Pairings: Arizona Autumn + Fall Decor

I’ve paired nine shots of Arizona fall color with Etsy finds that match their autumn vibes! Each pair is a place to go along with fall-inspired decor and other fun stuff.

You can see more on Etsy’s Fall Decor Essentials guide or check out my personal picks.

Artificial stems with fall foliage in a glass jar vase — Six fall foliage stems from BoutiqueBarn in New Hampshire.

1. Fiery Orange Trees + Stems

Go: Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior, Arizona

Every fall, this Chinese Pistache Tree at Boyce Thompson Arboretum turns brilliant shades of orange. You can see it from far away, as it stands out from the green leaves of trees surrounding it.

BTA is a great day trip from the Phoenix area! It’s just about 45 minutes from the East Valley via US 60.

Get it: Rustic Fall Branch

In similarly striking oranges and yellows, you could use these fall foliage stems as part of a flower arrangement or on their own, grouped together to make a standout seasonal centerpiece.

- At 24 inches tall, they could really add some height to your Thanksgiving tablescape!
- Sourced by BoutiqueBarn + shipping from New Hampshire.

shelves that look like mushrooms — Ceramic floating shelves made by LeilyCloud

2. Stump Mushrooms + Wall Mushrooms

Go: Summerhaven, Mount Lemmon near Tucson

I wasn’t planning on taking a photo of a tree stump while I was admiring the view from Mount Lemmon. Then I noticed teeny – almost cute – little mushrooms growing out of it, and those needed to be captured!
Continue reading “Pairings: Arizona Autumn + Fall Decor”

October 30, 2020

How to Make Reverse Trick-or-Treat Bags

I’m thinking this would be a good year for some reverse trick-or-treating.

While I’m not really into Halloween, I do like it as an excuse to indulge in some of the junk candy that I don’t buy the rest of the year, and I’ll pick up a bag or two “just in case.”

I even did this when we lived in a third-floor apartment. Since I didn’t expect anyone to come up, I made a few little candy bags and brought them to my neighbors instead. Reverse trick-or-treat!

In the 2020 version, I’d mask up and leave the treats outside neighbors’ doors.

Materials + Tips

Here’s what I used, plus alternatives in case you want to make the project simpler or fancier or to use materials you happen to have already…

Treat bags – These are great to buy when they’re on sale after the holiday – unlike candy, they’ll keep! I got a pack of clear ones on clearance at Target several years ago, and I’ve used them for a variety of things since then, including sleeves for pressed flowers. Alt: regular sandwich baggies, small paper bags, gift bags

Crinkle paper – Upcycled from some other packaging (maybe it came from these costume mask kits-?) Alt: tissue paper, shredded paper, confetti, or skip it (It’s mostly there for color.)

Cord (for the bow) – I used what I had on hand from an envelope journal workshop. Alt: ribbon, raffia, yarn, bakers’ twine, nothing (Again, it’s just a festive touch.)

Shipping tag – I wrote our names on the back with a reminder who we were (i.e. “From: Phillip and Stephanie from upstairs”), since I suspected some of our neighbors might recognize our faces but not our names. To be honest, I wasn’t sure about some of theirs, which is why there was no “To:” – just a “Happy Halloween” on the front. Alt: label, card, or make your own gift tags

Ultra fine tipped marker

Washi tape to keep the bag closed

Candy – make sure it’s individually wrapped!

Kids need a project?

If you are looking for something to occupy your kids or teens (hello, parents working from home!), here are a few ways they can help with these…

Color, stamp, and/or add stickers to bags.
Make Halloween cards or tags.
Cut construction paper into pieces to use instead of crinkle paper. (Or use a hole puncher / leaf-shaped paper punch to make confetti.)
Fill the bags – if they can be trusted around all that candy! (I barely can.)

On the tag or card, include the age(s) of any contributing young artists (i.e. “From Velma, Fred, and Daphne, age 3”), because that somehow makes it even cuter.

If you make candy bags, I’d love to see them! Tag @travelcraftjournal or #TCJreco on Instagram. Have fun!

October 20, 2020October 20, 2020

Treats (no tricks!): Fall 2020

In these tricky times, here’s a virtual goodie bag full of classes, films, performances, and tours you can enjoy from home, as well as artisan wares you can shop from anywhere!

For good stuff and in between these seasonal roundups, watch our Instagram stories!

Stay well and be safe, friends! Keep supporting artists, makers, local businesses, and causes when you can. Nourish your soul.

tropical plants — Denver Botanic Gardens tropical conservatory, 2013.

Freebies

Badge Bomb:

Fun stay-at-home-themed coloring pages, activity sheets, and stickers. Download a PDF or request a free printed sheet with any order.
Free shipping on US orders over $50 + international orders over $75.

Black Lives Matter poster printable: PDF you can download from Dropbox, print, and hang up. Artwork by Stephen Powers. (Preview)

Denver Botanic Gardens virtual Día de los Muertos celebration: Coloring pages, classes, short film competition, and online mercado.

