Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #122

Good morning and Happy Friday! It has been unbearably hot this week which has allowed me to get lots of indoor projects completed including some crafting time! If it's more of the same weather for this weekend, hopefully you'll have time to try your hand at the latest sketch challenge! Here it is:

Just create a card using the above sketch as inspiration. You're not required to use TE Stamps in your sample, but I love it when you do! Link your creation below by Friday, July 30th at 8am PST. I'll choose the most clever and creative cards to be included in the TESC Top Crops on my blog! Each of our Top Crops receives a blog badge to proudly display on your blog sidebar and a link on the TE blog for all to marvel at your beautiful creation!

The sketch crew has done is again with their amazing samples! Hope you enjoy!

Created by Alice Wertz: Alice's Little Wonderland

Created by Jami Sibley: More is More

Created by Melissa Sauls: In Stamping Mode

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

Created by Rosie Hughes: Love my Craft Room

Created by Sherrie Siemens: Card Creme

Created by Taylor VanBruggen: Taylored Expressions

TESC122 - Discover Your Wings

Happy Friday!! OK... if I'm being honest today, I should tell you that I'm having a hard time focusing as I type this blog post. There are still a lot of little details that need attention before we head off to CHA on Monday. I can't believe how fast it has come around this time! And can you believe it's almost AUGUST too!? Where does the time go? I've heard people say that time passes more quickly the older you get. That's a bit of a scary thought because at the speed the days are currently passing, I'll be turning 50 before I know it! For my sketch card today I used the July Key Ingredients kit again. I know I keep using it, but I just LOVE it! It fits right in with all of the stamp sets I want to use it with. Today I decided to use Discover Your Wings and do a pretty much exact copy of the sketch. As always, the butterfly elements in the sketch don't have to be butterflies. They can be an embellishment or even a sentiment...whatever your heart desires!

So I'm gonna cut myself off there and keep checking off my to-do list. Would you believe I've had to add "Go to Bed" to my to-do list or it just doesn't get done!? *grin* Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Stamps: Discover Your Wings, Berries and Cherries (Taylored Expressions)

Cardstock/Patterned Paper: July Key Ingredients kit (Taylored Expressions)

Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Pear Tart, Colorbox Rouge, Stampin' Up Cool Caribbean

Accessories: Crystal Twinkles, foam tape

Center of Attention Product Spotlight - Taylored Originals

At Taylored Expressions we're proud to bring you a variety of papercrafting embellishments in exclusive combinations. By searching out unique embellishments from various manufacturers and coordinating and packaging them ourselves we are often able to pass along considerable savings to you! And who doesn't like a good deal!? Today our {Taylored Originals} are the Center of Attention during our monthly product focus. As always, our Center of Attention products are 15% off through the weekend (July 22-25) and you can find them all in our What's the Deal category!

Each of the Baker's Dozen designers is featuring a different {Taylored Original} product today. Just click on the designers' names below to learn about these products and enjoy some yummy eye candy! Or click on the product name to go straight to the TE Store.

Karen M. - Candy Crystals
Jeanie - Paper Pretties
Alex - Apple Blossoms
Carolina - Butterflies
Jackie - Taylored Rose Garden
Sankari - Tiny Twinkles

Today I'm featuring the Bucket of Bling! Each mini acylic pail is filled with five individual jars of color coordinated embellishments, one jar each of buttons, brads, flock, glitter, and rhinestones. All the bling you'll need to add pizazz to your projects! Or the perfect little gift for a friend! The Bucket of Bling comes in pink, red, turquoise, purple, and green for just $9.95 each. I decided to create a card using all of the embellishments from one Bucket of Bling.











I chose the pink Bucket of Bling because... well... I LOVE pink! :) When I set out to create the card I thought it was going to turn out completely over-embellished. But I really like the way these different embellishments come together and complement each other on the same card. It's kinda like playing Where's Waldo with a card. Can you find all 5 of the embellishments on this card? *grin* I love Where's Waldo! Of course I haven't cleaned my stamp table lately so my July Key Ingredients is still spread out and I decided to use it again. I just love the refreshing, summery colors in this patterned paper! I started by stamping the stems in Pear Tart Ink. Then I stamped different blooms from the Garden Party Blooms set and popped them up over the stems. I embellished the flower centers with buttons and rhinestone. The brads were used in the corners of the card after punching the image panel with my Stub corner chomper. So that leaves glitter and flock as the remaining embellishments. I used my Quickie Glue Pen to apply a thin line of glue around one of the flowers and then covered it with glitter. Then I stamped and cut out the butterfly from Garden Party Critters and covered it with fun flock. So there you have it... one card, five embellishments... a fun challenge!

As you all know, we're getting ready to leave for CHA soon and it's time to make room at the TE Store for all the fabulous new products we'll be ordering! That's good news for you as we've just added many products to our What's the Deal sale department! As I mentioned above, the {Taylored Originals} are on sale through July 25th only, but the rest of the items in the What's the Deal sale department are in limited quantity and many will NOT be re-stocked - so don't wait! Get in on these deals while they last!

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

As Seen On TV - Be Incredibly Creative Instantly!

Does your mojo disappear occasionally? Does it sometimes stay hidden for days, weeks, or months? Do you wish you could get it back quickly... or even instantly!? Well, I've got the perfect solution for you!
Yes, you heard it here first! A cinnamon flavored gum that helps you "be incredibly creative instantly"! Ever wanted to write a book or a screenplay or turn your most private thoughts into a song? Ever dreamed of making something out of paper, or fabric, or even designing your own house? There's no limit to your imagination if you can open up your mind.

Directions for Use: Insert gum in small opening beneath nose. Now get up and get out of the house. It's time to play! Don't forget to bring along pen and paper. You'll need something to jot down all those new ideas!

*giggle* So... what do you think of my discovery? Fun, huh!? Is it magical? Probably not. I found this cute little box of gum in a boutique along the coast of Southern California and I just had to get it. Actually, I picked up a few of them so I'm prepared when my mojo disappears! And I have good news... I bought enough to give one away to a lucky commenter! Just leave a comment below and tell me, "What do you do to find your missing mojo?" I'll choose a winner on Friday and announce it during our weekly sketch challenge!

Speaking of winners... congratulations to lucky #35 Chris Loritsch, the winner of our July Blast from the Past Blog Hop. Chris will be receiving one free stamp set of her choice from the TE Store. Thanks to everyone who participated in our customer blog hop yesterday! Click here to find out how you can join in the fun in August!

Taylored Expressions July Customer Blog Hop!

Good morning! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and I'm so glad you stopped by because today is our monthly Blast from the Past customer blog hop! Each month we issue a challenge to our fabulous customers and wait to be amazed at they create using Taylored Expressions stamps. And now the waiting ends today!

If you're visiting here from another blog, a big WELCOME! You're at the first blog on the hop and you can start the rest of your journey by following the links below. But first, let me show you what I made for the blog hop!

One of our spectacular design team members, Sankari Wegman, created this sketch for us this month! Isn't it fun!? The sketch was optional so not everybody used it, but I love having a starting point when I sit down to make a card. I also grabbed my July Key Ingredients kit and with the help of the sketch and the coordinated ingredients in the kit, this card came together in no time! I wanted to use an image from one of my favorite sets, Chillax! It's also one of our most popular sets so it could be your favorite too!? I colored my umbrella drink with Copic markers and highlighted it with Illuminate Smooch. For the scalloped side portion of the sketch I used the Bubbles border punch and added small Crystal Twinkles to the inside of each bubble. As I said above, all of the cardstock, patterned paper, and ribbon came from the July Key Ingredients kit. There's still a week left in July to join our kit of month club and receive this fun kit!

Do you wish you could have joined us this month? Well, there's good news! We've set the date for our August customer blog hop and would love to have you join us! Click here for all the details. As always, one random person will be selected to win the Taylored Expressions stamp set of their choice and another fabulous creation will be featured in an upcoming TE newsletter!

Now hop along and see what the rest of the ladies have created!






Stamps: Chillax, Berries and Cherries (Taylored Expressions)
Cardstock/Patterned Paper: July Key Ingredients (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Accessories: Bubbles border punch, ribbon, crystal twinkles, Illuminate Smooch, Copic markers, foam tape

Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #121

Good morning! It's a bright and happy Friday here at Taylored Expressions! Are you in the mood for another sketch challenge? I hope so because I love how this sketch turned out and I can't wait to see how you bring it to life with your own personal touches! So here it is:

Just create a card using the above sketch as inspiration. You're not required to use TE Stamps in your sample, but I love it when you do! Link your creation below by Friday, July 23rd at 8am PST. I'll choose the most clever and creative cards to be included in the TESC Top Crops on my blog! Each of our Top Crops receives a blog badge to proudly display on your blog sidebar and a link on the TE blog for all to marvel at your beautiful creation!

The sketch crew has done is again with their amazing samples! Hope you enjoy!

Created by Lisa Hjulberg: The Craft's Meow

Created by Taylor VanBruggen: Taylored Expressions

Created by Alice Wertz: Alice's Little Wonderland

Created by Jami Sibley: More is More

Created by Melissa Sauls: In Stamping Mode

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

Created by Rosie Hughes: Love my Craft Room

Created by Sherrie Siemens: Card Creme

Created by Lori Craig: Make a Difference

TESC121 - Enjoy the Ride!

Happy Friday! The sun is shining, the temperatures have cooled off, and we have no weekend plans... does it get better than that!? I think not! I'm planning to finish off my latest summer read by Mary Higgins Clark and continue preparing for the CHA Craft SuperShow. I can't believe we're only two weeks away! For my sketch card today I wanted to use the new Feelin' Groovy set with That 70's Project Pantry kit. Both of these have been flying off the shelves during our latest release! We've loaded the last quantities of the Project Pantry kit so you'll want to snatch one up fast! And for those of you who already purchased That 70's Project Pantry we have a couple new coordinating products that I also used on my card today. I just couldn't resist the Doodlebug stickers to match the Feeling Groovy patterned paper! I used the border stickers along the side of my card and the icon stickers in the top left corner. The VW bug image was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copic markers. I cut it out with Spellbinders Classic Circle and layered it onto the Big Scalloped Circle Small. I spelled out 'groovy' with some stickers from my stash and called it good! The images in this set put me in a bright and happy mood! Which makes it the perfect set to use on Friday because now I'm ready for a bright and happy weekend! *grin*

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





Stamps: Feelin' Groovy (Taylored Expressions)
Cardstock/Patterned Paper: That 70's Project Pantry kit
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Spellbinders Classic Circle Small, Spellbinders Big Scalloped Circle Small, Copic Markers (R24, R27, R29, BG45, YR12, YG03, N1, N3), foam tape, Doodlebug Feeling Groovy Icons & Borders Stickers, corner chomper

July Key Ingredients now available!

Good morning! Actually, I'm pretty tired this morning. We had the thunderstorm of all thunderstorms last night and the claps of thunder literally shook our house! Usually our cats aren't allowed in our bedroom at night, but Morris (the black one) is so afraid of thunder. He gives me this look when I'm ready to go to bed as if to say "You're not going to leave me out here all alone are you?" He likes to sleep under our bed which is fine, but it means a 4am wake up call for me when he gets hungry. Usually the cats will be quiet until 8am if they can't see us. But if they're in the same room with us and they get hungry then my head gets walked on until I wake up and feed them! Ah well... life with cats. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em!

Anyhow...I digress. Are you nervous to keep reading knowing that the rabbit trail above stemmed from a simple 'Good morning!'? I promise I'll be better because I do have something exciting to show you today! The July Key Ingredients kit is now available at Taylored Expressions! If you're not familiar with our monthly kit club, let me take a few seconds to explain the important details. Each month we select a patterned paper collection and match cardstock, ribbon, and embellishments giving you everything you need to whip up a batch of coordinating cards! Your kit is packaged inside a plastic storage case with a supply list for reference and shipped right to your doorstep. This month's kit features KI Memories Paisley Parade collection and here's a list of everything you'll receive with this kit:

20 sheets of 6x6 patterned paper
12 sheet of 8.5x11 cardstock
5 yards of ribbon (1 yard each in 5 different styles)
2 Jars of Glitter (Misty Blue & Parisian Mist)
Quickie Glue Pen
Plastic Storage Case
Supply List

If you're currently a Key Ingredients subscriber, then this kit is already on its way to your mailbox! If you'd like to join our monthly kit club you can read about all of the benefits here. A 6 month subscription is just $23.95 a month for our U.S. and Canada customers. And most of our subscribers also take advantage of the monthly discount period when you receive 10% off everything at the TE Store plus free shipping. It doesn't get much better than that!

The Baker's Dozen and I cracked open our July kits to inspire you with this month's subscriber challenge:
This month it's all about the glitz and glitter! It's time to try out the Quickie Glue Pen (if you haven't already!) and apply glitter to any and everything! Create glittered chipboard pieces, write words in glitter, and bling it on even the smallest spaces!

So are you ready to see our glitter-fied creations? The fun colors in the Paisley Parade patterned paper remind me of sherbet and sweets so I instantly grabbed my Sprinkled with Love set. I colored the images with the July KI Copic kit (plus a few greys/browns) and glitzed it up. I covered both scoops of ice cream with glitter, portions of the cupcake, and also used the fine applicator on the Quickie Glue Pen to embellish the patterned paper with more glitter! Yes, I went a little crazy this month but it was fun. It was a great excuse to get completely covered in glitter!

