Studio Calico

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!

make it work - kit scraps

What do you usually do with your scrap papers? I think that those tiny little pieces have so much potential in them that I rarely throw them away. This time, I challenge myself to squeeze one more layout out of the bits and pieces from Spencer's instead of letting them live in my 'Scraps' crop bag :)

I have been having too much fun with circles lately, so I thought why not try other shapes this time? I look at my scrap papers and I see lots of triangles. That was how I decided on the layout of this page :)

(supplies - Studio Calico Spencer's kit)

I had a negative die cut sheet of triangles from when I made this layout, so I used that as a guide to trace some triangles onto my background. Then I stitched them all and fill them with the small pieces of paper with triangles on them. 

I used the little cork circles from the cork cameras stickers to highlight my title and journaling, and added some of my leftovers enamel dots on top of them. You can also see I stamped on this layout, the title and the little 'you+me' on the PL card that has been squared to fit onto the polaroid frame. I think even with little amount of papers, you can make a detailed layout when you add stamping and little bits of embellishments here and there according to the flow of your design.

I hope I've inspired you to take another look at your scraps paper and hopefully use them! Link me up if you do, I can't wait to see your beautiful work! :)

-Sasha Farina

product spotlight

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

Becky Novacek - Peck Peck Peck

Natalia Bun - Hello Again : 

Julie Campbell - Barnyard Greetings : 

Stephanie Washburn - I Love You So Much

Sasha Farina - Today I Am Enough

Amanda Caves - Project Life Week 9 : 

weekly challenge

Who’s ready for a challenge?!?  Sasha & Julie are teaming up to bring you a Recipe Challenge.  Here’s how it works:

Make a layout or card following this recipe: 

• 4 squares
• 3 small round embellishments (brads, enamel dots, rhinestones, etc.)
• alphabet stamps
• paper strips (cardstock, patterned paper, journaling strips, etc.)
• mist

Here’s Sasha’s take on the challenge:

(supplies - patterned paper : Studio Calico Darling Dear 6x6 Paper Pad; Darling Dear Printables ; Gems: Darling Dear Grays, Brights ; Stamps : Darling Dear Sentiments, Noah Outline Alphas ; Number Paper Clip; Yearbook ; Misyer Huey: Gold, Shine; Others : Block Party PL kit, embroidery thread)

And here is Julie’s project:

(supplies - patterned paper: Studio Calico Darling Dear 6x6 pad; Embellishments: Darling Dear Printed Chipboard Hearts; Darling Dear Vellum Shapes; Stamps: Studio Calico Sam Stamp; Inks: Mister Huey’s Opaque White, Onyx Black Versafine Ink Pad; other: brad, Enamel Dots, sewing machine

Feel free to add anything in addition to the recipe above!  We can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Create a project for this challenge, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by January 28th the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

Sunday Sketch

This week we are offering you TWO sketches...one for cards and one for layouts!! The card sketch is from Dani Flanders' Block Party gallery:

And the layout sketch is from Sasha Farina's Block Party gallery:

We invited member Anabelle (agomalley) to choose one of these to use as a starting point this week, and she chose the card sketch...we adore this layout she designed!

Supplies: Block Party Kit, Block Party Printables, Chipboard Hearts from Wildberry Court add on

Here are Anabelle's thoughts on the sketch:

I had so much fun using Dani's card as my inspiration this week. I decided to use diagonal strips of paper on my page, as she did on her card. Since I love adding texture to my layouts, I included the chipboard on two of my strips. This gave the page an extra pop of color, as well. Instead of the hanging star, I decided to add my photo on the bottom right hand side.  This photo of my friends, my husband and me is from the Mummer's Parade in Philadephia.  It's one of my favorites from that day, so I wanted to highlight it on the layout.  I balanced the picture with a small cluster on the top left corner. I love the printables this month, so I used the small circle for my journaling.  Using cards as design inspiration is something I love to do. I probably wouldn't have chosen to do a page with an angled feature on it, so using the sketch really pushed me creatively!

We fell in love with the mix of patterns and rows of chipboard detail on this layout, how fun that she adapted the card sketch to make this awesome layout. Thank you for sharing your work with us, Anabelle!

Please check out Anabelle's gallery and blog for more inspiration!

How will YOU use this sketch?  Whether it's a layout, a card or something else, link us up to your project by January 28th 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)

 

workspace wednesday

Hey everyone! I'm here to show you a few photos of my scrap studio. Well, It's not actually a studio, it's a balcony off my living room. I love it anyway. This is where I usually spend my days when the kids are in school.

This is how it looks from my living room. Space is limited in Singapore, as you can see. I crammed as much as I can in that little space (it's about 7 x 7). I still have albums stored someplace else. This here, is also as clean as it gets. :)

The IKEA tubs are my favorite. They can fit a lot of stuff too. The one marked 'thickers' has about 65 packs inside it. Definitely can fit more, but I will want to pare down before that happens. :) Cardstocks and Studio Calico embellishments (far right) are in file box and containers bought from the $2 shop. I store all my ink pads + thin dies inside the document drawer (far left), in that same cube, you can also see my beloved cursive typewriter and scoring board. The red tubs has random embellishments. I say it's random but I know exactly what is inside. Just the way my brain works.

All my Mister Hueys + Sharpies + Twine +and the 'vintage' 7G stamps that I still love, live in this wooden drawer. 

On top one of the expedit, my Jelly Belly dispensers, Big Shot and metal Coke bottle holder. I got that for free from one of the shop owner in Thailand (I made Sam ask if we could buy it, because I'm quite shy. Ha!).  She refused to take our money. How kind was that? This is the kind of stuff that I will remember. :)

Washi tapes + baby wipes. My best friend made the washi holder for me. Think I need another one, eh? The ones I recently used are in the wooden box. The frosted plastic container holds paint brushes, extra scissors, distressing tools.

Wooden veneers! I love these! Love the wooden box, love the veneers! Can't get enough of them. I'm hunting for maybe another box exactly like this so I can have them all in one place. Currently, I have the cameras and hearts and arrows in two little glass bowls.

And here are what's always on my table. My enamel tray so I can have all the embellishments I'm currently working with in one place. Saved me a lot of time crawling under the table looking for that die cut/brad/punched out piece. You can also see magnets in the tray, I'm really big on making sure things stay where they are supposed to be, can you tell?

This box holds my finished layouts. I usually put them into the album once they're about full or maybe after every 15 layouts? Around there. This is a good compromise. I don't have to put them into albums straight away, but I also can't let them spill out of the box, because it will drive me crazy.

Here, I display some photo magnets my sister made for me, a sweet note from a friend, the letter S I got on clearance. I also hang some stuff I use frequently with some S hooks. Printers tray was not supposed to be there, lol. Neha still need to rearrange her room so I'm holding onto that for the time being. The metal white tiered unit holds some adhesives, some pens, some mist droppers, some tags. Basically random, but I know exactly where is what.

That works for me

I hope you've enjoyed this little peek into my tiny scrap balcony. I'm always changing stuff up, rearranging. The space will be a work in progress forever, I think. :) 

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section and I'll be happy to answer them for you.

product spotlight

Hi everyone! It's Geralyn here today, with a spotlight on one of my favorite new items from the Classic Calico V.3 collection, the Sotheby's thickers! They come in classic ledger (my favorite!), charcoal, and the mistable version and they are my current go-to alphas. I love the font and the fact that there are both smaller and larger letters in a set. The different sized alphas are really fun to mix together.

(Supplies: patterned paper - Calico v.3 Quilted, Yearbook 6x6 pad, Textbook; alphas - Calico v.3 Sotheby's charcoal, Sotheby's ledger; veneer - Yearbook speech bubbles; Yearbook stitched pockets; Yearbook journal cards; badges - Calico v.3 weekdays; mistable - Calico v.3 feathers, enamel dots - Roller Rink kit; stamps - exclusives from Roller Rink, Rainbow Kneesocks, Couple's Skate, Crack the Whip; ink - Hero Arts Cup o' Joe; other - washi tape, Kelly Purkey stamp)

For my layout, I pulled together lots of Yearbook and Classic Calico, then decided to use both the larger ledger Sotheby alphas and the smaller charcoal Sotheby alphas for my title. I think they look pretty cool together and I like the contrast between the light and dark alphas. 

Hope you enjoyed this little product spotlight! Can't wait to see the Sotheby's thickers on your layouts!

We wanted to bring you even more ideas for using the Sotheby's Thickers - here are more layouts from our Design Team :

celebrate eight by Kelly Noel : cardstock - American Crafts ; patterned paper - SC Time Sheet, SC Charted , SC Geometry, October Afternon (yellow) ; wood veneer - SC Wood Veneer Flags, SC Wood Veneer Speech Bubbles ; chipboard - SC Mistable  Sotheby Thickers ; Enamel dots - MME ; ink - Prima Chalk Edgers (Turquoise Stone - teal, Rock Moss - green, Coltsfoot Stemens - yellow, Rusty Keys - orange) ; washi - Freckled Fawn

this is no good by Kinsey Wilson :  patterned paper - Studio Calico Yearbook- Pi, Honor Roll, Superlatives, Tardy, American Crafts- POW glitter paper ; letter stickers - Studio Calico Sothebys Charcoal Thickers ; veneer - Studio Calico Speech Bubbles ; Pockets- Studio Calico Yearbook Stitched Pockets ; spray mist- Studio Calico Pinstripe and Dark Calico Mister Hueys ; journaling card- Studio Calico Yearbook Journal Cards ; other - white cardstock, brown pen.

first day by Marcy Penner : patterned paper - Classic Calico vol.3 Quilted, Geometry, Botanical, Yearbook Most Likely, Pi, Hall Pass, Tardy; Letter Stickers - Classic Calico vol.3 Mistable Thickers (Sotheby); Stickers - Mistable Stars; Wood Veneer - School Icons; Journaling Cards - Yearbook; Cameo, mist - Mister Huey Gold; date stamp

one year old by Becky Novacek : patterned paper - Yearbook 6x6 pad; thickers - Sotheby's Ledger; stickers - Classic Calico Vol 3 hearts; veneer - Yearbook speech bubbles)

good morning kata by Sasha Farina - supplies - patterned paper : Studio Calico Clasic Calico V3 Charted , Yearbook 6x6 paper Pad ; Sticker : Classic Calico V3 Kraft Heart ; veneer : Studio Calico Heyday Speech Bubble ; Thickers : Sotheby's Ledger, Mistable Arrow : Studio Calico exclusive from Central High kit, Mister Huey's : Sunshine, SchoolHouse, Taxi; Diecuts : Heyday Ephemera Pack; Staples : Tiny Attacher ; other : vintage doily

We'd love to see YOUR projects using our Sotheby's Thickers! Link them up so we can check them out.

tutorial

Hey everyone, I always have extra printed photos on hand, what about you? I print at home and I like to print a couple pages at a time. I decided to make a ‘keeper’ for my printed photos. I love my picture keeper with it’s divided sections for the girls and family and misc photos and hope you’ll try to make one (and customize it) for yourself too! Have fun!

(click here to down the PDF tutorial for this project)

(supplies : patterned paper - Studio Calico HeyDay 6x6 Paper Pad; Fabrip - HeyDay Aqua Polka Dots FabRip;  diecuts - HeyDay Ephemera Pack; Stickers : Heyday Frame Stickers,; Color Mist : Mister Huey's Pretty Pink, Mister Huey's BlueGrass; washi tape, letter stickers and chevron ribbon - Central High Kit; veneer - Studio Calico stars, hearts and arrows, cameras; other - sewing machine, glossy accent, black rhinestones, chipboard)

Sunday Sketch

This week sketch comes from Sasha Farina's CENTRAL HIGH gallery - it's based on her layout titled "Saturday Story."

We loved all of the word bubbles Sasha used and couldn't wait to see how SC member Tanja (mathildasmom) would use it!

Supplies - Kits - Summer of '69, So Cal ;  Patterned paper: Heyday Crush ; Washi tape, label sticker: My Mind's Eye ; mist - Mister Huey's in Pretty Pink, Taxi, Sunshine, Applejack, Bonny Blue ; Wood Veneer People, Hearts and Arrows, Cameras, Birds ; Other: Silhouette Cameo, binder clip, sequins, machine stitching

I loved the speech bubbles in Sasha's beautiful layout and I knew right away that I would keep them as major elements in my take. Instead of the journaling they are displaying my title. First I created a mask with my Cameo and then misted the bubbles in different colors to support my title. I used the same mists to color the wood veneers. The words of the title were also cut by the Cameo and then stitched into the bubbles. For the layering behind the picture I included some ideas from the Pop off the Page class. Thank you Studio Calico for all the inspiration and the chance to work on this great sketch. 

How cool are Tanja's misted speech bubbles? I love the idea of using mist to interpret an element from a sketch, and she's added so much color and fun to her layout this way. If you want to see more of Tanja's work, you can visit her SC gallery or her blog. Thanks for sharing your work with us, Tanja!

Now it's YOUR turn to show us how you'll use the sketch. Whether it's a layout , a card or something else, link us up to your project by September 17th for a chance to win a $5 gift card to the Studio Calico shop.

Sunday Sketch

Hey everyone! This week's sketch is based on this gorgeous layout from Jen's Boardwalk gallery.

 

And here's my take on the sketch
Supplies: Boardwalk kit; More White Add On; Chipboard butterflies, Kraft ticket - Maya Road; Rhinestones, Yellow brad - My Mind's Eye; Stitched blooms - SassaFrass Lass; Alphas - Jillibean Soup; Paper Clip- Tim Holtz; Needle and thread.

I was inspired by a couple of things.
Her title. I was reminded of this favorite photo of mine. I scrapped this particular photo before, but already given the layout to my sister and I wanted one for my album.
The two circles on the sketch - of course mine multiplied to 9 circles seeing that I have a love affair with circles right now.
The color yellow - I took the color from that strip on the lower left hand side of her layout and used it repeatedly on my layout.

So you see, despite being inspired by Jen's layout, mine turned out different. More me, if I may say so. I hope you'll play along! Post your layout by Monday, August 30 for your chance to win a Studio Calico giftcard!