More is More

Happy Monday! Yesterday our church congregation presented our Pastor (and my boss) with an iPad as a gift of appreciation.  The Family Pastor asked if I would create a card to go with the gift and of course I happily agreed.  Pastor Jeff is a surfer, so I immediately went to the palm tree image from TE Hanging’ Out at the Beach along with the matching die.

I started with a piece of shimmery shite cardstock and masked 2 inches in all around with Eclipse tape and then sponged several colors to create the sunset.  Then I used my Scor-pal to create two score lines around all the edges.  I stamped the palm tree and colored it with Copics before die cutting it with the palm tree die.  Then I die cut the wave and embossed it with a CB embossing folder.  The Bible verse is from an old SU set.  Some simple liquid pearls finished off the design.  I usually have a hard time with masculine cards, but this one came together quite easily and was really fun to work on.  🙂

I’ve been feeling really crummy for the past several days.  In fact, on Saturday we decided to just do nothing and pretty much relax all day.  I feel a little better today, but still not great.  I’ve heard so many friends talking about the green smoothie craze, that when I saw an infomercial for the Nutri-Bullet I decided to give it a try.  We went out and bought one yesterday.  I still need to get to the market to get some fruits and veggies for it.  People who really know me will be shocked by this, I’m sure.  I tend to be a bit of a picky eater and I’m not a fan of veggies at all and barely even eat fruit.  So…we’ll see how this goes.  If you have a favorite green smoothie recipe that veggie-hater might like, please feel free to share it with me.  🙂  I also need to get back on my WW plan.  I just haven’t been able to focus on it since I started the new job and I’ve been eating way too much junk. So…smoothies, here I come.

Happy Tuesday! Let’s see if I can get this blog post typed up before I need to get out the door to work.  Speaking of work…can I just say that I LOVE my new job?  I do!  I actually find myself excited to go to work.  Sometimes I can’t go to sleep at night because I’m thinking about things we can do or ways to do something better.  I’m really thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to be where I am.  This is not anything I sought out or would have EVER sought out and yet everyone around me immediately knew it would be perfect for me.  Our God is truly amazing.  🙂

Now, on to stampy goodness.  I have found over the last several months that I just haven’t had/taken the time to PLAY in my stamp room.  Stamping had become all about meeting a deadline or getting a card in the mail (probably late.)  For me to really enjoy it, I need to PLAY. Going back to my roots in stamping, one of the things I have the most fun with is finding inspiration from somewhere/someone and working from that.  Recently I discovered Heather Telford’s blog Bits & Pieces and talk about inspiration!  Wow!  Here style is so far from my norm and yet I feel so drawn to it.  I’ve been having so much FUN playing with it.  The first card I saw of hers that wowed me and made me want to CASE it was her London card. I immediately thought of this Rubber Romance Paris stamp that I’ve had for a long time.

I started with a card base of Shimmery White cardstock (my fave!) and laid down wide strips of Eclipse masking tape and then I just started sponging SU inks.  I’m sorry I forgot to write down the colors I used, but I beleive it was Olive, Regal Rose and Perfect Plum.  I removed the masking tape and stamped the large image stamp with Memento Tuxedo Black using my stamp-a-majig.  The sentiment is SU and I thought it fit the scene perfectly.  Ribbon is SU Perfect Plum and the little flower embellie is Prima I think.

Such an easy peasy card….I love it…instant gratification…isn’t that what stamping cards is all about?  😉  I have a couple more Telford-inspired cards to share this week.  I’m just loving this masking and sponging stuff!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Hump Day! Today I want to share my favorite card from those we created in my March Class.  I was inspired by several cards in the galleries at SCS (especially this one by Mary Brown and this one by Kay Kalthoff) to pair Field Flowers with the Doily Background.  I decided to try something a little bit on the bold side.  It’s funny when I first stamped the Island Indigo flower over the Lucky Limeade doily, I said “oh no…this is NOT going to work!”  But then I looked at for awhile and started playing with layers and added a few Kaiser rhinestones and I ended up loving it.  A lesson in not reacting too quickly, I guess.

Clean and simple for sure.  I love the bold graphic look of this.  I’d encourage you to play with colors.  Try some things you think won’t work and sit with them for a bit before you throw them out and move on.  You might be surprised.

Thanks for stopping by.  I’ll be back tomorrow with the monthly TE Calendar Challenge.

TE Release Day!

• All of the new products are now available for purchase! Check out the Fresh Out of the Oven Department to see everything in one place!
• More projects from the Baker’s Dozen to inspire you.  Just follow the link list below.
• Be sure to check the TE Current Specials page for Release Weekend Specials and Bundle Deals! 
• Did you win one of the Mystery Baker’s Dozen Blog Giveaways? Find the list of winners on Taylor’s Blog.

I hope you’ve been following the peeks this week as they have really been fantastic.  I’m dying to ink up those two new adorable abodes by Doug!  I love them!  The whole team has more to share today and I’m jumping in with a set of cards made with some of the new Word A la Cartes.  You can purchase these images separately – so pick and choose the ones you want. Of course I think you might need them all.  LOL!

Each card in this set is 4.25″ square and uses papers from the MME 6×6 Miss Caroline Dilly Dally pad along with Sahara Sand and Basic Black cardstock.  I colored the images with Copics and then used various products to embellish: Ranger Crackle Accents on the letters, Glossy Accents and Stickles on the flowers.

I used the new Majestic Border Die on all of the cards. Above, I added red Liquid Pearls.  For the Grace card, below, I used the negative space left from the die.  I think it makes a really cool 2nd border option.

On the Faith card I also used the Jumbo Hearts Border die.  I filled in the hearts with Glossy Accents and used Platinum Liquid Pearls on the tiny circle openings.

Before you head off to shop, you might want to check out what the Baker’s Dozen has cooked up.  It’s sure to be yummy!

• Charmaine Ikach
• Jami Sibley (DT Coordinator)
• Jen Shults
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Melissa Sauls
• Melody Rupple
• Nancy McKinney (Illustrator)
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Stephanie Kraft (Guest Designer)
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• Wanda Guess

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I’d love to hear what your favorite new stamp set or die is from this release!  Let me know in a comment.  Besides all the new stamp sets and dies, Taylor has gotten in lots of new products from CHA.  Be sure to scroll through everything in the Fresh Out of The Oven Department.  🙂 Happy shopping!

 Happy Tuesday!  I’m excited to join the Baker’s Dozen in Sneak Peeks today for the TE March Release.  I didn’t get a chance to play along yesterday, but did you see all the darling samples?  OH MY!  Be sure you read the summary points, because you have two easy ways to win some GREAT Taylored Expressions prizes this week!

March Release At a Glance

• We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday.  All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, March 1st at 8 am PST. You’ll find it all in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store.
• Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL Facebook GIVEAWAY, on Wednesday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.
• Mystery Baker’s Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate.  Winners will be chosen from a different Baker’s Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor’s blog on Release Day!  Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please.  Comments for the drawings close Wednesday 2/29 at 7pm PST.

Today we are showcasing four different Petite stamp sets all illustrated by Nancy McKinney.  The one I’m featuring is a beautiful and super versatile little set called Spring Tulips.  It includes this gorgeous bouquet image along with a single tulip and 4 sentiments.  One of the great things about tulips is that they come in so many different colors, so you have lots of choices!

In the last week or so I’ve noticed several cards on blogs and Pinterest that used round windows (like this one by Maile Belles and this 3rd one down by Iwona Palamountain.) I love making window cards, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon.  I used a circle nestie to cut a window out of a TE Choice Snow White panel (4″ x 5.25″) and then I embossed that panel with the Houndstooth/Damask Impression Plate.  I wanted to create a frame for my image so I die cut a Layering Doily Die – Large from black cardstock.  Then I took the same circle Nestie and cut that out of the center of the doily die cut.  That created this beautiful frame which I adhered with a glue pen.  Taylor’s Tiny Twinkles were added with the help of Embellie Gellie and Glossy Accents.

The image was stamped directly on the card base and colored with Copics.  Then the embossed and framed panel was adhered with foam tape for dimension.  Since I got excited and forgot to stamp my sentiment before I embossed the panel, I decided to stamp it on a separate scrap of cardstock and punch it out with an SU small oval punch.  Patterned paper is My Mind’s Eye 6×6 Miss Caroline Dolled Up.  I actually started with that strip of paper and chose my Copics from there.

I think I’ll be using this wonderful little set quite a lot!  It’s easy to color and can be used for so many things!!

Taylored Die and Impression Plate I used:

Now let’s see what the Baker’s Dozen has cooked up for us today:

• Charmaine Ikach
• Jami Sibley (DT Coordinator) <— you are here
• Jen Shults
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Melissa Sauls
• Melody Rupple
• Nancy McKinney (Illustrator)
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• Wanda Guess

Don’t forget to leave some love along the way so you can be entered into the daily drawings!  Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day!

Happy Thursday!  I can’t believe that CHA will be here in just a few days.  Usually at this time of year I’m totally focused on getting ready for spending a few days at the Trade Show, but this year something else has had most of my attention.  I have a big birthday coming up the following weekend and we’re having a big bash, hosted by my parents, my uncle and my hubby.  Since I’m the party planner in the family, I’m in charge.  There have been a few days where I thought my head might explode, but I do love to throw a party and I know it will all be worth it in the end.

In the meantime, I will be away at CHA (even though it’s only a half hour from my house I will stay in a hotel for a couple of nights to be in all the action 😉 )  I do need to spend some time doing laundry, figuring out what to pack, etc.  The new products at CHA are always exciting to see, but even more so are seeing friends from around the country!  I’m super excited to hang out with some of the Baker’s Dozen girls and of course meeting Taylor’s little Madi is at the top of all our lists.

Speaking of Taylor coming out here for CHA…she’s running a BIG sale to clear the shelves for new products.  Get all the deets on her blog today.  Hurry, quantities are limited!

I have another card to share with you from my class last week.  This is a Double Dutch Fold card featuring Love Monsters and several dies from TE.

Fun, huh?

I’ll be back tomorrow as we get the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge back on track!  BTW – it’s supposed to be 83 here today.  What’s the weather like where you are?

Happy Friday!  I had so much fun this week playing along with the Baker’s Dozen for the Taylored Expressions January Release and it’s been a great start to my goal of blogging more regularly this year.  Today I want to share 3 cards made with the same stamp set – Love Grows Here (illustrated by Emily Burger for the Embracing Grace line at TE.)  These cards were samples for my November Class, but I never got around to posting them here.

This is the card we created in class –

I wanted to create some additional samples to give the girls some examples in case they wanted to use different tree images from the set.  So here’s sample #2.

And here’s a third sample –

The cards are all just a little different using the Large Scallop Oval Spellbinders die with papers from Echo Park and The Girls Paperie.  I just love this sweet stamp set.  It has so many possibilities for cute and simple cards for tons of ocassions!  I mentioned the other day that I love house images.  Trees is another thing I can’t get enough of and these are just the perfect size!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead!