Studio Calico Orchestra - the December kit

Check out the December kit from Studio Calico, Orchestra:

A non-traditional mix of colors that was really fun to work with. This is what I did:


I am busy organizing my scrapbook room, and came across one of the 900 newspapers I purchased because Morgan was on the cover of the Local section with Santa, lol. In an effort to declutter, I decided to trim the article out and use it on a layout. Morgan isn't mentioned anywhere in the article except for the photo, so I layered the title and the journaling over the article. The article itself is about the reindeer that were with Santa that day, but Morgan was all about her Christmas list, so my layout focuses on that part.

We live down the street from this Reindeer ranch, so seeing the animals was nothing new to her. She wanted to ask Santa about the sleigh that is sitting out back of the ranch all year long. Seems to me Santa had a lot of explaining to do, lol.

This layout used product from the second add-on, Percussion.

ETA: I meant to say... I was a little worried about acidity of the newsprint and what it would do to my layout/photos. I used Super Seal on it. It seals and also protects the newsprint. It made the print a little darker but it dried "clear".

This next layout was inspired by the Gingerbread tag from Elle's Studio. I used a lot of product from the first add-on, Strings, for this layout. I love that fun Jolly by Golly line from Cosmo Cricket. The Joyride line from Collage Press mixed really well with it!



This last layout used a lot of product from the Main kit. I wanted to steer away from holiday layouts for this one.


My flowers are made with Fiskar's circle punches. If I didn't have the size I wanted, I traced one with my circle template, courtesy of Staples, and trimmed it out. I then layered them and added a JB button, from the Woodwinds kit, and tied a bow with Karen Foster floss.



My project from the Woodwinds Project kit is by far my favorite thing from my gallery this month. I wanted a wall hanging with myself and my girls to stare at all year long. It currently isn't hanging anywhere. I have been toting it with me from room to room since it's completion because I love it so much and don't know where to put it. It might stay in my bedroom, but I'm not in there very much, so I might relocate it to a more visible place.

My girls, they drive me nuts, but I love them both to the moon and back, several times, and wouldn't have my life any other way. I had to create something to let them know that.





For one of my squares I found a quote that says "A daughter is one of the most beautiful gifts the world has to give" which I found appropriate for my message with this project, and the photos that I got.



As far as design, you will notice several visual triangles with my paper choices and placement, which makes this project very easy on the eyes.

I've had a wild last couple of weeks, so that is all I managed to complete with the kit for the slide show. That said, I have one last project to show you. At least part of it anyway.

My turn came up on the Creative Therapy blog and I used the Orchestra kit for my project. A little sneak peek is below, it hasn't been posted yet. It was inspired by some of the techniques I used on my printer's tray.




That's it! Thank you for all of your sweet comments regarding my great big news. I am really excited about all of it and can't wait to get started.

Davinie

Some Exciting News and Project 12 in 2010

Check out this news: Great big Huge News Here

EEEK! Can you believe it! I am so honored and excited and over the moon and happy and all that. It is an absolute dream to work with the team at SCT so I couldn't be happier.

And Project 12! Holy Toledo, Project 12 has a blinkie!


I just love it! You will be seeing this around the web, on the SCT blog, and even in the SCT magazine! How awesome is that!?

And Becky Fleck! Becky Fleck of PageMaps is going to be creating sketches as an option for your Project 12 albums! Becky Fleck and my baby!

I'm dying here!

For those who have played along with me or were hoping to in 2010, it will stay the same. I am going to be hosting the challenge on my blog too. The difference is you have two chances to win a prize, the prizes will be better (thank you SCT!) and if you are looking for a sketch option, you will have monthly sketches designed by Becky to choose from. But you don't have to use them. You can still do your own thing and link them for a chance at a little prize. The most important thing, though, is that at the end of 2010 you will have a recap of your life to be proud of. Isn't that great!

In honor of this great big bad news, I am giving away a subscription to SCT, starting with the fall issue. This magazine can be downloaded for free, and you might have an LSS that carries it, but just in case you don't, this would be a great addition to your idea book collection. This magazine is very high quality, very well put together, and full of tons of great inspiration, every issue.

This is what the cover of the fall issue looked like. (The cover layout was designed by Lisa Dickinson, super talented chicky that she is).



And these are the layouts I had in this issue. I wrote an article about using border punches in your layouts:









As a fun bonus, I also had a layout in the Reader's Gallery that included some of Morgan's super cute artwork. Isn't she brilliant! I really loved what they said about her in the blurb for this layout:




If you are interested in a subscription to this magazine, leave a comment on this blog post. I'm going to leave the comments open until Thursday of next week, 12/3, and then will post the winner here and the SCT blog for that subscription.

It's almost time for the winter issue (so excited to share this one too, I did the Easy, Detailed, Expert article) so if you are the winner, two wonderful sources of creative inspiration will be headed your way soon!

Have a great Saturday! Davinie

Pumpkin Pie Playdough, thanksgiving crafts, and CKC-Portland with Studio Calico

It's the week of Thanksgiving and here in the US, the kids are out of school. I don't know about yours, but mine aren't necessarily in need of a break, so I've been pulling my hair out a bit, entertaining them while trying to get work and other projects done at the same time.

I did search around on the internet for some fun Thanksgiving craft projects, and the other day, we made these:

Turkey Paper Plate Craft

I'm a huge sucker for paper plate and toilet paper roll crafts. I buy cheap packages of paper plates just to use for fun seasonal home decor projects for my girls. They LOVE art this type of project works for a variety of age groups so I am able to keep them entertained.

If you want to do a different kind of craft project, try pumpkin pie playdough. The kids will feel like they are making their own thanksigiving edibles, and will stay out of your hair while you make the real pies:

Pumpkin Pie Playdough:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 t. cream of tartar
2 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 T. vegetable oil
1 cup water
food coloring

Combine ingredients in saucepan and cook over low-medium heat, stirring with a spatula, until a ball forms.

Turn onto the counter and after it has cooled a little, knead until smooth.

Be sure to store in an air-tight container if you want it to last!

I also found some fun Thanksgiving worksheets here.

We are headed to Steve's parent's house for Turkey dinner, and I'm bringing the usual, Pumpkin Roll. I plan on making 3 or 4 and sending one to my sister's house for her Thanksgiving feast as well.

Libby has a really good recipe here. Speaking of which, I heard on the news that all of the Libby canned pumpkin is on store shelves. The warehouse is empty and there won't be any more once it has run out until August 2010. So if you plan to use canned pumpkin in your holiday baking between now and then, you might want to stock up!

In addition to my pumpkin rolls, I'm also bringing dinner rolls, and am going to use this recipe for that.

As far as Black Friday goes, I don't normally get too hyped up about getting out and getting the great deals. In fact, Steve saw a newscast last night that said that you can be tricked into buying below grade product on Black Friday, so be sure to read the fine print if you are on the hunt for computers and TV's, etc. It might seem like a good idea for a low price, but you might be purchasing low quality goods as well. So know what you are looking for! Me? I'm on the hunt for towels and knit pants for my kids, lol. I'll probably be okay purchasing them for 60% off. ha!

One last thing before I go:

If you live around the Portland area and love CKC's, tomorrow is your day! Registration will be open first thing Wednesday morning for classes and the vendor faire. Portland is as close to my stomping grounds as I can get, and I'm totally honored to be teaching a class at CKC! I'm going to be representing my favorite scrapbook kit club and teaching a class on masking and misting. The class is going to be a lot of fun! It looks like there will only be two opportunities to take this class that weekend, so be sure to sign up quickly before it sells out! Check out the Class list here. The Studio Calico class is being offered at 12:30 and again at 1:50 on Saturday. Sign up and come play with me!

Have a great week! Davinie

Catching up with sneaks and a Project 12 winner

Oh my. The last week has been a blur. I have been busy with work and kids and Kindergarten Thanksgiving feasts (which was amazingly well executed for 40 5 year old kids with everything from turkey (chicken, lol) to the pies for dessert, with topping!)..... and then on Friday my weekend plans totally changed.

My sister's BFF lost her 2 year old in a tragic accident, and it was yet another reality check on how fragile life is. Between thinking about her, and then going back in time and thinking about Aleida, it almost makes you want to curl up in the fetal position with everyone you hold dear, you know?

My Mom flew down late Friday night so that she could help watch my sister's kids while she then turned around and drove to be with her friend. I just can't imagine such a tragedy. I am comforted in knowing what a strong woman that mama is, and that I have no doubt that someday, someday, she will pull through this and be okay.

Crafting goes out the window when your life takes hold, you know. But this tragedy was a reminder to get out and get more photos, and because of it, I walked away this weekend with photos of myself with my girls that I will always, ALWAYS treasure. I dragged everyone outside in the backyard, in the freezing cold, in the wind, and had Steve take our pictures.

These are some of my favorites:



I've been meaning to do this for a while, but the timing wasn't right, someone was in a bad mood, we weren't all together, etc., etc. All the more reason to get the photos taken, right? I only tempted the girls with one lollipop in order to get them to cooperate. We chatted, told jokes, and for that last one, I may have resorted to a wee bit of tickling. I love that photo. Steve needs to work on his composition skills, but overall, did great. I was kneeling and had the girls sitting on my legs, so I would probably change the pose next time too. But I still love them!

And since we were all together, we set up the tripod and got a family photo too:



These will be in a Christmas card, soon! The only thing I'm not sure about is my left hand, the way it's "perched" on Morgan's head. Does that bother you and should I edit it out? Or leave it? It IS my hand. And this is real life. But does it need to look like part of my daughter's melon? A flesh colored hair bow, per se? heeeeeeee.

While I'm here, and have your undivided attention, I have a few things to share.

First, the Project 12 winner is:

Zorina. Yahooie! I'm sure as certain you will find plenty of uses for those MR sheers. Glad to see they are headed your way, my sweet! I'll be getting your address again. I do believe you have won a challenge before, yes?

Second, some Studio Calico sneaks. You can basically say I got all three add-ons, because I had a majority of product in the second add-on, the one with the Cosmo Cricket. We are at the deadline for projects in the slide show, but I'll have a couple more projects to share after the reveal because I didn't get the quality time I was hoping for with this kit last weekend.






And there you have it. Happy Monday! Davinie

The Homefront winner is.....

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

106

Timestamp: 2009-11-18 20:49:12 UTC

And that's.......

Heather Prins said...

Love the layout sooo much!

6:29 AM

Woot Heather! The Homefront is coming to your door!

Thanks to all of you for your sweet comments about my work and my fixer upper. I really appreciate it all!

Have a great day! Davinie

My Fixer Upper - The Downstairs Bathroom.

First, the Homefront Giveaway is still on! Leave a comment here and check out another layout from this Collection on this post.

Now, as promised, I am going to share part of my home.

First, I was 6 months pregnant when we moved in, so all I really cared about was a nap, which means I was really annoyed, because the bed was in pieces and the couch was in the back of a trailer being moved, you know? Everything was in upheaval so I didn't really care about anything else. AND in order to even move into this house, a lot of things needed to be done to make it livable. The house was previously heated with solar heat, but it was inefficient, so the previous owners also had a woodstove, which was old and in a terrible spot for young children. So the first thing we had to do was buy a heat pump, which came with air conditioning, which was a big chunk of money. And that was only one of the zillion things we had to do in order to live at the house.

I did manage to take a few before pictures though. I wish I had taken more detailed shots, but at the time, my pregnant self took a photo and was done with it, lol.

Without further ado, this is the before photo of the bathroom downstairs:



You'll notice linoleum, a rusty metal shelving unit of sorts over the toilet, an old icky vanity mirror with those sliding doors. And a 1980 sink. I know this bathroom could be much worse, but the thing that turned me off the most was the rust and general lack in cleanliness. ick. I didn't get a photo of it, but the door needed replaced too. The whole house had those cheap hollow core doors, meant for mobile homes, I think? They didn't even fit properly in a standard door frame. There was major air space underneath... which certainly wouldn't have made any quality time in the commode very comfortable, you know? heeeee.

Okay, I will say I am extremely disappointed in the upcoming photos, because they don't do the room justice. But it's extremely difficult to photograph a bathroom without a window or a 360 degree lens, ya know?

First, the bathroom door:


To the left is a guest bedroom.

