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

Save the Planet

Here's my Bellarific card for this past challenge. The theme was nature/flowers.

As I flipped through my Bella Bindahs (LOVE this storage system!) looking for just the right image, I realized Eco Bella has never seen ink, and she's just perfect for a nature theme!

I started by stamping her with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper then I coloured her with copics. I paper pieced the little bag she's holding and I added some shimmer to the recycling arrows with my Stardust pen. I cut her out with my Labels 8 Nestabilities then I placed the same nestie on some orange cardstock, traced around the outer edge and cut it out with scissors to get the mat. I stitched around the panel with some chocolate thread.

I ran some blue cardstock through my spots & dots Cuttlebug folder before adhering it to the orange layer. The patterned paper is by Crate Paper, the Little Sprout collection. I punched a fancy border along the striped piece before layering it onto some green. Instead of just stamping the sentiment onto the image panel I decided to create a flat banner. The sentiment is stamped onto another pattern in the Little Sprout line then layered on green. I added a fun brown button tied with linen thread.

Don't forget to pop over to Bloggabella and see all the fabulous creations for this challenge!

Stamping Bella is having a blog hop featuring Chichiboulie images, and YOU'RE INVITED TO JOIN THE HOP!!! The only requirement is that you use a Chichiboulie image, either the Bittyblooms or the Fairies. Read all the details and sign up for the hop on this thread in the Stamping Bella Forum on Splitcoast. I hope you'll hop along with us on October 31st!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Spooky Spider Web and a Frightfully Fantastic Sale at Taylored Expressions

With Halloween just around the corner I thought I'd crank out one more spooky card using my Spooky Expressions from Taylored Expressions along with the Halloween Key Ingredients.

Believe it or not, I whipped up this card in about 30 minutes...that's got to be a record for me! I used Taylor's sketch challenge, TESC88, for the layout.

I started by stamping the spider with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White then I masked the center of his body to avoid having any of the spider web lines going through the orange part, then I stamped the spider web. The image is cut out with Circle Nestabilities and layered onto Prism Intense Orange and Prism Black (both from the Halloween KI). I coloured the spider's body with my YR14 copic marker. I wanted the spider to stand out from the web so I traced over him with my black Glaze pen...once that was dry I added a layer with my clear Glaze pen for more gloss and dimension. Glaze pen tip: I find that the ink flows better if I hold my Glaze pen upright instead of on an angle, and I move the pen very slowly for best coverage.

I used my MS spider web punch on some black and layered that behind the fun bat print patterned paper (Basic Grey Eerie from the Halloween KI). The awesome Halloween brads and the skull button are also from the Halloween KI.

There's a big Fright Night Special over at Taylored Expressions, on now through Sunday, October 25th! All Halloween stamp sets and the Halloween Key Ingredients are on sale for 20% off!!!

Don't miss this chance to pick up these frightfully sweet stamp sets.

Trick or Sweet

Trick or Sweet II

Frightful Night

Spooky Expressions

Punchy Potions

Halloween Key Ingredients (final quantities)

Also, check out the What's the Deal section for even more incredible deals!

And if you're looking for a storage solution, be sure to check out the new plastic storage cases that Taylored Expressions is now selling. They're on sale this weekend too, for $2.99 each!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Old Fashioned Christmas

Well, you may not have known this but I've been in a bit of a funk the past couple of days...a stamping funk that is. I haven't felt like stamping at all...nothing's been inspiring me...and I didn't know what to do about it. So this afternoon I forced myself to sit down and use an image that I've been wanting to use but hadn't yet. Enter my Old Fashioned Christmas Set of JustRite stamps that I picked up at Taylored Expressions a while ago. Although I'm a snowman girl, I really love the sleigh in this set so that's what I decided to use.

After creating this card I'm very happy to report that I found my Mojo and I adore this creation. It's one that really makes me happy to look at! I wish you could see it IRL too because the photos really don't do it justice. I used Taylor's sketch challenge, TESC87, to get me started.

I started by stamping the sleigh with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White, twice, then I coloured it with copics. I cut out the sleigh and popped it for dimension. I added sparkle to the gifts and bag with my red Spica glitter pen but my very favourite detail is the glossy sleigh. I achieved that with two coats of my clear Glaze pen (I let the first coat dry before adding the second).

I picked up the patterned paper last Friday on my shopping trip with Joanne to our LSS, Right at Home Scrapbooking...it's Imaginisce, Polar Expressions line. The striped paper has sparkly lines throughout...fun! I used my swiss dots Cuttlebug folder on the green piece before ahering it to the Prism Blush Red Dark layer. The card needed an embellishment and I played around with different things before deciding on a half-circle of sage Bella Glitter Dots.

On a personal note, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who stops by and leaves a comment. I can honestly say that your kind words are what got me into my stamp room today, despite not really feeling like it. You always say the nicest things and make me smile! Thank YOU! {{{hugs}}}

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Be The Change....

Just a super quick post for today! The weather's warmed up and it's a gorgeous fall day so I'm going out to enjoy it!

I've had this quote from Unity for quite a while now so it's about time that I use it...right?!? When I saw Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge, MTSC44, I thought it was a perfect opportunity. I definitely wanted something quick and simple and this fit the bill perfectly.

The sentiment is stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa then cut out with oval Nestabilities. All the cardstock is from my August 20th Key Ingredients. I added buttons from my stash over each of the circles on the image and I think the longest part of this entire card was threading the buttons! LOL!!! The brown thread was already in my machine from the previous card I made so I went with it and stitched around the edges. Then I added some white brads and ribbon to brighten it up a little.

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

Double Trouble

What happens when you go shopping with a friend? Do you coax each other and urge the other to purchase things? Well, that's exactly what happened when my friend Joanne and I went shopping to our local LSS this past Friday. If you could only have been a fly on the wall in that store, you would have been busting a gut laughing. The conversations went something like this..."that's really cute"..."yeah, you should get it, it would be so perfect for your boys"...."it would be perfect for your nephews too so you should get it"..."ok"! Just press 'repeat' on your iPod and that's what could be heard around the store while we were there...can you say 'Double Trouble'? Needless to say, we left the store with two practically identical shopping bags of goodies! Luv ya GF!!! When are we going shopping again?!?

Joanne had the clever idea that we should both use our new October Afternoon Report Card paper today for our creations...fun...I'm in!!!

Of course, since I bought the paper with my nephews in mind, I thought it would be perfect to use with one of the adorable new kids from Stamping Bella...I LOVE this new line of characters!!!! I decided to use Noah the Computer Guy because he really reminds me of one of my nephews...crazy hair and all!

I stamped him with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper then coloured him with copics. I cut him out with circle Nestabilities then layered him onto an Intense Kiwi layer cut out with Labels 3 Nestabilities. I added a little stitching around the edge for interest, but it still has a masculine feel. When my Mom was here visiting recently she went home with just about all the masculine cards I'd created so I'm kinda back to square one with masculine cards and I need to re-stock. :)

The rest of the card is very simple. The white card base is 5 inches square. I layered some Prism Twilight Dark (which I ran through my paisley Cuttlebug folder) then added the fun October Afternoon Report Card patterned paper to the left edge. Aren't the colours just perfect for boys!!! I punched a star from some Prism Papaya Puree Dark then layered a ghost star and a button. I finished the card with two twilight Glitter Dots in the top left corner.

I can't wait to pop over and see what Joanne created!!! And don't forget about this week's Bellarific challenge...it's a nature/flower theme, so get stamping!

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

Totally Creepy Saturday

Well ok, maybe it's not really a creepy Saturday, but there are some pretty creepy Halloween decorations around town!!! It still amazes me how much people decorate for Halloween...it's so FUN!!!

So in keeping with the spirit of Halloween, I have a totally creepy card for you. I used this week's Splitcoast sketch challenge, SC250, for the layout. When I saw the sketch I knew it would be perfect for some of the smaller images in the Spooky Expressions set from Taylored Expressions, and naturally I reached for my Halloween Key Ingredients because everything is already perfectly coordinated.

I started by stamping the spider, bat and owl images with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White then I cut them out with square Nestabilities. I ran my black Glaze pen over the spider and bat images to make them shiny then I coloured the owl with copics and stamped the sentiment. I couldn't resist adding googlie eyes to the owl...he has the most perfect eyes for googlie eyes!!!

The spider web border was fun to create. First I punched the black cardstock with my MS web border punch, then I misted it with Iridescent Pearls Maya Mist. It has a really nice sparkle and picks up the other colours in the card...cool!!! I loved how quickly my cardstock dried after spraying the Maya Mist. Sale alert...all the Maya Mist at Taylored Expressions is on sale for 15% off til the end of the day today!!!

The rest of the card is just a few layers of cardstock mounted on a white base...nothing complicated. I used my forest branches Cuttlebug folder on the orange layer to add some texture. I was just thinking...these smaller images would be great to use as quick and easy treat bag toppers too...just stamp them, punch them out and add them to the treat bags you'll be handing out to the ghosts and goblins on Halloween.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Holiday Ornament and a Christmas Card Update...

When I sat down to stamp last night I was in a Christmas card making mood...again! It's been sooooooo chilly here this week and this morning we're getting our first snowflakes of the season...eeks!!!

I decided to use the Mojo Monday #108 sketch for the layout. I pulled all my colour inspiration from my fun Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses paper...it's so sweet!

I started by stamping the Ornament with Holly from Stamping Bella with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper then I coloured it with copics. I cut out the image with Labels 8 Nestabilities then I added a little Glamour Dust glitter to the dots around and on the ornament.

I layered the Basic Grey PP onto some Prism Rose Light then I stitched around the edges with my Janome. I love this particular patterned paper with this image because the swirls tie in so nicely with the swirl on the ornament. Next I ran some Prism Island Mist Light through my swiss dots Cuttlebug folder, then I used my corner rounder on just the top left corner to soften it.

I finished the card with some pretty polka dot ribbon, a ghost snowflake (my very favourite winter embellishment) and some Bella Glitter Dots in platinum and pink orchid.

If you stop by on a regular basis then you know that I've been on a mission to stamp one Christmas card per week. Well I've pretty much stuck to that goal (and even made more than one a week in the last little while) and I'm totally excited about how many Christmas cards I've made already this year! Wanna know how many??? I'm up to exactly 50 cards including this one!!! Wooo Hoooo!!!! Best part...I have just over 50 people on my Christmas card list so I may actually get a head start on next years cards...can you believe it!!! Hopefully you've already started your cards, but if not, get going so you're not stressed in December. There's only 71 sleeps til Christmas!!!

Don't forget to play along with the current Bellarific Friday challenge. Em's given us until next week to create something with a nature/flower theme. You have all weekend to stamp, so no excuses, k?

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen