Studio Calico Announcement + Park Ave Reveal

hello everyone! i'm sorry i'm so so late this month! i have been sick on and off for these 2 weeks so i haven't been online so often these days. lucky for me, ethan is good enough to give his poor mummy a break by sleeping early tonight so here i am! 

first of all, park ave is my last kit for studio calico for this term. for the coming year, i will be a contributor to the creative team. this gives me the flexibility to design only on certain months so i can make way for life and to spent more time with ethan. 

do drop by the studio calico blog to check out the talented ladies who are on the creative team and the list of contributors for the next year!

next, for the park ave reveal... 

this is what i made this month...

a trip home 

(main kit only)

the design of this layout started with me cutting the diamond chipboard into triangles. i wanted to make a layout with all the triangles scattered around. to add more layer, i used a pencil to draw more triangles and color them with watercolors. I also got inspiration from ashley's class to draw some star markings to add interest to the page. for some final touches, i added transparency die cuts, my title and journaling.

so good

(main kit only)

for this layout, my idea was to spilt the page into 2. one side with a pattered paper and simple with a photo of ethan, and the other side with white cardstock and a bit messy with a cluster of embellishments and journaling. with this idea in mind, i selected my favourite patterned paper and adhered it to a piece of white card stock. i didn't want it to be exactly half, so used a 75%-25% rule. most of my embellishments are the transparency die cuts, so to show more layering, i added some watercolors to the white cardstock. 

joyful

(main kit, ritz, helmsley)

 for this layout, created my own version of a christmas wreath. i used paige's digital design as a sewing template and sew the wreath with gold thread. I had lots of fun decorating with all the die cuts from ritz and used it to frame a photo taken last christmas! i kept the rest of this page rather simple and only added a title - joyful to complete the page.

let your light shine

(main kit, ritz, helmsley)

presenting my favourite layout this month! :)

the design for this layout came about when i saw the light bulbs! this page was inspired by wilna! in one of her recent layouts for webster pages, she has these cute little light bulbs hanging from the top of the page with thread. so i lifted this idea and used yellow gelato to add 'light' to the bulbs! next, base on the colors of the die cuts in helmsey, i used painted a rainbow background for my photo with gelatos. then i used the die cuts, sequins, buttons and paper clips to create a banner in front of the photo. i loved how this page turned out and how the focus of the page is still on my black and white photo!

ok, that's all i have today! i hope you enjoyed my pages and if you are interested in finding out more about studio calico's scrapbook kit, click here.

thank you so much for dropping by!

xoxo
lilin 

Park Ave Sneaks

hi again! another month has just flew by and it's almost time for the reveal of studio calico december kits! once again i am in love with the december kits - park ave. it's filled with lots and lots of goodies and i thought christmas came early for me when i opened up the kits! i had the chance to play with the main scrapbook kit, add on 1 (ritz), add on 2 (helmsley) and add on 3 (waldorf)! and here's a look at what i made...

this is a sneak from my main kit only layout. i love purple and have always wanted to add some purple into my layouts however, i find it a bit of a challenge adding purple into my layouts. having said that, there is something special about the kits and it was a breeze for me to add all the tints of purple this month!

another main kit only sneak. happy that i manage to add some purple here as well! and these transparent die cuts are so cute!

for the christmas season, i made my version of a christmas wreath with this digital file designed by paige evans! i used it as a sewing template and decorated it with the floral die cuts from add on 1 ritz!

and here's a sneak of my favourite layout this month! love love love these cute light bulb die cuts from add on 2 (Helmsley)...

thanks for dropping by and see you later at reveal! remember to join us for reveal chat at 11 am EST!

subscribers reveal will be on 27th at noon EST/ 11am CST and for the rest of the public, it will go live on 27th at midnight EST/ 11pm CST.

xoxo

lilin

SC Inspires Giveaway Winner

as the title suggest, i have a winner for the underground scrapbook kit giveaway!!!

 before i announce the winner, would like to thank all of you who left a comment on my post! i enjoyed reading through everyone of them and got to know what your favourite item in the kit! i hope you all had lots of inspiration and fun for the #scinspires blog hop! and now without further ado, the winner i picked (via random.org) is eliseg! congrats elise!!! the studio calico team will be contacting you very soon!

thank you for playing along and hope to see you soon!

xoxo

lilin

Walden Reveal

hello again! studio calico november kit - walden is now available! love the woody and fall colours in this month's scrapbook kit. the add ons are amazing as well! my favourite kit has to be concord (add on 1)! its packed to the brim with lots and lots of goodies! celine will be using this kit for her upcoming mini book workshop, so if you are taking the class, another reason why you wouldn't want to miss out on this add on! this month, we also have a christmas theme add on - pine hill (add on 2)! love the mix of pretty christmas papers and the lovely washi - i am planning to use this one for my christmas wrapping! and lastly, baker bridge (add on 3) that is full of exclusive items! now let's take a look at what i made this month!

you are my favourite hello
(main kit only)

there is something romantic about the colors in the main kit this month so i made a gift for my cousin using his wedding photo. not my usual colors that says romance but i love the soft colors of grey, peach, green and gold...

for the floral wreath above my photo, i first created a border using the washi tape. i used the walden scrapbook digital stamp to create some die cut flowers and leaves with my silhouette cameo. then i painted the die cuts in coordinating colors to match the washi tape and added the deer and badge as embellishments. i love the brush script hello designed by wilna so i made it into a cut file, paint it with black acrylic paint and used it as my part of my title. and to complete the layout, i added some ink splatters with gold mist and a big round brush. i usually create the ink splatters with the tip of the bottle nozzle but this time with the big round brush, i could see the shimmer of the mist and it's beautiful!!!

a happy day at little big
(main kit only)

i wanted to use all the pretty papers in the kit so i thought a grid design would be best! i used one of the squares for journaling, 2 for photos and the rest, i decorated with embellishments and die cuts. a quick and simple layout to put together. something new i tried with this layout was using a small brush to draw a border to frame the layout. i used gold mist here and used my precision pen to define the border. love how it turned out so i think i will use this technique again!

lucky
(main, concord, baker bridge)

this layout is a gift for my dear friend's wedding! i used gelatos to create a rainbow and layer lots of pretty embellishments over it to create a border above the photo. for added interest, i added some stamp leaves and flowers in coordinating colors. i used color theory ink pads - coral bay, blush crush and something blue. i will be posting a tutorial for this layout soon so keep a lookout for it!

hello lil king

(main kit, concord, pine hill, baker bridge)

this hello stamp designed by wilna is my favourite this month! i stamp the hello in different yummy colours to create a background paper. i used color theory ink pads - sunny day, blush crush, orange country, glass slipper, going green, lime light and clean state. after deciding on the placement of my photo, i added the title - 'lil' using the woodgrain transparent alpha from baker bridge and stitched 'king' on another piece of card stock using the amy tangerine embroidery set.  then i fussy cut each alphabet and adhere it to the layout to add more dimension.

that's all i have! i hope you enjoyed the layouts i made for this reveal! if you are interested in finding out more about studio calico's scrapbook kit, click here.

happy shopping and thank you so much for dropping by!

xoxo
lilin 

Walden Sneaks

hello! studio calico november kit - walden is almost here!!! i hope you are excited to see the lovely kits this month! here's a peek of what i made for the reveal...

my first sneak made with the main kit...

the best way to use every piece of the pretty patterned papers in the kit is a grid design...

love love love the pretty embellishments and stamps in add on 1 (concord)!

yummy ink colors and my favourite stamp this month! used the main kit and 3 add ons in this last layout...

thanks for dropping by and see you later at reveal!

subscribers reveal will be on 27th at noon EST/ 11am CST and for the rest of the public, it will go live on 27th at midnight EST/ 11pm CST.

xoxo

lilin

SC Inspires Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Hello everyone! thank you for dropping by my blog! i am so glad to be part of this blog hop by studio calico! to chase away the monday blues, you will be happy to know that studio calico is launching a new giveaway - #scinspires. we'll love to get everyone sharing this hashtag and talk about how studio calico inspires you! 

i'll start the ball rolling here! the main reason why i was first drawn to studio calico was because i love the idea of beautifully coordinated kits that arrives at my doorstep every month! for a short period of time, i use to love working with collections but after i while i find myself trying to mix different collections. this was definitely time consuming as it's not an easy task to mix and match items that are not made to be coordinated! so one day i found studio calico while researching on the silhouette cameo and i was pleasantly surprised how perfect the kits would be for me! no more time used to coordinate as someone professional has already done it for me!

i also love the mix of items that are included in the kits, some of them i would never have picked up if i saw them in the store so this kinda challenge me to try out something new! not forgetting the exclusive items studio calico comes up with for the kits, papers and embellishments i cannot get anywhere else! for example, the silkscreen in the latest scrapbook main kit - the underground. 

i'm pretty sure i would not have tried if it wasn't in my box and here's why!

1. i wouldn't think that a silk screen can be used for scrapbooking

2. i'm usually not so comfortable with using big elements on my layout. i love small embellishments and the design of the silk screen is rather big for me. 

3. i am usually more drawn to circle and heart shapes so diamond elements are also new for me.

however, having said all these, this lovely silkscreen was in my box and after seeing what the some of the members (i love the members gallery at sc!) and creative team did with the silk screen last month, i felt inspired to give it a try! 

and now i'm hooked to silk screens! ha! thanks sc for coming up with such an awesome product! love the different ways i can colour it (you can try mist, acrylic paint, gelatos...) and how easy is it to use and it adds that artistic touch to my layouts! can't wait to see more in future kits! 

ok, now that you know how studio calico has inspired me, it's your turn to share! here are the details of this giveaway and how you can play along!

to enter for the give away, all you need is download this beautiful printable from studio calico. 

Over $1,400 in prizes are up for grabs!!! and the winners will be drawn from the people who download this printable! the prizes get bigger and bigger the more uses of the #scinspires hashtag. so the key is encourage everyone to share this hashtag and talk about what inspires them!

everyday friday, studio calico will add up all the shares of #scinspires and update everyone on the blog. here's a short list of the prizes but it will grow as the shares grows:

**********

100 shares of #scinspires = 1 Month Free Sub 

200 shares = 2 Months Free Sub (additional month continues every 100 shares)

1,200 shares = 12 Month Free Sub 

1,300 shares = Entrance into Cameo Basics 

1,500 shares = $100 Free Digital Downloads 

2,000 shares = Silhouette Portrait 

2,500 #scinspires shares = 25 lucky winners will receive a free month WITH a Gold WRMK album!  

**********

this contest ends on 31st october 2014 11:59 pm eastern so there's lots of time to download the printable and share! 

and lastly... i have a giveaway to thank you for dropping by my blog!!! yay!

just leave me a comment on this post telling me what's your favourite item from the underground kit together with your studio calico username by 31 october 2014 11:59 pm eastern and i will select a random commenter to receive a main scrapbook kit from the underground! this is what you will receive so do leave me a note!

that's it! happy monday everyone and i hope you have a great week ahead!

here's the blog hop if you would like to hop along!

Stephanie Bryan
Emily Branch
Natalie Elphinstone
Dana Fleckenstein

Lilin Fang <-- you are here!

Anna-Maria Wolniak
Maggie Massey
Agnieszka Malyszek
Celine Navarro
Allison Waken
Barbara Picinich
Kerri Bradford
Jenn Picard
Tracy Armstrong
Liz Tamanha
Marcy Penner
Robyn Werlich
Suzy Plantamura
Julie Campbell
Lexi Bridges
Maggie Holmes‎
Shanna Noel
Paige Evans
Gillian Nelson
Debra Duty

xoxo
lilin

Paint.Plan.Play Class At Studio Calico

hello everyone! I'm here today to share a new class in studio calico that i am really excited about! 

presenting... paint.plan.play by ashley goldberg!!! yay!

 i am a big fan of her designs after studio calico invited her as a guest designer for july - penny arcade. love her whimsical designs and i'm so glad she is now having this class at studio calico!

here's the description of the class!

**************

we've all experienced it – the frustration of sitting in front of a blank page for hours and still coming up empty. well, we've got the remedy: cutting-edge artist ashley goldberg. ashley’s come wielding her brush and paints to invite you into paint.plan.play, an “art” class designed for scrapbookers. grab the paints and brushes you've been collecting and let ashley help you tap into the creativity you've got hiding inside yourself. 

during the first half of paint.plan.play, you’ll explore core painting techniques ashley uses every day, then you will transition into putting those new skills to use in several projects. with ashley’s expert guidance, you will learn how to take control of color, pattern, and text by using paint, collage, and various other mediums to add allure to all your paper crafting projects – from personally designed journal layouts to project life spreads. '

paint.plan.play will begin on november 1st.

**************

and best of all, for 1 week only, receive these free exclusives when you sign up for the class...

do take note that the last i checked, these goodies are almost half way gone! so hurry!

you will also be happy to know that ashley is now coming up with digital goodies for this class! the details are not out yet but we should be able to see them soon!

last but not least, do check out the exclusive class supplies available in the shop!

i couldn't resist and picked these up myself!

1. gold splattered rub ons - i love paint splatters especially when they are gold!

2. skinny washi tape - i love polka dots so i couldn't say no to this!

3. fude ball 1.5 pen - a recommended pen for mixed media

4. wood veneer shapes - these wood veneer shapes are designed by ashley for this class!

5. ashley goldbery 12 patterned pages - i'm most excited about these papers! they are 6 X 8 inches in size so they will be perfect for your art journal or we can fit them in handbooks! i even thought of framing them up as wall deco! 

6. color theory paint bundle - i bought these set of acrylic paints during last month and i haven't open them up yet. they are now perfect for this class!

7. stamp set: alpha ashley goldberg - i love studio calico alpha sets so i wouldn't miss this one designed by ashley!

ok! that's all i bought! :P

to sign up or to find out more details on the class, click here.

thanks for dropping by my blog and i hope to see you in class!

xoxo

lilin

The Underground Reveal

hello! i'm back today to share what i made with studio calico october kits from studio calico - the underground.

make magic 

(main kit only) 

another new silk screen in this month's kit! this was my first attempt with silkscreen and i love it! I used the silkscreen with mist here and thought it turned out really well! I'm not good at misting actually, so I used a paintbrush and painted the color over the silkscreen. it's especially fun when you can make so many of them in different colors. i made 3 using mary mary, gold and sea foam. if you have no idea what a silk screen is, it actually works like a mask/ stencil. one side of it is sticky and you stick it down to your cardstock. once it's secure, you can use your favourite media to colour it! some options i can think of are acrylic paint, mist, ink pad and gelatos! there is a video by natalie from the creative team on the sc blog where she shares the different ways you can use the silk screen! click here for the post.

one fine day

(main kit only)

love these leaves cut file by hello forever! i cut them out in the different patterned papers and the old book paper available in the kit. i love using watercolour to paint the background recently and used the technique here. i decided on the colors base on the colors of the patterned paper. i used a blend of red, orange, yellow here. next i scatter the die cut leaves around the page. to add more texture and detail, i hand stitched some of the   leaves and added some cabochons. i love brush script titles, but my handwriting isn't as beautiful as i hope it is... for now (more practice required)! so i cheated by printing the title in manus font in black and fussy cut it. i'm happy with how it turned out! lastly, i fussy cut some hearts in white to add more layers to the page.

happiness = you
(main kit, piccadilly, notting hill)

this is the first time i am using a huge photo for my layout. i printed my photo on a piece of 8.5 x 11 vellum and i love how it turned out, especially after i layered the photo over a patterned paper so that the colors shows through. i wanted the huge photo to be the focus of this page, so i kept the embellishing. i used the beautiful stamp in piccadilly and stamped the design in black on white card stock. then i fussy cut the stamped flowers so that they can be used as embellishments together with some stickers and badge. another favourite of mine this month are the pastel wood drop stickers!

go see do
(main kit, piccadilly, notting hill, king's cross)

love these beautiful crate paper frames and how they can be used to create a simple grid design. to add interest to the page, i painted a background with watercolors as a base for my frames. to decide on what colors to use, i turned to the beautiful rub ons included in king's cross. i would never have thought of matching the colors grey, yellow and purple but when i saw the rub ons, i thought the color combination is perfect. what's better is that there are frames in the pack that fits into this color scheme. after i painted the background, this page came together easily as i added matching frames and embellishments to each grid. 

i hope you enjoyed the layouts i made for this reveal! if you are interested in finding out more about studio calico's scrapbook kit, click here.

thank you so much for dropping by!

xoxo
lilin 

The Underground Sneaks

hello everyone! i am going for a short getaway and before i am off to hit the beach, i thought i'll drop in to share some sneaks for studio calico's october kits - the underground!

this is a sneak of my main kit only layout. the colors of the main kit definitely reminds me of autumn! even though its summer all year round in singapore, i am loving these fall colours! and they work especially well with the lovely leaf cut files designed by hello forever! 

another main kit only sneak. mist + silkscreen = magic...

i think i found my favourite stamp in piccadilly! used the main kit + add on 1 (piccadilly) + add on 2 (notting hill) here... the crate paper sticker sheet in add on 2 is so sweet!

loving watercolor backgrounds now! used add on 1 (piccadilly) + add on 2 (notting hill) + add on 3 (king's cross)...

i hope these sneaks will give you an idea of what to look out for in the upcoming kits and help you decide what to get during reveal! thanks for dropping by and see you soon!

xoxo

lilin