Scarlet's Creative Q & A

Happy Friday all! :) I can't do the fancy format like Jenn did with April's answers yesterday....so I'm going to first post 5 of my favorite Scarlet layouts/projects (which were so stinkin' hard to choose - I mean, how do you pick just 5?!) and then I'll share her answers to our interview questions.

So, Scarlet's layouts... I just love her style. I've been a silent scrap stalker of hers for a while. Way back before SC came about. I love to see how she used product, how she comes up with such interesting, fresh designs, and how she combines patterns on her pages. Here are some of the pages I kept going back to while perusing her gallery here and at 2peas.

First, I had to include just one of her non-layout projects. Her mini books are always so gorgeous and her sewing projects...amazing. Here's a little inspiration notebook that I just adore!

Then I needed an example of her amazing hand-stitching. Look at this page.... WOW!

And then I just picked a few more that I love. These are from older kits or not from kits at all. But I had fun going back through her galleries the past couple years to see all the eye candy in there!

And here are Scarlet's answers:

What’s your favorite color combo right now?
I am totally in love with yellow right now, so my favorite color combo is yellow, green, and aqua, with a dash of orange or pink :)

What's your best organizational tip?(for scrapping supplies, obviously!)
Me... organized? Ha! I use a wooden flatware tray in a drawer to organize the essentials that I reach for most often... liquid and dry adhesives, journaling pens, corner rounding punches, craft knife and paper piercer, acrylic blocks, stamp cleaner, etc. It's nice to always be able to find those things without having to search too hard!

What product or line are you most excited about right now?
I am really excited about our Studio Calico exclusives. Designing and manufacturing our own products gives us the opportunity to look at our favorite products on the market and enhance them even more with our own personal flair. How cool is that?

Do you keep any type of inspiration notebook or journal to jot down your ideas? If so, can we get a peek?!
I guess you could say that I keep an inspiration journal of sorts, but it's not really anything worth looking at. It doesn't have photos or sketches or anything else that would be considered visually pleasing. It's more like a collection of notes or lists that I jot down while I'm browsing through books or surfing the internet. Mostly journaling prompts and thought-provoking questions. I love the Creative Therapy prompts, so that is a list that I update regularly. In fact, I just took a break to do that right now ;)

How do you feel your style and scrapbooking has evolved since you started?
When I very first started, I was using Stampin' Up! products almost exclusively because I was an independent demonstrator. I still love to stamp, but now I love patterned paper and all the other fun embellishments more. I would say that my style has simplified over the last couple of years. I find myself using a lot of straight lines and putting fewer "things" on my layouts. More than ever before, I am creating more layouts about myself and my personal feelings, as a form of creative therapy.

Describe your ideal studio.
Hmm. My ideal studio. As long as it came with a maid to clean up after me, I would be a very happy girl. Seriously... bright cheerful walls, lots of uncluttered work spaces, plenty of functional yet pretty storage options, a window view of a flower garden, and an espresso machine... dreamy :)

What’s in your photography gear bag?
My camera is a Canon 30D and my favorite lens is the 100mm f/2.8 macro. I also have a 50mm f/1.4 and a 28-135mm IS. My 50mm is semi-broken, which makes me very sad, but I am so thankful for my 100mm macro. It's really heavy, though!

Any other hobbies you have that are not related to scrapbooking?
I have two new hobbies... reading and gardening. I've read five books so far this year, which is a record for me. Usually it's more like one book in five years. Ha! I have always loved browsing through books for inspiration, but reading novels is a brand-new pleasure for me. I also recently discovered a love for gardening and outdoor work, which is pretty much the polar opposite of my previous indoor-hibernating self.

Do you keep a gallery on any other websites besides Studio Calico?
I still have a gallery at Two Peas, but I haven't updated it in a very long time. So don't go look at it ;)

April's Creative Q&A

So...I asked April a few questions in hopes we could get an inside glimpse into the marvelous pages she creates. I'm going to intersperse some of my favorite of her pages (and why I love them so much) with her answers!

*any page that combines masking, mist and g-man is going tost be a great page, right?*

What’s your favorite color combo right now?

