Studio Calico

sunday sketch

This week, we invited SC member Cristina (username CristinaC) to share her take on one of our sketches. We were thrilled when she sent back a project for each - that means we have double the inspiration to share with you!

First up is our layout sketch, based on Amy Tans's "My Little Cutie" page : 

And here's Cristina's take on the sketch - I love the mix of alphabets in her titlework :

I decided to flip the sketch horizontally to have the photo on the left. I let the title take up lots of room, and hid my journaling - the photo is adhered on a card that flips open to reveal the journaling.

Supplies : Planetarium Scrapbook, Card & PL kits and North Star, Orion & Big Dipper add-ons; Tombow mono adhesive; Martha Stewart glue pen; American Crafts cardstock; Prima chalk ink

And here's this week's card sketch, based on Dana Fleckenstein's "Ahoy Matey" card : 

Cristina followed the sketch fairly closely. I love her color scheme : 

As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew I wanted the sentiment to be the most prominent element of my card. I dug out a journaling card from the March Project Life kit that I had been hoarding, and decided to put it to good use. I debated whether to cut the journaling card down or not, since it is quite large compared to the size of the card, but I decided not to - I think this plays well with my desire to have the sentiment be my focal point. To enforce this further, I added the embellishments directly on top of the journaling card. Originally I had not included the two horizontal paper strips on my card, but I found that adding them really grounded the design.

Supplies : Planetarium PL kit - star sequins; Neverland PL kit - journaling card; Planetarium card kit- grid paper; Lyra add-on - sequins, resin flower, Lawn Fawn trimmings, alpha stickers; North Star add-on - star and polka dot papers; Adhesives - Martha Stewart glue pen, Zig 2 way glue, EK success 3D Dots; card base - Core'dinations

Cristina, thank you so much for sharing these gorgeous projects with us! If you'd like to see more of Cristina's work, please visit her Studio Calico gallery or her blog.

Now it's your turn! Make a project with using one of this week's sketches as a starting point, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by May 27th in the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

wholesale spotlight

Here's a peek at how our Creative Team has been using our Atlantic and Snippets  lines :

Susan Weinroth - Right Now : 

Anna-Maria Wolniak - Summer Loading : 

Joy Taylor - Me Oh My! : 

weekly challenge | Shanna Noel & Steph Washburn

Hi! For this challenge, we thought it would be fun to create projects featuring the softer, more feminine colors in the Atlantic collection and the Planetarium kits! Check out this gorgeous color combination!

From Steph: When I saw these pretty colors, I knew I wanted to include that pretty vintage lace from the North Star Kit on my card! So soft and pretty! I started by choosing three patterned papers and adhering strips to a thin sheet of printer paper. I cut the Home Sweet Home cut design with my cameo from those papers. I adhered a pretty lace bow to the tag before adhering it to the card front! Then, I printed out a quick "congrats" sentiment and adhered it to the card. A clean and simple, quick card to take along to a housewarming party!

(supplies - patterned paper : Studio Calico Planetarium Card Kit, North Star Kit; vintage lace trim: Studio Calico North Star Kit; digital cut file: Planetarium Home Digital Cut Design; font : KG Eyes Wide Open)

From Shanna: When I first saw the Atlantic collection online I was excited to get it, but when I saw it in person I just feel in love with it! I love all the pinks, yellows and golds intertwined throughout the collection! As I was putting this layout together I wanted to use lots of the papers (which is rare for me!) and thought a layered hex design was in order. I haven't done a layout like this in a long time so it was fun to create a pattern with the papers. Within each hex you have a spot to highlight some of the fun embellishments that come in the Atlantic line. 

(supplies- pattern paper: Studio Calico Atlantic Collection - embellishments; Atlantic Fabric Bows; Atlantic Glitter Stars;  Wood Veneer Hearts - Alphas: Rockabye Thickers Atlantic Collection Tools: MIni Anchor Punch Digital Stamp; Planetarium Digital Stamps ) 

Make a project with our color scheme, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by May 20th in the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

-Steph Washburn and Shanna Noel

wholesale spotlight

Here's a peek at how our Creative Team has been using our Here+There, Snippets and Sundrifter lines :

Deb Duty - happy place : 

Lucy Abrams - Hello : 

Julie Campbell - way to go : 

Joy Taylor - Hello : 

 

you've got mail | Amber Kemp-Gerstel

Hello Studio Calico Lovers!

Amber here from the Card Team and I'm bringing you a fun project that perfectly coordinated thanks to some pretty papers from the May kits! Let's get started with what I came up with:

I was inspired by the muted colors of Up & Up patterned paper included in the May Card Kit and Scrapbook Kit. Because the kits both include this same pattern, in two different scales, it was easy to create a card with the 6x6 paper and an envelope with the 12x12 paper. 

On the card, I created a simple flower embellishment with ovals made with a paper punch. In the center I added a brad, which also serves as the sentiment. Don't you love double duty! The otherwise white card is accented with an embossed background and some splashes of Mr. Huey's color mist. 

For the envelope, I used my score board to create a custom sized envie that would fit the overhanging embellishment on my card. To the front, I mimicked the details of the card with a few splashes of color and a strip of wood veneer paper that wraps around.

Supplies: May Add on Kit (Orion; Wood Veneer Cardstock and Vintage Bliss Decorative Brads); Mr Huey's Color Mist: Boss Lady; May Planetarium Card Kit (Studio Calico Up & Up Patterned Paper) ; May Planetarium Scrapbook Kit (Up & Up Patterned Paper) 

I hope this simple ensemble inspires you to create a few coordinating cards & envelopes of your own! Take a look through your kits and see which patterns repeat from one kit to another. This makes coordination super simple!

Thanks for stopping by! -Amber Kemp-Gerstel

NSD at SC | 2013 | PL team challenge 3

See through elements add a bit of fun to any project - whether it's a pocket you can peek through in a Project Life album, a window in the front of a card, or an overlay or sheet of vellum mixed into the layers of a layout to give it more interest. For this challenge, add something transparent to your next creation!

Leena Loh | To make my window card for my PL spread, I cut out a piece of 8 1/4" x 6" pattern paper from Fancy Pants Trend Setter paper from the Big Dipper kit. I then cut a window in the center of that paper leaving about an inch of border all around the 4 edges. Then, I inserted this window card into Becky Higgins 6" x 12" protector, trimmed off the protector top to fit the window card. Next, I machine sewed a U-shape around the inside window card on the protector itself, leaving the top open. I poured in the Atlantic Sequin from my Halley's Comet kit, punched some papers and added into the see through window, together with a few pieces of wood chips from Freckled Fawn (from Big Dipper kit) to make them into confetti. I sewed the top to seal the window card. I machine sewed again across the protector of the see through window card randomly and added Heidi Swapp Clear Pop Letters on top of the protector. 

Julie Campbell | I love the new Atlantic printables & wanted to try them out for this challenge.  I imported the images into my Silhouette software & used the circle tool to cut out a window for my card.  The card base is actually made from an office transparency & it gives the illusion that the "love" die cut is floating in the center of my card.  I added patterned paper to the inside to create a space for writing a message to the recipient.

Celine Navarro | Hey everyone and HAPPY NSD! Let's talk "transparencies" here! Our challenge now is that you use anything see through! For my layout, I glued and then sewed a piece of glitter & star lace curtain that I bought at my favorite Fabric store - look how cool it looks! You can actually see through the fabric and peek at the gorgeous Studio Calico Sundrifter paper. I also used a Studio Calico Sundrifter vellum paper to create a fun and see through pocket near my photo. Whether it is fabric or vellum, you can easily find see-through supplies to create unique and colorful layouts!

To be entered to win a prize from the fabulous Studio Calico prize stash, leave a comment here with a link to your new layout, card or PL spread/cards in the Studio Calico gallery by May 13th. We can't wait to see what you make!

NSD at SC | 2013 | PL team challenge 1

Our Creative Teams have fallen in love with the Studio Calico digital stamps, printables and templates as a way to stretch their kits even futher. For this challenge, they want you to try a digital element or two on your next project. And to make it even easier, we've even got a free printable for you right here.

Catherine Davis | I used the Planetarium Spring Snaps Digital Layout Template in the 6x12 size to make an insert for my album. Love how inserts can really focus on a specific event or theme. For the back of my template, I used the heart and text elements from the template again to anchor my journaling and added a strip of patterned paper.

Shanna Noel | It was natural for me to sign up for the digital challenge. I love all the ways you can use digital elements in your pages, but brushes are my favorite. I love taking an element on your page (for me it was the salmon color in the paper clip) and matching it to the brush you want to use. I simply added a brush from the Planetarium kits to the photo to tie the colors all together a bit, plus can you really have too much of that adorable stamp? No, I didn't think so either!! :) I can't wait to see what you guys do with this challenge, I am always so inspired by you!

Deb Duty | I created this layout with the soft blues and yellow found in the Planetarium kits. The arrow that says "the little things" is from the printables that are available to go with the kits this month. It was the perfect addition to the cluster of elements near the photo of my son as a tiny baby many years ago! 

Lucy Abrams | I love using digital products, and I love to alter them too. For my card, I used the Cross Pattern and Cut Out People stamps from the Project Life Digital set, and a sentiment from the Paislee Press Digital set. First, I altered the Cross Pattern brush to pink, then stamped it repeatedly to create a fun patterned paper background. Then I added a row of Cut Out People, and finally, the cute sentiment. After printing, I added some stitching and a cork arrow sticker to give the card a bit more dimension and texture.

To be entered to win a prize from the fabulous Studio Calico prize stash, leave a comment here with a link to your new layout, card or PL spread/cards in the Studio Calico gallery by May 13th. We can't wait to see what you make!

NSD at SC | 2013 | card team challenge 2

We've all been there. A zillion pieces of patterned paper in your stash, and none have the color scheme or design that you're looking for. Or maybe you have some new stamps you can't wait to get inky - or you just want to try something new. We're challenging you to stamp your own patterned paper!

Stephanie Washburn | I LOVE using stamps to create my own backgrounds! On this one, I picked this tiny ampersand stamp (from Snippets Miss You So Much stamp set) and stamped it in different color inks to create a fun pattern. Then, I blended some distress ink across the card front to create a more rustic look. I finished it off with the sentiment, "you're awesome" stamped in gold ink! Stamping your own background is a great way to create flat, easy to mail cards!


Laura Kurz | So I have been meaning to do these pages for the last four months. Ha. I decided to use my square punch to punch out people's pictures from Christmas cards (if the pictures were bigger than the punch, I just punched it more than once). I have four whole pages of photo inserts! These are coin collector pages that I use in my Project Life album.

I used the hot air balloon stamp to create the background for two of the squares. I typed my title/journaling in red to give it a holiday-esque feel. 

Suzy Plantamura | Stamped backgrounds are perfect for a Project Life album - they bring in a lot of color and interest without bulking up the cards too much!

On the week card, I stamped the word “week” from the Amy Tan stamp set in the May PL kit all over a 4x6 piece of light blue paper; stamping it each time on a piece of scratch paper and then on this paper so the ink is lighter; for a few of the words, I stamped my background first so the ink is darker and those words stand out more. I then added a piece of yellow paper along the bottom and stamped the word “week” in a yellow just a bit darker than the paper. To finish, I stamped the word “week” in red ink on coral paper and cut the numbers out (draw or print on the back side backwards and cut out) and attached them to the front of card. I think that the repetition of the word “week” adds to the theme of this being a weekly introduction card.

For the “confetti” card, I stamped the two borders in one color several times and then stamped over them in a second color so they are just above the first.

To make the card with circles, I stamped the blue ink on a piece of scratch paper first and then stamped; sometimes I would try to leave more ink on the circle so there were different variations of the color; I stamped the words “you are loved” on top of the circles in the same color so it is subtle; then I stamped a yellow circle stamp on a yellow circle and stamped the same words in black and layered it over the background.

Sasha Farina | Using the circle stamp in Big Dipper, I randomly stamped the circle with versamark and embossed them in white before adding the mist. I spray the mist onto my kraft skeet and very lightly put my white cardstock facedown, making sure some parts stay white for the marbled effect. It's a gamble every time, but I love how no two pieces can ever be the same using this technique. Once I'm happy with the background, I gave the embossed parts a good wipe with some tissue.

To be entered to win a prize from the fabulous Studio Calico prize stash, leave a comment here with a link to your new layout, card or PL spread/cards in the Studio Calico gallery by May 13th. We can't wait to see what you make!

NSD at SC | 2013 | SB team challenge 3

Count it out. Add some stats. Measure the distance, or the passing of time. Note their age. So many of us have unused number stickers hanging out in our leter packs, and we want you to put them to work!

Catherine Davis | For this challenge, I knew I wanted to do a countdown of sorts centered around my husband and I. (Majorly lacking "us" in my layouts!) Using my Cameo, I cut out numbers in a variety of sizes. Some are glued on the page flat, some are popped up with foam dots. I used little slips of paper to add a little note with each number and how they could be applied towards our story. I also had fun playing with misting here, using star embellishments as a mask.

Marcy Penner | I love using numbers as titles and large design elements on my page.  I had originally intended to include a very large number, but it got shrunk down as my page moved on and I decided I wanted it in the polaroid frame. Try using a single number as a title, numbers representing quantities, ages, and representing significant moments.

Amanda Caves |The numbers challenge was the perfect opportunity to document favorites from our recent trip to Walt Disney World. I originally planned on ten favorites, but just could not narrow it down to only 10.

Jenn Picard | Numbers are always a fun element to add to a project and when I saw this challenge I knew it was the perfect opportunity to make a very special card. My youngest daughter will be celebrating her birthday in just a few short days and what 6 year old girl wouldn’t want a sparkly number to mark the occasion? I die cut the number 6 then created a banner for it to hang on using some pattern paper and 2 of the super cute Amy Tan ribbon paper clips (I just removed the clips and used the fabric). I attached it to a PL Journaling card from the Halley’s Comet Add on, and then I couldn’t resist using the Studio Calico Roller Date Stamp to mark this special event. To finish it off I reached into my stash of letters and found these ones from Simple Stories SNAP line were the perfect match. Finally for once I would be scrambling last minute to make her a birthday card :)

Anna-Maria Wolniak | Numbers are very spectacular, always. The graphic for of the numbers are always perfect, they look great everywhere: as a pattern, as a title, multiplicate with stamps, masks, texture... If you've never tried, this is the best time to do so.

To be entered to win a prize from the fabulous Studio Calico prize stash, leave a comment here with a link to your new layout, card or PL spread/cards in the Studio Calico gallery by May 13th. We can't wait to see what you make!

NSD at SC | 2013 | SB team challenge 1

That's right - we're challenging you to get a little bit artsy. Break out those watercolors. Stitch on some fabric. Dabble in paint and mist. We want to see you give mixed media a try!

Anna-Maria Wolniak | When we decided to create such challenge on NSD I almost started to fly!!! I mean - watercolors?! - this is "my" world! I adooore watercolors, watercolors effect, watercolor transparent papers, watercolors...  in all of the kinds. I create this page with thought that I should use as much watrcolors as possible and stick with simplicity of the other embellishments.

Tina Aszmus | I've been a lover of watercolor for quite some time but very rarely would apply this medium to layouts. I'm not sure what kept me from doing so because there are a ton of background possiblities. Swipping water color directly on rubber stamps and applying them with stencils are my favorites ways to use this medium right now. I simply taped down the chevron stencil using washi tape (it's low tack and didn't rip my paper) to a sheet of water color paper, and swiped the yellow color using the water brush. Easy peasy. :) 

Robyn Werlich | One of my favorite products from Studio Calico is the 'Here & There' V Pattern Mask! Love it! So, for these cards, I laid the mask on my card front and used watercolors to color in the chevron design. I did the color a bit heavier and lighter in areas to add some depth and variance in the color. I love how they turned out. I added a stamped banner image and saying (from the 'Snippets Miss You So Much stamp set) and popped it up on pop-dots. If your reluctant or nervous about trying some of the more advanced 'artsy' techniques...watercolors and masks are a great place to start! Happy NSD!!

Allison Waken | Project Life is a fun place to play with techniques since I can try a new one on each card! Here’s some mixed media ideas I incorporated into this spread.

Week 14 Card: I placed thickers on a blank 4x6 grid card and painted over with watercolor on a small brush - super easy and fun!  

Excellence Card: To create the ombre effect I loaded up the water color paint and applied it several times to the bottom of the card slowly blending it up with more water. As I got to the top all that was on my brush was water. Once it dried completely I printed over it with my quote!

Love Lives Here Card: I painted a base of gesso over a printed PL card. Once the gesso was semi-dry I applied some water color on top of that. Once dry I layered it up with a cut file!

To be entered to win a prize from the fabulous Studio Calico prize stash, leave a comment here with a link to your new layout, card or PL spread/cards in the Studio Calico gallery by May 13th. We can't wait to see what you make!