studio calico + echo park

We've packed up all of the 35mm orders and most are en route to your doorsteps - if not already there! In anticipation of you opening this gorgeous kit and digging in, we wanted to bring you a little extra inspiration featuring just the main kit. Since 35mm features some gorgeous product by Echo Park Paper, we wanted to see what their design team could do with it! We've got projects from four Echo Park designers - Jennifer Gallacher, Nancy Damiano, Tamara Tripodi & Linda Auclair. These ladies have rocked the kit, and we hope you enjoy their work!

Jennifer Gallacher :

I currently work with Echo Park Paper as their Marketing Coordinator/Managing Editor. In addition I serve as a Garden Girl forwww.twopeasinabucket.com. You may have seen my work as an Assistant and Contributing Editor for a few of Northridge Publishing titles including Cricut Magazine, Scrapbook Trends Magazine, and the Create Idea Book Series. In my 15 year career as a designer, teacher, and editor in the industry I've had the opportunity to work for such companies as Making Memories, Little Yellow Bicycle, Li'l Davis Designs, and Karen Foster Design. I have taught and demonstrated at CHA tradeshows and local scrapbook stores and had many projects published in the leading papercrating magazines. I enjoy both traditional, hybrid, and even digital paper crafting. When I'm not designing, I enjoy reading and watching English Period Piece movies. My husband doesn't quite understand how I can watch a Jane Austen movie five times in a row, but I think it's wonderful!

"I was particularly drawn to the blue, tan, and green contained within this kit. It seems like a soft, muted yet masculine color scheme. I built my layout around the Heidi Swapp book, which I cut open and layered additional diecuts and stickers on top. I then combined the hexagon stamp with the canvas hexagon stickers, which I misted with green ink. I also cut the blue hexagons from the patterned paper and layered them into the pattern as well, using adhesive foam squares to "lift" some of the shapes off my page. I cut the title with my die cut machine and added a secondary date title by misting the Heidi Swapp letters with blue spray mist."

"I used one of the Heidi Swapp booklets which was folded in half to create the card base. I simply cut the back side of the card shape to match the front. Then I layered papers, and die cuts on top to finish the card. I even used the little folded, kraft cardstock that was stapled and holding the ribbon as an element on my card. I created a second one with my own cardstock and stapler."

Nancy Damiano :

Hi there everyone! I'm Nancy Damiano, a native New Jersey girl, married + mom to one 6 y.o. boy named Nico. I've been crafty since forever (rug latch-hook anyone?) and scrapbooking since right around 1996. This paper and photo thing has been the only craft that I've stuck too. I love it - the photos, the stories, the stuff. I'm happy and proud to design for Echo Park, Bella Blvd and Two Peas in a Bucket. Thanks for having me Studio Calico!

This is the very first Studio Calico kit I've ever worked with. Can you believe it? I wasn't sure if I was a kit kind of scrapper, but now I know. I loved having everything matched up, kitted up and shipped out to me. The colors in the 35 mm kit are so pretty and I love how well texture is incorporated into the mix. And the canvas 'hexs' and pretty die cuts - they are the icing on the cupcake.

Tamara Tripodi :

Hi! I’m Tamara, AKA: Happy Life, Crafty Wife! I am so excited to be a part of the Epiphany Crafts design team and share my creations with all of you! I live in Tehachapi, CA with my 3 kiddos, 2 fur beasts, and hubby. I started paper crafting in October 2010 and have been non-stop ever since! Its such a part of who I am now, I can’t ever imagine NOT paper crafting! I sit down to craft pretty much daily! When I am not paper crafting, I am busy being a fun mama! I love throwing little surprise parties for my kids, just random things, like indoor camping night, ‘I love you’ parties, etc. I also enjoy baking and you can bet there is always some sort of freshly made treats around here, trust me, you would want to be my neighbor! Other things I like to do are sew, design hair pretties, shop.. and shop some more, drink coffee and wine, laugh, and just enjoy life!

I had a lot of fun working with the 35mm kit! Working with a kit is pretty new to me, as I like to stay very 'matchy matchy' with using just one or two collections at a time. The colors in this it are just YUMMY! I decided to do two little projects, rather simple, really. My first project is a layout. I've not even done 5 layouts yet, so doing a layout is still a bit of a challenge. I also created a simple photo sleeve for 'snapshots' that matches nicely with the layout. I loved working with the Heidi Swapp folders! Very cool! And as always, I just love washi tape! Thanks for having me join in the fun!

Linda Auclair :

I have always loved pretty paper. Even before I was officially a scrapbooker I kept illustrated journals with photos and clippings. One of my favorite jobs that I have ever had was in the Product Development department of a greeting card company. Working with all those great artists, colors and textures really got my paper crafting hobby started. Still, it took me until I was expecting my youngest child to pick up a copy of Creating Keepsakes and officially become a scrapbooker. I finished my daughter’s first year album before she was even born, and have been happily scrapping ever since. (Aileen just turned 10 this week!) In the past decade, I have had the opportunity to work for a variety of companies, such as Fiskars, Creative Imaginations, Epiphany Crafts, and my current Design Team post at Echo Park Paper, as well as a number of online retailers. I have had my work published in magazines and eZines, and have been guest blogger/designer for a number of manufacturers. I am an active blogger, and love to share my designs along with tips and tricks I have discovered with my readers at http://elendae.wordpress.com/

I have created two projects to share with you. The first is a layout that features a group photo of my three children. My son, Jonathan, is a grad student at UPenn, and his trips home this school year have been few and far between, so this page celebrates my “Photo Op” to get some pictures with all three kids together. I really enjoyed all the hexagon shapes in the kit, and my layout plays them up in all their different forms: in the patterned papers, die cuts, canvas chipboard shapes, and the awesome acrylic stamp! Sharp-eyed readers might spot two of my “trademark” touches on the page. I used the dark brown grid packaging insert from the canvas shapes for my photo mat, and there is a bit of the barcode strip from one of the “This & That” patterned papers peeking out from under the diecuts on my journaling pocket. There is some stitching, some inking, and some misting too.

The second project is a small wooden box from the dollar shop that I dressed up in one of the patterned papers from My Mind’s Eye and created a mini album that fits perfectly inside from one of the Studio Calico patterned paper sheets. The photos are all the things that are making me happy this spring that I have been photographing using my favorite new app: Instagram! I simply saved the photos to my computer’s hard drive and printed them to use in my mini album. Thanks so much for the opportunity to design with the May kit! I *heart* Studio Calico!

Please join me in thanking Jen, Nancy, Tamara and Linda for sharing their work with us here today! You can see more from them on their blogs or over at Echo Park Paper.