Friday Inspiration...1st Edition.

this is the first of TWO Inspiration installments for today...and who better than our May Guest Designer, Jennifer Johner to provide us with something to get us revved up for National Scrapbook Day?!?!

honestly, i'm not quite sure where to start. i have been a HUGE fan of Jennifer's for the longest time, and i just think she is crazy talented. in this layout here, she combined both HomeFront and Anthology to document a fun photo of her little guy. (this one makes me smile, because my daughter STILL loves tub time, and she will be eleven in a few weeks, lol!) let's try to break it down a bit... i think the quality that i am most envious of in Jen's work is her ability to use lots of little details without making it look over the top. my personal taste runs a bit on the 'clean' side...yet i love lots of details. her work combines both of those elements and hits the mark every. single. time. the FabRip ruffled at the top of the page, the random Anthology Stickers floating about, the mix of the Anthology and HomeFront alpha stickers...sigh. each one a perfect addition that adds to the page without distracting from the message.
here in the detail shot, i love how she punched the FabRip with a heart punch before removing it from it's backing...and added the random 'H' stamped with the Noah alphabet for fun. again, little bits and elements that add to the fun of her page without distracting from that cute photo and her words. (side note: i am a big fan of journaling on lines drawn with my ruler...you will rarely see a page of mine where i have handwritten journaling and NO lines. i LOVE how she kind of free-handed her journaling lines...i will definitely try that!)

so there it is.
my profession of love for Jen's work.
please check her blog HERE...and her Studio Calico gallery HERE (just click on her image).
both are DEFINITELY worth your while!
and thanks Jen, for providing us with so much inspiration this month!!

Thursday's Insider Tip

More Home Front for you today!

And a cool way to stamp with Maya Mists.

I made this layout a couple of weeks ago. I wanted the word HEARTS to stand out, but I didn't have a stamp pad the color of green to coordinate with the green Dollhouse paper. I wondered if I could get a similar color mixing my mists. I figured it was worth a try.


I got out my craft mat, stamps, and mists. For my layout above, I used the Nadiya alphabet set, but you could use any stamp you'd like. For this demo, I thought I use the new doily stamp that will be available in the February Baker's Dozen kit, on sale the 28th at midnight.

Then I sprayed 5 shots of green mist, trying to get it in the same relative area.

I added a couple of squirts of turquoise. There is no exact science to this, you're going to have to test out your colors by stamping on a sheet of scratch paper. When I did the word "hearts," I tried just the green, but it wasn't blue enough, so a couple of squirts of turquoise and it was almost an exact match. I believe the ratio was 3 green to 2 turquoise squirts. What I did for the demo got me a darker green color. You can guess the possibilities are endless with this technique.
I then mixed the two colors together with a paint brush, I recommend the Claudine Hellmuth ones available in the shop, they are really sturdy brushes.

The next step was getting the ink onto the stamp, I just rubbed the stamp around in the ink until it was covered. It will be very juicy, there is no pad to absorb any of the ink.

So you'll want to stamp off a few times on the craft mat:

Then you can stamp on your paper, I highly recommend you do a few samples on scratch first. HIGHLY!


I left for an hour, came back and my mists were drier, but I tried another stamp and got this cool image, much more mottled:


When I was all done, I just washed the craft mat off in the sink and it's good to go. That's why I love that mat so much, it's so easy to clean!

So there's my insider tip for you, make your own stamping ink colors with Maya Mists and the craft mat.

Sighted: Home Front

Jennifer Johner

This layout makes me incredibly happy.

Keisha Cambell

Such great use of the Dollhouse paper and those photos clustered in the center are so inspiring!

Cindy Leibel

What's not to love about this layout? I really like how she used the journal cards on this one.

Aly Dosdall

This is such a special layout. The strips, the stitching...my 2 favorite things right now. How nifty is this project she's got going?

Lot's of ideas in the Studio Calico gallery as well.
Check out this beauty by Nata V......

amazing, no?

Be sure to check out the rest of the gallery for Home Front inspiration. You can purchase the line at your local scrapbook store as well as Two Peas.

Tiny Banner Challenge!

** Updated with... Celine's "Tiny Banner" page! **


I love love LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE how artsy and unique and totally creative Celine's work is! And a pom-pom trim tiny banner....?!?? GENIUS!!!! :)

***********************

Hi Guys! Susan here with my first post for the SC blog... & first challenge! Woohoo :)

I have been obsessed with pennant banners for a while now. Really, who hasn't?! Whether made of paper, felt, or fabric - they are so cute & adorable and add a festive touch to any decor. And so, the super-talented Celine (who will be hosting the blog with me this week!) came up with the idea for our "little challenge" this week...

Add a Tiny Banner to your Layout!!!

Can I tell you how much I LOVE this challenge?! Here is my page...

I punched out triangles from both solid cardstock & also from cardstock that I had misted for my title banner, and then added Studio Calico Homefront letter stickers. I machine stitched through the top of the "banner" and left the ends of the thread hanging (instead of trimming it like I normally would).

We would love to see you try to use a Tiny Banner on your page too! Doesn't have to be a pennant style banner (but it could be!) - really just whatever type of banner inspires you... You have until Saturday night at midnight PST to enter this challenge... the (random) winner will be awarded a $5 gift card to the Studio Calico shop!

member inspiration : home front

Since it's a holiday week, Nik and I are altering the usual blog schedule a bit - I'm bringing you member inspiration today, rather than on Friday. So take a break from your turkey day prep to get a little Home Front inspiration from the best member gallery on the planet. =)

It's been so exciting to see Home Front turn up in stores (ask for it at your local store, or find it online at twopeasinabucket.com, amillionlittlethings.com or stopandscrap.com), and even *more* exciting to see projects featuring it show up in the gallery here! I've chosen a few to share with you - keep your eye on the Home Front gallery to see more. =)




Bike ride by Waleska - Such a fun design - I adore the circle. I love how she cut out "bike ride" to use as part of her title and how she edged along the design of the red paper.



Home by Ann-Marie I love that she started recording her home before it was even there. =) The detail of the outlined houses with the house number written on one is brilliant, and that Maya Road chip houses are a perfect accent to the Home Front patterned paper.




Grandma's House by Betsy I love all the journaling on this page - so many memories captured. I'm also in love with the photos of her Grandma's house - what a gorgeous building! Betsy mixed some Home Front paper with her Marketplace kit, and they look beautiful together.



Birthday Card by Penny - How sweet is this card? I love the Home Front paper paired with one of the SC designs from the March kit - they go together perfectly. And the design of this card is simple & perfect - I think I might have to lift it!



Sweet Baby by MandieLou - Who can resist a good baby page??? I adore these pics of her little guy, and the layered scallops are a fun way to add dimension. I love the lamps cut from patterned paper as an accent, and the layered label stickers are a fun detail.

I hope this inspires you to cut into your Home Front papers and post something to our gallery - I'd love to see more! =)

Behind the Scenes on the Homefront :)

I got a lot of comments on my FabRip flowers during the HomeFront blog hop this week. I decided to do a short tutorial on making those flowers so all of you can try it when you get your hands on the FABULOUS FabRips.

1. Decide how wide you want your flower to be. I wanted a big wide flower for this demo, but it did end up being pretty big. The smaller the strip you use is harder to manipulate...so remember that.

2. Begin pleating the bottom edge only, forming the top edge slowly into a circle.

3. Don't worry, you can always start over if you don't like how its looking :) The FabRips are self adhesive, but the adhesive is weak enough that you can remove it easily and reposition!

4. Keep forming your circle.

5. To end the flower, tuck one end under the other and press together. The strip should stick together. In some of the small flowers I had quite a bit of FabRip strip left. I cut that part off to use later.
6. Add a brad to the center and viola :) A FabRip Flower!!! You will need to glue (or just use your brad) to permanently adhere your flower.

7. To make the center of the largest flower on my layout, I made a strip flower. I cut a skinny strip of FabRips into 3 peices. I made 3 bow loops and used a Crop-a-dile to make a hole in the middle of each of them. I added a brad to the middle of the strip flower and the pleated flower and I stacked them.

Let me know if you have any questions!!!

Home Front Blog Hop

Studio Calico is sharing part of their home with you by sponsoring a giveaway of their brand new line, Home Front. Imagine June Cleaver styled 1950s domestic bliss. Featuring optimistic colors and smooth vintage inspired patterns. You’ll find fresh stained wood grain, retro home décor, an exclusive SC cardstock alpha set, and much more. Home Front is versatile, colorful, and beautiful (can we say that?)….we think you’ll love it.



Each of the Design Team has a collection to give away on their blogs. Simply visit each below and follow their own instructions and you will have up to 14 chances to win this fabulous collection. Oh, and we're each posting layouts or other designs made with the collection, so you can get some inspiration at each stop along your way. Best of luck!

April Foster
Celine Navarro
Davinie Fiero
Emily Pitts
Jenn Olson
Joy Madison
Kelly Noel
Lisa Truesdell
Maggie Holmes
Nicole Samuels
Nicole Harper
Stephanie Howell
Tina Aszmus



And, since you can't all be winners....this collection is available at many online stores (stopandscrap, amillionlittlethings, and 2peas are the ones I know of off the top of my head) and maybe even your local scrapbook store (if not, there is no minimum order so please ask them to order it).

Sneak Night Giveaway - Best One Ever!

Studio Calico's debut, release Home Front is now available to your local retailers and is already popping up at some of your favorite online stores. For example, 2peas, amillionlittlethings, stopandscrap, just to name a few.

We're super excited and to celebrate, we're giving away the entire collection to one of our lucky blog readers.

To enter to win, simply leave a comment here and let us know what you like best about the collection.

And, stay tuned for more chances to win.

Home Front Sneak #5

I think this is the final piece of the new release you've been waiting for. THE PAPERS!!!!

I think we analyzed every detail of these to the nth degree, but for good reason. YOU are special customers and you are going to be using these to preserve your memories and beautiful artwork, so they could be nothing less than the best.

Odds & Ends
Conversation Piece
Dollhouse
Floor Plan
Darling
Blown Fuse


Again, if you want these products, they will be available at online stores and brick-and-mortars only for the next 2 months. In January, they will be available on the Studio Calico site for purchase.

If you are a retailer and wish to set up a wholesale account with us, please email info@studiocalico.com and we will reply within 24 hours. Thanks!

Home Front Sneak #4

I know a few of you are FabRip lovers out there.
You know how to rip.
You know how to make 'em look awesome on a layout.

Here's where I need your help. Please talk to your local stores and tell them why they need these. Get on your knees and beg if you have to. You have my permission ;)

Not to make you jealous or anything, but I've already used that woodgrain one on a layout.

I'll be back tomorrow with ALL the paper images. Just you wait!

Home Front Sneak #3

Yes, journaling cards! If you don't like one side, use the other! Love these bad boys. Printed on 100# weight cardstock, they're sturdy enough to use in a mini or on a layout. They're oh so perfect.

Stephen's favorite is "to do" with the rings.
Mine is the "notes" with the houndstooth.
But either way you slice it, you'll get all four double-sided cards per pack. Enjoy!

Home Front Sneak #2

Get ready for it.......
This is not for the faint of heart.




No, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is woodgrain + the Noah alphabet.

For those of you who already own the beloved Noah stamp set, this alphabet is slightly smaller and in cardstock sticker form. YUM.

All 199 pieces of woodgrain and gray goodness.

Home Front Sneak #1

With Home Front shipping mid-November, we're anxious to show you what we've designed. Click the video below to see the full version of our excitement. Or, if you just want to make fun of our Southern accents, I give you full permission to watch for that reason.

Home Front Label Stickers have arrived! from studio calico on Vimeo.