It's a Fabby Happy Day

Happy Bellarific Friday!! I wish I could jump like sweet Fabby here, because I'd be jumping all around the house to celebrate that it's finally Friday, the best day of the week, IMHO, because that means it's Bellarific Friday!!!

Did you play along this week with Jeaniebella's fun sketch? I decided to do a little paper piecing on Fabby's outfit and purse. The rest of her is coloured with copics before I cut her out with rectangle Nesatibilities. I love how bright and happy this card is, thanks to the cheery colours from my Basic Grey Green at Heart papers. I paired them with kiwi kiss, melon mambo and rich razzleberry.

See the little sentiment? It's from a darling set called Mini Words and it's actually Em's handwriting...cool! Talk about having a little of the Bella herself on a card!!! A little stitching (ok, a lot of stitching...) a fun polka dot bow and three fuschia Bonbons finish the details. Oh, and the button is from the coordinating Basic Grey pack.

Next week's Bellarific Friday challenge is for the boys. Create a masculine card or project and email your submission to Em by next Thursday evening to be included in the Friday round-up. Now don't forget to pop over to Bloggabella to see all of this week's sketchy creations, and leave some love while you're there for a chance to win Bella Bucks.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Center of Attention Product Spotlight - Stickers

It's time for this month's Product Focus from Taylored Expressions. Taylor asked us to play with different stickers that are available in the TE Store...fun!

I chose to use the Thrift Shop Mini Market Ledger alphabet for my card and I thought I'd use it a little differently than simply spelling out a sentiment.

I decided to pair the stickers with Cuppie in the Kitchen to create a fun friendship card. I used the letters to spell out words that are associated with friendship then I proceeded to partially cover them up with the image...doh! I like how this creates a custom "patterned paper" look while still leaving the card wide open for a sentiment. You could also use this same technique on a scrapbook page and spell out names of family members, or places you visited on vacation, or emotions that a certain photo evokes...the possibilities are endless!

Cuppie was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream and coloured with copics. I use the floral pattern to paper piece the apron and also to create the flower embellishment. I used my big scallop circle Nestabilities to layer the Cuppie image and also to create the flower and I added a fun black Glitter Candy Dot to the center of the flower to tie in the black patterned paper.

I used the new round binding edge punch on the blush red dark cardstock to make it look like the letter panel had been pulled out of a notebook. The patterned papers are from the coordinating Thrift Shop 8x8 pad. I love coordinating items...makes life so much easier when you sit down to create! The sentiment is cut out using the largest of the Labels Trio dies and I added plenty of stitching all around the card for a homey feel.

Also, I thought I'd show you all the letters I have left after creating this card, so you can see for yourself the value and mileage you get from stickers. I could have altered the stickers too, if I'd thought about it before now...LOL!...like sponging them with Desert Sand for a little depth. I guess I'll save that trick for next time though!

Good news!!! Since stickers are the product focus this month, they'll be on sale for 15% off from now until May 23rd. You'll find the entire sticker section right HERE in the TE Store.

Be sure to hop over to the other Baker's Dozen gals for more inspiration using stickers.
Alex Maldonado
Carolina Butching
Jackie Pedro
Jeanie Witmer
Sankari Wegman
and Taylor VanBruggen

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

TE Blast from the Past Blog Hop

Welcome to the Blast from the Past blog hop sponsored by Taylored Expressions! I'm super excited to see what everyone created using their much loved stamp sets that were released in either 2008 or 2009. I used Doctor's Orders for my card which I made for one of the neighbourhood girls who had an unexpected stay in the hospital. This set is one of my fave go-to sets for get well cards because really, who could resist sweet Cuppie? He makes me smile every time I look at him!

I did plenty of paper piecing and I thought I'd share a photo tutorial at the end of just how I like to paper piece in order to keep the proper perspective of an image. Everything is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream then I coloured Cuppie, the book and the headboard with copics. The rest is paper pieced with fun patterns from My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary.

The image is cut out with rectangle Nestabilities and I layered it onto a big scallop rectangle of Prism suede brown dark. For interest I added plenty of stitching and some Crystal Twinkles along the intense pink scallop border.

Now here's the tutorial showing the way I like to paper piece......it's a little labour intensive but definitely worth the end result.

This shows all the layers cut out and ready to be adhered together...

I cut away the headboard on the green layer...

I cut away the bottom fitted sheet on this pink layer...

I cut away the pillows and coloured Cuppie and the wood feet on the bed on this Buttercream layer...

I cut away Cuppie and the feet on the bed on this pink layer...

For the last layer I added the green flat sheet and the coloured book...

