Taylored Expressions January Studio Challenge

 

 

It's time for the Baker's Dozen Studio Challenge.  This is a monthly opportunity for us to share what makes our stamping studios hum.  Each month we  have a fun, crafty question so we can share our favorites, some tips and tricks, stamping advice and more.

The question for January is:
Helpin' out a newbie!  It's so exciting when a friend discovers the joys of stamping. But do you remember how overwhelming it was to decide what to get when you were new to the craft?
You have a {hypothetical} friend who started stamping less than a year ago and she is loving it!  She has some Christmas money burning a hole in her pocket, and she has seen your fabulous TE creations, so  she is asking for your advice on what stamping supplies to purchase. So let's hear your sage advice!

Okay, so my friend has $50 from Christmas that she wants to spend on stamping supplies.  My friend is a scrapbooker, so she's pretty familiar with working with paper and embellishments, but using ink and stamps scares her. . .not to mention "creating a card" that would be sent to someone to see!  ;)   (Most of her scrapbook pages go right into the album and not too many people see them unless they visit and ask to see the scrapbooks!)  I've given her a few cards since meeting her and she's always asked "how do you do that?"  So now she's decided to take the plunge and try a little stamping.  She's asked me to pick out her first order!   As much as I wanted to say "oh you need this. . .and this. . .and THIS!", LOL I thought it might be overwhelming. ;)  So, I picked out some simple essentials that I thought she would get a lot of use out of without overwhelming her.  Here's the list:

• Sunny Days Stamp Set with Coordinating Dies  $16.95
• Tea-riffic Stamp Set with Coordinating Dies       $14.95
• Choice Snow White Cardstock                           $  4.50
• London Market Project Pantry                           $11.95
•   TOTAL                                                            $48.35

I specifically chose the petite stamp sets with coordinating dies because I just LOVE the all-inclusive deal.  It's not a random die that my friend would say "what do I use it for?".  It coordinates with the stamp set!  As far as the actual stamp sets, I thought Sunny Days was cute as can be and perfect for everyday cards, and Tea-riffic is perfect as well, but a little more on the elegant side!  :)  Both sets are great for simple cards and I thought that would be important.  If my friend felt like she had to add all these layers to create a nice card, I don't think she'd last very long in stamping.  

A good, thick, white cardstock is a necessity for card bases, in my opinion.  It makes a card feel so much more substantial.  And the Project Pantry??  Well, you know how I LOVE my Key Ingredients Subscription, but I thought that was too overwhelming for my friend right now, so a Project Pantry is the next best thing!!  You get all these coordinating cardstocks, patterned papers and embellishments all in one kit!!

My projects reflect what I would teach my friend to make with her new supplies.  I made just clean and simple no-layer cards with the Sunny Days set.  The rainbows were die cut and colored with markers rather than cutting different colored cardstocks.  Super simple, but super cute!!

With the Tea-riffic set, I created a simple card set using the London Market Project Pantry.  I thought paper piecing was a great technique to show my friend so she didn't feel overwhelmed to color.  Stamping the teacups on different patterned papers, cutting them out and them gluing them on top of the plain stamped die cut image is just like putting a puzzle together!  Plus, she'll have four different combos when she's done!!  And to add that extra something, I added glitter to each teacup die cut.  Nothing like adding a little sparkle to spice up a simple card.  ;)

 

I hope you enjoyed being walked through what I would suggest for my newbie friend!  Now it's time to hop around and see what the rest of the Baker's Dozen chose for their friends!  ;)  Thanks for stopping by!! 

Carole Burrage 

Jen Shults 

Kerri Michaud 

Lynnette Kauffman 

Sankari Wegman 

Shannon White 

Shelly Mercado 

Stephanie Kraft 

Tammie Edgerton 

Taylor VanBruggen 

Wanda Guess