“Katie was born in Berlin, Germany in 1987. She lives and works in the Midwest and is a wayward Graphic Design student currently pursuing artistic endeavors on her own.

She is largely self-taught in areas from web design to scrapbooking and doesn’t believe in mistakes.

Some of her favorite things include, but are not limited to: Chicago, indie music, food, art of all kinds, 80s pop culture, the Internet, graphic design, her Zune & mobile device, book & record stores, shows, and constantly learning & evolving.

She likes watching British talk shows, prime time on the CW and AMC, and comedies without laugh tracks. She listens to anything catchy but has a particular fondness for Brand New. She prefers reading Bret Easton Ellis’s works, yet is open to whatever strikes her fancy.

A former assistant to the librarian, she judges books by their covers. Currently, she visits pets while their owners are away and spoils them with treats. She endorses spreading the love and general vibes of well-being.”

  1. I can’t imagine my life without … My family! They have been such an influential part of my life and have helped to make me who I am today.

2. My least favorite chore is … Scooping litter boxes. Yikes!

3. I would love to win a shopping spree to …Any scrapbooking establishment, of course, and Urban Outfitters! Now that would be awesome. Anthropologie, too, maybe? Barnes & Noble? The possibilities are endless.

4. My must have treat and music when scrapbooking is … Chocolate and anything mellow! Think Bat for Lashes, Duncan Sheik, Fleet Foxes, David Gray, etc.

5. When scrapbooking, I love to use …My imagination, first and foremost. I always try to ask myself how I can create a particular embellishment myself, or how I can alter an existing embellishment to better suit my needs. I’m also fond of kraft paper/cardstock, bright colors and earth tones, funky/retro patterns, animals, lace and other fibers, and smaller photos.

6. My favorite creative project is …Besides scrapbooking? I am really into embroidery and sewing in general lately, whether that’s on paper or on fabric. I like to re-fashion old T-shirts and use them in new ways — for example, headbands!

7. I thought I would never …Try calamari. I did, and I liked it!

8. My worst habit is … My indecisiveness. It can take me forever to make a choice… About anything! On the rare occasion that I do know what I want (when it comes to food, for example), others rarely agree. Woe is me!

9. My favorite scrappy or crafty web site is ….I have spent many hours browsing the jr__nal community on LiveJournal: http://community.livejournal.com/jr__nal

10. You would never guess it, but I …am kind of a romantic comedy nerd. As someone who is not overly girly (a tomboy at heart, even at 22!), I have probably seen way too many rom-coms for my own good. I love Sleepless in Seattle, One Fine Day, and The Wedding Date.

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Check back next week to meet another member of our team. Also, make sure you visit the blog on Fridays to see special guest posts from our design team members. Be inspired by their work!

Here’s a look at some of the layouts Mara created. Don’t you just love the little banners she used on the her pages?

Kits ship on Wednesday … so if you haven’t ordered yours yet, you still have time. Start shopping now!

My VERY messy pantry

This last week my husband and I decided we’re going to eat through our pantry. We have a huge, unruly pantry. There is probably enough food in there to feed a small village for months. And on top of that, I also have a huge extra freezer in my garage … also packed with food. So, we’re going to stop buying no essential foods (milk, bread, cheese … etc) and eat through our pantry and freezer. This is going to be a challenge for me. I have issues with pantries and food. Some people feel like they are a success or life is good if they drive a fancy  car or carry an expensive purse. Me? I feel like all is well if I have a full pantry and a stocked refrigerator. I’m not sure why this is, but I’m always buying “stuff” to add to my pantry. I rarely leave the grocery store without buying at least a few canned goods. It’s a sickness. I know. But it’s also a money drainer. I don’t need to spend all this money on food we don’t need, right?

So, now it’s time to be creative with what we have in our house. Yesterday Mike made some yummy beans and rice, from the pantry of course. And on Friday night we have Parmesan Orzo with mixed veggies and fish … made with all things we had on hand. I’m pretty confident and excited about this little project of ours.

I can see a mini book coming out of this grand adventure!

Now, if I can just find some recipes for all the varieties of beans I have in my pantry, I’ll be set!

Here’s the first project I finished. I used this tutorial as a guide and then went to town. I used some Crate Paper chipboard shapes, a variety of Glimmer Mists and Maya Mists, Thickers Alphas, and I made/painted the sun myself. I also cut come of the words out from a newspaper.

Here’s another prject I’m working on. It’s a present for my daughter’s kindergarten teacher. As Shelby watched me make my “Here Comes the Sun” piece, she wanted to make something of her own. She decided it should be for Miss Burns and she told me what it should say .. “The more you learn, the more you grow.” She said this was because Miss Burns helps her learn! Isn’t that the cutest?

Shelby helped me with every step of this canvas. She sprayed Glimmer Mist. She spread Gesso. She helped me paint chipboard letters. We added Glimmer Mist to some white, glitter Thicker letters. It’s not quite done … but it’s coming along. Shelb also made a little canvas that says “Miss Burns, I love you.”

We layered the canvas with a bunch of different Glimmer Mist colors. I think this was Shelby’s favorite part. It was a little tough to get her to stop! She wanted to spray. Spray. And spray some more.

Here’s a look at where the projects are now. We still have to actually glue all the parts down. And add some more embellishments. But they are looking quite cute if you ask me!

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My mom sent me a link to a tutorial to make the cutest flower hair clips (see photo below). Go Mom! I love this idea. I was at my mom’s house last week and she was admiring the hair clip Shelby was wearing. I bought the clip from The Pleated Poppy … the hair clip has now become one of Shelby’s favorites, but they are a little expensive for a 5-year-old who had a tendency to misplace her hair bows! Instead, I want to make her some that I don’t mind if she destroys, misplaces or generously gives to her playmates. This tutorial is both easy and cute.

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Have  you been to Heidi Swapp’s blog lately? She is our guest designer for April and has started to create with a few of the goodies from that kit. Check it out! And have you ever watched Heidi’s live Web show? If not, I suggest you check it out. It’s really awesome and you come away from it with tons of ideas and inspiration.

Hope you’re having a great weekend. I’d love to hear what crafty projects you’re working on!

By Amy Kingsford

Thursday evening my husband and I went out to dinner and a movie for our 4 year anniversary (an eternity I know…lol)! We also did a little shopping. And as I was perusing the racks at Anthropologie, I stumbled upon this gorgeous necklace …. I was in love! But not in the way that you’d think.

To be honest, there was nothing in my closet I could wear with this piece and it didn’t really speak to my personality, but I just couldn’t stop staring at those beautiful flowers and thinking … wow they would look great on my next lo! So I studied them carefully and when I got home that night I gave them a try. I was so pleased with them that after I made my first one, I tried them out using several different mediums, including, lightweight paper, muffin tins, and of course fabric …

I get my inspiration from all different places … Sometimes, I look to my fellow scrapper’s work … Sometimes I look to their blogs for fantastic tutorials and project ideas … and sometimes, inspiration is staring back at me from the pieces of my everyday life!

How about you?! Where do you get your inspiration from? Do you find yourself looking to the same places, time and again? A particular community’s online gallery, or maybe your favorite magazine?! Or… are you in constant search of new resources for inspiration? I must admit that I am a sucker for “familiar haunts“… my favorite Mongolian BBQ joint or the quaint little coffee house just down the street from my home. But there is definitely something to be said about stepping outside of your comfort zone — especially when it comes to searching for inspiration for your artwork.

Inspiration can come in all colors, shapes, and sizes — in a variety of formats, and mediums. And once I realized this … the opportunities for artistic growth and expression became virtually endless! I challenge you all to look at your everyday life for new ways to express yourself creatively. It could be anything from an advertisement whose design inspires the perfect lo, to a funky vintage apron, whose colors and motifs inspire a great page addition to your art journal.

So with that in mind … get out there and ask yourself … WHAT INSPIRES ME?!

So here’s a little bit about Heather:

1. I started scrapbooking …I’ve loved everything sticker/paper//pens/glue … sigh … since I was a teenager, however, it wasn’t until my niece was born 9 years ago that I really got the scrapbooking bug. Now that I have 2 babies of my own (Christian is almost 5 and Alivia’s almost 2) there’s just no end in sight.

2. My favorite scrapbooking product, tool or manufacturer is …my Fiscars paper trimmer has to be at the top of the LOOOONGlist along with my crop-a-dile. I use both of them almost every time I scrap!! Glossy Accents is my fave glue for everything!! I’ve fallen in love with making mini books, so Maya Road is a must for that. October Afternoon has beautiful papers and stickers, and American Crafts … gosh, I love them as well … almost nothing can make my day as happy as those cute little “flair” buttons and all those Thickers!! Fancy Pants is always great! Tim Holtz’s products are also on my must haves!!

3. My favorite thing to scrapbook about is … My babies, niece, and my hubby. They inspire me daily and everyday is something new.

4. I scrapbook because … First and foremost, I want to preserve and document our memories. It seems that they fade so quickly in the busyness of life. I want to preserve them for both my babies and myself. I want them to know how we felt at the time, what we experienced … the feelings and stories behind the pictures are very important to me. Secondly, I LOOOOVEscrapbooking because it IS my creative outlet. There is this quote from Michael Bridge “When our eyes see our hands doing the works of our hearts, the circle of creation is completed inside us, the doors of our soul flies open and love steps forth to heal everything in sight”. I feel that way when I scrap. It just makes me happy.

5. I am the happiest when … I think of all of the blessings that God has given me (my wonderful husband, my amazing babies, our families, church, friends, health, jobs, etc.) … and, I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say that I’m filled with bliss every time I complete a scrapping project

And a bonus question:

My favorite scrappy or crafty web site is ….I love October Afternoon, Maya Road, and Two Peas in a Bucket. I check out Ali Edwards, Jennifer McGuire, Elizabeth Kartchner, and Tim Holtz’ blogs often for inspiration, and then I just basically blog hop from there – there’s no telling where I’ll end up !!

As always, I have saved the best for last … a look at some pages Heather created. I love her style. And is’t especially gratifiying to see the pieces of our kit come together to make such a lovely creation! Thanks for sharing Heather … you rock!

Here’s a little bit about Mara.

“Hi Everyone! I’m Mara and I’m very excited to be part of the Crazy Daisy team. I live in Southern California with my 2 active children and my homebrewing husband. I work full time as a molecular biologist for a biotechnology company by day and I love to scrap and get crafty at night. I’ve been scrapping for over 15 years and I love the creative outlet. Give me some patterned paper, paint, chipboard, and buttons and I’m a happy girl! I am also very interested in photography and have slowly been trying to develop my photography skills. I love being outside, working out, camping, hiking, running, and chasing my family around with my camera. I also enjoy being in the kitchen, baking, eating and trying new recipes.”

1. I can’t imagine my life without peanut butter M&M’s, my beautiful family and shopping at Target.

2. My least favorite chore is emptying the dishwasher. EWWWW!

3. I would love to win a shopping spree to Target or my favorite cake decorating supply store.

4. My must have treat and music when scrapbooking is red licorice and itunes on shuffle.

5. When scrapbooking, I love to use buttons, patterned paper and flowers.

6. My favorite creative project is everything. Can I answer everything?? I love making layouts, cards, gift packaging, home décor … I love it all!

7. I thought I would never bribe my kids with candy to get ‘one more good photo’ … but I’ve been known to do it.

8. My worst habit is hitting the snooze bar on the alarm over and over and over …

9. My favorite scrappy or crafty web site is … Today’s Creative Blog, Bake at 350, and the other 200 scrapping and baking blogs I have bookmarked!!

10. You would never guess it, but I am a National Champion Swimmer!

To get to know Mara a little better, visit her blog. And of course, we have to show you a little of Mara’s work.

But once great things about March arriving is we’re revealing the full contents of the March 2010 Kits.

Get your luscious March 2010 Main Kit from Crazy Daisy before it sales out. For March we’re using the Green Lush Album from My Mind’s Eye. It’s to die for! There’s also an array of fabulous green and yellow papers from Crate Paper and Basic Grey to help you transition to the warmth of spring. The flocked paper from My Mind’s Eye is just so yummy. This kit is a fabulous selection of some of the latest warm and sunny scrapbooking goodies out there.

Don’t forget to check out Crazy Daisy’s March Mini Kit, which retails for just $17. It’s a bright and cheery collection of brand spankin’ new goodies from Melody Ross for GCD Studios and October Afternoon … just to name a few. If you can’t tell, the borders in this kit are felt and the tags are glittery. Scrumptious!

For more pictures visit our gallery.

