Studio Calico

bookmark card tutorial with julie campbell

I don’t know about you, but I love giving handmade gifts to my friends & family.  It doesn’t have to be anything big, just a little something to let them know I care.  I feel the same way about handmade cards.  So why not combine the two and make something they can use all year long?

Do you know someone who loves to read?  In this video, I’ll show you how to create a removable bookmark that also doubles as a main design element on a card.

 

supplies - patterned paper, cardstock, stamps, vellum stickers: Neverland Card Kit; rub-ons: Neverland Scrapbook Kit; tools: Silhouette Cameo, Corner Chomper; ink: Onyx Black VersaFine ink pad, Mister Huey’s Opaque White mist; digital: Neverland Folding Project Life Cards cut design; other: magnets

 -Julie Campbell

studio calico digital templates

Hello, it's Catherine here. I'm thrilled to be designing the new Digital Layout Templates in the Digital Shop. We've kicked things off this month with designs to coordinate with the Neverland kits. Use them for your Project Life albums, Handbooks or to kick start a layout.

I like to think of templates as cheatsheets. Even if you're a seasoned Photoshop user, they save time on design guesswork and pesky things like alignment. If you're new to digital scrapbooking, this makes executing a layout easy while you're learning the ropes.

If you're completely new to the whole thing, here's the scoop! The templates are layered PSD files, which means they are only editable in Photoshop Elements or Photoshop. (Tip: You can download a free 30-day trial of Photoshop Elements from Adobe here.) The templates are all set up for you to easily pop your photos into the boxes provided. I have a video tutorial that explains the simple process. Watch it on my blog Design Editor here.

I'm a big fan of mixing digital templates with papercrafting products, so I thought I'd share an example. (You can also check out an example by Celine Navarro her March gallery. Very cool!) 

(supplies: Template - Studio Calico Neverland Layered Templates 5 Sizes; patterned paper - Studio Calico Sundrifter Meadowland, Sunny Day; Studio Calico Here & There San Diego, Chattanooga; Studio Calico Snippets Printed Chipboard Stars; Studio Calico Here & There Die Cut Shapes)

For this layout, I used the 8.5x11 template from the variety pack of Neverland designs. 

I got started in Photoshop, adding my photos to the template and changing the Hello text box from green to black. Our templates allow you to change colors, move around the boxes, and add your own type. 

After I printed out the template, I started building onto it with patterned paper, design elements, and some cross stitching sprinkled around. I gave the edges of my patterned paper a slight bend to give the page more dimension.

Here's an overview of the templates now available in the shop:

Neverland Templates in Five Sizes: This variety pack of square grid designs are just screaming for your Instagram photos!  We have a mix of sizes for all your project needs: 12x12, 8.5x11, 6x8 (in two designs!), 4x6, and 3x4. Check out the shop listing here.

Neverland Circle Frames: This template set includes a 3x4 and 4x6 card design with a spot to mask an image within a circle. Remember that you can change that background color to anything you like. Check out the shop listing here.

 We have some fun ideas for future template designs, so stay tuned!
- Catherine Davis

mini book tutorial with anna-maria wolniak

Hi everybody - it's Anna-Maria here. In my February gallery you had an opportunity to find a special, really tiny mini-album made with Project Life cards. Because I received some lovely comments and a lot of questions about how I made it, I decided to make another for my Neverland gallery and prepare a simple tutorial.

So let's get started. We will need some cards from the 'Neverland' PL kit, some other goodies from this month's kits and add-ons, Studio Calico stickers and die-cuts from the latest collections, a few pictures (the longer edge is 10cm long (approx. 4in); a corner rounded, white cardstock and a needle with a thread.

First step is to choose your photos and PL cards and cut a few rectangles from white cardstock. (8x4cm - or approx 3x1.5in will be enough).

Next we have to decide how to arrange the pages and put them all together. The construction is: first photo (the back side) + piece of white cardstock + the second photo and on the other side (as a second page) a PL card.

Now we have to stick these layers together like I show you on the next picture. You have to leave little space (about 2mm) in the middle - because we will fill our album using embellishments or other things and we will need this 'free' area.

On the back of this PL card we can stick another PL card or the third photo. Nect, we will have to repeat the same steps with the second part of the album. Remember you can also stick two PL cards together and then glue two photos photos. It depends on the look you want. I decided to leave two PL cards for the inner sides of the cover.

