Okay so since I haven't blogged in a bit I have a jammed packed post for you:) First off, remember when I said that there were lots of fun and exciting new thing coming to Studio Calico? Well they are here! So be prepared for a long post, lol.
I am so stinkin' excited I can barely contain myself! In my paper crafting I consider myself to be first and foremost a stamper. I love new stamps and have a huge hoard err, collection of them and of course that would make me a lover of ink too, and over the years I have tried many different types. So you can imagine my excitement when Studio Calico announced they were going to be carrying there own line of inks and other basic essentials such as sequins, buttons and paper in core colours. This permenant collection is called Color Theory and it is amazing!
These inks will be ready for individual sale starting the beginning of March and the accessories are available now.
And what goes better with new colour product then a new awesome class in the Studio Calico Classroom!
Lisa Trusdell is one of my scrappy idols and she always creates such amazingly well composed projects with perfect colour combinations. She will be working with some incredible contributors to bring a class full of colourful inspirations. And there will be digital prinatbles and cut files included in the the class too. To learn more about this class be sure to check out all the info HERE. Lisa even posted a little video sneak.
So now on to my latest love and obsession-LETERPRESS! I have always adored the elegant look of letterpressed stationary and cards. So pretty and classic. So when Studio Calico started carrying the Lifestyle Crafts Letterpress Bundle, accessories and their own brand of letterpress plates last fall I knew I wanted to try them out. A super cool technique partnered with Studio Calico's cutting edge style= something I had to have. Well like a lot of things that are fun and new to me I ordered it right away (ahem Cameo anyone?- but I will save that for another post,lol) then it sat in my craft room for quite a while before I finally made it a priority to pull it out. Well I fell in love with how easy it is to use. The only learning curve I experienced was using the letterpress inks *tip* a little goes a very long way:) and there is such thing as over inking!
So here is the results of one of my play sessions using the Sending Love Plate.
I wanted to create a graduated colour effect or Ombre look so I combined a drop of Teal Green and Yellow Letterpress ink on the blending plate. I am so loving the Kelly/Lime Green and Yellow colour combo that I see popping up everywhere.
One of the things I really like about the Studio Calico Letterpress Plates is that most of them come with several images that can be cut apart and arranged however you would like them to be.
These are the images that come on the plate I used and here is a look at how I cut them up and arranged them to make the sentiment I wanted:
After I cut the words and images up I just attached them to a piece of Printing Plate Adhesive, this keeps the image in place perfectly. So I can then just easily attach it to the Letterpress Platform, ink it up and then run it through my Big Shot.
I used the Thick Letterpress Paper (I like this the best) and then attached it to a Letterpress folded card base (I adore how sturdy this cardstock is!). I also used some of the gorgeous papers from the Lemon Lush Collection.
So if you have been on the fence about Letterpress and wondering if it is really worth investing in I definitely would say yes! I think it is a trend that is here to stay and the results you get are just so cool. Plus there are so many different things you can do with the plates. You can also use regular inks on them, (I find pigment or chalk inks have the best results and the clean up with them is very quick and easy) also the blind impression technique (no ink required) is awesome. And if you are looking for some more Letterpress Inspiration I have a whole board that I just started on Pinterest HERE dedicated to Letterpress and I will definitely be adding lots more pins!
