Member Spotlight | Stefanie Ried

This August, get to know Stefanie Ried (@SteffiandAnni). Stefanie is a mom to a sweet little girl, the family photographer and a lover of paper, photos and colors! She dabbled in art and painting prior to starting scrapbooking, but found so much inspiration here at Studio Calico she decided to jump feet first into this fun hobby! Stefanie's work is bright and beautiful and always has the perfect amount of details! We hope you enjoy getting to know Stefanie a little better as much as we do!

Hi everyone, my name is Stefanie and I´m a wife, mommy of a 3 year old girl, family photographer and summer lover. We are living in a small village in the south part of Germany and I enjoy it to live here. I love the quietness and natural countryside. They are suit to my quiet character. And for me, it’s the perfect place to be creative. My daughter Anni loves it as well and she has her own craft table in my scrap room. She always tells me, that she is crafting her own „layouts“. That´s so funny and makes me happy and proud.

When we are not at home, we love to travel. One of my favourite words about this said Mark Twain: Explore. Dream. Discover. Explore cities,countries and cultures - get new inspirations - discover new things! All of this is so important for me to be who I am. By the way my favorite readings are travel guides!

Before I discovered scrapbooking for me, art and painting with oil were my major crafty passion. And in 2012, after my daughter was born, I searched for a way how I could collect all the special moments with my little family. Studio Calico was one of the first pages where I found so many inspirations. In the first year I made only mini albums before I created my first layout in 2013 - since that time I´m flashed.

How long have you been a member here at Studio Calico:

Since 2013. Studio Calico was one of the first pages on my search about scrapbooking. And I was immediately fascinated by the many great inspirations and opportunities that exist.

All time favorite past kit or collection :

Oh this decision is hard because there were a lot of great kits! But The Cirque Project Life® Kit is one of my favorites. Especially due to the beautiful colors, sweet resin tab banners and sequins. I used many of these things for some layouts, too.

What do you do when your kit comes?

I have to open it immediately, therefore everything else has to wait. I enjoy it to inspect and touch all the stuff. Most time, my daughter is helping me, she must also have a look to everything. And I must have a look that she will not takes everything away, haha.

What's your go to technique?

Most time I create my layouts out of a idea about how I can arrange the design. Especially grid designs are one of my favorites. I don’t no why, but before I start I thing about what the title could be and where I can place the title. I like it to use digital files for the silhouette to cut it out. After that I’m looking for a photo and then I choose the papers and embellishments which will fit at best. Most time I’m using white cardstock because often I use water colors for the background. I think that the effect of the colors is the best on white cardstock. I like the combination of patterned papers and painted backgrounds. One of the hardest part is the journaling, but I try it always to integrate it into the layout. This is really not easy for me.

1. I love confetti pockets - it doesn’t matter if it’s filled with sequins, paper words or wood veneers. Many times you can find a confetti pocket somewhere on my layout, mini album and Project Life® pages.

2. Another favorite are paper pads - I love the little size for my project life or layouts an they are easy and nice to handle.

3. And of course Color Theory acrylic colors and watercolors for my backgrounds and journaling cards.

4. Often I´m using digital cut files. They are perfect for the title on the layout. Sometimes I paint them or use embossing powder. That gives a beautiful effect.

5. At last sequins in all colors.

Where do you go when your mojo is low?

If my mojo is low, often I make a little break for a few days. This is the best for me, nothing else helps. Then I have a look into the Studio Calico member gallery, magazines and Pinterest. But the greatest inspiration for me are mood boards. I think, I´m a color junkie. I can’t get enough from color combinations!

Thank you for letting us spotlight you, Stefanie! We loved getting to know more about you! If you'd like to see more of Stefanie's work, be sure to follow her here at SC and on her Instagram!

Did you happen to take a peek at Preview yet? Go bold this month with the iconic colors of this month's kit inspired by the Pop Art movement. Pop Art's sky blue and green palette is complimented by candy-colored tones of fuchsia and purple for a surprising burst of color! Watch the video on the preview page to see a peek at this month's kits! If you are a subscriber, you should find lots of Preview exclusives and discounted items, so be sure to shop away!