little gi

Vintage pretties...

the latest tarisota gallery has been revealed & it is so gorgeous.  the team and our designer in residence, deb godley, really went over & above with this collection.  wait till you see.   seriously....just wait till you see.  SO gorgeous.

as for me, here are my contributions thus far. my favorite are these christmas trees.  they are photographing terribly, but i sewed up triangles of the pattern paper & stuffed them w/ stuffing so they are puffy.  then a little trunk (found in the yard :) & popped them into a little spool.  they look really cute on the shelf right now...just a little bit more till they get joined by the other christmas decorations :)

 

 

 

don't all those colors look gorgeous together?? 

there will be another gallery release with this collection in december as well, so be sure to look for that for more inspiration too :)  here is a peek at a couple layouts of mine that will be included. 

 

AND  if you fell in love with rachel's fairy house like i did, be sure to click on over to the tarisota blog to enter to win a pattern for the house created by rachel's friend, robyn.  good luck!!!  i know this is definitely on my "to create" list for the girls.  i think it will look adorable hanging in their room.  maybe for kate's 5th birthday :)

see????  GORGEOUS!!!  be sure to enter to win!!!

good luck & happy monday!!

xoxo

gi

hello october :)

it's been quite a while since my last post.  unfortunately i was ill for the past month, today i'm finally feeling a bit back to my normal self.  so i thought why not take today & share something.   dip the old toe back in the blog pond :)

a while back, stacy marks of Marks Paper Company had asked me to guest design.  i, of course, was so excited to take her up on her offer & created the following four layouts with her beautiful patterned papers and die cuts (the die cuts were my favorite) which debuted this past october 1st on the website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

don't you love all of that gorgeous purple! 

& speaking of purple...be sure to check out the newest tarisota gallery.  it revealed the other day & it has to be one of the most interesting & inspiring yet.  the team came up with so many ingenious ways of using the gorgeous lavender fabrics & beautiful embellishments this month.  there are gorgeous necklaces & beautiful mixed media paintings, crafted dragonflies & flowers and, of course, stunning layouts.  the best thing is that because i was sick, i was unable to create with my stunning tari box yet, so now i get to scraplift & craftlift all of my wonderful team members like i always want to!! i'm really excited about it :)

hope you have a wonderful friday!!

xoxo

gi

happy monday!!

i've just posted my new favorite, "leftover" mini books, up on the kenner road blog.  hope you like it!  i'm having so much fun doing this sort of mini project.  using the tiniest bits of scrap patterned paper that is left from my cutter.  it's almost like creative puzzle making, i just play around w/ all the little bits & bobs around my craft desk until i get something that makes me happy.  you know, it's kind of weird.  i think i create better when i'm given the most crazy bit of mix in tiny scraps & bits of this & that.  sometimes cutting that 12x12 piece of paper or peeling off that 1 sticker from the whole pack just totally freaks me out.  i'm much happier with a bunch of little slivers of 1/2" x 3" patterned paper, bits of ribbon or fabric & some pinking shears. lol!

i'm also finding that by doing these sort of little piece by piece projects, i'm broadening my color sense.  sometimes i get stuck in certain color ruts & use the same color combos over & over.  or sometimes on a bigger project color seems overwhelming to me & i gravitate toward a soothing neutral.  on these little thingamajobs, i'll recklessly throw kelly green with an orange-y red & then pop on a purple or yellow flower.  and i love it!  just grabbing what is at hand & trying this & that.  it is SO fun, so relaxing, such a creative rejuvenation. 

do you get the feeling i'm having fun?   lol!!

here's what i'm talking about:

 

 

 

 

 

 

i think also what has been really fun w/ this sort of project is my releasing myself from that self imposed responsibility to SAY something all the time.  sometimes the burden of telling a story is just that, a burden.  my mind is so cloudy these days w/ the kids & the pool & football & mike's overtime & what's for dinner & too much laundry & bills that need to be paid, & the floor is dirty, etc., etc., etc.  sometimes i just want to paste & glue & cut & then pop a little butterfly or birdie on it & call it a day.

and you know what?  that is just fine w/ me.  i'm liking it just fine  & i'm finding that by allowing myself this creative exploration, i'm finding more "me" ways to express myself.  more things i DO want to say & stories i want to tell.

like i said, this is FUN :)  give it a try!

happy monday!!

xoxo

gi

happy friday!

a layout for this month's kenner road gallery challenge.  be sure to check out what the other team member have created for this challenge!  beautiful stuff

& if you are looking for some really sweet bookmarks, be sure to click on over to patty's blog.  she has created some really cool ones that she has made available as a free download!

happy friday!!

xoxo

gi

august kenner road...

kenner road revealed august's new kits this past friday night & oooh are they GORGEOUS!!!!  i have been scrapping away non stop with this month's wonderful kits!

each kit this month is full of the most beautiful & fun embellishments, i'm having a great time really "doing" up my layouts with them.  i usually shy away from embellishments for some reason, but this month i'm all over them!  so fun!!!

here is what i've completed so far:

 

 

 

& my favorite so far:

 

i'm so proud of myself for actually USING that blue foil milk cap.  that is the sort of thing i usually hoard...lol!

