Studio Calico

Sunday Sketch

This week, we invited SC member Lea (username Lea Lawson) to share her take on one of our sketches. Her work with cards is always stunningly detailed, and we were happy to have her with us this week!

First up is our layout sketch, based on Jen Jockisch's "The Good Life" page :

This week's card sketch is based on Amber Kemp-Gerstel's 'Hey' card:

Lea opted for the card sketch, but we love her added details!

Supply List: Studio Calico "Atlantic" 6x6 paper pad, Studio Calico "Sundrifter" 6x6 paper pad
Studio Calico "Atlantic" glittered stars, fabric bows, sequins, Studio Calico "Sundrifter" vellum frames, diecuts and 12x12 stickers, Studio Calico wood veneer stars
Studio Calico "Atlantic" digital printables #2
Other- cardstock, gold photo corner/tab, white sequins, sentiment stamp, ink

I typically start with a card sketch as my base, and then add from there. I
am a lover of layers & clusters & eclectic things here & there, so I will
typically stray from the sketch when it comes to embellishing. As you can see
here, my card did start out from the basic design of the sketch & then I took
my own artistic ventures. :)

Lea, thank you so much for sharing your project with us! If you'd like to see more of Lea'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 June 3rd in the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

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

weekly challenge

Hello SC friends!! Kelly and Amber here with a challenge for you today. Of course, we all love being inspired by Pinterest and it's so much fun to see where the same inspiration piece can take two different designers. Amber and I chose these images to be inspired by...

As you can see, there are a ton of ways to be inspired by these images. The bright colors paired with neutrals like kraft or black. The shapes....triangles & diamonds configured any which way. Here's my inspired layout...I loved the diamonds that were shaped into pinwheels/bursts. I used my Silhouette to cut them out in different papers from the Here & There collection and then simply arranged them randomly on my layout. 

Supplies: die cut shapes - Studio Calico Here & There ; stickers - Studio Calico Here & There Circle Sticker Sheet ; patterned paper - Studio Calico Here & There Savannah, Santa Fe, San Diego, Miami and Boston ; thickers - Studio Calico Snippets Aqua Thickers ;stamp - Studio Calico Neverland kit ; button - My Mind's Eye ; paper clip - Pebbles; ink - Hero Arts (Soft Pool & Pool) ; washi - Glitz 

 

Amber made this incredible card inspired by the first two photos in the inspiration images. The muted feathers in the second photo totally reminded her of the Sundrifter patterned paper, so she trimmed a feather and added it as an accent! Woodgrain Thickers finished off the sentiment and stayed true to the organic feeling that she got from these beautiful art pieces!

supplies - patterned paper : Studio Calico Sundrifter Teepee, Snippets Me Oh My, Sundrifter Wildflower ; letter stickers : Here & There Patchwork Thickers

 

Now we'd love to see your take on these images!  Create a project for this challenge, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by March 11th in the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

 

-Kelly Noel & Amber Kemp-Gerstel

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)

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)