little gi

some more sea breeze...

looks like tamar was able to solve the terrible technical issues that plagued her computer since last week.  hooray!!!  so the february tarisota gallery has been loaded & can be viewed here :)  enjoy!!!

here are some more of my layouts:

was really inspired by the fabulous mel with this one.  she always has the most wonderful layouts about her everyday photos & family goings-on.  i'm going to try to scrapbook more of these little times, it is really nice to actually do something with those kind of photos & record those kind of days.  nothing spectacular, but super fun all the same, kwim?

there was some GORGEOUS satin fabric & organza ribbon in this collection.

 

the beautiful neutral patterned papers just make the perfect little punched butterflies.

 

& another little one.  i just had to use that beautiful gold ribbon w/ the blue.  love that combination.

 

have fun gallery hopping!

& happy monday!

xoxo

gi

a peek of the sea breeze gallery...

tamar is dealing with terrible technical issues & the february gallery for the latest tarisota collections has, unfortunately, been delayed.  she is working as fast as she can to resolve & fix it all....but until then, here is one of my projects with this gorgeous collections. 

be sure to check out what the other tari girls have whipped up...there are some absolute stunners created with this collection. 

hope you are having a great week!

xoxo

gi

so cute & quick...

i forgot to post these little headbands i made with the last tarisota collection.  i saw a little tutorial from disney of ruffles & stuff (she always has the greatest ideas) & they are so easy to whip up!  & i seriously do not have a lack of ribbons around here...AND wild crazy little girl hairdo's....

so needless to say, we'll be making more of these :)

 

hope you are having a great week!

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

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

this Christmas...

we are doing things handmade & homemade...

we are not getting caught up in the "spend, spend, spend" chaos...

we are doing more with less....

we are going to remember what this Blessed Season is all about :)

& to that end, i've been collecting crafting & gift ideas for a while now.   sew mama sew had some really wonderful links to great free tutorials & free downloads during the month of september during their "handmade for the holidays" feature.  whip up also is a sure bet for great free tutorials.  also, if you purchased the november tarisota collection you get all of the new tarisota classes for download (if you didn't get the collection, there are still 2 free classes available & if you wish you can purchase the classes that suit your fancy).

this week the kids & i have been recycling our broken up crayons into these adorable marbleized star shaped chunky crayons & we will wrap them up pretty for gifting to their classmates & friends (& shhhh...they each are getting a full set too :)  

we are having a blast, and because this gift is basically free, it is really a gift from the heart :)

click here for a free download of these adorable hello kitty gift tags (tamar also added some really cute ones for the little guys).  also available for free download are some more sophisticated gift tags that are really gorgeous.

here is what you do:

*  go around the house, the car & dig in your purses to gather up all of used up & your broken up crayons. if your family is anything like us you've got a ton. 

*  pop the kids at the kitchen table w/ a trash bowl & have them remove the paper wrappings. 

*  chop the crayons up into bits w/ a sharp knife.  we chose to keep our bits separated into color groups so that the crayon would be a mix of purple, a mix of yellow, etc.  you may choose to throw all the bits together & create full on mixed rainbow stars (super fab too!!)

 

*  pop those colorful waxy bits into one of those shaped silicone baking trays (i got a star shaped one at michaels, use that coupon!!!)  or you can use a regular muffin tin (just make sure if you are going to use it to bake food in again, you line the muffin tin w/ foil cupcake liners.)

 

*  bake your bits at 250 degrees for @ 15-20 minutes (time will depend on how small you cut up the crayons.  just wait until the bits are nice & melted & liquidy).  remove from the oven & cool completely.  be patient & wait for them to completely cool before you try removing them from the tray.  we had one batch that we tried to remove too early & it got all wonky, so we had to re-bake it.

*  now you have adorable star marbleized crayons

* now wrap up your star crayons really pretty (i used some cellophane bags that i bought way back for some reason i forget why...lol  brown paper bags would also be great.), add some ribbon (c'mon i KNOW you've got gobs of ribbon around :) & add one of these adorable hello kitty gift tags

TA DA!!!!!!!  little perfect pressie all done :)

Merry Christmas & happy crafting!!!

xoxo

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 november :)

I've been enjoying sewing like crazy around here these days!!  It has been so enjoyable rediscovering this craft after so many years of being away from it. 

So when I received my November Tarisota Box & saw the fabulous muslin inside, I knew I wanted to make another pincushion (yes, I am addicted to making pincushions now...lol!  expect to receive one for Christmas...lol!).  I found the tutorial here.

This month's featured product is stamps, & there is a gorgeous set of Pink Paislee stamps in the collection.  So I just randomly stamped the butterfly (using regular Stampin' Up dye ink) & then used that stamped fabric in my patchwork pincushion.  The stamped image came out really well, I was so pleased! 

And be sure to check out the great offer from Tarisota for November.  The entire Design Team will be once again offering classes to go along with the bonus Mistletoe & Mayhem Collection, so you are sure to get LOTS of great ideas & crafting done over the holidays!

 

Hope you have a wonderful start to your November!

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