Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek | Day 3

Good morning and welcome to DAY 3!  Today the Taylored Expressions team is featuring 2 more brand-spankin' new sets: Fright Night Favors, designed by Taylor, and the latest addition to the Hangin' Out series, Hangin' Out Wicked Wardrobe, designed by Nancy McKinney.  We're getting our Halloween groove on!  All new sets, Project Pantry Kits, and Taylored Dies will be available for purchase tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM Pacific - woohoo!! 

For my first little number, I created a card using Fright Night Favors and the coordinating Favor Frame Die.  This set is so incredibly cute and I think the little spider is my favorite - love his little googlie eyes.  That, and he doesn't bite or crawl on me.  Win/Win!

I started with the MOJO153 sketch and changed the squares into scalloped circles.  Such an sweet and simple card that would be very easy to make duplicates of for teachers or classmates.  Or me.  haha!

My next little treat uses these super fun Taylored Tubes that Taylored Expressions will be carrying in the store, starting tomorrow!

This project was a blast to make and super easy!  I followed Lisa Somerville's template and dressed up the box and test tubes a bit, and of course added those much needed Terror Tablets - super spooky!  All of the patterned paper, cardstock, ribbon, and embellies are from the coordinating Fright Night Project Pantry Kit, which is full of those fun Halloween greens, oranges, purples and of course black.  The patterned paper is the Happy Halloween collection from Echo Park.  You can see all of the details about the Fright Night Project Pantry Kit over at Taylor's blog - she has a fun picture showing all the goodies included inside this yummy package. 

You will not want to miss out on the rest of the projects from the Baker's Dozen - they have gone ALL OUT for you today.

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Jackie Pedro
• Jami Sibley
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Motz
• Melissa Sauls
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• and super illustrator, Nancy McKinney

Have fun!
Karen

recipe -

Witch's Brew card

Stamps: Fright Night Favors

Paper: all paper is from the Fright Night Project Pantry Kit

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Olive Pastel & Pumpkin Spice Liquid Chalk (ColorBox)

Accessories: all embellishments are from Fright Night Project Pantry Kit, circle/scallop Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Test Tube Stand

Stamps: Fright Night Favors

Paper: all paper is from the Fright Night Project Pantry Kit

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Olive Pastel & Pumpkin Spice Liquid Chalk (ColorBox)

Accessories: all embellishments are from Fright Night Project Pantry Kit, Taylored Tubes, Copic markers, Milk Chocolate M&M's

Center of Attention Product Spotlight - Frame Your Imagination Stand

Good morning and welcome to the Taylored Expressions Center of Attention Product Spotlight!  Today, half of the Baker's Dozen design team is showcasing an exclusive item to TE, the Frame Your Imagination Stand.  The stand uses 2 metal binder rings to hang 6x6 page protectors, which can easily hold scrapbook pages, recipes, special photographs, and calendar pages.  I'm using the 6x6 Dated Calendar Download (2011) in my frame and decorated the top margin of each month with something special - September is the start of school (well, the first full month anyway) and so I added the cute little alphabet border from Extra Credit along with the school house from Make the Grade.   The Frame Your Imagination Stand comes *naked* and ready for a fresh coat of paint or wood stain - I love that you can customize the color scheme any way you'd like.  Please note that the digital download and page protectors are sold separately.

For my frame, I painted the entire stand in Kaisercraft eggshell white and then painted the bottom portion in Sea Breeze, to match my daughter's room.  She gets to keep this in her room, lucky girl!  The polka dot ribbon was wrapped around each side and then I used the Bow Easy to tie the bows.

For a limited time, the Frame Your Imagination Stand will be 15% off {August 26-29}, so now is the time to get a jump start on those gifts for the holidays!  There are so many possibilities to be creative with this frame, so stop on by the rest of the Baker's Dozen participants for a little peek of more you can do:

• Charmaine Ikach
• Donna Baker
• Jodi Collins
• Melissa Sauls
• Taylor VanBruggen

Have a wonderful day -
Karen

recipe:

stamps: extra credit, making the grade

paper: real red, choice snow white cardstock

ink: memento tuxedo black

accessories: frame your imagination stand, red/white polka-dot grosgrain ribbon, 6x6 page protectors, kaisercraft acrylic paint {sea breeze, eggshell}

Christmas in July blog hop

Happy Wednesday! I'm having a little "Christmas in July" today and showing you a little peek at a new product over at Taylored Expressions - Perfect Packages. These amazing little boxes come in different sizes, and now they come in the perfect size to hold the standard A2 size cards! I love putting card sets together, and this incredibly sturdy box really gives the set a professional & classy look. The best part is you don't need any adhesive to assemble it! AND it stays closed by a single magnet clasp in the front - how cool is that? Hop on over to Taylor's blog to find out how you can win your very own set of Perfect Packages! Taylor is also running a special on all Christmas stamps - get them for 20% off from July 15-25!

I thought it would be fun to decorate my box to look like a Christmas gift, all wrapped up, waiting for someone to pull the ribbon. I made quick and easy cards to fit inside - I have 10 cards and 10 envelopes sitting in this box and look how cute they look in there - you could even decorate a set of 10 cards with more layers and embellishments and they would still fit nicely inside!

I used Season of Joy to make my little poinsettia flowers and then added a few drops of Christmas Red Stickles to give the centers just a little pop. This is an excellent way to cut down your cost when mass producing cards. One little bottle of Stickles lasts a LONG time. Love that stuff.

The Baker's Dozen have created more examples for you to peek at today - go check them out.

Jodi Collins
Charmaine Ikach
Ana Wohlfahrt
Karen Motz
Sankari Wegman
Laura Fredrickson
Jami Sibley
Taylor Van Bruggen
Donna Baker
Dawn Easton
and special guest, Rachel Sztonyk


recipe -
stamps: season of joy (stampin' up!)
ink: cranberry crisp
paper: kraft, old olive, cranberry crisp, whisper white cardstock, retired holiday paper
accessories: christmas red stickles, old olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, cranberry crisp stitched grosgrain ribbon, rectangle/scallop nestabilities (spellbinders), perfect packages (taylored expressions), stampin' dimensionals

Taylored Expressions Release Party!

Woo hoo! Today is THE day to find the new Stamp a Sweet Impression and Whimsical Wishes sets at Taylored Expressions - you will not want to miss out on these adorable sets! Downtown Diva and Fresh Flowers are THE perfect sets for Mother's Day, friendship, birthdays, I love you's... the list goes on and on! This post is jam packed with fun information, so be sure to read all the way to the bottom - you don't want to miss a thing. Today I'm using Downtown Diva along with this adorable scalloped purse favor box that I am using as a 3-D card of sorts. I'll start off with the card I created using the TECC62 sketch - so much fun! I just love this sentiment, "If friends were purses, I'd pick you!" - it's so stinkin' cute. I paper-pieced the purses using the same patterned paper from the card, which is from the Mother's Day Key Ingredients. This kit includes: Prism cardstock colors Island Mist Light, Blush Red Light, Blush Red Medium, Frosted Kiwi, Suede Brown Medium, Choice Buttercream. The patterned paper is from Crate Paper, Blue Hill Collection. There is also 5 yards of gorgeous ribbon, an assortment of shimmery flowers, and a package of Kaisercraft clear rhinestones. So perfect for Mother's Day! I am in love with this kit and I'm so happy I can start showing you projects with it now, yay! Don't forget to sign up for your monthly Key Ingredients kits, available in 3-month and 6-month subscriptions. Each kit can make approximately 16 cards - what a deal!
For the purse box I used 2 scalloped purse favor boxes - I cut the Blush Red Medium purse front off and ran it through the Cuttlebug with the D'Vine Swirls embossing folder. I added some Kaisercraft clear rhinestones inside the little curls and then glued it to the front of the Island Mist Light purse box. This creates the two tone look of it. I made another purse image medallion to place inside the box and then you can write a little note inside. Cute, no? So easy to make!

So how is this for some GOOD news?! You can purchase all of this month's goodies in one very sweet bundle - it's That Special Lady bundle.

Here are the details:

That Special Lady Bundle

Fresh Flowers...........................$21.95

Downtown Diva..........................$21.95

Mother's Day Key Ingredients.....$16.95

Charm Assortment (5)................$5.00

Scalloped Purse Favors (10).......$5.00

Foof-a-La Savannah Buttons.......$5.99

1 Pot of Flower Soft...................$5.95

Flower Soft Glue........................$2.49

Total Retail Value......................$85.28

Your price.................................$79.95

AND when you purchase That Special Lady Bundle, you'll receive the KaiserCraft Tidy Handbag FREE (an $8.00 value)! I know, it's a steal of a deal!

The charm assortment and free KaiserCraft alterable handbag are only available through purchase of this special bundle, so don't miss out!

Now hop on over to see the rest of the Baker's Dozen - they've got some scrumptious treats to show you!

Donna Baker
Jodi Collins
Jen del Muro
Laura Fredrickson
Dawn Easton
Charmaine Ikach
Denise Marzec
Karen Motz
Sankari Wegman
Ana Wohlfahrt
Laurie Schmidlin
Taylor Van Bruggen


recipe -

friends card -
stamps: downtown diva
ink: memento tuxedo black
paper: prism blush red medium, island mist light, choice buttercream cardstock, blue hill collection (crate paper) patterned paper
accessories: kaisercraft clear rhinestones, blue satin ribbon, circle/scallop nestabilities (spellbinders), stampin' dimensionals

purse favor box -
stamps: downtown diva
ink: memento tuxedo black
paper: choice buttercream cardstock
accessories: scalloped purse favor boxes (island mist light, blush red medium), kaisercraft clear rhinestones, d'vine swirls embossing folder

my baby is ONE

It has been a busy day in the Giron home today to say the least, but so much fun. It's so nice to see our family and let the cousins all play together. Today we celebrated Katie's birthday and she jumped into that cake so fast and ate more than half of it before I took it away. She was not happy with me, but I think the sugar rush kicked in right about then and she was a crazy baby, crawling at high speed, babbling loudly and making us all laugh. She's the only kiddo of the three to actually dive into the cake without reservation - the other two, well Avery just played with the icing and Andrew wanted no part of it. We thought maybe he just wasn't hungry so Michael put a spoonful of green beans in front of him and he gobbled them down - it's just weird not to eat sugar and then want veggies! Anyway, I got a million great pictures of her with the cake.
Speaking of cake - here it is. Can't say I'm too happy with it; it's one of those cupcake cakes that was SO adorable and had mounds of icing making the butterfly look so cute in the picture and then when I picked it up, this is what was waiting. Does that butterfly's middle remind you of Beetlejuice too?! It's a pretty crazy looking butterfly, but the kids didn't care, they just gobbled it right down after we debated 10 minutes over who would get the face. Yuck.
Recognize the bags? I made some more of these adorable bags to use as party favor bags and you should have heard all the kids, "Wow, Aunt Kiki! These gift bags are extraordinary! They must have taken you hours to make! I'm gonna take this home and keep it forever!!". Nah! You know kids - "What's inside?! Let me tear it open!! Where's the candy?!!". All the mommies and grammas loved them though, so that made my Martha Stewart moment worth it!!
Well, I haven't been able to make anything crafty since Wednesday (well, except the bags of course), but hopefully I'll get some time tomorrow to make a scrapbook page. I'm falling behind on my 'one a week' goal!
See you back soon!
Karen

time for some blog candy...

...Let's Make a Deal style! I came across this adorable little tote on Cindy's blog yesterday and I knew I *had* to make one too! So cute, don't you think? So here's the deal - I've just passed 20,000 hits on my blog and I'm just so floored and excited that you all keep coming back here to say hi and check out my cards and other little crafty items. I originally started this blog so I would hold myself accountable to use the things I buy to scrapbook and make cards and it has turned out to be so much more fun than I imagined. It's only been 5 months too! I've "met" some wonderful people in my journey and I'm very excited to see where the next 20,000 hits take me. Thanks to you all for lifting my crafting spirits! Ok, back on track here - I have some blog candy to give away and the winner will pick which bag they would like. From left to right, #1, #2, and #3. The winner will receive the bag and all the contents, which I'll reveal after the lucky winner chooses the prize. Be sure you don't pick the one with the donkey and cart full of hay, ok? Ha! Sound fun? Here's how to enter. Please leave a comment here at this post and tell me how far you've come in your crafting journey - Do you hoard less than you used to? Are you using more layers and bling? I know when I first started making cards it was pretty scary - my layers were miscut and crooked and forget coloring! I've definitely obtained more fun tools and accessories to use - I still have my eye on that Cricut, but that will have to be purchased on a major sale! Ok, enough rambling for now.

If you'd like to make a tote, you can view the tutorial here at Diana Gibbs' blog.

I'll choose a winner Sunday, June 29th at 2:00 when I get back from my MOPS retreat. Have a fun weekend! See you back soon.

~Karen

Details -
#3

stamps: seeing spots
paper: cutie pie dsp, so saffron, whisper white cardstock
ink: so saffron
accessories: a.muse mini twinkle stickers, round tab punch, 1/4" circle punch, slit punch, white grosgrain ribbon

#2
paper: east coast prep dsp, wild wasabi, soft sky cardstock
accesories: flower punches (ek success), black brads, round tab punch, 1/4" circle punch, slit punch, white grosgrain ribbon

#1

paper: berry bliss dsp, close to cocoa cardstock

accessories: flower punches (ek success), pretty in pink brads, round tab punch, 1/4" circle punch, slit punch, pink/cocoa grosgrain ribbon

tiny project gone crazy

Hi there! The past couple of days I have been working on getting a project done for my MOPS group. We are already frantically getting ready for next year because our leadership retreat is in 2 weeks! Anyway, we were trying to figure out a cute way to personalize our leadership bags and we came up with decorating keychains to hang on the zipper. Well, this is what came of it - 25 of them... I think they are so much fun! Our theme is Adventures in Motherhood with a themepark kind of logo, so we went with bright colors and themepark food. The flip side of the keychain is a monogram, for that personal touch. Anyway - no cards today, but I did do something crafty, so I thought I'd share. Now, if you are reading this blog and are at my MOPS group, pretend you didn't see this and be thoroughly surprised on the 28th, k?!

~Karen

Details -

all the images are clip art from word art and the monogram font is ck applause. the lettering around the clip art was made in photoshop elements and the font is 2p's lighthouse.

the whole enchilada - part 2

Here is the finished project for the 3x3 cards, envelopes and matching box. So worth the extra effort to get these finished. I see a stamp camp in my future! The envelope template can be seen as a link in Jami's post here, it's very easy to do and I used the box template directly from the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Karen

Details -

stamps: by ones & by twos

ink: basic black

paper: stampers select white (papertrey, ink), mellow moss, so saffron cardstock, so saffron prints dsp

accessories: moss grosgrain ribbon, nestibilities scallop rectangle and rectangle, stampin dimensionals

scalloped goodie box

Hello and happy Thursday! Have you all had a chance to check out the tutorials over at Splitcoaststampers? I have tried out a couple and loved the milk carton boxes I did for a stamp camp back in February - so today I give you the 5-in-1 template box which uses the 5-in-1 envelope template from Stampin' Up! Even if you don't own the template, you can use the sketch to make your own template. I have this cutie sitting on my shelf in the office and right now it's holding *naked* doll head clothespins that I use to store my ribbon on. Just a cute little storage box to liven up my desk. The box in the tutorial has the ribbon wrapped and tied over the entire box, but since I wanted to be able to take the lid off without undoing the ribbon I just placed the ribbon over the lid and tucked it under the sides with mini glue dots. I think I may do the ribbon over again when I get my chocolate wide grosgrain because I think the narrow ribbon gets a little lost on the large lid. Oh, another thing I did differently is I used chocolate chip cardstock for the bottom of the box and then wrapped the designer series paper around the edges of it. I just wanted the box to be a bit more sturdy than it would have been using the designer paper.

Thanks for stopping by today - see you back soon!
~Karen

Details -

paper: afternoon tea dsp, chocolate chip cardstock (bottom of the box)

accessories: 5-in-1 envelope template, chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon, mini glue dots

Sweet Valentines

Aren't these little milk carton boxes so much fun?! Beate has made an incredible tutorial - so fun and fairly easy. I think the most difficult part was taping the top of the box together, but even that wasn't all that hard. These little boxes are already filled with some cherry-filled Hershey's Kisses - scrumptious! I needed to seal them in there so I don't eat them - I'm planning on giving these to my daughter's preschool teachers for their Valentine's Day party. I'm sure they will love having more candy to bring home, right?

So halfway through my first box, I ran out of sticky tape, so I opted to use my Tombow Multipurpose Adhesive and that worked great! So if you don't have sticky tape, there are other options, yea! I decided to stamp one and then not stamp on the other, but I think I like the look of the stamped one - maybe next time I'll go ahead and stamp it and use the designer paper. I just got lazy on that second one, ha! Be looking for these at the February stamp camp girls!