Little Notes

Hi everyone - it's Karen here. Back to school is BIG news here in the Giron house and my oldest just started her first day of first grade yesterday {sniff}. She is SO excited to eat at school everyday and so I thought I would make some fun little notes to stick in her lunch box on days she needs a little encouragement, or just to let her know I'm thinking about her. She's my little stamping buddy and every time I get new stamps, she is just as excited as I am to ink them up, so I'm taking her favorite Cuppie images and putting them on 3x3 note cards.

I stamped each image in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored them in with Copic Markers - I chose bold, bright colors because those tend to be the colors she chooses to make cards with and I know she'll love them. I added some Christmas Red Stickles to the tops of each cuppie to add some sparkly fun. I cut out the images with Circle Nestabilities and added the Scallop accent and then popped them up with dimensionals. I love this simple way to make my daughter's day special!

Here are some of the things I'm planning writing notes for:

Her birthday

Completing a difficult assignment

I'm proud of you {you float my boat}

Class party

Rewarded for good behavior {you're a good egg}

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Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

recipe -
stamps: sweet spring, beach bum, doctor's orders, sweet celebration
ink: memento tuxedo black, copic markers
paper: (all stampin' up!) tempting turquoise, yoyo yellow, real red, pink passion, whipser white card stock
accessories: circle & circle scallop nestabilities; white, yoyo yellow, red gingham grosgrain ribbon, christmas red stickles, stampin' dimensionals

A Magnetic Cuppie Frame!!

Hi everyone!! Happy Tuesday! I have a cuppie project to share with you all today!!

It's not secret that I LOVE cuppie (grin!), and I really wanted to make a new frame for my desk at work. In cubicle land, there isn't too much room for decor, so I came up with an easily alterable frame so I can put pictures of my sweet daughter and just change up the occassion!!

I started with a super cute little frame that I picked up at my local craft store. I painted the edges with some acrylic paint (Eggshell by Americana) and then, using Zip Dry (a totally FABULOUS glue!), I adhered this super fun Cosmo Cricket patterned paper to my frame!

I punched out six self-adhesive business card magnets (I got mine from Staples) with my 1 1/4 Circle Punch, one to adhere to my frame, the other five to adhere to my cuppies!! I sponged all around my frame to soften it up with some Creamy Caramel ink and a sponge dauber, and I added Taylor's Tiny Twinkles all around the frame opening! I LOVE the pop of bling that these bring to any project!!

Now, the REALLY fun part started!! I stamped five different cuppie images in Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream Cardstock and colored them all with Copic Markers. The are all cut out and layered with Circle Nestabilities, and just like the frame, I sponged each one to soften them up. They each have a magnet adhered to the back so I can just switch em' out! Easy peasy!!

For my birthday frame, I used the Cuppie with balloons from the Doctor's Orders set, but I masked out the "Get Well Soon" sentiment to make it a birthday Cuppie!! The sentiment, "Happy Birthday", is from Fresh Flowers!

My little one is starting nursery school in September, so I HAD to use this super sweet Cuppie from A Year of Sweets 3, and the sentiment, "You Did It", is from A Year of Sweet Sentiments!!

I LOVE to shop with my little sweetie, so I stamped these shopping Cuppies from Downtown Diva for my next frame accent! The sentiment, "Friends Like You Are Priceless", is also from this set!!

Although we live on Long Island, we NEVER go the beach...so my daughter thinks that the ocean is in Maine where we go on vacation!! I had to make a beach frame accent, so I stamped this sand castle building Cuppie from Beach Bum, and the sentiment, "Beach Bum" is from the same set!!

Lastly, I knew I wanted a Christmas Frame, so I stamped this ADORABLE reindeer Cuppie from Season's Sweetings for this frame, and the sentiment, "Merry Christmas" is also from the same set!!

This frame has limitless options!! I plan on adding more accents to my frame with more Cuppies!! I hope I have inspired you to make your own magnetic frame!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!! Make sure to sign up for the Taylored Expressions newsletter so you can keep up to date on all the exciting happenings at Taylored Expressions!!!

Recipe:

Stamps: Doctor's Orders, Fresh Flowers, A Year of Sweets 3, A Year of Sweet Sentiments, Downtown Diva, Beach Bum & Season's Sweetings all from Taylored Expressions

Paper: Choice Buttercream Cardstock, Intense Kiwi, Sunflowers Medium & Frosted Teal by Prism and Early Bird from Cosmo Cricket

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Creamy Caramel

Accessories: Acrylic Paint (Eggshell from Americana), Magentic Business Cards, Frame, Zip Dry Glue, Foam Tape, Taylor's Tiny Twinkles, Sponge Dauber, Copic Markers and Circle Nestabilities

Jodi

Life Is Good

As a mom with children of (or nearing) preschool age, I'm always looking for new ways to package little treats to send with them to school. My kids LOVE Swedish Fish, so I thought I'd create a summery treat incorporating fish. The Beach Bum set was perfect for this project. I used the Matchbox Bigz die from Stampin' Up along with paper from the Beach Bum Key Ingredients to create my little treat. I stamped the palm tree on colored cardstock and cut it out, layering the top twice and adding some Parisian Mist glitter. I also added some Nut Brown Flower Soft to ground the palm tree and add more of a "beach" feel.

I could barely finish the project and take a picture before my daughter took the matchbox for her very own! :) Hopefully you've been inspired to create a treat that's different than your norm and makes your kids or grandkids eager to get their hands on it! SUPPLIES USED: Stamps- Beach Bum (Taylored Expressions); Ink- Onyx Black (Versafine); Paper- Beach Bum Key Ingredients (Taylored Expressions), acetate; Accessories- Parisian Mist Glitter (Taylored Expressions), Nut Brown Flower Soft, 1 3/4" circle punch, Matchbox Bigz die (SU);

My Little Beach Bum Book!!

Hi everyone!! Happy Tuesday!!

I am excited to share a fun, bright and quick project with you all today!!

I LOVE to make lists...I get great pleasure from making a list of things that I have to do, and then crossing them off as I get them done...I guess that makes me a bit Type A right (grin!!).

I found this SUPER cute (and super bright) tropical lined notebook at Michaels last week at lunch (and it was in the $1 bin too!), and as soon as I saw it, I knew it would be PERFECT with any of the images from the Beach Bum set from Taylored Expressions!!

I started by stamping my sand castle building cuppie twice in Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White Cardstock. I colored the cuppie, sand pail and sand shovel with Copic Markers and then cut them out. I then colored the entire image and framed it with Circle and Scallop Circle Nestabilities. Using Foam Tape from the Taylored Expressions Store (my absolute FAVORITE way to pop up my images!), I popped up the cuppie, pail and shovel!!

I anchored my image on a piece of Crushed Curry cardstock that I ran through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, and added TONS of Taylor's Tiny Twinkles (I LOVE these!!!).

I finished off my happy little book with TONS of fun, bright ribbons!! I am going to keep this on my desk at work to brighten up my work day!!

Thanks SO much for taking a look!!!

Recipe:
Stamps: Beach Bum by Taylored Expressions
Paper: Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry & Choice Snow White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Ribbon, Crushed Curry Polka Dot Ribbon, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Tempting Turquoise Grosgrain Ribbon, Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Circle and Scallop Circle Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Copic Markers, Taylor's Tiny Twinkles and Foam Tape

Jodi

A Scrapbook Project for the Non-Scrapbooker

I've had this idea for a while now but when I saw the Beach Bum set I knew it was the set to use. You see, I started paper crafting as a scrapbooker (way back many years ago) but I haven't really scrapbooked much since I discovered rubber stamping and cardmaking 6 years ago. The only problem...I never stopped taking pictures. So I was looking for a quick and easy way to get my vacation photos into a "scrapbook" when I came up with the Rolodex Book. I'm calling it an "unscrapbooked" project for the non-scrapbooker! LOL! Because really, it's just like stamping little cards. 

I started with a plain Rolodex that I picked up an office supply store and I used the rolodex Sizzix die cut from Stampin' Up for the pages. I used the Beach Bum stamp set and the Beach Bum Key Ingredients, along with plenty of Stickles and a fun assortment of summer shaped brads. 

On the cover I used my JustRite lower case Times New Roman font and the rectangle stamper for the title. I created a little beach scene then penned in the dates of our vacation in the lower right corner. I added ribbon tabs to each of my divider pages so whomever is looking at it can easily flip to a different section.

Who goes to the beach and doesn't play in the sand? There are plenty of pictures of my niece and nephews in this section. The images on the divider pages are done with a combination of paper piecing and copic markers. 

The beach bum section is home to photos of mostly the adults...LOL!

And of course, a little swimming in the ocean and the pools was in order. We weren't swimming with sharks though (that I know if anyway) so I only inked up the little swimming Cuppie and stamped him three times so he'd be with his friends. 

We also had lots of fun using the resort sailboats and taking a boating excursion to Rick's Cafe, so this section holds all those photos. The cloud stamp is from the Branching Out Coordinates.

In just a few hours I was able to "unscrapbook" our Jamaica vacation and I have 107 photos to proudly display. It would also be super easy to go back and add journalling cards to each section too (yeah right...LOL!). Wouldn't this be a great gift idea? Hmm...my family's coming to visit in September, do I have enough time?

Don't forget to sign up for the TE Newsletter...the link is in the sidebar. It's full of fabulous information on products, sales and creative ideas.

Also, just a reminder that Taylor is smack dab in the middle of her big move from California to Iowa so the TE Store will not be shipping any orders until July 13th. The Store is open and taking orders though.

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

A Quick Teacher Gift

It's the last day of school for my kids today. Sometimes I think it seems cruel that they make them go so late, but as a Mom, I'm glad because the summer can be crazy busy in it's own way. I wanted to make a quick gift for my youngest's teacher. Quick is of the essence these days with all that we have going on at the end of the school year. I am sure her teacher is looking forward to a summer of relaxing without 20 eight year olds to deal with every day, and I think that the Beach Bum stamp set is a set that says summer fun all over!

I started with one of the Party Favour boxes from Taylored Expressions. These little boxes make a simple gift just that much more fun! They come cut and scored, and a strip of high tack adhesive is all that's needed to put it together. I took a strip of designer paper from the Beach Bum Key Ingredients kit and two of the border stickers from the sticker sheet from the kit to adorn the front of the box. I stamped the tree and punched the image out with a 1 1/2" circle punch and framed it with a scalloped circle cut with a Nestability. I stamped the tree top on the green cardstock from the kit and popped it up, and added the beach ball on pop dots too. I had originally stamped the sentiment "Thank You" from the Beary Special Accessories set directly on the box, but wouldn't you know, I got it crooked. So I stamped it again and punched it out in a circle and adhered it over my first attempt.

I picked up the clips some time ago at the dollar store, but they also sell them at Staples. I stamped and coloured four different images (twice each) and layered them on scalloped circles cut from the cardstock included in the Beach Bum Key Ingredients kit. I positioned them back to back over the clip adhering them with a pop up glue dot, sealing them with dry adhesive.

These little clips make great bookmarks, but for a teacher these just might be the most fun a paper clip can be! I have yet to see a teacher's desk that didn't have 4 or 5 stacks of paper on their desk waiting for distribution to the class. I hope these will help keep her organized and smiling!

Quick, cute and functional...everything you wanted a stamping project to be! Have a wonderful day and keep smiling!

Laura

Recipe: Stamps: Beach Bum, Beary Special Accessories (Taylored Expressions) Paper: Choice Snow White, cardstock from the Beach Bum Key Ingredients kit Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Accessories: Copic markers, 1 1/2" circle punch, Scallop Circle Nestabilities, Favor Box (Taylored Expressions), jumbo paper clips (Dollarama), pop up glue dots, red line adhesive, stickers from Beach Bum Key Ingredients kit