Hi everyone! Sorry that I have been missing so much around here lately! It was a busy month and then after I finished with my photo shoots and prints/card orders, I wanted to just sit back and relax and enjoy the holidays with my family. It was a great Christmas and we are still celebrating - hanging out with family (including some that are in from out of town), baking some more, staying up late chatting, etc. The kids are having a great time since they get to stay up late playing with cousins every night! I will be back once we get back into the swing of regular life with lots of pictures to share -- both from our holiday celebrations and from a lot of client photo shoots that I haven't shared yet.
Also getting ready to start my next beginner/intermediate photography workshop next week - excited to "meet" all of my new students! And I'm also gearing up for my new advanced workshop that starts in February! I have lots of fun things planned the next few weeks that I am working on for the lessons and sample images etc! It is going to be a fun workshop!! Can't wait! I'm also super excited because the start of the advanced workshop will also coincide with the launch of my new website and new message boards, etc! I have been working hard with my designer/developer these last few weeks and am so excited about the direction everything is headed! I have been wanting to do this for a long time and can't wait for the big reveal!
Well, onto what I came to share tonight and that is the Studio Calico January kit reveal! I love the kits for January...... I know I always say that, but it really is true! :) Each month they just get better and better! The stamps are so fun this month too! Especially the ones in the main kit -- the journaling block and the stars are all stamps I know I will use over and over and over!! So great!
I love the turquoise and the little pops of yellow and red here and there! I only had time to do three layouts this month... just wasn't enough time to do as much as I wanted. I hope I can get back into the kits next week to make a few more! I used a lot of the main kit and then also used bits and pieces here and there from all three of the add-ons. It is always hard for me to use just one kit because they always work so well together. I start out thinking that I will stick to one kit for each layout but then it seems that products from the other kits just find their way onto the layout. :)
Anyway, here are my layouts. (Please try to ignore the fact that the pictures on the layouts look kind of strange. They are printed on a shiny metallic paper from the lab that I use and when I take the photographs of my layouts the colors end up looking a little wonky especially in the skin areas -- I think it is the reflection from the shiny paper or something. The images really don't look that weird in real life! :))
The grid on this first one I made by peeling off the negative part of the alphabet sticker sheet in the main kit. I put it on my background paper, misted over it with green and cream mist and then peeled it off! Love the graphic look of that grid! The journaling block stamp is also from the main kit. I know I will use this one a lot!!
Used this crown border punch from Martha Stewart on this layout. Also used those star stamps from the main kit. Stars are a go-to design element for me since I have three boys. I can't get enough of them and they always come in handy since they pretty much work with any boy page! :)
Used this stamp to create the butterflies here. This is the first time I have used it and I am instantly in love. Butterflies have been a favorite of mine for a while and I love that this one is so big and also detailed instead of just the outline. Its kind of hard to see but I used mist on this page as well. Instead of using a mask or stencil though I simply sprayed it onto the background paper. I like that it gives it a soft and subtle textured effect to the cardstock without overwhelming the page.
All of the kits can be found here. You will also want to make sure you check out the entire design team gallery! Those girls seriously blow me away every month with their creativity! And of course the mists I used on each of my layouts this month are the Maya Road Mists (just can't seem to do a layout without misting lately). They can be found in the shop here.
Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that you are also taking some time off to enjoy your family and some down time! I know that I am! :) Have a great week!!
