Happy Birthday Janet!!!!

Today we're doing a fun little hop to celebrate my friend Janet's birthday! If it wasn't for stamping I never would have met Janet...so glad you're a stamper my friend!!!

Janet loves all things music so I just naturally pulled out my You're my Hero set from Taylored Expressions along with my Rock Star patterned paper. I used TESC112 for the layout. The circle background is stamped with three different colours, brocade blue, kiwi kiss and more mustard then I stamped the people with Brilliance Graphite Black. The sentiment was inked with really rust and black. The little Glitter brads below the sentiment were lost on that fun patterned background so I placed them on black circles that I punched with my 1/4" circle punch to make them pop. Then the left corner seemed a little empty so I added more brads and punched stars.

Janet, I hope you have a rockin' birthday!!! And by the way...this card is gonna be late arriving to a mailbox near you! Really though, did you expect me to be on time?!? I pride myself on extending the birthday wishes/celebrations!!! Hugs!!!  :)

Now it's time to hop on over to Joan's blog to see what she's created. And don't forget to pop over the Janet's blog at the end and wish her a BIG happy birthday!!!

Here's the entire list of hoppers:

Karen: http://paperplayhouse.blogspot.com/

Joan: http://scrapmum.blogspot.com/

Dana: http://danashouseofcards.blogspot.com/

Mary: http://mbryt1.blogspot.com/

Nancy: http://cardworthy.blogspot.com/

Anita: http://www.hoveyhut.blogspot.com/

Michelle: http://micheldesigns.blogspot.com/

Anne: http://stargrovesblog.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Bellarifically Tea-riffic!

Happy Bellarific Friday! This week's challenge was flowers...flowers of any kind...stamps, paper, embellishments, etc. I did my darndest to use as many types of flowers as I could. Really though, it wasn't a tough challenge...flowers are wonderful and go with pretty much anything!

So on to my card...I stamped Tilly the Teacup Girl from Stamping Bella with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Cream Paper and coloured her with copics. I adore her hair...OMG!!! I was on the phone with Dana while I was colouring her hair and I just kept oooh-ing and aaaaah-ing at all the gorgeous swirls. It was quite funny, actually! I stamped the teacup a second time so I could cut it out and pop it for dimension.

The colours are totally inspired by the piece of sweet flowery patterned paper from my October Afternoon Thrift Shop 8x8 pad. I added some kraft cardstock into the mix because my fellow Babe Jeanie has a That's Krafty challenge over on her blog. It's simple...just use some kraft cardstock on your creation. I even used kraft ribbon too! Oh, and the layout is the Sweet Stop Sketch, SSS53, from last week. The flowers were punched from cardstock and I added some light amber Bonbons to the centers.

Next week's Bellarific Friday Challenge is a colour challenge...chocolate, soft pink and celery green. Use any Stamping Bella image along with these colours to create your project then email a photo to Em by next Thursday to be included in the Friday round-up. You could win Bella Bucks just for playing along.

Don't forget to hop over to Bloggabella to see this week's flowery creations and leave some love while you're there for a chance to win Bella Bucks.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Bee Happy it's Release Day!!!

Woo Hoo...It's release day at Taylored Expressions!!! Today the Baker's Dozen is sharing two new Father's Day a-la-carte images and a recap of the super sweet sets we shared over the past two days. All the new products are available now in the TE Store and be sure to check out the Fresh Out of the Oven category too for more new things.

The first card I want to share today uses one of the new Father's Day a-la-carte images, Real Classic. This car is amazing and comes with two sentiments too!

I used the In The Kitchen Project Pantry for this card...see, I told you I'd use it for a masculine card! The colours and patterns work well for just about any occasion, not just for Cuppie in the Kitchen! I started by stamping the card with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream (included in the Project Pantry) then I coloured it with copics. I added some sparkle to the chrome parts with my clear Spica glitter pen then gave the windshield and headlights a glossy shine with my clear Glaze pen. The layout is Mojo137.

I added stitching and piercing for interest and used my copic Multiliner to spell out DAD on the license plate. The sentiment fit perfectly in the largest size of my Spellbinders double ended tags and I added two pewter brads to finish it.

This next card is just buzzing with cuteness, in my humble opinion!!! I used Garden Party Critters and the Garden Party Project Pantry along with a piece of kraft cardstock from the In the Kitchen Project Pantry for the bee hive.

The bees are pretty basic but I added some sparkle to the black parts of their bodies with my pitch black Spica glitter pen then coloured the wings with my clear Spica glitter pen...fun! The real star is the bee hive though. I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black onto kraft several times then cut out the different layers a popped them on foam tape for dimension. Then I added some shading with Copic markers. I just love how this hive turned out...doesn't it look like a hive of activity with all those sweet bees buzzing around!

I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch, MTSC72, for the layout and made the cute bow with my Bow Easy...I still use it all the time even though I may not always mention it! I couldn't resist adding a bee to the center of the bow and of course, no flying bee is complete without a trail of Crystal Twinkles!!!

So there you have it...this month's fabulous release!!! You can see more of the Father's Day a-la-carte images on the rest of the Baker's Dozen blogs along with more projects with the sets we already shared.

• Alex Maldonado
• Carolina Butching
• Charmaine Ikach
• Donna Baker
• Jackie Pedro
• Jami Sibley
• Jeanie Witmer
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Melissa Sauls
• Sandra MacLean-Guest designer for May-June
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Hangin' Out in the Kitchen Sneak Peeks

It's day two of sneak peeks from Taylored Expressions and we have a sweet line-up for you today...two new sets and another Project Pantry! Everything will be available in the TE Store tomorrow starting at 8am PST.

The first project I'm sharing today uses the new set Hangin' Out. This set was a concept by our very own Sankari and illustrated by Nancy McKinney as part of the Whimsical Wishes line.

I decided to jazz up a canvas tote for my mom...she carries the clothes pins from the house to the clothes line with every load of laundry. After watching this colouring on fabric tutorial on Sherrie Siemens' blog I set to work.

The canvas bag I picked up at Michael's isn't a very smooth surface so I wasn't sure how it would work, but I love the result! I lined up the images on a large clear block then stamped them all at once onto the canvas bag using SU black craft ink. When the ink dried I heat set it with my iron. Then I coloured the images with Copic markers...very patiently because the ink spreads along the fibers in the fabric. Then I hand-stitched the clothes line with linen thread and added buttons to the poles. This clothes pin bag is so much prettier than the plastic bucket my mom was using!

My next project takes us from the laundry room to the kitchen with Cuppie in the Kitchen and the In The Kitchen Project Pantry. Cuppie is cooking up all sorts of fun things in this set but I decided to use the cookie image...I love cookies!!!

I used SC277 for the layout. First I stamped Cuppie with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream (included in the In The Kitchen Project Pantry) then I stamped it again onto kraft cardstock from the Project Pantry so I could paper piece the cookies. The rest of the image is coloured with copics then cut out with rectangle Nestabilities.

I punched the sentiment (which reads "life is short eat dessert first!" and I'm totally on board with that sentiment! LOL!!) with my SU modern label punch and added two Tiny Twinkles to the ends. I love the colours and patterned papers in the In The Kitchen Project Pantry, and you'll see in my post tomorrow that I used them for a masculine card too! Stop by Taylor's blog to see the full In The Kitchen Project Pantry kit.

The Project Pantry kits are available for purchase individually for $22.95 or you can bundle this kit with Cuppie in the Kitchen for just $41.50 until May 9th only. After May 9th the bundle will be the regular price of $44.90. The great thing is all the Project Pantry kits are completely separate from the Key Ingredients Subscription so anyone can purchase them starting tomorrow at 8am PST.

Now let's hop around to the rest of the Baker's Dozen to see what everyone cooked up today with Hangin' Out, Cuppie in the Kitchen, and the In The Kitchen Project Pantry.

• Alex Maldonado
• Carolina Butching
• Charmaine Ikach
• Donna Baker
• Jackie Pedro
• Jami Sibley
• Jeanie Witmer
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Melissa Sauls
• Nancy McKinney
• Sankari Wegman
• and Taylor VanBruggen

Tomorrow is release day and I'll have another new A-la-carte image to share so be sure to pop in.
Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Garden Party Sneak Peeks

It's day one of sneak peeks from Taylored Expressions. The stamps and supplies you see today will be available in the TE Store starting Friday, May 7th at 8am PST. Today the Baker's Dozen is introducing a brand new stamp line created by Taylor herself, called "TE Stamps"! To kick off this line, Taylor designed and illustrated two sweet coordinating sets, Garden Party Blooms and Garden Party Critters along with our first big background stamp, Cloudy Days. The background stamp is a nice large size, 5.75 inches square so it'll cover even large square cards. The Garden Party sets include a fun mix of whimsical images in both bold and outline style so you can either whip up a quick card with the bold images or take a little more time to colour the outline images.

