Daisy Janie

how to | boho chic scarf (free pdf pattern)

Hoorah - this lightweight Shades of Grey scarf is now available as a free PDF pattern (link below)! One of my friends asked if it could be used as a belt. It's definitely long enough, and you could knot it or add a buckle of your choice. It could also be a very cool handbag or camera strap, too, if you altered it to accommodate your needs. Creativity begets creativity! Have fun! If you make this scarf, please let me know!

Feel free to make as many as you like for your personal use. If you'd like to make Daisy Janie's Boho Chic Scarf to sell, you may purchase a one-time licensing fee from Daisy Janie for $10. Email for details.  

Download boho chic scarf pattern here.

Interested in using Daisy Janie's Shades of Grey fabrics for this or another project? Find a retailer on my where to buy page - they will be in stock the week of April 4th.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I'm seriously considering renaming this chic scarf to "workload malfunction." I was creating this pdf pattern, oh, 3 Saturdays ago, happy that it was going well and joyous at the thought of having it posted 1st thing the following Monday morning. Screeeeeccchhhhh. Computer lock-up of mega-gargantuan proportions!

I had been having issues with Illustator and lock-ups, but nothing like this. Suffice it to say, the hair-pulling, hand-biting hurdles I have jumped over the past 3 weeks to get myself and Daisy Janie back to where we were that fateful day have been worth it! I have a new computer and the latest version of Illustrator to go along with it. We are all enjoying one another's company, and everybody's doing their fair share in speedy fashion. Getting much more done!

With fewer lock-ups, I find that I make fewer trips to the kitchen for a handful of something to munch - what a crazy correlation!

free printable | crazy canes & maxie ornament pillow boxes.

Today, I greeted my 41st birthday with open arms & a snarky-but-genuine "good to see ya" smile. The festivities aren't over, but so far, the day has been filled with truly thoughtful gestures from my family & friends, including crumb topping pie for breakfast (no fruit...just the crumb topping in a shell w/ freshly whipped cream...yes please!), a crisp & chilly trail run, a sneaky afternoon Guinness & a gorgeous bouquet of flowers from my dearest friend on earth. I feel really, really, really lucky... I will be paying it forward when the time comes!

My 40th year/2010 was a wild & woolly rollercoaster ride, and while I invited & welcomed the joy & growth it brought, I am thrilled to be disembarking. Time to move onto the skyrail, where the ride is flatter, smoother & slower and provides a fabulous view!  I could use a more macro perspective & a snail's pace to put what I've learned & built this past year into a more effective & efficient system. Can't wait!

To thank you for the role you've played in making this such a great year, I've created these 2 pillow box printables for you to download and use for your personal packaging. They're very fun (and kinda of addictive) to make!

(c) 2010 Daisy Janie. All rights reserved.

Download these printable pillow boxes:
+ maxie ornament
+ crazy canes

I also have a snowflake pillow box from 2009 that you can download, if you like.
Details here.

repost | aunt jane's nut roll with printable recipe card.

This is a delicious recipe that makes quite a lot in one go-around! If you need something that's ample for hostess gifts, neighbors or just to have around, this is a goodie.

Click over to the original post here, where you can download the printable recipe card.

how to | fabric produce bag (free pdf pattern)

"In the US, an additional 5 million tons of waste is generated during the holidays. Four million tons of this is wrapping paper and shopping bags."
~ From Clean Air Council, Waste Facts & Figures. The staggering & disheartening waste statistics on this page alone will make you want to either crawl under a rock or, hopefully, motivate you to consider ways to reduce your waste throughout the year, particularly at Christmas time.

The Green Bag Lady, Teresa VanHatten-Granath, is definitely on the motivated side of things, and she created the Green Grocery Bag Challenge as an extension to her year-round efforts to get consumers to reduce their use of single-use plastic bags.

The Green Grocery Bag Challenge is a holiday sewing project benefiting Mother Earth. Its mission is to encourage sewists to wrap their holiday gifts in reusable cloth grocery bags, thus reducing the amount of wrapping paper entering the waste stream, while simultaneously getting multi-use bags into the hands of gift recipients. Want to get involved? Visit The Green Grocery Bag Challenge Facebook page, where you'll find links to tutorials, videos and other inspiration.

I created these fabric produce bags and the accompanying free downloadable PDF pattern in the spirit of the Green Grocery Bag Challenge. They make excellent gift bags (I've already tucked a bottle of wine in one as a hostess gift), and they go together lightning faaaast! If you're looking for a gift project to whip-up that's equal parts handmade, eco-friendly, lasting, useful, adorable and unique, give it a try! I was able to chain stitch 6 of these in less than an hour.

Feel free to make as many as you like for your personal use. If you'd like to make Daisy Janie's fabric produc bag to sell, you may purchase a one-time licensing fee from Daisy Janie for $10. Email for details. If you're a sewing instructor and would like to use this with your classes, please contact me for more information.

Download produce bag pattern here.

Using Daisy Janie's organic cotton fabrics was the icing on the cake for this project!
+ DJ fabrics touch on midweight, adding extra durability and longevity to your bags.
+ DJ fabrics are organically produced without the use of chemicals (e.g. fertilizers, pesticides, bleaches, heavy metal inks). So you're starting with a green choice plus there aren't any toxic chemical residues permanently embedded in the fibers.

Interested in using Daisy Janie's organic cotton fabrics?
Find a retailer on my where to buy page.

These bags brought cheers and collective sighs of relief from everyone in my  house: Rah-rah-aaah!! In my flat-out refusal to use plastic produce bags at the grocery, I have had many, ummm, 'interesting' checkout experiences with big piles of uncontained, roly-poly, round things. But that stops today, baby. With these new produce bags, we'll definitely get The Happy back when we checkout now!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

how to | advent calendar with window punchouts.

If you're a last minute chick like me, here's an idea you might be able to use for an Advent Calendar. Even if you're all set for the 25 Days of Christmas, this is a very cool idea for any kind of fun punchout / countdown / secret prize game with kids or adults!

MATERIALS
1 piece of posterboard, 22" x 28"
1 piece of foamcore, 20" x 30"
25 paper snack cups or Dixie cups cut down to size (mine are 1-3/8" tall)
patterned paper or wrapping paper for front*
tissue paper for punchouts - cut into 3" squares
double-sided tape
Elmer's glue
packing tape
scissors
xacto knife
ruler

*For the patterned paper, use your own or download my original snowflake design in 7" repeats. Print 9 sheets for this project.

DIRECTIONS
I'll go through most of the marking & cutting first, then I'll show you the assembly.

Posterboard

1. Cut the posterboard to 21.75" x 21.75".
2. Make lines on all sides 2" from the edges.
3. Make a second set of lines 3-3/8" from the edges on all sides.
4. Cut out all 4 corners, cutting on 3-3/8" lines just to where they intersect.
5. The interior of your posterboard will now be a 15" square; make lines every 3" in both directions so you end up with 25 3" squares ~ a grid!
6. To mark the center point of each square, draw diagonal lines from corner-to-corner of squares. Use a yardstick to mark a full tic-tac-toe of squares at one time.

Foamcore

1. Cut the foamcore to 20" x 20".
2. Make lines for perimeter on all 4 sides, 2-1/4" from each edge.
3. The interior of your foamcore will now be a 15" square. Follow steps 5 & 6 from posterboard.
4. Cut a 2.5" square template from posterboard; mark with an X corner to corner.
5. Match up the X on the little square with each big X on the foamcore squares - trace around the square. (see below)

Foamcore cont'd.

1. Cover front of foamcore with patterned paper or wrapping paper. If you're using my snowflake pdfs, trim designs carefully for best results when matching seams.
2. Use an xacto knife to cut out small 2-1/2" squares from back. Trim carefully through paper on front, too.

1. Use double-sided tape on all vertical and horizontal lines (see below).
2. Cover each square with tissue paper. Use one big sheet, if you like, but BEWARE: once it's down, it's down!!! I used 3" squares to cover each opening so I'd have more control over it. You can see where an extra piece of the tissue accidentally landed on the tape, and I had to leave it where it was!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Back to the posterboard!

1. Using the lines you made earlier at 2" and at 3-3/8", fold and score them as shown to create a shallow box. Tape the corners together on the outside.
2. Dot each X inside the box with glue or double-sided tape. Stick down your snack cups. If using glue,  wait for it to dry completely!!!
3. Add candy or treat of choice to each cup.

Tricky part coming up!

1. Add a strip of double-sided tape to all 4 edges of box ~ shown in blue above.
2. Take foamcore top and carefully place on top of box, aligning the cutouts with the cups underneath. You can see through the tissue, so use that to see where the edges of your cups are! Works!!!
3. Once you're sure you're sealed on all 4 edges, carefully turn the whole thing over so the foamcore is on the bottom. Use packing tape to tape all edges of box flaps to foamcore

That's it!!! I have mine resting in our DR on the buffet. Without numbers, it looks modern and lets the person punching out each window decide which route to take through the 25 Days of Christmas!

free printable | rosie, rest & weary laurels.

I created these 2 digital collages for my office today, and they're available to you to download for your own personal use. Nothing like a pair of they-mean-business posters looking down on you while you work.

Download 8.5" x 11" pdfs here ~ Rosie / weary or Rosie / laurels

I don't know about you, but I don't care for or have time for meek & sweet - gimme strong & snarky any day over the saccharin! And Rosie? Get outta town - you can't even touch the toughness and confidence she projects.

free photo printable: queen anne's lace.

© 2010 Daisy Janie. All rights reserved. May not be sold and/or redistributed without prior written consent from Daisy Janie.

Happy Friday! Happy Weekend!

This week was one big gratifying moment for me, due to the arrival of my first wholesale organic fabric collection - Geo Grand! Eighteen months of uphill & often unknown work boiled down to a few pallets of cardboard boxes filled to the brim with bolts of glorious, gorgeous potential.

Each time I opened a box for packing orders, I was seriously breathtaken by the mod designs & rich color...when work that you've been eating, drinking & sleeping suddenly feels new & fresh - that's a shining moment to be sure! *Savor alert*

Before I move onto other tasks like sales, marketing, sample sewing and collection #2 (oh yeah...details being finalized with mill), I want to share my exuberance with you in the form of this lovely queen anne's lace photo download. I took this shot last year on a walk, and you might remember seeing it in the photo montage wall I posted about last year (also shown below).

The image is yours to download & print as many times as you like for your personal use. You may zoom, crop, change to b & w, rotate...whatever you wish. However, it may not be reproduced & sold in any way, shape or form.

Click here to open & save image to your hard drive.
Follow your printer's guidelines for best results.

free printable | set of 3 decorative patterned papers

The forsythia is in full-bloom right now, and the gold, yellow and amber tones have been calling to me and insisting they be used in a patterned design. I was happy to oblige with these recolored & reworked designs, which were originally created in 2006. I can't keep them to myself, though, b/c what good are designs full of sunshine without some friends to share them with?

There are 3 free printable designs included in this set of decorative, patterned paper.

1. tondo ~ rounded squares w/ hand-drawn circles | download
2. alta ~ mod stacked sticks | download
3. bella ~ nested ovals/squares | download

Click on the download link for each design, then simply print onto standard 8.5" x 11" paper or cardstock.

Tip: When I used a 'general everyday' printer setting, the colors were more vivid & bright than when I used a custom printer setting with a better paper. I thought the quality of the everyday setting was just fine for most of the applications below.

Use as you wish in any personal projects. Not for commercial use.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
All designs © 2010 Daisy Janie. All rights reserved. Designs/papers the sole property of Daisy Janie and may not be sold and/or redistributed without prior written consent from Daisy Janie.

I apologize for the low-lit pics - we are in the throes of rainy, gloomy week, and if you are as well, that's all the more reason to get this sunshine sent on its way to you asap!

Above: Using cardstock, I made some mini notebooks, matchbook notepads, bookmarkers and gift tags. The pillow box in the background was created using my snowflake printable as a template.

Above: The designs make a hip gift wrap for small packages when printed onto paper. Nice matte finish!

In the near future, I will be introducing decorative patterned papers similar to these in my etsy shop...at the prompting of a few friends and wonderful customers! Thanks for your support!!

What other ideas can you think of for these papers?

Below: Notecards made with cardstock prints.

free printable | ancient proverb digital print

Did you ever read or hear something that strikes such a chord with your philosophies that you feel like it was meant just for you? And you're so moved when it happens that you feel compelled to share it immediately with whoever is standing near you, stranger or not? That's exactly how I felt about this ancient Indian proverb. About 17 years ago, I had the good fortune of stumbling upon this quote in a shop selling Native American art, and I remember tugging pretty insistently on Matt's shirt to pull him over and share it with him.

It fused itself to my soul and has been an overarching moral compass in my life ever since. To me, it underscores the importance of not only being kind to the earth but also, connotatively, being a good human on all fronts. It’s the idea that one’s actions & words create an impact well-beyond the second they’re expressed – they go on and on and on. Call it a spillover–trickle down–ripple–domino effect if you like…you get the gist, I'm sure. I'll leave it at that b/c I think the credo speaks volumes without my refereeing it for you...

When I googled the proverb today, this is what I found:
"Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."

D E T A I L S . . .
If it looks like the text is cutout from the paper and the woodgrain of the table is peeking through, you'd be on the right track! I used a picture of my table as the background texture for each letter in the quote. Same with the leaf motif bordering it. Love the effect!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

D O W N L O A D . . .
Download a free 8.5" x 11" pdf printable of this quote in blue, green or pink. These are for personal use only; they are not intended for resale. I'll say it again, these are not for resale. Thank you for your understanding!

printable download | snowflake pillow boxes & gift tags

The printable download for these festive pillow boxes and gift tags was created for Creature Comforts' 18 Days series. Thanks for sharing them with your readers, Ez! She has so many neat, useful and fun ideas posted - be sure to check it out!

* click here for free printable download at Creature Comforts *

Inspired by a paper snowflake cutout, I created a design I dubbed Suzy Snowflake last year. I've gotten some mileage out of it as it is also the design I used as the background for the month of January for my 2010 calendar.

One of my good friends & her daughter have begun coloring their calendar, starting with January, and it looks incredible. She told me it's a very calming, bonding activity for the 2 of them.
Calendar with cool designs you can color: $25.
Connecting & conversing with your children: priceless.