Studio Calico

Workspace Wednesday | Dana Fleckenstein

Hello everyone! Dana here to show you some pictures of my crafty corner(s). I don't have a dedicated space just for scrapbooking, so my workspace and supplies are in different places. First, let me show you where I keep my supplies, photography equipment and finished projects.

I try to keep most of my supplies in this IKEA Bestå shelf unit. My 12x12" patterned papers (apart from Creative Team paper) are all stored by color in a multi-compartment folder from an artist supply store. 

The dies and embossing folders for my manual die-cutting machine all sit in an old container originally used for vocabulary training.

In another room, I've set up an old kitchen table with basic supplies and things I reach out the most. This is the place where I get to craft.

You can see, most of the storage solutions are simple IKEA containers. This one holds different types of adhesive, washi tapes, embellishments e.g. from previous SC kits, stamps and tags. Just things that I frequently use or plan to use up.

Another clear container is on the right of the table. It holds a small amount of letter size cardstock, PL/journaling cards, pre-scored card bases, and scraps on the one side, as well as alphabet/word stickers and thickers on the opposing side.

The big white box on the left holds my stash of current Studio Calico wholesale collections as well as my 6x6" pads (SC wholesale and kit leftovers, as well as from other manufacturers). 

Also, I have a misting box and container with all of my spray mists nearby. The colors are sorted by color groups (left to right) and saturation (brighter in front, darker in the back). For easy reference, I misted the back of old business cards with my spray mist colors and wrote the color names on the cards. That way, I know how the spray looks when dried and can see which is the right shade to go with a current project.

Well, and that is basically where I craft and how I organize my supplies. Thanks for joining me on the workspace tour! 

-Dana Fleckenstein

NSD at SC | 2013 | PL team challenge 2

Pockets and envelopes are a good product to have in your stash - they can hide journaling, hold confetti, give you a place to hide a gift card - and more! We'd love to see how you use pockets and envelopes on your projects.

Nicole Reaves | I like to use small paper (and sometimes transparent) baggies in my Project Life spreads, especially when I want to include journaling that I don't want everyone to read. I think it adds some fun texture and interest to my pages, whether it is embellished or not. The spread I did here for the challenge is an insert from a long-weekend that my kids spent with my in-laws, their first 'trip' away from us. I'm so happy my mother-in-law took a ton of photos of their adventures and shared them with us! Instead of using a bag from my stash, I cut up some Sundrifter vellum and sewed a pocket to insert in one of the 3x4 slots of this Design G page protector. For now, I've slipped a large white tag in the pocket. The next time I see my mother-in-law, I'm going to ask her to write about her weekend with the kids on the tag and slip it inside the pocket.

Maggie Holmes | Using bags and envelopes is such a fun way to add a little more dimension to a project. My favorite thing to "tuck in" or put inside a glassine bag is sequins! I love how they look in there and think it adds a nice little surprise to anything!

Dana Fleckenstein | While creating with the May kit, I used one of SC's butterfly masks to trace the shape on the back of a pretty patterned paper from the North Star card kit add-on. I then used the this as my guideline to hand-cut the shape from the paper. To finish the card, I stamped a sentiment on cardstock and slid it into one of the cute polka dotted envelopes from the Planetarium card kit.

Maggie Holmes | Cards are a fun way to use glassine bags! It creates a little element of surprise and you can hide your message inside so that the card becomes interactive!

Lisa Truesdell | I think we've all been in a position of wanting to record certain thoughts on a page without them beind front and center. For this page, I wanted to jot down some thoughts about how much we love our current ball team, but part of that reflection included some past struggles with teams. Hiding the journaling lets me focus on this amazing team of boys and their coaches.

I had a little extra room at the bottom of my glassine bag and was going to just trim it down and stitch it shut when I decided it would make an awesome place for some confetti.

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!

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!

NSD at SC | 2013 | SB team challenge 2

Button, button, who's got the button? We're guessing YOU do, and we want to see them on your next project!!

Kelly Noel | As soon as I saw the button challenge, I knew for sure this was the one I wanted to participate in. I have a TON of buttons. More than I could ever use in a lifetime for sure. I love how using a small item, like a button, in excess can make a big statement on my projects. For this layout, just grouping together several colors of buttons with the new Atlantic Cork Stickers and some enamel dots really adds something interesting to my layout. 

Celeste Vermeend | Button on layouts is almost essential for my style! You will find buttons scattered on almost all my layouts. Any type of button looks effective on a scrapbooking page. My preference is too essentially create a scattered look with my button placement. 

But each button is decisively placed on my page before I stick them down permanently. In this way, I can achieve the messy but balanced look I am after. Buttons of various colours and size work well - especially when paired with circles.

 I find a button placed inside circles  pleasing to my eye. The addition of buttons to my work is often one of the last steps. I find placing them in the white space helps balance and complete my page. I also like to have them in a row at times. You will often find buttons along an edge of my photo. The line of them will help the eye travel to the image. 

