Branching Out for Christmas

I feel like I'm so far behind on my stamping after an entire day of travel on Sunday then all the running around errands I had to do on Monday. Plus, I'm cutting like a mad woman prepping my project for Stamp New England this weekend ({{{waves}}} to everyone who will be there...I'm SO excited...4 more sleeps!). I just have to keep telling myself that it doesn't matter if I get all my regular challenges done...right? :)

I've been wanting to make a Christmas card with my Branching Out & Branching Out Coordinates from Taylored Expressions ever since I got the sets. One of the first things I noticed about the Coordinates set is there are two Christmas ornaments. That makes the set even MORE versatile. So today I was finally able to put my vision to paper and this is what I came up with. I used Taylor's Cupcake Challenge sketch #59 for the layout.

I first stamped the solid branch image with Memento Rich Cocoa onto Choice Snow White card stock and cut it out with a square Nestabilitie. Then I stamped the ornaments, bird and birdhouse with Memento Tuxedo Black. I coloured the images with copics and popped the bird, birdhouse and one ornament for dimension. I added Christmas Red Stickles to the ornaments and some red Tiny Twinkles to the roof line on the birdhouse. My favourite part though has to be the snowy roof and branch. I just couldn't resist adding some white Liquid Applique for a wintry feel. The blue background was an afterthought...I wanted the snow and images to stand out more so I coloured in a sky with B000.

The finished card is 5.25 inches square. The base layer is Always Artichoke which I ran through the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder. The patterned papers are from the Basic Grey Wassail line and they're layered onto chocolate chip. The chocolate twill is from the Taylored Expressions store...it has a faint shimmer to it, plus, it's chocolate so I couldn't resist picking it up!

This is one more card to add to my growing pile of Christmas cards. Seriously...I never thought I'd keep up with one a week, but now I look forward to a little "winter break" from the more seasonal cards at this time of year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Paradise

It's another travel day for me today...heading home from Calgary. Now I know I'm not headed to Paradise in the tropics, but if I wish hard enough, maybe all the snow will have melted this past week and I'll return home to more spring-like conditions. 

This is a card I made for one of the Stamping Bella Bellarific Fridays a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't shared it here yet. I stamped the image, Palm Tree With Umbrella, with Memento Tuxedo Black onto white cardstock. I cut out the circle with my coluzzle, intentionally making it a little smaller than the image, then I trimmed around the palm leaves with my scissors. The image is coloured with copics and I wanted the look of a sun rise, so I completely filled the white circle with shades of yellow and yellow-red. I paper pieced the umbrella with a patterned paper from a Basic Grey 6x6 pad and popped the largest palm leaves for dimension. 

Next I used circle nesties and cut out white circle which I ran through my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder, then layered that onto a scallop circle of blue. I used my scallop border punch on a rectangle of So Saffron then added the patterned paper on top. 

The finished card size is 5.25" square. The base layer is a square of Certainly Celery with white stitching. The sentiment, Simple Pleasures, is also from Stamping Bella.  I finished the layout with some ribbon and my favourite emBELLAshments, Aqua Bonbons. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Bellarific Biker Babe

Happy Bellarific Friday! I just love the weekly Bellarific challenges. It's always SO much fun to see what everyone came up with. On Monday, Em posted this inspiration piece on Bloggabella...we had to use these colours and we had to use a button on our creation...and this is what I came up with!

As I was flipping through my Bella stamps (no wait, that would be Dana's Bella stamps) Bikababeabella caught my eye...I thought the colours would be perfect to have her dressed in red and black (or dark grey cause the black looked funny) with a blue hog. After all, she's way too cool to be driving anything but a custom Harley tripped out with flowers.   :) 

I stamped Bikababe with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured her with copics. To get the dark grey for her jacket and the tires I used C3 and touched it to the tip of the black copic then coloured. I repeated this until I achieved the level of dark grey I wanted. It's a great way to get by when you don't have the right shade and it doesn't ruin your lighter marker either. 

The image was cut out with rectangle nesties and layered onto black. Then I pulled some patterned paper from the Little Yellow Bicycle Love Letters collection. The red lines remind me of the lines in the inspiration piece and I really like how the image pops on the light grey floral...it adds just the right feminine touch. Some black grosgrain ribbon, and Heidi Swapp ghost flower and a red button finish it perfectly. I should also say that I used this week's Bella Sketch Challenge #71 from the Stamping Bella forum on Splitcoast for the layout. 

Be sure to pop over to Bloggabella to see the rest of the Bellarific Babes' submissions, as well as all the submissions from the Sistahood! I wonder who will be the lucky Bella Bucks winner this week!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Minty Merry & Bright AND Blog Candy Winner Announced!

Here's my Christmas card for this week. Can you believe it!!! I'm still on track...AND...I think I may have gotten Dana on the train with me. She actually posted her second Christmas card for this week today, so pop over and give her a high five.

I stamped Minty Coffee from Stamping Bella with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured it with copics. I added some Bella Liquid Watercolour Glitter to the berries, to give the image a little shimmer. It was cut out with circle nesties and layered onto a scallop of chocolate.

The layout for this card is from the Mojo sketch #77. I just love all the layers in the Mojo sketches...I never think of these fancy layouts on my own. The base layer is Bashful Blue, which I ran through the Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder. Then I have a layer of regal rose with the Merry & Bright sentiment, followed by a patterned paper from Fancy Pants. I finished off with three 5mm Solid Strawberry Parfait Bella Dots.

Blog Candy Winner!!!

There were so many great song suggestions for my blog candy giveaway here. My BFF and I had such a tough time deciding on a winner, so we decided on TWO WINNERS!!! Here they are:

Miche said...

I don't even know the song...and I'm older than you!! But if you want a rhyme...how about "we're ditching our fellas and gonna stamp some Bellas".

AND

Susan N. said...

Cute card. I have to admit I think I am older then you and I have not heard of that song. I did come up with a rhyme "Arivederci Bella, I'm going to see Stella, Love and Kisses Bloggabella"! Sounds like you will have fun with your friend, nothing better.

To the winners: please email me (my email address is under my profile picture) with your mailing address and I'll get a package of goodies out to you next week after I get home. It'll be a surprise til you open it. :)

Thanks to everyone for playing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Just Desserts Sundae

There's new rubbah in the house!!! I ordered this yummy Sweet Treats set from Pink Cat Studio (a Canadian company, by the way) before I came to Calgary and had it shipped to Dana's house so we could play. It was waiting for me when I arrived...giggle! AND, we ordered some Elzybells (the original size ones from the UK) and they arrived yesterday. Oh, the choices...I had a difficult time deciding what to stamp, so I combined my new rubbah. The image is from Sweet Treats and the sentiment is from the darling Elzybells set Just Desserts. 

The sundae image was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Gina K pure luxury and coloured with copics. For the first time in a long time, I coloured before choosing my papers...it was great to use all the colours I wanted. Then I cut out the image with a circle Nestabilitie and layered it onto a scallop of chocolate. 

I was digging through Dana's scrap papers and pulled out these patterned pieces from Little Yellow Bicycle...they seemed to match and the colours remind me of sorbet. And I have to say, it's SO much fun using someone else's supplies...grin! I did some paper piercing around the edge and tied a bow with chocolate ribbon from her stash. I finished it off with a Prima and a Kaiser rhinestone. 

At the very end I added some liquid applique and glitter to the whipped cream and a layer of crystal effects so the dessert bowl. Doesn't this look so YUMMY!!!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Easter Cuppie Treat and Blog Candy Winner

Since it's never too late to start thinking about Easter (it's only four weeks away!) I decided to make a sweet little Easter treat box. And, I'll leave this behind for my nephew who lives here in Calgary, since I won't be seeing him at Easter time. I know...it's purple, but he's a good kid and he'll appreciate it anyway.  :)

I started out with one of the fabulous Favour Boxes from Taylored Expressions, the Heart Handle Box in Majestic Purple Medium. The biggest decision when ordering is which colour to choose...there's just SO many! The boxes are shipped flat and come pre-scored. Before I assembled it I ran it through the Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder to add a little texture, then I folded along the score lines and added a smidge of adhesive...that's it! You could easily whip these up for kids treats or they'd be super cute at each place setting for a luncheon or dinner. 

Since this is an Easter treat box, I chose an image and sentiment from Sweet Spring. The Cuppie is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White cardstock and coloured with copics. I added some Taylor's Tiny Twinkles to the dots on the egg for a little sparkle...they're just the right size for small details! All the other supplies I used on this project (ribbons, flower, brad, carstock) are from the Easter Key Ingredients. I've already used my Easter Key Ingredients for several projects now and I still have so much left...it's a fabulous value!

Blog Candy Winner!!!

Dana and I have chosen the blog candy winner from last Friday's post. The winner will be announced this coming Thursday, so be sure to check back then.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen  :)

Marrakech Margarita

Happy Monday! I thought I'd start the week out with my newest rubbah from Stamping Bella...from the brand new Ketto stamps that Em released on Friday, please welcome Margarita!!! I love her little tipsy tilt...looks like she's had one too many! LOL! 

The layout for this card is from Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #8. I knew I wanted to use bright colours for Margarita, so I chose papers from the Basic Grey Marrakech line for the bright blues and oranges. I stamped Margarita with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured her with copics. There's a smidge of paper piecing on her skirt. I coloured over the stars with an orange Atyou Spica pen for some shimmer, and Margarita was cut out with Nestabilities.

