Unique Holidays Gifts...

I don't know about you, but I cannot believe there are only 43 days until Christmas!!! In my usual form, I haven't really even started my shopping yet...BUT, I have been looking around and searching ETSY for some unique handmade gifts.

I've ordered some of these before and I can tell you that they are even better in person. I get compliments on my pendants all the time. And I'm pretty sure they used patterned paper to make some of these too! How cute is this owl?!

Wall decals are so HUGE right now...everywhere I go, there are wall decals for sale. These are super modern and fun! For only $8, something like this would make such a great hostess gift this season!

Have a sweet baby on your list this year? This crocheted hat and booties set couldn't be any cuter!

The perfect gift for the young professional...

I'm also loving these handmade soaps and lip balms for stocking stuffers!

Here are some more of my gift favorites from ETSY:

-Adorable clips and barrettes at Jack and Jane Boutique

-Gorgeous silver jewelry at Meg Leigh Designs

-More fun jewelry from Elle-A-Belle Designs

-Fun holiday clips from D'Kaz Originals

-Gorgeous prints from Alicia Bock Photgraphy

I'd love to see any gift ideas you all have found...post here if you've discovered something fun and unique! :)

quickie christmas card ideas

if you're like me, you're a procrastinator. you also have the best of intentions. you also might be a bit too ambitious. last year, i had a plan - i was going to make each person a one-of-a-kind, handmade christmas card. i was going to work on one a day, starting in mid-november, and by the time mid-december rolled around, i would have a nice collection of handmade cards.

well, december 15 rolled around and i had only made a grand total of one card. i still wanted to make my own cards. what was a girl to do?

after brainstorming for a bit, i came up with these:


my time-saver here were punches and using digital elements. i simply printed the trees onto sticker paper, punched them out, punched the lace cardstock out, and adhered them to a card (which are pre-made and sold at target). i also printed out the label words onto sticker paper, trimmed them, and also stuck them on the card. easy peasy. i was able to complete a bunch in a short amount of time.

today, i came up with these two quick ideas, also using punches. punches are your best friend when you are trying to do quick cards!



this is a pretty simple card. i cut out scalloped squares from patterned paper, and arranged them into a grid. i then used strips cut from word paper as my greeting. this is another time saver! no need to stick down stickers or rub-ons, or stamp on your sentiment! it's a really quick way to get your message on the card, especially when you are making cards in bulk. you could also use text that you printed out.



here, i pieced together a tree using small punched circles. i used two patterns, and alternated them with each row. i topped my tree with a small snowflake cut out from KI lace cardstock. i also used strips of word paper here.

i hope this starts you off with some ideas for some christmas cards - both for those of you who want to start their card-making early, and for those of you who are reading this on december 15! :)

The time has come ...

Finally, here we are, with two sketch challenge winners!

First of all, I'd love to thank you all for participating! You did such a wonderful job and we loved every single take on the sketch. We are so excited about all the creativity!

There wouldn't have been a way to choose one or two favorites, so I wrote every name down on a small piece of paper (those who used a Calico kit have been written down twice, of course) and the winners have been drawn by my little one.

But no more words, here they are!

rmoliverio, who created this layout:

and

cwl2283, who created this layout:

Huge congrats to both of you, each of you will receive a beautiful past add-on kit! Please send an email with all the info to aline(at)wildline(dot)de.

Have a wonderful week everyone! :)

Gift wrapping ideas

Today's post is all about the presents! I've searched for some really fun ways to give your gifts that extra special touch.

This first idea came from the blog Scrapbook Ideas hosted by Jess Gordon. The examples are hybrid, but couldn't you see painting the stems and leave w/ some acrylic paints then adding some fun prima flowers as well? I love how easy this project would be!



Here's a close up:



What little kid (or big kid for that matter) wouldn't love this box? I think it would really easy to duplicate using your scrapbook supplies, or you can download the template from paperboxworld for free:



Found this on Flickr, posted by Lisa Jordan who operates lilfishstudios. How cute! I can totally see the vintage dictionary paper from the January kit being used as wrapping paper.


