Sandlot Reveal ETA: Unpacking Video

How would I describe the August Kits from Studio Calico? Well they're full of bright pastel colours (is that an oxymoron?!), funky graphic patterns and have a very playful theme to them. Take the Main Kit 'Sandlot' for example....

Talk about fun! I for one am embracing that small splash of purple, that rainbow paper, and those awesome acetate alphas (yep... then I threw in an alliteration as well!). Here's my Main Kit only layout for the month. It's a 2-pager! Yay!

Sometimes I find that I want to go really quite simple with my style. It never lasts of course. Usually after one layout I've got that out of my system and then want to go back to my normal layered and embellished pages. But here I took up the challenge of keeping it clean and graphic.

The title page was created by printing out one of the journal cards in giant form to fit the whole 8.5x11" page, and then I cut out the word 'light' with my craft knife so I could back it with a pop of colour. I used Clean Slate Ink to stamp the 'Be Happy' and arrow which help jazz it up a notch too.

Add On 1: Hercules

So it turned out that Hercules became my favourite Add On this month. I never would have guessed that to be honest. I really don't consider myself a floral kind of girl, and I've always struggled with the bold black and white prints. But then I did this layout and my world just got turned upside down...

The reason I tried this combination of prints? I was pushed out of my regular scrapping zone by attempting to lift this fabulous layout by the amazing Marivi. Most of the Creative Team have taken up the challenge of choosing one of our community member's layouts to lift, and if you haven't seen Marivi's work before then I suggest you check it out because she has such a whimsical but structured style. I was immediately drawn to her "Remember" layout because of it's lengthy journaling, and in an attempt to pick similarly designed papers I ended up with this composition here.

And can I be completely honest? I actually really really love this layout! It's definitely my favourite for the month. Thanks Marivi for letting me lift you!

After that, I wanted to add those roses to every other layout, but stuck with just this one. I didn't want all my pages to look same-same, no matter how fabulous those roses are! So this one is my hybrid attempt for the month, and again I kept it a little more simple in it's design. Which is what I seem to revert to every time I do hybrid. I don't think I've quite got the hang of it yet, because I struggle with knowing what the overall design of the page will be when I'm doing the digital side of it. And obviously once it's printed out it's essentially unchangeable and I just work around it.

I don't really mind though, 'cos I know the simple look can still be quite striking. Perhaps even more so. And I love the focus on the photo whilst then adding some textured elements on top. My title for this layout was once again made using one of the Printable Journal Cards. I opened it up in Photoshop and then erased the rectangle outline so I was just left with the words.

Add On 2: Jet

This kit is absolutely jam-packed with goodies, and has been designed as a mini-album kit. Marcy Penner is using it for her upcoming Mini Album Workshop. But if you're not a mini-album kind of person then don't automatically overlook this one. I've ended up using bits and pieces of this on 3 of my layouts and I've got soooo much left over!

For starters, I used lots of the 4x4" papers all layered up across my page for this layout, which was mainly because I couldn't bear to cut into that gold star vellum and I wanted to make a real feature of it. It kinda suited my theme of birthday parties even thought there's nothing specifically 'birthday-y' about any of these ingredients. But maybe lots of numbers and lots of stars are birthday-y?

Add On 3: Smalls

I'm really finding that each month the embellishment-only kits have been filled with some really fun supplies and this month is no exception. I'm really bummed my kit shipped before SC headquarters could get a lot of these things arrived in the warehouse. But obviously if you guys buy this kit you'll get everything pictured!

My last layout uses the papers from Hercules, the chipboard frames, alphas and star paperclips are from Jet, and in fact it's really just the gold sequins that are from Smalls! But I did use those acetate stars up on my "Turning 7" layout above. On this layout however my main focus was on creating a bit of an interesting background and then keeping the colours of the design minimal.... just teal, orange and grey. It was a good challenge, even if I wasn't really happy with the outcome. Embrace the journey though I say!

You can check out more details about my layouts in my Studio Calico gallery here. Happy reveal day!!

ETA: We didn't get a chance to pop up the Kit Unpacking video before the reveal, but here it is now in all it's normal colour-blind, colloquialism-loving Trophy-Husband and cute-kids glory!!




Sandlot Supplies:

Sandlot Main Scrapbook Kit Hercules Add On Jet Add On Smalls Add On Sandlot Printable Labels Sandlot Printables by Hello Forever Sandlot Printables by Life Love Paper Sandlot Printables by In a Creative Bubble Sandlot Mini Book Template by Shanna Noel Color Theory Ink: Orange County Color Theory Ink: Sunny Day Color Theory Ink: Blush Crush Color Theory Ink: Coral Bay Color Theory Ink: Mint Hint Color Theory Ink: Clean Slate

InLinkz.com

August Shopping List

Yay for bundling time which has already begun! That means if you're a Studio Calico subscriber, anything you add to your cart between now and the end of the month will get shipped in the same package for the same price. It doesn't matter how many times you check out... it's still all the one package. I think my record is 7!

So here's what's top of my list for August....

• Color Theory Acrylic Paint Bundle

The first 12 colours to be released in the Color Theory line have really got all your basics covered - these will match almost anything in your stash. First there was the Inks, then all the papers and embellishments, then there was the Ink Refills, and now there's the acrylic paint set! That's pretty much got all the standard techniques covered now. And don't forget that there's a $5 discount on the Paint Bundle if you enter the code at checkout.

• Workspace Class

I do so enjoy the classes at Studio Calico, they're always so inspiring and I always come away having learned new techniques and improved my existing 'skills'. Well this class seems like it'll go a step further and actually whip my butt into gear by getting me to organise my craft room. This is a long overdue task for me. One that I am happily putting off at the moment. But I'm hoping if I do the class it'll force me into action ;-)

• Brighton Pier 6x6" Paper Pad

When the newest collection 'Brighton Pier' was released a week ago it sold out pretty much straight away - this has been such a popular and well-received line. The 6x6" Paper Pad is nearly the only thing left, which I find slightly strange in a way because I love these smaller size pads. You still get all the patterns, but on a smaller scale which is helpful for layering on layouts and card making too. So this was a no-brainer for me! 

• Howdy Stamp and Die Set

This is a re-release of a previously sold-out set. It went so quickly last time that so many people were left without one, so Studio Calico listened to their customers once again and have ordered in a new bunch! There's also the Aloha Stamp Set which faced a similar crisis and has just been re-released again too.

• Number Badge Set

I figure if I'm going to get even slightly serious about Project Life then I better start looking at PL type of supplies. (Any excuse to go shopping hey!?) These number badges look totally cute and would be just as good on birthday cards too I reckon.

Happy Shopping!

Sandlot Sneaks

Working with the upcoming Studio Calico August Kits "Sandlot" has been a whirlwind adventure in creating, let me tell you! Unavoidable delays meant I only received my kits on Tuesday which has only left a couple of days to get all my layouts done. Meanwhile, I'm happy to report that the kits are so jam-packed with inspirational supplies that I found it wasn't difficult at all, and I've actually churned out 5 layouts! Let me share my sneaks with you.....

First up is the main kit called 'Sandlot'. I added in some of the digital Printable Journal cards to make this semi-hybrid layout with a whalloping big title!

Add On 1 is called 'Hercules' and turned out to be my favourite this month. I never would have anticipated that the rose paper would make it onto multiple layouts and become my favourite paper of the whole shebang. Never! However, there are plenty of close contenders.

But here's proof-point number one....

Add On 2 is called 'Jet' and is intended as a mini-album kit. It's what Marcy Penner will be using in her upcoming Mini Book Workshop.

You can catch all the details for that class here.

But meanwhile, I didn't make a mini-album with my kit, instead I've used it on many of my layouts. For example, there's that awesome tag getting used as a sub-title...

And then there's all those chipboard frames getting put to good use...

Lastly there's Add On 3, the embellishment-only kit called 'Smalls', which seems apt.

It's got this magical fairyland kind of theme and so I paired it with the paper from 'Jet' to make a birthday party layout. Close enough right?

It's crazy close to reveal time already which I guess is the advantage of creating all my layouts in the last day or so. It means I don't have much longer to wait until you all get to check it out for yourselves. 'Cos sometimes that anticipation is overwhelming :-)

Now did you know that one of the advantages of being a subscriber is having access to exclusive subscriber-only products which get released on sneak night and will ship with your kits for free? For example, last month was the delicious mini-mist set which very promptly found it's way into my shopping cart. And this month there's a Kelly Purkey designed Stamp and Die Set which looks like a lot of fun!

But you don't need to be a subscriber to take advantage of every deal Studio Calico have going. These two $5 voucher codes are open for anyone to use. Both the Acrylic Paint Bundle and Ink Refill Bundle come in the 12 standard colours of Color Theory which means you've automatically got coordinated supplies if you've been purchasing anything else along the way. I know I'm finding it super-helpful in my own quest to get better at colour combinations!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the team's sneaks on the Message Board here. See you at reveal!

My Handbook Project Life

Aaaaarrrgghhhhh! So I did it! I totally did it! I made my first Project Life spread.
And it's flippin' my mind that I'm so excited about this. After all, this is something that I thought I'd never do. Then a couple of months ago I bought some supplies, and started a PL Kit Subscription... which didn't actually change anything. I still didn't do anything.

A couple of weeks ago I printed some photos.
And still didn't do anything.

But then one day I got inspired, I slotted those photos into a page protector, added some beautiful cards from the Hello Hello PL Kit, scattered some embellishments and all of a sudden my first page was done! And it was so easy!

I'm planning on doing my album a little differently. I figure it's going to be a place where I document the days where I've got multiple photos from the one event I want to scrap. I'm not really one to do more than one layout from an event, so this will be my solution. I'm using a Handbook so it's a smaller space, and right now I'm assembling each spread pretty much straight from the kit so I don't need to worry about product choices.

I think this is going to be a good fit for me.