Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Taylored Expressions June Studio Challenge


Hello! It's time for the June 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 question for June is:
What's on your summer reading list? Are you a big reader or not? If you are, what books have you read lately that you would recommend? Do you have a favorite author or genre? How about something for sitting out by the pool, or the beach, or even just the backyard...some nice light summer reading? Do you use fancy bookmarks or do you dog-ear your pages? Or, do you use an e-reader? Everyone can use bookmarks and they make great favors and gifts. Let's see a little inspiration!

I LOVE to read, and I read any chance I get. I read a little of everything from science fiction/fantasy (Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin) to dystopian (Hunger Games) to mystery to the Twilight series! One of my favorite authors is R.A. Salvatore, and I am currently reading his Neverwinter Saga. I like to read books in a series, though I have to admit that it is hard to wait a year or more for the next book to be released. Ideally, I'd like to start a series once all of the books are available. Of course, that's not always possible. If that is the case, I've been known to re-read a series once all of the books are available! I mostly read books on my iPhone, using either the iBooks or Kindle app.


I took this opportunity to make bookmarks for Sabrina's summer school teacher and aides. I started by making my patterned paper with the Gelli Arts gel printing plate. I mixed a few shades of pink, an orange and cream paint. I didn't want to add a lot of bulk to the bookmarks, but I did want to add a little something, so I used the Chevron Cutting Plate to cut out a stencil and added a few Chevron rows with molding paste for some subtle texture. Each bookmark features a different quote from Mark Your Spot.
I used Banner Stacklets 2 for my top layer and matted it with the next largest size. After adhering my patterned paper to a Choice Snow White layer and stitching, I adhered both layers to a thin piece of chipboard so that my bookmarks would be sturdy. I then added a gold eyelet to the top of each and some orange and pink Divine Twine.

Here's a look a each individual bookmark:





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

Stephanie Kraft (you are here)
Wanda Guess

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies from the TE store:


Stamps: Mark Your Spot (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Choice Snow White (Taylored Expressions), Mixed media, Chipboard
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Taylored Dies: Banner Stacklets 2, Chevron Cutting Plate (Taylored Expressions); Divine Twine, Brads (WRMK), Acrylic paint, Molding paste, Red line tape, Thread, Sewing machine.