Studio Calico

Handbook | Marcy Penner

Back in March, we shared Marcy Penner's thoughts as she pulled together supplies to create a Hanbook about her family vacation to Florida. Now that she's back home, her prep work paid off and she was able to complete a Handbook recording their trip in record time!

Marcy says - The key for me completing this vacation album was to keep it simple. I decided on a format of one spread for each day (or two). I really had to narrow down my photo selections and keep embellishments to a minimum in order to complete this project and not have it gather dust in the corner of my room while it waited for me to find time to finish it. Well, I guess almost completed. I do have to get my family to fill out the cards on the last page yet.

I pulled out my photos, dated (pre made) journaling cards and my basket of Here + There, Sundrifter and Snippets and got to work… all with keeping it simple in mind. 

What started out as an intimidating project became a colourful, completed album filled with photos, memories and memorabilia.

Here's a video on how Marcy put each of her pages together - she's made this project totally doable!

 

And here's a look inside her finished album : 

What have you recorded in a Handbook? Link us up, we'd love to see!

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!

more happy little moments

Life is full of happy little moments that we often don't scrapbook. Join Maggie Holmes and Marcy Penner and capture those memories in a one of a kind altered book with our More Happy Little Moments class.

Your teachers will be walking you through the process of putting together a unique album filled with peek-a-boo windows, envelope pages and all of the moments that make you smile.

Maggie and Marcy have each curated a class kit that they'll be working with in their books. Those kits are available for purchase here. If you purchase both kits at the same time, you can use the code SCHLM to get a free set of 4x3in veneer journaling cards.

Our teachers are joined by contributor Lisa Truesdell, who will be sharing tips to adapt Maggie and Marcy's ideas into a Studio Calico Handbook format.

More Happy Little Moments students will also have access to a variety of digital files - printables by Hello Forever and Bananafish Studio, hand drawn die cut files by Maggie Holmes and icon, tag and tab die cut files by Hello Forever.

This is a self-paced class - all class information will be posted on June 1st. To help keep you on track to complete your book, Maggie and Marcy will be posting a journaling prompt and technique challenge on the classroom message board each week.

You can find a complete syllabus on the More Happy Little Moments registration page. Enrollment is open now through May 31st, and class starts June 1st. We hope to see you in class!

wholesale spotlight

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

Marcy Penner - Piggyback : 

Lisa Spangler - Hello : 

Celeste Vermeend - Love You More :

Susan Weinroth - Be Happy :

Marcy's vacation Handbook

We are embarking on our annual trip south... and what better way to document it then with a Studio Calico Handbook.

In this first post I'll explain a bit about my plan for capturing this time with my family.

WHY NOT PROJECT LIFE? WHY A HANDBOOK?

I am an avid Project Lifer. No doubt about it. Ever since I've been doing Project Life I've documented our trip my 12x12 spreads. But I really wanted to try a Handbook and felt that a trip was a perfect platform for that. Yes, my Project Life album will be missing a few weeks this year. I'm not going to bother duplicating our holiday in there.

I love the small size of the handbook and can't wait to fill it with trip photos.

THE PLAN :

I will not be using this Handbook on the go. That is I will NOT be taking it with me. I've promised my family that I will be present during our holiday. Spending time with them and photographing our days. The last thing they want is for me to be playing with paper while we're trying to make memories. So, the next best thing is for me to do some prep work and have everything ready to put together when we get back. This means gathering supplies and prepping some planning tools to use while I'm away so that when we come back I can tackle this mini book.

THE SUPPLIES :

I'm using a Here + There Handbook. I've also gathered some supplies that I know for sure I'll use... lots of Here + There products mixed with a little Sundrifter and Snippets.

I gathered these items together and put them in a basket near my Project Life supplies. This will make it easy for me to just grab this basket and take it to the dining room table or wherever I feel like working on it.

THE ALBUM :

I decided to paint the album with a light blue acrylic paint.

I taped off the label holder with washi and painted on three coats with a foam brush. Once that was dry I trimmed a piece of white paper for inside the label. The FL (for Florida) fit in there perfectly. A little wooden geotag and I was done.

I had debated about decorating the cover in addition to the spine but decided against it. I imagine this album being pulled out of the shelf quite a bit and didn't want to risk damaging anything on the front.

The little Here There badge fit perfectly in the center of the geotag on the front though. ;)

Here's everything in it's basket, ready to go.

(SOMEWHAT) PLANNED PAGES :

I didn't plan out my pages a lot. I didn't want the assembly process to be boring... I will want to play. But I did plan it out a little bit so that I had an idea of what I was going to be getting myself into.

I'm using an assortment of the pages from all three of the new lines. I pulled out pages with each of the four numbers die-cut into it... a 1, a 2, a 3 and a 4. These will be the dividers for my holiday.

Section 1 will hold photos from our drive down (3 days worth)

Section 2 will hold photos during our first week there (7 days worth)

Section 3 will hold photos during our second week there (7 days worth)

Section 4 will hold photos from our drive home (3 days worth)

I'm picturing each day being one to two pages. I temporarily added as many page protectors as there were days in each section... just so I could get a feel for the album. Obviously I'll have to be very selective when I'm picking photos to print for this project.

When I get back from my holiday and go through my photos I'll decide on which style of page protectors I want to use and swap those out.

I also added a page protector for a cover page.

Right now the inside of the album looks like this.

KEEPING TRACK OF MEMORABILIA :

In the basket I also have 4 large manilla envelopes. One for each section of my Handbook.

I'll be bringing these along on my trip to hold the memorabilia that I'll be gathering.... ticket stubs, brochures, maps, etc. Once we get back I'll keep them in the basket with my supplies so that I don't forget to add any of that stuff in.

Having them in numbered envelopes will ensure I put them in the right sections and with the right photos and save me time when I'm putting stuff together.

MEMORY KEEPING :

Along with the envelopes, the other thing I'll be bringing with me is my planner. Normally I use an 8.5x11 binder and my planning pages when keeping track of my days for Project Life. And since this will basically be a mini Project Life for three weeks the same method of memory keeping makes perfect sense to me. But I did not want to bring a large binder along.

My solution was to tweak my planning pages to fit into my Filofax. They have a section everyday for notes which I'll surely fill up on a daily basis.

My pages have a template after every week, and obviously since I'm doing a spread per day for this handbook those won't be needed. Once I get home I'll plan out my spreads and use templates as I go.

So, that's my plan. It's a plan to make post-vacation assembly easier. To allow me to enjoy my holiday with my family. To let me spend more time putting my Handbook together and not searching for missing tickets and notes. It's all about the prep work.

I'll be back next month with more from my vacation Handbook.

creative team inspiration

Our Creative Team has been busy working with Here+There, Snippets and Sundrifter. We've got five projects to share today, and we'll be back every Thursday with even more wholesale inspiration. Click on the name of any layout to view it in the SC member gallery - from there you'll be able to check out what products they used and how they made it, as well as add it to your favorites.

Up - Marcy Penner

Merci - Lucy Abrams

Love Them - Gillian Nelson

Thinking of You - Gayatri Murali

Best Friends - Anna-Maria Wolniak

Sunday Sketch

This week we are once again offering you TWO sketches...one for cards and one for layouts!! The card sketch is from Amber Kemp-Gerstel's Front Row gallery:



And the layout sketch is from Marcy Penner's Front Row Gallery:



We invited member Melanie (MelBlackburn) to choose one of these to use as a starting point this week, and were thrilled that she made both a layout AND a card!! Check out the fun details on her layout...

And also on this card:

Supplies: 34^th Street, Murray Hill and Kris Kringle Kits; Sundrifter Wood Veneer; Mister Huey Gold and Duey/Studio Calico Sequins/Amy Tangerine Date Stamper.

Here is what Mel had to say about using the sketches:

"I was immediately inspired by the layout sketch, I love the white space design and I knew this would be  a fun sketch use. The single element on the left side of the sketch was my inspiration for the title work, which I embellished with stitching, sequins and mists. Instead of using 2 vertical pictures, I used one small horizontal picture, this was just a better fit for my layout. I created depth and dimension by adding lots of layers and repeating the triangle clusters. I love the end result and was so very inspired that I decided to create a quick card and by quick I mean less than 10 minutes start to finish. I again used the same design pattern and the picture was replaced by the greeting. This is perfect way to use up leftovers from a layout project. I hope you will play along, these 2 sketches are so very inspiring and the possibilities are endless. Thank you Studio Calico for inviting me to play along."

So many good ideas here from Mel: adapting a sketch to the numbers of photos you have on hand, using up your scraps from the layout to make a card and even finding inspiration to make the card from the layout sketch. Thanks for joining us this week, Mel!! You can see more of Mel's work in her gallery at SC, and make sure to stop by her blog!

How will YOU use this sketch? Whether it's a layout, a card or something else, link us up to your project by March 4th for a chance to win a $5 gift card to the Studio Calico shop. (Please remember, your project must be loaded into our gallery to qualify...and your comment has to link back to it in the SC Gallery)

day by day - Darling Dear

The last week of the year was such a short week.  Only two days.  So, instead of combining those two days with the prior week I decided to give them their own page.  This eliminated the need for me to create an end page for my 2012 album.

I dug into my Darling Dear products and printed my photos.  The oranges and blues in the collection worked really well with my photos from those two days.   I added a receipt from our New Year's Eve pizza night and a music book page with "Auld Lang Syne" on it.  Totally lucky that I came across that in my scrap basket.

To hold the new business card my husband had printed I cut a 3x4 piece of patterned paper and also a smaller piece.  I punched a half circle in the middle and stitched them together, leaving the top open.  A quick and easy pocket.  Just make sure to do any embellishing that goes through the back of the paper (ie. sewing, brads) before you sew your pocket closed.

I didn't do a lot of embellishing on this spread other than adding labels and a tiny embellishment here and there.  There wasn't a lot of room.  I wanted to do something subtle so my photo would still stand out so I punched snowflakes out of vellum and stitched them down over the photo.  I added some of the gems for a little sparkle.

I really love the Darling Dear journaling cards and pushed my hoarding tendencies aside so I could use this one with my photo of my daughter on the sled.

And with that my 2012 Project Life album is complete.  It's a good feeling and I'm excited to be moving on to 2013.

(Supplies: patterned paper - Flynn, Gable (Darling Dear); journaling cards; chipboard speech bubbles; gems - brights, whites, grays; vellum; date stamp - Classic Calico V.3; tiny attacher; ink - versafine; labels)

product spotlight

I love the little polaroid frames in the new collections.  I think they're such a neat way to highlight little photos.  And I LOVE little photos.  For this layout I took out the frames from the Wonderland collection and decided to use them all lined up on a page.

(supplies:  patterned paper- Studio Calico Wonderland Mistletoe, Sleigh Ride, Jingle, Tree Farm, Snowdrift and Glad Tidings; frames- Wonderland; die-cut title and tree- Wonderland; wood veneer- Wonderland; twine- divine twine; other- tag)

To break things up a little bit I reversed one of the polaroid frames so that it was just white and then trimmed off the little snowflake that was on there.  I didn't want to have so many competing colors on my page.  I also placed my journaling in between the frames to separate the photos a bit.

I used the word "christmas" that was already on the frame and combined with the the "magic" die-cut from the ephemera pack to make my title.

I'd love to see how you've used the Wonderland Die Cut Frames - link me up to your projects in the comments!

Sunday Sketch

This week's sketch comes from Marcy Penner's SOCK HOP gallery - and is based on her layout titled "Mr. Cool."



We were eager to see how Jenni (jenni calma) used this sketch to inspire a layout!!

Here's what Jenni had to say about this challenge:

I am a huge fan of Marcy Penner so a sketch based on her layout was both exciting and a little nerve-racking!  I love all the white space in her pages.  It really makes you want to inspect every detail.  I knew I wanted to use these photos of my son, even though he bent my book mark…!

I have a bowl FULL of little hearts left over from the other projects on my desk.  I put them all in to this little vellum envelope, along with a die cut from Amy Tangerine and stitched it to the page.  I turned the title vertically & cut it large in order to make the pun in the title obvious, hopefully…Love View.  I misted a little chipboard heart to match the color of the badge & date tag to create my visual triangle and keep your eye moving around the page. The vellum frames are great to highlight a photo without covering up anything important. 

I am smitten with that little envelope along the left side full of 'leftovers'...what an awesome way to use up those bits you can't bear to part with!

Please check out the rest of Jenni's work in her SC Gallery and on her blog.

How will YOU use this sketch?  Whether it's a layout, a card or something else, link us up to your project by November 26th for a chance to win a $5 gift card to the Studio Calico shop. (Please remember, your project must be loaded into our gallery to qualify...and your comment has to link back to it in the SC Gallery)