June 4, 2010

Taylored Expressions Release Party

It's a big day at Taylored Expressions - all of our new sets and Project Pantry kits are now available in the TE store!  I have lots to show you today, so grab a cuppa and get comfy.  The first set I would like to show you is Summer Afternoon, which is a perfect sister set to Discover Your Wings!

I started off with Taylor's TESC112 and some fabulous Fly a Kite and The Thrift Shop paper from October Afternoon (you know how much I HEART this paper!).  Silhouette stamps are so versatile and one technique I love to use is creating a sky or sunset background.  For my main image, I stamped the flowers in Memento Rich Cocoa and then sponged around the edges with Pumpkin Pie ink and then again toward the center with Summer Sun ink.  I love the depth the layered sponging creates!  For more dimension, I added the little dragon fly with Tiny Twinkles for his body.  The sentiment is cut out with a Labels 4 Nestabilities and sponged in Summer Sun while the paper was still in the die template.  I added some Dew Drops in the top corner as well.

My next card features Care & Comfort along with Summer Afternoon.  Care & Comfort is an amazing set of 9 sentiments we need when we need to lift up a friend or send prayers and sympathy.  I stamped the large frame image from Summer Afternoon in white craft in and then heat embossed it with white embossing powder and I love the distressed look it took from the textured cardstock.  The sentiment is stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa over the top of a Summer Sun butterfly from Summer Afternoon.  The papers and ribbon are from May's Key Ingredients subscription kit and I added a few Yellow Pearls and Clear Rhinestones for a little something extra.

My next card is SO much fun - I loved working with Hangin' Out at the Beach this week.  Makes me wish I didn't live in a land locked state and could just run to the beach and relax!!  I started with the MOJO141 sketch along with Snorkel paper and cardstock stickers from Cosmo Cricket.  The image is stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa and colored with Copic markers and the sentiment is sponged with Bashful Blue ink inside the Deckled Mega Rectangles Nestabilities.

Taylored Expressions has a gigantic gallery filled with amazing inspiration for all of TE's sets - Please swing by and check it out, you won't be disappointed!

It's been quite the release week here, so if you would like to see all of the new items from Taylored Expressions, stop by the Fresh Out of the Oven tab on the TE homepage.

More inspiration awaits you from the Baker's Dozen!  Swing by and see:
Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

June 3, 2010

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek Day 3

I'm back for a bonus day of TE sneak peeks for TE's latest Stamps A La Carte.  There are 3 new Stamps A La Carte releasing tomorrow, celebrating the 4th of July - today I'm featuring Happy July 4th - a set of 2 stamps for only $4.95!  There is also a coordinating Project Pantry kit available for only $14.95, which includes:
  • 20 sheets 6x6 patterned paper from the We R Memory Keepers Old Glory collection
  • 9 sheets of 8.5 x 11 cardstock (Red, Blue, and Cream)
  • 4.5 yards of ribbon (1.5 yards each of three different styles)
  • 30 rhinestone stars (red, white, and blue)
  • 6x6 Star Shower Stencil
  • Fire Engine Red glitter
The 4th of July Project Pantry Kit is also available as a bundle, including all 3 4th of July Stamps A La Carte for $26.95, which is about a 10% savings!!

I used the 4th of July Project Pantry Kit papers for my card today and stamped the star swirls in both blue and red ink and then cut out the red stars and popped them up with foam tape.  The sketch is from Mercy's MTSC74.

The Baker's Dozen is splitting up again today and featuring the other 4th of July Stamps A La Carte as well as a new Whimsical Wishes set called Hangin' Out at the Beach, which coordinates perfectly with Hangin' Out.  Stop by and see:

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

June 2, 2010

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek Day 2

Hay there!  Teehee!  I'm back for more TE Sneaks and today we're splitting up to showcase 3 fabulous sets.  I'm giving you a peek at Udderly Sweet - how cute is Farmer Cuppie in overalls??  This adorable set is full of punny sayings matching Farmer Cuppie in his everyday farming routine, which will have you laughing while you make cards for all sorts of events and occasions.  To complete Farmer Cupie's look, TE has a new Udderly Sweet Project Pantry kit, bursting with cardstock, Garden Variety patterned paper from Cosmo Cricket, candy dots, specialty brads, ribbon and paper flowers - all for just $21.95!  I used the Sweet Stop's SSS57 for my layout and thought it would be kinda cute and fun to put some scallop oval "clouds" up over the barn.  Cuppie is stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa and colored with Copic markers.  I layered the yellow ricrac ribbon over the top of the green grosgrain ribbon and added a little red pepper brad.  SO adorable!  Yes, peppers are adorable :) 

The rest of the Baker's dozen are featuring Udderly Sweet, Summer Afternoon, and Care & Comfort - it's a fun filled day!  Hop on to it!
Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

June 1, 2010

Pinch me!! I must be dreaming!

This is my second post today, so please scroll down or click HERE for more.


StampersDream

I'm back to announce some extremely exciting and fabulous news!  I can finally announce that I'm now officially a Stamper's Dream designer!!  Dream Team???  Me???  I can't even express into words how excited I am to work with these amazing stampers, so THANK YOU Michelle for the amazing invitation!  I hope to make you proud!

In honor of all this fun I'm having, I made this little Pirate Boy card - Arrrgghhh!!  haha!  The day it arrived in my mailbox, my oldest daughter grabbed it out of my hand and inked it up.  Can you say, a tad bit excited?  I guess she has a thing for pirates.  After tackling her down and grabbing it back, (oh, sooo kidding), I hand stamped the background with the little anchor and X marks the spot stamps.  The pirate is stamped on Neenah Classic Solar White cardstock and colored in with Copic markers.  I just had to use some really cute Old World patterned paper from Kaiser Craft and I used Mojo Monday's MOJO140 for the sketch.

Thanks for coming on by again - see you back soon!
Karen







recipe - 
stamps: pirate boy (my cute stamps)
paper: real red, kraft, neenah solar white cardstock, old world designer paper (kaiser craft)
ink: memento tuxedo black, rich cocoa
accessories: jumbo build a brads, 1/2" circle punch, labels 8 & 3 nestabilities (spellbinders), red satin ribbon, copic markers, dimensionals

Taylored Expressons Sneak Peek Day 1

Good morning!  Today the Baker's Dozen is kicking off 4 days of fabulous sneak peeks for the June release by showing off this adorable new charity set, Pet's Place!  Taylored Expressions supports various charities through the TE Giving Tree Program. There is a new stamp set introduced every 3 months to support a new charity. We are proud to bring you Pet's Place, the newest set in the Apple Doodle Ink line, to support The Humane Society of the United States.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest and most effective animal protection organization. The HSUS seeks a humane and sustainable world for all animals—a world that will also benefit people. They are America's mainstream force against cruelty, exploitation and neglect, as well as the most trusted voice extolling the human-animal bond. HSUS is also the lead disaster relief agency for animals, and they provide direct care for thousands of animals at sanctuaries and rescue facilities, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and mobile veterinary clinics. Read more about HSUS here.

Pet's Place will be available in the TE Store on Friday morning at 8 am PST. $7 from the sale of each set will be donated to HSUS. Please remember that sets in the Giving Tree Program are the same high quality deeply etched pink rubber on EZ Mount as all other TE stamp sets, however unlike our other sets, you will need to trim these images yourself. This allows us to cut production costs and donate more to our charities.

I just LOVE the sentiments that come with this set - they are so hilarious and perfect for any occasion that comes your way like birthdays, congratulations cards, apology cards, fun little scrapbook pages for your pets, and those cards to lift spirits too.  I have 2 projects for you - my first features the little bird with the "ruffled feathers", which cracks me up!  I started off with the Sweet Stop's SSS58 for the layout and used the new Pet's Place Project Pantry kit, which includes Max & Whiskers designer paper from My Mind's Eye along with all the coordinating accessories you'll need - soooo cute!!  You can pick up your Pet's Place Project Pantry kit for only $22.95 or add the Pet's Place stamp set for only $44.90, and $7 will be donated to the Humane Society.  You can see more details about the kit on Taylor's blog.  The image is stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa ink and colored with Copic markers and I cut it out with Labels 4 Nestabilities, but while the paper was still in the die template, I sponged around the edges with blue ink to create the white border.  Very easy!  I added some Yellow Pearls in the corners as well, which are not included in the Project Pantry kit.

My next project is a very sentimental scrapbook-like layout I placed in a 5x7 frame using Taylor's TESC115.   This little cutie pie is Murphy.  A good friend of mine took me to the Denver Humane Society on my 24th birthday to buy me a puppy, and this wild and crazy little sweetie called my name.

She was listed as a German Shepherd, Boxer mix, but I later learned that she was in fact a German Shepherd, Great Dane mix - she grew to be quite large and earned the nickname Murphaduke for all her crazy shenanigans.  Murphy was a hyper dog, but she made me feel safe when I was living on my own and I loved hiking with her in our gorgeous Rocky Mountains.  This photo was taken the day I brought her home and you can see her little shaved belly from her little "operation", haha!  I look like such a baby in this picture, and wow, did I have long hair!!  Not really the math teacher look, huh? Murphy was great with all of my children, so gentile and loving.  We lost Murphy about a year and a half ago - she was almost 13 years old and really sick.  I miss her, especially when we take trips to the mountains.  OK, sorry, I didn't intend on getting all emotional here - lol!

Swing on by the rest of the Baker's Dozen and see more cute samples of Pet's Place - you won't be disappointed!
Thanks for stopping by!
Karen