February Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Kit Release!

Hi all! Happy Friday! I'm popping in to share with you some goodies I made with this month's Taylored Expressions Key Ingredients Kit. Every month when my kit arrives I think "this one's my favorite!" And of course it always is (*grin*). That's because Taylor pulls together fun patterned papers, coordinating cardstock and ribbon, and wonderful embellies that make card-making and other paper crafting projects a breeze!

For example, here are three note cards I made in no time at all! Each is 3 1/2" square.

The pink and green cards feature images from the Friendship Blooms stamp set, which I cut out with the coordinating dies Leafy Branch Die and Friendship Bloom Dies. I love love love coordinating dies! The images are stamped in Maroon and Dark Moss Colorbox Chalk Ink. The smooth coverage of chalk inks is wonderful!

The third card shows how easy it is to make cards without stamping using elements from the Key Ingredients Kits!

Tip: I cut the prongs off of the brad and then glued it to the bow. Oh, and I LOVE the velvet texture of this patterned paper and the coordinating ribbon. Yum!

Remember, if you're already a subscriber, then your February kit will be on its way to your doorstep on the 15th. And in the meantime, you can place orders for 10% plus free shipping at the TE Store! You should have received your subscriber discount email already with your special coupon code. A few more things to remember:

1. You can find all of the February coordinating products HERE. This is a great way to get extra mileage out of your kit while knowing that everything will still match beautifully!

2. The design team is continuously adding projects to the Key Ingredients Gallery so make sure you check back often!

If you're not yet a subscriber, what are you waiting for? Click here to learn more about subscribing or click here for the Key Ingredients FAQ page!

Enjoy!

Reach for the stars!

Hey there! I thought I'd pop in to share a card I made with one of the new La-La Land Crafts stamps that debuted recently at CHA... Pilot Luka! For a limited time, you can purchase Pilot Luka (and friends) in digi! Just CLICK HERE.

Every time I see this image, I smile. Even better, when I showed it to my son Avery, HE smiled... and asked me print one off for him to color. I love that!

I paired Pilot Luka with patterned paper from the Campfire collection by October Afternoon. I also added a bit of white Fun Flock to give texture to his hat and coat trim. Mainly, this card is all about that adorable image!

In other news, I'm happy to report that I FINALLY finished putting away Christmas. Yep, it took me until today to finish. Unbelievable. Wait a minute... I suppose technically I'm not actually done until Snow Village is put away, but that has to wait until next weekend when Paul's around to help. He consoled me today by pointing out that technically it's still winter, so it's okay to have Snow Village still up. It's a theory anyway!

I'm working on a NEW project, something that I think is very exciting and I hope to share it with you all soon. I'm a methodical person, so getting Christmas put away is truly significant... it was holding me up. I seem to be the sort of person that has to have the desk cleared, so to speak, before going on to the next big project. Is this OCD? I hope not. Maybe a tad. :)

Thanks for stopping by to visit today! Have a la-la lovely day!

Tilda's Heart

A blessed Sunday to you! This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Our challenge this week at Stampin' Sisters in Christ is being hosted by our dear Miesje Flach. Miesje chose as her inspiration scripture 1 John 3:18 "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." Her challenge is to make a card/project that uses no words on the front yet signifies love.

I hope you'll pop by the Stampin' Sisters in Christ blog to read Miesje's devotional and see the rest of the design team ladies' lovely cards. In fact, making the rounds to visit each blog will be a special blessing to you, I promise!

I'd like to expand a bit on what Miesje said. This past week I heard someone (yet again) complain of the hypocrisy of Christians. Although she didn't, too often folks like her will use that as a reason to turn away from Christianity and/or not attend church. This not only frustrates me, but makes me sad. It seems simple enough to explain that Christians... like everyone...are sinners. But that doesn't seem to be enough to change their minds. Usually the response is something to the effect that they have their own personal relationship with Christ and don't need to go to church or fellowship with Christians who are nothing but hypocrites anyway. Little do they know what spiritual nourishment they are missing because they've let the actions of others influence their feelings about what it means to be a Christian.

Folks, this is yet another reason it is so important that we not only profess ourselves as Christians by words, but also by deeds. It isn't to say we won't slip up... we are human, we are sinners by nature...but we need to try our best, not just for the sake of our own souls and relationship with Christ (after all, if you are a Christian, why would you not want to shine your light for Christ?), but also so that others will be drawn towards Him (and church). Don't be the example of the so-called hypocrisy that drives folks away! Reap the joys of keeping the laws of God. It truly makes life on earth so much easier. :) 

For my card, I decided to play with this week's sketch at Unscripted Sketches. I'm also finally entering the monthly Magnolia Challenge at All That Scraps. The theme is "Queen of Hearts," so it goes perfectly with our SSIC challenge. Yes, I've finally succumbed to the allure of Magnolia stamps! lol

My card features Tilda With Heart paired with patterned paper from the Springtime Vintage collection by Stampin' Up. The flower in the middle is by Prima, but the two on either side are from the Vintage Flower Adornments collection by Stampin' Up. Very simple.

I hope you'll come along and play in this week's challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ. Our sponsor is Clear Dollar Stamps. Show us your LOVE cards!

I also want to encourage you to pop on over to my friend Kris Breach's blog and purchase a Crafting Grab Bag for $10 (postage included!). Kris is helping her sweet daughter with a fundraiser to attend The Revolve Tour with her Middle School Girl's Christian Youth Group... a very worthy cause for a very worthy young lady! And you'll get some awesome goodies in exchange. It's all good! I can't wait to receive mine!

Have a blessed day!

Winner of My Little Blog Candy!

I had a quick little blog candy op on my blog this week... a chance to win Star Boy Luka by La-La Land Crafts. After consulting with Random.org, the winner is

Sharette aka faithnme!

Congratulations Sharette! I've popped you an email. :) Enjoy!

Peace!

Happy Saturday! It's time for the latest sketch challenge from Sketch Saturday!!!

It's Maya's turn to host our sketch challenge, and she's come up with a great sketch! Best of all, our sponsor this week is the sensational Tickled Pink Stamps!!! And my dear friend Debbie Pamment is Guest Designer for the month of February! I'm thrilled!!!

Naturally, I reached for a Tickled Pink Stamps image... the digi version of 60's Willow. I love rubber, but one nice thing about digis is that you can size them any way you want. In this case, I focused on Willow's upper half. She is one groovy girl! (60's Willow, as well as the rest of the Li'l Lolitas and Li'l Lads, is available in both rubber and digi.)

I have two tips for you today: (1) be very careful about tweaking the coloring of your image after it's done... I had taken great time and care coloring Willow and putting my card together, but for some crazy reason decided to touch up her hair a bit more rather than leave well enough alone. BIG mistake. I don't know if it was because I was tired or under pressure or both, but I tried SIX different times to recreate the look I had previously created, to no avail. I finally gave up, went to bed and tackled it again the next day. So frustrating! And (2) color the hardest part of the image first so that if you mess up you can start again without having wasted time coloring the easy parts. I live and learn. (sigh) But I'm happy with the way Willow finally came together. The Li'l Lolita and Li'l Lads images are such fun!

Be sure to pop by the Sketch Saturday blog to see what the rest of the lovely design team members have created with this week's sketch! And do join us!

I'll be back soon with more! By the way, there is still a bit more time to win Star Boy Luka by La-La Land Crafts in my little blog candy... scroll down or click here!

Blog Candy!

Oops, I forgot to add the info about my little blog candy opportunity to my last post before publishing, so for those of you on RSS feed or email, click HERE to add a comment for a chance to win Star Boy Luka!

 

Exciting News from La-La Land Crafts!

As many of you know, I had the pleasure of attending CHA this year and helping with make-and-takes in the La-La Land Crafts booth. LLLC was a new exhibitor at CHA and got LOTS of lovely attention and excitement over the new Marci and Luka images. The ladies (and even a few gents) had a blast with the make-and-takes.I've CASEd one of the four today... I had sweet Capri Marci already colored up, so it took just a few minutes to put the card together.

Capri Marci is one of SEVEN new stamps that debuted at CHA. For a limited time, you can purchase the new releases as digis!!!

Chef Marci

Doctor Marci

Magician Luka

Pilot Luka

Sitting Marci

Capri Marci

and from the new Girlfriends Collection, Ally!

Aren't they wonderful? Let me tell you, it's good times at La-La Land Crafts!!! If you prefer rubber, you won't have to wait much longer... it will be available in about three weeks!

I'll leave you with a funny picture from CHA... this was taken just before the show opened on Sunday. That's Irina and Kim Yu on the right, and the back of Renate (one of our volunteers) on the right. Irina is pretending to show them the make-and-take for the day. (*grin*)

Now off you go to shop for your digis! Have fun in La-La Land!

Edited to add: Oops, I almost forgot the best part! I discovered I have an extra Star Boy Luka, so I'm giving one away to one lucky gal (or guy) who leaves a comment on this post! I'll keep the blog candy open until Sunday night (Feb 6) at 11:59 pm Pacific and announce the winner on Monday!

Random thoughts

So, I'm back from CHA. Had a wonderful time. 

Here's what I discovered (as if I didn't already know):

You really can make friends on-line.

Some unexpected things I loved about the show:

hot dogs for lunch

chocolate softie ice cream cones for a snack

laughing and chatting with people I met by chance

(I get that from my mother)

Some things I didn't love:

LA traffic

coming home to a messy house