Mother's Little Helper: masculine

August 13, 2013

Taylored Expressions - August Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hey there, campers! This month's Taylored Expressions SOTM (Stamp of the Month) and Key Ingredients Kits are sure to make all you happy wanderers even happier! Wait 'til you see how cute it is...

Here's the stamp set, S'MORE FUN:

And here are the contents of the August Key Ingredients Kit:

Our family owns a very neglected RV (we definitely need to remedy that; maybe this fall... I could go off on a tangent here, but I will restrain myself), and thus I adore any kind of RV/trailer/camper stamp. For my hop card, I wanted to create a little RV-park-at-night scene. Then, as I got to playing, my mind wandered in its typical direction, and I came up with this:

The above is my card, still. And here it is in motion, thanks to the wonders that are Action Wobble Springs:

If the trailer is rockin', don't come a-knockin'!

{Dear Taylor, I'm sorry. Somebody had to go there, and you knew it'd be me. That's why I'm here. You know it, I know it; let's not pretend otherwise. I love you, man! xoxo ~ Carole}

For all the info on how you can get your hands on these subscription-only goodies, visit HERE on the Taylored Expressions website. Now it's time to hit the open road and see what the rest of the Baker's Dozen and Key Ingredients Team members have to share around the campfire:

Amy Crockett

Carole Burrage (you are here!)

Supplies used:

*stardust gelly roll pens - clear

*august 2013 stamp of the month subscription - outside north america

*august 2013 key ingredients subscription - outside north america

*around the campfire

*build a scene - rolling hills

*memento rich cocoa full pad

*copic markers

*scrapbook adhesives - 3d foam squares regular

*foam tape - 1/8" thick

*best glue ever

*sakura quickie glue pen

InLinkz.com

Posted at 10:00 AM in Blog Hops, Hee, masculine, Taylored Expressions, TE Stamp of the Month | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

June 20, 2013

Frankly, My Dear...

It's been at least 6 months of Sundays since I've participated in a Splitcoaststamper's challenge, and thanks to my youngest spending a week with his grandparents, I've got a little extra time on my hands to play. Not to mention the fact that I have literally OODLES of new stamps, papers, and embellishments from i {heart} papers that are begging to be man-handled by my large-knuckled, nail-bitten, scarred-up digits. One of my many favorite things about i {heart} papers is that, because it carries so many different stamp and paper lines, there is ALWAYS new stuff every single time I visit the site. I'm not beholden to a release schedule everytime I feel the need to do some retail therapy and freshen up my papercrafting wardrobe. I'll give you a little tip for navigating the IHP website: when you get there, immediately hit the "new items" button on the left side bar. Then, go to the bottom of the page and hit the "see all" button. Do that once, twice, or thrice a week and you'll always be in the know regarding the latest and greatest from many of your favorite manufacturers. IT'S A GOOD THING!

So, where was I before I got off on that IHP puffy-heart tangent? Oh, yeah - the Splitcoast challenge! I saw yesterday's SCS Sketch Challenge (#441 - can you believe it? I looked back in my gallery and the first SCS sketch challenge I ever played in was #97, in November of 2006. Want to see what I made? It was only my 8th upload to SCS. I was just a baby of 37 back then...

Such clear photography and excellent composition skills I had... (*shudder*) )

Enough of that frightening walk down memory lane. I'm older, I'm wiser, and I've surely put in 10,000 hours of stamping since then. According to Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, that should make me an expert. The good news/bad news about a pursuit/rabbit hole like stamping, though, is there are always so many new trends and techniques to try out, one can never know all there is to know (or, alternatively, feel like any sort of authority. Dammit! Wish I'd known that back in 2006... ;) )

So here's the SCS sketch for this week:

And here's my interpretation of it, using CAS-ual Friday Stamps' Frankly stamp set:

I had to pair up this sentiment with some mustachioed patterned paper from Carta Bella's Giddy Up Boy 6x6 pad, in a tip of the hat to Rhett Butler (the paisley paper is from that pad, too). The Frankly set comes with a pretty Art Deco-ish graphic, like so:

I thought that if I just inked the two outer 'petals' on the left and right, it could resemble a mustache and keep with my masculine card theme.

The real impetus behind this card, though, is the "Everything is going to be just fine" sentiment. I don't know about you, but when I'm having one of those 'dark nights of the soul', what I really want/need is somebody to hug me and say those very words. Fortunately, I have a husband who knows me well and does just that.

Other card details:

the mustache paperclip has been sitting on top of my desk for YEARS. It was a little gifty from my buddy Leigh O'Brien, whom I dearly love, miss, and desperately hope will start gracing the world with her stamping again SOON
inks used: Tim Holtz's Distress Inks in Chipped Sapphire and Walnut Stain
dies used: Banner Stacklets 1 from Taylored Expressions
cardstock used: Neenah Natural White, Prism Mystic Dark and Suede Brown Dark

The boy is coming home tomorrow, and I have miles to stamp before I sleep. Thanks for stopping by to visit, and I'll be back soon. :)

Posted at 12:42 PM in CAS-ual Friday Stamps, i {heart} papers, masculine, Random Chatter, SCS Challenges | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

May 09, 2013

Taylored Expressions May Release Day: Birch Tree Cutting Plate

Not only is today Release Day for all of Taylored Expressions' May products, it's also TO DIE FOR! What do I mean? That I'm going to go all Nicole-Kidman-as-Suzanne-Stone-and-persuade-some-thuggie-teenagers-to-kill-my-husband?¹ No, silly. TO DIE FOR means all of us in the Baker's Dozen (and our fabby guest designer, Joan Ervin) are featuring a particular die being released this month, and showing you two different ways to use it. Fun-fun-fun!

I'm thrilled to be able to show you a couple of things I made with the new BIRCH TREE CUTTING PLATE. I believe I've made mention of the fact that I ADORE TE's cutting plates, and that's not mere DT puffery on my part. They are just so dang cool and EASY to work with; instant elegance with the crank of your insert name of your particular die cutting machine or a push of the ol' Vagabond button. The BIRCH TREE CUTTING PLATE (BTCP) is no exception, except for the fact that it's exceptionally beautiful.²

Here's one way to use the BTCP, as a woodsy background for a masculine card:

I chopped up all of the sentiments from the new GRAPHIC GREETINGS DAD stamp, popped them up on foam boosters, and spread them out, ransom-note-style, all over the card front. I added a little rustic twine for visual interest. Easy-peasy!

Now, for a different look, I created a little winter scene using the BTCP:

Using white cardstock for the BTCP layer automatically made me think of snow. I added a trio of cool blues for my other card elements (including an owl, bird, and the deer from the BIRCH TREE ACCESSORIES die set, and a panel from the BAND IT dies for the sentiment), then took a white colored pencil to add snowflakes.³ The sentiment is from the From My Window set.

And lookie: nice and flat for easy mailing! Love when that happens.

Shall we visit the rest of the Baker's Dozen to see their TO DIE FOR projects? Let's go!

Footnotes:

1. Have you ever seen To Die For? It is SUCH a great movie - by far and away my favorite Nicole Kidman performance. She won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar for it, you know. It's loosely based on the Pamela Smart case, and is a dark comedy (my favorite kind of movie).

2. See how I did that? Used some form of 'except' three times within the course of one fairly short sentence. Why one would want to do that, I don't know, but it amuses me. I'm easy! Like Sunday morning. (Now, you know I have to do this, but you don't have to watch it unless you want to...)

3. Hmmm... I got a little heavy-handed with the snowflakes; would probably look better with fewer. Oh well - wabi sabi! Let's just pretend it's a blizzard scene...

Posted at 10:00 AM in clean and simple, masculine, Movies, Taylored Expressions, TE Sneak Peeks | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)

May 07, 2013

Taylored Expressions May Sneak Peek: Greeting For Him

Hola! How are you, this Siete de Mayo? Me? Well, we're getting a new roof put on our house this week, which means there's a constant bang-bang-bang going on above me, and the dogs are both figuratively and literally barking mad. Good times!

Speaking of good times, Taylored Expressions' May release is all about celebrating the special men and couples in our lives. Father's Day, wedding season, and our August anniversary (DH and I will be celebrating 20 years of wedded bliss) = covered! Thanks, TE! :)

For this first Sneak Peek, I'm showing off the new GREETINGS FOR HIM stamp set. It comes with all sorts of words and phrases for the dudes. See what I mean?

I decided to pair up a few sentiments to make a Father's Day card for my father-in-law, whom my boys call "GrandDad." Here's what I came up with:

I LOVE the new BIRCH TREE BORDER die, as well as the BIRCH TREE ACCESSORIES die set (which is where the deer came from) -- they make coming up with masculine cards a snap. And, considering the fact that my husband and his large extended family were all born and raised in Antlers, Oklahoma (self-proclaimed deer capital of the world, where they let out school for a week when deer hunting season begins; seriously!), I think I'll be getting a lot of use dies!

As you know, I am centuries old and very wise, so pay attention whilst I give thee a little stamping insight. When you're making cards for the guys, think TEXTURE. I used cork for the birch trees, felt for the deer, a rustic twine to embellish, as well as brown mini-brads to set off the sentiment. All of those different textures give the card a much more masculine look and feel than layered paper.

Here's a close up of the sentiment, which was stamped onto a panel cut from the new BAND IT die:

This is the second panel I made; the first had to go in the circular file as setting those tiny brads tore up the lightweight patterned paper (from October Afternoon's Campfire 8x8 pad). I really wanted to use the pattern, though, to tie the sentiment together with the ground. What to do? I glued a bit of card stock behind the area where the brads would be and it was much easier to line them up and getting thme looking right. Success!

Ready for more? Then go visit my Baker's Dozen buddies (and our fabulous guest designer, Joan Ervin) to see more stunning creations with the May TE release...

Carole Burrage

Charmaine Ikach

Jen Shults

Joan Ervin - Guest Designer