Tamar Bostock - Tarisota Collections Owner/Photographer

Pacific Pines, Queensland

Hello. I am Tamar - wife to Richard and Mumma to Talia and Sofia my gorgeous twin daughters. I started scrapbooking when the girls were just 4 months old. I used to be a patchworker and a stamper (oh not very good at either mind you...) I had seen scrapbooking and had warned myself not to go there. One day as I was looking at the photos piling around me of my daughters I allowed the whole scrapbooking thing to flick back through my mind - so I bought some paper and some stickers and a pair of decorative scissors and signed on at 2 peas.You can guess the rest.

My style is shabby - I think I am shabby in real life too - the way I cook, the way I throw things together in the kitchen and when I read recipes its all just bit of this and a pinch of that for about that long - My scrapping style is the same. I actually speak and write the same too! Scrapping is so wonderful for me as it pulls together all the creative things I have always loved. It's like I searched my whole life through hobbies waiting for this to be found - learning all these skills so I could be a scrapbooker. Surprise packages, sneak peaks of new things, the sound of the doorbell ringing and the word parcel being called out, unwrapping boxes, the feel of bazzil and smell of new papers - all so incredibly yummy - this is what excites me. The thought of uninterrupted scrapping hours stretching out ahead of me with all my new things around.

The amazing women in this industry who continue to push the boundaries and forge ahead in creativity is what keeps me heading back to the photos and the paper. Some of those women are found right here at Tarisota Collections- I am so lucky to have them in this adventure and to call them friends. I hope we inspire you to scrap and that you share the anticipation of the next collection of goodies arriving at your door.

Favourite Products: Stamps, Inks, Paint and Sandpaper

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Suz Doyle - Tarisota Collections Designer

Berwick, Victoria

Hello. I'm Susan Doyle (call me Suz!) and I discovered my first scrapbooking magazine when my oldest son was just three months old - that was back around Christmas 2001. I have a background in calligraphy and stamping and sewing and all things crafty really, encouraged enthusiastically by my mother who owns around 2,000 mounted rubber stamps!

Alex, now four, and Phoebe who'll be three in January are my main scrapping subjects, along with their father, my long suffering partner Frank - and the very exciting building of our new house in which the positioning and set up of my scrapping area has long been my main concern and priority! As a wonderful contrast to my ever moving pre-schoolers, I've been developing my skills in still life photography and I've discovered how much fun it can be working with natural light and colour - as well as subjects that stay exactly where you put them.

I've been privileged to enjoy the journey from conception to birth of Tarisota Collections, brainstorming ideas with Tamar until the wee hours of many a morning - that have now come to fruition in this amazing and unique site. Her taste and "nose" for tracking down not just the latest and greatest but the most beautiful and innovative products is second to none and I hope that you become as addicted as I am to this wonderful scrapping concept.

Favourite Products: Flowers and Ribbons

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Tracy Wyldman - Tarisota Collections Designer

Bargo, New South Wales

Hi Everyone!!! I am Tracy and I live in outer Sydney NSW. I have been scrapbooking for just over 5 years. My 3 gorgeous kids 16, 7 and 7 are without a doubt the main feature in majority of my work, I love to capture the ‘little’ things in their lives.

We are very much a craft oriented family, one way or another my kids and I all do a variety of crafts. I love how scrapbooking has incorporated its way into my life, not only am I able to create a legacy for my kids and future generations of my family, but I have a collection of the most amazing photos that I would not have otherwise had. I have been a craft person most of my life, my aunty taught me to knit when I was just 4 years old and I have never looked back, I also love to patchwork and cross-stitch.

My kids also scrapbook, my eldest in helping me out with ideas and suggestions, my two little ones actually scrap themselves, I have succumbed to them raiding my stash and we share pretty much all our supplies, they think this is great.

I am privileged to have been a part of Tarisota right from the beginning, and I am in awe of its growth and popularity over the past 2.5 years. Tamar puts together the most amazing collections that continue to inspire and me and stretch me to create beautiful projects month after month, I still oohhh and aahhh over my pizza box every month when it arrives. My fellow DT’ers are some of the most amazing women I have had the pleasure of associating with, and I am very lucky to be able to call them my friends, their work is total inspiration and pure deliciousness.

I am lucky enough to have been published in FK, SC and SM and I am currently a Creative Team Member for Scrapbooking Memories.

Favourite Products: Ink, Patterned Paper and coffee!!!!

