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 | SB team challenge 3

Count it out. Add some stats. Measure the distance, or the passing of time. Note their age. So many of us have unused number stickers hanging out in our leter packs, and we want you to put them to work!

Catherine Davis | For this challenge, I knew I wanted to do a countdown of sorts centered around my husband and I. (Majorly lacking "us" in my layouts!) Using my Cameo, I cut out numbers in a variety of sizes. Some are glued on the page flat, some are popped up with foam dots. I used little slips of paper to add a little note with each number and how they could be applied towards our story. I also had fun playing with misting here, using star embellishments as a mask.

Marcy Penner | I love using numbers as titles and large design elements on my page.  I had originally intended to include a very large number, but it got shrunk down as my page moved on and I decided I wanted it in the polaroid frame. Try using a single number as a title, numbers representing quantities, ages, and representing significant moments.

Amanda Caves |The numbers challenge was the perfect opportunity to document favorites from our recent trip to Walt Disney World. I originally planned on ten favorites, but just could not narrow it down to only 10.

Jenn Picard | Numbers are always a fun element to add to a project and when I saw this challenge I knew it was the perfect opportunity to make a very special card. My youngest daughter will be celebrating her birthday in just a few short days and what 6 year old girl wouldn’t want a sparkly number to mark the occasion? I die cut the number 6 then created a banner for it to hang on using some pattern paper and 2 of the super cute Amy Tan ribbon paper clips (I just removed the clips and used the fabric). I attached it to a PL Journaling card from the Halley’s Comet Add on, and then I couldn’t resist using the Studio Calico Roller Date Stamp to mark this special event. To finish it off I reached into my stash of letters and found these ones from Simple Stories SNAP line were the perfect match. Finally for once I would be scrambling last minute to make her a birthday card :)

Anna-Maria Wolniak | Numbers are very spectacular, always. The graphic for of the numbers are always perfect, they look great everywhere: as a pattern, as a title, multiplicate with stamps, masks, texture... If you've never tried, this is the best time to do so.

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!

weekly challenge

Hi everyone this week we are challenging you to put some POP into your projects with colour!

From Jennifer : We all know that Black and White is such a great classic colour scheme to work with but why not punch it up a little with a POP of colour?

For my card I decided to use AQUA as my pop of colour, I just love how striking it is again the black. I chose the Miss You So Much stamp set from the Snippets Collection as my starting point. Using one of the banner images I stamped it repeatedly with white ink across black card stock on an angle to create a pattern. Next I punched out a circle from the center of this piece to create a window for my sentiment. And there is nothing like using a little ZING to really make a colour pop:) I stamped the ribbon banner image in VersaMark then heat embossed it with Aqua Zing Powder. Lastly I added a tiny punched heart that had been misted with white. So fun! Can’t wait to see what you come up with.

(Supplies- Stamps: Studio Calico Snippets Miss You So Much; Ink: VersaMark, Versafine Onyx Black; ZING! Embossing Powder:Aqua; Heat Tool:Zap Heat Gun; Mister Huey’s Mist:Opaque Classic White; other: card stock, punches)

From Nicole : Typically when I decide to edit a photo to black and white, or use a black and white filter in Instagram, it's because there are too many clashing colors from clothing or the background is distracting. For the photo in this layout though, I edited it to help portray an emotion and carry out with a black and white theme.

I choose the B side of one of the patterned papers in the Here & There collection as a simple base for this layout. I love the shades of aqua in the Ombre Thickers pack from the Sundrifter line and used those to create a bold title with a pop of color. The vellum frame and triangle die cuts add just a little more color and balance out the layout.

(Supplies - patterned paper : Here & There San Diego, Sundrifter 6x6 paper pad ; letter stickers : Sundrifter Ombre Aqua Thickers ; die cuts : Sundrifter vellum die cut frames and die cut shapes ; veneer : Snippets chevron wood veneer ; roller date stamp : Calico V.3 date stamp ; pens : Micron .01 and Uniball White Pen)

Make a project for this challenge, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by April 22nd 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 Here+There, Snippets and Sundrifter lines :

Nicole Samuels - Fort Sumter : 

Maile Belles - Just Be Cool : 

Natalia Bun - Project Life March : 

Jennifer Picard - Adventure : 

Allison Waken - Waimea Canyon :

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)

sundrifter card - start to finish

Hi everyone, I am so excited to be able to share a glimpse inside my card making process. For today’s card I chose to use the beautiful and inspiring products from the Studio Calico’s Sundrifter Collection. Now I will be the first to say that I am not an organized pre planned crafter. I do not have an exact idea in mind when I sit down to create and I seldom create a sketch to base my project on beforehand, a lot of times I just sit down and make whatever comes to out while working with the product. I do however get very inspired by pictures and colours and a lot of times will draw inspiration from home décor magazines; whether it be from a certain fabric, pattern or texture that catches my eye. But for this card I was really inspired by the pattern papers and colours in the collection, and I had a special person in mind when making it :)   Click here to download a PDF showing how I made this card from start to finish.

Supplies : Sundrifter Frames and Feathers Stamps Set, Sundrifter Love This Stamp Set, Sundrifter 6x6 Paper Pad, Sundrifter Die Cut Shapes,  VersaMark, ZING Powder, ZING Blush, Onyx Black Versafine Ink, Foam Tab Circles

-Jennifer Picard