Happy New Year!

A new year means a chance for new beginnings, so as I celebrate the transition into my new responsibilities at Studio Calico, I have decided to make the commitment to breathe new life into the Studio Blog. This post will say that I am April, but I'm really Scarlet. (I'm going to have to figure out how to fix that later.)

One of our members, Cilla, posted a challenge on the message board for everyone to post their 10 favorite layouts from 2007. I decided to put a little twist on the challenge and chose my favorite layout from each of our Design Team members (for a total of 10). Here are my picks:

I chose this layout of April's because she totally rocked the clear concept. I have the special advantage of being able to see all of her layouts in person, and this one looks even better up close!



I chose this layout of Caroline's because I love all the colorful little photos and the sprinkling of buttons. This layout just makes me happy :)



Love the chubby little fingers and the celebration of everyday life in this layout of Christine's.



Who can resist these photos of Davinie's little sweetie? You can't see it here, but the letters are sprinkled with glitter. So perfect!



I chose this layout of Jenn's because I was giddy with excitement when I saw that she used her vintage train image. It was on her sheet music from December's HAPPY ENDING kit. She totally rose to the challenge!



I adore Kirsty's paper-piecing and stitching on this layout. Another layout that always makes me smile.



I love so much about this layout of Joy's. Love that she didn't feel obligated to use a photo. Love the tree. Love that she loves fall as much as I do!



How could I not pick this layout of Nicole's (H)? We really are a family, despite the fact that we have never met each other in person. I love that she documented that connection on a layout.



This layout of Nicole's (S) is just too sweet for words. I love everything about the scalloped frame... but especially how she covered the center with a piece of her dictionary page and layered the journaling strips on top.



I love the way Tina used so many photos to represent her resolutions for the New Year! I also love the way the photos frame the journaling.

Design Team Announcement

It is our honor to introduce the newest members of the Studio Calico Design Team:


Christine Middlecamp
South Saint Paul, Minnesota


Davinie Fiero
Redmond, Oregon


Jenn Olson
Moses Lake, Washington


Joy Madison
Renton, Washington


Kirsty Wiseman
United Kingdom


Nicole Harper
Elyria, Ohio


Nicole Samuels
Williamsburg, Virginia


Tina Aszmus
Anchorage, Alaska

Please visit our Home page at studiocalico.com to see layouts and projects submitted by our new team.

We would also like to congratulate our 10 finalists and feature our favorite layouts and projects from their entries:


Alicia Story
Baxter, Minnesota


Amy Arthur
Liberty Township, Ohio


Barb Pfeffer
Omaha, Nebraska


Cathy Pascual
Bellevue, Washington


Charlene Teo
Singapore


Crystal Jeffrey Rieger
Ontario, Canada


Emily Spahn
Oak Lawn, Illinois


Joanne Smith
Williamsville, New York


Sheila Doherty
Coeur d' Alene, Idaho


Stacy Marks
Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania

Congratulations ladies!

Design Team Update

First, let me say that we were overwhelmed by the number of talented applicants we received and we sincerely appreciate your interest in Studio Calico and the time and love that was put into all of your entries. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.

We have spent many, many hours reviewing and sorting entries and agonizing over our decisions. Originally we planned to add 4-6 members to the team, but we quickly realized that it would not be possible to choose such a small number.

After careful consideration, we have decided to add 8 designers to the team, and we will be recognizing 10 finalists as well. We will make the announcement on or before Saturday, August 25.

Rockin' Bloggers

We were tagged by the fabulous Dina Wakley as Rockin' Bloggers, so now get a chance to tag some of our faves:

Nicole. Definitely has an awesome style, I'm sure you've seen her LOs before and her nickname is "brains" so she must be smart!
Anilu. Love this girl's name and she's the busiest blogger I know. She has a great style plus she scraps in 2 languages! Love that.
Kelly Purkey. Such a talented scrapper and she designs for one of my favorite product lines ever -- American Crafts! What could be better?

CHA: People We Saw

We're back from CHA and have so many exciting things to share with you over the next several days! I thought it would be fun to start with some of the people we talked to at the show. I must say that it is such a crazy feeling to see people I've never met before, but feel like I already know them. How bizarre is it to go to a restaurant in a huge city six hours away from home and see familiar faces every time you turn around? At dinner on Thursday night we saw Cindy Tobey (the person who made our fabulous crochet flowers), Tim Holz, Jennifer McGuire, and others that I'm sure I'm forgetting. I didn't have my camera or I certainly would have taken a photo of us with Cindy. But I did carry the camera the rest of the weekend, so here are some fun Studio Calico encounters for you:

We actually ran into Kelly Goree Thursday evening at the Covention Center. She was the first familiar face we saw. April had met her before for a Girl's Night Out in Louisville (ahem... one that I was NOT invited to), but it was my first time to meet her in person. I'm sure it will not be the last! The photos here are from Friday at the show. The first thing we saw at the Basic Grey booth was a giant layout featuring Kelly's sweet son Carson that they had made into a large three-dimensional work of art. SO VERY COOL! April and I had our photo taken with her in front of the giant layout (can you see him peeking over her shoulder?). Our favorite Basic Grey new release was the Mellow line, and I can't tell you how excited I am that they are now offering buttons that coordinate with their collections. I am a huge sucker for buttons! I wish you could see the cool wall posters we received when we placed our order with Basic Grey... (oops, did I just say that?)

After an exhausting day at the show, we went to the Two Peas social on Friday night. Just as I was mentioning to April that I was surprised we hadn't seen Emily Pitts, we turned around and there she was! She was such a sweetie, and we were very excited to see her. I'll let April share the funny pizza story with you later (unless Emily wants to do the honors;) Emily snuck up on us as we were placing an order at Fontwerks on Saturday. She pointed out a really cool stamp that we hadn't planned on purchasing, but we bought it just for her (but she's not going to tell you which one it is, so don't even try to get it out of her...).

We also had a chance to chat with Michelle Hill, Studio Calico's very first Guest Designer. We had already met her once before, but it was certainly a treat to get to spend a little bit more time with her. I love that girl! She was at the show with Lil Davis, and she showed us their darling new line featuring bright colors and adorable little mushrooms. The coolest thing is that there are recipe cards on the back of the patterned paper. Isn't that brilliant? New embellishments include self-adhesive felt buttons and mushrooms and some very cool alphabets.

On Saturday we met Emily (justem) and Barb (Babs). I can't believe we forgot to have our photo taken with them (sorry girls). Maybe it's because when we saw them we were so busy placing our order at... (you didn't think I was really going to drop ANOTHER clue did you?) We also stopped by the Mimi booth to meet Rachel Carlson, but she was on her lunch break. Sorry we missed you, Rachel!

Well that's it for now. I'll post some more stuff for you soon!

And Yet Another

Some more teasing from Caroline. Join us on July 28, 12:00am EST for the full reveal!

Another Peek!

Here's one from Caroline that's sure to tempt you!

July Kits Shipped Today

After 2 trips to the post office, all of July's orders have been shipped!!! Enjoy!

Thanks to our Studio Calico supporters!

Thank you so much for your support in this exciting venture. We completely underestimated the response we would receive and you are to thank for that. As a result of our underestimation, we sold out entirely sooner than we thought we would. Our plans in the future are to continue increasing quantities to meet the demand and hopefully sell out in days/weeks rather than minutes/hours.
That said, we had already ordered for August before Studio Calico went live, so although quantities are increased, we expect there to be a sell out rather quickly on July 28th as well (both the kit and add-ons will post at the same time). Please bear with us on that and we promise to increase the quantities much more dramatically for September moving forward.
Thanks again!

Sold Out!!!!!!

I can't believe I'm posting this already, but every 'BILLBOARD' kit is gone, less than 4 days after the launch of Studio Calico! We are thrilled with the responses we've seen and we have you to thank for it. Don't forget to check back on June 28 when the 'ESTATE SALE' add-on goes on sale at 12:00am ET. These will go fast! Here's a sneak peek:

Studio Calico is Here!!!

After several months of excitement, much planning, and preparation, Studio Calico is here! We hope to provide a welcoming community, fresh ideas, and the best products available.
The message board is dedicated to you, whether it’s providing the latest information regarding sneak-peeks and fun challenges, or just chit-chat to pass the time. Please feel free to share your layouts here. Periodically, we’ll be showcasing your layouts that inspire us on the members gallery page. It might be a funny story, moving anecdote, or great design, whatever it is, please share with us!

Now, we'd like to share the name of our premier kit.....Drumroll, please...................

The design team gallery features the work of Studio Calico’s talented design team and will be updated monthly on the 28th. From funky to traditional, their designs are sure to make you anxious to play with the latest kit!

We will be featuring new items each month (including some non-traditional scrapbook supplies), so don’t forget to check in on the 14th each month for a preview of next month’s kit.
As always, we would love your feedback. If you have any suggestions for how we can better serve you or products you would like to see, please feel free to provide suggestions on the message board or send us an email at info@studiocalico.com.

We look forward to getting to know you as we live, chat, and scrapbook together!

April & Scarlet