Merry Mass Production with Taylored Expressions!

It's time to show you a little Christmas card Mass Production - Taylored Expressions Style!

Now I must confess, I'm not a huge fan of mass production but it does have it's place in the card-making world, so I embraced this challenge and created a fun grouping of six virtually identical and completely mass produce-able cards using Wings of Joy and the Christmas Key Ingredients. I say they're 'virtually' identical because I did switch up some colours and images, but I used the same layout for each card.

So what do you think? And believe me when I tell you these six cards only took me 1.5 hours to complete, from stamping the images to final assembly...REALLY!!! I kept everything simple so they were quick to knock off, and I also kept dimension to a minimum so they're mail friendly.

I thought I'd share my design process with you and show you step-by-step how I tackle mass-producing.

The first thing I did was decide on a layout. Sketches are always helpful cause I'm layout challenged, so I decided to use Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #86 because it was a simple layout without a lot of layers.

Next I decided on my images (all from Wings of Joy), stamped them on Choice Snow White with Memento Tuxedo Black and cut them out with my deckle rectangle Nestabilities. It's wonderful when you can swap out images of about the same size to create different cards using the same layout.

Then I coloured all the images, sticking to the same colour scheme on each and doing my best to use as few copics as possible to keep it simple and quick.

Next I prepared all the layers/panels. As I said, I used my Christmas Key Ingredients for all the cardstock and ribbon, only adding some Choice Snow White for the card bases.

The final step was simply adhering all my layers to the card bases. I used foam tape on the snowflake border for just a bit of dimension then added three Zva Crystals to each card.

After I was all done the cards I decided to add a few simple embellishments to really jazz up the images. I love how "stepping it up" can take a simple card to a new level and really make it special. Here's the before and after of each image so you can see the difference, and it only took about five minutes to add these special touches.

I added sparkle to the heart and berries with my red Spica glitter pen, and dimension to the wood perch with some Espresso Dimensional Pearls.

I added bling to the tree by colouring some clear Zva Crystals with a red copic marker then adding them to the ornaments.

And finally, I used my clear Glaze pen on the lights on the bird house and added some white Liquid Applique to the snow.

I hope this has inspired you to get a jump on your Holiday cards because there's only 73 more sleeps til Christmas!!!

Taylor has a fun challenge on her blog so be sure to pop over and play along.

Now let's go see what some of the other Baker's Dozen have come up with for mass-production cards.

Charmaine Ikach

Dawn Easton

Donna Baker

Jackie Pedro

Jami Sibley

Jodi Collins

Sankari Wegman

Sharon Harnist

and Taylor VanBruggen

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Mmmmm...turkey!!!

Gobble Gobble...Happy Thanksgiving Day Canada!!!! Now that we live in the US, we celebrate Thanksgiving in November, but it still feels kinda weird not to have yummy turkey and apple pie in October! So, yesterday I baked an apple caramel pie...Yum-o!!!! (did you notice I said baked and not made...LOL!). It was our little way of getting in on the Thanksgiving celebration without going into a turkey coma. :)

So I simply had to use my Chefabella image from Stamping Bella on my card today. Could she be any more perfect to celebrate Thanksgiving with?!?

It's been way too long since I played in one of my friend Janet's Corrosive Challenges, so I used her October sketch challenge for this card. Thanks for a fab layout Janet! I just love how quickly this card came together.

I started by stamping Chefabella with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper then coloured her with copics. I used my octagon Nestabilities to cut her out then layered her onto a scalloped octagon of Prism Blush Red Dark.

The patterned paper is an old one from my stash, Imaginisce Out on a Whim. I really liked the little red dots...perfect for Canadian Thanksgiving!!! I added some brown felt ribbon then finished the card with six dark cocoa Glitter Dots.

Don't forget to check Bloggabella for this week's Bellarific Friday challenge. Hmmm...I wonder what fun stamping challenge Em has up her sleeve this week!

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

It's Bellarific Saturday

Yes, that's right, it's Bellarific Saturday instead of Friday this week. Em's shaking things up a bit! LOL!

This week's theme was anything baby...FUN!!!! I'm looking forward to checking out Bloggabella later this afternoon to see all the cute creations.

For my card I decided to use my new-to-me Bella Baby Bubble Bath image from Stamping Bella and I paired it with some older paper from my stash, Making Memories Paperie line. I still love this line of papers and I have to remember to use it more often.

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper and coloured it with copics. I added some Moonlight Smooch to the bubbles and used my clear Glaze pen on the rim and feet of the bath tub. The image is cut out with circle Nestabilities and layered onto Pink Pirouette then a scallop circle of Prism Suede Brown Medium.

The white card base measures 5.25 inches square. I ran a square of Pink Pirouette through my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder before layering the Making Memories PP. I don't often think of using white as a layer but I'm glad I did on this card. I like how the fun punched border stands out so nicely on the white cardstock. I tied that fabulous bow with my Bow Easy then added a brown button to finish it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Reflect

I have another Christmas card for you today. This one came together quickly because there isn't any colouring. I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #42 for the layout.

The sentiment and image are both from Christmas Blessings, available at Taylored Expressions. I stamped the sentiment with artichoke ink onto Choice Buttercream and cut it out with long rectangle Nestabilities. Then I stamped the bird with burgundy ink onto Choice Buttercream and cut it out with scissors. The patterned paper is Cosmo Cricket Oh Joy Mitten Mitten and I used the reverse side for the circular panel, which I ran through my D'Vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder. Everything is layered onto artichoke cardstock. I added some stitching, Gold Stickles, and three gold brads to finish is off.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my Canadian friends and happy Columbus Day weekend to my US friends. Regardless of the reason, it's a looooong weekend...wooo hooo!!! :)

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

Birthday Balloons

Well, the last of my company left this morning. Of course I was teary eyed because it's always hard to say goodbye to my parents...they live so far away, but I'll see them again in a few short months for Christmas. :)

While my mom was here she went through my four drawers full of cards and took home a big pile...I think she stocked up for every occasion until the end of next year. Hey, wonder if she took one to send back to me for my birthday in June...wouldn't that be funny! Anyway, my MIL's birthday is coming up and my stock of birthday cards is now critically low, so I decided to use this fun Balloon Circle image from Stamping Bella.

The Mojo Monday Sketch #107 was a perfect layout for this image and I chose to use fall colours because I saw this fun Show & Tell Challenge #5 in the Stamping Bella Forum on Splitcoast. Plus the fall colours work with my MIL's birthday because it's in October.

I started by stamping the Balloon Circle with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper and coloured it with copics. I punched it out using the 2" Marvy circle punch that the circle stamps are designed to fit. It needed dimension though so I stamped the image two more times, cut out the balloons and layered them with dimensionals. I adhered the image to a scallop circle of Really Rust.

The patterned papers are from Chatterbox and they've been in my stash for quite a while. I paired them with Kiwi Kiss and Really Rust then I stitched around the edges. I punched the fun border from a strip of Not Quite Navy and added some mustard grosgrain ribbon. I love this particular sentiment...the mix of fonts is really fun and it's the perfect size to tuck just about anywhere on a card. And, I just realized it's on sale for the low low price of 25 cents!!!! I finished by adding some sage Glitter Dots and Cinnamon Stickles to the dots on the balloons.

Don't forget to play along with this week's Bellarific challenge...it's a theme...ANYTHING BABY!!! You'll find all the deets on this post on Bloggabella. Em will be posting everyone's creations on Saturday this week which means you have until Friday night to email her a pic of your project. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Sweet Sunday Sketch time!

Karen Giron has created another fabulous Sweet Sunday Sketch for us to play along with. You'll find SSSC38 on her blog, The Sweetest Thing.

I went for quick and simple with my card for this sketch. I keep wanting to use one of the fabulous larger sentiments from Stamping Bella and this was the card to do it with. I paired 'If you obey...' with the Swirly Circles Border to create the focal image then I cut it out with square Nestabilities.

I used my bright and happy Basic Grey Indian Summer patterned paper and paired it with Prism Blush Red Light, razzleberry and chocolate chip. I added some coordinating Primas and finished it with a few fuschia Bonbons precisely placed on the image and in the flower center.

Check out these fabulous stampers for more Sweet Sunday inspiration!

Jen Tapler

Laura Fredrickson

Lynn Put

Nancy Riley

Sarah-Jane Kale'

Vicki Burdick

and of course, Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

It's Release Day at Taylored Expressions AND World Card Making Day!

Woo Hoo!!! The new sets are available now at Taylored Expressions. But before you rush off to shop, take a peek at this fun card I created using Holiday Wonder...the newest addition to the Cuppie family of sets.

I used the Christmas Key Ingredients again for this card and also some Appletini Sparkly Fluff which is included in the Very Merry Christmas Bundle.

When I saw this set I envisioned rolling, snowy hills with a forest of trees. Then when I saw the fun Jolly by Golly paper in the Christmas Key Ingredients I knew exactly how to create my hills. I used the two-tone pink wave paper and just cut apart the waves. Then I tore the edges to look more like snow and layered them onto the blue background...easy peasy!!! For Santa's sleigh I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black first onto the blue background. Then I stamped it a second time onto Sunflowers Medium and punched out the circle I wanted to highlight. I adhered the circle directly over the image, lining everything up, and presto...instant spotlighting!!!

Then I set to work on the trees. I stamped the tree image seven times and coloured it with copics before adding the Appletini Sparkly Fluff. Then I cut the trees along the different lines to get smaller and smaller trees...this really helps with perspective. I stamped the mailbox with Memento Tuxedo black, coloured it with copics then cut it out and popped it on foam tape for dimension. I created a sentiment banner and tucked it behind the mailbox.

For the back of the card, as part of Taylor's World Card Making Day celebrations, Taylor is offering this fabulous FREE "designed by" digital download. There's a horizontal and a vertical version and it's set up so that you simply run your cardstock through your printer then cut it in half for two card bases. You'll find the FREE Digital Download on Taylor's blog, not in the TE Store.

But that's not all that's going on for World Card Making Day:

• All orders placed on Saturday, October 3rd before 11pm PST will receive a FREE card kit to create this card. All you have to provide is the image and ribbon.
• 2008 Christmas stamp sets, Home Sweet Home and Season's Sweetings are available for 25% off from October 3rd-5th.
• Several other products are on sale for 15%-25% off so be sure to check out the What's The Deal? section at the TE Store.
• World Card Making Day challenge on the Stamp A Sweet Impression Blog. You could win a free Taylored Expressions set of your choice! Hurry though, the deadline to enter is Sunday night.
• And of course, don't forget the FREE digital download on Taylor's Blog.

I hope all these Christmas creations have got you thinking about your Holiday cards, but I know the rest of the Baker's Dozen will have more inspiration for you!

Charmaine Ikach

Dawn Easton

Denise Marzec

Donna Baker

Jackie Pedro

Jodi Collins

Karen Giron

Laura Fredrickson

Laurie Schmidlin

Sankari Wegman

Sharon Harnist

and Taylor VanBruggen

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek-Day 2

Today the Baker's Dozen is sharing samples using the adorable new Wings of Joy set and the coordinating Christmas Key Ingredients. These items will be available from Taylored Expressions starting tomorrow, October 3rd from 8am PST.

I have to tell you, I love love LOOOOOOOOOVE Wings of Joy!!! Surely you know by now that I'm a bit of a bird lover (that's an understatement!) and once you see all the samples with this set you'll know why I adore it so much! I truly feel like it was designed specifically for me! I think Nancy really hit this one out of the park...she's such an amazing designer!!!

First I created this fun and whimsical card using the birds with a garland image. I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream (from the Christmas Key Ingredients) and coloured it with copics. I stamped the image a second time so I could pop each individual item for dimension.

I added a little sparkle to the bird wings with my red Spica glitter pen...don't you just love those little holly leaf wings...too cute!!! The mittens and hats were calling out for more detail so I added some fun Rockstar Red Sparkly Fluff, also from the Christmas Key Ingredients.

The rest of the card came together rather quickly because of the fun patterned paper and solid colours in the Christmas Key Ingredients. I chose to work with the multicolour snowflake paper from Cosmo Cricket's Jolly by Golly line. I matted the image with Blush Red Dark then stitched along the edges and mounted it on foam tape. Next I used my EK large scallop border on a strip of Sunflowers Medium and layered one of the coordinating ribbons from the Christmas key Ingredients. The chipboard snowflakes are also from the Christmas Key Ingredients and I decided to leave them plain because the rest of the card is so colourful. I added buttons to the center of each snowflake and you'll receive the buttons in the Very Merry Christmas Bundle, but not in the Christmas Key Ingredients. The last thing I added was the sentiment which is punched out with an oval and tucked behind the image panel.

When I finished the card I whipped up a quick altered mini book to use as my Christmas shopping list/gift ideas book.

I kept the design very basic and didn't add any dimension because I know this little book will be in and out of my purse a lot over the next few months. The image is again stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with copics. I couldn't resist adding a touch of Rockstar Red Sparkly Fluff to three of the ornaments though.

I used one of the coordinating Jolly by Golly cardstock stickers as my 'presents under the tree'. The cardstock stickers are available in the Very Merry Christmas Bundle.

I know there's lots more to look at on the rest of the Baker's Dozen so let's hop over for a peek.

Charmaine Ikach

Dawn Easton

Denise Marzec

Donna Baker

Jackie Pedro

Jami Sibley

Jodi Collins

Karen Giron

Laura Fredrickson

Laurie Schmidlin

Sankari Wegman

Sharon Harnist

and Taylor VanBruggen

Tomorrow is release day so I'll have a sample with yet another new set. And it's also World Cardmaking Day and Taylor has wonderful things planned so stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen