Taylored Expressions: Inspired by Pinterest

Taylored Expressions maintains a fabulous array of Pinterest Boards sorted by product and some by theme.  It's a fabulous source of inspiration and the Baker's Dozen design team is tasked with showing you how we were inspired by a card.  I fell in love with Jen's card found here.

I love the her color scheme!  And I love the texture and patterns.  It's all perfect for a very warm and thoughtful card.  I have to admit that I already knew what product that I wanted to use before I started browsing Pinterest - the Up, Up and Away Cutting Plate.  I had envisioned bright, almost neon, party colors - but I was so inspired by Jen's card that I went with the warm and rustic look.

I was also inspired by her touch of texture and by the hint of patterns - not to mention the blue die cut word and the twine bow!!
I love this cutting plate - it was a must-have for me (even before I was on the design team!)  The balloons, strings and frame are one die cut which makes it really easy to work with. Then there are extra balloon dies you can use to change the colors of the balloons. 

A big thank you to Jen and all of the inspiration that she provides!!

SUPPLY LIST

Up, Up, & Away Cutting Plate	Think Happy Thoughts stamp & die combo	In & Out Birthday	Embossing Folder - Woodgrain
Premium Cardstock - Toffee	Premium Cardstock - Chocolate Truffle	Premium Cardstock - Cookie Monster	Premium Cardstock - Peapod
TE 6x6 Paper Pack - Rainbow Brights	Doodlebug Sprinkles - Bright Glitter Assortment	Hemp Cord - Natural (68 yards)

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Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge: More Bouquets

Just a reminder that there is still time to play along with the challenge at the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge: Bouquet.

Our sponsor is Penny Black and there are prizes available!!  Be sure to check out the challenge link above. 

I am using two different Penny Black sets on this card.  A fabulous floral set called Pretty Petals and a set of sentiments called Heartfelt.  I have to admit that I had a lot of false starts on this card.  I was trying to come up with some unique and creative way to totally showcase the gorgeous flowers.  I tried vellum, I tried Distress Inks, I tried a variety of layouts.  But I finally woke up and realized that these flowers can stand alone.  They can be works of art (just check out other design team cards from and also the Penny Black blog), but they can also stand by themselves with the right sentiment and make a great card.

Those simple flowers, blowing in the breeze, just make me smile!!
They can also be elegant.

I hope to see you playing along with the challenge - it's a good time to be thinking about "bouquets". You don't need to use Penny Black to play - but there is a gift certificate available for a randomly selected participant!!
SUPPLY LIST
The red background paper is Stampin' Up's retired Poppy Parade.

Penny Black Pretty Petals	Penny Black Heartfelt	Penny Black Flights of Fancy	SSS Fog Gray CS
Doodlebug Swimming Pool Glitter Sprinkles

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Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge: Bouquet

This is my second post today.  My take on the new sketch at Freshly

Made Sketches if just a post away!

It's time for a new challenge at the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge: Bouquet.

We have a new sponsor, Penny Black, for the Curtain Call Inspiration: Bouquet!  A randomly selected participant in the Bouquet challenge will have their choice of a Penny Black gift certificate, while the LEAD will be invited as a Guest Designer in a future challenge!

Penny Black was gracious enough to supply the design team with a stamp set for this challenge and I picked the Pretty Petals.  It's a lovely set of various natural-looking groups of flowers, many of them blowing in the breeze.  Of course, I had no shortage of Penny Black dies in my own stash to add to the image.

I love the colors in the challenge graphic, so I wanted to be sure to use purples, reds and some soft blues and greens.

The long word die is from Penny Black's Doodles die set which includes three different sentiments.  Besides "celebrate", there is also "hello" and "smile".  The butterfly is from one of my most used butterfly sets, Penny Black's Flights of Fancy.  There is a big solid butterfly and a number of smaller butterflies, both from the top and the side view above.  (If you get their Swirling Wings die too, there's a scrollwork butterfly that fits on top of the solid die in Flights of Fancy.)
I hope you are challenge by the inspiration photo and that you play along!  Remember, you don't have to use Penny Black products.
SUPPLY LIST

Penny Black Pretty Petals	Penny Black Doodles Die	Penny Black Flights of Fancy	MFT Grape Jelly CS
PPP 4mm Sparkling Clear Sequins

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Bouquet Designers

Guest Designer, Marcie Sharp
Amy Kolling
Amy Sheffer
Amy Tsuruta
Gayatri Murali
Kim Singdahlsen
Laurie Willison
Lisa Henke
Marisa Ritzen
Maureen Plut
Monika Davis
Sarah Gough
Sheri Gilson
Stacey Schafer
Tenia Nelson
Tracey McNeely

Follow us!

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge Facebook Page

Curtain Call Pinterest Boards

Stop by the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge:  Bouquet for the challenge details and to play along with us!

Freshly Made Sketches: Zinnia for Mother

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!

I thought this sketch was just calling out for a tall flower only to discover that I had amazingly few tall flowers in my stamp collection.  But I did have this brand new set from Taylored Expressions - and I absolutely adore the layered look of the flower.

The design team at Freshly Made Sketches never fails to amaze me.  While I clearly saw this as a sketch for a tall flower - you won't believe the fun and creative ideas the team came up with.  Be sure to check it out - then I hope you play along!
SUPPLY LIST
The inks are a variety of brands and colors that I thought worked well for layering.

TE Simply Stamped - Zinnias	TE Simply Stamped - Zinnias Dies	TE Various Vases dies	Simple Stories Vintage Bliss 6 x 6 Paper Pad
Lil' Inkers Stitched Mats: Rectangles	TE Sequins - Double the Fun Boy	Hemp Cord - Natural

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Taylored Expressions Release Day: Sky High

It's here!  All of the new products from Taylored Expressions are available!  Also be sure to head over to the TE Blog for a few more sneak peeks and, if you've been leaving comments, the winners of the giveaways.

I have one more sneak peek for you.

I mentioned on Tuesday that I have lots and lots of graduation cards to make.  The cards that I showed you on that day were all fairly classic graduation-style cards.  But there's a new set of stamps and dies this month that can make gorgeous and meaningful cards in a very different style using balloons!  This card includes the Sky High Hot Air Balloons die set and the Sky High Sentiments stamp set.



I used Peapod, Candy Corn, Salt Water Taffy, Sugar Cube and the new Lavender Glaze cardstock.  The embossing folder is the previously released Cloudy Days Embossing Folder.  The sequins are from the new Double the Joy Sequin set but I did pick out the pink sequins to coordinate better with this card.



Although I'm all about graduation this year, there are so many other uses for hot air balloons.  And even the balloon dies are all about flexibility.  The center of the big balloon is separate so you don't have to cut the little windows.  There are other details for the balloon baskets that I didn't use on this card. And there's even two more sizes that I haven't shown you.

Be sure to check all of the other designers starting on the Taylored Expressions blog because there is just too much for one designer to show off in just a few days.

And have fun shopping!

SUPPLY LIST

Sky High Sentiments	Sky High - Hot Air Balloons	Banner Stacklets 1	TE Sequins - Double the Joy
Embossing Folder - Cloudy Days	Premium Cardstock - Salt Water Taffy	Premium Cardstock - Lavender Glaze	Premium Cardstock - Peapod
Premium Cardstock - Candy Corn	Premium Cardstock - Sugar Cube	Premium Cardstock - Poppy Seed

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