Hand Stamped Sentiments: Here for You

The current challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments includes the new Stampin' Up In Colors which I really like so I just had to play along!

I really do like these colors.  I already used all five of them on this card. But I think I might be even more excited looking forward to winter and Christmas.  Orchid Oasis and Starry Sky are going to make fabulous winter cards.  And a softer red makes me giddy.  My eye sees most reds as harsh - I truly struggle with red and green Christmas cards. I think this softer red is going to show up on most of my Christmas cards!

Thank you to Hand Stamped Sentiments for the challenge!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up And Many More

Dies: Stampin' Up Build a Butterfly

Paper: Stampin' Up Cardstock in Orchid Oasis, Starry Sky and Tahitian Tide, In-Color dsp in Orchid Oasis, Sweet Sorbet and Parakeet Party

Other: Kat Scrappiness Majestic Blue pearls

Freshly Made Sketches: Take Care

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Judy and here’s what I did with it!

 

I got the Catherine Pooler Flight of the Dragonfly some months ago because I loved the samples in which those detailed butterflies were colored in multiple bright colors.  Funny thing - when I get around to using the set, I simply white embossed them - no coloring at all!  I'll color them before it's over but I loved the idea of multiple stripes with simple dragonflies.  I actually started out with plain black and white dragonflies but they needed a bit more color.

The sentiment is from Pinkfresh.  I wasn't sure what type of card I was making when I added the dragonflies. As I paged through my stash, this sentiment jumped out because of its font - it just felt right for the look of the card.

I already have another card done with these dragonflies - I think I'll post on Friday - and guess what? They still aren't colored in!  I had a couple of extras from this card as I experimented with various colors. I think this set is going to have to stay in my not-yet-used stash until I used it in the way I had planned.

I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps:Catherine Pooler Flight of the Dragonfly + dies

Dies: Pinkfresh Take Care

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Mango Melody, Coastal Cabana, Flirty Flamingo, Bermuda Bay

Other: Various Gumdrops from Your Next Stamp

Poppystamps: Oak Leaves and a Forest Squirrel

 I'm on the Poppystamps blog today with this charming Whittle Forest Squirrel and a rainbow of leaves using the Whittle Oak Leaf.

Fall is my favorite season.  I love the cooler weather and I love the brilliant colors.  Mostly I love them together.  The brilliant colors look even more amazing against the wintery skies and with a bit of frost. So behind my squirrel, I added a bluish-gray background and I used the Memory Box Waves 3D Embossing Folder since the waves looked like blustery weather to me. 

Pop on over to the Poppystamps blog for many more pictures and details!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Poppystamps Whittle Everyday clear stamp set

Dies: Poppystamps Whittle Forest Squirrel and Whittle Oak Leaf, Memory Box Stitched Square Layers

Paper: Memory Box 6x6 cardstock packs in Stormy Blue, Earth Neutral, Berry Red, Sunny Orange, Lush Green, Vibrant Violet

Other: Memory Box Waves 3D Embossing Folder, Bright Jewels

The Paper Players: Feline Fine

Given the felines in my house, one of whom is currently sitting on the card for this challenge that I need to get a photo of, I had to play along with the current challenge at The Paper Players which is "Feline Fine"

My boys helped rescue the mother of our two cats.  When my guys were in elementary school, on an extremely cold day, the mother was a kitten trying to survive under one of the temporary classroom buildings.  The school wouldn't let them crawl under to rescue them during the school day, but they said any families could come back after hours (in the dark, when it was even colder).  We were one of two families dumb brave enough to risk the bitter cold. After belly crawling on the ice, one of the kids in the other family rescued the kitten and they took her home.  So when that cat later had four kittens, we visited them weekly from the day they were born. When it came time to find them homes, the girls in the other family were struggling with splitting them up so they kept two and convinced us to keep two.  The idea was the cats were the boys' pets.  Right.  Boys grow up - and leave home - but cats seem to stay. And they are such a big help!

Thanks to The Paper Players for the inspiration to create a cat card for my stash to send to one of my boys.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Poppystamps Whittle Love Sentiments

Dies: Poppystamps Whittle Cat, Whittle Clouds and Little Bit of Turf, Memory Box Postage Square Layers

Paper: Memory Box Madras Plaid Coral and Green, Dashing Stripes and Dots, Lush Green Collection and Earth Neutral Collection

Fab Friday: Garden Floral Stencil

I have not used a lot of stencils.  Maybe a few as light backgrounds but not much more than that.  No reason for it, I just have so many other products, why deal with one more?!  But finally, not only did I use a stencil but I used a five layer stencil!  I might be a convert because I love the results.

I didn't spend any time thinking about this one.  It was really supposed to be a practice image.  I pulled out some colors that I knew would blend.  Then when I got this big flower done and decided I liked it, I wasn't sure how to use it. I'm kind of a small-little-groupings cardmaker - these big things stump me.  Fab Friday to the rescue!

The fabulous design team for Fab Friday are Stampin' Up demonstrators although it's OK with them if our cards don't use Stampin' Up products.  I have more than my fair share of SU products and I felt a tad guilty not using them. So at the last minute, I added a background using the  Stampin' Up Tasteful Textiles embossing folder! I like it - it gave it a nice soft look. The pinkish color is also Stampin' Up - I adore Flirty Flamingo - which is amusing because #1 I don't like pinks and #2 when I read other blogs I notice that many others actively dislike it!

This was fun and so much easier than I would have expected. I think I'm going to go try some different color combos!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Avery Elle Simple Sentiments

Stencil: Pinkfresh Garden Florals set 

Dies: Pinkfresh Garden Florals, Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangles, Scalloped Rectangles

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Flirty Flamingo

Other: Stampin' Up Tasteful Textiles Embossing Folder, Pretty Pink Posh Marigold jewels

On My Mind with Summer Sketches

Surprisingly, I have never seen nor played along with the Cupcake Inspirations challenge.  What a fun and creative challenge!  Now that I've found it, this week's challenge is to use Flowers with Pearls/Sequins. Here's what it inspired me to create.


I actually did try to model it after the inspiration photo although it's somewhat hard to tell.  I am not a pink fan, so I went with peachy tones.  Originally this card was an all-white front but it needed something more.  I remembered the silver cupcake wrappers in photo - I didn't want to go with silver, but I added gray stripes which I thought were reminiscent of the wrapper.  Now that I have my card and the inspiration side-by-side, the cupcake silver is more of a blue tone and my gray is more of a tan tone so it doesn't look at all alike - but I really was inspired!!  So a big thanks to the challenge!

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: The Greetery Summer Sketches, Sentiment Suite: Thinking of You
Dies: The Greetery Summer Sketches, Sentiment Suite Basics die, Brick Layer die
Ink: Stampin' Up Pear Pizzazz, Petal Pink, Grapefruit Grove
Paper: Stampin' Up Petal Pink, Papertrey Ink Soft Stone

TGIF Challenges: A Little Note with Bold Flowers

I just couldn't miss playing along with the wonderful colors at TGIF Challenges. I went with one of my favorite Stampin' Up die sets (retired) that includes big flowers to show off the colors.

I love the dimension on these flowers and there are so many other layers that could be added. I kept it simple so the colors could be center stage.  The two sentiments are from a different Stampin' Up set but I thought they combined beautifully - and it let me me add a bit more of the Mango Melody.

It's funny how my tastes have changed over the years.  For years I would have said I was a Stampin' Up Regals colors person, but lately I'm all about the Brights!!  I love every one of them.  Now..if I ever become a Subtles person, that would be a dramatic change.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Stampin' Up Butterfly Gala (the sentiments)
Dies: Stampin' Up Botanical Builder (retired)
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Granny Apple, Flirty Flamingo, Mango Melody
Ink: Stampin' Up Mango Melody
Other: Pretty Pink Posh black gems

Fab Friday: Arrange a Wreath

I got my first new catalog order from Stampin' Up - and I am absolutely thrilled!  Right now my card making is all about the die cuts - and the Wreath Builder set did not disappoint!  Not to mention - huge fan of the new in colors!!


This is all the In Colors plus one layer of Shaded Spruce.  Shaded Spruce and Just Jade might be my favorite combination!  I also love how the magenta pops with all of the other colors.  The subtle blue is incredible. And we've needed a different brown for a long time!  FYI - if you are a Copic user, the charts on my sidebar as being updated as you read this. I'm struggling with finding a match for one color, but I expect to have them available by the end of the day.
Check out all of the detail on these dies...

I immediately cut all of the wreath parts, then wasn't quite sure how to arrange my card, but I remembered the sketch at Fab Friday.  At first glance, it certainly didn't seem like a wreath was meant to be on this sketch, but all the elements are still there! Thank you for the inspiration.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Stampin' Up Butterfly Gala (the sentiment)
Dies: Stampin' Up Wreath Builder
Paper: Stampin' Up Just Jade, Shaded Spruce, Bumblebee, Magenta Madness, Cinnamon Cider, Misty Moonlight
Other: Stampin' Up Brick & Mortar 3D Embossing Folder, the enamel dots are not Stampin' Up because those dots are unavailable right now :(

Freshly Made Sketches: Dainty Blossoms

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by me!! Here’s what I did with it!


The sketch actually only includes the stripe pattern at the bottom so it's wide open for your own creativity!

The flower is from a large set by Pinkfresh Studio called Dainty Blossoms. I picked a flower with lots of detail since it's the star of the show on this card. I did initially plan on a black flower silhouette with the sentiment strip being black - it looked good, more dramatic than this one. But I am so feeling the need for light and fresh so I switched everything to white and added another colorful stripe.  The bitty butterflies have a colorful sequin in the middle to bring up a little of the color.

Have fun with the sketch! I hope to see you playing along with us at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Messages for Everyday
Dies: Pinkfresh Studio Dainty Blossoms, Memory Box Butterflies
Paper: Honey Bee Stamps Over the Rainbow, Taylored Expressions Confetti Cake

CAS Colours & Sketches May Guest!

I am thrilled to be the guest for the month of May at CAS Colours & Sketches.  It's a fun challenge to play along with because some weeks are colors, some are sketches and if there's a fifth week in a month they have a double challenge!  The first week is colors and here they are...

It's a trio of Stampin' Up in-colors! (You don't have to use Stampin' Up colors, the names are just given for reference.)  I do have all the Stampin' Up colors - and I do mean all - going back to the beginning of time!  So I pulled out my cardstock and matching sequins and created a trio of butterflies.


I had just browsed the Stampin' Up retirement list (and had ordered patterned paper and the faceted dots in the above colors which showed up late yesterday - too late for this card). I also ordered the stamp set that went with the Seasonal Layers dies so they were in my head. Thank goodness because I think this branch was a great backdrop for the sweet little butterflies.  I tend to use white backgrounds but I thought these colors popped beautifully on Crumb Cake and that allowed me to use a fresh white branch.
I hope to see you playing along with us this week.  A big thank you to the team at CAS Colours & Sketches for letting me part of their group this month!
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Stampin' Up Watercolor Wishes, Butterfly Gala
Dies: Stampin' Up Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies, Butterfly Duet Punch
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Purple Posy, Terracotta Tile, Pretty Peacock, Crumb Cake
Other: Stampin' Up Woven Threads Sequin Assortment

Freshly Made Sketches: Thinking of You

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Lee Ann.

I'm not sure I love the direction I took with this. I had the image of a tablecloth in my head - so I was thinking of a lacy and elegant look.  In retrospect, I wish I would have gone for quirky.  I don't dislike this card, but I think it would have made more sense with regular lines vs. the angled panel.


I do like the various elements of this.  I hadn't yet used the sentiment - but I adore every card that I've seen on various blogs.  The cover plate is one of my favorites from Taylored Expressions.  And aquas are at the very top of my very favorite list!!  I do like sending "thinking of you" cards.  Sometimes I just feel a need to send one to a faraway friend and it's always surprising how often they tell me it arrived exactly when they needed it most.
And the other very exciting thing on this card are the black speckles.  Most of you are now rolling your ideas but I stress over speckles.  I recently watched this video by Jennifer McGuire which is her "other crafty favorites" video from 2019 and lo and behold she demonstrates a variety of products to add speckles.  This is the Spellbinders Silk and is oh-so-easy to use!  I got the three colors that she recommended but I might be going back for more.  I also got the Brutus Monroe White Aqua Pigment that she recommended for white speckles but haven't used it yet.  I love anything that improves and de-stresses my crafting life!!

I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLIES
Stamps: The Stamp Market A Few Words and the coordinating dies
Dies: Taylored Expressions Bold Lace Cutting Plate, Lil' Inker Designs Of the Heart
Paper: Taylored Expressions Salt Water Taffy CS, Echo Park Black Polka Dot with a little sparkle added to it
Ink: Taylored Expressions Salt Water Taffy, Sprinkles and Cookie Monster, Altenew Obsidian Black Pigment
Other: Honey Bee Marine Dream sequins with a little gem plopped in the middle of it, Spellbinders Black Licorice Silk

Freshly Made Sketches: You're On My Mind

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by me!!

I had something entirely different in mind when I came up with this sketch, but when I sat down to make this card, I had a different need.  A friend, who is now far away so I can't show up at her door with a coffee and a hug, is struggling and she's on my mind.


This card went through some evolutions.  My original plan was to use a big leaf for the side panels, but when I decided to use these very detailed butterflies, my clean-and-simple brain needed to have something subtle behind them. I tried a number of options, but I ended up simply embossing some little flowers and leaves - problem solved!


As is usual with me, I struggled more with the sentiment than anything else.  Too small, too big, underneath, to the side - and most importantly the meaning.  I ended up paging through my stash of Verve stamps which will never EVER leave my stash because there is always something just right in there.  (Sadly, they have closed their shop.)  The sentiment I picked is simple - but I think it's just the right size, style and meaning.

It looks like not only did I use a stamp that's unavailable, but the butterflies might be too.  Cheery Lynn appears to have become Maker's Movement - but I don't see these butterflies.  (I can find the Cheery Lynn brand on some websites like Frantic Stamper but not these exact dies.  Note that they are the MINI set so there are some on Frantic Stamper of a bigger size.)

I hope to see you playing along this week.  It's always exciting to see the incredible variety of cards that come out of a single sketch!!

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Verve With Love, Taylored Expressions Notable Blooms Background
Dies: Cheery Lynn MINI Exotic and Angel Wings
Cardstock: Taylored Expressions Candy Corn, Pineapple, Confetti Cake
Ink: Stampin Up Smoky Slate, Versamark
Other: Wow Bright White Embossing Powder

Freshly Made Sketches: Thinking of You

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Linda.

I am still struggling with a total lack of mojo.  It's been a month that crafting has seemed like a chore.  Ugh.  Today was no exception.  I knew exactly what I was doing with this sketch and I confidently pulled out a stencil and my stash of Distress Oxides.  I also knew I needed a Thinking of You card for a friend so that narrowed down the sentiment.  How hard could it be?  Two full hours later - I managed to put together a color combo that I liked, brush on four stripes and stamp a sentiment without leaving fingerprints.  We won't talk about all of the false starts during that process!  This should have been a 10-minute card!!


The final struggle was finding purple cardstock for the strip.  I'm very matchy-matchy.  How is that I have complete sets of cardstock from five companies and there wasn't a single one in the same purple-tone as the Shaded Lilac Distress Oxide ink? This one at least coordinates but I really wanted something a bit softer.

OK, I'm done complaining.  The reality is that I've been passionate about this hobby for 15+ years.  A little lack of mojo here and there is to be expected.  Luckily there are fabulous stamps and beautiful inks and wonderful die cuts and other tools - so even when the process isn't feeling quite right for me, I can get something together.

I hope to see you playing along - and I hope you thoroughly enjoy the process of creating your card!!

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Pinkfresh Studios Scripted Bold Sentiments 1, Simon Says Stamp Tiny Words Faith
Ink: Distress Oxides in Old Paper, Bundled Sage and Shaded Lilac
Stencil: Altenew Watercolor Stripes

Freshly Made Sketches: Thinking of You

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Jen Brum.

I flipped through my not-yet-used stash looking for inspiration and it occurred to me that a new flower that I had was in a somewhat triangular shape which would work for that corner.


I played around with adding a butterfly for the circle in the corner. I liked it (maybe even a bit better than what I ended up with) but to get it big enough to show up on the lovely flower, I thought it hid too much.  So I decided to keep the full floral and spotlight it.  

