Hello Hello Reveal

If you're a Southern Hemispherian like me, and you're dreading the imminent winter season, instead dreaming of the warm tropical summers, then the Studio Calico Hello Hello kits are just what you need to bring a little sunshine into your life ;-) Here's what the Main Kit looks like...

And here's what all the kits look like "in real life." This video will take you through all the contents of my Scrapbook Kit, as well as the 3 Add On kits.... as perceived/performed by my husband!! Yes, that's right - instead of me opening up the kits and showing you each piece by piece I thought I would ask The Man to do it. (Actually, in all honesty, it was his own suggestion. I think he secretly wishes he received packages full of pretty things every month)



Speaking of The Man, my first layout I made this month with the 'Main Kit Only' even features him! Headless... but nonetheless, that's still The Man.

'Lunch Date' Supplies: Hello Hello Main Kit, Printable Labels, Printables by In a Creative Bubble

There's 2 key feature points on this layout, possibly 3. Firstly, it's that city skyline paper. It really caught my eye as I flicked through the kit contents and I knew I wanted to do something special with it. It seems I'm not the only one, half the Creative Team seemed to have similar ideas! Secondly it was all about those foam stamps. I used the "YES" with Clean Slate ink to stamp repeatedly in my masked-off area under the buildings. The foam stamps take the ink really smoothly. And the third thing might just be those acetate alphas. A big bold font I really love!

'Hi' Supplies: Hello Hello Main Kit, Printable Labels, Printables by Hello Forever

Ironically, with all the bright colours in the kit, I wanted my second 'Main Kit Only' layout to be quite a subdued, stark, almost B&W affair to match that funny photo of my youngest putting on a shadow-puppet show. I used the masks in the kit to create more circles on my page, and chose circle stickers to also mimic the photo. I couldn't resist the sprinkling of gold from those labels either.

The first Add On I wanted to get stuck into was the 'Ni Hao' kit. Two sets of alphas (yay!) that yellow chevron bag and the red doily were my favourite bits.

So I put them all to good use on my double page spread 'Ripe'.

'Ripe' Supplies: Hello Hello Main Kit, Ni Hao Add On, Bonjour Add On, 

Printables by Hello Forever, Cutting Files by Hello Forever

I decided for my double this month I wanted everything to go BIG! Firstly I printed my big photo directly onto the ledger paper (the b-side of that red circle pattern) just for something a little different. It adds a bit of extra pattern and layering without being too overwhelming I think. 

And then I up-sized one of the Cutting Files onto a full page too. I reckon this would make a fun journaling card too, but for now it also makes a great big bold statement. And I'm cool with that.

Next, I wanted to play with the Add On called 'Hola'.... mainly because of that blue script paper by We R Memory Keepers. So awesome! It's b-side has the same pattern but in Spanish which makes it even more perfect for this kit ;-)

So I pretty much just wanted to use that paper, and then matched it with some fun bright layers from the Main Kit as well as a sprinkling of embellishments from the Embellishment-Only kit (which I'll get to in a second!)

'You & Me' Supplies: Hello Hello Main Kit, Hola Add On, Ni Hao Add On, 

Bonjour Add On, Printables by Hello Forever

The photos aren't of me (obviously), but of my friend Mei. She's one awesome friend and one amazing doctor, and I wanted to cheer her up with this bright happy layout of her and Hubby getting all sillified at a wedding. I do love some good photo-booth pics and these were too fun to pass up. Don't worry.... she knows she's going public and she's ok with that idea :-)

Now let me introduce you to my favourite Add On this month which is the Embellishment Only kit called 'Bonjour'. Isn't it just perfect in every single way?

You can pretty much see these embellishments sprinkled throughout all my layouts, or at least all the other four which weren't 'Main Kit Only' and I seriously love every single element in this kit. I've got plans for that balloon-dog mask let me assure you ;-)

'Be Bright' Supplies: Hello Hello Main Kit, Bonjour Add On, 

Printables by In a Creative Bubble, Printable Labels

On 'Be Bright' I used up another one of those kraft butterflies, and some of the puffy stickers. But mainly this layout was all about making a whole rainbow of bright happy colours, which was achievable just with papers from the Main Kit can you believe? Obviously I went with the whole ROYGBIV thing, but with this many colours to choose from you could go in sooo many directions.

There's a good dose of Printables in this layout too. All the labels come in a matching rainbow of colours, and the others which you see in the detail-shot above are from the Printables designed by In a Creative Bubble. Yep... still loving me some Printables!

'Beautiful' Supplies: Hello Hello Digital Templates, Bonjour Add On

But it was the layout above which has rocked the scrappy world in which I live. Oh my gosh! Why haven't I succumbed to digital templates before? I'll tell you why! It's because I thought "I don't do digital scrapbooking" and "that all seems too technical".

But I was unable to resist the charms of Shanna Noel's digital Templates for this month - all those rainbowy hearts was too much to bear. And taking the Digital class has helped get my confidence up. So turns out they're really easy.... and really awesome too. I took a template, changed it up just a bit so my photo became a large focus of the page and adjusted the colours a little. Then I printed it out (because I still think "I don't do digital scrappbooking") and added a few more embellishments from Bonjour to it so it's still nice and textural.

And now I'm pretty sure Hybrid Scrapbooking is going to become my new 'thing'!! This is definitely my favourite layout from this month, and I can't wait to see what the templates are like next month. I'm so inspired!

So the Creative Team Gallery is up, the Kits have gone live to the general public and the shopping has begun. Let me know what you got!



Hello Hello Supply List:

Hello Hello Main Kit Hola Add On Ni Hao Add On Bonjour Add On Hello Hello Templates Hello Hello Printables by In a Creative Bubble Hello Hello Printables by Hello Forever Hello Hello Printables Labels Hello Hello Cut Files by Hello Forever Color Theory Ink: Orange County Color Theory Ink: Deja Blue Color Theory Ink: Something Blue Color Theory Ink: Emerald City Color Theory Ink: Mint Hint Color Theory Ink: Clean Slate Precision Pen Uni-Ball Signo White Gel Pen Mister Hueys Opaque White Mister Hueys Silver

InLinkz.com

My Reveal Day Shopping List

The countdown for the reveal of the Studio Calico Hello Hello kits is on! Have you figured out which Add Ons you want so you can be first in line to nab them when they go live? And what about your shopping list? Have you got that all worked out? Bundling has already began which means if you're a subscriber you can start purchasing things now and they'll ship with your kit. You can put in as many separate orders in before the end of the month, and only pay the one shipping cost! Love that option!

But subscriber or not, I wanted to share with you what's on my Shopping List this month, and top of my list are products that have no postage involved anyway!

1. Hello Hello Digital Templates created by Shanna Noel. I may have just about shared it everywhere already... but I am continuing to scream from the rooftops how much I've loved working with the templates this month. It's not something I've considered before to be perfectly honest. But I am soooooo glad I took the plunge into hybrid scrapping with these little beauties because I've just made my most favourite layout with them! But there are so many possibilities with these, and the Creative Team have put them to good use in lots of variations.
2. Next on my list is the Digital | Beyond the Basics Class taught by Shanna Noel. See, the way I figure it... if her templates have just blown my scrappy world wide open, then I better let her teach me how to use these things properly. Plus the other million tricks that I know she's got up her sleeve. Have you seen all the bonus digital files that come with the class for you to practice with? I'm trembling with excitement!
3. Now I admit I've been avoiding the Letterpress trend. Too much effort and mess has been my impression. That is, until Nicole Reaves shared on the blog last week how to use your letterpress plates with plain ol' ordinary ink such as the Colour Theory pads, and now I'm thinking I could really get on board with that idea! This Adventure Card Toppers plate has got a thousand possibilities designed into it :-)
4. I'm thinking it's the people like Lisa Truesdell who are on the right track with doing their Project Life in Handbook form. The 6x8" format seems like it might be more achievable for someone like me who is only very tentatively setting foot in PL territory. And hey... if I don't use it for Project Life, I could always use it for storing my stamps in!
5. A little slow on the uptake, I've been meaning to add the Mister Huey's Watercolour Set to my cart for the last 3 months or so now and for some reason it keeps slipping my mind. Not this time though!

What's been catching your eye lately?

3 Mothers Day Cards in a Hurry

So in the excitement of my Studio Calico Hello Hello kits arriving, and the new South of Market collection (wooo hoooo!) and the creative tornado that my house has been since then... I totally forgot to post my Mother's Day cards! Whoopps!

In all honesty, these were crafted at the very last minute. Sooo last minute that I had to rely on The Man to take the photographs before he posted them off whilst I went to work. Not a bad job really... I think he's learning a trick or two! Maybe I should put him in charge of these things more often?

So what to do when you're needing to craft up some cards in a hurry? Slosh on some paint, splash some mist and then layer them up with bits and pieces of paper scraps. At least, that's what I did :-)

What made me totally laugh out loud was when I later saw this feature on the Jot Magazine blog. I'd like to consider this a case of "great minds think alike"... because it feels like Kim Archer was thinking the exact same way when she put together her Mother's Day cards in a rush too! Even down to the similar details of using spare PL cards and some Maggie Holmes papers!

What other tricks have you got for when you need to create something in a hurry?
Hope you enjoyed your Mother's Day?

Hello Hello Sneaks

The June kits at Studio Calico are typically filled with happy brights perfect for summertime scrapping, and the upcoming Hello Hello kits are not going to disappoint. Even if, like me you're stuck in the wintery blues of the Southern Hemisphere, these are kits that will bring a touch of sunshine and happiness. Check out the Mood Board for a start:

Doesn't it just make you think of ice cream at the beach, cotton dresses, hot sunshine and tropical fruit drinks? Or maybe that's just me?

Well anyway.... on with the sneaks!

In actual fact, when I started off making all my layouts (6 of them this month... and 1 of those is a double pager!) I was ironically first drawn to the neutrals in the main kit. The grey paper with the hand-drawn skyline instantly caught my attention and I knew I wanted to do something 'special' with it. I matched it with the citrus colours of orange, green and yellow to lighten it slightly.

But my second Main Kit Only layout I purposely left quite muted in it's colour scheme - it's all grey, blue and green. I like that it's quite a stark contrast both within the layout itself, and as a contrast with the other layouts I've made. You can just catch a glimpse of the exclusive mask at work in this sneak as well.... if you know what you're looking for ;-)

After I got that out of my system, then it was straight into the brights. And I mean the whole ROYGBIV of brights! The sneak above is still pretty much all Main Kit Only (apart from those puffy stickers which come in the Bonjour Add On) and as you can see, I've scrapped a rainbow! Super fun!

Now, I didn't plan it this way, but this sneak above is also nearly all Main Kit Only, with the exception of the stamp and glass bubbles (from Bonjour as well). But the point is... there's some really fabulous digital files coming out too, such as this cutting file you can see. Sometimes I like a small subtle cut embellishment, and sometimes I need to go BIG!

Colour, colour, colour. This layout was an exercise in how many colours can I load onto a layout. I believe Anna-Maria hit the nail on the head when she described this sneak as my "colour bomb"!! Well, check out those fun photos... I had to match the happiness and frivolity of my theme! Again, all the papers you can see here are from the Main Kit, whilst the embellishments are a mix of the three Add-Ons.

My last sneak for today shows what I consider to be my very first hybrid layout. By that I mean, the majority of the page was designed in Photoshop, based on one of the new templates about to be released, but then I printed it out and added some textural details on top. I chose embellishments from the Bonjour kit, which is the Embellishment-Only kit for June. I always thought digital scrapbooking was something I wouldn't, or couldn't do. But slowly and surely I've succumbed to digital stamps, cutting files, printables... and now the templates. I wonder what's next?!

One thing I know is that I'm super SUPER excited to be taking part in Shanna Noel's Digital class, and I'm really eager to learn her expert tips so that I can do this thing properly! I have a feeling you haven't seen the last hybrid layout from me :-)

PS. There are more sneaks of my layouts on the Studio Calico message board here.