Paper Playhouse

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Merry Kissmas {MFTWSC16}

It's time to get sketchy with the MFT Wednesday Stamp Club and dive into Sketch 16.

I'm contributing to my Christmas card stash with my project today...it's Project Christmas 2011 card #12.

I used the sweet PI Merry Kissmas set...LOVE it!!!

The patterned papers are from Echo Park's Wintertime collection. I added some tiny blue pompoms to her hat and white liquid applique to the trim on both hats. Whatever isn't paper pieced has been coloured with copics. I added some clear rhinestones for the snowman's buttons then coloured them with a red copic.

The image is layered onto a decorative doily cut from patterned paper. I also used my snowflake die-namics to create the fun wintery embellishment I used in place of a bow.

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch for a chance to win a gift voucher to the MFT Boutique.

Here are the sketch details:

There's a prize each week for one participant, chosen at random. You may use any stamps and supplies that you wish. Each week a keyword is assigned to the sketch, and this week's keyword is MFTWSC16. All you need to do to enter is upload your card to the gallery at Splitcoast and enter the given keyword in the keyword box during the upload process. After the deadline (noon Eastern on Tuesday) we randomly choose a winner from that week's entries and the winner will receive a $15 gift voucher. If the winning card uses MFT stamps, the participant will earn a $5 bonus, for a total of a $20 gift voucher!

Be sure to head over to Kim's Blog to view the entire list of design team participants...there's plenty of inspiration for you with today’s sketch!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Taylored Expressions Special Release

Taylored Expressions is overflowing with so much new rubber that we couldn't fit it all into our monthly release!!! We're excited to bring you a one-time mid-month release of 3 new stamp set: Labels of Love, You're My Type Upper, and You're My Type Lower. As if that wasn't exciting enough, these three new sets are designed to coordinate with new Spellbinders dies!!! All the new products are available TODAY in the TE Store!!!

We also want to take this opportunity to express a HUGE thank you to Spellbinders, who generously provided our design team members with Grand Calibur die cutting machines. What an amazing gift, eh?!? Well mine has been put to good use cutting multiple dies at one time and using it with the large format Grand Calibur dies. Thank You Spellbinders!!! I'm excited to show you what I'e created today with all these goodies!!!

Let's start with Labels of Love and the coordinating Spellbinders Ribbon Tags Trio 3.

I decided to use my Grand Scalloped Squares to create the pretty card base which measures 5 1/4". You can see here in the photo how the large size of the Grand Calibur die cutting machine easily accommodates the large format Grand dies. It's so smooth to operate and sits securely on the table top thanks to the stability feature.

For the focal point of the card I stamped the Labels of Love image with Memento Tuxedo Black directly onto patterned paper, and then again onto choice buttercream. I used my stamp positioner to place the sentiment in the center then cut out the patterned version with the coordinating Ribbon Tag Trio 3 die. I used my scissors to cut out the buttercream oval, popped it on foam tape for dimension then added some glitter around the edge.

Labels of Love has plenty of image and sentiment choices with 7 frames, 6 flourishes and 18 sentiments, so you're pretty much covered for just about any occasion. This is a full sized stamp set, designed by Taylor as part of the *te* collection. It comes pre-trimmed on EZ Mount cling foam, ready to use straight from the package!!!

The papers on my card are from the Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe collection. I used my scalloped eyelet border die on the orange strip and cut out some pretty butterflies as a little accent. Clear rhinestones seemed like the perfect finishing touch.

To make your shopping easier, Taylor is offering a one-click Labels of Love Bundle, which includes the stamp set and coordinating Spellbinders dies.

My first project was all pretty and girly, but my next one is totally for the boys!

Two weekends ago we were back home for my dad's surprise 80th birthday party and I thought I'd whip up a little home decor shadow box with a picture from his party. I started with a shadow box frame from Ikea that measures 9x9 inches.

I used two fun new alphabets to create the title, You're My Type Upper and You're My Type Lower (with numbers). These are both mini sets illustrated by Taylor as part of the *te* collection and they're also made of deeply etched rubber on EZ Mount cling foam, all trimmed and ready to place on an acrylic block.

The You're My Type sets are designed to work with the new Spellbinders Nested Pennants and Lacey Pennants dies. You can stamp the letters directly onto cardstock or patterned paper and cut them out with the dies, or you can do as I've done and punch them out with the 1/2" circle punch. Then I added a red layer with my 5/8" circle punch and adhered them with foam tape to the double pointed pennants.

I thought it would be fun to create a border along the left edge of the photo using one of the triangular pennants. There are 8 different dies in the Nested Pennants, which can be used for anything from cards to scrapbook pages and even home decor. The patterned papers are all from the My Mind's Eye Alphabet Soup Boy collection.

Finally I added a bouquet of fun balloons, which I cut out with my balloon dies, and secured them in place with a big blue button.

Taylored Expressions has a special offer to celebrate this mid-month release:
Both the NEW Nested Pennants and the NEW Lacey Pennants are 30% off at the TE Store while supplies last!! Regular price is $19.99, but the sale price is only $13.99.

Have fun hopping around to see what the rest of the Baker's Dozen created!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sweet Sunday Cupcake House

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, SSSC113.

I pulled out one of my favourite sets from Taylored Expressions for my card today...Cozy Cottages. This is the current TE Giving Tree stamp set and until the end of April, Taylored Expressions will donate $7 from the sale of each set to Habitat for Humanity. So hurry...get your set now and help Habitat for Humanity at the same time!!

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto choice buttercream and coloured it with copics. I know cherries aren't normally orange, but that's the beauty of cardmaking...anything is possible. :-)
I added a little sparkle to the cherry and the hearts with my orange Spica glitter pen then popped the image on foam tape for dimension. The picket fence die was a natural pairing with this sweet cottage and so was the cloud duo die and some cream felt.

The patterned paper is from the My Mind's Eye Stella Rose Mabel collection and I paired it with suede brown dark and vibrant teal. I used my circles impression plate on the background layer for a little texture and interest then finished with three cream brads.

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch and link your creation on Karen's blog. Now it's time to hop around and see what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Stampers came up with.
Dana White
Jen Tapler
Lynn Put
Sarah-Jane Kale'
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Friday, April 15, 2011

So Proud of You!

I made this card using TESC136 for the layout. Can I just say, I {heart} all the white space!!! I really must make a conscious effort to do this more often. Thanks for the fabulous sketch Taylor!

I used the new Dream Big set from Taylored Expressions and paired it with patterned paper from October Afternoon Report Card. Black accents are always fitting on a grad card so that what I used for my layers.

The image were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream and I coloured the books with copics. I stamped the sentiment before adding the fab star texture with my stars impression plate. A little stitching, some ribbon and brads, and that was it! This was super quick to whip up even with that bit of colouring!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Feeling Green {MFTWSC15}

We're already into the fifteenth fabulous week of MFT Wednesday Stamp Club sketches!!! This one, MFTWSC15, is wide open for all kinds of interpretations and I'm excited to see what you come up with!

I decided to go with Something's Fishy a la mode and imagine that she's fishing in a stream. The entire image is paper pieced. Here's what I did...first I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo black onto choice snow white and coloured it with copics. Then I stamped it again onto the patterned pieces from my Basic Grey Marjolaine pad for her shirt, boots, and the fish. I stamped it a third time onto the lightest blue paper from the pack and ran that piece through an embossing folder. Then I cut out the coloured image, omitting all the fishing line, and glued it into place on the background piece. Because I stamped it on the base layer, the image lines up with the fishing line...sweet!

Next I used my catch a wave and flat-bottom cloud die-namics to add some fun elements. I shortened up the sentiment (which originally reads "Feeling a little green around the gills?") to fit along the bottom of the image and anchored it with a button and some honeydew twine.

I love the sentiments in this set and I wanted to add another one to the inside so I used my sweet stack die-namics to jazz it up a little.

Here are all the sketch details:

There's a prize each week for one participant, chosen at random. You may use any stamps and supplies that you wish. Each week a keyword is assigned to the sketch, and this week's keyword is MFTWSC15. All you need to do to enter is upload your card to the gallery at Splitcoast and enter the given keyword in the keyword box during the upload process. After the deadline (noon Eastern on Tuesday) we randomly choose a winner from that week's entries and the winner will receive a $15 gift voucher. If the winning card uses MFT stamps, the participant will earn a $5 bonus, for a total of a $20 gift voucher!

Be sure to head over to Kim's Blog to view the entire list of design team participants...there's plenty of inspiration for you with today’s sketch!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Sweet Sunday Balloon Bear

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, SSSC112.

