July 2012 Studio Calico - Elmwood Park

Today I'm sharing all of the layouts that I created with the July 2012 Studio Calico kit, Elmwood Park, from the time the kit came until I received the August kit.  This post is a little late this month due to a vacation last week and really bad internet connection in the woods of Wisconsin!

I absolutely loved Elmwood Park and created seven layouts with it!  In addition to the main kit, I also got the add-on Monkey Bars.

My first layout, "I Took Shorthand," is the second in my random fact series.  The October Afternoon paper from the 9 to 5 collection couldn't have been more perfect for the layout, especially since I didn't really have a photo to go along with the topic.

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the circle/bubble cluster out on the layout "The Look of Terror."  It was time consuming to back it with different patterned papers, but I love the way it turned out.

"Laurie's Pond" has some fun misting and I used the Silhouette to cut out some cattails to embellish the page.  The photos are some really old ones of my parents.

I did some fun layering on my layout "Kitty Love."  I loved the Basicgrey paper with the big letters on it and cut them out for my title.

This next layout "The Ledvina Farm" is pretty much a scraplift of "Kitty Love."  I received the cow stamp from a RAK from a SC gal and put it to good use right away!

I used the stamp set in add-on #4 to create a word border on my layout "Topsfield Fair."

My last layout "Quebec City" was spotted by the team at Scrapbooking Mag and will be published in an upcoming issue of their new Ipad only magazine.

I've been on vacation since the 17th and haven't had a chance to do anything with the August kit!  I'm hoping to play with it tonight!

Have a great week everyone!

August Crate Color Challenge

The color palette for the August Crate Color Challenge was posted here just over a week ago.  The colors for the month are:  vintage linen, pear green, and sea glass blue.

I started by going through all of my Crate products and pulling out the papers and embellishments that I thought might work.  Then I peeked through some recent photos of mine and found one that I could use.  My husband and I spent four nights in Quebec City this July and I had taken this photo of the outside dining area of the restaurant that we ate at.

I ended up using patterned papers from three different lines:  Pretty Party, Emma's Shoppe, and Portrait.  The embellies were all from Pretty Party, with two OA buttons and a couple of Prima crystals added.  I also added a little strip of Freckled Fawn washi.  I did just a bit of misting with Studio Calico's Mister Huey in Dewey.  I had kept the receipts from the restaurant, so I tucked them in behind the photo and stapled them with my tiny attacher.

The "flower 4-petal square" design from Silhouette that I used here may be my new favorite design.  I think it is fabulous for layering!

Have a great week everyone!

Kitty Love

I am having so much fun working with the July 2012 Studio Calico kit, Elmwood Park.  I finished my sixth layout with it last night and I have at least one more in the planning stages.  I have so much of the kit left - it looks like I haven't even started playing with it!  I bought one add-on this month - Monkey Bars and I bought more SC paper.

This is one of my favorites that I have created so far.  I cut out the letters for the title from the BasicGrey paper.  The 'o' didn't match the other letters at all, so I cut out a heart from another paper.  

I love the exclusive denim thickers that came with this kit.  I honestly wouldn't have thought I'd like them much, but I have used them on three layouts so far.

The Studio Calico wood veneer birds that came with the kit are so adorable!  I couldn't resist putting a few of them on a cat page.

The August kit arrives at my door on Tuesday, so my next post will be my monthly installment of "what I got done with my SC kit before the next month's kit arrived at my door."  It's going to be a big one this month!

Have a great week everyone!

I AM a cardmaker!

(She tells herself, a bit unconvincingly.)

  I never considered myself a cardmaker.  I don't make a lot of cards.  I struggle with them much more than with a scrapbook page.  I make them mostly to use up excess supplies.

However, I have made cards that are good enough to be published - three of them!  So, I decided to embrace calling myself a cardmaker.

With cards, I generally start out with a sketch, a challenge, or I lift a card I saw somewhere (but only if I am  just sending the card to someone - not if I am submitting it.)  Cards magazine has a sketch and a style challenge each month, so sometimes I create something for that.  The style challenge for January 2013 is:  the colors chartreuse, aqua, light grey, with the element tags.

 

I went through my stash of Crate papers because they always have the best chartreuse colored patterned papers.    I found a chartreuse and an aqua in the Pretty Party collection pack.  I had a great tag from an older Studio Calico kit that I knew that I wanted to use.  I cut two more tags out using my Slice and decorated the card with butterflies, a border sticker and my favorite embellishment - a mini clothespin.

I think it came out pretty cute!!

So, do you scrapbook and make cards?  Do you enjoy creating one more than the other?  Are you better at cardmaking or scrapbooking?  I'd love to know!

Have a great week everyone!

Laurie's Pond

Laurie's Pond was a pond on my great uncle Laurie's property.  I don't remember much about it except that we swam there occasionally and there was a little cabin there.  I don't have any pictures of my family there except these two pictures of my mom and dad that were probably taken in the late 1960s.  They aren't great photos, but sometimes we don't have perfect photos for a topic that we want to create a layout about.

The denim colored paper in the July Studio Calico kit made me think of pulling these photos out.  The wood veneer birds were perfect, too.  I used the Silhouette for the cattails behind the photo matt.  I used passport Mr. Huey for the misting.

I asked my mom for help with the journaling.  I love seeing what story or memory she comes up with.  Thanks mom!

Have a great week everyone!  

Random Fact Series #2 - I took shorthand in high school

I had the idea to start a "random fact series" of scrapbook layouts about myself quite a while ago.  I finally got a start on the project with Random Fact #1 - I don't ski.  You can see it here.  Actually, you can't see it because it is out for publication (woot!), but you can read about it.  

An topic for Random Fact #2 has been floating around in my head for a bit, but I hadn't come up with any ideas for a page.  Then my July 2012 Studio Calico kit came with this fun paper by October Afternoon.

How perfect!  

I don't actually have any photos of me that would have anything to do with me taking shorthand, so I used one of the few photos that I have of me in a classroom.  I was caught sleeping!  Judging by my hair in the photo, I was probably a junior or senior.  And just to date me - that is a GUESS watch on my wrist!

There were a lot of fun items in the kit to pull from the colors in the October Afternoon paper - it was really fun to create!

Have a great week everyone!

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!