Etsy Craft Show!

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:22:55 -0400

Can you believe it’s almost fall? I can’t wait for the cooler weather and for the leaves to change into their stunning colors. I love D.C. in the Autumn.

What better way to celebrate Fall than a craft show? The CREST Team (Capitol Region Etsy Street Team) is hosting a craft show on OCTOBER 16. That’s exactly one month from today friends! Natalie and I are so excited to be participating in the event. It will be our first official craft show and we can’t wait!

Here’s are the details:

The event is located at:

506 South Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg, MD

Here’s an inside scoop - I happen to know that the first 100 shoppers will receive goodie bags with fun give-aways and coupons. So be sure to come early! :)

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Love,

Jessica

25% Discount!

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:38:14 -0400

So it’s about time to give you an update on our Etsy shop. Things are going well. We’ve had the privilege of shipping items to Greece, Germany, Australia, Israel and Canada as well as throughout the U.S.! We’ve met such nice people through Etsy...it’s a great community.

Today was an exciting day for us because a pair of our crocheted earrings were featured on Etsy’s front page! We got nearly 400 views, many kind comments, and several sales!

To celebrate I want to offer you (our dear blog readers) a 25% discount on these same teardrop shaped earrings. Simply send me an e-mail or a convo on Etsy mentioning you saw the discount offer on our blog and letting me know which color you would like. I’ll then make a special listing just for you at the discounted price!

Hurry though...the offer ends tomorrow 3 pm Eastern Time!

e-mail me at: jessica@acupofgreenginger.com

Happy Shopping!

Love,

Jessica

Hooray for Crafting!

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:07:21 -0400

Do you ever feel like you are in a creative rut? Or maybe you love the idea of making handmade goodies but you don’t know where to start? One great way to “get crafty” is to check out craft books from the library or bookstore. There are a wealth of books with a million fun projects! They have how-to’s and photos just waiting to get you started on a new project.

A couple months ago I ventured in to Borders and found this great book called “Appliqué Your Way” by Kayte Terry. It was filled with appliqué techniques and lots of fun projects, so I decided I must make it my own and take it home with me. This is such a fun book!

You should definitely check it out! Kayte has a adorable website, www.thisisloveforever.com, an Etsy shop, and you can find her two books “Appliqué Your Way” and “Complete Embellishing” on Amazon.

For my first project out of this book, I was drawn to make a sweet little “Hooray! Banner” out of scraps of fabrics. At first I thought I might make it say “Happy Birthday” instead, but then I thought it would be a fun tradition to have a multi-purpose banner to take out for any type of celebration...birthdays, baby showers, New Year’s Eve, etc. Maybe one day when I will have a craft space of my own where I can hang it up and enjoy it all year round. The banner is actually a design of Caitlin Holcomb of Nice. You can visit her blog at www.nice-etc.com. There are so many fun things to see on her website. She kindly provided her banner making how-to for Kayte’s book, but if you like the banner and don’t want to make it yourself, you can visit Caitlin’s Etsy and purchase her own banners! They are really cute. Here’s what the banner should like like when it’s finished:

I haven’t finished it yet, but here are some photos of what I have so far...

Haha, all I have is “HOOR”...not quite finished yet!

On a quick side note, aren’t these fabrics so cute?! While we were on a Gallo family vacation in North Myrtle Beach, SC a couple weeks ago, my sisters-in-law Laura and Jessica and I stumbled upon this great little boutique called Heart and Sew. It is a gallery and gift shop that features over 80 local artists and crafters. They also teach private sewing classes and group craft workshops. We pulled up to the shop just in time for Lauryn, the owner, to open for the morning. We had a wonderful time chatting with her about all things crafty, our Etsy and blog, and her business adventure with Heart and Sew. We quickly made a new friend ;) As a little gift, Lauryn sent us home with a goodie-bag full of scrap fabrics that came from an old apron making factory from the 40s (??- I have to ask Lauryn again, I can’t remember the specifics!). As soon as I looked at the fabric, I knew I would use it for this Hooray Banner. It should be a fun keepsake and tradition for years to come.

I’ll post more pictures later when I finally finish this project!

Hope everyone’s having a lovely week.

Love,
Natalie

Official labels!

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 13:42:19 -0400

Hello! We’re SO sorry we’ve been MIA for the past few weeks. We just got back from our first Gallo Family vacation to Myrtle Beach! We had a great time. But, now we are home and ready to jump back into Green Ginger. Although we haven’t been on the blog that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy! There are several things we need to update you on...firstly, we now have official “a cup of green ginger” labels to sew into our products! We are very excited about these and happy with the way they turned out.

Secondly, Green Ginger is venturing into the clothing realm. My first attempt was making this sweet little skirt for my daughter Grace. I got her to model the skirt for me...(she doesn’t know how to suck in her tummy...oh well) After we were done my son Owen (age 3) asked if it was his turn! So, you’ll see some random photos of my little guy posted below! :)

And here is my little man...goofy smile, yogurt stained t-shirt and a hat that doesn’t fit...I love him. :) Maybe someday I’ll make a little boy clothing item that he can model for real!

Until next time!

Love,

Jessica

Before and After

Wed, 2 Jun 2010 15:35:05 -0400

At long last I have pictures to show you of my chair! Remember? I got it at the thrift store for $5? It was badly stained and ripped and the varnish was scratched. First off I sanded all the varnish off the wood (with the help of my four year old Gracie and her pig Armadilla) then I rubbed black paint into the wood with an old cloth. (one coat that’s it! - super easy) Finally, I reupholstered it with this amazing vintage upholstery fabric I got off of Etsy. It was a fairly simple project as I didn’t have to cover the arms with fabric - I think that might be beyond my skill level....

Here’s a BEFORE pic in case you don’t remember.

Anyways, I’m pretty happy with the result - what do you think? :)

Happy Wednesday!

Love,

Jessica

A Road Trip

Thu, 27 May 2010 17:07:23 -0400

Last Saturday, my Gallo sisters-in-law and I took a road trip up to Pennsylvania where we visited beautiful Terrain, shared a delicious lunch, enjoyed one another’s company and stories, and even did a bit of shopping. What a fun day!

If you have never been to Terrain, all I must say is, you must. It is a garden center, greenhouse cafe, and landscaping service all wrapped up into one. It is a botanical sanctuary with gorgeous flowers and plants of all kinds surrounding you everywhere you turn. Yes, it’s that beautiful! Their cafe is wonderful as well. Ever since our trip I have been craving key lime, mint, and ginger tea. So good! There is also no lack of inspiration there, and Jessica and I made sure to take good mental notes (and a few pictures).

Love the burlap dress form. We want to make one of these. So cool!

And even though we can visit Anthropologie in our own hometown, why not stop and shop at their very first store in Wayne, PA? This was a lovely historic town that proved to make our trip even more delightful.

I think everyone found a little something to take home ;o) Shall we take another trip in the near future?? I do hope so.

Love,
Natalie

Flowers of Fabric

Fri, 21 May 2010 10:38:10 -0400

Lately Natalie and I have been experimenting with making fabric rosettes. It’s been so much fun!

Here Natalie is modeling a belt we worked on together last week. We have plans to put them on belts, headbands and clips in the near future so be sure to check out our Etsy shop!

Sorry this is a short entry...more next time!

Lots of love,

Jessica

My Nephew-to-be

Wed, 12 May 2010 15:52:14 -0400

Ever since November of last year, I have been eagerly awaiting the birth of my nephew-to-be, Ashton, who will arrive in only 3 months! I come from a small family of four. Growing up it was just me and my older sister and we have always been best friends. This will definitely be a new stage of life for the both of us but I’m really glad I can experience this with her each step along the way. So I may not be having the baby, but, that doesn’t mean I can’t join in some of the fun! Part of that involves, of course, getting crafty.

Last year I had an idea come into my head of a cute baby mobile, but at the time, I didn’t have anyone to make one for. It was really a random inspiration (long story!), but then when I found out my sister was having a baby I knew that I wanted to create something special just for her. My one small idea has now multiplied into a ton of ideas. Where do I start?

To give credit to my sister, she has already brainstormed this nursery through and through and come up with really cute ideas! Here is what she’s looking at so far:

[images above, clockwise from top left: Behr Paint, Deco Breeze fan, Ikea BÖJA lamp, Tonic Living fabric, Tonic Living pillow, Urban Outfitters rocker, Baby Mod crib, Urban Outfitters rug, Naturally Yours changing pad cover]

With these ideas in mind, where else do I start? By looking at really great, inspiring blogs of course ;o) Here are some adorable mobiles I have come across:

[Design*Sponge: “Knack Nursery”]

[Grey likes baby: “Rain Clouds”]

[Kenziepoo: “Featured Nursery: Sayer’s”]

[Kenziepoo: “Things I love Monday”]

These are just a few of many great mobiles (and you should see some of the nurseries)! There is never a shortage of fantastic creative ideas out there, that’s for sure. I’m excited to start thinking of what I will come up with myself for my little nephew.

Love,
Natalie

Back from the West Coast

Wed, 5 May 2010 21:00:10 -0400

I just got back from another quick trip to Washington state. Alivia and I got in at about midnight last night. My sister Laura graduated from college and it was wonderful to be there and celebrate with her and the rest of my family...while in Seattle I got to sample frozen yogurt from Red Mango - delish!! :)

So....I know I was suppose to give you an update on my chair reupholstery project... The fact is it is going very well...it’s actually nearly done. I just didn’t have the chance to get a good photo of it to share with you. I want to do it justice...so you may have to wait until tomorrow or later this week to see photos. Sorry!

Here’s a photo of my little princess lounging in her stroller at the airport in between flights. :o)

It’s good to be home.

Love,

Jessica

A Wedding

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:35:48 -0400

This past Saturday, my dear friend of 23 years (and all my life) got married. I was so blessed to have her stand next to me as one of my bridesmaids over 2 years ago when I was married, and I was honored to do the same for her.

On top of being a bridesmaid in the wedding, I also took on a new and unexplored challenge of putting together the floral arrangements for her big day! This involved making a total of 15 bouquets, 15 boutonnieres, and 5 corsages. Wow! I think I may have been a little crazy when I offered to take on this project ;) In all seriousness though, after talking to Lauren about the details of her wedding, I really wanted to do this for her and gladly offered, and I just hoped that she could trust me. So, to a wholesale florist I went and ordered A LOT of flowers.

