Maya Road Shadow Box

Hey everyone and happy Sunday to you. Hope you are having a nice and lazy day today. :)

I have been wanting to share this for a while...a little something I created, inspired by my sweet little girl...something to hang in her room featuring Maya Road products and the Maya Road Shadow Box.

I packed a lot of goodies I've been hoarding for a while...too many to even write down, LOL! The spoon on the side is a special one. It's been in my husband's family for many many years. I think this particular one is from the early 1900s and these are all Catherine spoons. Spelled in different variations though, but the name is certainly special to the family. My Catie is named after my mother-in-law, another Catherine, and this spoon has the same name engraved on it. If you click on the picture, you can see that it is spelled "Catharine." So interesting the different spellings!


Here's a closeup of the cameo chipboard set. I kind of created a necklace with it from my stash of extra jewelry when I dabbled in that a while back. :)

I love making little zipper flowers and all of the new colors yet to play with!



I created a Catie banner using the Tiny Banner Singleton stamps and the coordinating Tiny Banner Chipboard bits. I totally love that there are the stamps that fit the chipboard perfectly. LOVE that!


And well, I couldn't go without creating a matching card to go with. :)


Hope you enjoyed! Just a sampling of all the yummy things you can create with loads of Maya Road products!

Ok, off to enjoy the rest of the last bit of weekend. I will be back bright and early tomorrow morning for the beginning of the Taylored Expressions release week sneaks!

Thanks for stopping by!

Flying by to say Hi

Hello friends! Happy Hump Day to you. Only 2 more sleeps until Friday!!! :) I can't believe the month of July is almost over. Before I know it, the kids (and I) will be back in school! I'm so very excited. :)

Anyway, I just wanted to post a quick CAS card I put together for the latest CAS challenge on Splitcoast to use tags.


I used Taylored Expressions new fun set In the Clouds, and dummy me, totally forgot to use the coordinating Blimps and Banners die to go with it! My non-die cut banner would have been sooo much cuter with it! Oh well, you won't make the same mistake I did. ;) And before I forget...I TOTALLY Case'd this card from the fabulous Laurie Schmidlin...I was inspired by this card here. I started with Choice Snow White cardstock and cut a wavy pattern from a patterned paper from the Dots and Stripes - Metropolitan collection from Echo Park. I stamped my blimp and coordinating pieces with Memento Tuxedo Black and then, not-so carefully, colored them in with Copics. :) For some fun, I also added Stardust Stickles...my absolutely FAVORITE glitter medium to the darker shadows.

Alrighty, back to the daily summer grind here. It has pretty much entailed swimming pools every single day because it's so dang hot here! I guess the plus is that we all have a nice tan, LOL!

Have a great rest of the week and thank you so much for stopping by!

TESC 143 - One in a Melon

Happy Friday everyone! It's my absolute favorite day of the week, and it's even more fun when it's a sketch challenge day. Here is our inspiration for the week...


I love this sketch! It has so many possibilities, yet I went pretty clean and simple with my card today. Check it..


I wanted something fun and summery...and let me tell you, it has been SWELTERING here. I swear, I think we have had 2 consecutive months of non-stop 100 degree weather here. Nothing like sitting on the front porch snacking on some ice cold watermelon though. :) I grabbed my Technique Tuesday stamp set, Fruit Stand and made this little number. Clean and simple for sure! Now I'm ready to get my Friday officially started, so let's check out what the rest of the crew has created for you!

• Dawn Easton
• Jami Sibley
• Lisa Hjulberg
• Lori Craig
• Taylor Van Bruggen
  
• Monika Davis
• Rachel Sztonyk
• Tracy Clemente

Don't forget, all the details regarding the challenge can be found in one of two places...Taylor's Blog or the TE Splitcoast forum. Hope to see you play along and thank you soooo very much for your visit!

While the cat's away....

Are you feeling left out of seeing all the new goodies at the CHA in Chicago this week? I know I certainly am! Well, while Taylor is out there relishing all the new papercrafting goodies and enjoying some additional TE sales of her own, the rest of the team left behind has decided to have a little fun...and you're included!! Because...

We are throwing our own little party and you are invited to play with us! Each of us have perused the Taylored Expressions store and picked out our favorite product for you to purchase at 20% off!! Remember, we can only do this while Taylor is away at CHA *giggle.* So this means you have until Sunday to get your order in! I'm so excited to have a little fun of my own. ;)
So the items that I chose from the store that are my favorite are:

Melissa Frances Kitschy Kitchen Homemade, Retro, and Tag Collection

I chose these because I absolutely love the vintage and whimsical look of these! I've been wanting to create my own recipe book for a while and I just love the funny sayings and adorable images included here. I quickly made the cover to my album using all three of the items on sale!


I also used the What's Cookin' stamp set with my project because it goes sooo cute with the stickers! Of course, I had to use the matching Apron and Pocket die to go with it. ;)

Ahhh, I am in love with my recipe book already!! I can't wait to dive into the individual recipe pages and add even more character with my stickers! And, of course, my cover is adorned with plenty of Maya Road trims, flowers, and chipboard. Oh! But wait...remember this stand??

That is the Frame Your Imagination Vertical Stand and I had used it for a previous project and it worked perfectly for this as well!

So I hope you enjoy my picks and will take advantage of the limited time sale! There are plenty more to choose from though...

Wanda's Pick: Crafty Cuppie
Jodi's Pick: Sweet Celebration
Karen M.'s Pick: Wings of Joy
Tori's Pick: Sprinkled with Love
Jami's Pick: Picket Fence Border Die
Regina's Pick: 1/16" foam tape & 1/8" foam tape
Charmaine's Pick: Take Note Die 3

There's more fun in store though...

• Purchase any 4 full-size stamp sets (including those on sale listed above) and receive a FREE Mini Binder Box!! (Do not add the Binder Box to your cart, it will automatically be included in your package upon shipment.
  
• The first 10 orders each day beginning at 8 AM PST will receive a free A la Carte stamp set of our choice.
• All orders placed Thursday through Sunday will be entered into a random drawing to win a CHA prize package which includes two exclusive stamp sets never available for sale. This prize package is valued at over $100! The winner will be announced on Taylor's blog on Tuesday.

All of the above offers are valid Thursday July 21st at 8 AM PST through Sunday July 24th and 10 PM PST.

Important Shipping Notes

• Shipping at Taylored Expressions is suspended from Monday July 18th through Monday July 25th while the TE Crew is away at CHA. Shipping will resume on Tuesday July 26th.
• Remember that shipping is always FREE on all orders over $75 within the United States!

Have fun shopping and good luck in that AWESOME contest!!

First Maya Road blog post!

Hey everyone!! I just wanted to give a head's up that I have my very first post up over at the Maya Road DT blog....I hope you will hop on over there and take a look! You will see quite a few of the new release items they are debuting at CHA this very moment!


You can see my full project over there as well as links to all of the supplies that I used. :) ALSO! Be sure and check out the Maya Road Company Blog! There is a contest for each sneak peek post with prizes up for grabs and all you need do is leave a comment! Hurry as there are only a few days left before the contest closes. Thank me later for the enabling! ;)

Also, I'd love to know what you think of all the latest releases they are putting out...what is your absolute fave??

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Happy Bird Day

Hello everyone!! Sorry for my disappearance as of late. Trust me, I have been diligently crafting some samples that will be on display at CHA. I'm really excited about them, and can't wait to share!! In the mean time though, I played along in the latest Sketch Challenge over at Splitcoast and made this...



I pulled out one of my favorite newest sets from Taylored Expressions, Birds of a Feather. I just love that there are sooo many different birdcages to choose from. I also adore the branch that is included in the set...perfect for hanging, and you can see that I used the coordinating Birds and Branch die. To add a bit more dimension to my card, I grabbed a birdie from the Maya Road Loves Notes Chipboard Set. I actually followed the sketch pretty closely and am darn impressed with myself!! :) Now I would be exponentially more impressed if I actually sent this card! I'm finding that my stash is overwhelming my desk and I can't see DESK anymore, lol! If you ever spot something you love, they are all for sell! :)

Ok, I'm off to continue a wonderful weekend with the family. Hope you have a wonderful one as well!!

TESC 142 - Thanks for Everything

Greetings everyone!! Wow! I feel like I haven't been on Blogger for weeks...and that is actually the truth! I've been on a loooong family vacation the past two weeks (and all of my TE release posts were pre-scheduled before I left) and I'm so happy to be home and back to crafting. I hope to share some photos of our 2 week long trek to Virginia Beach and then off to Washington DC later. :)

But you are here to see the latest Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge! Here is the lovely sketch for you, designed by sketch team member, Lori Craig!


Isn't it a fun one?! Since I'd been gone from stamping almost 3 weeks, it took me a while to get my mojo back...this card actually took me an entire day to put together, LOL! I'm pretty happy with it though. :)

Ahhh...soo delicate and pretty....just the way I adore them. I reached for my Technique Tuesday stamps for this card, and actually used THREE sets here. I stamped my banners in various colored inks using the Message in a Banner stamp set. I then took one of the hearts from their fabulous chipboard collection in Tile Toppers Classic and stamped that with Damask to form a pretty pattern on it...stamps just look so beautiful on all of the chipboards...very crisp and clean! And finally I used the sentiment from the new set Swanky Sentiments....a perfect card and sentiment to send to my Aunt and Uncle in Virginia, who so graciously hosted us for 3 days. We are missing them already!

As always, there is a PRIZE up for grabs if you would like to play along...and we'd love for you to play along, of course! And a little bonus if you use TE stamps! ;) You can view all of the details of Sketch Challenge 142 right on the Taylored Expressions Splitcoast forum HERE!

Now I hope you can hop around and see what the rest of the team has to share with you, along with our guest, Cindy!

• Dawn Easton
• Jami Sibley
• Melissa Sauls
• Monika Davis
• Rachel Sztonyk
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tracy Clemente
• Guest Designers: Cindy

Thanks so much for your visit! I am busy busy busy creating for the summer CHA show. I'm surprised I can actually type this with all the paint, glue, and glitter permanently affixed to my fingers! :) Can't wait to share soon ;)

Taylored Expressions July Release - Time to Dig In!!

Release Day!

• All of the new products are now available for purchase! Check out the Fresh Out of the Oven category and Taylor's Blog for all the deets!
• More projects from the Baker's Dozen to inspire you. Just follow the link list below.
• Did you win one of the Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaways? Find the list of winners on Taylor's Blog
• Another chance to win... head on over to our forum and tell us your favorite stamp set from this release. We'll be choosing one person to win their favorite set FREE! You have until Saturday July 2nd at 6 pm PST to enter to win.

Yay!!! My favorite day of the week AND release day for Taylored Expressions new stamps and accessories...can't get too much better than that! Just take your computer to the pool and cool off while placing your order. :) Haha!!!

Well I have one last project to share with you...I haven't done a clean and simple yet...here goes!


Ok...I think this actually might be my favorite card from this release! I used Birds of a Feather along with the Birds and Branch Die set. A very simple single layer card here with simple stamping and nothing fancy! Unless you call die-cutting fancy. :) I started with a piece of Choice Buttercream cardstock as the card and stamped one of the many birdcages repeatedly all over the card in Creamy Brown Colorbox Chalk ink. I then stamped two of the different birds on a piece of scrap cardstock in Yellow Ochre Colorbox Chalk ink and added a little distressing on their bellies. :) I stamped the Thinking of You sentiment with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and positioned the birdies such that they were sitting there perched, separate, but thinking of each other. Sweet right?!?!?! I love it!!! Ok, I hope you have enjoyed all that you are seeing...but there is plenty more to see! Please have a look at what everyone else has to inspire you with!

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Karen Motz
• Melissa Sauls
• Melody Rupple
  
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• Wanda Guess
• Nancy McKinney
• Amber Hight - Guest Designer

Thanks so much for your visit and happy shopping!!