ready for a trip to Summer Camp?

Happy Saturday, Studio Calico friends! I hope you've enjoyed our travel week. If you haven't taken our vacations photos challenge yet, you've still got a bit of time. I'm looking forward to looking through the layouts later tonight. =) And remember, the winner gets a $5 gift certificate - I'm thinking that will come in handy for your reveal day shopping!

To finish up our travel theme, I thought I'd pull together the Summer Camp sneaks that our design team has posted. I can't wait for the reveal of this kit - I'm head over heels in love with it. =)


(April Foster)


(Celine Navarro)


(Emily Pitts)


(Jenn Olsen - sneak post 1 & sneak post 2)


(Joy Madison)


(Lisa Truesdell - sneak post 1 & sneak post 2)


(Nicole Harper)


(Nicole Samuels)


(Stephanie Howell)


(Tina Aszmus)


(Waleska Neris)

Documentary layouts

It's always so fun to see layouts start popping up in the gallery with SC product. I'm especially loving all of the Documentary layouts I've seen recently. So much inspiration out there!

This layout from Ashley888 is packed with Documentary! Check out the way she cut the arrows from the Looky There paper and used it as a base for some of her title...

Margrethe used lots of the papers lined up next to her photos for a fun look...
Ultra inspiring page from MandieLou with the punched circles and white space here...
I love Penny's grid design and the way she used the label stickers on her page...
Don't forget you still have today to complete your layout for the Vacation Photos Challenge...be sure to link your layouts to THIS thread and we'll draw a winner Sunday morning. Have a great weekend!

insider tips : faux washi tape

Happy Thursday, everyone! This week is flying by for me. Today, I want to share some faux washi tape inspiration with you. I love the look of washi tape, but have never been able to pick just which colors or patterns to get - and buying rolls adds up quickly! I've experimented with making my own with masking tape, mist and stamps, but was never happy with the results. Earlier this week, I came across this tutorial for making it using fabric tape that you find in the first aid aisle. The tutorial uses watercolor paint to color the tape, but I wanted to see if I could make it work with mist - and it did!

I found that the best way to get even color was to brush my tape with water first. I love this brush set - they are priced well and the brushes hold up beautifully over time. You can use the tape full size or cut it to a smaller width - I had no problem using my paper trimmer to cut it.



Next, I sprayed the tape with mist. I used hydrangea on this piece. After I misted, I used my paint brush again to spread the mist evenly. You could also leave it as is, and get a more of a gradient color wash - the point closest to where you sprayed would be the darkest, and it would fade from there. If your color is too dark, blot it with a paper towel and you can remove some of the mist. If you're happy with the color it's time to let it dry. It took about twenty minutes for my tape to dry completely, but if you're in a hurry, I'm sure a heat gun would speed up the process!

Now comes the fun part - adding patterns with stamps. The sky's the limit here - you can go for a tone on tone look, or experiment with something a little more bold. After I stamped, I used my tapes on a quick card - and of course I had to keep with our travel theme for the week. =)



(supply list : vanilla cardstock, jetset pp, window seat pp, girl's paperie pp from the july kit, hydrangea mist, lemon mist, charcoal mist, tumbled glass ink, mustard seed ink, journaling lines stamp, tweets stamps, tiny attacher, bumpy road border punch, foam adhesive, shipping tag, fiskars heart and circle punches, typewriter)

The best part of this? The roll of fabric tape cost me $2.79 - I had everything else on hand. Now I can have tape that matches any project for a fraction of what washi tape would cost. I can't wait to experiment more with this technique.

Travel Crafts...

Continuing with our travel theme, I'm here today to show you some fun travel craft ideas. Let's be honest, sometimes traveling with kids in tow isn't the most pleasant experience. My biggest concern when I'm traveling with the kids is keeping them busy and keeping the whining to a minimum. lol. I love the idea of making homemade crafts for them to enjoy while traveling.

How adorable is this pillow with a little pocket...great to store a favorite doll or action figure ;)

(tutorial here)

These DIY notebooks would be a great way to use some extra scraps!

(ashley ann photography)

And of course, I know you all remember Jenn O's fantastic little busy book made with the Bibliography kit. So much fun!

Have you seen any fun travel craft ideas out there? We'd love to see them, so link them up here if you do. :)

maps & globes : outside inspiration

Hi everyone! I'm continuing with our travel theme today, and in honor of my very most favorite Documentary pattern, Jet Set, I'm bringing you some map and globe themed inspiration. Vintage maps and globes are a hot item lately - they are popping up on home decor and craft websites right and left. Here's a few of my favorites from around the internet.

I would LOVE a vintage school map for one of my boys' rooms. They are a great timeless piece, and I love the soft colors. This one is in a workroom - it definitely steals the show as a decor piece.

(vintage map)


This would make a cute framed project - and instead of doing a TTV photo of a map or globe, you could grab some patterned paper or a vintage map and use Studio Calico's TTV rubon set. This would make a fun gift - just find a map of a significant place in a person's life to personalize it.

(map ttv)

LOVE. I might like this wall even more than the vintage school map idea... just buying a bunch of maps and using wallpaper paste to attach them to the wall. Layered bits of vintage maps would make a fun background for a travel themed scrapbook page.

(map wall)

Vintage globes, all in a row. I picked up one vintage globe at a flea market last year - it's on Alex's bookshelf. I'd love to get more!

(globes in a row)


This is on my "gotta try it" list - I'm planning to do stars, though. Perfect for Alex and Ben's room.

(map hearts)

And finally - a butterfly punch meets vintage maps. That's a happy combo, isn't it? It would be fun to do these in a mix of sizes as a page accent.

(map butterflies)

I hope you've enjoyed these ideas - I'd love to see where this inspiration takes you!

Challenge...Vacation Photos

Hello Studio Calico friends...it's Monday, which means it's time for another fun challenge here at SC. Lisa and I are hosting the blog this week and we thought since summer is in full swing and so many of us have been on vacation or are getting ready for vacation, it would be fun to share some travel related inspiration and projects. Also perfect timing since Documentary is now available in the shop for you to purchase! These journaling cards should be enough to make anyone want to scrap...SO much fun!

Okay, so here's the challenge for you...Scrap a vacation/travel layout. Super simple, but we'd also love it if you used Studio Calico product. In fact, we'll give you an extra entry into the drawing for a $5 SC gift card if you already have some Documentary on hand and you use it on your challenge layout. Stay tuned to the blog this week for more travel inspiration. And be sure to post your challenge layouts on THIS thread, so we can draw a winner this weekend. Happy scrapping! :)

Wood Veneer, Notions, and Mists winners

And the winners of these items are:

• Sillypea - Calico White Mister Huey's
  
• MandeeM - Wood Veneer Alphabet
• Nora Griffin - Applejack Mister Huey's
  
• Laura in CT - Calico Cream Mister Huey's
• strtwze - Calico White Mister Huey's

If your name is listed here, congrats! Please send an email to info@studiocalico.com to claim your prize and include the following information:

• Name:
• Address:
• Kit Subscriber? y/n
• Contest: CHA Reveal Week - Wood Veneer, Notions, Misters
• Prize: (list your item here)
  

Layout of the Week

The layout of the week is brought to you by Kate O'Brien (kateobrien), featuring the Home Front collection kit, particularly those classic woodgrain alphas.
Each week, the layout in the gallery is linked, so you can add it to your favorites easily.


This layout has been added to your favorites more than any other layout in the SC community gallery for the week of 7/4-7/10.

Congratulations Kate! Because of this you have won a $10 gift card to be used on any new purchase at Studio Calico.

Want a chance to win next week? Be sure to upload your projects to the SC gallery, and support your community by adding special projects that catch your eye into your favorites! It could be YOU next week!

Sunday Sketch

This week's sketch is based on a fabulous layout by Stephanie Wheeler and can be found in the Continental Gallery. Stephanie repeated the same photo 3 times, sized approximately 3x2". I love that look, but it could easily be replaced with a vertical 4x6" if that's what your layout calls for.

Notice how Stephanie grouped die cut pieces and punched circles of other papers, then layered the title and journaling right on top. Great design!

Now it's your turn. Take this sketch and copy it as is, twist it or turn it, and make it your own, then link it to this post for a chance to win one of 2 $5 gift cards. You have until Saturday, as the winners will be chosen on Sunday.

Sunday Sketch Winners

by vmolina


by gracie

Congrats to the two winners! Please send an email to info@studiocalico.com with the following information:

• Name:
• Contest: Sunday Sketch 7/11
• Prize Won: $5 gift card