In Stamping Mode

Monday, February 28, 2011

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek - Day 1


Hello everyone!! I'm excited to get a jump start to March with the beginning of sneak peaks for the Taylored Expressions March release! On the menu for today are THREE new sets and one with a brand new coordinating die. The Baker's and I are split on what we are sneaking today so you're going to want to hop around and see all the wonderful samples using the various sets. You won't want to miss samples created with Spring Wreath Petite Stamp set...and of course it's previously released coordinating Seasonal Wreath die. As for me, I'm going to share with you the Spring a la Carte stamp....here!


This adorable Spring stamp is a single stamp that is made on the same deeply etched pre-trimmed rubber as all of the Taylored Expressions stamps are. It is also part of the Apple Doodle line of artwork and just perfect for all of your upcoming spring projects and/or spring scrapbook pages! I know you're ready for spring out there,right?? I think we are actually on the brink of it here in Austin! With that being said, I just couldn't resist using the new Spring Project Pantry with all those fun and bright colors. Just makes me happy looking at it. :)

And the other project I am excited to share with you is the next in the series of banner sets with coordinating dies. Now featuring for you, It's a Banner Day 2 with the Banner Day 2 die WOOHOO!!


I tell ya, I am totally in love with these banner sets with dies!!! I decided to couple this set with a previously released Easter set, Easter Blessings. Just goes to show, you can use these banner sets with anything! And we can, once again, thank the extremely talented Iwona Palamountain (Chupa) for her concept of this mini stamp set. Our very own Taylor completed the artwork for the set as another addition to the TE line of sets...so proud of her! :) This set features 9 images (3 banners and 6 sentiments) on a 4.75"square full colored sturdy storage panel. And I also have to talk a little bit about the papers that I used here, which is also a new LOVE!! The patterned papers are from the new MME Stella Rose line of papers, which are available now in the TE store, called Gertie. You will probably be seeing more of this line in the future. :)

OH! Before I forget! Did you see the new Taylored Expressions campaign on Facebook?? Taylor is giving away this ENTIRE RELEASE once we hit 1500 fans! Be sure and become a fan/like them HERE for your chance to win it all! Otherwise, the full release will be available for purchase bright and early Thursday, March 3, at 8 AM PST!

Now to check out what everyone else has in store for you today! Thanks so much for peeking here today and hope to see you again tomorrow! :)

And how about some of the dies I used??




Thursday, February 24, 2011

Getting Crafty with a Sewing Project

So last week as I was going through my reader, I read THIS idea via Michelle Wooderson's blog. You see, last week was Teacher Appreciation week at my son's school and us parents brought in little gifts each day of the week based on our teacher's likes. For the final sha-bang, we were to bring in something with their favorite colors. Needless to say, this little gem of a find on Michelle's blog was just what I needed to make this


What is it you ask? (And probably the same question the teachers asked when they received it, LOL!) This is actually a kitchen towel created from 5"x5" fabric scraps. The back is lined with terry cloth to at least be somewhat functional. The decor sewn to the front are those yummy yo-yo's I've been sewing up like crazy. This particular teacher's favorite color was orange. :)


I didn't get a pic of the other towel I made for Harrison's teacher, but her favorite colors were pink and teal...that was a super cute towel! But yeah...I went a little crazy buying the fabric. I need to make more! Anyone up for buying one of these adorable things? :) I topped them with a super cute tag using the From the Heart stamp set with coordinating Die. I swear, this set is PERFECT for all of your handmade gifts. I'm soooo happy to have it!!! I used the sewing machine from the set and colored in with Copics....so totally cute, yes?!

Ok, off to fight a flu bug that is trying to attack my household. The little girl just got put on Tamiflu today and I'm hoping the Zicam actually works. Until next time!!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

A couple quick challenges

Every time I go out of town I get completely inspired to hide away in my stamp room and get busy. Maybe it's for fear of losing my mojo...or maybe I just get to missing my hobby so bad! So after a much needed long weekend at the in-laws (they live on a ranch) I attacked...yes, I attacked a couple of challenges.

First up, Papertrey's new Make it Monday challenge to use Scor-tape in a straight glittered line. I likey.


I went clean and simple with some vellum over patterned paper. I didn't get a chance to play in last week's challenge to make a vellum label so I wanted to carry that over here. :) I took a que from the Framed set and made my glittered borders from that. My sentiment is from my all time favorite Signature Greetings...added some colored rhinestones and called it done!


And here's my Splitcoast CAS challenge for Monday. I know, two challenges done the day they were put?? Surely I must be ill. I do feel maybe a cold coming on. :\ So the challenge was to stamp your own background. I've been itching to use Fruit Stand by Technique Tuesday lately...must just be me longing for some warmer weather. :) So I stamped the strawberries boldly as my background and then subtly with my sentiment. I think it's sweet and those strawberries really look just good enough to eat!

Ok, there's my CAS cards for the month....quick and simple...attacked, right?? :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Pretty Pearly Princess

Please tell me you are guilty of this...impulse buying?? So I'll instantly fall in love with something and have to purchase it that instant. I do that a lot with stamps, ok, and paper and embellishments too, but I'll just focus this conversation on stamps for now! So I bought this super adorable stamp set from Technique Tuesday called My Little Princess, when my little girl was still a baby. I just HAD to have it! I knew she'd love the whole princess thing...who doesn't?! And very recently, my eye caught onto a new set of papers that COMPLETELY matches this set. Yeah, I had no excuse. I had to buy the paper. This means I MUST create something with both of them...no excuses!


See?!?! Perfect harmony of image and papers I tell ya!! Isn't she just as sweet as can be? I thoroughly enjoyed coloring her in with Copics...took my sweet time, princess style! I couldn't leave the card be either...what's a princess without her bling?? :) I used White Pearl Swirls from Want 2 Scrap as a nice delicate accent in the background. Ahhh...perfect for a princess, don't ya think? :)

Enjoy your weekend friends! I'm taking on a big project that was completely inspired by THIS post. More to follow! :)

Monday, February 14, 2011

I love a shabby challenge

Hey everyone and happy Valentine's Day! I hope you all had a wonderful day on this Hallmark holiday, lol! I was sooo happy to finally hand out all of the Valentine creations I've been holding onto and creating for the past couple of months. Whew...a minor de-cluttering there. :)

Every Valentine's brings a special day to our household as our eldest son celebrates a birthday the eve before! Yesterday, we celebrated Harrison's 7th birthday and he spent it exactly the way he wanted...with his closest friends exploring the Texas Inner Space Cavern. It's a pretty large cave system with a great history and story. I think they most enjoyed seeing bats and having a "friendly" bat doing his occasional dive-bomb on us, LOL! Then we got to celebrate at school today with cupcakes with the class...perfect for Valentine's too!

So anyway! The real reason you are here probably... :) A little shabby creation, shall we? The latest challenge over at the Play Date Cafe is to create a project using this inspiration.


I seriously couldn't resist playing along after seeing all of the shabby gorgeousness.

And I was inspired to create this...for someone who recently moved into their new home...for new beginnings...home is where the heart is after all.

I used the recently released set from Taylored Expressions called Cozy Cottages...which is a set whose partial proceeds go directly to the Habitat for Humanity! I went without coloring this time (whoa, I know!) and just stamped to some Snow White cardstock in Tuxedo Black ink and then die cut with the Take Note Die 2. I love layering dies upon dies, so I die cut the accented black patterned paper with the new Frame it Up Die 1 die. Wow, I'm realizing I used a lot of dies here! I also die cut some muslin fabric with the new Banner Day 1 Die and then stamped the border and greeting from the It's a Banner Day 1 stamp set. Whew! There's actually a lot going on here! I grabbed some buttons, a chipboard heart, and Maya Road flower to add some pretty accents. :) The fun glitter is a Martha Stewart tinsel glitter I'm still smitten with from Christmas...I'm not sure I can stop using it any time soon!

Ok, back to the evening grind of tornadic weather in my stamp room as I attempt some submissions. :) Until next time!

Friday, February 11, 2011

A bit of this and that

I realized some time yesterday, in the blur of this week, that I hadn't posted in a while. I gotta admit...things have been a little rough with a wide array of emotions going on. You see, my son attends a Christian private school that we absolutely ADORE! We love everything about it...the people, the teachers, the kids and parents, and we loved the principal. Moreoever, EVERYONE loved her!! Well, last Saturday, February 5th, she passed away suddenly in her sleep. Fifty-six years young...that's all she was when she was taken. It's hit everyone so hard...she literally lived, ate, breathed those kids, and wholeheartedly believed in a good Christian education. Her funeral was today, and so my son and I attended his very first funeral. It was a BEAUTIFUL service. There was literally a sea of people there all converged to celebrate her life. We love and miss you Mrs. Owen, but are comforted to know you are in a much better place.

And really, I don't know of a much better therapy than holing up in my cave and creating. Are you with me at all? :)


This was a card I created for Technique Tuesday using a couple of their sets. My focal image comes from the set In Bloom (which is a part of the Little Treasures collection), and to change things up a little, I stamped the "blooms" on TT's Tile Buttons. I love how the ink sets on the tiles like they are stamped right to paper...just a beautiful vivid and clear image. The sentiment comes from the Thinking of You set. It's simple and quick. Easily mass produced. :)


And another card, but would you believe there's no patterned paper here? I've got a Passion for Polka...and that's actually the name of the set used here. I was inspired from a card that I saw in Paper Crafts Magazine and used that as my inspiration....colors and all! The sentiment also came from the same set I used above, Thinking of You.

And finally, a treat box using Passion for Polka, In Bloom, and a sentiment from the Little Sentiments set. All three projects were pretty quickly put together...GREAT projects for mass-production!

Ok, I'm off to relish every ounce of my family and friends....that message was made abundantly clear today. Enjoy everyone to the fullest my friends!! And thank you so much for your visit. :)

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Want 2 Scrap sponsors the latest JUGs Challenge!

Hey everyone! The title pretty much says it all! I'm making this a quick post as I've got totally fattening snacks brewing for a little Superbowl get-together. :) Here's to hoping I don't gain 10 pounds alone this evening!

Anyway, have you seen the latest and GREATEST release of NESTABLING over at the Want 2 Scrap blog and Facebook page? If you haven't seen it yet, they have created coordinating bling shapes that completely match many of your favorite Spellbinder's Nestabilities dies!!! It's REALLY awesome and I heard was a complete hit at CHA!

So it goes without saying that I had to use some of that bling that coordinates with the Scalloped Hearts die...

See how the bling nestles so perfectly inside the scallops? Pretty cool, huh?! And since Want 2 Scrap is sponsoring the Just us Girls Challenge, you can have a chance to win a $25 gift card to the Want 2 Scrap store to score yourself some Nestabling! All you need to do is make a creation following this sketch and make sure you enter at the JUGs site!!


There's also ANOTHER awesome challenge going on at the Technique Tuesday forum and I combined both challenges in my project. :) All you have to do is create a project using Red or Pink! Easy Schmeazy!! And did you check out what's up for grabs?? Oh my...I wish I could win it myself!! It's one of the new sets that was just released at CHA!!!


I used my beloved Ali Edwards set, Loving Words for my sweet sentiment on my lovey card. I also couldn't resist stamping and embossing the Vintage Lace border across the top to follow with the sketch. :)So what are you waiting for?! There are TWO amazing prizes up for grabs here!!! If you get bored with the Superbowl, just go stamp!! :)

JUGs/Want 2 Scrap challenge HERE
Technique Tuesday challenge HERE

Happy stamping and thanks soooo very much for the visit! :)

Friday, February 4, 2011

Taylored Expressions February Release!


It's release day everyone!!! All of the stamps and accessories that we've been peaking for you this past week are now available for purchase!!! You can see all of today's releases right on the Fresh Out of the Oven tab on the left hand side navigation.

On this last day of sneaks, all of the Baker's Dozen are featuring different sets available for purchase now, so you're definitely going to want to hop around and visit as you just don't know what kind of project you're going to see!

My last card for this week is featuring the lovely whimsical tree from the set, Cozy Cottages. I went with a clean and simple design just to show what a punch the adorable tree can make.

I stamped the tree with Creamy Brown and Olive Pastel Colorbox Chalk ink and added a few little embellished buttons like cute little flowers. :) I also couldn't resist using the new Banner Day 1 set with coordinating die on vellum cardstock for my greeting...I told ya I would be getting some mileage out of that banner set!!! I also added some Starfire glitter all around the edges for a little sparkle. :)

And now for my favorite project for today.... Taylor is getting new AWESOME acrylic frames in the store...and the Baker's Dozen have randomly been featuring all the different styles on their blogs....their projects with them have just been AMAZING!! You should definitely go back and revisit them just to check them out before you shop. :)

So, I used the Brooklyn Large Acrylic Shadowbox Frame to make a cute little name frame for my little princess, Catie.


I used all kinds of embellishments available right in the Taylored Expressions store to sass and sugar up. :)

Everything else came from my stash of hording, LOL! I couldn't resist using all of those things I've been putting off using for that "perfect" project.


And I have to apologize for the poor photo of the entire frame. The acrylic cover really wanted to reflect those lights...even with diffusers on! But yeah...I love it!

So have you enjoyed the release sneaks this week?? I hope you have and I'm certain the rest of the Baker's Dozen + our guest designer, Lea Lawson, have some more wonderful samples to share!

Frame Supplies
Chipboard: Crowns Mini Chipboard, Mixed Scallop Mini Pennant, Hearts Chipboard Set
Trim: Pink Mini Rose Trim, Vintage Crochet Baby Pom Pom
Embellishments: Ruffle Blossoms Red & Cream, Heart Pins Red & Cream, Rose Pearls, Green Hearts Little Whimsies

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek - It's a Banner Day 1

Hey everybody!! Welcome back to Day 3 of sneaks for the big release tomorrow morning!! Today, the entire crew will be sneaking a fun new banner set concepted by a TE friend, Iwona Palamountain! I find myself making little banners COUNTLESS times, so this set couldn't be any more perfect! Here's my sample using it...

Isn't it just perfect?! This new set is called, It's a Banner Day 1 AND it has a coordinating Banner die...Woooooot!! I have a feeling this set is going to get a lot of use in its near future. :)

There are many sentiments included in the set that fit perfectly in the banner and I chose one of the birthday ones. The banners just go with ANY set, so I chose to couple it with last month's release set, New Beginnings. I used the frame from the set and used the coordinating Frame It Up Die 1 to make a large tag. I stamped the flower in London Fog ink and then colored with Copics in BG10 and BG13. Since the blues were a bit bright for my card, I took a W1 Copic and covered my entire flower with it. This is a great way to "warm" up your colors a bit. :)

Alrighty...I'm back to finishing one more BIG project for tomorrow morning and the big release! In the mean time, let's check out what everyone else has to show!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek - Day 2

Hello everyone and welcome to the 2nd day of February sneaks for Taylored Expressions! Today we are featuring TWO stamp sets...one for the shopper you adore (who doesn't know someone that doesn't love to shop?!) and another for the luck 'o the Irish! :)

Remember Tena from a while back? Well she is back and is in full fashion mode! I totally love this image of her because her boots are totally ROCKIN'!!! Love them! Check it...


Love it, yes?!?! This kind of reminds me of myself when I went out on my birthday...flower in my hair and all!! Anyone else notice this trend? :) So I formally introduce to you my sneak for the set Fashionista! I used the lovely Crate Paper Restoration paper for my card and for her paper-pieced dress. I colored the rest of her in Copics and used some flowers from my favorite Pink Mini Rose trim from Maya Road as little accessories.

And for the next set to release, meet project #2!

I went for making a small St. Patty's day treat using some yummy Irish Creme kisses...YUM! I used images from the new Wreath of Luck mini set that features images perfect for the upcoming fun holiday! You'll also notice that the wreath may look somewhat familiar as it follows in the seasonal line of wreaths (with coordinating Seasonal Wreath Die) that was introduced last month! The treat box, buttons, ribbon, sparkle candy dots, and green sparkly fluff were all included in the coordinating Lucky Sampler to help you along on all your St. Patty (or Irish loving) projects!

Ready to see more projects with these two new sets??! Be sure to check out the rest of the Baker's Dozen at the following:

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek - Cozy Cottages


Hello everyone!!! So happy that you are here today for the beginning of sneaks for the February release of stamps and accessories at Taylored Expressions! Just a reminder that everything I will be sneaking for the next few days will be available for purchase beginning Friday, February 4th at 8 AM PST....so sit back, relax, and enjoy the sneaks we have to share with you until then!

Today is a special day of sneaks as all of the Baker's Dozen are sneaking the newest Giving Tree stamp set, which is a special sets who's portion of sales go to various charities. I love that Taylor does this every quarter, and she always chooses such wonderful charities to support each time! This one is certainly no different!

So I sneak for you the latest Giving Tree set... COZY COTTAGES!


I have been in DIRE need of home/neighborhood stamps and I'm sooo happy these came along! The houses are cute and some are even along the fairytale-ish line. :) This special set was illustrated by our own Nancy McKinney to join in her Whimsical Wishes line and I know that we all just adore it!

Another special little surprise here are that there are THREE new dies that coordinate beautifully with this set! Now, I've only used one of the dies on my card (look for a project later this week to incorporate more) :) I'm betting you will be able to guess which one!





Now, for the months of February, March, and April, Taylored Expressions will donate $7 to Habitat for Humanity with the sale of each Cozy Cottage stamp set!!! How awesome is that? Habitat for Humanity, through the help of Churches, community groups, and volunteers, have successfully tackled the issues of poverty housing - having built over 350,000 homes and sheltering over 1.75 million people over 3,000 communities worldwide. They are absolutely amazing and I am positively thrilled that the sales of this set will benefit them!

Those of you who are accustomed to Taylored Expressions sets are already familiar with the pre-cut high quality rubber that the stamps are received as. These Giving Tree sets are still made from high quality, deep etched rubber, however they will need to be trimmed as they come in sheet form.

And there's another special treat for you today that I am excited to share! Remember the Tiny Chefs from last month?? They're baaaaaaaaack!!! :) This month, Taylored Expressions is releasing a special COLORING BOOK filled with the adorable images from the Cozy Cottage set!


Catie was sooooo thrilled to be a spotlighted Tiny Chef of the household this month and couldn't wait to be photographed with her newest coloring book!

She couldn't WAIT to color in it too...mommy was taking too long getting the camera ready (and table cleaned off) as she wanted to color in it the second it was taken from the mailbox!


And, of course, the first page to be colored HAD to be the cupcake house!! Think this girl likes to color much from those collection of crayons? (Yes, that 3 year old keeps them THAT neat and orderly!!!)


And we can't have a photo without the tongue hanging half out. She's going to love seeing this one when she gets older...LOL!!

The coloring book sells for $2.99, and your little Tiny Chef won't be disappointed!

Now, let's check out what the rest of the Baker's + Nancy have to share with you with this set. Can't wait to see as I KNOW they will create something super fabulous!!

Thanks for your visit and hope to see you back here tomorrow for even more peeks!!

Taylor VanBruggen

Charmaine Ikach
Danielle Lounds
Donna Baker
Jackie Pedro
Jodi Collins
Karen Giron
Karen Motz
Nancy McKinney (our wonderful illustrator)
Regina Mangum
Sankari Wegman
Tori Wild

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