Guest Designer | Mel Blackburn

We're thrilled to have the lovely and talented Mel Blackburn as one of our guest designers this month and are excited to get to know her better today! Be sure to follow Mel here at Studio Calico.

Hi, everyone! I’m Melanie and I’m thrilled to be here today on the Studio Calico blog to share my project with the new TN Kit! I’ve been in the scrapbook industry for over 14 years. My work has evolved from traditional 12" x 12" layouts to 9" x 12" Project Life® and now traveler’s notebooks. My love of paper started at a very young age when I started hoarding a collection of notepads and fruit scented pens and evolved when I became a mother. My design style is eclectic; from complex multilayers and mixed media projects to simple TN spreads, I love and want to do it all! My current go-to format for documenting is a TN. I love how it combines my love of scrapbooking and storytelling. It gives me the creative outlet I need all while telling those meaningful everyday stories. 

I loved working with the new Traveler's Notebook Kit. The predesigned pages with beautiful patterned prints and grid pages really do simplify the process and make the documenting process so quick and effortless. I hope you enjoy the projects I’ve created with this kit!

Stay Cool *July TN Kit* – We celebrate Father’s Day with a trip to the lake for some swimming and fishing. It was such a fun day, and of course, I wanted to document this event. Since I had a lot of pictures to use, I opted to select a larger picture of the road to highlight this road trip and support the journaling. The opposite page features smaller pictures that I highlighted with the stamps and stickers from the TN Kit. Since this was a picture-heavy spread, I opted to use the pages that had a lighter design and print. I do love a good polka dot and grid print!

Relax TN Spread *July TN Kit* – This is the last TN spread I created with the TN Kit. I love the pink arrow print and really wanted to use it. I recently had a haircut which I love but I do miss my long hair (top bun addict over here!) so it made sense that I document this moment. I love the versatility of the stamp set. Even though it's summer themed, I was able to use it on this spread of myself. I anchored the right page by creating a frame around the picture and embellishments. Of course, the washi was the perfect complement for this spread. One can never have too many wonderful washi, especially when working with a TN!

Today TN Spread *July TN Kit* – This spread was solely influenced by the gorgeous fruit print. It's such a beautiful pattern! It was a perfect coincidence that my daughter’s top was the exact color as the print. For this spread, I opted for a simple design. I used the Mega Date stamp to anchor my picture, and the sunglasses stamp was the perfect complement to my daughter’s picture. I used the wonderful stickers to highlight the picture and bring more details to my TN spread.

Yes *July TN Kit* – Ah summer! This kit is ideal for documenting summer activities. It was only fitting that I use it to document a picture of my middle daughter swimming in our pool. Using the stamp, I created small strips of paper that I placed on the bold polka dot print. This perfectly reflects the sentiments of this picture. I like to include a lot of a journaling, so I used white cardstock that I trimmed to fit my design. This is a go-to technique for me when I create TN spreads.

I hope my projects have inspired you to give TN memory keeping a try! Thank you to Studio Calico for including me in this wonderful new release! Happy memory keeping, friends!

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