It's Grillin' Time...Are You Ready?

'Cause I'm ready! The warm weather is here and that means it's time to get together with friends and family and enjoy summer and the outdoors. 

I've made up darling place settings and invitations for our next BBQ. So when I say I'm ready, I really mean it. I used the awesome BBQ image from the Boys Will Be Boys set at Taylored Expressions. (Just a note: the Boys Will Be Boys set is currently out of stock, but if you'd like to be notified when it becomes available then go here and click the Request Re-stock Notice. Simply enter your email address and you'll be notified as soon as it's available!)

I wanted the invitation to look like an apron and I found a pattern online. I tweaked it a little to suit my design though. I used supplies from the Father's Day Key Ingredients because I really like the checkered patterned papers for this project. 

For the invitation I started by stamping the grill with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Choice Buttercream cardstock. I coloured it with copics and used one of the metal sheets from the Boys Will Be Boys Bundle for the grill body. Next I stamped and coloured the steak and flames then I cut everything out. By the way, I really enjoy cutting out, so there's a lot of it in my project...wink! I kept the front of the invitation simple so the grill would really shine (pardon the pun!). All I added was a little sewing around the edges and the ribbon. I left the ribbon loop rather long so I could hang it on my friends' front doors instead of just leaving it in their mailboxes. 

For the inside of the invitation I used the JustRite Rectangle Stamper with the Brayton Font Set and created my invite. I intentionally left the date off so I could write it in when we decide on our grillin' date. I love having things like this in my stash...ready to go at a moments notice.

For the place setting, I found these fun polka dot paper plates at Target, along with the clear plastic square plate and the cutlery.

A napkin ring seemed like a logical accessory and it was super easy to create. Once the image was stamped and coloured I cut it out with oval Nestabilities. I attached one of the patterned papers from the Father's Day Key Ingredients to the image with screw brads then wrapped it around the napkin. I couldn't resist adding the shish-kabobs and another flame.

The final surprise is on the clear square plate. Because it's see-thru I figured why not stamp the BBQ on the underneath of the plate...nobody would expect it! I stamped the image with Versamark and embossed it with black embossing powder. Then I "coloured" it with a mixture of diamond glaze and reinkers. There's no risk to the food because the image is on the under side of the plate. I can't say how durable this will be over time, but I think I'll be hand washing these plates!

So now you can be ready for grillin' season too! And don't forget to sign up for the Taylored Expressions newsletter so you're "in the loop" when news breaks about new products, specials and inspiration. You'll find the mailing list sign-up on the TE homepage here. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Father's Day - BBQ Gift Ensemble

Good Morning Everyone,

Today I am excited to show you a project that I have been working on for my Father-in-law who loves to fire it up on the grill :) He loves to cook and has some awesome recipes - so I thought I would make a personalized recipe box for him to go with the BBQ set. 

So I made a little BBQ card, a personalized recipe box, some fun recipes and a little gift box with some grilling sauces, brush and skewers to go along with it using Taylor's Boys Will Be Boys set. (The The Boys Will Be Boys set is currently out of stock. But if you'd like to be notified when it becomes available, go here, and click request restock notification. Just enter your email address and you'll be notified as soon as it's available!)

The BBQ Gift Box 

1. I took a wooden box and then painted it red - kinda BBQish :)

2. Filled it with two grilling sauces, a brush and skewers with some packing crunchies

3. Created a little tag from this stamp set that reads: All Hail the Grill Master!

The Card

1. Everything on this card comes from the Father's Day Key Ingredient's set 

2. All the stamps are from the Boys Will Be Boys stamp set - I stamped the grill on to the metal plate and then paper pieced it onto the grill - so that it is all metallic

3. I used Taylor's Friday Cupcake Sketch # 68 sketch for this card

The Recipe Box

1. I took a recipe box and painted the top brown (it had some flower motif on it before)

2. covered it with some of the papers from the Father's Day Key Ingredient set

3. I used the Cuppie Nurse image from the Doctor's Orders set and paper pieced her uniform into an apron and created a little chefs hat for the cuppie

4. I created the sentiment - Paul's Top Secret Recipes with the Just Rite Stamp set available at the Taylored Expressions store  and cut it out with my Spellbinders and added some ribbon from the Key Ingredient's set

5. The front of the box has a little slot for labels that reads: Paul's - also created with the Just Rite system

6. The box opens to reveal 8 tabs each of them stamped with individualized recipe divisions: Veggie, BBQ, Polish, Pizza, Chili, Soups, etc. (all of my Father-in-Law's favorite foods that he loves to cook)

7. I also created three recipe inserts (one for the soup section, one for the pizza section and one for the BBQ section and stamped a little something on them)

8. For the BBQ section, I stamped one of the skewers from the Boys will Be Boys stamp set.

9. For the Soup section, I stamped the cuppie from Thanksgiving from theYear of Sweets 3- I paper pieced him and instead of thanksgiving I created a bowl (and actually, the bowl is the cuppies head, upside down and paper pieced :)

10. For the Pizza section, I stamped the Cuppie from Christmas from the Year of Sweets 3 - I paper pieced him also and instead of the plate of cookies, I created a little pizza on the plate :)

I had so much fun creating this little father's day gift for my Father-in-law because I know he will love his new BBQ goodies :) and it was so easy to create with all the fun products at the Taylored Expressions store!!! Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter (button on the right side of this blog) so that you can get all the most recent information and inspiration from the Taylored Expressions store!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!!

Hope you all have a great day!

Sankari :)

*Honey Do* Book

We all have LOTS of fix-it things for our husbands to do, right? I know I do. "Honey do this, honey do that....." Well, here's a place to write it all down. {smile}

I found these notebooks (with the pen!) at Michael's in the dollar aisle...that's right, it only cost a dollar! They had a bunch of colors to pick from too. I knew I wanted to use some of the papers and ribbon from my Father's Day Key Ingredients so I picked up an orangey-red colored book.

Here's what the notebook looked like when I bought it. I turned it to accommodate the toolbelt image from the Boys Will Be Boys set. The pages on the inside of the book are completely blank without any lines, so it totally worked out to turn it on its side.



It was super easy (and fast) to make. I just cut a piece of the plaid DP to 4-3/8" x 2-7/8" as the "base" and then decorated it like a card. The white deckled rectangle is up on 1/16" foam tape and so is the sentiment on the double-ended tag. Taylor has both of these Spellbinders products in her store!

I made the "Honey Do Book" sentiment with my JustRite Lowercase Times New Roman Font, another product in the Taylored Expressions store! I love one-stop shopping!

While you're here today, don't forget to sign up for the Taylored Expressions Newsletter! The sign-up window is over there in the sidebar.

SUPPLY LIST ~
Stamps: LALI Boys Will Be Boys, JustRite Lowercase Times New Roman Font
Paper: TE Choice White CS, Basic Black, DP from Father's Day Key Ingredients
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Really Rust
Copics: 0, E42, E43, W1, W3, W5, Y38, YR68, R17, R59)
Accessories: Ribbon from Father's Day Key Ingredients, Spellbinders Deckled Rectangle Nestabilities, Spellbinders Double Ended Tags, 1/16" Foam Tape, Black Brads

Thanks for stopping by today! We love when you do!
Denise

MJ's Cuppie Memory Game!

Hi everyone!! Happy Tuesday!! Here is a little project I created for my daughter Meredith, who we call M.J.!!!

She LOVES to stamp with me, so I wanted to create something just for her! I am always inspired by other stampers when they create games, so I thought I would try my hand at it!! So...here is M.J.'s Cuppie Memory Game!

This was actually a VERY easy (although a bit time consuming) project! I started by pulling out this cute little clear paint can I picked up at my local craft store. (I just KNEW I would find a use for it sometime!!) It is quite small, measuring only three inches tall! Once I determined that I wanted to go with a primary color scheme, I tied on bunches of fun, bright ribbons around the handle, ranging from polka dot to solid grosgrain.

Next, I stamped the two different Diva cuppies from Downtown Diva, 9 times each, in Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice White Cardstock for a total of 18 "chips". I then colored the liners and flowers in different colors with my Copic Markers, two matching cuppies for each color. After I colored all of them (and boy, that was FUN!), I punched them out with my 1 3/8 Inch Circle Punch. Each cuppie was then layered onto a 1 1/4 Circle Punch of the same color of their respective liners. I didn't have a large enough circle punch to create my last layer, so I used a Circle Nestabillity for the largest circle. Here is a close-up of one of my red cuppies.

The largest circle on each and every cupcake states the name of the game, "M.J.'s Cuppie Memory Game", which I created with my JustRite Monogram Stamper. Once I got all the letters on and centered, it was an absolute breeze to stamp all of them!! (NOTE: I stamped all 18 and then cut them out with the Circle Nestability...I personally found it much easier that way!).

After I assembled and adhered my layers (cuppie, colored circle of cardstock, final circle with the name of the game facing the opposite way), I coated the entire "chip" with Glossy Accents and let them all dry overnight. Once they dried, they are nice and stiff...and pretty darn resistant to three year old shenanagins!!

To finish off the lid of my paint can, I stamped the name of my game again with my JustRite Stamper, this time adding a border. I then stamped one of the flower stamps from Downtown Diva in several different bright colors right over the title to add some fun. I finished it off with a Scallop Nestability in Real Red, that fit perfectly onto the lid!!

M.J. has already played the game several times and she just LOVES it! I think I will make some more of these for the numerous parties we have coming up! Doesn't everyone love a personalized gift?

For all the latest news, information and inspiration, don't forget to sign up for the Taylored Expressions Newsletter. You'll find the link on then left sidebar of the TE Store homepage.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Recipe:

Stamps: Downtown Diva - Stamp A Sweet Impression and JustRite Stamper

Paper: Choice White Cardstock from Taylored Expressions and Real Red, Pacific Point, Gable Green, Elegant Eggplant, Tempting Turquoise, YoYo Yellow, Only Orange, Lovely Lilac and Glorious Green from SU!

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: 1 3/8 Inch Circle Punch, 1 1/4 Inch Circle Punch, Circle and Scallop Circle Nestabilities, Copic Markers, Glossy Accents, assorted ribbons and clear mini paint can.

Jodi