Let the Wild Rumpus Start!...

My sweet and handsome brother-in-law, Scott, celebrated a birthday this week and I made him a card that I hoped would remind him of the fabulous vacation he and his fiancee, Marlene, took to St. Thomas a couple weeks ago. He knows how to have a good time, so I thought the sentiment on this darling stamp from Taylored Expressions was more than appropriate!

After stamping and coloring with Copics, I tore around the edges of the image freehand to give it a bit of a "castaway" look. I paired it with some cool patterned paper and a wood sheet to keep up the theme and added a ribbon and some cool eyelets for what I hoped was a fun masculine card for the uncle whom my son has always called "Uncle Soggy." Happy Birthday, Sogster!

BEAN NOTES

Stamps: The Places You'll Go (Taylored Expressions)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)

Patterned Paper: Salt Air (Cosmo Cricket)

Specialty Paper: Wood Sheet (SU!)

Cardstock: Bleu Bayou (Stampin' Up!); Solar White (Neenah)

Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)

Fibers: Soft Sky Stitched Ribbon (SU!)

Accents: Eyelets (generic)

A New Home for Nana...

My in-laws shared some really exciting news with us recently -- my father-in-law is close to retirement and they decided to buy a new house! It's a really darling little house near their old one where my husband grew up and we are so happy for them. I wanted to make a card to congratulate them on their new "digs" and so I got out my favorite house set, Cozy Cottages from Taylored Expressions.
I was inspired by this weekend's Our Creative Corner challenge, Wonderful Windows, so I stamped and colored this cute little shoe house, and livened it up with some bright, fun colors before fussy cutting and placing it behind a simple, popped up window. I added some border die grass and a blue sky background and the perfect sentiment. We'll be spending a lot of time at the new house -- beware of house guests who overstay their welcome, Nana and Papa!

BEAN NOTES

Stamps: Cozy Cottages (Taylored Expressions)

Cardstock: Bazzil; Solar White (Neenah)

Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko); Pink Passion (Stampin' Up!)

Dies: Grass Border (TE); Classic Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)

Farms & Flags...Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek Day Three! (GIVEAWAYS, too!)

• We have sneak peeks to share Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  All of the new products will be available for purchase on Friday, June 3rd at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in the Fresh out of the OvenDepartment in the Taylored Expressions Store.
• Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets on Thursday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.
• Special Early Bird Offer on Release Day for the first 15 orders over $100.  It's TOTALLY SWEET!
• Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate.  Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and all will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day!  Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please.  Comments close Thursday 6/2 at 7pm PST for the drawings.

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Mooooo! It's the third day of sneak peeks at Taylored Expressions and it's a fun one!

The first of two projects I have to share today uses the new Green Acres set (from illustrator Doug Apple for the Apple Doodle Ink line) and this may be, hands down, the most fun set I've ever had the pleasure of creating with. I may have gotten a bit carried away with this card, but I just couldn't resist. With the exception of one tiny image, my fun stair step card features every image from this darling set plus a couple of the witty sentiments. This card is for my big bro, who always enjoys my cards, though my little secret is that it's really a simple card to make -- just stamp, color, and fussy cut! If the "sun" looks familiar, it's from the same patterned paper I used earlier this week on my Surf's Up penguin card! This type of card is a great way to create little scenes that are perfect for sets with lots of complimentary images.

Next up is a little door hang I created using the soon-to-be released petite set, Patriotic Wreath, which is the next installment in the fabulous Seasonal Wreath series that features coordinating wreath die! 

I love this series (originally concepted by the lovely Jami Sibley and illustrated by Nancy McKinney) and this patriotic set is just in time for Independence Day. I thought I would make a decorative pennant to hang from our new apartment door (if we ever find one!) on the Fourth of July and I chose to use some old-fashioned rustic shades of red, white, and blue. With a Spellbinders die, I cut the larges pennant in red and white strips, then trimmed with with a TE scalloped border die that was stamped with stars from the set. The wreath was stamped, colored, and die cut, and the fun sentiment placed inside one of TE's fab banner dies (BEAN NOTE: did you know that you can manipulate some TE stamps because they are not mounted? How cool is that?) A bit of twine to hang and I was all set to wish the U.S.A a very happy birthday!

BEAN NOTES
Green Acres Stair Step Card

• Stamps: Green Acres (Taylored Expressions)
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
• Cardstock: Bashful Blue and Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up!); Green Textured (Bazzill); Solar White (Neenah)
• Patterned Paper: Splash (Echo Park)
• Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)
• Tools: Crop-A-Dile (WRMK)

Happy Fourth Door Hang

• Stamps: Patriotic Wreath and It's a Banner Day-1  (Taylored Expressions)
• Cardstock: Ruby Red, Night of Navy (SU!); Choice Buttercream (TE)
• Ink: New Canvas Hybrid Ink (Pallette); Night of Navy and Ruby Red Classic Dye (SU!)
• Dies: Seasonal Wreath, Banner Day 1, and Large Scalloped Border (TE); Nested Pennant (Spellbinders)
• Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)

Tomorrow is Release Day at Taylored Expressions and I hope you enjoyed this week of sneaky peekies! Don't forget to check out the rest of the Baker's Dozen for more patriotic and moo-ilicious inspiration! Thanks so much for dropping in and have a wonderful day!

• Charmaine Ikach

  Danielle Lounds

  Jackie Pedro

  Jodi Collins

  Karen Giron

  Karen Motz

  Melissa Sauls

  Regina Mangum

  Sankari Wegman

  Taylor VanBruggen

  Tori Wild

  Wanda Guess and friends
  Nancy McKinney
  Jami Sibley

Let's Celebrate!...

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I am in a stamping kind of mood today. So, I did some fun stamping for a birthday card inspired by three challenges: this week's fabulous Mojo Monday sketch, my first foray into the Lawnscaping Challenge Blog with their Make Your Own Patterned Paper challenge, and another for the Wee Memories Scrappy Saturday Color Inspiration Challenge! I love creating my own background paper and for this card, I used the Happy Birthday sentiment Lawn Fawn's Year One set along with the sweet little stars from Plus One to create two different patterned paper.

Nike.com

When I saw this photo of this bright, fun sneaker, I just loved the color combo, which is one of my favorites for birthday cards.
I paired them with an adorable little octopus and a party hat, along with a nice, happy banner. I did omit the three embellishments and and the larger embellishment as there was already a lot going on (Bean Tip: don't be afraid to alter a sketch to suit your needs!) I think I satisfied my stamping itch (for now!)

BEAN NOTES

• Stamps: Plus One, Year One, Hats Off to You, Bannerific and Critters in the Sea (Lawn Fawn)
• Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah); Pear Pizazz, Concord Crush, Peach Parfait (Stampin' Up!)
• Ink: Pear Pizazz, Concord Crush, Peach Parfait (SU!); Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
• Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)
• Fibers: Baker's Twine (The Twinery)
• Templates: Medium Dots Embossing Folder (Quickutz)
• Dies: Classic Oval and Classic Scalloped Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Medium Scallop Border (PTI)

Shake, Rattle, & Roll...

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My old college friend, Lisa, whom I haven't actually seen in person in fifteen years, just had a beautiful baby girl and I am SO happy for her and her fiance. Lisa and I lived on the same floor our freshman year and we once went a little bonkers and stayed up for three days straight when we should have been studying and sleeping. I'll be hoping that she gets more sleep than that, but with a newborn, all bets are off! I wanted to make her a fun baby card and I thought it would be a perfect occasion to also throw my hat in the ring for the iCopic Pink DT Call challenge!

I love my Copics and I combined them with two Lawn Fawn sets for a "rock & roll" card for my fun-loving friend. The little "milkshake" is actually the glass of milk from a Christmas set and I printed my own sentiment. I colored another set of the adorable images before fussy cutting and adhering with some foam tape for dimension. I hope my little card lets Lisa know that I'm thinking of her and wishing her and her growing family lots of love and happiness. (Ever since 2 Sketches 4 You came to an end, I have been itching to join another weekly design team that will challenge my creativity. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!)

BEAN NOTES

• Stamps: Plus One and Cozy Christmas (Lawn Fawn)
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
• Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)
• Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Blushing Bride (Stampin' Up!)
• Specialty Paper: Blending Card (X-Press)
• Template: Medium Dots Embossing Folder (Quickutz)
• Accents: Petal Pink Liquid Pearls (Ranger)
• Fibers: Pink Organdy (American Crafts)
• Font: Chalkboard (microsoft)

Color & Cake...

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It's Saturday, which means another Scrappy Saturday Challenge and this time, it's all about color inspiration. I really love cards that are mostly white, with a splash of a dominant color, and when I saw this photo of a lovely wedding cake, I thought I would make a shaped card inspired by the rich purples of the flowers amidst the yummy white fondant.

from Project Wedding

I wanted to keep things relatively clean, so I only hinted at the green of the leaves with tiny little green pearls at the heart of my paper blooms. For a little texture, I embossed each "layer" of the cake card with a dotted folder. To get the exact shade of purple I wanted, I used some Copic markers and colored directly on the flowers. For the sentiment, I used the darling banner from It's a Banner Day 1 from Taylored Expressions and used the coordinating die. Now, I wish someone I know would get married because I'd love to give her this card (and eat some of the cake!)

BEAN NOTES

• Stamps: It's a Banner Day 1 (Taylored Expressions)
• Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah)
• Ink: Perfect Plum (Stampin' Up!)
• Accents: Paper Flowers (Archivers); Lush Pearls (Kaisercraft)
• Fibers: Purple Satin Ribbon (Kate's Paperie)
• Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)
• Dies: Banner Day 1 (TE)
• Template: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Provocraft)
• Tools: Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper (We-R-Memory Keepers)

Hello Sunshine!...

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It's still cold outside and I am sorry to say that I am so over Winter. I can see the sun peeking through the clouds and I'm wishing it would just burst through. Lucky for me, Verve is hosting a Color Me Spring Dare and Wee Memories' Scrappy Saturday Challenge is a Free Your Creativity Challenge -- I thought I'd make a card to bring a little sunshine into my day. I created a little riot of flowers for this sweet elephant to peer over and cut out a few blooms to add some dimension. Originally, I had a very elaborately embossed shadowbox frame to go over this scene, but when I showed my husband, he suggested leaving it clean and simple (I just love it when he gets "into" my papercrafting!) So, while Winter is keeping Spring at bay outside, I can pretend to have a teensy bit of sunshine inside.

BEAN NOTES

• Stamps: To the Moon, Miracles Blossom and Accent Notes (sentiment) Clear Stamps (Verve)
• Ink: Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzaz, Pale Plum, Delightful Daffodil (Stampin' Up!); Memento Summer Sky (Tsukinkeo)
• Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah)
• Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)
• Fibers: Delightful Daffodil Satin Ribbon (SU!)

Bun in the Oven...

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My wonderful college roommate and her darling husband, Bernie, are expecting their first baby and I am SO HAPPY for them. (Thank goodness my mom doesn't do computers because she would read today's post headline and think it was me, ha! ha!) I love making baby cards because they are such a happy occasion to celebrate. I was inspired by the cool sketch over at Mojo Monday. This also gave me the perfect excuse to make a card for the Paper Crafts March Gallery Challenge, which is all things baby! Lori and Bernie are choosing to wait to find out if they are having a boy or a girl, so it was fun to come up with some non-traditional baby colors to use along with these adorable images from Lawn Fawn. Congratulations to my sweet friends!

BEAN NOTES

• Stamps: Plus One (Lawn Fawn)
• Cardstock: Choice Buttercream (Taylored Expressions); Aqua Textured (Bazzil)
• Ink: Memento
• Patterned Paper: October Afternoon (Modern Homemaker)
• Accents: Buttons (generic)
• Fibers: Embroidery Floss (generic)
• Dies: Classic Circle and Beaded Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
• Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)
• Tools: Paper Piercing tool (generic)

Hello, Spring!...Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek Day 2!

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Happy Day 2 of Sneak Peeks for Taylored Expressions! We have more springtime fun today and I have two cards to share. Easter Joy  and Hello Spring are two new sets releasing this Thursday, and my first card today features the absolutely adorable Hello Spring.

If you are a regular TSB reader, you know I love pop-up cards and the images in this set had me set to make one to celebrate spring. For this card, I went to town on the little critters, they are just so gosh darn cute. I stamped each, colored, and cut out. Next, I created the card base, which is really just a basic L-shaped pop-up mechanism, just at different lengths for an additional layer. When the full set debuts later this week, you'll see that the sheep are part of a single image; don't be afraid to break up an image to suit your needs! Using the sweet paper from the soon-to-be released Spring Project Pantry kit, I trimmed some "hills" and added some gray cardstock for the "road" -- I'm pretty sure the simple sentiment says it all!

My second card is much simpler, but I think it's special in its own way. This comes from one of the new mini sets from TE, Easter Joy.

I kept things clean and let the stamped images and the sentiment do the work for me, adding in some pretty patterned paper and a bow to round things out. The sweet little Lamb makes me smile, and I popped him up over the bright, shining sun. Easter is a time of joy, renewal, and celebration, and this set does that.

BEAN NOTES

Hello Spring Pop-up Card
Stamps: Hello Spring (Taylored Expressions)
Patterned Paper: Hippity Hoppity Collection (We-R-Memory Keepers) from Spring Project Pantry
Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah); Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up!); Ash (American Crafts); Aqua Mist (PTI); Cardstock from Spring Project Pantry
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic); Gold Metallic Pen (Sakura)
Dies: Cloud Duo (TE)


Lamb of God Card
Stamps: Easter Joy (Taylored Expressions)
Patterned Paper: Modern Homemaker (October Afternoon)
Cardstock: Choice Buttercream (TE); Wild Wasabi (SU!)
Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)
Ink:Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko)
Fibers: Green Organza (Kate's Paperie)
Dies: Classic Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

So that wraps up day two, and I hope you'll peek in tomorrow. Some sweet treats are on their way and don't forget to stop by the rest of the Baker's Dozen for some really incredible eye candy! Thanks for popping in!

• Charmaine Ikach

  Danielle Lounds

  Jackie Pedro

  Jodi Collins

  Karen Giron

  Karen Motz

  Melissa Sauls

  Regina Mangum

  Sankari Wegman

  Taylor VanBruggen

  Tori Wild

Scrumptious Wishes...

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Our cousin, Katy, has a birthday in March and is also celebrating her husband's new job that will take their little family to Missouri. I thought I'd combine some good wishes for them with a card, and what better way than with a cupcake house from the Cozy Cottages set from Taylored Expressions? After stamping and coloring in the sweet abode, I was all ready to assemble my card and I thought it was missing something. Lucky for me, this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge was to use scallops -- a scalloped circle was exactly what I was looking for and I had a cute card to send to our on-the-move cousins!

BEAN NOTES
Stamps: Cozy Cottages and sentiment from It's a Banner Day-1 (Taylored Expressions)
Cardstock: Parakeet (Bazzill) ; Textured from January Key Ingredients Kit (TE)
Patterned Paper: Cupcake Love (Little Yellow Bicycle)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko)
Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)
Tools: 2" Scallop Circle Punch (EK Success)
Accents: Glossy Accents (Ranger); Diamond Stickles (Ranger)
Fibers: Ribbon from January Key Ingredients (TE)

Welcome Home...

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It has been so nice getting a chance to make cards again (though I am feeling more than a bit guilty that I am neglecting the old scrapbook!) This week, Moxie Fab is hosting a Stamping with Markers Challenge, and I thought I would try my hand. I wanted to see if I could use the same markers on the same image stamped several times and see if I could make them look different. I chose to use the cute townhouse from the Cozy Cottages set from Taylored Expressions, keeping the rest of the card very simple to really focus on the colored images.

I used the colorless blender from Copic to create three different rooftops, lighting up the middle house's windows and lamps to suggest a cozy home full of warmth and good cheer. I used a slightly darker gray on the facade of the townhouses to suggest some added texture and simply dotted along the sides. With some shading on the awnings, I tried to create a sense of roundness. A simple, fitting sentiment, and I had a card that brought back the pleasures of coloring!

BEAN NOTES

• Stamps: Cozy Cottages (Taylored Expressions)
• Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah)
• Coloring Medium: Sketch Markers (Copic)
• Dies: Labels 17 Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
• Tools: Grand Calibur (Spellbinders)