Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 259 - and a CHANGE

Hello and happy Sunday! I have an exciting announcement for you today - as of this very moment, the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge has moved to its very own blog!

I am so very grateful to the SSSC team for all of their help in getting this move completed smoothly and I do hope you will enjoy the new space. Hop on over and check it out HERE. You will be able to post your challenge cards and projects over there.

Since we have a new place for the SSSC, you will be able to see all of the Sweet Sunday Stampers' designs all in one place, which will certainly inspire your creativity through the week.

We will also be showcasing some of our favorite cards each Wednesday, so be on the lookout for that new feature! We are very excited about that.

This week, the challenge is to create a new card using a sketch favorite from all of the past sketches. It's SO difficult to choose just one! I thought I'd go way, way back and use sketch SSSC83.  You can find all of the past sketches at the SSSC Flickr page.

I have always been a complete sucker for flower and leaf dies, so this sketch is one of my absolute favorites.

The card base is 4-3/4" square and I'm using patterned paper from Cut & Paste "Adorbs" and "Presh" by My Mind's Eye. The sentiment is from Cheerful Blessings and I stamped it in Nightshift Blue ink. I used the Flower Medley Die-namics set for the blossoms and the Leafy Branch die for the greenery. Love that combo!

Don't forget to stop by the Sweet Sunday Sketch Blog, where you can find all the details and the link-up for your project.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

recipe -
stamps: cheerful blessings (mft)
paper: smooth white (mft), fog (sss), cut & paste "presh" and "adorbs" 6x6 (mme)
ink: nightshift blue (mft)
accessories: stitched circle stax (mft), simply scallops medium die-namics (mft), flower medley die-namics (mft), leafy branch die (te), enamel dots (mme), foam tape

Sending You Love

Good morning, friends!!  It's Friday - woot!  When I saw Jen's DS105 I had to make a card right away.  I love this one!  OK, I love all of them, but this one is super cute.  I inked up Hoot Hoot Hooray from TE on natural card stock and then lightly colored the owls with copics.  And you just can't go wrong with a twine bow with tags, right??

Well, that's it for me this week.  Have a fabulous weekend!  And all my Colorado friends, stay safe out there - these fires are so devastating.

Supplies:

recipe - 
stamps: hoot hoot hooray (te), many minis - occasions (te)
paper: sweet tooth (mft), black licorice (mft), natural (mft), collectable - unforgettable (my mind's eye)
ink: black licorice (mft)
accessories: copic markers, circle stax die-namics sets 1 & 2 (mft), fishtail flags layers stax die-namics (mft), little open scallop strip die-namics (mft), mini tags dies (te), clouds impressions plate (te), hemp cord, sewing machine, thread, foam tape

Bugs & Kisses

Good morning friends!  I have another card for you and I seem to be on quite the Valentine's kick, which is good since I should probably stock my Etsy store.  I have been itching to ink up this cute Love Bugs set from Taylored Expressions.  This one was really easy to pull together - I started by stamping the image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then cut it out using the dies that came with the stamp set.  I stamped it again on some Gnome Sweet Gnome paper and Kraft card stock to finish up the lid of the jar.

After I cut it out, I colored the image with Copic markers (I always cut it out first in case my die cut is way off center, then I don't have to color again).  I colored outside the lines for their little lightning bug lights so they look like they're shining bright.  The layout is Jen Shults' DS84.

Thanks so much for stopping by!








recipe - 
stamps: love bugs (te)
paper: kraft (mft), black licorice (mft), x-press it blending, gnome sweet gnome 6x6 (my mind's eye)
ink: memento tuxedo black
accessories: copic markers, love bugs dies (te), black licorice buttons (mft), black stitched ribbon, sewing machine, thread, foam tape, hemp cord 

Owl Always Love You

Hello and happy New Year's Eve!  We're settled in for a fun family night and I'm crossing my fingers the kids can hang in there until Midnight. 

I wanted to make one last card for 2012 and how fun is this Hoot Hoot Hooray set for New Year's Eve??

I went pretty clean and simple for this card - these owls are just too cute not to take center stage.  I started with a card base and matte of Choice Snow White Card Stock and then cut out a circle from a sheet of Gnome Sweet Gnome 6x6 Paper from My Mind's Eye.  I used the dies from the set to cut out the little owls and the branch, which is cut from more of the Gnome Sweet Gnome paper - super easy!

Thanks so much for stopping by today - I hope you all have a fun and safe New Year's Eve!

You can find these fun products waiting for you in the TE Store:









recipe - 
stamps: hoot hoot hooray (te)
paper: choice snow white (te), gnome sweet gnome 6x6 (my mind's eye)
ink: memento tuxedo black
accessories: copic markers, circle dies, hoot hoot hooray dies (te), foam dots, foam tape  

A Bittersweet Farewell

Hello and happy Thursday to you!  I'm still in my post Christmas coma - you know, the mess is slowly disappearing and we're working on all of those left overs (tamales and green chili!) and we're starting to get back into our normal routine.

Today, Taylor has announced on the Taylored Expressions blog that I will be leaving the Baker's Dozen at the end of December.  It's such a bittersweet moment for me - I have loved this team from day one and I will miss working with each of them so much!  When I first started following Taylor's blog, she was selling ribbon and her handmade cards - and now she has this amazing company and has blessed me so much with her friendship.  She is so sweet and beautiful and I am very happy I was able to meet her and her amazing family while helping at several CHA conventions.

I remember how nervous I was to create cards for my first release as a Baker's Dozen member!  GASP!!  Here's a peek at one from March 2009 -

Hehe!  It's like looking back at baby pictures!  I love looking back to see how much my style has changed and stayed the same, and how I've improved on my coloring too! 

Here are some of my favorite cards over the years -

Taylor, thank you so much for giving me my very first DT gig - you are truly the most amazing woman and I have loved working with you and getting to know you over the past few years.  What an amazing experience and I will cherish it always. 

Taylored Expressions Studio Challenge | December

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 challenge for December is:

Inspiration is all around us. Many of us learned to stamp by CASEing other stampers we admired. (CASE = Copy and Share Everything) We want everyone to know that, not only is CASEing perfectly OK, it's actually pretty flattering and a lot of fun! And it can be especially helpful in the midst of the busy holiday season when it's hard to think straight! So take some inspiration from your fellow Baker's Dozen Teammates, and show us how you can turn any great inspiration into a fabulous holiday card! 

How fun is this?!  I love to draw inspiration from other stampers and it is especially helpful when I'm in a creative slump.  I chose to CASE the amazingly talented Jodi Collins - she has such a sweet style and I adore the colors she uses in her cards.  They are always so bold and brilliant and she's one of my stamping heroes, so there's that.  Haha!

Here is Jodi's card I chose to CASE and you can see all the details about this fabulous card in the TE Gallery, HERE.

And here is my take on her card -

I changed a couple of things from Jodi's card - I switched up her cupcakes for Make a Snowflake Dies and I switched out the patterned paper for some Merry & Bright by Carta Bella.  I tried to keep the color scheme the same, which I loved, so pink and blue snowflakes it is!  I added a few Black Rhinestones in the snowflake centers and then added some Clear Twinkles along the scallops and Silver Rhinestones on the pink paper.  I tried to keep with Jodi's fun style by matting the card in dark card stock and I hope she likes it.  Such a fun card to CASE!

Here's a little detail shot of the snowflakes with that sparkly black bling.  Yum! 

The rest of the Baker's Dozen are finding inspiration as well, so please stop by and see:

• Charmaine Ikach
• Jen Shults
• Jodi Collins
• Melody Rupple
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Shannon White
• Shelly Mercado
• Stephanie Kraft
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Wanda Guess

You can find these fun items in the TE Store:

recipe - 
stamps: moka kristie (te)
paper: choice snow white (te), black licorice (mft), pink lemonade (mft), merry & bright 6x6 (carta bella)
ink: memento tuxedo black
accessories: black rhinestones (kaisercraft), silver rhinestones (kaisercraft), clear twinkles (te), make a snowflake dies (te), medium scallop border die (te), sewing machine, thread, foam tape  

Taylored Expressions Calendar Challenge | December

Welcome to the December edition of the Taylored Expressions Monthly Calendar Challenge!   You are all invited to play along - all you need to do is use any calendar product from the TE store and link your project to the Inlinkz button on Taylor's blog.  If you play along in 10 or more of the monthly challenges, you will be entered in a drawing to win a TE prize pack valued at over $150!!  Please use the keyword TECALCHAL when entering your project to online galleries.

Getting a late start?  It's perfectly okay - all you need to do is link up your projects at any time in the coordinating month's Inlinkz on Taylor's blog before December 31st.

I have loved this fabulous Moka Nora and now I'm all set for my December calendar page.  I started by stamping her in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink on Choice Snow White Card Stock and then fussy cut her so I could pop her up over the Cloud Border Die, which I used for snow.

Here is a closer view of Nora -

Be sure to see what these fabulous designers have whipped up for you this month -

• Jen Shults
• Melody Rupple
• Regina Mangum
• Shannon White
• Shelly Mercado
• Stephanie Kraft
• Taylor VanBruggen

You can find these fun items in the TE Store -









recipe - 
stamps: moka nora (te)
paper: choice snow white (te), paper heart 6x6 (crate paper)
ink: memento tuxedo black
accessories: copic markers, cloud border die (te), make a snowflake dies (te), desktop calendar inserts (te), desktop calendar case (te)  

TE December Petite-a-Palooza Whimsical Wishes

Good morning, friends!  We're continuing our fabulous Release Party and ALL of the new Taylored Expressions products are now available in the Fresh Out of the Oven Department.  AND be sure to check the TE Current Specials page!

Today I'm showing off an amazing little set called Sunny Days.  Nancy McKinney has illustrated this petite set for the Whimsical Wishes line and it's packed full of fun little sentiments, images, and dies.  I used all of the dies in the set to create this cute scene for my Desktop Calendar.  

I hand cut the grassy hills and then inked the edges with Memento Bamboo Leaves Ink and also added a little Grass Border.  All the dies take center stage here and it's such a fun and easy way to dress up a calendar page.

The rest of the Baker's Dozen have amazing projects for you to see this morning, so be sure to hop on over and see:

• Charmaine Ikach
• Jen Shults
• Jodi Collins
• Kerri Michaud - our fabulous guest designer
• Melody Rupple
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Shannon White
• Shelly Mercado
• Stephanie Kraft
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Wanda Guess

And be sure to check out these fun items in the TE Store -









recipe - 
stamps: sunny days (te)
paper: choice snow white (te), sno cone (mft), gumdrop green (mft), wild cherry (mft), orange fizz (mft), banana split (mft), blue raspberry (mft), grape jelly (mft)
ink: memento bamboo leaves
accessories: desktop calendar case (te), desktop calendar inserts (te), grass border die (te), sunny days dies (te), foam tape