little gi

paper treasures...

tarisota's july collection, paper treasures, is a stunner...

my favorite colors plus my go-to trims seam binding & baker's twine (YELLOW bakers twine!!!) and these absolutely beautiful tiny little crystals. 

this one my be the favorite of what i created this time 'round.  the heart dawned upon me out of nowhere & i was so excited to try it.  love how it turned out.

 

tamar sent me some gorgeous white gauzy fabric with my collection (will check if/when the fabric pack will be available) & it makes the BEST rolled roses! 

 

i LOVE how this layout turned out too....love those colors, so sweet & bright & fun & summery.  i love this photo of kate...she is such a wild child.  her whole personality is embodied in that crazy hair! 

 

i LOVE those white sticker letters.  it was so fun to ink them, creating this gorgeous dyed look.  for the "f" & "r" i inked them yellow first (so saffron from stampin' up) & then changed my mind & wanted blue letters, so i inked the blue next (cool carribean from stampin' up).  i LOVE how it turned out....love that slight variation in color & w/ the green tone on 2 of the letters.  see?  the best things do come from mistakes!  lol!

 

i really loved the sticker sheet included this month.  think i used almost all of the stickers on it (& i've got plans to use the others in next month's style studio :)  & that bit of vintage paper under the seam binding was the strip tamar used to keep together the seam binding.  it was too good to go to waste :)

& again w/ that white gauzy fabric....LOOOOOVE that fabric, it was so fun to work with!

 

this was the first layout i created with the collection.  i think i always start w/ a simple design, kinda like a scrappy warm up.  & the pink paislee journal cards (they come on a 12x12 page) & those girl's paperie die cuts really made creating this page easy peasy.

 

 & there's that gauzy fabric again!  i layered it over the text patterned paper to mute it just a bit.

now go check out the rest of the gallery!  it's absolutely gorgeous!!!

happy tuesday!

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

quilting envy...

confession time...

i've got MAJOR quilting envy.  huge, major quilting envy.  & this month has been torture since it is quilting month & sew mama sew + lots of amazing quilters around the web have been posting fantastic tutorials, tips & inspiration.  my tumbl'r has been on fire!!

& i can't wait for fatquarterly to start up.  looks so fun!  really looking forward to finally taking the plunge & staring my first quilt soon! 

but in the meantime, i've been quilting lots w/ patterned paper.  yesterday i made this little journal to hold all my quilting dreams & ideas & color combinations & inspirations ripped from magazines i've been collecting.  i used all the beautiful patterned paper from my april kenner road kits.  i LOVE that purple!!

& i chose to try out one of those wonky, freestyle log cabin patterns that i absolutely love.  i really like how it turned out & i'm looking forward to filling this little journal up with lots of quilting gorgeousness.

happy friday everyone!!

xoxo

gi

peeking in here....

we are knee deep in cleats & water bottles & "go *insert child's name here* go!!!!" around here these days. 

i'll admit absolutely LOVING it though.  well, not the getting everyone ready & out the door, rushing around town to practice part.  but the watching from the sidelines, chit chatting w/ neighbors & cheering on thing....i LOVE that part.  it's my calling i think...lol.

on the crafting front, this month's kenner road kits have definitely pulled me out of my scrapbooking slump.  the patterned papers & embellishments in this month's kits are soooooo up my alley it has been so enjoyable (& easy) to create with these kits.

wish i could find a duvet cover just like that yellow patterned paper above.  i LOVE it.  actually i'll take a set of pillows w/ all the patterns in my "us" layout too.  yellow duvet cover & euro shams w/ crisp white sheets (maybe w/ a pretty crocheted cotton border) & all those colorful pillows piled in front pottery barn style.  yeah...that would be so awesome.

annnnnnnnd i'm back to the fabric obsession....lol

hope you have a happy thursday!!

xoxo

gi

kenner road february...

the new february kenner road kits are available! they are really terrific too. i really love the ribbons in this month's kits, especially the yellow one, so pretty.  i also went a bit wild w/ my heart punch this month too, being valentine's day & all :) 

& you'll notice i was really inspired by some projects & art from wonderful crafters & artists around the web that i've popped in my tumblr lately like this one & this one too.  if you are over on my tumblr, just click onto the photo & it will bring you right to the original source of the image.  really awesome way to organize all the fantastic inspiration & tutorials i find all over the web & make sure the original source of that inspiration gets due credit :). 

 

oh & there is a really fabulous brown & creme ribbon in there too.  see?  told you the ribbons were awesome this month :)

 

 

& a little mini of some hilarious photos of kate w/ the jenni bowlin journaling cards.  i really like making these little books, they pop in my tote bag so easily & the kids like paging through them too. 

& you'll notice my new banner above :)  having a bit of fun with the new kenner road digi releases available at 2peas.  to be honest, i'm surprising myself @ enjoying the digi thing a bit.  i swore i'd never even be able to figure it out & now i've created another banner for the ol' blog.  those flashcard letters can be printed out too.  how awesome would a little mini w/ those be!!! 

hope you have a happy tuesday!!

xoxo

gi

and then there was the paper..

i've been a bit enamored with fabric & sewing lately.  well...maybe A LOT bit :)  & it has been interesting figuring out where to go & what to do when i papercraft now.  trying out some new techniques (actually not sure if they are "techniques" or just wack-a-do stuff...lol) but it is funny when i look at my layouts and then what i do when i sew stuff & there is a lot of similarities.  i love the natural & textural look of linen & totally prefer to sew & create with it.  usually i pair that up w/ a couple of patterns & colors, but always gravitate towards the linen/natural/neutral base.  then looking at these layouts, seems like i do the same thing w/ papercrafting.

hmmm...interesting :)

oh & those rolled roses i'm seeing everywhere these days on t-shirts & clutches & necklaces...love those translated from fabric to layouts too.  & tamar included some gorgeous chiffon in this collection.  perfect for rolling roses i say :)

 

& i put on my dina wakely wannabe hat for this one.  so pleased with how the spray ink turned out.  i'm thinking i'm softening in my old age or something, but this one & it's haphazard spray marks outside the star mask (i used the negative from the die cut sheet in the collection) i'm actually liking.  progress...lol

 

& this one w/ one of my fave, fave pics of me & my little buddyhead, ryan, when he was a little wee one.  think i'm going to add some journaling to this one.  when i did it, my mind was kind of mush, but now that the rush is gone, i want to sit & write a bit on it...in my own time :)

 

hope you all have a great weekend!!! 

GO JETS!!!!!!!!!

xoxox

gi

a little bit more craftiness...

tarisota's new collection gallery for heart & home revealed on saturday.  ab.so.lute.ly STUNNING.  once again i'm all gaga over it.  check it out for sure...

here is what i came up with for this month.  SO much fun sewing & patchworking these fabrics.

i made a little chic mama cuff.  the tutorial came from j.casa handmade.  such an easy peasy project & i love how it turned out.  think it will look so chic w/ my "uniform" (white v-neck tee & jeans :)

& because i was all aflutter w/ the patchworking this came next.  i need to make another out of linen w/ a patchwork roof, door & window.  think that will look adorable.

favorite part is the little flower box :)

& my scariest project of the month.  this heart.  see....maybe you've noticed, but i'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to all the little bits & bobs.  especially when it comes to vintage cream & white buttons.  i LOVE them.  so to have glued them all down on this was seeeeeriously hard for me.  the fact that it looks SO good is what got me through the constant "but what if one day i want that exact button for something!  what am i going to do???" thing. 

i'll share some more tari projects tomorrow.  hope you have a happy tuesday!!

xoxo

gi

hello monday :)

we are still on a huge high from last night's big game.  GO JETS!!!!!!!

whew!!!  what a nail biter!  i think i watched most of the game holding my breath & then jumping around & screaming like a maniac.  ahhh......so fun :)  

now in non-football news kenner road revealed new kits at the end of last week.  these kits are so gorgeous, i especially loved the vintage price tag cards in the add on red velvet.   

i love the gingham patterned paper too.  gingham is my weakness...i love ginghams

and some simple ones b/c i just had to use that music paper and seam binding.  just had to...

and then a bookmark because for some reason i don't have one...wha???  w/ all the paper i've got lying around i don't have a bookmark???   and i had to use another one of those mini keys.  they are just so cool...

and my favorite project this month is this little "daily" book.  since seeing emily falconbridge's thankful journal a few years ago, i've always wanted to do something similar.  a little place (pretty, of course:) where i could just pop in something i was thankful for each day.  this little guy now sits on my bedside table & i am really enjoying reflecting each night about something that i'm grateful for.  with the destruction & loss & incredible hardships happening in haiti, this exercise has become even more meaningful.

 

 

the inside is just ledger papers i had in my stash cut to size & then glued back to back.  they are blank except for those sass stickers (i used that entire sassafrass sticker sheet on the inside pages.  just cut & stuck them randomly throughout the interior.  i was kinda proud of myself because that is something i never do!  use up something...i tend to be stingy w/ cute things like that & they hang around forever.)  each week i just pop on the date up top & then jot down something for each day.  easy peasy & so rewarding.

so happy monday!!!  & GO JETS!!!!

xoxoxo

gi

and now for some heart & home..

tarisota collections january gallery reveals tomorrow, can't wait to see it all together.  tamar always has such a way with color & pattern & texture in her collections & this one is no exception.  the fabrics & ribbons in this one were especially beautiful, sooooo gorgeous.  & there was about 10 yards of crepe paper too.....oooooh i was in heaven!!!! it was so fun to create with.

here are some sneaks :)

 

 

& there are a couple of other things too.  had a really good creating time w/ this one :)

happy thursday!!

xoxo

gi

november kenner road...

 

 

 

 

oooh this month's kits are gorgeous!! 

can't wait to make more stuff w/ 'em :)  i've got plans to make another little mini for my winter wallet photos since the fall one (see above) turned out so adorable.  i really like having my fave photos all together & portable & cute :)

happy monday!!

xoxo

gi