Sunday, August 23, 2009

reserving judgement

i love designing with studio calico's kits. a scrapbooking kit club that can wow and impress me every month makes me happy. but this month, i have to admit that when i opened the box for september's kit, cotillion, i was not immediately in love. not sure why, but it just didn't have me oohing and aahing like i usually am. i loved all the basic grey june bug in there, but i had not been drawn to this particular anna griffin line that was included. however, i have learned that april and scarlet are creative geniuses when it comes to putting together kits, so i told myself to reserve judgement until i was done with my assignments.

7 layouts and a card later, i can tell you that i love cotillion. i did a 2 pager, i did multi-photo layouts, i used the MM pins that i never know what to do it. i even used the anna griffin–even the journaling spots, which are hard for me to use, i used 3 of them! yah, me. reserving judgement is a good thing.

this one uses bits and pieces from foxtrot, tango, waltz, and cotillion, all jumbled together in a 2 pager. there's also a little freebie for ordering an add on this month in the second sneak:


i know the dog side of the paper wasn't intented to be the used side, but when i saw this little guy, i knew exactly what i needed to create. this one uses cotillion and waltz
this layout was inspired by a piece of artwork i found while surfing the web. i wasn't quite sure about the silhouette stamps, but when i saw the inspiration piece, i knew exactly how to use the stamps :) i used cotillion and waltz for this one.


this one is a totally redo. the event it's recording was so much fun, and the original design wasn't quite as fun. i think this turned out better. the waltz add on kit includes a vintage WWII token and it was perfect for this layout.


i have tried twice before to scrap this picture. it never would work. and until just a few hours ago, i was ready to put it away again. i knew i wanted to use products x, y, and z, but to get them to work all together was testing my every ability. then it all fell together and life is good.


i went to a crop in early august and was pulling out my kit when i heard a lady say, "don't you just love those kits?" i turned around to discover a fellow SC subscriber, linda. we were both just a little bit excited about meeting each other. she shared with me her system for filing kits, photos, and inspiration. then i got the brilliant idea of taking a photo and scrapping it right then. this is the result. she probably thinks i'm a little nuts :)


the sole card out of the bunch. when i'm stuck creatively, i'll try out a card and that usually helps me get back on track. definitely the case here. this was inspired by a card i saw on etsy, i'll post the inspiration when i post the original. i love looking on etsy, so many ideas that translate into scrapping. i misted the white canvas chipboard letters with the green maya mist. they look almost exactly like the green canvas chipboard letters. oops :) this uses waltz, cotillion, and a little something you can get for free if you order an add on this month... and finally, a layout circa 1991. we were so young! using cotillion and waltz, plus some twine and paint from the store.

i hope you've enjoyed these, i certainly enjoyed making them. i think that studio calico exclusive butterfly paper is in my top 3 favorites. i love how stephen added some font goodness on a page full of butterflies!

kits go on sale to subscribers on the 27th at noon EST. if you're not a subscriber, a limited number will be available twelve hours later, midnight on the 28th. i can pretty much promise you will love this kit. it has been a blast to work with, and i still have a few pictures that need a home.

24 comments:

Kimber-Leigh said...

gorgeous em! so glad there are SO many pictures to see!!!

Tina Cockburn said...

Holy moly, MLE! Can't wait to see them all!

Vivian Masket said...

I so love that flower on the Linda layout, and I love the story behind that layout! Can't wait to see the full redo - given where you started with that I'm curious to see where you ended up!

Michelle LaPoint Rydell said...

Oh wow I am LOVING your sneaks!!! Now I am extra excited for the big reveal!

*Paula* said...

Hey, I see me!! :o Can't wait to see them all :)

stephanie howell said...

vibrant and gorgeous. can't wait to see!

april said...

wowzers! you really scrapped a lot with this kit!

lisa truesdell said...

very happy peeks, miss mle. can't wait to see them. =)

JennO said...

YOU. are obviously on fire with this kit. WOW!!!

Dana said...

goodness, I'm loving these sneaks. Looks like another great SC kit! Can't wait for full reveals.

Brenda Hurd said...

wow - all of your sneaks are amazing!! Can't wait to see more!

Jen said...

Can't wait to see them!

Mary Kay said...

I can't wait to see them, too-- especially the Opa redo!

lisa dickinson said...

i'm struggling with the kit blues right now, too, so this post is perfect timing :) from the looks of these sneaks, you've come through it swimmingly - can't wait for reveal!

*reyanna* said...

I'm getting SO excited for this kit... just by looking at your sneaks! They look amazing! LOVE all the stitching. Makes me want a sewing machine. :D

Shelley Haganman said...

I can't wait to see what you have done! Your work is so inspiring!!

Mary Jo said...

I was on the fence about this one, too. I am not really an Anna Griffin kind of scrapper :0)
But it's good to hear that you fell in love with it and got so much out of it :0)
Love the peeks and can't wait to see more!!!

Kelly Noel said...

holy cow, emily!!! you really outdid yourself, i can tell! i cannot wait to see your gallery tonight!

greg foster said...

Love the use of the link!

Laura Achilles said...

Hey Ms Em! Scoped out a lookey at SC gallery to check out all the eye candy and I love your projects! Great job!!!! Did you hand cut out all those silhouettes??? I love that School alpha border stamp! Think I could ever borrow it from you? Or if you ever sell it I'm all over it! As mentioned you were missed Saturday! It was fun for me to meet new people and chat....and well shop :-) Take care!

Gigi said...

super fabulous emily!!!
i love the silhouette one, so wonderful!

& you know what's funny? the kits i open w/ the "what the?" kinda thing are usually the ones i wind up loving the most. maybe b/c i'm unabashedly unafraid of messing anything up b/c i'm not so fond of it at the outset? don't know, but i've learned to trust the creative minds i work with too. it's fun to take a flying leap w/ both feet & some scissors :)

happy friday!!

xoxo
gi

Stephanie said...

I can see your point...I'm not completely loving it either, but just like that darn challenge ;) I'm gonna work it out and make it sing.

BTW, I was sad that the main kit didn't include that "ABC" stamp. I was really looking forward to it. Know if it'll be available for sale later???

nicole said...

totally chuckled at this post. felt the same way about the kit after the mid-month sneaks were out. love bg's june bug, kinda felt iffy about the rest. now that reveal night is here and gone i have to admit that i am looking forward to using it on some layouts. need to get back to those again. ;-) best, nlg

tralina said...

I almost feel like I'm spying--but I just KNEW you would have a blog, and it's taken me a while to find it. Hello from a long lost friend! It's great to read about you!