World Cardmaking Day with Studio Calico

So October 1st was World Cardmaking Day - did you do any card making?! I participated in the Studio Calico challenges by issuing my own to make a card with repeated stamping to create either a background pattern or a focal image. 

For my example I pulled out an older stamp set from the Odyssey Card Kit and used a simple grid pattern to line up my little green critters ;-)

I went to and fro with different design ideas for this but in the end kept it real simple and stuck to stamping it in Color Theory Ink and colouring them in with the same. Sometimes simple is the best right?

And as usual I finished off with a sprinkling of sequins. Sequins are my new mist droplets ;-)
Certainly they're less messy!

Good news! The Studio Calico World Cardmaking Day challenges are open until the 5th and anyone who participates has a chance to win a $50 store discount. Find out all the details on the Message Board HERE.

Studio Calico October Story Board Kits

Oh wow! I can't tell you how long it's been since I created some good ol' 12x12" traditional layouts! And to be honest I was a little worried how I would go when I got the Studio Calico October Scrapbook Kit in my hands, but as it turns out - it totally revived my mojo!

 Let me show you what I've made with the Story Board Main Kit...

Like always, when I feel like I need to 'ease back' into something then I'll start off with some methods that I know will work. For me right now that's about using giant photos and then adding a little cluster of embellishments around the edges.

The colours in this kit are so warm and vibrant and of course have quite an Autumnal feel about them. To make it even more obvious I decided to use THIS digital cutting file to create my title.

I especially love those pops of bright magenta/purple/autumn red, and then the little sprinkle of golden yellow too. 

Funnily enough there's also a lot of heart and love-type embellishments running through this Main Kit (enough that you could almost mistake it for a February kit!) but which is ok because I've always got use for pink and red hearts!

Those rubber hearts are fabulous and I had to resist every urge to hoard them. In fact, I'm making a conscious effort to abandon any idea of 'saving them for something special' and to use them all up instead!

So they were pretty much the inspiration for this whole layout and I used them as a template for my photos and the papers too. It's a simple grid-like approach for my page design but again, I guess I'm just sticking to the things I know!

Now just in case you were thinking that the Main Kit was all pink and girly I would have to respectfully disagree ;-) In fact, I think there's probably more cooler blue tones than the pink/purple and I picked lots of them out for this layout I made for the Scrapbook Kit Workshop (I can't show you the whole thing.. just a sneak!)



And lastly can I just share that I also made a card? Like seriously, all this is ONLY with the Main Kit, plus a few of the digital printables (such as this one) and I reckon I've only killed about half of the kit so far. It's chocka block friends! 

So once again I rifled through and pulled out some of the love-themed bits so that I could throw together this engagement party card at the last minute. But it kinda works don't you think?!

I'm going to be back later on in the month on the Studio Calico blog sharing a video tutorial for yet another layout I'll be making with this kit, and I'll also be back real soon with my contribution to the Studio Calico World Cardmaking Day challenges (yes there are PRIZES!)

PS. Community service announcement... I only just found out there's a Vintage Studio Calico section to their shop at the moment and it's full of some very classic old SC stuff like this ampersand washi tape. Check it out HERE.

Studio Calico sneaks

The October kits at Studio Calico are called Story Board and they're a delightful colour mix that's warm and vibrant and more than a little Autumnal ;-) Here's the mood board to give you a hint at what I'm talking about...

Now clearly we're heading into Spring here in Australia but good news.... I'm at least 6 months behind in my scrapping which puts me smack-bang in the middle of my Autumn projects anyway, so I actually just consider this good timing!

Here's a sneak of the first layout I created as a Creative Team Contributor for October:

I might just have a tutorial up on the Studio Calico blog later on in the month walking you through how I create a layout like this, and I'll let you in on all my little secrets ;-)

Now funny enough I also found enough love-themed bits and pieces in the Main Kit to whip up this engagement card so this is a truly versatile kit!

I'm also excited to say that I'm also contributing to the Scrapbook Workshop this month too. This is a separate class subscription that you can sign up for where you receive teaching on a number of projects from each of the kits so it's a great compliment to your Kit Subscription. Above you'll see a sneak of the page I made for the class.

Don't forget that the full reveal is coming up on the 1st :-)

And did you see the news about the latest kit subscription that Studio Calico have just added to their line up? It's a STAMP KIT SUBSCRIPTION!!! It starts in November with the stamp set above, but you can sign up for preoorders on the site here. I can't wait!

Sizzix Spring Creating

Popping in to share some of the projects I've been making at Sizzix over the last month or so, and show off some of the new products they've got coming out this season.

For a start, did you know that Sizzix have their own paper collections? They have some fun and funky ones from past releases and this new collection is called 'My Life Handmade' and comes in A4 and 6x8" paper pads. There's also a fabric in the same house pattern too which is super cute.

I played with the paper and basic dies that have put together as part of the new Starter Kit that comes with the Big Shot Plus to create these set of tags. Now they're not just any tags, but I've turned them into something that you probably aren't expecting. Check out my full post right HERE.

They've also just released a whole set of new dies as part of their 'Chapter 3' release and it features some really great dies for Spring projects.

For this seasonal project I've used the Drifting Daisies and Garden Greens dies, along with an older Sizzix Free Bird die designed by Prima. You can catch my whole tutorial for this project right HERE.

Oh and yes, I have TOTALLY fallen in love with the Garden Greens die from Tim Holtz. It's actually a set of 9 different dies which makes it super versatile for so many projects and I knew it had to be top of my wish list.

I did nothing but cut and cut and layer and layer these leaves for a 3D framed artwork that's currently got pride of place on my mantel. You can see the whole post HERE!

And last but not least (for now!) I whipped up a project where I embellished a plain calico bag with these beautiful felt blooms to really jazz it up. The end result looks really pretty, but you know the problem with making attractive things when you've got kids around? They can't keep their hands off it!

Here's a look into the real-life situation that I face every time I try to get 'work' done whilst Judah's awake - complete with drool dripping down to soggy-up my bag!! LOL!

But if you want to see the proper photos then you can check it out in the post HERE.

Jot's September Mood Board Challenge

The Mood Board at Jot Magazine this month is an explosion of bright colours.
So I guess that should explain the card I made for it....

See what I mean?
It's all super-saturated Aztec-inspired tones of nature with rough textures and I absolutely adore it!

I have to admit, sometimes when I approach a mood board I try to pick out one or two colours as my primary focus and then perhaps add a sprinkle of the other colours if I can manage it. This time around I decided to forget all rules of design and just try to get all the colours on there in equal amounts and layer it all up with all those textures too!

Mission accomplished I'd say!
It's crazy busy and awesomely dimensional and it just makes me want to rub my fingers over all the different surfaces.... but it certainly fits the mood board!
Plus I'm rather proud of myself for using up all those Studio Calico wood veneer feathers that have been hoarded in my collection for the longest time :-)

Won't you join in with us again this month and make something papery inspired by this incredible mood board? You can catch all the details on the Jot Magazine blog HERE.

March Project Life

The thing that always pleases me the most about Project Life is that it truly is just about documenting the everyday ordinary moments. I don't need to be out there with my dSLR taking photos of the kids when they're dressed in their Sunday-best celebrating some special occasion in order to fill my pages.

I mean, those things happen too, of course they do. But when I look at this double-page spread for March the thing that strikes me the most is that 6 of the 7 photos here were taken on my phone in the heat of the moment. And the stories are just everyday type of events and memories of what we're doing now. I think I'm going to appreciate that as time goes on more and more.

As usual, this spread with all of it's 4x4" pockets needed lots of patterned paper cut to fit, and only a few of the pockets were filled with official Project Life cards. But I'm ok with that, especially since I'm making fewer layouts these days, so sometimes I feel like my scrap stash gets a little neglected.

The few cards that you can see come from the Studio Calico Homespun Documenter Kit including that funky March title card.

But the rest of the patterned papers, along with all the embellishments come from the Pinkfresh Felicity collection which I just adore!

I admit, this spread became a little Judah-heavy and I had to track back and purposely hunt out a photo of each of the girls so I could ensure it stayed a little more balanced. But I guess that's just part of the nature of the Project Life process too. Sometimes just more 'stuff' is happening to one person above the others.

And let's be honest, it's hard to avoid the temptation to photograph every cute thing he does and want to record it .... it's just that age he's at. Whereas taking a photo of the girls going off to school every day might get a little tedious! LOL! But I know it will all even out in the mix eventually anyway. :-)

Illustrated Faith - August edition

Oh man, the monthly kits from Illustrated Faith just seem to be going from strength to strength! I was going to say 'better and better' but I don't think that's quite true. It's more like they haven't missed a beat! Even though each kit is completely different in it's style and purpose (they all have different authors after all) they are all cohesively fabulous!

Let me show you a little insight into some of the previous kits before I dive into what's coming next.

A couple of months ago we had "Blessings or Lessons" and it completely changed the way I approach these devotionals. Previously I would read them, perhaps jot a few notes down as it spoke to me, and then declare to myself that I would later on return to journal those thoughts into my Journaling Bible or Praise Book. But we all know what's it like to actually get to 'later on'..... it never really happens does it?!

So I started doing my journaling and embellishing directly into the devotional as I went along. WOW! It works so much better for me this way. I truly feel like I'm back to that place where I'm able to connect my faith with my creative side and thoroughly enjoy this time spent in His presence.

Now sometimes I still feel like I need to approach it in a more 'traditional' way and get it stuck into my Bible as well.

So when it came to the "Yes and Amen" kit I used some of the entries in my devotional to prove as a sort of testing ground (or practice area) and copied them over into my Bible too.

I found myself using lots of the Printables from the Print and Pray shop throughout this devotional too. It's an easy 'cheat' way of getting some great illustrations onto my pages without needing to possess that type of artistic skill myself!

Now the devotional kit that we're still currently in is called "I am Strong" and it's written by our scrappy friend Wilna Furstenberg. I'm working a little bit behind the Illustrated Faith team so I've only just started mine in the last few days and have nothing to share yet, but if you check out the Illustrated Faith Instagram account, Shanna has just posted all of her completed pages for you to oggle!

This kit is still available in the DaySpring Shop HERE.

But the exciting this is the next kit gets released on Monday and it looks like it's going to be another amazing addition to the line up. It's called "Through Christ" and it's already making my rainbow-loving heart go pitter patter! Plus that blue ink!

You can find the sneak peek for this in the Day Spring shop HERE.


And something that's technically not Illustrated Faith related but which has us all with #hearteyes is the latest lot of Sadie Robertson products. Check out the unboxing video Shanna has done above, and then check out all the products in the Day Spring shop HERE.