Studio Calico

make it work - kit scraps

What do you usually do with your scrap papers? I think that those tiny little pieces have so much potential in them that I rarely throw them away. This time, I challenge myself to squeeze one more layout out of the bits and pieces from Spencer's instead of letting them live in my 'Scraps' crop bag :)

I have been having too much fun with circles lately, so I thought why not try other shapes this time? I look at my scrap papers and I see lots of triangles. That was how I decided on the layout of this page :)

(supplies - Studio Calico Spencer's kit)

I had a negative die cut sheet of triangles from when I made this layout, so I used that as a guide to trace some triangles onto my background. Then I stitched them all and fill them with the small pieces of paper with triangles on them. 

I used the little cork circles from the cork cameras stickers to highlight my title and journaling, and added some of my leftovers enamel dots on top of them. You can also see I stamped on this layout, the title and the little 'you+me' on the PL card that has been squared to fit onto the polaroid frame. I think even with little amount of papers, you can make a detailed layout when you add stamping and little bits of embellishments here and there according to the flow of your design.

I hope I've inspired you to take another look at your scraps paper and hopefully use them! Link me up if you do, I can't wait to see your beautiful work! :)

-Sasha Farina

make it work

Clothespins. You either love 'em or loathe 'em. I think it's just a matter of using them that suites your needs most. I personally have a hard time using these cute mini clothespins on layouts but I find them perfect for cards and gifts. I also like using them on my trusty inspiration wire. 

Today I'll show a couple of simple gift ideas. There are a few things I like to have on hand for last minute gift wrapping + giving. Tags, kraft bags, vellum envelopes, rubber stamps, twine and clothespins. Only takes a few minutes to put together! 

This one is a gift for a friend's birthday. I got her a coffee card + a cute mug. I stamped the banner + quote from the Snippets stamp set using a Versamark ink pad onto a mini vellum envelope from the Selections Shop. I simply folded the paper bag, placed a doily over the fold and clipped the envelope with the card on top. 

I love using clothespins in this manor. It adds that little extra detail to gifts that my friends + family always appreciate. Here's a quick one for a grad gift...

Again, I used stamps from the Snippets set + Versamark ink on tag and clipped that to a vellum envelope. 

This is one of my favorite uses and It totally adds a little more love to an ordinary vase of flowers. I stamped the frame + quote from the Sundrifter stamp set, then clipped that to a vase of flowers I plan on giving to a friend. 

So next time you're scratching your head at a pack of mini clothespins, I challenge you to make it work. I hope you'll give these ideas a try. : )

(supplies - Versamark Onyx inkpad, vellum envelopes, Amy Tan Clothespins from Wendy add on, tags, acrylic block, Sundrifter frame + feathers stamp set, Snippets miss you so much stamp set. )

We looked through the Creative Team galleries and found more fun ways to use clothespins - check out these great ideas : 

Celeste used them to hold her photos and embellishments to her page : 

Lucy lined them up across a card : 

Marcy clipped her layers of patterned paper together : 

Maile created an embellishment cluster and clipped it together with one : 

How have you used clothespins in your projects? Link us up in the comments - we'd love to see!