Introducing Creative Kickstart | Just Start

POSTED ON September 17, 2015 IN Creative Kickstart

I love big ideas. The bigger, the bolder, the better.

But the problem with big ideas is they can seem scary. Intimidating. So big that you aren’t sure where to start.

So you don’t.

If you’re an idea girl like me, you know what I’m talking about. I have pages upon pages of notebooks and Evernotes filled with ideas. Good ideas. Exciting ideas. Ideas I want to take action on.

And yet those ideas sit unloved waiting for that right moment. That perfect moment. That magical moment when the stars align and seas part and all is right with the world.

Except, in reality…that moment doesn’t exist.

But what does exist is the moment you choose to start. To take one tiny step closer to your goal.

Just start.

It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to be 100% ready. You don’t have to do more research.

Just start.

Because the the only way to make progress tomorrow is by taking action today.

Creative Kickstart is one small step I’m taking toward my creative dreams. What big idea could you start taking action on today?

This week I challenge you to take one small step towards one of your big creative goals. Then leave me a comment sharing your story and I’ll send you a virtual high-five for being awesome.

Just start.
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Creative Kickstart is my all-new email newsletter for Type B (aka non-Type A) creative adventurers who love what they do but struggle with getting it all done. In every issue, I’ll be sharing insights into my own life as a Type B creative as well as tips, tasks and to-dos to help you take action on your own creative goals and dreams.

Want to get in on the action? Sign up here. You’ll even receive a free desktop background when you sign up.

Why hello there…

POSTED ON September 3, 2015 IN Behind-the-Scenes

Oh man, this summer has been crazy. In May, we said goodbye to our life as an Army family, packed up all our belongings and made the cross-country trek from Texas back to our home state of California.

After a month of job hunting (for Adam), another month spent house/rental hunting and another month waiting for our stuff to arrive, we are finally now getting settled in our new place in the Bay Area. Well, if by settled you mean buried under piles of boxes. But hey, at least we aren’t sleeping on an air mattress anymore!

When I last wrote back in May, I mentioned I wasn’t sure what our big move would mean for the future of Nettio Designs & Kickass Scrapbooking. Well, the awesome thing about having three and half months to let things percolate is it becomes clear where your heart lies and where you need to let go.

So with that, here are a few changes you can expect:

1) It’s time to say goodbye to Kickass Scrapbooking

I’m in the process of moving my website to a speedier server and as part of that, I’ve made the decision to shut down Kickass Scrapbooking. As much as I loved the idea behind the site, the logistics of running two sites/social media accounts quickly turned into more trouble than it was worth. With limited time these days, I’m looking for areas where I can simplify and this feels like the right move.

If you started following me specifically for scrapbooking, fear not. This does not mean I’m saying goodbye to scrapbooking, just that it will just be happening here at Nettio Designs instead.

Which brings me to item number two…

2) A rebrand is in the works

This summer I’ve been working my way through the Braid Creative Braid Method branding ecourse (which is awesome by the way) and while I’m going to hold off on all the juicy details for now, one thing I will share is I’m leaning towards doing away with the Nettio Designs name.

Blasphemy, I know!

But the reality is it’s based on a nickname that started in college and considering I’m not 22 anymore, it feels like it might be time to grow up. Of course, I’m reserving the right to change my mind but just in case, consider yourself warned, haha.

No timeline for this yet, other than I’m hoping to share more of the process this fall.

And now for something exciting and new!

3) A new email newsletter is coming

Ok, so maybe email isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but I promise it’ll be fun (and useful)!

Next week I will be launching a new email newsletter for creatives called Creative Kickstart. As part of this, I’ll be doing some digital house cleaning and asking everyone who would like to continue receiving emails from me to resubscribe to a new email list.

In the next week, I’ll be sending out an email with more details about this so if you see an email from me titled “ACTION REQUESTED” be sure to open it!

If you aren’t already on my email list, that’s ok! I’ll be sharing details next week about how you can sign up to the new list.

And finally, I wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for coming along with me on this crazy creative journey. I feel like it’s never as neat and tidy as I would like, but I’ve learned to embrace that as part of the adventure and I hope you do too because I appreciate every one of your emails or likes more than you know. So thank you for being so awesome and hanging out virtually with little ol’ me. : )

And with that I’m going to wrap up this not-so-little peek into what’s going on around here. What about you, how was your summer? Have anything fun planned for fall?

Hello May

POSTED ON May 5, 2015 IN Life Adventures

Woohoo, it’s May, my most favorite month of the year! This year May is extra awesome because in addition to it being my birthday month, we also have some pretty major life changes happening this month.

First we’re flying out to California mid-month because my little sister is getting married! She and her fiancé have been together for almost 11 years so it’s safe to say we’re excited to have him officially join our family. I was lucky enough to be able to design their wedding invitations and it was such a fun project that I can’t wait to finally share it with you.

Once we fly back from the wedding, we’ll be making the most major change of all: our time as a military family is coming to an end. That’s right, after almost 10 years of service, Adam is getting out of the Army. This is something we’ve been working towards (and debating) for many years so the fact that the time is finally here is both exciting and bittersweet.

Our current plan is to move back to our home state of California to be closer to family. Where exactly we’ll end up is still up in the air since it depends on the job situation but our goal is to end up somewhere in the Bay Area/Sacramento area so we’ll be within in a few hours of the majority of our family. I know the grandparents are counting down the days until they’ll be able to see their only grandbaby more often!

For me this transition has brought up a lot of mixed emotions, more than I expected. While it’s weird to say, the military has been the one constant we’ve had for our entire adult life and to think about it not being there is well…weird. Plus our favorite thing being a military family has always been getting to live and explore new places so moving back to such a familiar place feels like our grand adventure is ending.

It’s funny because I never thought in a million years I’d live in Texas, let alone have a child be born here, and yet now that the time is come, it’s hard to imagine leaving. But like most things in life, all good things must come to an end, and I’m sure once the pieces start to fall into place, the excitement will come.

Well that’s what’s happening in our slice of the world. What’s new with you?

Save on The Faves for iNSD!

POSTED ON May 2, 2015 IN Shop News & Releases

Happy International Scrapbooking Day! The biggest scrapbooking weekend of the year is here! Or at least that’s what I tell my husband because who are we kidding? We all know iNSD is just as much about the shopping as it is the scrapping.

And since I don’t want to disappoint all you shoppers, I’m offering a special $5 discount off The 2015 Monthly Faves Project thru Monday.

Simply add The Faves Project to your cart and use coupon code NSD2015 to get the full year of templates for just $2 a month.

Save on The Faves Project here.

Save on The Faves Project by using coupon code NSD2015 to get the full year of templates for just $2 a month. Sale ends Monday, May 4th at 11:59PM Eastern.

Save on The Faves Project here.

5 Faves For Friday || 01

POSTED ON April 3, 2015 IN 5 Faves for Friday

Woohoo, it’s Friday, my favorite day of the week! And to celebrate I thought it’d be fun to share a few of my current favorite things…

1) Stroller Strides | Ryan and I first started going to this mom & baby workout back in January and my only regret is we didn’t start sooner! It’s been so fun meeting other mamas and babies all while getting a great workout outdoors. They have them all over the U.S. so if you’ve got a little one and are struggling to fit in time to workout (I most definitely was!) check them out.

2) Being Boss podcast | If you’re a fellow creative entrepreneur or creative business owner, you need to check out the Being Boss podcast. Not only are Kathleen & Emily kicking-ass in their respective fields but their no-nonsense with a touch of woo-woo approach to business is refreshing.

3) Sunny spring days | Even though the winters here in Texas are fairly mild, I’m so excited for spring to finally be here! The trees are blooming and everything is turning green. Now to take advantage of it before it gets freakishly hot again!

4) The return of the Texas bluebonnets | If you’ve never seen a field of bluebonnets, you are missing out. I totally thought it was just a weird Texas thing when I first moved here but after our first bluebonnet season, I totally got it. Not only are these flowers gorgeous and unique but the fact that they’re only around for a short period of time makes them that much more special. I love keeping an eye out for them popping up around town and if you want to get hardcore about it, there’s even websites that post bluebonnet sightings. It’s hardcore y’all.

5) Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | I started watching this original Netflix series on a whim and by episode one I was hooked. In a few days I’d binged watched the entire first season (isn’t binge watching the best?) and I can’t wait for season two. This show totally fills that quirk meets charm void left behind when 30 Rock went off the air. Thank you Tina Fey.

And that’s a peek at five of my current faves! What’s one of your faves right now? Let me know in the comments below.

And…if you’re looking for a fun & easy way to kickstart your creative and get more of your story into your digital scrapbooking albums, join me in The 2015 Monthly Faves Project, a year-long scrapbooking project designed to celebrate your top ten favorite things every month.

For just $29 for the year, you’ll receive 12 exclusive digital scrapbooking templates, a monthly email with tips from yours truly and a private Facebook group where you can connect and share your work.

Join the creative adventure here.

The January Faves In Action

POSTED ON February 18, 2015 IN the Faves, The Faves Project

As I mentioned last week, the Faves are back which means The 2015 Monthly Faves Project is well underway here at NettioDesigns HQ. Let me tell you, the ladies who’ve joined me so far are ROCKIN’ the January Faves! Since I shared my Jan Faves layout last week, today I wanted to share some of their amazing layouts with you.

First up is Angie with this amazing rainbow themed take on the January Faves:

Next is Mystie who’s a girl after my own heart with this woodgrain background:

And then there’s Jenn with these bright & colorful layout that caught my eye right away. I especially love how she clipped a paper to the “FAVES” title so it has an extra punch of pizazz to it.

And finally we have the neutral crew: I had to laugh when I saw all these layouts together because I’ve been on a total cream/neutral background kick with my layouts lately and I love to see that I’m not alone!

What I think is so awesome about these layouts is that even though they’ve all used the same template, each layout feels unique to them and I love how the colors, patterns and embellishments they’ve each chosen fit their Faves.

Join Us in The Faves Project

The 2015 Monthly Faves Project is your creative roadmap for getting more of YOU in your scrapbook albums this year. Every month on the 25th, you’ll receive a brand-new exclusive Faves-themed digital scrapbooking template designed by me, as well as a monthly email with tips and access to a private Facebook group where you can get to know all those happy, smiling faces above.

Here’s a peek at the January Faves template you’ll receive when you sign up. The February template will be released on the 25th which means if you sign up now you’ll receive two templates in the same month. Bonus!

What do you say, want to join us in The 2015 Monthly Faves Project? Sign up here.