Happy little box-in-a-bag!

Oh, hi again!

It's funny, I go into hiding almost all week, and then from Fri-Mon you can't get rid of me ;)

It's time for a brand new challenge at Sunday Stamps. Check it out:

Hayley's is our talented hostess with the mostess this week, and she's got this wicked colour combination for us! At first I was afraid (I was petrified) - I get really intimidated by brights. I love the look of them, but I just never know how to use them without feeling like I'm blinding everyone.

Fortunately, our design team came up with some awesome non-blinding samples! And looking at them all makes me feel so happy. This may be the beginning of what I'll refer to from here on in as my "Brights Movement". Kind of like Picasso's Blue Period ;)

I'm also playing along with Freshly Made Sketches this week because I just had to try out the great sketch they had!

Thanks for stopping by!

-Tara
xox

For this kids!

Well, it's the first day of a glorious long weekend! We were so excited about this long weekend that we made tons of plans... Then realized last night they were all for today! haha - getting the car fixed, helping my dad out with some things, getting my hair done, having some good friends over tonight... But it feels great. This is summer :)

So, it's time for another Dynamic Duo! Are you ready? :)

The fun colours this week are Pacific Point and Basic Black. We also have a dessert option for you - make a card for a kid or with a kid theme. 

I'm not going to lie, I struggled for a bit on what to make. Despite the fact that I have two young boys, I'm dangerously low on "kid" stamps. So, I went to my crafty bible (ie: Pinterest), and found this fabulous VW punch art. I tried to find the original source but came up empty handed. If you know who originally created this gem, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!

I also couldn't find instructions anywhere so I followed the photo as closely as possible and I think it turned out pretty cute. I embossed a strip of Basic Black with Chevrons to mimic tire treads.

This is for my nephew's 3rd birthday in July. 

Check out the fabulous inspiration from the Design Team and then come join us for some fun!

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

Everything will be OK

Hello, and happy day-before-the-long-weekend to you!

Today at The Friday Mashup Holly is challenging us to make a monochromatic card, and if we fancy, add some baker's twine. 

Admittedly, I forgot the baker's twine part :( You'd think that after doing the mashups for so long that I'd remember that there is always two parts - but I was so focused on the monochromatic part that it completely slipped my mind! (I know, for shame) 

Why not head over to The Friday Mashup and check out some monochromatic cards with baker's twine ;)

Check out the mashup:

Create a project using "A Monochromatic Color Scheme".

Create a project "using Baker's Twine".

Or Mash it Up and create a "Monochromatic project using some Baker's Twine".

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

MDS Monday has gone weekly!

Hello! And a very (very!) happy Monday to you. Why am I so happy on a Monday? Because MDS Monday has gone weekly!

Each week we will post a new challenge for you that will stay open for two weeks. Every other week will still be a scrap sketch, but now we're introducing a card sketch/technique week as well. Feel free to use this card sketch as a page though :)

Here's my card for today:

Check out the sketch:

I added some embossing to my card and have created a little tutorial for you. It is posted on my main blog, and a link to it as well saved under my "Tutorials" page. I hope that you find it helpful.

We do hope you'll join us at MDS for this new challenge week! :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox

Faux Embossing in My Digital Studio (MDS)

Faux Embossing in My Digital Studio (MDS)

Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

A quick and easy way to add embossing to any MDS project!

Step 1

Select the image you want to “emboss” from the Stamp Brush sets. In this example, I chose Back to School - Dots Overlay from the Back to School kit. Apply to your project. It will show on screen in Black.

Step 2

Crop the stamp to the same size as the section you are “embossing”. For this project, I cropped it to match the white layer on my card, which is 4” x 5-1/4”. 

Step 3

Change the colour of the stamp to match that of the background you are putting it in. In this project, Whisper White. Move this stamp layer so it is 1 layer above the background.

Once you have changed the colour and moved it back in your layers, you won’t be able to see the pattern anymore. We’re going to fix this now!

Step 4

With the stamp brush layer still selected, select “Drop Shadow” from the Design Centre. Adjust your settings so that Opacity=”-40%” and Blur=”-3”

Step 5

For a softer look, adjust the Opacity of the stamp brush in the Design Centre to 90.

You can do this with any stamp brush set and colour! I find that some stamps work better than others when doing this technique. Here are a few more examples using the exact same process. 

Colour: Midnight Muse;  Stamp Brush: Decorative Overlays - Argyle

Colour: Crumb Cake;  Stamp Brush: Autumn Harvest - Flower 1

Colour: Blushing Bride;  Stamp Brush: Decorative Overlays - Woodgrain

Hope this tutorial was helpful.

-Tara

xox

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, friends! To all the mom's, grandma's and great-grandma's out there, I wish you a day filled with love.

To celebrate, today I have a card for Sunday Stamps for my MIL. Sadly, the colours in the photo don't quite match... (that's supposed to be Bermuda Bay!), but you get the idea :)

This fabulous sketch comes from Joan this week:

Why not stop by and visit us at Sunday Stamps. Can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox

Olive you!

Happy Birthday! The Dynamic Duos is celebrating their 1 year anniversary this week and I'm so excited to be a part of the celebration! For the challenge, you can pick andy past Dynamic Duo.

I have been wanting to use this stamp for so long, and then when I whipped it out to ink it up, I couldn't get this "simple" design out of my head. I stamped the olive and sentiment and then freehanded the border - trying to mimic the swirls in the olive pick.

I went with challenge #20, Lucky Limeade and Basic Black (The Dessert Option was a Halloween them). Although it isn't immediately obvious that this is 'halloween theme', I definitely was thinking about Halloween while making it. My hubby and I are already thinking about our costumes for this year, and the top of our list is a Martini Glass and an Olive - Last year I was a beehive and he was a beekeeper; before that I was a wall socket and he was a plug... I'll have to try and remember to give him this card by then! haha

We would love it if you played along with us this week! See you over there :)


Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox