Best of Cambodia

I just needed to scrap today (stressful week) and since I am out of ink, I just rummaged through my pile of photos and decided to scrap these couple shots from our Cambodia trip last year. Coincidentally, the July Kit of Studio Calico (Continental) happened to be sitting on my work table and it's a travel-themed kit! So I quickly started working and came up with this layout. The photos were desaturated so it worked perfectly with the papers of the kit.

Here's a closer look at the details. I used foam tape to layer the die cuts to create a bigger layered embellishment.

I love the vintage feel of the kit which I thought went well with the desaturated photos.

Got the idea to overlap two colors of chipboard alphas from Cookie's "Simple Joy" layout.

Thanks for looking!

Not So New Studio Calico Layouts

I made these layouts a few months back but didn't get to take photos. These were created using Studio Calico Kits. I am still trying to make a dent on my stash. I probably have almost a year's worth of unopened kits!

This one is my favorite in this set. I used the Whodunit Kit here. I thought the colors fit my photos perfectly. The photos are some of my favorite shots from our Cambodia trip. I took them while cruising the Tonle Sap. We passed by the floating village and saw the simple life of the locals. I played with color saturation and textures here and I love the outcome. Click on the photos for a bigger view.

No complicated techniques here.

I cut out some patterns from the paper and distressed the card to make it consistent with the "aged" look of the photos.

I desaturated the photos, added textures and boosted the contrast.

The next layout features our youngest doggie - Cain, our miniature poodle. Every family member deserves a layout. For this one, I used the Bibliography Kit of Studio Calico.

The alpha stickers are from October Afternoon.

The blue circles and lines are made from a mixture of clear tar gel and acrylic paint.

The last layout features a photo of my creativity nook. This corner of our house is where I spend hours scrapping on a weekend, and I thought the Playground Kit of Studio Calico fits the photo perfectly.

I love using the Tiny Attacher  to, well, attach ribbons and trims.

No complicated techniques here. Just a bit of layered embellishments to complement the photo.

Thanks for looking!

Last weekend...

I was so inspired to scrap that I finished four layouts in a day. These are easy layouts to make so I'm sure anyone can do the same. The first one was using BG June Bug papers which you can see in my last post.

Then, I opened my Stucio Calico Kit cabinet and was overwhelmed with bags and bags of unused kits. I thought it's about time to make a dent on my kits. So here I made three layouts using 2 kits. The first two was from the August Kit "Over the Rainbow".

My choice for the kit was inspired by the photo below. I love the photo and it showed four of us 30 something ladies having fun like teenagers (we're still very young at heart). The happy colors of the kit was perfect for this happy photo, and I thought the hot air balloon pattern complements the jump shot. I used a Kraft cardstock as base here and just cut patterns from the papers. No special techniques here. Just cutting and gluing.


I used foam adhesive in one of the balloons. I also doodled on the title for a stitched look.

The next one was inspired by the paper with "My Favorite Guy" printed on it. Who else will fit this paper but my hubby. Since our printers our busted, I just searched my stash for printed photos and saw this which I thought would be great for this layout. Good thing I had this printed in black and white so it works well with any color.


For this one I did a little misting. I sprayed copper mist on the chipboards for a metallic look. then I tied a crepe paper ribbon on the small chipboard for a softer touch.

The last layout was made using the "Director's Cut" Add On from the July Kit (Documentary). The papers and embellishments are travel-themed. Good thing I had prints from my Malaysia trip. I love this photo! I mounted the camera on a tripod, adjusted the aperture and shutter speed, then asked my friend (who I met in Kuala Lumpur during that trip) to help me get the right angle and release the shutter. We tried several poses and really had a great time capturing photos. This one is my favorite among the set.


When I used the alphas included in the kit, it got lost in the background. So I doodled on the alphas to make them stand out against the background. Here's a closer look.

Working with kits sure makes it a lot easier to scrap! And I love Studio Calico Kits!

Thanks for looking!

Relax

I made this layout over a week ago - after hybernating for about a month. To make it easier for me, I used the Documentary Kit of Studio Calico. The photo is of Ariel, chilling in Dumguete. Because there is a big white space on the photo itself, I decided to put the title on the photo, using Jessica Spragues digital stamp. Got this from her online class.

Despite the fact that this is a guy layout, I used butterflies, lots of them...

...and bling! I used black pearls to make it a bit masculine.

Actually, the earth tones on this layout helped make the "feminine" embellishments work for a masculine layout. At least that's what I think.

More Cards

Nothing new here. These are the cards I made in Tagaytay but failed to take photos of.

Here, I used a shipping tag (thanks Tin!) which I distressed with ink and stamped. Then I embellished with scraps from Studio Calico's Soda Fountain kit.


For this one, I embossed a piece of brown cardstock using Cuttlebug's Swiss Dots embossing folder. Love it! Then I embellished the card with scraps from Studio Calico's Soda Fountain kit.

Both cards are very simple and easy to make, and are good ways to use up those scraps. :D

A 2nd "Pearly" Layout and 2 cards

The following projects were made using Studio Calico's "Iconic" Kit.

This layout could also pass for this month's Kaya challenge but I already submitted one so I guess I'll just post it here. Anyway, it took a while for me to complete this layout because I struggled with the elements - like those yellow vinyl Thickers. I had to distress them a bit with chalk ink to mute the brightness of the color. Arggh...I really hate the viny Thickers! The adhesive is so gooey and they don't stick well. If I try to remove them, they leave a mark behind.


I added the pearls to the butterfly transparency (Heidi Swapp) for added texture and dimension. Oh, and those stamps are the cutest! I adhered the frame with foam dots to make it pop on the page.

The strip of paper that says "Soda Water" is actually a patterned paper from Jenni Bowlin. I just cut a one-inch strip, distressed it and pleated a few inches. The phone book page which I tore was really fragile. Not sure if it's acid-free since it is already falling apart. I used it anyway. LOL!

I made this card for a friend's baby shower. The train and giraffes were cut using the Animal Crackers cartridge of Slice.

The next card is for my dad on Father's Day. I used the stamp from the Iconic Kit.

The stamped image is actually adhered on the inside page of the card. I just punched a semi-circle on the cover.

The message explains why I used the guy holding an umbrella. :D

And this is the envelop. I love the colors!

Thanks for looking!

Artz De Scrap's Door Hanger challenge

I like this month's challenge over at Artz De Scrap so I decided to give it a go. I decided to make a door sign that I can hang at the office. I used a thin piece pf rectangular plywood as base. I then covered it with brown cardstock and embellished it with chiboards and a piece of ribbon.


The flower stems and butterfly were painted with crackle paint and then coated with Sepia Accents for a glossy finish. I then added some blings on the butterfly.

The most fun past is the mini notepad which I made using scraps of paper and cardstock and bound using the Bind It All machine. I made the usual signs you can see in the office like "IN - welcome" or "Busy - Do Not Disturb". I also added funny ones like "is Eating - Keep Out" and "is Grouchy - High Voltage".

The bound mini-book is inserted in a small slot in the CS that covers the plywood. It slips in and out easily to change the door sign.
The door hanger is now hanging by a hook on my office door.

Materials used:

• Mostly scraps from my Studio Calico Sept. 08 Kit Looking Glass - BG and Sassafras papers and chipboards
• Scenic Route and MM alpha stickers
• Maya Road and MAMBI rubons
• 7 Gypsies stickers

Thanks for looking!