There's plenty more eye candy along the hop so be sure to visit everyone's blog, and have a Blast while you're hopping!!!


Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

A Bookworm Thank You

This is the other card I made for my nephews to give to their teachers. I thought Spencer the Bookworm from Stamping Bella was perfect for a teacher card.

This fun layout is last week's sketch challenge from my friend Janet's Corrosive Challenge blog. I thought the layout was perfect to showcase all these fun paper from October Afternoon's Report Card 8x8 pad. I stamped Spencer with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Cream paper and coloured him with copics. I gave the lenses on his glasses a coat of my clear Glaze pen then cut out the image with rectangle Nestabilities.

I used my circle Nestabilities for the fun accent papers then punched a big green star and added an orange corduroy brad. The sentiment is half of the merci buckets sentiment. My nephews are in french school so I thought it was perfect...I only wish I'd thought of it for the other card I made...oh well.

Don't forget about this week's Bellarific Friday sketch challenge. Email your submission to Em by Thursday evening to be included in the Friday round-up. Oh, and you just might win some Bella Bucks for playing along! Here's the sketch...

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Presents

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC69. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog, The Sweetest Thing.

I'm not quite sure why I keep using the Sweet Sunday Sketches for my Christmas-card-a-week cards, but that seems to be the pattern I've fallen into so why should this week be any different? :)

I dug out this darling Pure Innocence Presents for You set from My Favorite Things for today's sketch. Have a told you how much I LOVE working with circles??? They're my favourite shape, by far, and I love love LOVE the three strips on this sketch too...sooooo many possibilities!! I keept it quite literal though for this card.

I stamped the PI girl onto Choice Buttercream a couple of times because I knew I'd be paper piecing her, and I stamped her onto patterned paper twice as well. Her coat and hat are paper pieced and you might notice that the pattern on her sleeve doesn't match up with the pattern on her coat and that's because I pieced her sleeve as another layer. I like to do that to help keep the proper perspective. The rest of her is coloured with copics and I added some Tiny Twinkles for her buttons. The fuzz on her hat is white liquid applique that I sprinkled with glitter before heating...it's super cute in real life! Instead placing her on a neutral background I used the fun pink snowflake paper from October Afternoon's Good Cheer 8x8 pad (and the paper strips are from that same collection). I ran the blue layer through my snowflakes Cuttlebug folder before attaching everything. I dug through my SU embellishments and found three sizes of red rhinestone brads...perfect!!!

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch and link your project on Karen's blog. Now let's go see what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Stampers have come up with for this sketch.
Jen Tapler
Joanne Basile
Laura Fredrickson
Lynn Put
Nancy Riley
Sarah-Jane Kale'
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Thank You, Teacher

Last month I made a bunch of teather thank you cards and gave them to my friend. Well, as Murphy's Law would have it, my sister-in-law called last week asking if I had a couple of cards her boys could give to their teachers at the end of the year...doh!

Of course I couldn't say no, so I broke out my Make the Grade and Extra Credit sets from Taylored Expressions again.

I used TESC113 for the layout because it gave me a great opportunity to use several of the fun images in these sets. The images are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream and coloured with copics. I used my white gel pen to write the 'thank you' on the black board. The main image is cut out with circle Nestabilities and layered onto a Big Scallop Circle of Prism blush red dark.

I cut out the smaller images by hand and popped them using foam tape onto squares of Prism island mist dark. The patterned papers are from the Cosmo Cricket Boyfriend mini deck and I ran the pencil paper through my swiss dots Cuttlebug folder for dimension before stitching it to the Prism classic yellow-green layer. I figured it was ok to add some Crystal Twinkles to the scallops along the bottom because their teachers are women.

Today some of the Baker's Dozen are showcasing the monthly Key Ingredients subscription kit so be sure to pop over to Taylor's blog for all the details!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Bellarific Anabel

T.G.I.F!!!! And even better, T.G.I.B.F. (Thank Goodness It's Bellarific Friday!!!). LOL!!! This week was a colour challenge with pink, green and chocolate...yum! What a delish combination!

I decided to use a new Lulu for my card today...please meet Anabel...she's part of the April release from Stamping Bella. Does she not look absolutely gorgeous with that ball gown!!

I stamped Anabel with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Cream Paper then coloured her with copics. I gave her glossy black hair with my black Glaze pen then added sparkle to the icing on the cake by colouring over it with my clear Spica glitter pen. The image is cut out with square Nestabilities and I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch from a few weeks ago for the layout, MTSC70. I used one of the pink patterned papers from the Quite Contrary collection and layered everything with chocolate. I had a really tough time with colours when I was editing these photos in Photoshop, so you'll have to just trust me when I say I used Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery, and chocolate. I added plenty of stitching and finished with three cotton candy Bonbons in the bottom right corner.

Next week's Bellarific Friday challenge is a sketch designed by our very own Jeanieabella. Here it is so you can get started on it over the weekend. Just email your submission to Em by next Thursday to be included in the Friday round-up.

Em will be posting this week's round-up on Bloggabella on Monday, so be sure to check back then to see all the pink, green and chocolate eye candy. 

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Izzie Goes a Little Country

I didn't do it on purpose, but my card ended up with a country kinda feel! Must be that red gingham paper, but quite frankly, I love the result!!!

I used one of my newest Izzies from the April release at Stamping Bella, Izzie with a Cherry on Top. I stamped her with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper then coloured her with copics. I stamped the image a second time so I could pop the cupcake for dimension and added some clear Glaze pen to the cherry.

The layout is SC278 from last week. This card is a little smaller than my normal square cards...it measures 4 1/4" square instead of my usual 5 1/4". I just found the image got a little lost on the larger size. I ran the kraft squares through my D'vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder before stitching them down to the base layers.

Don't forget to play along with this week's Bellarific Friday challenge...use soft pink, celery green and chocolate, along with any Stamping Bella image then email your submission to Em by Thursday evening to be included in the Friday round-up.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

It's Raining Pure Innocence

Actually it's bright and sunny here today, but I couldn't resist this sweet Pure Innocence girl any longer. I'd like to introduce you to My Umbrella from My Favorite Things (but she appears to be so popular that she's out of stock at the moment so I couldn't find the direct link for you). Doesn't she just light up any day...rain or shine?!? Well she certainly cheered me up when I created this card on a rainy, windy Saturday this past weekend. The layout is Jen's Sketch For You To Try, which is sponsored by MFT.

I have a big secret that I've been keeping and I FINALLY get to tell you!!! Today I'm a Fabulous Friend over on the MFT blog!!! I {heart} my MFT stamps and I was tickled when Kim emailed to ask if I'd like to be a Fabulous Friend. Sign me UP!!! Thanks so much Kim for honouring me this way!!! Your stamps are all so adorable and super fun to work with...you make it easy to be creative with them! I created a special project for the occasion and Kim is sharing it on the MFT Blog so I hope you'll pop over and take a peek!

So would you like to know about this card or have you already left to head over to the MFT blog? LOL! I stamped My Umbrella with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream and cut it out with circle Nestabilities. The umbrella and boots are paper pieced and all the patterned papers are from October Afternoon's Thrift Shop 8x8 pad (except the clouds...that paper is from Fly a Kite). The rest of this little sweetie is coloured with copics. I gave the umbrella, boots and rain drops a couple of coats with my clear Glaze pen to make them shine. Notice the new Die-namics??? I used both the Jumbo Scallop and the Clouds dies...swoon!!! I did plenty of sewing and distressing on this card including crumpling the clouds for texture.

Don't forget to pop over to the MFT blog to see my Fabulous Friend Project!!!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Elves

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC68. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog, The Sweetest Thing.

I went for Christmas with this card since I fell off the Christmas-card-a-week wagon a couple of weeks ago! This fun Give a Little set from The Cat's Pajamas has been sitting patiently on my stamp table since February and yesterday Poochie called out to get inky, so I obliged. I {heart} Poochie...he reminds me of our sweet mini Schnauzer, Shadow. This image takes me back to when we were kids and we'd pile the presents around us before opening them...good times!!!

Anyway, on to the card...I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream three times. Everything is coloured with copics and I popped the presents for dimension, then popped the little teddy bear one more time cause he's out in front. The patterned papers are from the October Afternoon Good Cheer 8x8 pad and I did a little stitching around all the edges. The sentiment is punched out with my SU modern label punch, sponged with black around the edges, then I added two red Tiny Twinkles. I finished the card with pink and red buttons.

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch and link your creation to Karen's blog. Now let's go see what fabulous eye candy the rest of the Sweet Sunday Stampers came up with.

• Jen Tapler
• Joanne Basile
• Karen Giron
• Laura Fredrickson
• Lynn Put
• Nancy Riley
• Sarah-Jane Kale'
• Vicki Burdick

I totally spaced on today being Mother's day...see, we don't have kids, my Mom is travelling so I won't be talking to her and she lives in Canada so I won't be seeing her, and my MIL already received her gift on Friday and she's in Canada too with plans for today. So, for me, today's just another Sunday. But, for all the Moms out there, Happy Mother's Day and I hope you have a fabulous day!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen