Studio Calico

seeing stars | Becky Novacek, Jenn Picard & Suzy Plantamura

From Becky Novacek :

The moment I saw the gold glitter stars I was in love. I've been so into gold lately. Love the mix of pink and gold too...so I am really fond of the Atlantic collection. 

I made a little random string of stars which I stitched over and between. It's subtle, but I like the effect.

I also used the Mister Huey's Gold and the transparent watercolor papers to fill in the month the photos were taken. 

As tempting as it is to hoard these gorgeous glitter stars, be sure to use them! 

supplies: Gold Stars - grey tags, pattern papers - Roundabout Scrapbook Kit, Outer Banks Add-on Kit, New Haven, Slide Frames- Navy Pier, Ink - Staz-On Black Ink Pad, Mister Huey's Gold, Transparent Watercolor Paper

From Jenn Picard :

The Atlantic star stickers are a great way to add a quick accent to any to any or project or perfect for making a fun focal point. For my card I combined them with some pattern paper, thickers, stamps, and of course mists.

Stars are such a classic shape and I love the colours that are offered on this sheet but for my card I decide to jazz them up a bit by adding some Mister Huey’s Mists to alter the colours a little and add some sparkle. I cut a section off of the sheet then misted the Shell and Shine Mists all over this piece being careful not to get them too wet. I then blotted up the excess with a paper towel and dried the stickers with my heat tool.

Here you can see how shimmery they are up close.

(Supplies- Stickers: Atlantic Star Stickers Stamps: Navy Pier June Add On, Paper: Atlantic South Hampton, Thickers: Atlantic Sunrise, Mists: Mister Huey’s Shell, Navy and Calico Shine, Staples: Tiny Attacher , Other: Twine: Lawn Fawn, Metallic Dots: Silver Metallic Decor (Hero Arts), Card stock: Stampin’ Up!)

From Suzy Plantamura :

My two favorite design elements to add to my project life spreads are stars and arrows. They add the perfect finishing touch and draw the eye to the photos. I used the star stickers and chipboard stickers from the Atlantic Collection to bring all my project life card inserts together making it a cohesive spread. 

I made my weekly title card using stamps from the May kits and then added different elements on top including some of the star stickers. I then added the gold chipboard stars to each photo and card insert as well. The star and anchor designs work nicely with my beach pictures that are part of this week. 

I used a piece of patterned paper from the Atlantic 6x6 paper pad that has playful circles with words on them as an insert for a 4x6 slot (cut down to fit). I then covered some of the circles with vellum circles from the die cut set and added stars on top.

I like having a theme for the embellishments I use on each of my spreads to tie it all together. The star stickers added just the perfect touch to finish off my week!

(supplies: patterned paper - Atlantic 6x6 paper pad; stickers - Atlantic star stickers, Atlantic glittered star stickers , Atlantic cork arrow and chevron stickers ; sequins: Atlantic variety sequin pack ; chipboard letters: Atlantic Rockabye thickers; Atlantic Sunrise thickers; die-cuts: Atlantic vellum die-cut shapes; project life cards: Planetarium project life kit; stamps: Planetarium project life kit; brads: Atlantic epoxy brads ; staples: Tiny Attacher ; corner rounding punch: Corner Chomper ; other: digital printable files)

Now that you've seen how our team is using stars, we'd love to see YOUR star studded projects! Link us up in the comments.

NSD at SC | 2013 | card team challenge 1

It's time to break out the masks! Whether you reach for a premade mask or cut your own, we want you to think outside the box while using it. That means NO MIST. What will you use instead? We can't wait to see!

Jenn Picard | I love having fun with the Studio Calico masks and Mr. Huey’s Mists so I knew this would be a great challenge for me to find a different way to use one of my favourite masks. I started with a plain piece of white card, my V-Pattern Mask, some ink and a brayer. I laid the mask down on the paper and used a little bit of repositionable tape to hold it in place, then inked up my brayer really well and rolled it over the mask. I did this several times and then I removed the masked and lightly brayered a few more times over the paper to add some soft colour and contrast. Once I had my background completed I added some fun elements and stamps from the May Project Life add on Kit – Halley’s Comet.

Natalia Bun | I used Studio Calico mask to make the 3 cards on this spread. Instead of spraying mist, I used watercolour and brushed it on top of the mask. Don't use too much water so the shapes of the mask will come out nicely. Make sure you hold the mask firmly to the paper so the watercolour doesn't seep below the mask.

Becky Novacek | I mixed a custom gray color with acrylic paints that have a bit of shimmer. The outcome was imperfect, but I thought it worked well with the sort of vintage papers. Love that I had the opportunity to have coffee with two friends and fellow Studio Calico design teamers! 

Suzy Plantamura | I attached the mask to a piece of white cardstock. I outlined it with a fine point black tipped marker. I removed the mask and applied a second outline so it looks more “doodled” and didn’t have to be perfect (this covers any mistakes you made when tracing the mask). I then colored it in with several shades of blue markers using Copics. I started with the lightest color on the top and moved to darker shades as I moved down the chevron shapes blending the colors as I went. I applied a shadow using a gray marker. I cut around the edges of the shape on the right side so I could slide my photo under it. To add to the look of the doodled design colored in with markers, I also added a doodled, colored heart on the top right of the layout. I cut it out of white paper and used the same techniques of outlining and coloring. I only attached it on the top and bottom with a tiny attacher so the sides had dimension.

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!

wholesale spotlight

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

Geralyn Sy - Misibis Handbook

Nicole Harper - #Happy

Dawn McVey - Thanks

Natalia Bun - it is what it is

Becky Novacek - love you sweet boy

make it work

The Basic Grey Frames included in the April Scrapbook Kit have so many possible uses! Lots of different shapes with varied sized openings to use for bits of pattern paper, photos, journaling or titlework. I chose to use the round viewfinder style frame as an accent tucked under my layered photo.

I simply cut scraps of some of the pattern papers included in the main kit, as well as a few from the add-ons Front Porch Blend and Daily Grind. Couldn't be more simple! I also used one of the negative strip frames tucked under the top of the layered photo. For this one I used some of the lovely wide chevron washi tape from the Main Kit mounted on white cardstock. I really like the extra bit of detail and unique texture and depth these frames add. 

Hope you enjoy using these frames in unique ways! Here are some more ways the Creative Team used these frames - each one is linked so you can check out the whole project.

Gillian Nelson : 

Robyn Werlich : 

Kelly Noel :

Kinsey Wilson : 

We can't wait to see how you use these frames once the Spencer's Scrapbook kit finds it's way to your house!

-Becky Novacek

Sunday Sketch

This week we are once again offering you TWO sketches...one for cards and one for layouts!! The card sketch is from Jennifer Picard's Spencer's gallery:



And the layout sketch is from Becky Novacek's Spencer's gallery:

We invited member Jennifer (starxlr8) to choose one of these to use as a starting point this week, and she was drawn to the layout sketch!! Check out the fun details on her layout...

Supplies: Front Row Card Kit, February Grab Bag (BasicGrey tape stickers, transparent alphabet, Yearbook pocket), Kraft Woodgrain cardstock, Sundrifter Thickers, Studio Calico grid cards, My Mind's Eye Sweetest Thing word stickers, Crate Paper border sticker, Stamp from Block Party Project Life Kit, Brilliance galaxy gold ink, Hero Arts black dye ink.

Here, Jennifer shares her thoughts on using this sketch:

I began knowing I wanted to tell the story of my daughter Emily's first steps and her journey as a beginning walker. I had several photos to choose from, but decided on two to best fit on an 8.5x11 canvas. I often crop my photos square with a white border, but left them Polaroid-style to elongate their space on the page. With just 6x6 papers in front of me, I first wanted to tackle the banner across the top in a clever way. Two uneven strips layered with a transparent tape sticker and a border sticker allowed me to re-create that look. Next, I knew I wanted to use a journaling card in the stitched pocket. I added the journaling and embellished this first (using my go-to Tiny Attacher), before adding the photos, paper layers and titles. I don't do a lot of embellishment on my pages and like to add small bits and stamped images as finishing touches.

We love the Polaroid style photos, the kraft woodgrain cardstock as a base and the pocket to hold her journaling. Thanks for joining us this week, Jennifer! You can see more inspiration from her in her SC Gallery, and on her blog.Jennifer is also active in the Twitter community: @jenniferswilson

How will YOU use this sketch? Whether it's a layout, a card or something else, link us up to your project by April 8th 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)

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

Today we are finding inspiration for paper crafting from a quilting perspective. Quilting is such a beautiful art form, why not use some of the techniques like piecing, and the shapes to create works of art with paper? You thought paper piecing was out, didn't you? Danielle takes it to the next level by piecing butterflies on her beautiful card. She added stitching which is also a borrowed technique, that we all seem to be embracing. Her card was created with supplies from the Front Row Card Kit. 

Becky's layout featuring supplies from the Front Row Scrapbook Kit, as well as the Matinee and Junior Mints Add-ons, focuses on a triangular pattern that is reminiscent of quilting patterns. A hand-cut title is also inspired by the homespun look of quilted pieces. Added machine stitching finishes the quilt vibe. 

We hope you find inspiration from our projects, as well as the wonderful quilts that you see. Create a project for this challenge, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by February 25th the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

darling dear

With our CHA releases coming to the shop soon, we wanted to share a bit more Darling Dear inspiration from our Creative Team.


patterned paper - Darling Dear Wayne, Hepburn vellum, 6x6 paper pad ; chipboard - Darling Dear Printed Chipboard Speech Bubbles  ; veneer - Darling Dear Triangles and Diamonds wood veneer ; gems - Darling Dear Opaque Brights ; alpha - Darling Dear Navy 6x7 alpha stickers ; stamp - Calico V.3 roller date stamp ; ink - Versafine Onyx Black

(Supplies - Patterned Papers : Darling Dear - Sinatra & Gable ; Stickers : Hearts & Arrows, Vellum Shapes ; Tiny Alpha - Charcoal : Tiny attacher)

(supplies : darling dear badges, darling dear crawford, darling dear hepburn, darling dear garland)

patterned paper - Darling Dear Crawford, Sinatra, Flynn, Taylor; veneer - Darling Dear Wood Veneer Alphabet; gems - Darling Dear Opaque Gems - White

(Supplies - Patterned Papers : Darling Dear - Wayne, Gable ; Tiny Alpha - Charcoal ; Stickers - Hearts & Arrows ; Chipboard - Hearts ; Gems - Greys & Whites )

weekly challenge

We fell in love with this page from Becky Novacek - she did a great job making the sophisticated color scheme of Darling Dear fit with her adorable photo of her grandson. Our favorite part of the page was the line of chipboard speech bubbles - how fun is that detail?

(supplies - Darling Dear chipboard speech bubbles, badges, Monroe patterned paper and wood veneer letters)

For this week's challenge, we want you to create a line of embellishments on your next project. It could be chipboard shapes, stickers, sequins or buttons - just make sure to line them up!

Create a project, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by December 31st in the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

 

a week of photo prompts

Hi Everyone! It's Becky here today with a week of photo prompts to hopefully inspire you to take photos that you may not normally take. Or maybe you haven't felt like picking up your camera lately? I hope this will "prompt" you to take photos! I am so NOT funny!

Here we go:

#1 Take a photo of something inanimate that has meaning to you regarding the holidays.

#2 Take a photo that includes someone's hands. 

#3 Take an everyday photo of something or someone messy. We don't always have to wait until our little ones are perfectly dressed, with hair combed and clean faces, to snap a photo. I'm bad about this and need to relax!

#4 Take a photo of someone who is unaware. I like to take photos of my loved ones when they're involved in something that they love to do. Addie loves to water my flowers when she's at my house, so it's become our little thing. I try to always document it since she's not here all that often.

#5 Take a photo of someone who is not happy. Maybe they're just tired (like Grey in my photo) or bored. We don't always have to take the smiley shots!

#6 Keep your eyes open for a "natural" frame. Could be a window or doorframe. But watch for even more creative ideas.

#7 Use the sun in a photo. It takes a little practice, but it sure is fun when you capture that ball of fire on an image. 

I hope this provides some ideas for creative photos for you! We would love to see the images you capture using the prompts. Link them in your comments or the gallery, or tag us on instagram!