More is More

Happy Monday! I’m very happy to be here today to help kick off a new Share Joy Campaign with Taylored Expressions, benefitting the Union Rescue Mission of Los Angeles, Prodigal’s Home of Phoenix, and Iowa Homeless Youth Shelter of Des Moines. These wonderful charities work tirelessly to bring comfort and care to many homeless individuals and families throughout the year. One way they are sharing joy each and every day is by celebrating the birthdays of their participants, and you can help by sending in your handmade birthday cards!

Taylor’s husband, Jon, worked with the Union Rescue Mission when they lived out here in California.  He has seen firsthand what a difference a simple birthday card can make in someone’s life.  When he explained his experience to some of the TE staff, I was immediately excited to jump on board to get the word out!

This week, Taylored Expressions will help you to create with a different Birthday Inspiration Challenge each day. These charities need birthday cards of all kinds: child, adult, baby, so send in your funny, sweet, pretty, elegant, works of art and know that you will be brightening someone’s day in a way only a handmade card can do.  To get all the details on how to participate, please hop over to the Taylored Expressions Blog.

Today’s inspiration is a color challenge presented by Baker’s Dozen member Joan Ervin.

As soon as I saw this color combo, I knew I had to play today.  As most of you know, my own kitchen is red, yellow and black with a hint of light blue.  In addition to that we are right in the midst of redecorating the kitchen in the church office where I work.  The office is in a house that was built in the 40’s, so we decided to go with a mostly aqua and red combo with pale yellow walls.  So, obviously I LOVE these colors!

Here is the card I created.

I grabbed the remains of an old Key Ingredients kit that held some of my favorite papers.  I’ve forgotten the name of this line, but I think it was by Cosmo Cricket.  Then I had a hard time deciding what stamps to use.  It was so wide open – to just create a birthday card.  Then I remembered the jars and vases, Curt had just helped me spray paint for the office kitchen.  (Yes, you can spray paint glass – crazy, but that’s really another post.)  So, I immediately wanted to use the mason jar from Love Bugs and pair with the some flowers and a sentiment from A Bushel & A Peck.  I wanted the jar to be a solid color as though it had been painted, so I stamped it a second time on aqua cardstock and paper-pieced it.

I finished off the inside with a sentiment from Big Bold Birthdays.  When you create your birthday cards for this Share Joy Campaign, it would be great if you would also decorate the inside.  Just don’t sign them, as we are leaving that for the charity workers and volunteers to do.

To contribute cards to this campaign you do not need to use TE stamps and you don’t even need to play along with any of this week’s challenges.  Go ahead and send stuff already in your stash or make some new cards, but please send something in!  I do think you’ll want to play along with some of the challenges this week, though.  We have lots of fun lined up!  Hop over to Taylor’s blog for a link list of samples for today’s color challenge!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  (all Taylored Expressions) Love Bugs, A Bushel & A Peck, Big Bold Birthday (inside sentiment)

Dies: (all TE) Love Bugs, Tags Stacklets 1, Designer Mini Tags, Ric Rac Borders

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Distress Antique Linen

Copics: R29, YG95, BG34, Y35, YR23

Other: Foam Tape, Doodlebug Sprinkles in Lady Bug and Swimming Pool

*love bugs with coordinating dies	*a bushel & a peck	*big bold birthday	*designer mini tags	*tag stacklets 1
*memento tuxedo black full pad	*ric rac borders	*tim holtz distress ink pad – antique linen	*copic markers	*foam tape – 1/16″ thick
*doodlebug sprinkles – ladybug	*doodlebug sprinkles – swimming pool