Themes you want

[TraceyM]

I thought I'd do a check-in. You know I'm very much a theme designer. I love drawing the elements and yes, sometimes I do get carried away - LOL. If you aren't familiar with my work, go check out the Clever Monkey Graphics store here.

I'm working on deciding themes to design for from now through summer and was wondering what customers are looking or in my style of designing? If you have an idea, and it's a bit of a different one, flesh it out a bit when you tell me.

Looking forward to hearing all your thoughts (and I'm sure some of our other great theme designers are too!)

[liriel]

I have a list hopefully at least one will spark your interest. Love your kits and thank you for asking for ideas!

1. Crocheting - My daughter has gotten really good at making amigurumi animals and is now even making herself a blanket!
2. Kids arts and craft work - again my daughter loves to paint pottery, draw and make digital art.
3. Chamber Choir - two of my kids do this. It more formal (they wear formal wear), my son even sang at carnegie hall last year.
4. Kids Karate - I have so many pics of all 3 of my kids doing karate classes.
5. Mini-Golf
6. Renaissance Fairs
7. Historic Colonial villages - We have one we go to near us several times a year.
9. A New York kit that isn't NYC
10. Hockey kits in different color themes for the NHL (ie. Black, White, gold and Brown can work for Bruins, Penguins and Predators, Red, WHite, Blue for Rangers, Capitals and Blue Jackets etc..) I go to a lot of Bruins games.

[lovely1m]

Themes I need:

1. Foodie kit - not just basic normal food, my kid loves trying all sorts of unusual foods, watching shows on Food Network & seeking out the restaurants featured, food challenges, etc. & I need a way to scrap that.

2. First girlfriend/boyfriend kit - sweet, innocent kid of like early teen years.

3. Summer Camp - my son attends numerous camps but is now also a junior counselor. All the things that can be done at camp including being the counselors and not just campers

4. Go Carts - seems self-explanatory

5. Minnesota North Woods - Paul Bunyan, You Betcha, Hiking, Lakes, Fishing, Norwegian heritage, etc.

6. High School Forensics Teams - debate, student congress, speech

7. Military kits - being in the military and all things military

[lovely1m]

Originally Posted by liriel

6. Renaissance Fairs
7. Historic Colonial villages
9. A New York kit that isn't NYC
10. Hockey kits in different color themes for the NHL (ie. Black, White, gold and Brown can work for Bruins, Penguins and Predators, Red, WHite, Blue for Rangers, Capitals and Blue Jackets etc..) I go to a lot of Bruins games.

I would love all of these, too! Don't forget my MN Wild with forest & maroon.

[LynnZant]

I can picture you doing an amusement park/water park kit with your love of bright, fun colors. I don't go that much any more, but I was always looking to add a new one to my stash when I did go a lot.

[lizziej]

I would love to see a baby boy kit!

[wendyp]

Originally Posted by TraceyM

I thought I'd do a check-in. You know I'm very much a theme designer. I love drawing the elements and yes, sometimes I do get carried away - LOL. If you aren't familiar with my work, go check out the Clever Monkey Graphics store here.

I'm working on deciding themes to design for from now through summer and was wondering what customers are looking or in my style of designing? If you have an idea, and it's a bit of a different one, flesh it out a bit when you tell me.

Looking forward to hearing all your thoughts (and I'm sure some of our other great theme designers are too!)

Yep i also always want to know what costumers want too!
It is fun to know what ideas on their minds. Because sometimes specific themes come up I would never have thought about.

[wendyp]

Originally Posted by lovely1m

Themes I need:

2. First girlfriend/boyfriend kit - sweet, innocent kid of like early teen years.

My oldest (16) is having her first boyfriend too. Even though it is in some ways innocent, but in other ways very adult like and serious

[renatasluis]

A restaurantkit, but not specific for pizza or mexican ect.
A general kit.

[LauraOD]

Halloween is a ways off but I would love a Trunk or Treat kit

[HeideC]

I know it is a long shot but anyone else need dragons? I went to a local restaurant in Minneapolis that served Mead and was decorated with dragons, etc. I would even love a mini kit for this..
what about DYI for women? I am re doing my house all by myself and would like to document the process

[Kimberly27]

Feeding ducks/fish at pond/lake. I have pics of kids feeding ducks at the park but have trouble finding kits for it.

This might be an Erica kit but baby mishaps...spit ups, exploded diapers, spills, getting peed on by baby boy, fussy baby...

Corn maize/fall kit...getting lost (I have a personal kit I created on this theme years ago), pumpkin patch, jumping pillow, hay bales etc

I can never have enough pool/swim kits...Swim team, dive team, water polo...My youngest is doing these next year in high school.

[TraceyM]

Julie, can you better explain what you meant by New York without it being the city? Do you mean the state as a whole?

Originally Posted by liriel

I have a list hopefully at least one will spark your interest. Love your kits and thank you for asking for ideas!

1. Crocheting - My daughter has gotten really good at making amigurumi animals and is now even making herself a blanket!
2. Kids arts and craft work - again my daughter loves to paint pottery, draw and make digital art.
3. Chamber Choir - two of my kids do this. It more formal (they wear formal wear), my son even sang at carnegie hall last year.
4. Kids Karate - I have so many pics of all 3 of my kids doing karate classes.
5. Mini-Golf
6. Renaissance Fairs
7. Historic Colonial villages - We have one we go to near us several times a year.
9. A New York kit that isn't NYC
10. Hockey kits in different color themes for the NHL (ie. Black, White, gold and Brown can work for Bruins, Penguins and Predators, Red, WHite, Blue for Rangers, Capitals and Blue Jackets etc..) I go to a lot of Bruins games.

[TraceyM]

Originally Posted by LauraOD

Halloween is a ways off but I would love a Trunk or Treat kit

Is there something specific to trunk or treat past the trunks of cars open and decorated?

[HavaDrPepper]

I do a lot of scrapping for my cousin's grandchildren and their activities.

The grandson is now involved in "crew rowing" events. Like the movie "The Boys in the Boat". I would love a kit that has those types of boats in them along with kayaks and canoes (they also kayak a lot).

The granddaughter is into baking and cooking, especially gluten free. Her mom also is lactose intolerant so the family has changed up their whole way of cooking. Most cooking and baking kits do not reflect this specific lifestyle.

[TraceyM]

Originally Posted by Kimberly27

Feeding ducks/fish at pond/lake. I have pics of kids feeding ducks at the park but have trouble finding kits for it.

I HAVE WANTED TO DO A WATERFOWL kit for ages because my daughter wanted to feed or chase everything that has wings and hangs out near water.

This might be an Erica kit but baby mishaps...spit ups, exploded diapers, spills, getting peed on by baby boy, fussy baby...
LOVE THAT IDEA - I have a photo of my husband getting barfed on by my infant daughter - the look on her face is so apologetic, like she knew she'd done an oopsie. I love that photo and husband hates that photo! ha ha

Corn maize/fall kit...getting lost (I have a personal kit I created on this theme years ago), pumpkin patch, jumping pillow, hay bales etc
I LOVE DOING THE FALL KITS. I currently have a few in the store and I'm sure I'll add more.

I can never have enough pool/swim kits...Swim team, dive team, water polo...My youngest is doing these next year in high school.

Another one I'm sure others would want.

[TraceyM]

Originally Posted by HeideC

I know it is a long shot but anyone else need dragons? I went to a local restaurant in Minneapolis that served Mead and was decorated with dragons, etc. I would even love a mini kit for this.. DRAWING DRAGONS SOUNDS FUN!

what about DYI for women? I am re doing my house all by myself and would like to document the process

DO MEAN LIKE ADDING PINK HAMMERS AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT SORT OF WORD ART?

[liriel]

Originally Posted by TraceyM

Julie, can you better explain what you meant by New York without it being the city? Do you mean the state as a whole?

Yes the whole rest of the state. We did college tours in the Albany/Troy area (Rensselaer Poly Tech) and Rochester area (RIT) and spent time exploring the surrounding area in case he selected either and I can only find NYC kits to scrap it.

[vicky23ny]

Just a few that came to my mind.. lol

-Wedding kit about family, brother, sister getting married.
-Vintage wedding kit with lace
-Nephew -Niece
-Friend giving birth
-Babies first steps, first words, curious about everything
-New dog
-Procrastination
-Too many clothes
-Overwhelmed
-Girl Friends going out
-Old friends keeping in touch
-Long Distance Relationship, erotic of friendly
-Long Distance family
-Long time no see
-Internet, social media
-Flower lover
-Dandelions
-Monstera Plant
-Shopping Addict
-Decorating our home
-Loved ones in heaven
-Misunderstandings, frustration with family, friends
-Greek islands
-Bucket List
-Money saving
-Gift giving
-Relationship, marriage
-Donkeys
-Naughty dogs
-List making

[LauraOD]

That’s it. The cars with the trunks open and decorated.

[HeideC]

Originally Posted by TraceyM

DO MEAN LIKE ADDING PINK HAMMERS AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT SORT OF WORD ART?

I love the pink hammers and sayings like ?I got this? ?pretty handy?
Elements of paint cans, spills, - before and after
Learning curves, ouchies (yes I stepped on a staple and punctured my foot)

[laurabobaura]

Originally Posted by LauraOD

Halloween is a ways off but I would love a Trunk or Treat kit

another Laura!

sidenote, love your siggy

[LauraOD]

Originally Posted by laurabobaura

another Laura!

sidenote, love your siggy

hah! thanks, love yours too

[tammybean04]

Originally Posted by liriel

Yes the whole rest of the state. We did college tours in the Albany/Troy area (Rensselaer Poly Tech) and Rochester area (RIT) and spent time exploring the surrounding area in case he selected either and I can only find NYC kits to scrap it.

Tracey, that's the area I'm from and can help as best as I can. It's been a while since I've lived there but have friends still there.

[lovely1m]

Originally Posted by TraceyM

Julie, can you better explain what you meant by New York without it being the city? Do you mean the state as a whole?

I assumed she meant Upstate when I said I needed it, too. My mom & I are doing an upstate NY road trip this summer with a focus on Albany, Niagra, & Watkins Glen/Finger Lakes areas.

[jumbbumble]

I would love some about health, moving, menthel health or food

[stephc777]

I would really love to see a kit about landscaping (not gardening) - updating your yard - fixing or putting up a fence - maintaining your yard - spring planting of flowers, etc. We've been on a journey the last few years to do lots of projects/updates in our yard & would love to be able to scrap the pictures. I don't see anything like it in the shop.

[angiekey]

I'm refocusing on my photo workflow and I'm doing a big purge/organization/keywording of the last 20 years of my digital photos (eep!) so I've got a couple themes in my head...

- sewing. I would LOVE to see a kit with your beautiful artwork specific to sewing garments (not quilting). For reference on what's happening with home sewists these days, you can visit cashmerette.com and seamwork.com. It could be a great mix of body positivity and empowerment, dressing your unique body, etc. I also love the idea of word art - both sarcastic (which you can easily find on google with the terms sewing humor) and more heartfelt, like it being a tradition, learning from your parents and passing it on to your children/grandchildren. For elements, things like a sewing machine, pin cushion, zippers, buttons, hooks & eyes, spools of thread, needles, scissors - both small snips and large shears - and be sure to include word art about how I'll kill you if you use my fabric scissors to cut paper

- I'll second the "naughty dogs" idea. I've got so many stories to record about the horrors of housetraining and the trouble caused by puppies... "You're lucky you're cute" and "NO BITING" and "Oh, no, not again...!"

- NERF gun wars, both for littles and for adult kids.

- Dress-up and make-believe with the littles... I'm thinking of princesses and mermaids, knights and dinosaurs, etc.

[TraceyM]

OMG GOSH - YOU ladies rock with your ideas and my brain can't wait to attack some of these ideas. Feel free to add more when you think of them. I've noted these all down in a document on my computer.

Thank you to some of you who followed up questions I asked.

[Scrap-therapy]

There's lot of seriously cool ideas!
I will add one with peonies, I had some lovely pics of my daughter with peonies but not the right colors and flowers in the kit I know!lol!
I'm going to think of another ideas!

[TraceyM]

Originally Posted by Scrap-therapy

There's lot of seriously cool ideas!
I will add one with peonies, I had some lovely pics of my daughter with peonies but not the right colors and flowers in the kit I know!lol!
I'm going to think of another ideas!

Can you PM me one of the photos?

[TraceyM]

Angie, I love how you explain out your ideas - folks, Angie was behind the Photographer kit! The more you guys can explain stuff out, the more likely myself or another designer is to make that kit.

Originally Posted by angiekey

I'm refocusing on my photo workflow and I'm doing a big purge/organization/keywording of the last 20 years of my digital photos (eep!) so I've got a couple themes in my head...

- sewing. I would LOVE to see a kit with your beautiful artwork specific to sewing garments (not quilting). For reference on what's happening with home sewists these days, you can visit cashmerette.com and seamwork.com. It could be a great mix of body positivity and empowerment, dressing your unique body, etc. I also love the idea of word art - both sarcastic (which you can easily find on google with the terms sewing humor) and more heartfelt, like it being a tradition, learning from your parents and passing it on to your children/grandchildren. For elements, things like a sewing machine, pin cushion, zippers, buttons, hooks & eyes, spools of thread, needles, scissors - both small snips and large shears - and be sure to include word art about how I'll kill you if you use my fabric scissors to cut paper

- I'll second the "naughty dogs" idea. I've got so many stories to record about the horrors of housetraining and the trouble caused by puppies... "You're lucky you're cute" and "NO BITING" and "Oh, no, not again...!"

- NERF gun wars, both for littles and for adult kids.

- Dress-up and make-believe with the littles... I'm thinking of princesses and mermaids, knights and dinosaurs, etc.

[Scrap-therapy]

Originally Posted by TraceyM

Can you PM me one of the photos?

Sure!

[Scrappy Penguin]

I love the NERF GUNS idea too.

The TRUNK or TREAT would be cool with a blank trunk and then all the little things to decorate it myself.

KARATE is a great kit idea - not many out there to chose from.

I know you've had a HOCKEY and MINI GOLF kit in the past, isn't there a new SSD theme this year with update/revamp kits? NEW ones are always great too. I can for sure use the MINI GOLF kit, too.

It's BASEBALL time again and I still have A LOT of BASEBALL stuff to scrap. This could be a BASEBALL/SOFTBALL kit idea for more customer base.

Didn't you do a double scoop kit about FOOD/EATING OUT last year? Maybe people don't see it because it's in a different area?

[jumbbumble]

I would love a kit about agoraphobia i am dealing with this for more then 20 years i have mine ups en downs. I am doing pretty ok when my health is good but when my health is bad this always come back. I think the kit can be used for so much more then this theme.

i see a kit with lots of green in it a little bit nature stijl
but with word arts like Step by Step, One step at a time, Take your time, etc
And also some moody stuff like a dark cloud. a headset something about breathing etc.

This way nature lovers can use it
people that deal with menthal health
but also kids that grow up

[stasianary]

Not sure if anyone is into religious kits, but I would love a baptism/first communion/confirmation kit (coordinating?). (church, rosary, host, wine bottle or chalice, baptismal font, dove, candle, veil, cross, bible, oil....maybe muted colors like sage, gray, soft pinks, cream, etc.)

[wendyp]

Originally Posted by stasianary

Not sure if anyone is into religious kits, but I would love a baptism/first communion/confirmation kit (coordinating?). (church, rosary, host, wine bottle or chalice, baptismal font, dove, candle, veil, cross, bible, oil....maybe muted colors like sage, gray, soft pinks, cream, etc.)

This all sounds like catholic, I was raised catholic.

[DaniW]

I would love see kits about:
1. Sports - especially golf, hockey, baseball, softball, soccer - with lots of different colour options, including MLB/NHL like suggested above
2. TV Shows - Supernatural, Brooklyn Nine Nine
3. High school robotics teams
4. Shopping/latest obsessions - like a kit to document things/products I'm obsessing over - this may be too general though
5. Videogames - Valorant is the latest one around here

[stasianary]

Originally Posted by wendyp

This all sounds like catholic, I was raised catholic.

Yes, Catholic sacraments

[Romajo]

Originally Posted by stasianary

Not sure if anyone is into religious kits, but I would love a baptism/first communion/confirmation kit (coordinating?). (church, rosary, host, wine bottle or chalice, baptismal font, dove, candle, veil, cross, bible, oil....maybe muted colors like sage, gray, soft pinks, cream, etc.)

Erica Zane has a kit called Captivating Churches.
Grace Lee and Meagan's Creations have several kits in their Blessing series (not sure if they are still available though).
And there are some Christmas and Easter kits that focus on the reason of these seasons, but some more (and more generic) would be appreciated.

I also would love some more Irish kits, but not St. Patrick's Day related / orientated. More about the sights (natural and historical, think round towers, castle ruins, celtic crosses, rolling hills, cliffs, stone walls along the road, wild flowers like gorse bush and fuchsia, sheep on the road), pubs, music, driving on the left side of the road, etc.

And I would love to have a ferry kit, not cruise or boating on a lake/river related. More like taking your car on a boat/ship to cross the sea (e.g. from the European continent to go to the UK, Ireland or Scandinavia).

[jema]

I second the kit on landscaping. We have completed two huge landscaping projects and will be working on one this year.

I would LOVE a kit about music concerts, we go to a lot of them.

[MamaBee]

I could use...

a National parks/monuments/sites type of kits
a money kit - for collecting, going to the bank, etc.
I second more of a protestant religious kits
Road construction - or big truck construction - there isn't one in the store anymore

[wendyp]

Originally Posted by stasianary

Yes, Catholic sacraments

I'm working on this. It brings back a lot of childhood memories

[Txcorey]

I'm working on a memory book for my son and his friends. They have run 2 seasons of cross country together. Most of the kits about running that are in the store are girly looking and with neon type colors. There's one cross country kit in the store that I bought but the elements in it are a little dated looking. With all that said, I would love a running/cross country kit with more jewel toned colors or neutrals. Our school colors are navy and white.
This is one area that I find difficult to scrap is school or sporting events that have very specific colors. Sometimes it's hard to make a kit work...

[3BluEyedBabi]

Military & National Parks & Museums as well as something that would work for WWII days.


I have pictures from Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in South Carolina:






Gettysburg, PA






Here are some from The Wrights Brothers Museum in North Carolina:

[3BluEyedBabi]

Just like Cory said above, I would love another cross-country kit, too. My son & daughter both did cross country & track (just the running events) all through middle school & high school. Their colors are black & red. (I'm so tired of black & red!! but that's what they wear...) My daughter is also still running (don't know where they get it from!) in college. Her college colors are yellow & royal blue, though.

[wendyp]

Originally Posted by renatasluis

A restaurantkit, but not specific for pizza or mexican ect.
A general kit.

did you know Tracey and I made a general restaurant kit 2 years ago??

[lovely1m]

Originally Posted by 3BluEyedBabi

Military & National Parks & Museums as well as something that would work for WWII days.

I need this too! I will be visiting WW2 sites in Europe this summer and we are hoping to make it to DC this fall.

[bienejen]

Originally Posted by 3BluEyedBabi

Just like Cory said above, I would love another cross-country kit, too. My son & daughter both did cross country & track (just the running events) all through middle school & high school. Their colors are black & red. (I'm so tired of black & red!! but that's what they wear...) My daughter is also still running (don't know where they get it from!) in college. Her college colors are yellow & royal blue, though.

Wendy has a track and field kit

[LauraOD]

Julie mentioned crochet. A knitting and crochet kit would be awesome. Some memes/wordart ideas:

Winter is coming… knit faster
I knit so I don’t kill people
A lady never discusses the size of her yarn stash
It’ll block out (or that s**T will block out)
You’d better swatch
WIP (work in progress)
FO (finished object)