little gi

farmer kelly

my oldest planted green bean seeds this spring in school.  i've always loved that project.  she came home w/ her little plastic cup w/ little sprouts poking out.  super proud..."it's growing!  it's growing!"

& grow they did!!  we planted them in a container on the deck & they seem to like their new home at casa kennedy & their little green tendrils have sprouted pretty nicely & have been winding around the deck rails.

& each day the kids run out to see if there are any to "harvest".  kelly, as actual planter of the seeds, gets the final say as to when the beans get cut (which is hilarious...she gets "drunk w/ power" every now & again declaring "no!  that bean needs another day!  leave it!...soooo funny!  ahhh...she'd make a good dictator...lol)

these pictures were of her very first "harvest" at the end of last week (i use "harvest" VERY loosely here....we've got 2 plants & get like 7 beans...lol!!!) 

 

i know...i know...you are cracking up right now...

but geez louise we were proud!!  i even cooked them up for dinner & we ate them like the Crachet family in a Christmas Carol...one tiny piece for you....one tiny piece for you...."ooooh mom!  these are delicious!"

mmmmmmm....

best green beans we ever did eat i must say!!!

maybe we'll get lucky & have 4 more for dinner tonight :)

happy tuesday!

xoxo

gi

granola on a sunday morning.....

we made this delicious granola yesterday morning.  it was a gorgeous day & the morning was nice & cool so the oven didn't heat up the house too much :)  

& we've been nibbling away on it ever since...it is SO good!!!

Down to Earth Granola

4 cups old fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (I used pecans)

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup cooking oil

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups dried fruit (I used a mix of golden raisins & dried cranberries)

Preheat oven to 300.

In a bowl mix the oats, nuts, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon.  In a saucepan warm the oil and honey. Whisk or stir in vanilla.  Carefully pour liquid over oat mixture.  Stir gently with a wooden spoon; finish mixing by hand.

Spread granola in a 15x10x1" baking pan.  Bake 40 minutes stirring carefully every 10 minutes.  Transfer granola-filled pan to a rack; cool completely.  Stir in dried fruit.  Seal granola in an airtight container & store at room temperature for a week or in the freezer for 3 months.  Makes 9 cups.

enjoy!!

happy monday :)

xoxo

gi

procrastination station...

when am i ever going to learn???  & how the heck did the end of the school year sneak up on me so quickly!!!

here i sit with 2 days left of school & ZERO thank you gifts for teachers done.  i actually got up at 6am this morning to try to whip one gift out....but that was a disaster.  note to self...have coffee before attempting to sew a pattern for the first time :)

i made this basket this morning & it is super cute.  but geez louise i had a total mental block w/ sewing the handles on & the lining.  had to rip & re-do three times before i got it right.  i will definitely have to keep this one as my "prototype" & create some more for teacher gifts now that i've got the hang of it.  the sweet little tutorial found here (just make sure you read through the whole thing first & are fully awake before attempting to begin...lol!)

luckily kate's last speech therapy session was rescheduled for tomorrow, so i've got another chance to pull something together for her therapist.  & now i can actually FILL the basket too...whew!!! 

thankfully these little baskets are quick to whip up so i'll have time to sit & gawk over a new sewing book i just received.  i've only had time to page through a bit of it quickly & it is sooooo lovely!  looking foward to trying many of the patterns in this one :)

so what are you up to?  any cool crafts you are starting for the summer? (or winter for my south of the equator friends :)

hope you have a happy tuesday!!

xoxo

gi

the winner!

is commenter #23...kim!

kim said:

looks like a fabulous class...thanks for the opportunity to win...Kim

kim...look for an e-mail in your in-box :)

looking forward to the start of class this week!! 

have a wonderful start to your week everyone!

xoxo

gi

free class pass giveaway!!

want to win a free class pass to my kim archer @home workshop? 

One class pass is up for grabs today!  So if you would like to win a free class pass to join me for my Crepe Paper, Ribbon & Trims workshop, please leave your name & e-mail address in the comments section of this post.  

(no worries if you have already booked in to the class, if you are the winner kim will refund your class fee :)

I will choose a winner at random tomorrow afternoon.

Good luck!! & happy Thursday!

xoxo

gi

my first workshop is up!! & a secret coupon code ;)

i'm super excited to share this great news!  my online workshop with kim archer@home is now up for booking!  

The class will run from 22-26 June 2010 with daily uploads and the classroom will then remain open until 1 August 2010.  you can register for the class here :)

Oh and for you very special people there is a special EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT OFFER. Use the code GIGIFREE in the left hand side Redemption Code area as you go through checkout to receive a $5 discount on your workshop fee. The offer expires 23 June 2010 so hurry to take advantage of the discounted price.

i really love how it all came together & i hope you will too.  working on this class really sparked a lot of creativity for me & it was really fun to put together.  i think i actually rediscovered a love for scrapbooking while working on it!  could be because the class is based around using ribbons, trims, fabrics, bits of this & that in your paper projects??  i'm a sucker for a pretty piece of ribbon, this i know...lol

but it was really interesting to me to actually sit down & think about why i do what i do.  why do i layer this or add that?  why is it i choose a neutral for here & a bright color for there?  turns out maybe i do have a method to my madness after all!  

in addition to TWO full step by step layout projects, the class also includes 2 mini projects focusing on a specific technique using trims/ribbon and crepe paper to create flowers that i know you'll really like.  (i'm a sucker for a flower as you know....put them everywhere :)  i thought that by doing it this way, you would walk away from the class with not only 2 completed scrapbook layouts, but also 2 extra flower making techniques that you can use over and over again in your crafting.  plus there are a lot of extra examples with additional ideas, hints and how to's by me and the kim archer support team.

it is really important to me these days to try to stretch my crafting dollar further, use what i have on hand and recycle where possible and this class really emulates that ideal.  i'm really proud of it & i hope you'll enjoy it too!!

happy wednesday!!!

xoxo

gi