50 Rocks!!!

Happy Monday!!! Today I'm sharing a card I made for a friend to give to her brother. I'll give you one guess as to how old he's turning!! A while back I made a card for her Mom and she loved it, so she called last week asking if I had time to make one for her brother. I like to ask a little about the person the card is for and she told me he likes blue and brown and music.

So I reached for my You're My Hero set from Taylored Expressions to cover the music part, then I paired it with some new paper from My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary line, the Little Boy Blue collection. I used Taylor's Sketch Challenge, TESC105, for the layout.

To get texture and dimension on the guitar head I inked it first with sage shadow then tapped it once onto my night of navy pad, then stamped it onto Choice Buttercream. I really like the linen-ish look from kissing the stamp to the ink pad. The handle is stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa and coloured in with copics. I used my deckle mega rectangles to cut out the image. The word Rocks is part of a larger sentiment but I only wanted that word and it's so easy to ink only part of an image with the Memento Dew Drops. I used Rich Cocoa again and stamped the word onto Prism island mist light. Then I punched a star from Prism island mist dark and added an SU brad.

I pulled some chipboard numbers from my stash and coloured them with a blue copic. But I wanted a more mottled colour so I spritzed the letters with Avocado Metallic Maya Mist...I really love the effect and it's so much better IRL!

I used my stars embossing folder on the brown patterned paper then sanded it lightly. The background paper has a lot of texture that doesn't show through in the photo because I crumpled it up into a little ball then flattened it out again. And for that manly touch all the edges are distressed.

I hope he likes it...well, for that matter I hope she likes it! I'm bringing it to her tomorrow...wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek Day 1-You're My Hero

Let the sneak peeks begin!!! I'm super excited about the new set, You're My Hero, the Baker's Dozen is showcasing today. I think it'll Rock Your World!!! It's fresh & fun and it's also the new charitable set for the TE Giving Tree Program. The new products will be available at Taylored Expressions from 8am Friday, March 5th.

You're My Hero was inspired by and designed in honour of Taylor's 10 year old neighbour, Darrin Zimmerman, who passed away last fall from cancer. Please visit Taylor's blog for the full story. $7 from the sale of each You're My Hero set will be donated to CureSearch. CureSearch unites the world's largest childhood cancer research organization, the Children's Oncology Group, and the National Childhood Cancer Foundation through their mission to cure childhood cancer. Research is the key to the cure.

The possibilities are endless for this set. Next week I'll be in Calgary visiting my BFF (5 more sleeps!) and I have a nephew there who's birthday is next week, so I used You're My Hero and the Rock Star Key Ingredients to create his birthday card and a fun altered composition book. I used sketch SC269 from Splitcoast for the layout on my card.

The guitar is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and coloured it with copics. I used my orange Spica glitter pen to add a smidge of sparkle to the flames, which ties in nicely with the orange glitter brads from the Rock Star Key Ingredients. I used my stamp positioner to line up the handle and the guitar head. There are actually four different guitar heads included in You're My Hero, but I thought Carter would get a kick out of the flames. He's turning 12 and actually appreciates hand-made cards, so I know he'll love this one.

The patterned papers in the Rock Star Key Ingredients are from the We R Memory Keepers Teen Angst collection and they're so cool! The piece I used on my card has a silver foil line running through it. I also love how the sentiments in You're My Hero have a bit of a grunge feel with letters that have a scratched up look.

Next I decided to alter a composition book using the Rock Star Key Ingredients and You're My Hero. I stamped the three guitars with Memento Cantaloupe, Bamboo Leaves and Summer Sky then added the rock star shadow with Memento Tuxedo Black. The image is cut out with Labels One Nestabilities and for the black mat I simply traced around the outside of the same nestie then cut it out with scissors.

I love the tone on tone effect of stamping the circle splatter and the star with Versamark onto the green and yellow papers. The star border punch was a logical choice for this project then I stitched everything together before adhering it to the book. I think the edges of the ribbon will look even more cool once they fray a little and the stitching will stop it from going too far.

To personalize the book even more I used chipboard letters from my stash. I used the funky Glazed Glitter technique that Jen del Muro shared in this post on her blog. I used Black Diamond Stickles but then to keep with the grunge feel of the stamped words, I covered the letters with Ranger Crackle Accents. It's a little difficult to see the crackle because of the black background but trust me...they look cool and sparkly in a "guy" kinda way!

You're My Hero is the same deeply etched rubber as all the Taylored Expressions sets but it will need to be trimmed when you receive it. This is to keep manufacturing costs as low as possible to maximize the amount donated to CureSearch. The set was designed with teens and tweens in mind, but I see myself using it for both masculine and feminine cards for my brothers, sisters-in-law, and friends. It would be perfect for a scrapbook page too or to wrap up a pair of concert tickets or an iTunes gift card! This set just makes me want to go play Rock Band!!!

I know the rest of the Baker's Dozen will have many more ideas with You're My Hero and the Rock Star Key Ingredients so let's hop over and take a look.
Alex Maldonado
Carolina Butching
Charmaine Ikach
Donna Baker
Jackie Pedro
Jeanie Witmer
Jodi Collins
Karen Giron
Melissa Sauls
Nancy McKinney (stamp designer extraordinaire!)
Sankari Wegman
and Taylor Van Bruggen

I'll be back tomorrow with sneak peeks of two more egg-cellent sets!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Quick Holiday Packaging

I have a quick packaging project to share with you today. I had some Peppermint Bark that I was giving to my chiropractor and her secretary and I wanted a cute package to put it in because they know I'm a crafty gal.

I started with clear pails that I picked up at Taylored Expressions then I quickly embellished them with patterned papers from my stash. I jazzed them up with my apron lace punch and added a couple layered of ribbon. Then I used my Bow Easy to tie the green bows and attached a button to each with linen thread. The paper decoration is about 1.75 inches high...I wanted to leave quite a bit of the pail uncovered so the yummy bark would show through.

For the top I punched a red circle with my Giga Marvy circle punch, then layered the patterned paper, punched with my Mega Marvy circle punch. I coloured the chipboard snowflake with a green copic before running it through my Sticker Maker to coat it with adhesive. Then I covered it with green glitter and tied on another button. Fun, quick and easy!!!

They loved the containers (and the contents) and best of all, they can reuse them for gifting another small item or a gift card.   :)

Wishing you a VERY happy holiday season!!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Snowman

Here's my card for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC41. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog, The Sweetest Thing.

As soon as I saw this sketch I knew it was perfect for the adorable little snowman from Holiday Wonder, available at Taylored Expressions. I'm a snowman freak and I can hardly believe he was still uninked!!! Well, I fixed that! :)

I started by stamping him with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream then I coloured him with copics. I added detail to his scarf by covering it with Rockstar Red Sparkly Fluff, then I used my black Glaze pen on his hat, his eyes and his mouth. I love the shine and dimension! He's cut out with rectangle Nestabilities then I stitched him to a scalloped rectangle of Prism Island Mist Light.

I ran a piece of Prism Island Mist Dark through my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder before layering it onto the Choice Buttercream card base. The patterned paper is Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly, and it's also stitched to a layer of Choice Buttercream. I coloured a chipboard snowflake with a blue copic then covered it with Stardust Stickles. Oh, and I also added some Stardust Stickles to the snow line (which I drew in with my Copic Multiliner). I added a fun ribbon/button/thread treatment to finish the card. All the supplies I used, with the exception of the Island Mist Dark cardstock and the button, are from the Christmas Key Ingredients.

Let's go see what the other Sweet Sunday Stampers have come up with for this sketch.

Laura Fredrickson

Lynn Put

Sarah-Jane Kale'

Vicki Burdick

and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

October 20th Key Ingredients from Taylored Expressions

It's the 20th of the month...that means release day for the October 20th Key Ingredients from Taylored Expressions!!!

This month Taylor challenged us to use dimension in our creation. Of course, one of my favourite adhesives is foam tape...woo hooo!!!!

This month's kit contains some fun chipboard, gorgeous ribbons, Avocado Metallic Maya Mist, patterned papers from Cosmo Cricket's Earth Love line and plenty of coordinating solid Prism cardstock. Talk about a bunch of wonderful things to play with!!! And I have a new love...Maya Mist!!! It's so quick and easy to use, dries really fast, and isn't even messy if you contain your spraying within a shoe box! Yay!!!

I wanted to use the Avocado Metallic Maya Mist to create a patterned paper so I paired it with my Cosmic Swirls template and misted the blue central panel after I'd cut it out with Labels 3 Nestabilities. Next I inked one of the gorgeous chipboard birds with white Stazon and once that dried I misted it with Iridescent Pearls Maya Mist. Oh, and just a note on the Maya Mist, before you spray it you'll want to tap the bottle on the palm of your hand a few times to ensure the shimmer is mixed throughout.

My card base is a little smaller than usual at 4.5 inches square. I layered papers from the October 20th Key Ingredients then stitched a fun double wavy border. I added four Crystal Twinkles to the corners for a little sparkle and dimension. The central panel and bird are both popped on foam tape but I think I get the most dimension from my big fluffy bow! The pretty button in the center is from my Savannah pack.

Have you taken the plunge and tried the Key Ingredients from Taylored Expressions? With the monthly charge on the Key Ingredients Subscriptions it's economical and easy to get creative! Plus your subscription kits ship on the 15th of the month, plenty of time to play along with the monthly challenge!!!

Let's see what some of the other Baker's Dozen have created with this gorgeous KI kit.

Dawn Easton

Denise Marzec

Jackie Pedro

Laurie Schmidlin

Sankari Wegman

and Taylor VanBruggen

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Sweet Sunday Circles

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, courtesy of Karen Giron. You'll find the sketch on Karen's blog, The Sweetest Thing.

When I first saw this week's sketch, SSSC40, I was a little apprehensive. I definitely thought this one was going to be a challenge for me. But once I thought about it a little, the idea to use the small images from Branching Out Coordinates from Taylored Expressions seemed like a perfect fit for this sketch, so I ran with it.

I wanted to use fall colours so I reached for my September 20th Key Ingredients. I honestly can't stress enough how much I LOVE the Key Ingredients from Taylored Expressions...everything is so perfectly coordinated. Give them a try, you won't be disappointed! And if you decide to purchase a monthly subscription, it's a monthly charge so you don't have to put out all the money up front. Ok...enough about the Key Ingredients (but I could go on and on about them...seriously!).

I stamped the pear and apple images with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream then coloured them with copics. I wanted the pear to have a greenish/brown undertone so I used YG91 before colouring it with the two yellow copics. I used my clear Glaze pen on the fruit to make them shine. The fruit are punched out with my 3/4" circle punch then layered onto a 7/8" circle of brown. The chipboard flowers and buttons are from the September 20th Key Ingredients and all I did was colour the flowers with a brown copic before adhering the buttons.

The sentiment is from Branching Out and it's cut out with the smallest size of the Double Ended Tags. I added two bits of bling (also from the September 20th Key Ingredients) to anchor the sentiment. The Buttercream card base has a finished size of 3.25 x 6.5 inches.

Let's go see what the other Sweet Sunday Stampers came up with for this sketch.

Jen Tapler

Laura Fredrickson

Lynn Put

Nancy Riley

Sarah-Jane Kale'

Vicki Burdick

and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Sweet Sunday Snowflake

It's time for another Sweet Sunday Sketch from Karen Giron. You'll find this week's sketch, SSSC39, on Karen's Blog.

I must admit, when I sat down to make this card I was stumped. Not because the sketch is difficult, more because I wasn't feeling my Mojo. I looked through all my stamps (and that's a LOT of looking!) but nothing spoke to me...Hmmmmm...now what? I realized that I really didn't feel like doing any colouring, so I decided to make a simple card with a chipboard snowflake from my Christmas Key Ingredients. Of course, once I had the package of KI on my stamp table I ended up using all the elements to create my card; cardstock, patterned paper, ribbons, chipboard snowflake, along with a button from my Savannah pack. I love the Key Ingredients for pulling a project together without too much tought...just what I was looking for when I was making this card. wink!

I coloured my snowflake with a blue copic first then covered it with Waterfall Stickles and set it aside to dry. I ran some Prism Intense Pink through my Big Shot with the Circles Impressabilities template before adhering the patterned paper. I stitched around the edges for a little interest then added the green glimmer ribbon and stamped the sentiment from Wings of Joy. Once the button was tied to the snowflake I attached it to an oval of Prism Blush Red Dark to make it pop. That's it....simple, easy, and quick (aside from waiting for the Stickled to dry).

I can't wait to see what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Stampers have come up with using this fabulous sketch.

Jen Tapler

Laura Fredrickson

Lynn Put

Nancy Riley

Sarah-Jane Kale'

Vicki Burdick

and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Popping in with a Peek-a-boo

Today I have a fun project to share over on the Stamp A Sweet Impression blog, using the newly released Wings of Joy set from Taylored Expressions and the Christmas Key Ingredients. I'd love for you to "pop" over and have a peek! LOL! Really, how could I resist that pun!!! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Flutterby Huggabugg Gets Framed

My hair stylist had a baby girl a few months ago and when I was there last she was telling me all about her. She kept referring to her as her "Love Bug" and said her and her hubby call her that ALL the time. 

Right then I knew I wanted to maker her something with the "Love Bug" nickname. When you say "Love Bug" to me I immediately think of the Huggabugg line from Stamping Bella...ca-YUTE!!!!! The perfect choice would have been to use Lovey Huggabugg, but since I don't have that one (gasp!!!) I decided on Flutterby Huggabugg. I think she's equally cute. I knew I wanted to alter a picture frame and use chipboard letters for the title. I love love LOVE sentiments which feature a mix of script and type font so I used that inspiration when I chose my chipboard letters. The script ones are from Stampin' Up! and the others are from Maya Road. I coloured them first with a pink copic then covered them with Cotton Candy Stickles and left them to dry overnight. 

The frame itself is from Ikea and it's just a bare wood frame. I covered it with patterned paper from the Imaginisce For Peep's Sake line. The corners are a faux mitre...the striped piece runs right to the edge and the 45' angle is only cut on the yellow piece. That way there's no worrying whether it'll line up or not. I wrapped some pink twill around the outside edges of the frame to hide the wood without having to paint it. I finished it off with some pretty twill to tie in the colours. The image is only ligthly adhered so it can be removed if she wants. Pardon the little black markings on the glass below the 'o'...it's on the protective film and I didn't want to remove it.

 

Of course I had to make a coordinating card! I never had time to play with Mojo Monday #87 sketch so I used it for this card. I stamped the Flutterby Huggabugg with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured her with copics. I added some sparkle to her polka dots with an Atyou Spica glitter pen and topped off her antennas with two 5mm Cotton Candy Bella Bonbons. The rest of the card uses the same patterned papers along with some Pretty in Pink which I ran through my swiss dots cuttlebug folder. The sentiment was done with the JustRite stamper and a combination of fonts. 

I'll be giving this to her later this month so I hope she likes it. I have a good feeling she will!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Just Because...

I made this card before Valentine's Day, with no intention of using it as a Valentine card. The layout is from a January sketch challenge my friend Joanne runs on the gallery forum of our LSS, and you know how much I {heart} sketches. 

I picked up the two large chipboard hearts at my LSS and knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. The scalloped heart is inked with Chocolate Chip to provide a good base colour. Then I covered the other heart with adhesive and set to work using up some ribbon scraps. Not sure what I was thinking, but I was convinced this card would put a dent in my scraps drawer. I think I'd need to make a hundred of these before I'd see a change in that ribbon drawer! LOL! The top heart is punched from Pink Pirouette then I added Hero Arts gemstones all around the edge. 

The papers are from Making Memories Paperie line and I stitched around the edge for some interest...my Janome was acting up though and the tension is all wonky...oh well. The rubon is from SU along with the chocolate grosgrain ribbon. 

Hey, I just now realized there isn't any stamping at all on this card...hmmm...how did I allow that to happen?  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Sweet 16

My friend asked me to make a card for her daughter's sixteenth birthday. Both my friend and her daughter truly appreciate all things handmade, so I wanted to make this extra special. Lucky for me, her daughter's favourite colour is pink...one of my favourite colours to work with.  

All I knew was that I wanted to use chipboard numbers for the 16...after that I hadn't a clue...until I saw the Mojo Monday sketch this week. Then my card fell nicely into place.   :)

First thing I did was cover the chipboard numbers with Rose Stickles and set them aside to dry. Next I chose BEEday Huggabugg from Stamping Bella. The image is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black, coloured with copics and cut out with rectangle Nestabilities. I wanted lots of sparkle on the card so I added Stardust Stickles to the wings and Rose Stickles to the present. I finished off the antennas with two 5mm Fuschia Bella Bonbons. 

For the card base I layered some S.E.I. Mimosa patterned papers onto a layer of chocolate and stitched around the edges. As soon as I finished stitching I realized that I couldn't add the ribbon like the sketch indicated...doh!...so I added more bling instead. Can you really EVER have enough bling??? I used some 7mm Cotton Candy Bella Bonbons on the top and bottom of the card. 

I know my friend's daughter doesn't read my blog so I'm safe posting this now even though she hasn't received her card yet. But, her mom tells me she'll love it, and I certainly had a lot of fun making it...now I need to get it in the mail. 

Don't forget...Em has posted the inspiration piece for the next Bellarific Challenge. Click here to see it...it's a BEAUTY!!! You have until April 16th at 5pm to submit your card for this challenge. So play along for a chance to win Bella Bucks!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

You're Da Bomb!

This one knocks off two challenges with one card. Kristina's Colour Inspiration and Karen Giron's Sunday Sketch. The colours are absolutely perfect for continuing my Valentine's cards, so that's the direction I took. My original thought with the sketch was to use the SU set 'A Happy Heart' but the tic-tac-toe image was too small for my vision.

Then I remembered I picked up these two great AMuse stamps at my LSS, Right at Home Scrapbooking, last week and the card evolved from there. 

The base is Gina K's super sturdy 120lb pure luxury cardstock, and let me tell you, this card is heavy with two big silver brads and a heart gemstone, but it stands up beautifully because of the cardstock base. Next I added a layer of SU Riding Hood Red designer paper then a square of black. The circles are punched from Basic Grey cardstock with my 1 1/4" punch and I pierced around the edges using the circle template from this handy little package. 

Then I played around with different embellishments for while, trying other combinations until I landed on this design. The red flowers are Primas with a 5mm Platinum Glitter Bella Dot in the center (LOVE the dots, baubles and bonbons from Stamping Bella...there's just SO many uses for them!). The big silver brads are from SU. The image and sentiment are from AMuse, stamped with Memento black onto Gina K pure luxury then punched with a 1 1/8" circle. The X and O are Maya Road chipboard letters (from my LSS) which I inked with Brilliance Moonlight White then embossed with Iridescent Ice powder. And finally, the heart gemstone is from my stash. 

This card came together quite quickly and I'm really pleased about that! I love both the colour combo and the sketch. Thanks ladies for the challenges!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen