Taylored Expressions Sneak Peeks Day 1

It's the first day of sneak peeks at Taylored Expressions and we have a ton of fun stuff to share over the next few days. All the new products will be available in the TE Store starting Thursday, March 3rd at 8am PST.

The Baker's Dozen will have samples using the Spring A La Carte stamp, the Spring Wreath Petite stamp set, and It's a Banner Day 2 mini stamp set and coordinating Banner Day 2 die.

Let's get right to the fun, shall we? I'll start off with this darling card I whipped up with the new Spring A La Carte image, the newest in the Apple Doodle Ink line. Who knew there could be so much fun packed into one little stamp?!? Like all TE sets, the A La Carte stamps are the same deeply etched rubber on EZ mount so they arrive ready to use...no trimming...yay!

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto choice snow white and coloured it with copics. I stamped it twice though, so I could pop the chick, flower, and ladybug for dimension. All the supplies on this card are from the Spring Project Pantry.

I used the frame it up 1 die to cut out the image...love those curvy lines...and the circles impression plate gave just the right texture to the background layer. A little sewing and a brad in each corner and I called it done!

Next up I used the new It's a Banner Day 2 mini stamp set and coordinating Banner Day 2 die. I paired these new products with Favourite Peeps from last spring.

This set is the second in the banner day series, a concept by Iwona Palamountain, and she's joining us today to show off "her" new set! The set includes three banners and six sentiments and is part of the TE line. These banner sets are sure to become staples in your stamping repertoire, with sentiments for just about any occasion or event.

I used a couple more dies on my card...the picket fence die and the sun from garden party blooms 2. The patterned paper is the new My Mind's Eye Stella Rose Gertie...love!!! I added a little pleated ribbon from my stash and a few clear rhinestones that I coloured with yellow and green copic markers. The layout is SC319.

Would you like to win the entire March release? Well then head over to the Taylored Expressions Facebook page...there's a fun contest going on and once we reach 1500 fans, one fan will be drawn at random to win the entire March release!!!

Now it's time to hop around to see lots more sweet sneak peeks!!!

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Jackie Pedro
• Jami Sibley
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Melissa Sauls
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• and our guest, Iwona Palamountain

See you back here tomorrow for more sneak peek goodness!
Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Welcome and a Tutorial

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, SSSC106. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog The Sweetest Thing.

I needed another baby card recently...yes, another baby boy card. What is up with all the boys being born lately? I tell ya, the girls of the world are gonna be pretty lucky in 20 years! LOL!!!

I hadn't yet inked up my Oh Baby a la mode image from MFT so that's what I used for today's card. She's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White and coloured with copics. I popped the teddy bear for a little dimension and layered the image onto kraft cardstock. I love to either sew or paper pierce around the edges of my image panels and I've done a little video tutorial on paper piercing in a circle. These videos are quite fun to make, if I do say so myself!

The patterned paper is from an old SU scrappin' kit, Just Delightful and the other solid colours are all SU. I used my small scallop border die on the yellow strip and created a starry embellishment with my stacking stars dies.

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 created.
Dana White
Jen Tapler
Lynn Put
Sarah-Jane Kale'
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Hello, Friend

Here's a sweet card I whipped up using Jen's February Sketch For You To Try. I'm sneaking in under the wire with just three days left in the month.

It's been a while since I used my What's Cookin? set from Taylored Expressions so I pulled that out and paired it with the newly released It's a Banner Day 1. I just love how the banner set compliments just about any stamp set...it's so versatile!

The kettle is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black onto choice buttercream and coloured with copics. I used the coordinating die from Kitchen Accessories 1 to cut out the kettle then popped it on foam tape. The banner was super quick to whip up...some black ink, the Banner Day 1 die and a little foam tape because I popped the middle part for dimension. I used From the Heart Frame die to cut out the buttercream piece under the kettle before running it through an embossing folder for texture. If you look closely you'll see the circles impression plate on the background piece and the medium scallop border die was a perfect accent along the bottom of the card.

This kettle totally reminds me of the one my parents have at the cottage...with the ceramic handle and all! Only thing is, theirs isn't red, but it should be because the entire cottage is a log and red decor theme. Hmmmm...maybe I'll have to go hunting for a red kettle like this one.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Make a Wish

Welcome to the monthly Blast from the Past blog hop sponsored by Taylored Expressions. This month's theme was "going green".

I used the fab sketch Sankari designed for a little inspiration for this hop, and I paired it with Make a Wish.

I interpreted the "going green" theme in a couple of ways. First, I used some green patterned paper from the Echo Park Little Boy collection to paper piece the letters. Next I recycled some old jeans and used my balloon dies to create fun denim balloons. Finally I reused some blue twill that I removed from the waistband of my pajamas. Don't worry...they still stay up...I've never understood why PJ makers add an elastic waistband and a ribbon tie. But hey, thanks for the twill ribbon! LOL!!!

Do you love Taylored Expressions? Then head over to the Taylored Expressions Facebook page where there's a fun contest underway and a chance to win free stamps!!! But don't forget to come back here to finish this fabulous customer blog hop!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Beautiful Day {MFTWSC8}

It's time for this week's MFT Wednesday Stamp Club sketch #8.

I just love how my card turned out today. This is my first successful attempt at the shabby-chic look. I've long admired how people create fabulous projects in this style and I tried it several times in the past but everything I created ended up in the trash. Well, not this time! LOL!!!

I recently hunted my local craft store for shabby style papers and embellishments, then I went through my stash and pulled out everything with a shabby feel. I stored all these supplies together in my "shabby" file and when I decided to go the shabby-chic route with this card I simply pulled out my supply file.

I used a sentiment from Framed Greetings and the frame and die from Textile Rectangles for the main panel then tucked a tiny strip of pearls under the sentiment.

The faux crochet border die and mini rolled roses die are perfect accents for a shabby-chic card when paired with a few pearls and some lace. The brown seam binding is from the Martha Stewart line...a little shinier than I wanted but it was all I could find.

I hope you'll take some time to play along with this week's sketch. Here are all the 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 MFTWSC8. 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

Recipe Box Rescue

Happy Monday! It's President's Day in the USA and Family Day in Canada...are you one of the lucky ones to have the day off today? I plan on getting a little stamping done, but first let me share my final project as the MFT Fab Friend for February.

I decided to alter a lunch tin and turn it into a recipe box. My current recipe box is quite a sight...I thought about taking a picture of it to show you but frankly, I'm too embarrassed. So you'll just have to take my word for it, and my close friends can back me up on that one! ;-)

I inked up What's Cooking? and coloured her with copics. I adore these A La Mode girls!!! I added a couple coats of clear glaze pen to the bowl for a little shine. The fun colours were all pulled from the cheery My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary patterned paper.

The banner strip die-namic and coordinating mini alphabet were perfect for creating the title "RECIPES". And the cool thing is, when you cut out the banner die, you end up with a leftover that creates a perfect mat. So I first cut out the frosted teal piece and used the banner strip, then I cut out the banner again from intense teal and used the leftover piece for the mat.

I found these adorable tiny clothes pins in my stash when I was rooting around looking for something. They're just perfect for attaching the banner!!!

I created the pink felt rose with my rolled rose die-namic and added some tiny paper roses on either side. Not sure if you can see or not, but I also used my small scallop border die-namic along the strip of frosted kiwi.

I'm excited to get my recipes all organized and moved into their new home. Big thanks to Kim at MFT for this FAB opportunity!!!   :-)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Ski Bunny

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, SSSC105. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog, The Sweetest Thing.

This is Project Christmas 2011, card #7...yay!

I used the Ski Bunny set from The Cat's Pajamas...FUN!! Aren't the little icicles on his whiskers adorable!!! I don't know why but I'm hooked on keeping this little guy white for some reason. The rest is coloured with copics and I drew in a few more snowflakes then added Twinkles to each one. It's hard to see in the photo but his scarf is popped on foam tape.

The patterned paper is Pebbles Inc. Snow Fun...perfect wintery colours. I stitched around each of the panels then added some green velvet ribbon for a little texture. The tiny snowflakes in the corner are the punched out portions of my EK snowflake border punch. To finish the card I added a ghost snowflake (haven't used one of those in a while) topped with a blue snowflake I cut out with the smallest snowflake die-namic.

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 created.
Dana White
Jen Tapler
Lynn Put
Sarah-Jane Kale'
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Little Peeps Flowers

It's been ages since I played along with the Bellarific Friday challenge over on Bloggabella, and this week it was a fun sketch from Ebru, so I got my butt in gear and inked up some new-to-me Little Peeps from Stamping Bella!

Are these not the most darling little peeps around? LOVE them!!! The image is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with copics. I cut it out with classic oval Nestabilities. I did some fancy cutting with this one...took a little while to cut out those flowers and leaves but I think it was totally worth every second!! The leaves are popped for dimension and the flowers have a tiny Twinkle in the center. I used some Ranger crackle accents on the vase...what a fabulous effect! Must use this more often!!

The patterned paper is from my Basic Grey and I stitched around each panel before adding brads in the corners. Can't wait to see what everyone else created so I'm off to check out Bloggabella.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Happy Bird-day {MFTWSC7}

Are you ready for this week's MFT Wednesday Stamp Club sketch #7? Well I hope so, because here it is, and it's a fun one! I know...I say that each week, but hey, I adore sketches!!!

I did a loose interpretation of the sketch this week...still with all the elements but I needed a Pure Innocence fix and well, You're So Tweet (will be back in the MFT Boutique soon) arrived in my mailbox at just the right time!

She's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and done up with a combo of copic colouring and paper piecing. The patterned papers are from October Afternoon Thrift Shop.

I really wanted to a layer of paper pleating, like on my card for last week's sketch, so I pulled out my 3/8" rosette die-namic and got to work. AND, I decided to film a little video tutorial of the process. Be gentle on me...it's my first ever video tutorial and my friend Leslie was a fabulous film producer.

And look at that adorable tiny little rosette! It was made with two half inch wide pieces that I trimmed off the pleated layer...sweet! It's topped with the smallest flower from the flower trio die-namic and I added another element of red along the bottom of the pleated layer with the little open scallop border die-namic.

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 MFTWSC7. 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