Don't miss the rest of the Baker's Dozen glitterific projects using the July Key Ingredients: Charmaine, Karen G., Donna, Melissa, Jodi

TAYLORED TIPS

I also have just a couple little tips to share for working with loose glitter. I know not all of us enjoy being covered in glitter, so if you're on the neater side then you *must* check out the Perfect Printing Pouch and the Perfect Cleaning Cloth. Just tap the Perfect Printing Pouch on your project before applying your glue and glitter and it'll keep the tiny glitter particles from sticking to the rest of your card! And then if you just happen to get a little glitter on your workspace, the Perfect Cleaning Cloth attracts all those little particles with a quick sweep. It's also great for cleaning glasses, phones, and computer monitors too... gotta love a multi-purpose tool although you probably shouldn't clean your glasses with your glitter cloth or you'll have glitter glasses! *grin*

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






Stamps: Sprinkled with Love (Taylored Expressions)
Cardstock/Patterned Paper: July Key Ingredients
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Accessories: July KI Copic kit, glitter, ribbon, red candy dots, Bubbles border punch

Blast from the Past - Signup Reminder

Good morning! I'm traveling back in time today and sharing a couple of cards I made using the Beach Bum stamp set that was released in June 2009. Why the travel back in time? Well, I wanted to remind you that our deadline for signing up for our customer blog hop is fast approaching! If you have a blog and some TE stamps released prior to May 2010 then I would LOVE to have you join us! It's a great opportunity to get out your much loved TE Stamps and get inspired by the creations of your fellow TE lovers! We have a fun sketch to get you started on your creation and at the end of the hop one lucky participant will receive a FREE TE stamp set!

All the details for our Blast from the Past blog hop are below! Hope to see you there and I hope you all have a wonderful day!

-- July Hop Rules: Create a card featuring any Taylored Expressions stamps released through April 2010.

You can find a list of stamp sets by release date HERE.

We will provide a challenge to give you a jump start on your card, but the challenge is optional. Then just post the card on your blog on July 20th at 8am PST and include links to all participants in your blog post. We'll provide you with an easy stretch of code to copy and paste into your blog post so you don't have to spend hours linking to everyone!

We hope you'll have fun getting out your TE stamp sets and meeting fellow TE lovers on the hop!

-- Sign up to play by sending an email to bloghop@tayloredexpressions.com with the subject line "July 20 Hop". In your email simply list the following info: your first and last name and a link to your blog. By sending this email you are committing to posting a creation on your blog at 8am PST on July 20th according to the Hop Rules above.

-- You will receive an email confirming your spot in the hop. That email will also include the optional challenge, a list of excluded stamp sets (released after April 2010) and a recap of the rules.

-- You will receive another email 2 days prior to the Hop with a list of all participants and links to include in your post along with the Hop badge.

-- We saved the best part for last! One random participant will be selected to win the stamp set of your choice from Taylored Expressions! Someone will also be chosen to have their card featured in an upcoming newsletter.

Stamps: Beach Bum (Taylored Expressions)
Cardstock: Classic Purple, Sunflowers Medium, Blush Red Medium, Intense Kiwi, Choice Buttercream
Accessories: Snorkel Cardstock Stickers, Ribbon, Spellbinders, Copic markers, foam tape, Brown Sugar sparkly fluff, Beach Bum charm collection

Summertime Project Pantry - Scrappy Cards

Every so often I get in the mood to create some scrappy cards! It always brings me back to my roots. When I first started creating cards I didn't own stamps. I used rub-ons, die cuts, stickers, and patterned papers for the first year of my papercrafting journey. Then we all know the familiar story... I was invited to a Stampin' Up party and discovered Splitcoaststampers in the same year and there was no turning back from there! *grin*

But sometimes I enjoy the challenge of creating a no-stamping card! And with the help of the Summertime Project Pantry kit we have at the TE Store, you'd be surprised how quickly and easily these came together (I'm talking 10 minutes!). I just love the bright, happy colors in the Sweet Summertime patterned paper from Echo Park! I used the alpha stickers from the kit to spell out the words I wanted, added a scalloped border sticker and a little ribbon to each layout and called it good! You can also see that I used the coordinating candy dots from the kit to embellish the alpha stickers. It will be great to have these on hand for birthdays or other happy occasions.

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

P.S. If you're one of our Key Ingredients subscribers, today is your last day to place an order with your monthly discount coupon! If you did not receive our email including the discount code please let us know as soon as possible. It just doesn't get better than a discount plus free shipping!

TESC119 Top Crops

Good morning! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! It's time to check out some more beautiful cards that were submitted for the TESC119 sketch challenge.

I love seeing all the different takes on the sketches I design so keep up the good work! It was another tough decision, but here are this week's Top Crops:








Congratulations (from left to right): Lynn, Julie, Debbie, Barbara, and Nancy! Your cards are amazing!

You can click on each of the snippets above and you'll be taken to the designer's blog to see the full card and all the details! This week's Top Crops will soon receive a blog badge to display on your blog! There's also still time to participate in this week's TESC120 challenge for your chance to be featured as one of the TESC Top Crops next week. Check out the sketch and all the details HERE!