Knowing I couldn’t do this alone, I enlisted Jessica’s help in assembling the flowers and she willingly agreed. Thanks Jess!! So with Jessica’s help, we made beautiful arrangements of hydrangeas, hypericum berries, mums, and roses. All so gorgeous! The bridesmaids’ bouquets also doubled as centerpieces--it ended up being really a great idea and worked out to be very convenient.

This was a wonderful memory. Not only was it a good experience for me (now I can add a new skill set to my imaginary crafter resume), but I loved being able to serve my friend in a special way. So, if you are getting married....haha.

Love,
Natalie

Weekend Project

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:37:58 -0400

So we're finally up and running with our Etsy shop! We've made several sales so far which we are excited about - yay! Stay tuned as we keep you up to date on the latest merchandise in our shop. If there are things you don't see in our shop and would like to see....please let us know. :)

About my latest project:
A couple weeks ago I found this great chair at my favorite thrift store.

My idea was to paint the wood portions and then reupholster the rest. Although the upholstery doesn't look terrible in the photo, it actually is stained and torn and definitely needs to be replaced. So, with the help of my four year old daughter, Grace (and her stuffed pig named "Armadilla" ) we sanded the finish off the wood over the weekend. Next, I took some black paint and rubbed it into the wood with a rag - this gave it a really interesting dark stained look. As of now I'm waiting on the upholstery fabric that I ordered off Etsy (shown above) so I can tackle that part. I've only reupholstered one other piece of furniture so I'm a little nervous....wish me luck! The photo of the chair was taking in the middle of the sanding process. I'll show pictures of the finished project hopefully soon! If all goes well I plan to put this chair in my baby girl's room. My decorating theme for her room is vintage whimsical - I think this chair will go nicely.

Love,

Jessica

Our new site and Etsy shop!

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:17:03 -0400

After two and a half months of promising to open our Etsy shop, we have finally reached that day! You can visit it by clicking the Etsy link on this page or any of our website’s other pages. We currently have a variety of items in our shop, and we plan on regularly adding to our selection. We hope you enjoy browsing :)

Many thanks to our sister Carissa Gallo, for taking such beautiful photos for our Etsy shop and our new website - thanks for your patience in working the two of us who prove to be very awkward models! :) Thank you also to Ali Ward for modeling our items - we’re so grateful for the time you took to help us out.

You may also notice our new, updated website! This has been a major project for us the past couple months and we’re so pleased it’s finally finished. We’d love to hear from you - tell us what you think!

Unfortunately fabric and thread cannot build a website so we are very indebted to many people for helping us out with the design and “techie” parts of this project:

Peter Lewis, thanks so much for looking over our website on many different occasions, seeing the tiny details that we would overlook, all to help us create a more polished site. To our family, we are so grateful for your support and always allowing us to bounce ideas off of you. That was truly helpful. And Peter Gallo - in all honesty, we really would not have been able to put this site together without your help. Thanks for constantly guiding us and teaching us, and always stepping in to help when we had a problem or needed to find a solution. We finally have a finished site because of you. Thank you thank you thank you!

It looks like there was no way to escape the Oscar-winning-like-speech with thank you after thank you :) We are grateful girls and needed to show our appreciation!

Now that these two large projects are behind us, we hopefully can focus on blogging again about new, fun projects. Please come back!

Spring Has Sprung

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:58:58 -0400

Well, I'm back! Alivia and I got back in town late last night. I had such a nice time out in Vancouver, B.C. and in Washington visiting dear friends and family. All the blossoming trees were in full bloom - apparently Spring arrived a little bit earlier in the Northwest this year. It was all very beautiful. Above is a picture I took at my parents house. My mom had a vase full of gorgeous blossoms on the kitchen table - it was so pretty and cheery to look at.

It is good to be home, though. I missed my husband and my other little ones. My son Owen (age 3) apparently thought I'd just been hanging out at the airport for the past week - when asked where mommy was he would say, "The airport". :)

As Natalie talked about last time; we had a great photo session with Carissa Gallo and Ali Ward last week. Right now we are just sorting through photos - getting them ready for our grand Etsy shop opening! We are days away from making that happy announcement. You should hear from us very soon after Easter.

Happy Easter All!

Love,

Jessica

Etsy Photo Shoot

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:10:46 -0400

Things are really moving forward with setting up our Etsy shop! Yesterday, I went over to Jessica's house where we had a photo shoot of all the items we plan to open our shop with to sell. Our sister-in-law Carissa generously agreed to take our photos for us. What a huge blessing! Carissa is a very talented photographer as you may have seen already (some of her photography has been featured on our blog, our “photos” page, or maybe you’ve seen her website). It has been a lot of fun to begin sorting through the photos she took and we are excited to be using those photos on our shop! Jessica's friend Ali also lent us her time and kindly modeled many of our items. It was so nice to see someone wearing our creations! She did a wonderful job too. So with a re-arranged living room, our items scattered all about, and five little babies and kids running around, we set up a make-shift studio.

If you could have come into Jessica's home and taken a glimpse into her living room, this is a little bit of what you would have seen...

(Thanks Carissa and Ali!)

There’s a couple more sneak peaks into our shop and what we will be selling ;)

We will be announcing our shop opening very soon. We’ll keep you posted!

Natalie

Sneak Peek

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:31:08 -0400

Happy Spring everyone! Isn't it nice to finally see the sun again! The coming of Spring has gotten me so inspired and I'm excited to share the crafty things I've been working on. Pictured above is one of my latest projects - a necklace. It is one of several pieces of jewelry I'll be selling in our Etsy shop....about that.....

As Natalie mentioned last week - we ARE working hard to get our Etsy shop up and running. Thank you so much for your patience. Again, it should be ready to go by early April if not before.

Next week I leave for a visit to the Northwest. A dear friend is getting married in Vancouver and I'll get to spend some time with my sisters and parents in Washington. I can't wait to see everyone! No doubt I'll come home with some new ideas for projects as my mom and sisters are always doing something creative.

Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day! (one day late)

Love,

Jessica

Spring!

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:59:39 -0500

It is gorgeous outside today! I am so exhilarated inside from this beautiful weather. After so many snow storms it was beginning to feel like Spring would never surface. But it has. There is proof....warmer weather and flowers blooming. It is such a happy sight to see daffodils blooming on our yard!

Now, Etsy :) For some time now Jessica and I have been making plans to open our shop. Organizing models, a photographer, working on a website re-design (!!!), and of course creating items to sell! We are so grateful for the many people who have been willing to help us in making this happen. Due to some scheduling mishaps we unfortunately still do not have a specific opening date for our shop. But please be patient with us! I can say that by the beginning of April, we will be able to announce a date and maybe even have our shop open before that.

For now, we will lend some sneak peaks of items you may find on our shop, starting with this apron....

I hope everyone enjoys this beautiful day!

Natalie

A Little Update

Wed, 3 Mar 2010 21:46:31 -0500

Thanks to everyone who participated in our weekly give aways last month - we had a lot of fun and so appreciate everyone's excitement and support of what we're doing.

As some of you may know, A Cup of Green Ginger originally was started by the four Gallo sisters-in-law: Carissa, Natalie, Laura and me (Jessica). Early on Carissa needed to step out to pursue her photography career and more recently Laura has needed to step out to pursue other things as well. While we will definitely miss them being a part of Green Ginger, we are very excited for the creative ventures they are pursuing and enthusiastically support them. Looking back, Natalie and I are very grateful for all that Laura and Carissa contributed to the beginning of GG. Looking forward, we are excited for what the future has in store for us.

Be sure to check back next week as we have some exciting news to share about our Etsy shop!

Love,

Jessica

Congrats to our final winner!

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:26:30 -0500

And the prize goes to....Rachel Brown! Congratulations Rachel! Thanks for faithfully reading our blog and supporting us publicly on your twitter, facebook, and myspace. We are so happy you won!

If you could please contact us at contact@acupofgreenginger.com and give us your home address, we will ship your prize to you as soon as possible.

Our February give-aways have come to an end, and it has been a blast! But be sure to come back and visit us again...There are some exciting announcements we will be making very soon about our Green Ginger “family,” future, and Etsy!

Final February Give-Away

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:15:33 -0500

We have finally made it to the last week of our February give away! Although this is our last give-away for the month, we plan on giving away more goodies in the future. We have had a great time sharing our items with you and appreciate your help in spreading the word of A Cup of Green Ginger.

This week we are giving away two items! One lucky winner will receive both a cosmetic pouch made by myself, Natalie, and a sweet little coin purse made by Jessica.

The zippered-top cosmetic pouch is made from repurposed fabric turned cute carry case! If not for cosmetics, this little case could be used to carry anything you see fit :) The coin purse is great for not only coins, but even as a pouch to carry jewelry when you travel. It’s up to the winner to use them as you wish!

The rules are the same as previous weeks, but let’s review how you can enter:

1.) Mention us on Facebook. Then, leave a comment on our blog with a link to your FB page.

2.) Mention us on your blog. Again, leave a comment on our blog with a link to yours.

3.) You can become a follower of us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cupoGreenGinger. If you don’t have a Twitter account already, sign up. It’s free! Then copy and paste or write the following and then tweet:

Final February give-away from @cupoGreenGinger! See www.acupofgreenginger.com for details on this week’s prize(s). Pls RT.

4.) If you are already a follower on Twitter, simply follow instructions for tweeting the above message.

For each different way you mention us, your name will be entered in the drawing.

If you have any questions send an e-mail to:
contact@acupofgreenginger.com

When commenting be sure to leave your first and last name so there’s no confusion. Thanks!

Natalie

And the winner is...

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:22:22 -0500

Congratulations to Danielle Schneider of Washington state for winning this week’s prize!

Danielle thanks so much for mentioning us on Facebook! Please contact us via contact@acupofgreenginger.com and give us your home address. We will ship your prize to you right away. :)

One more give-away to come!...stay tuned...

Freebies!! 3

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:04:06 -0500

Well, here we are in week three of our February give away. Is everyone having fun? I hope so! This week I am giving away this blue belt with the yellow buckle. (sorry...the yellow belt has already been sold!)

This belt was inspired by I belt I bought at Anthropologie - I thought I’d try my hand at it and was very pleased with the result.

Here’s how you can enter:

1.) You can mention us on Facebook. Then, leave a comment on our blog with a link to your FB page.

2.) You can mention us on your blog. Again, leave a comment on our blog with a link to yours.

3.) You can become a follower of us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cupoGreenGinger. If you don’t have a Twitter account already, sign up. It’s free! Then copy and paste or write the following and then tweet:

Win a cute accessory this week from @cupoGreenGinger! See www.acupofgreenginger.com for details. Pls RT.

4.) If you are already a follower on Twitter, simply follow instructions for tweeting the above message.

For each different way you mention us, your name will be entered in the drawing.

If you have any questions send an e-mail to:
contact@acupofgreenginger.com

Here’s another view. The belt will come in a kraft-colored gift box.

We can’t wait to give this away!

Love,

Jessica

Congratulations!

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 12:49:46 -0500

Congratulations Hannah Helms! You are the winner of this week’s give-away. Thanks so much for participating on our contest and for mentioning our website on your Facebook.

Hannah, I will be getting your prize to you within the next couple of days.

Remember, we still have 2 more give-aways this month!
To all those who participated in our contest (or for those who missed this time around), visit our blog on Wednesday to see what we are giving away next. There are more goodies we can’t wait to giveaway, maybe to you!

Freebies #2!!

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:17:25 -0500

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s give-away. We were very blessed as we read your encouraging, kind comments and hope you enjoyed playing our “game” too!

This week I am excited to give this cute little journal away. It is a simple journal, filled with approximately 200 pages of lined paper. It is covered with some of my favorite fabric (I’m a little obsessed with golden-yellow right now. It just catches my eye!). And to finish it off, a sweet little birdy on top, just because ;o)

There are multiple ways you can enter to win, as shown below. Remember, we will announce the winner by 12pm EST this Saturday, so be sure to return to see if that winner is you!

Here’s how you can enter:

1.) Mention us on Facebook. Then, leave a comment on our blog with a link to your FB page.

2.) Mention us on your blog. Again, leave a comment on our blog with a link to your’s.

3.) You can become a follower of us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cupoGreenGinger. If you don’t have a Twitter account already, sign up. It’s free! Then copy and paste or write the following and then tweet:

Win a new item this week from @cupoGreenGinger! See www.acupofgreenginger.com for details. Pls RT.

4.) If you are already a follower on Twitter, simply follow instructions for tweeting the above message.

For each different way you mention us, your name will be entered in the drawing. When you comment, please leave your first and last names so there is no confusion. Thanks!

If you have any questions send an e-mail to:
contact@acupofgreenginger.com

Thanks for playing!

Natalie

We have a winner!

Sat, 6 Feb 2010 12:39:31 -0500

This afternoon I am pleased to announce that Nic-e Hemsley has won this week’s prize! She was the last person to enter the drawing and turned out to be our winner. :)

Nic-e, thanks for mentioning us on Facebook as well as Twitter! Please contact us via contact@acupofgreenginger.com and give us your home address. We will ship your prize to you just as soon as we dig ourselves out of this snow storm we have out here in Virginia!

To everyone else: thank you all for your support and kind comments! Check back with us on Wednesday to see what we are giving away next.

Freebies!!

Tue, 2 Feb 2010 19:06:45 -0500

I don’t know about you, but for me Valentine’s Day has always been a fun holiday. Growing up there were always Valentine’s Day parties to attend and goody bags from parents and grandparents to look forward to.  
This month, I am delighted to tell you, Green Ginger has some exciting goodies to give to YOU! Here’s the deal:
Each Wednesday we will post a picture of that week’s give-away-item. You can enter a drawing to win that item. On Saturday we will announce the winner. And....we will be doing this each week in February!!

Here’s how you can enter:

1.) You can mention us on Facebook. Then, leave a comment on our blog with a link to your FB page.

2.) You can mention us on your blog. Again, leave a comment on our blog with a link to yours.

3.) You can become a follower of us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cupoGreenGinger. If you don’t have a Twitter account already, sign up. It’s free! Then copy and paste or write the following and then tweet:

Win some lovely items this month from @cupoGreenGinger! See www.acupofgreenginger.com for details. Pls RT.

4.) If you are already a follower on Twitter, simply follow instructions for tweeting the above message.

For each different way you mention us, your name will be entered in the drawing.

If you have any questions send an e-mail to:
contact@acupofgreenginger.com

Here are the two pairs of earrings that I (Jessica) am giving away this week. (the winner takes both pair!) I was inspired to experiment with shades of gray from Megan Russell’s blog.

Each pair will come in it’s own kraft colored jewelry box.

We can’t wait to give these away!

When commenting be sure to leave your first and last name so there’s no confusion.

Now, let the games begin!!!

Just a little Sackboy

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:51:04 -0500

Over a year ago, my husband Peter bought a video game for his Playstation 3 called LittleBigPlanet. This game is sooo much fun. Even if you are not a video game person, anyone can be drawn into the game’s sweet little world. The game centers on little knitted characters called Sackboys. This game is all about textiles. Everything in the world is created to look like you could reach out, touch it, and feel it...from feathers, to bubbles, to burlap, to cottons, to leather...you can dress the sackboys and girls in costumes and then play levels that have you complete puzzles and tasks to win points and progress.

So what does this have to do with crafts?!? I’ll tell you. This little character, the sackboy, is super cute. Just take a look.

Ever since we got the game, Peter has wanted me to make one for him. The doll is made to look like it was knit, and unfortunately, I can’t knit. But for Christmas this year, I decided it was time to do something, even if I couldn’t knit I chose to make the doll out of a heavy brown canvas. That, however, didn’t work at all. The fabric was way too stiff to turn inside out for the tiny arms and legs. Finally, my very creative mom stepped in. She suggested I use an old sweater of mine that had shrunk and no longer fit. This was perfect! I can’t knit, but we solved the problem. But a lot of times, limitations can cause you to be extra creative, and think outside the box. It was a perfect solution. So I set out cutting up a sweater, sewing, and stitching all the pieces together. With two button eyes and contrasting brown stitches all over, he was complete.

Here was my final creation:

I think Peter liked his new sackboy.

I know talking about video games is probably not what most people would expect reading this blog. But, this was a really fun project and I was excited to share. It was a step out of my comfort zone for sure!

Natalie

Bits and Pieces

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:25:15 -0500

This week has me once again playing around with bits and pieces of fabric. Awhile back my mom gave me a bag of scrap fabric that belonged to my great-grandma Marie. Although I never had the privilege of meeting her, I’ve learned to love her through the stories I’ve been told. She was a wonderfully loving, creative and resourceful woman. Having raised 7 children during the Depression, she learned not to waste anything. I’m thrilled to have these beautiful pieces of vintage fabric. While flipping through Amanda Blake Soule’s book ‘Handmade Home’, I was inspired to make a name banner using this keepsake material. As I happily stitched away, I imagined how proud grandma Marie would be to see her carefully saved fabric hanging above her great-great-granddaughter’s crib.

This is still a work in progress. I’ll show photo’s of the finished product once it’s hung in Alivia’s room.

I’m not sure if I’m suppose to tell you this...but I’ve heard talk of some fabulous Green Ginger give aways come February!...so stay tuned.... more details to follow!

Happy Wednesday!

Love,

Jessica

Auction recap

Sat, 9 Jan 2010 22:20:51 -0500

This evening, I had the chance to attend the silent auction. Here’s a recap of the event...

What a fun time! An evening of snacks, fellowship, tea, and door prizes (Peter and I even managed to walk away with two free movie tickets!). But most importantly, bidding took place to raise money for an adoption. People enjoyed roaming the room, choosing which items to bid on, and hoping that their bid may just win.

Even Jessica and I got in on the fun!

Jessica put together a really cute package that included a belt, coin purse, and 2 bracelets.

Yay, bidders!

Items on display...

As you can see, it was a lovely time. Thanks Jill and Stephen for allowing us to be part of your special night!

Natalie

It’s an Auction!

Tue, 5 Jan 2010 16:14:37 -0500

The holidays have finally come and passed. I am sad to see this joyful time go, but I know its absence will make the return so much sweeter!

As we move into the new year, we have found ourselves looking forward to an exciting event coming up this week. Here is the story...

A couple in my caregroup, Stephen and Jill, have been seeking adoption for some time now. They have been through ups and downs throughout this process, and to witness their steadfast faith in the Lord has been an encouragement and a privilege. And now the time has come! Recently they received exciting news that they were chosen to be the parents of a new little baby.

As the baby’s due date is approaching, Jill and Stephen have found a need for additional funds for the adoption. To help raise money, they will be holding a silent auction. Happily, Jill asked if A Cup Of Green Ginger would like to participate! And of course we were so glad for this opportunity.

The two items I am donating are an apron and an earring stand.

This apron was the very first one I made. I LOVE it. Although my first, I think it turned out beautifully! I was instantly drawn to the fabric’s vintage floral pattern. Maybe someone will get to enjoy it now as much as I do.

The earring stand is actually a project Jessica inspired me to do after she made one for herself. It is simply burlap covering an unfinished wooden frame....the holes in the weave of the burlap are just asking to be decorated with cute dangle earrings! And of course, I had to add a bird applique...after all, I love birds :o)

Thanks for taking time to read about Stephen and Jill and this exciting next stage of life for them. If you would like to read more, please visit their adoption website at http://stevejilladoptionadventure.blogspot.com/.

I hope to follow up after the auction with some pictures of the event. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Natalie

Scraps to Treasures

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:34:47 -0500

After all the projects I’ve worked on leading up to Christmas, I’ve ended up with lots of small scraps of fabric. If it’s a fabric I particularly love (such as the one pictured above) I have a hard time throwing it out because I figure there HAS to be a way to use it. Here are a few ways I’ve found to use small pieces of leftover fabric:

These are some old broken earrings I had - I simply covered them with fabric and attached antique bronze earrings hooks. Voila! I beautiful Christmas gift.....for me. :)

For this Christmas ornament I simply wrapped strips of fabric around a styrofoam ball and attached a gold string.

