Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek Day 2: The Secret Garden

Happy Tuesday, crafty friends! It's Release Week at Taylored Expressions and I have the pleasure of playing along with the design team today. I created a card featuring a garden scene and it's made completely out of dies (no stamping!)

I used the soon-to-be-released (Thursday) dies Garden Arbor & Gate, Arbor Accessories, Arbor Fence, Wispy Grass Border and Frame in Frame Cutting Plate. I wanted something that was mostly white on white to have a very clean look, with just the gate accents, wisteria and grass in color to really make them pop. (The "love" sentiment is die-cut from the Hearts a Flutter Cutting Plate set.)

With the exception of the wisteria and grass, I triple cut all my other elements. Because the card is mostly white on white, I needed there to be a lot of dimension, but I didn't want a bulky card from using a lot of foam adhesive. (The only place I used foam was for the frame.) It gives each element an almost chipboard feel, which is very nice.

The wisteria vines are so lovely and I cut out the flowers from felt. I love the added and surprising bit of texture this gave the card.

How cool are the little accents on the gate? 

I die-cut the wispy grass in a slightly lighter shade of green and trimmed it so that I had some behind and in front of the fence.

This card was so special that I wanted the inside to be special, too. I used the new Floral Vine Embossing Folder to create an embossed background and the Frame In Frame CP to create a nice little space to write a note.

I love the detailing on the embossed pattern. I did use watercolor paper for some subtle change in texture, which I think worked very well.

I hope you enjoyed coming into the garden with me today! Be sure to visit the Taylored Expressions Blog for links to all the designers participating today. Have a day filled with happy beans!

Garden Arbor & Gate Arbor Fence Arbor Accessories Wispy Grass Border Hearts a Flutter Cutting Plate Premium Cardstock - Sugar Cube Premium Cardstock - Poppy Seed 100% Wool Felt - Lilac

Black Ice

Good morning, crafty friends! This week, my Imaginisce teammates and I are celebrating the release of the new collection, Black Ice, and it is so gorgeous and pretty! I have three projects to share with you today, so let's get started with this elegant wedding or engagement card I created.

I really love the Invitation Pack cards for Black Ice. They are thick and sturdy, and the designs are simply divine. I was particularly taken by the tree image in the Tree Line invitation and wanted to create a card around it. Using patterned paper from the collection, I matted the trimmed card and created a simple layout, adding some ribbon and an embossed sentiment. For some added elegance, I added some Glam Rocks to the tree with my trusty i-Rock tool.

I wanted to create a wedding card that could also be kept as a keepsake and double as a framed photo. I saw these Z-Fold cards on Pinterest and thought the design would work very well because it will fold flat for mailing. Using the elegant papers, I created the different elements of the card and added a photo from my own wedding (almost 15 years ago!) 

The pretty flower in the paper made for a perfect "catch" for the photo, and I cut out the frame from the Striped Invitation Pack card as its base. My husband and I don't actually have any of our wedding photos up around the house, so this card will be a perfect way to display a memento of our perfect day.

The Black Ice collection is so starkly beautiful and I wanted to create a striking thank you card. I used the contrasting patterned papers and stamped a big, bold sentiment. I wanted to create my own floral embellishment, so I used the i-Top and made a brad using the patterned paper and added it to a die-cut flower.

BEAN NOTES

May Your Love Bloom Card

(patterned paper, invitation card from Black Ice collection) Imaginisce; (card stock) Stampin' Up; (dies and stamped sentiment) Taylored Expressions; (ribbon) May Arts; (embossing powder) Stampin' Up; (Glam Rocks and i-Rock tool) Imaginisce

Wedding Z-Fold Card

(patterned paper, invitation card from Black Ice collection) Imaginisce; (card stock) American Crafts; (dies) Taylored Expressions; (ribbon) Kate's Paperie

Thank You Card

(patterned paper from Black Ice collection) Imaginisce; (card stock) Stampin' Up; (stamped sentiment and flourish); (Brad Daddy and i-Top tool) Imaginisce; (dies) Sizzix

I hope you enjoyed my projects today! Please be sure to visit the Imaginisce blog for more Black Ice inspiration!

Celebrating PSA Essentials...plus a Giveaway!

Today PSA Essentials is celebrating with a Designer Past and Present Blog Hop and I was so flattered to be included in this fun event. If you are here from the fabulous Julia Aston's blog, you are in the right place. If you get side-tracked, simply check out the blog list at the end of this post and get hoppin'!
I wanted to share my favorite project that I created using PSA Essentials, which was a wine-country wedding ensemble.

I began by choosing a central image that I would focus on that would tie everything together, along with a color scheme. I fell in love with this elegant bee image from PSA Essentials's Country Home set. I'm pretty old-school when it comes to weddings, so I wanted an elegant look. I love how lush and green a winery looks in summertime and paired some green with a rich cream for my colors.

I also created a coordinating 'thank you' card for the bride and groom to use after the event, continuing the bee image, which I stamped and punched out with an oval punch. The threaded ribbon, too, is repeated throughout, as is the lovely dry-embossed background of swirls and flourishes.

As this "wedding" takes place on a gorgeous vineyard in Napa Valley, I thought it only fitting that the table toppers be wine bottles, which would be easy to cover with the same image and embossed cardstock and ribbon as I have going already. The place cards match as well, and I found these cute memo holders, which I simply covered with coordinating cardstock.

My final reception piece is a favor box (always a favorite item at a good party!), which I created with a baker's box die from Lifestyle Crafts out of the green cardstock and added the couple's names and the date of the event, complete with the elegant bee and ribbon for each guest to take home. What is inside you might be asking? Well, you'd have to be a guest at this wine country wedding to find out, but my vote would be for chocolate!

Didn't I mention a giveaway? Well, PSA Essentials is giving away of 1 custom stamp, 3 Peel & Stick stamp sets, 2 notecards, 1 alignment tool, 1 black ink, 1 2-color ink, and free shipping (a $150 value!) To enter, simply visit the PSA Stamp Camp blog HERE.

Now, continue on to the uber-talented Jennifer Ingle's blog to continue the hop!

BEAN NOTES

Stamps:  bee image from Country Home set (PSA Essentials)

Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!); Classic Cream ( Neenah)

Ink: Rich Cocoa Memento (Tsukineko)

Dies: Bakery Box (Lifestyle Crafts)

Tools: Creative Station (Xyron); Oval Punch (EK Success); Hole Punch (Fiskars)

Fibers: Green Satin (Ellen Hutson)

Templates: Flourish Textured Impression Plate (Sizzix)

Font: Edwardian Script (microsoft)

Blog Hop Line Up:

·PSA Stamp Camp: www.psastampcamp.blogspot.com

·Jamie Green:  http://jamie-thegreenefamily.blogspot.com/

·Shelly Kurth: http://shelly-sweetgreetings.blogspot.com/

·Jeanne Streiff: http://inkypaws.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

·Anthonette Chavez: http://chavezdesigns.blogspot.com/

·Julia Aston: http://createwithjulia.blogspot.com/

·Regina Mangum: http://www.thestampinbean.blogspot.com/ 

·Jennifer Ingle:  http://justjingle.blogspot.com/

·Ginger Snap Crafts:   http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/

·Cherished Bliss: http://cherishedbliss.com/

·Mad In Crafts: http://www.madincrafts.com/

·PSA Stamp Camp: www.psastampcamp.blogspot.com

There's More Than One Way to Use a Die

Hey there, Crafty Friends! Lifestyle Crafts just released its Pool Party Collection of dies and I am delighted to get to share some of them with you today. Plus, as an Affiliate, I get to offer readers an exclusive 20% discount code for use in the LC Store (details below.) Also, there is a great sale going on right now on special Core Collection favorites...think 55% off with discount code!

I know that sometimes I'm hesitant to buy a die because I'm not sure how often I will use it. So, I'm always really happy when I find more than one way to use my dies. Today, I thought I would show how I used a few of the same dies to create two very different projects.

I love the new Umbrella Die and the Cloud Border Die (which is long enough to use on a scrapbook page) and I used both on two cards.

The first card is a bright, happy summer beach card. The umbrella is super cute and I created a little scene with it as the centerpiece.

I die-cut some light, fluffy clouds and also added the new Waves Border Die (one of two) and the sweet little Sun Die.

Next, I decided the umbrella would be just perfect for a shower (either for a baby or a wedding) and I changed up my colors accordingly.

The Cloud Border Die (which also includes the Sun Border Die) was perfect here, but I used some patterned paper instead of plain white cardstock.

To make this a shower card, I took my sweet sentiment quite literally and punched out a multitude of hearts. I also flipped the handle of the umbrella to give it a more finished look than from the one in my beach scene card.

So there you have it. Two very different cards using the same dies!

BEAN NOTES
Relax Card
Stamps: sentiments from Coconut Grove set (Taylored Expressions); Ink: Rich Cocoa Memento (Tsukineko); Patterned Paper: Splash (Echo Park); Cardstock: Solar White (Neenah), Pool Party, Delightful Daffodil (Stampin' Up!); Dies: Cloud Border Die, Sun Die, Umbrella Die, Waves Border Die (Lifestyle Crafts)

Showered With Love Card
Stamps: sentiments from It's in the Bag set (Taylored Expressions); Ink: Rich Cocoa Memento (Tsukineko); Patterned Paper: Sweet Day, Dots & Stripes (Echo Park); Cardstock: Classic Cream (Neenah), Blushing Bride (Stampin' Up!); Punch: Hearts (Martha Stewart); Dies: Cloud Border Die, Umbrella Die (Lifestyle Crafts)

I hope you enjoyed my cards today -- if you do any shopping in the Lifestyle Crafts Store, be sure to enter Promo Code: BEAN for a 20% discount. 

Plus, the dies shown below are currently on sale for 35% off...get an additional 20% off (total of 55%!) with Code: BEAN! Have a wonderful day!