Color Theory: The Complete Collection

I let out a great big WOOOO HOOO when the last 6 colours in the Studio Calico Color Theory Ink Pad range got released last month. They were the first thing that made it into my shopping cart at bundling time and I was excited to receive them a little while ago. I probably like looking at them just as much as I enjoy playing with them. You can see why...!

 

See? Super pretty!
The last six colours to hit the streets are: Gray Area, Clear Blue, Creme Brulee, Lavender Soda, Poppy and Lemon Zest. Like on previous occasions I thought I would take it upon myself to give you a little insight into what they're like in real life.

And because it gives me a good excuse to put them through their paces for my own pleasure ;-)
To test out all the new colours what I did was stamp their names with my Kit Alpha Stamp (currently sold out, but the Ashley Goldberg Alpha would be a great alternative) which gives a nice crisp outline of the colour straight off the ink pad.
To colour them in I created a little waterpaint with each of the inks by first dabbing the pad onto an acrylic block so plenty of the ink got transferred. Then I used my waterbrush to dip into the colour and then paint onto my paper. A fun little technique that I use with these inks all the time, and it gives me a look at the different shades within the colour as well.

The colours are vibrant and bright and fabulous of course. I've definitely got my eye on Lemon Zest as my new favourite, although Clear Blue is pretty special too. But what I wanted to do next was see where these new additions fit in with the other 'older' colours in the same spectrum. 

So here's the line up of how Poppy compares to Well Red and Flamingo. Each has been stamped twice after inking up to get a true colour, then progressively stamped off without re-inking (if that makes sense?) Now it's true that I've had to edit these photos a little because the light was a bit dark at the time, but I've tried to get the white paper as normal as possible in order to give you a true representation of the colours. It really is quite difficult to tell much of a difference between Poppy and Well Red even in real life but you'll have to trust me that there is! Well Red is a touch deeper and darker, whilst Poppy lives up to it's name as a brighter poppy colour.

It's much easier to see that Lemon Zest sits somewhere in between Sunny Day and Orange County and is a lovely egg yolk custardy colour (yes I get hungry a lot now that I'm pregnant, and food comparisons rate high on my interests lately!)

And this is how Gray Area and Creme Brulee fit into the more neutral tones. Certainly Gray Area is much lighter and warmer than Clean Slate and would make a great shadow colour.
Clear Blue and Lavender Soda are also both lighter tones of colours that have gone before them and you can see the comparison here.

So now that the collection is complete, which do you already have? What's on your list of what to get next? And what are you going to use them for? Link me up 'cos I'd love to see!!


All the pretty colours:

Color Theory Ink: Poppy Color Theory Ink: Well Red Color Theory Ink: Orange County Color Theory Ink: Coral Bay Color Theory Ink: Blush Crush Color Theory Ink: Flamingo Color Theory Ink: Lemon Zest Color Theory Ink: Sunny Day Color Theory Ink: Yes Peas Color Theory Ink: Lime Light Color Theory Ink: Emerald City Color Theory Ink: Mint Hint Color Theory Ink: Going Green Color Theory Ink: Glass Slipper Color Theory Ink: Clear Blue Color Theory Ink: Something Blue Color Theory Ink: Deja Blue Color Theory Ink: Purple Rain Color Theory Ink: Lavender Soda Color Theory Ink: Creme Brulee Color Theory Ink: Gray Area Color Theory Ink: Clean Slate Color Theory Ink: Doc Brown Color Theory Ink: Inky Black

InLinkz.com

Park Avenue Reveal

It's Reveal Day at Studio Calico and the new December Park Ave Kits are now on sale. Here's a look at the Main Scrapbook Kit to get you in the mood for what you might expect....

How would I describe this kit in one word? Vibrant!
The colours in this is what really grabs your attention and sparks the imagination. And that splash of purple dotted throughout is really unique and massively awesome if you ask me. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I think it makes this kit stand out above the rest and adds an unexpected element in an otherwise more traditional colour scheme of pink, teal and white.

And here's a real-life walk though of what it looks like in person, as well as the 3 Add Ons... as described by the Trophy Husband and Moriah. What's he going to say this time? I honestly have no idea - I actually haven't even watched it this time around. So you're in for as much a surprise as me!

      

Here's what I've done with Park Ave...

Obviously I'm inspired to scrap some Christmas pics at this time of year, and I've got such a backlog from the photos I took last year that I'm starting there!

This layout came together really quickly once I started working with the Digital Templates that Shanna Noel designed this month. They're technically supposed to be used as card templates for your Project Life albums or Christmas cards, but I wasn't the only one on the Creative Team that couldn't resist the temptation to blow this up to an 8.5 x 11" size and create a layout with it. They're super cute aren't they?

I've used the one on the left for another layout I'll share later on in this post too.
But whilst I was perusing the digital shop I came across something else that immediately had me wanting to put together a certain layout. Here's what I was inspired to make...

I'm sure all of us as parents have that massive pile of kid art that we've been given that we're expected to keep forever. I love my kids and I love their art. In fact I've even got a hashtag on Instagram where I help catalogue it all (#ElphieKidsMakeStuff) But in all honesty it's just not possible! There are those special pieces though that you really do want to treasure and I've been trying hard to help incorporate them into my own layouts and PL spreads as a way of immortalising them.

So when I saw the Project Life Digital Stamps with their crafty vibe I knew they would be perfect to create another page featuring some spectacular kid art ;-) Because I already had the photo printed off I chose to convert the stamps into cutting files instead and used them here for my title and the scissor embellishments.

Because the Main Kit was packed with so many things I wanted needed to use I was able to very easily whip up a third 'Main Kit Only' layout - this one inspired by my very favourite paper, the colourful one with all the houses on it.

Yes it's true, sometimes a single product can steer the whole direction of a page! So I started with the house paper and the idea that I wanted to journal about this wonderful city of Melbourne that I live in, and then everything started coming together. First I noticed that one of the Printable Journaling Cards included a quote about a city, and then I also saw the chance to create a skyline of high-rise buildings with the Card Kit Digital Stamps converted into cutting files (again!)

But as much as I love the Main Kit I also couldn't wait to get stuck into the Add Ons. They are just gorgeous. I'm really finding it hard to chose a favourite, and think I should give up altogether. Check them out...

I started working with Ritz, added in some papers from the Main, and then the embellishments from Waldorf (namely those cork snowflakes that everyone on the CT is raving about). Because I just had to work them into a layout somehow, so I made this page about Moriah's latest obsession with the movie Frozen. Totally works right?

Lots of journaling on this one - documenting the events of her birthday just gone. Because I feel like I'd been a bit slack with the amount I'd written on some of the others, so I over-compensated! But it tells the story, and that's what it's all about for me.

The photos scored a bit of digital love in the form of some stamps from the Lizzy Birthday Set which obviously suited the occasion perfectly. I'm seriously considering knabbing the acrylic set for some real-life stamp action because these would make some cute birthday cards don't you think? 

Or if you're in the mood for birthday scrapping, there's also an alternative set that's a bit more funky, called 'Happy Something'. Love the brush script on this one. Another difficult decision. Might just get them both ;-)

My last layout for the month was another hybrid attempt. These Digital Templates will make it so much easier and quicker to get some Christmas scrapping done in the busy season. And I'm ridiculously in love with the bright colours and ability to add so many photos on this particular template.

Although I didn't find the space to add any journaling, I think having 6 photos is probably enough to get a good sense of the story behind the occasion. It really captures the essence of the happy event doesn't it? And I've managed to get 90% of the family on the one page which is usually quite a remarkable feat for our gatherings!

Being a Christmas layout I couldn't resist the temptation to add some gold touches - especially since we're all wearing gold crowns in the photo. I created my own hand-drawn versions with Gold Glitter Zing and coloured in with Gold Mister Hueys. Loving the sparkle this adds.

And if you're thinking you love gold as much as I do, and you're fascinated with the latest craze of scratch off cards, then you might want to check out this 'Upcoming Year Card Set' designed by Marcy Penner. I could easily see these being used as a little desk calendar, or in my Project Life album.

And that's my lot for the month. And for the year really. I've still got one or two little projects coming to various blogs during December which use these kits, but ultimately this is the end of the line as far as the current CT are concerned. Who will be around next year, and what 2015 holds is yet to be announced. I think we're all holding our breath on that one! But I don't think it will be long before announcements are made.

In the meantime.....
Happy Scrapping!

What's on my Shopping List: Christmas Edition

It's the most wonderful time of the year!
With the Studio Calico Park Ave Reveal just around the corner, and Christmas fast approaching I thought I would put together a special holiday edition of what's made it into my shopping cart this month.

• 25 Days Class with Stephanie Bryon

Not being the most diligent of participants in creating a December Daily (I'm still working on my 2013 album!) I thought it can only help me stay motivated if I sign up for a class. And knowing that anything Stephanie Bryon puts her hand to is going to be stunning, this one was a no-brainer. Class has already began and we're going through building foundational pages at the moment. But enrollment is ongoing and the actual album pages from Stephanie and the other contributors begin on December 5th. It's quite quite exciting!

• Christmas Craft Die

Cheating a little bit with this one because I already have my hands on this die and it's a firm favourite in my Christmas crafting this season. You can see an example of where I've used it here. It's making my card making SO MUCH EASIER and it's going to be a breeze to put together Bethany's last minute annual "I want to give something to every kid in my class" freak out. I'm still waiting on that to hit. But I'm sooo ready :-)

• Filled with Joy Letterpress Plate

Finally I've succumbed to the Letterpess craze and now I can see why everyone is obsessed with it. I tried it out for the first time this week and I'm in love with the embossed rich colours it's promising. Anticipating I would quickly need more plates I've already invested in quite a few! And inks! Here's my first little experiment on Instagram if you want to check it out. But searching the hashtag #scletterpress will show you so many more stunning examples.

• Holiday Joy Stamp

I've said it before but I think if you're only going to invest in one new Christmas stamp set this year then this one has to be high on your list. It's already sold out a few times before at Studio Calico, but is currently restocked, so if you want to get your hands on it then now is the time. I can't wait to start playing with this. There's also a few awesome alternatives to choose from such as this one designed by Cathy Zielske, and this one designed by JJ Bolton that I'm in love with. It's a tough choice :-)

• Gold Glitter Washi Tape

And lastly, just because no Christmas crafting is complete without a touch of gold and glitter I though this set of washi tape would cover all bases. So so pretty!