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 :

roller stamp tutorial

Howdy! It's Lisa Spangler here today, and I have a quick little video to share some tips and tricks for using the stamp roller that came in this month's card kit add-on, Americano! Love this stamp so much. First I share how to get it inky, then how you can free-style it, and finally how to get a straight edge.

 

Here's a closer look at the card so that you can see it better :

(supplies: stamp roller, stamp, papers, twine, enamel dots: Studio Calico Americano card kit add-on; inks: Hero Arts Navy and Pale Tomato)

Thanks so much! Now what are you waiting for? Go get those stamps rollin'!

Lisa Spangler

weekly challenge

From Gillian : I don't frequently put a lot of shiny or blingy things on my pages.  It's not that I'm not a fan of shiny and blingy things...I just don't often think to do it.  So when I saw that the Studio Calico shop had started carrying the Silhouette Double-Sided Adhesive paper and the WOW! Super Fine Glitter, I thought it would be fun to challenge myself to play a little.  And can I just say?  I'm such a fan.  For this page, I wanted to use the glitter to add some sparkle to my "sun rays" that are warming my critters so nicely.  

I traced the ray designs from the Spencer's Card Kit Digital Stamps using my Silhouette program, enlarged them, and then cut the ray design out of the special adhesive paper.  I adhered the paper to my page by removing one side of the protective layer.  Then once it was stuck down, I removed the other side of protective layer, exposing the adhesive.  Then I just went to town, dumping the WOW! glitter over the exposed areas of adhesive and shaking off the excess.  It worked like a charm and was so easy.  I love how the super-fine glitter adds sparkle without the chunky texture of standard glitter.  And the white glitter was still translucent, so the pretty honeycomb pattern of the background vellum could still show through.  The whole glitter effect may be subtle to see in the main image, but it's more apparent in the detail shot.  And certainly in person, it's crazy sparkly.  I dig it.

Supplies Used: Spencer's Scrapbook Kit, Front Porch Blend Add-On, Daily Grind Add-On, Silhouette Double-Sided Adhesive, WOW! Iridescent Glitter, White, Spencer's Card Kit Digital Stamps, Spencer's Quote Digital Template, Staz-On Ink Pad, Jet Black, Silhouette Cameo Machine, Precision Pen 01, Black

From Joy : If you are like me, I love to make most of my projects shine, I have a healthy yet obessive addiction to bling and like to add it to almost anything I create.  I find that sometimes you have space on your creation that is a space that needs a little something and sometimes the products that you are creating with are just a little big for that area..so that is why reaching for something smaller like sequins as you see on my project helps fill the void and well makes it shine.  Having a little shiny aspect to a project always makes me smile.

Supplies Used : 

Spencer's Project Life Kit, Daily Grind, Onyx Black Versafine Ink Pad, Foam Circle Tabs

Make a project for this challenge, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by April 8th in the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

-Gillian Nelson & Joy Taylor

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

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!

from layout to card

Hey guys, Gayatri here today.  What a great release this month! Love all the inspirations from the design team galleries. Amazing work from talented crafters

Today, I am sharing with you a card I made using a layout from one of our Scrapbook Creative Team Members as a jumping point for your card. I was going through all the layouts and in fact saved most of them on my computer. They all gave me ideas. But this layout by Sasha Farina is just awesome and caught my eye as soon as I saw it. It is Sasha's "do art" layout. Thank you Sasha!

I really love the sketch of this layout and I drew it out for you. Here is the sketch.

I have made the photo and the sentiment panels from the layout into one panel and shifted it to the left side of the sketch. I have not added any embellishments to the sketch because I like simple sketches. This also gives you the freedom to add embellishments where it suits your card. Here is my card using the sketch from the layout.

(Supplies : Woodbrooke Road Add On Kit and Wildberry Court Add On Kit for enamel dot)

I have used Woodrooke Road Add On kit to make my card. I opened the kit and spread it on my table. I wanted a very colorful card. The pockets jumped out to me. So I picked the pink pocket. I choose and cut out papers and embellishments to coordinate the pocket from the WoodBrooke Road add on kit. Since the papers and embellishments are colourful, the sentiment has to be bold. The black alpha stickers are perfect to create the sentiment. The red enamel dot is from Wildberry Court Add On Kit.  I really love the bright colours on my card.

Hope you enjoyed my process of using a layout to make a card. If you create a project using this as your inspiration, please upload into the Studio Calico Gallery. I really love to see how you interpret a layout or even my sketch from Sasha's layout.

Happy New Year everybody! Hugs! -Gayatri

Jen McGuire

We've got an extra special dose of inspiration today - the talented Jennifer McGuire is sharing some cards using our Block Party Card kit!

For this first card, Jen used the Darling Dear gems to make balloons, then drew in the string. How adorable is that?

Have you ever thought of using your markers to alter patterned paper? Jen added some darker blue dots to the multi dot pattern to help it coordinate with the flower gems.


Why not look to packaging to add an extra pattern to your card? Jen used a bit of the grey chevron cover of the 6x6 pad to create an accent, then finished her card by adding a stamped smiley face to one of our mistable suns.


Repeating a stamp design can create a cool look - Jen used the mini plaid stamp from the Block Party Card kit to make a border and on her diecut flowers. This is a great way to get some extra mileage from your stamps!

Please join me in thanking Jennifer for stopping by and sharing these great tips - I can't wait to try them!

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)

from layout to card

Inspiration for a card design can come from pretty much anywhere, and one that I’ve played around with for today’s card is using scrapbook layouts as a starting point.  Layouts are obviously made on a much larger scale.  But when looked at with the right point of view you can pinpoint many inspiring ideas, which are perfect for jumpstarting a card.  Take for example Tina Aszmus' simple but striking page…

What appealed to me the most was the amount of white space and the flow of the design through the placement of the photo and additional elements.  I knew I could scale this entire layout down and make it work on the smaller canvas of a card.  Other times, it’s also possible to take just a portion of a layout and us it as the basis of a card.

By taking cues from Tina’s amazing layout, here’s what I was able to come up with…

I loved how the photo, embellishments and sentiment were all grouped horizontally at an angle.  To mimic this look, I trimmed a cardstock strip and placed it onto a card base in the same direction.  I then chose to place my sentiment in almost the exact same position as in the layout.

To give my card a bit of movement, I took note of the grouped embellishments in Tina’s design and carefully arranged mine.  A strip of chevron washi tape, a row of tiny stamped triangles and a few well-placed mistable arrows help to lead your eye directly to the sentiment.

When using a scrapbook layout as a jumping off point for designing a card, make sure to take cues from the colors used, basic shape placement, embellishment placement, shrinking the entire design or a portion of the design, basically… capturing the essence of the layout on a smaller scale.  I hope I’ve encouraged all of you to take a closer look at your favorite layouts and see the potential they holds for a card or two.

(supplies: cardstock - PTI rustic white; ink - Hero Arts Shadow Ink soft pool; stamps & mistable arrows - Central High card kit; washi tape & alpha letter stickers - Style Guide add-on)