Insider Tips - use stamps for your title

Hello everyone!

I made a special layout for today's insider tips - I couldn't resist using my left over products from my Elk Lake & Adirondack add-ons :) I just LOVED playing with these two add-on kits, not only they match perfectly with my Main Kit, but the colors are exactly what I'm craving for at the moment :)

Here are a layout for my two of my best friends, a special gift for them : Amelie is an excellent cooker and Ben simply ADORES food :)

For this layout I used :

Elk Lake & Adirondack add-ons
Stamps : Tweets, Sewing Machine Set, Months stamps, Noah alphas
Raspberry Maya Mist
Punches : Bubbles border, Double Embossed Dotter Lace border , Photo Labels punch, Royal Butterfly
Foam squares


For my title, I simply combined one of Jenni Bowlin's journaling tags, the Months stamp and Noah alpha stamps to make my title : simply use different fonts, different ink colors, different elements to make a unique and urban background.
Feel free to mount one of the stamps with foam squares in order to add dimension to your layout.



Here I first stamped my label stamps that I got in a previous kit (available soon at the shop) that PERFECTLY matches my Photo Labels punch - could it be even more perfect?! So that means : you need to order that punch and then order the stamp soon available :)


Thank you and I'll share a layout I made inspired by Sasha on Saturday :D
Take care!
c

tutorial : stitched circles

(items from June's Partly Sunny and add-ons + lemon mist + mustard seed ink + tiny attacher + pinking sheers)

Hi all! I'm sneaking in on Kelly and Maggie's favorites weeks to give you a few pointers on one of my favorite techniques - stitching. More specifically - stitching circles. This is a technique that takes a bit of practice but it's well worth it - I love the sense of movement that large stitched circles can add to a background, and stitching smaller circles can add a lot of texture and detail to your page.


(Collage Press + Jenni Bowlin Studio)

Since stitching larger circles is definitely easier, let's work on that first. Both of the above pages have large circles stitched on the background. I started them the same way - by laying out a circle template and tracing the circles onto my background with pencil. I tend to use my Fiskars USX templates, but if you don't have something similar, head to your kitchen. You'll find a multitude of perfect circles in your cabinets - search through your plates, bowls and cups until you find one that's the right size.



You'll want to have a rough idea where your other elements will be - there's nothing worse than adding in your photos and patterned paper and realizing that all of your hard work is now hidden!



You'll also want to make sure that your circle is the right size to accommodate any elements that you're planning to arrange around it.



Once you've got your circles drawn in pencil, it's time to sew! Go SLOW. You can always speed up, but it's easier to get a feel for how you need to move the paper when you're maching is going slow. I use one hand to guide my paper - you just want to steer it gently, and be sure not to push or pull it. If you push or pull too hard you can pull your needle out of it's natural position for the stitch you've selected, and it's going to hop back to where it's supposed to be the second you stop applying pressure.


When that happens, you'll end up with odd lumps around your circle, as you can see in the biggest circle on this example. What you're aiming for is the circle in the middle - the lines are smooth, and you can't even see the pencil lines. The smallest circle shows an easy fix for a stitch job with a few mistakes - add a couple more circles and your mistakes will all even out. ;)



(Studio Calico Documentary + Cosmo Cricket Joy Ride chipboard - available in the shop on 6.27 at noon EST + tiny attacher)

Once you get comfortable with big circles, it's time to start experimenting with little ones. I started this card with a circle punch, and arranged strips of paper around it to make a sun.



You'll stitch around small circles with the same technique that you used for larger ones - but go even slower. And chances are, you're going to make mistakes. I rarely manage to get a good clean circle when I'm working in the under 3in diameter ranger. This was not one of those times. =)



So I went around a couple more times and called it good. ;)

I'm hoping to see more circles popping up in the gallery - please link me up if you give it a try!

Partly Sunny Favorites

I completely forgot that I was supposed to blog yesterday. I'm really sorry. I went hiking in Boulder with the family then we had friends over for swimming and kabobs. It was a delightful day, completely void of any thought that I had a job to do! So I hope that perusal through the Partly Sunny gallery will make up for it. :)

Also I'd like announce the winner of Sasha's rub on challenge, it's Rimna! Please send your information to info@studiocalico.dom stating you're the winner of Sasha's Rub on Challenge for the week of May 24. Congrats! Here's her layout:


And now the DT gallery favorites, through my eyes. I decided to go backward through the gallery this time. So enjoy!

I had a hard time picking a favorite from Waleska's gallery this month, they were all fun and happy, but I think this one won because of the banner. I love how she stamped underneath it and then added the fabric swatches over top. And those faces? How could you not smile at them?

Not Tina's typical style, but it is totally fitting for the topic she journaled about here. I think that's why I love it. Her journaling is absolute joy on paper. Everything on this page has a reason of being there. Love how she chose her title too, it's a fun way to use the strip.
I wanted to pick Airplane Alert for my favorite, just because I loved it in Susan's sneaks, but come on, how can you not laugh and smile at that picture? I thing Susan's happy selection of papers and embellishment perfectly highlight an adorable baby. :)

I love the way Steph W. captures her 6 years with her sweetie. A fun way to look at things that can seem so day to day. I love hwo she used the MM flowers, the perfect little touches to a beautiful layout. And the paint and stamping balance so nicely with the K&Co paper lace, pretty.
Hee hee, Steph H. made this before she knew about twins and I think that's part of the reason this one is my favorite this month. I just LOVE the stamped starbursts around the circles, brilliant, but the journaling is the best part. Well, that and how she turned the 8 into an S. Um, cool.

I love how Sasha took a couple of different papers and used bits and pieces of them to compliment the Jenni Bowlin Coredinations paper. What a fun finishing touch to add the stitching. I love the "Impossible Nothing" she added with the MS punches. Very cool.

By no means is this kind of layout unique. Lots of scrappers have captured whole season on a page before, but the way Nicole S. has designed this one is so beautiful. Her strips of paper between the photos and the center so nice and clean allow the photos to shine.
This one by Nicole H makes me giggle for a couple of reasons. First, I'm at the bottom of the technology latter as far as it comes to phones. And I know when I some day convert as she has, I'll be the EXACT SAME WAY. Secondly, it's green. Could that be any more perfect? I also LOVE the look of the bubbles punched cardstock over the striped MME paper from Front Porch. Lovely.

Bright colors popping against the fun Cosmo Coredinations is one of the things that I loved about this layout, but then I noticed the green stitching and that won me over Maggie!

See how easy it is to bring momentos from your life into your scrapping? I adore how Lisa used the tag from her son's birthday/mother's day trip to a cupcake shop in her layout. It's front and center, but doesn't take away from the fabulous photos. Great way to use that stamp too!

I love how Laura can capture so much in such few supplies. Her stitching and type always pull me in to study. and then she does the cute little heart over the top of the yellow and it just makes me smile.


Yep, I was right. I knew I'd love this one by Kelly. The colors just POP on the dark cardstock and combined with those hilarious pictures of Brady, well this one went into my favorites pile pretty quickly. I love how Kelly used the banner stamp too.
Although she had a bunch of masterful layouts in her gallery this month, I REALLY LIKE Joy's idea. Pre-make a summer fun album and fill it in as you go. What a clever idea for capturing your summer before it slips away. You can tell this is a momma who's good at planning ahead. Since summer officially starts for me this weekend, I'd love to slap something together, now i have a template to copy. :)
Always one for her happy combinations of paper and color, Jenn did not disappoint this month. I love how sh used the cloud paper tucked into all her strips of color to represent a rainbow. Beautiful!

I knew when I saw her sneaks I'd like this layout. I was even more pleasantly surprised! the way Davinie brought in the fabric swatches with the Jillibean flowers from Front Porch makes this layout sing of summer.
Celine's album was so beautifully put together, I really loved how she combined the green/yellow/browns in the kit and made a fun album about her friends.
This alphabet set was the reason I bought Front Porch as my add on this month. I love how April took hers a step up and colored them. It's absolute genius! And what a fun look at her 9 years of marriage, congrats April and Greg!
Finally we come to Mou Saha's gallery. I love Mou's style, probably because we're both inot handwriting your journaling. It always pulls me in on her pages. I love the perspective on this photo, and the planes are just fun.

Tutorial: Hand-stitiching Words Onto Paper

Hi Everyone! Susan here today with a tutorial on hand-stitching. I love the look of hand-sewing & embroidery on both my cards and layouts, and wanted to show you an easy way to hand-stitch words onto your own paper projects.

Start by printing out the word you'd like to include on your project, in the font and font size that will work best. (I used 'amelie' font at 150 pts).


Gently tape the corners of the paper down over the cardstock that you'd like to stitch onto.


Use a paper piercer to pierce holes along the printed word, at even intervals (keep in mind tht your interval hole length will dictate your stitch length). I like to use a craft mat under my cardstock while I'm piercing holes.



Once entire word is "pierced" gently pull up template paper to reveal stitching pattern on cardstock.


Using a large embroidery needle, and embroidery floss, start to stitch word using a backstitch stitching technique. Secure end of floss to backside of cardstock using a small piece of tape. Then make first stitch, and bring needle back up through second side of second stitch.


"Backstitch" by threading needle and floss BACK THROUGH previous hole as shown.


Continue on along word, and stitching holes.


Until entire word is stitched! Secure end of floss to backside of other end of word using a small piece of tape.


Trim your stitched word from your cardstock anyway that you like and include it on a card or layout!

:)

insider tips : from inspiration to finished page

On Tuesday, I shared a few inspiration pieces with you. Today, I thought I'd show you how I used those ideas on a page.



I started with this piece as my main inspiration. I loved the way the hexagons were scattered on the background, and wanted to use a similar design on my page. I cut one hexagon from the Studio Calico exlcusive paper in Granny's Cupboard, and then used it as a pattern to cut more from other patterned papers from Anthology and Granny's Cupboard.



I played around with the placement of the hexagons and drew in where I wanted to add stitching, stamped journaling lines and some border punched paper. I use this trick a lot - once you stitch and stamp, there's no going back! This gives me a better way to visualize how it will look once I've added those elements. Once I'm happy with the basic design, I usually snap a quick photo. Because if I'm going to add stitching to the background I've got to go back to the beginning.



Yep. Everything came off the kraft cardstock. I added the strips of red at the top and bottom and stitched around my border, then added the graph patterned fabrip and the blue punched paper and did some zigzag stitching. I also stamped the journaling lines in pumice stone down in the bottom corner.



Then I need that photo that I snapped so I remember how to put it all back together! I added a few more hexagons and another fabrip to the page, and the stitched them all in place. The American Crafts glitter brads from Linens and Lace were the perfect accent to my small punched circles. At this point, if at all possible, I walk away from the page for a while. It's almost done, but I know it needs some finishing touches.



The next morning, I added the tab at the top of the photo (it's a sticker from the Anthology Labels - I punched a few hearts in it and backed it with the grey Aperture paper), the layered accent at the bottom right of the photo (that space just felt empty to me - I layered a piece of October Afternoon Thrift Shop paper punched with my Fiskars L Seal of Approval punch with a stickers from October Afternoon and Anthology, and then topped it with chipboard hearts). I also added a couple more small chipboard hearts tucked in with the other elements on the page. I added my journaling and did some stapling with my tiny attacher to finish the page.



I used some of the other ideas from the original inspiration post - the circles within the hexagons and planning my cuts around an element in the patterned paper. These ideas helped make my groupings more interesting than if it had all just been patterned paper.

So that's a little peek into my creative process - let me know if you have any questions! =)