Jul 16, 2013

Photo post, week 1

I've decided that editing photos while on vacation is a very slow process and with that, I only have a handful of photos to share this morning. Seeing as how we've been here for a week, I'll have a considerable amount of photos to sort through once we make our way make home!
 
This past week, we: visited other Grandmas house and spent some time with Peter's side of the family.(My mother-in-law has the prettiest flower gardens!) Went to Marine World. Picked fresh fruit from the trees in my moms yard, and did a little bird watching from the kitchen window. All in all, a very simple and laid back week!
 
Tomorrow we make the drive up to the Oregon house where later in the week, we'll be meeting up with one of my sweetest crafty friends. The weekend cannot arrive soon enough! I'm off to the park with the kids again, enjoy your day!
 

 

 

 

 


 
 

 


Jul 13, 2013

Saturday Color Combo, collage pages

 
 
It's a kind of a tad bit late this evening, but I really wanted to get this post up at some point today! In between our running around, visiting family, trips to the park and evening walks looking for neighbor cats, I've managed to squeeze in a little creative time. Then today, after visiting our local farmers market for some organic fruit, a quick trip to the barber shop to get Chase a haircut and some very successful vintage book shopping, I headed back to my parents house to do some crafting and set up for a few photos. Fruit ~ old books ~ scrapbooking, could a Saturday afternoon possibly get any better?  
 
As for our color combination, at the start of the week we spent the day at Marine World where I took this photo of a pretty vintage style carousel and that's what I'm using as the inspiration for this weeks color combination!
 

 the color palette for the week is:
 
mermaid teal - Parisian pink - French custard - antique marigold 
 
I've been slowly working on my collage book this past week, collecting random papers and using my mom's dinosaur like sewing machine (seriously it's huge and bulky!) to sew the layers of papers together. I love this color combination, and when mixed with a few subtle patterns I think it's really pretty and perfect for summer!    
 
 
 
 
 
I spy with my little eye a mistake with this page.... do you see it?
 

Yep, I stamped the wrong date. So irritating and of course it looked right when I was setting it (because it's reversed on the stamp) and I'm not the patient type so testing it beforehand didn't happen. I just went for it, and then realized what I had done.....in black ink.... That's when you take a deep breath and say 'oh well.' I still like the page even with the wrong date!
 

I found a couple of interesting quotes referencing traveling/vacations while reading this week. Ultimately I went with the above quote but I also liked this one:

"When one is traveling, everything looks brighter and lovelier. That does not mean it is brighter and lovelier; it just means that sweet kindly home suffers in comparison to tarted up foreign places with all their jewels on." - Catherynne Valente


 
 I think that wraps up all of my project photos! Tomorrows plans include a trip to the rock shop (for my future gemologist Alaina) a trip to Chases favorite park here in town and I'll be making a peach tart made entirely of fruit picked from the trees in my mom's garden. (I'm thinking we could get use to this vacation schedule) Oh and some more photo editing, I want to post some of our vacation photos so far!
 
I hope you are having the loveliest of weekends! xo ~ Tara
 


Jul 6, 2013

Saturday Color Combination - Project Life



Hi there! Ready for another summer inspired color combination this weekend? Here's a slight twist on the traditional red-white-blue palette that we see this month.
 
petal pink - boysenberry - midnight blue - linen - ash grey

While I was working on the wedding book, I had this idea to do a color combination and instead of just a single layout I would do a Project Life inspired layout (not sure what else to call it!) and use some of those page protectors since I'm the proud new owner of an entire box. I'll admit I have no plans to actively participate in doing Project Life spreads each week, but I think every once in awhile, it could be fun to use the layouts to hold smaller scaled scrapbooking projects. 




 

I made these 2 pages about our very short brief stay in Oceanside, CA  back in May. I was able to use all of the extra photos that didn't make it onto a traditional 12x12 layout! 



Hope you enjoy the Color Combination! If you decide to create a little something, feel free to leave me a link so I can have a look at your work! 

Happy Saturday! 
xo ~ Tara

Jul 5, 2013

Road Trip Kit


It's official, the kids and I are traveling today which means.... summer vacation is here!
Spending the last couple of years away from home (and my awesome little craft room) means that I need to pack a mobile craft room of sorts to take on the road with us. Just a little box of things to give me something to do. I find that I tend to get bored on trips if I don't bring something creative to do. This time, I've packed a kit and have a perfect summer project in mind! 

Here's what I'm packing this year! 

1. Instax camera & film
2. envelope of stamps & tags
3. mini notebook
4. washi tapes
5. adhesive roller
6. date stamp
7. stapler & extra staples
8. paint brush (I'll purchase paint up there)
9. stamps & stamp pad
10. scissors 
11. painted journal titles
12. collage papers 


 I'm not really the journaling type, sure I like to create lists and record notes along the way, but lengthy stories of our travels, not so much. So, instead of a scrapbook or journal this year, I've created these collage books with simply two pieces of chipboard and filled with blank art paper. Ouick & easy! I hope to complete a collage every other day or so using little snips of paper and other collected paper bits and I did include a few journaling cards - just in case! ;) 




I also made an extra paper and collage book for a special crafty friend coming out to visit us! I thought it would be fun to have something creative to work on while she's visiting, like a girls craft retreat! 


Thanks so much for stopping by today! If you get a chance to pop back in tomorrow, I have a color combination scheduled and some more scrapbooking projects!

Have a lovely day! ~ Tara

Jul 2, 2013

Tuesday Menu plan 7-2



I've been doing a little menu planning for while we're away but also to finish out the week here. I love summer cooking, everything is so light and fresh and grocery stores are filled with the scents of strawberries and nectarines. What's not to love! So here's this weeks menu, and next week I really want to add a few extra fruit inspired recipes - I'm thinking peaches will be the star of next weeks menu! (ohh, wouldn't that be fun to choose one fruit or vegetable for the week, and to try and use it in different ways!) 


Tuesday:

Spinach Quiche
Turkey Sausage 
Berry Muffins 
Watermelon

Wednesday:

Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Butter
Roasted Cauliflower
Garden Salad

Thursday:

Slow cooked Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Coleslaw 
Watermelon
Baked Beans

Friday: 

Turkey Enchiladas 
Avocado & Roasted Corn Salad with honey-lime dressing
Honeydew and Nectarines


Saturday and Sunday are still in the works, but I know I want to visit a local Farmers Market for vegetables so maybe salads, grilled veggie sandwiches and fresh fruit desserts? Today is full of completing to-do lists and hopefully packing a little. Lot's to do today! 

Have a wonderful start to the week!