Studio Calico

Project Life journaling prompts | Laura Kurz

I often use journaling prompts to come up with ideas for filling up my Project Life spreads with all the most-important information! I know sometimes you get stuck in a rut and feel like you are saying the same thing each month, so here are some ideas to jump-start some new journaling!

1. What are you loving right now? From clothes to recipes to the weather, what is it? I usually like to do this in a list format. (Here is an example of a page I did this on).

2. Quotes. What are some of the funny things/expressions your kids are saying right now? (Here is an example of a page I did this on using a journaling card with a speech bubble on it).

3. Highlight a few days out of the month and specific events that happened on that day. (I did this on this spread, pulling out a few key dates from the month).

4. Who did you visit with this month? Did you have playdates or meet friends for lunch?

5. Where did you travel this month? How many miles did you put on your car? Where was your favorite place you visited?

Here are two journaling cards I did to show my list of what I’m loving right now and how I highlighted some of the things my daughter is saying right now.

Supplies - patterned paper: Studio Calico Abroad Montauk; letter stickers: Roundabout Project Life Kit; fabric bows: Studio Calico Atlantic collection; vellum die cuts: Atlantic collection 

 Do you have any great journaling prompts for adding to your Project Life albums?

-Laura Kurz

NSD at SC | 2013 | card team challenge 2

We've all been there. A zillion pieces of patterned paper in your stash, and none have the color scheme or design that you're looking for. Or maybe you have some new stamps you can't wait to get inky - or you just want to try something new. We're challenging you to stamp your own patterned paper!

Stephanie Washburn | I LOVE using stamps to create my own backgrounds! On this one, I picked this tiny ampersand stamp (from Snippets Miss You So Much stamp set) and stamped it in different color inks to create a fun pattern. Then, I blended some distress ink across the card front to create a more rustic look. I finished it off with the sentiment, "you're awesome" stamped in gold ink! Stamping your own background is a great way to create flat, easy to mail cards!


Laura Kurz | So I have been meaning to do these pages for the last four months. Ha. I decided to use my square punch to punch out people's pictures from Christmas cards (if the pictures were bigger than the punch, I just punched it more than once). I have four whole pages of photo inserts! These are coin collector pages that I use in my Project Life album.

I used the hot air balloon stamp to create the background for two of the squares. I typed my title/journaling in red to give it a holiday-esque feel. 

Suzy Plantamura | Stamped backgrounds are perfect for a Project Life album - they bring in a lot of color and interest without bulking up the cards too much!

On the week card, I stamped the word “week” from the Amy Tan stamp set in the May PL kit all over a 4x6 piece of light blue paper; stamping it each time on a piece of scratch paper and then on this paper so the ink is lighter; for a few of the words, I stamped my background first so the ink is darker and those words stand out more. I then added a piece of yellow paper along the bottom and stamped the word “week” in a yellow just a bit darker than the paper. To finish, I stamped the word “week” in red ink on coral paper and cut the numbers out (draw or print on the back side backwards and cut out) and attached them to the front of card. I think that the repetition of the word “week” adds to the theme of this being a weekly introduction card.

For the “confetti” card, I stamped the two borders in one color several times and then stamped over them in a second color so they are just above the first.

To make the card with circles, I stamped the blue ink on a piece of scratch paper first and then stamped; sometimes I would try to leave more ink on the circle so there were different variations of the color; I stamped the words “you are loved” on top of the circles in the same color so it is subtle; then I stamped a yellow circle stamp on a yellow circle and stamped the same words in black and layered it over the background.

Sasha Farina | Using the circle stamp in Big Dipper, I randomly stamped the circle with versamark and embossed them in white before adding the mist. I spray the mist onto my kraft skeet and very lightly put my white cardstock facedown, making sure some parts stay white for the marbled effect. It's a gamble every time, but I love how no two pieces can ever be the same using this technique. Once I'm happy with the background, I gave the embossed parts a good wipe with some tissue.

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!

workspace wednesday

Hi everyone! Last year, we built a little house in the woods of Maryland. Our goal was to build a home where we used every room, every day. Because of that, my office also doubles as our guest room. It's tucked in the back on the first floor of the house, which is perfect because when I work from home, I can hear the kids with a sitter, but they usually forget I am there! I also love the big window that looks out on to the backyard. 

My desk is "old school" Pottery Barn. It's got a shelf that slides out that I do most of my scrapbooking on, and the drawers hold some art storage cases for scrapbook supplies. The shelf below the desk has IKEA baskets on it that hold supplies, office stuff, etc. And under the table, I have SC boxes that hold my project life supplies and layouts waiting to be filed.

Here's the exciting-inside-the-drawer shot:

To the right of the desk, I have a storage cart with drawers that hold stamps, embossing powder, washi tape, thread, etc. The baskets hold patterned paper and folders that I have all my SC supplies filed in.

 
Then, to the right of the cart is my sweet, sweet storage closet. In case you can't tell, I like to have clutter stored away. Far, far away. Every bedroom in our house has a big walk-in closet. I had extra shelves installed in this closet, and that's where I store a whole lot of stuff, from scrapbooking supplies (stamps in CD cases, mini albums, etc.) to gift wrap supplies. I also have a cart in here that holds a lot of my sticker sheets, stamps, punches, and my printer. Then I have these big, huge baskets that hold all my scrapbooks.

Oh, and if you want to see what's in the other corner of the room, here's the guest bed, which also doubles as my second desk when I'm trying to get things organized!

Thanks for taking a look at my little room!

weekly challenge

Hi everyone - hope you can join in on my last Weekly Challenge! I'm calling it the "unprintables"  - I'm challenging you to print on something you might not necessarily think you can print on (a label, a tag, even a doily!) 

Last year, I did a tutorial on the blog about how I print on label stickers here. I use this technique to print on pretty much anything.

On this page, I printed on a journaling tag:

 

(Supplies - journaling tag, envelope, star and letter sticker: Twisty Slide add on)

 

On this page, I printed on a label sticker:

 

(Supplies - label stickers: Malibu add on; letter stickers: Venice Beach add on)

 

And finally, for August's gallery, I printed on a doily (and a label)! Now, I will admit that the doily took two tries because the first time I didn't use enough adhesive and my printer, well, it ate the doily. But the second time worked like a charm (just be really, really gentle when taking the doily off the paper you used to run through your printer):

 

(Supplies - doily: Summer of '69 kit; Label: Five & Dime add on)

 

Can't wait to see what you guys can print on! Thank you for having me as a part of the Studio Calico community for the last few years. It's been wonderful.

Link your  project here by August 20th for a chance to win a $5 gift card to the Studio Calico Shop.

insider tips - laura

When I have a lot to say on a layout, I try to keep it as simple as possible (OK, let's be honest, this is what I do 99 percent of the time any way!) I love how the SC products add just the right touch to any layout - whether it's super simple like mine or someone who is far more talented in embellishing! And, I think I will use these wood veneer hearts on pretty much every layout from here on out.

(supplies - mist : Mister Huey's Watercooler ; veneer : Hearts & Arrows ; fabrip : Take Note Gray Stripe)

I'll also be honest - I never understood the mist craze - until a few months ago. Now I'm obsessed. Yes, I'm late to the party, but better late than never, right? I think I was always afraid of messing it up, but then I realized that's the beauty of it! Can't wait to see how everyone starts using the latest Studio Calico products!

Photo Tip of the day

As you probably know, I am a huge fan of using photo enlargements on my layouts. I usually prefer to have my photos printed 8.5 x 11 to fit into my scrapbook, but not all photos I take are: A) Perfect or B) Fit into that 8.5 x 11 vertical size I love so much. So what do I do? I crop and convert, usually to black and white.

I wanted to share two layouts which I did this on so you could see the original photo and how I "cropped and converted" to make the photo fit the page (and definitely more appealing - at least on the City of Lights layout!)

This photo was taken in extremely low-light. I converted it to black and white and lightened it considerably before printing it to use on my page. Although the photo is definitely grainy, I still love it. 

I love this picture of my son and I, but I wanted to scrapbook it 8.5 x 11, so I looked for a creative way to crop it. I always think that not every part of a person needs to be in a photo (for example, I cropped almost all my hair out of this shot!)
 

I hope you get a chance to scrapbook with enlargements and also to look for creative ways to crop and convert them...you might be surprised with what you come up with!

Weekly Challenge

Weekly Challenge - use a quote or lyrics

I find myself using song lyrics or quotes more and more lately on pages. I have so many pictures of both of my kids and sometimes a song or a quote says what I want to say better than I can. And sometimes it's a great photo I just want to use but I don't necessarily have the words to go with it.

One of my favorite resources for quotes is the website Goodreads. You can search by topic, author, keyword, etc. Here are some layouts I've made recently with quotes and song lyrics:

Supplies: Brooklyn Flea Kit

Supplies: Glee Club Kit

...and here's a page I just made with a song I recently heard on Sirius Radio (the coffee house station - an all-acoustic station and a great place for good lyrics!) The lyrics are to Eric Bibb's "The Cape."
Supplies: Autumn Press Butterfly Kraft Cardstock Stickers, Classic Calico Fabrips, Classic Calico Folio Paper, Mister Huey's Mist - Bonny Blue

So your challenge this week is to create a page using a quote or lyrics as the focal point. Link your layout here by Monday, Feb 6 for a chance to win a SC GC.  Can't wait to see what you create!

Sunday Sketch

It's Laura here and I've got a brand-new Sunday Sketch for you to try!


This gorgeous layout from her November Handmade gallery was inspiration for this week's sketch.  Here's my take on it:
Supplies: Autumn Press Butterfly Chip Shapes, Autumn Press Bundle Paper, Autumn Press Scarf Paper

I decided to place my text at the top and use it as a "falling" element - a fun twist on Tina's beautiful falling leaves.

Now it's your turn! Post your layout using the sketch by Monday, December 5 for your chance to win a SC GC.  Have fun!

Monthly Kit Spotlight

I love a pretty patterned paper just as much as the next scrapbooker. And I have a stash that would probably make you jealous, because although I love the look of patterned paper, I have a tough time using it on my pages besides for little accents here and there (a heart, a butterfly punch, etc.) So what's a girl to do when I get my kit every month and it's full of beautiful patterned paper? I use a technique I call "wallpaper," using the paper for one entire page of a two-page spread. Here is an example from October's Field Guide Kit:

And here is a page I did using the awesome chevron patterned paper in the Glee Club Kit:
And here's one from the Mind the Gap Kit:

For me, this "technique" is a great way to add a little bit of color to the white space on my pages and albums. Hope you give it a try!

Journals

For CHA, I was lucky enough to get to play with one of the new Studio Calico mini albums! This is the 5x5 size, embossed with the alphabet…and I love it!

I was also lucky enough to play with a lot of Studio Calico’s newest stamps, including Silhouettes, My Happy, and Hooray.

I decided to make this album kind of a quote book of memories from my son’s first year (I write in a “one line a day” book for him every night and I used memories from that).

The first step for me was to come up with a common design that could be easily replicated throughout the book. I decided to use the circle word stamp from the Silhouettes stamps on each page, and then use a different stamp within the circle.

Next, I picked out the stamps I would use in the middle of the circle stamp.
Then I stamped the circle stamp on about 40 pages in different ink colors.

Next, I picked out complementary patterned paper to act as filler pages in the album.

Then I stamped the image in the middle of the circle stamp.

Then I misted the covers of the album.

I repeated the circle stamp with a stamp in the middle on the back cover.

Then on the cover, I used one of Studio Calico’s wood veneer alphabets, and the “note” sticker from the new Scrap Pads.

Finally, I took the pages and wrote down the memories!
Supplies: Classic Scrap Pads, Hooray Stamps, 5x5 Journal Kit (Alpha Pattern Embossed), Silhouettes Stamps, My Happy Stamps, Classic Calico Woodgrain One paper, Classic Calico Dot One paper, Classic Calico Folio paper.

Voila! You guys are going to love these mini albums and stamps!