Card Worthy: 2011

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Playing along with TE Sneak Peeks today...

Today is release day at Taylored Expressions and Taylor and her team are sharing more Petite-A-Palooza inspiration. I've got a simple project and a quick card that I'm sure will come in handy in the next few weeks. I've used images from three new Whimsical Wishes petite sets I illustrated: Moka Kristie, Moka Nora and Snowflake Wreath. Kristie was named after my niece Christi who actually is an amazing hockey player and wouldn't be caught in a pair of white skates! Nora goes way back when I lived in Norway for a year as a teenager. My host family sailed a boat named Nora and I always thought I'd use the name for a daughter. When the time came, we named our gorgeous bright-eyed girl Morgana instead. On to my projects...

I stamped the snowflake wreath with VersaMark and embossed with detail white powder. The skates are stamped on the front panel of the gift card holder (one I created in Silhouette Studio) and then again on white Gina K pure luxury cardstock for the little bit of copic colouring I did. I used my Atyou spica silver pen on the skate blades and eyelets. Inside, I've included the Warmest Winter Wishes sentiment from Moka Kristie. I die cut the snowflake embellishment in wool felt with one of the TE Winter Wonderland Snowflakes dies and added a button and rustic thread to keep with the homespun feel of the patterned paper.

Here's another look at the inside of the holder:

I was able to create another quick card last night using Moka Nora. She's perfect for paper piecing and Jen's deconstructed sketch No.28 helped me pull it together quickly. I've left the card simple... no embossed layers or stitching and fairly flat and mailable!

The holly leaves on her hat are die cut using the Build a Treat Tiny Toppers.

I'm looking forward to see what the Baker's Dozen and friends have baked up for the holidays...

Tori Wild, and

Jami Sibley.

Thanks for looking...

~Nancy

Friday, November 4, 2011

Life is a Dance

Today my twins turn 13! I can't believe it. I thought I'd share the card I made for Morgana for her birthday using the new Whimsical Wishes set, Life is a Dance, which was just released this week at Taylored Expressions.

I played with the Sizzix Bigz 3-D flowers I've had for some time to create the flower embellishment and placed a fresh water pearl bead in the centre.

The images are coloured with copics and prismacolors. Morgana loved it! Thought I'd share the inside too...

I did make a fun card for Aidan too, but I can't show you...just in case the image is one day in rubber. Well, maybe I can show this much...

; )

Have a fabulous weekend!
~Nancy

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Moka Morgana-TE Sneaks for November

Today's TE sneak peeks for November are especially exciting for me because Taylor and her team are showcasing Moka Morgana and Moka Katie along with a Whimsical Wishes dance set filled with a dancer's dreams, Life is a Dance. Several months ago when the first Moka was released, I shared my inspiration and photos of my daughter Morgana.

Today I've coloured her as a 'blue girl' even though she's an older dancer now in black. I used the Mojo212 sketch from last week and papers from the basic grey marjolaine paper pad. The sentiment, Dance as though no one is watching, has always been one of my favs and is from Life is a Dance. I'll be using the pointe shoes from this set later this week as Morgana turns 13 on Friday and gets her first pair of pointe shoes on Saturday!

Can't wait to see what Taylor's talented team has created for today...

Thanks for stopping by...

~Nancy

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

TE Holiday Hoopla Blog Hop

Taylored Expressions is hosting a Holiday Hoopla today and I'm excited to be a part of it. Hopefully you've arrived here from Danielle's blog. If you didn't (or if you get lost along the way) you can head back to Taylor's Blog for the full list of participants and all of the details. There are 22 designers sharing TE holiday stamp sets and their brilliant ideas. We want to inspire you to get holiday crafting and card making! You'll also get a coupon for 25% off holiday stamp sets at Taylored Expressions!

I'm showcasing one of the Whimsical Wishes sets I illustrated, Totally Tags-Holidays.

My layout is simple and reproducable. I wanted to use the adorable penguin on both a gift tag and a card but without the To/From on the card, so...I inked up only a portion of the image then stamped and cut out the circle. To continue the black ink border around the circle, I just lightly brushed my black copic marker along the edge. I was prepared with the layered snowflake embellishment just in case some of the To/From transferred ink to the paper (as I've shown in the next view). That's my tip--if you make a mistake, EMBELLISH!

I coloured the penguin image with copics and prismacolors with gamsol then added a little glamour dust. The Merry Christmas sentiment comes from Hangin' Out-At the North Pole and I've used the scalloped circle tag die that coordinates with Totally Tags-Holidays and the medium scalloped border. For the tag, which uses the same image, I sandwiched a loop of black baker's twine with a dangling bead between two layers cut using the Take Note Die 3.

I'm also linking back to a few favourite cards using Take Note Holidays and Sparkle & Cheer.

Be sure to check out Taylor's 12 Days of A Handmade Christmas Video Series for lots of easy gift ideas. Use Coupon Code HOOPLA2011 to get 25% off the following holiday stamp sets (released in 2009 and 2010) at Taylored Expressions now through November 2:

Christmas Blessings, Enjoy!, From the Heart, Hangin' Out-At the North Pole, Holiday Wonder, Home Sweet Home, Keeping Tabs, Merry Little Cocktail, Penguin Pals, Season's Sweetings, Sparkle & Cheer, Tag Treats, Tag You're It, Take Note-Holidays, Wings of Joy and Winter Wonderland.

Here are the additional sets and dies I've shown today:

The coupon code is case sensitive. Follow these instructions to apply the discount to your order:

1. Add the desired stamp sets from the above list to your shopping cart.

2. Insert the coupon code into the Promotional Code box.

3. Click the Update Cart button. Your discount should now be applied.

4. Proceed to checkout to finalize and submit your order.

For more inspiration, check out what Stephanie Kraft has to dazzle you with today!

Thanks for stopping by...

~Nancy

Thursday, October 6, 2011

It's TE Release Day for October!

Taylor's team has shown so many inspiring TE projects this week. I just need to find more time in my creative space to have something to share. So today I thought I'd link back to a card that inspired the sentiments in Moka Hope:

I still get time with my iMac and wacom tablet so there are lots of new Whimsical Wishes sets Taylor has in store for you!

Time to check out what the Baker's Dozen has baked up for today:

Thanks for stopping by...

~Nancy

Monday, August 29, 2011

Happy Birthday, TE!

Just one more week of summer holidays before school starts! My family has kept me so busy that I haven't had any crafting time. I hope to squeeze some in this week after full days at Ontario Place and Canada's Wonderland, but the kids will probably be putting me to bed!

I wanted to wish Taylored Expressions a very happy 3rd birthday and certainly won't miss all of the inspiring creations we're sure to see this week from the Baker's Dozen!

Just for fun, here are some Whimsical Wishes cards I've posted before to celebrate...

Have a cupcake-filled day!
~Nancy

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Release Day for August at Taylored Expressions!

It's release day and everything you've seen this week is now available at Taylored Expressions. Visit Taylor's blog for all of the details. I have a few more cards to share using two of the Whimsical Wishes sets I illustrated for this release: Joy to the Word and Embrace Beauty. I haven't even had a chance to ink up Moka Jane yet and her groovy boots inspired by Melissa's so I'll have more to share next week!

I'll start with my favourite, a paper-pieced angel with birds perched on her outstretched arms...

I stamped her on Gina K pure luxury cardstock and coloured her hair, wings, halo and birds with copics, then stamped her again on patterned paper.

Here's a quick one for colouring. I stamped the bold dragonfly image and loaded the copic colour on. The coordinating background image is from Discover Your Wings stamped in Memento tuxedo black.

And finally, here's the bold butterfly stamped with versafine on patterned paper and dusted with glamour dust.

Enjoy the last day of sneak peeks for this release!

Tori Wild,

Thanks for stopping by...

~Nancy

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Day 3 of TE Sneak Peeks for August!

I'm fixin' to show you some Day 3 sneaks for Taylored Expressions today! {Did I get that right, Melissa?} We've got Western Mokas, Jesse and Jane, and a fun coordinating set, Wild West. I also illustrated a few other Whimsical Wishes goodies that some of the Baker's Dozen will be showing too. I had one of those creative nights when my cards just turned out the way I imagined them! Here they are...

First, I went totally clean & simple with one layer and I LOVE IT!

I stamped the prickly saguaro cactus image and sentiment directly on my kraft card base and coloured with prismacolors and gamsol. The rattlesnake is stamped on Gina K pure luxury and coloured with copics and prismacolours, cut out and popped up. I teased my husband that I could just have this card ready to give and re-give him when needed.

Although my layout is simple on this next one, there's more going on.

I stamped the saloon doors and Jesse on Gina K pure luxury cardstock and had lots of fun colouring with copics and prismacolors. I cut away the door opening and stamped 'Howdy' and 'Partner' on patterned paper, then popped the scene in front. I used baker's twine to create a lasso embellishment. This would be a great boy birthday or any day card, don't you think? Here's another view of the door open and Jesse sporting his Sheriff's star: