Studio Calico

weekly challenge | Sasha Farina

Sasha and Dani are here with a scrap recipe challenge! This week, we want you to use these 5 elements on your next project :

• vellum
• yellow (not all yellow.. just a little bit of yellow is fine -as long as we can see it!)
• frame (slide frame, polaroid frame, cameo cut frame - anything!)
• stars
• at least 2 tags

I loved Sasha's fun challenge and realized it would be fun to try it with the Valley High card kit from this month! This kit is a personal favorite of mine and will be revealed on the 27th - I can't wait! You can check out more sneak peeks from the kit here - you won't want to miss this one!

I used the patterned papers and the stamps in the kit. First, I created the card base, then I punched a bunch of vellum stars and glued them to the white cardstock background with Helmar's wet glue, which dries clear. It's a subtle look, but I love it! I cut some frames out of the patterned paper in the kit with some metal dies from my stash. The "hello" stamp is a speech bubble that I stamped and trimmed down. Then to create two "tags", I first used my printer to type out "sweet" and friend" onto patterned paper, stamped over the top with the the sunburst, and punched them out. To create hanging tags, simply punch two of the same shapes and glue them back to back with a piece of string or twine in between.

(Supplies : Valley High card kit, vellum, twine, star chipboard - Studio Calico, white cardstock, star punch - Fiskars,  dies - Papertrey Ink, scalloped circle punch - Martha Stewart, ink - Papertrey Ink)

Here is Sasha's take on the page - I love how she sprinkled the stars down her page! She used vellum as the background of her page, and stacked tags to make a fun layered photo frame.

(supplies - patterned paper : Studio Calico Atlantic Nantucket, South Hampton & Atlantic Vellum, SC Grid Paper ; Journal Cards : SC Atlantic ; Cork Circle Sticker : SC Atlantic; Cork Chevron : SC Atlantic; Vellum Die Cuts : SC Atlantic; Fabric Bow : SC Atlantic; Geotag Brad : SC Snippets; Staples : Tiny Attacher; Alphabets : SC Snippets Aqua Thickers, SC Front Row Project Life kit; Star die cuts, star sequins and buttons : SC Yearbook; other : buttons, enamel dots, kraft tag) 

Now it's your turn to take on this challenge!! Use our scrap recipe to create a new project, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by July 1st in the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

Roundabout Add-On Spotlight

When you take the ROUNDABOUT way, you're bound to find adventure. Our Creative Team is here to whisk you away to three destinations by sharing some inspiration with our still available add-on kits for June!

Kick back on the beach of the OUTER BANKS. This soft mix of pinks and aquas from Anna Griffin, My Mind's Eye and Basic Grey brings to mind a gorgeous sunrise over the ocean.

Anna-Maria Wolniak - this is what summer looks like :

Dana Fleckenstein - Hello :
Sasha Farina - A Day Well Spent :

Do a little sightseeing at CUMBERLAND GAP. This add-on mixed bold and bright journaling cards from Echo Park, Simple Stories and Studio Calico with cameras from Maya Road and a filmstrip alphabet from Basic Grey.

Nicole Reaves - PL week 17 :

Mary Ann Perry - Camp Calico :

Spend an afternoon on the veranda with SAVANNAH SHORE. This elegant add-on conjures up images of days gone by with products from Anna Griffin, Freckled Fawn, and an exclusive copper mist from Studio Calico.

April Foster - Happy :

Stephanie Washburn - Hello :

Becky Novacek - I Love Spring :

you've got mail | Dawn McVey

Hi there!  Dawn McVey here with another installment of You've Got Mail here at Studio Calico, where we show you a card and coordinating envelope!  You may have seen this card in my Roundabout gallery.....I had so much fun making this card because of all those gorgeous green and aqua patterned papers in the kit!  

 

Any time there are a lot of patterned papers I'd like to showcase, I tend to use a layout similar to this one, where I can incorporate several strips of papers one way or another.

I always vary the widths of the strips to keep things balanced and interesting.  (And of course, my favorite patterns are always the widest strips!)

I also kept the large green space open at the top, so that it would really allow my die-cut sentiment to shine!  By using a lighter colored paper for the die-cut, it really pops on the darker green background!

(supplies - Roundabout Card Kit ; Outer Banks Add-on Kit ; Coconut Grove Add-on Kit ; Wine Bottle Tag Die : Papertrey Ink)

I kept a few of those same principles in mind when I decorated the outside of my envelope.  Again, a large green space to provides a lot of color impact and will serve as the perfect place to address the envelope.  But I also got some pattern worked in, by again using small strips.  I used a wine bottle tag die to cut out the green paper, and then trimmed the sides down a bit to fit the envelope a little better.  Such a simple way to dress up the outside of an envelope, and it perfectly coordinates with the card at the same time.  

If you plan to put an envelope like this in the mail, be sure to really secure all of the papers with plenty of adhesive.  You don't want anything coming off in the mail!

Hope you've enjoyed this installment of You've Got Mail! Have a great day, Friends!

- Dawn McVey

 

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.

weekly challenge | Susan Weinroth & Ashley Cannon Newell

Take out your punches, dies, and cut files because this week is all about using those negative cuts on your projects. You can get so much more out of your punched or cut shapes by using the negative shapes as well, so don't throw those away. Even better - how about you purposefully cut shapes just to use those negative designs. Susan and Ashley have teamed up to take on this challenge.

From Ashley :  I wanted to create a focal backdrop on my card that used a negative shaped images, so I picked my current favorite punch - the mini anchor and punched a few patterned paper strips. I layered the punched paper over contrasting patterned paper. To complete the design, I added the vellum die cut shape and some hemp cord as a border for the patterned paper lines.

Tip: To punch an even anchor design, the first punched image should rest against the punch as you punch the next anchor. Also, save those punched anchor shapes for your next project!

(supplies - patterned paper : Studio Calico Atlantic Montauk, Portsmouth, Seabrook, Nantucket, South Hampton; cardstock : Studio Calico white; punch : Studio Calico mini anchor punch ; vellum : Studio Calico Atlantic Vellum Die Cut Shapes; hemp cord : Coconut Grove kit)

From Susan : I used the negative of my arrow cut as a foundation for my title.  I added a circle cut around the arrow, and was left with the arrow cut into the circle.  I backed it first with Vellum and then with lime green cardstock (which muted the color).  Then I machine stitched around the edge to finish off the look, before adding title stickers.

(supplies - patterned paper : Studio Calico Atlantic Atlantic City, Atlantic Montauk, Atlantic Plymouth, Atlantic Vellum; embellishments: Atlantic Vellum Die Cut Shapes; Staples: Tiny Attacher ; other : sequins)

Let's see how you use those negative shapes! Make a project for this challenge, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by June 17th in the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

from layout to card | Joy Taylor

Hi there, Joy here sharing a card inspired by a layout...

I chose to search through this months kits layouts, boy it was hard to narrow down, the creative layout team has some awesome creations this month and so it took me quite some time to narrow it down, but there was one that I seem to keep coming back to and that was this one you see below of Sasha's..


My eye was really caught on how she collaged all those fun embellishments to the centre of her project and then the addition of the scatters of hearts..



The starting point to creating my card was what I saw on Sasha's layout, that being the Slide Frames that she had chosen to use as a central focus point, so I decided a fun Journal Card as my focus point, from there I built up my embellishments like Sasha had on her layout.

By adding the layers of Cork Stickers, Vellum Die Cuts, Anchor Die Cut from Patterned Paper and Gold Star Stickers and finishing the card by adding Thickers to create a sentiment.

Here are a couple of close up photos of my card.

