A Glimpse Inside...Taylored Expressions Release Day!

It's Release Day at Taylored Expressions! I had the pleasure of getting to play along with the Baker's Dozen this month and today I'm working with the new set A Glimpse Inside, along with the fun coordinating dies Window Accessories and Flower Box Sprigs & Flowers. 

Of the darling images in A Glimpse Inside, I chose the sweet table set for tea. I colored it in with Copics and actually added some liquid pearls to the cookies to turn them into Black Eyed Susans!

Here's a closeup of the window box and flowers. I loved the color combination from the pattered paper I chose and let it do all the coordinating work for me. 

BEAN NOTES

Stamps: A Glimpse Inside (Taylored Expressions); Patterned Paper: Sweet Girl 6 x 6 pad (Echo Park); Cardstock: (Stampin' Up, Neenah); Accents: Espresso Liquid Dimensionals (Adirondack); Dies: Picture Window, Window Accessories, Flower Box Sprigs & Flowers (Taylored Expressions)

All of the products I've used today are now available in the Fresh of the Oven department in the TE Store. I hope you will visit the Baker's Dozen blogs for more Release Week inspiration!

Broni Holcombe

Charmaine Ikach

Jami Sibley

Jen Shults

Kerri Mchaud

Lynnette Kauffman

Regina Mangum

Sankari Wegman

Shannon White

Shelly Mercado

Stephanie Kraft

Tammie Edgerton

Taylor VanBruggen

Wanda Guess

A Little Something for Lizz...

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

My super stylish and gorgeous sister-in-law is a big fan of MAC makeup. We wanted to get her a special gift and I thought I'd make it extra fun with some special packaging and I was inspired by the Make Your Own Embellishment Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp and for the colors, the Scrappy Saturday Source of Inspiration Challenge. This challenge asked for a project inspired by something seen in the pages of a stamping magazine -- how fun is that? I was actually inspired by two pages from the current Go-To Sketches from Papercrafts, pages 8 and 9. I love the colors on Natasha Trupp's gorgeous card, but I also really LOVED how it went with Teri Anderson's (she's so sweet!) happy orange shirt!

I had picked up a plain make-up case at a local store a couple weeks back and created my own embellishments to decorate it. Felt is always an easy way to dress something up, so I ran some dies though my die cutting machine, sewed them on the bag, and, voila!, a much more personal gift. I simply tucked a gift card in the front pocket and I was good to go!

BEAN NOTES

• Dies: Beautiful Blooms II (PTI)
• Accents: Buttons (Generic); Felt (PTI)
• Other: Make-up bag (Bed Bath and Beyond)

A Budding Birthday...

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

The lovely ladies at 2 Sketches 4 You provided another wonderful sketch this week. Interestingly, they are also choosing a new design team member (how excited was I for the amazing Angie Tieman, a fellow Gallery Idol contestant, for her recent honor? -- excellent choice, ladies, as Angie's work is some of the most creative out there!) I can't begin to think I have a chance, as their DT is one of the tops in the industry. But, a challenge is a challenge, and when I like a sketch I just have to make a card.
One of my very best friends, Natali, is celebrating a birthday soon, and I wanted to make her a pretty card that would show her how I think of her. Nat is a terrific mix of both sweet and refined, and so I thought I'd try to capture that in her card.

For this card, I began with the paper rosebuds. Though I find this to be a time-consuming technique (see sidebar for tutorial,) I think it well-worth the effort. I began by creating some faux suede in cream card stock and after making the buds sponged on some pink ink along the edges. I then added each to a punched green "leaves" and set them aside.
For the card base, I chose some pretty patterned paper and embossed a panel of So Saffron with an elegant embossing folder. I created a ribbon treatment from some gold organdy ribbon, which I knotted and then adhered onto a punched strip of pink card stock. I added a very happy sentiment and a few little pearls to finish off a card for my dear friend.

BEAN NOTES: Papertrey Ink Birthday Bash Sentiments Stamp; Stampin' Up Close to Cocoa and Regal Rose Classic Dye Ink; SU Certainly Celery Designer Series Paper; SU So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette and Certainly Celery Card Stock; SU Scallop Border and 5-Petal Punches; Sizzix Embossing Folder; Big Shot; Amuse Pearls

HAPPY BEANS: Gold Organdy Ribbon (generic)

Stitched Gratitude...

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Just off our whirlwind Pals Hop, I didn't want to miss an opportunity to do this week's Friday Challenge: Sew Right! I love embroidery and stitchery, but usually it takes so much time that I don't get to do it that much. So, I took a chance and got out my needle and floss and figured I'd give this challenge a whirl!
My wonderful mom-in-law, Susan, just sent our little guy a box of cookies. It's just one example of how thoughtful she is and I wanted to make her a special thank you card. For this card, I stamped this lovely bouquet of flowers twice, once on white cardstock and again on some textured Kiwi Kiss. Here I used some periwinkle embroidery floss and needle to stitch each bloom. I then added tiny little stitched centers in a soft yellow. Using a watercolor pen, I filled in the spaces with some Bordering Blue ink before carefully cutting out the stitched blossoms and gluing to the leaves and stem. Whew!
I die-cut a small embossed oval from chipboard and sponged around the edges to create a frame. I then used a larger die to create the oval-shaped card base and stamped my simple sentiment directly on before stitching around the entire card in soft yellow. A pretty satin bow to match the leaves completed this stitched "with love" card.
BEAN NOTES: JustRite Plant a Little Love and Custom Design Cardmaking Kit (sentiment); Stampin Up Bashful Blue and Bordering Blue Classic Dye Ink; Chipboard (generic); SU Kiwi Kiss Textured Cardstock; SU Bashful Blue and Whisper White Cardstock; SU Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon; Spellbinders Classic Oval and Long Oval Nestabilities HAPPY BEANS: Periwinkle and Soft Yellow Embroidery Thread (generic); Singer Sewing Needle

Someone Special & TE Sketch #61...

I decided to try my hand at a sketch from a really fun blog called Taylored Expressions. Here is the sketch:



To view the image up-close, please click on the photo.

For the vertical panel, I stamped my background image with VersaMark Champagne Dazzle and embossed it with clear embossing powder before sponging over the raised image with ink. I also wanted to try out an interesting technique called the Spotlight Technique, which I think lends itself best to vintage and botanical images. I stamped the floral image twice. Using Copic Sketch markers, I colored in just the portion of the image I wanted to highlight. My attempt is fairly subtle, and I've included a close-up image to illustrate what the technique tries to achieve:
BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up Botanicals and Well-Worn Words Stamps; SU Close to Cocoa and Pink Pirouette Classic Ink; Basic Grey Designer Paper; Regal Rose and Very Vanilla Cardstock and Light Pink (generic) Cardstock; Paper Shapers 1" and 1-1/8" Circle Punches and Small Oval Punch; SU 5-Petal Punch; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Brads (generic)
HAPPY BEANS: Copic Sketch Markers; VersaMark Dazzle Champagne Ink; Ranger Clear Super-Fine Detail Embossing Powder

The Best Thing About A Mother & Mojo Monday (#80)...

It's Tuesday, but it's Mojo Monday time! I thought this was a fun sketch.


To view the image up-close, please click on the photo.

I thought that with Mother's Day right around the corner, it would be a perfect chance to create a card for this lovely occasion using my new Manhattan Floral stamp from Stampin' Up. I did trim away some of the petals to fit my needs. I had a sweet vellum phrase to use instead of a stamped image. Bean Tip: Try substituting an image or other embellishment for an element in a sketch -- here, I used the rose image in place of the scalloped circle.
BEAN NOTES: Jo-Ann Craft Essentials Vellum Phrase; Stampin' Up Manhattan Floral Stamps; SU Bleu Bayou Classic Ink; Anna Griffen Designer Paper and SU Bleu Bayou Designer Series Paper; SU Soft Sky, Bleu Bayou, and Whisper White Cardstock; White (generic) Cardstock ; White Grosgrain (generic) Ribbon; Copic Sketch Markers; Foam Dimensional Strips (generic); Making Memories Brads
HAPPY BEANS: Sizzix Manhattan Textured Impressions Die (SU exclusive); Big Shot

Down the Bunny Trail (Part 3) & Mojo Monday (#79)...

It's already Monday again and I thought I would use this week's Mojo Monday challenge to catch up on my Easter cards:

To view the image up-close, please click on the photo.

For the jar, I borrowed an idea from my mother-in-law, Susan (a very talented stamper and the person who got me hooked in the first place), to stamp the image on something clear or opaque. For this card, I used a piece of clear acetate. Bean Tip: Use clear mini glue dots to secure acetate and "hide" your adhesive behind elements of your image for a clean look.
BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up Jar of Fun and Occasions Stamps; SU Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink and StazOn Timber Brown Ink; SU Delicate Dots Designer Series Paper; SU Whisper White Cardstock and DCWV Textured and Kraft Cardstock; Clear Acetate (generic); Copic Sketch Markers; Paper Shapers Small Oval Punch; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Brads (generic)
HAPPY BEANS: White Raffia Ribbon (generic); Fiskars Scallop Edge Punch