In Denver: Glow at the Gardens, Oct. 20-25. Reimagined for 2020, an evening of luminous displays and live performers. Advance purchase of timed tickets required. $17-21

Monterey Bay Aquarium:

Museum of Craft and Design: MCD@Home has partnered with artists and community collaborators to create at-home projects based on museum’s signature programs and exhibitions.

Where to Go + When: Free ebook by longtime travel blogger Sherry Ott of Ottsworld. Email address required to receive the download link.

Why I Love Where I Live:

Notes of Gratitude. Free.
Coloring pages by Southwestern artists. Free.
Backgrounds for your phone or Zoom meetings by Tucson-based Saywells Design. Free.
Free shipping on orders over $15 with code 2020IG.
Buy a mask and they’ll donate one to a local organization!

Classes

Debbie Allen Dance Academy: Founded by Debbie Allen of Fame fame, DADA is a non-profit organization with programs to expand young people’s access to dance + theater.

$5 virtual dance classes.
Free Instagram Live classes on Wednesdays.

Hanna Naegle yoga:

“Crooked Yoga” classes on YouTube. (Optional donations: Venmo @hanna-naegle.)
In Tucson: YogaOasis Central parking lot: Mondays 6:45pm, $6. / Crooked Tooth Brewery patio: last Sunday of every month at 6:30p, $12 for yoga + pint of Crooked Tooth beer.

MyIntent:

Free classes in yoga, meditation, journaling, etc.
A big list of free self-care resources.

San Francisco School of Needlework + Design:

Online classes on embroidery and other stitching techniques. Fees vary.
Virtual Stitch-ins: Weekly Zoom meetups where you can craft along with fellow fans of fiber arts. No RSVP required. Free.

Olney gallery in Phoenix — Olney Gallery, a Phoenix First Friday and Art Detour venue.

Virtual Tours

Artnet: Roundup of virtual art world events.

Fort Wayne Museum of Art: Take a virtual tour from home.

Mission San Juan Capistrano:

Digital Resource Center. Free. (Donations accepted.)
Shop online.
Digital art exhibits.

NYC virtual guide:

Central Park tour.

Phoenix-area virtual attractions:

Fabric at Not Just Quiltz, designed by Donna Abbots.

Shop Art + Craft

L.A. County Yarn Crawl Shops:

Gather DTLA – Now offering custom curated packages.
Jennifer Knits – Free patterns for tops, scarves, and hats.
Knitting Tree – Sale on discontinued and overstocked items.
Wildflower Studio – Free digital pattern for M.1 scarf by Shelli Anderson with purchase of 4 skeins.

Not Just Quiltz: We met this vendor at the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival!

25% off the Bolt of the Week.
All bolt BATIKS and precut bundles 15% off (half-yard minimum).
Closeout fabrics $8/yard, while supplies last.
WE CARE Paradise Fire Relief.

Orenda Tribe SPREAD LOVE + SHINE LIGHT Shop: Sale of art and artisan goods with 100% of proceeds going to critical aid on the Diné / Navajo reservation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Quilt-Craft-Sew Mall: Shop vendors from Quilt, Craft + Sewing Festivals online, since so many of 2020’s events had to be canceled.

Riders of the Purple Sage program — Waiting for the premiere of Riders of the Purple Sage!

Watch

Arizona Opera’s Reimagined 2020/21 Season:

Musical Storytime: New musical story online every two weeks through December.
“Arizona Opera OnDemand” channel.

The Loft Cinema:

Streaming movie rentals. (Price varies.)
In Tucson: Open air screenings in distanced seating outside the theater. Tickets $15/person.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts concerts: Many upcoming Scottsdale Arts shows are either all virtual or in-person with a virtual option. Live stream tickets vary by show ($20-39).

SXSW Short Films: A collection of shorts that were selected for SXSW 2020, but couldn’t be screened when the festival had to be canceled last-minute, due to the pandemic. You can now watch them from home! Free.

November 3, 2018May 23, 2023

Downtown Mesa’s Día de los Muertos

A 10-foot tall skeleton in a sombrero leaned over to ask if I knew what time it was.

Which is not that weird when you’re at a Día de los Muertos celebration with skeletons everywhere – on banners, as sculptures, painted on kids’ faces, and for sale on tote bags.

So, of course, there would be a skeleton with stilts, a full beard, and no watch.

When you think about it, the lack of a timepiece may be the least surprising part. Schedules are probably pretty irrelevant in the realm of the dead.

Phillip, Quijote, and I had showed up near the end of Mesa Arts Center’s festival. We started at the custom car show and worked our way toward an oversized Frida Kahlo skull made from tissue paper flowers, stopping to listen to a band on the way.

We visited the community altar, which was decorated with photos, candles, art, and flowers in memory of departed loved ones.

On a second stage, Mariachi Pasion, an all-woman mariachi band, began playing.

When Quijote got restless, we moved on to check out the arts and crafts vendors. There were handcrafted decorations, jewelry, papel picado banners, and small ceramics that looked like ones we had seen in Peru.

Now it was 4:30 – half an hour before it was all scheduled to be over – and the party showed no signs of stopping.

In fact, it was still so crowded that our stilt-walking friend had trouble getting through. The bands played on, vendors continued to serve up churros and hot dogs and tamales and paletas, and there was still a line to get into the craft-making area.