Doodle 2 Digital Class at Studio Calico

This year is sure turning out to be the year for learning new things for me! I have enjoyed immensely the sketching class last month at Studio Calico, and the next one coming up next month is equally exciting!

DOODLE 2 DIGITAL

Ever wondered who’s behind the fancy lettering and quirky illustrations you see on Studio Calico products? Graphic designer Matthew Wilson takes you behind the scenes to show how he creates those trendy designs. He’ll cover his favorite tools and share techniques for creating your own hand-lettered art and illustrations. You’ll even learn how to go digital with your work so you can make original art prints, patterned papers, cards, and more!

WHAT COMES WITH THIS CLASS

  • A video introduction to the class and the tools you’ll be using
  • 6 in-depth instructional videos from Matthew covering class material
  • Tips & tricks on the tools, techniques and practice involved in the class
  • Access to a class message board and gallery, where you can share and learn with your teacher and fellow students
  • Weekly challenges to inspire you to use what you’ve learned
  • Live chat with your teacher and fellow students

Seriously… I cannot wait! You can sign up for this class here through April 1st.

Homespun Documenter Kit and Add-Ons

This is the second Project Life spread I made with the Homespun release from Studio Calico.

The Documenter add ons are spectacular this month! In particular I am in love with the stamps by One Little Bird (everyday documenter and “on the menu”) – I know I will be using them over and over!

For this spread, I used pink as my main color – the “yeah” transparency from the main kit is fun!

This was definitely an unusual week – I had a small surgery on the Monday, and stayed put at home for the rest of the week.

I had fun stamping directly on the photos too – the Color Theory dye ink pads work great for that.

I used neon pink embossing powder with the everyday documenter stamp. I always add the week number to my spreads and this stamp set is just what I needed! It also comes with months, days, seasons and numbers – perfect!

The tags in the Pocket add on are so fun and bright (and hard to photograph…), and I decided to tone this one down with some white mist. I used one of the rubber phrases from the Documenter main kit as a mask.

There is a pretty set of puffy stickers by Pink Paislee in the Pocket add on.

Love these stamps (everyday documenter and “on the menu”)!

This is my favorite card of the entire spread! I stamped the “be cozy” from the Documenter main kit around this lovely bunny card from the Easter set.

More stamping with the everyday documenter and “on the menu” stamps.

Here you can see the numbers from the everyday documenter in action, plus the stamp from the Pocket add on.

Homespun Documenter – Main Kit Only

I have tons of pages to share made with the Homespun kits from Studio Calico. But truly.. the Documenter kit and add ons were all so good!! I had purposefully held back in documenting my January, and was able to get caught up easily with all these new products. Today, I am sharing what I made with the Documenter main kit only.

This kit stretches pretty far!

I loved all the pink in the kit, but since I know not everyone is a fan, I decided to avoid pink in this main kit spread, so I chose teal and red as my main colors, with some black.

The silver foil on the card I used for the title is so pretty! I did some creative use of the alphabet letters – since there was only one “w”, I used the “n”s instead.

I used those pretty kraft labels with silver foil accents throughout the spread as a cohesive accent.

I love how the gray rubber word pops against this red card! Oh and a PSA – use staples to attach these rubber pieces, it looks like glue dots have a messy reaction, while staples work great.

I loved the card that said “good times”, but it had a bit too much white space, so I cut out the circle and layered it on top of the woodgrain card, and added my journaling around it. I also used the hang from the stamp set to turn the circle into a framed piece.

There is a lovely set of kraft labels with silver foil in the kit, and I decided to use the leftover backing as a background for this card. Since I like to use up my scraps, I backed it with a couple of pieces I had left over from cutting some cards. I love how it turned out!

The rubber pieces in the kit are adorable as is, but you can stretch them even further by using them as a stencil. Here, I used some Studio Calico mist to spray over the word in red.

I loved the “boss” card in the kit, but it was too black for my taste, so I just cut out the sentiment and layered it on top of another card. I also cut apart the black card and layered it on top of the other one.

The silkscreen that comes in the kit is so much fun! Seriously.. so pretty! I used it a few times here with black paint – it’s so easy to customize your cards! As part of the kit, you can also pick a color of paint out of three options. Here, I used black to stick to my color scheme.

The stamp set is really cute and versatile – I used it throughout the spread, and here as well.
Check out the Documenter kit here.

Homespun Documenter Kit, Add-Ons and Dies

This is my third Project Life spread with the Homespun release from Studio Calico, and probably my favorite of the three. 🙂

For this spread I used the Documenter main kit, the Pocket add on, the “on the menu” stamp, the Easter cards, one of the card dies, and the 6×6 paper pad. Oh and I did some foiling with the Minc too! 🙂

I spent all the week at home recuperating from my surgery (see prior week here) so all the photos are from around the house.

And of course, lots of food photos – love food! 🙂


This was the week I made my firsts experiments with foiling, and I was so giddy about it that I had to document that in my album.

The Easter cards were perfect to document my love for bunnies! 🙂 I have a few things around the house that I happened to photograph that week. And the wood veneer letters from the Pocket add on are gorgeous!

I used the polka dot die on a piece of foiled card stock. The die is 2″x3″ and fit snugly in the pocket – there are three more of these card making dies in the Homespun releases and I think they work great for Project Life! You can check the other ones out here: stripes, zig zag and plus signs.

I used the puffy stickers from the Pocket add on and the “on the menu” stamp here and throughout this spread.

March Homespun Kits: Bundling Time

Reveal is in just a few hours (noon EST for subscribers, 3 PM EST for everyone), but bundling for subscribers has already started, so I thought I’d post what items I recommend adding to your order.

Happy script die $7.99 Power Suit dye ink $4.99 Flamingo dye ink $4.99 Lime Light dye ink $4.99

The Happy script die is a perfect complement for the Easter die that is part of the Homespun release!
Color Theory ink pads: I used the Power Suit, Flamingo and Lime Light colors the most this month.

Here are a couple sneaks at how I used these items:

I also had a lot of fun with foiling this month… so here are some other items I recommend:

Minc starter bundle $149.99 Minc 6” $79.99 Gold foil $9.99 Rose gold foil $9.99

and here are my foiling examples (in addition to the Happy Easter above!):

Stamp Sale at Studio Calico

There is an AWESOME 40% sale on stamps going on at Studio Calico through Sunday, Feb. 28 at 11:59 p.m. EST, so I thought I’d post a round up of the favorite stamp sets I own that you can pick up with this awesome deal. Stamps are by far my favorite supply!

Alpha Stamps
Alpha stamps are a weakness of mine… but they are so versatile, too! I use them a lot in Project Life and on scrapbook pages.

Mia alpha $14.99 $8.99 Alyra alpha $24.99 $14.99 Maggie alpha $24.99 $14.99 Make It Big alpha $24.99 $14.99
Alyra numbers $24.99 $14.99 Maura alpha $24.99 $14.99 Monogram alpha $12.49 $7.49 Laina alpha $24.99 $14.99

And here are some examples of how I used these alpha stamps:

 

{using the Mia alpha and the Alyra alpha}            {using the Make It Big alpha}

Animal Stamps
I cannot resist a cute animal stamp.. and these ones are so good!

Party Animals $23.99 $14.39 Celebrate Animal $14.99 $8.99 Merry and Bright $15.99 $9.59 Polar Bear $15.99 $9.59

Here are some examples of how I used them:

  

And since the last two sets were winter themed, this leads me to the next category of must-have stamps:

Seasonal Stamps
Sure, it may be a bit early to think about the holidays… but these sets are fabulous, and a real bargain!

Christmas Icons $15.99 $9.59 Howdy Pumpkinl $14.99 $8.99 Happy New Year $5.99 $3.59 Merry and Bright $5.99 $3.59

And here are some examples:

  


Everyday Stamps
These sets are great for any occasion – cardmaking and/or Project Life!

Sending You Sunshine $14.99 $8.99 Totally Awesome $9.99 $5.99 Grub On $5.99 $3.59 Everyday Moments $14.99 $8.99

Here’s an example:

Bargain Stamps
Here are some super cheap stamps that are great and I use often.

Tea Time $9.99 $5.99 Eleanor $4.49 $2.69 Best Year Yet $3.99 $2.39 2015 Top $2.99 $1.79
And here are a couple of examples in action:

  

My New Stamps
And here’s what I didn’t have that I picked up in this sale!

Congratulations $9.99 $5.99 SC dates $24.99 $14.99 Jack numbers $25.99 $15.59 Love You More Than Pizza $15.99 $9.59

I’d love to hear what stamps you buy with this sale, so leave me a comment if you want.

{I purchased all these stamps because I love them; if you click through the links and make a purchase, then I happily receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!}

Happy Friday!

Hello and happy Friday! I am happy to share the projects I made with the latest Memory Pockets Monthly (MPM) collection from The Lilypad!

Credits:
February Insta Review Template by Scrapping by Liz
Memory Pockets Monthly: Q&A from The Lilypad

 

These colors are some of my favorites! This was such a fun way of documenting the month!
I also made a couple of pages using the gorgeous MPM add ons.
Credits:
A journaling page to document how in many ways things have not been as rosy as they could have this month… but still we forge ahead, hoping in better days. I love the blues and yellows in this kit!
Credits:
Brilliant papers and Drama Queen Brilliant by Valorie Wibbens
Memory Pockets Monthly: Q&A from The Lilypad
I love these bold papers! OK, have a lovely weekend!

Studio Calico March Kit Preview-: Homespun

I am so happy to be contributing to the Creative Team gallery in March for the Homespun release! I went a bit overboard and I have a ton of sneaks to share with you today. 🙂

You can check them out individually in the Creative Team Sneak gallery.

So far I have made three PL double-page spreads, two layouts, and nine cards, using the Documenter main kit, the Documenter add on (Pocket), and a variety of stamps and dies from the March release. You’ll get to see them all on March 1st at noon EST.
Follow me on Instagram to see these sneaks in details over the remainder of February.

If you are a subscriber, don’t forget to check out the special Preview offers!
Not a subscriber? Learn more about the kit offerings here. And if you sign up for a new 6-month or 12-month Planner kit subscription you can get a free planner of your choice:

JOIN TODAY & SAVE

Start a new 6-month or 12-month Planner kit subscription and get a free Hello Forever planner of your color choice* ($54.99 value).

Graystone: GRAYSTONEFREE
Melon: MELONFREE
Clear Sky: CLEARSKYFREE

*Valid on new 6-month or 12-month Planner kit subscriptions. Free shipping available for economy domestic orders. Add Savannah Planner kit to cart, then promo code at checkout.

Mixed Media Monthly – February

Hello and happy Friday! Today is a very good day- not only is it Friday, but it’s time for the new Mixed Media Monthly (M3) release at The Lilypad. I loved the kit so much this month!!
I made three pages just with the kit.

Credits:

I used this adorable heart background to list all the things I am loving right now.

Credits:

Those clustered hearts are fantastic!

Credits:

I love the pink and all the painted bits!
I also made two pages using some of the M3 add ons.

Credits:

I used the M3 main kit in addition to some add ons here.

 

Credits:
Soul Food and Love Bursts by Lynne-Marie

I hope your end of the week is a good one too!

Sketch Your World – Week 3

Hello! I have been busy busy busy lately learning new things. I am loving the the Sketch Your World class at Studio Calico (enrollment is now closed), and I am also learning how to do brush lettering. So I wanted to share what I sketched this week. These are all things around my house that I love.


My  sketchbook is not made of watercolor paper so it doesn’t hold up too well to water, and created a texture on the paper that I actually quite like – it was perfect for the bunny I sketched, based on a wooden bunny we have in our kitchen.


I bought a new watercolor set for this class, the Sakura Koi field set, and I love it! So I sketched that as well. 🙂


I also sketched this much loved date stamp – a staple for my Project Life. I used the silver watercolor from the Kuretake Gansai Tambi set for the metal part (too bad you can’t quite tell from the photo).

I was surprised at how quickly these sketches came together. Before starting the class, I was intimidated by the idea of sketching, but Olya’s lessons have given me confidence to just jump in and try, no overthinking allowed – and it works for me!

I am also really loving the new mini book class by April Foster that started yesterday. LOVE!! Also… if you want to pick up the same kit she used for the class (the Lollipop Guild Dec. ’15 scrapbook kit), it is on discount for a very low price – $10… make sure to check it out here before it sells out! Also, the stamp set designed by One Little Bird for the class is super versatile.


If you are looking for mini book inspiration, I  highly recommend signing up for the mini book library class bundle, it’s going to be a great year for mini album making!