Studio Calico

Insider Tips

I have a confession to make. Are you ready? I am not a stamper. There, I said it. I'm no good at it, it's messy, and I always forget to clean the darn things when I'm done.I know where my strengths lie and I usually like to stay inside that cozy little box. But with the recent addition of American Crafts Zing embossing powders to the store, I started to get a little excited about stamping. I started to think that maybe I could try it, and maybe it wouldn't be as bad as I remembered. So I busted out my Zings, and some of the awesome Studio Calico stamps and got to work. And you know what? It was fun. I'm happy with how my page turned out, and I discovered that maybe stamping isn't my kryptonite after all.

So I encorage you to step outside of your comfort zone. Be it stamping, stitching, layering, misting, whatever... just work with something that makes you a little uncomfortable. Something you think you're not any good at, or just don't think you really enjoy doing. The results just might surprise you.
Supplies: American Crafts cardstock, State Fair Best in Show patterned paper, Countryside Barn Swallow patterned paper, Countryside County Line patterned paper, Countryside Wildflower patterned paper, Countryside Picnic patterned paper, Countryside Harvest patterned paper, Elementary Wood Veneer Alphabet, Natalee Alpha Stamps, Jett Alpha Stamps, Jett Numbers Stamps, Labels Stamp Set, American Crafts Zing Copper Metallic, American Crafts Zing Power Opaque, Jenni Bowlin Brown Sugar Dye Ink, Mister Huey's Applejack, American Crafts brads, American Crafts Precision Pen Brown, misc. twine, Silhouette, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher

Winners

We've got a long list of winners to share!

Please send an email by 7/6/11 to info@studiocalico.com to claim your prize and include the following information:

• Name:   
• Contest: Sunday Sketch or Weekly Challenge
• Prize: $5 GC

Missy, Diane, and Nina pease send an email by 7/6/11 to info@studiocalico.com to claim your prize and include the following information:

• Name:   
• Contest: Reveal Night
• Prize: AC Collection Packs

Suz, we are sending your name and email address on to Big Picture.

Thank you all for playing along with us!

Tutorial

Hi all... Nicole H. here, sharing a fun way to use all of those Mister Huey spray inks you have in your stash!! When working with the Lawn Party kit, I knew I wanted to use this chipboard frame... but it needed a little something. Supplies: Mister Huey's Piglet and Clover, Paintbrushes

So I grabbed my Mister Huey in Piglet to see if my hunch was right, and it was! They make GREAT watercolor inks!! Here's how I did it:
In this example, I used a veneer star as a mask, with the Lemonade Mister Huey...then opened up my bottle of Clover. I dipped my brush inside the bottle, swiping the excess off.
Then I dabbed my brush (with the color already on it) onto a paper towel, just to get rid of some of the ink. I was looking for a muted/watercolor effect, so this worked perfectly.
All that was left to do was paint!!
 
One more cool way to use those Mister Hueys... who doesn't love that!?

Challenge

This week I challenge y'all to use paint, mist and ink on a layout!! Don't be scared, have fun and don't be afraid to get messy- it is a part of the fun!! Set a date with Mister Huey and have fun inking and painting too! I can't wait to see what you come up with this week!

Supplies Used:June 2011 kit(Paper Moon); Countryside (Wood Veneer Hearts); Bazzill:Kraft


Link your layouts here by Monday for a chance to win a Studio Calico gift card!!

Reveal Night Giveaway

Here's your chance to win the Peachy Keen, Hello Sunshine, or Campy Trails collection from American Crafts.  We're also giving away a spot in the new Big Picture Class, Colour or Is It Color?

Just leave us a comment letting us know who you'd like to see as an upcoming Guest Designer - we want to hear your suggestions!  Good luck!

Hi! Céline here sharing with you a layout inspired by Kelly's layout. I just love the way the design is on Kelly's layout as you can see some white space.

I decided to make a Hybrid layout, means I both worked digital and non-digital.

I made a simple layout on Photoshop, following Kelly's sketch, then printed it out on a white 12x12 cardstock (I always print on the back of it so that I have less texture) and then actually worked on it with my June kit! I couldn't resist! The banners isn't from the kit but from Pretty Little Studio and it suits perfectly my theme.

Post your layout by Monday, July 4 for your chance to win a SC GC!  Be inspired and have fun!

Layout of the Week

The layout of the week is brought to you by Heathyr (tenmylove). This fabulous layout was made with her April Lawn Party kit. To get more inspiration Heathyr, head over to her gallery at Studio Calico.

Each week, the layout in the gallery is linked, so you can add it to your favorites easily.  This layout has been added to your favorites more than any other layout in the SC community gallery for the week of 6/19 - 6/25.

Congratulations Heathyr! Because of this you have won a $10 gift card to be used on any new purchase at Studio Calico.  Want a chance to win next week? Be sure to upload your projects to the SC gallery, and support your community by adding special projects that catch your eye into your favorites! It could be YOU next week!

Tags

Hi everyone! Today I just wanted to talk a little bit about the State Fair and Countryside Tags. I love this product so much. The colors are awesome and I love the designs. You can cut them up, punch them, distress them, ink them, whatever works for you. They can be used for so much more than journaling spots or embellishments! I love to layer them and stack them to create a background, using them in lieu of patterned paper. They are such fun designs and make creating a fast layout super easy; this layout only took about 20 minutes to put together, and you get a really layered and funky look with all the different colors and shapes. I'd love to see what creative uses you can come up with for these tags!

Supplies: American Crafts cardstock, State Fair Tags, Countryside Tags, SC Wood Veneer Alphabet, State Fair Blue Alpha rub-on, Elementary Label Stickers, Mister Huey's Piglet, State Fair Yellow Graph Butterfly rub-ons, State Fair Notions - Yellow, SC Wood Veneer Stars, misc. twine, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, American Crafts Precision Pen

Insider Tips

Emily here, sharing my storage solution for ribbons with you today. When I first started scrapbooking, I didn't have a plan for my ribbons and so as they began to accumulate, I started shoving them into a large ziploc baggie. I thought it would be great because I could see them all. I found this didn't work too well because the bag wasn't pretty, so I kept it out of sight. I rarely would pull it out, and when I did, the ribbons would be all tangled, even more of a deterrent to using my stash.

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to have my ribbons out where I could see them, so I began the hunt for a cute wire basket that would hold everything. I found the perfect one at an antique store. Armed with a couple of bags of wooden clothes pins and some pins, I sat down one morning with my bag of ribbons and started winding them around the clothes pins. I could usually get two or three different varieties on one pin, then I'd carefully secure each end so I wouldn't get poked as I was hunting through the basket.

I keep the basket out on my desk and because I can see my stash, I find I use the ribbons a lot more. For this layout, I wanted to use ribbons to frame the photo. I found two varieties that matched the paper and fabrips easily because of my storage system. I've been able to bring my ribbons with me to crops and have even inspired a few fellow scrappers to try this storage system out. I hope it will get you thinking as well!
Supplies: Patterned Paper - Mud Pie; Fabrips - Pink Houndstooth; Alpha - Chipboard Alpha StickersTan, October Afternoon; Ribbons, Flower, and Pin - Maya Road

Laura's Favorite Kit

My favorite kit also happens to be one of my first as a member of the Studio Calico Design Team – Granny’s Cupboard.

 

And it’s my favorite because of one little piece – that beautiful piece of chipboard from Buzz and Bloom!

Well, OK, I also love how neutral this kit is with the pops of color in the patterned paper and embellishments!

But, it’s because of that piece of chipboard that I created my all-time favorite layout.


I used the chipboard to highlight a lot of the different elements of the kit – from the patterned paper to the buttons, the doily stamp, and the alphabet stickers. It was also the perfect size for my index prints.

I also loved how the rest of the Design Team used this kit, especially this layout from April.

If I could have one kit repeat, this one would definitely be it!