like it!!

an Envelope Tutorial

It's dark & rainy here in the desert today, which means it's a good day to spend inside catching up on some house-work. I was taking a quick lunch break and looking through a couple of easy-peasy tutorials that I made but just hadn't posted yet. So, here is my envelope tutorial made with just 2 glue dots Glue Lines!!

With the holidays approaching, there are more reasons to give a card to your favorite teacher, a small envelope with a gift-card tucked inside to the best hair stylist, or just a quick thank you to a sweet friend. You'll be sure to find lots of reasons to pass out envelops with pretty cards this season, and what could be sweeter than handmade envelopes from vintage papers!

To make these envelopes extra simple, I've used an A4 envelope as my template. Unfold the envelope and trace onto the back of the paper you'd like to use for your envelope.



If you want to get extra fancy, cut a piece of scrapbook paper just slightly smaller than the inside of your envelope.



Use 2 Glue Dots - Glue Lines on the outer margins to secure your envelope's seams. Fold the bottom of the envelope inward, and fold the outer edges over the bottom part of the envelope.



Just add a cute handmade card and a postage stamp and you're ready to mail!



See how quick and easy that was!!

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!!**