Magical Goodness + Studio Calico's Starlight

I love all things Disney. That's pretty obvious if you take a closer look around here. It's a place that we travel to almost every year and I have so many photos and memories from this magical place. I love that Studio Calico's Starlight kit was perfect for some of those stories. Let me share a few.

This one from Disney California. And yes, I realize I misspelled California - a nice little dose of humility for this spelling snob is what that is. Unfortunately, it was all filmed and posted before I noticed so it's here to stay! As a consolation, there is a video on how it all came together (misspelling and all):

Next, we have a project life page with some Magic Kingdom photos that I love from a few years ago:

And then there's this one from Disney's Typhoon Lagoon park. My favorite waterpark of all time!

And then there's this little oddball. I used the Fall Document add on to document these photos from the pumpkin patch last year. I have to get in at least a little bit of the current season in there!

These were all my project for the Studio Calico gallery this month. Mostly magical, with a side of fall goodness! Thanks for stopping by.

Scrapbook Process Video: Stamping & Scrapbooks

I've been filming some process videos again and I started with the Studio Calico Starlight Kit and stamps this time around. I started out with a photo from Disneyland (naturally!) and some of my favorite patterns from this month's kit to create an interesting, colorful layout that's fun and easy to make. 

I used a sprinkle of buttons and strong shapes to create movement. That and a few tips on how to bring more stamping into your scrapbook layouts. Take a look at how the layout came together in the video below.

Tips & Tricks:

• For a quick and easy way to get all of your stamped text centered perfectly, remember to stamp first, then glue. It's much easier to center your paper elements around a pre-stamped image or sentiment. 
• Emphasize the repetition of shape in your design. Nothing adds more fun to a layout than a burst of floating circles. Emphasize the circular design with alphabet stickers, buttons, or sequins. 
• Add a final layer of texture to your layouts with a sprinkling of buttons, sequins, or enamel shapes. The final touch is an important one! 

Creating colorful pages with textured elements is a fun way to tell a story! Thanks so much for stopping by and watching today. Now go break out your "Starlight" Kit and get to creating!

Video: Designing with Stars | Studio Calico

Hey there, we're getting ready to celebrate Easter this weekend. It will be house full of kids and family dinners for us. I've been creating like mad lately so I can take a nice creative break this week. I'm looking forward to it.

This is the latest video I made using Studio Calico's Written in the Stars kit. I love the vellum stars in the kit and that's what I focused on in this layout.

Take a look at the video to see how to create movement with shapes:





Thanks so much for watching. I hope this gives you a spark of an idea to create some star magic. If you do, please post it in the Studio Calico gallery and tag me. I'd love to see your spin!

Happy Easter to you and yours. I'll see you next week.

Painted Butterflies and Golden Bees| Studio Calico Kit

I don't do plain, it's just that simple. It's not in my genes! I'm a color and pattern and texture girl so when I come across wood veneer, I immediately want to alter it. So when I came across this butterfly border in the Studio Calico Birds and the Bees, I thought - paint!

I used washi tape to mask of one section of the butterfly at a time to create this black and white speckled beauties. The trick here is to let each section dry completely before masking. This takes patience and a little paint. I chose the colors right from the photo. The artist who painted that mural has awesome taste.

The rest of the design is very simple. Lots of layers under the photo so that it doesn't get lost amongst the butterflies. A few circle chipboard sentiments scattered here and there plus some journaling strips.

I added the transparency alphabet and some stamped sentiments right on the wood to finish off the layout. This was a fun one, the painty ones usually are. 

My second Birds and Bees kit layout is this one about coffee and Hawaii, two of my favorite subjects.  This one is all about that gold bee vellum. Swoon. I cut it up into different sized squares and just layered my heart out.

Next came a row of chipboard circles in different colors along the top center of the design. I thought of these almost like a stone path that led to the photo and story. I love that it breaks up the "softness" of the vellum.

I love the botanical feel of this one. It goes perfectly with the photo and the story. I struggled with this one a little. That happens sometimes when I'm using something I really love (gold bees!). The perfection gene takes over and that just makes creating so much harder than it needs to be. I keep reminding myself but it's hard to beat back that perfection monster!

I have two more project life spreads that I made with this kit, I'll be back soon to share.

SUPPLIES | Studio Calico March Kit - Birds and the Bees

Harry Potter + Studio Calico

Take a peek at the Studio Calico blog today for more photos and an explanation on how I came up with the Potterland design. My favorite part? Those Sydney alphabet stamps! They are huge and bold and make my designer's heart beat.

Studio Calico January Kit: Roman Holiday Projects

This month starts a new year on the Studio Calico team. I'm excited to use these kits and stretch creatively! My first assignment this month was to use the January Roman Holiday Stamp Subscription set.  The design centers around the stamped bordered. Layering very light gray flowers with black script words creates a pretty pattern that centers the design.

The story is one about my boy + husband. While the photo is from a recent vacation, I decided to journal what I was thinking when I first looked at the photo rather than the typical "who, what, when". Placing the words + photo on a bed of patterned strips calls attention to the point!

My favorite embellishment in the Roman Holiday kit are the chipboard pencils. Here they create a border pointing to the vellum stickers with a bold splash of color. 

My second favorite? Those little emoji heart puffy stickers. How cute are they? By tucking them just under the photo, it draws the eyes straight to the star - my dog Lucy. The story is about a funny moment when I realized that my little black and spotted dog was chewing on a black and spotted dog. My first thought was - cannibal! Lucy makes me laugh all the time and I thought this story was an important one documenting our every day lives.

This assignment was to use the Funny Face Add On which is birthday themed. Here the story is about my niece and her third birthday. I chose this photo because I liked how it matches the patterned paper.

My favorite part of this design are the balloon strings. The balloons in the pattern reminded me of the Disney movie "Up" and that's where the idea to extend the string design came from. Thanks Disney for the spark!

The Studio Calico Roman Holiday kits and add-ons are perfect for creating a spark of design and telling your stories!

Scraptastic Heart it Races Kit

This month I've been working with the Scraptastic Heart it Races Kit and Add-On. I chose this set to work with because I love all the bright colors and graphic feel. It can be used for so many different types of pages and that's what I tried to do this month - a mix of every day, vacation, girl centered and neutral layouts.

This file folder paper from Maggie Holmes latest collection is one of my favorites. I cut it up here and used it to balance out a enlarged photo from my son's birthday party. The story is about our tradition of gathering the balloons and doing a release at the end of all his parties. It's one of my favorite moments and I was lucky enough to have this picture of it.

This page was built around the colorful "paint swish" paper from Chickaniddy's Scrumptious collection. I thought it would make the perfect backdrop for some of our Disneyland photos. This one is the moment the kids first hit Main Street in all their silly glory.

The last layout was created around another favorite pattern - the stacked titles in this bright Studio Calico paper. It gave me a great girl palette to work with. The story here is about just that - the little girl in our lives and how even in the midst of boy centric Legoland, she finds the brightest pink girl spot.

Three very different pages all created with one kit. That's what I love about Scraptastic and how they put things together. The kits are packed and the palettes work with all types of photos. Makes my life easier for sure!