Fat Cat Stamper

Fresh From the Oven

2012-01-27T09:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! Do you have any fun plans for the weekend? How about doing a little baking? Or for those who don’t bake you can always just make a card with a sweet little baker image like this darling. :D

Per my usual stamping/coloring technique I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copic markers. After trimming the cardstock to size I sponged the edges with Antique Linen Distress ink and added Bisque Liquid Pearls. Once dry I matted on Early Espresso cardstock and added a sentiment tab which was cut using the Bracket Tab die from MFT.

For the base I cut four 2 1/8” squares of designer paper and matted on 2 1/4” squares of Early Espresso (I rounded the one corner of two of these). I then adhered the matted squares on a red mat using foam dimensional tape. To embellish this layer I added some V-Striped twill ribbon and a bit of jute twine. Next I adhered the matted layers onto the card base using more of the foam dimensional tape. For a final bit of fun I tied a button to a crocheted flower and plopped it onto the card.

Before I forget, HERE is a link to an old post I wrote up on crocheted flowers. It has links to a couple of tutorials that I use for making the flowers I use on my cards. :)

Recipe:
Stamps: Pure Innocence – Fresh From the Oven (MFT).
Paper: Naturals Ivory and Early Espresso (SU!), Pure Poppy (PTI), Choice Snow White (TE), Lost and Found Two – Rosy designer (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Antique Linen Distress (Ranger), Copic markers.
Accessories: Crocheted Flower (made by me using DMC Pearl thread), button (SU!), jute and v-striped ribbon (May Arts), Bisque Liquid Pearls (Ranger), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), foam dimensional tape, Bracket Tab die (MFT).

Pure Innocence - Fresh From the Oven (MFT)	Lost and Found Two - Rosy (My Mind's Eye)	Choice Snow White (TE)	Memento Tuxedo Black	Bisque Liquid Pearls (Ranger)
Ivory Jute (May Arts)	Bracket Tab die (MFT)	Light Pink V-Striped Ribbon from May Arts	Corner Chomper - 1/8 and 3/8 (We R Memory Keepers)	Foam tape (TE)

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Happy Birthday Cupcake!

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

You would think that my collection of cards (aka the horde) would include oodles of birthday cards but that just isn’t the case. Oh woe is me and my inadequate card collection. ;) So, I decided to set a goal of creating a couple of b-day cards each month and here is one for January:

I stamped the cupcake stand from For the Love of Cupcakes (TE) in black ink on Choice Snow white cardstock, colored with Copic markers and then cut it out. I stamped a matching sentiment on another square of cardstock and stitched this layer to a piece die cut with a Big Scallop Square die. I then attached the stand with foam dimensionals. For the base layer I matted a piece of designer paper to cardstock and stitched the edges. Around this layer I tied a piece of ivory twill ribbon. All of the matted layers were adhered to the card base using foam dimensional tape.

The cupcakes needed a little something more so I coated the frosting with Glossy Accents. To tie the white and beige colors together I added little dots of Bisque Liquid Pearls to the corners of the matted layers. For a final touch I added two Crystal Trinket Pins to the twill bow.

I really like how this card turned out… into my birthday card stash it goes! :)

Recipe:
Stamps: For the Love of Cupcakes(TE).
Paper: Naturals Ivory and Cool Caribbean (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Paper Hear designer (Crate Paper).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers.
Accessories: crystal trinket pins (Maya Road), Ivory Twill Ribbon (May Arts), heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, Big Scalloped Squares Nestabilities (Spellbinders), foam dimensionals, Glossy Accents and Bisque Liquid Pearls (Ranger).

For the Love of Cupcakes (TE)	Paper Heart (Crate Paper)	Big Scalloped Squares LG Nestabilities (Spellbinders)	Choice Snow White (TE)	Bisque Liquid Pearls (Ranger)
Memento Tuxedo Black	Foam tape (TE)	Ivory Cotton Twill (May Arts)	Mini Glossy Accents (Ranger)

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Double Bows and Bold Butterflies

2012-01-19T14:00:00.000-05:00

Hey Crafty Peeps -

Corinna at the Ribbon Carousel has been ~~pestering~~ asking me for quite some time for a tutorial on tying a Double Bow with a Button. ;) So I finally decided to share my secret techniques (okay, they aren’t that secret!). You can check out the tutorial over at the Ribbon Carousel Blog… I have a couple of different techniques that I use so there are a lot of pictures.

The following card is one I created while making the tutorial. I made the double bow using some striped twill ribbon, ivory jute and a light green button.

I stamped two butterflies frpm the Spread Your Wings stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black on Choice Snow White cardstock. After coloring with Copic markers I cut out and coated with Illuminate Smooch for a glittery finish. I attached the butterflies to the card using some foam dimensional dots.

Recipe:
Stamps: Spread Your Wings (There She Goes).
Paper: Naturals Ivory and Cool Caribbean (SU!), Black (PTI), Choice Snow White (TE), Thrift Shop designer (October Afternoon).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: Illuminate Smooch (Clearsnap), Sky Blue striped twill ribbon and jute (May Arts), embossing folder (QuicKutz), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), metal brads (Recollections), button (PTI), foam dimensionals.

Spread Your Wings (There She Goes)	Thrift Shop (October Afternoon)	Sky Blue Striped Cotton Twill (May Arts)	Memento Tuxedo Black	Illuminate glitter top coat (Smooch)
Ivory Jute (May Arts)	Corner Chomper - 1/8 and 3/8 (We R Memory Keepers)

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SCRSC71: Birthday Wishes

2012-01-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

Please scroll down to the next post for my card for this week’s Ribbon Carousel Challenge.

I’m back with another card today. This time for Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps!

For this week’s challenge we have a great new sketch to use for inspiration! Sweet – that took care of half the work. All I needed to do was figure out the color scheme and stamp set to use! Since I really need to add some birthday cards to my collection I decided I should ink up Cupcake Ruby.

I stamped her in Memento Tuxedo Black on Choice Snow White and colored with Copic markers. I tried my hand at making her hair Strawberry Blond using YR21, YR24 and YR14. I like how it turned out… a bit bright but pretty! I added a touch of glimmer to portions of the picture use Pool and Illuminate Smooches.

For more fabulous samples check out the following talented designers:

For all the details on the challenge and to find out how to win a little something something head over to the Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps Blog.

Recipe:
Stamps: Cupcake Ruby (Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps), Labels of Love (TE).
Paper: Naturals Ivory, pink, blue (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Vanity Fair designer (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: Pool and Illuminate Smooch (ClearSnap), Pink sheer tinsel edge (May Arts), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), foam dimensionals, heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, Glitter Candy Dots (Pebbles), Oval Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders).

Cupcake Ruby (Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps)	Labels of Love (TE)	Vanity Fair (My Mind's Eye)	Pool Smooch (ClearSnap)	Illuminate glitter top coat (Smooch)
Pink Sheet Tinsel Edge Ribbon (May Arts)	Classic Ovals LG Nestabilities (Spellbinders)	Memento Tuxedo Black	Foam tape (TE)	Corner Chomper - 1/8 and 3/8 (We R Memory Keepers)

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RCC36–Kiss Kiss

2012-01-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hello Crafty Friends! It is time for another Ribbon Carousel challenge and this week I am issuing a sketch challenge!

This week’s sponsor is the fun Some Odd Girl stamp company. They have some incredibly cute images… I had to use one of them on my card for this (and it was really hard to pick just the one!).

I don’t make a ton of projects for Valentine’s Day but when I saw Kiss a Prince Tia I just had to use her. It was the fat frog… I couldn’t resist. ;)

I printed the digi stamp on Choice Snow White cardstock and colored with Copic markers. I then cut the image out and adhered it to my card front using foam dimensionals. For the “Kiss” sentiment I used some pretty pink fabric Thickers from American Crafts. I ended up using some Glossy Accents to adhere the stickers to my card front… they weren’t sticking too well on their own to the embossed Kraft cardstock.

To accent the main image I added a Double Bow with a Button to the card using Rancho Red vintage seam binding, a clear button and some jute. Hint – you may want to check out the Ribbon Carousel Blog on Thursday if you want to know how I made this.

Now that you have checked out my card you can head over to the Ribbon Carousel Challenge Blog for all of the details on this week’s challenge and prize. While you are there you can see more fabulous samples created by the team!

Recipe:
Stamps: Kiss a Prince Tia (Some Odd Girl).
Paper: Naturals Ivory (SU!), other cardstock and designer paper from Valentine Project Pantry Kit (TE), Choice Snow White (TE).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copic markers.
Accessories: Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), foam dimensionals, Rancho Red vintage seam binding (Ribbon Carousel), Natural Jute (May Arts), clear button (Buttons Galore), fabric letter stickers (American Crafts), embossing folder (QuicKutz).

Kiss a Prince Tia (Some Odd Girl)	Rancho red seam binding (Ribbon Carousel)	Memento Tuxedo Black	Corner Chomper - 1/8 and 3/8 (We R Memory Keepers)	Natural Jute (May Arts)
Valentine Project Pantry Kit (TE)	Foam tape (TE)

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Eye Spy a Love Monster

2012-01-15T12:29:00.001-05:00

Hello! I’m popping in today with some monstrously fun valentines using the new Love Monsters stamp set from Taylored Expressions. This is my first chance to use this set and I thought it would be fun to make a set of matching valentines using the one-eye monster.

I stamped the monster directly on some pretty designer paper and cut out with a circle die. I then stamped the monster a second time on Choice Snow White cardstock, colored with markers, cut out with scissors and then glued it to the first image. For even more fun I stamped the image a third time and just cut out the eyeball which I added to the main image using foam dimensionals – for some eye-popping fun. *Snicker*

I diecut some additional shapes from red and pink cardstock using more Nestabilities dies. I adhered all of the pieces and ribbon to a 3.5” wide by 5.5” tall card base. I finished by added three little pink rhinestones to the red frame and some Cotton Candy Stickles to the hearts. Easy Peasy!

Etsy Store Update: I’m uploading a bunch of my latest creations to my Etsy Store including these Love Monster cards! And don’t forget I’m running a sale, use coupon code BLOG20 to receive a 20% discount. I need to clear up some room in my craft room and well… save up some money to replace my semi-broken sewing machine. :D

Recipe:
Stamps: Love Monsters (TE).
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Pretty in Pink, red (SU), Choice Snow White (TE), Love Me designer (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: Circle, Scalloped Circle and Pinking Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Pink Striped Twill (May Arts), Cotton Candy Stickles (Ranger), foam dimensionals, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Multi-Color Twinkles (TE).

Love Monsters (TE)	Love Me (My Mind's Eye)	Pink Striped Cotton Twill (May Arts)	Memento Tuxedo Black	Choice Snow White (TE)
Multi-color Twinkles (TE)	Cotton Candy Stickles (Ranger)	Pinking Circles SM Nestabilities (Spellbinders)	Standard Circles LG Nestabilities (Spellbinders)	Petite Scalloped Circles LG Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

InLinkz.com

Sparkle Creations January Release: Tea Set Rin

2012-01-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hey crafty friends!

I’m back today with another Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps preview (the new stamp sets are now available to buy). Today I am using the fabulous new Tea Set Rin.

I kept the layout of my card simple so that Rin would really pop! I stamped Tea Set Rin in black ink on Choice Snow White cardstock and colored with Copic markers before cutting out. All of the delightful papers are from another line of My Mind’s Eye designer paper called Lost & Found 2 – Rosy. Yeah… MME is probably my favorite designer paper company! :)

I kept my embellishments to a minimum and just used a few buttons, some light green twine and a bit of brown ribbon. The sentiment (which comes with Tea Set Rin) I stamped directly on the designer paper. A bit of rounding with a Corner Chomper and some stitching with my sewing machine and I was done. Super cute – dontcha’ agree?

Prize alert! Be sure to visit all rest of the SCRS designers for more peeks of Tea Set Rin. Sparkle will be giving away Tea Set Rin to one lucky person! For a chance to win, you need to comment on all of the designer's blogs (list below). Then head on over to the SCRS blog and comment on the Rin post. You have until midnight EST each day to comment. The lucky winner will be announced the following day!

Recipe:
Stamps: Tea Set Rin (Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps).
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Early Espresso (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Lost & Found 2 – Rosy (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, Gold Spica Pen.
Accessories: buttons (PTI), heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, brown satin ribbon (May Arts), Honeydew Chartreuse Green twine (The Twinery), foam dimensionals, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers).

Sparkle Creations January Release Preview: Karber Fashion

2012-01-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! I’m excited to be back previewing a new stamp set from Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps! Today we are introducing the new Karber Fashion stamp set.

I inked one of the fashionable ladies from the set in black and colored with Copic markers before cutting out. I also added a few tiny green rhinestones to the centers of the flowers. Bling bling! The designer papers are from one of my favorite lines of all time: Stella & Rose – Hazel by My Mind’s Eye. I thought it would be a perfect match for this stylish stamp set. :)

The bobbin winder on my sewing machine is still broken but that didn’t keep me from doing a little (okay, a lot) of stitching. I keep checking to see if the bobbin winder works… sadly it is not fixing itself. ;) I finished by stamping and punching out one of the sentiments from the set and adding some grosgrain ribbon, a few brads, and a border of hearts I cut out with a die.

Any questions on my card just let me know!

Prize Alert! Be sure to visit all rest of the SCRS designers for more peeks of Karber Fashion. Sparkle will be giving away Karber Fashion to one lucky person! For a chance to win, you need to comment on all of the designer's blogs (listed below). Then head on over to the SCRS blog and comment on the Karber post. You have until midnight EST each day to comment. The lucky winner will be announced the following day!

Recipe:
Stamps: Karber Fashion (Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps).
Paper: Naturals Ivory (SU!), Kraft (PTI), Choice Snow White (TE), Stella & Rose – Hazel designer (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: black, Copic markers, Antique Linen Distress ink (Ranger).
Accessories: Grosgrain with Satin Edge (May Arts), brads (American Crafts), Tiny Twinkles and Heart Border Die (Taylored Expressions), heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, foam dimensionals.

TE Release Day: Besties in Black and White

2012-01-05T11:00:00.000-05:00

Hello all! Have you been enjoying all of the fabulous Taylored Expressions sneak peeks? Well, we are done with the teasing and all of the great new products are now available in the Taylored Expressions Store. However, before you head over there I have one final sample to share with you. For this card I used the new Pandas in Love A la Carte and the Valentines Basic Recipe Project Pantry Kit.

I stamped the new Pandas in Love A la Carte in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Choice Buttercream cardstock and colored with Copic markers. The talented Nancy McKinney illustrated this cute stamp. The “Besties” sentiment is form the new Love Monsters stamp set illustrated by Emily Burger for the Amazing Grace line of stamps (I can’t wait to use this super cute set more). All of the designer paper, cardstock and ribbon is from the kit. All I needed in addition were a couple of stick pins, my sewing machine and some cute new Heart Button Candy.

That is it for me today… read on for release news and links to more samples!

TE Release Day!

All of the new products are now available for purchase! Check out the Fresh Out of the Oven Department to see everything in one place!
More projects from the Baker's Dozen to inspire you. Just follow the link list below.
Did you win one of the Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaways? Find the list of winners on Taylor's Blog.
Buy one Animals in Love A la Carte and get one free/Select calendar products 50% off/Layered Doily Dies Special - get all the details on our January Release Specials by clicking here.

For more sneak peek samples check out the following talented designers:

Recipe:
Stamps: Pandas in Love (TE), Love Monsters (TE).
Paper: Valentines Basic Recipe Project Pantry Kit (TE).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers, Antique Linen Distress Ink (Ranger).
Accessories: ribbon (from kit), stick pins (Maya Road), Heart Button Candy (Pebbles), heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers).

TE Sneak Peeks Day 3: Whales in Love and Treat Boxes

2012-01-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! Welcome to Day 3 of sneak peeks for Taylored Expressions. Today we have peeks of 2 new full size sets plus 3 new A la Carte stamps. I have two projects to share today and a ton of pictures so I hope you’re ready! :)

Last year TE introduced Animals in Love A la Cartes with the Elephants, Fish, Flamingos, Owls, Scotties, Snakes, Turtles, and Whales along with the full size set Animal Love Sentiments. These lovey dovey critters were such a hit that we’ve added 3 more this year: Dachshunds in Love, Giraffes in Love and Pandas in Love. All of the new critters were illustrated by Nancy McKinney for the Whimsical Wishes line of stamps

For my first project I’m using the previously released Whales in Love A la Carte and the new Valentine Basic Recipe Project Pantry Kit. Would you like to have this A la Carte stamp for FREE? Find out how on Taylor’s blog today.

I stamped the Whales in Memento Tuxedo Black on some of the Buttercream cardstock included in the kit. I colored the image using Copic markers and then accented with Smooch – Illuminate for the hearts and Frosted Aqua for the waves. Once dry I applied a coating of Glossy Accents to the hearts (love how this turned out!).

The Valentine Basic Recipe Project Pantry Kit includes:
20 sheets of double sided patterned paper (American Crafts With Love Collection)
12 sheets of 8.5 x 11 solid cardstock
6 yards of ribbon (2 yards each of 3 different styles)

*Plus lots of optional Spice It Up Ingredients to add in to create a truly personalized kit. Perhaps you might like to add on some Petal Pink Liquid Pearls or the new Heart Button Candy from Pebbles.

For the sentiment I created a flag banner using Fly Your Flag 2 stamp/die set, You’re My Type – Lowercase alphabet and Ladybug Doodle Twine.

For my second project I used the new Totally Tags Valentine stamp set and the Heart Favor Box die to make some Valentine treats.

Totally Tags Valentine was illustrated by Emily Burger for the Amazing Grace line of stamps. This set coordinates with the previously released Totally Tags Taylored Dies. This full sized set includes 9 large tag images and is perfect for all sorts of cards and treats for Valentine’s Day and beyond!

I made four of these cute little heart boxes. The die is pretty big and I used it in the Grand Calibur from Spellbinders but it looks like it would also fit in the Big Shot.

The box stays closed on its own but since I like ribbon I just had to add some. The one end of the ribbon is adhered in place under the tag topper. It then loops around the box and back under the tag topper before being held in place by the little rectangle of cardstock/designer paper I attached to the side of the box.

I filled the one box with some Hershey Kisses but the rest of them are empty at the moment. ;)

For the tag topper I used one of the scalloped circle images for the set and the matching scallop circle die from the Totally Tags die set. For each tag I stamped the image three times, twice on Love Me designer paper and once on Kraft. I then paper pieced the Kraft Circle and the hearts. Once finished adhering the pieces together I added a touch of Glossy Accents to the hearts. One final note – the tag toppers were adhered to the boxes with foam dimensional tape leaving an opening in the middle so the ribbon could be threaded under the tag.

Once cut and assembled you can open the box and store it flat so it takes up less room. Perfect if you are planning on making a bunch of boxes and need to start on them early! Oh, and these boxes are almost 2” square… so a nice decent size (to hold lots of Hershey Kisses)! :D

I hope you have enjoyed my projects today! ;)

January Release At a Glance

We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday. All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, January 5th at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store.
Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL Facebook GIVEAWAY, on Wednesday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.
Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate. Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day! Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please. Comments close Wednesday 1/4 at 7pm PST for the drawings.

For more sneak peek samples check out the following talented designers:

Whales in Love Recipe:
Stamps: Whales in Love A la Carte, Fly Your Flag 2, You’re My Type – Lowercase (TE).
Paper: Valentine Basic Recipe Project Pantry Kit (TE).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers, Lipstick Red Fluid Chalk Ink (ColorBox).
Accessories: Glossy Accents (Ranger), Petal Pink Liquid Pearls and Glossy Accents (Ranger), Illuminate and Frosted Aqua Smooch (Clearsnap), Ladybug Doodle Twine (Doodlebug), gold brads, foam dimensionals, Labels Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders), Fly Your Flag 2 stamp/die set and Small Scallop Border die (TE).

Valentine Treat Boxes Recipe:
Stamps: Buddy Bear (TE).
Paper: Scarlet Jewel and Kraft (PTI), Love Me designer (My Mind’s Eye), acetate.
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black.
Accessories: Glossy Accents (Ranger), ribbon (May Arts), pink brads, Heart Favor Box and Totally Tags dies(TE).

TE Sneak Peeks Day 2: Bear Hugs

2012-01-03T11:00:00.000-05:00

Hey Crafty Friends! Welcome to Day 2 of sneak peeks for Taylored Expressions! Today we have peeks of 3 new stamp sets. Form my card I’m using the new Buddy Bear Petite stamp set!

Buddy Bear is a sweet bear illustrated by Doug Applegate for the Apple Doodle Ink line! The set includes 8 images and sentiments and comes on a mini storage panel. BTW – all TE stamps are pre-trimmed rubber mounted on cling foam. All you need to do is mount the stamp on an acrylic block and you are ready to stamp.

For my card I stamped Buddy on Choice Snow White cardstock and colored with Copic markers. I added just a touch of Glossy Accents to the heart flowers and dusted with glitter. I was in the mood for shabby so I distressed a lot of edges before adding stitching.

I stamped the sentiment on a piece of ivory cardstock and sponged the edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink. After adhering in place I added a little heart cut from cardstock using the new Hearts a Plenty die set. I decorated the heart with a clear button and a bit of twine.

January Release At a Glance

We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday. All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, January 5th at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store.
Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL Facebook GIVEAWAY, on Wednesday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.
Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate. Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day! Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please. Comments close Wednesday 1/4 at 7pm PST for the drawings.

For more sneak peek samples check out the following talented designers:

Recipe:
Stamps: Buddy Bear (TE).
Paper: Ocean Tide, Red (PTI), Choice Buttercream (TE), Paper Heart designer (Crate Paper).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers, Antique Linen Distress Ink (Ranger).
Accessories: Glossy Accents (Ranger), glitter (MS), button, crocheted ribbon, striped ribbon and twine (May Arts), heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, Hearts a Plenty die set (TE).

SCRSC70: Hello!

2012-01-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hello crafty friends! I’m back with another card and a bit of exciting news. I’m joining the crew at Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps bringing you some lovely inspiration using their stamps! I’ve been a big fan of their stamps for quite some time so it didn’t take long for me to say “yes” when Sparkle asked me to join the team!

For this week’s challenge we just need to use something new! Easy peasy for me since I have a bunch of SCRS stamps that haven’t seen ink yet. My bad! ;) So for my card I used Autumn Rin and some new Crate Paper called Paper Heart.

I stamped Rin in Memento Tuxedo Black on Choice Buttercream cardstock and colored with Copic markers. I’ve been practicing my hair coloring a bit. I’m trying to get achieve a shiny spot where the light source would hit. Ehh… still needs a bit of work but I’m happy enough this time.

I layered the designer paper on coordinating cardstock and adhered the layers together before adding satin pleated ribbon and a button with some twine. I stamped “Hello” on more of the Aqua Mist cardstock and rounded the corners before tucking it behind the ribbon. To finish I added a few turquoise rhinestones.

For more fabulous samples check out the following talented designers:

Recipe:
Stamps: Autumn Rin (Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps), Labels of Love (TE).
Paper: Aqua Mist, Poppy Red (PTI), Choice Buttercream (TE), Naturals Ivory (SU!), Paper Heart designer (Crate Paper).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: Burgundy Pleated Satin (May Arts), Caribbean Twine (The Twinery), clear button, Happy Holidays Mini Jewels (Doodlebug), foam dimensionals, Circle and Petite Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers).

Autumn Rin (Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps)	Paper Heart (Crate Paper)	Choice Buttercream (TE)	Burgundy Pleated Satin (May Arts)	Memento Tuxedo Black
Happy Holidays Mini Jewels (DoodleBug)	Labels of Love (TE)	Caribbean Twine (The Twinery)

InLinkz.com

RCC34: Chillin’ with the Snowman

2012-01-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! It’s a new year and I’m excited for what it will bring. One thing that will stay the same is more challenges from the Ribbon Carousel Challenge blog! :) Today is the first challenge of the year and it is an easy one… anything goes!

Our only request is that you use some kind of ribbon, twine or other spool-able item on your project.

This week’s challenge is being sponsored by the Unity Stamp Company! One lucky participant will win a little something something. Head over to the challenge blog for all of the details.

For my card I used a pudgy snowman from the Unity January 2011 KOM. I stamped him on Choice Buttercream cardstock twice and die cut the first one using a Circles Nestabilities die. I colored both with Copic markers and cut out the second image and popped it up over the first. I added Glossy Accents to his hat and gloves and a bit glitter too!

I matted various pieces of designer paper on Kraft cardstock and added oodles of stitching. I have to scratch my head at that one since I broke the bobbin winder on my sewing machine and only have a few filled bobbins left… so I should be taking it easy on the stitching and conserve bobbin thread but I didn’t this time! ;)

Speaking of stitching I pleated some Light Blue V-Striped ribbon and sewed it in place (more bobbin thread used!). I then tied a length of the Center Stitched green ribbon over it.

To finish my card I spelled out “chill” using some Thickers Stickers from my stash.

Recipe:
Stamps: To the Moon & Back KOM Jan 2011 (Unity).
Paper: Kraft (PTI), Naturals Ivory (SU!), Choice Buttercream (TE), Season’s Greetings designer (Echo Park).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: Glossy Accents and Platinum Liquid Pearls (Ranger), Light Blue V-striped ribbon and Celery Center Stitched (May Arts), heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, foam dimensionals, Circle and Petite Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Thickers (American Crafts), Crystal Glitter (MS), 2-way glue pen.

Jan 2011 KOM (Unity)	Season's Greetings (Echo Park)	Choice Buttercream (TE)	Light Blue V-Striped Ribbon (Ribbon Carousel)	Celery Center Stitched (May Arts)
Platinum Liquid Pearls (Ranger)	Mini Glossy Accents (Ranger)

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TE Sneak Peeks Day 1: Rosy Posey Tags

2012-01-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

Hi crafty peeps! It is time to preview some sneak peeks of the new stamps that Taylored Expressions will be releasing later this week! Today we have peeks of two new stamp sets, two new A la Carte stamps, seven new dies and die sets, plus a brand new Project Pantry. For my tags I used the new Rosy Posey stamp set and matching dies as well as the new Layering Doily – Medium die!

Rosy Posey is a beautiful set of whimsical roses illustrated by Nancy McKinney for the Whimsical Wishes line of stamps. The set coordinates with the new Rose Wreath, new Rosy Posy Taylored Die set, Mini Leaves Die set, and Leafy Branch die. If you love roses this full size set including 19 images/sentiments is a must have!

The Layering Doily – Medium die is one of three new doily dies that nest within each other but can also be used separately like I did on my tags.

I stamped the smaller rose and leaf on Choice Snow White cardstock and cut out using the Rosy Posey dies. I colored both pieces using Copic markers and then adhered them to the tag using foam dimensionals. I cut a circle from light pink cardstock and stamped the “Thank You” in black ink. I layered the circle on a piece of bright pink cardstock cut with the Layering Doily – Medium die and added dots with the Silver Chrome Pearl Pen. For the next layer I simple cut a piece of Yours Truly designer paper, rounded the corners using a Corner Chomper and then matted on black cardstock before adhering to the pink tag. To finish a jumbo eyelet and some Bubblegum Doodle Twine were added to the tag.

January Release At a Glance

We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday. All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, January 5th at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store.
Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL Facebook GIVEAWAY, on Wednesday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.
Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate. Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day! Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please. Comments close Wednesday 1/4 at 7pm PST for the drawings.

For more sneak peek samples check out the following talented designers:

Recipe:
Stamps: Rosy Posey (TE).
Paper: Black, Light Pink, Pink. Choice Snow White (TE), pink tag die cut (TE), Yours Truly designer (Echo Park).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: Silver Chrome Pearl Pen (Viva Décor), Bubblegum Doodle Twine (DoodleBug), foam dimensionals, Cool Metal Jumbo Eyelets and Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders), Layering Doily Medium and Rosy Posey Dies (TE).

Warmest Wishes from Your Neighborhood Snowman

2011-12-29T21:34:00.001-05:00

Howdy crafty friends! I’m popping in tonight with a sweet snowman card that I made with the Warmest Wishes stamp/die set from TSG. I must admit that I have a thing for a cute snowman… I really can’t resist buying a stamp set that includes one. :)

I used a die from the set to cut the snowman out and then stamped the corresponding image on it. I also stamped a couple of buttons on his belly. Who’s a cute little snow-dude? Who? ;) After I finished talking to the image in baby talk I colored him with Copic markers and added a touch of Glossy Accents to the buttons and nose.

For the background I layered a piece of designer paper on Kraft cardstock and then again on a piece of Turquoise cardstock whose edges I punched with a scallop border punch. The next layer is another piece of Kraft cardstock that I dotted the edges with Platinum Liquid Pearls.

Hmm… I originally planned to make a simple card that could be mass produced… ha ha ha!

Etsy Sale: In other news… I have a bunch of cards in my Etsy Store that are looking for a new home. To help them make the move (and unbury my craft table) I am offering 20% off – just use coupon code BLOG20. :)

Recipe:
Stamps: Warmest Wishes (TSG).
Paper: Tempting Turquoise and Naturals White (SU!), Kraft (PTI), Choice Snow White (TE), Lost and Found Two – Breeze (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: Glossy Accents and Platinum Liquid Pearls (Ranger), white thread and sewing machine, Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Scallop Border Punch (SU!), Aqua Mist ribbon (PTI), stick pin (Maya Road), foam dimensionals, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers).

Warmest Wishes (TSG)

Lost and Found Two - Breeze (My Mind's Eye)

Choice Snow White (TE)

Mini Glossy Accents (Ranger)

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Have a Bee-utiful Day

2011-12-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!

I’m back home from traveling a bit over the holidays. Of course, now I need to clean up the mess that is my house. A week of baking, wrapping gifts and prepping for travel left my house a little worse for wear. I did a bit of cleaning last night but I was side-tracked by all of the goodies in my craft room. Which means I have a card to share with you today! Yay!

I used the recently released Love Grows Here stamp set from Taylored Expressions to create a cheerful card. I kept this one simple and used one of my favorite layouts. Although I did do something fun – I used the Clouds Duo Die set to cut out a cloud accent and stamped the sentiment on it! Sweet! :)

Well, I’m back to work today. I have a three day work week and then a three day weekend. Woot! I wonder what I’ll be doing this weekend? Maybe working on some sneak peek samples for TE? ;)

Recipe:
Stamps: Love Grows Here (TE).
Paper: Spring Moss (PTI), Naturals White (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Vanity Fair designer (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers, Pastel Olive Chalk Fluid Ink (Colorbox).
Accessories: Glossy Accents (Ranger), Twill Ribbon (May Arts), pearls, Wonky Rectangles Dies (Spellbinders), Medium Scallop Border Die and Cloud Duo Die (TE), foam dimensionals.

Love Grows Here (TE)	Vanity Fair (My Mind's Eye)	Choice Snow White (TE)	Wonky Rectangles (Spellbinders)	Mini Glossy Accents (Ranger)
Medium Scallop Border Die (TE)	Cloud Duo Die (TE)

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Sparkly Christmas Tree

2011-12-23T22:16:00.001-05:00

My Christmas shopping is done and I’ve finished baking cookies so I guess I can relax. Maybe with a few cookies and a cup of hot chocolate. And since I’m all caught up on the holiday preparations I thought I should share a project I made a while ago but neglected to blog.

This is another tag inspired by Tim Holtz’s 12 Tags of Christmas. I loved how he embossed a piece of metal tape, added paint and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

I didn’t have the metal tape but I did have some thin sheets of metal coated paper from QuicKutz that did the trick.

The metal sheet had adhesive backing so I applied it to a piece of white cardstock and trimmed to size before running it through my Big Shot using a Basic Grey embossing folder (by Sizzix). I only have two paint dabbers… a green and a white one so I painted the embossed metal with those and heat set. Once dry I used a sanding block to remove paint from the raised portions. To finish I smooshed an Antique Linen Distress Ink pad over the entire piece and while still wet I heat embossed with Clear embossing powder. Fun!

I layered the metallic piece on Early Espresso cardstock and decorated using some pretty twine and ribbon and a few small wooden buttons. I used the Winter Wonderland stamp set and matching Trim the Trees die set from Taylored Expressions to create the paper pieced tree embellishments. I added little rhinestones to the tree so it would look decorated.

The tag base is just a regular sized manilla tag that I sponged with Juniper Distress Ink (this is one of the 3 limited edition Holiday Distress Inks). To finish I added a bit of ribbon through the eyelet and tied it in place using a bit more of the twine. Me likey! Hope you do to.

I also hope you are having a fabulous weekend!

Recipe:
Stamps: Winter Wonderland (TE).
Paper: Manilla Tag, Early Espresso (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), kraft (PTI), designer (Echo Park).
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Copic markers, Antique Linen and Juniper Distress Inks (Ranger).
Accessories: Trim the Tree die set (TE), Basic Grey embossing folder (Sizzix), ribbon (May Arts), twine (Doodlebug), foam dimensionals, clear embossing powder, buttons, Tiny Twinkles (TE),

Inspired by Tim: Noel Tag

2011-12-15T00:15:00.001-05:00

Hi crafty friends,

I mentioned in my last post that I was inspired by Tim Holtz and his 12 Tags of Christmas to make a few bigger tags featuring some fun techniques. Here is the first one which was inspired by his very first tag:

I loved the glittery noel and the embossed background from his tag so decided to incorporate those elements into my tag. There is no stamping on this tag… none… zilch… zip… rather shocking! ;)

For the background: I embossed a piece of green cardstock with the Basic Grey – Evergreen embossing folder from Sizzix. I covered one side of the folder with VersaMark ink before adding the cardstock and running it through my Big Shot. While the ink was still wet I coated the cardstock with White embossing powder and then heat set. Tim has some great step-by-step photos on his blog of this technique… it is well worth checking out if you are unfamiliar with the technique.

For the sparkly letters: I stared with some chipboard letters that I had in my stash (these were from a Heidi Swapp collection). I painted each letter with December Sky Blingz and heat set. This paint is quite sparkly but I wanted even MORE sparkle so I then coated each letter with Glossy Accents and dusted with Snowflake glitter.

I couldn’t just stop with a sparkly noel so I created a blue pom pom from felt using the Loopy Bloom dienamics die from MFT. Nestled behind the bloom are a couple of leaves that I die cut from felt using the Mini Leaves dies from Taylored Expressions. Yup – I was pulling out all of my favorite supplies and did not stick with just one company… and it was FUN! :) Behind the bloom I tacked some green grosgrain ribbon in place adding some pleats. To permanently affix the ribbon in place I ran it through my sewing machine. I covered up the stitches by tying another length of ribbon around panel.

I wanted to distress the tag a bit so I sponged Frayed Burlap Distress Ink on the tag base, the kraft mat and the edges of the leaves. For more sparkle I added dots of Platinum Liquid Pearls along the tag and the main panel that I adhered the chipboard letters to.

To finish the tag I added a jumbo eyelet and some seam binding that I dyed with Glimmer Mist. I really do like how this tag turned out… what do you think?

Recipe:
Paper: Manila tag, Kraft (PTI), Olive (SU!).
Ink: Frayed Burlap Distress Ink (Ranger), Versamark.
Accessories: White embossing powder (SU!), December Sky Blingz (Shimmerz), cork, blue wool-blend felt, green grosgrain and striped brown ribbon (May Arts), Seam binding (Hug Snug), Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels), Platinum Liquid Pearls and Glossy Accents (Ranger), Snowflake glitter (Martha Stewart), jumbo eyelet (We R Memory Keepers), foam dimensionals, Basic Grey – Evergreen embossing folder (Sizzix), Loopy Blooms Dienamics (MFT), Mini Leaves Dies (Taylored Expressions).

Birthday Balloons!

2011-12-14T00:27:00.001-05:00

Hello crafty friends!

How about a crafty project that isn’t winter or Christmas themed? Maybe something cheerful and uplifting? :) I think this card will do the trick:

I used oodles of designer paper from the Sidewalks pad from October Afternoon and the recently released Sky’s the Limit stamp/die set from Taylored Expressions. I stamped the large hot air balloon on Choice Snow White cardstock and cut out with the matching die. I then paper pieced the balloon portion with a piece of the designer paper and highlighted the swirls using a Copic marker. The die set also has a couple of itty bitty clouds that I also cut from Choice Snow White cardstock. For the background I cut a circle using a Lacey Circles Nestabilities die and stamped a sentiment from it in black ink. I added dots of Light Blue around the outside edges using a Viva Decor Pearl pen.

I accented the main image with some twill ribbon that I tied into a bow. I added a couple of little heart stick pins through the knot. To keep the pointy ends from poking anyone I dabbed a bit of Glossy Accents to the tips. No more ouchy ouchies!

That is it for me tonight but I should be back soon with a … tag! One inspired by the twelve tags of Christmas that Tim Holtz has been making. :)

Recipe:
Stamps: Sky’s the Limit (TE).
Paper: Pink, Blue, Naturals Ivory (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Sidewalks designer (October Afternoon).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic marker.
Accessories: Stick pins (Maya Road), Light Blue Pearl Pen (Viva Decor), Glossy Accents (Ranger), Lacey Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), twill (May Arts), heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, foam dimensionals.

Sky's the Limit (TE)

Sidewalks (October Afternoon)

Light Blue Pearl Pen (Viva)

Choice Snow White (TE)

Mini Glossy Accents (Ranger)

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RCC33: Tangled Twine

2011-12-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

Danielle Daws, one of our resident CAS geniuses, is challenging you to use some twine on your creation this week! Any kind of twine is fine, just be sure to add some to your creation! And who better to sponsor a twine challenge than Whisker Graphics Divine Twine!

For my project this week I made another set of gift tags. I think I might need some help kicking the tag habit and getting back to making cards. Although it isn’t life threatening so I’m not too worried!

To decorate the tags I used the fun snowflake set: Winter Wonderland from Taylored Expressions. There is a matching die set that I used to cut out the main snowflake. I also used some yummy (sounding and looking) Brown Sugar Divine Twine and a bit of crocheted ribbon.

I stamped a snowflake in Ice Blue Fluid Chalk Ink and then die cut with a die from the Winter Wonderland Snowflakes die set. I sponged the edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink and then added a touch of Glossy Accents and a dusting of Crystal glitter. Once dry I stitched a wood button to the center of the snowflake using a short length of the Brown Sugar Divine Twine.

To decorate the tag base I stamped more snowflake images on green cardstock and layered on Early Espresso cardstock. I used an edger punch to create a bit of scalloped trim and adhered this piece to the green mat and added a small scrap of designer paper. I finished my stamping by adding the “No peeking!” sentiment stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa.

Before adhering to the tag base with dimensionals tape I added added the crocheted trim and then wrapped the whole piece with the Brown Sugar Divine Twine and tying it into a bow. To finish I added a metal eyelet and yet more of the same twine! :)

Now that you have checked out my projects you can head over to the Ribbon Carousel Challenge Blog for all of the details on this week’s challenge and prize! Oh, and while there you can see oodles of other projects (hmmm… there might even be more TAGS!).

Recipe:
Stamps: Winter Wonderland (Taylored Expressions).
Paper: blue and green (Bazzill), Early Espresso (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Lost & Found – Christmas designer (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, VersaMark, Ice Blue Fluid Chalk Ink (Colorbox), Antique Linen Distress Ink (Ranger).
Accessories: Glossy Accents (Ranger), Crystal Glitter (MS), Warm metal eyelets and Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), tag die (TE), Brown Sugar Divine Twine (Whisker Graphics), Natural Crocheted Ribbon (May Arts – available at Ribbon Carousel Shop), Winter Wonderland Snowflakes dies (TE).

Winter Wonderland (TE)	Winter Wonderland Snowflakes (TE)	Lost and Found Christmas (My Mind's Eye)	Brown Sugar Twine (Divine Twine)	Natural 5/8" Crocheted Ribbon (May Arts)
Tag Treats die cuts (TE)	Corner Chomper - 1/8 and 3/8 (We R Memory Keepers)	Choice Snow White (TE)

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Keeping Count of the Days

2011-12-10T16:03:00.001-05:00

Hi crafty friends!

I’m sharing a big project with you today… one that took a while to make. Then I spent just as much time waiting to take pictures of it since it needed to be hung and then the lighting was bad. But today, all things came together and the pictures turned out nice so I’m sharing my… Advent Calendar!

Lookee at this pretty wall hanging! I started with a cookie sheet that I painted a cream color and then decorated:

The cookie sheet I bought was non-stick and I thought primer would stick to it. It didn’t! So I had to start over and sand off the first coats of primer and paint (and some of the non-stick coating) and paint it a second time. My advice? Sand it first so you don’t have to redo it like I did. ;) Once the paint dried I covered the inside with Season’s Greetings designer paper from Echo Park. I used Perfect Paper Adhesive (matte finish) from USArtQuest to adhere the paper in place and then I sealed the paper with a couple more coats for added durability. Once that dried I added dots of Bisque Liquid Pearls along the outside edges.

For the count down I used the Shopping Bag and Labels die to create little boxes and then decorated them so that each one is different. I used various Thickers stickers and the You’re My Type – Lower & # stamp set to number each box. Each box holds a different piece of candy… although you could also use them to hold little trinkets or the like. :)

For extra sturdiness I mounted each decorated box on a piece of chipboard. I cut each piece of chipboard, covered it with more Echo Park designer paper and rounded the corners with the 1/4” Corner Chomper. To finish I sanded the edges using an emery board (which work great and they are cheap!).

Here is a close up of one of the boxes/bags. I used various TE stamp sets to decorate each box: Woodland Winter, Hangin’ Out – At the North Pole, Wings of Joy and From the Heart.

On the back of each box/bag I attached a magnet (or two… some of the magnets I had weren’t as strong). This way the boxes can be moved around. You can line them up straight or position them a bit wonky (as I did) or even place them on the cookie sheet in a random order. Note – because I used magnets I couldn’t use an aluminum cookie sheet (which would have been easier to paint).

So what do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this project. Also, if you would like me to right up the details on how I decorated each box/bag just let me know. I’m thinking a series of posts with all the details would be fun but I don’t want to bore my readers. ;)

Recipe:
Stamps: You’re My Type – Lower & #, Woodland Winter, Wings of Joy, Hangin’ Out – At the North Pole, From the Heart (Taylored Expressions).
Paper: Red, Soft Sky, Naturals Ivory, Basic Black, Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss (SU! and PTI), Choice Snow White (TE), Season’s Greetings designer (Echo Park).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: chipboard, magnets, various ribbons (May Arts), baker’s twine (Doodlebug), Perfect Paper Adhesive – Matte (USArtQuest), primer and cream paint, Tim Holtz fragments, ghost heart (Heidi Swapp), Glossy Accents, Bisque Liquid Pearls, Rouge Liquid Pearls (Ranger), Scrabble tiles, Thickers (American Crafts), Choc-o-lot and Royal Red Shimmerz (Shimmerz Paints), Tiny Twinkles (TE), Crystal glitter (MS), stick pins and chipboad shapes (Maya Road), foam dimensional tape, Circle and Petite Scalloped Circle dies (Spellbinders), Shopping Bag and Labels die (TE).

Woodland Winter (TE)	You're My Type - Lower (TE)	Wings of Joy (TE)	From the Heart (TE)	Hangin' Out - At the North Pole (TE)
Season's Greetings (Echo Park)	Shopping Bag and Labels Die (TE)	Mini Houses Chipboard (Maya Road)	Mixed Scallop Mini Pennant Chipboard (Maya Road)	Bisque Liquid Pearls (Ranger)
Rouge Liquid Pearls (Ranger)	Mini Glossy Accents (Ranger)	Choice Snow White (TE)	Corner Chomper - 1/4 and 1/2 (We R Memory Keepers)	Swimming Pool Doodle Twine (Doodlebug)
Beetle Black Twine (Doodlebug)

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Warm Winter Wishes

2011-12-08T21:39:00.001-05:00

Hello! How are all of you doing? I’ve been spending a bit of time being crafty lately however I haven’t been blogging all that much. So I do have a bit of a backlog of items to share. First up, is a card that I made with Snowbunny Lucy from Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps. Ack – she is such a cutey!

I stamped here in Memento Tuxedo Black on Choice Snow White card stock and colored with Copic markers. I used a touch of Silver Copic Spica pen on the zipper of her coat. The rest of the card is fairly simple, mainly accented with a big lavender bow. :)

Leave some love and let me know what you think! I’ll be back with another project soon! :)

Recipe:
Stamps: Snowbunny Lucy (Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps).
Paper: Kraft (PTI), Early Espresso (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), A Beautiful Life designer (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, Silver Copic Spica pen.
Accessories: Lavender Lace Saddle Stitch ribbon (PTI), Circle and Petite Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 3/8” Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), foam dimensionals, rhinestones (Doodlebug).

Snowbunny Lucy (SCRS)

A Beautiful Life (My Mind's Eye)

Memento Tuxedo Black

Happy Holidays Mini Jewels (DoodleBug)

Corner Chomper - 1/8 and 3/8 (We R Memory Keepers)

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RCC32 Peppermint Twist

2011-12-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

Wendy Ramlakhan is challenging us to use the following photos from Pinterest as inspiration for this week’s creations.They are gorgeous and evoke LOTS of different feelings so get inspired and show us what you've got!

This week’s challenge is being sponsored by one of our favorite ribbon companies in the whole world, MAY ARTS!! So grab some ribbon or twine, make a peppermint inspired creation and then link it over at the Ribbon Carousel Challenge blog to be entered to when a fabulous prize.

For my sample this week I decided to make a set of gift tags… what a surprise, right?! LOL! The very twisty peppermint paper is Nordic Holiday from Basic Grey and the mittens are from a PTI stamp set. To accent the mittens and paper I added a big double bow with a button.

I colored the mittens with Copic markers and added a bit of Glossy Accents and glitter to the cuffs. To finish them I added a couple of rhinestones to the snowflakes. Hmm… kind of wishing I had a pair of gloves just like these… they look toasty warm and c-u-t-e!

For all of the challenge details and more fabulous samples head over to the Ribbon Carousel Challenge Blog! :)

Recipe:
Stamps: Tremendous Treats: Christmas (PTI).
Paper: Red, Scarlet Jewel (PTI), Choice Snow White (TE), Nordic Holiday (Basic Grey).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: Ivory Jute and Ivory Cotton Twill (May Arts – available at Ribbon Carousel Store), Crystal Twinkles and Tag Die Cut (TE), Glossy Accents (Ranger), Glitter (MS), foam dimensionals, Corner Chomper and red jumbo eyelets (We R Memory Keepers), 1 1/4” circle, 1 3/8” circle and scallop circle punches (SU!).

Tremendous Treats: Christmas (PTI)	Nordic Holiday (Basic Grey)	Mini Glossy Accents (Ranger)	Crystal Twinkles (TE)	Ivory Jute (May Arts)
Ivory Cotton Twill (May Arts)	Corner Chomper - 1/4 and 1/2 (We R Memory Keepers)	Memento Tuxedo Black

InLinkz.com

TE Release Day: Happy New Year

2011-12-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

TE Release Day!

All of the new products are now available for purchase! Check out the Fresh Out of the Oven Department to see everything in one place!
More projects from the Baker's Dozen to inspire you. Just follow the link list below.
PETITE-A-PALOOZA SPECIAL: Purchase any 6 Petite Stamp Sets (new or old) through Friday December 9th and receive a Petite Storage Case absolutely FREE!

Of course it wouldn’t be release day without more eye candy! Today I am sharing another two cards using the new sets.

My first card uses the Happy New Year a la carte and a bit of Picadilly designer paper from Basic Grey. I stamped the image on the Kraft background and again on Choice Snow White. I cut the second image out, colored with Copic markers and adhered over the first (only the bubbles from the one stamped on Kraft show through). I added Glossy Accents to the clock and the glass and then finished by applying a Rose Paper Pen to the bubbles. Yummm… tasty pink bubbles! ;) I also added a border of pink dots using the same pen.

I was in the mood for a big bow so pulled out a bit of pink grosgrain and tied a bow using the Bow Easy, I then added a second length around the card base and tied the bow in place using a button and twine. I tried just using one length of ribbon and tying the bow using the “bunny ears” technique but that didn’t turn out. Doing it this way looked much cleaner.

For my second card I used the Polar Pete petite stamp set and the new Happier Card Kit. After stamping and coloring Polar Pete I die cut the scene using a Circle Nestabilities die. I then sponged a cloudy background using the Clouds Border Die and Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. To finish I added dots of Light Blue Pearl Pen around the edges of the circle and coated his nose, feet and ears with a Rose Paper Pen.

Before you head over to the store to do some shopping take a few minutes to visit these talented ladies and check out their samples for today:

Happy New Year Recipe
Stamps: Happy New Year a la carte (TE).
Paper: Kraft, Naturals White, Basic Black, Choice Snow White (TE), Picadilly designer (Basic Grey).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Rose Paper Pen (Viva), Glossy Accents (Ranger), Bubblegum Doodle Twine (Doodlebug), Scallop Border Die (TE), button, Grosgrain, heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, foam dimensionals.

Floatin’ By Recipe
Stamps: Polar Pete (TE).
Paper: Naturals White, Happier card kit (TE).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Tumbled Glass Distress Ink (Ranger), Copic markers.
Accessories: ribbon from Happier card kit (TE), Rose Paper Pen and Light Blue Pearl Pen (Viva), Cloud Border Die (TE), Tiny Twinkles (TE), Circle and Petite Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, foam dimensionals.

Here are the products from the TE Store that I used on the two cards. :)

Happy New Year a la carte (TE)	Polar Pete (TE)	Happier Card Kit (TE)	Picadilly (Basic Grey)	Cloud Border Die (TE)
Medium Scallop Border Die (TE)	Rose Paper Pen (Viva)	Light Blue Pearl Pen (Viva)	Corner Chomper - 1/4 and 1/2 (We R Memory Keepers)	Bubblegum Doodle Twine (Doodlebug)
Mini Glossy Accents (Ranger)	Happy Holidays Mini Jewels (DoodleBug)	Choice Snow White (TE)	Memento Tuxedo Black

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TE Sneak Peeks Day 2: Sky’s the Limit

2011-11-30T11:00:00.000-05:00

December Release At a Glance

It's Petite-a-Palooza as we introduce A DOZEN new Petite stamp sets, plus one new A la Carte, from every stamp collection available at Taylored Expressions.
Tuesday is Calendar Day as we showcase FOUR new TE calendar products - all perfect for gift giving!
Wednesday is Card Kit Day as we introduce FOUR new Taylored Card Kits available just in time for the holidays!
All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, December 1st at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store.

Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL Facebook GIVEAWAY, on Wednesday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.

I’m back today with a card I made using the new Sky’s the Limit petite stamp set and the MME Happier card kit. Sky’s the Limit is the newest addition to the Embracing Grace stamp line illustrated by Emily Burger. This set contains 9 rubber images and 3 dies. It is uplifting and super cute. New for TE, the dies and stamps come together as one set! Like all TE sets this one is made from rubber and comes already trimmed and mounted on cling cushion.

The new MME Happier card kit is one of four new card kits! Each kit includes: 10 solid colored cardstock card bases,10 neutral cardstock image panels, envelopes, patterned paper, ribbon, KaiserCraft rhinestones or pearls. All of these supplies are packaged in one of the new Petite Storage Cases. Kits are $14.95 each. These kits and one of the new petite stamp sets would make a great gift!

I used the kit and the stamp set to create a delightful hello card. The only things I needed in addition to the kit and set was a Rose Paper Pen, a couple of Copic markers, a black ink pad, Scallop Oval and Oval Nestabilities dies, my sewing machine and a few dimensionals. I also used a white card base but that was from habit… I almost always use a neutral and it is a hard habit to break but there is plenty of cardstock included in the kit that can be used instead. ;)

I stamped the swirly hot air balloon from the set on a piece of the designer paper and on Choice Snow White cardstock. I die cut the white piece and then paper pieced the balloon portion from the designer paper. I then did just a bit of coloring using green and light brown Copic markers. There are also a couple of tiny cloud dies included and I cut those from white cardstock too.

I wanted to share a picture of one of the Petite Storage Cases. Each case will hold 6 Petite stamps sets so they are great for storing all of your mini sets from Taylored Expressions. However I discovered over Thanksgiving that they are GREAT for transporting bits and pieces for crafty projects. :) I had cut all my pieces for the tags I was making for last Friday’s TE Tag Hop but needed something to carry them in while traveling and decided to give the storage cases a try… and they were perfect! I also used a second case to hold the 17 different Copic markers I was using on the tags… AWESOME. So, not only will I need to buy some of these for my petite stamp sets I’m going to have to order a few more to keep my work-in-progress card projects organized. :)

Ready to see more sweet projects featuring the new card kits? Then visit these talented ladies:

Recipe:
Stamps: Sky’s the Limit (TE).
Paper: cardstock and designer paper from MME Happier Card Kit (TE).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: ribbon from MME Happier Card Kit (TE), Rose Decor Paper Pen (Viva), Oval and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, foam dimensionals.

TE Sneak Peeks Day 1: Perpetually Fun!

2011-11-29T11:00:00.000-05:00

December Release At a Glance

It's Petite-a-Palooza as we introduce A DOZEN new Petite stamp sets, plus one new A la Carte, from every stamp collection available at Taylored Expressions.
Tuesday is Calendar Day as we showcase FOUR new TE calendar products - all perfect for gift giving!
Wednesday is Card Kit Day as we introduce FOUR new Taylored Card Kits available just in time for the holidays!
All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, December 1st at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store.

Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL Facebook GIVEAWAY, on Wednesday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.

For today’s sneak peek I am featuring one of the new Perpetual Occasions Calendars and two new petite stamps sets: Apple Wreath and Snowflake Wreath! We are also featuring Strawberry Wreath, Moka Kristie, Moka Nora and the Happy New Year a la Carte today and you can see samples using these sets on the other designers’ blogs. :)

With the Perpetual Occasions Calendar you can go simple or wildly embellished, cute or elegant, keep it for yourself or give it as a gift - it's all up to you. And the best part is that you'll keep this creation for years to come as it tracks birthdays, anniversaries and other re-occurring special occasions. The calendar is a wallet friendly $6.95. The calendar has full length pages for each month and then a page (again, for each month) that is shorter and acts as a calendar topper that you can decorate for each month. There are also front and back covers which I decorated using some yummy October Afternoon designer paper, a bit of ribbon and one of the new Viva Decor Pearl pens. The “Celebrate” sentiment is from the Snowflake Wreath set. :)

I haven’t finished all of the pages in my calendar but I do have two of them to share. I used the new Snowflake Wreath for January and the new Apple Wreath for September. Both sets are petite sized and were illustrated by Nancy McKinney for the Whimsical Wishes line of stamps: Apple Wreath is a set of 5 for $7.95 and is perfect for apple picking time, back to school and to celebrate Fall. Snowflake Wreath is a set of 7 for $7.95 and is perfect throughout the Winter months as well as another great option for Christmas cards and decorations.

I decorated each of the toppers with more of the October Afternoon designer paper and vellum that was embossed using the Scallops & Circles Impression Plate. For January I stamped the Winter Wreath in Deep Lagoon, die cut with the coordinating Seasonal Wreath die and finished by embellishing with Crystal Twinkles.

And get this, Taylored Expressions has a wreath set perfect for each month of the year. If you too would like to make a wreath calendar, here is a helpful list of suggested stamps for each month:

January - Snowflake Wreath (NEW) or 4th of July Wreath colored for Winter/New Year's
February - Wreath of Love
March - Wreath of Luck
April - Spring Wreath
May - Strawberry Wreath (NEW)
June - Summer Wreath
July - 4th of July Wreath
August - Sunflower Wreath
September - Apple Wreath (NEW)
October - Spooky Wreath
November - Autumn Wreath
December - Wreaths of Joy

For September, here is the Apple Wreath which I stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black before die cutting and coloring with Copic markers. I did the ribbon treatment a bit differently on this one. I tried to keep my layering to a minimum so my calendar wouldn’t be too bulky… lol. We’ll see if I succeeded with that when I finish the other 10 pages.

Ready to see more awesome calendars? Then visit these talented ladies:

Recipe:
Stamps: Apple Wreath and Snowflake Wreath (TE).
Paper: Vellum, Early Espresso and Real Red (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Sidewalks designer (October Afternoon).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Deep Lagoon Fluid Chalk (ColorBox), Copic markers.
Accessories: Perpetual Calendar and Tiny Twinkles (TE), crocheted trim (May Arts), ribbon, Light Blue Pearl Pen (Viva), Scallops & Circles Impression Plate (TE), Seasonal Wreath die (TE), foam dimensionals, heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, brad.

Some links for the products from the TE Store that I used to decorate my calendar:

Sidewalks (October Afternoon)	Choice Snow White (TE)	Crystal Twinkles (TE)	Scallops & Circles Impression Plate (TE)	Seasonal Wreath Die (TE)
Light Blue Pearl Pen (Viva)	Deep Lagoon Fluid Chalk (ColorBox)	Labels 18 Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

InLinkz.com

Here are the dies that I used from Taylored Expressions:

TE Tag Hop: Happy Winter!

2011-11-25T03:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Taylored Expressions Black Friday Tag Hop!!! We're celebrating the biggest shopping day of the year with a Tag Hop and a HUGE SALE!

Hop around for tons of inspiration for your holiday tag making. Link list below.
One lucky customer will win a set of 10 tags (one each of the tags featured in today's hop.) Everyone who places an order at Taylored Expressions Friday - Monday (11/25 - 11/28) and writes "I want those tags!" in the comments section of the order form will be entered to win. The winner will be announced on Taylor's blog on Tuesday 11/29.
Introducing Tags & Tag-a-longs so you can quickly and easily create your own tags inspired by today's samples.
Black Friday Sale - enter coupon code BLACKFRIDAY2011 on any order Friday through Monday to save 10-30% off your entire order! HURRY! The earlier you shop, the MORE you SAVE! Details on the TE Store homepage.

For my set of holiday tags I used the Woodland Winter stamp set and coordinating die set to make a rustic winter tag! I created a mini scene using the owl and branch from the set. I stamped each image on Choice Buttercream cardstock, colored with Copic markers and cut out. I added Glossy accents to the eyes and hat and a bit of glitter to the hat too.

I used one of the new Viva Pearl Pens to add dots of light blue behind the owl/branch scene. These pens are delightful and I love the colors (there are plenty to choose from). What is neat is that there are both pearl finishes and a more opaque matte finish (the paper pens). They go on smooth and are as easy to use as the Liquid Pearls and the pens are big… so you can make lots and lots of dots! :)

Behind the main scene is a tree that I diecut from green felt using the Trim the Trees die set. I matted Lost and Found Breeze designer paper on cardstock (Kraft on some and dark brown on others) and stitched the edges with heavy duty white thread. I then added a piece of fabric tape – I used some brown gingham. You can see similar fabric tapes in the store HERE. I was really in the mood for gingham when I made these tags! ;)

The base tag is a one of the fabulous die cut tags you can order from the store and I added Cool Metal Eyelets. Through the eyelet I added a length of brown gingham ribbon and tied it in place using Bubble Blue Doodle Twine. I attached a “Happy Winter” sentiment to the tag by using a small jump ring looped through the twine.

Taylor is now carrying the jumbo eyelets!!! She even made up kits of the Tags and embellishments called Tags & Tag-a-longs. The kits hold everything you need to make your own fabulous tags! :)

Ready for more fun holiday inspiration? Then check out the rest of these talented tag makers:

Recipe:
Stamps: Winter Wonderland (Taylored Expressions).
Paper: Kraft, Dark Brown, Choice Buttercream, Lost & Found – Breeze designer (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: Cool Metal jumbo eyelets, Corner Chomper, Crop-a-dile (We R Memory Keepers), green felt, heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, jump ring, foam dimensional tape, Glossy Accents (Ranger), glitter, fabric tape, brown gingham ribbon (May Arts), Bubble Blue Doodle Twine (Doodlebug), Light Blue Pearl Pen (Viva), Trim the Tree dies (Taylored Expressions).

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T15:00:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is having a fabulous day and for those in the USA that you have a Happy Thanksgiving! May the mashed potatoes be extra tasty (my favorite)!

I’m sure you are wondering how a knitting themed card ties into Thanksgiving? Well, today I’ll be having dinner with the family at my brother and sister-in-law’s place and my sister-in-law likes to knit! Ha – see how that works? ;)

The cute image is from the Knit Happens a la mode stamp set by My Favorite Thinks. I colored the image with Copic markers and cut it out. I placed it over a second stamped image using foam dimensionals. I used various pieces of Vanity Fair designer paper matted on Aqua Mist cardstock as a background. I added stitching to all of the matted panels and finished embellishing the card with a few pink rhinestones and some luscious vintage seam binding (I love this color).

You may have noticed from this post and previous posts that I like vintage seam binding a lot. ;) I just love how easy it is to tie it into bows… and the colors run the gamut from bright and bold to subtle and elegant. Simply delightful! So, I thought I would share a Ribbon Carousel special that will be running from Thursday (today) thru Monday. Use coupon code “Holiday20” for 20% off at the Ribbon Carousel store. It’s the perfect opportunity to stock up on some vintage seam binding. LOL… I just had to share!

Recipe:
Stamps: Knit Happens a la mode (MFT).
Paper: Naturals Ivory (SU!), Aqua Mist (PTI), Choice Snow White (TE), Vanity Fair designer (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Scattered Straw Distress Ink (Ranger), Copic markers.
Accessories: heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, Elegant Peacock vintage seam binding (Ribbon Carousel), rhinestones (Doodlebug), foam dimensional tape (TE).

Knit Happens a la mode (MFT)

Vanity Fair (My Mind's Eye)

Happy Holidays Mini Jewels (DoodleBug)

Choice Snow White (TE)

Elegant Peacock Vintage Seam Binding (Ribbon Carousel)

InLinkz.com

An Owl, a Tree and a Birthday!

2011-11-23T19:59:00.001-05:00

Hi all – I’m checking in with a birthday card I made using the Love Grows Here stamp set from Taylored Expressions. It is chock full of fun tree images that are so much fun to color. :)

I stamped the image on Choice Buttercream cardstock and colored with Copic Markers. I added a touch of Glossy Accents and glitter to the little owl. I cut the scene out using a Wonky Rectangles die, sponged the edges with Scattered Straw Distress Ink and then added Buttercream Liquid Pearls. I kept the layout simple and just added a length of shimmery yellow ribbon, a few rhinestones and a little resin flower. Nicey Nice!

Recipe:
Stamps: Love Grows Here (TE).
Paper: Kraft (PTI), Naturals Ivory (SU!), Choice Buttercream (TE), Sidewalks designer (October Afternoon).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Scattered Straw Distress Ink (Ranger), Copic markers.
Accessories: Glossy Accents and Buttercup Liquid Pearls (Ranger), glitter (MS), ribbon (TE), flower (Webster Pages), rhinestones (KaiserCraft), foam tape (TE).

Love Grows Here (TE)	Sidewalks (October Afternoon)	Choice Buttercream (TE)	Aqua Rhinestones (KaiserCraft)	Buttercup Liquid Pearls (Ranger)
Mini Glossy Accents (Ranger)	Wonky Rectangles (Spellbinders)

InLinkz.com

RCC30: Holiday Hoopla

2011-11-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hello Crafty Friends!

I’m popping in today with a card for this week’s Ribbon Carousel Challenge – RCC30 Holiday Hoopla!

With the holidays upon us, Lindsay is challenging us to make a creation celebrating a holiday! Any holiday will do, Hanukkah, Christmas, Thanksgiving, or even New Year’s if you’re that far ahead! And this week we are being sponsored by Jenny Suchin Designs!

To participate in this week’s challenge all you need to do is create something celebrating a Holiday and post it to the Ribbon Carousel blog. Oh and your creation can be anything from cards, quilts, sewn items paper crafts or paintings! You just need to be sure to include ribbon, bakers twine, jute twine, lace and/or thread (basically anything that comes on a spool). For full details on the challenge, plenty of eye candy provided by the design team and more info on this week’s prize head over to the Ribbon Carousel Challenge blog!

For my card this week I went with a Christmas theme and used the sweet dear image from the Tremendous Treats: Christmas stamp set from PTI and paired it with some fun black ruffled organdy ribbon and Season’s Greetings designer paper. I stamped the dear on both Soft Sky and white cardstock. I colored the white dear with Copic markers and cut out (omitting the antlers). After cutting out an oval from the Soft Sky cardstock I stamped the sentiment, added Liquid Pearls and then affixed the colored dear over the first one using foam dimensionals. I then colored the heart and star with Copic Spica pens and coated with Glossy Accents.

The background is pretty simple – just a couple of strips of designer paper adhered to the main piece and then matted/stitched onto black cardstock. I tied the ribbon in a bow around the panel and added a Maya Road trinket stick pin and a couple of adhesive rhinestones. This was actually a really quick card and I love how it turned out! :)

Recipe:
Stamps: Tremendous Treats: Christmas (PTI).
Paper: Black (PTI), Soft Sky and Naturals Ivory (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Season’s Greetings designer (Echo Park).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, Copic Spica pens.
Accessories: Glossy Accents (Ranger), Platinum Liquid Pearls (Ranger), Oval and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), stick pen (Maya Road), adhesive rhinestones (Doodlebug), black ruffled organdy ribbon (May Arts – available at Ribbon Carousel Store).

Tremendous Treats: Christmas (PTI)	Season's Greetings (Echo Park)	Black sheer ruffled edge ribbon (Ribbon Carousel)	Happy Holidays Mini Jewels (DoodleBug)	Platinum Liquid Pearls (Ranger)
Mini Glossy Accents (Ranger)	Choice Snow White (TE)

InLinkz.com

Wish Upon a Star

2011-11-20T16:32:00.001-05:00

Hi all,

I’m popping in with a colorful Christmas card to share with you today! I used a cute angel image from the Whipper Snapper cling set: Spirit of Christmas and paired it with some gloriously bright Santa’s Workshop designer paper.

I colored the sweet angel with Copic Markers and then painted portions of the image with Smooch. I was in the mood to add a touch of shabbiness so I distressed edges and sprayed some Glimmer Mist on the background of the main image. I added a few fun accents such as vintage seam bindng, rhinestones, a clear heart and a clothespin. I’ve had those little wooden pins for almost a year and hadn’t used a single one… sigh… I over organized and forgot I had ‘em! ;)

That is it for me today. My big project is done but I need to take pictures of it… which means I need to find a good location with plenty of light to hang it first. But soon… I will be sharing it! ;)

Recipe:
Stamps: Spirit of Christmas – Anna Wight cling set (Whipper Snapper Designs).
Paper: Naturals White (SU!), Kraft (PTI), Choice Snow White (TE), Santa’s Workshop (Doodlebug).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers
Accessories: Gold Lame, Shabby Pink, Pool and Lettuce Smooch (ClearSnap), Snow Angel Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels), ghost heart (Heidi Swapp), mini jewels (Doodlebug), Mini clothespin, foam dimensionals, heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, edge distressing tool, Dresden Blue Vintage seam binding (Ribbon Carousel).

Spirit of Christmas (Whipper Snapper Designs)	Santa's Workshop (Doodlebug)	Happy Holidays Mini Jewels (DoodleBug)	Shabby Pink Smooch (ClearSnap)	Pool Smooch (ClearSnap)
Lettuce Smooch (ClearSnap)	Choice Snow White (TE)	Dresden Vintage Seam Binding (Ribbon Carousel)

InLinkz.com

SSSC143: Blessings

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hello! How are you all doing today? I’m still working on my big project (paint dries so slowly) but I did find some time to make this sunny card using the new Thankful stamp set from Taylored Expressions and this week’s Sweet Sunday Sketch: SSSC143. I did turn the sketch on its side but otherwise I stayed true to the layout. :)

Details – I stamped the flower and vase from the set in Memento Tuxedo Black on Choice Snow White cardstock and colored with Copic markers. I then trimmed the image and added a touch of Gold Lame and Lettuce Smooch to the flowers. For a backdrop I layered a piece of Everyday Flair designer paper on Kraft cardstock and added Bisque Liquid Pearls. I stamped the sentiment on another piece of Kraft cardstock, trimmed and then adhered it over the vase.

No stitching on this one today. Instead I went for the clean look. Hope you enjoyed it! :)

Recipe:
Stamps: Thankful (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Kraft (PTI), Naturals White (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Everyday Flair designer (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: Gold Lame and Lettuce Smooch (Clearsnap), button (Basic Grey), Bisque Liquid Pearls (Ranger), Bon Bon DoodleTwine (DoodleBug), Ivory V-Striped Ribbon (May Arts – available at Ribbon Carousel), foam dimensionals.

Thankful (TE)

Everyday Flair (My Mind's Eye)

Bon Bon Doodle Twine (Doodlebug)

Lettuce (Smooch)

Choice Snow White (TE)

InLinkz.com

Ringing in the Holidays

2011-11-13T20:38:00.001-05:00

Hi all – so my big project I’ve been working on has had a set back. When they say a cookie sheet is non-stick they really mean it! Even primer doesn’t stick to it! ;) So while the paint dries… again… I have a different project to share. This card features the Holiday Emily stamp from Sparkles Creations.

I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copic Markers. I added a touch of green Copic Spica pen to the leaves, Glossy Accents to the bell, and Glossy Accents with glitter to the candy cane and holly berries. I cut the image out with a Circle Nestabilities die and sponged the edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink. The designer papers are Nordic Holiday by Basic Grey and some older polka dot paper from Bo Bunny.

To complete the look I used some Eggshell vintage seam binding and a few glittery candy dots… and of course a bit of stitching using my sewing machine. Well, I’m off to stare at wet paint… it dries faster that way, right? ;)

Recipe:
Stamps: Holiday Emily (SCRS), Pure Innocence – Stocking Girl (MFT).
Paper: Garden Green (SU!), Scarlet Jewel and Kraft (PTI), Choice Snow White (TE).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Antique Linen Distress Ink (Ranger), Copic markers).
Accessories: Circle and Petite Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Cream glitter candy dots (Pebbles), Glossy Accents (Ranger), glitter (Martha Stewart), Eggshell vintage seam binding (Ribbon Carousel), heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, foam dimensional tape, Bracket Tab Die-namics (MFT).

Holiday Emily (SCRS)

Pure Innocence - Stocking Girl (MFT)

Bracket Tab Die-namics (MFT)

Eggshell Vintage Seam Binding (Ribbon Carousel)

Nordic Holiday (Basic Grey)

InLinkz.com

RCC28: Pillow Talk

2011-11-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hello Crafty Friends!

It has been a few days since I posted but I have been very busy in the craft room creating a couple of decorative Christmas projects. The first of which is for this week’s Ribbon Carousel Challenge! Our amazingly talented new Crewmate, Andrea Ewen, is challenging us to use the following picture of gorgeous pillows as inspiration for a new creation!

Our sponsor this week is the fabulous Your Next Stamp! One lucky participant will when a nice Your Next Stamp prize!

To participate in this week’s challenge all you need to do is use the picture for inspiration and post it to the Ribbon Carousel blog. Oh and your creation can be anything from cards, quilts, sewn items paper crafts or paintings! You just need to be sure to include ribbon, bakers twine, jute twine, lace and/or thread (basically anything that comes on a spool). For full details on the challenge, plenty of eye candy provided by the design team and more info on this week’s prize head over to the Ribbon Carousel Challenge blog!

Are you ready to see what I was inspired to make? I just loved all of the ruffles on those pillows… oh la la… so I decided to make a box with ruffles! And since an empty box is just calling to be filled I also made a couple of coordinating cards!

First up – details on the box! There isn’t a lot of stamping on the box but there is a whole lot of ribbon and fabric! I layered a piece of designer paper on Early Espresso cardstock and stitched around the edges. Next I cut two lengths of burgundy and ivory striped grosgrain ribbon and tacked them into place on the matted designer paper with just a touch of glue (I used an ATG glue gun and just put down two lines). As I tacked the ribbon in place I pleated it a bit. To permanently affix in place I sewed down the middle of each piece using my sewing machine and heavy duty white thread. I did the same for the third ruffle except this time I used a 2” wide strip of Christmas fabric.

I wanted a shabbier look so I cut off the finished edges of the ribbon and then pulled out the first few strings. I did the same to the fabric. It was a messy process (strings everywhere) but I LOVE how it turned out. The box needed a sentiment so I stamped “Happy Holidays” from the Pure Innocence – Christmas Stocking Girl set on Naturals Ivory cardstock, rounded the corners and then attached to the bottom corner of the box with foam dimensionals.

I also thought a bit more ribbon was needed so I wrapped a length of Ivory Vintage Seam Binding over the fabric and tied into a bow. I added a little stick pin through the knot. To finish, three cream glitter candy dots (from Pebbles) were added to the top left corner. Oh, a couple more pieces of matted and stitched designer paper were added to the front and back of the box.

Since an empty box is just calling out for something to hold I made two cards (more can fit in there… but I ran out of time!). I wanted the card to coordinate with the box so I used more of the Christmas fabric and more of the My Mind’s Eye designer paper that I used on the front of the box.

The trick to cutting shapes from fabric and not having the edges fray is to use Heat n Bond iron on adhesive. You can find this in most stores that sell fabric. For the main shaped panel I cut and ironed the fabric to a piece of light weight chip board. I cut each layer separately using a Labels Nestabilities die and then ironed them together. Once cooled (takes less than a minute) I added Bisque Liquid Pearls to the outside edges. For the next layer I matted the designer paper on Early Espresso cardstock and stitched the edges. The little girl was colored with Copic markers and her pajamas were paper pieced from another piece of designer paper. I added white gel pen dots to her cheeks and a bit of glitter to the top of the stocking.

To finish the card I used more of the Ivory Vintage Seam binding. I think I could use a whole roll of that ribbon! ;) For one final parting shot here is a picture of the two cards nestled inside of the box. Hmm… I think I need to make them a few friends… maybe matching tags. Heh heh heh.

Recipe:
Stamps: Pure Innocence – Christmas Stocking Girl (MFT Stamps).
Paper: Early Espresso, Naturals Ivory (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Lost & Found Christmas (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, white gel pen.
Accessories: Bisque Liquid Pearls and Glossy Accents (Ranger), brads (Recollections), Ivory Vintage Seam Binding, Ivory/Burgundy Striped Ribbon, Labels Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), stick pin (Webster’s Pages), Perfect Package Box (TE), heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, foam dimensionals, fabric, chipboard.

TE Release Day: Buzzing by…

2011-11-03T11:00:00.000-04:00

TE Release Day!

All of the new products are now available for purchase! Check out the Fresh Out of the Oven Department to see everything in one place!
More projects from the Baker's Dozen to inspire you. Just follow the link list below.
Did you win one of the Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaways? Find the list of winners on Taylor's Blog.

I’m back with one final release week project, so check it out before you head over to the store for some shopping. ;) I used the cute sunflower accent image from the Seasonal Wreath petite stamp set to make an hello card. In case you are wondering the finished card size is 3.5” wide by 6” tall.

I die cut 6 maple leaves from cork using the new Mini Leaves die set. Oh yeah… if you thought felt was fun to die cut then just wait until you try cork! ;) I accented each leaf with a sunflower that was stamped, colored, and sparkled with glitter, glossy accents and a touch of Illuminate Smooch. The rest of the layout is simple (I really wanted the leaves/sunflowers to pop).

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my card. For more delightful creations take a look at what the following talented designers are sharing today:

Recipe:
Stamps: Seasonal Wreath (Taylored Expressions).
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Naturals Ivory(SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Journey designer (Authentique).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Pumpkin Spice Fluid Chalk (ColorBox), Copic markers.
Accessories: cork (TE), Illuminate Smooch (Clearsnap), Glossy Accents (Ranger), Doodletwill (Doodlebug), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Mini Leaves die set (Taylored Expressions).

TE Sneak Peeks Day 3: Thank You Tags

2011-11-02T11:00:00.000-04:00

November Release At a Glance

We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday. All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, November 3rd at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store.
Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL Facebook GIVEAWAY, on Wednesday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.
Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate. Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day! Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please. Comments close Wednesday 11/2 at 7pm PST for the drawings.

Today we are debuting the following stamp sets: Thankful, Sunflower Wreath, and the Thanks A la Carte. All of the sets debuting today coordinate with one another. TE stamp sets are made from high quality deeply etched rubber and come pre-cut and mounted on EZ Mount. To use, all you need to do is take the stamp off the storage panel and mount on an acrylic block. Stamp sets are packaged on a full color panel. Full size stamp sets are on a 5.75" x 8.5" panel, mini set panels are on a 4.75" square (CD size) panel and petite sets are on a 3" x 5" panel. A la Carte stamps do not come on a panel but are pre-cut and mounted on EZ Mount.

For my project today I made a set of tags using the new Sunflower Wreath set and the new Mini Leaves die set.

Sunflower Wreath is the another addition to the seasonal wreath series originally concepted by Jami. Sunflowers are so bright and happy and they're great for Fall as well as Summer! I used the set to make some pretty Fall Thank You tags. The set (it is petite sized) was illustrated by Nancy McKinney for the Whimsical Wishes line and includes eight stamps.

I used various scraps of designer paper from the Lost and Found Sunshine pad from My Mind’s Eye. The wreaths were stamped on Choice Snow White cardstock and cut out using the coordinating Seasonal Wreath die. Once cut I colored the images with Copic markers and accented with Spica Pens and Glossy Accents.

To accent the tags I die cut some leaves from green wool blend felt using the Mini Leaves dies and attached them to the tags using buttons and some Doodlebug twine. I also added a few Tiny Twinkles along the bottom edge.

Here is a close up so you can see the Glossy Accents that I added to the center of the flowers and the touch of glitter from the Spica pens. I’m loving this combo of yellows with a touch of green and light blue.

Hope you enjoyed the tags (I cannot resist making them). For more delightful creations take a look at what the following talented designers are sharing today:

Recipe:
Stamps: Summer Wreath (Taylored Expressions).
Paper: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Naturals Ivory(SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Lost and Found Sunshine (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, Copic Spica Pens.
Accessories: green wool blend felt, Tangerine Doodletwine (Doodlebug), Corner punch and jumbo eyelets, (SU!), buttons, Glossy Accents (Ranger), circle punch (EK Success), foam dimensionals, Tiny Twinkles (TE), Seasonal Wreath die and Mini Leaves die set (TE).

TE Sneak Peeks Day 2: Dancing Among the Trees

2011-11-01T11:00:00.000-04:00

November Release At a Glance

We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday. All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, November 3rd at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store.
Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL Facebook GIVEAWAY, on Wednesday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.
Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate. Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day! Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please. Comments close Wednesday 11/2 at 7pm PST for the drawings.

Today we are debuting the following stamp sets: Love Grows Here, Life is a Dance, Moka Morgana, and Moka Katie. TE stamp sets are made from high quality deeply etched rubber and come pre-cut and mounted on EZ Mount. To use, all you need to do is take the stamp off the storage panel and mount on an acrylic block. Stamp sets are packaged on a full color panel. Full size stamp sets are on a 5.75" x 8.5" panel, mini set panels are on a 4.75" square (CD size) panel and petite sets are on a 3" x 5" panel.

My first card today uses the Love Grows Here stamp set. LGH was illustrated by our newest illustrator, Emily Burger, and is the first set in her new collection called Embracing Grace. This darling set includes seven tree vignettes for year-round fun and versatility! This is a full sized set and includes a total of 18 images.

I’m a huge fan of trees and this set will be seeing a lot of use in my craft room… especially since most of the images are great to use year round and the set comes with a bunch of fabulous sentiments!

I stamped the tree with flowers on Choice Snow White cardstock and colored with Copic markers. I then cut out with a Labels Nestabilities die. Leaving the die in place, I masked the tree and flowers and airbrushed the background with a B34 Copic marker. Once dry I removed the die and masks and added Bisque Liquid Pearls along the edges. I then layered the image on Early Espresso cardstock and used my scissors to cut around the edges to create a matted look.

My second card uses Life is a Dance. This sweet mini set was designed to coordinate with Moka Morgana, but the wonderful sentiments along with the dreamy dance images make it a great set all on its own! Like the Mokas, this set was Illustrated by Nancy McKinney for the Whimsical Wishes line. It includes a total of nine images.

I have two left feet so I wasn’t sure about this set at first, but then I stamped and played a bit with the images and now I’m in LOVE. I heart that little dress and it is so much fun to paper piece! I think I could just sit in my stamp room and paper piece little dresses all day long! ;)

If you haven’t guessed I paper pieced the majority of the dress image. I did the skirt twice – it is hard to see in the pictures but there is an underskirt layer there. Maybe if you stare at it wonky-eyed you will be able to tell. ;) I added just a touch of shading to the dress using Copic markers and added a touch of glitter to the rosettes on the dress using a Pink Copic Spica pen. Such a cute image… can you picture it in shades of red and/or green to make a Christmas outfit? I think that would be sweet!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my cards today. For more delightful creations take a look at what the following talented designers are sharing today:

Hello Tree Recipe:
Stamps: Love Grows Here (Taylored Expressions).
Paper: Certainly Celery, Early Espresso, Naturals Ivory(SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Times and Seasons designer (Echo Park).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: twill (TE), twine (May Arts), Labels Nestabilities (Spellbinders), button, heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, air compressor, Platinum Liquid Pearls (Ranger), circle punch (EK Success), brads (Recollections).

Dance Recipe:
Stamps: Life is a Dance (Taylored Expressions).
Paper: Pale Plum, Early Espresso, Naturals Ivory (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), A Beautiful Life (My Mind’s Eye).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers.
Accessories: Vintage Seam Binding (RC), flower (Webster Pages), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), heavy duty white thread and sewing machine, air compressor, Musical Swirls Impression Plate (TE).

TE Sneak Peeks Day 1: Labels of Love

2011-10-31T11:00:00.000-04:00

November Release At a Glance

We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday. All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, November 3rd at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store.
Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL Facebook GIVEAWAY, on Wednesday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.
Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate. Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day! Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please. Comments close Wednesday 11/2 at 7pm PST for the drawings.

Today we are debuting the new Labels of Love II stamp set and the Mini Leaves Taylored Die! For my project today I used the new stamp set to decorate some Test Tube Treat Holders. You can find a handy tutorial for making these fun projects at Splitcoaststampers – HERE and if you are looking for some test tubes Taylored Expressions has them for sale - HERE.

Labels of Love II is a follow up set to the popular Labels of Love and includes oodles of frames and sentiments that cover almost every holiday throughout the year (I made treat holders for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas using just this one set). It’s the perfect addition to any stamp collection and would also make a great Christmas gift for your stamping friends! This set of 27 stamps coordinates with Labels of Love and Spellbinders Ribbon Tags Trio 3. Also, this fabulous new set is the latest addition to the TE Giving Tree program.

The TE Giving Tree is a program designed to raise funds for a different charity each quarter. For the months of November, December and January, Taylored Expressions will donate $5 from the sale of each Labels of Love II stamp set to the Union Rescue Mission.

In part the URM's Mission Statement reads:

We embrace people experiencing homelessness with the compassion of Christ – giving hope and healing for a changed life – helping them find their way home.
By Embrace we mean to welcome, to encircle with our arms.
By Compassion we mean to love and touch others, as Christ loved us.
By Hope we mean providing encouragement and resources for a new start.
By Healing we mean being restored in body, mind, and spirit through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
By Changed Life we mean going in a new direction and to realize our God-given purpose.
By Home we mean having the opportunity to earn a living, secure housing, and be a healthy family again.
The Union Rescue Mission (URM) was founded in 1891 and is one of the largest missions of its kind in America--bringing help and hope to men, women, and children experiencing homelessness in Downtown Los Angeles. Taylor's husband, Jon, served at the Union Rescue Mission when they lived in California and saw first hand the impact it had on the lives of the homeless. Visit the Union Rescue Mission website at http://urm.org/.

Here are a few additional photos of the treat holders I made. I used a 1” circle punch to cut the opening in the top of the treat holder (3/4” is too small for the test tubes – 7/8” would probably be perfect!). I also added White Opal Liquid Pearls along the edges of the frames and around the opening for the treat holder. I did use the Spellbinders Ribbon Tags Trio 3 dies to cut out the labels. However they were a bit too long for my needs so I cut off the ends where the ribbon would be threaded through.

For Halloween I used Doodlebug Monster Mania designer paper and the “happy fright night” sentiment.

I filled the test tubes with Sixlets candy.

For Thanksgiving I used My Mind’s Eye Lost and Found Breeze designer paper and the “Give Thanks” sentiment.

I filled the test tubes with Peanut Butter M&Ms.

For Christmas I used Echo Park Season’s Greetings designer paper and the “Season’s Greetings” sentiment.

I filled these ones with plain M&Ms. By the way – all of these different candies are yummy. I taste tested them to make sure. ;)

Now that you have checked out my project, take a gander at what the following talented designers are sharing today:

Recipe:
Stamps: Labels of Love II (Taylored Expressions).
Paper: Soft Sky, River Rock, Wild Wasabi, Early Espresso, Basic Black (SU!), Ripe Avocado (PTI), Choice Snow White (TE), Monster Mania designer (Doodlebug), Lost & Found Breeze (My Mind’s Eye), Season’s Greetings designer (Echo Park).
Ink: Deep Lagoon, Warm Red and Pumpkin Spice Fluid Chalk (ColorBox), Memento Tuxedo Black.
Accessories: various ribbons (TE), adhesive rhinestones (KaiserCraft), test tubes (TE), Ribbon Tags Trio 3 (Spellbinders), 1” circle punch (EK Success), small oval punch (SU!), White Opal Liquid Pearls (Ranger).

Wings of Joy Christmas Tags

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

Hey Crafty Friends – I’m checking in today with a set of tags that match the Christmas Planner I posted yesterday. I had some scraps of Holly Jolly Christmas designer paper left over and thought they would be perfect for some little tags.

The birdie and sentiment are from the Wings of Joy stamp set and I picked up the die cut tags from the Taylored Expressions online store.

I took pictures of the tags in sets so that you can see the detail of each. Besides the designer paper and slightly different shades of dark brown cardstock they are the same but a few extra pictures don’t hurt, do they? ;)

The strips of designer paper range from an 1” wide to about 1 1/2”. I layered the strips on Chocolate Chip or Early Espresso cardstock and rounded the corners before adding Platinum Liquid Pearls. After 6 tags and 7 labels from yesterday’s project my right hand was a bit sore from dabbing dots everywhere. But it was worth it.

The birdie was stamped on Choice Snow White cardstock and colored with Copic markers. A bit of Icicle Stickles was added to the hat. Once dry the birds were adhered to small circles of green cardstock die cut with a Lacey Circles Nestabilities die. A sentiment was stamped on Soft Sky cardstock, trimmed to size and then also adhered to the circles using more dimensionals.

To finish a bow was tied using the Bow Easy and attached to the tag front using twine and accented with a button. I then attached the tag front to the tag base using dimensionals and added an eyelet to the top.

Recipe:
Stamps: Wings of Joy (TE).
Paper: Certainly Celery, Soft Sky, Early Espresso, Chocolate Chip (SU!), Choice Snow White (TE), Holly Jolly Christmas designer (Echo Park).
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento Rich Cocoa, Copic markers.
Accessories: Icicle Stickles and Platinum Liquid Pearls (Ranger), twine (May Arts), polka dot ribbon (TE), button, foam dimensional tape, Tag Treat die cuts (TE), Lacey Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders).

Wings of Joy (TE)

Holly Jolly Christmas (Echo Park)

Choice Snow White (TE)

Tag Treats die cuts (TE)

Platinum Liquid Pearls (Ranger)

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