Solid pine doors, full of knots and bumps. I love love love these doors. This is what all the doors in the house look like (as soon as we get them all hung, anyway). No more hollow core doors for us!

This next view is the from the open doorway, looking at the shower. There is no tub anymore. Steve laid tile floors, and a tile shower, with these really cool rocks on the floor. The floor is not even and it feels heavenly on your feet. It's almost like a foot massage when you take a shower.


I didn't get a photo of it, but the shower head is huge and is one of those "raining" shower heads. So when you go into this bathroom, shut the door and turn on the shower, it's almost tropical. You just have to drown out the sounds of the small children banging on the door, lol.

This next photo is my favorite part of the bathroom. I was at an antique store and saw these matching windows, so we backed them with mirrors and used them in the bathroom over the sink, as we bought a double sink. They still have the window latches on them, the paint is scruffed up, and I love these window/mirrors a lot.

Lastly is a view of the double vanity from the shower.


You can also see a niblet of the bathroom floor from that last photo. Steve laid tile floors as well.

The walls are painted a very light shade of grey.

So that's that! My downstairs bathroom!

I think the next tour I'll do is my scrapbook room and the mud room. Before, it was a single car garage and a separate room that housed an 800 GALLON water tank. A HUGE tank. Imagine THAT transformation!

:)

Have a great day!

Studio Calico blog hop on the Homefront!

It's an exciting day! For the past couple of years, Studio Calico has dabbled in the manufacturing world, creating stamps and papers exclusive to the monthly kits, as well as a few embellies handmade here and there, and available to purchase with the kit, only.

It's exciting and a true honor to work with them as they decide to jump into the manufacturing world with both feet and their debut line, Homefront. To celebrate this new line, the designers from Studio Calico are each giving away the entire collection on our blogs, starting tonight. While introducing this new line, we were also asked to share a little bit about ourselves and our personal "homefronts".

Me? I live in a fixer upper. My husband and I bought our first home in 2001 right after we got married. We lived there for a few years until the fall of 2005, when Steve's desire for a bit of breathing room and the right market led us to a home on 2 acres outside of town. To be honest, I still wonder why we bought it, as to me it's a huge eyesore. But it has the "location, location, location" and my girls have lots of room to run and play, we now raise our own beef every year, and this spring, and we even took on chickens (and yes, I know, I am long overdue a Days of our Chickens post).

You can read about my dirty birds here, here, and here.

The biggest thing we took on, though, was the house. The house is 2200 square feet, but it was appraised at 1100 with an unfinished basement. The previous owners were living in the first level, but it was concrete floors and unfinished walls, so I am not really sure why, lol.

Steve is a handy man to have around the house and has all the skills to upgrade it. How he learned his mad skills must have been through osmosis from his dad, a contractor in his day. In the last few years that we've lived here, we've doubled the square footage, as we now inhabit both levels of our home. But there is a ton of work to be done, and by a ton I literally mean not a single room is finished yet. I take that back. The downstairs bathroom is fabulous. And my scrapbook room is just about done. I mostly need to clean it and purge so I can share it with you, lol. I'm also busy redoing the girls' bedroom. It was time to update it for the more girly and less baby phase they are in.

This house is very "green" so it has solar panels and has a manmade "hill" against one side for energy savings. In fact, the previous owner and builder was into ham radio, and our address is 5473, the 54 because we are between 53 and 55th street, and the 73? Well 73 means hello in ham radio talk. You learn something new every day.

We have plans to rip off the roof, vault the ceilings, add a master and a two car garage, etc etc., but we didn't sell our last house, we rent it out, which means we didn't have a lot of cash into this house when we bought it, which means we don't have a lot of cash to spend to do that sort of thing. So for now, we fix it up as we fix it up.

Would I recommend it? Especially if you are young family having babies in your fixer upper? I was 6 months pregnant with Payton and Morgan was 20 months when we moved in. NO, I wouldn't do it again. But we did and we'll be here forever and someday I'll be ready to share a photo. lol

For now? The top of the bookcase in the living room. Decorated for fall.

(frames by Katie Pertiet for Designer Digitals).

You know what? I'm actually embarrassed by my lack of enthusiasm and pride in my home. Sometimes I'm so focused on what needs to be done, more of the glass half empty than the glass half full sort, and I forget how much work we actually have done.

Tomorrow I'll be back with that bathroom. The transformation is actually very cool, and Steve did it all himself.

Anyway, that's MY homefront. And a novella about the rest of it. ha!

So without further ado, let me introduce you to the giveaway, the HOMEFRONT Collection from Studio Calico.

Studio Calico is sharing part of their home with you by sponsoring a giveaway of their brand new line, Home Front. Imagine June Cleaver styled 1950s domestic bliss. Featuring optimistic colors and smooth vintage inspired patterns. You’ll find fresh stained wood grain, retro home décor, an exclusive SC cardstock alpha set, and much more. Home Front is versatile, colorful, and beautiful (can we say that?)….I think you’ll love it.

Patterned paper, rip strips, a sticker sheet, and two alphas. What more do you need to complete a fabulous layout?! Or 5?

To win this collection, simply leave a comment on this post letting me know what you are most excited to get, and to increase your chances, visit the rest of the design team below. Each blog will be giving away the entire collection!

April Foster

Celine Navarro

Emily Pitts

Jenn Olson

Joy Madison

Kelly Noel

Lisa Truesdell

Maggie Holmes

Nicole Harper

Nicole Samuels

Stephanie Howell

Tina Aszmus

This collection is available at many online stores including A Million Little Things, 2Peasinabucket, and Stop and Scrap.

Here's a little something I whipped up with this Collection:





I thought the Bazzill Just the Edge strips were a fun mix with the scalloped paper. I also had to use that great big ribbon, and I used my edge punch on the journaling box I trimmed out to match the scallop as well.

I love the little sentiment stickers on the sticker sheet too.

And that stick horse? My mama made that for me on my 19th birthday. We had a few when we were kids and I think I was feeling homesick or nostalgic or something, so when she asked what I wanted when I turned 19, that's what I said. I love that dang horse. She used the 20 year old pattern to create it too.

I think it's the most well made, and cutest stick horse I have ever seen. I'm thinking of setting her up with an Etsy shop. Can you imagine if that was Amy Butler, or Joel Dewberry, or even Cosmo Cricket fabric? Yummilicious. Would you want one? Let me know. Both of my girls have a few now, lol.

Enjoy the rest of the hop! You have until Midnight EST Tuesday night to submit a comment to be entered. We will be drawing names on Wednesday morning.



Have a great night! Or day, my Australian friends. Davinie

Book Winner and my Project 12

And the winner of the planner is......

Stacy Hamby said...

I pre-ordered all the Homefront line. So exciting. I am intrigued by the planner too. I am off to go check it out.

7:28 PM

Congratulations Stacy! I promise you will be organized and inspired by this planner!

Thank you so much for playing along, and thank you so much for your nice comments about my layout. The Homefront line is available for purchase and I hear it's even shipping in some parts. Again, I'd head to A Million Little Things or 2peas if I were you and you don't have an LSS!
__________________________________________________________________

7 days before my deadline, I also have my Project 12 layout to share tonight. This one is September. I think this design may be my favorite yet, but I think it's because I like the photos so much. I do think I've learned something in doing this challenge this year, and that's that I prefer larger photos, so look forward to that from now on.



Before I go I also wanted to share my Cardalicious card for this week. It looks like Janelle has finally posted the challenge. This week we needed to make a thank you card, using red, black, and flowers. I used some leftover bits from my November kit for this one, with some rubons from my stash. fun fun!



Have a great weekend! Be sure to check back for the blog hop on Monday! Remember, all of the Studio Calico designers will be giving away the Homefront line!

Studio Calico's Homefront in action and a Giveaway!

Over the weekend something very delicioso made it's way into my hands.... Studio Calico's debut release, Homefront. Such a smart, saavy, sophisticated group of products, I must say. I immediately started thinking about cutting it up, but took a moment becuase my initial box only came with one of each paper, and I needed to be very methodical. We are going to be having a blog hop on Monday the 16th where you will have a chance to win this collection from each of the Studio Calico designers, and I needed to make sure I trimmed so that I could create at least two layouts.

I do have one layout to share with you today from this release. I used the papers, fabrips, stickers, and sticker alphas on this one.




