Thanksgiving Place Cards

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I thought it would be fun to put together some place cards for the big day. We will actually be heading out of town to Newport Beach and will be staying at a time share. To make it feel like we are at home I wanted to bring some "homey" touches to the table. 

When I got the So Fancy stamp set from Studio Calico I was very excited but when I started to use it I felt so FANCY and LOVED the stamp even more! The stamp just gives you this custom calligraphy look that I have found difficult to achieve with other stamps! The trick with this stamp set is to just take it one letter at a time. Also because they are SO FANCY some the the swirls get in the way of other letters if you are trying to space them together tightly so to help with that I used a post-it note to mask any part of the swirl I didn't want to stamp, I ran into this mostly with the letter "n" and you can see in the Gene card above where I masked it off, works like a charm! 

Supplies: So Fancy Stamp Set | Creme Brûlée Ink | Staz On Ink | Acrylic Block | Wood Veneer Cards

I ended up making two sets, one using the creme brûlée ink and another using the black staz-on ink, for the place cards ended up going with the black but saved the creme ones for tags etc. 

From there I just added bits of vintage inspired fabric and buttons! Don't worry about making each one exactly the same. Allow the space you have on the card to dictate the embellishments, the face that you are using all the same elements is what will pull it all together for you!

Have the most amazing Thanksgiving!!

go.be.inspired.

Shanna

Walden Reveal and an update on the Thankful Heart Stamps!

It's an exciting time over at Studio Calico! We are getting ready for Gratitude Documented, the Walden kits are live, Christmas items are hitting the store just so much excitement! Where should we start today? Since I have gotten many messages asking that the thankful heart stamps be restocked let's start there!!

They are restocking these, please push "notify me" so you will get an email as SOON as they come in and you will be sure to snag them before they sell out again :) While you are at it here are couple other things I recommend for the class : 

These 3x4 journaling cards are the basis for my album but they would also be perfect for Project Life or traditional scrapbooking as well!

Arrow Letterpress Plate

I don't have a letterpress machine, but I have been using the letterpress plates as a stamp. I love an arrow background stamp and it's perfect for those 3x4 cards you want to add a little something to!

I had a lot of fun using the different elements in Walden in unique ways, this kit lends its self well to a little creative play! 

Walden Scrapbook Kit 

I also had a ton of fun creating the template this month! It was based on one of my favorite wood veneer pieces from Studio Calico and it is just so much fun to fill in all the pockets! 

Okay on to add-ons, I LOVE these kits for my gallery but I think I loved them even more for my gratitude album, they just had so many things that worked perfectly!!! 

Concord Add-on

Now I know you are thinking "but Shanna that is the most expensive kit in the store", yes I know! But friends, it is worth every single penny!! There isn't a single aspect of this kit that isn't crush worthy!!! That ephemera pack? SO JAMMED PACKED! The papers? Perfectly picked! That alpha stitch template alone is something you will use over and over again and turn your projects into something special! The world veneer is magical and those sentiment stickers from Amy Tangerine will help you set the ton of your page! SO much LOVELINESS!!! So yes, it may cost a little more but you are going to get miles out of this kit, I promise! 

So what do you say? Are you over the moon excited for this time of year or what?!

go.be.inspired.

Shanna

Reflect Sunday | A Thankful Heart

 It's Sunday! I hope you are having a day filled with beautiful little moments (and maybe an afternoon nap!). This morning I woke up in a hotel room with my youngest daughter Addison as we are in the middle of a girls trip! I LOVE one on one time with my girls, I think it is so important to really take the time with the special people in your life.

One of the things I love the most about this journaling bible process is that it is so easy when you are on the go! Just pack up your bible, your favorite journaling pen, a couple alpha stickers,  some watercolors and your favorite stamps and you are ready to go! You could create for days with a handful of supplies.    And even though there is so much gained by attending a church, sitting on the ground next to the huge window in our hotel room, with my little one snuggled up in her blanket playing with her penguin and me with my bible... there was really no other place I would have rather been this morning.

gratitude documented stamp set

When Studio Calico asked me to design a stamp set for my next class - gratitude documented, I was keeping in mind how I might use this set with my bible, because lets face it, PERFECT MATCH! So for the next 6 weeks we will be focusing on an attitude of gratitude. In today's society it is so easy to think we need more, or our friend has this wonderful life and we are over here not living up to their standards. My friends, God doesn't call us to live up to their standards, but his. He has given us exactly what we need. That isn't to say that we can sit back and allow God to do the work, but we do need to be thankful for what we are given.

In my class we will be diving deeper into the idea of gratitude (so if you want a more in depth look please join us) but I wanted to share some samples of how we might do that here as well.

Supplies | journaling pen | thankful stamps | watercolors | date stamp | bible | thankful cards | 

This week I decided to focus on 1 Thessalonians 5:18 which reads, "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Chris Jesus for you".  I love that is says "in all circumstances' it doesn't say when you get the "right" job or meet Mr. Right, is says in ALL circumstances. Which lead me to want to create a space where I can really see how my gratitude evolves by leaving room to document that gratitude in the coming years. So imagine my surprise when I opened my bible this morning to see this lovely 1/2 page of space to work with (since it was at the end of 1 Thessalonians). So if you are working in the same ESV journaling bible you will find that space as well, but if you are working in a difference format this is still do-able! Just take the column you normally journal in and create a space that you can document a couple sentiments for 2014-2016 (or longer if you wish). 

So what do you say, will you join me in documented your gratitude in this very important season of your life? Let's celebrate the little things while focusing on the word together. 

go.be.inspired. 

Shanna