This month we meet Tamar, the face behind the crafting & lifestyle blog Tarisota – A Collection Of Thoughts.

.

How do you describe Tarisota to people you meet who haven’t read it before?

A collection of thoughts is simply that a collection of the everyday life stuff that happens for me and my family and it has certainly morphed over time. In 2005 I started an online business called Tarisota Collections selling scrapbooking collections and I knew that having a blog would help me be more connected to my customers and allowed me to tell more of a story behind the collections. As my customers grew I felt it was more appropriate to share the story of my life as a busy working Mumma to twin girls as well as the business side of things. Life has a way of taking on you un expected journeys and I have been recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. Now my blog is away for me to document that journey and to keep my online friends and family up to date with my treatment. There are still plenty of other stories in between too as I quickly came to the realisation that Cancer is a word not a sentence. Life goes on just in a different way. I am still living a creative life – cooking crafting loving and I love to share that with my readers.

When did you first start blogging and what made you first hit the keyboard?

My blog started back in 2005  and I cringe when I read those early entries. I would love a redo but life is not like that. I actually like where my blog is at right now – its a smorgasbord of happenings, inspiration, a place for people to comment and leave their thoughts, somewhere for me to connect to to readers.

What is the thing you most enjoy about blogging?

Without doubt it is the documenting and the keeping of the little things – that is the memory keeper in me. We have certain traditions in our family and I love to go back each year to read over how we had celebrated the year before. I love the compilation of photos through posts too that show the progression of my girls from when they were just 3 to now going on nearly 9.  They wore aprons and stood on stools to cook in those first posts and now they run my kitchen.

What is the coolest thing your blog has helped you do?

I have only recently really learnt the power of my blog through my diagnosis. When I first put the details up – I was unsure if I wanted to do that. It seemed so bare and confronting. I hadn’t blogged in almost two weeks as I was lost in the mind numbing tests and uncertainty of knowing and not knowing but I kept getting emails and tweets from readers and friends saying where are you? After much discussion my husband agreed that I should tell the story. The outpouring of support has been unbelievable. I knew I had readers but I didn’t know to the extent the way my stories of my ordinary life with my girls and crafting had touched them. They have commented on my blog and sent the most heartfelt emails. One lady who has never commented before I do not know her – and still have no details other than her first name wrote the other day…

“You don’t know me. But I just want you to know that you are in my thoughts. I want to give you the biggest hug and hold your hand and make you lasagne and chocolate cake and send you a card telling you that you’re in my thoughts. I don’t know why your story is touching my soul so deeply. I’ve followed your blog for ages. Watched your girls grow. Felt a connection of stuff in my life with yours through your words and your blog. And now. Now I feel your pain and your worry and I worry for you. Like we are best of friends.”

This is what keeps me going. There are so many like this which has been incredibly humbling.

What piece of advice would you give someone just starting out their very first blog?

I have had a number of people ask me over the years should they start and I have nagged others to start ( Janet!! ) but my advice is to just do it. Just start and find your pace. It won’t be perfect to begin with and you may change what you share and how you share but that’s ok. Don’t be afraid to hit the keyboard and press post – you will be sorrier for the time that you did than for the time that you have. I wish I had started well before my girls were born. I’m sad I don’t have that part of my life documented. I find I get back way more than I put out.

Tell us about your pets, friends, hobbies, star sign, shoe size… whatever!

I am the style editor for a new online crafty magazine called Etzcetera. Most of the girls who write for the mag have blogs as well so it’s well worth a read . The first issue was free and can be found here. Its a bi-monthly publication available on your computer or iPad and is chocked with great articles and step by steps. The Nov/Dec issue will be filled with Christmas goodies and ideas and I’m really excited to see it come together. While I have stopped work (in my normal life I am Head of Senior School at a local High school) I am fortunate enough to keep working with the Etzcetera team, blogging of course and hopefully a few other crafty online bits and bobs as my treatment becomes less invasive.

I have a whole craft room in my house which is my sanctuary – or would be if I managed to keep it organised – I wish I had a tidying up fairy to come and fix things so it looked like something out of Martha Stewart – far from it.

I am a lover of Blythe dolls – I have one and my girls have two each and I have just been gifted another one from my online twitter blogging friends – I have named her Faith and she is walking through my cancer journey with me.

I lived in Japan for a year as an exchange student and have been back with school groups twice since. I love everything Japanese and was planning a trip there with my family for the first time when the earthquake and tsunami hit – We still want to go – Harajuku, Hello Kitty, The Loft, Mister Donuts, Tokyo Disneyland are the places we plan to hang out. I can’t wait to my girls and share the love.

My favourite TV shows right now are – TerraNova, Junior Master Chef, Australia’s Next Top Model, Renovators and Person of Interest – oh and UnderBelly – Razor – Boy thats quite a list. I have alos been sucked into the Dr Who void after watching Torchwood. I have gone back to 2005 and am 4 series in and loving it.

I am an avid pinner on pinterest – I love being able to collect all the lovely things I find online and keep them in on place. You can find my boards here.

Do you have a particular favourite post that you think is Tarisota at its best?

This is tricky – I guess it depends what you like…

- Here are my stories about  Blythe loving :)

- I learnt to run – from 0 to 10k –   you can read about that here. Im planning a half marathon next.

- I love to read and I blog a lot about the books I read and also about my girls favourites too – you can find that here .

- Recipes galore are here.

- And if you’d like a peek at the way we celebrate some of the milestones in our life – pop over here.

Recommend a blog to us! If you like Taristoa maybe you’d like…

I have three favourite blog who I think are similar to mine ( minus the cancer — heaven forbid )

1. One Crafty Mumma: One of my dearest friends – A Tassie girl  that I have known for many years before we blogged – I wish I had had a Mumma just like her and I aspire to be a Mumma to my girls they way she is to her beautiful children. We now blog together and share a newsletter called Teapot – filled with crafty cooking goodness it’s had a little hiatus while she was traipsing around in her Ford Territory and then I had my Life interrupting moment of Cancer – but in the next few weeks we are getting back on track once I find my treatment balance. You can subscribe here  – and if you do we have a free step by step mini album for you just for signing up – our way of saying thanks

2. Girls wear Blue Too: The lovely Tammy who blogs about her pretty garden and yummy treats – she is a calm kind loving spirit who along with some other twitter friends has just succumbed to the Blythe Doll loving madness that I share. No doubt she will have plenty of post soon introducing her new love. I wish I carried her serenity.

3. Something for Kate: Kate Mason – Arty Mumma extraordinaire making amazing college pieces with a thriving etsy store and 5 children – she is so talented and incredibly inspiring I have no idea how she manages to do all she does and long to be as creative as her one day.

What do you love about Nuffnang?

I love the community aspect of Nuffnang – I love that the girls (Lynda, Vanessa and Holly) are so accessible on twitter – Though I do find Vanessa speaks a foreign language sometimes that I certainly can’t follow- and she can be mean to Lynda. Holly on the other hand I find very “Hip and Trendy” and Lynda says it how it is – I like that no nonsense approach :) It’s similar to my own. I love listening to their banter they make me giggle – They were also responsible for giving me my very first (and last) tequila shot – I guess I can cross that off my bucket list though I am not sure that it was ever on it. I loved attending the Nuffnang Blogopolis conference in Melbourne and meeting so many of my bloggy mates in real life. Nuffnang is like the icing on the blogging cake.

Lastly… how fast do hotcakes sell?

You know I am the hotcake queen – I would actually eat hotcakes every single day of my life if I was allowed to. Or if not hotcakes then crepes or profetejes. It’s a weakness of mine. I figure there are worse weaknesses!

Find Tamar at…

Blog: http://www.tarisota.typepad.com/
Twitter: @tarisota
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/tarisota/

.
.