Now - the cover. I choose a special, bigger PL card to create the cover. We have to fold it, like I show in the picture.

In the next step we will put the album toghetertogether using a needle with a thread. We just sew the cover with the pages. Start from the cover...

... then in the middle of first part of the mini...

... next to the second part of the album, and back to the cover. You can repeat these sewing steps once again if you are not sure is it enough to keep the cards together.

When you come back to the cover, just tie a little knot. You can leave the rest of thread or you can cut it, or you can cover the sewing using a piece of masking or washi tape.

When all of our pages are together we can start filling all the insert cards using stickers, die-cuts, wood veneers, stamps and other lovely things.

This is my tiny PL album, below you can find a list of all the supplies I used here.

(Supplies: 'Neverland' Project Life kit, stamp set from 'Lost Boys' March add-on, stamp set from 'Hook' March add-on and stamps set from the Main 'Neverland' Scrapbook Kit. I also added: Chevron Wood Veneer, Punctuation Wood Veneer and 12x12 Sticker Sheet from Snippets collection and Sundrifter Die Cut Shapes, Mister Huey's mists)

I hope you find this tutorial as a good idea to use your Project Life cards. You can create a sweet album for your kid, lovely present for a friend (as I did) or you can put this mini into a PL spread if you want. For example if you want to include more photos - I think it can be a good idea for you, PL lovers :)

-Anna-Maria Wolniak

 

video tutorial - digi brushes with shanna

I hope you will join me for a tutorial showing you how I created my Neverland layout using the digital stamp brushes from Studio Calico. 

 

tips and tricks with wilna

For this month's tips and tricks, Wilna Furstenberg is sharing an amazing technique using the exclusive mask in our Neverland Scrapbook kit in two ways. 

 

Thank you for sharing such an inspiring video, Wilna!

PL + Neverland Card Kit

I’m not much of a cardmaker, but I’ve been getting the Studio Calico Card kits since they were first released. Why? I love patterned paper, and the smaller scale of the patterns in the 6x6in pad that comes with the kit is a great fit for the pockets in my Project Life album. I’ve also found that card friendly embellishments work really well to add interest to journaling cards without bulking them up too much for the pockets in the page protectors. I’m excited to have a chance to share a few tips to help you get the most out of using a Card Kit in your Project Life spreads.  Click here to download a PDF tutorial with tips and tricks on using the Neverland Card Kit for Project Life.

1. The Neverland Card kit comes with an exclusive mask and Mini Mister Huey – mist is a GREAT way to add interest to a card without adding extra dimension. I misted over patterned paper, but you can also use plain cardstock. I embellished the misted design with a punched star and some enamel dots from the Neverland Card kit. I used the finished card next to a photo, but this would also be a fun way to make a filler card for an empty pocket or a date/title card for your week

2. The only item that I added to the Neverland Card kit for this spread was the coordinating printable labels from the shop. Labels are one of my Project Life staples & these printables are a great way to get a perfect color match. I find that they’re an inexpensive way to stretch the contents of a kit just a little further. You could also consider adding the coordinating printable journaling cards and accents, or the More Grid Cards available in the shop.

3. To turn the cardstock that comes with the Neverland Card Kit into a custom card, I machine stitched lines to hold my journaling. You could duplicate this look with handstitching, or even by drawing lines with a marker. I also added a vellum border sticker across the top of the card for a bit of color.

4. Here’s a fun way to stretch the patterned paper from your Card Kit a little further – if you use a punched accent, include both the positive and the negative from the design on the page.  I punched an arrow to draw attention to a detail on a 4x6in photo, and then used the negative of the punch on my date card for the week.

5. One of my favorite ways to use paper scraps in Project Life is to handcut banners. You can make them from tiny leftover bits of paper, and they add a punch of color and interest with almost no bulk.

6. To maximize the paper from the 6x6in pad, I like to start by trimming it into two pieces – 4x6in and 2x6in. I then use the 4x6in pieces to fill the larger pockets, or trim it down into two 3x4in cards, depending on what photos I have for the week. I use the 2x6in strip for border strips and punched and handcut accents – OR you can stack two of them and create another 4x6in or 3x4 in card. I find that taking the time to trim the paper to these dimensions in advance saves me the mistake of cutting an accent that just a little *too* big and being left with paper that’s too small to fit the pockets in my page protectors.

(supplies : Neverland Card Kit, Neverland Printable Labels, Tiny Attacher, StazOn black ink)

I hope I’ve inspired you to look at the Studio Calico Card Kits in a new way. Whether you’re a current Project Life subscriber or one of our patient PL waitlisters, the Card Kits are a great way to fill in your Project Life album!

tutorial - origami stars

We fell in love with this layout by Creative Team Member Gillian Nelson and just had to know how she made those awesome dimensional stars. Lucky for us (and you!) she's sharing how she made them in a video tutorial.


Supplies used:  yellow grid ("Crush) & orange numbers ("Pop") patterned papers from the Studio Calico Heyday line; orange polka dot paper ("Textbook") from the Studio Calico Yearbook line; wood veneer heart & arrows from Studio Calico Classic Calico line; wood veneer alphabet from Studio Calico Darling Dear
 

If you give this technique a try, link us up - we'd love to see what you make! Happy star folding!

tutorial

Why not try a new technique this weekend? Amy Tan is sharing how she did some of the fun techniqes on her pages from her Front Row gallery.

 

from start to finish with gillian nelson

Hi, gang!  Today I’m going to take you through my process of creating my “Make You a Deal” layout from the Block Party gallery.  Warts and all.  :) Click here to download this start to finish tutorial as a printable PDF.

First, I gathered up supplies from the Block Party Kit and add-ons that I thought I’d like to use.  Aren’t they pretty?

I chose the Block Party Numbers Cut Design from the SC Digital Shop, and resized the file to 7.475 inches wide and 9.9 inches tall.  I then cut the design from white cardstock.  I chose the yellow diagonal stripe and the notebook-lined patterned papers as the backgrounds for my 2-page layout, and trimmed them each down to 8.5x11 inches.  I decided to use the numbers diecut over the diagonal stripe to help tone down the stripe pattern and to balance the white from the opposite page.

I decided to add a little dimension to the diecut, so I used number stickers from the Jenni Bowlin alpha sheet in the Woodbrooke Road add-on as masks.  I sprayed Mister Huey Calico Shine and gave the die cut an even coat.  Calico Shine gives a subtle, but very pretty effect and just a little bit of depth.  (My son would like it on the record that he makes an excellent and cooperative hand model.  So noted.  Thank you, son.)

While waiting for the mist to dry, I cut strips of varying widths from the cloud and chevron patterned papers, plus a strip of the yellow diagonal stripe.  I then inked the edges of the strips of paper and my photo.  I always ink the edges.  It can’t be helped.   Here’s where I need to confess that while inking the edges, i dropped my StazOn pad onto the photo and the notebook background paper.  Awesome.  And while I’m confessing, I should also admit that I may have used an expletive or two when this happened.  There.  I feel much better getting that off my chest.  What do they say?  Mistakes are merely an opportunity for creativity?  Something like that.  So, my next step was to reprint my photo (it couldn’t be saved), and I decided to cover the ink on the background paper with the Thickers from the main Block Party kit.  Problem solved.  I put the Thickers on a scrap of wax paper, coated them with VersaMark, and embossed them with some Powder Zing (such a pretty blue).

Once the mist dried, I removed the number stickers from the numbers die cut, and adhered the diecut to the striped paper.  Then I stuck down the strips of paper to each side of the layout, trimmed the ends that hung over the edges, adhered my photo, and penciled in my journaling.  (Note the remnants of black ink pad on the right side, there.  Do you blame me for the expletive?  Really?)

Next, I started placing the chipboard hearts and the wood veneer arrows from the Wildberry Court add-on across the strips of patterned paper on the right side of the page and also to the left of the photo.  I stamped the index tag with the “You” stamp, also from the Wildberry Court add-on.  I added the OA badge from the Pollard Avenue add-on, as well as some of the delicious silver washi tape.  De-Li-Cious.  I stuck down the chipboard letters over the aforementioned ink spots.  And no expletives this time, because I actually liked it better this way.  See?  It all works out in the end.

I wrote over the journaling in ink, erased the pencil lines, added a title using the itty bitty pink BG letter stickers from the Wildberry Court add-on, threw some of the little silver stars on there, and finished off with some pops of red (OA index tag, enamel dots and BG number stickers).

Voila.  Done.  :)

envelope tutorial

 

Join Amber Kemp Gerstel as she shows you how to make custom envelopes - perfect for your cards, or to use on layouts or Project Life spreads to hold extra journaling or keepsakes!

(supplies - Studio Calico Block Party Card kit)