Beary Special Backpack

I made this card using Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch #24...what a great layout! Well, I LOVE circles, so it wasn't tough to win me over with this sketch...grin!

This adorable teddy in a backpack image is from Beary Special at Taylored Expressions. I love love LOVE that proceeds from Beary Special and Beary Special Accessories are being donated to Sick Kids hospital in Toronto through the Taylored Expressions Giving Tree. 

I decided to paper piece again and for the teddy I reached for my brown suede paper...it just seems so right for a plush friend. The image was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black first onto yellow Prism paper, then onto the blue Prism, then onto the plaid patterned paper and then onto the brown suede paper and I cut out the respective elements from each image. I also pieced teddy's ears with the plaid paper (which is from My Mind's Eye Just Dreamy 2, the Delightful Line). I used a brown copic (E44) to colour the backpack straps. The image was cut out with circle Nestabilities and I piereced around the edge for some interest. 

The card base is Choice Buttercream, followed by chocolate then the blue layer which I ran through my paisley Cuttlebug folder. I added some blue satin ribbon then dove into my Savannah buttons to find the perfect accents. 

In case you don't already know, Taylored Expressions is in the middle of a move from California to Iowa. The TE Store is open and taking orders, however your order will not be shipped until July 13th (but Taylor's shipping is speedy, so you won't have to wait long for your goodies). 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Just My Type

Here's a fun card that I made with my new Just My Type image from Stamping Bella. It comes with five sentiments too, perfect for so many occasions. I just love these old typewriters...you really never see them anymore, except maybe in movies, but I did see an old style cash register last week at a diner in NYC. The layout for this card is Bella Sketch Challenge #78 from the Bella Forum on Splitcoast. 

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto white cardstock then coloured it with copics. I wanted the piece of paper in the typewriter to stand out so I used E41 all around the image so the white would pop. Then I cut the image out with rectangle Nestabilities and layered it on to a scalloped rectangle of blue bayou. 

The patterned papers are from Cosmo Cricket's fabulous Early Bird line. I love the antique feel of these papers...the colours are bright but muted (does that even make sense?)...just gorgeous! There's a little riding hood red peeking out from underneath the yellow polka dot strip. The Prima flowers are layered onto a scallop circle of riding hood red and I added a Baby Blue Bella Bonbon to the center. 

Don't forget to pop over to Bloggabella for this week's Bellarific Friday sketch. You could win $20 Bella Bucks just for playing along and emailing your submission to Em before Thursday at 5pm EST.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Flopsey Birthday

It's been quite some time since I participated in any of the challenges in the My Favourite Things forum on Splitcoast, and when I saw this paper piecing challenge I knew it was calling out to me. I LOVE paper piecing, almost as much as I love my copics. But I cast my markers aside for this one and befriended my paper snips. 

I decided to use my new Birthday Flopsey (which appears to be out of stock at the moment so here's a link to all the Flopsey sets) from My Favourite Things. I pulled out some cool suede paper that I've been hoarding since March and I paper pieced Flopsey with two shades of brown. It's so cool IRL...feels just like suede, soft like a bunny! For the cake I pulled out my Bloom & Grow papers from My Mind's Eye. I even cut out the teeny tiny candles...I know, I'm crazy! But I like cutting...grin! The Mojo Monday #92 sketch seemed to fit nicely with my vision. 

The card base is Choice Buttercream. Then I layered baja breeze and patterns from Bloom & Grow. I sewed around with chocolate thread and I love how it stands out. I was originally going to use ivory thread cause I was nervous to use the chocolate...what was I thinking...how could I be nervous to use chocolate!!!???!!! I added some chocolate and cream ribbon and tied on a pumpkin corduroy SU button. The little square element was absolutely perfect for one of the sentiments in the set. You can't tell from the photo but I added some orange Stickles to the candle flames. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Chill Out Ice Fishing

I'm really squeaking in just under the wire with my Christmas card for this week...eeks! I honestly thought that I wouldn't get one done because I was away all week, then it's so nice and sunny here, finally, so I was out enjoying the weather. But...in true fashion, the dark clouds rolled in late this afternoon and it started to rain, so I ran upstairs to stamp.   :)

I love these little penguins from Elzybells. This stamp actually belongs to my BFF Dana (we combined our order and I just haven't sent hers to her yet, but she knew she wasn't getting it til I used it first...that's what friends are for, right? giggle!). I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and coloured it with copics. This one was super quick to colour up...perfect for my very limited amount of cardmaking time today. I added some liquid applique to his hat and covered all the snow with Diamond Dust so it looks icy. He is ice fishing, after all. 

The image was cut out with square Nestabilities and layered onto baja blue. The layout for this card is SC234 from Splitcoast. The red polka dot paper is from the Twitterpated line and I layered it onto old olive, then baja breeze, then onto the white card base. I ran the olive layer through my Snowflakes Cuttlebug folder after I stamped the Chill Out sentiment from Stamping Bella.

The card looks a little plain to me without any embellishments, but everything I tried adding looked wrong, so I've left it bare. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Bellarific Shoppabella

Here's my card for this week's Bellarific Friday sketch challenge. I chose to use Savvyshoppabella because this was me this past week...shopping in NYC! Although I didn't look quite this cute...LOL! The sketch this week is a fabulous Nickabella layout...love it! 

She's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with copics. I added some sparkle to two of her shopping bags with my orange and blue Spica glitter pens. Then I cut her out with Petite Oval Nestabilities and layered her onto an oval of really rust. 

The patterned papers are from Little Yellow Bicycle's Traveller Collection. The other solid colours I used were old olive and night of navy. I ran the night of navy panel through my hounds tooth cuttlebug folder for a little texture. The retail therapy sentiment was cut out with the smallest of the Spellbinders double ended tags. I added some blue jean Bella Glitter Dots to the sentiment and two more in the top right corner, then I finished the card with a luscious loopy bow using ribbon from my stash. 

I had so much fun in NYC, but best of all I was able to get together with my friends Ann and Jodi, whom I met at Stamp New England in March. I ventured out to Long Beach and spent the day with Ann, shopping, lunch, laughing, getting caught in a downpour...you know, all the fun stuff. Then Jodi joined us for a wonderful dinner and we laughed SO much we all had tears streaming down our faces at one point. In fact, I had so much fun that I completely forgot to take a picture of us together...hmph...guess I'll have to go back again soon!  :)

I can't wait to see what everyone else came up with for this sketch...off to Bloggabella to have a look!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Happy Birthday Em!!!

Welcome to the Bella Birthday Blog Hop!!! 

Today's a BIG day...not only is it Em's birthday but it's also release day for new images from Stamping Bella!!! Be sure to start the hop at Bloggabella so you don't miss anything and leave a little birthday love for Em while you're there!

I decided to use Partygirlabella for my card today. I had this layout in my head (I know...shocking that I didn't use a sketch!!!) and I thought she'd still look ok if I chopped off her legs.  She's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured with copics. Then I stamped the balloons two more times so I could cut them out and pop them for dimension. The cupcake is also popped. I added just a little sparkle to her hat and the cupcake flame with my yellow Spica glitter pen. The image is layered onto chocolate which I cut out with Blossom Nestabilities. 

The card base is 5.25 inches square and layered with chocolate and brocade blue. I ran the red panel through my Paisley Cuttlebug folder then added the patterned paper strip (it's American Crafts Craftfair Collection). The sentiment, it's a cupcake thing, is flanked with olive Bella Bonbons and a little yellow ribbon from my stash finishes the card. 

And here's a second card that I made especially for Em...the image was designed by Christy Croll (Tiddly Inks illustrator) especially for Queen Bella's birthday today and it's a surprise for Em. Read about her reaction in this post. I used the same layout and paper collection. 

There's a hidden prize on one of the blogs along the hop so be sure to leave comments for a chance to win! Now you're off to Vicki's blog for more Bella inspiration!!! In case the hop chain is broken click here for the master list of all the hop participants, find your place and keep hopping. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

So Glad We're Friends!

Here's a card I made using Jen's Sketch For You To Try. I'm still looking for sunshine here in New England so this is another card with fun bright colours.

The image and sentiment are from the Whipper Snapper set Sending Happy Thoughts. Anna Wight's illustrations are all soooo adorable! I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and coloured it with copics. I stamped the bird a second time, coloured him, cut him out and popped him for dimension. The image is cut out with circle Nestabilities and layered onto a scallop square also cut with Nestabilities.

The patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye Just Dreamy 2 Dazzling line and the solid papers are various shades of Prism cardstock. The white card base is 5.25 inches square...see, another square card...I'm lovin' square cards! I stitched a zig-zag around the edges of the green and yellow layers for a little more whimsy.

 

You can't see it in the photo but I added some Christmas Red Stickles to the centers of all the white flowers on the patterned paper...totally cute!!! I made a banner for the sentiment. I think this is my favourite thing to do for sentiments! The green button is SU and the red ric rac added just the right touch. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

It's a Monstah Bash!

We do the mashhhhhh...we do the monnnnnnster mash...the monster Bash! Now that song will be in your head for the rest of the day...sorry! Have you got your sunglasses ready? Cause this is a b-r-i-g-h-t card!

I think I'm trying to make up for the lack of sun here in New England the last few weeks...LOL! But seriously, this little Monstah Bash from Stamping Bella would look just as adorable in more muted colours but I really wanted to use my Lime Rickey patterned papers. The layout is the Weekend Sketch Challenge #85 hosted by Sharon Harnist. 

I started by stamping the Monstahs with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colouring them with copics. I stamped the balloon a second time and popped it for dimension. The image was cut out with circle Nestabilities and layered onto a red circle. I pierced around the edge for a little interest. 

The white card base is 5.25 inches square. I really seem to be into square cards lately! The yellow patterned paper is layered onto tempting turquoise and I stitched around the edges. The rest of the card was very quick. A couple of strips of the solid green and orange from the Lime Rickey line, stamped the happy birthday sentiment and added two burnt honey Bella Bonbons and a button from my stash. 

Don't forget to check Bloggabella for this week's Bellarific sketch challenge and email your submissions to Em by Thursday at 5pm EST for a chance to win $20 Bella Bucks!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Miss You!

Here's a card I made for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #73. I've been wanting to piece together a little scene like this with my Beary Special Accessories for a while now and this layout was perfect. I had so much fun with the June 20th Key ingredients from my project yesterday that I used them again for today's card. 

Both the suitcase and cap are completely paper pieced. I wanted a little toy dog in my scene but the one from Beary Special was too large, so I used shrink plastic! I stamped the sweet pup with Black Stazon onto clear shrink plastic then I coloured the back side with two copics in brown shades. The shades became more intense once the image shrunk, but I'm ok with that. He actually reminds me of a stuffed pup I used to have called Peanuts! He went everywhere with me! LOL! The image panel is cut out with Labels One Nestabilities. 

I added texture to the lavender panel with the Flowers Impressabilities template, then I pierced around the edge. The rest of the card came together very quickly because it all coordinates. I finished the scallop edge with the rest of the white candy dots from my June 20th Key Ingredients. I'm going to have to re-order some of those because I love them so much!

Don't forget about the fabulous Moving Sale on now at Taylored Expressions. A number of products are discounted from 20-50%! 

Have a wonderful Sunday, and thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Summertime Travel Fun

It's release day for the June 20th Key Ingredients at Taylored Expressions and I have a super cute (in my opinion anyway) project to share. This month Taylor challenged us to create a card/project for a June event/occasion without using copics...eeeeeks!!! Oh, and we had to add dimension to the project, but you'll see I covered that off, no problem. So when I thought about June events I remembered back to my childhood and to me, June means the start of weekends at the cottage and road trips with lots of time spent in the car of course. Now our ride to the cottage was only 20 minutes...not long enough to get bored, but our road trips from Northern Ontario to Toronto were 8 hours or more. So I decided to create a travel Tic Tac Toe game!

I reached for my adorable Beach Bum set because it's summertime after all! I stamped the sandcastle image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Choice Snow White (included in the June 20th Key Ingredients)...remember, no copics...and coloured it with my Lyra pencils, gamsol and a stump. The image is cut out with rectangle Nestabilities and layered onto a scalloped rectangle. 

I paper pieced the cupcake liner, shovel and pail, then added some Stardust Stickles to Cuppies Liner and a white candy dot (also from the June 20th KI) to his head. The case for my game is a metal CD tin from my stash. I covered the front with some of the patterned papers from the June 20th Key Ingredients and embellished it with the included ribbons and paper flowers. For the flower center I wanted an orange candy dot, but the kit includes white, so I tried colouring it with an orange pencil (remember, no copics) and it worked!!! The gamsol even blended away the pencil marks!!! For the title I reached for my new JustRite Times New Roman Lower Case font set (which appears to be sold out in the TE Store because of Taylor's fabulous sale) and Rectangle Stamper. 

The cover was super fun to decorate, but I really had a blast with the inside!

I started by covering the inside with one of the patterned papers then I created my game grid with red ric rac (rhymes with Tic Tac...get it? I just couldn't resist that one! LOL!). I added some white candy dots to the intersections and I still have plenty leftover too. Then I set to work on the game pieces. 

I wanted them to be sturdy so I paper pieced each game piece with several layers of paper, both solids and patterns from the June 20th Key Ingredients. I popped the top layer of each piece on foam tape for dimension and added some shadows with Lyra pencils. Lime Green and Stardust Stickles added the perfect bling to each piece. To make it easy to pick up the game pieces I mounted each one on two thicknesses of foam tape before adding a Basic Grey magnet. 

I really LOVE how this project turned out. I can definitely see myself taking this game along on our summer adventures, or even packing it for our next Caribbean vacation since hubby and I are both kids at heart!

I have a few important reminders for you:

1. Taylor's fabulous Moving Sale is on now at Taylored Expressions. You'll find items from 20-50% off! Sale prices are in effect until a product runs out of stock or until June 26th.

2. If you're not already a Key Ingredients Subscriber now is the perfect time to join. Purchase a 6 month KI subscription before June 25th and you'll receive a grab bag of TE products valued between $12-15! 

3. Because of the move to Iowa, the TE Store will not be shipping orders for two weeks from June 27th-July 11th. The TE Store will be open and taking orders during that time and those orders will begin shipping on Monday July 13th. KI Subscribers-your July KI will ship out on time and you will have the same opportunity you do each month to add to your order with no additional shipping cost. 

Now let's go see what some of the other Baker's Dozen have cooked up with the June 20th Key Ingredients.

Dawn Easton

Denise Marzec

Jen del Muro

Laurie Schmidlin

Sankari Wegman

and Taylor Van Bruggen

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Coffee-a Simple Pleasure

Happy Bellarific Friday!!! This week's sketch was provided by the talented Paulabella, and she certainly got me thinking with this one. I had a couple of ideas for this sketch but I ended up using my Percolator Circle and the Simple Pleasures sentiment...it seems to fit perfectly to me because coffee is MY simple pleasure and I'm a bit of a bear without a cup of it in the morning. {grin}

I started by stamping the Percolator circle with Memento Tuxedo Black onto lovely lilac and more mustard. Then I stamped it eight more times onto white. I coloured four of the percolators with copics, cut them out and attached them with dimensionals. Then I coloured only the flowers on the last four images, cut them out and popped them for dimension. The only tricky cutting part was the handle because it's so skinny, but I used my Bo Bunny Retractable Knife for that part and my scissors for the rest. I coloured the steam with a light grey Prismacolour pencil.

The four squares were cut out with Nestabilities then I pierced around the circles to highlight them a little. I layered the images onto some black and olive then stitched around the edge to brighten it up a little with white thread. The card base is 5.5 inches square and the patterned paper is from Little Yellow Bicycle's Zinnia line...it's full of gorgeous greens, purples, yellows...yum! There's a little green velvet ric rac ribbon peeking out from the edges of the image panel. Of course I just had to add some Glamour Dust glitter to all the circles because these are girly percolators. 

Did you play along this week? I can't wait to see all the submissions on Bloggabella. In addition to the weekly Bellarific challenges, next Thursday we're having a Bella Birthday Blog Hop and you're invited to join the hop. Click here for details and to sign up.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

It's Been a While...

Really, it HAS been a while since I gave my MFT stamps a little lovin' so that's what I reached for last night when I sat down to stamp. The Call Me set was screaming out to be inked and I couldn't resist because the sentiment is just so appropriate! 

