Bellarific Chillin'

Happy Bellarific Friday! This week's challenge theme was Here Comes Summer, and let me tell you, I'm SO ready for sumer!

I decided to use the Turtle Tots-Summer Girls image from Stamping Bella...they're just too cute for words! But I really only wanted the one with the ice cream cone so she's the only one I inked up...presto...a single image with three turtles now becomes three individual images! Love it when I can get more mileage from an image.

She's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper and coloured with copics. I cut her out with Netabilities and stitched her to the pink layer. The patterned paper is My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary which I layered onto intense kiwi. And yes, I still have plenty of this paper left...I don't ever think I'll use it all up. Actually, I can not recall ever using up all of one patterned paper because there's always something new I want to dig into. But I'm still not tired of this one.  :)

The layout is the current Sweet Stop Sketch, SSS58, although I didn't add quite as many flowers as the sketch called for. Chill Out seemed like the perfect sentiment to go along with my bikini clad, ice cream eating turtle and I finished the card with oyster baubles in the corners.

Be sure to hop over to Bloggabella to see this week's round-up and leave some love while you're there for a chance to win Bella Bucks. We're taking a 2 week break from Bellarific Fridays because Em is travelling to England. So the next challenge is a sketch by Jodi and it's not due until June 25th, which give you plenty of time to play along. 

Don't forget Em released several fun new images this past Monday. Be sure to head over to Stamping Bella to see everything...click this link for the new images. Take advantage of 10% off everything you order, use junerelease10 at checkout, but hurry before the sale ends!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

It's Release Day at Taylored Expressions!

Finally all the sets the Baker's Dozen has been previewing this week are now available at Taylored Expressions. Today you'll see a recap of the sets as you hop along from blog to blog because frankly, there was just sooooo much to share that we want to remind you of everything! :)

Today I have two cards for you. This first card uses the new Summer Afternoon set.

I love the solid images in this set and the wonderful sayings...it makes it pretty easy to whip up quick cards. I paired the stamps with patterned paper from My Mind's Eye So Sophie Clever collection and used sage shadow for the solid. The images are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream then cut out with rectangle Nestabilities. I coloured over the poppies with my red Spica glitter pen and it didn't turn them red as I'd hoped, but it did give then a pretty shimmer. I made the paper flower from sage shadow cardstock following this tutorial.

This next card pairs one of the beautiful sympathy sentiments from Care & Comfort with the gorgeous frame image from Summer Afternoon.

I stamped the frame image with sage shadow craft ink onto Choice Buttercream and embossed it with clear powder. Then I cut it out with Labels 3 Nestabilities and layered it onto sage shadow (I hand cut the mat by tracing the outside of the same Nestabilities shape) and used the inner edge of the Nestability as a guide to pierce around the edges. The sentiment is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and punched out with my 1 3/4" circle punch. Then I added a border of black Tiny Twinkles. The luscious black silk ribbon is so soft and pliable...just gorgeous to work with. The patterned paper is another in the So Sophie Clever collection and I added a pop of black to separate the layers.

I hope you'll pop over to the rest of the Baker's Dozen blogs to see more inspiration before heading to the TE Store to fill up your cart. Happy hopping and shopping!

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

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek Day 3-Hangin' Out - at the Beach

The fun continues today with more previews of stamps that will be available at Taylored Expressions tomorrow, Friday June 4th! Today half of the Baker's Dozen is sharing samples created with 4th of July Stamps a-la-carte images and the rest of us are sharing samples using Hangin' Out - At the Beach. I love love LOVE this Hangin' Out set and I can see soooooooo many combinations using it along with the original Hangin' Out set that was released last month. This set is another carefully thought out collection of images and sentiments illustrated by Nancy McKinney (she's playing along with sneak peeks today too!) for the Whimsical Wishes line.

As soon as I saw this set I knew immediately that I wanted to create a frame. After all, we just got back from Hawaii so I knew I'd have plenty of fabulous beachy picture to swoon over. Isn't this paradise?!? This was the view from our hotel room...we sat out on the balcony every morning drinking our delicious Kona coffee. I already wanna go back!!!

I picked up the wood frame at a craft store and it measures 8 inches square. I love how the wide border affords plenty or space for creativity. I started by choosing my papers...the patterned papers are from October Afternoon Fly a Kite 8x8 pad and I added in some kraft for contrast. Actually, I must confess...the entire bottom wavy part wasn't in my original plan but I had to get creative to hide some ink smudges that happened after the base paper was glued down. Now I honestly can't imagine the frame without the wavy layers...they add so much dimension and help ground the images.

All the images were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream then coloured with copics. I cut out an extra section of palm leaves and popped them on foam tape for dimension. If you look closely to the detail photos you'll see there are touches of Spica Glitter pen on each image too...I love the subtle shimmer the Spica pens give.

I have to tell you that the entire time I was colouring these patio lanterns I was singing Kim Mitchell's Patio Lanterns song. It's one of those that when it pops in your head you're singing it for the rest of the day, and I'm still singing it. Kim Mitchell is a Canadian artist so if you're not familiar with the song Patio Lanterns you really should google it...it's super catchy and perfect for summer time! "...under those patio lanterns..."  :)

Now it's time to hop on and see what the rest of the Baker's Dozen created using either Hangin' Out-At the Beach or the 4th of July Stamps a-la-carte.

• 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

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek Day 2-Udderly Sweet

Today the Baker's Dozen is sharing sneak peeks of a few new sets and I'm lucky to be sharing Cuppie's newest adventure on the farm. This Udderly Sweet set will be available at Taylored Expressions on Friday, June 4th. All the supplies I used are from the Udderly Sweet Project Pantry kit.

I stamped Cuppie with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream (included in the Udderly Sweet Project Pantry) a couple of times than again onto the patterned paper so I could paper piece the tractor. The rest of the image is coloured with copics. I added a little shimmer to the side mirror with my clear Spica glitter pen then gave the lights a glassy look with my clear Glaze pen. The image is attached with foam tape to the blue rectangle I cut out with Nestabilities.

I do my best to get cards out on time for birthdays but life sometimes gets in the way so I know this belated birthday card will come in handy one day soon. I used Taylor's Sketch Challenge TESC115 for the layout. The fun shaped brads and colourful ribbons are included in the Udderly Sweet Project Pantry. The only other thing I added was two Crystal Twinkles to dot the exclamation points.

As you hop along today you'll see samples using Udderly Sweet and also samples using two new Whimsical Wishes sets called Summer Afternoon and Care & Comfort. Happy Hopping!
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

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek Day 1-Pet's Place

Wow, it's already time for the monthly release from Taylored Expressions...where does the time go?!? We have a fun line-up this month with three days of sneak peeks and the release on Friday, June 4th.

Today the Baker's Dozen is featuring Pet's Place, the newest set in the Apple Doodle Ink line. Pet's Place is also the quarterly charitable stamp set for the TE Giving Tree. Taylored Expressions supports various charities through the TE Giving Tree Program and $7 from the sale of each Pet's Place set will be donated to the Humane Society of the United States through the end of August.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nations largest and most effective animal protection organization. The HSUS seeks a humane and sustainable world for all animals - a world that will also benefit people. They are America's mainstream force against cruelty, exploitation and neglect, as well as the most trusted voice extolling the human-animal bond. HSUS is also the lead disaster relief agency for animals and they provide direct care for thousands of animals at sanctuaries and rescue facilities, wildlife rehabilitation centers and mobile veterinary clinics. Read more about HSUS by clicking this link.

It's important to remind you that the charitable stamp sets are the same deeply etched pink rubber on EZ Mount as all the other TE sets but they do not come trimmed in order to maximize the amount of money we're able to donate. This allows us to cut production costs and donate more to our charities. So you'll have to break out your scissors and trim the stamps, but it's really easy to do and you'll be stamping before you know it!

The Humane Society holds a special place in my heart because they're the voice of the animals. I'm definitely an animal lover...we don't have children but we do have Shadow, our Mini Schnauzer, and he's like our child. I've had animals of some sort all my life and they've all had a good home with a loving family but many animals aren't so lucky, and that's where the Humane Society steps in to speak and act on the animals behalf.

Pet's Place is a super fun set that I see myself using for all sorts of cards. We just got home from vacation and on my to-do list is a thank you card for the dog sitter, and this set is absolutely perfect! But for today's card I thought I'd share the sweet fishbowl image. I always had fish growing up because my dad was seriously allergic to furry animals. I think if I recall correctly I actually had five fishbowls at one time all lined up on a side table in the dining room. The fish is a separate image from the bowl so you could use the bowl by itself for a cute "congrats on your new home" card too.

This card uses supplies from the Pet's Place Project Pantry featuring Basic Grey's Max & Whiskers line along with a great supply of coordinating products. There are two options for purchasing the Pet's Place Project Pantry (when it becomes available on Friday June 4th): with the Pet's Place stamp set for $44.90 or without the stamp set for $22.95. Either way, the Pet's Place Project Pantry is a fabulous value and will make your cardmaking easier with perfectly coordinated patterned papers, cardstocks, and embellishments. You'll have plenty of supplies to create anywhere from 12-20 cards.

I used Jen's Sketch For You To Try for the layout and added some machine stitching to separate the vertical panels. The image is coloured with copics and cut out with circle Nestabilities. I added some Crystal Twinkles to the bottom of the fish bowl (because fish like shiny things, right?) then gave the entire bowl three coats of clear Glaze pen for a glassy look. I used my new deco scallop punch along the brown strip for a fun look.

I know the rest of the Bakers' Dozen has fabulous projects to share today using Pet's Place and the Pet's Place Project Pantry so let's go check them out!

• 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

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Time to get Organized

Happy Monday everyone! It's Memorial Day here in the US which means a long weekend of course. Usually people have all kinds of fun things planned for the long weekend but we are at home getting organized for the upcoming week after returning yesterday from a fabulous vacation to San Francisco and Hawaii!!! Betcha didn't even know I was gone, eh?!? So I guess I can't really complain that I have to do laundry and household chores today.  :)

I decided to make a card with Execubella from Stamping Bella in honour of getting back into the daily grind. I wish I had a fun chair like hers!!! She's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper and coloured with copics. I added a little green sparkle with my Spica glitter pen and a little shine to a few of the elements on her desk with my clear Glaze pen.

I cut her out with square Nestabilities and layered her onto a big scallop square of intense teal. I coloured the image to coordinate with my Quite Contrary paper...I still adore this collection! I kept the layout really simple (as I always do if I'm not using a sketch, which is why I'm such a sketch junkie!) and added a pink layer punched with a new EK border punch. I couldn't resist adding more pink with a fun bow and two Glitter dots.

This week's Bellarific Friday challenge is Here Comes Summer. Create a summer themed project using Stamping Bella stamps and email your submission to Em by Thursday evening to be included in the Friday round-up.

Stamping Bella is having a release today too, so be sure to head over to the store to see what's new.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Medicine

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, SSSC71. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog, The Sweetest Thing.

Isn't this little nurse the absolute cutest thing you've ever seen?!? She's from the Pure Innocence line from My Favorite Things and the set is called Best Medicine. Seriously, I just wanna squeeze this card, I love it so much!!! I stamped the little nurse with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream then again onto the yellow patterned paper from October Afternoon's Thrift Shop 8x8 pad so I could paper piece her apron. The rest is coloured with copics and I added shine to the red crosses with my clear Glaze pen. Oh, and I gave her red patent shoes with my clear Glaze pen too...fun! I tried my hand at sponging around the image...all I can say is that I need more practice because it's pretty heavy in places.

The red polka dot paper is from October Afternoon's Report Card 8x8 pad...I love how the different collections can be mixed and matched. I cut the cork layer with my scalloped scallop Die-namic and the yellow layer with the jumbo scallop Die-namic...sweet! I finished with some black polka dot ribbon (can you ever have too many polkadots???) and black Tiny Twinkles in the corners.

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch and link your creation on Karen's blog. Now let's go see what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Stampers created with today'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

Father, defined

Happy Bellarific Friday!!! This week's challenge was For the Boys/Men...create a masculine project. This was a perfect challenge with Father's Day in just a few weeks.

I decided to use my Father Definition from Stamping Bella. I love love LOVE all the definition stamps and what's fabulous is that they're large enough to be the focus of a card. I stamped the definition with Memento Tuxedo Black onto kraft then sponged the edges with Memento Desert Sand. I used two new EK border punches, chain link and round binding. Woo hoo...now I have something other than a star border punch to add to masculine cards!!! The patterned paper is from the new Basic Grey Max & Whiskers 6x6 pad and I paired it with intense teal, suede brown medium, and suede brown dark. The card needed a little something besides layers of paper so I wrapped some twill and twine then tied on a brown button. While I was looking at the button I thought it could be a masculine flower, if there is such a thing! So I cut out and layered  some leaves which I crumpled and sponged for a distressed look then I finished the card with two Glitter dots.

Next week's Bellarific Friday Challenge is Here Comes Summer. Create a summer themed project using Stamping Bella images and email your submission to Em by next Thursday to be included in the Friday round-up. Now, don't forget to hop over to Bloggabella to see all of this week's submissions and leave some love while you're there...you just might win Bella Bucks. I can't wait to see all the masculine ideas!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Hangin' Out with You

I love the new Hangin' Out set from Taylored Expressions...there are soooooooooo many possibilities for this set!!!

I made this card to give to hubby in June for our anniversary...it'll be 12 years already! Wow! And he doesn't read my blog so I know it'll still be a surprise when I give it to him. I thought he'd get a kick out the underwear "hangin' out" on the line. I stamped the undies with Memento Tuxedo Black onto patterned paper from the My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary line then cut them out (I added the waistband on the boxers afterwards). The poles are stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa onto Choice Snow White. All the elements are cut out and popped on foam tape for dimension and I layered them onto a panel that I stamped with Memento Summer Sky using my Cloudy Days Big Background. I used hemp to create the clothes line.

The grass is layers of patterned paper that I punched with my MS grass punch. I love how it feels like the underwear is blowing in the wind in the middle of a field! The layout for this card follows SSS55, a sketch from a  few weeks back on the Sweet Stop blog. The solid cardstock colours are Prism intense teal, intense pink and suede brown dark then I added a pink scallop gingham strip and topped it with some fun polka dot ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

A Plane (not plain) Birthday Card

A few weeks ago in this post I mentioned how I was all over the April release from Papertrey Ink because of the masculine sets.

Well this little gem, Fly Away, caught my attention because it's absolutely perfect for one of my brothers...he's a pilot and has his own plane. Although it's a float plane, but this is close enough.

His plane is white and orange so I coloured this one with plenty of orange and a touch of yellow...leaving it white just seemed wrong when I love colouring so much! The layout is SSS56 from the Sweet Stop Sketch blog and it's a sketch with a spin, to make a masculine card. I was also totally inspired by Stacey's Curtain Call Act 29 from a couple weeks ago...the colours were perfect for my vision of this card (and that's also where the yellow comes in...LOL!).

I used patterned papers from my Basic Grey June Bug 6x6 paper pad and paired them with Summer Sun, Bordering Blue, and a little Basic Grey for good measure. The sentiment banner is stamped onto Tangerine Tango and I tied it to the plane with black hemp. I used my new MFT cloud trio Die-namics and some fabulous white felt from the Necessary Neutrals for a nice texture.

That's it for me today...have a fabulous day.
Thanks for stopping by!
Karen