March Studio Calico layouts and a second chance for add-ons!

I know I've already said it a billion times, but you did know I liked this kit, right? Well, I did. I am a huge fan of the Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday, and the Sassafras that was mixed in along with the Studio Calico exclusives just added up to a delicious morsel of a kit. Yum does not begin to express the taste! hahaha.

Anyway.....
Morgan is 5. That girl is FIVE. I was looking at a family photo that a friend took in late September and I can't believe how much she's changed since then! That was only a few months ago, and already, those pants that were floor length are practically capris! Steve is wanting to work on our budget, but how can I possibly anticipate growth spurts! The beautiful thing is that her hand me downs are barely worn. The only problem with that is that Payton is on her toes and recognizes her clothes and occasionally declares that she will NOT wear it because it's Morgan's. ugh.

With this layout, I had a lot of fun with the beautiful color palette that is Girl Friday from Cosmo Cricket.


The Sassafras alphas in this kit were big, and the AC thickers fit perfectly layered on top, so I combined the two for my layout. I love the texture and dimension it offers.

As usual, I scalloped on this layout. I hand cut a scallop from my base paper and the Creative Imaginations felt that was in the kit. As you may know, I usually use my Bazzill Just the Edge Strips for these scallops, because I have yet to find a scissor or punch that has such big scallops.
But now, thanks to a conversation at Studio Calico, I have found and fell in love with these:



Why yes, those are Miss Elizabeth Scrapbook rulers. And for a whopping $2, you can pick up these two packages at your local Dollar Tree. I swear the choir sang when I spied these hanging off the hooks in the craft section. I just don't normally luck out with the great buys at my local stores. So I bought a few packages, raced home, and immediately used that Bazzill strip on a layout because I didn't need to save it anymore, lol.

Speaking of the Just the Edge strips, though... did you check out that link? They have new strips. Very cool indeed. I picked some up at my LSS the other day.

This next layout was made to preserve Payton's well-loved pup on a layout. But more than that, I really needed to document the super cute names she calls him before I forget.

Presenting... Payton's Pinkie Pie:

She calls him Pinkie Pie. She got the name from a My Little Pony that was in a McDonald's Happy Meal. She calls him Pruppy. But I think that's how she thought you said puppy. My favorite one, though, is "the puppy called a paint". Can you tell she loves horses too? When we go somewhere and she says "Mom, can we bring the puppy called a paint?" it just cracks me up! I knew I wanted to do a layout with this pup before I even got the kit, but the chipboard "My Best Friend" banner from Cosmo's Girl Friday line sealed the deal and I had to use it.


These next two layouts were Disney pictures. I have so many!

While I'd like to declare that the weather at Disneyland was the best. ever.... the first day we were there, it did pour down like the dickens. I had my windbreaker on, but Steve and my sister donned Disneyland ponchos, and the girls were oh so happy to break out their rain slickers. We live in the high desert and don't get a lot of rain! Typically Oregon is characterized by the weather that is had in the Portland area, but once you go over the Cascade Mountain range, into my neck of the woods, you reach the mountains and lakes and rivers and the high desert. We don't get a lot of rain here. So my kids were excited to play in it!
A Disneyland note: The rain won't slow you down one bit. They do stop a couple of rides, like the teacups, but for the most part, you can carry on. AND... if the weather isn't hot, the lines are shorter. AND... if the weather isn't hot, the ground isn't hot. We had several friends tell us that in the heat of the summer the kids didn't even want to go to Disneyland. They wanted to stay at their hotel and play in the pool. When it's hot outside, the blacktop is hot, and you are waiting in line for an hour for a ride that will last 5 minutes.... can you blame them?
We are already thinking ahead to Disneyland 2011, and we are planning to go in January again. We experienced the worse case scenario as far as weather, really, and we still had a blast. And the lines were short. The only thing we'd change is the hotel. We stayed at the HoJo, and when it was raining, the 8 minute walk felt like 8 hours, lol. Especially when you are holding a tired kid.

Okay, tangent over, lol. On to the layout:



Studio Calico is manufacturing these sticky backed canvas strips called "Fabrips". They are so fun. You just tear away to the desired thickness, and then you can manipulate them to your hearts content, because they are fairly repositionable. I lOVE them. I just tacked mine down and then hand stitched it on this layout.

The last layout I did with this kit was one of Morgan and Tink. Morgan was not a big fan of Disney characters, but our last day there she decided she wanted to stand in line at the new Pixie Hollow and meet Tinkerbell.

With this layout, I wanted the flowers and butterfly to seem big because Tinkerbell is this tiny fairy, so I wanted it to seem like she and Morgan were tiny in the layout.

After laying everything out I still felt like something was missing, so I took everything off and sewed all over the layout. Then it felt more homespun and me, and I liked it much better. It's amazing what a little bit of texture can do to a layout.


I have to say that I didn't realize that the felt flowers were dropped from the kit, or I wouldn't have used them so much. There were paper flowers in the kit as well. But there must have been an issue with timing on getting the quantity needed shipped, which is why they were dropped, and which is why that add-on pricing is often delayed. They have to make sure they can get what they want, when they want it! I really liked working with the felt flowers though, especially on my first layout with the CI polka dot felt.

Of course I had to throw in a couple of cards with this kit too:


The minute I saw those Making Memories butterfly charms in the kit I knew I wanted to try Maya Mist for the first time. I LOVE how this turned out. I'm not normally a fan of this stuff, because once it's sprayed, you can't move it, lol, but it worked out really well to start small and try it on a card.
You'll notice I used a fabrip for a ribbon on this card too! And my Apron Lace punch!



That's it! That's my work with the kit this month! I got more Girl Friday paper because I wanted to do even more projects, so I'll be sharing more stuff soon.

Did you miss out on the Taffeta or Chiffon add-on from SC this month? If so.... get your patootie over there and email info@studiocalico.com - there was such an unexpected high demand for these add-ons and this kit this month that April and Scarlet are making a second order! I think that's wonderful! I swear to pete, the customer service at Studio Calico is top notch. It really is.

Have a great day! Davinie