I paper pierced aroud the base layer and ran the dark blue paper through the Swiss Dots embossing folder. I didn't even have to sand it to get the scuffed look on the dots...it was meant to be.  For the scallop border I punched a piece of pacific point with the scallop border punch and added some 5mm orange crackle Bella Dots to each scallop. The polka dot flower is from Dana's stash (cause lucky me...I get to use all her stuff while I'm here visiting) and I finished the center with a 10mm orange crackle Bella dot. 

This is another of those cards that just makes me happy. The image is darling...LOVE the new Ketto stamps, the colours are bright, and I love margaritas!

Don't forget to pop over to Bloggabella for this week's Bellarific Friday challenge. Play along and email your card to Em before 5pm EST on Thursday for a chance to win some Bella Bucks...Woo Hoo!!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Wish Big Cupcake!

It's so much fun to be stamping with my BFF Dana! We're having a fabulous time together here in Calgary.  :)

This is the card I created today. It combines two challenges: Taylor's Cupcake Challenge #58 and the inspiration piece on my friend Janet's Corrosive Challenge blog from Challenge #2, which just went up today. 

The cupcake image is from the SU hostess set Darling Dots. It's stamped with Pink Pirouette ink onto white. The center image was stamped onto pink pirouette cardstock. For the center cupcake I stamped it twice, once with Rose Red and once with Kiwi Kiss, then cut it out and popped it. I used the ticket corner punch on four of the squares and added some green rhinestones to the corners. I finished off the center image with a pink rhinestone. 

The sentiment is from Short and Sweet. I combined some punches, did a little piercing and layered it onto Kiwi satin ribbon. I love how quickly this card came together...grids are always fun to work with!

Don't forget I still have  a blog candy contest on til 8PM EST today on this post. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

It's a Birthday Bash!

Taylor is celebrating the First Birthday of the Taylored Expressions Store and she wants to invite you to the party! The festivities will last all weekend long with games and prizes on her blog! There will be drawings for Party Favour Packages for three days - Friday(today), Saturday, and Sunday. There will be a different package given away each day. PLUS on Monday there will be a Sweepstakes Grand Prize winner drawn from all the orders placed at the Taylored Expressions Store from Thursday through Sunday. Be sure to visit Taylor's blog to get all the details and to join in on the FUN! And don't forget to tell all your friends about Taylor's Birthday Bash, cause doesn't everyone want a chance to win a prize!?!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Oh Happy Day!

It's a happy day in more ways that one! I just have to say, this card expresses perfectly how I'm feeling today and what I'm doing. Cause I'm leeeeeeeavingggggg on a jet plane, going to see my best friend again! (did you sing it with me!?!)

I'm off to Calgary to visit my BFF Dana. I haven't seen her since she came to Boston last October, so we're definitely due for a visit. Hubby and the dog are on their own for the next ten days...I'm not worried...they'll figure it out!  :)

The layout for this card uses the Mojo Monday week 76 sketch. I absolutely HAD to use the Arivedercibella image from Stamping Bella for my post today. I stamped her with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured her with copics. I paper pieced the suitcases...aren't they darling! I wish my bags were that cute. Frankly, I don't look that cute today...I'm in Lulu pants, Merrell runners and have a computer bag slung over my shoulders...but I'm comfy for my travel day.  :)

The patterned papers are from Bella Blvd., the Swing Into Spring collection. It's so fresh and happy, plus there's plenty of pink, my favourite colour! The image was cut out with square Nestabilities and layered onto a scalloped square of Regal Rose. The green base layer is kiwi kiss and the sentiment is another of the sentiments from the Mini Words set. I didn't know this until I read it on Bloggabella, but the Mini Words set is actually Em's handwriting...how cool!!!

I did some paper piercing to add a little interest and made a tailored bow for the top. The polka dotted badge from Stella's Love Set was the perfect addition to my tailored bow.  I finished off with three Bella Bonbons for just the right touch of bling. 

Now, to make it an even happier day, it's Bellarific Friday AND Em's releasing a bunch of new images today too! I can't even stand it! I'll have to wait til I get to Calgary to look at all the Bellarific submissions and the new stamps, but you can pop over to Bloggabella and have a lookey once she gets it all posted. Have fun!!! 

AND, How about a little blog candy!!! I don't know about you, but every time I say the name of this image, Arivedercibella, it makes me think of the song: arivederci pasta, no more baked alaska, til nineteen ninety five (I know, I'm dating myself). So I changed the words a little and came up with the first two lines for the song, but I'm not getting anything for the third line. Here's what I have: "Arivederci Bella, I'm going to see Stella".....................and I need you to finish the song for me, K? Leave a comment on this post with your song suggestion. My BFF and I will choose the most clever line and that person will receive a nice little package of yummy blog candy.  The deadline for this contest is Sunday, March 8th, 8pm EST. Be sure to leave your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you're the winner. Can't wait to see what you come up with!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen