Thinking Inking

Taylored Expressions 10th Birthday: Come Celebrate!

Welcome! Along with almost forty other designers, I am thrilled to participate in a very special birthday party today for Taylored Expressions--celebrating TEN years of business! I remember using the very first TE stamps, and you may have used them too too--remember Cuppie, the cupcake? Shown below are some of my earliest TE cards, dating back as far as September 30, 2008. . . a blast from the past!

       
Card styles and image styles have changed over the years, but I can tell you for sure that my friend Taylor hasn't. She still has a heart for people and is an absolutely lovely person inside and out. While I'm on that topic, I want to make sure that you know about the TE Share Joy Campaign and how to spread some joy to those who often need it most with your handmade cards:

At the heart of Taylored Expressions is a mission to share joy through the gift of handmade cards. As part of their 10th birthday TE is continuing that mission with the launch of a special Share Joy campaign focused on providing birthday cards to those in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities across the U.S. To make as deep an impact as possible TE is inviting card makers everywhere to join the campaign. Will you join us?

Find out how to participate by viewing their Share Joy page HERE.

While I am using some older birthday products in today's card, new ones were released last night--have fun checking them out! Now, about my card: I chose the Party Streamers stamp set and coordinating Steamers embossing folder because I love streamers. I also loved how quick and easy it was to pull my card together by simply stamping the streamers in TE inks, including Cookie Monster, Granny Smith, Pineapple, Salt Water Taffy, Strawberry Milkshake, and Lollipop. I used Sugar Cube cardstock for my card front (it embosses beautifully), Lollipop for my card base and a mat layer, and Blue Raspberry for my second mat layer. For embellishments, I used some twine and acrylic baubles from my stash 

Be sure to visit Taylor's Blog for a full list of participants in today's 10th Birthday Blog Hop, and don't forget about the Share Joy Campaign, okay? Thanks for visiting the TE party today!

Friendship Blooms: TE Ink Launch

Welcome! When my friend Taylor asked last month if I'd be game to try her new Taylored Expressions Premium Die Ink Pads, I jumped on it. I used the 1" ink cubes; I have long been a fan of ink cubes since they are handy for storage and are usually large enough, unless you are wanting to ink really large stamps. So, this morning's post uses stamps, cardstock, and the NEW coordinating premium dye ink from Taylored Expressions.  (There are ten colors of dye ink, as well as two colors of hybrid ink suitable for stamping images that you might want to color with Copics.)

My first card is A-2 sized, with a horizontal fold. I chose the little stems and leaves image from Friendship Blooms to create a field of wildflowers.  I finished the flower centers by putting a dot of glitter on them, then stamped, punched out, and threaded the button with white crochet thread for a low-profile embellishment. The little patterned strip across the bottom of the card is from the TE Rainbow Brights 6 x 6 paper pack. I used my Copic Airbrush System to create some ground and sky, but you could also use sponge applicators to apply ink from the ink cubes. If you sponge ink on, I think I would do the background first, and then stamp the flowers.

I kept the same field of flowers concept going for the inside, but left the sky light so that my sentiment would stand out better.

For my second card, I chose a vertical A-2 orientation and used the same Friendship Blooms stamp set. The background is Granny Smith cardstock and ink, stamped randomly with the larger leaves stamp. I used Peapod green and Lollipop inks for the focal image, and then lightly airbrushed ground (G43) and sky (B02) with my Copic Airbrush System. The banner is on Lollipop cardstock, heat embossed with detail white embossing powder. 

For the inside, I used Peapod ink (stamped-off-once Peapod ink for the lighter leaves). I had masked off the bottom 1/2" or so of my card and later airbrushed G43 for ground. The pink inks used here are Lollipop and Strawberry Milkshake. If you'd like to learn more about the TE Premium Dye and Hybrid inks, see the paragraph below the following picture for links.  Thanks for visiting!

Taylored Expressions Premium Inks are now available and you can only find them at the TE webstore. Plus, check out the two "I Want It All" special offers to celebrate the arrival of our newest product! 

There is a free downloadable color chart available HERE that includes blanks for cardstock swatches, inked images, and coordinating Copic colors.

Graphic Greetings: Redeemer card set

Welcome! I have another simple set of Christmas cards to share today, these made with a Taylored Expressions Graphic Greetings: Redeemer sentiment stamp, paired with a JustRite Ribbons of Holly cling background stamp--all easy to make and easy to mail.

I used darker gold metallic cardstock on one of the cards, along with regular gold embossing powder. On the lighter gold background, I used some Ranger Enchanted Gold  embossing powder--it probably won't be one of my more used EP's, but it's fun to use occasionally anyway!  It seems to be a mixture of iridescent clear glitter and gold embossing powder; so it doesn't show up as well as plain gold EP, but it really is eye-catching at the right angle. I bought a whole roll of gold metallic twine HERE. I had finally used up my Stampin' Up stash that I purchased at least ten years ago. I'm guessing that this roll of gold (and a roll of silver too) will probably last me the rest of my life. She sells it in shorter lengths too, if you're older than I am. . . ;-) I used a couple of different MFT dies, including Die-namics Blueprints 15 for the stitched edging on the card fronts and Die-namics Blueprints 24 for the sentiment panel on the lighter gold card.

It's hard to go wrong with a large, calligraphic sentiment like Graphic Greetings: Redeemer for a Christmas card, so this will probably be one of my "get a few more done at the last minute" designs. Have a great weekend!

Birthdays, Like Shooting Stars. . .

Welcome! Today I needed a belated birthday card for a sweet friend whom I keep missing lately (hence the need for a belated card). When I saw this Shooting Stars stamp set by Taylored Expressions, I knew that it would be perfect for my friend.

These are the Copic markers that I used on the image. The sky and grass are airbrushed with my Copic Airbrush System. (Click to see a larger image.)

To frame the image, I used a Spellbinders Classic Ovals Large die template and an A-2 Matting Basics B. I stamped the sheep and star images twice, then cut out the star and sheep's body to mount with foam tape--much simpler than masking. It still needed something, so I used my Copic Colorless Blender to push stars into the night sky.

I'll miss my birthday friend again tomorrow--guess this will have to go to her husband to deliver! Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend,

Teacup Bouquet

I just got back from a Chicago Copic Color and Ink Workshop weekend late last night; it was great to see my Chicago Copic friends again! I'm headed to Milwaukee on August 23 and hope to see more of you there.

Today's card is made with a beautiful Taylored Expressions stamp set, Teacup Bouquet. I love this image; it makes me think of my great Grandma, for some reason, and I wanted this little stamp set from the first time I saw it.

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used. (Click on any image for a larger version, as always.) I decided to keep the card very simple, not wanting to have any busy patterned papers to compete with my simply colored image; so I looked through my Spellbinders dies until I ran across an old favorite, Labels One, which I paired with some dies that I don't think I have used before, Scalloped Labels One (purple mat), and Majestic Labels One (card base). Dark purple cardstock is is PTI's Royal Velvet, and the image is colored on Copic's X-Press it Blending Card. I tried to put a ribbon on this card, but I just couldn't find a place that it enhanced the image rather than being a distraction; so it's plain Jane card.

That's it for today--have a happy Monday,

Loads of Fun!

Tonight I have a fun little birthday card to share, made with the Wash, Dry, Repeat stamp set from Taylored Expressions. There are some super-cute images in this set!

These are the Copic markers that I used on the focal images. I stamped the lady first, then masked her with Post It Tape while I stamped the washing machine. I paper-pieced only the apron, mostly to tie it in with the background papers that I had chose from an Echo Park Summer Bliss 6 x 6 paper pad.

Since I had put a birthday greeting on the outside, I thought I would leave room to write on the inside; I wanted to use that laundry basket image though--same Copic colors as I used on the card front.

To cut and emboss the focal image and its mat layer, I used a Spellbinders A-2 Matting Basics A die template. I dyed white rayon seam binding with some Copic R32 reinker and a few drops of colorless blender. I think my friend will get a kick out of her laundry birthday card! Thanks for visiting,

Debbie

Rose Bouquet Friend Card

Welcome! The sun is shining, and while we still have over a foot of snow in most places, we are starting see melted rings around the trees and around the house. That's progress, folks! Of course, I'm still "growing" paper and ink flowers inside. Today's card is made with the Taylored Expressions Rose Bouquet stamp focal image, with the tag sentiment taken from a TE Daisy Bouquet set.

Here are the COPIC markers that I used on the Rose Bouquet image.(CS stands for "cast shadow" here in case you are wondering.)

I used several Spellbinders dies, including Labels 18 for the Rose Bouquet focal image, A-2 Bracket Borders 1 for the polka dotted piece of patterned paper, and Back to Basics Tags for the sentiment tag.  Patterned paper is Basic Grey's Fresh Cut 6" x 6" pad. Card base is PTI's Ocean Tides cardstock, and focal image is stamped on Copic X-Press It Blending Card. I dyed white seam binding with my Copic reinkers (R32 and R35). 

I will be back Tuesday evening with an MFT new release post, in case you are wondering. . . Thanks for visiting,

Debbie

Mixed Blooms Card

Welcome! Still doing my part to entice Spring to come--at least that's what I'm hoping for! I usually start a card with the focal image; but on this card, I had played with my Spellbinders Diamond Effects die template set a few days ago, loving the simplicity of white on white. I laid it aside because I wasn't sure what I wanted to use for a focal image. Then I got a little Taylored Expressions box in the mail, and I found my focal image--the TE Mixed Blooms image.

These are the Copic markers that I used for the leaves and the spiky purple flowers. . . No, I'm not going to embarrass myself by trying to assign a name to all of these flowers.

So, I'm venturing a guess that these are roses. I chose a cool pink (Copic R80's) for them. The BG90's were for the vase/can, and the BV's were for shadows, mostly on the can edges.

And here I've added the yellow blossoms as well as more purple ones. I deepened the colors in a few places after I fussy-cut the image though, so this wasn't quite the end. (I did not add any cast shadows at the base of the can because I knew that I was cutting the image out.)

Here's a close-up, darkened areas included. I chose to airbrush a Copic YR31 marker in the oval part of the background to make all of those purples pop against the background. I tried tying two different white bows on the card front and cut both of them off since they seemed to detract rather than enhance. It might need a tiny tag somewhere though. What do you think?

That's it for today. Thanks for visiting,

Debbie

My New Die Storage Solution!

I've been in a cleaning and sorting mode lately--not because I really wanted to be, but because the stacks of *STUFF* in my studio were sapping every ounce of creativity and making me want to go read a book instead of working. Have you ever been there? One of the areas that was really getting out of control was the sheer number of dies that I have. Let's see. . . about twelve years of this hobby, with at least eight of that being a job, and I can tell you that it all starts to add up! See the drawer above? That is after I took about ten die template sets out. I have several drawers this full of dies--some current, some retired, some not even labeled with the actual name of the die set. I know, I know--BAD me. Gulp. . .

The morning that we headed to the airport from CHA, my sweet friend Taylor (Taylored Expressions) handed me a three-pack of her new Magnetic Binder Box Inserts to try when I got home. Oh. My. Goodness--I loved them! I promptly ordered a number of them that I can't won't admit to, and that probably won't be enough. Oh yeah--they have really helped with my die storage issues.

Now I had tried a couple of solutions in the past; one was ordering magnetic sheets and then making them into a spiral bound book. Unfortunately, I didn't take time to BACK the self-adhesive magnetic sheets with a really thick piece of chipboard, so the pages bend much too easily when I turn pages, and the dies then pop off. Yes, I can still go back and add chipboard to make my homemade spiral magnetic book be more usable, but it definitely wasn't the best solution for me. (My binder punch wouldn't handle the thickness of the magnetic sheet plus a thick piece of chipboard.)

