kinseywilson

story hour sneaks || studio calico march

you guys are in for a treat with the sc march kits...and if you are nothing like me (the buy it all type) well, you're in for some tough decisions with the add ons :) seriously, this is the 2nd month in a row that i exercised my scrapbook gluttony and it felt good. real good. that said, if i had to put them in favorite order it would be: 1, 4, 2, & 3. 

so here's my sneaks...

story hour // main kit only layout: circle punch, blue ribbon punch, warm calico

illustrated // add on 1 & narrative stamps // add on 4: weathervane ink, fountain pen ink, tiny attacher, tiny staples, lots and lots of foam squares

story hour + all 4 add ons: spice tin ink

illustrated, encyclopedia, & narrative // add ons 1, 2, & 4: clay mister huey

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also, i got to help becky out this week with the sketch challenge at the oa blog. you should go check it out and play along! it's a good one :)

thanks for stopping by!

xo, kins

ps. i'll be back soon with an amazing giveaway and some more sneaks...it might have something to do with maggie's happy little moments class at sc. just sayin :)

sc cha 2012 projects

just got the green light to share my booth layouts using studio calico's new releases from winter cha- take note and abroad... i did 5 layouts, a card, and 3 tags for the sc booth and i know i say it all the time but only because it's true- i love every single bit of the new lines...

so i'll start off by showing the abroad layouts- abroad has a travel-ish vibe to it as a whole but in true sc fashion- it's so versatile.

"6 states, 9 countries"

i used the state veneer pieces, the state stamps, several papers from the collection, anywhere thickers, clay and shine huey's, and lots of stitches :) i used a craft knife to cut the centers out of some of the triangles and then backed them with patterned paper and then the triangles that have wood states in them- i used my silhouette to die cut a larger state, layered a stamped (state names stamps) strip of tracing paper over it, and finished it off with a white washed wood veneer. (for the white washing, i just watered down some white acrylic paint and then brushed it onto the wood).  i love that the triangle 'grid' pattern makes it so easy to do larger scale triangles if you want...loving the triangle trend lately!

"his world"

  

for this one i used the new mini alphas (that font is so perfect), the 'what a wonderful world' stamp set, butterfly veneers, anywhere thickers, and several patterned papers...i used my trusty craft knife again to cut sections of the chevron pattern, backed it with different papers, and stitched into place. i misted the background with white mr. huey's first and then did a light coat of shine because well- i'm a bit obsessed with it. 

"aloha hawaii"

i got to play with the chevron mask on this one and it's going to get a lot of love from me...i may need to get another one as a backup just in case. i masked the top and bottom sections using the mask + clay mr. huey's and couldn't be happier with how it turned out. on this one, i also used some of the travel icon veneer pieces (the airplanes) and finished them using old road chalk ink and clear embossing powder. the thickers were made white using white mr. huey's and you can also see the aqua mini alpha as well as the sc cursive alpha in aqua. i love how they all work together. 

now for take note! when i first saw both the lines (before seeing them in person) i thought that abroad would be my favorite...but as usual, i was wrong because once i had them in my hot little hands- it was all about take note for me, ha! 

"san francisco"

i've been wanting to do an oversized chevron patchwork layout for a while now and i finally did it! i'll admit, it wasn't as easy as i thought it would be- getting the angles and cuts to match up was like surgery! in the end, i'm really happy with how this one turned out and i love the patterns and colors together. i used the days of the weeks stamps, flair, star stickers, and mini alphas.

"dylan"

this one is my favorite of my show layouts...my sweet and talented friend, meredith loaned me some gorgeous photos of her kiddos to use in some of my layouts and this is her little girl, dylan. when i was making this one, i encountered a slew of happy accidents- one of them i'll hang on to because it'll be explained in an upcoming post but the other- the thicker finish, i can't keep in any longer, ha! did you know that mr. huey's shine + naked thickers = SILVER thickers?! it's very possible that i'm the last to know about this awesomeness so pardon my excitement...i was in the middle of misting something and a drop of mist got on the thickers that i had left sitting way to close to the mist zone and at first i panicked because it was on an 'e' and i was all, "what the heck?!?! why couldn't that have landed on a weird q or something?!" but that's when i noticed it was silver and all was well :) 

card and tags-

these guys are pretty straight forward...i focused on the stamps for the most part. sidenote: how cute is the potty man?!

word on the street is that the show was hopping and although i would've loved to have been there and met all my online pals, the next best thing is knowing that my work was on display- you have no idea how giddy it makes me :) i don't think it will ever get old...

so did any of y'all go to the show? whether you went or not- what were your show favs? what products are you most looking forward to getting your hands on?

daydream believer

it's that time again! actually the kit has been up for a few days now so i'm running a little behind...my gallery was bare bones this month with good reason...cha! i ended up doing 7 layouts, a card, and 3 tags total for cha (combo of studio calico and october afternoon projects) and boy do i have the stitching blisters to prove it! my fingers are so sore and there were several fleeting moments where i seriously contemplated giving the sewing machine monster another chance- but i quickly snapped out of it and kept plugging away. 

anyhoo, back to daydream believer...i got all 4 add ons this month because well...i couldn't choose and the add ons made me do it. dang it. :) each one of them had stuff that i couldn't say no to...this was a good month.

so here's my first layout, made using the main kit only:

i used the jenni bowlin blue ribbon punch on this one to make the pinked circles and i love how it turned out! here's a close up...

the other 2 layouts i did were made using a combo of all of the kits from february...

this one is straight in real life, i swear it...for some reason my photoshop image straightening skills were not up to par, ha! i created the background using the infamous alpha set from the 4th add on, i used my huge acrylic block and lined up the alphabet as straight as i could get it without adding to my collection of grey hairs and then used old road chalk ink to stamp onto grey cardstock. it's kind of hard to see here but that bottom orange paper is punched using the jenni bowlin tickets please punch...i'll be using that one a lot i can already tell ;)

and i totally surprised myself with how much i loved the zig zag rhinestone borders...initially, i didn't think i'd end up using them so it's always neat when that happens. i think that's what i love most about kits- the unexpected product usage :) fun!

last but not least- 'a new smile'...i think this one was my favorite out of my gallery. anytime i use an xacto it means that there was serious business going on, hahaha! i used the chevron pattern as a template to cut sections out and then backed them with different papers. i also used the ampersand mask + custard mr. huey.

i used dear lizzy sequin trim to add some razzle to the envelope and also colored in the stamped letters with colored pencils...i just had fun making this one. 

so that's all for my dt gallery this month...i'll be back soon with my cha layouts!

xo, kins

happy little moments class with maggie holmes

i'm so excited to be contributing to maggie's class because ummm hello?! it's maggie holmes! i absolutely love her style and this kit is *so* her...this is going to be such a fun class and i cannot wait! kits are available for purchase in limited quantities or you can purchase the class only- check out the links below for both options!

ONLINE CLASS INFO & PURCHASE

HAPPY LITTLE MOMENTS KIT PURCHASE

february sc sneaks + stretch your kit class winner!

i'm hoping that i can squeeze at least one more layout into my gallery this month but we'll see how it goes with it being crazypants cha time, ha! i bought all 4 of the add ons this month but between you and me- number 4 is my favorite...it's the stamps. 2 complete alpha stamp sets in one add on and the font is perfection. 

anyways, here's my first sneak using the main kit only + this jenni bowlin punch + mister huey's classic calico + dark rust chalk ink...

sneak numero dos...i used little bits from each kit + clear zing + old road chalk ink + this jenni bowlin punch + versamark

and last but not least, another layout using bits from each kit and even though you can't see it in this sneaky little photo...i also used custard mister huey's + the ampersand mask

a few other items i grabbed this month- more grey, more kraft, more color (i needed to replenish my cardstock, ha) and of course, more sc pp because it's always awesome and i have an irrational fear of not having enough sheets to spare. seriously. it worries me.

so now that you've seen a few tiny sneaks, let's giveaway a class shall we?! (sidenote: i spent all day yesterday operating under the illusion that it was tuesday when in fact, it was wednesday yesterday which makes today thursday- it's all very complex and confusing so we'll call it a wash and do the drawing right now, ha!) 

the winner is...comment number 28 which belongs to...April W aka scrapperforever! congrats april! i'll be in touch with you in a few! 

thanks so much for stopping by today and for entering the drawing...if you're interested in signing up for the stretch your kit class with the one and only amy tan just go here!

see y'all soon! xo, kins

ps. i just got an iphone and i'm totally overwhelmed and completely in over my head with what apps are download worthy so tell me, what apps are your favs? so far i have hipstamatic- love it! couldn't figure out how to caption pics in instagr.am so that was a fail for me- any help there would also be much obliged ;) 

oh and just for laughs- check this creeper out...

another giveaway + winners

so so so excited about this class! the only thing more exciting is that i get to give away a spot to one lucky winner! here is some info about the latest studio calico online class...

 

Are you ready to jumpstart the way you look at supplies?  Tired of letting your kits pile up month after month without touching them?  Ready to pull out the tools you have on hand and put them to use? Amy Tan is here to help show you how to see the Studio Calico Main kits in new ways and get those supplies onto your pages.  She’s ready to share tips and tricks on making your kit supplies stretch to create beautiful page after page.

Known for her playful and innovative pages, Amy is the perfect teacher to help you stretch your kits.  She’ll walk you through ideas for breaking open those brown paper bags and seeing your kits in a fun new way.  Amy and Studio Calico kits... what a great combination!

Amy is joined by creative powerhouses Kelly Goree, Celine Navarro, and Jen Jockisch who will all share inspiration for using ONLY the Studio Calico Main kit.  You’ll see their process for getting started on a layout, selecting which supplies to pull from the kits, and tips for using their favorite tools and techniques.

START DATE: FEBRUARY 1, 2012          

REGISTRATION ENDS: JANUARY 31, 2012                                           

PRICE: $30.00

 

to be entered in this drawing- just leave a comment with your 

studio calico USERNAME

and i'll be choosing a winner wednesday! good luck!

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and now for the stamp winners! my lovely assistant drew comments (that was a lot of printing and cutting i tell ya!) and congrats go to...

BRENDA SMITH- CIRCLES STAMP

DIANA A.- MAP STAMP

LAN- CHEVRON STAMP

thanks so much everyone for playing!

xo, kins

give it away. give it away. give it away now.

as the post title indicates, i have a few coveted & exclusive studio calico background stamps to give away...3 stamps to be precise :) 

the first is the chevron background from the knickers add on...

the second is the circles background from the perennial add on...

and last but not least- the map background from sea glass...

all 3 of these are about 4 x 6 inches and they're the vinyl cling style which i love so if you'd like a chance to win just leave a comment with which one you'd like! easy right?!

good luck! i'll pick and post winners on saturday :)

xo, kins

woodgrain + spinner rack

i love how it turned out...i think i'd love it more if it was totally woodgrain and who knows, my neuroses may flare up and i might have to just bite the bullet and figure it out but for now- i'm exhausted. i took pics throughout the process and as usual i ended up doing certain things a few different ways so i'll just share what worked best and most efficiently for me :)

i ended up covering the whole top tray except the trim because well- i'm not sure why...it just felt right at the time. and since that process was overrated (read- i wanted to gouge my eyeballs out with an xacto knife) i regrouped and opted to leave the trim, the base and the insides of the bottom 3 trays original black. 

so if you're a glutton for tedious but cute storage here's how i did it...

technically, i thought about it for a few hours and when my confidence wasn't wavering, i decided to start by covering the divider panels. i cut strips of contact paper (about 5 x 14 inches) doesn't have to be perfect or straight because the excess will be tucked and trimmed. then cut little notches in the middle of one of the long sides...this makes 'wrapping' easier.

i peeled the backing off and laid the strip face down on my mat (in the middle of the living room floor- you need lots of space to spread out. and caffeine. or narcotics. just sayin'.) center the divider as shown above- centered on the notch cut out.

adhere half of the strip to one side of the divider- flatten any bubbles out and crease the bottom edge as shown.

then trim the excess around the curved edge so that there's about a 1/2 inch of contact paper remaining.

cut fringe around the rounded edge and fold each flap over to create a clean edge.

fold the other half of the contact paper strip to cover the other side of the divider and then use scissors to trim the excess all the way around.

it should look something like this. for the top rack that i completely covered, i cut strips of contact paper to completely cover the bracket pieces on the bottom (where the black is showing) and then used an xacto knife to make the holes visible again. for all the other shelves, i used my knife to cut the woodgrain flap on the bracket piece off.

i busted out the compass for inside of the top tray y'all...nerd alert :) i outlined circles using the compass and then cut it out with scissors & my knife and then adhered it to the inside of the top tier. also, i used the little scraper thing that comes with pampered chef stones to flatten the bubbles out, worked like a charm!

for the outside edges of the trays, i cut 1 1/2 inch strips of contact paper and wrapped it around and then cut fringe/ flaps and folded them down around the edge for a clean look.

here's the finished top tray...i didn't take pics of the bottom trays empty because it's basically the same thing but with no woodgrain in the bottom :)

i'm thinking about making some cute word labels with my silhouette and a different 'finish' of contact paper- i have a mahogany woodgrain that would be fun but for now, i have bigger fish to fry. namely- sc feb kit, cha, and crate! i better get on it...

have a great weekend friends! hugs, kins