Monday, December 13, 2010

Christmas Break

As you probably know from other posts we will be traveling over Christmas. I have lots of cleaning, packing, and last bits of homework to get done before we leave.  And once we make to Colorado I will be busy visiting family and shopping:~) So I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be taking a little bit of a Christmas break and will be back after the new year. I hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe Christmas!!!


Merry Christmas, Everyone!


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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Shutter Love - Zoom zoom

ShutterLoveTuesdays


This week's theme is Zoom zoom.


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I took this of my sister when my family came to visit over the summer.  We took them 4-wheeling on our favorite trail.  This was taken about 20 miles down the trail only 40 more to go at this point:~) Zoom, Zoom.....


Tara



Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Glitter Trees

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A few weeks ago I saw this over at eighteen25 and I loved them!!! I really wanted to make a set of my own.  However, those stupid foam cones are $6 a piece here! As much as I love those trees I couldn't bring myself to pay $26 for the cones and glitter.  I decided to improvise.  I bought 3 pieces of heavy card stock at $0.89 a piece and I made my own cones.


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I think they turned out pretty well.  What do you think?


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Tara



Sunday, November 28, 2010

Scavenger Hunt Sunday



This week's categories are Black and White, I ate this..., Historic, Off Center, The End.


1. Black and White - I took this while out on a walk with a friend.


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2. I ate this...


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3. Historic - While I was working on my photos for this scavenger hunt I took a detour trip through my old photos and found this photo. I took this picture of the Vietnam Memorial way, way, back. Back when my hubby of 6 years was still my fiancee. With the cold, crappy roads, and Thanksgiving I haven't really been out to take pictures, so I decided to use this for my "historic" picture.   


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4. Off - Center - This guy was in my driveway.


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5. The End - I took this at the end of our walk. By the time we were on our way back the wind was wipping and it was quite cold. My dog Tucker was very much done.  He beat us back to the cars:~)


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Tara



Friday, November 26, 2010

Flat Iron Travel Case

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is already over and Christmas decor is coming out! Where did this year go? Not that I'm complaining.  In fact I'm incredibly excited! There are only 21 days left until we leave for Colorado, but I'm not really keeping track:~) 


A while back I saw a flat iron case.  It never occurred to me to put my flat iron in a case while traveling.  I usually just wrap it up in a shirt and make sure it's tucked away safely in my suit case.  I really like the idea of a case.  And since we are traveling this christmas I thought why not make one.


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I used the same fabric I used for my jewelry roll.  It is Amy Butler's Love Paradise Garden in Periwinkle.  It is padded with a snap closure and has a divider on the inside so that the cord stays neat. 


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Tara



Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

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(image source)


So once in every year we throng
Upon a day apart,
To praise the Lord with feast and song
In thankfulness of heart.
~Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving


Wishing everyone a fantastic Thanksgiving!


Tara


 


 



Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Embellisehd with Pleats

The weather in here in Interior Alaska has been unusual.  Thanksgiving should bring with it snow and minus temps. Instead this year we get barely freezing temps and rain....yuck! The roads have been so hazardous that they actually closed all the school even the college! That never ever happens here.  It could have dumped snow, there could be dense ice fog, or -65 degree temps and school stays open.  That should paint a picture of just how awful the roads are. I borrowed this pic from a friend.  This is what the roads looked like on Monday morning.


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Fun, right? Any-who...I had intended to make some pretty fabric napkins and napkin rings for Thanksgiving, but give the road conditions I decided that driving into town on my own for fabric was not the best idea. The hubby and I did brave the roads yesterday to run errands, but I completely forgot to grab fabric.  Not that my hubby would have been patient in JoAnne's anyways:~)  


I have a white cardigan from the Gap that I have been meaning to dress up a bit and just haven't gotten around to it.  Since my napkin project wasn't going to happen I decided to finally work on my sweater.


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I used an old tank top and cut it into strips for the pleats.  I then folded each pleat and pinned them in place.  I stitched my pleats in place by hand. This way if I ever decide to remove the pleats I can. I'm thinking about stitching on either side of my initial stitch line with colored thread.  We'll see:~)


Tara



Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Shutter Love - Fall

ShutterLoveTuesdays


This week's theme is FALL.


Since fall pretty much ended about 2 months ago here and AK is now sporting about a foot and a half of snow I pulled this picture from my iPhoto stash.


