TEMakerChallenge - Janaury 2025

With all the busyness of the holidays, I don't craft as much.  But with each new year comes the desire to make things...and stay out of the cold! So welcome to 2025!  

I have an ambition to be crafty in 2025, and one of the goals is to participate in all 12 of the Taylored Expressions monthly challenges on their Fans of TE Facebook page.

The January challenge is to use splatter on your project.  It just snowed here in South Caroline for the first time in 3 years, so I definitely have snow on the brain.  I think the Copic Opaque White splatter looks like snow, and these cute little winter friends from the TE Ready, Set, Snow stamp set (retired) were perfect additions to the snowy backgrounds.

I used the TE Hexagon Stacklets to cut out the stamps, and the TE Winter Blessings sentiments were perfect for these cards with the TE Puffy White embossing powders (retired).  To finish off the cards, I used the Marvy Uchida Snow Marker to add texture to the snow drifts in the stamps.

If you love Taylored Expressions products, come join us in the Facebook group and join along in the #TEMakerChallenges!

Have a good day.

Kayla

613 Avenue Create May 2024

The 613 Avenue Create May 2024 challenge is, as always 'Anything Goes,' but the twist this month is 'For the Kids.'  The sponsor this month is Mirtillamente, and the image that I used is Almost Cute: Dino No 1, although I'm not sure why this little guy is named 'Almost Cute' because he is so very cute!

I started by picking my color scheme from my Taylored Expressions cardstock - Sprinkles, Jelly Donut, Earl Grey, Toffee, and Sugar Cube.  I used the Easy Strips - 1/8" to cut strips for the background, and lined them up, with very little space between, to cross at the bottom right (under the image).the Wish Big sentiment, with TE White Fine Detail Embossing Powder on Jelly Donut card stock. 

I colored the image in coordinating colors with Copic markers, and cut it out with TE Stitched Rectangle Stacklets.  I used the Petite Scallop Rectangle Stacklets to frame the focal point.  To finish the card, I used the It's Your Day stamps and dies for the Wish Big sentiment, with TE White Fine Detail Embossing Powder on Jelly Donut card stock. 

I hope you come play along with us on the front porch at 613 Avenue Create!

Have a good day.
Kayla

613 Avenue Create April 2024

The 613 Avenue Create April 2024 challenge is, as always 'Anything Goes,' but the twist this month is 'Splash of Color.'  The sponsor this month is Polkadoodles, and the image that I used is Gardening Lily Ladybug Ladybird.

I colored his super cute ladybug with Copic markers, and cut out the scene with the Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets.  I then used Jelly Donut cardstock to back the focal point with the Petite Scallop Rectangle Stacklets. 

For the background, I used some rainbow striped pattered paper from the Doodlebug Designs Fairy Tales paper pack (retired) and again backed it with the Jelly Donut cardstock.  To finish off the card, I used the Mini Strips Rainbow, cut out with the Mini Strips Flags die.

I hope you come play along with us on the front porch at 613 Avenue Create!

Have a good day.
Kayla

Happy Easter

 

Easter Bunny Blessings

I am back this week with another simple Easter card.  I was headed to bed one night recently and decided to just step into my craft room for a few minutes to stamp and color an image...not make a card.  Well, as you can probably guess, I made a card and went to bed a little late. 

I started by stamping the bunny and accessories from the TE If Bunnies Could Talk stamp and die combo (retired).  I colored him up with warm gray Copic markers.  Then I stamped the the TE Playful Plaid Background with Versamark ink on TE Peapod card stock for a light tone on tone background.  The TE Easy Edgers die set (Free Gift with Purchase of $100 in January that is not released for purchase yet, but will be later this year) was perfect to create a curved scalloped edge from TE Sugar Cube card stock.

To finish off the card, I used a sentiment from the TE Mini Strips Easter stamp set and Mini Strips Flags die set. 

Have a good day.
Kayla

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 

Easter Chick on a Hinge

Last year, Taylored Expressions put out a call for fans that would like to connect with other TE fans that are local to their location.  I signed up and was connected with 3 ladies near-ish to me.  We exchanged monthly cards through the second half of 2023 and decided to meet in person in late February to make cards together.  We each made a card and brought the pieces for the other 3 ladies to make the same card. I had plans to bring a couple of different cards, but the day before our meet up, I made this super cute Easter card and decided it would be perfect to share.

I started by coloring the chick and the the legs from the TE On a Hinge - Chick stamp set (retired) with Copic markers.  I misplaced my 'On a Hinge' die (retired), so had to assemble the hinge for the legs with a similar shape that I made.  This set is so fun because the legs of the chick aren't glued down and dangle back and forth.

For the background, I stamped the TE Gingham Check Background stamp with TE Peapod ink on TE Peapod cardstock.  For the clouds, I used the TE Cloud Nine Background stamp (retired) with white TE Fine Details Embossing Powder on TE Salt Water Taffy cardstock.  To finish off the background I used the TE Easy Edgers die set (Free Gift with Purchase of $100 in January that is not released for purchase yet, but will be later this year).

We had such a fun time together making cards, and I look forward to meeting up with them again!

Have a good day.
Kayla

Design Team - 613 Avenue Create March 2024

I am so excited to announce that I have been selected to be on the 613 Avenue Create Design Team.  613 Avenue Create is a fun monthly challenge blog that is always 'Anything Goes,' but has an optional twist.  For March, the twist is Diamonds or Pearls (add gems or bling to your project).

With the twist of Diamonds or Pearls, my mind immediately went to the TE Happily Ever After Dies.  Pearls and wedding dresses are a perfect match!  I started by cutting the outline die and detail insert from TE Sugar Cube card stock.  I then cut 2 layers of just the outline from TE Vellum and one more from Sugar Cube card stock.  I stacked and glued those together with the vellum pieces in the middle.  I glued a gradient of TE Pearl Drip Drops to the dress, starting with small pearls at the top and larger pearls on the bottom of the dress.  This was such a stunning focal point that I didn't want to distract from it very much.  I added a pop of green directly behind the dress with cuts from the TE Leafy Frond (retired), Subtle Sprigs, and Garden Variety die sets. I used TE Peapod cardstock and lightly inked Sweet Basil around the outside of the die cuts to give a little dimension.

I glued all of those pieces down to a background of the TE Woodgrain Cardstock - Kraft.  A simple black strip for the sentiment from the TE Mini Strips Wedding stamp set added just enough contrast.  To finish the card, I added groupings of black enamel dots from my stash.

I hope you come play along with us this month at the 613 Avenue Create March challenge!

Have a good day.
Kayla

An Udder Birthday

How did I get old enough to have a great niece?  It's a mystery, but I do, and she is the cutest!  We celebrated her 2nd birthday earlier this month, and the birthday party was cow themed.  I found a cow bouncy toy and cow print wrapping paper, so I just had to make a coordinating birthday card.

I used Doodlebug Down on the Farm paper and a TE paper pack (retired) to create an outdoor scene for the cow from the TE If Cows Could Talk Stamp and Die Combo.  The cute little cow was colored with Copic markers, and I used a punny sentiment from the stamp set to finish off the card.

Have a(n udderly) good day.
Kayla

Life of the Party

Oh hi there!  I am a fan of Taylored Expressions (TE) products, so I logically, joined the Fans of Taylored Expressions Facebook group.  TE is active in the group and has a monthly challenge called the TE Maker Challenge.  One of my goals this year is to participate in this challenge each month of 2024.  I barely made it for the January TE Maker Challenge, which was to create a shaped card.

As I was thinking of a shape to use as the card base, I landed on using a large balloon die.  I make cards for my coworkers, so I always need birthday cards, and can you think of a better birthday card than a giant balloon shaped one?  I sure can't!

For the balloon shape, I used the largest die from the Simon Says Stamp Balloons die set. I found some happy birthday themed paper from my stash, and decided to use the TE Life of the Party stamp set (retired) as the image.  Since I was coloring one image, I decided to color several of the the animals with Copic markers. 

To add a focal point, I added a pop of red with the TE Focal Frame die (retired).  The sentiment is a combination of the 'Happy' die from the Happy Summer Banner die set (retired) and a birthday from the On Repeat Birthday stamp (retired) and On Repeat dies (retired). To balance the card, I added some enamel dots from my stash.

Since I had extra colored animals and need many birthday cards this year, I made a second card with the 2 other animals that I stamped and colored.  I used the TE Starry Night Cutting Plate (retired) as a background, and finished off the card with a simple sentiment from the TE Simple Strips Birthday stamp and Simple Strips die.

I still had 3 stamped and colored animals on my desk and found that they fit perfectly in the larger openings of the TE Fun Frames Cutting Plate.  I used some coordinating paper and another sentiment from the Simple Strips Birthday stamp.

I added googly eyes to the elephants and monkeys on all 3 cards and it was the perfect way to finish off these fun birthday cards! 

Have a good day.
Kayla

You'll Do Valentine

Oh hi there!  We are coming up on Valentine's Day, and I wanted to share a set of cards that I made with the Taylored Expressions Love from Max & Millie stamp set (retired).

I would like to preface my first card with a disclaimer that I have been married to my best friend for 20+ years and we share a snarky sense of humor. The 'I guess you'll do' sentiment ties in perfectly with the very unimpressed cat, colored with Copic markers.  I used the TE Easy Strips 1/4', and TE Easy Strips 1/4' Patterns to cut cardstock strips and TE Easy Strips Maps to guide the placement of the strips. The cardstock colors used are Dragon Fruit, Bubblegum, Sprinkles, Earl Gray, and Sugar Cube.

I also made Valentine's Day cards for a couple of friends that I made at Stamp Joy, Sara and Katryna.  These girls made my first in-person Stamp Joy so much fun, and I look forward to seeing them again later this year!

The cards are a little more traditional with a 'Happy Valentine's Day' sentiment and a sweet little mouse hanging onto heart balloons, again colored with Copic markers. The sentiment was made with the TE Mini Strips Valentine stamp set and cut with the TE Mini Strips Flags. The background panel is embossed with the TE Clouds embossing folder (retired).

These cards were inspired by the TE Maker Challenge for February, which is a color challenge to use Bubblegum and Dragon Fruit. I wish you all the happiest of Valentine's Days!

Have a good day.
Kayla

Stamp Joy Bees

I was so excited to attend Stamp Joy 2023 this year!  Stamp Joy is a 3 day card making event presented by Taylored Expressions in Des Moines, Iowa.  This was my first year attending an in person stamping event and it has been amazing!

On Friday night, we had a optional card swap event. Everyone that participates brings 25+ cards to exchange in a wonderfully chaotic bubble of craft kindness.  For my card swap card, I created 30 cards with a pair of cute bees from the Taylored Expressions The Birds & The Bees stamp set and dies (retired).

I am excited with the cards that I received in the exchange and can't wait to go through them more thoroughly for inspiration in the coming months!

To create the cards, I used many Taylored Expressions products:

• The Birds & the Bees stamps and dies (retired)
• What’s the Buzz stamp set
• Honeycomb Cluster die
• Stitched Banner Stacklets
• Stitched Rectangle Stacklets
• Petite Scallop Rectangle Stacklets
• Sugar Cube, Earl Grey, and Lemon Meringue card stock
• Salt Water Taffy ink
• TE Fine Detail Embossing Powder - Clear

To finish the cards, I used a couple of non-TE products:

• Versafine ink
• Y11, Y13, T2, T4, BG0000, BG000 Copic markers

Have a good day!

Kayla

Summer Grumplings

Boy howdy, it has been a hot summer and we just had a couple of the hottest days of the year this past week.  I know the crafty world has moved on to Fall themed products, but I just can't focus on the cool weather, falling leaves, and sweaters just yet.  If I do, I will end up curled into a ball, crying in misery of the things yet to come this year!

I think the Taylored Expressions Summer Grumplings stamp set (retired) represents my mood about these upper 90 degree days!

I started this card by stamping the TE Summer Grumplings (retired) with and coloring with Copic markers.  After coloring, I cut out with the images with the matching dies (also retired).

I created the background using the TE Here Comes the Sun stencil with TE Honey, Pineapple, and Lemon Meringue inks.  I cut it out with the TE Stitched Rectangle Stacklets and matted that with TE Blue Raspberry paper, die cut with the TE Petite Scallop Rectangle Stacklets.

To give the Grumplings somewhere to site, I cut TE Stitched Banner Stacklets using TE Guava cardstock and heat embossed a sentiment from the stamp set.

To finish off the card, I added miscellaneous enamel dots from my stash.

Have a good (hopefully cool) day!
Kayla

Planting Happiness

I was recently scrolling through Instagram and a photo of a card by Elin (@elinheve) struck me with it's simplicity and beauty.  Seriously take a look...it is gorgeous!  It inspired my first card today.  For both cards, I used the Taylored Expressions Planting Happiness stamps and dies, colored with Copic markers. 

I cut the majority of a TE Circle Stacklet from the lower left side of a TE Sugar Cube cardstock layering panel and blended TE Sprinkles ink lightly in the circle area.  I added the colored flower to the center of the circle with foam tape. I popped up the layering panel with the extra think TE Foam Tape to provide extra dimension.

I had a leftover TE Hexagon Stacklet cut from TE Woodgrain Cardstock - Kraft on my desk and accidently laid the second flower on top of it.  I thought they looked nice together so started a second card.  I lightly blended TE Pineapple ink through the TE Hot Spots stencil on the background of the card. 

To finish off the cards, I added a sentiment to each card form the Mini Strips - Floral stamp set. 

Have a good day.

Kayla

Gus & Gertie - 4th of July

The 4th of July holiday falls on a Tuesday this year, so I get a 4 day weekend to celebrate!  I recently received the Gus & Gertie - 4th of July Stamp and Die Combo as a freebie with purchase from Taylored Expressions, and thought it was the perfect stamp for a set of July 4th cards.  It was a limited time and exclusive set, so it is not currently for sale.

After coloring the stamp with Copic markers, I die cut it with the coordinating dies. To give both cards a focal point, I die cut the TE Open Scallop Circle die from TE Cherry Pop cardstock. 

The layout for this card is based on the #TEMakerChallenge June Sketch.  I am barely squeaking this in on the last day of June!

I used some blue paper with white stars on the left side of the first card, with red and white stripes on the right side.  I finished this first card off with a sentiment from Mini Strips - Patriotic.

For the second card, I used a Z-fold base with the same papers, which shows the red and white striped paper when opened.  To give the inside of the card some definition, I used the larger TE Masking Stencils - Rectangles stencil to blend on TE Confetti Cake ink. To finish off the second card, I used a small sentiment from the TE All Tucked In - Patriotic stamp set (retired) on the bottom right of the 'inside' of the card.

Happy 4th of July to all of my American friends!

Have a good day.
Kayla

Craft Roulette #169 - Peeking In

I am playing along with Craft Roulette again this week.  For this week, Craft Roulette episode #169, the parameters are:

Project: See Through
Colors: Rustic Garden
Element: Fashion
Random: Hexagon

I started by pulling out acetate and Taylored Expressions Hexagon dies.  The color scheme of Rustic Flowers was throwing me off, but I pushed through and decided to not use white cardstock at all.  By stamping the TE Look Who's Talking stamp set (retired) on TE Toffee cardstock, it made the card more rustic. After coloring the images with Copic markers, I added that bowtie and party hat to make him a fashionable bear. I used the same Copic markers to color a bit of the cardstock green to stamp the sentiment. 

I made a hexagon frame from TE Woodgrain Cardstock - Kraft with 2 of the Hexagon Stacklets.  I blended TE Toffee ink to give the woodgrain a little more depth to finish off the card.

Have a good day.

Kayla

Space Cadet

Do you ever start making a card (or set of cards) with one thing in mind and end up doing something completely different?  I started this set of cards with a simple plan to have a full background of outer space, but they turned out a little different!

Recently, I was scrolling through Instagram and saw a card posted by Sara Zoppi (le_cosebelle_di_sara) for the new My Favorite Things release.  (Please click the link to go take a look.  It is simply GORGEOUS!)  Her card featured a stripe of vibrant color on the right side of the card with blank white space and a sentiment on the left side of the card.  It was so striking that I randomly thought about it for days.  I knew I had to use this layout on a card, and thought this set of space cards was the perfect time.

I started the space background by ink blending Taylored Expressions ink in random spots on a half sheet of cardstock.  I then went in with Distress Oxide Black Soot ink over the top to make the space part of the space background.  After it dried, I flicked Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White and Tsukineko Silver Sheer Shimmer Spray on the background to make the stars. I cut the background into pieces and glued them to the card bases.

After stamping the Taylored Expressions Space Cadet (retired) images and coloring them with Copic markers, I die cut the images to have them float around in space.  I had planned to make 2 cards but had almost enough images to make 3.  To finish out the third card, I found the TE Whole Wide World die set (retired) had the perfect size Earth to use for the aliens to abduct the cow from.

To finish the cards, I added the sentiments to the white blank space on the lower left of the card.  I am just in love with how these cards turned out!

Have a good day.
Kayla

Craft Roulette #168 - Let's Fly a Kite

While winding down for bed every night, I watch a few YouTube videos.  Recently, YouTube suggested a live video from Craft Roulette.  It sounded interesting, so I started watching.  Craft Roulette is a Live show (almost) every Friday night where the host, Mary Gunn and a guest spin a wheel to get 4 parameters to make a card.  I was hooked and started watching the episodes every night, as a kind of routine.

For this week, Craft Roulette episode #168, the parameters are:

Project: Kid's Card

Colors: Citrus Orchard

Element: Spring Scene

Random: Metallic or Foil

I stewed on it overnight and thought of a card to fit the parameters.

I used the Taylored Expressions Let's Fly a Kite die set to meet the Kid's Birthday and Spring Scene parameters. For colors, I used the Rose Gold Foil, Lemon Meringue, Peapod, Candy Corn, and Sprinkles cardstocks to meet the Citrus Orchard and Foil parameters.  The background is the TE Cloudy Skies Piercing Plate and TE Stitched Rectangle Stacklets.  To finish off the card, I used the coordinating TE Mini Strips - Carried Away stamp to add a punny sentiment.

Have a good day.
Kayla