Happy Valentine's Day bloggy friends! Happy Heart Day – hope you get lots of love today! Too bad it's during the middle of the week when everyone is so dang busy. I was the lucky recipient of some chocolate covered strawberries delivered to my office yesterday (thanks honey)! MMMMMMM. He knows the way to my heart (chocolate!) Can't wait to spend some time with my hubs later on tonight. What are your plans? Are you a hopeless romantic? Even when I was single I always celebrated Valentine's Day by sending cards to my friends. It's a universal lovefest for me. Hope that you have a nice day, whatever you're doing.

I have one last Valentine creation to post today….I used one of my favorite color combos….red and aqua. Seems like aqua is everywhere these days? Maybe just because I love it, I'm seeing it everywhere. I used the awesome Pool Party color from Stampin' Up to be exact. Our master bedroom is painted this color! I'm using the gorgeous new heart layers dies from Papertrey Ink again too. Yup, this one is all about romance…

 

 

 

 

The flower stamps from this set fit perfectly into the larger heart stamp. Then I stamped a couple more and cut them out to pop them off the page for some dimension. I picked a nice bright cherry red to match my flowered paper. The butterfly die is also from PTI. It all just works together so nicely.

 

 

 

Here's a close up of my butterfly. The teensy pearl in the center is from Stampin' Up – they have the best pearls out there…and I adore this tiny size.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's another shot of my layers….

 

 

 

This card really was so much fun to create. You know how sometimes you sit down to make something and it comes out just like you wanted? That happened to me with this one. I hope you liked it too!

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!  XOXOXO

 

So, how is this possible? That it's already Valentine's Week? Sheesh…another year is gonna fly by. I can feel it. Are you excited for Valentine's Day? Do you make treats and cards and get into it? I usually make lots more stuff than I did this year. I haven't really been talking about it too much…but I'm STILL sick! Can you believe that? I can't. 27 days….but who's counting? Oh yeah, I am. This flu has been a nightmare. Needless to say my crafting mojo has been sidelined a bit in lieu of sleep and drugs. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel…and this time it's not a train. Feeling better this week. Thanks to everyone who has sent me a note or a word of kindness.

Not sure what the hubs and I will do to celebrate – maybe we'll wait until the weekend and do something nice together on Saturday. It's our 20th Valentine's Day together! Wowee. Love that dude as much (more) as when we first met. Since I've been so sick and lying around feeling sorry for myself, he bought me an early Valentine present…all three seasons of Downton Abbey on DVD! Yup, I've already seen the end of Season 3 and now I'm waiting for my friends to catch up to me so I can talk about it! No spoilers from me. My lips are sealed.

Okay, enough blabbing from me! Today I have a traditional vintage-y Valentine card to share with you! I got out all my favorite PTI supplies and kept it clean and simple. LOVE cream with red…and a pop of silver too. Here's my card!

 

 

 

I'm trying to master the technique of putting little embellies together in a group – in just the right combination. I had so much fun playing with this. I made that tiny rosette out of some text paper from Basic Grey. The stamp words and the heart dies are from PTI.

 

 

Can I even tell you how much I love this impression plate from PTI? Here's a close up, since it's kind of hard to see in the main photo. It's soooooo classy.

 

 

I edged my heart and my rosette/banners in some silver stickles to make it all look a bit antique. I had that little silver Eiffel Tower in my stash already.

 

 

 

So there ya have it! A Valentine just for YOU! Hope you have a great week. I'll be back with one last Valentine for ya on Thursday. Until then…XOXO.

 

 

Gung Hay Fat Choy! The Year of the Snake is here! Happy Chinese New Year everyone! If you've been here with me on the blog for a while, then you know I love to celebrate Chinese New Year by making cards for my friends. I love all the pageantry, celebration, and excitement of Chinese New Year! Always have loved it. I've been lucky enough to live in places that have marvelous parades and celebrations and I get swept away in the joy! This year is the Year of the Snake! (CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO)!  I am a Dragon, and last year was my year! 2012 was very good to me, and I think it's because of that!  What sign are you? Maybe it's your year this year?!

My cards for this year were made using a CUTE new stamp I bought at the Rubber Stamp Convention last year from Yumi and Fumi. The stamps are from a line called Sister Stamps. Usually I use an image of the animal, but I could not, for the life of me, find a (non-scary) snake stamp! So I used these cute kids instead.

 

 

 

 

How cute is this image!? I had so much fun coloring this!

 

 

 

I added tons of glitter glue to my firecrackers to make them really shine! It's hard to see, but I also put clear glaze on the firecrackers.

 

 

 

Here are my sentiment flags. I printed them out on my computer and then die cut them in the right size to fit my card.

 

 

 

The gold border is an EK Success punch. Just felt like my card needed an extra pop of gold on it!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Now, get out and celebrate and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Wanda!

So, I'm sort of sad that today is the final day for this fabulous Taylored Expressions Release Week. Have you enjoyed the ride? I know I have really enjoyed all the new products and inspiration this week. Are you ready for Spring crafting mode?  

Today I have three last cards to share with you. One is a bright and colorful Easter card, one a more subdued Easter card, and a birthday card! How's that sound?

First up is a cheery card made using the new Graphic Greetings Egg Hunt Stamp. SO perfect for treat bags, cards, and anything else you might make for Easter. I used this cool plaid paper from Doodlebug and some extra bright matching colors. I don't normally work in this color family, but I love it!

 

 

 

I added some flowers made with the Petal Pop Ups 2 Dies. Gives the card some dimension and more layers. Cuz, we need more layers! Honestly, I could have made a million of these colorful flowers, and put them on everything! LOL.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up is a CAS graphic birthday card I made with the Posh Posies Stamp Set. It's hard for me to keep it this clean and simple….but sometimes you just have to! This is a great card layout to use with any repeating image. It's also a great quick and easy card to replicate if you need to make a lot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, I made a serene green Easter card with the same Posh Posies Stamp Set. This time I stamped the Graphic Greetings Redeemer stamp in the background with some Linen Distress ink. Again, I kept the layout clean and simple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUPPLY LIST – Egg Hunt card: Graphic Greetings Egg Hunt stamp (new), Doodlebug Nifty Notions Paper, Label Stacklets 3 Dies, Petal Pop Ups 2 Dies, Brads.

SUPPLY LIST – Flower cards: Posh Posies Stamp Set (new), Banner Stacklets 1 dies, Elegant Butterfly Overlay dies, Distress inks, Memento inks, Graphic Greetings Redeemer stamp (new – in the background), Whimsy Alpha dies (new).

Thank you so very much for hanging out with me all week. It's always such a pleasure to do work for Taylored Expressions. I'm so lucky to be a part of this group! Take care and have a wonderful weekend! XO

Here are the players for our final day!

• Carole Burrage
• Charmaine Ikach
• Jen Shults
• Kerri Michaud
• Lynnette Kauffman
• Sankari Wegman
• Shannon White
• Shelly Mercado
• Stephanie Kraft
• Tammie Edgerton
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Wanda Guess
• Jami Sibley (DT Coordinator)
• Anna Wight (Guest Designer)

Hello Friends! Are you ready for another fun-filled Sneak Peeks Week with Taylored Expressions!? I am! I can't wait to see all the projects everyone made for this release. There is just so much good stuff that's new for February. Today I'm posting two projects featuring new stamp sets for this month. It's all about Easter today! My projects are totally different in style and feel. My first card for today I think might be my favorite for the week….

First up is a fun and cheery Easter card with bright colors. I used the new Basket-full set for the main image and then I used the new Calla Lily Bouquet stamp set for the sentiment. Hope you likey!

 

 

 

 

I stamped some Easter eggs on my sentiment circle. I love these colors together!!

 

 

 

My Copic palette for today…

 

 

 

This makes me want to eat his ears off! LOL.

 

 

 

 

 

My second project for today is a set of book marks. I made this to give to some of my girlfriends for Easter treats. I thought they would make nice Bible bookmarks to bring to church. I kept the layers to a minimum so they easily fit into a book. The sentiments are all from the beautiful new set called He is Risen. You will also see some gorgeous new butterfly dies! These new butterfly overlays exactly match with the TE Elegant Butterflies dies. Nice!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are my three bookmarks…aren't those butterflies so nice?

 

 

 

I had leftover supplies so I made a sweet little simple notecard too!

 

 

 

Here is my assembly line…and a sneak of the stamp set!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These look so nice all together…I added just a few pearls to the centers…

 

SUPPLY LIST – Easter Card – Basket-full Stamp Set (new),  Calla Lily Bouquet Stamp Set (new), Doodlebug Paper – Nifty Notions, Oval Nestabilities, Copic Markers.

SUPPLY LIST – Bookmarks – He Is Risen Stamp Set (new), Elegant Butterfly Overlays Dies (new), Label Stacklets 2 Dies, Scallop Notecard Die, Bookmark Die, MME Paper – Oliver, Distress Inks.

All the new sets will be available in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store on Thursday!

As always, be sure to click around and see everybody's projects for today! We are each doing different things, so you can see a nice variety! Have a fabulous day!  

• Carole Burrage
• Charmaine Ikach
• Jen Shults
• Kerri Michaud
• Lynnette Kauffman
• Sankari Wegman
• Shannon White
• Shelly Mercado
• Stephanie Kraft
• Tammie Edgerton
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Wanda Guess
• Anna Wight (Guest Designer)
• Nancy McKinney (guest – illustrator)

 

Helllloooo! How are you? Are you having a nice weekend? Are you ready for the Super Bowl!? I am, because my team is in the game! GO NINERS!! I have been a Niners fan since waayyy back int he 80's when I used to go to every game! Should be lots of fun to watch the Super Bowl this year. Are you having a party? All I know is that today will involve a lot of junk food! LOL. Yesterday I went to the most delightful stamp camp at my friend Denise's house with some of our other stamping buddies. It was such a great time. Thanks Denise!!

Today is one of my days to post for Taylored Expressions and I have a sweet baby card to share. Our very own lovely Shelly Mercado had a baby a few weeks ago – a sweet baby boy. I wanted to send her a card to congratulate her and welcome her little one. I chose the adorable whales stamp set from the Animals in Love collection from TE. I found the perfect papers too….and just a pop of red to balance all that yummy blue. 

 

 

 

How cute are those whales?!! Eeeeep!! 

 

 

The TE Wave Border die is perfect with this set! 

 

 

Here is my Copic palette for this one….

 

 

Showered with love…

Here is my Supply list – click on each item to go straight to it in the TE store! Animals in Love – Whales stamp set, Wave Border Die, Banner Stacklets 1 Dies. Also I used my Copic Markers, Circle Nestabilities and Gnome Sweet Gnome paper pack!

 

Hi Friends! Happy February – if you can believe that! I can tell this year is just going to fly on by… Whew. Lots to look forward to though – Valentines and Spring are just around the corner. Today is my first Challenge as part of the A Blog Named Hero team! Woooo Woooo! The challenge for this time around is Paper Piecing. I looooove making projects with this technique. I hope you will check out the ABNH Blog and get inspired to put your own entry into the mix! You could win a gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp!

So, here's my funny Valentine for today. All stamps are from Hero Arts of course. Owl you need is a friend! These big owls are so adorable. I gave them cute matching outfits using some pretty paper from My Mind's Eye. I used a brand new 2013 Hero Arts sentiment stamp in a fun font too. 

 

 

 

What do you suppose their names are, this cute couple?? Hootie? LOL. I adore their big eyes and now they have super fab clothes! I paper pieced each part of their outfits just like making paper dolls in the old days! I colored in their faces and wings with some Copic Markers. 

 

 

 

 Here's a close up….

 

 

 

My stamps for today….

 

 

 

Here they are planning what to wear! 

 

 

 

I adore this sentiment stamp! There are a bunch of sayings in this pretty font, from the 2013 collection. I bought them all! (of course)

 

Here are my supply links:  BOY OWL STAMP,  GIRL OWL STAMP,  VALENTINE SAYING

Now don't forget to enter our challenge so you can have a chance to win the $25 Simon Says Stamp Gift Certificate! WOOO HOOOOOO! Have a fabulous day everyone! 

Hi friends! Today I'm sharing some BIG NEWS I've been keeping for a couple of weeks! I am one of the new Design Team members for the A Blog Named Hero Blog! Yippeeeeeee! You guys know how much I love Hero Arts products and so this is a big thrill for me – so excited to make some cool projects for this great blog. My projects will be posted on the ABNH blog and also here on my blog. TOOO much fun! The other gals have been so nice and welcoming. Feels like such a good place to be! There are bi-monthly challenges and I hope that maybe some of you will join along with us!? Today we are doing a BLOG HOP to introduce all the Design Team members! Awesome.  

In honor of our introductions, our mission was to post a card today for the blog hop, with the theme of "hello" or "welcome." I made a clean and graphic card using a variety of my favorite Hero Arts stamps. Lots of white space and some pretty, soft colors…

 

 

 

 

Here's a side view to show my layers and dimensions….I chose a Spring color palette of soft grey, melon pink and bright yellow. I am ready for Spring!

 

 

 Here are the stamps I used for this card…

 

 

 

I made my own patterned paper by stamping this awesome zig zag stamp onto crisp white paper, then I cut the pieces into my banners…

 

 

 

The butterfly was adhered with some glue on just the center top portion to allow the wings to pop off the page. I LOVE butterflies!

 

 

Just saying hello! From me to you! How exciting to be joining this new Design Team! Thank you so much for coming by my blog today to check it out!

All Stamps are from Hero Arts: Zig Zag Cling Stamp Background   Sweet Threads Labels Clear Stamps  Antique Engravings Clear Stamps 

One of many amazing things about this team is that it is truly an international mix of bloggers! This is a chance to get to know other stampers in different countries! How fun. Next up is the super talented KELLY. Wait until you see her card for today!

 Meet the Team at A Blog Named Hero!