For the month of July, we were thrilled to have Natasha Pytlik join us as our Memory Keeping guest designer. She has a fresh new style that was perfect for our To The Sea Collection and her energy was contagious as she shared her projects featuring beach life with us on social media. Please check out her Pinterest gallery for even more inspiration.

Hi there, my name is Natasha Pytlik and I am incredibly excited to be the Memory Keeping Guest Designer this month! I am a lover of all things pretty paper. I am a memory keeper, documenter, planner girl, and overall creative mess maker. I live in Southwest Florida in a small(ish) town with my partner and our girls- two rescue pups, named Angie and Luna. I am a former educator that now works as a Project Manager in the construction industry.

I am a big advocate of having a regular creative outlet as a critical component to our mental health, even if it's just fifteen minutes, we are all worthy of that time. If I am not in my craft room or taking over some other part of the house with crafty projects, I am probably taking far too many photos of my dogs, spending time outdoors on our screened-in porch or exploring new spots and returning to local favorites. I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes but rarely actually follow the recipe! I have definitely subjected my family to more mystery Pinterest meal ideas than I can count.

Being a Florida girl, this month’s kit has been so fun to play with to document my favorite local treasures as well as document the everyday in my Memory Planner. Memory Planning is my jam and is what really started my memory keeping journey. I have recently got bitten by the Travelers Notebook bug and I am hooked. I am having a blast documenting and celebrating the everyday in my Memory Planner while highlighting specific memories in my Travelers Notebooks.

I am always so grateful for this reenergizing, fulfilling, inspiring, and fun hobby that has connected me to so many incredibly creative women over the years. You can find me over at Instagram as well as Youtube @craftingextremelove. I’d love for you to stop by and say hi!

1. When is your most creative time? The weekends, especially Saturdays are my most creative times as I generally carve out a few hours just for a creative time- always accompanied by some coffee and good snacks! Can’t forget those! With a good chunk of time carved out, I am able to get the creative juices flowing.

  2. How do you unwind? I find memory keeping and paper crafting one of the best ways for me to unwind and relax. It is one of the few things that stops me from thinking and worrying about #allthethings and I find my flow and recharge my battery. I get lost in the beauty of creating. I also enjoy unwinding with time outdoors and spending quality one on one time with loved ones and family.

  3. If you were in a Rock N' Roll band, what would your job be? Perhaps some type of Operations/ Project Manager who is running things behind the scenes or the total opposite and doing something creative designing their marketing materials and merch.

  4. What is your guilty pleasure? My guilty pleasure is definitely enjoying some Ben and Jerry's and watching crafty videos on Youtube.

  5. If your life was a movie, what actress would play you? Zooey Deschanel

  6. What's your favorite accessory? Any type of big statement earrings!

  7. If your life were a novel, what would the title be? Crafting Extreme Love

  8. What was your first job and how did you get it? For my first “big girl” job, I was a Second Grade Teacher in East Los Angeles, California through a program called Teach for America.

  9. Share three of your bucket list items with us. RV across the United States, visit more National Parks, teach creative workshops!

10. What is “dressed up” for you? I am a fairly simple- nice pair of jeans, a cute top, sandals (it’s always flip flop weather down here in Florida) and a cat-eye eyeliner.