My blog has moved!

Please check out my new blog at the following address:  http://www.nicole-samuels.com  and be sure to subscribe to receive email updates.  Thank you!  🙂

Second Chance on some SC classes!

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Today is Small Business Saturday and to celebrate Studio Calico is offering a very special deal. (And one that I’m super excited about!) If you’ve ever wanted to take a SC class, but missed out…now’s your second chance! For a limited time only, you can purchase any of the classes below and gain access to all the lessons, message board threads, and digital content!! I’m thrilled that my class Bright Ideas is one of the classes available. It was truly a labor of love for me and the student projects in that class gallery are amazing. Here’s a link to the Bright Idea class page:
Bright Ideas – $12
http://www.studiocalico.com/shop/classrooms/bright-ideas

There’s also an awesome deal for anyone who wants to purchase all the available classes! (Be sure to add the code at checkout after putting all the classes in your cart!)

Enjoy! And let me know if Bright Ideas is on your list. 🙂

Studio Calico Blue Note Sneak Peeks

My top three favorite things about December’s kit, Blue Note?

1.  It has NAVY in it and I love navy.  24december2

2.  The stamps are awesome.  Pick up the digital stamp brushes and you get a huge value for your investment… I love tracing them in Sihouette and cutting them out. (The stamp design below is from the Card kit.)burstingwithjoy2

2.  There’s a touch of holiday for those who want that, and it’s not your traditional red/green color combo.reindeergames2

 

 

4.  (Yes, I said top 3, but I’m adding a 4th!)  These rub ons!  I loved using rub on alphas again… it’s been awhile since I had some I really liked!  And these are so pretty.raceforthecure2

My kit order this month was:  Blue Note SB kit, Bennett SB add-on, Sinatra SB add-on, Blue Note PL kit, and Add-on Patterned Paper.  I’ve never ordered the More Patterned Paper kit before… but wow, I may continue doing that from now on.  It was so nice having that extra sheet for the B side and those mistakes you can’t fix.  😉  Kits will be available for sale on the 27th!

My Own Blue Note Mood Board

Have you seen this mood board from Studio Calico for their December kit, Blue Note?!  fa34b2a4562307c82bad6dafba977a0e

 

I just love the colors and the images that inspired the kit contents.  And I decided it would be fun to create my own mood board for this next kit on Pinterest.  I’ve started pinning images of the kit, my sneaks (one so far!), products that would complement the kit nicely, techniques/designs I want to try with the kit, etc.  It’s so nice to see it all together in one place.  If you’d like to follow along, you can find it here.  I’ll be adding more images as I work with the kit over the next week or so.  Enjoy!

Disney Scrapbooking with Project Life – Day 2

Back in April, I shared in this post about how I was going to approach getting our 2010 Disney Vacation scrapbooked using Project Life products and page protectors.  I was super excited about my title page and “first day” spread and was ready (after 3 years…eek!) to get this album DONE.  Well…then life got busy, the summer happened, there were more assignments and here it is NOVEMBER before I’ve had a chance to tackle my “day 2” Magic Kingdom spread.  sigh.  But it’s done and I had so much fun putting it together.

I’m starting off each day of our trip with two 12×12 divided page protectors and then using smaller insert page protectors in between to add more room for photos and memorabilia.  It makes it easier for me to work in chunks of “days” rather than just do a continuous series of pages.  Here’s the left hand page using a Design A page protector:firstpagecollage

I’ve used a random assortment of cards from my Studio Calico Project Life kits along with items from my stash and Disney embellishments I’ve collected here and there.  My goal is to add lots of little fun Disney touches without having it be mouse overkill. 🙂

This is what you’d see on the right hand side.  You can see I have two 8×10 page protectors (one horizontal and one vertical) stacked on top of each other. There’s also a Design F page protector under those (I cut off the last column of 3×4 slots) and finally the other bookend 12×12 page which is Design D.  I was able to crop down a park map to fill the back side of one 8×10 pocket and then slid the touring guide we followed that day into the other 8×10.  I think it’s fun to have those there to reference as you look at the photos.

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Below, you can see the Design F page (trimmed down a little), the flip side of that and some details from that insert.

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And finally, here’s that last 12×12 Design D along with some more close ups.  The top right photo has a stamped phrase right on the glossy photo thanks to this Platinum Planet Brilliance ink.  Love that stuff!

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Here’s my basic supply list (beyond the Disney themed stuff):Studio Calico Project Life Kits, 8×10 Vertical Page Protectors,  8×10 Horizontal Page Protectors, Design F Page Protectors, Design D Page Protectors, Design A Page Protectors, Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink Pad

Up next… Epcot!  (Well, up sometime in the near future hopefully.)

The New E-Book, Jubilee!

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From the SC email announcement last night:

Get ready to party! Announcing JUBILEE, Studio Calico’s first e-book. We’ve put together an amazing collection of inspiration – 100 projects in all – and paired it with a kit filled with exclusive product. Head to the presale page for full details on what’s included, and to take advantage of our special presale offer (it’s valid through November 17th). Trust us, you’re not going to want to miss out on this one!

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What’s awesome about this new e-book?  Well, in addition to the 100 gorgeous projects and all the step-by-step how-to’s on techniques, there’s a KIT included as well!  And it’s a beauty….FREE-SHIPPING-KIT-IMAGE

All presale kits will ship for free, no matter where you live! Kits will begin shipping on 11/20/2013.

  • 11 8x8in double sided papers – Studio Calico, Tim & Beck, Basic Grey, Paislee Press, Echo Park and LifeLovePaper
  • 4 4x6in Double Sided Journaling Cards – Studio Calico & Paislee Press
  • Exclusive Jubilee mini mist – Studio Calico
  • 4x6in stamp set – LifeLovePaper
  • Veneer Circles & Asterisks – LiveLovePaper
  • Cork Stars – Studio Calico
  • Black Alphabet Stickers – Basic Grey
  • Frosted Acrylic Cameras & Stars – Studio Calico
  • “Epic” & “Neato” badges – Hello Forever
  • Sequin Pack – Studio Selections

Oh yeah…AND there’s digital content to download!! Beautiful printables, digital stamp brushes, and awesome cut files.  It’s quite a deal!  You can check out a sample of the book right now here.

I created two pages for the book….and this one is my favorite.  I did a really fun technique with background stamping/embossing/mist watercoloring and I just love the colors.  This page used the book  kit ONLY.  youandme2

Be sure to pre-order your e-book by Nov. 17th!  1d76303e45ea6fc20b236f7f_688x284

A Little Cuppa Sneaks :)

The November kit at Studio Calico is called “Cuppa” and it’s fabulous.  Here’s a super quick peek for you (kits go up for sale on the 27th!)!!

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