Then we have Martha Stewart who always has new and fun ways to wrap a present:



Another couple of gems from Flickr by shopbub, lots of fun ways to decorate your basic pillow box:


And couldn't you see some repurposing going on with your maya road tins and paper with this kind of packaging?


I hope I've given you some new ways to look at wrapping those presents, not just birthday, but any holiday or gift giving time. I know I've found some amazing websites to further explore!

DON'T FORGET the Hometown Challenge that ends on the 14th. Do a layout about your hometown with the new kit you're getting this week/next and Lorie will have a thread ready for you to post it on. Have a great weekend!

You Shine

Karlotta, you shine!

Beautiful colors and great layering with creative details, that's what I really like about your designs.

Here are two of my favorites ...


This is so cute, the layered flowers and the tag with the date are so adorable!

Isn't that ribbon flower amazing? What a creative detail! Thanks for sharing your wonderful creations with us.

Here you can see more of her layouts! :)

And a little reminder for those of you, who don't know if to participate in the sketch challenge here. There are two wonderful prizes to win! Here's some more inspiration, based on the sketch, from the two wonderful ladies Stephanie Howell and Davinie Fiero:

Early November

As a kid growing up in the United States, I always looked forward to Election Day. It meant my birthday was coming up. I used to believe that my birthday fell on Election Day, but now that I know how the day is selected (first Tuesday in November), I realize my birthday never could have fallen on the actual day. But I do remember anxiously looking forward to the day our country chose a President.

This is not the place to discuss the outcome of the race, but I need to mark this occasion in some manner. I'm deeply touched at the historic nature of this race. To have the all options we did as Americans in this one election was truly humbling. It makes me proud. It makes me happy that I got to be a part of the election process. And no matter whether you agree or disagree with the choice, I hope we can support our new President and move forward.

Now, on to gift giving!

Today's post I wanted to focus on gift card holders. I made one a few months back and was honestly surprised at how easy it was to make, and how cute it turned out. For this one, I took apart a pillow envelope I'd received from Bed Bath and Beyond, traced it, scored it, and then glued together. Top it off with a ribbon bow and a quick tag, I was happy with the results.




I wanted to try a few more variations on it. So I searched the DIY Channel and found this really cute hanging holder. I made my version, it didn't turn out quite like I had imagined, but you get the idea. You can print off a template if you go to the article, trace it onto your patterned paper, cut out, score the lines (i used a stylus and a mouse pad), then fold everything and glue. I have never claimed to be embellishment savvy. this is proof. :) But you get the idea. Hang it on the doorknob and you have a cute way to present a gift card or small item.



And finally, a small envelope for the gift card is really easy to create. I cut a strip of paper 3 inches by 9 inches, folded, stitched, added a button and ribbon, then inserted the card. The button makes a heavy enough closure, but you can add a little bit of repositionable adhesive if you'd like.


Our birthday still hasn't been guessed correctly...ETA: cass got it! Our birthdays are Nov 8th!

And here's my layout based on Janine's sketch. I used pictures with German in them to honor her :) From my trip to Switzerland last summer.

Sketch Challenge

My first post here on the blog came more quickly than I thought and I am really excited about it. As you probably all know, English is not my first language, so I hope you'll understand what I am trying to tell you. :)

Emily and I, we thought a lot about what we can do in our first blog week. Emily will show you some gift giving and birthday celebration ideas and I'd love to challenge you, hehe. I made a sketch for this occasion and the challenge is really simple. For every layout that is based on the sketch, you'll be entered into a RAK drawing. If you use products from Studio Calico kits mostly, you'll be entered twice. Please post the layout in the Studio Calico gallery and post your link here, so no one is going to be missed.

We will draw a winner on Sunday, so you will have all week to take part. I really can't wait to see what you all will come up with, it is amazing how much talent there is here at Studio Calico!

But for now, here's the sketch. :)



And here's my layout based on the sketch, Emily's layout will follow soon!



That's it for now, I can't wait to see your designs! :)

Oh, and no one guessed our birthday so far, but you were close, very close ... ;)

Gallery Favorites

Janine and I are hosting the blog this week, which happens to be our birthday week. While we were exchanging emails, planning what we'd feature this week, we discovered that we not only share the same birthweek, but we have the exact same birthday! :) So this week, I was going to focus on gift giving containers made from scrap supplies. Then I decided at the last moment that I wanted to spotlight some of my favorite designs from the design team's November reveal. So the gift giving and birthday celebration will be on Wednesday. Anyone care to gander when our birthday is and how old we are? ETA: Anna, you called our ages :) You read my blog didn't you :) You're very close on the birthday, but we are not the 7th...

Here are my favorites from the gallery this month:

I think this captures the kit for me. Fun bright colors, just like a quilt.


I love what April did with the G on the photo. It looks so cool!


Such a sweet simple layout by Scarlet, I love how she rounded the corners.


The mix of colors on this page by Caroline are another great representation of the kit, it's just fun!


Davinie's stitching on the clouds is amazing. And this picture is so serene. I love how the whole page feels.


I just love this design by Kirsty, I think the symmetry is just delicious.


Kelly's little house is the cutest thing, I loved it in her sneaks and I love the whole thing.


Joy's pages about herself always delight me. Her added details on the clouds make this one of my favorite ever of hers.


I love how Janine took a dainty mini album and used it for a bunch of scary pictures. It works!


My favorite thing about this page is how Steph cropped her photo. It's edgy and raw. I like that sometimes. I appreciate her honesty here.


This page pulls at my heartstrings a little bit. I love the perspective from which the photo is taken.


Nik had a couple that I had a hard time choosing between, but the journaling and the pictures are what made this my blog choice. Her mom looks like a fun lady to have around.


Jenn's use of scraps on this one puts it over the top for me. Just a little bit here and and there, but the whole page pulls you in. Maybe it's the title on the picture. I don't know, but what ever she did, it works.


And finally, Nicole Samuels really defined pretty here. I think it's the red border against the grey, it's just stunning!


So there you have my look at the gallery. I'll have a couple of gift card holders for you on my next post.

(Sorry for totally changing my ideas Janine..., I'll get back on topic, I promise!)

Recycling your packaging

Admit it, sometime in the past you have been suckered into buying something purely because the packaging was gorgeous and yet never felt as much love for the contents of the packet. And then there are other times you may have bought something out of necessity and simply thrown the packaging without realising its hidden potential; the fact that it can be used to prettify a layout or card.

I am a major recycling freak when it comes to scrap supplies. Cardboard inlays, price stickers, plastic film wrappers and sometimes even the small boxes (think Prima flower tins and bottles!). I thought of digging out layouts from the last year that I have made using my Studio Calico team kit to share those hidden packaging embellies and inspire you to pause before you toss your next packet in the bin. With so many goodies in a kit at Studio Calico, there is never an excuse to find something with good potential in those heavenly boxes.

Lest we forget those beautiful brown paper bags that swaddle our beloved kits in the first place. Ive used this kraft bag a number of times. Below I used it to first mat my photo and curled up the edges and second - see the swoosh and the flowers? I painted onto my hand cuts of the paper to make this simple layouts flourish a little (I also added the string from previous bag wrapping days too!)

Ive also made two books with the brown paper bags that I would never dream of throwing away. This was from last months kit cutting the bag intow quarters and eyeleting together.This was from the Confections kit and became a simple 6x12 mini albumThis simple layout centres around the string from an old kit packet too which I simply inked and stapled onto the layoutSee this layout below from the Fly a Kite kit? The spotty paper was the reverse of some prima packaging and far to yummy to throw away.The green book lable, tab and journal frame was from an Anna Griffin header pack.See the flower on the bottom right? That's nestled on an America Crafts thicker packet sticker - the little black one that generally outlines whether the thickers are foam/chipboard/fabric etcEven the pins from the clothes pin and ribbon ensembles don't get thrown away which I saved for this quick make card. See the very bottom of this layout? the kind of curved bracket? That was the logo strip on the fabulous new Rip Strips on this months kit! I just hid the Studio Calico wording with the graph rip strip.And you see the filligree kraft tabs on the photo? they are from the Prima packaging also in this months kit.

If you have any links to projects that you have recycled packaging with, do share them in the comments box of this post!