My May project for CPC + BLOG CANDY!

Hello!

I'm excited to share with you my May project for Craft Project Central. Although it's a bit late for Mother's Day, this project is great for any occassion - just change up the sentiment!

Oval Box and Card Set

As always, I love to get feedback :)

BLOG CANDY!

Leave a comment on this blog post and you will be entered in a draw to win a free subscription for May from Craft Project Central (value of $10).

With the subscription you will get beautiful instructions to create 10 projects using all Stampin' Up! materials. Here are a couple things to keep in mind:

1. Start commenting now!

2. All comments must be entered by Sunday, May 26th at 11:59pm EST
3. I will be doing the draw using random.org on Monday, May 27th at 9:00pm EST

Thanks for stopping by today! :)

-Tara

xox

Scrap sketch at MDS Monday

Time for another fabulous sketch over at MDS Monday - This week we have Beth hosting, and she has a fabulous sketch for us!

My mother-in-law took these photos of Jacks, and they are just so cute. I knew I had to do something with them. Beth's sketch was perfect!

Check it out:

Come see what the rest of the Design Team has created, and then double click on that beautiful green icon of yours and get creating!!

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

Happy little box-in-a-bag!

Oh, hi again!

It's funny, I go into hiding almost all week, and then from Fri-Mon you can't get rid of me ;)

It's time for a brand new challenge at Sunday Stamps. Check it out:

Hayley's is our talented hostess with the mostess this week, and she's got this wicked colour combination for us! At first I was afraid (I was petrified) - I get really intimidated by brights. I love the look of them, but I just never know how to use them without feeling like I'm blinding everyone.

Fortunately, our design team came up with some awesome non-blinding samples! And looking at them all makes me feel so happy. This may be the beginning of what I'll refer to from here on in as my "Brights Movement". Kind of like Picasso's Blue Period ;)

I'm also playing along with Freshly Made Sketches this week because I just had to try out the great sketch they had!

Thanks for stopping by!

-Tara
xox

For this kids!

Well, it's the first day of a glorious long weekend! We were so excited about this long weekend that we made tons of plans... Then realized last night they were all for today! haha - getting the car fixed, helping my dad out with some things, getting my hair done, having some good friends over tonight... But it feels great. This is summer :)

So, it's time for another Dynamic Duo! Are you ready? :)

The fun colours this week are Pacific Point and Basic Black. We also have a dessert option for you - make a card for a kid or with a kid theme. 

I'm not going to lie, I struggled for a bit on what to make. Despite the fact that I have two young boys, I'm dangerously low on "kid" stamps. So, I went to my crafty bible (ie: Pinterest), and found this fabulous VW punch art. I tried to find the original source but came up empty handed. If you know who originally created this gem, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!

I also couldn't find instructions anywhere so I followed the photo as closely as possible and I think it turned out pretty cute. I embossed a strip of Basic Black with Chevrons to mimic tire treads.

This is for my nephew's 3rd birthday in July. 

Check out the fabulous inspiration from the Design Team and then come join us for some fun!

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

Everything will be OK

Hello, and happy day-before-the-long-weekend to you!

Today at The Friday Mashup Holly is challenging us to make a monochromatic card, and if we fancy, add some baker's twine. 

Admittedly, I forgot the baker's twine part :( You'd think that after doing the mashups for so long that I'd remember that there is always two parts - but I was so focused on the monochromatic part that it completely slipped my mind! (I know, for shame) 

Why not head over to The Friday Mashup and check out some monochromatic cards with baker's twine ;)

Check out the mashup:

Create a project using "A Monochromatic Color Scheme".

Create a project "using Baker's Twine".

Or Mash it Up and create a "Monochromatic project using some Baker's Twine".

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

MDS Monday has gone weekly!

Hello! And a very (very!) happy Monday to you. Why am I so happy on a Monday? Because MDS Monday has gone weekly!

Each week we will post a new challenge for you that will stay open for two weeks. Every other week will still be a scrap sketch, but now we're introducing a card sketch/technique week as well. Feel free to use this card sketch as a page though :)

Here's my card for today:

Check out the sketch:

I added some embossing to my card and have created a little tutorial for you. It is posted on my main blog, and a link to it as well saved under my "Tutorials" page. I hope that you find it helpful.

We do hope you'll join us at MDS for this new challenge week! :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox

Faux Embossing in My Digital Studio (MDS)

Faux Embossing in My Digital Studio (MDS)

Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

A quick and easy way to add embossing to any MDS project!

Step 1

Select the image you want to “emboss” from the Stamp Brush sets. In this example, I chose Back to School - Dots Overlay from the Back to School kit. Apply to your project. It will show on screen in Black.

Step 2

Crop the stamp to the same size as the section you are “embossing”. For this project, I cropped it to match the white layer on my card, which is 4” x 5-1/4”. 

Step 3

Change the colour of the stamp to match that of the background you are putting it in. In this project, Whisper White. Move this stamp layer so it is 1 layer above the background.

Once you have changed the colour and moved it back in your layers, you won’t be able to see the pattern anymore. We’re going to fix this now!

Step 4

With the stamp brush layer still selected, select “Drop Shadow” from the Design Centre. Adjust your settings so that Opacity=”-40%” and Blur=”-3”

Step 5

For a softer look, adjust the Opacity of the stamp brush in the Design Centre to 90.

You can do this with any stamp brush set and colour! I find that some stamps work better than others when doing this technique. Here are a few more examples using the exact same process. 

Colour: Midnight Muse;  Stamp Brush: Decorative Overlays - Argyle

Colour: Crumb Cake;  Stamp Brush: Autumn Harvest - Flower 1

Colour: Blushing Bride;  Stamp Brush: Decorative Overlays - Woodgrain

Hope this tutorial was helpful.

-Tara

xox