Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Taylored Expressions April Studio Challenge


Hello! It's time for the April Taylored Expressions Baker's Dozen Studio Challenge. This is a monthly opportunity for us to share what makes our stamping studios hum. Each month we have a fun, crafty question so we can share our favorites, some tips and tricks, stamping advice and more.


The theme for April is:
Mix & Match!  TE stamp sets are designed with plenty of images and sentiments so they are "self-contained" for lots of creativity, but sometimes it's fun to mix and match several different sets for even more possibilities. Your challenge is to create a project using three or more TE stamp sets.

For today's challenge, I made a memory tray for our friend Savina, who recently had a baby boy and named him Skyler. I had a lot of fun with this and used 5 TE stamp sets and 11 different dies! Although mine was a baby project, I was able to mix and match these stamp sets, which are not just for babies. Here's the finished product:


I started with a Recollections memory tray that looked like this:


I took the hardware off of it, sanded and painted it so it would match his room better:


Each slot is about 4" x 6", so I started decorating each one as if I was making a card front. All patterned paper is from the Echo Park Bundle of Joy Boy collection. Here's a closer look at each slot, starting with the upper left:


The sentiment above is from The Place You'll Go (love this from the Robert Munsch book, Love You Forever).


I used the Onesie Notecard Die to create the large onesie. "Rock Star" is from Onesie Twosie and "Oh baby" is from Baby Cakes.


I used the Stars Impression plate to create my star background above. The bear and sentiment are from Beary Special. I used Jen's Deconstructed Sketch #98 for my layout.


For the middle bottom slot, I used the Whimsy Alpha Dies to spell out Skyler. "Welcome Little One" is from Hangin' Out. I used Jen's Deconstructed Sketch #87 for my layout.


The two slots on either side of his name are identical layouts that I created to include 2 photos. I temporarily added the same photo (one in color and one in b/w) until mom sends me the photos she wants to include on the memory tray. I used the Instant Photo Frame Die to frame the photos. Both sentiments are from Beary Special.

Please visit the rest of the Baker's Dozen for more studio challenge inspiration:


Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies from the TE store:

Stamps: The Places You'll Go, Onesie Twosie, Baby Cakes, Beary Special, Hangin' Out (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Bundle of Joy Boy (Echo Park), Choice Buttercream (Taylored Expressions), Kraft, Suede Brown Dark (Bazzill)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko), Vintage Photo Distress (Ranger)
Accessories: Taylored Dies: Label Stacklets 2, Chevron Border, Pinwheel Parade, Onesie Notecard, Reach for the Stars, Simple Tabs, Stars Impression Plate, Whimsy Alpha, Banner Stacklets 1, Instant Photo Frames, Ric Rac Border, Sunflower felt (Taylored Expressions); Markers (Copic), Wood veneer stars, hello and circle frame (Studio Calico), Love wood chip (Freckled Fawn), Brads, Mini Clothespins, Buttons, Twine (May Arts), Memory tray (Recollections), Paint, Foam tape, Thread, Sewing machine.