Studio Calico

weekly challenge

Hi there, it's Kelly Purkey here with your weekly challenge.  This one is inspired by my A + KP layout from the Elmwood Park gallery.  I used the Basic Grey paper to cut out the letters for my title, making a big statement (and giving me room to do a little stamping!)  So I'm challenging you this week to think big and create a big, giant, larger than life (ok ok I may be getting a little carried away here) title.   You can use a die cut machine, hand drawn letters, the Basic Grey paper from your kit - the possibilities are endless.  Can't wait to see what you make!

(supplies : kit - Elmwood Park and add-ons ; ink - Versafine Onyx)

Link your THINK BIG project here by July 23rd for a chance to win a $5 gift card to the Studio Calico Shop. We can't wait to see what you make!

 

NSD Sketches

It wouldn't be a weekend dedicated to scrapbooking without some sketches!

Here are 5 new sketches from the design team galleries.

based on Geralyn's layout.

based on Susan's layout.

based on Davinie's layout.

based on Kelly P's layout.

based on Nicole H's layout.

Have fun! Post your sketch layouts here!  

photo tip of the day

Hi everyone, it's Kelly here to share a little photography tip with you.  A friend recently introduced me to a new app called Average Camera Plus while we were out having cocktails and I was so impressed with the results.  It's great for taking photos in low light and since I love food photos or restaurant photos, this was the answer to a lot of my problems! The app works by taking seven snapshots then averaging them out to get the best image.  You can then adjust the brightness to bring in more light to the photo.  Here's an example of the app in action.

I am not a big fan of flash photos in general, especially in dark places.  You can see that even with the flash the glasses were blurry and too bright.

No flash is just not a great option when you've got such little light.

You can see that by using the app, there is a huge improvement on the light and sharpness of the photo.

I ran the photo through Instagram (follow me at @kellypurkey) to brighten it even more and share it on my feed.

The important thing to remember with this app is that it's taking seven shots, so you must hold your phone still (I anchored it on the table) and whatever your taking a photo of must be completely still.  It will work great on buildings at night, would be cool with a birthday cake lit up with candles, and I can't wait to try it with a Christmas tree later in the year.  Hope you have fun with the app!

Sunday Sketch

We have another Sunday Sketch for you to tackle, this time coming from Kelly Purkey's Daydream Believer gallery and using the Stepping Stone alphabet stamps:

And it's a double dose of Kelly's today, because sharing her take on the sketch is the creative Kelly Kulich (ibrokeitmommy) - one of our fabulous message board members:

Kelly says: "Kelly's layout was a favorite of mine in the gallery this month so I was thrilled to work with the sketch this week! I loved how the title was the focus of the layout. At first I was going to flip the sketch sideways but it just was not working. Instead I used a 4x6 picture and moved the title to the side. I could have used the title as my journaling alone but I wanted to add a bit extra to remind us how fast my girls are growing up.

I used my chevron stamp with Prima Chalk Ink on the Pink Paislee Mistables trims from the Daydream Believer kit. I love using SC background stamps with the trims! For the title I misted the natural Thickers with Mister Huey's Piglet and Shine for the soft shimmery pink color. I love stamping and misting but when I use them I am rarely happy with the end result. I love when I can use the techniques on a smaller scale to incorporate them on my layouts."

The results certainly are fantastic - the chevron stamping on the mistable trim looks very cool.  It's definitely a new technique to try with the trims that come in the kits!  Thanks for sharing, Kelly.  Play along with the sketch this week and link us up to your layout by Monday, March 5 for your chance to win a SC GC!

Sunday Sketch

Happy Sunday! It's Kelly here with your Sunday Sketch and this week we're taking inspiration from this incredible layout from Tina's October Field Guide gallery...

This design is simply brilliant! So many cool uses for the strips of paper that Tina added to her layout.  I ended up turning my strips into strips of punched circles, using the new EK 1/2 circle punch in the Shop.
Supplies: Paper - Studio Calico Memoir, Journal Strip - Studio Calico Memoir Scrap Pad, Wood - Studio Calico Houses, Stamps - Papertrey Ink, Ink - StazOn, Punch - EK Success

I can't wait to see how you use the sketch this week... post your layout here by Monday, October 10 for your chance to win a SC GC! Have a good week, everyone!

Weekly Challenge

Hi everyone... it's Kelly here with your weekly challenge!

Create a rainbow: use red, orange, yellow, green, and blue on a layout.

Supplies: Glee Club Main Kit, Home Ec Add-on, Mister Huey's Orchard, Tiny Attacher

This is a page from my new Glee Club gallery.  I was inspired by the SHE tag in the Home Ec add-on and created my own tags out of the different patterned papers.  Something about a band of rainbow colors just makes me so happy.

You've got until Monday, September 5 to post your layout and link it up here for a chance to win a SC GC.  I can't wait to see all your rainbows!

Sunday Sketch

This week's sketch is based on a page from the Lawn Party gallery by the fabulous Kelly Noel.  I adore the way that Kelly centered her photo on her page - to make it the true focal point of her layout.  And her funky circle accents work so well to bring the page alive.


When I went to work from Kelly's sketch - I decided to build upon the idea of the central photo, and add in a second, smaller, supporting shot.  The photos on my page are nothing special - just snapshots taken while we were blowing bubbles outside one afternoon - but the addition of layered circle punches around my photo (ala Kelly's page!) really helps to add to the theme and playful feel that I was going for here.  I shifted my title over a bit from where Kelly's was, and also just took the liberty to fit in my journaling block where it happened to work best for my page.  Which is the great thing about sketches - you are free to make them your own!
Supplies: Cardstock, leftovers from my Lawn Party kit, Sideshow paper, Wood Veneer Hearts, County Line Paper, Label Stickers Countryside

I can't wait to see what everyone creates from this creative sketch this week.  Be sure to post your layout to the gallery and link it to the comments section in this post, for your chance to win a $5 Studio Calico gift card!

NSD : multiphoto challenge

 

Happy NSD friends!  I've got a fun challenge for you to try... MULTI-PHOTOS!  Single page layouts come the easiest to me and the idea of putting more than one photo on a page stresses me out just a little bit.  But multi-photo layouts turn out to be my favorites because they tell such great stories. So I'm going to challenge you to create a layout using FOUR OR MORE photos.  Have fun!

Stephanie's Page :

Kelly's page :

(Supplies: Kit - Lawn Party, Clear Skies)

Link your page in the comments of this post by Friday May 13th for a chance to win a My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose Lush 2 prize package!

May Member Lift

Happy Friday afternoon!  It's Kelly here with a post about our May Lawn Party Design Team Gallery.  You might have noticed something special going on in the gallery this month... there were layouts with this little button next to them:
The Design Team decided to each do a scraplift using a layout that has been posted in the gallery by one of our amazing members.  There's a layout in every DT's gallery and I wanted to share a few of those layouts that inspired us here on the blog.

This is the layout that I used by the talented Geralyn Sy...
And a peek at my layout...

April used this cool layout from Amy Tan...
I want to scraplift BOTH of these layouts myself!

Lisa used this gorgeous layout by Marcy Penner...
And created another fun little boy page...

Emily took inspiration from this gorgeous layout by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer...

And made her own stunning layout...

To see the full Design Team layouts and check out the other lifts, just head over to the DT Gallery this month.  If you could lift a layout, which member would you love to use?

Behind the Scenes

It's Kelly with a fun behind the scenes peek at the process of one of the SC exclusive patterned papers from the May kit.  Reveal went up last night and this paper, the B side of Cooped Up, is in the Lawn Party Main kit.

It was inspired by doilies that Stephanie had posted and so I asked her to send me a picture of one and this is how it started...
Just a little design magic done in Illustrator and we've got a patterned paper.

Be sure to snag some SC patterned paper this month... I can't wait to see you use it!