While supplies last, grab your very own autographed copy of Amy Tan's new signature series book - it's now available in the Studio Calico shop! We've had a chance to flip through it and Amy has packed the pages with fresh and fun projects to inspire you.
To celebrate Amy's book release, we wanted to give you a chance to WIN a copy of her signed book! Just leave a comment here with your SC username and we'll post a winner next Thursday.
We've shared a lot of inspiration in five years - so how about a little extra to celebrate? We're thrilled that two of our past designers, Kelly Goree and Waleska Neris, were able to join us for our celebration!
Five facts about Kelly Goree :
1. I’m from Kentucky - Louisville, even - but I've never been to the Kentucky Derby. I've been close more than once but it never worked out for one reason or another that includes a hail storm. Crazy, I know.
2. I taught dance (tap, jazz and ballet) to little girls 3-8 years old to have spending money throughout college. It was a good thing I got my girl fix in then since my boys who would vehemently object to me putting them in tutus and tights. (Ok, maybe not the tights. Superheroes DO wear tights.)
3. I have an addition to McDonald's Diet Coke that *could* (depending on who you're asking!) be considered worse than any drug dependency.
4. I’m double jointed in my left thumb. Just that joint only. No others. I have yet to figure out something useful to do with it.
5. My driver's license says I'm 5'1, but it's really more like 5' 1/2". Some people lie about their age. For me, it’s this - especially now that my oldest is really 5'1" and therefore taller than his Mama. Something he is NOT letting me forget.
(summer read by Kelly Goree - made using ELMWOOD PARK)
Kelly paired the bright colors in our July kit with a gorgeous black and white photo of her youngest son - the contrast is beautiful! She used the October Afternoon flyers and vintage ticket to embellish the page, and paired letters from a piece of Basic Grey patterned paper with our exclusive Thickers in her title. Here's what Kelly has to say about her page :
"I've always been an avid reader so it was hard for me to see my youngest struggle with his reading. However he worked incredibly hard all school year and made his reading level! We celebrated by enrolling him in the summer reading program at our local library. The beautiful, bright, summery colors of this SC kit were perfect for what I needed to make this page fun and happy. My favorite element on this page is the large title. By cutting out the ginormous alphabet letters from the BasicGrey paper, I was really able to give LARGE focus to the title and what the page was all about."
Five random facts about Waleksa Neris :
1. I have 3 jobs
2. I don't drink soda
3. I played the mandolin when i was a kid
4. I don't have a middle name
5. I like everything to be nice and neat all.the.time.
(oh hello by Waleska Neris - made using HEYDAY)
The light and bright colors of our new midrelease were a perfect match for this playful photo of Waleska's sons. Our mistable Thickers let her customize her embellishments to match the rest of her page, and I loved her misted layers of paper! This page just screams summer fun.
Thank you Kelly and Waleska for letting us share your work - and thank you for being a part of the Studio Calico family!
For our fifth anniversary, we're doing a fun feature with some of our long time subscribers. They'll each be sharing a bit about themselves and what they love about Studio Calico. We also asked each of them to issue a challenge to our design team - we'd love to see YOU take their challenges as well. Check the bottom of the post for more information! Thank you to these fabulous ladies for taking the time to help us out with our party!!
Say hello to : Denise (you'll find her on the message boards / gallery as DeniseN)
She blogs at : http://creativemayhembyme.blogspot.com/
Her favorite kit : It's a hard choice. Newstand is my all time favorite, but Story Hour, Bibliography and Apple Orchard top my list, too.
Her favorite SC line : Homefront
Tell us a little bit about you & why you love SC : I live in Bloomington, MN too near the Mall of America and Ikea. My goal in life is to never go into either of those places on a weekend. I rarely succeed. I'm addicted to Paperkins, gardening and swimming. Not in that order. For some reason I'm the pied piper of all my neighbor kids, godsons, nephews and niece. It may be due to the fact that I have a pool, take them all to Sonic at least once a week and like to sit in my garage during thunderstorms telling ghost stories. Or it could be my bubbly personality. I'm going with the pool on that one. In all seriousness, my life is ordinary. In between running to Minneapolis music venues to listen to my godson's band, I sleep, wake, go to work at a company that owns and manages shopping centers then come home, scrap and boss my cabana boys around. Life is good. ;o)
I love SC for many reasons. The kits force me out of my boring creative box. The kits are full of things I normally would not purchase on my own. I also like that SC has exclusives you cannot get anywhere else. Plus, I happen to have a hoarding problem with stamps. Need I say more?
Her favorite project made with SC : this page using Daydream Believer
Denise's challenge to the design team : Well, how about a 5 challenge to fit with the 5th anniversary? Let's say a layout/project designed around this. Complete the sentence: In five years, I/we ......
Here's what three of our designers did with the challenge :
We'd love to see YOUR take on Denise's challenge! Link your project here by July 9th for a chance to win a Nostalgia collection pack from My Mind's Eye - including a paper pack, brads, chipboard sheet, layered stickers and diecuts. We can't wait to see what you make!
For our fifth anniversary, we're doing a fun feature with some of our long time subscribers. They'll each be sharing a bit about themselves and what they love about Studio Calico. We also asked each of them to issue a challenge to our design team - we'd love to see YOU take their challenges as well. Check the bottom of the post for more information! Thank you to these fabulous ladies for taking the time to help us out with our party!!
Say hello to : Vanessa DeLisio (you'll find her on the message boards and in the gallery as VanessaMeryl)
She blogs at : www.vanessaexplainsitall.typepad.com
Her favorite kit : Playground - May 2009 Taking it back! This kit had all the perfect stamps for me, I have really great memories from when I was using it, and some of my favorite pages came from that kit.
Her favorite SC line : Homefront. This was such a classic line, I loved all the colors and patterns, an incredible first full line! Though every line since has each had something awesome, I'm always excited to see what's up SC's sleeve!
Tell us a little bit about you & why you love SC : I'm a quirky, South Central PA living, late-twenties loving, coffee shop owning girl. I love coffee (obviously), my friends and family, my nerdy boyfriend, and my apartment. I love thrift shopping for vintage necklaces, milk glass, clutches, and anything I could use creatively for crafting. Before I opened my coffee shop and coffee roasting company (The Green Bean Roasting Co.) I was on The Creative Type and ScrapJacked challenge teams and absolutely loved it! I joined Studio Calico in November of 2008 and have never looked back. I love the community and how I've genuinely made friendships through the boards which have extended into Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Without a doubt I know the kits will be packed with product I love followed by irresistible design team inspiration!
Her favorite project made with SC : I made this with my favorite kit (Playground) and a combination of the addons. It's also one of my favorite pictures with one of my best friends! I love how easy it is to put pages together because you know SC has already picked out the best for you!
Vanessa's challenge to the design team : Use the mirror image of something on your page. It could be the same repeat cluster of embellishments or papers or a side by side switch of patterns.
Here's what two of our designers did with the challenge :
We'd love to see YOUR take on Vanessa's challenge! Link your project here by July 9th for a chance to win our May kit, 35mm. We can't wait to see what you make!
For our fifth anniversary, we're doing a fun feature with some of our long time subscribers. They'll each be sharing a bit about themselves and what they love about Studio Calico. We also asked each of them to issue a challenge to our design team - we'd love to see YOU take their challenges as well. Check the bottom of the post for more information! Thank you to these fabulous ladies for taking the time to help us out with our party!!
Say hello to : Judi (you'll find her on the message boards / gallery as judik - formerly mom2ee)
Her favorite kit : In reality my favorite kit is whichever one I'm working on at the moment. Right now I'm several months behind. But the first one I really had a professed love for was Sherwood Forest. It's the first I used in its entirety. The pinks and browns were perfect. It's the first time I left my comfort and just got creative. With that kit, I discovered the joy of scrapping.
Her favorite SC line : Hmmm...I adore bits and pieces of each. But as a whole, I think Take Note.
Tell us a little bit about you & why you love SC : Me...that's hard cause I hate to talk about myself. I'm a neonatologist by day and 3/4 of the nights a month. I have 2 wonderful girls (a college freshman - UGA in the fall - and a high school junior) and an absolutely wonderful husband. Right now, our lives revolve around dorm decor and sorority rush and being an upperclassman and executive student council. I think everything I do scrap related is to document and remember each stage in life. I realize there is so much I have forgotten. It's really my selfish indulgence. I haven't put picture to paper in over 3 months though. Don't have the time with the whirlwind of other stuff. Hubby is my best friend perfect ying to my yang. He understands my paper addiction. I love SC because we have no lss. I have no place to look at papers and embellishments. I used to order online alot but stopped cause things never looked as I envisioned. Now I just let the SC team take care of me. I have lots of kits waiting to be used but I know I'll get around to it!
