back to the drawing board

i am excited to be one of the march guest designers over at studio calico & today i have a couple of cards to share that feature the card kit office hours.


on this card i used one of my favorite items in the card kit this month - the thin wood veneer die cuts which coordinate with the stamp set. the banners are my favorite & the sentiment stamp is curved so that it fits perfectly inside the stamped banner. there are also wood veneer clouds, umbrellas, raindrops & a sun along with stamps to match.


my second card kit only card again uses one of the wood veneer shapes along with a few stamps from the stamp set. i used watermark ink for the clouds so that the sun & sentiment would be the main focus.

i'll be back tomorrow with the two cards i made using the water cooler add-on.

thank you so much supplies
kit: [office hours card kit] studio calico
cardstock: [solar white] neenah paper
patterned paper: [office hours kit 6x6 paper pad] design by dani & paislee press
accents: [wood veneer die cut banner] studio calico, [button]
fiber: [ivory thread] ikea
clear stamps: [banner & sentiment/office hours set] studio calico
ink: [poppy] a muse studio, [neptune versacolor] tsukineko

thanks for brightening my day supplies
kit: [office hours card kit] studio calico
cardstock: [solar white] neenah paper
patterned paper: [office hours kit 6x6 paper pad] basicgrey
accents: [wood veneer die cut clouds] studio calico
fiber: [ivory thread] ikea
clear stamps: [clouds, sun & sentiment/office hours set] studio calico
ink: [poppy] a muse studio, [sunflower yellow brilliance, watermark versamark] tsukineko

since the february taylored expressions stamp of the month - birthday bash - is birthday themed i decided my 2nd project with the set should be a birthday tag. it's a quick one - a bit of stamping along with a few die cuts using the coordinating set craft die set party time. oh, and the tag is cut with a taylored expressions craft die set as well - tag stacklets 2 & tag reinforcemnts.

 
here's a close-up where you can see the subtle stamping & clear heat embossing. after running the craft dies through my die cut machine i then asembled the little scene & tied a bit of twine through the top of the tag.

supplies
cardstock: [solar white] neenah paper, [bubblegun, lime, ocean, orange] a muse studio
accent: [yellow enamel dot] my mind's eye
fiber: [twine]
rubber stamps: [presents & sentiment/birthday bash set feb 2014 sotm] taylored expressions
ink: [onyx black versafine & watermark versamark] tsukineko
embossing powder: [clear] a muse studio
craft dies: [presents/party time set, tag stacklets 2 & tag reinforcements] taylored expressions

available in the taylored expressions store -

*stamp of the month subscription - united states	*party time	*tag stacklets 2	*tag reinforcements	we r enamel shapes - warm
10 yards of burlap twine	*choice snow white cardstock	*versamark - watermark stamp pad	*zing! embossing powder - clear

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this month my taylored expressions die focus assignment was to create a project with the bless your nest craft die set. when i pulled out the die set i was reminded of these photos i took last spring - a nest on our porch where baby birds are born each may. the babies live up in the nest for about 3 weeks before they fly off.

the nest die is the perfect size to fit inside one of the new 2x2 sized pocket pages & a 4x4 album by we r memory keepers. i die cut the nest 3 times & layered the cuts along with 3 die cut eggs. the bird die cut is also part of the bless your nest die set.

supplies
patterned paper: [happy go lucky 6x6 paper pad] fancy pants designs, [hip hip hooray 6x6 paper pad] we r memory keepers, [new year new you 6x6 paper pad] webster's pages, [front porch 6x6 paper pad] pebbles
accent: [tiny attacher] tim holtz/advantus
rubber stamps: [label/pockets & pages what a day, sentiment/pockets & pages documented] taylored expressions
ink: [soft pool] hero arts, [slate adirondack] ranger
craft dies: [bless your nest set & pockets & pages what a day set] taylored expressions
other: [4x4 photo sleeve w/ 2x2 pockets, 4x4 greige album] we r memory keepers

available in the taylored expressions store -

*bless your nest dies

*pockets & pages - what a day

*pockets & pages - documented

*pebbles 6x6 pad - front porch

*key ingredients subscription - united states

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it's been a while since i've shared a completed cross stitch here on the blog - i normally just post updates on instagram [courtney__kelley]. this pattern is by andwabisabi and you can find it in her etsy store here. i swapped out the stated dmc colors and used cosmo floss instead. 

supplies
pattern: [wood you be mine] andwabisabi
fabric: [raw cashel linen 28ct] zweigart
embroidery floss: [305, 307, 2307, 427, 342, 838, 271, 326, 600] cosmo
frame: [5x7 wood frame] michael's

my card today was created for the february taylored expressions stamp of the month blog hop. this month the stamp set is all about birthdays. i paired the stamp set - birthday bash - with the coordinating die set party time & the key ingredients kit for february.

 

i wanted to add a bit of interest to the die cut balloons - so i used the solid balloon stamp along with watermark ink and embossing powder to create a clear layer atop the die cuts. the streamers were also die cut & then i trimmed them down a bit.

members of the taylored expressions design teams are also sharing projects using the february stamp of the month - here's a list of their blogs to visit:

• Amy Crockett
• Cassie Trask
• Charmaine Ikach
• Courtney Kelley - you are here
• Jen Shults
• Joan Ervin
• Kerri Michaud
• Monika Davis
• Sankari Wegman
• Shannon White
• Shelly Mercado
• Stephanie Kraft
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tracy Clemente
• Wanda Guess

supplies
kit: [feb key ingredients] taylored expressions
cardstock: [painted dessert, kachina, desert marigold, intense kiwi] bazill basics, [snow white] taylored expressions
patterned paper: [hip hip hooray 6x6 paper pad] we r memory keepers
fiber: [marshmallow blending filament] kreinik
stamps: [balloon & sentiment/birthday bash set] taylored expressions
ink: [strawberry fresh ink] impress rubber stamps, [watermark versamark] tsukineko
embossing powder: [clear] a muse studio
die: [balloon & streamer/party time set] taylored expressions

available in the taylored expressions store -

*stamp of the month subscription - united states	*party time	*deluxe subscription - united states	*key ingredients subscription - united states
*february 2014 cardstock kit	*versamark - watermark stamp pad	*zing! embossing powder - clear

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taylored expressions february release day is today - all the new products we've been sharing sneaks of this week are now available in the te shop. the card i'm sharing today is i think my favorite for this release. i again used a sentiment from the wispy wishes stamp set & paired it with a craft die from the easter treat toppers set.

i die-cut the butterfly twice from patterned paper & layered the cuts on top of a die-cut circle. in the close-up shot you can see that i popped up the inside wings & antenae of the top die-cut for a bit of added dimension.

be sure to stop by the baker's dozen design team blogs for more projects featuring the taylored expressions february release.

• Charmaine Ikach
• Courtney Kelley - you are here
• Jen Shults
• Joan Ervin
• Kerri Michaud
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Shannon White
• Shelly Mercado
• Stephanie Kraft
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Wanda Guess

supplies
cardstock: [solar white] neenah paper
patterned paper: [new year new you 6x6 paper pad] webster's pages
accents: [snowflake rhinestones] queen & company, [fernwood washi tape] doodlebug designs, [yellow chevron tape] bella blvd
rubber stamps: [sentiment/wispy wishes set] taylored expressions
craft dies: [easter treat toppers set] taylored expressions
ink: [onyx black versafine] tsukineko

available in the taylored expressions store -

*easter treat toppers

*wispy wishes

*doodlebug washi tape - fernwood

*queen & company rhinestones - snowflake

*choice snow white cardstock

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today is the final day of the taylored expressions february sneak peeks - all the new stamps & craft dies will be available for purchase in the te shop tomorrow at 7am pst. also, tonight a 9pm pst everything new this month will be revealed on the te facebook page.

my first card is quick and simple - the feathers & circle were die-cut using the new dream catcher die set. a tiny bit of twine holds the 3 feathers together - the sentiment i used is part of the new wispy wishes stamp set.

my second card features a new die set, a new cutting plate & a new stamp set. the new dies - spring is in the air - coordinate with the previously released hello spring stamp set. i used the new scribbles cutting plate to make the road for the bunny to drive on & the sentiment is from the new stamp set egg-stra special.

this second card was a challenge to photograph - all of the colorful cardstocks i used for paper piecing are actually neon colors. the yellow, blue & green are pretty close to their true colors - but the pink & orange definitely don't look neon in my photo.

be sure to stop by the baker's dozen design team blogs for the last day of sneak peeks of the taylored expressions february release.

• Charmaine Ikach
• Courtney Kelley - you are here
• Jen Shults
• Joan Ervin
• Kerri Michaud
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Shannon White
• Shelly Mercado
• Stephanie Kraft
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Wanda Guess

thinking of you supplies
cardstock: [solar white] neenah paper
patterned paper: [flea market 6x6 paper pad] crate paper, [charm cut & paste 6x6 paper pad] my mind's eye
fiber: [twine]
rubber stamp: [sentiment/wispy wishes] taylored expressions
craft dies: [dream catcher] taylored expressions
ink: [onyx black versafine] tsukineko

available in the taylored expressions store -

*crate paper 6x6 pad - flea market

*choice snow white cardstock

10 yards of burlap twine

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egg-cellent easter supplies
cardstock: [kraft, dusk, electric yellow, electric blue, electric pink, electric green, electric orange] bazzill basics paper, [solar white] neenah paper
patterned paper: [happy go lucky 6x6 paper pad] fancy pants
accent: [black enamel dots] my mind's eye
rubber stamps: [hello spring set, sentiment/egg-stra special set] taylored expressions
craft dies: [spring is in the air set, scribbles cutting plate] taylored expressions
ink: [onyx black versafine] tsukineko

available in the taylored expressions store -

*hello spring

*bazzill basics 6x6 cardstock multipack - electric

*choice kraft cardstock

*choice snow white cardstock

*doodlebug sprinkles - beetle black

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