These are Taylor's Magnetic Binder Box Inserts. Pretty sweet, hey? I can use Taylor's Magnetic Binder Box Inserts with ANY of the thin dies that I typically use, and at 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", each sheet hold several dies!  And these pages are stiff enough that I haven't had a problem with the dies popping off.

Now Taylor also has the Binder Boxes that will hold several sheets of dies. I have so many dies though. . . Don't even ask how many, because I don't know. I think I have maybe a third of them on sheets now. Anyway, that's the reason that I am currently storing my Magnetic Binder Box Inserts in an Iris container instead of in binder boxes. I pull out the entire sheet when I am using a die that lives on that sheet, and I don't put the sheet back in the box until all of the dies are back on it. I can flip through them, Roladex style too. I like it. A lot.

Disclaimer: Just in case you are wondering, this was a totally unsolicited post. Taylor gave me my first pack, but I have purchased many, many packs since then. I'm a happy customer. :-} Evidently I'm not the only happy one--you can see that from THIS Splitcoaststampers product focus that recently came out. And unlike me, it tells you about using the backs of the sheets too. Hey, I'll be happy if I can just organize the FRONTS! Thanks for visiting.

Meaning of Christmas card and Spellbinders CONTEST Info!

Welcome! I hope you aren't as far behind this year as I am. Hmmmm. . . Maybe I should just skip this year and send out my cards next year instead? Seriously, while I don't like mass production, I knew that I needed to get some more cards made that were both simple and fairly flat so that they don't cost close to $2 a piece to mail. I also wanted to use some of my pretty Christmas-themed mini decks that were sitting on the shelf with only one or two sheets of paper missing. You know the ones I mean--the ones that you like enough to purchase and hoard, but that will be replaced in your paper affections when next year's lines come out. You have those too, right?

Today's starting mini deck was an Authentique Festive Bundle 6" x 6" pad. I chose a stamp from Taylored Expressions Rejoice! set as my focal image, along with two Spellbinders die template sets  to frame that sentiment. The die template sets that I used were Labels Twenty-Eight and Floral Ovals. I wanted to avoid my favorite bulky accessories--ribbons and buttons--so I used some PTI's Rustic Twine and even pulled out my old eyelet stash and my Crop-o-dile. I also skipped sewing on the card fronts. (My sewing machine may be pouting right now; it is not accustomed to being passed over. . .) I did take time to sand patterned paper edges since I was using vintage papers. So, that's six more cards for the stash, and I don't think that these will require extra postage.

Finally, I've mentioned the Spellbinders Explore Beyond: Craft to Win Challenge in an earlier post, but I just want to make sure that you get this information in case you want to enter to win some great prizes: Spellbinders is currently running the BIGGEST contest they've ever hosted to date! Spellbinders Explore Beyond Challenge: Craft to Win gives you a chance at a $5,000 Grand Prize Package from Spellbinders and their cross promotional partners! They'll also be choosing a 2nd place winner to receive a $1,000 prize package and a $500 3rd place prize package!

Prizes will include products from WorldWin Papers, Want2Scrap, Xyron, KaiserCraft, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L, Basic Grey,Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine, BoBunny, Fancy Pants Designs, Canadian Scrapbooker, Nikki Sivils, Elmer's, Bazzill Basics,Graphic 45, IMAGINE Crafts/Tsukineko and more!

How do you participate? It's easy!

Simply create an original project using at least two (2) Spellbinders dies. And get creative with it! Push your own creative boundaries...do something different. We'll be looking for those crafters and artists who have really taken on the challenge to truly "Explore Beyond".

Take photos of each step of your project. If chosen as a finalist... You'll be asked to submit these photos.

Submit a photo (of your finished project only!) to the appropriate Spellbinders Flickr Group.

Contest runs from November 26th, 2012 through December 26th, 2012 Midnight EST.

Categories:

Card Making

Home Decor

Scrapbook Layout

Jewelry Making

Fabric Arts

Mixed Media Art

Official Rules:

You may enter more than once in multiple categories. Projects entered must be original. A total of twelve (12) finalists will be chosen. There will be two (2) finalists from each category. Finalists will be announced on December 27, 2012. Finalists will be asked to submit photos of the steps of their projects to validate their originality. Finalists will be asked to mail in their final original project to the Spellbinders office. Original projects must be received by end of day, Friday, January 4, 2013.

A celebrity panel of judges will review the twelve (12) final submissions and narrow it down to three (3) winners. Winners will be announced on Friday, January 11, 2013. There will be one (1) Grand Prize winner of a $5,000 prize package and the project will be featured at the Spellbinders booth at the Craft and Hobby Association show on January 12, 2013. There will be one (1) 2nd prize winner of a $1,000 prize package and featured on the Spellbinders blog. There will be one (1) 3rd prize winner of a $500 prize package and featured on the Spellbinders blog.

Legal:

All federal, state and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the winners. By acceptance of the prize, winners agree without limitation to the use of his/her name, photograph and/or likeness for publicity purposes without any additional compensation. Winners agree to be bound by these rules and the decisions of the Spellbinders panel, which are final and binding in all matters regarding this event. Winners agree that the event and its representatives affiliates, agents, directors, officers and employees have no liability whatsoever for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind relating to or arising from this event or resulting from participation in this contest.Contest is not open to Spellbinders Employees, Various Team Members, or their immediate family members (Grandparents, Parents, Siblings, Spouses, Children).

Thant's it for today--thanks for visiting!

Peace, Hope, Joy

Welcome! I've been in a clean and simple mode lately and wanted to play with white and silver for today's card. I chose shimmery white cardstock for all of the pieces, even though I eventually coated the tree die cut --2012 Holiday Tree--with silver embossing powder.  

Other die templates that I used were Nested Lacey Pennants (for the sentiment banner), and Labels Twenty-Eight for the layer beneath the tree. I used a silver paint pen to edge the Labels Twenty-Eight die cut. To coat the tree in silver embossing powder, I mashed the tree die cut into the Versamark pad, then coated it with silver EP and heat-embossed it. I used tiny pieces of foam tape to raise the tree off of the Labels Twenty-Eight mat layer. Sentiment is from the Taylored Expressions Rejoice! stamp set.

Have you entered the Spellbinders Paper Arts Explore Beyond contest yet? They're giving away $5,000 in prizes from WorldWin Papers, Want2Scrap, Xyron, Kaisercraft, Graphic 45, Bazzill Basics Paper, BasicGrey, Bo Bunny, Fancy Pants Designs, Elmer's and MORE! Entries are being accepted through December 26th! Two finalists will be chosen from each category. Entries are low in jewelry making, mixed media art, and home decor.  Check it out here: http://bit.ly/CreateToWin

Thanks for visiting!

Oh, Baby!

I am overdue on a congratulations card for a sweet friend who is expecting her first baby--congratulations, Taylor! Of course, I wanted to use one of her stamps, Moka Jenn, as well as some lovely Girls Paperie papers that I got from her--(no longer in stock. I'm hoping for more papers like these at CHA!)

These are the Copic markers that I used to color the image. (I know--how did I possibly use that many markers in one tiny image? Sheesh!)

I added a bit of texture to her clothing by saturating a piece of absorbent woven cloth with Copic Colorless Blender and touching it to the jeans and top. Ribbon (seam binding) is dyed with Copic B00 and B21 Various Inks (reinkers).  I know that I've mentioned it in past posts, but I still get questions on where to get seam binding to dye. Both times I have ordered the plain white or cream seam binding, I've ordered from an eBay seller, Zipperstop. If you have other suggestions on where to find it, please feel free to leave them in the comments section. Thanks for stopping by!