From the Daisy Patch

Cocoa Daisy warmly welcomes Lisa Olsen (Asil) as our guest designer for October.  We spotted Lisa in our design team call and knew we would had to have her for a guest designer.  She has a great simple yet vintage classic  with bits of whimsy style that fit perfectly with this warm kit.  We asked Lisa a few questions to get to know her better:

1.   What is your most creative time?  Inside I’m a night owl desperately trying to get out of the morning-person body my kids are forcing me into, haha. When the house is quiet (or empty), I loose all sense of time and enjoy my papers and glue! So late evening is my prime time!

2.   What is your top 5 playlist?

Gosh, it’s been so long since I had a proper playlist, but favourite songs at the moment are (in no particular order except the top one)…

- I’m not sorry / Morrissey

- Last Christmas / Wham! (it’s almost December after all!)

- Ring meg (Call me) / Gabrielle

- The more you ignore me, the closer I get / Morrissey

- Set fire to the rain / Adele

3.   What’s next on your scrappy life list?  Christmas cards and gift tags – oh, I’m so late!!

4.   What is your favorite retreat?  Send me to a spa and I’m in heaven. Or a beach. Or London. Or let me just sleep late one morning..

5.   If your life was a movie, what actress would play you?  That’s a tricky one. I know who I would like to see play me, but that’s not the question, is it.. boring experience.. Rene Z. as in Bridget Jones – I feel a bit Bridgety sometimes, even though I have hubby & kids.

6.   Who are the most important people in your life?  My family! Without them, I’m lost. And my closest friends!

7.   Where do you start when you scrap?  Usually I start with the paper or the picture(s). Sometimes the paper tells me which photo to use, sometimes it’s the opposite. But I do lay out everything before I glue thing together – adding and taking things away, until I’m satisfied. It takes for ever, I’m such a slow scrapper.

8.   What’s your favorite blog? Hmm..  It’s really hard to choose only one.. I’m loving Mumkaa’s (http://mumkaa.blogspot.com/) style at the moment – a cluster-like style with lots of messy paint on it. The Polish scrappers have an awesome style, misting and using stencils & paint. And then you have the clean & simple scrappers – Maria (http://www.houseofpaper.no/) is a huge inspiration!

9.   What food would describe your style?  I’m going safe on this and say smorgasbord (buffet-like food)! That’s a bit of everything, isn’t it? My style changes constantly, I don’t think I have one particular one..

10.  What is “dressed up” for you?  I hate dressing up, so any skirt/dress-outfit would be a major event!

Here are her stunning creations this month:

Her gallery is being posted soon.  In the meantime, check out her beautiful blog Asil’s Ville Verden.  Thanks Lisa for such wonderful creations.

Cocoa Daisy warmly welcomes Vicki Boutin as our guest designer for November.

Vicki Boutin comes from a background in graphic design and fine arts and she has always been passionate about creating pretty things!  Her love of colour, texture, funky patterns and photography lead her to the discovery of scrapbooking and paper crafting.  She has not looked back since!

In 2006 Vicki became a Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame winner and went on to be part of Better Homes and Gardens Scrapbooks Etc’s Creative Team.  Her work is currently published in Scrapbooks, Etc and Vicki writes a quarterly article for Scrapbooks and Cards, Today magazine.  She enjoys working closely with a number of the industry’s top manufacturers including 7 Gypsies, Core’dinations, Little Yellow Bicycle and Pink Paislee.  Vicki is also a Ranger Certified instructor.

Vicki is always on a mission to learn something new and then find a way to share it!  That is where teaching comes in.  She has taught workshops in the United States, Canada and Europe and loves to approach art in a fun, fresh and accessible way.  Her motto is “Try anything once.  You won’t know if it’s your style unless you try it!”  Her workshops offer an opportunity to meet new friends, try new things and most of all have FUN!!!

Two crazy kids and a straight laced husband keep things interesting in Vicki’s home in Southern Ontario, Canada.  Vicki is eagerly awaiting the release of her first book, CREATIVE FOUNDATIONS in January 2012!!  It is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles.com and Chapters.com.

Here are her stunning creations using November’s Bed & Breakfast.

For more details you can check out her gallery here. You can also find more of Vicki at her blog: vickiboutin.typepad.com.  Thank you Vicki for your beautiful creations.

(Photo Credit: h2ophotography.ca)

Cocoa Daisy warmly welcomes Lisa Kisch as our guest designer for October.  We spotted Lisa in our design team call and knew we would had to have her for a guest designer.  She has a great simple yet elegant style that fit perfectly with this warm kit.  We asked Lisa a few questions to get to know her better:

1.  What is your most creative time? It varies– sometimes it’s in the morning right after breakfast– heading upstairs with the kids, setting them up with some scraps so I can actually get something accomplished! Other times it’s in the evening after the kids go to bed– the house is quiet, and the dog sits at my feet while I work.

2.  What is your top 5 playlist? I almost never scrap to music! I do love “Glee-kast” on Accu-radio, though. It’s a free on-line radio station/app that play only music from “Glee”.

3.  What’s next on your scrappy life list? Getting my scraproom under control. It’s the last place to get tidied, and you can barely walk in there at the moment. I often have scrap nights at my house where I put out product for my friends to use– that helps clear some older stuff out, to make room for the new!

4.  What is your favorite retreat? A long, hot shower. The environmentalist in me is mortified by the hot water wasted, but it feels SO good.

5.  If your life was a movie, what actress would play you? If we’re going by who looks like me, I sometimes get Katie Holmes or Ashley Judd. If we’re going by the actress I admire the most, it would have to be Emma Thompson. She breaks my heart every time I see her on screen1

6.  Who are the most important people in your life? My hubby and my two little girls, Audrey and Lily.

7.  Where do you start when you scrap? I am most successful when I start with the idea for the page– I see a photo that makes me think of a story, then I work from there. I also sometimes start with design inspiration– an image on Pinterent, or an ad in a magazine. The bottom line is that I need the thought first– I can’t just start by staring at a 12X12 piece of cardstock. That’s torture!

8.  What’s your favorite blog? Oooo… that’s tough. Google Reader manages the hundreds of blogs I read on scrapping, sewing, food, design and photography. I honestly couldn’t pick just one!

9.  What food would describe your style? A chocolate croissant– classic, simple, with a little something sweet.

10.  What is “dressed up” for you? I can definitely pull out the heels and a cocktail dress when the event arises. I work as a stage actress, so I’m always playing dress-up!

Here are her gorgeous creations using this month’s kit:

For more details, check out her gallery here.  and be sure to drop by her blog Babies, Paper, and Song.  Thanks Lisa for such beautiful creations for Cocoa Daisy!

Cocoa Daisy welcomes our very special guest designer Gudrun Loennecken.  Gudrun has been a long time subscriber and board member.  Her lively personality  brings so much to the boards and her beautiful designs leave us breathless.  Gudrun created a beautiful gallery using September’s Printer’s Drawer.  Here’s what she had to say about herself:

Busy mom to 4 wonderful kids. married to the most fantastic husband. Live in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Full time Paperlover, freelance designer, scrapbooker, scrapbooking-and-papercraft-teacher, chef, concert violinist, owner and designer at the design-company 3ndyPapir.no!

Here are all of her beautiful creations

Such lovely creations all from one kit!   To learn more about Gudrun & see more of her inspiring work, check out her blog called embrace life.  Thanks Gudrun for Guest Designing with Cocoa Daisy.

Cocoa Daisy welcomes our very special guest designer Donna Jannuzzi.  Donna submission to our design team was so beautiful we just had to have her as a guest designer.   Donna has worked her magic with the August kit called Siren’s Call.   Here’s what she had to say about herself.

The most important roles in my life are those of wife and mother.  My husband and I have been married for six years and we live in beautiful, sunny San Diego County.  I am blessed to stay-at-home with our two boys, Gabriel (age 5) and Nathan (age 2 1/2).  After my first son Gabriel was born I knew I wanted to start recording our family’s memories and it was this desire that lead me to scrapbooking.  I immediately fell in love with this hobby and honestly, I cannot imagine my life without this creative outlet.  I am lucky enough to design for Write.Click.Scrapbook., Scrapbook.com, and I am an Ella Friend.  While I do love scrapbooking, my favorite thing to do is to spend time with my family.  My other interests include learning about my Catholic faith, cooking, photography, and sewing.  I am so happy and honored to be the guest designer for Cocoa Daisy this month!

and here are her beautiful creations!

What beautiful creations.  I love her bold use of color and those photos are just amazing.  To learn more about Donna & see more of her inspiring work, check out her blog called ecclesia domestica.  Thanks Donna for Guest Designing with Cocoa Daisy.

Ronda