Hey-ya! Today is the day when you can start ordering this month's Studio Calico kits. I'll quickly give you a tour through the first two of my gallery projects and how they came together. I wrote up step by step instruction along with some tips and hints on the design. I did something similar for my On the Grid class projects and thought you might enjoy this on the blog, too, for a change.

Thinking of You Card

Gallery: Thinking of You card | Kits: SC Cirque Card Kit, Everyday Sentiments Stamp Set

How to:

• Stamp the balloons first and color them with Neocolor watercolor crayons and/or Copic markers. You can add dimension by stamping/coloring a second image and punch the balloon out with a 1 1/2" circle punch. Just put it on top of the image on the card base.
• Next, fill the gaps on the card by stamping a few clouds (ink color: Mint Hint) and "line" them on the bottom with a silver gel pen. Tip: You can flip the cloud image for more variation.
• Die-cut the frame image from Everyday Sentiments and stamp the open frame with Versamark ink. Sprinkle the die-cut with embossing powder (American Crafts Zing Aqua) and fill the frame with a sentiment sticker. Put some foam squares on the back of the die-cut to create dimension and staple it in place (tool: Tiny Attacher). 
• Decorate the card with puffy heart stickers. Note how the hearts and clouds both build a triangle that lead your view to the sentiment.

Sending You Hugs Card

Gallery: Sending You Hugs card | Kits: SC Cirque Card Kit

How to:

• Stamp the balloon image first with black ink and color the wicker basket with Neocolor watercolors (start on the left and blend out to the right). 
• Then stamp three of the mountain images as well as the sentiment (ink color: Clean Slate).
• Add three clouds images using Versamark watermark ink and heat emboss them with American Crafts Zing Opaque White. Clouds are white/grey after all not blue (Yes, I needed a moment to process this while making the card.)
• Watercolor the mountain images and sky. As for the sky, it looks more natural to start in the corners and blend out to the middle. Use a circular motion with your brush to create some depth.
• Lastly, punch three 1 1/2" circles, stack them and sow them down the middle. You can then fold them up for dimension.

Let me know if you like this new format! Happy shopping :)