Hello Cocoa Daisy fans,

Today I am introducing you to Amanda Wilder, our Fresh Cut memory keeping guest designer. Amanda discovered the fun of pocket scrapbooking when she received a kit as a Christmas present in 2012. She instantly fell in love with the combination of beautiful paper, photos and stories. A few months later she discovered Project Life and it was on from there! Formerly a professional ballet and modern dancer, turned university English language teacher, Amanda now loves the creative outlet (and fun results!) of memory keeping, photography and just making stuff. She grew up in the foothills outside Seattle, and current lives in L.A. with her husband and two ridiculously cute pugs. She is the host of The Everyday Artist Podcast, all about the value of making stuff and being creative in our daily lives.

We asked Amanda to share a bit more about herself with the following fun questions!
1. When is your most creative time?
A. Usually I am most creative right after meeting up with other creative people and artists. I really get inspired and juiced up from events or just hang outs with my crafty/artsy friends.

2. How do you unwind?
A: I do restorative yoga at home almost every evening with YogaGlo- it’s SO relaxing. I read a ton and love my book club. I also love to watch light 90s sitcoms lately.

3. What is your guilty pleasure?
A: Buying way too much pretty paper!

4. What’s your favorite accessory?
A: Scarves, big knitted, or lighter Pashminas I love them all.

5. If your life were a novel, what would the title be?
A: Wilder Stories or “The 9 lives of Amanda Wilder” since I have had so many different careers and lived so many places.

6. What is “dressed up” for you?
A: I love the polish of a silk blouse, dark jeans and tall boots. Now that we live in LA though, it’s mostly sandals and tank tops!

Now lets see what Amanda has created for us with the Fresh Cut memory keeping Traveler’s Notebook kit!

Amanda’s first design tells the story of a fun day. In this design, Amanda used the packaging for the puffy alpha stickers to line them up an test the spacing before adhering the stickers to her page. She likes the way the bright vertical line on the left side lines up against her photos.

Amanda also used the AM/PM stamps to create a home for her morning and afternoon stories. Amanda stamped on scratch paper before stamping on the layout to ensure the stamps would be a soft element that did not distract the viewer. We love all the little elements Amanda added to highlight the story of yoga, tea, and coffee.

What is your favorite interactive element to use in traveler’s notebooks?  Amanda says her favorite is the flip out page which she used in the next layout we are showcasing on the blog today. Amanda wanted to use all of the photos taken during their trip to Santa Monica, CA and the beach visit with her Mother-in-Law. We love the way Amanda incorporated the fun colorful numbers from the kit stamp to walk her readers through the day’s events.

You can read more about the flip out page technique and other wonderful tips from Amanda for creating designs in your travelers notebook kit. Stop by Amanda’s Instagram account @wilderstories, to see additional detailed photos of her designs too!

Happy Scrapbooking!

~Robin

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Robin Adryan