(supplies - Studio Calico Atlantic 6 x 6 Paper Pad, Vellum Die Cut Shapes, Glittered Star Stickers, Rockabye Thickers, Cork Arrow and Chevron Stickers, Cork Circle Stickers

Love that choosing inspiration from a layout can still be maintained on a smaller scale to a card, I hope you will all try this out.

Have a great day! - Joy Taylor

weekly challenge | Gayatri Murali & Gillian Nelson

This week, Gayatri and Gillian are teaming up to challenge you to break out your watercolors and use them in your paper crafting!

From Gillian Nelson : While I've always considered myself a "crafty" person, I am not confident whatsoever with the "artsy" stuff.  Drawing, painting...stuff like that.  I'm so much more comfortable with paper and scissors than I am with paper and paintbrushes.  But I looooove the look of watercolors and how it's been making such a beautiful splash in the world of scrapbooking.  I wanted to experiment with using water colors on a layout, but I wasn't willing to ruin an entire sheet of paper by painting directly on the background.  The compromise I came up with was to paint smaller portions of paper that I would then add to my layout afterwards.  I started by cutting watercolor paper into strips that were 1.75 inches wide, and then hand cut triangles from the strips.  I painted each individual triangle with a wash of color (most of them pink, with a few yellow triangles thrown in for visual interest).  Once the paint dried, I outlined each triangle with a thin black line and also inked the edges.  Then I adhered the triangles onto another block of watercolor paper, so that the painted color could really pop against more white.  I used adhesive foam under the yellow triangles for more...say it with me...visual interest.

Then I layered the remaining patterned papers, found places to live for the assorted embellishments, and stuck the photo up there at the top.  Done!  

(Supplies -- patterned papers, acetate diecuts: Roundabout Scrapbook Kit; gold washi tape, "enjoy" banner sticker, gold triangle sequins: Coconut Grove Add-On Kit; letter stickers: Outer Banks Add-On Kit; Studio Calico Hello Today Banner; pen: Precision Pen 0.3-Black; ink: StazOn Ink Pad-Jet Black; foam adhesive: This to That Foam Tab Squares; glue: Martha Stewart Glue Pen; other: sequins, staples)

The watercolors were truly a lot of fun, and while I'm not brave enough yet to paint myself a background like some of the gals on our SC team are so adept at doing, I'm really happy with how my watercolor baby steps turned out.  :)

From Gayatri :  Watercolour background is currently trendy. I love the soft blend of colour using the water colours. They make great background and easy to stamp on it. For my project which is a card, I have decided to use this technique both in the background as free flowing colours as well as in a defined space. 

I have used two water colour techniques on this card. For the background, I have used dry on wet technique. I diluted few drops of each of the neon Mr. Huey on an acrylic block and brushed each colour from the top of the card front using a rounded brush. I let it dry. Then I brushed some water on the pink layer and added few drops of pink neon Mr. Huey and let the colour spread and dry on its own.Then I did the same with the yellow followed by the orange. You can see how the colours have blended and beautifully flowed as well. This adds layer of colours.

While the card front is drying, I masked and stamped the balloons from Coconut Grove June Add-On Card Kit stamp set. There is well defined space in each of the balloons to paint the colours. For this I used wet on wet technique here. For each of the balloon, I first wet the area and while still wet, I added colours from one end to give the gradation of colours. I let it dry on its own. This give beautiful shading to the balloons.

While the balloons are drying, I stamped the large sentiment also from the Coconut Grove June Add-on Card kit stamp set on the bottom of the card front. I then cut of the balloons and adhere them to the card front using foam adhesive. 

The neon colours are intense and bright which is perfect for birthday celebrations.

(Supplies: Mister Huey's Neon My Little Pony, Trapper Keeper & Windbreak, Seafoam and Ocean; Coconut Grove June Add-on Card Kit; Archival Jet Black Ink and Stampers Select White from Papertrey Ink; watercolour brush)

We can't wait to see you give watercolors a try!! Make a project for this challenge, 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.

sunday sketch

This week, we invited SC member Cristina (username CristinaC) to share her take on one of our sketches. We were thrilled when she sent back a project for each - that means we have double the inspiration to share with you!

First up is our layout sketch, based on Amy Tans's "My Little Cutie" page : 

And here's Cristina's take on the sketch - I love the mix of alphabets in her titlework :

I decided to flip the sketch horizontally to have the photo on the left. I let the title take up lots of room, and hid my journaling - the photo is adhered on a card that flips open to reveal the journaling.

Supplies : Planetarium Scrapbook, Card & PL kits and North Star, Orion & Big Dipper add-ons; Tombow mono adhesive; Martha Stewart glue pen; American Crafts cardstock; Prima chalk ink

And here's this week's card sketch, based on Dana Fleckenstein's "Ahoy Matey" card : 

Cristina followed the sketch fairly closely. I love her color scheme : 

As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew I wanted the sentiment to be the most prominent element of my card. I dug out a journaling card from the March Project Life kit that I had been hoarding, and decided to put it to good use. I debated whether to cut the journaling card down or not, since it is quite large compared to the size of the card, but I decided not to - I think this plays well with my desire to have the sentiment be my focal point. To enforce this further, I added the embellishments directly on top of the journaling card. Originally I had not included the two horizontal paper strips on my card, but I found that adding them really grounded the design.

Supplies : Planetarium PL kit - star sequins; Neverland PL kit - journaling card; Planetarium card kit- grid paper; Lyra add-on - sequins, resin flower, Lawn Fawn trimmings, alpha stickers; North Star add-on - star and polka dot papers; Adhesives - Martha Stewart glue pen, Zig 2 way glue, EK success 3D Dots; card base - Core'dinations

Cristina, thank you so much for sharing these gorgeous projects with us! If you'd like to see more of Cristina'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 May 27th in the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

wholesale spotlight

Here's a peek at how our Creative Team has been using our Atlantic and Snippets  lines :

Susan Weinroth - Right Now : 

Anna-Maria Wolniak - Summer Loading : 

Joy Taylor - Me Oh My! : 

weekly challenge | Shanna Noel & Steph Washburn

Hi! For this challenge, we thought it would be fun to create projects featuring the softer, more feminine colors in the Atlantic collection and the Planetarium kits! Check out this gorgeous color combination!

From Steph: When I saw these pretty colors, I knew I wanted to include that pretty vintage lace from the North Star Kit on my card! So soft and pretty! I started by choosing three patterned papers and adhering strips to a thin sheet of printer paper. I cut the Home Sweet Home cut design with my cameo from those papers. I adhered a pretty lace bow to the tag before adhering it to the card front! Then, I printed out a quick "congrats" sentiment and adhered it to the card. A clean and simple, quick card to take along to a housewarming party!

(supplies - patterned paper : Studio Calico Planetarium Card Kit, North Star Kit; vintage lace trim: Studio Calico North Star Kit; digital cut file: Planetarium Home Digital Cut Design; font : KG Eyes Wide Open)

From Shanna: When I first saw the Atlantic collection online I was excited to get it, but when I saw it in person I just feel in love with it! I love all the pinks, yellows and golds intertwined throughout the collection! As I was putting this layout together I wanted to use lots of the papers (which is rare for me!) and thought a layered hex design was in order. I haven't done a layout like this in a long time so it was fun to create a pattern with the papers. Within each hex you have a spot to highlight some of the fun embellishments that come in the Atlantic line. 

(supplies- pattern paper: Studio Calico Atlantic Collection - embellishments; Atlantic Fabric Bows; Atlantic Glitter Stars;  Wood Veneer Hearts - Alphas: Rockabye Thickers Atlantic Collection Tools: MIni Anchor Punch Digital Stamp; Planetarium Digital Stamps ) 

Make a project with our color scheme, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by May 20th in the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

-Steph Washburn and Shanna Noel