Mama Elephant & Studio Calico Cinnamon Spice Add-On Kit

Hello! I'm so excited to share that Mama Elephant has an exclusive stamp set in this month's Studio Calico Card add-on kit, Cinnamon Spice. Plus there's a giveaway on the Mama Elephant blog today, so be sure to stop by the ME blog to get all the details and to participate.

I'm already a Studio Calico Project Life subscriber so getting an extra kit this month to play with and to make cards with was such a treat! I love how the paper pad has perfect designs for holiday card making and my favorite of course is the Mama Elephant exclusive stamp set for the Studio Calico Cinnamon Spice November Card Add-On Kit.

"All is Calm, All is Bright" card: I started with the kraft card base from the kit. I stamped the Mama Elephant row of decorated houses onto the kraft paper for a subtle look. Then I used the white gel pen from the Mama Elephant white marker set to add snow trim to the houses. I really wanted to contrast a sparkly "all is bright" with a tone on tone "all is calm" neighborhood, so I sprinkled a bunch of gold, copper, silver, and clear peach sequins and adhered them to the card base. Now, I love sequins on cards, but they're not always great to send in the mail because they can pop off. So I decided to create a "window" to the card as a protective layer above the sequins using clear acetate.

I really love the Studio Calico white washed brick pattern paper because it reminds me of snow but has just enough texture appearance to make it a faint background. So I used this pattern paper to sandwich the acetate so that the calm and bright village can show through.

Materials used: Studio Calico November Cuppa Card Kit Cinnamon Spice November Card Add-On with exclusive Mama Elephant stamp set, Clearsnap ColorBox fluid chalk ink, Mama Elephant white pen set, Memento ink in Tuxedo Black, sequins

"Joy to You and Me" card: For my second card, I also used the kraft card base that came in the kit. I stamped the Mama Elephant sentiment circle and then used a craft knife to cut a window out. I then stamped and embossed the wreathe image from the Studio Calico Cuppa Card Kit stamp set. I love the black sparkle embossing powder from Ranger! I then drew strings for the ornaments to suspend from and added the Studio Calico bows. To finish the front of the card, I stamped a bunch of snowflakes and stars from the Studio Calico exclusive Mama Elephant Cinnamon Spice stamp set and added a few black stars that came with the kit. Lastly, I stamped the circle sentiment on the inside of the card matching up to the window.

Materials used: Studio Calico November Cuppa Card Kit and Cinnamon Spice November Card Add-On with exclusive Mama Elephant stamp set, Memento ink in London Fog, Tsukineko Embossing Ink, Ranger Embossing Powder in Black Sparkle

Here's a closer look at the card when it's folded flush. The stamped sentiment peeks through perfectly like a dimensional ornament. This is also a better view of the black sparkle embossing powder -- I love the sharp black shimmer!

Be sure to check out the Mama Elephant blog for your chance at the giveaway!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Blooms & Cartwheels in My Mind!

As I mentioned in my previous post, Cartwheels in My Mind challenged readers to use a torn book page in two projects so here's my second project.

This past Valentine's day, I received the grandest flower arrangement ever... and really, they were blooms that made my heart flutter. Unfortunately, I couldn't just whip out my digital SLR at work to take photos of them, so you'll have to excuse the fuzzy iPhone photo. I already find it a bit of a challenge to scrapbook inanimate objects and it's even more challenging when I have a sub par photo. But with the help of super cute Jillibean Soup Dutch mustard soup patterns and a simple layout, thanks to Pencil Lines sketch #232, I think I made it work. I tried to keep the layout relatively light and airy so it wouldn't overpower the already difficult picture. So what do you think?

Used: Jillibean Soup pattern papers, alpha stickers; My Little Shoebox pattern papers; Studio Calico Mr. Huey mist; Martha Stewart studded heart punch and EK Success punch; DMC embroidery floss; Bic Mark-it markers

Here's a closer look: I used the Jillibean Soup alphabet stickers as a mask and created part of the title using Studio Calico's Mr. Huey mist in cream. By creating a faint mask for part of the title with cream mist on cream cardstock, I was able to keep the airiness in the title. I also cut and punched hearts out of the Jillibean Soup pattern paper and used as decorative/dimensional accents.

As you can tell, I love hearts, pennants, and stitching in layouts. I especially love incorporating a mix of hearts in all different shapes and sizes. I used the Martha Stewart studded heart all over the pages punch as a window and slipped the torn book page behind it. I then used a mix of Jillibean Soup and My Little Shoebox pattern papers to create the rest of the heart pennants. I hand cut a few of the hearts from the Jillibean Soup pattern paper and punched the other hearts using a favorite, the Martha Stewart lace heart edge punch and my trusty EK Success heart Paper Shaper punch.

Lastly, one of my favorite parts of this layout is the pleating here. Again, a simple touch to accent the photo without overwhelming it:

On a another note, I'm doing cartwheels in my mind! The very awesome Cheryl of Cartwheels in My Mind featured my latest 'On My Window Sill' layout on the Cartwheels blog! Woweeee! In that same post, she shares a layout about her daughter and grandmother with very touching journaling, a very special photo, and very cute torn book page idea, you have to check it out! Thanks, Cheryl, for the challenge, inspiration, and feature!

Thanks for looking!
- KRAFTY pearl

Le Petit Foyer

Lately, I've been learning to be a better blogger by taking clearer photos to go with blog posts, scheduling them on a weekly basis and of course staying extremely motivated to create things that will allow me to continue sharing layouts and ideas. So bear with me!

This week I'm sharing a layout I made about one of my fave places in my apartment, my foyer. It happens to meet two challenges on Two Peas. Check out the challenges or submit your layouts here: Studio Calico and Love Bug: Stitch a shape on your page.

About my foyer: it is a bit small and not at all fancy, but it's mine and I love it. Every time I come home, I'm greeted by some of my favorite photos on my bright sunny yellow Trollsta sideboard from Ikea and no matter how long my day was, it brings a smile to my face.

Used in this layout: pattern papers from Studio Calico, Hambly Screen Prints; mist by Studio Calico's Mister Huey; stamps from Studio Calico, A Muse; bird rub-ons by Studio Calico; embroidery floss by DMC; and cardstock from Bazzill Basics and Close To My Heart.

Here's a closer look. Label pennants made by stitching Studio Calico stamped labels:

Hand written 'foyer' title embellished with Studio Calico rub-on birdies:

Journaling: 'Every time I walk into my apartment, I leave the rest of the world behind.'

Hand-stitched heart/paper piercing:

Hope you enjoyed my layout and the challenges from Two Peas!

By the way, I'm now on Pinterest and totally loving it. To the right of this post, you'll find all of my boards. Check them out and let me know if the pics inspire you the way they did for me!

- KRAFTY pearl