Taylored Expressions Sneak Peeks - Day 1

May Release At a Glance

• We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday.  All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, May 3rd at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store.
• Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL Facebook GIVEAWAY, on Wednesday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.
• Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate.  Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day!  Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please.  Comments for the drawings close Wednesday 5/2 at 7pm PST.

 

It's time to feature some new products that are coming to Taylored Expressions!  Today I am featuring Far Out.   Far Out is a full size set of 21 images/sentiments. It was illustrated by Emily Burger for the Embracing Grace line.  Sets come on a full color panel and store perfectly in our Mini Binder Boxes.  This set is adorable and perfect for so many occasions!  I used the new Sprockets Die Set and Sprockets Border Die on my card.

For my project today, I also used the new Loyal Project Pantry.  Taylored Expressions is offering the Loyal Basic Recipe Kit along with optional Spice It Up Ingredients that you can pick and choose from to build the kit just the way you want it. 

The Loyal Project Pantry Basic Recipe Kit is $13.95 and includes:

Authentique Loyal 6x6 pad of 36 of sheets

12 sheets of coordinating solid cardstock

5 yards of ribbon (1 yard each of 5 different styles) 

Spice It Up Coordinating products will be listed in the store under this item.

To see more of what's being released later this week, please visit the rest of the Baker's Dozen!

Jen Shults

Jodi Collins

Karen Giron

Melissa Sauls

Michele Boyer - Guest Designer

Regina Mangum

Sankari Wegman

Stephanie Kraft

Taylor VanBruggen

Tori Wild

Wanda Guess

Thanks for stopping by today! Please stop back tomorrow for more sneak peeks!

Verve April Diva Dare

The Diva Dare has been going on over at the Verve Blog.  If you've been missing it, you should check out all of the gorgeous projects the Divas have been posting!  As always, there's a chance to win some Verve!  Today is my day to share how I answered the dare.  The theme this month was All Aboard. . .to use chipboard, kraft cardstock or corrugated cardboard on your project. 

For my project, I used Kraft cardstock and some corrugated cardboard. I started by die cutting the corrugated cardboard with the I Heart U Die Set and the Jotted Heart Die. Next I used paint daubers to color them and to "splash" some paint across the card base. After the paint dried, I stamped the polka dot background from Bountiful Backgrounds in black ink.   

I arranged the die cut pieces as well as a scrap piece of scallop border on the card and stamped a piece of a sentiment from Forever In Our Hearts in white craft ink onto the black scallop piece. I stamped and colored the Fringe Flower Plain Jane with Copic markers, cut it out and added it to the card. I added a rhinestone brad to the center of the flower and some jute to finish the card off. 

I hope you've been inspired to play along!  Thanks for stopping by today and have a great day!

All Things Grow With Love

I am currently taking the A Cut Above Class at Online Card Classes and one of the latest die cutting techniques that was shown in class may be a new favorite of mine!!  You know how much I ADORE clean and simple cards. . .especially of the one layer variety!  Well, this partial diecutting technique takes one layer cards to a whole new level!

I used the All AFlutter Plain Jane, All AFlutter Die Set , leaf image from Bloom & Grow, the coordinating Elegant Leaves Die and smaller butterfly image from the Blue Skies set for my card.  The products are all from Verve Stamps.

I started by partially diecutting the butterfly and leaves along where the fold of the card would be.  (I die cut them before folding the card by using a 4.25"x5.5" piece of cardstock as a guide to know where the fold would be).  By partially diecutting them BEFORE folding the card, you won't have fold lines going through those images that "pop" above the card.  After diecutting, I stamped the images.  I added some flowers and colored the butterflies.  One of the little butterflies is popped up with foam tape.  Hard to believe this is a one layer card. . .well, unless you consider the popped up butterfly a second layer.  :) 

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope your week is off to a great start! 

Sweet

Today I have a simple little card that actually used some scraps from my scrap bin.  I often put little cards in the girls' lunches for school.  I decided to use the Lunchbox Note Die from Papertrey Ink to create these adorable little notes that are PERFECT to stick into school lunches!  :)   I used the Signature Series: Cupcake Mini Stamp Set and the Signature Series: Cupcake Die too.   Because the card is little, it's easy to use up scraps that aren't quite big enough for a full size card. 

I die cut a cupcake out of Hibiscus Burst cardstock, stamped the cupcake in white craft ink and added a little button with some hemp tied through it.  I adhered the cupcake to the card with foam tape.  Super simple, and super fast! 

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great day!  SUPPLIES USED:  Stamps- Signature Series: Cupcake Mini Stamp Set (PTI); Ink- Fresh Snow (PTI); Paper- Hibiscus Burst, Hawaiian Shores (PTI); Accessories- Lunchbox Note Die, Signature Series: Cupcake Die, button (PTI), hemp;  Finished card measures 2.75" square

VLV Happy Birthday

Today is Friday and time for another Viva la Verve Sketch!  This week's hostess is Shannan!!  I decided to use the Small Celebrations set from Verve along with some of the Sugar Chic Collection from Heidi Swapp.  I created the arrows on the sketch with the Ribbon Banner Die.  I die cut two banners out of black patterned paper and then I just kept slidingabout 1/4" of the paper outside of the bottom of the die and cutting to end up with the arrows for the sketch.  (hope that made sense!)

I added some pink rhinestones along the frame.  The polka dot ribbon is from Stampin Up and I thought it matched the papers nicely.  As a finishing touch, I added messy stitches to the card.  We hope you'll come play along with this week's sketch! 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Small Celebrations (Verve Stamps); Ink- Onyx Black (Versafine), Ocean Depth (VersaMagic); Paper- Sugar Chic Collection (Heidi Swapp);  Accessories- Ribbon Banner Die (Verve Stamps), Melon Mambo Ribbon (SU), rhinestones (Taylored Expressions), circle and scallop circle punches (Marvy Uchida);  Finished card measures 4.25"x5.5"

Notes

During one of my browsing sessions on Pinterest, I came across this AWESOME teacher gift set by Kim O'Connell.  I fell IN LOVE with it!  What a gorgeous set Kim made!  I stored it on one of my pin boards with the intention of making something like it.  Well, Savannah's teacher's birthday is tomorrow, so this was the perfect time for this project!  I loved Kim's card so much that I CASED it.  I just changed the card base color (to make it more manly) and wanted to use my Edgers #5 Dies from Papertrey Ink to make little "file folder" cards.  I even added the little score lines on the left edge to make them more authentic!  LOL  The set used for this was Teacher's Apple along with the Mat Stack 3 Die. 

I printed out of sheet with my computer generated sentiment and then cut them into strips, matted them with Pure Poppy cardstock and mounted them to the Mat Stack 3 piece that was die cut out of True Black.  I stamped the apples in Pure Poppy, Ripe Avocado and Dark Chocolate onto white cardstock and punched them out with a 1 3/4" circle punch. 

Once I had all the cards made, I started thinking about the packaging.  I decided it would neat to create an "expanding file folder" to hold the file folder notecards.  After trial and error on sizing, I finally created this box.  I used a Goody headband as the elastic to go around the box.  I punched a hole in the center of the lid flap, threaded the headband through and tied it in a knot on the other side.  The sentiment on the box is from the Take Note set.  The cards look like files in the box!  Hopefully Mr. D will like his birthday card set! 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!  SUPPLIES USED:  Stamps- Teacher's Apple, Take Note (PTI); Ink- Onyx Black (Versafine), Pure Poppy, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate (PTI); Paper- Kraft, True Black, Pure Poppy (PTI);  Accessories- Edger's #5 Dies, Mat Stack 3 Die (PTI), 1 3/4" circle punch (SU), corner rounder, headband

Your Friendship

Today I have a card that uses the Rosy Posey set from Taylored Expressions along with the Rosy Posey Dies.  I am currently taking the A Cut Above Class at Online Card Classes and I created this card using one of the diecutting techniques featured in the class. . .created a die cut window on your card.  I created the window using the Jumbo Heart Border Die.  I cut the window across the bottom portion of the card and used acetate for the "window".  The patterned papers are from the Fabulous Collection from Simple Stories and are in the April Key Ingredients Subscription from Taylored Expressions.  I also die cut the patterned papers so that they would mat the window.  I adhered a pink strip of patterned paper on the inside of the card so that it would show through the window.  I decorated that strip with hearts that were cut from the die cut strip. 

I stamped the roses, die cut them and layered them to create my big flower on the front of the card.  For the center, I used one of the little flower embellishments that are included in the April Key Ingredients Subscription.  I stamped a sentiment from the set in the bottom right corner and then added a strip of black cardstock and some Want2Scrap adhesive pearls to the upper right portion of the card. 

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great day! 

Crafty Friends Challenge #2 - Two Die Cuts

Good morning and welcome to Challenge #2 for the Crafty Friends Challenge!  This challenge is hosted by Nina and it is to use two die cuts on your project.  You can find all the details for posting your project on the Crafty Friends Blog.  I decided to use my neglected Polka Dot Frames and the Ribbon Tag Trio 3 set from Spellbinders.  The Ribbon Tag Trio 3 coordinates with the Labels of Love stamp set from Taylored Expressions.  I used the polka dot frame from the set to coordinate with the large polka dots on the die cut frame. 

You can't really see it in the photo, but the little flower that I created uses little flower die cuts from the Polka Dot Frames set and the little pink flower has embossed polka dots on it too.  The papers are from the London Market Project Pantry at Taylored Expressions.  I added some pearls and stitching to finish the card off.  We hope you'll play along with the challenge!  We LOVE to see what you create!  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Sunday!  SUPPLIES USED:  Stamps- Labels of Love (Taylored Expressions); Ink- Malted Mauve (VersaMagic), Walnut Stain Distress Ink (Ranger); Paper - London Market Project Pantry (Taylored Expressions), Bazzill;  Accessories- Polka Dot Frames, Ribbon Tag Trio 3 (Spellbinders), ribbon (TE), pearls (Kaisercraft);  Finished card measures 4.25"x5.5"

Verve New Release Spotlight Hop - Day 3

It's here!  Release Day!  The day you can purchase all of the Verve goodness we've been featuring this week.  :)  Today, my project features the Small Celebrations set and the banner image from Super Dad as well as the Ribbon Banner Die. 

I used papers from the On the Bright Side Collection from My Mind's Eye.  I stamped the frame and then the sentiment inside and trimmed around the frame.  I used the Ribbon Banner Die to create a "blue ribbon" of sorts. :)   Stamping the banner image in white craft ink on the denim patterned paper gave more of a look of denim, I thought. 

Today's winning commenter will win the entire release! Winner will be chosen randomly from the comments on one of the blogs listed below. The prize deadline is Monday April 16 at 6 PM Mountain Time, winners will be announced on the Verve Blog Tuesday April 17.
Please visit the rest of the Verve Divas to see what they've created.  I hope you've enjoyed the peeks this week!  Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY SHOPPING!!

1. Janelle Stollfus

2. Charmaine Ikach (you are here!)
3. Laurie Schmidlin
4. Andrea Ewen
5. Maureen Plut
6. Sankari Wegman
7. Amy Sheffer
8. Tosh Leyendekker
9. Amber Hight
10. Teresa Kline

Verve New Release Spotlight Hop - Day 2

Welcome back for Day 2 of the Spotlight Hops!  Today I am featuring the Super Dad set with the Ribbon Banner Die.  I used papers from the Miss Caroline Dilly Dally Collection from My Mind's Eye.  I love the bright colors in this collection and thought they would work well for a masculine card. 

I created the banner with the new Ribbon Banner Die by diecutting some patterned paper and then stamping the banner image from the set along with the sentiment and stars. 

Please visit the rest of the Verve Diva's to see what they've created for today's Spotlight! 

1. Tosh Leyendekker

2. Teresa Kline
3. Sankari Wegman
4. Maureen Plut
5. Laurie Schmidlin
6. Janelle Stollfus
7. Charmaine Ikach (you are here!)
8. Andrea Ewen
9. Amy Sheffer
10. Amber Hight

Tomorrow is RELEASE DAY!  Hope you'll come back for one more project!  One lucky commenter from each day's hop will win the sets and dies featured that day, so be sure and leave a little love in the Divasphere! Check out the Verve Blog today for all the prize details and deadlines.

Make It Monday - Creating Flowers With Leaf Dies

This week's Make It Monday Challenge at Papertrey Ink is to Create Flowers With Leaf Dies.  In the "details" of challenge, it said "your project must use at least one Papertrey product and must include a die-cut flower made with a non-flower die".  So, even though the title of the challenge was to create a flower with a leaf die, I went with the "fine print" and simply used a non-flower die.  Hopefully, I'm still within the challenge boundaries!  :)  If not, it was fun to create this flower anyway. 

So, what die did I use?  Well, I went way out on a limb (crazy, even) and created this flower using the Mega Halloween Treats and Sweets Die Collection.  I started by diecutting the "spider legs" in True Black cardstock and rolling them to create a "stamen" for the flower.  Next, I die cut the "bat wings" out of Pure Poppy cardstock, curled them and kept wrapping them around the "stamen" until I liked the fullness of the flower.  Last, I die cut the "bat ears" in Ripe Avocado cardstock and attached them to flower as the leaves.  I don't even know if this type of flower exists, but it was fun to make anyway!  :) 

I created the little box using the Favor It Box #2 Die.  I die cut some Kraft cardstock using the Edgers #1 Die Collection and trimmed it to fit the box.  I stamped a sentiment from the Signature Series: Dress Form set onto the Kraft cardstock before adhering to the box.  Last, I tied some ribbon to the handle.  You can see more entries for this week's challenge here.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!  SUPPLIES USED:  Stamps- Signature Series: Dress Form (PTI); Ink- Onyx Black (Versafine); Paper- Harvest Gold, Pure Poppy, Ripe Avocado, True Black , Kraft (PTI);  Accessories- Edgers #1 Die Collection, Mega Halloween Treats and Sweets Die Collection, Favor It Box #2 Die (PTI);