Poet Society Sneaks

The September kits at Studio Calico are called "Poet Society" which coincidentally were named after the famous book/movie 'Dead Poet's Society', a name that came into fruition weeks before the tragic news of Robin William's apparent suicide. We actually debated long and hard whether we should do a last-minute renaming, but in honour of the great actor we have chosen to keep it. As scrapbookers we are memory keepers and documentarians, the name will now last as a small token of a memorial if you like.

The Scrapbook Kit is filled with bold primary colours, neutrals and a masculine feel, but as you'll see from my sneaks, it's got the potential for some girly layouts in there too :-)

Add On 1 is called 'Dickinson' and is my favourite this month. It's jam-packed with new Maggie Holmes goodies, including about a thousand embellishments. Only a slight exaggeration. Those oversized gold alphas are just the icing on the cake.

In fact, Add On 2 'Alcott' is pretty much stacked with embellishments too. This time focusing on the newly released Shimelle collection.  There's literally the whole rainbow of colours in this kit, you're going to love it if you're a ROYGBIV fan like me ;-)

And Add On 3 'Whitman' which actually is the embellishment-only kit will have you gasping with excitement if you're the sort of person who loves never-before-seen new products that stretch the imagination and inspire you to create.

Let me show you some sneaks of what I've made this month.....

For my first Main-Kit-Only layout I stuck with the bold colour scheme of navy, lime green and grey which works equally well for both masculine and feminine layouts.

But for my second Main-Kit-Only layout I focused on the girly bits in the kit just to show how versatile it is. You know I can never pass up the addition of a hint of pink!

I used Add On 1 for this layout. I already mentioned the gold alpha stickers, but did I also mention the gold polka dot paper, and the gold foil accents in the chipboard embellishments? Whoooop!!

And lastly, my hybrid layout for the month was created mainly with Add On 2, and the addition of the felt ribbon and jewels from the Main Kit for lots of texture.

I've mentioned before the fabulous exclusive products that subscribers get a chance at pre-ordering to ship when their kits come, and this month is no exception. Check out the five sets of vellum alphabet stickers you can add to your cart for under $10!

I'm going to be back real soon with my shopping list for the month, and we're already counting down the days until the reveal on the 28th. Yay!

Class Sale

Studio Calico are having a Class Sale where you can purchase these 5 popular past classes for only $10 each, or the whole darn lot for just $25!

I've taken four out of the five of them myself and can vouch for their fabulousness ;-)
Let me share a little insight into them, and some of the projects I made as I took the classes...

"Mixed Media" first ran in April and was taught by Celine Navarro and Anna-Maria Wolniak. If there are two queens of mixed-media in the scrapbooking industry then these two girls are it! I'm no stranger to gesso, ink, paint, and all those messy techniques, but I learned sooooo much. New techniques as well as new mediums - those girls kept surprising me each week. But if you're a newbie you don't need to worry, because everything is explained in such an easy to understand way. This is a great class to take if you're interested in getting your hands a little dirty ;-)

 

"Digital | Beyond the Basics" is without doubt one of my most favourite classes of all time. The master of all things digital and hybrid, Shanna Noel, is the genius behind this one. By watching her fabulous video tutorials I've rapidly expanded my Photoshop skills, and my scrapbooking style as a whole has been revolutionised! I'm not quite ready to go into digital scrapping, but I've now embraced hybrid scrapping as an exciting alternative to the traditional layout.

"Stitched" I admit was a class I took because Paige Evans is inspirational, her techniques intrigued me, and because I thought it would expand my technique repertoire. And all those things are true! Turns out I still don't really enjoy embroidery and hand-stitching, and I'll need lots more practice if I'm ever going to attempt more of it on my layouts! (despite all my practice of similar techniques on real people!! LOL!) But if that sort of thing is something you enjoy then I highly recommend this class.

Lastly, "Inked 2.0" taught by Lisa Spangler and Tina Aszmus will show you a thousand techniques on how to get the most out of all those stamps you're hoarding and never use (yes, I think we're all the same!) in such a variety of ways. Think layouts, cards, art journals, home deco, off-the-page projects and so much more.

All these classes are on sale until the 25th, but once you purchase them you'll have access forever so even if you don't have time on your hands right now, this will be a great investment for your scrapbooking.

Whilst we're on the subject of classes, I'd also like to draw your attention to an article I wrote for Papercut Labs which also runs through some of the other scrapbook-changing classes I've taken this year. If you haven't heard of Papercut Labs, they're a new Australian company who are about to launch into the world of online classes themselves. With a bit of inside knowledge and a little wink of conspiracy I'll just say that there's going to be some fabulous Aussie scrapbooking personalities who'll be teaching there in the coming months and it's worth keeping an eye out for the breaking news. Follow along on the Papercut Labs blog and Facebook Page.

The Story of Something Glittery

I forced myself out of my creative funk with the help of two things...

1. Some fabulous new product.
This set of miniature Mister Huey's and the new alpha stamps called 'Kit' (named after April and Greg's newest baby!!) came in my last Studio Calico order and I've been waiting for something to come along to bust these out on. 

2. A scrappy challenge from Jot Magazine
There's nothing that inspires me like a good challenge, which might say something about my personality, but I prefer to just think I need a goal to work towards. Jot's challenge to include "something stripey, something bold, something glittery, something gold" was definitely something I could get on board with. And here's what I came up with..

Stripes? Black and white strips behind the photo. Check!
Bold? I figured I'm going to call my large title the 'bold' bit... do you think that will do?
Glittery? More subtle than I initially thought I would include, but there's glitter paper backed behind a few of those hearts.
Gold? Easy enough, I've used some gold star rubons by Jenni Bowlin scattered across my page in various locations.

And yes, those Alpha Stamps were just as fun as I imagined! These are sure to get a lot of use in my projects. I used them here with StazOn Ink so I can add the Mister Huey's as a watercolour - painting them roughly, not making any real attempt to keep that colour within the lines, 'cos I think it looks better that way!

What I also really enjoyed about the process behind this layout was that I essentially just used a bunch of scraps from my desk and recent products lying around. I didn't search too hard for any of these things. Most of the papers are Maggie Holmes, the diecut hearts was left over from a project from long ago, and there's a good scattering of Studio Calico Printables from the August Kits as well.

And the topic of the photo was glittery, even if not much else was! My girls love their 'scrap time' just as much as I do. You've probably already noticed that! And I've got bundles of photos capturing their artwork in progress. It's good to get one down on a page.

Here's to inspiration restored, and plenty more scrapping in the future.
xx

The Story of Speed Scrapbooking

Help! I'm in a bit of a funk! It's been over a week since I last scrapped or did anything remotely creative (which is a sort of record for me). I've walked into my scraproom a few times, even pulled out photos and paper and then.... nothing happened. No spark to ignite a flurry of activity.

Don't worry, I don't think it's anything serious. I don't think it's going to lead to "I need a break", it's only a week after all. I think it was just that last month was quite busy scrap-wise that I'm just needing a little breather. I'm confident the soon-to-arrive September Studio Calico kits will get me motivated again!

One of the three tutorials I prepared last month went live on Wilna Furstenberg's blog on Friday. What an honour to be featured by her. I think Wilna is simply amazing, and I love her mixed-media arty scrapbooking style. She's such an open and generous artist - constantly sharing her techniques and teaching new tricks on her blog.

What I decided to share was a little tutorial that's been part of my scrapbooking philosophy this month and that's how to make "Speed Scrapping" work for you.

Speed Scrapping in my book is just about maximising your creative time. It doesn't mean you end up with a rushed unattractive layout at the end of it, and it doesn't mean you can't incorporate your favourite techniques and have a lot of fun along the way! I still painted, I still stencilled, I still sewed...

and I most certainly still layered!!

You can check out the full tutorial, and see the final product over here on Wilna's blog.

Meanwhile, I've got a whole day off today and I'm psyching myself up to attempt some scrapping today. Perhaps instead of a break, I need to 'force' myself in there and make something. I think I just want to do something weird and wonderful and different for me. I'll let you know what I come up with!!

Happy Scrapping.

The Story of No Pockets

When I decided to buy the Handbook as my mode of Project-Lifing I did so because of it's smaller size. I figured it would be a lot easier to fill a page, and if it's easier then I'm more likely to stick with it. In a frenzy of purchasing and no specific plan in mind, I made sure I bought every configuration of filler pages available so I could have plenty of options. 

The one-pocket 6x8" pages means I can essentially make miniature layouts to fill them, and so I tried that out for the first time this week. It's going to take some getting used to, to create something that fits nicely on this scale - I mean, I don't mind the giant rose, but perhaps it's a bit too overwhelming on the page?!

On the left hand side of the spread I've used a combination of the Penny Arcade PL kit, and the Printable Journal Cards from this month's Sandlot kit. Bright and cheery aren't they? And you know I have such a thing for deers!

I'm a little bit head-over-heels for the Color Theory Inks and Refills lately. I've never really considered Refills to be an essential part of my stash before, I thought they were just for filling up dry Ink Pads. But there's so many different techniques you can use them for! Today, over on the Shimelle blog (yes, can you believe it?!!!) I'm sharing my techniques for creating an ombre title and some background stamping - all using the Ink Refills. I'd love for you to check it out and let me know what you think.

Happy Scrapping,
xx


Supplies:

Hercules Add On Penny Arcade Project Life Kit Sandlot Printables by In a Creative Bubble Sandlot Printables by Hello Forever Sandlot Printable Labels Color Theory Ink: Orange County Color Theory Ink Refill: Orange County Color Theory Ink: Blush Crush Color Theory Ink Refill: Blush Crush Color Theory Ink: Sunny Day Color Theory Ink Refill: Sunny Day Color Theory Ink: Mint Hint Color Theory Ink Refill: Mint Hint Color Theory Ink: Emerald City Color Theory Ink Refill: Emerald City Color Theory Ink: Something Blue Color Theory Ink Refill: Something Blue

InLinkz.com

30 Days of Me

The next class offering from Studio Calico is called "30 Days of Me" and is taught by Maggie Holmes. In all honesty I've never taken a class by Maggie before, but everyone who has always raves about it! I think she has such a lovely colourful feminine aesthetic and her pages are always inspiring, so I'm sure her class is going to be as well.

The idea of this class is to include more of yourself in your memory-keeping and to include more you-moments in an entire album dedicated to yourself! It's something we often forget, or in fact, it's something we often purposefully avoid isn't it?! Personally, I think it's a great idea as far as leaving a legacy is concerned, and I'm sure it's something that our children will thank us for doing in years to come.

I know what some of you are thinking! You're thinking your daily life is hardly worth documenting, that your routine is mundane and is just a constant revolution of sleep, work, cook, put kids to bed, start the cycle again sort of deal. I've thought that before in the past too. As a full time doctor I'm often out of the house working for 16hours of the day, then I come home and sleep! Not much to talk about there! But guess what? I'm one of the contributors and I'll be bringing that very perspective to the class prompts and I hope to show you that there is plenty of scope of topics to document :-)

But if you're still uncomfortable with the idea of a whole album about yourself then I've also heard some members on the board talk about how they're going to use the prompts and apply it to someone else in the family and make an album dedicated to them. That's a really good idea too!

Like most Studio Calico Classes, it comes with it's fair share of included goodies. For a limited time, there's a bonus class kit that ships free wherever you live! Then there's the Printables, Cutting Files and Digital Stamps designed by some of our SC favourites like Shanna Noel and Kim Stewart.

Here's Maggie's video sharing a bit of closer look into all those products, and a sneak into her album. She's going to be using a Handbook, and so am I. I'm not sure what the other contributors will be using, but you're welcome to substitute anything that suits you of course.

  

And if you're shopping for supplies, don't forget that for this week only you can get 10% off all class products when you sign up (that includes the Handbooks).

Class will be enrolling until the 31st August and the first lesson will be posted on 1st September. Let me know if you're signing up, 'cos I'd love to see some friendly faces in the classroom!