Her favorite project made with SC : a page made with Candy Shoppe
Judi's challenge to the design team : Scrap a photo of you (or one of your kids) at five.
Here's what three of our designers did with the challenge :
(Nicole Samuels - I heart five)
(Stephanie Dagan - 5 mini album)
We'd love to see YOUR take on Judi's challenge! Link your project here by July 9th for a chance to win our June kit, SO CAL. We can't wait to see what you make!
For our fifth anniversary, we're doing a fun feature with some of our long time subscribers. They'll each be sharing a bit about themselves and what they love about Studio Calico. We also asked each of them to issue a challenge to our design team - we'd love to see YOU take their challenges as well. Check the bottom of the post for more information! Thank you to these fabulous ladies for taking the time to help us out with our party!!
Say hello to : Emily Spahn (you'll find her on the message boards / gallery as justem)
She blogs at : http://justem.typepad.com
Her favorite kit : seriously? yikes! I think maybe Lawn Party. :)
Her favorite SC line : Memoir
Tell us a little bit about you & why you love SC : I have met some wonderful people through Studio Calico. It's been my online "home" for the past five years. Even though I don't post as much as some, I'm always there, lurking! ;) I love the camaraderie, especially amongst those who have been around "forever." The kits make it easy to scrap and are always a perfect combination of products that match, but aren't matchy! ;) Thanks to April and everyone at SC for making it such a wonderful place to be a part of!
Her favorite project made with SC : This is an older favorite! Four (kit - Granny's Cupboard)
Emily's challenge to the design team : Then and Now - Find a layout from 5 years ago and scraplift it with your current style.
Here's what three of our designers did with the challenge :
(Stephanie Howell - to my girls)
We'd love to see YOUR take on Emily's challenge! Link your project here by July 9th for a chance to win our May kit, 35mm. We can't wait to see what you make!
For our fifth anniversary, we're doing a fun feature with some of our long time subscribers. They'll each be sharing a bit about themselves and what they love about Studio Calico. We also asked each of them to issue a challenge to our design team - we'd love to see YOU take their challenges as well. Check the bottom of the post for more information! Thank you to these fabulous ladies for taking the time to help us out with our party!!
Say hello to : Kimber-Leigh Drown (you'll find her on the message boards / gallery as Kimber-Leigh)
She blogs at : http://new-everymorning.blogspot.com
Her favorite kit : Such a tough question. Brooklyn Flea or Boardwalk. But my most used kit ever is Bibliography. (Looks like I have a thing for "B" names!) I sometimes have a hard time using the kits I'm most excited about!
Her favorite SC line : Autumn Press, by far. Autumn is my favorite season, and I love how this collection mixes such great colors that work well for the season as well as both girls & boys (since I have both!) And those bookplates are one of my favorite SC products.
Tell us a little bit about you & why you love SC : Hi! I'm Kimber-Leigh, and as the wife of my wonderful Air Force pilot, I have lived in NC, TX, OK, and now Northern Virginia. Home is wherever the five of us are together, but when people ask me, Asheville, NC is where we're from. I start each morning with a cup of Earl Grey tea, and I spend my days homeschooling our three children (aged 8, 6, & 4). As a former high school English teacher, history and literature are my favorite subjects to teach, but I think, so far, my children enjoy math the most! By afternoon, you may find me blogging, scrapbooking, reading, writing, or crafting with my kiddos! In the evenings, I enjoy cooking, reading as a family, and relaxing with a good movie, a bowl of popcorn, & my sweet husband.
I have been an SC subscriber since kit # 3 "In Session" and have never looked back. In addition to the beautiful kits that first caught my eye, there were three things that drew me to Studio Calico from the very beginning: the warm community on the message board, the site design, and the quality of customer service. These four things continue to impress me. I think I am most excited each month to see the exclusive products and stamps in the kits and to learn the kit names. I LOVE the kit names! Thanks SC for five amazing years!
Her favorite project made with SC : let's go fly a kite - Summer Camp
Kimber-Leigh's challenge to the design team : Use something old, a stamp that's new, something borrowed (scraplift, using a former SC design team member's gallery for inspiration) and washi that's blue.
Here's what three of our designers did with the challenge :
(Celine Navarro - the time of my life)
(Kinsey Wilson - Hello Charleston)
We'd love to see YOUR take on Kimber-Leigh's challenge! Link your project here by July 9th for a chance to win our May kit, 35mm. We can't wait to see what you make!