The fabrip is the woodgrainpiece. One of my favorite pieces in this collection are the scallops, so I trimmed a couple of rows to use on this layout so I could hoard the rest of that paper. Love it. I also used the B side of the Floor Plan pattern as the base of my layout design, and used bits of the A side for my flowers.

This photo of Payton really cracks me up. If she's vegging on the couch, it's in the middle, with the back of the middle cushion out and on the floor. For some reason, this day she was being very sassy with this cowgirl hat she got somewhere, and I had to snap a photo of her sassiness, my little cowpoke.

I've seen Homefront on preorder on several sites, but if I had my choice, and you don't have an LSS nearby, I'd head here. Jill is offering a discount if you order the entire collection, but it says she'll be offering the pieces individually after she receives her shipment, which should be any day now! So get over there! It will be available to purchase at the Studio Calico site in January.


With all that said...... how about that giveaway!?

I recently stumbled on a really cool idea for 2010 and wanted to share it with my blog readers. It's a desk calendar, scrapbook inspiration, a place to record ideas and design ideas, all in one book. The site is called Log your Memeory.

And the book is the Scrapbookers All-in-one Memory Logbook for 2010

The perfect tool for busy scrapbookers- a planner, idea book, journal & sketchbook-all in one, including: • Spiral-bound pages for ease of use. • Monthly & daily calendars, complete with US holidays & room to jot down your activities. • Space to document daily memories, jot down ideas, or create lists. • Your own personal “Story List” so you can track those pages & stories you know you want to share but haven’t had a chance to create yet. • Weekly pages for sketching layout ideas. • Weekly challenge questions to get creative juices flowing & help you tell the “real” story of your life. • Examples of “real life” scrapbook layouts for added inspiration. • Annual & monthly questionnaires to help track how life changes over a year. • Monthly worksheets for documenting family holidays, plus extra pages for birthdays and other celebrations. • A handy list of 2011 holidays, plus a place to jot down birthdays and other important family dates.

I am very excited about this planner and am even more ecstatic to have an opportunity to give one away (Thank you Kristin!). I have the wire-bound edition waiting right here to be sent to it's new home (US residents only, please. Unless you want to pay the shipping.)

Please leave a comment if you want to be entered in the giveaway. As always, followers of my blog already have their name in the "hat", but if you leave a comment as well you will have two chances to win.

I'm going to leave the comments open until midnight Wednesday night, PST, and will draw a name first thing Thursday morning.

Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday! Be sure to celebrate Veterans and go to your local parade tomorrow, if you have one. The kids don't have school and that's what we hope to do in the morning.

Davinie

The Home Front line and it's Whacky Wednesday at Pink Paislee

Have you seen this ad from Scrapbook Trends?! Why yes, that would be Home Front, the debut collection by Studio Calico.











That lamp paper? It's called Blown Fuse and I about did that when I saw it. That B side is going to be my new kraft, I swear to Pete. I canNOT wait to get it. I hear a box is headed my way as we speak.



I'm beyond excited to have an opportunity to play with this product, and can't wait to share it with you. We will be working on projects and are planning a blog hop, which means GIVEAWAYS soon. As in, the next few weeks.

After you are done drooling at the Studio Blog, you can see closeups of some of the product here, be sure to then meander on over to the Pink Paislee blog. It's my turn to host and I made a winter layout with some photos I've been saving. Here's a peek at the layout.


You see the whole layout and read the post here.

Speaking of the Mistletoe & Co. line, are you planning to make a December Daily album, a la Ali Edwards? Last year I started one and didn't finish it, but this year I'm determined to get one done. We have a lot of fun things planned in December and it would be fun to have it all documented in one place.

Anyway, just like Ali, I plan to use a fabric album from Prima. I bought one just for this purpose back when it was part of a project kit for Studio Calico. The product line that I am going to use for my album will be the Mistletoe & Co. line from Pink Paislee, with other bits mixed in. It's a clean classy line, I love the postage influences, there are a lot of embellishments to utilize, like the fun patches and die cut tags, and I'm determined to make it work this year.

Enjoy the rest of your day? Is Glee on tonight, or are they still on hiatus? I hate when shows do that!

Davinie