Studio Calico Sonnet Sneaks

This month I've changed hats again slightly as I create for Studio Calico with their soon-to-be-released Cardmaker Stamps that are coming on November 1st. I can't show you the full projects just yet, but I sure can share some sneaks! ;-)

There are 3 different 4x6" stamp sets coming in November and I have been lucky to be playing with each of them. Trust me when I say you are just going to love them and will instantly think of a thousand different ways you could use them.

Take this Thistle set for example. It's my favourite for the month! It's full of leaves and greenery and sprigs and thistles (of course!) which could so easily be used for so many occasions. For those wanting Fall-themed products then this could be exactly what you're after! But I'm also thinking this will be great as we head into Christmas as well ;-)

And here's a little look at the way I've been using the Postage stamp set. I've been experimenting with something that's so completely foreign to my rainbow-loving heart and that's to keep it to a monotone colour scheme! Of course, the hint of gold really helps!

Here's what the Mood Board looks like this month. Of course, this is hinting at the different themes and colours and patterns etc scattered throughout the whole of the different kits. For example, that top right pic? That's a big hint in the direction of the 3rd stamp set that I haven't shared a sneak of yet!

But not too much longer to wait now anyway.
The Creative Team Sneak Gallery is up and running, and the Reveal is set for the 1st of November!

Adelaide Adventure Project Life spread

Back at the start of April we took a brief family trip to Adelaide. Sure, it's probably not considered amongst the top 10 exotic holiday locations to chose from, but it was a much needed break away from reality, and an even better excuse to catch up with some long 'lost' friends! 

Obviously I was going to have to document our adventure in my Project Life album at some stage, it's just that I'm about 6 months behind in my chronological scrapping ;-) LOL!

 

The good news about being 6 months behind is that when I get any of my Studio Calico Documenter Kits that are seasonally inspired - they actually hit the spot and I can use them straight away! And this double-page spread has been made with the recent Pool Party Documenter Kit which is very much a Summer themed kit, but which turned out to be perfect for what I needed.

I tried a bit of a new-for-me design tactic for this spread which was to include lots of lots of those little sub-headings with the red vellum alpha stickers. I think I like the idea of being able to quickly identify the different activities we did on our holiday, and the alphas were just the right size.

Turns out I once bought a whole packet of page protectors which include these 4x4" pockets and I'm not entirely sure that I'm such a huge fan. Mainly because there's no ready-made cards (in my stash at least) that will fit, and that means I've actually got to do "work" of cutting down patterned paper. I know I know.... #firstworldscrappingproblems right?!

So much of the story was documented on this double page spread so I'm pretty happy with the end result. Lots more catching up to do yet. Stay tuned!

Jot Magazine October Mood Board

 

We're celebrating Spring at Jot Magazine with the release of another fabulously bright and sunshiney Mood Board Challenge designed by our Jot Girl Raquel Bowman. Here's what it looks like...

The way I usually approach my projects for these mood boards is to find an old kit or a collection that has similar colours in it and then start gathering a little pile of supplies. I usually end up with way more things that I'll ever be able to use on one project, but it sure is fun trying to fit as many of them in as possible!

Somewhere along the line I'll find something that can act as a centrepiece for my card - on this occasion I found two pieces - that Studio Calico wood veneer floral arrangement, as well as the Dear Lizzy butterfly. And from there I start to build up a background behind it, making sure to try and represent all the major colours from the Mood Board in varying proportions.

Now you know why my cards always end up with so many layers!

Will you join in with us this month over at Jot Magazine? You can find all the details on the challenge right HERE!

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.