& thanks to michelle mccord for editing my beach vacation family photo!  michelle worked her magic & totally saved the day.  i LOVE how it turned out!  THANKS MICHELLE!!!!

hope you have a wonderful start to your week!!

xoxo

gi

creating hope...

creating hope: 

Imagine if we gathered together 100 mixed media artists from all over  and asked them to create a small charm or tag in their very own favourite style

Imagine if their message was one of positive affirmation

Imagine if we then took those pieces and used them to create a fabulous one of a kind dress form

Imagine how beautiful and special that would be

Imagine the chance to own that piece?

this is going to be an amazing journey...with an unbelievable piece of art that will be raffled off...
and all the while, raising funds for a worthy organization the Austrailan Cancer Research Foundation

hope you'll join in :)

xoxo

gi

still loving my constant companion :)

kenner road has posted a sketch challenge up on the kenner road blog...join in & you could be the winner of that awesome all in a row add on (the one w/ the russian doll paper & book...SO adorable!!)

here is my take on joleen's sketch...& now after seeing everyone else's i think i'm going to do another :)

can't wait to see your take on the sketch!!

happy wednesday!

xoxo

gi

rediscovering the fun...

this weekend with national scrapbooking day & all of the challenges over at 2peas i think i rediscovered the fun in this hobby...got back to that no pressure, just have a good time part of this hobby...and i'm loving it...

things get so busy with the kids...and the dogs...and mike working a ton...so there has often been times the only scrapbooking i get to do is for design team assignments...but i've noticed that that kinda thing doesn't work for me...i start to get freaked out by the deadlines...and truth be told, self-doubt that tends to creep up on me and i begin questioning myself...then poof!...out the window goes the fun and my creative spirit...

so...i've been trying to get back into "just because" scrapbooking...i just pop on over to my craft table & start dabbling here & there with different things...try not to worry that i'm using photos that will be used again for DT stuff (note to self...take more pictures)...try out different challenges...do a bit on different ongoing projects i've got running like my Q & A book...

and i've discovered that when i take the time to do this, i'm really fueling my creative fire...and the fun comes right back in...i'm really enjoying it :)

& what has made it a bit easier is that i've taken the leftovers from my kits (i've got a box just for tarisota leftovers & a box for kenner road leftovers)...& i just go through it and pull out this & that that strikes my fancy...it has really helped cut down on all that "searching" time & just get down to getting creative...

& this weekend i pulled out my kenner road kit scraps box & hopped over to 2peas...they ran a ton of challenges in honor of NSD & there were so many great ones...i've written them down so that i can do & re-do them when i need a bit of a creative spark...hmmm...i think i need to create something to keep all these kind of ideas in, rather than the scraps of paper w/ chicken scratch i've got going now...(*lightbulb!* maybe i'll create that today :)

anyway...i did get to play along with 2 of the challenges...

* Tia Bennet's Yellow challenge (i had saved the heart i cut out from my Q & A book...just waiting to pop it on something...& i found it :)

* wendy bretz's NO patterned paper challenge...actually i did 1 and a half for this one, since after completing the layout i went back this morning & changed it...the previous version just seemed a bit too busy & i wanted to simplify it a bit...liking this version much better (yes...i'm aware i sound like a complete obsessive nutjob...lol...ah well...) & that bit of pattern under that tag?  that isn't from patterned paper actually, it is the back of a business card i got from an etsy fabric order...cool, eh?

so hope you have a happy & creative monday!!!

xoxo

gi

eeek!

a bit ago brooke starnes e-mailed me at 2peas asking if she could use something from my gallery as inspiration for a National Scrapbooking Day project...

i was like "umm.....YEAH!!!!"...

i LOVE brooke's work...she uses the coolest mix of pattern & color...& her pages always have this comfy cozy design...totally real....totally approachable...i absolutely love that kinda of thing...

& then on friday i clicked into the creating garden & saw this...

oh....wow....how cool is that???!!!  how kind is brooke????!!!

yeah...totally blushing over here...
that was really cool....

so thanks brooke...thanks 2peas...
color me inspired for today :)  can't wait to join in some of the great NSD challenges too :)

& speaking of cool stuff....sneak peeks are up at kenner road ...

can...not....WAIT for this kit :)

& speaking of kenner road...there are some awesome giveaways going on this weekend in honor of National Scrapbooking Day going on!...check the Kenner Road blog for all the information & good luck!!!

happy NSD!!!

xoxo

gi

& p.s.... just because this photo cracks me up :)

cocoa daisy...

so thrilled to be this month's guest designer at cocoa daisy!
tricia and her daisy diva team never disappoint & i'll admit, i'm a bit nervous having my work next to theirs...

and it was really fun creating with this bright, fun kit...there is one patterned paper in the kit that is made up of all different kind of strip designs AND they are glittery to boot...SO fabulous...there are only like little tiny snips of that one left...i loved it really well :)

and then i created this little book too:

be sure to pop on over & check out the whole gallery!  those daisy divas create gorgeous work & definitely inspire...right on time for national scrapbooking day!!!

happy friday!!
xoxo

gi