January 04, 2018

Guest Designer | Cara Vincens

We're thrilled to have the lovely and talented Cara Vincens as one of our guest designers this month and are excited to get to know her better today! Be sure to follow Cara here at Studio Calico to keep up with her and see more of her beautiful work.

Hi! I'm Cara, a Canadian living in Luxembourg. I followed a cute French exchange student across the ocean and we've now been married 17 years and have 6 children! I can't remember a time when I didn't have a planner; being organized makes me giddy. I also scrapbook and love to capture the little stories of my life. When I discovered decorated planners, it was as if my favorite hobby and my obsession with being organized had a baby—a pretty, colorful, paper-crafted baby!

I love to vary things up in my planner, adding fun little additions to my weekly spreads like planner clips, bookmarks, and tabs. These small projects are usually quick and easy to fit into the busy schedule of a mom of 6 and they immediately add a bit of fun. I'm inspired by color and patterns and even the covers of my favorite books.

There's nothing I like better than seeing a planner spread come together even better than I imagined it in my mind.

Start Your Year Off Right – This spread is in my little pocket planner that doubles as my wallet. I kept the spread itself simple with some of the fab stickers and strips of the colorful Jasmine Jones paper. Since the beginning of the year is always busy for me, I wanted a bit more space to write. So I cut down the little glassine envelope (that the stickers came in) to fit my planner and added another piece of the paper inside. I'll also use the pocket to stash things throughout the week and I can change out the paper and use the pocket week after week. A simple paperclip made with two star stickers back to back make pulling the card in and out a bit easier. Since the "start now" bookmark was too tall for my pocket planner, I cut off the "now," rounded the corners, and added a "right now" sticker for a little more motivation.

Start the Year with an Adventure – This spread is in my A5 TN insert. I love using little pops of color mixed with black and white. The turquoise puffy stickers and scattering of red stars really pop off the cozy, cabin theme. I used lots of the little stamps to make lists; I mixed them with stickers to decorate and organize my week. I cut up papers and stickers to fit in my boxes and the clear stickers are the perfect finishing touches. The adorable ampersand is my favorite and I love how motivating all the sentiments are.