Posh Posies: Taylored Expressions Release Day!

It's Release Day at Taylored Expressions! I am so lucky to get the chance to continue to guest design for TE, especially when I get to work with these darling new Silhouette Stem Dies and the newly released set, Posh Posies. I was really in the mood to make some very modern looking cards, and these dies were just the ticket!

I kept things very clean and simple, letting the dies do the work for me. To make this a matched set, I simply used different colored pieces of the same patterned paper.

On this turquoise card, I die-cut the lovely stems twice and trimmed a few of the blossoms off to add some dimension.

I used the negative of one of the silhouette on the green card, popping up the entire panel over a die-cut silhouette I cut from the same patterned paper.

BEAN NOTES

Stamps: Posh Posies (Taylored Expressions); Patterned Paper: Snap! Color Vibe (Simple Stories); Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah), Kiwi Kiss, Bermuda Bay, Close to Cocoa (Stampin' Up!); Dies: Silhouette Stems 1, 2, and 3 (Taylored Expressions)

I absolutely adore all the simple and elegant sentiments from Posh Posies. I hope you enjoyed my cards today. All the new products are now available in the Taylored Expressions store in the Fresh Out of the Oven department! Be sure to visit the Baker's Dozen for more amazing creations featuring this month's Release!

Carole Burrage

Charmaine Ikach

Jami Sibley (DT Coordinator)

Jen Shults

Kerri Michaud

Lynnette Kauffman

Sankari Wegman

Shannon White

Shelly Mercado

Stephanie Kraft

Tammie Edgerton

Taylor VanBruggen

Wanda Guess

Nancy McKinney (Illustrator)

Regina Mangum (Media and Promotions)

Shape 'n Tape

As promised, I have two more projects to share with you using some cool new products from Lifestyle Crafts. Today I'm feeling a bit clean and simple, and these two cards I created were just the ticket.

I got to play with some very cool Shape 'n Tape, which are splendidly large 6" x 12"sheets of washi tape! I used Red and Teal Blue for my cards, which I used in conjunction with some wonderful new Dies, including the Tape It Cutting Die Kit.

First up is the card I made using the Red Shape 'n Tape sheets. I still need several valentines, so this was just what I was looking for.

I told you yesterday that this heart-shaped die is my new favorite love die, didn't I? Well, it cut through the washi sheets so nicely and I put two hearts together. The fun thing about the sheets is that because they are so large, I could use larger dies with them, too, like the Nesting Card Template Dies.

My second card features all the different patterns from the Teal Blue Shape 'n Tape sheets and it was a fun card to create. I used one of the little pennants from the Tape It Cutting kit and made quick work of them. 

Do you ever get annoyed because you try to mat a piece of cardstock or patterned paper and for some reason your cut is crooked or the spacing was all wrong? I was thrilled to use the new Nesting Card Template, which makes perfect mats for a standard card every time!

Nesting Card Templates (17 dies)

Tape It Kit (18 dies)

Red Shape 'n Tape

Teal Blue Shape 'n Tape

I hope you enjoyed my Lifestyle Crafts projects this week. As an Affiliate, I get to offer my readers a great Promo Code for 20% Off in the Lifestyle Crafts Store. Be sure to enter Promo Code: BEAN to receive your discount!

The Season is Nearing

I know that before I can blink, the holidays will be upon us! So I'm continuing to get a jump on my holiday cards and I decided to go clean and simple today. I grabbed one of my favorite holiday sets from Taylored Expressions and got stamping.

This card was so easy to make that I thought I'd post some instructions in case you are looking for something you can make quickly or that is easily duplicated!

1. Make card from card stock.

2. Stamp dove, snowflakes, and flourish on white card stock; trim, mat, and adhere.

3. Stamp sentiment on white cardstock; die-cut and mat with blue cardstock. Attach brads.

4. Adhere with foam tape.

BEAN NOTES

Stamps: (dove, snowflakes, flourish, sentiment from Sparkle & Cheer set) Taylored Expressions; Cardstock: (Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze) Stampin’ Up!; (Choice Snow White) Taylored Expressions; Ink: (Baja Breeze Classic Dye) Stampin’ Up!; (Lady Bug Memento) Tsukineko; Accents: (silver brads) Making Memories; Dies: (labels from Baker’s Box die) Lifestyle Crafts

TE Studio Challenge: Project Runway

It's time for the Baker's Dozen Studio Challenge.  This is a monthly opportunity for us to share what makes our stamping studios hum.  Each month we will have a fun, crafty question so we can share our favorites, some tips and tricks, stamping advice and more.

The August Challenge:

PROJECT RUNWAY!  Do you watch this show?  It's perfect for creative types like us!  On PR, the designers are given crazy challenges each week and asked to maintain their own personal style or point of view in their creation.

 So, what's your stamping style or point of view?  Would you consider your style to be CAS (Clean and Simple), Cutesy, Graphic, Vintage, Elegant, Layers & More Layers, or what?  Describe it any way you like, it's your style after all!  Today's challenge is to show us a couple of different projects using the same supplies.  Show us one CAS card and one Fancy Fold card while still retaining your own personal style as much as possible.

This challenge was actually tough for me because I don't think of myself as having just one style. I admire many different ones and like to try my hand at new ones. I decided to go with more of my whimsical style for this challenge.

First up is my Clean & Simple (CAS) card. I decided to really make it CAS, with lots of white space and a minimal look. 

To make it my own "whimsical" style, I used lots of liquid dimensionals and glitter Stickles.

Next is my second card, which is a Fancy Fold card. I love Fancy Fold cards because they make a big impact even with minimal embellishment. For mine, I did a Multi-Panel Fold Card (tutorial here.) I carried over the colors from my CAS card, using the same Make a Wish stamp set.

More Stickles and dimensionals carried over my style from one card to the next. 

BEAN NOTES

Stamps: Make a Wish (Taylored Expressions); Patterned Paper: This & That (Echo Park); Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Dusty Durango (Stampin' Up!), Solar White (Neenah); Accents: Liquid Pearls, Stickles (Ranger), Button (generic); Fibers: ribbon (Stampin' Up!); Dies: Make a Wish Balloons (Taylored Expressions)

Now be sure to check out how the rest of the Baker's Dozen responded to this month's Style Studio Challenge!

Charmaine Ikach

Jen Shults

Jodi Collins

Karen Giron

Melody Rupple

Regina Mangum

Sankari Wegman

Shannon White

Shelly Mercado

Stephanie Kraft

Taylor VanBruggen

Wanda Guess

Joy to the World!...

Yes, Thanksgiving is over and it really is time to think about Christmas! I was inspired to create a Christmas card after finding the Stamping Scrapping Challenge Central themed challenge for this week, and also the fabulous photo collage inspiration challenge going on over at Jay Gee's Nook. There were a lot of images to choose from, and I settled on a combination of these two:

I created a button wreath using some buttons hidden away in my stash, as well as some pretty ribbon to emulate the darling wreath ornament. The musical paper on the gift bag got me dry embossing with an impression plate from Taylored Expressions. I wanted to keep things Clean and Simple, so I just added a nice sentiment on a banner, adding just a wee bit of shading with a Copic marker.

I hope that you are getting a head start on your holiday cards, too! I just love this time of year.

BEAN NOTES
Stamps: Banner Holidays and It's a Banner Day-2 (Taylored Expressions)
Cardstock: Choice Snow (TE)
Coloring Medium: C1 Sketch Marker (Copic)
Templates: Musical Swirls Impression Plate (Taylored Expressions)
Accents: Buttons (generic)
Fibers: Green Ribbon (Pebbles)
Ink: Pear Pizazz (Stampin' Up!); Ladybug Memento (Tsukineko)

Pin It

Thanks a Button...

to view the image up-close, please click on the photo

I have to admit that I'm a little stressed out this week. There just seems to be so much to do and so little time in which to do it. So, I thought I'd relax by making a simple card. I was inspired by the fab colors over at Our Creative Corner (even by their challenge image!) and by the CAS button challenge debuting today at the Pals Paper Arts Challenge. I thought I'd try my hand at making a card that was both chic and modern. If only life were this simple!

SPILLING THE BEANS

1. Make card from card stock.
2. Trim card stock and adhere.
3. Apply rub-on.
4. Punch circles and adhere with glue.
5. Adhere buttons with strong adhesive.

BEAN NOTES

• Rub-Ons: Chit Chat (Stampin' Up!)
• Card Stock: Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla (SU!)
• Tools: Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers); Circle Punch (EK Success)

HAPPY BEANS

• Accents: Buttons (Basic Grey)

By the way, I hope you join me tomorrow for my official debut on the Clear & Simple Stamps Design Team when we reveal October's Stamp of the Month...it's sure to be spookily delicious! Plus, one of my cards is the featured project on the exclusive Clear & Simple Stamps iPhone/iPad App! Check out the sneaky peeky below...

Impressed, Amazed, Inspired...

To view the image up-close, please click on the photo.

I have the wonderful chance to make a card for a very special lady who has been an incredible inspiration to me. I don't want to reveal her name here because I'd like for it to be a surprise (in case she checks in here at TSB!) So, I thought I would use this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge: KISS and keep it simple. For colors, I used Julee Tilman's very fun combo of orange, aqua, and green to come up with what I hope will be a card to bring a smile to my fab friend's lovely face.
Inspired not only by the colors of Julee's color challenge, but also the challenge color icon, I started the card with these three pretty flowers from an old favorite set, Eastern Blooms. I love this stamp because the blooms are already lined up, so I had a very easy time stamping out fairly evenly spaced images. Next, I added a matching white piece of background cardstock and then popped out the entire panel over my white card base. I stamped my perfect sentiment below and I had a very clean and simple card to send.
BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up Eastern Blooms and Sweet Little Sentiments (sentiment) Stamps; Papertrey Ink Hawaiian Shores, Ripe Avocado, and Orange Zest Hybrid Ink; SU Whisper White Cardstock HAPPY BEANS: This card is so simple that it's all happy!