And lastly here is a little headband - all I needed was a long strip for the band, a circle piece of fabric to make the yo-yo and some elastic for the back.

And that’s it for now. Time to finish up some last minute Christmas projects!

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

Jessica

a Merry Christmas

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:45:51 -0500

This Christmas, I have been in such a crafty kind of mood! It has been fun to be able to work on gifts for other people. I loooove to give gifts and making them myself makes it even more enjoyable.

I haven’t just been making gifts though. I’ve also had time to work on some projects for myself. Although Peter and I don’t have our own tree to put up (because we have no space for one!), I wasn’t going to be stopped from making a couple of handmade Christmas ornaments....for a future tree. I tried several different kinds, but some of the ones that I really liked are these embroidery hoop ornaments. They were so easy to do but turn out really cute! I had to buy the hoops, but all the rest of the fabric pieces were scraps from other projects I’ve worked in the past.

I will have fun taking them out next year, hopefully with a nice beautiful tree to hang them on.

This is the little tree we have now:

I love it! I figured, if I’m going for a fake tree, let’s go all out with the bright green and lots of sparkles :o) It has cute little ornaments that are so itty bitty and adorable. To top him off, I made a little bird...not anywhere close to the beautiful felt ornaments Laura makes (which are amazing!), but he works for me.

And speaking of birds, I made a couple Christmas cards with what else, but birdies. Peter and I decided not to do Christmas cards, but we did want to send out a few to grandparents and aunts and uncles who live out of the area and we never see. They aren’t super Christmas-y, but I think they are still fun and festive.

I hope everyone has a joyful Christmas! 9 more days!

Love,
Natalie

My Room

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 21:19:20 -0500

I can’t believe my baby girl is already two weeks old! She is so precious and we’re so happy to have her as party of our family. Needless to say, I haven’t been very “crafty” in the past couple weeks - I feel like all I do is keep everyone fed! However, before Alivia was born I had a chance to finish a lot of projects. Here’s one: All of these frames, mirrors and boards I found at thrift stores and simply covered them in fabric to coordinate with my bedroom. I used burlap on the earring rack to that I could easily poke earring hooks through and for the necklaces and bracelets I used a cork board so I could push nails in to hang things on. The result is a very functional way to organize my jewelry and it looks pretty at the same time!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season so far!

Love,

Jessica

Baby Baby

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:57:27 -0500

Babies, babies, babies! In the last couple months, thoughts of babies have been in my mind...haha, not for me ;o) But, as people I love are pregnant with little ones on the way, while other babies are already being born, I have had the joy of making some little gifts for these little people.

As Laura already mentioned, the Lord blessed us with Alivia Rose Gallo who was born on November 16. She is so beautiful! And Jessica is such a beautiful mommy. About a month before she was born, I wanted to make something special for my new niece. I worked on making a blanket that would be so soft and fuzzy and ready to welcome a little girl into it. (see above photo)

Another friend of mine is also having a girl soon. (I can’t say who it is in case she reads this blog. I haven’t given her the gift yet!). The blankets were made out of a soft flannel and a satin edging. And of course they both have to have birds.

For Jessica’s baby shower, Aunt Carissa made Alivia and Grace each a cute little doll. I loved them so much, I wanted to make some for myself. So, I tried my hand at doll making, not having a clue where to begin! This is one I made for my friend who has a girl on the way. I think she turned out very adorable still, despite not having a pattern to follow.

After the first doll, I wanted to make another one for my cousin. Thankfully, Carissa helped me on this one by telling me where to get the pattern. The Black Apple, who was Etsy’s top seller, shared her doll pattern and technique for making them on the Martha Stewart Show. It can now be found on her website. This made creating the second doll a lot simpler. I think she came out very cute too!

These have been the projects filling my time last month. And, with Christmas approaching, I am now having fun with various crafting projects. I was tempted to write about those today, but I’ll wait until we get closer to Christmas. Next time I post I will probably have lots to share! Even today, my sister and I are working on Christmas ornaments, and I have a list of handmade Christmas presents I need to begin soon. I’m looking forward to a joyful (and crafty!) holiday season!

Nesting

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:55:27 -0500

So, I’m officially 11 days away from my due date...and definitely in nesting mode. Projects that have been put off for months or years suddenly have to get done this week! I’ve taken a few photos of some of the projects I’ve done the past week or so.

First off is the nursing cover I made. I’ve been eyeing this fabric for awhile and finally found an excuse to buy it and make something! The straps fasten around the neck and the boning pops the fabric out so you can keep an eye on your little one.

I also made this handy little drawstring pouch to keep it in -it helps keep things neat in the diaper bag.

And one more view so you can see how it works....

Next is my new table cloth in the kitchen. I liked this fabric because it’s fall-inspired and also very cheery - a fun and quick project.

Lastly, as I was organizing my basement I found a pile of forgotten picture frames. I’ve had a lot of fun covering them in cute fabrics and putting them back into circulation. Here’s one I did for my bedroom.

So that’s it for now. I hope everyone has a terrific Thanksgiving holiday! (I can’t wait!)

Love,

Jessica

Update

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 22:49:14 -0500

Hello everyone,

We would love to give you a brief update on the future of A Cup of Green Ginger and where we are currently.

On October 18th, A Cup of Green Ginger had its official launch party. It was so much fun and really successful! Our goal at that time was to make the party an introduction to our Etsy, and we had hopes of getting the shop up and running before the Christmas season. However, after a lot of talking and re-evaluating, we have decided to postpone Etsy until the new year. This doesn’t mean that A Cup of Green Ginger is no more! We will be posting a new blog entry once a week on Wednesdays, so please keep reading! As we have said before, the goal of our blog is to showcase our projects and ideas online and hopefully inspire you to create things as well. We will try to stay true to this goal...Christmas time should provide a lot of fun things to blog about and inspire creativity!

As we re-evaluate again in the future, we will keep you posted. In the meantime, if you have any questions, comments, or if you are interested in any of the items similar to the ones you see on our website or that were at our party, please email us (our emails are found under “Contact”). We would be happy to talk to you!

Thanks for reading and thank you for all the support and care.

The After Party

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:12:12 -0400

Thank you to everyone who attended our party this past weekend. We were so grateful for the show of support and excitement for our endeavor. If you have a moment and would like to leave a comment, we would love to hear feedback about the party. Let us know what you liked or changes we can implement to make the next party even more successful.

For those who were unable to attend, we had our Green Ginger launch party on Sunday. For several hours, people enjoyed fall-inspired foods, music, and of course, perusing hand-made goods. Here are some photos of the party:

Cheers

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:49:01 -0400

Hi everyone, I’m Natalie. Almost 2 years ago I married my best friend, my husband, Peter John. I am so blessed to be married to my favorite person in the whole world! At that time, I was already getting to know one of my amazing sister-in-laws, Jessica, who I was so grateful to have as a bridesmaid in my wedding. Since then, God has been so kind to give me two more wonderful sisters-in-law in the Gallo family!

I have to give Jessica the credit for first inspiring me to create. My mom taught me to sew when I was young (thank you, Mommy!), and I liked to play around with creating things, but I wasn’t at all confident. Jessica encouraged me to begin trying new things and to be okay with making mistakes. I’ve worked on various projects since then and have recently made a lot of pillows.

Here’s an example of one of my pillows:

In addition to sewing, I have been working on making wall mounted racks. I’m drawn to beautiful knobs...but why keep knobs just for decorating dressers and drawers? I like to experiment mixing different types of wood and knobs to create unique wall mounts.

Here’s one I made as a gift for my mom:

There’s more to see, but in order to stay somewhat mysterious, I’ll save some of my projects for later posts. But, if you come to the party, you’ll get to see quite a bit more!

Nice to meet you!

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 15:58:09 -0400

Hello everyone. Thanks for reading!

I’m Jessica and I’m married to the oldest of the four Gallo boys. Phil and I have two adorable children – Grace almost 4 and Owen 2 ½. We also have one on the way - Alivia due next month! I certainly have my hands full with the little ones but somehow I manage to fit in time for creating things. It’s what I do to relax and unwind from the day. The two main areas I tend to focus on are creative solutions for my home and wearable accessories. For my home: I love to find an area that isn’t functioning well and come up with the most creative (and cheapest!) solution possible. Take my kitchen for example: I needed a little eating area for the kids. Problem – All I had was a dingy craft table and no chairs! My solution: I purchased inexpensive fabric to make curtains and a tablecloth; found $3 chairs at my favorite thrift store and painted them black. The result is a cozy breakfast nook that has become one of my favorite little corners in my home. As you read my posts you’ll be sure to see more of my “home solutions” and hopefully get ideas for your own home.

As I mentioned, I also love to make accessories. Whenever I see something cute at a store my brain immediately starts scheming how I can make it myself. Here are some examples of a crocheted necklace, coin purses and belts that I’ve made:

Welcome to our site!

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:28:36 -0400

Jessica, Laura, and Natalie; three girls who married three brothers. However, that's not all we have in common...

Each of us has a passion to create, from decorative objects for our homes to pretty accessories. We love to make things so much, we decided to combine forces and become A Cup of Green Ginger. Under this name we are able to showcase our projects and ideas online. Hopefully we will inspire you to create things as well!

Maybe it started a few years ago as, one by one, girls were added to the Gallo family. As our friendships grew, we realized that we shared a love of creating things through various ways and in various means. Those things started showing up as gifts or just your average show-and-tell at get togethers. We'd all end up oo-ing and aa-ing over each other’s creation.

And one day, as we sipped a cup of tea, the idea of A Cup of Green Ginger was born.

One of the most exciting things of late, as many of you know, is the upcoming launch of our very own Etsy shop! To celebrate, we're throwing a party! And you're all invited! It's going to take place on Sunday October 18th in Alexandria, Virginia, so mark your calendars. It will be so good to see you!

Check back here for more information and fun sneak peeks at what we will be showing at our party. If you're unable to make it, celebrate with us online by leaving comments! We'll be sure and post pictures of the party afterward- it will be like you were there!

Let’s Party!

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:25:46 -0400