I’m in Rio right now. I had to stay over the weekend, which isn’t something I do often. Since I’ve been to Rio so many times there’s not a lot of new things for me to see and do. And, I’m feeling rather lazy. So instead of exploring a lot this weekend, I have been scrapping like a mad woman. I’ve done a bunch of all digital layouts (I’m taking one of Jessica Sprague’s digi classes) and I thought I’d share them with you.

I have to say … I think I might just be more of a digi scrapper than a paper scrapper. I never thought I’d say that and though I won’t EVER give up paper crafting … I’m loving the digital tools and being able to scrap while I’m away from home.

I’m think that my goal this week is going to be to take a few digi templates I’ve already used and tweak them in some way to make the different. I want to see just how much use I can get out of a single template!

By Katie Turner

Katie here! This time around, I thought I’d do something a little different: offer up some tips and techniques on how to create your own embellishments using the various materials found in the kit (I’m using the July 2010 Main Kit, but you can use whatever you have around your craft space)! 

I like to mix things up and try to challenge myself to use products in a new way and not just straight out of the bag/off the sheet. I realized that while I described the process before, I never really offered up any tutorials, so I’m here to change that today! I’ve created four different tutorials to inspire you to use the goodies in your kit in new ways. Let’s get started!

custom metal charm:

grab your metal charm and the blue flower rub-on from the glitz design kismet collection sheet.
decide how you want to place the petals on your charm; i decided to use two petals and face them away from each other.

cut out the petals and center of the flower (if you want to) and rub it all on! i rubbed on in layers, so i burnished the petals down first, then the brown center, and finally a couple of the red bits on either side of the center. i also covered the charm in a couple coats of mod podge to seal everything in. all done!

textured flower:

cut out the red flower from the glitz design kismet collection sheet and place it on the moxxie joy of baking collection pinch of this paper with the circle side up. rub it on.

trim the paper around the flower (this doesn’t have to be perfect!) and, from corrugated cardboard, cut out a circle slightly larger than the outside of the flower you just cut out. tear one of the top layers of paper off the cardboard circle, the messier the better!

layer the elements, beginning with the corrugated circle on the bottom, the flower in the middle, and a brad from the kit to top it all off. the crop-a-dile is great for punching a circle through the flower and cardboard if you’d prefer to do that before fastening it all together with the brad. voila!
 

collage cards:

take the my mind’s eye life stories collection journaling card and use it as a guide to trace two more cards on the large vintage card also found in the kit; i traced over the lower right and upper left corners of the vintage card so that i’d get the vintage logo and “notes” sentiments on my new cards. cut the cards out.
cut out the bee from the glitz design kismet collection sheet and then cut it in half; place on one card as shown in the picture.

i printed out a very small picture to use on my card, but you could use a piece of patterned paper or keep the area blank to fill with alpha stickers later if you’d like. grab the measuring tape ribbon and pleat it, using the left edge of the card as a guide to help you decide how long the ribbon needs to be/how much of the edge it should cover.

stitch the ribbon on: grab your sheet of glitz design vintage journaling cardstock stickers and cut out the bracket journaling spot with the vintage music sheet motif; i had already used the interior of the journaling spot, so mine was cut out, but you can just cut around the edges of the sticker if you’d prefer. snip a long side of the sticker to use as a border on the top of your card — you’ll need to piece together some of the parts of the sticker to make it seem longer than it really is. see the picture for help!

cut out part of the leaf motif from the glitz design kismet collection floral patterned paper.
quickly cut a strip from the moxxie joy of baking collection pinch of this paper and trim it into random bits; it definitely should not be perfect! layer the bits along the bottom edge of the card and adhere with a light adhesive, then adhere the leaf motif you cut out in the previous step on top of it, just like in the photo.

stitch over the moxxie paper border you created. finished with card one.

for card two, grab the textured flower you created in the last tutorial, as well as another strip of the moxxie paper; this time, keep the strip as is and pleat it.
cut out a couple more motifs from the glitz design paper — i chose another branch with leaves and a couple flowers. layer everything just the way you want it (or use my picture as a guide) and adhere down. again, i used another small photo, but you don’t have to! the space is yours to do whatever you want with.
stitch over the pleats and add a couple more snippets from the glitz design journaling spot with the music sheet design as border accents. now you’ve completed the collage cards!

flower brad:

select a brad from your own stash. i used my i-top to make a medium sized brad which i covered with the glitz design paper, but it’s not necessary as the brad will be covered up. make sure the brad has a bit of an edge, though; if it’s too thin, the next couple of steps won’t work. also, cut out three leaves from the same paper. i chose to use the blue side for this. 
adhere the leaves onto the edge of the brad as shown.

use craft bond or pvc glue to circle the edge of the brad and then tie jute cord around it — the glue will help keep it in place as you work. make sure you’re wrapping the cord over the edges of the leaves; this will hold them in place so they won’t break off. once dry, curl the leaves downward.

cut and distress a very thin strip of the glitz design paper. my strip was about 1 cm x 6 inches — tiny! — and use a ruler or straight edge and bone folder to help you find the middle of the strip and score it.
fold the strip in half. i folded it so that the blue will be what shows when my flower is finished.
crush and twist the strip of paper until it resembles something like in the photo — again, it won’t be perfect, but that’s part of the process and beauty of the completed product!

using more liquid glue, slather the center of the brad and begin to twist the distressed strip into it, working from the outside in and in a vaguely circular motion. make sure you press down hard enough for the glue to hold. once you reach the end of your strip, fold it into the middle of the flower. the end!

i hope you enjoyed these tutorials. please let me and the rest of the crazy daisy team know if you create anything based on the techniques i just shared with you — we’d love to see what you come up with!

Thanks,

Katie

“Being fully present is the best guarantee for a bright future.”

–Guy Finley

I read this quote last week and it has stuck with me. I actually can’t stop thinking about it, which is a sure sign that it was something I desperately needed to here. I really have a lot going on in my life. Probably too much. But there isn’t really anything I can take off my plate. In my quest for finding balance, enjoying my life and not feeling guilt … I have realized that I have have to be present. What does that mean for me? Well, I have started to compartmentalize my life. When I am working, I am working. I have been trying to block out very specific times where I dedicate myself completely to the work I have to get done. When I’m working, there is no play. There is no Facebooking. There is no distractions. I am fully present. This has been huge for me. I can accomplish so much more when I just ignore everything else in my life and work …. and I can do it in less time and with less heartache.

I’ve also applied this to my kids and family. When I’m done working I completely disconnect from work and turn all of my attention to my family. I have so enjoyed the time with my kids the last few weeks, as I’ve stopped checking email, blogging or doing anything that doesn’t have to do with them. I get on the floor. I roll around with my baby boy. I chase my big girl. I laugh. I feel so much less stress. I’m present and I enjoy it. And I’ve stopped feeling frustrated, because I’m not multi-tasking myself to death.

When I think about crafting, I think aout another area in my life that’s neglected and where I’m often not fully present. I had the awesome opportunity to attend Creative Escape last week with Jennifer, two of her cousins and another girlfriend from high school. We spent four days enjoying time together and being creative. I feel so recharged and ready to focus on doing things that make me happy and being present when I’m creating. I signed up for an online class fromJessica Sprague. Thanks to the class I took from Claudine Hellmuth Iknow know how I’m going to finish a painting I’ve been working on for months. I have already started on Christmas presents for my mom and my mother-in-law.

I feel like a whole new person. Isn’t it amazing what being fully present can do for you (or me in this case)? I challenge you to make a goal to be more present in your life. It’s not easy, but it’s so worth it.  

I’d like to think I’m only late with a few things, like umm, Crazy Daisy stuff. But really, I’m just a big hot mess of lateness.

However, I see some goodness in my future. A little time to catch up. And I’ll start with the September kits.

Here they are, and let me tell you … they are fabulous! I love ‘em.

September Main 2010:

September Mini 2010:

If you haven’t subscribed yet, go here to get your kit. And if you’d like to add the mini kit to your order, just send us an email.

This mini book, from Amber Zimmerman, is no exception. She took all the goodies from the August 2010 Main Kit and made the most adorable mini book ever. It’s so simple, but so sweet. Love it. Check it out:

To see more photos from Amber’s mini book, visit our Gallery.

First up? A little inspiration thanks to Miss Mara:

Now, here are some goodies from Katie Turner. I love, love Katie’s quirky style.

Check out more layouts from our design team the August Kits in our Gallery.

By Kelly Hansen

I’ve always been one to try different techniques on my pages to make them interesting. One of the things I like using is scrapbooking mask by Tim Holtz,and Heidi Swapp. Unfortunately, some people are afraid to try them because they can be expensive.

This month I got creative. Using my Cricut machine (picture above) I cut my very own custom stencil. I cut out the days of the week just the way I wanted them displayed on my layout.

Using the negative space of the stencil, I taped down all 4 sides so It wouldn’t slide around when using my paint. I also glued down the negative space of the letters. Using the paint (you can also use glimmer mist, inks) I painted (picture above) over the days of the week.

This is what the finished product looks like (picture above). Making your own stencil/mask allows you to be creative in so many ways. This was a great way to accent my title without having to use big letters from a alphabet set. Here’s the finished layout:

I’m in Denmark right now, along with my husband. We have had some great adventures and have enjoyed our time as grown-ups without kiddos (though I always miss my babies when I am away from them). We have decided we need to make couple’s time a priority as it’s good for everyone if mom and dad are happy.

Since I’m in Denmark right now, I thought I’d share the four things I love best about Denmark.

1. The bread: I can seriously eat my weight in bread while in Denmark. Every day there are baskets and baskets of fresh bread. Bread with breakfast. Bread with lunch. Bread with dinner. I think I gain about 20 pounds each time I visit Denmark, but it’s so worth it.

2. Public transportation: It’s super easy to get around Denmark. Jump on a train. Hop on the bus. Hail a cab. No matter what you want to do, you can get there in no time with few, if any, complications.

3. The Hoptimist:  In 1968, furniture designer Gustav Ehrenreich created the Hoptimists (above). In accordance with the trends of the time, his figures were characterized by their bright and positive colors and appealing shapes. These little fellows do nothing more than bring a smile to my face. The bounce around and look like they are giggling. I bought one for my husband my last trip to Denmark and it’s a favorite trinket on his work desk. No one can walk past without giving the Hoptimist a tap and then they always walk away with a smile.

4. The Ice Cream: Much like the bread in Denmark, the ice cream is freshly made each day and uses real ingredients (like real cream) to make some of the world’s yummiest ice cream. Even if it’s snowing you’ll finding me walking down the street with my daily ice cream cone. Love, love, love it.  Interesting fact, you can get licorice ice cream in Denmark. They are serious about their licorice, it’s like their national flavor!

Is there a place you went this summer that you love? Tell us about it, we want to hear. Better yet, scrap about it and then send us some pictures of your finished pages to kimberly@crazydaisykits.com.

So, I’m typing on my new laptop that is finally working exactly the way I like it. it’s amazing how attached you can get to a particular computer after you’ve worked on it for a time. All my icons are in a certain place. Documents stored where I can find them. Links and bookmarks easy to access. I have tried to recreate my old machine and I have to say I’m SO grateful I have been backing up all of my files and have them living on external hard drives. What a relief when my old machine just started locking up, over heating and crashing. But backing up your files (photos, layouts, digi elements, etc) is a whole different topic and worthy of blog post all its own.

Anyway. Here are the August Kits. They are adorable if I do say so myself. And the Main and Mini are totally different, so you need them both!

August 2010 Main Kit

August 2010 Mini Kit

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Special offer:  For the month of August all subscribers get a free grab bag, so if you haven’t joined our club yet, now is the time to do it.

But, before I tell you who won, I have to say I really enjoyed reading all your summer memories. Isn’t summer just the best? I’m so grateful I have a way to capture my summertime memories and save them forever. I know when my children are all grown, I’ll be so glad I took the time to tell our story. And I’m sure you will to. Find the time. Save your memories forever.

Okay. so the big winner is Beth.

Beth, please send me your address at at kimberly@crazydaisykits.com so we can send your fabulous prize.