GKD Preview Day 2: Pressed Flowers and Oh Baby!

Today we are showing Melanie’s new Pressed Flowers stamp set, which was designed to be a perfect companion to her very popular set A Year of Flowers! It is also a great  stand alone set as each bold stamp image lends itself to many techniques as you will see on each designer's blogs tonight!   On my card, I used them in conjunction to create a two-step look with the bold black outline.  For more emphasis on the blue flowers, I outlined them with a black sakura glaze pen.  I finally got some of the vivid ink pads and I love them!!  On this card I used aqua which coordinates with the Ocean Mist cardstock and Tea Rose which coordinates with Innocent Pink cardstock.  I used a few buttons from new button collection in the top corner and my favorite gold lined black organdy ribbon!!

The next preview up is Rupa’s Oh Baby!  It is a sweet collection of baby stamps, wait until you see it all!  Fr my gate fold card, I used the pull ducks image on Labels 7 Nestability as well as one of the new cardstock colors, Lemon Drop which is a brilliant yellow that looks nice with Green Apple on my card.  I grabbed some Cosmo Cricket Ducks in a Row paper which is super fun with this set and coordinates nicely with a lot of Gina K’s pure luxury cardstock too! 

Be sure to start with the Illustrator's blog Melanie Muenchinger and then visit these designer's blogs for even more samples with these stamp sets as well!  You’re sure to be wowed!!

Gina Krupsky
Jessica Fick *
Theresa Momber
Nina Brackett
Carolyn King
Cathy Tidwell
Lee Murphy
Lynn Mercurio
Kurtis Amundson
Emily Giovanni
Erika Martin
Bev Gerard
Suzanne Dean *

* also previewing the new Card Kit Stamp set: Spring Florals

GKD Preview Day 1: Hope is Faith and Hang in There

I’m excited to bring you, along with the Gina K. Designs team, samples using our wonderful new sets for February! 

First up is our Hope is Faith mini stamp set which will retail for $9.95. It was illustrated by Gina K. and created to raise money for the Red Cross to help with the devastation in Haiti. $2.00 of every purchase of this stamp set will be sent directly to the Red Cross throughout the month of February. As the first responders to disasters around the world, the Red Cross is there to help with the basic needs of these people who have suffered so much. By purchasing this mini set, you will help to make a difference to people who are desperate by supporting an organization that works tirelessly to feed, clothe, comfort and care for those in need.

My card base is the gorgeous tan leather, and I paired it with Chocolate Kiss and Innocent Pink, isn’t it a beautiful combination?  I placed some copper nail heads on the butterfly’s body and the sentiment tag. I also colored in some glitter pen accents on the butterfly for sparkle.   I also placed some beautiful digital papers designed by Theresa on the inside of the card (picture below).  These will be available for purchase on Thursday.

Next up is Hang in There, illustrated by Theresa Momber.  It’s a fun collection of realistic animals ‘hanging around’.  As you can see on my card, it has a possum hanging on a branch.  Although they are interesting looking creatures, I can’t help but think this little guy is cute!  I added some nautical netting and jute twine as well as some neutral buttons for a fun card to encourage someone to hang in there which I stamped on the inside. 

Be sure to hop around the following blogs for more inspiration:

Hope is Faith Illustrator: Gina Krupksy
Hang in There Illustrator: Theresa Momber (Wings of Hope Digital Paper designer)

Jessica Fick
Melanie Muenchinger
Nina Brackett
Carolyn King
Tami Mayberry
Asela Hopkins
Cathy Tidwell
Lee Murphy
Lynn Mercurio
Kurtis Amundson
Emily Giovanni
Erika Martin
Bev Gerard
Colleen Schaan
Suzanne Dean
Valerie Stangle

Diet Starts Tomorrow – Raising the Bar

I squeezed in a little time this morning to play in the SCS Featured Stamper today, FS157: Raising the Bar.  We are to find a card in Barbara Anders’ (Bar) gallery and I chose this one she uploaded just a few days ago! 

I thought it would be perfect to use my new Bakery Business gal just released a few days ago by Taylored Expressions!  This card has a ton of layers, which is not usually my forte but I sure like how the card turned out!  I used some Basic Grey Ooh La La paper and prism cardstock Intense Kiwi and Rose Medium.

Here is a close up of the sparkle and detail on my image.  I used Copics to color and added some copic atyou spica glitter pens on the cupcakes and her headband.  I also added some bling (pink rhinestone) jewelry to her and look how fun her outfit and apron are (I paper-pieced them with the papers I used on the card – it’s a fun way to get out of coloring line art images!)   Have you checked out all the new stuff TE is offering?  Better see if there’s something you have to have in your stamping arsenal!! 

I better get to studying, I have a test on Monday, Feb 15th and I want to get some in before the SuperBowl starts! 

TE Release Day: More Stamps A la Carte!!

Today is the big day!  All the new offerings; 3 full size stamp sets, 8 stamps A la Carte and a fun Bakery Sampler is available for purchase at Taylored Expressions! 
My first card using the kissing fish in their bowl was made using the Cosmo Cricket Snorkel Collection and colored with prismacolor pencils.  I made a matching sculpey clay creation and put magnets on the back to give to John who loves fish tanks!  I figured he could put it on his filing cabinet at work. We’ve had several nice ones!  They are soothing and fun to watch, except for when the fish die. That’s not fun.

My next card showcases the cute elephants showering each other with love.  The first thing I thought of was my Basic Grey Marrakech papers because and I love how this card turned out, inspired by beautiful Bakers Dozen design team member, Sankari Wegman with its rich colors and bling!  

Here is a close up of the smooch: pumpkin and pool.  The bling I have on here is another product I picked up at CHA.  There was all sorts of goodies there! 

I’m sure you are chomping at the bit to shop, huh?  Well before you go - be sure to check out all the other awesome creations the gals have to share with you today and then have fun shopping!
Charmaine Ikach
Dawn Easton
Jackie Pedro
Jami Sibley
Jodi Collins
Karen Giron
Karen Motz
Laurie Schmidlin
Melissa Sauls
Sankari Wegman
Taylor Van Bruggen
and our guest designer Jeanie Witmer!!

TE sneak peek day 2: Stamps A la Carte!

Today the Baker's Dozen will be showing you another exciting development at Taylored Expressions - Stamps A la Carte! TE will now be offering you a single serving of sweetness in the same top quality deeply etched pink rubber you love! For February we have 8 irresistible Whimsical Wishes Animals in Love! There is also a coordinating larger set of sentiments to purchase, Animals in Love Sentiments that I am using on my cards and will be great to use with your other TE stamps too-used for Valentine’s & of course any LOVE card you want to send any time of the year!  For my snake card (since I know most of the general population does not like snakes like I do), I tried to make my card real feminine & sweet on my card!  I used some Basic Grey Ooh La La paper I picked up at CHA which has punched out elements I used on the card as well.  This is SCS’ sketch SCS265 from last week. 

My next card is made using the smooching pooches in their dog house, which I made using the woodgrain technique.  I used paper from The Paper Loft (Back Country collection) – you should have seen Jodi, Karen M and I frantically trying to get in some shopping and make & takes when we had one hour of free time after working in the TE booth all day on Friday!  It was a lot of fun, and we adored finding great masculine papers!  For a closer look at the smooching pups, click on the picture. I put sparkly collars on them with bling tags!
Now go check out all the other fantastic creations I’m SURE the gals have to share with you today:
Alex Maldonado
Charmaine Ikach
Dawn Easton
Jackie Pedro
Jodi Collins
Karen Giron
Karen Motz
Laurie Schmidlin
Melissa Sauls
Sankari Wegman
Taylor Van Bruggen
Tomorrow we will have more Animals in Love to share with you and everything will be available for purchase at the TE store at 10:00 a.m. CST!!

TE Sneak Peek Day 1: Bakery Business and Window Shopping

The Baker’s Dozen Design Team has something EXTRA exciting to share with you today - a whole new line of rubber stamps called Apple Doodle Ink! We are launching this FUN new line with two stamp sets designed to coordinate perfectly together; Window Shopping and Bakery Business. Taylor is working with a new illustrator on this line and I'm loving the whimsical/cartoon-like quality style!
The first card combines both sets for a fun and sweet store front shopping experience!  I love the sentiment, “I’ve never met a cupcake I didn’t like” and I concur** with that!  I used January key ingredients for both of these cards, with papers from Basic Grey’s Nook & Pantry line!  In the front of this card, I used acetate for it to really be a window!

On my second card, I just used images in the Bakery Business set which can stand alone or be paired with the fun window shopping set!  I started to use the fall-to-layout sketch 76 but I flubbed with the sentiment and didn’t leave enough room for my four-square of images.  So, I improvised and still love how the card turned out!  No accidents with stamping – I love this craft!!  It leaves a LOT of room for creativity to be at work!  I put a few red rhinestones in between the inchies for more color.
 **Speaking of never meeting a cupcake I didn’t like…here is a fun picture of Jodi ( left), me and Karen (right) showing off our Cricut Cake cupcakes we made at CHA!  We got a REAL cupcake (vanilla, so not my favorite cupcake but it was delicious even the NEXT DAY when I finally ate it) We had so much fun! I love these gals and miss ‘em already! 
Be sure to check out what the Baker’s Dozen (BD) gals have to share with you and be sure to check back tomorrow for more sweet creations!!
Alex Maldonado
Charmaine Ikach
Dawn Easton
Jackie Pedro
Jodi Collins
Karen Giron
Karen Motz
Laurie Schmidlin
Melissa Sauls
Sankari Wegman
Taylor Van Bruggen

Missing Chica

I was finally emotionally ready to ink up the kitty image in Theresa’s new set for Gina K. Designs Purrr-fectly Delightful.  After having to put our sweet Chica to sleep last month the week before Christmas, made this set bitter sweet for me.  When I was finally ready to stamp with it, I made a thank you card to give to our vet who took care of her for the past 2 1/2 years.  I used Cosmo Cricket nutmeg paper and pure luxury cardstock in Green Apple, Chocolate Kiss and layering weight ivory.  I finished off my card with a handmade crochet flower. 

Here are the thoughtful cards and gifts we received in the weeks to follow from our vet.  Everyone in the office signed the card on the left and as if that wasn’t enough, they sent us this wall plaque with Chica’s paw prints, how special is that?  I cried almost as much as I did the day we made that really hard decision, mostly from the grief I still had, but also out of gratitude for this wonderful memento of our sweet Chica who we had for 9 years, and was part of our family.  The picture of her on the right is one I enclosed in the card to them.  They have albums in their office of cards they’ve received from other customers so I’m sure mine will be placed in there too, along with her photo.  We are so blessed to have been able to take her back with us and took her out to our property to bury her after – I am sad she won’t be able to live in our next house, I know she would have loved it.  But at least she will be with us in spirit and memories. 

Here is a card I received from Beth Scott who read about Chica on StampTV.  Isn’t that so sweet of her?  She has animals herself, so she completely understands how deeply sad I was over Chica and wanted to let me know she was thinking of me.  She also has had to make the difficult decision we did.  I am so grateful.  Thank you, Beth if you’re reading my blog! 

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Cute as a Cupcake!

 My gosh – isn’t she?  I totally love this picture of my niece Gabby taken on my visit last October.  She likes to pick out the clothes she wants to wear every day.  This is what she picked out and it totally matched the cute little scrunchies I made her!  I had to share this picture with you since it’s been a while I’ve doted on her. 

 

 

Please go visit the SASI blog today to see a special gift I made for her using pictures from our May trip last year!  To the right is a snippet of it – don’t miss out on seeing the whole creation!

Have a Beary Speedy Recovery

Isn’t this bear the cutest?  He is a new set not even released yet by The Cat’s Pajamas called “A Beary Good Year” that has accessories for all the year’s holidays and more that I picked up at CHA last weekend.  I made this card for myself, mustering up the energy to stamp a little last night while I’m still recovering from the flu that’s kicked my butt since Weds. evening!  This was me Friday night with the cold compress on my head and a thermometer in my mouth about every 15 mins!

I used TCPTuesday94 sketch and have also emailed my entry to name this bear to win the whole year’s release!  How fun would that be?!?  I just love Ana Wohlfahrt who is on the TCP’s design team, and am always inspired by her clean, fun & fresh designs incorporating the perfect mix of pattern paper & embellishments to make her creations shine!

You have until Feb 8th to get in the name that bear contest! 

Shabby Cupcakes inspired by Laurie

One of my favorite stampers out there is fellow Baker’s Dozen design team member, Laurie Schmidlin.  Her creations are the perfect mix of shabby elegance that I love!  I was inspired by this card of hers to turn it into a cupcake birthday card using the January key ingredients by Taylored Expressions.  I used the new Sprinkled with Love set and covered my cupcakes with liquid pearl ‘frosting’ in petal pink and lemon yellow and cherries with ruby red.  I added some machine stitching and sponged the edges, added some ribbons & buttons from the kit and I was done.  See the green stems on the cherries?  They are made with colored wire I had in my stash – I like the fun look it adds to the cherries.

Be sure to read about the changes with the key ingredients Taylor posted on her blog, unfortunately you are not able to purchase this key ingredients kit separately anymore, but you can sign up for a subscription (3 or 6-month) and get these delivered directly to your door each month in addition to other benefits!

Hope you have a great weekend! 

Simple Valentine card & treat

Here is a VERY simple Valentine card & treat I made using Happy Hearts by Tami Mayberry for Gina K. Designs!  I used Basic Grey lemonade papers, romance ribbon assortment and a small pillow box to put a few york peppermint patties inside!  The cardstock I used for the project is Innocent Pink and base weight white. 

My posts have been so erratic lately; I’m sure I will get back into some sort of posting routine since getting back to school but Weds. night and Thursday morning I was sick (woke up with a fever!) and have an annoying dry cough.  I am looking forward to the weekend to say the least!  Mentally, this week has been exhausting learning a new job at work and learning about the inner workings of the body in my anatomy/physiology class.  Now it’s been physically exhausting with being sick too!

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Mojo Monday – Heart’s Desire & a pic from CHA

It’s been **forever** since I’ve stamped at my desk!  I had to play along with the Mojo Monday {MOJO123}challenge this evening and managed to make this card as soon as I got home from school while John got dinner on the table!  I used my new Verve set Heart’s Desire I won at the last release!  I kept my card super simple since I was short on time but I like it!  I used Gina K. cardstock (Lipstick Red, Innocent Pink, Black Onyx, white) and Basic Grey Sugar Rush and Romance collection buttons.

Here is a close up of the shimmer from glitter pens on the heart and arrow. **It’s so great to stamp again – the most I did the past week was at CHA on Sat. morning -  I managed to do 3 make ‘n takes!

Here is a picture taken on Friday morning by the SCS booth before the madness started.  I’m with the Baker’s Dozen gals from left to right Karen G., Dawn Easton, Karen M., Jodi and Jami Sibley).  We had so much fun!  More gals arrived after the picture was taken Jackie and Sankari but we didn’t get any pictures with the WHOLE group that attended :-(   It was a LOT of work but more FUN than anything!  I loved meeting the gals and hanging out!  It was WAY more FUN than any SU! event I attended, in fact!  I wish I could have stayed longer but I had to go to work today and had school this evening.  Sigh…I plan to lift more pics when others share them.  I didn’t take a camera but I took a few pictures with my cell phone, just not much – it was way too busy! 

Bursting With Love for TE

I’m headed to CHA today to meet up with Taylor & nearly all of the design team!  I am so excited – ready to meet them all, work in the TE booth and have some
F-U-N!   Lord knows I need the little break – working full-time and with school starting back up this week – it’s the calm before the storm-ha!  Here is a card that made it from clean & simple to  SHABBY chic I made a while ago for the Fall-to-layout 69 sketch!  I used the TE set Love Everywhere heart cluster and sentiment.  I heat embossed the hearts and sponged red brick distress ink.  I also distressed the edges and sewed with brown thread.  Surprisingly, the card really didn’t take that long to make! 

Hope you stop by the TE booth if you are attending, if not – I’m sure you will see plenty of updates all over the internet, especially on FB (click for a link to my profile if you’d like to add me as a friend).  I don’t plan on bringing a camera since I still haven’t been able to locate it.  But, I will be bringing my phone and can upload some pictures that way.  I may not publish any posts while I’m gone - check back with me next week! 

Vase of pretty flowers

Here is a card I made using Theresa’s new set for GKD called Purrr-fectly Delightful.  What do flowers have to do with that set name?  Well, the main images are cat related (which I love), but when the release rolled around, I hadn’t gotten the chance to work with the cat images since I was still grieving over putting our cat to sleep on Dec. 18th.  I’m sure I will have something to share using them soon, since I love cats and we still have our precious Elsie (who happens to be sitting right next to me as I type this post and she has per paw touching my thigh – so cute).  So, I made this card with her pretty vase of flowers and it happened to be my favorite card I made for the previews!  I just adore the new pink pure luxury cardstock colors!  On here, I used Passionate Pink with Green Apple and Black Onyx which coordinates wonderfully with this Basic Grey Sultry paper!  If you look closely at the center of the flowers, you’ll see some crystal lacquer with some small black beads from my jewelry making supplies and created some fun dimension.  The card was finished with some mini black brads in the corners and gold-lined black organdy ribbon. 

If you’re interested in seeing more inspiration using this set, check out the STV inspiration gallery.

You Lift Me Up!

I’ve been hearing from a lot of stampers this is their favorite Cuppie set so far and that makes me smile!  Why you ask?  Because the concept for Cuppie Love Scenes was mine and John’s!  I just adore this image of the cuppies taking a romantic hot air balloon ride!  I kept my card super simple to keep the focus on the cuppies and just used prism cardstock (med. suede brown, frosted and intense teal) a Basic Grey urban prairie button.  I added some star dust stickles accents to the clouds and hot air balloon.  For a close-up look, click on the photo! 

I want to say a special thank you to all those who’ve lifted me up over this past week; whether you realized I needed it or not it helped!  My temporary assignment where I’ve been working the past 6 weeks was ending yesterday and there was an A/P position available in the dept so I applied for it.  They did not extend me a formal offer, but extended my contract with the temp. agency for 2-3 more months!  That is great!!  I also won some Verve stamps and found out at the release last night!  I’m so excited!