Pinterest Inspired Holiday Cards

Merry Christmas!   I thought I'd share a few cards that I made this year to send out to friends and family.  I actually made all of the Christmas cards I sent this year - about 50 of them!  I relied on my pinterest board "card inspiration" for the inspiration for my cards, but made them each my own.

For this card, I used the phrase from a card by Lisa Spangler from Studio Calico but then cut out a snowman using my Silhouette Cameo.  The idea came to me from seeing a package of six adorable Studio Calico bows sitting on my desk and thinking that I could use them all up making six holiday cards.

This poinsettia card was inspired by this card on my pinterest board.  I didn't have any other use for the gold doilies from a Studio Calico kit from a few months ago, so I thought this would be a good way to use them.  I used the Silhouette again for the poinsettia.

Finally, I was inspired by this card to create four of these cards using different holiday words from Heidi Swapp.  I actually used bits from the Heidi Swapp "Believe" line on each of these cards.  

I hope every one has a wonderful holiday!

June 2012 Studio Calico - So Cal

I only got two layouts done with June's Studio Calico kit, So Cal.  (I've been averaging about 4-6 this year.)  It is partly that I was away on vacation for a week and partly because I just wasn't feeling the kit - even though I really love the looks of it!  Oh, well, it happens!

The first layout I created was pictures of me, my husband, and my nephew being silly while spending a few days on the Cape.  I though the MME "White Wash" paper was perfect for the background and then just went with the colors from the photos from there.  

I used Mr. Huey to color the American Crafts Thickers and the color was way too bright at first (I think I used sunshine  - possibly orchard?)  I put a layer of Mr. Huey in white over that and the color came out perfectly.

The next layout is of me and my cat, Elliott.  He likes to lay on my chest, peering into my face when I am trying to nap.  I thought this would be a good photo to use as a 12" X12" that is so popular right now.  I printed the photo on American Crafts vanilla cardstock as I didn't have photo paper that large.  

I kept the embellishments pretty simple for this one, using my Silhouette to cut out a few hearts, and coloring the American Crafts Thickers for the title with Mr.  Huey again.

This layout was featured in the Studio Calico So Cal Member Picks video.  It was so fun to see my layout there!  You can see it here along with other great layouts created from So Cal.

That's it for June's Studio Calico kit.  I have July sitting on my desk and already have a few ideas for this one so I hope I have more to share next month.

Have a great week everyone!

Random Fact #1 - I don't ski

I decided quite a while ago that I wanted to start a "Random Fact" series of layouts about myself.  Layouts with little tidbits of information that make me, me. "I don't ski" is my first.  (Yay for finally starting!)

I used the May 2012 Studio Calico kit for this layout and some American Crafts POW glitter paper.  I used charcoal glitter paper for the background and silver for the snowflakes punched with a Martha Stewart punch.

I used the rest of my Heidi Swapp memory file that came in the kit, so my layout has three layers of photos and journaling.  I used the rest of the memory file in my layout here.  When I saw the memory file in the kit, I initially thought that I would have no idea how to make it work on a page.  Now I am in love with the different possibilities of layering on a page!

I also ended up loving the Heidi Swapp mistable letters that were in the Studio Calico kit.  I loved being able to mist them whatever color matched best with my Mr. Huey mists.

So, this layout is about something that despite my best efforts to learn (and owning a ski condo in Vermont!), I just don't do.  I already have a topic chosen for Random Fact #2!

Have a great week everyone!

Do you choose photos or paper first?

This question was asked on a Studio Calico message board over the weekend and I immediately thought of this layout that I recently created.  I had the photo printed in 2008 and I never made a layout with it until I saw this MME paper that came in the May 2012 Studio Calico kit, 35mm.

The photo is of a Christmas tree that we saw in the Cayman  Islands while we were on a cruise there.  The tree was made of driftwood and had a ocean creature theme.  The paper was perfect for the photo and the layout came together really easily after that.  The kit had just the right embellishments and pops of orange and turquoise.

I used a lot new Heidi Swapp on this layout - the banner, the mistable letters and I used part of a memory file.  I wasn't convinced about the memory file at first, but I loved using three of the pages from it to add some dimension and extra room for photos and journaling.  Here's one of the interior pages.

I printed some journaling on patterned paper for the next interior page.  

I also was really surprised that I loved the black and white dotted Bazzill paper that was in the kit.  It is a really thin paper, not like other patterned papers thickness at all.  I discovered that is is perfect to pleat and crumble and I decided that I liked it so much, I bought a few more sheets of it at my LSS.

I find that most of the time, I try to find photos that fit the kit since I am most often times working with the most current kit.  If I have a photo that I want to scrap, I'll look through the photos of kits first and find a kit that fits the photo.  

How do you choose?  Photos or paper first?

Have a great week everyone!