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 | 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!

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!

day by day

I was really excited to make a Project Life spread using the new Studio Calico lines: Sundrifter, Here and There, and Snippets. They are colorful and whimsical and fit my style of scrapping perfectly. Plus they have so many little embellishments that would work well for Project Life. The spread came together really easily due to all the matching products, including the printables for these three lines.

(supplies: patterned paper – Here and There Chattanooga, Here and There 6x6 Paper Pad, Snippets 6x6 Paper Pad, Snippets Me-Oh-My, wood veneer - Here and There Wood Veneer Dogs, die-cut shapes - Here and There Die-Cut Shapes, Sundrifter Die Cut Shapes, die-cut frames – Snippets Die Cut Frames, thickers - Snippets Aqua Thickers, badges - Here and There Adhesive Badges, stickers - Snippets Tab Card Stickers, Snippets 12x12 Sticker Sheet, Sundrifter 12x12 Sticker Sheet, chipboard - Snippets Printed Chipboard Arrows, Snippets Printed Chipboard Cameras)

You can see this spread is filled with COLOR. One of my favorite products in these new lines are the little 3x3” frames. I would add them over a portion of my picture I wanted to stand out.

I love the paper in the Here and There collection called Chattanooga with all the little designs on it. I cut several out to use on my spread to further the theme I was after.

When I saw these new lines at CHA, I was instantly in love with the playful little circles with different words on them. They come in stickers and in wood veneer. I printed the 4x6 PL card with the same designs on them and then added some of the stickers over my photo for an easy insert.

I think this Project Life spread is one of my favorite ever because I love the colors in these lines so much and they totally fit my style of scrapping! I had such a fun time using them to create this spread and want to use them all throughout my Project Life album! 

-Suzy Plantamura

product spotlight

Here's a peek at how our Creative Team has been using our Here+There, Snippets and Sundrifter lines : 

Nicole Reaves - By the Numbers : 

Joy Taylor - Hello :

Geralyn Sy - February Project Life

Deb Duty - Utah Vacation minibook

Suzy Plantamura - Learning to Love Myself

Leena Loh - Project Life Week 7

Julie Campbell - Happy Birthday

weekly challenge

CHALLENGE: Use the Studio Calico printables on a layout, card or project life spread.

The Studio Calico printables are such a great addition to the kits and work well on all projects including layouts, cards and Project Life spreads.  They probably give you the most “bang for your buck” of any product out there! You can use them as is, or you can alter them before printing or after printing to make them fit your needs. We'll be working with the Block Party printables today, but since they are no longer available we wanted to let you know that you can try these same ideas with the Front Row printables!

If you want to alter them to be more or less saturated, just go into Photoshop Elements to Enhance, Adjust Color, and Adjust Hue/Saturation. Slide the Hue bar to change the color, slide the saturation bar to increase or decrease the saturation, and/or slide the lighten bar to lighten or darken the entire page of printables at one time.  To change the color of just one printable at a time, in Elements, set the foreground color to what you want it to be and then use the Paint Bucket tool to click on the area your want to change to that color. Here is an example of the printables after all the colors have been changed.

Another option is to doodle on the printables to customize them. Here is an example of some of the January Day by Day class printables after they have been doodled on.

Anna-Maria shows us how she adds them to her scrapbook pages with all kinds of artistic touches. She refers to the printables as stylish, with good design, easily available, and economical with excellent high graphic quality. And with her eye for art and style, I trust her opinion!

(supplies: Block Party Printable #1 GS; Block Party Printable #2 GS; Block Party Scrapbook Kit; Pollard Avenue Add On Kit; Woodbrooke Road Add On Kit)

(supplies: Block Party Printable #1 GS; Block Party Printable #2 GS; Block Party Scrapbook Kit)

Here are some ways to incorporate the printables into a Project Life spread. If you look closely, this spread is made with almost entirely printables. I altered the colors and added some doodling to make them fit my needs and match my page.

(supplies – Block Party Printable #1 GS; Block Party Printable #2 GS; Block Party Scrapbook Kit; Block Party Card Kit; Block Party Project Life Kit; Pollard Avenue Add On Kit; Wildberry Court Add On Kit; Pioneer Drive Add On Kit; Woodbrooke Road Add On Kit; Uniball White Pen; other: markers)

From these close up shots, you can see how they were used in more detail.

We challenge you to use any of the Studio Calico printables on a layout, card, or Project Life spread. Try them as is or alter them to make them work for you. It’s one of the most easy and economical products to use on your layouts. We hope you enjoy using them as much as we did! 

Create a project for this challenge, then share it in the Studio Calico gallery. Leave us a link to your project by February 4th the comments here to be entered to win a $5 GC to the Studio Calico Shop.

Suzy and Anna-Maria