Hello Sunshine!...

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It's still cold outside and I am sorry to say that I am so over Winter. I can see the sun peeking through the clouds and I'm wishing it would just burst through. Lucky for me, Verve is hosting a Color Me Spring Dare and Wee Memories' Scrappy Saturday Challenge is a Free Your Creativity Challenge -- I thought I'd make a card to bring a little sunshine into my day. I created a little riot of flowers for this sweet elephant to peer over and cut out a few blooms to add some dimension. Originally, I had a very elaborately embossed shadowbox frame to go over this scene, but when I showed my husband, he suggested leaving it clean and simple (I just love it when he gets "into" my papercrafting!) So, while Winter is keeping Spring at bay outside, I can pretend to have a teensy bit of sunshine inside.

BEAN NOTES

• Stamps: To the Moon, Miracles Blossom and Accent Notes (sentiment) Clear Stamps (Verve)
• Ink: Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzaz, Pale Plum, Delightful Daffodil (Stampin' Up!); Memento Summer Sky (Tsukinkeo)
• Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah)
• Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)
• Fibers: Delightful Daffodil Satin Ribbon (SU!)

A Wonderful Friend...

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A good friend of mine is one of the sweetest people I know. She's terribly shy, so I won't name her here, but I wanted to show her how much she means to me. She is always doing kind things for other people and there is not a selfish bone in her body. I was inspired by JustRite's Random Act of Kindness Challenge to create something as both a thank you to my friend for all the years of help and friendship she has given to me, and to also send her something, well, just because!

I began with her favorite color combination, green and black. She is very striking and so is her taste, so I thought I would make her some decorative art to hang in her office or at home. I used the lovely images from the Kaleidoscope Borders & Centers and the perfect sentiment from the You Inspire Me cling set to create what I hope my friend will see as a tribute to her infinite random acts of kindness.

BEAN NOTES

• Stamps: Kaleidoscope Borders & Centers and You Inspire Me (cling) Rubber Stamps (JustRite Stampers)
• Cardstock: Ripe Avocado (PTI)
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Bamboo Leaves Ink (Tsukineko)
• Accents: Brads (generic)
• Fibers: Black Organdy Ribbon (Jo-Ann Fabrics)
• Tools: 1-3/4" Circle Punch (EK Success)
• Alterable: Black Wood Frame (Michaels)

Bun in the Oven...

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My wonderful college roommate and her darling husband, Bernie, are expecting their first baby and I am SO HAPPY for them. (Thank goodness my mom doesn't do computers because she would read today's post headline and think it was me, ha! ha!) I love making baby cards because they are such a happy occasion to celebrate. I was inspired by the cool sketch over at Mojo Monday. This also gave me the perfect excuse to make a card for the Paper Crafts March Gallery Challenge, which is all things baby! Lori and Bernie are choosing to wait to find out if they are having a boy or a girl, so it was fun to come up with some non-traditional baby colors to use along with these adorable images from Lawn Fawn. Congratulations to my sweet friends!

BEAN NOTES

• Stamps: Plus One (Lawn Fawn)
• Cardstock: Choice Buttercream (Taylored Expressions); Aqua Textured (Bazzil)
• Ink: Memento
• Patterned Paper: October Afternoon (Modern Homemaker)
• Accents: Buttons (generic)
• Fibers: Embroidery Floss (generic)
• Dies: Classic Circle and Beaded Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
• Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)
• Tools: Paper Piercing tool (generic)

Par Avion...

With hubby away on a business trip and moi down with a cold, I wanted to get inky and make a card since I was going to have trouble sleeping anyway. I loved the challenge colors in this week's Color Throwdown, and I told myself I needed to use stamps I have never used before. This card uses no fewer than eleven images from three different sets! I made this card for my mom-in-law, who has been such a good friend to talk to with all the chaos lately, and it's so much fun to make a "just because" card. By the way, that big bow was created with some recycled Christmas ribbon (from my mom-in-law!)

BEAN NOTES

• Stamps: Postmarks, Label Basics, and  Text Style II (Papertrey Ink)
• Ink: Marina Mist, Pear Pizazz, and Peach Parfait Classic Dye (Stampin' Up!); Old Paper Distress (Tim Holtz); Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko)
• Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Pear Pizazz, Marina Mist (SU!)
• Patterned Paper: Postmarks (PTI)
• Dies: Postmark (PTI)
• Fibers: Green Organdy Ribbon (generic)

Where Have You Been?...

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I have been pining for Spring. It actually snowed again yesterday! Lucky for me, it's springtime at the Taylored Expressions Blast from the Past Blog Hop. Today I used a cool sketch from my fellow Baker's Dozen DT member, Sankari Wegman, and I broke out some bright, fun colors to make a happy card. I used one of my favorite sets, Tweet Hearts, and created the tree by turning the branch on it's side. All the fun papers are from the TE Spring Project Pantry kit...oh, Spring, where have you been?

BEAN NOTES

• Stamps: Tweet Hearts, Garden Party Critters (butterfly), and A Year of Sweet Sentiments (Taylored Expressions)
• Cardstock: Textured Bazzil from Spring Project Pantry (TE); Solar White (Neenah); Rose Red (Stampin' Up!)
• Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Summer Sky, Bamboo Leaves, and New Sprout (Tsukineko)
• Patterned Paper: Hippity-Hoppity (We R Memory) from Spring Project Pantry
• Accents: Flamingo and Buttercup Liquid Pearls (Ranger)
• Fibers: Ripe Avocado Saddle Stitch Ribbon (PTI)
• Tools: Large and Small Tag punches (SU!)

Be sure to hop on through for more Springtime fun!

Just Clownin' Around...

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Things are finally getting back to normal now that our floors have been repaired and I can get to my craft supplies again! I love the "Cute and Cuddly" theme going on over at the Wee Memories Scrappy Saturday Challenge, and, though I suppose clowns aren't necessarily "cuddly," I thought this one would qualify for "cute." (EDIT: Okay, I stand corrected. I got a sweet message from an actual clown in Idaho who assured me that clowns are both cute AND cuddly!) I love to do shaped cards, and this one actually does stand up on its own. (Bean Tip: trim a little bit off the bottom of a "round" card's back to make it stand when opened.)

I love the font on the banner from the It's a Banner Day 1 set from Taylored Expressions and it went so perfectly with the circus theme of my card. The "hair" on the clown is just some red embroidery floss, looped over and over on some sticky tape. Now that our place is back up to its usual messy self, I do feel like clownin' around!

BEAN NOTES

• Cardstock: Parakeet (Bazzil); Real Red, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
• Patterned Paper: Red plaid (reverse) from Little Boy collection, Echo Park Paper
• Stamps: It's a Banner Day 1 (Taylored Expressions)
• Fibers: Red Embroidery Floss (Prism)
• Ink: Real Red and Wild Wasabi (SU!)
• Coloring Medium: Black Multi-liner SP (Copic)
• Accents: Pure Poppy button (PTI)
• Dies: Banner Day 1 (TE); Classic Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

So Happy Together...

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My son is really particular about his friends. Of course, he's at the stage where he only likes the ladies! One of his little friends is an adorable little girl named Bailey, whom he has known since they were both two. I was inspired by the fab colors on this week's Play Date Cafe challenge to create this little frame card of the rugrat with his sweet friend -- and isn't it great that Spring is really almost here? Also, the Studio challenged us to create something inspired by a favorite song -- "So Happy Together" is one of mine, and I thought this was also the perfect sentiment for these two buddies. The large bloom, by the way, was just plain white, but with a little ink and a sponge, I could customize it to the colors I needed!

BEAN NOTES

• Stickers: Happy-Go-Lucky Dimensional Stickers (Pebbles)
• Cardstock: Rose Red, Crushed Curry, Perfect Plum (Stampin' Up!)
• Ink: Rose Red, Crushed Curry, Perfect Plum Classic Dye (Stampin' Up!)
• Patterned Paper: Embossed White (unknown)
• Accents: Paper Flowers (Archiver's); Decorative Brad from Lush Collection (My Mind's Eye)
• Tools: Ribbon Slot Punch (Fiskars); Photo Corner Punch (SU!)
• Other: Photo

B-A-B-Y...

Now that we are trying to live out of one room while our apartment floors are being repaired after our flood, it's been very hard to get to my paper-crafting supplies. Lucky for me, Paper Crafts Connection's latest online challenge reminded me that they have Simple Sentiments available for download online. The great thing about using digital sentiments is that you can manipulate them and resize them to suit your needs. For this card, I used the "hello BABY" sentiment and created some background paper by sizing the image down and then pasting over and over in a word processing program. Next, I resized it to be very large and cut out the individual letters. A big bow and button completed my bright, fun card and I could still get my craft fix in despite my living space woes!

BEAN NOTES

• Digital Image: "hello BABY" Simple Sentiment (Paper Crafts)
• Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Marina Mist (Stampin' Up!)
• Fibers: Melon Mambo Grosgrain Ribbon (SU!)
• Accents: Blue Button (Basic Grey)

Welcome to the City, Mouse!...

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Since our floors are still a mess, I'm sticking to digital this week! Moxie Fab is hosting a cool challenge: The Cityscapes are on the Rise Challenge, and I decided to throw my hat in with this card I made using a few fonts and my word processing program! There are thousands of free "fonts" available on the internet, and many of them have adorable and useful graphics instead of letters. As soon as I saw the challenge, I knew what kind of card I wanted to make, but alas, I don't own any cityscape stamps. As I wanted to make a very graphic card, using my computer was just perfect and solved all my troubles (well, except the floors!)

 To really make things "pop," I printed out the buildings and the mouseling twice and popped out the trimmed pieces with foam tape. 

BEAN NOTES

• Fonts: Little City 2000 and Meeses (dafont.com); Comic Sans (microsoft)
• Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah); Basic Black (SU!); Yam Canvas Texture (Bazzil)

Bon Voyage and Cool Happenings at SCS...

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So, I wrote the other day that I didn't have a great week last week. Well, it culminated in an apartment flood that took out half our living room, part of our son's bedroom, both hall closets, and trickled down from six floors to the lobby. So, I have three days of workers coming in and ripping out flooring while the rugrat hides all his toys lest they get stolen! So, I've got water on my mind (and thinking, by the way, of how fortunate we are when so many are suffering across the world in Japan) and got out my supplies before the onslaught of repairmen descend.

BEAN NOTES

• Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah); Night of Navy (SU!)
• Patterned Paper: Rockstar and Sailboats from Little Boy Collection, Echo Park Paper
• Dye Ink: Night of Navy (SU!)
• Stamps: tugboat from Kid at Heart set (Taylored Expressions); Simple Alphabet set (PTI)
• Hybrid Ink: Fresh Snow (PTI)
• Tools: 1-1/4" Circle Punch (EK Success)
• Dies: Large Scallop Border Die (TE); Scallop Square Clear Bigz Die (Sizzix)

At least there is something cool going on with Taylored Expressions!  The exciting news is that TE is now a Member Company at Splitcoaststampers, the largest stamping community on the web!  Please come by the TE Forum beginning today at 3 PM Eastern and say hi!  Taylor is hosting a challenge to celebrate the Grand Opening of her Member Company Forum! All you have to do is upload a new card or other creation featuring Taylored Expression images to the SCS gallery using Keyword tayloredexpressions (NO spaces) to be entered into a random drawing for an awesome prize!  Get all the info and find out what the prizes are by clicking here.  Even though TE is all about RUBBER, to make sure everyone has a chance to play, Taylor is giving away several FREE digital images this week! You don't want to miss this!

Superstar!...

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It's been a bit of a stressful week here in Beanland, but I have a card to share. It's Anything Goes week at Simon Says Stamp, so here we go! I used a border punch that has been sitting around my craft space for weeks and layered the border -- I filled in the negative spaces with the positives from punching through some colored scraps! With a bright happy yellow star and a stamped "Superstar" sentiment, I had a happy card to send off to brighten someone's day.

BEAN NOTES

• Stamps: Starstruck (Verve)
• Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, Perfect Plum, Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!)
• Specialty Paper: Vellum (Papertrey Ink)
• Hybrid Ink: True Black (PTI)
• Tools: Classic Stars border punch (Martha Stewart Crafts)
• Dies: Stars Five Nestabilities (Spellbinders Paper Arts)

Happy-Go-Lucky...

You know when you are just having one of those weeks and everything seems like it is falling apart? Well, I am having one of those, but this morning I picked up a package and it really brightened my day. A couple weeks ago, I left a comment on the Pebbles blog and was tickled to find out I had won a mystery prize -- it's a little like winning the lottery, I imagine! Well, the box I got today was FILLED with what looked to be the majority of one of their new lines, Happy-Go-Lucky! Now, I don't normally blog about a product when I haven't actually used it, but let me just say that this line is adorable and I am really looking forward to using it. It's so springy and I just want to thank the lovely folks over at Pebbles for bringing me a bit of sunshine during a gloomy week!

Special Birthday Wishes...

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The very sweet and talented Nicki Jackson is throwing a surprise birthday blog hop for her mom and business partner, Reenee, and I was delighted to be asked to participate. Both Reenee and Nicki are the creative force behind Clear & Simple Stamps, for which I was honored to be a Design Team member last year. There are lots of fun ways to celebrate with this hop, including a chance to win some CSS goodies and a coupon code! (Details below) If you've hopped over from Ashley Newell's fab blog, you are in the right place, and if you ever get off-course, head back to Clear & Simple Stamps and begin (and for a chance to win!)
For my Happy Birthday to Reenee, I chose to work with two of the most versatile of stamp sets from CSS, Icons I and Icons Plus. I was inspired by the color challenge over at Pals Paper Arts and combined some pretty patterned paper with these lovely stamps. I trimmed around the edges of the butterflies to pop them out and hand-stitched through some organdy ribbon for more dimension. The clear stamps were great for assembling a "custom" birthday message, which I stamped directly onto some vellum and fastened with tiny staples.
Be sure to leave some birthday love for Reenee on the Clear & Simple Stamps blog or become a fan on their Facebook page and leave some birthday wishes there for a chance to win a surprise box of Reenee's favorite products from CSS. Two winners will be chosen, one from each site, so if you aren't on FB, you still have a chance to win! Also, to celebrate, CSS is offering a coupon code (birthday15) for 15% off at the store, good for today only, so when you are done hopping, head over there and keep the party going!

BEAN NOTES
Stamps: Icon Extras  and Icons Plus (Clear & Simple Stamps)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko)
Specialty Paper: Vellum (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Elegant Soiree Designer Series Paper (SU!)
Fibers: Ivory Organza Ribbon (Jo-An Fabrics)
Accents: Tiny Attacher Staplers (Tim Holtz)

Now hop over to the lovely Lori Tecler's blog for more birthday fun. Thanks for stopping by and, Happy Birthday, Reenee!

Clear and Simple Stamps http://www.clearandsimplestampsonline.com/blog/

Kim Howard http://basementstamper.blogspot.com/

Cristina Kowalczyk http://mypapersecret.blogspot.com/

Heather Pulvirenti http://heatherpulvirenti.blogspot.com/

Jen Tapler http://jentapler.blogspot.com/

Susan Raihala http://simplicitybylateblossom.blogspot.com/

Sarah Martina http://sarahmartina.com/blog/

Dana Grothaus http://danasdabblingstudio.blogspot.com/

Beth Matson http://nevertoooldtocolor.blogspot.com/

Tracy Schultz http://whoistracy.com/myhead/

Viola Mahr http://violamahr.typepad.com/violamahr/

Ryann Salamon http://ryannmarin.wordpress.com/

Simone Pursiful http://fashionablecards.blogspot.com/

Sue Berker http://berkerblog.blogspot.com/

Eva Dobilas http://evafromca.blogspot.com/

Ayana Posadas http://www.ayanaposadas.typepad.com/

Maria Levine http://riacreations.blogspot.com/

Stephany Zerbe http://stephzerbedesign.blogspot.com/

Ashley Newell http://ashleynewell.com/blog/

Regina Mangum http://thestampinbean.blogspot.com/

Lori Tecler http://inkingaloud.blogspot.com/

Clear and Simple Stamps {FB} http://www.facebook.com/pages/Clear-and-Simple-Stamps/171555247843?ref=ts

"Sweet" Posies for Spring...Taylored Expressions Release Day!

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It's Release Day at Taylored Expressions! I hope you have enjoyed this week's projects celebrating Spring and Easter. Today I have a fun project for you that will be sure to satisfy a sweet tooth! I got to use the adorable new set, A Tweet for You, and when I saw the sentiment, I couldn't resist making some "flowers" for the upcoming holiday.
To make the blooms, I poked thin pipe-cleaners into some Reese's peanut butter eggs (my hubby's fave) and punched out some flowers from the bright colored cardstock from the brand new Spring Project Pantry kit. I appropriated a little tin that my son abandoned and inserted a little piece of styrofoam at the bottom to hold up the edible flowers, filling it with some paper strips that I ran through a crimper. Finally, I stamped the cute tag using one of the frames included in the set and added the darling little tulips. Happy Spring!

BEAN NOTES
Stamps: A Tweet for You (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Pear Pizazz, Melon Mambo (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Textured from Spring Project Pantry (TE); Solar White (Neenah)
Coloring Medium:; Sketch Markers (Copic)
Dies: Favor Frame (TE)
Tools: Paper Crimper (Fiskars); 5-Petal Punch (SU!)
Alterables: Tin Pail (generic)
Other: Peanut Butter Eggs (Reese's); Styrofoam (generic)

The TE store is now open! Be sure to check out all the other Release Day projects from the rest of the Baker's Dozen and visit our Guest Designer, Cindy Lawrence at her blog, One Happy Stamper! Pssst! Would you like to win the ENTIRE MARCH RELEASE? Well, TE is giving away the whole she-bang to one lucky winner -- all you have to do is become a fan of TE on Facebook. When the number reaches 1500 (super duper close now!), Taylor will randomly select a winner! Good luck and visit THIS FB page to become a fan!

• Charmaine Ikach

  Danielle Lounds

  Jackie Pedro

  Jodi Collins

  Karen Giron

  Karen Motz

  Melissa Sauls

  Regina Mangum

  Sankari Wegman

  Taylor VanBruggen

  Tori Wild

  and friends

  Jami Sibley and
  Cindy Lawrence (Guest Designer)

Sweet Treats for Spring...Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek Day 3!

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Today is Day 3 of Sneak Peeks for Taylored Expressions and it should prove to be a "sweet" day. I have two projects to share and I'm so glad you stopped in!

First up is a card just in time for Spring -- yes, Spring is almost here! This month, TE is releasing (tomorrow!) a darling a la Carte set, Pennant, which has a coordinating die. That's right, no need to break out the paper snips. For this card, I used one of two stamps from the set, stamping in chalk ink onto some of the bright, happy cardstock included in the new Spring Project Pantry kit. The patterned paper is also from the kit, as is the teeny glittered brad on the flower!

Next up, I have a cute little treat container that is perfect to nestle into an Easter basket or two. The TE store carries these darling little tins (sized for gift cards, too!) and I decorated it with a tag I created using the new set, A Tweet for You. You may remember previous sets that coordinate with the Favor Frame die, and this one is the third in the series! I put in some mini Kit-Kats that came packaged in Easter colors, and four fit just right.

BEAN NOTES
Spring Card
Stamps: Pennant a la Carte and Spring a la Carte (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko); Alabaster Chalk (ColorBox)
Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah); Textured from Spring Project Pantry Kit
Patterned Paper: Hippity Hoppity (We-Re-Memory Keepers) from Spring Project Pantry Kit
Fibers: Twine (the Twinery)
Accents: Diamond Stickles (Ranger); Mint Green Liquid Pearls (Ranger); Glittered brad from Spring Project Pantry Kit
Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)
Dies: Pennant Border Die (TE)

Spring Treats Tin
Stamps: A Tweet for You  (Taylored Expressions)
Patterned Paper: Hippity Hoppity (We-Re-Memory Keepers) from Spring Project Pantry Kit
Ink: Pear Pizazz (Stampin' Up!); Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko)
Accents: Mint Green Liquid Pearls (Ranger)
Fibers: Ribbon from Spring Project Pantry Kit
Alterables: Small Hinged Tin (TE)
Dies: Favor Frame (TE); Gift Card Frame (TE)
Other: Kit-Kats

I hope you can feel Spring in the air! Check out the rest of the Baker's Dozen for more sweet fun and tune in tomorrow for Release Day. Have a swell day!

• Charmaine Ikach

  Danielle Lounds

  Jackie Pedro

  Jodi Collins

  Karen Giron

  Karen Motz

  Melissa Sauls

  Regina Mangum

  Sankari Wegman

  Taylor VanBruggen

  Tori Wild