Studio Calico

weekly challenge | Marcy Penner and Nicole Harper

This week's challenge is to use a repeating pattern on your page.

From Marcy Penner : I have a hard time with circles, but the whole idea of using repeating circles on this page it emphasis the pile of stone by the culvert was just too perfect to pass up.

I started by layering my photos and papers and then found some circle elements in the Atlantic collection that could accompany circles punched from patterned paper.  Once I had a few I started layering those on in a diagonal pattern and finished it off with some stitching and sequins.

Supply list : paper - plymouth, rock port, bridgeport, montauk, atlantic bundle collection, atlantic 12x12 paper pad, atlantic 6x6 paper pad; sequins - atlantic variety sequin pack; stickers - atlantic sunrise thickets, atlantic glittered star stickers; printables - atlantic printable labels, atlantic digital printable #1 MP; tags - medium white tags; tools - tiny attacher, tiny attacher refills

From Nicole Harper : When we came up with the idea of using repetitive shapes, I was stoked to have a chance to show off my love for the die cut files this month. I resisted adding 'hello...' to every single window of this Project Life layout!! I forced myself to only use 3 of them, as well as 3 of the tab cut files and used the triangle elements on the washi tape as another graphic to repeat.

Supplies: Roundabout PL Kit, Navy Pier kit, Cumberland Gap Kit, Roundabout Printable File, Roundabout Label File, Hello banners Cut File, Roundabout Tabs Cut File, Gold POW Glitter Paper

We can't wait to see how you use repeating patterns! Make a project for this challenge, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by June 17th in the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

weekly challenge

For this week's challenge, we decided to put our sequins to good use and we can't wait to see you do the same!

From Amy : If you didn't feel like sewing down the sequins with French knots, you could just use a long-arm stapler like I did. Another alternative is to use a liquid glue like Glossy Accents. 

(supplies - patterned paper: Studio Calico Snippets 6X6 pad; letter stickers: Sketchbook Thickers; stickers: Sundrifter 6x7; mist : Neverland Scrapbook Kit, Opaque White ; stamps: Sundrifter Love This & Frame & Feathers; ink: StazOn & Hero Arts Shadow Ink; other: sequins) 

From Nicole : I love how sequins can be used in conjunction with 'plain' backgrounds to spruce them up a bit and add some color :)

(Supplies : Snippets 12x12 Sticker Sheet, Printed Chipboard Cameras, Me Oh My patterned paper; Sundrifter 12x12 Sticker Sheet, Sunny Day patterned paper, Here&There San Diego patterned paper, Mister Hueys Gold)

Make a project using sequins, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by April 29th 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 :

Geralyn Sy - Misibis Handbook

Nicole Harper - #Happy

Dawn McVey - Thanks

Natalia Bun - it is what it is

Becky Novacek - love you sweet boy

day by day

If you're anything at all like me, you have bits & pieces in your stash that you can't bear to part with. Rather than let them accumulate in a pile on your desk, grab them when you get a few free minutes here and there and make up some Project Life-style cards!! Even if Project Life isn't on your agenda, these still look awesome on layouts...I've loved seeing 3x4 and 4x6 cards in our gallery.

Here are 2 3x4 cards that are from my Front Row gallery...super simple, but fun right?! I just added some of the printable labels to the left card, and layered a printable card I trimmed down on top of one of the kit cards on the right.


These next cards were made with leftovers from my CHA projects for the SC booth...mixing pieces of all 2 of the new releases.


I kept the themes generic, so I could use them as filler cards whenever I had a blank spot. The San Francisco paper from Here & There was a no-brainer...cut out a row of houses, add a few clouds and a geotag and you have a fun card to talk about something happening in your town. The 'fact' card just uses an open triangle stamp that I paired with different colors of Zing embossing powder. I cut the middle out of each one and backed the entire card with the B side of the Portland paper.


These next two gave me an opportunity to just play with paper...which is always a good thing. ;)


The hand drawn words on the grey 'Love Wins' paper in the Sundrifter line are lovely...but when you twist off the tops of a few Mister Hueys and grab a paintbrush, that paper becomes even more happy. Go outside the lines! Choose words that stand out to you! Add a few chipboard arrows and call it a day!


The word bubble mask from Snippets is hands DOWN my favorite mask ever. Sometimes masks are a bit intimidating to me, but this one is perfect...used as the base for a larger page or as I did here on a 4x6 card, you have the option to use as many shapes as you'd like. I just grabbed my black pen and outlined a few bubbles,  then filled them in with embellishments I had laying on my desk. Drew a few lines to journal on when the mood strikes and I'm all set!

Check out the member gallery for LOTS of ideas on how to add cards like these to your projects...and use those scraps you've been saving in the meantime! :)

day by day

Hi everyone!! Nicole Harper here, sharing a recent week of my Project Life album...I used only what was laying on my desk after working with the Summer of '69 kit for this one. Between the awesome new printables that coordinate with this kit and the exclusive die-cut files for my Silhouette, I had lots of ideas on how to put this week together. I typically use the WeRMemoryKeepers #7 Photo Sleeve from the SC Shop, and this example shows it in action.


(supplies - kits: Summer of '69, Six String ;  Ink: Prima Chalk Ink Coltfoot Stamens, Attic Dust; Mister Huey: Shine, Gold; Staples: Tiny Attacher; Paper Piercer/Brad Setter, Silhouette Cameo, Fingertip Craft Knife, More Vellum, Summer of 69 Printable, Love Bug Van Cut File, October Afternoon Woodland Park Brads)

The die cuts that were included in the Main Kit this month were just awesome. I always love random, non-specific phrases and shapes to work into any project...and these fit the bill. I captured a screen shot from my phone of our trip before we left home, and after printing it out, paired it with the die cut van/car shape. The center block is a napkin I saved from our visit to a seafood restaurant, but that is the only actual piece of memorabilia included  this week (we were too busy having fun on vacation to remember to keep tidbits, lol...).


This close-up shows my love for the die cuts and printables. I layered them right on top of one another until I ran out of room. I ran my Coltfoot Stamens Chalk Ink pad over the white corrugated alphabet to help them stand out a bit for my title block, and added some more contrast by outlining with my favorite pen.


Here I used two of the printable journal cards in one 4x6 slot. I just placed them side by side instead of mounting them on to a base (you can always cut things differently to fit inside the page protectors you have...don't think you're stuck with the shape/size you have on hand!). I thought it would be fun to type out our daily schedule, so I used the days of the week card and stamped the bottom with the alphabet stamp set from the Six String add-on. The photo of Mike on the 'hello today' card is tucked under a piece that I cut using my Fingertip Craft Knife...and I added some label stickers and twine after that.

Project Life has been a great way for me to use up bits of the monthly kits that I already have on hand...and it helps me clean up my desk at the same time. ;)
Win-WIN!!

insider tips - nicole harper

It's funny how sometimes projects don't always end the way they started, isn't it? I'm here today to walk you through how my 'Fun Shots' layout using the So Cal kit came together...with a few thoughts along the way. :)

I admit I'm biased. I always start by pulling out my favorite pieces from a kit and laying them out together...for this kit it was the papers shown above, the 'Hey Girl' stamp set, the sequin butterflies, the just twine, a diecut I had on my desk that I cut from vellum and that lovely exclusive diecut card with the stripes on it. Actually, it initially started with my love for that die cut card...I had every intention of hoarding it. But I realized that was silly and built my page around it.

I knew that with so many patterned papers that caught my eye, layering was the way to go so that I could get bits of each of them on this page. And since I had committed to the die cut card with the stripes, I decided to round all of the corners on my papers to mimic that. I specifically chose to use a piece of the SC alphabet paper that had the initials of both people in the photos, and outlined them with a black pen. I just started playing around with different layering options until I liked how it looked. The die cut starburst circle was added at the last minute to break up the linear bits...and ended up being a perfect spot for my journaling.

Time to start sticking things down. I often snap a quick picture on my phone so that I can remember how I had everything arranged when I need to take things off the page to assemble from the bottom up. Once I had the papers back in order, I added the photos and began toying around with embellishments. The small border of woodgrain cardstock just to the left of the jute twine was a last minute addition...I was playing around with my chalk inks and liked how it looked, so I added the border as well as 2 punched hearts at the bottom of the large photo. A few hidden butterflies here and there, the completed journaling spot and stamped word bubble rounded out a cluster of bits near the middle.

Last to add was the title. I usually have in mind kind of where I want it to end up, but almost always add it last. Initially I had planned on adding it under the large photo, but it didn't quite stand out enough...so back to the top it went, lol. The exclusive tiny alphabet added an extra bit of color and a fun subtitle all in one fell swoop. :) 

(supplies : kit - So Cal ; mist - Mister Huey's Shine & White ; cardstock - More Gray, More White Woodgrain ; paint - JBS Chicken Feed ; ink - Prima Chalk Ink Tin Can & Moss Lawn, Versafine Black Onyx)

Finished product is my Main only layout for June. As you can see from the first photo up there, taken before I started cutting things up, a few changes were made from my initial 'intended pile'. Only one sequin butterfly made it onto the page, I added bits of the woodgrain cardstock, the coral twine and vellum diecuts were both eliminated...but the basis remained the same. Hope you enjoyed my thought process!!

Weekly Challenge

Challenge: Let your embellishments be the focus this week...use up some of those you've been holding on to!!

As much as I love embellishments, I tend to hang on to them for 'the perfect time to use them'...and they sit in my stash. With so many great bits in our monthly kits as well as the fun new pieces from the new CHA lines, I decided to make a page using primarily embellishments instead of patterned paper. 

The tiny envelopes are pretty darn perfect. Did you know they are double sided, so the solid inside is a nice contrast to the outside print?? I snipped off the flaps so those colors would show, and decorated each envelope a bit. My love for the paper clips continues...I attach one and just slide the fabric 'flag' to where i want it to sit on my layout.

To get the washed look on the girl veneer, I spritzed it with Pretty Pink Mister Huey and wiped it with a wet paper towel before it dried. You get a totally different look when you rub the color into the grain, and yet it's still subtle. I ran a piece of vellum through my typewriter for the journaling, and then stamped + embossed the day onto it after punching the bottom edge.

If you don't have Photoshop (or like so many of us, the TIME to play around in Photoshop, lol) but love the look of text in different fonts on your photos, try the Phonto App for your phone...I used it here to apply the 'my point of' portion of my title and added the Thickers later to finish it.

Supplies: People Veneer, Pretty Pink Mister Huey, Calico Shine Mister Huey, Abroad Star Stickers, Weekdays Stamps, Powder Zing, Versafine, Please Note Stamp Set, Aqua Abroad Tiny Alpha, Lullaby Thickers, Mini EnvelopesTake Note,  Fabric Paper Clips, Veneer Stars, Woodgrain Garland, Cameo Machine, Calendar Smash Tape, More Vellum.

Can't wait to see how you embellish your pages!!

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!  

May's class is almost here but it's not too late to sign up! Celine has put together a super kit  to accompany her Get Messy class. Here are a few samples of you can do with the kit.

Nicole Samuels made a layout with her kit:

Supplies:  Get Messy class kit;  Lemonade Mister Huey's, Chalk Inks - Teal Damask and Garden Grass, acrylic paint

Nicole Harper did an amazing mini with her kit:

Marcy Penner made a mini using photos from her recent trip to Florida. You can see more details on her blog and in her SC gallery.

Supplies used: Class Kit, Mister Huey Dewey, Mister Huey Classic White, Date Stamp, Jenni Bowlin Fountain Pen Ink, sewing machine, typewriter, Fiskars punches, Jenni Bowlin Tab punch, Tiny Attacher, Prima Chalk Ink in blue, red, grey and green, Glue Dots, Cutterbee scissors, AC Knocks Outs zigzag punch.

Robyn Werlich did an amazing mixed media treatment on the cover of her mini: 

Don't miss out on Celine's class or her kit! Class starts May 1st!

Make It Work

Nik here, sharing a tidbit about how I made something I wasn't quite sure about from a kit work for me!

I know that the gold Thickers in the Encyclopedia add-on scared a few folks, myself included. I like 'tame' glitter...like the POW Glitter papers in the Shop. It's no secret that I can be a texture-phobe on my projects, only because I don't want anything getting smooshed/flattened/crunched...so the 'flatter' glitter stuff suits me very well. 

But those Thickers scared me.
I CONFESS!
But I love the font, so I gave it a go...and ended up using them on nearly every page in my gallery for March!
For me, it was small doses.
A few numbers as an accent here...

As the title to my page here...I 'dulled' the shine a bit by inking right on top of them with some Prima Old Road Chalk Ink.

And in the end, I went crazy and let them do their thing. LET 'EM RIP! What better reason to use some glitter Thickers than a page about nail polish?!

For me, what worked was rubbing a bit of the chunky glitter off before sticking them down. Still plenty of sparkle, but not quite as 'WOW...CHECK ME OUT'!
In the end, I chose to embrace the glitter.
And ended up loving the bit of shine it added to my pages.
:)