Bits&Pieces

CZ Design Designer Digitals Sneek Peek

I'm going to be sharing new layouts towards the end of the week for the next several weeks as I am releasing new template designs at Designer Digitals.

I've been getting lots of emails and request for things to add to my collection and trust me, I am keeping a running list with all of your good ideas. Very high on the list is to design a school memories template set, and that's something I will be working on very soon. So stay tuned for that.

Going on sale this weekend? Layered Templates No's 2 and 3:

 

Here's the page I did:

(For a supply list, click here.)

Oh yeah baby, those photos look familiar right? I have SO many shots of large, fiberglass-laden Minnesota statues that I could make numerous pages, and still have a fresh new set of pics for each page.

This new template came from a paper layout I did about a trip to New Zealand a ways back, and it looked something like this:

Seriously? I could use this design again and again. A very quick and easy way to showcase some travel photos.

But check out how Patricia made this template a) into a 12 x 12 and b) her own:

 

(For her supply list, click here.)

Here's another example of what Katrina did, sweet and simple:

 

(For her supply list, click here.)

The nice thing is that it can be for any sights you see, not simply travel-related sights.

The next template being released this weekend? My first foray into 12 x 12 digital:

 

This design came from the very last layout I did for my About Design column in Simple Scrapbooks magazine, and it was a page I loved, so I thought: why not make a scalloped cardstock background? So that's exactly what I did. Here's the inspiration:

 

Here is another page from Patricia (for supplies, click here):

 

Seriously? I want to live in her house. I also love how she flipped the template and used the journaling area for another photo to make it her own.

And here's a cool page from Sarah:

 

(For her supply list, click here.)

For me, this is like having little tiny digital babies, and seeing them go out into the world and grow up. In other words, it's really cool to see what the team over at Designer Digitals does with these little babies.

My plan is to release both 12 x 12 and 8.5 x 11, as well as to work on some word art collections, and other elements to use in both digi and hybrid design.

Right now, I have so many I want to do, there aren't enough hours in the day. Or so it seems. I will say that it's re-energized my love of design and story telling. And that's a pretty cool thing!

This Day in Zielske History

This shot—taken Oct. 14, 2005—reminds me of something that quite honestly, I rarely need reminding of: this kid of mine does everything with gusto.

And surely enough, I scrapped the photo back:

 

Good times.

I think it's a much better picture in color. Don't you?

So where was I? (more true life tales from the scale)

Oh yes, I was in yoga pants…

It's been many moons since I blogged about my victories (and tribulations) as they related to all manner of chub and bathroom scale issues. Maybe because the last time I did, one of my blog readers said, "Um, Cathy, no offense, but why don't you start DOING something about it, instead of just whining about it?"

And while part of me wanted to say, "Hi. Have you MET me?" instead, I thought: "Touché, my dear. Touché."

And try things I did!

I first tried the infamous Cabbage Soup Diet. Mmmm. That was special. I recall with fondness Day 4—the banana and milk day. All the milk and bananas you can ingest! Great, if you happen to like them. Nightmarish if the smell of banana makes  you nauseous and you haven't sipped milk willingly since the age of 12.

My main goal with the CSD cleanse was simply to get off the Reeses Peanut Butter cups. You know, get that sugar monkey off my back, and for a while, it worked like a charm. I actually loved the soup and maybe dropped three pounds. The best part? I abstained from Reeses Peanut Butter cups for a whole two weeks!

Then I tried moderation.

Then I tried exercise. You know, get up early, hop on the treadmill every morning. Do a simple weight lifting routine every other day.

Now I say "tried" exercise because I didn't exactly stick to it like I have during past weight loss campaigns. I sampled it. I went to a wine tasting, if you will, of exercise. I had myself an amuse bouche of exercise.

Then for a number of weeks, I just chubbed, I mean chugged along, just eating what I damn well pleased, thank you very much. This approach works just fine until you realize you have to go out in public to places where people you know are, and nothing in your closet fits.

Long story short: the switch just hasn't flipped for me yet.

I'm a switch person. What this means, is when the switch is flipped to the ON position, I am the most focused person you'll ever meet. Nothing can stand in the way of me and my goal. When the switch is in the OFF position, well… that's where the yoga pants come into play.

I'm black and white. There's sadly almost no room for any gray in my life. Never has been, and even with copious amounts of intensive therapy, there probably never will be.

The other problem I have truly accepting that this is a life-long effort. I won't simply drop 20 pounds and stay there magically without constant mindfulness. I've done this before. Lost weight and celebrated by eating again…the cruelest of oxymorons really. I need to accept that I have to make substantive and permanent changes.

I have an addictive personality. For half my life, it was cigarettes. Now, it's food.

I was recently explaining to Dan that the difference between kicking a smoking habit and kicking a food habit is this: you HAVE to eat. You don't HAVE to smoke. Most people, when they quit smoking, or drinking booze... they know they can't dabble in it. Not once, or they're off the wagon. But with food, you have to use it every single day. Think about it. You have to carefully dabble in something you have a difficult time handling in the first place. Every. Single. Day.

I know what has to be done and I understand what I have to do to make it so. So no whining today. My eyes are open and I'm taking it one day at a time.

And I'm not embarrassed to say yoga pants are my friend.

Just sharing a bit of the journey with you.

Sponsor Giveaway Winner!

And the winner of the Making Memories holiday goodie pack is:

Jo E, who said...
After years of being a bit of a scrooge I am seeing it all through the eyes of my 4 year old and I can't wait! She is already asking me how long until Christmas and for the first time since I was a kid I am getting excited even though it's only October.

Jo, email me to claim your prize! Thanks again to A Walk Down Memory Lane for sponsoring the giveaway. Don't forget, blog readers can receive 15% off their orders placed until Weds. at 5 p.m. Use coupon code CathyZBlogs!

One of my long-time sponsors, A Walk Down Memory Lane is getting into the holiday spirit and would like to give away a yummy collection of brand spanking new Making Memories holiday goodies to one of my blog readers.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM: A Walk Down Memory Lane has been serving scrappers and stampers since 2003. Stroll down AWDML's aisles and you'll find thousands of paper choices, hundreds of embellishments, and enough stamps to keep your fingers inky for a very long time. They have over 11,000 SKUs from your favorite companies like Basic Grey, Making Memories, Fancy Pants, and so much more!  They also carry some smaller, boutique companies like The Greeting Farm, Stampavie, and Bella Boulevard. You won't need to look far for inspiration either at A Walk Down Memory Lane.  They have a message board and gallery, two blogs (look for a NEW weekly challenge blog coming this fall) and an email newsletter that hits your inbox twice a month.

A Walk Down Memory Lane always offers a free gift for any of my blog readers by using CZRocks in the coupon code box, however through Wednesay at 5 p.m., AWDML is giving my readers a coupon code for 15% off their entire order through Monday.  Use coupon code CathyZBlogs to get 15% off your entire order.  Shipping is always a flat rate of $6.55, and they also offer FREE SHIPPING on any order over $75.

To be entered to win, leave me a comment today and tell me if you're either looking forward to the holidays or are the, "What? Christmas is coming... AGAIN?" type. In other words, Tiny Tim? or Scrooge?

I will draw a winner sometime after 9 p.m. tonight.

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IN OTHER NEWS: my first designs went on sale over the weekend at Designer Digitals. Look for new designs most weekends, including my first 12 x 12 template coming next weekend.

More CZ Design Previews

(see layout supply lists by clicking here.)

Today I'm introducing the first individual layered template file which goes on sale this weekend at Designer Digitals, which I'm aptly calling: Template No. 1. 

This 8.5 x 11 template is a great design to capture a few authentic little details about someone or something in your life right in the, well, here and now.

Easily converted to 12 x 12, here are a few examples of the template in action, courtesy of the Designer Digitals Creative Team:

Here's a page by Steph:

 

Steph simply enlarged the canvas. Ahhhh. Look at that lovely framing white space. I actually love this idea of simply enlarging a canvas, and leaving the template components as is.

Here's a page by Julie: 

 

Seriously clean and simple cuteness. She just flipped the template, and expanded the canvas. That white space at the top is perfect just as is. No need to worry about filling every space. The design is anchored beautifully on the bottom of the page.

Janet also flipped the design, and kept it at 8.5 x 11:

The great thing about these templates is that how you embellish and play is up to you. I'm just giving you a solid core design as your starting point.

It's just been really cool to see how other designers are making the templates truly their own. (To see any of the supplies on these pages, simply click on the designers names and it'll take you directly to their original postings in the Designer Digitals gallery.)

For those of you who prefer a hybrid approach, you can open the template in Photoshop Elements or Photoshop, turn off the photo and paper layers, and simply print out the overlay frame and titles (you can easily color the title as well!), then fill in your page with real life photos and paper.

In fact, if you do make a hybrid layout with any CZ Design template, don't be shy: email me at czdesign@comcast.net and share your creation with me.

I'm working on some new 12 x 12 templates, as well as some themed album projects. I've even had some suggestions to build a school album, among other ideas. Never hesitate to share what you'd like to see in a template. I love hearing from you.

My templates go on sale this Saturday after 5:45 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Have a great weekend!

p.s. here's one more page I love for it's simplicity and lovely photo, by Linda:

Happy fun stuff

Something you may not know about me is that I'm not what one might call a fashionista. Oh sure, I usually have the well-coiffed short locks of an aging hipster, but as far as from the neck down? Let's just say I work the Repetition Model of dressing quite well. Repetition as in, "You're going to wear that…again?"

And because my body is not really cooperating with me on the old weight loss thing, and because I like to live in a world called Denial, I decide to spend my disposable income on other things. Like a new, big-assed rainbow umbrella from Target. Cost: $17.99

See, we had three days of rain recently and where I live, three days of rain is almost surely a sign that armageddon must be at hand because although it may be a cold place to live during a large percentage of the year, rainy is something it most certainly is not.

While trying to squeeze beneath a pathetic and puny umbrella at the bustop on Rain Day 3 resulting in a damp tushka (which in no way was on account of its larger size), I made a mental note: need new giant umbrella.

And now, I have achieved that goal. 

 

The next purchase? A happy find, courtesy of my friend Ali. A Photo JoJo Seat Belt camera strap. Oh for CUTE!

 

Seriously. This thing is long and sturdy and if you haven't noticed, lime green. Cost: $20.

And the last piece in my Troika of Fun? New socks from Little Miss Matched. (I bought these set and these.)

 

Notice how I work the Repetition Model, even with socks that are designed to be mismatched. Yes. Thank you, and thank you OCD! Cost (considering they threw in a free pair at check out because they had a promo going): $32

Total cost for some new happy fun stuff: $69.99.

A colorful and functional update of goods for a nice lady who is very mindful that money doesn't grow on trees and who still has the same bedroom furniture from when she was in college? Priceless.

One final happy fun thing. My kids and I think this is really funny, even with the slightly inappropriate final part of the video. In fact, I will now be reminding them and most people that I know that a) I'm an adult and b) I ain't gonna be part of your system.

Introducing CZ Design at Designer Digitals

I'm super excited (and totally geeked out) to share that I'm going to be working with Designer Digitals designing templates, word art and who knows what else in the coming months. Designing digital templates is something I've been wanting to do for a really long time, but never had the time, the knowledge, or the confidence to just bust a move, and get digi with it.

And now, apparently, I do.

Beginning this weekend, Designer Digitals will be carrying my CZ Design brand of digital products. For now, my focus will be on template design, both for layouts and album projects. You can expect the clean and simple design style that I've embraced from day 1 in scrapdom to be featured in my digital designs.

Each template will be rooted in solid design, including journaling blocks with lots of leading to enhance readability, thoughtful use of space, and even some design or journaling tips tossed into the template itself.

The layout above comes from my first template set, By The Numbers Set 1, (click here for supplies) which goes on sale this Saturday after 6 p.m. EST. 

 

This set covers ages/numbers 1 through 10. My initial idea was to scrapbook about my kids and their ages, but the amazing design team at Designer D had other ideas.

First off, these 8-1/2 x 11 designs are super easy to convert to 12 x 12 (I provide instructions in the template set). Check out these intepretations that don't involve kid age angle or 8-1/2 x 11 sizes.

This one is by Steph:

 

This one celebrates an anniversary, and is by Brittany:

 

I feel like a mama who has just had a baby, and my babies are now growing up in the form of totally cool digital memory documents. I mean, I would have never thought to do an anniversary page with it. And seeing how Dan and I are coming up on 18  years in a few weeks, it's a good thing that I've also got By The Numbers SET 2:

 

(Set 2 gives you the next group of numbers.)

 

(See supply lists here for the layout above).

In the realm of digital scrapbooking, I'm still a relative newbie. True, I've been a digi hybrid girl since the beginning, and I still plan to combine the two forms, mix them and merge them. But I am totally inspired to save and share stories with a little bit of Photoshop on my side.

Look for these template sets and one new single template design this weekend (preview coming later this week!)

And thanks to the creative team at Designer Digitals for making me feel so very welcome, and rocking my templates.

Monday Sponsor Giveaway: Crazy Daisy Kits {we have a winner!}

And the winner of the kit from Crazy Daisy Kit Co. is:

Jessica Stoops, who said...

I like to eat milk way bars. I also have been known to have taken a few from my son's stash.

Jessica, email me to claim your prize! Thanks to Crazy Daisy Kit Co. for sponsoring the giveaway.

The Crazy Daisy Kit Co. has put together a super seasonally cool kit for October, and they are giving one away to one of my blog readers.

From Crazy Daisy: October’s kits are just plain fun. They have a fall feel to them, with some adorable Halloween papers and embellishments slipped in there as well. Both the main kit and the add-on kit feature a seasonal stamp, which can be used for scraping, card making or anything you can think of! Be creative. Make something fun. Tell your story and share it with those you love. I know I’m planning on using this month’s mini-book to capture my brother’s Halloween wedding (yes he’s really getting married on Halloween and that’s because it’s his favorite day of the year).

But you won't just win a kit. Nope. They're throwing in the October add-on kit as well!

 

I'm sorry, but that's just spooktastic, don't you think?

TO ENTER: tell me your favorite Halloween candy treat that you either a) like to buy for yourself, or b) pilfer from your kids' trick or treat bags when they're at school.

Good luck! Comments will close at 9 p.m. C.S.T.

This n' That

It's been a while since I just rambled on somewhat incoherently about wholly disconnected things. Too long, if you ask me. With that, let's begin.

1. I have too many National Geographics.

Well, I should clarify: my HUSBAND has too many National Geographics.

 

This is my attic. Remember my attic? Remember what's in my attic?

 

Thank you.

Back to the National G's. We have enough of them to cover every student in the St. Paul Public School District who might need to clip out an image for their reports on Giant Pandas (2007), or The Wonder of Holography (1984), or the Miracle of War Production (1942). I have no idea why we have issues dating back to the 40s, but let me assure you, we do.

We also have this in the attic:

 

That's right children of the 60s: Mrs. Beasley. Wondering where those glasses are? Really? Let me just say this: throwing those away when I was 7 was the best damned decision I ever made. Those glasses were downright creepy. 

2. Stacy Julian launched a new website.

 

I've been poking around and I've gotta say: I'm a little jealous. Seriously. It's super fun from what I've seen thus far. Check out her podcast page. There's just a lot of stuff here, and more is coming. Go Stacy! I'm happy to see this launch.

3. Design Your Life 2010 information is up

 

Registration opens on November 5. You can read the class basics here. Above is a shot of my working file, holding all of the class handouts. And what you're looking at? Double sided. There's a lot of content in this workshop, but you have to cover all the bases to study design, which is what we'll be doing for 12 weeks. I just finished reviewing everything, as well as creating layered PSD files of all the assignments for my digital students. If you have specific questions about this class, feel free to email me.

4. Living my best life for health and fitness.

Next.

5. I love this.

I heard this song in Ali's Week 1 presentation of her "Yesterday, Today" workshop. (If  you are on the fence about this class, I would say jump on over and check it out) and I was mesmerized.

You can find it on the soundtrack for Away We Go along with several other beautiful songs by Alexi Murdoch.

Here ends disconnected ramblings. Have a nice day.

And the pot continues to sweeten (charity:water)

Remember back on Monday, when I told you about the Circut that needs a new home and how if you donate just $5 to my charity:water campaign you'll be automatically entered for a chance to win that and a stash of scrapbook stuff?

Well my friends at Hero Arts have decided to add another sweet prize for me to giveaway. One other winner will get one of every new Cling stamp in the new Crazy for Clings catalog. That's about $130 worth of stamps and Clings look a little something like this:

Holy schnitke batman! That's some stampage pleasure! You can make things like this:

And this lovely card was made by the ever-talented, ever-thoughtful Jennifer McGuire, who was instrumental in hooking me and Hero Arts up! And look here. It's a little How to Use Clings video.

So again, if you donate to my charity:water campaign, you'll also have a chance to win this set. Two great prizes for a great cause. Thanks, Hero Arts!

Now, I realize the initial goal of $5K has been met, but there are still lots of days left in the campaign. And remember, $5 is all I'm asking for. 100 percent of your donation goes to do the actual work, not for admin or overhead.

Thanks, everyone! I look forward to giving away some goods in 57 days!