Category Archives: TE BD Studio Challenge

TE October Studio Challenge

October 23, 2012

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 will have a fun, crafty question so we can share our favorites, some tips and tricks, stamping advice and more.

The theme for October is:

Good things come in small packages! The holiday season is upon us and between Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukah, and Christmas there are a ton of opportunities to create and give little treats, gifts, and party favors. Please show us something you’ll be giving this year.

I have found that although my friends love it when I make them cards and gift sets, they love it more when I can fill their tummy with something yummy. I made a little gift box filled with pistachio cranberry biscotti. My friends always love a good treat to eat and I love to make it for them. This is for my girlfriend who is always doing something thoughtful for me, whether it be a phone call, texts me a funny picture, or shares her time with me. This is her favorite biscotti and I’ve been asked for this recipe many, many times. I also made some chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to go with it…and might have even had a few myself!

For those of you who want it, here’s the link to the Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti (All Recipes)…where I found the recipe years ago.

I used this TUTORIAL on SCS to make the treat box and the image and sentiment are from A Bushel & A Peck. The patterned paper is October Afternoon Cakewalk and it has such a nice, vintage feel to it.

Here are the supplies I used:

Do you want to see more inspiration? Check out what the rest of the Baker’s Dozen has to share!

Thanks for stopping by!

Posted by Shelly in Cards, TE BD Studio Challenge Tags: a bushel & a peck, dies, layering doily medium die, october afternoon cakewalk, october studio challenge, taylored expressions, totally tags

14 comments

Baker’s Dozen Studio Challenge!

September 25, 2012

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 will have a fun, crafty question so we can share our favorites, some tips and tricks, stamping advice and more. Are you ready?

The question for September is:
Within Arm’s Reach - What do you keep within arm’s reach at your stamp table? Show us what you have access to without leaving your seat. What organization methods do you use? Tell us which ones you love and which ones you’d like to change.

I don’t have a lot of room or space to stamp in and this is where I spend my time working. I do have 2 armoires that are stuffed and need to be cleaned out…but we’ll save that for another day!

I have an L-shaped desk and bought this table/drawer unit from Ikea. I love the space and the drawer unit really holds more than you’d think. Here are some of my drawers.

Individual wood stamps.

Ribbon!

Yummy TE embellishments!

I keep the TE stamps and 6×6 paper pads I use most in these boxes I bought from Joanns. They fit perfectly and make it easy to flip through when I’m looking for something specific. For stamps that are seasonal I keep them in the TE Mini Binder boxes. I love that they can hold 4 full sized sets and are easily labeled.

THIS post explains how I made the 12×12 magnetic storage for my dies. I quickly realized that I needed my dies out where I could flip through them, so I transferred them to a basket. I have about 20 sheets of dies in here with plenty of room for more. One of these days I will get the rest of my dies onto sheets and put in with the rest, but for now, any new dies I get are stored this way. I’m a die addict, don’t all my TE dies look yummy?

This is where I keep my full sized Tonic cutter and Scor-Pal. I keep my mini Tonic cutter under my table and Scor-Buddy on the CD shelf on my table. I love looking at the pictures my kids drew for me…and the picture of my hubby when he was little.

I keep my Copics in two of these bins. I’ve seen the bins at Joanns (in the summer) but I bought mine at Target. They are convenient and portable!

I use this spinner all the time! It keeps the tools I use most at my fingertips and holds so much! My daughter loves mine so much that she has one on her birthday wish list.

I generally like to keep my area neat and organized, but to be honest, most times it looks like a tornado had a hay day with it. It’s not unusual to have 5 or more projects going on at one time and sometimes I have to clear out one area to start/continue/finish a project. When I use my Silhouette Cameo or KNK Maxx, everything gets moved around to accommodate my laptop and whatever else I need for the project. I’d love to have a studio to work in, but for now, I’m happy with what I have. Crafting keeps me sane in a world that’s otherwise crazy…good, but crazy!

Curious what the rest of the Baker’s Dozen stamping areas look like? Check it out!

Hope you had fun today! Thanks for stopping by!

Posted by Shelly in TE BD Studio Challenge Tags: desk, organization, stamping, studio challenge, taylored expressions

10 comments

TE August Studio Challenge!

August 28, 2012

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 will have a fun, crafty question so we can share our favorites, some tips and tricks, stamping advice and more.

The theme for August is:

PROJECT RUNWAY! Do you watch this show? It’s perfect for creative types like us! On PR, the designers are given crazy challenges each week and asked to maintain their own personal style or point of view in their creation.

So, what’s your stamping style or point of view? Would you consider your style to be CAS (Clean and Simple), Cutesy, Graphic, Vintage, Elegant, Layers & More Layers, or what? Describe it any way you like, it’s your style after all! Today’s challenge is to show us a couple of different projects using the same supplies. Show us one CAS card and one Fancy Fold card while still retaining your own personal style as much as possible.

My style tends to be CAS. I love that CAS cards can have the smallest details, yet still stand out. I admire how easy it is for some to do layered cards, but for me, I have the hardest time making them. Even my layered cards tend to be CAS in some way or other!

Even though these cards are completely different, I was able to keep a CAS feel on them, even with the fancy fold card. I love the use of white on my cards and find it relaxing to be able to use it. My fancy fold card is called a Spring Card and I used this tutorial I found on SCS. I’ve never made a Spring Card before and really had fun with it! It’s a unique way to give a card and the recipient will be sure to love it!

I used CreativiTea for both of these cards and adore how sweet these images are. They were colored with Tim Holtz Distress Markers. The more I use these markers, the more I love them!

The layered card also uses Imaginisce Hello Cupcake and a handful of versatile dies.

Be sure to check out the creative styles of the rest of the Baker’s Dozen! What style suits you best?

Charmaine Ikach
Jen Shults
Jodi Collins
Karen Giron
Melody Rupple
Regina Mangum
Sankari Wegman
Shannon White
Stephanie Kraft
Taylor VanBruggen
Wanda Guess

Hope you had fun today! Thanks for stopping by!

Posted by Shelly in Cards, Distress Inks and/or Markers, TE BD Studio Challenge Tags: August Studio Challenge, Card, CAS, Choice Watercolor, Clean and simple, Creativi Tea, die, fancy fold card, Fly Your Flag 2, Frame It Up 1, Layering Doily Die, spring card, taylored expressions, te, Tim Holtz Distress Markers

10 comments

Baker’s Dozen Studio Challenge

July 24, 2012

Yay! I’m so excited to share with you a fun new challenge! It was so fun looking at the sets I have and getting to share some of my favorites.

Taylored Expressions is introducing a new monthly challenge for the design team: The Baker’s Dozen Studio Challenge. This will be an opportunity for us to share what makes our stamping studios hum. Each month we will have a fun, crafty question so we can share our favorites, some tips and tricks, stamping advice and more.

The question for July is:
You are stranded on a desert island. The good news is that you find a fabulous stamping hut well-stocked with papers, inks and other stamping supplies, however you only have the 5 stamp sets you brought with you in the luggage you managed to salvage. So tell us, what stamps sets did you bring and why?

I chose these sets based on the the cheeriness of them. After all, if I’m on a desert island, I’d want to share some island cheer with everyone, right? I packed Adventure Land, Bon Voyage, Bikes & Trikes, Make it Amazing, and It’s Your Birthday ALC. Good thing I packed enough sets to spread the love, I might not want to be rescued since I have a fully stocked stamping hut!

My card uses Bon Voyage, a funny coincidence, since I’m stranded here! I stamped the ship onto Choice Snow White card stock with Tuxedo Black ink and colored the image with Copics. I used Echo Park’s Sweet Day patterned paper with the Wave Border die and the Waves/Bubbles Impression Plate with the Cloud Duo dies. Aren’t the swirly clouds cute? The anchor is from the Anchor and Preserver die and tied with Doodle Twine.