It’s Monday. And we’re spending a little time with family. I had to go back to Los Angeles to pick up my passport and visa from the Brazilian Consulate, so I thought we’d make a family trip of it.

I loaded Shelby and Cooper in the car and we embarked on a road trip from one desert to another. Shelby is a road trip pro. Cooper … well, he’s 11 months old. Need I say more? He’s wiggly. He needs help eating. I can’t give him a DVD player and have it entertain him for 8 hours. Luckily, Shelby is a pro at entertaining her little brother. And she’s also quite helpful when it come to bottles and snack time. I’m super lucky to have such a capable helper.

First stop on our little journey? Las Vegas. Mike (my hubby) came with us for this leg of the trip and we dropped him off with his best friend Arnold. Mike and Arnold have been friends forever, and sadly we just found out Arnold has cancer. He’s a great guy and the father of four kids. Mike wanted to be close to Arnold as he finds out what exactly to expect. We are so blessed to have wonderful friends in our lives and Arnold makes the top of our wonderful friend list. We are saying lots of prayers for him right now and hoping for the best.

I headed on to California (where I grew up and Jennifer still lives) to see my mother. Two of my brothers all stopped n to see us, which is wonderful. They live pretty close to my mom, so it was the perfect chance for some of us kiddos to get together. Everyone likes to see us right now … Cooper does that for us. He has increased our value 1000 percent with his chubby cheeks, toothy smile and warm snuggles. Everyone loves a baby, right.

I’m so grateful for family time. At the end of the day, there is nothing better. I appreciate the opportunities I have to spend with my family … especially since I have such a full and busy life. What a blessing they are to me. From my husband and kids to my parents and siblings, my family adds so much richness and joy to my life.

Tonight we’re headed to Jennifer’s house (there’s the “Bachelor” finale to watch), and then tomorrow it will be working on packing up all the March kits and visiting the Brazilian Consulate.  It’s been a crazy fast trip … but a good one. And it was especially nice for my kiddos to visit with their Grandparents, Aunt and Uncles. These are the moments worth remembering and sharing through scrapbooking.

I have been interested in exploring the world of digital scrapbooking for some time now. Awhile back I went as far as downloading all the free digi products I could get my hands on and even bought a considerable amount of templates, brush, digital embellishments. And then I did nothing with all of it.

I can’t imagine ever converting completely … I love to feel and touch the product as I create a page. But for practical reasons it makes a lot of sense. Since I travel. A lot. I often feel like I miss out on valuable crafting time. If I incorporated more digital crafting, I could craft on the road and not have to pack a single extra item.

I was listening to Paperclipping Roundtable on a flight a few days ago and Stacy Julian mentioned Nan Scott and her Web site. While visiting Nan’s site, I clicked on a PhotoShop Elements tutorial and thought I could manage to put together a page with Nan’s instructions. And I did. Here’s a look at my first digi page. Mind you, it’s my first. And I went a little nuts with brushes … but I wanted to try out a bunch of different tools. Pretty much everything on the page is House of 3, plus a freebie Ali Edwards had posted awhile back.

Don’t laugh at my page. It’s my very first try. I really had a ton of fun playing with all the tools in PhotoShop Elements and the goodies I purchase at House of 3. Since I have a background in newspapers and have done some design work, the basics of working in an Adobe product are coming back to be quickly. There was a time I was a whiz at using InDesign, but if you don’t use it … it leaks out your ears and is lost forever!

I also found a super helpful tutorial on the House of 3 blog courtesy of Rhonna Farrer (I love, love her work. She is beyond talented). This tutorial specifically uses a tool kit they sale at House of 3 *yes, I bought it … along with a truck load of other things), but the techniques can be applied to so many different things. Here are a few more pages I made this week … again all House of 3, Ali Edwards and a little Nan Scott Design Studios. Be nice … I’m new at this.

Shelby's 5th Birthday

Finally, I’ve repeatedly checked the various tutorials and articles Ali Edwards has posted on her blog regarding digital scrapbooking. All of her tutorials are straight forward, easy to follow and concise. Check them out here.

I think my vision for my personal digital scrapbooking would be to get a page started, print it out and then add embellishments for texture and depth. This would give me a chance to be more creative when I travel, stay caught up and still play with the physical page at some point.

Are you digitally scrapbooking? Do you have a go to site for tools or tutorials? Share … I want to know!