Greetings Cocoa Daisy fans,
It’s time to introduce new memory keeping design team member Iris Fox. Iris will be focusing primarily on the traditional scrapbook sizes in her designs. The first design Iris is sharing is absolutely adorable and she has lots of tips for our readers too!
“Hello everyone, I’m Iris and this is my very first project for Cocoa Daisy! But first, a little about me: I live in Northern California with my husband of 19 years, my two teen girls – Claire who is 16 and Maya who is 13 – and our guinea pig Bean who is a little old man at 6 yrs old. In addition to scrapbooking, I’m a quilter, a sometimes writer, and a newly minted #bosslady, as I just opened an Etsy shop, whimsyfoxcrafts.”
“I’ve been obsessed with gnomes for a couple of years now, so I was delighted to see the December “Nordic Woods” kits are all about gnomes! I decided to document the photos from our holiday baking last year. I used the Messy Circles cut file from my shop to cut a bunch out of the patterned papers that came in the Memory Keeping Pocket Kit and the Main Planner Kit. I printed my photos as 2.5” squares, knowing I could use a circle punch from my stash. I wanted to use the “Holiday Baking Crew” pocket card as a title within one of my messy circle frames, so I made a 3” circle in my Silhouette to cut it out. That’s one of my tips for scrappers: don’t forget your digital cutting machine isn’t just for paper, you can also use it to crop photos!”
“I arranged the circles in two columns, leaving room on the left for some strips of patterned papers and a layer of the adorable gnome washi. I alternated my photos with the title card, my journaling, and an open circle that I backed with paper and added a cluster of die-cuts that includes a label for my date. For added texture, I did some messy machine stitching around the messy circle frames and along the strips. Embrace imperfection!”
“I also added smaller clusters of die-cuts and stickers to each frame, making sure to sprinkle gnomes around. About 2/3rds of the way down the page along the paper strips side, I have a grouping of three gnomes (think three wise men). They are anchored to the design by a sticker of presents serving as a podium of sorts, and connecting to the circle side of the design by the ‘Christmas’ banner from the Christmas Planner Kit.”
“That banner is attached to the circle housing my journaling. I took a page from the note pad in the Planner Kit and ran it directly through my printer, using a typewriter font. Taking inspiration from one of the pocket cards in the Memory Keeping kit, I affectionately called my girls “my gnomies” to tie the journaling in with the gnome theme. And that takes us full circle around my page! 🙂
Normally for my finishing touches, I would sprinkle some ink splatters around the page, but since the TNMK kit had a stamp with handy sprinkles, I stamped a bunch of those in a visual triangle. And that is how this layout came together!”
Iris’s design is amazing and we love the way she incorporated items from Nordic Woods into her layout. I’m off to try some of the clever ideas and tips she gave us!
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!
~Robin