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I snapped this photo of the Gulkana Glacier on our drive back from camping in Valdez back in September. I love, love, love how it turned out.  The colors are fantastic and the reflection of the mountains in the lake is awesome.  


Tara



Monday, November 22, 2010

Party Dress

I bought this pattern at JoAnne's for $1 at the Veteran's day sale.  I really love the dress and thought it would be perfect for my husband's christmas party.  I found really pretty green shantung fabric that I really liked which was also on sale.


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(source)


This dress was incredibly simple...no lining, no zipper, simple! It took me a day to make. 


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(Sorry for the bad picture)


I can't decided if I love the dress on me....


I did decide I didn't like the sash that the pattern called for so I switched it out for the belt.  I also didn't add the pockets. I didn't see the point.  The hem on me is a tad shorter then I had expected, but I have long legs.  I may end up wearing this with leggings if I decide to wear it at all.


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Tara


 



Scavenger Hunt Sunday

I'm only a little late posting this:~) I got super side traked yesterday working on projects and starting to get ready for Thanksgiving.  By the time I remembered to post, it was well past my bed time.  I also managed to forget to take my something hot photo.  Oh well.  I did atleast get some good ones for the other items.



This week's items are the view above, something hot, something cold, electronic, and sparkle.


1. The view above - So my brain took this as the view FROM above.  After looking at everyone else's photos I guess my pic is a little opposite. 


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3. Something Cold - We got lots of new snow over the weekend:~)


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4. Electronic


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5. Sparkle - this one didn't quite turn out like I hoped it would.  But since I let myself run out of time I decided to post it anyways. 


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Tara


 



Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Travel Jewelry Roll

We are headed to Colorado for Christmas this year to visit family...WOO HOO!! Its been quite a while since I've traveled outside of Alaska for an extended period of time. (Heck it's been a while since I've traveled anywhere that didn't involve 4-wheelers and camping.) Since we will be there for a little over two weeks, I'm starting to get things together for the trip.  I had to order a new suitcase and am looking into a new laptop bag and what not.  Anways...I don't usually bring alot of jewelry with me because my necklaces always get all tangled up.  But I really want to bring some with me this time.  So I started looking around and thinking about it. I really like the idea of the jewelry roll.  And it just so happens that I had everything I needed to make one at home already.  I had one organic cloth diaper left over, from the burp cloths I made a while back, which made the perfect backer.  I used the last bit of Amy Butler fabric I had, also left over from that project, and the last bit of blue fabric I had left from my family tree project. 


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I made three strips to be used as pockets to hold the bottoms of my necklaces and earrings and one more strip for the top to "hang" my necklaces from. 


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I made a flap to cover everything and ensure that nothing falls out.


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Now I can take my necklaces with me when I travel and not worry about them getting all tangled up:~)


Tara


 



Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Another headband

While I was at JoAnne's hunting for supplies, for another project and my other headband, I found some pleated trimming that I loved! And since I had headbands on the brain I automatically thought this would make a great one. I already had a basic black leather one at home that I never wear so I thought why not dress it up a bit.


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It was very easy.  I used a hot glue gun again for this one.  I turned under the raw edges at either end so they wouldn't show and simply glued the trimming onto the headband. Easy Peasy!


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Tara


 



Monday, November 15, 2010

Jcrew Inspired Headband Tutorial

While shopping for tights the other day I found this on jcrew.com.  Jcrew


I loved it, but I don't wear headbands enough to justify spending $30 and it looked easy enough to make.  I found a satin coverd headband at JoAnne's for $2 and a bag of acrylic rhinestones for $3.  I also bought a piece of black felt to use as a backer which was $0.59.  Here is what my final product ended up looking like.


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What you will need:


Acrylic Rhinestones


Small Pearls


Felt


Headband


Hot Glue Gun


1. Figure out how long your felt backer needs to be. I put the headband on and marked right above my ear. I measured from that point to the middle of the headband for the length. I then decided how wide I wanted it and cut my felt to fit.


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2. Next I arranged my rhinestones and glued them to the felt. Make sure to leave room between your rhinestones for the pearls.


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3. Cut away the excess felt leaving a small border around the outside edges of the rhinestones.


4. Start adding the pearls.  Add a little hot glue at a time, being careful not to get it all over the place.  Then add pearls as if you were spreading glitter over glue.  Push them done to ensure they stick and remove those that don't. Keep doing this until you have added as many pearls as you want.


5. Glue your creation on to your headband. 


Now you have a pretty hair accerrory for the holidays:~)


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Tara