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Melissa Goodsell - Tarisota Collections Designer

Blackmans Bay, Tasmania

2005 Scrapbooking Memories Master ; 2005 & 2006 For Keeps Magazine Design Team Member

I live in the friendly beachside suburb of Blackmans Bay, Tasmania. I have been married for 14 years to Richard and we have 2 beautiful children – James (12) and Isabella (7). I wouldn't really say that I have a style, I love simple/elegant layouts right through to collage. One of my favourite techniques is to use stitching on my layouts, either by hand or using a sewing machine. My main inspiration for my scrapbooking would have to be my family. It's wonderful being able to document all of our memories in my scrapbooks to treasure for years to come. I am so thrilled to be part of the Tarisota Design Team. Working with the Tarisota Collections is a breeze! Tamar does such a great job putting all the bits together . I hope you are inspired by what you see here.

Favourite Products: Ribbons and Stitching

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Ngaire Bartlam - Tarisota Collections Designer

Tarragindi, Qld

Hi, I’m Ngaire! My little family and I live in beautiful Brisbane Qld . My husband Paul and I have two beautiful girls, Georgia, who is 12, and Isobel, who is 9. We also have a weird little hairy dog, Dougal, and two cats , Rueben the magnificent, and Boo Boo, a delusional little old lady cat . We love them all!

I guess I am a bit of an “old lady’ myself when it comes to scrapping. I have been in love with this art since 1999, when I started scrapping after a CM party.( I wanted to add more than two triangles to my page.. I was a rebel even then!! LOL) I have never felt a passion for any “craft’, like I did, and do, for Scrapbooking. It is simply a part of me now.

Where have you seen my work? I have over the years, been published in all the Aussie magazines, as well as Creating Keepsakes. ( so actually its been kinda hard to avoid me!) I work regularly with Scrapbook Creations Magazine, as well as Scrapping Clearly and Fiskars. I wrote my first book, Lumpy Bumpy in 2002, ( yup still am the “LUMPY BUMPY” lady to many girls.. you have no idea how delightful it is to be known as such.!), and published my second book "It's All About You" in 2006. This year I will be teaching in Brisbane , Rockhampton, in Sydney and m Melbourne. Totally cool, and I can't wait to meet more of the wonderful women that make this art so divine.

What’s my style? You know I find this question really hard to answer.. I think my stuff is easily identifiable.. so I must HAVE a style. But finding a word for it is difficult. The one I usually come back to is overloaded eclectic. I love to try new things, I love to push boundaries, I love colour and texture and humour, and fun in my art. I adore sparkles, ink and paint, rubons, and ribbons ( hey, who doesn’t??) and unusual colour combinations. My favourite products: jeepers , how long do you have? I love7gypsies, Basic Grey, textiles of all and any kinds, and chocolate.

So…How LUCKY am I to play with the fabulous goodies that Tamar finds for us every month ?? Thank you so much Tamar, after two years with Tarisota.. I am still thrilled each and every month with my pizza box of gorgeousness.

Favourite Products: Heidi Swapp Basic Grey, Textiles - Chocolate!

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Nic Howard - Tarisota Collections Designer

Pukekohe, New Zealand

I have been a scrapbooker for 9 years. I have blue tabs littering every corner of my home, I have small handmade paper items in every nook and cranny in my house. My children know exactly where to find me if they call and I don't answer. I find joy in the small things that used to pass me by, and I have my camera ready to photograph them.

As a scrapbooker my main drive is the ability to create. I'm not so good at getting my creations in albums, it seems to be the thrill of finishing a project that satisfies my spirit. My layouts line up on shelves waiting for their permanant homes .

My children are 9, 7 and 4. As is true with many other scrapbookers, they are the focus of many of my pages. My husband Paul is extremely supportive, we make a great team really, he is often the one that tells me to"just stick it down, it's finished!" and in return I work hard at keeping the officework up to date within our home construction business.

I've always found the challenge of magazine briefs and freelance assignments enthralling. In 2004 I won my first big contest, with the USA Memory Makers Masters competition. Prior to this I had won several smaller competitions and been published in several books and magazines - this only challenged me to go further. In 2005 I was awarded a place on the 2005 For Keeps Elite Team. I have since joined the Queen & Co, Scenic Route paper company, Big Picture Scrapbooking and Aussie Scrap Source Design teams.

To date my largest and most fulfilling accomplishment is the completion of a sole authored book, released in 2007 through F+W publications. It was through writing this book I learnt to appreciate the little things that make me a scrapbooker - and I learnt to create pages about them. Those blue tabs I mentioned? Yep, they even gained a page of their own. It's amazing what defines us if we really look around.

Favourite Products: Chipboard

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Jo Kneller - Tarisota Digital Designer

Auckland, New Zealand

Hi there :O) my name is Jo Kneller and I live in New Zealand on Auckland’s North Shore with my husband Patrick, my two daughters Caitlin and Sarah, two cats and George the boxer.

I am currently on the elite team for NZ’s premier scrapbook magazine – Up2Scrap, teach classes at NZ Scrapbook Company, am on the dares team for the New Zealand Dares site, and help run the Scraptheteenz! blog. I have been pubIished in Up2Scrap, Scrapbooking Memories and Scrapbook Creations. I have been scrapping since 2003 when I became interested in a scrapbooking stall at a craft show and attended a beginner’s class. I still have that very first layout and get a kick out of looking at how my style has changed since then!

I admire scrappers such as Maxine Hazebroek, Shirley Chai and Sarah Gladman and love pages that include mixed media and have a collagey (is that a word? Lol!) look to them. I enjoy traditional scrapping but also love to dabble with digital and am very excited by the current trend of hybrid scrapping as a way to enjoy both styles. Hybrid scrapping has fast become my favourite way to scrap and I enjoy creating digital elements to put on my pages.

I was absolutely delighted to be asked to be Tarisota’s hybrid designer as I love Tarisota Collections and admire and find much inspiration from the design team’s work. And now I get to work with these talented ladies in person – how cool is that?! I am looking forward to showing you interesting ways to combine digital and traditional scrapping to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Favourite Products: Paper and Pixels

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Jill Geraghty -Groves - Tarisota Collections Designer

Springfield, Queensland

I have been scrapbooking now for just over 2 years and am completely addicted to it. Prior to that I did not even know that I had an "artistic" flair or could take a fairly decent photo! I have always done some sort of craft though, making mohair bears, mosaic and just collecting "bits" it knew I would use one day!

As the mum of three boys, 13yo Zane and 5yo twins, Levi and Jonah, I have no shortage of photo opportunities. I love to document their antics and am enjoying watching them grow. I do hope that one day they enjoy going through their albums as much as I have enjoyed making them.

I'm not sure that I have a developed a definite "style" as yet. I basically tend to go with the photo - some photos really call for a bright layout and some are more subdued. I do love the challenge of putting it all together.

I am currently on the DT for Paper Trunk and Magistical Memories (both US manufacturers).I am lucky enough to have been published in all three Australian magazines as well as a couple of US and UK publications.

I cannot tell you how honoured and thrilled I am to have been asked to become part of the Tarisota team. The Tarisota collections are the most beautiful and versatile collections I have ever worked with....I have never seen anything like them before and it is a joy to be creating with them. My congratulations to Tamar for putting them together...what a gift she has!

Favourite Products: Patterned Papers

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Gigi Kennedy - Tarisota Collections Designer

New York, USA

"Hi everyone!! My name is Gigi Kennedy. I live just North of New York City with my husband, Mike, my three little kids: Kelly (6), Ryan (5), and Kate (3), and my boxer, Ryatt. Other than being known around pre-school as the "crafty mom", I make the best spinach salad and love the outdoors.

I began scrapbooking back in 2003 after seeing and marveling at a friend's scrapbook. I was so drawn to recording and artfully displaying my own and my family's history and what is important to us. My mother is an artist, so I've always been drawn to creative crafts of all types. In addition, I've always been a "journaler", so I was over the moon to have found a hobby that could incorporate both. My first pages were more event centered & contained basic factual information with a catchy title. I have since embraced the artistic and expressive facet of this wonderful hobby where I can share my perspective of our everyday life and I relish in sharing precious bits of our own everyday story. I no longer pull out the camera for just birthdays and vacations, but have become a bit of a paparazzi and am passionate about trying to capture those little things life that truly make my heart sing.

Recently, I have really been enjoying creating "beyond the page" and using all of my favorite scrapbooking and craft supplies (and maybe even the box they were packaged in) to create items for around my home and gifts. I also have discovered a love for all things vintage and now thoroughly enjoy finding ways to re-purpose vintage ephemera and bits and bobs in my work.

I have been fortunate enough to have been a member of the Creative Team at One Little Word since its beginning and to have my work published in Simple Scrapbooks Magazine. But really feel my ship came in when asked to be a Designer for Tarisota. I have long admired and been inspired by this team of amazing women, as well as the gorgeous collections revealed each month, and am thoroughly looking forward to working and creating with them both.

Favourite Products: patterned paper, ribbons, buttons & paint

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