Cocoa Daisy Subscription



May 1, 2013

Meet Our May Guest Designer: Ronda Palazzari


We are thrilled to have long time Cocoa Daisy friend, Ronda Palazzari, here as our May Guest Designer. She’s a great friend and supporter and we love having her stencils in the shop, they are always a huge favorite. We love what she did with the kit, please read on to learn a little more about Ronda.

Ronda Palazzari is an Author, mixed media Artist, Scrapbook Designer, and an Instructor living in the burbs of Denver.  She has been into art since early childhood.  One of her most memorable Christmas presents was a Crayola Caddy that inspired her to create.  She took many art classes throughout her secondary and college schooling.  Ronda was also an editor on her high school newspaper.  She loved photos, stories, and white space so layouts became her specialty.  After the birth of her children she began scrapbooking as it brought art & storytelling together.  In 2009, Ronda became a Memory Maker Master for Memory Makers Magazine.  She has designed for many manufactures including Fancy Pants Designs, Lily Bee Designs, Crate Paper, Purple Onion Designs, as well as Guest Designing for many other leading manufactures.  She was on the Cocoa Daisy Design team from Dec. 2008 – Jan. 2012 and has been a subscriber since the beginning.  Her first book Art of Layers with North Light Publishing/F&W Media was released in March 2012. She has published in several magazines and idea books including Artful Blogging, Creating Keepsakes, Memory Makers, Scrapbook Trends, and Somerset Magazines.  Ronda is currently a license designer for The Crafter’s Workshop releasing 8 new stencils in January 2013.  She is currently contract designing for Maya Road, Sizzix, and My Mind’s Eye.  Ronda launched her website Ronda Palazzari Designs in February complete with online classes, digital downloads, & tons of inspiration.  She’s best known for combining her mixed-media techniques with bold bright colors.  Ronda is one to follow because you never know if she will be art journaling, scrapbooking, sewing or getting messy with paints; her art changes day-to-day.  She continues to teach worldwide as well as providing inspiration and telling her dorky stories on her blog HelpMeRonda.

Here are her answers to the standard questionnaire:

1. What is your most creative time?
Creative time for me is any time. My mind always see things or hear things that make me want to go & create. It’s especially creative after a nice hot bubble bath.
2. Share your current top 5 favorite music groups with us.
It changes. I listen to music daily. Right now I am grooving on The Lumineers, Of Monsters & Men, Imagine Dragons, Walk the Moon, Florence & the Machine.
3. What’s next on your scrappy life list?
I’d like to do more licensed design work. I would love to have my own stamp line.
4. What is your favorite retreat?
Peaceful cabin in the mountains or a cabin on the pacific northwest beach.
5. If your life was a movie, what actress would play you?
Lauren Graham or Sandra Bullock. Kind of Dorky but still Loveable.
6. What do you do when you’re not scrapbooking?
It’s my full-time job so when I am not working, I travel, I cook & bake, and I READ, a lot.
7. What are you known for on your pages?
Mixed media artsy flair in layers. (say that three times fast)
8. What’s your favorite inspiration site?
http://ilovetypography.com is a great site, it appeals to my graphic sensibilities.
http://threepotatofourshop.com/blog/ for cool finds & vintage stuff. And Pinterest for everything in between.
9. What food would describe your style?
Skittles, taste the rainbow :)
10. What is “dressed up” for you?
I love dressing up. Nice cocktail dress or fancy jeans & top with a scarf, layers of jewelry, and of course some awesome heels or boots.

Here’s a link to Ronda’s May gallery, make sure you check out all her work!


Thank you Ronda, we’re so happy to have you here this month!






April 1, 2013

April’s Guest Designer: Laina Lamb


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We are so grateful that Laina agreed to be our Guest Designer for April! Laina’s not only super talented, she’s also incredibly sweet and real. I’ve had the chance to know her for a few years now through Jillibean Soup, and I have come to the conclusion that she is exactly what she seems to be. True and honest, geniune on all accounts. When she offered to make a printable to coordinate with the kit, she just cemented my opinion on the awesome woman she is. The free printable can be downloaded in the store now.

My name is Laina Lamb and I live just outside Cleveland, Ohio. I am married to a very patient husband to puts up with my creative obsessions. We have three boys Maxwell Presley 17, Cooper Marley 10, and Emmitt Cash 8. All named after rock stars of course!

I graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a design degree and worked in the architectural field designing retail stores, malls and way-finding graphics. After my youngest was born I stayed home for a few years to enjoy being a mom. I started scrapbooking during this career break and found that I had found my passion. I am now employed full time as a freelance product designer for Jillibean Soup and My Favorite Things. I have a strong interest in Digital Die Cutting machines and love to create my own cutting shapes and printable designs. My favorite projects to create are pages about my children! I have been very fortunate to have my work published in magazines and recently became a member of the Creating Keepsakes Dream Team.

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1.What is your most creative time?

After 9pm when my boys are in bed and the house is quiet.

2. Share your current top 5 favorite music groups with us.
The Barenaked Ladies, U2, No Doubt,Bruno Mars, Pink

3. What’s next on your scrappy life list?
To have one of my pages on the cover of a magazine!

4.What is your favorite retreat?
Big Scale – Cruise to the Caribbean, Small Scale – Snuggled in bed with my ipad.

5. If your life was a movie, what actress would play you?
Angelina Jolie, she’s small but tough.

6. What do you do when you’re not scrapbooking?
Dreaming up new product designs.

7. What are you known for on your pages?
Clean and graphic grids.

8. What’s your favorite inspiration site?
The Print and Pattern Blog.

9. What food would describe your style?
Sushi – Colorful and Neatly packaged.

10. What is “dressed up” for you?
Heels, Skinny Jeans, Leather Jacket and lots of Jewelry.

 

I love how Laina put together all the patterned papers in this kit and add ons. She has such a knack for the graphic style, and add to that her color combos, I’m just glad Laina’s our guest designer this month! Thank you Laina!

See her entire gallery here and visit her blog Laina Lamb Design to keep up with what she’s doing now!






March 1, 2013

March’s Guest Designer: Jaime Warren


We’d like to welcome the wonderfully talented Jaime Warren as Cocoa Daisy’s March Guest Designer. When I saw what would be in the line up for our March kit, Sketchbook, the first person to come to mind was Jaime. She’s awesome at soft and ethereal colors and knows how to add the perfect touches to her designs. I was right, it was a good fit, don’t you think?


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Jaime Warren is a scrapbooker and photographer who lives in a tiny little town in Georgia. She has three girls, ranging in age from 12 to 6 who keep her on her toes and keep her scrapbooking. She is married to her best friend who happens to be the only one who could put up with her chaos. She has been blessed to design for several manufacturers over the years including Crate Paper, October Afternoon, Prima, Chic Tags, Technique Tuesday, Pink Paislee and more. She was a 2009 Memory Makers Master  and a Two Peas In A Bucket Garden Girl .  She has also been published in Creating Keepsakes, Cards and several scrapbooking books.

1. What is your most creative time?  Late in the evening for sure.  I am a total night owl and it seems that inspiration always hits around 7pm and I end up working until the wee hours of the morning!

2. What is on your top 5 playlist right now?  All of the Of Monsters and Men songs, Ellie Goulding, Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers and Neon Trees.

3. What’s next on your scrappy life list?  I would love to start designing for companies a bit more again – I miss that push that a deadline provides!

4. What is your favorite retreat?  The mountains!  We love camping, hiking and being out in nature.  We take several vacations to a cabin in the mountains throughout the year, the rest of the time we are camping!

5. If your life was a movie, what actress would play you?  Oh dear.  This is a tough one.  Probably Robin Tunney (but she’d need to don a red wig lol!)

6. Who are the important people in your life?  My kiddos and hubby for sure.  Also my parents and my best friends.  They are the people who “get” me and put up with all of my quirks!

7. What are you known for on your pages?  I would say my whimsical style of layering and scattering.  I use bits and pieces of everything!

8. What’s your favorite inspiration site?  Pintrest!  I’m addicted to that place!

9. What food would describe your style?  Pickles & sweet tea lol!  You know, because when you first look at my page you’re like whaaa?  Why did she use that there?  Oh!  Ok, I get it!  Then the sweet because I love the sweet & soft colors.

10. What is “dressed up” for you? Jeans, a scarf, a t-shirt and my Toms!

You can read more of the day to day with Jaime on her blog 3*2*5  and see her gorgeous photography here on her professional site, Jaime Warren Photography. Thank you so much Jaime for joining us this month, it has been a pleasure working with you!






February 1, 2013

Welcome our February Guest Designer, Stephanie Howell


Every designer I’ve asked to guest design for Cocoa Daisy has responded with enthusiasm (thus making my job much easier), but I am so grateful that when I asked Stephanie Howell to be our February Guest Designer, she exuberantly responded with how much she loved Christine and how she would help out in any way she could.

Even with a busy and tight creating schedule, Stephanie created some wonderful projects for us with our February kit, Double Feature. I was especially floored by her mini album. It’s a beautiful snapshot her family right now.

Check out Stephanie’s gallery here.

And here’s a bit more about the sweet Stephanie:

Stephanie is a mama to four little girls and (for now) she lives in Rhode Island. Her life is one big adventure because she is married to her real-life hero (and action figure) Jimmy. He is in the army and each year brings something (and somewhere) new. Her mantra is “you have to laugh because if you don’t you’ll cry.”…and laugh she does.
Stephanie is the social media director for My Mind’s Eye. She believes that scrapbooking should not be taken too seriously. It should always be FUN. She spends most of her days chasing her twin toddlers,securing ponytails, picking up Barbies, and doing pink loads of laundry. Scrapbooking is her escape and her sanity. 

Her blog, Just Me, My Soldier, and Our Four Little Chicks is a treat to read, Stephanie always put her heart wholly into everything she does, you can see that in her writing.

Here are her questionnaire answers:
1. What is your most creative time? Usually late morning, when the sunlight is strong and the coffee has kicked in.
2. What is on your top 5 playlist right now? The Civil Wars (always), The Lumineers, 90′s hip hop of any kind, Yo Gabba Gabba (I have four kids,what can I say), Bon Iver
3. What’s next on your scrappy life list? I’d love to write a book one day.
4. What is your favorite retreat? Asheville,NC.
5. If your life was a movie, what actress would play you? Anne Hathaway (total girl crush)
6. Who are the important people in your life? My family. They are my world. My girlfriends- we have been through SO much together, they are the glue that holds me together.
7. What are you known for on your pages? handwritten journaling
8. What’s your favorite inspiration site? http://www.eatdrinkchic.com/
9. What food would describe your style? soul food.
10. What is “dressed up” for you? little black dress and my favorite metallic pumps. doesn’t happen often though. :)

Thank you Stephanie!






January 1, 2013

Introducing our January Guest Designer, Christina Clouse


Need some inspiration? If you haven’t had a chance to check out her Cocoa Daisy Guest Designer gallery yet, you are in for a huge treat! Stephanie suggested I ask Christina Clouse to be our January Guest Designer, and holy cow, she was so spot on! Christina is amazing! She’s got a lovely grunged up style and captures her life in Seattle with such class, it makes me miss living there!

Check out this mini album she made, you can see the entire album here. All finished, this album is over an inch thick! It’s a great tribute to her boyfriend and their adventures.

Here’s more about Christina in her own words:

I am 30 years old and I recently moved into an old house in a very industrial part of Seattle. I live with my partner of 13 years, Greg, along with assorted books, plants, and nerdy and crafty projects. I am often to be found with ink or paint on my hands and a cup of iced coffee nearby. I also work for Starbucks Global HR, so this means that loving coffee is mandatory. ;) I adore photography and collecting old film cameras. I also have completely trashy taste in reading novels – I love urban fantasy detective stories – if there is a vampire or a faerie solving crimes, I am totally there. I also love to go to our local beaches and visit the markets; random city adventures keep me inspired.

We are so grateful Christina agreed to join us and she’s also promised a little tutorial later on in the month, so be on the look out for that! You can check out Christina’s blog, Coffee Girl Crafts, she’s got lots and lots of inspiration, especially for the mini album challenged, like me!

Here’s her Q&A too:

1. What is your most creative time?
All day on Sundays and Tuesday evenings. Those are the days that my guy has gaming time with his friends, so I have pure uninterrupted crafty bliss time for me. Also occasionally Friday nights, when I can cyber-crop on Skype with my far-away crafty friends.

2. What is on your top 5 playlist right now?
I really love the Paperclipping Roundtable and The Digi Show Podcasts. For music, I am completely obsessed with Beats Antique, especially their Blind Threshold album, anything by the Glitch Mob, and there’s a super cute kitschy song by Kimbra called Settle Down that I cannot get out of my head right now.

3. What’s next on your scrappy life list?
I really want to do up something fun for Valentine’s Day (I know, so early!) Most likely it will be to finish Project Life for 2012 and get my December Daily totally squared away.

4. What is your favorite retreat?
When not getting my hands all painty or playing with a camera? Probably being curled up on my couch with a hot cup of something tasty and a good book.

5. If your life was a movie, what actress would play you?
Hah, I would love to say Christina Hendricks, but probably it would be someone way more quirky, yet adorable, like Kirsten Vangsness.

6. Who are the important people in your life?
Ooooh, I’m going to get in trouble for picking favorites! Probably my boyfriend Greg and his lovely family. my sister, and my close friends.

7. What are you known for on your pages?
Not using white space. Probably using paint and mist and label stickers, constantly. Also, I love doing things in tiny scale. Mini-books are my jam.

8. What’s your favorite inspiration site?
Pinterest! I also get good tips from links I find on Twitter.

9. What food would describe your style?
Ice cream. It comes in many flavors, and can be messy and sometimes bad for you, but it is so delicious.

10. What is “dressed up” for you?
Well, I dress pretty nice most days as I have that whole corporate job thing, so lots of cute dresses and blazers for everyday.Usually black clothing, with various jewel toned accent pieces and some cool Target jewelry. When I get super fancy, I cosplay, so I have a few Victorian Steampunk outfits that I wear on a very few special occasions.

Thanks Christina!






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