Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #58

Happy Friday and Happy Cupcake Day! Thanks for joining us for the big release yesterday! There's still time to get in on the great bundle deals and help us raise money for Eden Projects by purchasing Branching Out and Branching Out Coordinates. We're not ready to end the party so today we're launching The Taylored Expressions First Birthday Party Sweepstakes!

What's a birthday party without games and party favors and of course lots of cupcakes? We plan to celebrate our birthday all weekend long and we invite you to join in the fun! To say thank you for your support through our first year, I will hold drawings for Party Favors for three days - Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There will be a package given away each day as we play different party games right here on my blog. PLUS on Monday there will be a Sweepstakes Grand Prize winner drawn from all the orders placed at the Taylored Expressions Store from Thursday through Sunday. Since today is Cupcake Friday all you have to do to be eligible for today's Party Favor Package is to participate in the Cupcake Challenge and post your link with Mr. Linky below by Sunday night at 10 pm PST. I will draw one random winner to be announced on Monday. Today's Party Favor Package includes: one Perpetual Birthday Calendar, 2010 Calendar Inserts, one set of 6x6 Page Protectors, plus a package of brand new TE Spring Flowers. With this prize package you can create fun calendars for yourself or gifts for birthdays, Mother's Day or Christmas. These calendar products work perfectly with our Stamp a Sweet Impression sets A Year of Sweets 1, 2 and 3 as well as A Year of Sweet Sentiments.

Would you like to see the Sweepstakes Grand Prize as well? Everyone who places an order at the TE Store between Thursday, March 5th and Sunday, March 8th will automatically be entered to win this super fun package of Birthday Brights! It's a ton of ribbons and embellishments coming to you in a Perfect Package Large Square Box. This prize package is valued at $40 and includes:

Felt Flowers - Cha Cha, Felt Shapes - Ella, Dark Purple Glimmer Ribbon, Saddle Stitch Bright Bundle, Double Loop Trim - Bright Bundle, Dimensional Pearls - Cranberry, Zva Crystal Pink Heart Flourish, TE Glitter - Rapture Blue, Taylor's Tiny Twinkles, Rain Dots - Fuchsia, Candy Dots - Yellow, TE Brads - Orange

Now that you've seen the party favors up for grabs, it's time for the sketch challenge! You might notice that there's no cupcake on my card today. I always tell you that you're not required to use cupcakes and today I decided to take my own advice! All of the small images in Branching Out & Branching Out Coordinates are just perfect for this sketch. I stamped several of the images onto Choice Buttercream 1" squares and colored them with Copic markers. Each square is popped up with foam tape. I also highlighted several of the images with Glossy Accents and Crystal Stickles. The ribbon treatment is a combination of Peach Accordian Satin and a swirly printed ribbon by American Crafts. The sentiment was punched out with the SU! small oval punch and layered on the SU! large oval punch. As a finishing touch, I layered a Prima and felt flower and adhered it to the knot in my ribbon. And now I'm so excited to introduce you to our Featured Cupcake Sampler this week! Broni Holcombe caught my eye with her beautiful Iris card last week. What fantastic coloring! This week, Broni's sweet creation definitely makes up for my card lacking in cupcakes! Once again her coloring is spot on and I love all of the wonderful little touches she added! You can check out all of the details on this card and more of Broni's beautiful work on her blog: Splashes of Watercolor. Thanks for sampling the sketch this week, Broni! Now it's your turn to to try the sketch! I'll choose the most clever, creative, and cute creation from the submissions this weekend to be the Featured Cupcake Sampler next week. Your design and blog will be featured on my blog during Cupcake Friday. You're not required to use cupcakes for the challenge, but if you got 'em why not use 'em!? If you're uploading to Splitcoast use keyword TECC58 (for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 58). Leave a link to your blog post or gallery upload using the Mr. Linky service so I can check it out! You must have your cards uploaded by Sunday, March 8th at 10pm PST to be eligible for the featured cupcake sampler and our Friday Party Favor. Thanks for stopping by today! Hope to see you here tomorrow for another party game and party favor prize!

Don't miss the sketch challenge inspiration from the Cupcake Crew: Donna Baker, Jackie Pedro, Jami Sibley, Lynn Mercurio, Monika Davis, Sherrie Siemens, Stephanie Hargis, Vicki Chrisman