TESC94 Top Crops

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! It was nice to take some time off from blogging to celebrate Christmas with Jon's family over the weekend. Unfortunately, Jon came down with the flu on Christmas Day and didn't get to enjoy many of the festivities. We returned home yesterday and he's slowly getting back to himself! And I'm crossing my fingers that I don't catch whatever he had! :)

Today I have the TESC94 Top Crops to share with you! The Sketch Crew took last Friday off for Christmas, but stay tuned this Friday because we'll be ringing in the new year with a new sketch! And in the meantime, you can still try out the TESC95 Sketch.

Just click on each individual Top Crop below and you'll be taken to the blog of the talented gal who created the card. A picture of the full card along with all of the card details will be posted there! Don't forget to give 'em a big congrats on being featured in the Top Crops!

December Key Ingredients Now Available!

It's time for the release of a new Key Ingredients kit! I know we're all in the midst of holiday preparations, but you're not going to want to miss this fun kit! I chose the bright colors and designs in the My Mind's Eye Ooh La La collection as our December kit for a few reasons: 1) If your winter is anything like ours, you could use some cheery designs! 2) This paper collection can also double for post-Christmas thank you notes or last-minute gift packaging in a non-traditional color combo.

If you’re one of our Key Ingredients subscribers then you’ve probably already received your kit…just one of the benefits of becoming a subscriber! I issued a challenge to the Baker's Dozen girls and today we're sharing our creations using the December 20th Key Ingredients, available at the TE Store today! Once you receive your Key Ingredients kit, we'd love to have you play right along with us so here's the challenge:

With Christmas right around the corner, I've challenged the Baker's Dozen to create last-minute gift packaging using the kit (gift card holder, genie bag, favor box, cover a tin, etc.). So if you're in need of a last minute gift package, don't miss this blog hop!

For this challenge, I decided to create a gift card holder that I'll be giving to our mail carrier. We have THE BEST mail carrier! She walks through snow and ice in the freezing cold winter to get to our front door and pick up all of the boxes filled with the goodies you've ordered! And she never complains! In fact, she leaves us little hand-written notes to say 'thank you for your business'! I suppose this is what she is being paid to do, but I've experienced much less from postal workers in the past. I enjoy giving gifts to people whose excellent service often goes un-noticed. I started with the A2 Gift Card holder, cut out of Classic Magenta cardstock. I covered the front with different pieces from the Ooh La La collection. I purchased these American Crafts foil covered Thickers before Christmas last year and I've been waiting for the perfect project to use them on...I think I found it! I spelled out 'thanks' with the self-adhesive letters, tied a double ribbon bow around the top To finish it off I stamped the Christmas tree from Wings of Joy onto Choice Buttercream cardstock and colored it with Copic markers. I cut out the tree with my paper snips and adhered it. There you have it...quick and cute! Inside is a Starbucks gift card for some coffee or hot cocoa to keep her warm on her route!

And here’s a picture of all of the contents included in the December 20th Key Ingredients Kit! We’re excited to offer the Ooh La La collection of patterned paper (by My Mind's Eye) along with coordinating cardstock, ribbon, Raspberry Candy Dots, and an assortment of paper flowers! If you’re not currently one of our kit subscribers, this kit is available for purchase today for $16.95. But you might want to consider joining our hundreds of satisfied subscribers by purchasing a 3 month or 6 month subscription. As a subscriber you'll receive a ton of great benefits in addition to your monthly kit shipment! You can read all about the subscriber benefits HERE. And the best part is that your credit card will be charged each month instead of paying for the entire subscription upfront. We're making it easy to get crafty on a budget!

º Key Ingredients savings
- 3 Month Subscription price = $15.95 per kit + shipping ($22.95 charged to your credit card on the 14th of each month for 3 months)
- 6 Month Subscription best value price = $14.95 per kit + shipping ($21.95 charged to your credit card on the 14th of each month for 6 months).

If you haven’t enrolled in our Key Ingredients Subscription Service, you can do so at any time! If you purchase your subscription on or before December 25th, you'll receive the December 20th Key Ingredients kit featured today as the first KI in your series. If you purchase your subscription after the 25th your first shipment will be for the January 20th KI.

Don't forget to check out the December Key Ingredients inspiration from the Baker's Dozen: Dawn Easton, Karen Motz, Jackie Pedro, Laurie Schmidlin, Sankari Wegman

Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #95

Happy Friday! It's time for another Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge! This is our last sketch challenge before the new year so don't miss out! We'll be taking a break next Friday for Christmas and then we'll see you again on January 1st. I can hardly believe it's almost 2010! Here's today's sketch to give you a jump start on your cards this weekend:


Just create a card using the above sketch as inspiration! Link your creation using Mr. Linky below by Friday, December 25th at 8am PST. I'll be choosing the most clever and creative cards to be included in the TESC Top Crops on my blog! And you definitely don't want to miss the Sketch Crew inspiration below...you can click on any of these cards to read more about the details of these creations!

Created by Taylor VanBruggen: Taylored Expressions

Created by Alice Wertz: Alice's Little Wonderland

Created by Sherrie Siemens: Card Creme

Created by Melissa Sauls: In Stamping Mode

Created by Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper

Created by Lisa Hjulberg: The Craft's Meow

TESC95 - Hearts Make a Home

Happy Friday! Aren't these December weeks flying by!? I can't believe Christmas is a week from today! I set a goal for myself that we needed to mail our Christmas cards on the 18th. Well, that's today and it's not looking like I'm going to meet my self-imposed deadline. I'm shooting for tomorrow! But I did get one more thing checked off my list with the card I created for today's sketch challenge. Jon and I decided to give each other cards instead of gifts this Christmas. As many of you know we purchased our first house this year and I thought this sentiment was so appropriate as we strive to build a home together. The cute image is a digital download from the Pink Petticoat Chirp Up Collection. I cut out holly and used red & green and snowflake patterned paper to make the card Christmas themed. I also created a horizontal card in order to incorporate the longer image. The image was colored with Copics and of course I had to use my favorite Martha Stewart loop edge punch. A few buttons and some mint glimmer ribbon finished it off! Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a productive weekend in preparation for Christmas!

Knock Knock...Who's There?

I was sifting through folders on my computer today and I discovered this Holiday Wonder creation that I haven't shared yet. It's amazing how many cards I create and photograph and forget to share! I remember this card taking hours to create, but it was a fun one! I started by stamping and coloring the house with Copics. Then I masked the house and used a cloud template to sponge the sky. I added Santa and the ho, ho, ho sentiment with Memento Rich Cocoa ink. Then gave the house a winter makeover with white liquid applique and shiny windows (with Crystal Stickles). I wanted to create a door that would open so I used my Xacto knife to cut the door on three sides and then bent it open. I added a white brad for the doorknob and stamped little cuppie on a small piece of cardstock inside the door. So little Cuppie is waiting there to greet his guests! By the time I was finished with the image, I only had enough patience to add a little ribbon, sponging, and Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly paper and then I called it good!

I hope you're all enjoying this holiday season! Jon and I are doing our annual pretzel dipping tonight, finishing Christmas cards, and wrapping gifts! I love this time of year!

Center of Attention Product Spotlight - TE Downloads

Today the Baker's Dozen and I have another exciting Center of Attention Product Spotlight! We've been busy expanding a new category at the the TE Store and today, we're excited to introduce 4 new downloads to help you get organized as the new year approaches. Before I show you the project I created, let me tell you a little bit about each of our downloads:

Vertical & Horizontal Recipe Cards - these are formatted to print 2 recipe cards on an 8.5" x 11" sheet. Just one easy cut down the middle and you've got 2 recipe cards! They were designed to coordinate perfectly with our Mini Binder Box or create your own recipe book like I did below! The thing I love the most about these recipes cards is that there's plenty of room to write out the ingredients and instructions! --designed by Nancy McKinney

Birthday Calendar - these are formatted to print 2 months on an 8.5" x 11" sheet. Another easy cut down the middle and you have inserts for two months. This download also coordinates perfectly to fit in our Mini Binder Box, but has many creative possibilities. I'm excited to create my own spiral bound book with pockets to store my cards for each month! --designed by Nancy McKinney

2010 Mini Dated Calendar - Our mini calendars are perfect to add to a larger page allowing for lots of embellishment. Or cut them out with Spellbinders and create a small date reminder for the fridge! --designed by Sharon Harnist

2010 6" x 6 Dated Calendar - Our 6x6 dated calendar previously available in print, is now only available as a download. This calendar was designed to coordinate with our 6x6 page protectors and Frame Your Imagination vertical stand. --designed by Taylor VanBruggen (that's me!)

You can find all of our new downloads HERE. And in honor of our Center of Attention product spotlight, all downloads are 15% off today and tomorrow (December 16-17)... and the best part is that there's no shipping charge for downloads!

During last month's Center of Attention Product Spotlight I was so energized by getting organized with the project I created! Many of our new downloads will help me get organized for the new year. If you're anything like me, you probably have about 10 recipe books with favorites scattered randomly throughout each one of them. I decided to start getting organized by creating one recipe book that I can reach for when I want to make one of our family favorites. I printed the recipe cards on Choice Buttercream cardstock. When you cut an 8.5" x 11" sheet in half you'll end up with 2 - 5.5" x 8.5" recipe cards. I cut chipboard covers for the front and back (measuring 6" x 9"). I covered the front with Bloom and Grow patterned paper and my new favorite Martha Stewart loop edge punch to frame the 'recipes' (spelled out with American Crafts Fabric Thickers). Then I measured the top for two binder rings. I used extra large binder rings so there's plenty of room to add more recipes. I've been married for 5 years and it's sad to say that I'm just starting to hone my cooking skills...better late than never, right? The recipe in the picture is for my mom's famous Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce. Jon loves it when my mom makes this apple cake! Here's the recipe in case you can't read it in the photo:

Cake Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 eggs
6 apples; chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. soda
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup margerine; softened

Cake Instructions: Cream sugar and margerine. Add eggs. Mix dry ingredients together and fold together with other mixture. Add chopped apples. Put in 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Caramel Sauce Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup whipping cream

Caramel Sauce Instructions: Combine butter and sugar in saucepan. Melt over medium heat. Add whipping cream and stir. Boil until creamy consistencty. Serve warm over cake.

That's all I've got for today, but I know you'll want to check out the rest of the inspiration using TE downloads from the Baker's Dozen:
Sharon's Mini Calendar Key Ring
Charmaine's Recipe Binder Box
Karen's Birthday Calendar
Jodi's Birthday Calendar Binder Box
Donna's Framed 6x6 Calendar

TESC93 Top Crops

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! It's time for the TESC93 Top Crops! We had so many great entries using this sketch so it was another tough choice!

Just click on each individual picture below and you'll be taken to the blog of the talented gal who created the card. A picture of the full card along with all of the card details will be posted there! Don't forget to give 'em a big congrats on being featured in the Top Crops!







There's still time to participate in this week's TESC94 Sketch Challenge and maybe you'll find your card among the next Top Crops!

Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #94

Happy Friday! It's time for another Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge! You have all weekend, but what are you waiting for! Here's the sketch...show us what you got:


Just create a card using the above sketch as inspiration! Link your creation using Mr. Linky below by Friday, December 18th at 8am PST. I'll be choosing the most clever and creative cards to be included in the TESC Top Crops on my blog! And you definitely don't want to miss the Sketch Crew inspiration below...you can click on any of these cards to read more about the details of these creations!

Created by Taylor VanBruggen: Taylored Expressions

Created by Alice Wertz: Alice's Little Wonderland

Created by Melissa Sauls: In Stamping Mode

Created by Lynn Mercurio: Stamperosity

Created by Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper

Created by Lisa Hjulberg: The Craft's Meow

Created by Jami Sibley: More is More

TESC94 - Merry Christmas Penguins

Happy Friday! It has been quite a week around here and I've come to the realization that I'm going to have to get used to functioning in all this snow because it sure isn't going away anytime soon! Alice Wertz, one of my fellow sketch crew members, is always using the most sweet and adorable images from Pink Petticoat. So I finally decided to have a little shopping spree at their store! I loved these sweet penguins from the moment I laid eyes on them! All of the Pink Petticoat images are digital so I cut out each of the penguins after coloring them with Copic markers and then placed them in the little scene. I added white liquid applique and the 'Merry Christmas' sentiment from Wings of Joy to finish off the image panel. Then I used Prism cardstock in Blush Red Dark and Island Mist Light along with patterned paper from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly 6x6 pad. The background was embossed with Swiss Dots (once I get it out I can't seem to put it away!) and chalked with Colorbox Cloud White ink. And to finish the whole thing off I added a little Red w/White Dot bow.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Sweet Occasions - More is More Style

I love the new Sweet Occasions stamp set! I love how it's easy to create quick and cute cards. But in honor of the creator of this stamp set, Jami Sibley, I decided to create a card in her signature style, More is More. I spent quite a while paper piecing the inside and outside of the frame, coloring with Copics, highlighting with Crystal Stickles, and adding some bling to the cherry. The patterned paper, cardstock, and pearls are from the Girl Friday card kit. And I was FINALLY able to get my hands on the elusive Martha Stewart loop border punch! I ran to Michael's the other day and it was supposed to be one of those quick trips, but it turned into a shopping spree when I spotted this border punch and the coordinating corner punch. You'll likely be seeing a lot of this punch from me in the future! I finished off the card with some Olive w/Cream dot ribbon. Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you'll tune in tomorrow for another TESC Sketch Challenge!

P.S. We're digging out of all the snow today! I'll re-phrase...Jon is digging us out of all the snow today! The official total was almost 15" and we have 6 foot drifts of snow in our backyard! The local weatherman said this is the most snow they've had in December for years...so glad we could be a part of it! ;)

So much to say...

Good morning! I have lots to tell you about this morning! First of all, I know many of you have been patiently waiting for me to reveal the winner of our Crafty Cuppie set from the release day blog hop. I won't keep you waiting any longer! The winner comes from Sharon Harnist's release day blog post:

Congratulations, Lisa T.! We'll be contacting you shortly to see where you'd like your Crafty Cuppie set mailed!

So where have I been these past few days? Jon and I attended a family wedding over the weekend. It's fun to live close enough now to be able to go to these events, but it's always a lot of driving which makes me tired! We arrived home Sunday night and we spent Monday catching up on emails and orders. We've also been preparing for a storm! Not only is this our first snow since we moved here from Southern California, but it's a HUGE blizzard (and I've heard the 'b' word doesn't get thrown around lightly here)! The drifts outside our house are about 4 ft tall and they're predicting drifts up to 8 ft. in some places! In fact, I snapped this picture earlier today and it won't be long before our mailbox is buried! Welcome to Iowa, huh!? Have I mentioned that I miss the Southern California weather?

I missed out on participating in the sketch challenge on Friday because of all the release excitement and our trip out of town. I love this week's sketch though so I decided to create a little something yesterday using the new Discover Your Wings set. My card was inspired by this beautiful Laurie Schmidlin creation. She inspired me to grab my Kraft cardstock and create a chic vintage card. I started by stamping the butterflies in Colorbox Chalk ink (Lime, Tangerine, and Yellow Ochre) and embossed them with clear embossing powder. I cut each of the butterflies out, layered them over Kraft circles embossed with Swiss Dots, and lined the center of each butterfly with Tiny Twinkles. Then I stamped and cut apart the 'Discover Your Wings' sentiment and matched up some beautiful October Afternoon patterned paper from the Report Card 8x8 pad. I punched the patterned paper with a Martha Stewart border punch and added a bit of vintage flower trim to the side. I love how this card turned out because it's so different from my usual style!

There's still time for you to participate in this week's sketch challenge! I'll be getting back into the swing of the Top Crops next week so you might just see a little peek of your creation in the Top 5! You can check out this week's sketch details and all of the inspiration HERE.

Hope you're all having a great week! Wish us luck with all this snow...I just hope Jon doesn't break his back with all this shoveling! I have a feeling we'll be heading to Home Depot for a snowblower after this storm passes! :)

Taylored Expressions Release Day!

Wooohooo... it's Release Day! The Baker's Dozen has been tempting you with sweetness over the last two days and today all of our new stamp sets and coordinating Taylored Card Kits are available for purchase at the TE Store!

So what are these new card kits? We're excited to bring you something brand new this month in an effort to make your crafting quick and fun! Each Taylored Card Kit features coordinating patterned paper, cardstock, ribbon, Kaisercraft pearls, and a Perfect Package Card Box! We're providing everything you need to make a set of coordinating cards right down to the envelopes and packaging!

We have three card kits to choose from and today the Baker's Dozen and I are sharing our creations using elements from the kits. We have a suggested coordinating stamp set for each kit, but of course the kits are super versatile and you can mix and match them with just about any stamp set. For my release day project I used the Girl Friday Card Kit and coordinating stamp set, Crafty Cuppie & Crafty Expressions. Each card kit includes 10 Choice Cardstock bases so I created 10 cards to store inside my decorated Perfect Package.

This post is jam-packed so I won't go into a lot of detail on each of the individual cards, but you can click on each of the pictures to enlarge and see the recipe. I also want to let you know that we're offering a coordinating Copic marker kit for each of the Taylored Card Kits in order to simplify your coordinating efforts. You can find the Girl Friday Copic Kit here! And here's a closer look at Crafty Cuppie and the Girl Friday Card Kit:

CRAFTY CUPPIE GALLERY!

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I know lots of you are super excited about Sweet Occasions, so here's a closer look at the full set along with the coordinating Taylored Card Kit featuring the Pretty Please collection of patterned paper by My Mind's Eye:

SWEET OCCASIONS GALLERY!

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And last but not least, the latest addition to our TE Giving Tree Series, Discover Your Wings! For each Discover Your Wings set sold during the next three months, Taylored Expressions will donate $7.00 to the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation. If you haven't read about the incredible work they do, I would encourage you to visit their website. Here's a look at the full set along with the coordinating Taylored Card Kit featuring the Bloom & Grow collection of patterned paper by My Mind's Eye:

DISCOVER YOUR WINGS GALLERY!

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For those of you who have tuned in during the past two days of sneak peeks, we've offered a free stamp set to one lucky commenter from among all the Baker's Dozen blogs. The winner of Discover Your Wings comes from Jackie Pedro's blog comments:

Congratulations Monika Davis!

And the winner of Sweet Occasions comes from Jami Sibley's blog comments:

Congratulations Laura K!

We'll be contacting you for the address where you'd like your FREE set sent!

For the rest of you, there's still a chance to win! Come blog hoppin' with me to see what the Baker's Dozen girls have cooked up today:

Charmaine Ikach
Dawn Easton
Donna Baker
Jackie Pedro
Jami Sibley
Jodi Collins
Karen Giron
Karen Motz
Laurie Schmidlin
Sankari Wegman
Sharon Harnist
Taylor VanBruggen (you are here!)

Be sure to leave some love along the way because one lucky commenter will win a Crafty Cuppie stamp set!

All you have to do is leave a comment on each Baker's Dozen blog today for the best chance to win! One lucky winner will be chosen at random from all of the comments on one of the blogs, but the trick is that nobody knows which blog it will be! You have until 6am PST on Saturday to enter. The winner will be announced Monday morning on Taylor's blog.

Thanks for stopping by to check out our new releases! Happy Shopping!

Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #93

It's release day at Taylored Expressions, but I'm also excited to get back into the swing of our weekly sketch challenges! Here's your sketch for the weekend:


Just create a card using the above sketch as inspiration! Link your creation using Mr. Linky below by Friday, December 11th at 8am PST. I'll be choosing the most clever and creative cards to be included in the TESC Top Crops on my blog! And you definitely don't want to miss the Sketch Crew inspiration below...you can click on any of these cards to read more about the details of these creations!

Created by Alice Wertz: Alice's Little Wonderland

Created by Lynn Mercurio: Stamperosity

Created by Rachel Sztonyk: The Gingerbread Gallery

Created by Lisa Hjulberg: The Craft's Meow

Created by Melissa Sauls: In Stamping Mode

Created by Sherrie Siemens: Card Creme

Created by Monika Davis: M.A.D. Stamper