Jen has given us a wonderful sketch - wide open for your creativity!  I look forward to see what you create.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: STAMPlorations Best Mom Ever by dee's Arsty Imprssions
Dies: CUTplorations Thinking of You, Stampin' Up Layering Circles Framelits
Cardstock: Taylored Expressions Pineapple
Patterned Paper: Sunny Studio Dots & Stripes Pastels

Stamplorations: Thinking of You

I don't do a lot with stencils and I have absolutely no idea why.  Particularly with my clean and layered style - they are perfect to add a hint of a background.  Sadly, I often think of it after a card is done and everything is glued down - then it occurs to me that a bit of pattern in the background would have added interest.

In a recent order from Stamplorations, I threw in some stencils.  I got one especially for cards that I need quickly but still have to be special.  I knew I was challenging my stenciling and blending skills with this one - but the stencil and a die cut sentiment is exactly what I needed!!  And you know what?  It turns out it's easy to use!


I am not a pro at blending.  There are definitely some edges on this guy that I could have/should have blended out.  But what I am a pro at is getting exceedingly messy when I'm doing inky things and then getting fingerprints and smudges on my card. I had ink all over my hands and then the stencil slipped - so I decided discretion was the wise choice and I stopped.


I feel like this stencil could go a number of directions.  It could be soft and feminine.  It could be "misty" (there's a reverse stencil so you could ink the bird then use the reverse to add some softness around it.)  I went with dark navy for my masculine bird because of the current challenge at Stamplorations.  I think he's gorgeous!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Cutplorations Thinking of You (by Stamplorations)

Cardstock: Bristol Smooth, Taylored Expressions Blue Corn

Ink: Distress Oxides in Vintage Photo, Spiced Marmalade, Tumbled Glass, and Faded Jeans, then I brushed on a bit of Taylored Expressions Blue Corn

Other: Artplorations Perched Bird Stencil, Pretty Pink Posh Starry Sky Mix (for the eye)

Freshly Made Sketches: Flowers and a Teacup

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Narelle.

This is the second time in the last few weeks hat I'm going to have to explain my card vs. the sketch.  I'm generally a hard-core sketch follower.  I'd like to say that it's even more challenging that way - this sketch must have two circles, a square and leaves.  But in reality, I'm probably just not creative enough to be inspired vs. being exact.  Here's my card for this week.


As I was flipping through stamps and dies looking for circles and squares, I saw this set in my not-yet-used stash.  Maybe it was a creative moment (or perhaps desperation as the deadline for this card was approaching), but I instantly saw the cup as the fairly straight-edge square and the flowers as the more fluid circle.  I put one set of flowers behind the cup and one on top just like the sketch shows.  The bird really had no place with the sketch, but it was too cute not to use.  (Funny thing - another design team member used this same stamp set - great minds!!)
I placed them directly onto white cardstock and after all were adhered, I thought it was a little boring - so I held my breath, watered down some black acrylic paint and flicked it on.  This has to be the first time ever that I was successful and didn't get any big blobs.  That was a very good thing because I got the photo taken just in time to walk this to the mailbox addressed to a friend in need as the postman was pulling up!!  (Although sadly, I'm now wishing I'd taken a side-view shot before I mailed it.  I actually adhered all the elements at different depths - the teacup is a thin dimensional adhesive, the top flower is a thick one and the banner is even popped from the teacup.  It's amazing how dimensional adhesive can add so much interest to a basic card.)
I hope to see you playing along with us this week!
SUPPLY LIST:
Stamps: WPlus9 Hello & Thanks (This set has a number of sentiments that would have worked in my little banner, but I needed a "thinking of you" so I used a sentiment from the retired WPlus9 set Love Birds)
Dies: Wplus9 Hello & Thanks, Taylored Expressions Double-Ended Flag Stacklets
Other: Copics, black acrylic paint

Freshly Made Sketches: Rain or Shine

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Cécile.

Last week, I found the sketch challenging but I was inspired by it and was thrilled with the results.  I wanted so much to rise to this week's challenge.  I wanted to create a bold, graphic card - totally out of my comfort zone.  But at some point, I gave up.  I do like my card but it's definitely not bold and graphic and I'm going to have to explain it!


Do you see the sketch???  The clouds and sun are the big triangle.  The umbrella is an upside-down triangle - at least for this sketch it is!!  The lightning is the stem of greenery.  Do you see it now?  Probably not!!  But at least it got me to pull out an unused set out and let it see some ink.  
I was thrilled recently when a friend was de-stashing and I am now the proud owner of a number of older Reverse Confetti sets (at least this one's not retired).  I love them all - they were all on my wishlist and they just showed up in the mail one day.  Thank you friend!
To give it interest, I did pop them at a variety of heights.  This picture shows it a bit better. The top cloud and lightning bolt are on thin pop dots and the umbrella is on thicker.  It's funny how a very simple card can be elevated with some dimension.

I hope to see you playing along with us!!
SUPPLY LIST Stamps: Reverse Confetti Weather It Together Dies: Reverse Confetti Weather It Together Confetti Cuts

Taylored Expressions Sending Joy

FYI - there is an exciting, but time sensitive announcement at the bottom of this post - 

so if you don't have time to read the post now, scroll to the bottom.

I love to give card sets as gifts.  I get the joy of making them and it is a wonderfully personal gift.  Maybe my friends would prefer a Starbucks Gift Card or something from the local brewery, but I don't think so. I know they value these cards because they use them. (Although we still find time to meet at Starbucks and the brewery!)  I was at a friend's house and on her fridge was a card that she received from another friend to whom I had given a gift set.

BTW - don't ever think that hand-crafted cards aren't totally appreciated.  Years ago, this was a little hobby for me.  Then I started sending regular cards to a friend who was battling cancer.  At one point in her battle, she was interviewed for a TV spot - she was in her office and covering the walls of her office were my cards.  That wasn't the point of interview - they were just there and clearly had profound meaning to her.  At that moment, my hobby turned into a passion!

Back to the point of this post.  Taylored Expressions has been a series all week with each designer showing an idea for a set of cards that is simple to create. (Start here and work your way forward.)  One of the reasons that I am passionate about Taylored Expressions is their constant emphasis on "sending joy" so they have a wide variety of products to let us do that!  Here's my set.

Let me break down the components of these and why they are simple.  I used Simply Stamped - Wreath.  Layering stamps can easily add a lot of impact, particularly if you have a Misti tool.  I attached the base stamp and stamped on a piece of scrap.  Then I could line up my background cardstock based on that scrap.  (Just add little pencil marks around a couple of corners of the cardstock, because you can do cards 1, 2, 3 and 4 just by placing and stamping.)  Ditto for the next leaf layer and the berries.  These take a little more effort to line up because they need to be precise - but remember - you can stamp 1, 2, 3 and 4 once it's lined up (or get carried and stamp twenty!)

In my experience, an embossed background looks like magic particularly to a non-cardmaker.  (We'll never tell them how easy it is, will we?)  Just for fun, I used four different embossing folders, but you could simplify even more and use the same folder.

I also used a variety of colors and a variety of greens on each card.  I picked greens to match the mood of the card but you can certainly simplify and use just a couple of greens - the colors of the berries and the bow change the mood.  Here are each of my cards and the colors.

 


Did you notice the last card was missing a green ink pad?  That's because I cheated and used something you'll see next week.  If you love Mint Julep - rejoice!!  Because there's a new color that's part of next week's new release that matches perfectly!!

Tip: Another way to simplify would be to use a die-cut bow instead of the layered stamped bow that comes with the stamp set.  Taylored Expressions has a variety of bows - I particularly like Little Bits - Bows.

Two more things to make this set extra special.  First - I added colored envelopes and lightly stamped the wreath on them.  I first stamped in Sugar Cube white, then I moved the envelope just the tiniest little bit and stamped the matching color to the envelope. It gives it a dimensional look and it's very quick and easy!


Then right when I was finishing these up, Taylored Expressions came out with a new product that was the icing on the cake - personalized "Made by Me" stamps.


Never forget that the cards you create are little works of art - and art is signed, right?  I think "signing them" makes cards even more personal - and I love these new stamps.  AND...they're now available to everyone in the Personalized Pop-Up Shop on the TE website!  The first Pop-Up collection includes four stamps featuring Taylor-made designs that you can customize with your name and, in some cases, your website address. 

The Personalized Pop-Up Shop will only be open through February 3rd (that's tomorrow!) so visit https://www.tayloredexpressions.com/popupshop.html to get your personalized stamp today!

Here's one last look!

SUPPLY LIST