I'm really drawn to earthy tones and yellows right now, so I'd say kelly green, deep yellow, sky blue, and browns for good measure.

*I especially love this photo of April & Scarlet, the sheer border and the way she used the "note to self" paper*

What's your best organizational tip?

This is a great question for me because I'm one of the most organized people I know...heehee. Actually, I cannot function when things aren't in their proper place, so I'm having a hard time now scrapbooking out of a plastic crate here at the office while my house is being remodeled. My best tip for organization is to keep your supplies in sight and you'll be more likely to use them. In my former scrapbook room (which will also go at my house when we finish), was a 4x2' piece of slatwall. I got it from an old store that was throwing away scrap and it was painted a hideous green. All I did was re-paint it white and order some hooks from an office supply online, and voila, I was able to hang all my supplies like rub-ons, stickers, and masks in plain view.

*How amazing is the shape and the cut out at the top? Very!!*

Do you keep any type of inspiration notebook or journal to jot down your ideas?

I don't really keep an inspiration journal. Every once in a while I save a tidbit or anecdote by sending an email to myself (for instance the layout in May's gallery entitled "Typical Conversation" was an email to myself that sat in my inbox for a few months begging to be scrapped), but that's about it.

*Aside from the fabulous photos, the little touches that make this so unique really make this a stand out in my mind*

How do you feel your style and scrapbooking has evolved since you started?

When I first started scrapping, journaling wasn't nearly as important to me as it is now. Although I'm not as proficient a writer as Scarlet or as funny as Stephen, I do like to write something that's meaningful to me on all my layouts.

Any “scrap accidents” you could share?

Yikes! Yes, plenty of them. Here's one, though. I never clean my stamps, so when I stamp with ink (even staz-on), I just stamp and then immediately remove the stamp from my acrylic block and get ink on my hands. So, sometimes (okay, lots of times) that ink transfers to the paper or photos I'mworking with, but there's alway something I can cover it with. Why do you think I like mist so much?

*The sweet photo, the burst off the edge, the paint...need I say more? *

Describe your ideal studio.

My ideal studio would have a center work island where I could stand to work, lots of natural light, and cute storage bins.

**I honestly believe this one is completely self-explanatory in it's greatness*

What’s in your photography gear bag?

My Canon 40D, a 50mm 1.4 lens, a Tamron lens f2.8 zoom, battery charger with extra batteries, a flip video camera, lots of cords, and a well-worn camera manual.

Any other hobbies you have that are not related to scrapbooking?

Right now, I'm working to improve my photography skills, not to be a professional photographer, but just so I can take photos of my friends and family that I will cherish for years and years.

*This page is just the epitome of what I love about April's style. Clean, classy and a touch of whimsy to top it all off. Doesn't get much better!*

Do you keep a gallery on any other websites besides Studio Calico?

I have a 2peas gallery and a SIStv gallery that have been neglected for ages. I'm about to add to my 2peas gallery, though. Just give me some time.

Sneak Night Winner

And the winner of the goodies from Elle's Studio is.....


ArlaMo said...

pretty stuff!! I'm headed to Girl's Camp for a week this summer, a week in the mountains for a family reunion in Montana and a little surprise trip (hoping to schedule a whitewater rafting trip) for our 18th anniversary. Busy, busy, busy!

Please send an email to info@studiocalico.com with your contact information within 24 hours of this post to claim your prize.

Scarlet's thoughts.

I asked Scarlet the same questions that Jenn posed to April yesterday. Here are some her answers.... :)

What was your initial impression of April the first time you met in person?
Is this a trick question? For those of you who don't know, April has an identical twin. I met them both at the same time, and they were almost always together when I saw them. The first time I saw one of them alone, I had to be very careful to hide the fact that I had no idea which one of them I was talking to. It was a very awkward moment for me. It didn't take too long to figure out that their personalities and even their physical appearances are very different.


What’s been your favorite CHA?
This is a difficult question, because I am still trying really hard to have the perfect CHA experience. The first one was fun, because it was the first. I guess that was Chicago in 2007? Wow! Hard to believe. What I loved most about Winter CHA 2008 was that it was our first chance to meet some of our design team members in person. It was also the first time I had been on an airplane in over a decade and my first time in California. I loved the couple of extra days we spent sight-seeing, and I wish we could do something like that again instead of rushing back home. What I loved most about Winter CHA 2009 was that we had a little more time to relax than we had at past shows because we completed a lot of our work before we went. That has always been my biggest frustration with CHA... finding a balance between the work that needs to be done and the time I want to spend with friends that I only get to see once or twice a year. And I never seem to get enough sleep.


If you weren’t doing Studio Calico, what would you be doing?
Relaxing on a beach somewhere? No, seriously... I'm not sure. Before Studio Calico, I was working as an administrative assistant at a restaurant. Just before SC grew to the point where it demanded my full-time attention, I was exploring the possibility of moving into a position as a marketing assistant at the corporate office for that restaurant, so maybe that is what I would be doing. Maybe not?


What's your favorite part about running a kit club?
I think the best part is seeing the excitement of our customers. Month-after-month our customers anticipate the next kit with as much enthusiasm as they had the month before. From our standpoint, it's very difficult to keep that momentum going, but it is so very gratifying to be able to do it again and again.

What's the most difficult part?
I probably shouldn't have read April's answers before I wrote my own, but I totally have to agree with her on this question. We work like clockwork around here, and if a manufacturer doesn't follow through on the commitments they make to us, it can be a huge disruption and frustration. On the flip side, there are some manufacturers out there who have been a dream to work with, and that makes our job a lot easier. When you find a business that has the same level of commitment to its customers as we have to ours, that is a perfect partnership.


Why do you think SC is so successful?
I love April's answer, but I will add one more thing that she didn't mention. One thing that seemed to be missing in the market when we started was a kit club that operated on a strict, dependable schedule. It seemed that almost everywhere we looked, photos were posted and kits were shipped whenever it was convenient for the owner... sometimes hours late and sometimes even days or weeks late. We made a commitment to our customers that sneak peeks and new kits would be posted on the same date and time each month, and for nearly two years we haven't faltered on that commitment, not even once. If our customers don't know what to expect from us, how can we expect to keep them?


How do you go about planning a kit? What's the first step?
Sometimes we start with an inspiration piece, and other times we start with a product that we love. It seems like the last several kits we have planned (some of them that you haven't seen yet) have been product-driven. I'm not really sure which way is easier, but the process is totally different. Some of our inspiration-driven kits have been Sherwood Forest, Bibliography, and Fortune Cookie. Some of our product-driven kits have been Via Airmail, Iconic, Looking Glass, Garment District, and Playground. But since we began adding Studio Calico patterned paper to our kits, the line between inspiration-driven and product-driven has become much more fuzzy. Garment District is the perfect example. We wanted to use the American Crafts fabric accents, which clearly led us in the direction of a sewing-inspired kit. We enhanced the idea by adding fabRips and incorporating vintage sewing patterns into our patterned paper.


Where do you look for inspiration for your own scrapbooking?
Can I be perfectly honest here? I feel like my inspiration comes and goes and that a lot of the time, how inspired I feel depends on how things are going in my personal life. Sometimes I find it difficult to wade through my personal clutter to find the roots of my creativity. Please tell me that I'm not the only one who feels this way! I think that a lot of my work recently has been reflective and moody, but that is my way of coping with my current circumstances. I think that people create for different reasons, and right now I find myself using creativity as therapy. I think that, aside from outside sources, inspiration also comes from within, especially where scrapbooking is concerned. When my life feels uninspired like it has recently, it can be difficult to summon up the inspiration to scrapbook. The good news is that my life has been inspired by new things lately, so I think my creativity is on an upswing :)
To summarize (since I'm not exactly sure that I answered the question)... I look to life for inspiration. Having meaningful photos is inspiring. Having stories to tell is inspiring. Finding the beauty in life is inspiring.

Sneak Night Giveaway!!!

A special thanks to Elle's Studio for this fabulous prize pack!

To enter to win, simply comment on this post and let us know what you have planned for this summer.

History Lesson Not Over...

Because this week Nic S and I are picking the fabulous minds of April & Scarlet!


I had the opportunity to ask April some questions today--I think you'll enjoy reading what she had to say as much I did. Stay tuned later in the week as we try and reveal more of their creative genius.

What was your initial impression of Scarlet the first time you met in person?

I first met Scarlet at our LSS in Bowling Green, which sadly is no longer in business. I was working there and she was laboring over which stickers to purchase for a card she was making. At the time, I wasn't a sticker person, so I tried to convince her to use stamps for card-making and the rest is history.

What’s the funniest kit related story you have?

I don't know if it's funny or not, but Scarlet and I had no idea what we were getting into with the flat-rate shipping offer. We had no idea that ya'll would order so much that we couldn't fit it into a box! So, we have upgraded

boxes and sometimes have to send multiple boxes. So, if you have a friend that scrapbooks, now's the time to get them to kit-pool with you, before ya'll break the bank on flat-rate shipping! Just kidding, it's a program we plan to continue for a long long time.

What’s been your favorite CHA?

I loved summer CHA 2008. We already had 2 CHA's under our belt so I really felt like we knew what we were doing. Plus, it's the first time Stephen and Lorie joined us for the trip.

If you weren’t doing Studio Calico, what would you be doing?

I'd be a pharmaceutical manager. I loved my previous job and there was no real reason to leave except the fact that I would have gone absolutely crazy (and driven everyone else around me crazy) if I had continued to do both.

How many countries are represented by SC’s kit purchasers?

25 as of April's kit. (WOW!!)

If you had one day to plan and the sky was the limit and money were no

object what would you do with or for SC right now?

I would fly all of SC's members into Nashville and we'd have a big scrapping party with lots of good food and scrapbook supplies galore.

What was your initial vision for SC?

Initially, we wanted SC to be the premier kit club to be a part of with brand new releases and some vintage items. We also wanted to create a pleasant, easy-to-navigate shopping experience. We decided early on to have a message board, just thinking we'd had a few comments a day, and we never dreamed the community would become what it has. I truly think we are blessed with the nicest, most genuine users in the scrapbooking marketplace.

What's your favorite part about running a kit club?

My favorite part is when the boxes come in each month, and we see what we've created on the computer come together in tangible items. Love that experience and it never gets old.

What's the most difficult part?

The most difficult part is managing lead times and ship-dates, particularly from other manufacturers. The exclusive items we produce are completely within our control to arrive on time, but we're at manufacturers' mercy when we order from them. That's why building solid relationships and partnerships with them from the get-go was so important to us.

Why do you think SC is so successful?

I think we have been successful because we follow through on our commitments. Innovative designs and useability are of primary importance, but without stellar customer service, being able to admit when you've made a mistake and then being willing to accept the cost to correct it, I don't think we'd get very far.

What's something you'd like to see in SC's future?

I'd definitely like to see more community activities, whether it's more challenges,tutorials, and workshops online, or in person at an event. I'd also like to see how far we can expand our exclusive items.

Where do you look for inspiration for your own scrapbooking?

Many times, I look no farther than the SC member gallery. I love looking for unique subjects to scrapbook, angles of photos, or for a particular layout design that I can tweak to work with my photos. I also regularly read these magazines, but more for general inspiration than for scrapbooking: Better Homes & Gardens, Country Living, Domino (sad that it is no more), and Country Home (and another that I was sad to see go).

Thank you, April, for answering all of our questions! She doesn't know it yet, but I've got a list of personal creativity questions for her later this week! :)

Final SC History Lesson.....

I came to work at Studio Calico after the first couple of kit had been sent....I missed some of the beginning stuff so it has been really fun to go back and talk with Scarlet and April and find out how everything came together. Did you know that Studio Calico was born in a 5x5 room in Greg & April's garage? Let me just say that they outgrew that space quite quickly and when I joined the team two months later, we had moved into the living room.

I'll never forget that first time that I went to pack kits.....I had no idea what I was getting into. I had known Greg & April for a while. We were friends, brothers & sisters really, we attend the same church and I'd always felt close to them. My husband and I had just adopted our daughter a few of months before and I had left my full-time job to be a stay at home Mom. April approached me with an opportunity to work part-time with the added perk of being able to bring my baby with me while I worked. I've said this many times before, but some of you may not have heard it.....Studio Calico was a blessing from Heaven for me and my family. I had this great flexible schedule (that revolves around reveal night) AND I could take my infant daughter with me when I worked!!! Little did I know that my daughter would soon prefer April and Greg to me.....she's two years old now and still thinks that Greg belongs to her!

Sorry, I digressed.....back to packing those first kits......I got there that first day and April had all of these stacks of paper spread out around her dining room table. She also had all eight of her dining room chairs lined up around the perimeter of the room, each overflowing with stuff. I guess that I need to clarify something here....I'd never scrapbooked before, so I had no idea what a rub on was, much less what to do with it! I remember walking into that room and thinking, "What on earth do people do with all of this stuff?" Needless to say, I asked a lot of questions and tried not to look too clueless when April and Scarlet would talk about products. Fortunately, I'm a quick study and it only took me a couple of months to tell the difference between Sassafrass and Basic Grey. Man, I digressed again....anyway, April looks at me and says, "Okay here is what you do....go around the table and take one of each paper, slide them in the bag and then go around to all of the chairs and take one of each item and put them on top of the paper in the bag." My response was, "All of that is not going to fit in a bag!" She told me to trust her and follow her lead. So I did and she was right! We worked together for about an hour and she said, "Okay, you've got it, I'm going to go work, shout if you need anything." That was it, that's how my career with Studio Calico began....my 5 month old daughter was snoozing away on the couch, Addy (April's MinPin) was standing guard...watching her every twitch...and I was walking in circles around April's dining room table trying to figure out how anyone could use so much scrapbook stuff.

Once I had a couple of kits under my belt, I began to get extremely curious about how the whole kit club thing worked. I signed up to be a member on the site and started lurking on the message boards. Every month, I faithfully sat up during sneak night and then again on reveal...watching and listening...learning that scrapbooking is not just about capturing memories, it's about releasing your inner artist, creating something where there was nothing and sharing your soul with others who actually understand and appreciate your art. As I learned more and more and started to recognize manufacturers and products, I finally felt confident enough to start to communicate with the Design Team. I have to tell you, the whole concept of a Design Team was quite fascinating for a novice like me. I remember asking April countless questions about what they did, who they were, why the loved to scrapbook so much....she patiently answered all of my questions and encouraged me to get to know them more via the message boards. Well, I took her advice and I'm telling you....these gals are phenomenal!! I have never met a more creative bunch in my entire life. Month after month they blow me away with their galleries of never ending eye candy!

Well, now that I've droned on for a while....I guess that I'd better give you what I promised.....exclusive interviews with our awesome Design Team. I sent them all a list of questions....Here are just a few of their answers....

1. What was your first impression of the concept of Studio Calico when the call came out for Design Team members?

Nicole S - I remember seeing Scarlet post something on another board about SC when it started and really loving that first kit. I loved the mix of items they put together and it seemed so refreshing from other kits I had seen. Then I saw the info about the DT call and decided to check out the place some more. I think they had me from the Studio Calico logo to be honest! Then after signing up for a username and starting to post, I just really enjoyed everyone here. I decided to subscribe soon after which was HUGE for me. I had never bought a kit let alone subscribe for 6 months to a kit club! I was always afraid I wouldn't like the next month's kit. or that all my layouts would look the same using the kit with the same line over and over...but I had no such fears with SC. I just knew that April and Scarlet would come up with a fabulous mix or product each month based on the couple months I had seen so far.

Tina - I thought it was fresh. Not too funky or far out there. Just the right mix of fun, playful and sophistication. I always thought the kits were "user friendly"

Davinie - The site drew me in right away. And the way they put together the Farm Fresh kit and photographed it really got me. I loved the vintage look of it all. When I saw there was a DT call I just had to go for it. I knew that I would not be disappointed. And when April and Scarlet called me at home, our whole family was in my girls' room playing house. My husband answered the phone, and I just KNEW it was SC before he handed it to me. It was an awesome phone call!

2. Had you ever heard of April or Scarlet before?

Kelly - Yep. Scarlet and I worked together on the Arctic Frog design team a few years back. And both Scarlet, April and I were HOF runner-ups in 2007. I've always been impressed by their work.

Joy - I had heard of them both in passing from 2peas and CK. I loved Scarlet's name, so I remembered her the most:)

Kirsty - No, I'm afraid I hadn't at the time. Being in the UK we have a smaller community of scrapbookers and keeping up with the US scrapbookers is difficult if you were not a member of scrapbook.com or two peas. But I will never forget them after I first spoke to them when I was chosen to be on the DT. April liked my accent so much she put me on loudspeaker. I liked her accent so much I wanted to bottle it!

3. How do you keep your creative juices flowing month after month?

Nicole H - prayer? no seriously...i just kind of push paper around on my desk until it lands in a somewhat sassy fashion that i find agreeable, lol. i am not a sketch person and i have never had an inspiration journal. what i do have are a million tidbits of paper floating around my desk with notes on things Allie has said, stories i want to get on paper, something that may have happened that day that i want to remember...i guess you could say i start with the journaling.

Emily - i look all around and try to find ways to translate things that grab my attention into scrapbook elements. it's a constant fear that one day i won't have any creative juice at all!

Jenn - Keeping them flowing is less the problem than translating them. I have the huge issue of seeing things in my head and being disappointed in the way I've translated the output.I guess that's where I look at the DT girls and just take admiration and wonder in their creations and hope a little osmosis hits.

4. What sets Studio Calico apart from other kits clubs that you have worked with before?

Nicole H - i briefly worked with 2 other clubs before...briefly as in, 2 months? they both would order every paper/embellie of one line and call it a kit...umm, no thanks, lol. they were also very 'themey'...example: for February, they would order the entire KI Memories love line. one HUGE diff here is that A&S genuinely seem to value our opinion on product/contests/everything...and as silly as that may seem, it feels nice to be asked what you think and know that it will be taken into consideration.

Nicole S - I've guest designed for a couple other kit clubs before and I think the thing that sets SC apart is their mix of product in each kit. They have a thing for pulling together a perfect mix of stuff from all different manufacturers and making them look like they were made to go together. I also love how the add-ons complement the main kit but sort of steer off into other directions. It's so cool how I can make 4-5 layouts with the main kit and a couple add ons and they look nothing alike...they have different color schemes, styles, alphas, etc.

Tina - customer service by far. april and scarlet are so interactive with everyone and I think that's really unique. The kits are always filled with the newest products and it's put together so well, it makes scrapping a breeze. One-stop shopping as far as scrap supplies go.

5. What is the biggest perk of being a DT member?

Davinie - I've made some great friends working at SC. I have never been on such a supportive team before, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. We all have different creative styles and are always learning and growing from each other creatively, and there is ALWAYS a shoulder should you need one. The DT at SC is the BEST. I'm so glad to call them my friends.

Kirsty - I cant deny that receiving a complimentary kits the best perk however the community spirit on the SC forum is what I like the most because everyone is crazy about the kits - and that's inspirational.

Joy - The free kit of course :) And seriously the community here is so friendly and caring. That is a huge perk. The DT loves each other like family and we love the members!!

I hope that you enjoyed the interviews and the history lesson this week. I know that this post was very wordy and maybe kind of boring, I didn't even have any pictures for you.....

Hey wait a minute....that gives me an idea....I see a challenge brewing.....wait for it....

I'd like to see pictures of you with your very first kit. I know that there are some of you out there that pulled out your camera and took pictures.....don't be shy, let me see them. Post them to the Blog Update thread on the message board and I'll draw a winner for a set of Fabulous Die Cuts. I'll give you until Noon CST on Tuesday to post your pictures!!

Thanks for reading!
Lorie