I reached for my April Key Ingredients from Taylored Expressions for all the paper and ribbon on this card. I LOVE the Key Ingredients...everything is already coordinated so it makes it super easy to whip up a card. The April Key Ingredients is no longer available at TE, BUT Taylor's put some of the other Key Ingredients on sale AND if you sign up for the 6 month Key Ingredients Subscription service before June 25th (which I highly recommend) you'll get a bonus grab bag of awesome TE products! Did I tell you I LOVE my Key Ingredients?!? LOL!

Ok, on to the card...I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream from the April KI, then I stamped it again onto the flower patterned paper so I could paper piece the wall. The rest of the image is coloured with copics and I popped the telephone for dimension. I created the wood floor by simply using three shades of brown and colouring in horizontal lines. Then I used my black multiliner pen and a ruler to add the lines...easy peasy!

I sewed around the base layers and the polka dot strip. I left the background plain and simple for a change...no Cuttlebug folder. I like it! The ribbon is also from the April KI then I added a couple of Primas and a pink brad from my stash. I was impressed with myself for pulling this card together so quickly last night!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Feelin' Groovy

The sun finally broke through the clouds and we had a beautiful Spring day here yesterday so I wanted to keep the spring feeling alive when I went to my stamp room last night to make this card. I knew I wanted to use my Daisy VW image from Stamping Bella and the Sweet Sunday Sketch 21 from two weeks ago was the perfect layout. 

I stamped the van with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured it with copics. I knew I'd be using my American Crafts Spring & Summer paper (this one is Scones) so I pulled my colours from the paper. I added some grass with a black Multiliner and wrote in 'groovy' on the license plate. I really wasn't sure what to do with the windshield so I just left it white. If you have a good suggestion for clear windows and glass I'd love to hear it! I did add a little yellow to the headlights then blended it out with the colourless blender. Of course every groovy van needs a little bling so I added some Glamour Dust to the corners and mirrors. The image is cut out with square nestabilities and layered onto one of the solid colours from American Crafts. 

The card base is white then I layered baja blue. I stamped the sentiment first (the rest of it is on the inside and it reads, I admire... your drive) then sewed around the edge, then ran it through my Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder. I used the small retro flower punch and an Olive Bonbon to accent the sentiment. I just love how this card turned out. Wouldn't it be so much fun to drive around in this fabulous van! :)

In case you missed it, Em has a little contest with blog candy going on over at Bloggabella. You can read all about it by clicking here. And don't forget to get your submissions in for this week's Bellarific Friday sketch...you could win $20 Bella Bucks just for participating!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Tangled Up Stella

Thanks to a few enablers, fellow Bella Babe Paula to name just one, I'm the proud owner of some of the fabulous Cosmo Cricket Early Bird paper...Yippeee! It really is GORGEOUS!!! The colours are fabulous, love the patterns, all that jazz. But for some reason when I look at this pattern in particular (it's called Sunrise) I see Christmas, so I ran with it!  :)

I seem to like to try and do things out of the box every now and again anyway. The layout is Jen's Sketch For You to Try.

I decided that Tangled Stella from Stamping Bella was a perfect image for my Christmas card this week...she's pretty casual looking, kinda like the paper. I stamped her with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured her with copics. I used my yellow and red Atyou Spica Glitter pens to add some shimmer to the star and the light bulbs and a little liquid applique on her hat. She's cut out with Petite Oval Nestabilities and layered onto Not Quite Navy. The green base panel is Wild Wasabi which I ran through a Cuttlebug folder then promptly covered nearly all of it with the patterned panels...LOL! 

Jen's sketch was perfect for me to make a banner for the sentiment, Merry & Bright, and I love how the red really pops off the patterned paper. I do love these little banners but I'll probably be cursing them when it comes time to mail all my cards in December. I added a ghost snowflake and a sparkly blue button to finish the banner. I REALLY love the fresh feel this card has with the non-traditional patterned paper.

I just counted the Christmas cards I've made so far and I'm at 18 already, just by doing one per week. Woo hoo!!! And I truly am having fun making each one!  :)

This week's Bellarific sketch is up on Bloggabella. Paula did her very first sketch in Photoshop so come and play along. Email your submissions to Em before Thursday at 5pm. I'm working on my submission today...fun fun FUN!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen