Ship, Ahoy, Cupcake!...Taylored Expressions Day 2!

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.

Happy Wednesday! It's Day Two of Sneaky Peekies for Taylored Expressions and I have a sweet project to share today. As part of Petite-A-Palooza, TE is releasing three flag-flying Petite sets and coordinating Taylored Dies, and I got to work with the new set, Fly Your Flag 3. These are such a cool take on the pennant craze and have so many possibilities! Plus, the dies are included with the stamps! TE also has four fun Card Kits available, which are each packaged in very cool Petite Storage Cases (which can fit 6 Petite stamp sets and would make a cool gift for a crafty friend!)

I got to use the Card Kit featuring patterned paper from My Mind Eye's Happier, coordinating cardstock, and included rhinestones. I was inspired by the flag to create a boat and this darling cake to make a cupcake centerpiece in the shape of a boat! The papers are fun and fresh and the 6 x 6 paper makes the perfect size for a sweet mini-cupcake. (Bean Tip: for the boat base, trim two 2" wide strips and cut the edges at 30 degrees before adhering the sides together to form the base.) The mast was created with a wooden bamboo skewer and the sails were simply free cut and hole-punched to allow the sails through. I added a little bow (perfectly coordinated from the Card Kit!) and topped it with one of the darling flags from Fly Your Flag 3. I assembled the mast before placing it into a mini-cupcake -- pumpkin spice, mmmm! The waves were made using a previously-released Taylored Die on which I sponged a little chalk ink for foam. 

BEAN NOTES

All patterned paper, cardstock, fibers, and rhinestones from Happier Card Kit (Taylored Expressions)
Stamps: Fly Your Flag 3 (Illustrated by Taylor Van Bruggen for Taylored Expressions)

Dies: Taylored Fly Your Flag 3 Die (TE); Wave Border Die (TE)

Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko); Alabaster Chalk Ink (Colorbox)

Other: Bamboo Skewer (generic)

I hope you liked my sweet treat centerpiece! Don't miss out on the rest of the Baker's Dozen Card Kit creations. Join me tomorrow for Release Day as I show off two projects for Petite-A-Palooza!

The Baker's Dozen

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Jennifer Shults
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Melissa Sauls
• Melody Rupple
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• Wanda Guess and friend
  Lori Craig (Guest Designer!)
  
  

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Frame Your Imagination...Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek Day 1!

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 my U.S. readers, I hope you all stuffed yourselves silly with turkey and trimmings on Thanksgiving! It's the end of November, which means the beginning of the next month's release from Taylored Expressions! This week is Petite-A-Palooza, which means the Baker's Dozen will be showcasing a bevy of Petite sets from TE! Today is Calendar Day and I have a fun project for you that would make a lovely gift (though, I'm going to be stingy with mine and keep it all to myself!)

For my calendar project, I got to create with a very cool Frame Your Imagination Calendar Stand from the TE Store. It's made of wood and can be altered with paint, paper, embellishments, etc. When I sat down to create my project, I found that I had no paint in the house! So, after doing a little research, I discovered that I could "paint" with craft ink! After sanding, I sponged on some light blue ink and, after leaving it alone overnight, I sealed it with a glue sealant. 

I got to play with the soon-to-be-released Petite, Apple Wreath, which is one of the latest in one of my favorite lines of Seasonal Wreaths. This wonderful concept from DT Coordinator Jami Sibley is so darling and perfect for my September page (the FYI Calendar Stand coordinates with the digital 6 x 6 Calendar Inserts and 6 x 6 Page Protectors) and after stamping the wreath and coloring, I die-cut it with the coordinating die that fits all of these wreaths. I added a little Glossy Accents for some real apple shine and a wee gingham ribbon. 

If you are trying to envision what a full calendar might look like, check out this fun list of suggestions from Taylor:

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 

I love, love, love this calendar stand and when 2012 is over, I'll reuse it for some scrapbook pages and photos to brighten my days!

BEAN NOTES

Stamps: Apple Wreath (Illustrated by Nancy McKinney for Taylored Expressions)

Dye Ink: Tuxedo Memento (Tsukineko)

Craft Ink: Bashful Blue Re-inker (Stampin' Up!)

Fibers: Red Gingham Ribbon 

Tools: Sandpaper (generic); Crop-A-Dile Corner Rounder; Mod Podge Sealer; Glossy Accents (Ranger)

Cardstock: Poppy Parade, Wild Wasabi (SU!)

Dies: Seasonal Wreath Taylored Die (TE)

Alterable: Frame Your Imagination Calendar Stand

Digital Download: 6 x 6 Calendar Inserts

I hope you enjoyed my first Sneak Peek for Petite-a-Palooza! Check out the rest of the Baker's Dozen for more peeks at more petite goodness and come back tomorrow as I show off how to dress us a cupcake for that sweet someone in your life. Thanks for stopping by!

The Baker's Dozen

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Jennifer Shults
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Melissa Sauls
• Melody Rupple
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• Wanda Guess and friend
  Lori Craig (Guest Designer!)

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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)

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Branching Out...

I'm definitely in the autumn mood and created a card using some colors that would fit how the world is looking outside my window. I started off with some soft, pretty patterned paper and paired it with some lovely stamped images from Taylored Expressions. I stamped directly onto the paper, which kept things simple. With a perfectly matched ribbon and a single, elegant pearl, I had a card that has me thinking about all the sweet and lovely people in my life. Happy Thanksgiving!

BEAN NOTES

Cardstock: More Mustard, Chocolate Chip (Stampin’ Up!)
Rubber Stamps: branch, sentiment, and bird from Birds of a Feather set (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko)
Patterned Paper: Blink of an Eye (My Mind’s Eye)
Fibers: brown satin (American Crafts)
Accents: pearl brad (American Crafts)

Bushels of Thanks...

It's almost Thanksgiving and I have a lot to be thankful for. I have a wonderful family, I've moved back to my home state, and I get to enjoy things like papercrafting while taking care of my sweet rugrat. When I saw the inspiration photo from this week's Lawnscaping challenge and Simon Says Stamp's Thanksgiving/Thank You Challenge, I knew I had to make a 'thank you' card to show my appreciation. 

As you can see, apples seem to be the focal point of the inspiration photo. Lawn Fawn does have a darling apple stamp, but alas, it isn't part of my stash. So, I improvised! I took the cute cookies on a plate image from Cozy Christmas, the little leaf from Critters in the Forest, and a fine-tipped black pen to create my own little "bushel" of rosy apples. After coloring and fussy-cutting, I searched for some patterned paper and came across this darling paper from MME. The sentiment is a customer thank you stamp from LF and it pretty much nailed what I wanted to say to all my friends, family, and colleagues who bring me joy each and every day! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. 

BEAN NOTES
Stamps: Cozy Christmas, "Many Thanks" sentiment stamp, Critters in the Forest, and Bannerific (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Choice Buttercream (Taylored Expressions); Riding Hood Red (Stampin' Up!); Gray textured (American Crafts)
Patterned Paper: Darling Deer (My Mind's Eye)
Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic); Black Marker (Copic)
Tools: Screw Punch (Martha Stewart Crafts); 1-3/4" Circle and 2" Scallop Punches (EK Success)
Accents: Glossy Accents (Ranger)

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Get Inspired: Something Special!...

I have a really fun card to share with you today, as it's one that I had the honor of having published in a fabulous new special issue from the publishers of Paper Crafts Magazine, CARD CREATIONS: Get Inspired. This fun issue has a ton of photos to get inspired and shows off different ways to create a card based on those objects! My card was actually inspired by a pair of gorgeous shoes (check out how you can get your own copy of the magazine HERE to see the inspiration photo) -- I used one of my fave Taylored Expressions stamp sets, It's In the Bag, along with the coordinating Shopping Bag and Labels die set to create a clean, simple, and fun card. I'm so proud to be among the talented designers featured in this special issue!

BEAN NOTES
Stamps: It's In the Bag (Taylored Expressions)
Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah); Crumb Cake, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Dye Ink: Rich Cocoa, Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Specialty Ink: Fresh Snow Hybrid (PTI)
Dies: Shopping Bag and Labels Taylored Dies (TE)

O, Christmas Tree!...

Happy Monday! It's a bit nippy here in the City and it has me in the holiday mood. Here is a very easy to make card that's clean and simple and fun. I was inspired by the very Christmas-y colors over at Scrapmaster's Paradise, though I had to make due with a green that was a little bit lighter (and that's okay!) I took one of my favorite new dies from Taylored Expressions, Trim the Tree, and built a little tree with some patterned paper. After topping it off with a star, I added a sentiment and some baker's twine to finish -- now I'm in the mood to put up our tree, despite the fact that Thanksgiving hasn't happened yet!

BEAN NOTES

Cardstock: Choice Snow (Taylored Expressions), Crumb Cake (Stampin’ Up!)

Ink: Ladybug Memento (Tsukineko)

Fibers: Red baker’s twine (The Twinery)

Patterned Paper: Nordic Holiday (BasicGrey)

Rubber Stamps: 25pt. Times New Roman Font (JustRite Stampers)

Dies: Trim the Tree Die (Taylored Expressions)

Love is...

My in-laws recently purchased a new home, a smaller, cozier, retirement haven that they've been planning for for ages. I wracked my brain for something to give to them as a housewarming gift and I finally settled on a layout that I could have framed for them to hang in their new abode.