I was fortunate to pick up some of the new TCP products when Alma was at my LSS a couple of weeks ago, but the sad part is I didn't have time to ink them up until now!

I used the new Catch My Drift set. This little bear is just adorable with his sweet expression. He's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto choice buttercream and coloured with copics. I added sparkle to the balloons with a few Spica glitter pens. The patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye Alphabet Soup collection.

I love how the Inside Pinking cut-up along the bottom echos the pointy shape of the stacking stars die-namics. I added some green apple twine and "pulled a Pedro" by wrapping it multiple times then separating the strands. I always love when Jackie does that, but she gets the ends to look so much more swoopy than mine.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Taylored Expressions Release Day!!!

Woo Hoo!!! It's finally time to go shopping for all the wonderful new stamps and supplies at Taylored Expressions! You'll find them all in one place in the Fresh Out of the Oven section.

But before you head off to fill your cart, the Baker's Dozen is sharing a recap of all the sets and dies today. So be sure to hop around for even more fabulous ideas.

I'm showcasing It's a Banner Day 3 along with the coordinating Banner Day 3 die. Yesterday I paired it with the previously released CreativiTEA set, but today I wanted to ink up one of the new stamps from this release, Mom a la carte.

I thought the "sending my love" sentiment from It's a Banner Day 3 was a natural pairing with Mom a la carte. But I didn't want the main image to get too wordy so I inked only part of the Mom a la carte image, leaving off the "you're the best" at the bottom. The entire image is paper pieced. Even the sentiment banner is stamped onto patterned paper, all from the My Mind's Eye Stella Rose Gertie collection.

I used my Petite Oval Nestabilities Large to cut out the image then layered it onto some suede brown dark that I cut out with my Labels 10 Nestabilities. Why have I never thought to layer these two before this?!? Isn't it gorgeous!! The layout is a slightly modified version of the Sweet Stop Sketch, SSS102. My pennant border die was perfect for adding a fun touch to the corner and the Hearts impression plate gave the background a perfect texture. A few clear rhinestones and my clear glaze pen on the cup and the heart were all the extra detail this card needed.

Have fun hopping around and getting more ideas!!!

Here are the dies I used today.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peeks Day 2

Today the Baker's Dozen is showcasing Mom a la carte, It's a Banner Day 3, the coordinating Banner Day 3 die and two fabulous card kits. All the new products will be available at Taylored Expressions starting tomorrow, April 7th, at 8am PST.

It's a Banner Day 3 is the last set in the banner series that is illustrated by Taylor for the TE line and was concepted by Iwona Palamountain, and she's playing along with us today for sneak peeks.

The sentiments in this set are so versatile and can be paired with a variety of images, new or old. I decided to give an older set a little love and paired It's a Banner Day 3 with CreativiTEA.

I've used the Emma's Shoppe Card Kit, which contains:
10 choice buttercream cardstock A-2 card bases
10 A-2 envelopes
15 sheets of patterned paper sized for card making at 4" x 6" (3 sheets each of 5 double-sided patterns from the Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe collection)
20 sheets of 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" cardstock (4 sheets each of 5 colours)
1 package of Kaisercraft pearls
8 panels of choice buttercream cardstock sized 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" for images and layering
5 yards of ribbon (2.5 yards each of 2 different styles)
1 Perfect Package Card Box

I created a lovely set of four cards, using the same layout and image on each card, but I switched up the sentiments so they're all different. That way you can see the versatility of It's a Banner Day 3 even when I use the same image.

I stamped the teapot with Memento Tuxedo Black directly onto the floral patterned paper and cut it out. I added a little shading with my R46 copic marker and a small pearl to the lid. I popped the teapot with foam tape onto the pink layer, which was cut out with my From the Heart Frame die.

The banner outline was stamped with regal rose, and I used my stamp positioner to ensure perfect placement of each sentiment. Then I cut out the banners with the coordinating Banner Day 3 die.

Did you notice the texture on the yellow background layer? That's thanks to my circles impression plate. And I added a sweet green scallop to the design using my medium scallop border die.

But I didn't stop at just a set of cards...I also decorated the Perfect Package Card Box that comes in the Emma's Shoppe Card Kit. I wanted to keep the decor quite simple, in keeping with my simply layered cards. The entire focal point was done with a variety of dies: Leafy Branch, Garden Party Blooms 2, and Friendship Blooms. Even with everything I created using this kit, I still have plenty of supplies left for at least six more cards, if not more!