Popsicle Toes

Taylored Expressions May SOTM – Cutie Pie

Shelly — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:59:41 +0000

Hi everyone! The weather is finally starting to get warm here and it will actually be in the 90s today! Yaahoooo!!! It’s been a chilly and snowy Spring and the warmer air is so very welcome!

My card today definitely reflects my mood…bright, cheery, and ready to wear a summer dress! How cute are these dresses? They are from May’s SOTM (Stamp of the Month), Cutie Pie, and they are adorable! I took it a step further and did a little paper piecing for the dresses by using the Key Ingredients kit for May. The KI kit includes Echo Park Sweet Girl paper pad and coordinating Bazzill card stock and ribbon. I LOVE this combination! OR, you can subscribe to the Deluxe Kit and receive BOTH the stamp set and card stock, paper and ribbon. What I also love are the coordinating dies, how sweet is this banner die? Of course, the sentiments fit perfectly inside and the score lines are already there for you to fold.

Do you want to see more from this month’s adorable kit? The projects will knock your socks off! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Father’s Day!

Shelly — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:59:45 +0000

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend and Mother’s Day! I had a wonderful day with family and was lucky enough to spend the day with my mom, dad, brothers and one of my sisters.

I know we barely finished Mother’s Day but I’m back today to share some Father’s Day cards using Bazzill Mac and Bazzill Two Scoops Card Shoppe. Some of the Baker’s Dozen partnered up with Bazzill to show off some Father’s Day projects using Bazzill Mac and Two Scoops Card Shoppe Cardstock. If you’re a paper crafter, then you most likely already know about and use Bazzill card stock and papers. Bazzill is one of my favorite suppliers in card stock and patterned papers…the weight, texture, and selection is gorgeous!

For this card I used Bazzill Mac and Two Scoops Card Shoppe and sanded it, Banner Stacklets 1 die for the sentiment, and Boys Will Be Boys. I love this stamp set because it has a nice variety of images in it, a little something for everyone. It’s especially perfect for the men in your life, your husband, father, brother and in-laws.

For my next card I used Bazzill Mac and Card Shoppe Two Scoops collection…don’t you love the versatility of this patterned paper? I’m loving this shade of red and gray. My husband is a drummer and although he’ll always be a drummer, he’s started to play guitar as well. This card is perfect for him for Father’s Day! You’re My Hero and Boys Will Be Boys were used and coordinated well together.

The guitar was embossed in silver and black and I used Ranger Distress Markers for the image. I love the Two Scoops paper pack, the option to sand the card stock makes the card look masculine.

Get started early on those Father’s Day cards…it’s right around the corner, lol! Thanks for stopping by!

This Is The Day…

Shelly — Sat, 11 May 2013 12:59:52 +0000

Hi, everyone, I hope you all are having a great start to the weekend! I, unfortunately, have come down with a bad cold and somehow scratched my cornea. It’s a big enough scratch that I can see it on my iris. Ouch! I needed to pick up some medication and my little guy (who just turned 4 months!) waited so patiently. With the sweet smiles he gave me, I was able to forget about the pain in my eye and throat. Here he is in the cart, being his sweet little self!

Okay, on to my card! Today I’m using a few new dies, Birch Tree Cutting Plate, Birch Tree Border, and Birch Tree Accessories. I’m so excited about these dies, they coordinate so well together and are also wonderful on their own! My dad is a nature lover and loves to sit outside and write. The scripture verse is from In The Word (stamped on Label Stacklets 2) and reminds me of him, sitting outside, enjoying the view. He has a birthday coming up and I think this will be perfect for him.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a great Mother’s Day tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by!

Taylored Expressions May Spotlights: Damask Flourishes

Shelly — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:59:18 +0000

Happy Friday! I hope you all have had fun seeing all the wonderful new releases! Today we’re spotlighting some of the new product and I’m spotlighting Damask Flourishes. This is a gorgeous die and does double duty as you can also use the negative!

The sentiment is from Greetings For Him…don’t you love the font? This set coordinates with the Band It die (one of my favorites!) and has a nice variety of sentiments in it. The background paper is Simple Stories Snap Color Vibe and of course, I had to add a few sequins to it. :)

Be sure to checkout the rest of the Baker’s Dozen’s spotlights! Thanks for stopping by!

Taylored Expressions May Release Day: Mr. & Mrs. Cutting Plate

Shelly — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:59:11 +0000

WooHoooo! It’s release day and I can’t wait to show you today’s projects! All of the products are now available in the Fresh Out of the Oven department. I have had so much fun with this month’s release and know you will too!

I’m using a gorgeous cutting plate called Mr. & Mrs. and it’s a stunner! It’s perfect for all those upcoming summer weddings. I used a Viva Decor pen to make the Mr. & Mrs. and border stand out a little. I also added some sequins to the center of the flowers.

Our challenge was to use the same die twice, in a different way. For my 2nd card I kept the colors more traditional and used dark gray (Bazzill Two Scoops) and white. I couldn’t help myself and used sequins on this one too. The sequins are matte and a great way to add a little bling.

Check out what the rest of the Baker’s Dozen has whipped up for you!

Taylored Expressions May Sneak Peek: Happily Ever After & Curly Swirlies

Shelly — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:59:35 +0000

Hi, everyone! Do you like the Sneak Peeks you’ve seen so far? I’m back today with two more Sneak Peeks…this one is from a set called Happily Ever After. This is a gorgeous set, perfect for weddings! I embossed the flowers and popped two of them up for some added dimension. I am a lover of white cards, can you tell? :)

Happily Ever After has some beautiful blooms and sentiments. It’s really pretty in monotones and also in color! I also used two new dies, Band It and Curly Swirlies (see below for more Curly Swirlies). Band It is so awesome! I love that you can use it vertically or horizontally…centered or off to the side. There are so many sentiments that will fit perfectly on it, you’ll see this one a lot around here!

My next Sneak Peek uses Curly Swirlies. This die has some gorgeous flourishes that are wonderful together or in this case, on its own. I loved the simplicity of this swirly by itself. A few pearls and I had the clean and elegant look I was going for. As you can see with the first card, these flourishes are also wonderful as an accent. The sentiment is from another new set, Going To The Chapel. See a theme here? *grin*

If you want to see the full sets, be sure to join the Facebook Preview Party tonight at 6pm, PST! Be sure to see what the rest of the Baker’s Dozen came up with.

Carole Burrage

Charmaine Ikach

Jen Shults

Joan Ervin (Guest Designer)

Taylored Expressions May Sneak Peek: Graphic Greetings Dad

Shelly — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:59:14 +0000

Hi, everyone! It’s release week and time for Sneak Peeks! If you’re interested in seeing the sets in full then you’ll want to join the Facebook Preview Party tomorrow (Wed) night at 6pm PST.

Today I’m sharing Graphic Greetings Dad and it’s full of wonderful words that describe Dad. If you’re familiar with the Graphic Greetings series then you already know how wonderful these stamps are. Did you also know that these are perfect for fast and easy cards? Be sure to check out the Gallery for more ideas and inspiration on how to use these stamps.

For my card I used MME Dilly Dally DP and a little embossing and distressing. I stamped and cut out the I Love You Very Much banner and popped it up to make it stand out. I didn’t want to do too much to this card (to keep it masculine) but I couldn’t help but a sew the border a bit.

Do you want to see more sneak peeks? Check out what the rest of the Baker’s Dozen whipped up for you!

Carole Burrage

Charmaine Ikach

Jen Shults

Joan Ervin - Guest Designer

Stay Focused

Shelly — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:59:50 +0000

Happy Friday, everyone! It’s my day to share and I thought it’d be fun to make a card to encourage anyone who’s in school or even graduating. I used two sets, Dream Big and Spectacular. I love Seeing Stars and it was perfect for this card.

The image was colored with Copics and cut out. Initially I wasn’t sure where I wanted to place my books, but I like how they seem to pop a little more being cut out. Cutting out the books also eliminated any bleeding from the Copics onto the inside of the card.

Hope you all have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Taylored Expressions April Studio Challenge

Shelly — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:59:17 +0000

It’s time for the Baker’s Dozen Studio Challenge. This is a monthly opportunity for the Taylored Expressions team to share what makes our stamping studios hum. Each month we have a fun, crafty question so we can share our favorites, some tips and tricks, stamping advice and more.

The theme for April is:

Mix & Match! TE stamp sets are designed with plenty of images and sentiments so they are “self-contained” for lots of creativity, but sometimes it’s fun to mix and match several different sets for even more possibilities.

Your challenge is to create a project using three or more TE stamp sets.

Spring is here and Summer is right around the corner and with it comes Mother’s Day, Graduations, birthdays and weddings. I wanted to make a card that felt fresh for one of these occasions. I used Lavender Bouquet, Make It Amazing, and Make It Memorable (March SOTM) for the sentiment. I also used the Picket Fence Border die and Flower Box Sprigs and Flowers to help create my scene.

When I combine stamp sets I first look for a main image and follow it up with accents and sentiments. I think the butterflies in Make It Amazing are really pretty and perfect for the background. I realize that the sentiment in Make It Memorable was only available as the SOTM in March (see why you should subscribe? lol!) but I love how it fit my card. It would be easy to replace the sentiment with one that fits your occasion.

Be sure to see what the rest of the Baker’s Dozen came up with!

Broni Holcombe (Guest Designer)

Shelly Mercado (that’s me!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks! Taylored Expressions April SOTM

Shelly — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:59:42 +0000

Hey guys! I’m back today to share a fun post using Taylored Expression’s Stamp of the Month for April, Simple Greetings. This card uses card stock, DP, and stamps from the Deluxe Subscription, at a reduced price from subscribing separately, and is a fantastic deal!

I LOVE this month’s kit and the DP (Fancy Pants Park Bench) is to die for! The colors are some of my favorites and the stamps are adorable. It’s hard to see in the picture, but I used Versamark for the black belly band with the flourishy/leaf stamp. It’s a nice, subtle, look.

The flowers were embossed and cut by hand to add to the card front. They were quick and easy to cut out! I love the Simple Tabs die and used them for my sentiment and the Chevron Border dies were a nice accent. I am really loving this month’s kit and hope you do too!

Thanks for stopping by!