Full Reveal of Walden Card Kit

Hey there everyone! Welcome to the full reveal of Studio Calico's Walden Card kit.  Kits were available to subscribers through an exclusive pre-sale event yesterday, so it's a great idea to subscribe so that you don't miss out on these exclusive kits and stamp sets. 

For my first card I used the main card kit exclusively. I absolutely loved the mini deer charm from Smoky Mountains and the SC exclusive black plastic strips.  I thought they'd work perfectly with the forest patterned paper from the kit's paper pad.

I layered the deer and plastic strips on some yellow seam binding and this pretty cupcake pink doily.  Papers are found in the kit's paper pad.

For my next card I was really drawn to the main kit's stamp set. These images are so trend-setting and provided countless ideas. I tried a lot of ideas, but in the end, this card is one of my favorites. The leaves alternating in diagonal stripes create movement, and filling some in while leaving others blank make it fun.

Seriously, I am obsessing over these plastic sentiments! They're so much fun to add to card, and they're no too bulky.

I broke out the watercolors for this next card that also features the main kit's stamp set. Oh my goodness are these stamps perfect for any type of coloring! First I stamped the acorns on a diagonal to create a background, and then I layered colors on the acorn to make them pop out using watercolor paint.

 For some dimension I painted one acorn, fussy cut it and backed it with some brown twine.

My next two cards feature two of the stamp add on's for this month. This card features the Wreath stamp set. It's a modern take on the traditional build-your-own wreath sets, with a geometric feel to it that you're going to love.

First, I stamped the wreaths all over the card, and then I went in with my watercolors  and painted shades of reds and greens on each wreath, using both for the wreath holding the sentiment, trimmed into a cute banner with an embossed gold doily and red thread,

My last card features the French Fry set in a totally different creative way. When I looked at the fry stamp on my desk, the silhouette reminded me of a city scape, and the set has a coordinating sentiment for a Miss You card. With that idea I layered patterned paper from the kit's paper pad on an embossed card base. Then, I stamped the cityscape and sentiment on a banner and fussy cut them, adhering them together with foam tape.

Before I adhered the cityscape to the panel, I painted a sky with blue watercolor, and sprinkled salt over it to create "stars." What a fun technique this is! A cute veneer heart is stapled to the painted cardstock panel.

This month's release is full of countless inspiration, I'm still crafting with it. Kits were available to subscribers yesterday during an exclusive pre-sale, but you don't have to miss out; consider subscribing to Studio Calico so that you too will get first pick on the cool fun! Kits are available now to non-subscribers, so grab them quick before they sell out.

Sneaks of Walden Card kit

Are you getting excited? Release day is ALMOST here! I've got  a few sneaks to show you of some cards that I made. I had so much fun with this release! It has some fun and trendy playful add on stamp sets, but also includes some fun stamps for the upcoming holidays.

I used one of the add on stamp sets in a different way by creating a little city scape

Here's a super modern Christmas card, a geometric wreath full of possibilities!

The full reveal will be available at midnight on October 28th for non-subscribers, but lucky subscribers will be able to start buying at midnight--It's so worth it to subscribe, these stamp sets will go fast!

SCInspires Blog Hop

Welcome to the SCInspires Blog Hop!! This hop is all about getting inspired! Inspiration is a big component of the creative process. It's what helps designers create and helps crafters make. Inspiration comes in so many forms. You could be walking down the aisle at Target, and see a pattern that inspires you, or maybe it's a sign on the outside of a cafe that gets you thinking, "what could I make with that?" Whatever you use to get your creative juices flowing, Studio Calico is offering a free digital download to help inspire you!

As many of you know, I became a mom this year to a precious little girl; Maggie. Every day she inspires me to work harder to be a better person, more patient mother and loving wife to my husband, so that she  can in turn grow up to be a secure strong woman herself by my example. She inspires me, but so do other things. Being a mom is hard. It's time-consuming, draining emotionally and physically and sometimes pure craziness. I've learned that as much as I love my little one, and want to devote all of myself to her, I as a woman, need time to myself to recharge. Part of re-charging  and relaxing for me and crafting. Studio Calico inspires me to craft. To play with my product; to challenge myself; to stretch beyond my usual style and try something new. 

Today, were talking about what inspires us as crafters. I was inspired by Studio Calico's  free digital download. The colors, fonts and layout appeal to my personal design aesthetic, but the wording inspires me the most. The words in the graphic inspire me to cherish the everyday moments of the season. Having a child reminds you that there are so many firsts and so many "only's." Maggie will only have one first Halloween, only one first trip to the pumpkin farm, only one first trip to our traditional Christmas farm. This print inspires me to stop. Stop and take a look and take in the moment of my little one and just relish it. Sometimes that's so hard to do. But, I want to try. I want to try because all of her "only one first's" are my "only one first's too. 

The download inspired the colors and textures of our first family photo. My dear friend Rahel of Rahel Menig Photography took this picture of our little family in the park outside our house.  Maggie and  I incorporated the yummy warm salmon pink of the photo into our outfits, and dressed in cozy sweaters. This photo captures the perfect joy of the holiday season; a time where you can just enjoy your family and friends.

Studio Calico inspired me to make this card using the The Underground card and scrapbook kits. I stamped the background with a circle form the Snowman stamp set. I then used patterned paper  and  a doily from the scrapbook kit to create a patterned paper block and notched paper strip.

 

I embellished my card with cabochons and stars from the scrapbook kit, and a glittery envelope and frosted pearls from the card kit. The stamp is from the card kit as well.

Now that I've shared what inspires me, I want to know…how does Studio Calico inspire you? That's what this whole blog hop is about. Share with me how Studio Calico inspires you by 11:59 pm on October 31st, and I will pick a winner from my blog to receive a free card kit from The Underground release. 

Make sure to download the free digital download to enter your username in Studio Calico's larger giveaway. There is over $1400 worth of prizes to win.As more and more people spread the hahtag #SCInspires, the prizes get bigger, so don't forget to share the inspiration.

Your next stop is the talented Natalie Elphinstone!

Happy World Card Making Day 2014

Welcome to the holiday of our people, the people of card making. Every year the first weekend of October is reserved for celebrating the love of our craft. Card makers from all over the world celebrate by making cards. Cards for fun. Cards for challenges and even getting a jumpstart on making their holiday cards. 

Studio Calico is hosting some fun challenges in honor of this fantastic day! Every hour beginning 10am EST members of the creative time will post a card making challenge. All you need to do is find a challenge, make a card, and post it in the corresponding challenge thread.

For my challenge, I wanted to reach out to the non-card makers, get them in on the action! So, I decided that a fun challenge would be to Embellish your Embellishments with Studio Calico Scrapbook Kits. Naturally Studio Calico attracts scrapbookers, many who subscribe to the fabulous kit club, but may have never tried their hand at making cards. So with the kits you have on hand, I wanted to show how you can use some scrapbook kits to make some lovely embellished cards. 

This card features stamps and enamels from Camelot, rub ons from Poet Society and a wooden embellishment piece from Hello, Hello. I adore this wooden chip! It's so unusual and the texture is a perfectly lovely backdrop! Lovely decorative stamps from Camelot line the bottom of the card while a gold doily and label from Hello, Hello adds a perfect backdrop to the embellishment.

I added the floral rub on to the chip,and a golden sentiment rub on above it. Then, I threaded a butterfly sequin and affixed it to the chip. You can use any sequin you like, but I loved the butterfly. Then I added the pretty puffy sticker to the bottom of the chip to draw the eye to the rub on. 

For my next card I got a little pattern-heavy because I love vivid and bold patterns. Using paper from Camelot, I created a paper block on the card base and threaded some twine onto a tag embellishment  from Poet Society. 

The tag is the embellishment I further embellished on this card. Adding floral die cuts and a cabochon flower from Camelot to the tag, I also added a crystal gem from Hello, Hello to the center of the flower to grab the eye to the tag. Some butterfly sequins further draw the eye towards the floral embellished tag as well

I hope you enjoyed these cards, and that you're inspired to make your own with the kits you have on your hand. There are some fabulous prizes for each challenge  full of product that is perfect for the card maker in all of us. And, if you participate in 8 or more challenges at Studio Calico, you'll be entered to win the grand prize---a three-month subscription to the card kit!! Yippee!! So, make your card and post it to the gallery, and don't forget to stop by my thread in Challenge Central and post a link to your card so that Studio Calico knows you made a card!!