Taylored Expressions July Sneaks - Day 2

Good morning! Not only is it the day before Friday (woohoo... long weekend here in the U.S.!), but it's also the day before all of the new products are available at the TE Store. There are so many cute, cute things this month to share with you again today so I better get right to it! Don't forget to check out the July Release At a Glance for everything you need to know about this release (including how you could win one of two $10 gift certificates just for leaving comments on the Baker's Dozen blogs!).

July Release At a Glance

• We have sneak peeks to share Wednesday and Thursday.  All of the new products will be available for purchase on Friday, July 1st at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store.
• Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL GIVEAWAY, on Thursday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.
• Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate.  Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day!  Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please.  Comments close Thursday 7/30 at 7pm PST for the drawings.

For my first project, I used Birds of a Feather, a set I've been dying to release for a long time! The full-size set was illustrated by Nancy McKinney for the Whimsical Wishes collection and includes 21 images and sentiments already trimmed from deeply etched rubber. I love that the stamps can do everything from clean and simple to very detailed in a variety of styles (vintage, elegant, cutesy, shabby chic)! I decided to go with something on the detailed side (I'm sure you're not surprised...lol). I should also mention that this stamp set also has a set of 5 coordinating dies including the branch and 4 beautiful little birdies! The branch die can be used with the coordinating branch stamp or trimmed from your favorite patterned paper or perhaps some brown felt. I started by cutting the branch from woodgrain patterned paper in the My Mind's Eye Stella Rose Mabel collection.Then I cut it again from green cardstock and pieced the leaves over the brown branch. I love dies with dual purpose so I also used the Cloud Border die to sponge the background. If you're curious how you can do the same, check out the video below (or click here)! After sponging the background I stamped the birdcage directly onto the paper with Pumpkin Spice ink, added the bird inside the cage with Deep Lagoon ink, and the bird on the branch with Pumpkin Spice ink. I also used the Cloud Border die for the traditional use as a border and added a die cut cloud from the Cloud Duo die set. Here are the dies I used on the Birds of a Feather project:

      

For my next project I used the latest cutie from the Moka collection, illustrated by Nancy McKinney. And guess what her name is!? It's Taylor! *grin* As Nancy was designing the initial Moka girls, this one was my favorite so she named it after me! I love her sweet ruffled dress and cute little headband. I started by stamping her in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, paper piecing her dress with patterned paper from the My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky patterned paper, and coloring the rest of her with Copics. I decided to make a little door knob hanger (perhaps for our little girl's nursery!) using one of the fun acrylic shadowbox frames by Darcie's. This one is the Bella Medium frame. They're easy to use and your project will look really professional once you put it all together (oh... and they're on sale!). I added a few Split Pea rhinestones along the grass lines, but other than that it really didn't need much dressing up with the help of the acrylic frame!

Moka Taylor needed a friend so Nancy illustrated the adorable Justin (yes, inspired by the Justin.... Justin Bieber). Do you see the resemblance!? The big sneakers, hoodie, side swept hairstyle! *grin* I know a bunch of tweens who would love to receive a card with Justin on it! I started by stamping the image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, paper piecing the hoodie with patterned paper from the Echo Park Little Boy collection, and coloring the rest with Copics. I cut the image out with Spellbinders Labels Seventeen and sponged around the inside with chalk ink. The Seeing Stars die set and the Star Border die that we showcased yesterday with the circus set look great with Justin too! Then to finish it off I added the 'dude' sentiment and embossed the birthday sentiment with white embossing powder. Here are the dies I used on my Moka Justin project:

And for my last sneak peek project I used the super sweet Hello A la Carte stamp, illustrated by Nancy McKinney. Have you noticed the pattern yet? Each month Nancy designs a new word A la Carte! These are really great for creating a focal point on a quick and easy card! So if you've missed the past word A la Carte stamps, you'll want to check out Mom, Welcome Baby, and Wow You're Engaged too. I found the most perfect telephone patterned paper in the Alphabet Soup Girl Project Pantry kit. I colored the letters and telephone image to match the patterned paper and then added a denim flower from my stash along with a rhinestone center and some Crystal Stickles on the telephone to finish it off. It was a super quick and easy card (and I think pretty cute too!).

So there you have our July sneak peeks! All of the new products will be available at the TE Store tomorrow morning at 8am PST! And if you're looking for something to keep you busy in the meantime, make sure you check out the rest of the Baker's Dozen blogs (and leave some comments along the way for a chance to win a gift certificate!). I just know they're gonna blow you away with their creativity!

Charmaine Ikach
Danielle Lounds
Jami Sibley
Jodi Collins
Karen Giron
Karen Motz
Melissa Sauls
Melody Rupple
Nancy McKinney
Regina Mangum
Sankari Wegman
Tori Wild
Wanda Guess