But wait, there's another new product line to tell you about...Project Pantry! When you're cooking you head to the pantry for the perfect ingredients, right? Well Taylored Expressions is satisfying the ingredient list for your creativity with a new line of kits called the Project Pantry!!! These kits are a variation of the popular Key Ingredients kits and Taylored Card Kits. We'll introduce new Project Pantry kits each month at release time and you'll have the option of purchasing them with or without the stamps.

The first card I'm sharing today is a quick one using the bold images from Garden Party Blooms and the Garden Party Project Pantry.

I used chalk inks in yellow ochre, tangerine, aquamarine and olive pastel to ink the images then stamped them onto Choice Buttercream (included in the Garden Party Project Pantry). I used this week's Card Positioning System sketch, CPS165, for the layout and this week is sponsored by Taylored Expressions! My Big Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities made an appearance on this card...love them! Aren't the colours in the Garden Party Project Pantry so much fun! I added some stitching, a strip of grass punched with my MS grass border punch and two Crystal Twinkles then called it done!

Next I inked up some of the critters from Garden Party Critters with Memento Tuxedo Black and stamped them onto Choice Buttercream. I used my Garden Party Project Pantry again for this card.

The images are coloured with copics and I added some sparkle to the bee's wings with my clear Spica glitter pen. The image is cut out with circle Nestabilities. The layout for this card is TESC111. I used the Cloudy Days background stamp for the strip along the left side to show you that you don't always have to use a background stamp for a background!

The Garden Party Project Pantry is full of wonderful card-making supplies for only $22.95. Taylor will be sharing all the details of today's Project Pantry kit on her blog. Or you can bundle it with Garden Party Blooms and Garden Party Critters for just $59.95 and save about 10%, but only until May 9th...after that the bundle will be the regular price of $66.85. There are so many fun sentiments in these sets that they'll quickly become favourites in your collection for just about any occasion.

Now let's go see what the rest of the Baker's Dozen has cooked up with Garden Party Blooms, Garden Party Critters and the Garden Party Project Pantry kit.

• Alex Maldonado
• Carolina Butching
• Charmaine Ikach
• Donna Baker
• Jackie Pedro
• Jami Sibley
• Jeanie Witmer
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Melissa Sauls
• Sankari Wegman
• and Taylor VanBruggen
• 
  
• Sneak peeks continue tomorrow with two more fun sets and another Project Pantry kit.
• Thanks for stopping by!
• Karen

Mother, defined

I saw this fun layout on the Paper Dolls challenge blog and thought it would work perfectly with the  wonderful Mother Definition from Stamping Bella. Have you read it? I know...it's a definition, but it's quite a nice sentiment and this is the card I'm sending to my mom for Mother's Day.

I know the green flower looks like it's really "in your face" but for some reason it's showing up quite a bit brighter in the photo than it does on the real card. I tried playing around with the colours in Photoshop but it didn't seem to make a difference. Instead, just imagine it's the same colour as the green in the patterned paper, which is a mix from the Quite Contrary collection. The pink cardstocks are Prism frosted pink and intense pink. The sentiment is popped on foam tape for a little dimension and I also stitched around the patterned panels for interest.

This week's Bellarific Friday Challenge is All About Flowers!!! Use anything with flowers, embellishments, paper, Stamping Bella stamps and email your submission to Em by Thursday evening to be included in the Friday round-up. Oh, and of course there's some Bella Bucks for one lucky challenge participant, so get your flowers out and play along!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Sentiment

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC67. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog, The Sweetest Thing.

For my card today I decided to make something completely outside my normal style. This idea came to me as soon as I saw this week's sketch. I recalled seeing a twisted ribbon flower tutorial on someone's blog several months ago (sorry, I can't recall who you are, but if it's you, please let me know so I can give proper credit) and knew it would be perfect for this sketch. Plus, my Signature Greetings from Papertrey Ink arrived this week and these sentiments are pretty enough to take center stage on a card.

I stamped the sentiment with chocolate craft ink and embossed it with clear detail powder to give it a little more presence. I used my corner chomper to chomp the top right corner of the white panel then did a little paper piercing border. The white panel is layered onto Prism frosted pink (which I ran through my textile Cuttlebug folder) and chocolate chip. As if there wasn't already enough texture with the flower and cuttlebug folder, I wanted the ribbon strips to have some interest so I pleated the green one and stitched it "saddle stitch style" before adding two ribbon leaves. I tried adding different elements to the flower center but nothing looked as good as the plain flower.

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch and link your creation to Karen's blog. Now it's time to see what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Stampers created with this week's sketch.
Jen Tapler
Joanne Basile
Laura Fredrickson
Lynn Put
Nancy Riley
Sarah-Jane Kale'
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Bellarific House Circle

Happy Bellarific Friday! Did you play along this week? The challenge was to Ink Up What You Haven't Used Yet. Well, with several (make that seven) Bindahs full of Stamping Bella's fabulous images, I must admit that I do have a few (ahem, I mean more that I care to admit) images that haven't seen ink yet.

I dug through my older images though and found this cute House Circle that hadn't seen ink yet. Why??? It's so adorable...why have I not used it until now??? Hmph...I'm gonna blame it on time, or lack there-of.

Anywho...I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Cream Paper then coloured it with copics. I added some clear Glaze pen to the window and the sun, then dusted the sun with Glamour Dust glitter before the Glaze pen dried. I used my Marvy 2" circle punch to punch out the image then layered it onto some Prism Suede Brown Dark. The layout is SC273 and I added the sentiment and ribbon to the rectangle panel because it was looking a little plain. The patterned paper is Cosmo Cricket's Earth Love.

Next week's Bellarific Friday challenge is May Flowers...you know...April showers bring My flowers. All you have to do is use one or more flowers on your card...either an image, patterned paper, paper flowers, any type of flowers count but don't forget to pair your flowers Stamping Bella images. Don't forget to stop by Bloggabella to see this week's round-up and leave a comment while you're there for a chance to win some Bella Bucks!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

I Miss You...

I whipped up a quick little card a few minutes ago and instead of waiting I thought I'd share it with you right now. When I was blog surfing earlier today there were a few challenges that caught my eye and I've combined them on this card.

The first is the Three Cheers for Chairs challenge on the Moxie Fab blog. What a perfect excuse to use my new Chair-ished set from Papertrey. Then I saw a new challenge blog, The Papertrey Paper Dolls and their first challenge was a sketch (I'm too late to link my creation to the weekly challenge but that didn't stop me...really, you're never too late to play along with any challenge if it gets the creative juices flowing, right?). And finally, my friend Jeanie has a Krafty Thursday feature on her blog and I decided to jump in and use kraft cardstock on my card today, in honour of her! Phew...that's a good mix of challenges in one card. I hope you'll play along in a challenge that gets you stamping just for fun!

I had so much fun making this card though! It came together super quick and the paper piecing was easy peasy. I liked to combination of papers I used yesterday from my Green at Heart 6x6 pad so I used them again for this card. The floor is a stamp from the set then I just coloured it in with copics. Probably the longest part of the card was stitching the ribbon into pleats, but even that only took about 5 minutes. The buttons coordinate perfectly because they're Basic Grey buttons. It's funny, I have a LOT of buttons and when I bought these I KNEW I didn't need them, but I wanted them, so I bought them, and I'm so happy I did because they coordinate perfectly!!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

A Little Lovin' from the Oven

Happy Wednesday!!! As I said in my last post, my birthday card stash is kinda low so I'm working at building it up a little. I received some happy mail yesterday...my latest order from My Favourite Things so I cracked into it right away.

I decided to use Lovin' From the Oven and pair it with this week's Card Positioning System sketch, CPS164, which is sponsored by MFT. I stamped the baking image several times with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and two of the patterned papers from my Basic Grey Green at Heart 6x6 pad. Then I put the image together with a combination of paper piecing and copic colouring. I added a layer of clear Glaze pen to the bowl for a little shine.

I matted the image on black to make it stand out more then paired it with Prism blush red light, SU rich razzleberry and kiwi kiss cardstock. AND, most exciting of all, there's a brand new product on this card that arrived with my VIP kit...LOVE it!!! I'm not gonna spill the beans, but I know you'll die when you find out what it is!!!

The finished card size is 3.25 x 6.5 inches. I'd just like to add that I totally agree with the saying on this card: Birthday cake has zero calories! It's true...really!!!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen