Member Spotlight: MandieLou

How about another fabulous member spotlight? Maggie and I both thought it would be fun to spotlight the members we lifted in this month's gallery. I loved learning more about the talented Lisa and I want to share some things about Mandie Pierce AKA MandieLou. Mandie's gallery is full of scrapbooking goodness...I had a tough time choosing one to lift, because there were so many great ones. Here is the one I ultimately decided on:

I asked Mandie to answer some questions so we could learn more about her:

1. Where do you live and what do you like most about where you live?

I currently live in Cabot, AR - a small town outside of Little Rock. What I like most? Hmmm... Mean Pig BBQ. It's our favorite bbq place. They've ruined us for all others! (Seriously... we've tried others!)

2. Tell us a little bit about your family.

I have been with my hubby (Troy) for almost 13 years. We met as cashiers at Kroger. He was a senior in high school, and I had just graduated. We have an (almost) 10 year old girl named Claire, an (almost) 5 year old boy named Noah and an (almost) 3 year old boy named Collin. We are an Air Force family; so, we move a lot! We are about to move to the 5th state we've lived in since we got married 8 years ago - Georgia, Texas, Alaska, Arkansas & soon to be California.

3. How long have you been scrapbooking?

I've kept books with ticket stubs, cards, pictures, etc in them for as long as I can remember. I started scrapbooking, as we know it, about 9 & half years ago when my daughter was about 6 months old. (oh, those pages are horrible!)

4. When did you become addicted to SC kits and what do you love most about them?

I discovered Studio Calico last May - right before the June reveal. What do I love most about them? This is a tough one... What do I NOT love about them?! I love how they put together things I totally wouldn't have thought of or would have passed by, if they were on their own. Oh & there's the SC paper and stamps... Mmm... there is so much to love!

5. What's your favorite technique and/or something you always add to your pages/projects?

I almost always sew on my pages - that and/ or ink the edges. It just seems to "finish" the page!

6. Is there a technique or style you'd like to try, but haven't yet?

I am so not a techniquey person. I wish I were. I'd love to try the mists & be successful with them. There are so many lovely layouts the Studio Calico girls have made with them. I've bought some mists. They sit on my shelf, and they taunt me...

7. Where do you scrap?

I share a playroom/ office with my kids. Nothing too fancy, but it's a great space. I am really going to miss it when we move!

8. Where do you find inspiration for your scrapbooking projects?

I find inspiration in all kinds of places... other people's layouts, the photos themselves, the products or my Studio Calico kit. Sometimes, it's a song or movie or something one of my kids said. It's everywhere!

9. What are 3 things you could not live without?

(Other than my family & friends, of course!)

1- Coffee

2- iPhone
3- my Canon

10. Do you have any other hobbies?
Does moving count? No? I love to read, though I rarely do it. I love photography & have taught myself what I know about it. I love learning more about it all the time. Cupcakes - I love baking/ decorating cupcakes. I would love to try my hand at knitting, quilting, cake decorating. One of these days when I am not shuttling around 3 kids, I guess!

Member Spotlight: Blue Star Design

Hi there! I am excited to spotlight one of our awesome Studio Calico members today... and it is none other than the super talented and inspiring Blue Star Design - or Lisa.

Each of us designers chose a member to lift for this month's gallery and I chose Lisa. She has such a creative eye and I love the way she puts her layouts together. I found so many of her layouts inspiring that I couldn't choose just one... so I broke the rules.... and lifted two of her layouts. Normally I am not a rule-breaker... but I just couldn't resist!

Here are the two layouts of Lisa's that I lifted:

And here are my interpretations:

Thanks Lisa for having such an inspiring gallery!!

I wanted all of us to get to know Lisa, aka Blue Star Design, a little bit better so I asked her to answer a few questions:

When did you start scrapbooking? In 1998, just after I married my husband, Mike.

What do you love about SC? There's no better kit out there! The mix of fabulous products and SC-exclusive stuff is just so appealing to me. Everything is top quality and coordinates without being "matchy-matchy!" The kits always inspire me to create my best work, month after month.

Describe your scrapping space. My scrapping space is also my office (I'm a freelance graphic designer) which consists of a large wooden antique desk, glass-front bookshelves, and a couple repurposed antique cabinets. Almost all my supplies are kept in vintage tins, buckets, boxes and baskets.

Do you have other creative passions/interests? I love dreaming about interior design, but it takes my hubby & i forever to actually implement our decorating ideas. :) I also love knitting, cooking, and sometimes dabble in painting...but it intimidates me!

What's your must have product? Alphabets, of all shapes, sizes, colors and textures!

What is your least favorite thing about scrapbooking? Cleaning up the mess I make after a creative streak hits.

What technique are you interested in trying next? I'd like to play more with mists and paints.

Do you have a tried and true technique or design element? I almost always print my photos with white borders and tilt them slightly on the page. Most of the time, I like the "imperfection" that tilting lends to a page. I'm not a linear gal :)

How would you describe your style? Has it changed over the years? My style is eclectic, casual and fun, and usually pretty simple! It has definitely evolved over the years, but I think most of my pages from the past 3-4 years are true to the style I have today.

What's your process for starting a layout? I usually start with the photos....and an SC kit! Journaling almost always comes last, which is why I use journal strips so often - they are an easy way to sneak the journaling into your completed design.

To see more of Lisa's layouts click here and if you want to check out her blog click here.

Thanks again Lisa!!

Member Lifts

So, while you were looking at the layouts in the DT gallery last night, did any of them look familiar? Each of us asked a different SC member if we could lift one of their layouts this month. Let me tell you, it was super tough to choose from all the amazing layouts in the gallery! You guys are all so so talented! Here are the ones we lifted:

Tina C actually did 2 lifts she was so inspired...her first was inspired by moonlightgrrl...

Her 2nd layout was inspired by just g...

Tina's inspiration layout by member, melanie...

Stephanie lifted this fun layout by Babs...

This amazing layout by Jenarm inspired Nicole S's Wacky Wild Loved layout...

Nicole H was inspired by La Tunanta's layout:

Maggie was so inspired by bluestardesign's layouts that she couldn't pick just one...

Kirsty found inspiration in Cassandra's 600ft up layout...

I was inspired by Mandielou's "Let Go" layout...

Walesk inspired Joy with her Writer's Block layout...

Jenn was inspired by this creative layout by Greta...

Emily's Teacups layout was inspired by this layout from member kili'smom...

Davinie lifted this fun layout by bbrod...

Scarlet took her inspiration from LaBelleMichelle's layout...

April was inspired by the fabulous just g...

I think it's so neat to see how everyone was inspired. Some layouts look very similar to the original and some just took a small piece to be inspired by. Either way, the results were fantastic. Thanks to you all for your amazing inspiration! :)

Reveal Night Winner!!!!

And the winners of Maggie's color action set are.......

#218 for PSE
Wow! These look great. I'm new to actions and have PSE!
Catharine

#52 for CS
Melissa said...I would so love to win this! I have CS4.

Please send an email to maggie@maggieholmesphotography.com to claim your prize.

Reveal Night Giveaway!!!

Our generous sponsor this week is none other than our own Maggie Holmes. To win her COLOR SET of actions for either PSE or Photoshop, leave a comment here, stating which program you have. We'll draw 1 winner for each.

To learn more about Maggie's actions or to purchase, click here.

PS-As an owner/operator of Maggie's actions, I highly suggest them to boost your photos, and make them look exceptional. You may also read earlier posts (here and here) from this blog with tips and examples of Maggie's actions in use.

Sew (or don't sew) Sunday!

I thought I'd cap off our fabric/stitching blog week with one more fabric project. This sort of project can have as little or as much sewing as you want it to. I made mine with absolutely no sewing to show you that it can be done...but of course you clever crafters usually find a way to customize any project!

It all started with my little friend Paisley (how adorable is she??) who celebrated her first birthday at the beginning of the month. Her mama is quite adept at many crafts and is one person I know for certain who loves receiving hand-crafted goodness. But what to make?

I loved the idea of making something related to her birthday, but that could be modified to fit the decor of her bedroom. I knew I wanted something more than a framed photo, but different than a scrapbook page. How about combining the best of both?I had this frame hanging in my garage, a fat quarter of some yummy Amy Butler fabric and a few scraps from another project I'd made. Now, Miss Paisley is the kind of girl who always has a little bow or flowered headband on....so of course I wanted some bows and flowers--enter the stash of Prima flowers I've long held on to and never used up. You'll notice I've left some blank areas-as this is a gift, and her mom is crafty, I wanted her to have the option of some customization.

The process:

1. Cut an unbacked cork board to fit the frame specifications
2. Wrap cork with some batting (I just used some quilters low loft batting I had on hand)
3. Trim and and adhere wrapped edges (use a stapler, glue, tape, combination of any of those methods)
4. I chose to make a "no sew" fabric pocket to hold trinkets and/or birthday cards with a bit of my left over fabric. Just fold it in half and wrap around like above with the fold at the top making a nice clean edge. Had I been aiming to sew a bit, I might have put a 1/4" seem across the top of the pocket or even added a little ric rac trim.
5. At this point, you can put your little memory board into the frame. I chose to tape all the way around it and then add a plain paper backing--which really gives a nice finished feel.
   
6. Now it's time to personalize it. The only thing limiting you on this is of course your creativity. The sky is the limit! As you can see, I chose to embellish some tacks, use some flowers and a bit of left over fabric for a bow. I also chose not to tack or glue down the actual photos so that as Paisley grows her mom can switch out the pictures with ease. The tacks will, unfortunately, leave a bit of a hole in the fabric, so I used them for decoration purposes mostly.
   

I hope that with this blog week you've thought of a million ways you could use fabric in your scrapbooks, cards and projects without feeling like you have to be adept at sewing. I hope that if you do love sewing you learned a new technique (thank you, Dav!!) like I have. Make sure you continue to check back on the post below this and get yourself acquainted with all the amazing challenges happening this week!

In honor of NSD, it's CHALLENGE time!

Hello! Get out those kits you haven't used up, grab that stash, because we have something special for you today! Come one, come all, it's challenge time!

Wow. Okay, it's early. lol

National Scrapbook Day is May 2. And in honor of NSD, Studio Calico and the Design Team have a lot of fun in store. If you would like a chance to win a past add-on, as well as other prizes including a 6 month subscription, keep reading!

Each SC designer has issued a challenge. To enter to win an add-on, simply participate in the challenge, upload your layout to the Studio Calico gallery, and link that layout to the blog post from that designer on May 2, National Scrapooking Day. For more chances to win, enter more challenges! You will have one week from today to do your layouts, and winners will be drawn at midnight May 2nd. This is also when the official entry threads will be posted on each designer's blog, so make sure to wait to link your layouts until next Saturday!

April is going to be hosting a challenge on using Maya Mist. And you know that girl knows how to rock her mist.

I am hosting a stitching challenge. Simply hand stitch somewhere on your layout to be entered into this challenge.

Emily is hosting a self-portrait challenge.

Jenn is posting a fabric challenge. Use fabric as a base for your layout.

Joy is doing a cutesie challenge. Break out those cutesy papers and embellies and get to work!

Kelly is doing an ad inspiration challenge.

Kirsty is

Maggie is going to be posting an inspiration challenge.

Nik is going to be doing a graph/ledger challenge.

Nic is going to be doing a patterned paper challenge. You must use at least 3 different patterns on your layout. This is in honor of Cate and her clothing choices lately, lol! (I have the same problem, Nic)

Scarlet is doing a "makeover your space" challenge.

Stephanie is doing a "old with the new" challenge, mixing older scrapbook supplies, vintage items, etc., with new product on your layout.

Tina A is doing a music challenge. Whether it's using your favorite song lyrics, a title of a song, or what's been playing on your Ipod, incorporate music in your layout.

Tina C is doing an "embrace that white space" challenge.

(I'll update with links to the designer's blog as soon as their challenge is posted).

How does this sound?!!!

Be sure to check back later in the week for more details on additional prizes that can be won on NSD, including that 6 month subscription.

Have a great Saturday! Davinie

ETA: Saavy girls who incorporate more than one challenge in their layout deserve more than one shot to win! Be sure to link it to each designer's blog! :)

Breaking down the fabric album

Some people are auditory. They can listen to a speech and absorb every word. Some people are visual. They can read something or see a photo and totally understand. And some people are hands-on. They absorb information through their fingertips.

This is my one complaint when purchasing scrapbook supplies. While I do have an LSS, she can't stay on top of all the new products and have what I want in stock. This means I need to go online for my scrapbooking needs. And then there are places like Studio Calico, that take it one step further and just do my shopping for me! Love that!

The May kit at Studio Calico has a project kit for an add-on. The minute I heard there was going to be fabric I knew I was going to purchase it, and when I learned that one of Donna Downey's fabric albums would be part of the project kit I practically hopped in my car for a quick jaunt to Kentucky so that I could get it in my hands as quickly as possible. Yes. I'm definitely auditory, visual, and hands-on! I have to do it all!

My first thought was to make an Easter album. We host a party every year and I knew I would take a few hundred photos which would give me a lot of options to fill the pages. However, when it got here, I realized it was much bigger than I thought it would be, and Easter went right out the window. Because it is such a fun and homespun album, I decided to do something I have always wanted to do. I can't WAIT to show it to you. It's a memoir to be sure.

I took the liberty of taking several photos of this album, so the auditory, visual, hands-on learners, like me, can have a opportunity to check this baby out.


The album itself is 8.5 x 8. It's made out of canvas.


It is much deeper than I thought it would be.

As you can see, I had some 3 year old interference when trying to get all the good angles. Mind you, it was just about dinner time, so she was getting anxious, but I had just received the album so I closed the curtains against the direct sunlight and snapped a few photos.

The pages are held in the album by tied ribbon. This makes it very easy to add or change the placement of the pages in the album.


The first 5 pages are page protector pages. See those grommets? Very secure.


They have some fun orange zig zag stitching on the outside edge. Love that detail.


The next five pages are canvas, front and back.

Good grief.

As you can see, the canvas pages have been stitched with blue thread.
When I first saw that these pages were canvas, I KNEW I wanted to sew all over them. But how would I do that if I used my machine? When you bend the pages, there wasn't chipboard in between, yet it was a little stiff. I decided to investigate with my seam ripper. I have more blue thread at home.


Interesting. White felt! My plan is to sew the watoosie out of my pages and then sew the pages back together. AND if I need another embellishment, I can make my own out of white felt!

I hope this helps you understand what you are getting into should you purchase the project kit this month. I can tell you I am SO glad I did. I have been having a lot of fun with it, I've been going a little green, which I can't wait to share, and it has helped me explore my creativity. Dina Wakely is our guest designer this month. YOu know that girl will break out the paint! It totally inspired me to break out mine as well. Here's a tiny peek to what I've done to the cover:


Lastly, humor me, lol. I made a deal with my PJ. She said if I'd let her take a photo of her rainbow horse, she'd let me take a proper photo of her, and since she normally is not a fan of photos at all, I RAN with it. lol





Have a great day! Davinie