Sweet Baby for The Friday Mashup!

Good morning,

This week at The Friday Mashup, Sara has a great challenge and sketch for us. I actually made about 3 cards before I finally decided on using this one. In hindsight, I should have photographed them all to share!

I started with a piece of Coastal Cabana cardstock and did a quick faux-stitch around the edge. I layered the oh-so-fabulous Retro Fresh DSP over some Baked Brown Sugar and again did a faux-stitch around these two panels. Not nearly as noticeable!

The fun part was the bunny. I stamped the bunny in Baked Brown Sugar and then punched out with the 2-1/2"Circle Punch. I outlined the bunny in Coast Cabana and then cut out another bunny to lay overtop. Once I has masked the bun-bun, I sponged around the edges with Coast Cabana. Afterwards, the bunny was coloured and I addd some highlights with a white gel pen.

The shading in the background was done in a similar way, by masking with a scrap 2-1/2" circle.

Check out the challenge this week:

1. Create a project with the "Sketch".
2. Create a project using some "Sponging". 
3. Or Mash it Up and create a project with "Sponging using the Sketch".

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

Supplies:
Stamps: Baby, We've Grown
Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, White Gel Pen
Paper: Coastal Cabana CS, Baked Brown Sugar CS, Very Vanilla CS, Retro Fresh DSP
Tools: 2-1/2" Circle Punch

Color Me... Creative! A 5-colour challenge :)

Good morning! This week at Colour Me...! we are having a special kind of challenge. Every month where there is Wednesday in the month, the 5th week will be an "Anything Goes" challenge using up to 5 colours of your choice!

This is my card this week, using Midnight Muse, Island Indigo, Bermuda Bay, Pool Party & Soft Sky!

I finally tried out the Stained Glass technique - I've been wanting to try it for a very long time.

I embossed the gorgeous butterfly with Black on vellum. On the backside, I coloured with the Stampin' Write Markers using all 5 colours.

Check out the challenge this week. We'd love to see what colours you've picked :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox

Rocking a Pirate Towel

Back this Monday with a new challenge at MDS Monday - and there's a brand new look over there as well thanks to Beth and Holly! Be sure to go have a peek :)

I went a little different for my project this week. Typically I don't use such break colours and vibrant backgrounds, but I felt like these photos needed some special attention.

Check out the new sketch this week from Holly. I loved this sketch and have already used it for a few more pages that I'm working on.

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

Thank You notes with Envelopes!

Good morning

Today at The Friday Mashup, Lisa is out hostess and she has a great challenge for us to help us get up-to-date on our Thank You cards (thanks Lisa! I needed that).

The added challenge this week is to add some Stars and to have a matching envelope. Woohoo! Another excuse to use my Envelope Punch Board. 

I started with the colours from Sunday Stamps (Midnight Muse, Strawberry Slush and Silver) and the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches to create these little notecards (3-1/2" x 5"). The envelopes were made to size in Strawberry Slush cardstock. Is there anything more fun than getting a pink envelope in the mail!? :) .... Just in case you're wondering, the answer is 'no'!

There are three of these notecards. I've used the Off The Grid stamp for the background and topped it off with a matted banner of Whisper White and Silver Glimmer Paper (yum!). I stamped stars from Simply Stars in Midnight Muse and Strawberry Slush and fussy cut them out. 

Finish off with some happy little rhinestones and the 'thank you' sentiment from Delightful Dozen, et voila! 

Check out the challenge this week at The Friday Mashup and please come on over and play along!

1. Create a project with "Stars"
2. Create a set of "Thank you cards with Matching Envelopes"
3. Or Mash it Up and create a set of "Thank you cards & Envelopes using Stars"

I've also played along with Sunday Stamps and Freshly Made Sketches

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

A 4-Colour week at Colour Me...!

Good morning,

This week at Colour Me...! we are working with 4 colours; Gumball Green, Blushing Bride, Pumpkin Pie, Pool Party and of course, any neutral you choose. 

I will admit, I had trouble coming up with the design for this one. Finally, after many failed attempts at doing something funky with the hexagons, I came up with this! It's a bit different, but I figured all I needed to do was to pop on some Chevrons and bling and I'd be A-OK. 

I used the Chalk Talk framelits to cut the tag out of the black panel and placed it over a layer of hexagons cut using the punch. I traced around the edge of the framelit with the White Gel pen and embossed the "Just for You" greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes. 

Check out the challenge this week. We'd love to see you swing over and play along :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox

Supplies:

Paper: Basic Black CS, Gumball Green CS, Blushing Bride CS, Pumpkin Pie CS, Pool Party CS, Whisper White CS, Pumpkin Pie Core'dinations

Ink: VersaMark, Gel Pen, Basic Black

Embellishments: Rhinestones

Tools: Chalk Talk Framelits, Chevron Punch, Hexagon punch, Heat Tool

Watercolours for MDS Monday!

Good morning, friends

Today at MDS Monday, Tami has a really cool sketch and challenge for us. She's got us trying out watercolour washes! This was new to me, but I enjoyed it very much. I was having a hard time committing to a design. I went from pinks and yellows with flowers to greens and browns with pics of my kids. Ultimately, I decided to finally use the Sail Away stamp brush that I have never used.

My mom turned me on to this stamp. She has the actual stamp and has made some absolutely gorgeous cards with it. I thought it would be perfect for a male 'thinking of you' card.

I started with some blue washes (Marina Mist and Bashful Blue), but felt there needed to be another colour in there to imply that it was dusk. Felt like a good time to go on a sailboat.

Check out the sketch this week:

The projects this week by the design team are absolutely fabulous (like all other weeks!), so please go check them out :) We can't wait to see what you come up with for this fun challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

MDS Supplies List:

Embellishments
2013-2015 In Color Ruffle Trim/2013-2015 In Color Ruffle Trim - crisp cantaloupe 1
2013-2015 In Color Ruffle Trim/2013-2015 In Color Ruffle Trim - crisp cantaloupe 2
Antique Brads/Antique Brads - brad 4

Stamps
Beautiful Today - small wash 1, Color = CRISP CANTALOUPE
Beautiful Today - small wash 2, Color = BASHFUL BLUE
Beautiful Today - small wash 2, Color = BAJA BREEZE
Sail Away - boat, Color = BASIC BLACK
Friends 24-7 - here for you, Color = BASIC BLACK

Punches
Hugs & Kisses Punch/Kisses punch, Fill Color = WHISPER WHITE

Photos
Essentials - designer series paper/Essentials - 5

Cupid is on the loose at The Friday Mashup!

A brand new challenge over at The Friday Mashup, and Heidi has us thinking about hearts and arrows. She's also got some great colours for us.

I started with a Real Red card base and added a layer of Coastal Cabana. Fortunately, all the colours in the Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper Stack from the Ocassions catalogue fit perfectly with this challenge... coincidence? ;)

The stamp is from my favourite little set Love You to the Moon. I puched out some hearts and chevrons (which is really just part of an arrow, right?) to add some sparkle and glimmer. You know... like the sparkle in my eye when I think of you and can't stop smiling? Full circle!

Check out the challenge this week:

1. Create a project using the colours "Coastal Cabana, Real Red & Crumb Cake"
2. Create a project using "Hearts & Arrows"
3. Or Mash it Up and create a project using "The above colours along with Hearts & Arrows"

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xoxo

Supplies

Paper: Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper Stack, Real Red CS, Coastal Cabana CS, Silver Glimmer paper

Inks: Real Red, Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar (shhh!!)

Stamps: Love You to the Moon

Tools: Chevron punch, Small Heart punch

CMCC#3 - A 3 colour week :)

Good morning!

This week at Colour Me...! we have 3 colours to work with! It's a 3-colour, subtle week and I have created this little gift card pocket. I don't have a pick of the gift card there, but it would stick to the little tag that pulls out.

I started by embossing some Smoky Slate Core'dinations paper with the Chevron Embossing Folder. I layered two pieces so that the chevrons were going in opposite directions. A quick faux-stitching border, some Candy Dots with the coordinating bases, and the pocket is complete!

I added it to my card base, which is layered cardstock and some Pink Pirouette DSP from the paper stacks.

The tag was mage by punching the corners out with the 1/2" circle punch and adding a layer of So Saffron cardstock to reinforce the hole.

The colours this week are So Saffron, Smoky Slate and PInk Pirouette! We hope you have fun with them!

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

Yummy Cookies for MDS Monday

Back again with a new challenge at MDS Monday!

This week, I scrapped some food, haha! I made this recipe at Christmastime. It's from my grandma's cookbook, and every now and then I feel like I need to scrap these adventures through her recipes. 

I used the recipe card for the background image and page title. I loved Joan's row of thin photoboxes in this week's sketch, and I thought it would be perfect for showing a series of progress photos. 

These cookies are delicious :) 

Check out the sketch this week (and be sure to visit us to see all the awesome ways the design team has used it!).

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

Monograms for the Color Throwdown!

My (little) big boy is moving into a 'big boy' bed this weekend. He currently shares a room with his brother, so I wanted to make them each a little 'something' to have at the end of their beds. Not that there would ever be any confusion over whose bed is whose, but this is just more fun, isn't it? :)

I started with two wooden letters from Michaels. I coated them with Tombow and laid a piece of Watercolor Wonder DSP overtop. Once dried, I trimmed around the edges with a utility knife and then sanded around all edges with the Stampin' Up! sanding block to give it a blended look. The great thing about this block is that there is a big side and a smaller side, and the pieces of sandpaper can be removed - I did this to get into the crevices. Worked like a charm!

Next step was to do some 'faux stitching' around the edges with Crumb Cake Stampin' Write marker. I could have gone crazy, but I wanted to keep these simple for a couple of reasons; primarily to reduce temptation for them to pick stuff off! haha. 

The wooden pieces are some of the fun new embellishments in the 2014 Occasions catalogue, Essentials Wooden Elements. I LOVE these little pieces. The circle is covered in Calypso Coral washi tape from the This & That suite, the banner is covered with Pool Party cardstock and sanded down, and the sweet little heart is just left raw!

I drew their names on the banners and added two small Candy Dots, et voila! Super quick and easy, but the boys just love them. 

I used the colours from Color Throwdown this week, with some small substitutions since I didn't have Baja Breeze and Peach Parfait. I used: Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Island Indigo and Calypso Coral.

Supplies:

Paper: Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper, Pool Party cardstock

Ink: Crumb Cake Stampin' Write Marker, Island Indigo Stampin' Write Marker

Tools: Sanding System

Embellishments: This & That Washi Tape, Essentials Wooden Elements, Candy Dots

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

All About Birthdays at The Friday Mashup!

This week at the Friday Mashup Holly has a great challenge for us. After the holidays, I'm always running short on 'everyday' cards - birthdays, thank yous, etc. This week, we're making a birthday card with some twine on it - yay!

I used some great new paper from the fabulous SAB catty (coming out really soon!) and the gorgeous giraffe from Zoo Review. I thought they went perfectly together! The giraffe is coloured with So Saffron and Sahara Sand using my 'go to' colouring tool, the fabulous Blender Pen. A small piece of Naturals ribbon and some white baker's twine to finish it off :)

Check out the challenge this week:

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox

Colour Me... Striking!

The first week of Colour Me...! was so much fun, we thought we'd do it again ;) haha...

This week we have a 2-colour challenge as it is the send week of the month. This colours this week are Melon Mambo and Marina Mist.

I love the stamp set Crazy Mixed-Up Love. The images are just too cute. For the frame around the circle, I use two Fancy Flower punches and cut them into three sections each (2 sections of 2 and 1 section of 1). They fit around the 2-1/2" circle punch perfectly with one of the '1' pieces left over. 

I tore a strip of Marina Mist Core'dinations paper and put it in behind, as well as punching out a little heart with it. The finish touch was the Marina Mist Candy Dots and the Brad Base. 

Be sure to swing by the blog and see what the rest of the Design Team has come up with, and play along!

Brenda Hofstatter

Hayley Kew

Katie Melhus

Rosemary Dennis

Sam Simpson

Tara Bourgoin

Lesley Croghan

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox

Happy Birthday for MDS Monday!

Hello!

It's Monday... already?! Where did my vacation go? ;)

Cindy has a great card sketch for us over at MDS Monday today. I had tons of fun with this one.

I strayed a little from the sketch in that I didn't place the individual hexagons around the page, but I used the super fun embellishment from Lemonade Stand, which is a bunch of hexagons placed neatly in a little row :) Lends itself well to my OCD tendencies.

Almost everything on this card is from the Lemonade Stand kit. This was instantly one of my favourites when it came out, and has remained among the top.

Check out the sketch this week. We would love to see you playing along.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Tara
xox

Sneak Peek Week - In review!

Hello all!

Since I couldn't share the names of the products used during the past week, I thought I would do a quick recap of all that I used in each card. Under each card I'll list the new products, and at the end of the post, you can view the linky that will bring you right to the Stampin' Up! shop (hurray!)

Day 1

New Product:

Paper: Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper

Day 2

New Product:

Stamp: Love you to the Moon

Paper: SAB 2014 - to be announced January 28th!

Embellishment: Gold Sequin Trim

Tools: Just Sayin' Framelits (bundle available)

Day 3

New Product:

Stamp: Peachy Keen

Embellishment: Essentials Wooden Elements

Tools: Embossing Folder SAB 2014 - to be announced January 28th!

Day 4

New Product:

Stamp: Baby, We've Grown

Paper: Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper Stack

Embellishment: Naturals 5/8" Chevron Ribbon

Day 5

New Product

Stamp: Peachy Keen

Paper: Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper

Tools: Petite Petals punch, On Film framelits

Day 6

New Product:

Stamp: Happy Watercolour

Paper: Watercolour Wonder Designer Series Paper

Day 7

New Product:

Stamp: Love you to the Moon

Paper: Watercolour Wonder Designer Series Paper

Embellishments: Basic Metal Buttons

Thanks for joining me this past week - hope you enjoyed checking out the new products :)

-Tara

xox

Occasions Catalogue Sneak Peek Week - Day #7 AND a Linky Party!

**To see my Friday Mashup post, please scroll down**

It's a very special Sneak Peek day today! The oh-so-fabulous Debbie Henderson has organized this great little linky party. We have 8 ladies and we've all picked a different stamp set from the new Occasions catalogue to showcase, so you'll get tons of inspiration!

I've chosen "Love You to the Moon"

I absolutely fell in love with this entire set when I first saw it. I wanted to keep it relatively neutral with just a bit of colour. I used the Watercolor Wonder DSP for the background, which reminded me a lot of craters in the moon. The 'dots' theme was carried down into the little banner at the bottom using Pacific Point Core'dinations paper and the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder (I love "old meets new"!)

That shiny little embellishment on the bottom left is actually two fabulous new silver buttons stacked on top of each other (these are SO stylish and flat, so they are perfect for mailing), and then a very large rhinestone on top of that (which now makes if more difficult to mail, haha).

Lastly, I finished it of with a bit of 'space dust', some rhinestones scattered around.

I am so thrilled that Debbie asked me to be part of this fun Linky Party! The other fab ladies participating are:

Cathy Autrey

Darla Watson

Debbie Henderson

Hayley Kew

Patti Corriere

Tara Bourgoin <-- That's me! :)

Terry Blais

Tracey Roy

Be sure to pop by their blogs as well to check out which stamp sets they have used! The best part of this linky party? You can join in too! All of us have the linky available on our blogs, just add it to any one of them and it'll appear on all!

Thanks for stopping by today. Tomorrow I will be doing a quick summary post of the the Sneak Peek Week cards with all the products listed, so I hope you'll stop back in!

-Tara
xox

Time Flies at The Friday Mashup!

This week at The Friday Mashup, Cindy has a great challenge for us. It's very fitting, with the new year and all, that the theme for this week is "Time". You can also mash it up with the great sketch Cindy created.

I used a new stamp set for this one from SAB (it really is the most wonderful time of the year!) and then some older goodies that I just haven't used in a long time. I really wanted something striking against the white and was originally going to go with a red or blue... Then thought, why not do both and go with purple ;)

I've also used the Clockworks set, and the great Chevron embossing folder. White on white, with a bit of texture :) 

Check out the challenge this week:

1. Create a project with the "Sketch"
2. Create a projecting using "the theme of Time"
3. Or Mash it Up and create a project with "a theme of time and the sketch"

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

Occasions Catalogue Sneak Peek Week - Day #6!

Day 6! I can't believe we're almost done with the Sneak Peek. I've been having so much fun sharing these cards with you! Tomorrow is the last day for my Sneak Peek Week and there is a special surprise, so be sure to check back :)

Today's share is SO simple, yet so elegant. The magic of a perfectly designed DSP and a simple yet elegant, stamp. 

This is all it takes, folks! I piece of DSP, a stamp and some black ink. I love it when cards can come together quickly and still feel 'finished'. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

Colour Me... Excited!!

*We interrupt our regularly scheduled program (Occasions Sneak Peek Week) for a very special announcement*

It's here!! It's finally here! Colour Me...! has officially launched and we are up and running with our very first challenge. Hayley and I are super excited about this new challenge, and we're thrilled to have some super talented ladies designing with us:

Brenda Hofstatter

Hayley Kew

Katie Melhus

Rosemary Dennis

Sam Simpson

Tara Bourgoin

And of course, our featured guest designer for January, Lesley Croghan!

Here is my card

I kept the design fairly simple for this card. I really wanted the focus to be the big, Island Indigo bow! I used the Dictionary background stamp for one of the first times! LOVE this big background stamps. A few pearls added for good measure, et voila! 

And check out the challenge this week:

You have until Monday at noon to link up your project. I hope to see you there :)

Thanks for stopping by today! See you tomorrow for day #6 of the Occasions Sneak Peek Week.

-Tara

xox