Dana Fleckenstein | Let's face it, my buttons stash will last me forever and a day. While they still look cute, sequins and enamel dots have pushed them down on my list of favorite embellishments. I usually used single buttons on my projects, e.g. as flower centers on my cards but wanted to try something different for this challenge. So what I did here was to treat them as a regular layer on my card, just like I would use a strip of paper or washi tape. 

Lisa Truesdell | Once upon a time, I couldn't finish ANY project without buttons. Time went on, and decorative brads, enamel dots and sequins came into my life, and my poor button stash has spent a lot of time on a shelf in a jar (where it looks super cute, so at least it has that going for it!). As I worked on this PL spread, I realized that buttons fit right in with my beloved enamel dots, and I really like the two of them mixed together! They're also not too bulky in the pocket pages. Maybe I'd better move that button jar a little closer to my desk...

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 :

Kelly Noel - Good Eats : 

Dana Fleckenstein - Happy Birthday : 

MaryAnn Perry - S'mores : 

Susan Weinroth - You Are The Best : 

Natalia Bun - Remember : 

Ashely Cannon Newell - Be Fabulous :

bright idea - send it

Hello everyone, Dana here with a new blog feature from the Card Creative Team where we're going to showcase a card with a matching envelope for your inspiration. For this first project in our series, I'm using SC's Sundrifter collection. I was intrigued by the veneer phrases and die-cut stickers, specifically the triangle shapes, in this line and knew I wanted to use them for the project. My initial idea was to simply line up the triangles to lead the eye to the veneer sentiment but somehow that needed a lot of fixing when I wanted to put that in reality: The triangles looked a bit pale against the kraft card stock and the tiny veneer shape didn't provide for as good a focal point as I had hoped for.

First, I lightly misted my cardbase with a Mister Huey in Pinstripe and the Sundrifter triangles mask for more contrast. Then, I dug through the die-cut shapes and found one of the polaroid frames. That along with some flower die-cuts really helped to emphasize the sentiment. 

For a bit more texture and detail, I added a few sprinkles of Mister Huey in Calico Shine and machine stitching on the card.

On the front of my envelope, I used another polaroid frame since it looked like a fun way to decorate the address field. You can either just peel off the backing of the die-cut stickers and adhere it to the envelope, then handwrite the name/address of the recipient inside the frame or first write/type the address out and add the sticker afterwards for perfect placement.

(supplies - die cuts : Studio Calico Sundrifter Die Cut Shapes ; veneer : Studio Calico Sundrifter Wood Veneer Phrases ; Mask : Studio Calico Sundrifter Triangles ; spray mist : Studio Calico Mister Huey's Pinstripe and Calico Shine ; other : kraft cardstock , kraft envelope , American Crafts Foam Tab Circles , sewing machine/thread)

-Dana Fleckenstein

weekly challenge

Your challenge this week is to create a project (layout, card, project life card, etc.) that is inspired by a song.

We all have our moments and songs play a big part of them. There are always a few songs that you will never forget because they bring back wonderful memories or songs that will cheer you up no matter in which mood you are. It can be as simple as a song that motivates you to workout or one that reminds you of a family member/friend. It can also be the song that was played on your graduation day, the special song that played on a first date or when you walked down the aisle.

From Natalia:

My layout is inspired by the song "High" by The Lighthouse Family. It's an old song but reminds me of the friendship that I've made with a few people. I love the lyrics and the tunes brought me back to those great moments we've spent together.

 (supplies - pattern paper : Snippets Stop ; 6x6 paper pad : Here & There ; Snippets ; Sundrifter : Stamps - Come Fly With Me Stamps Set ; Mask - Snippets Speech Bubble ; Mists - Mister Huey's First Kiss : Veneers - Sundrifter Flower and Leaves ; Sundrifter Wood Phrases : Alpha Stickers - Here & There Notebook ; Sundrifter Tiny Brown & Tiny Pink ; Snippets Sticker Sheet ; Snippets Adhesive Badges ; Sundrifter Ombre Aqua)

From Dana:

My card for this challenge was inspired by the pop song "Pack Up" by Eliza Doolittle. Whenever a friend and I get a little cranky over something that, in all reality, deserves no attention, just humming that song helps to put things in perspective and focus on the bright side of life.  

(supplies: patterned paper: Studio Calico Snippets 6x6 paper pad; veneer - Sundrifter Wood Veneer Phrases; spray mist - Mister Huey Here+There Garden; Silhouette Cameo machine; Precision pen 01 (black); other: sewing machine/thread, card stock)

 

So, what is your song? The title of the song can be the title of your project; the lyrics can be the journaling. We can't wait to see what you create! 

Make a project for this challenge, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by March 25th in the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

Natalia Bun & Dana Fleckenstein