I started with this fabulous sketch from the My Mind's Eye Layout Challenge. I wanted to make a 10 x 10 layout as this would be framed and I didn't want it to be too large. I also wanted it to be simple and elegant, and the colors in the Blink of an Eye collection of patterned paper was just what I needed. For the focal image, I chose a picture of my in-laws with our son, who is their only grandchild.

I love the stars on the patterned paper and used a star border punch, filling in alternating negative spaces with the same patterned paper. I also die-cut some stars and stitched along a seam with linen thread. I wanted to leave a lot of white space so that the center element could be popped up for dimension. I was so pleased with the results and I hope my son's Nana and Papa enjoy their new digs.

BEAN NOTES

Patterned Paper: Blink of an Eye (My Mind's Eye)

Cardstock: Vanilla (American Crafts); Dusty Durango, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)

Fibers: Linen Thread (SU!)

Dies: Nested Stars (Spellbinders)

Punches: Star Border Punch (Martha Stewart Crafts); Embossed Scallop (EK Success); Large Star (SU!)

Stickers: Alphabet Chipboard (Cosmo Cricket) Rub-On: Daily Press (October Afternoon) Tools: Royal Typewriter Other: Photograph

It's Never Too Early...

I know, I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet and I've already got a Christmas card here, but this week's Pals Paper Arts challenge has got me inspired! I was in the mood for a shaped card and for this one I picked up some pretty patterned paper that picked up the feel of the inspiration photo from the PPA.
Shaped cards are really easy and fun to do with dies, and here I used a simple, yet elegant shape from Spellbinders. The perfect greeting comes from Taylored Expressions's Winter Wonderland set. A bit of ribbon, a button, and embroidery thread to top it off, and I had my first card for the holidays!
(Edit: A sweet commenter asked whether this card opens. Yes, it opens with the fold on top and in order to do this, simply cut two die-cut shapes. Score one along the top and adhere just the tab to the second shape to form your card base!)

BEAN NOTES

Cardstock: Classic Cream (Neenah)
Patterned Paper: Nordic Holiday (BasicGrey)
Rubber Stamps: sentiment from Winter Wonderland set (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Pure Poppy Hybrid Ink (Papertrey Ink)
Fibers: Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon (Stampin’ Up!); Cream embroidery thread (JoAnn Fabrics)
Accents: button (Papertrey Ink)
Dies: Labels Eight Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Scrumptious...

to view an image up-close, please click on a photo

November is a BIG birthday month among my friends and family and I am so behind! When I saw this month's My Mind's Eye Card Challenge sketch, I knew I had just the ticket to inspire me to get a move on. The challenge was also to use the color brown on the card, and that was perfect as it's one of my favorite complimentary colors.
I grabbed some happy paper from the Life of the Party collection and got started.

The center element of the sketch asked for a diecut or chipboard element. I really wanted to make cupcakes the focal point of this card, so I made my own chipboard! I took some thin cardboard from a cereal box and punched out circles 3-4 times, adhering each together and then adding the adorable punched cupcake/sentiment paper. After die-cutting my brown cardstock, I die-cut a window to set my chipboard element inside. But first, I created a fringed element by folding a piece of double-sided patterned paper in half, cutting with scissors, and then snipping off a wee bit of fringe here and there to let the complimentary paper show through. Then, with a wee bit of ribbon and some liquid pearls, I finished off my happy day birthday card...I think this one will go to my dear friend Loara. It's just her style: funky and fun!

BEAN NOTES
Patterned Paper: Lime Twist Life of the Party (My Mind's Eye)
Cardstock: Aqua Mist (Papertrey Ink)
Fibers: Aqua Mist Ribbon (PTI)
Punches: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, 2" Scalloped Circle Punch (EK Success)
Dies: Classic Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Top Note Die (Sizzix for SU!)
Accents: Mint Liquid Pearls (Ranger)
Other: Thin Cereal Box Cardboard

Happy Happy Day!...

It's been a crazy couple of weeks with my hubby traveling and I thought I would treat myself with a couple hours in my craft room today. My mom-in-law is celebrating a birthday this weekend, and I wanted to make a nice, happy card for her. It's been a while since I've played with a Mojo Monday sketch, but when I saw this week's I was inspired to make a sunshiny card (even though it's Fall and winter is just around the corner)!

I took out some cute patterned paper from Echo Park and die-cut a scalloped window. I love it when I can let the paper do the talking and I added some stamped berries that I fussy cut and popped out with some dimensionals. A sweet little bird perched itself on my perfect sentiment and I think it will help me wish my mom-in-law a wonderful, happy birthday!

BEAN NOTES

Stamps: Fruitful (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo Classic Dye (Stampin' Up!)

Cardstock: Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate (SU!); Solar White (Neenah)

Patterned Paper: Country Drive (Echo Park)

Accents: Eyelets (We-R-Memory)

Fibers: Green Embroidery Floss (WRM)
Dies: Large Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)