A Little of This, A Little of That…

Posted by Jen | Ellie, Family, cards, random ramblings, taylored expressions | Wednesday, March 10, 2010

This post is just going to be filled with this, that and the other thing…and some stamping, of course.

First, here is my class schedule at Scrapper’s Boutique
March 30 6:30 pm- Copic II
April 3 Time TBA- Copic Refresher
April 6 6:30 pm- Copic III
May 4 6:30 pm- Copic I
May 15 10:30 am- Cardmaking 101
May 15 2:30 pm- Stamping 101

Yesterday I showed you a scrap page that I made of Ellie and her/Tony’s chocolate shake. I took a picture of my Thin Mint shake, too. I just like how the pictures came out, so I thought that I would go ahead and share them here.

Mmm, Thin Mint…
milkshake_full

All gone…
milkshake_empty

Here are a few Ellie enjoying a bite. So cute!
emilkshake1

emilkshake2

emilkshake3

Finally, I have a card to share. When I saw this image from Taylored Expressions I fell in love. I just think the 2 elephants and hearts are so cute together. The sentiment is a mounted rubber stamp from Hampton Arts that I have had in my stash for quite some time. I used more of the My Mind’s Eye Quite Contrary line…some of my all time favorite paper!

allyouneedislove_elephants

Off to do some work around the house and hopefully get some stamping done!

2009 In Retrospect…

I actually have a bunch of new stuff to show you, but I can’t…yet! I’ll be pre-posting a bunch of stuff in the next few days for the next couple of weeks. Of course, I will be popping in with some new baby posts, too! I’ve seen a couple people do this and I kinda like the idea of taking a look back at the year just past and “reviewing” cards/projects done. I’ve chosen a favorite card or project for each month. I’m not even sure that “favorite” is the best word to use here because I view each of the company’s stamps differently, but anyways, here it goes {BTW…I’ve linked each of the original posts and be sure to click on the pics for a larger view, too}…

January 2009
jan2009

February 2009
feb2009

March 2009
march2009

April 2009
apr2009_1

May 2009
may2009

June 2009
june2009

July 2009
july2009

August 2009
aug2009

September 2009
sept2009

October 2009
oct2009

November 2009
nov2009

December 2009
dec2009

eeek…that was harder than I thought it would be!! I wanted to pick 2 or 3 for each month!!

Taylored Expressions Blog Hop…

Posted by Jen | Holidays, Slice, blog hopping, product finds, projects, taylored expressions | Friday, November 27, 2009

Did you gobble ’til you wobbled? How many naps snuck in there after devouring your turkey feast? Well, I hope you had a good one! Since I am pre-posting this, I can’t tell ya how everything went on Turkey day yet. I hope to have stories and pics to share soon!

So, maybe you gobbled, then you wobbled, but now you are HOPPING! Yep, you are right smack in the middle of the Taylored Expressions Black Friday Blog Hop, so if you happened upon here on accident, you might just want to rewind and start at the beginning {there’s a full list of participants below}.

Taylor has challenged all of us to embellish the Perfect Pacakage box {which also comes in a square shape!}. So I opened it up {folds completely flat} and stared at it. Hmmm…what do I want to do with this? Yes, it fit standard cards perfectly. Hence the name, Perfect Package. However, I wasn’t putting cards in there. I ended up putting a scarf that I am giving to my secret sister in there, so I wanted to give it more of a gift box/wrapped feel and this is what I came up with…

te_box1

Detail shots…
te_box2

te_box3

I don’t know that this is my “traditional” style, but I gotta say that I am pretty darn happy the way that it came out! The green numbered paper is from Making Memories and the numbered note card is from October Afternoon. I added a Nestabilities die cut scalloped circle to be the base of the “4u,” which was cut from the Think Pink Slice design card. I LOVE the new design cards that have the matting/shadow feature.

So what are your shopping plans? Mine?…none! Well, at least I am not going out anywhere, but that’s not to say that I’m not making Tony brave the crowds. He’s 6′7″ and people generally don’t push him around. You would think that people would get out of the way for a beached whale…giant pregnant lady, like myself, but NOPE! Between all the hormones and general uncomfortableness, I am likely to say something that’s not so nice should someone cross my path! LOL!

If your plans include online shopping, don’t forget to check out the BLACK FRIDAY DEALS at TAYLORED EXPRESSIONS!!…
–> 15% off everything in the store {use code TEBlackFriday at checkout}
–> up to 50% on JustRite products
–> Buy 2, get 1 free Taylor’s Tiny Twinkles
–> Don’t forget to check out the new shirts and aprons, too {so cute!!!!…and if I wasn’t the size of a beached whale, I would totally be checking out with one of the brown sleeved shirts!!}

Here’s the hop list. Have fun hopping along to JEN TAPLER’S BLOG! See you tomorrow for another SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY {this one will get ya thinking, too!!}

Alex Maldonado: http://fairyblossoms.typepad.com/
Amy Rohl: http://inkaboutme.blogspot.com/
Beate Johns: http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Bev Gerard: http://savorthejourney.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Charmaine Ikach: http://oodabugalley.blogspot.com/
Cindy Haffner: http://cindyhaffnerscorner.blogspot.com/
Debbie Olson: http://debbiedesigns.typepad.com/
Donna Baker: http://www.serenityinstamping.com/
Jami Sibley: http://jami.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
–> YOU ARE HERE Jen del Muro: http://iheart2stamp.com/
–> GO HERE NEXT Jen Tapler: http://jentapler.blogspot.com/

Jenn Balcer: http://jbalcer.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Jennifer Buck: http://thebuckstampshere.blogspot.com/
Jessica Diedrich: http://thewhimsicalbutterfly.blogspot.com/
Joan Ervin: http://stampingwithapassion.blogspot.com/
Joanne Basile: http://www.stampedbyhand.blogspot.com/
Linda Duke: http://www.lindaduke.typepad.com/
Lori Craig: http://loricraig.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Rose Anne Reynolds: http://paperdelightz.blogspot.com/
Sankari Wegman: http://sunnysankari.blogspot.com/
Sharon Harnist: http://paperfections.typepad.com/
Sherry Cheever: http://sherrycheever.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Taylor VanBruggen: http://www.tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com/

August Key Ingredients Sub Kit…

Posted by Jen | cards, taylored expressions | Thursday, August 20, 2009

It’s the 20th of the month and that means that the new Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Kit is now available. There is now new options regarding ordering this kit…

Taylored Expressions is offering both of these on a monthly charge basis rather than having to pay it all up front. So now you can craft on a budget with fabulously coordinated supplies! How cool is that? Sign up for the subscription service to receive the Key Ingredients kits released the 20th of each month for just $15.95 a month plus shipping for the 3 month subscription. Or for the best value, you can purchase the 6 month subscription for just $14.95 a month plus shipping and as a BONUS Taylor will include 2 Perfect Package Card Boxes ($5.95 value) FREE if you order by August 25th! Of course all of the KI kits are also available for individual purchase ($16.95 each) while they last. Click here to read about all the benefits for Subscribers.

You can almost call these kits “no brainers.” LOL! Well, for us, at least. I am sure that Taylor spends hours putting together the best coordinating cardstock, designer papers, ribbon and embellishments. You can create many cards almost effortlessly because of how easy it is to pair up all the coordinating pieces. One of the challenges issued to us this month was to create a card that could be made in 10 minutes or less. At first I kind of freaked out about that stipulation, but it was so easy peasy! This is what I came up with…

aug_kisubkit

That’s a rub-on in the middle. I wouldn’t considered myself a fan of rub-ons because I can never get them to come out perfectly, but this one was easy peasy. I guess I have been buying the cheapo ones that don’t work as well!! LOL! I “enhanced” the rub-on with a few of the rhinestones that come in the kit. On the top of the card, I added some of the cardstock, designer paper and ribbon that comes with it, too. Like I said, easy peasy!!

You can check out more of the Baker’s Dozen creations using the Key Ingredients Subscription, just click on their name…
Sankari Wegman
Dawn Easton
Denise Marzec
Laurie Schmidlin
Karen Motz
Taylor VanBruggen

A Bowl of Cherries…

Posted by Jen | Taylored Expressions/Whimsical Wishes, cards, taylored expressions | Sunday, August 16, 2009

Happy Sunday Everyone!
We are having a good weekend so far! Yesterday we ventured to other side of town and picked up a changing table that matches the crib, since we are probably getting a tall dresser and won’t be able to double it up as a changing space. It was just so awful that IKEA was on the way, too. LOL! I found some EXCELLENT stamp room organization that was on super duper sale…and sold out. I guess it wasn’t meant to be. We did find a few dressers for lil’ boy del Muro’s room, but didn’t pick out anything yet. One of my sweet friends is moving {**sniffles**} and we went to pick up a bookcase and desk from her place, too. A very productive day, for sure! I even managed to squeeze in a little stamp time, too!

This card is made from the new set, Berries & Cherries, from Taylored Expressions…
bowlofcherries

Detail of the main panel…
bowlofcherries_detail

I have also realized that I have been TERRIBLE at providing details about my cards and projects. If you ever have any questions about my projects, please EMAIL them to me {there is a link under my picture}, as sometimes I miss the ones that are in the comments. If you have commented with a question and I have not answered, I am not ignoring you, I just have missed your questions {Sorry!}.

Anyways, as for the details for this card…
All of the paper and ribbon is part of this month’s Berries and Cherries Key Ingredients Kit from Taylored Expressions. The DP that is part of this kit is from Doodlebug {this is one of my favorite lines of theirs}. I colored the main image with Copic markers and then stitched around the edges with white thread. I really like the subtle frame effect that this “technique” {using that term loosely here} gives. This is a very simple layout that allows you to incorporate just about any size main image, sentiment and thick/chunky ribbon. If you wanted to, you could also add simple brads on the top right or bottom left vertical sides.

I get asked a lot how I do the bows on my cards, so I thought I would give a little commentary on that subject. I used to just use one piece of ribbon and wrap it all around the panel and then tie it in a bow. Often times, my bow would not be facing the right direction, so I decided to try something a little different. I use just enough ribbon to cover the front part of the panel and then adhere it to the back side with double sided red-line tape {like THIS awesome stuff that you can get on Jody’s Sticky Stuff site}. Then I tie my bow. Most of the time I don’t need it, but the “Bow Easy” {can be found on eBay for $6 with free shipping} will give you great bows. I then adhere the bow where I want it with hot glue {Susan is squirming now, as she thinks that I am nuts to use hot glue to do this}. I know that a lot people tie their bows to the ribbon piece that is around the panel, but I don’t always get a “perfect” bow that way it just drives me crazy! Well, I hope that helps out anyone that has questions. I don’t have a “how to” on how I tie my bows…I just tie ‘em.

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