Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #53

Happy Friday and Happy Cupcake Day! Before I begin our normal cupcake day celebration, I want to announce the winners from the sketch challenge this weekend! I will private message each of the winners so that I can email you your gift certificate code. All winners were chosen at random from the participants in each challenge. Here are the $10 gift certificate winners:

Ana Wohlfahrt's Challenge: jennyw

Jami Sibley's Challenge: inglishrea

Jackie Pedro's Challenge: MM9772

Donna Baker's Challenge: card*crafter

Steph Hargis' Challenge: ariellehemp

Vicki Chrisman's Challenge: LMcAree

Sherrie Siemens Challenge: braundk

Monika Davis' Challenge: polevaulter

My Challenge: bljgraves

And the GRAND PRIZE WINNER (chosen at random from among those who participated in all 9 sketch challenges) is: Sherry Bogle!

Thank you again for celebrating the anniversary of cupcake sketches with us! I can't wait to see what you all come up with this week! I was in the mood to use my Love is Sweet set again and I thought little cuppie with his chocolates fit the sketch perfectly. I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored it with Copic markers. Some of the chocolates are highlighted with Crystal Stickles and Tiny Twinkles. I used patterned paper and cardstock and embellishments from the Valentine Key Ingredients. This Key Ingredient kit is sold out and will not be restocked, but most of the parts can be purchased individually at the store. I cut out cuppie using my Spellbinders classic and scalloped square dies and added a little ribbon treatment with the sentiment tag attached. Then I finished it off with three red heart brads in the corner. I have to apologize that there is no Featured Cupcake Sampler this week. I returned from CHA too late in the week to get that done. So this week you'll have to put up with only one card! I hope you'll all participate again this week for a chance at the Featured Cupcake Sampler honors. So 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 TECC53 (for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 53). 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 Monday, February 2nd at 8am PST to be eligible for the featured cupcake sampler. Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Don't forget to check out the sketch challenge inspiration from the Cupcake Crew (they're also linked below!):Donna Baker, Jami Sibley, Jackie Pedro, Vicki Chrisman, Monika Davis, Stephanie Hargis, and Ana Wohlfahrt

Cupcakes @ CHA

I'm baaaaaaack! *grin* I had such an incredible time at CHA Winter 2009! I got to meet so many talented ladies at the show! And not only are they talented... they are sweet as cupcakes too! Last year at Summer CHA I decided to do a little "Cupcakes @ CHA" collage and I wanted to continue that tradition again this year! I found cupcake pincushions, cupcake bling, cupcake paper, cupcake stamps, cupcake brads, a cupcake luggage tag.... cupcakes are IN! The Doodlebug booth was by far the most adorable booth at the show! It was designed like a little sweet shoppe complete with a huge three-tiered treat stand, giant size ice cream cones, and a shoppe window with cupcakes growing out of the window box (that's me in the window of the Doodlebug booth on the bottom right)! I have a funny story to share about the picture in the middle of my collage. I was putting this together last night and I called Jon over to the computer to check out all the cupcakes I found at CHA. And here's what he said... "Who's that lady in the middle?" Ummmm... hellooooo... that's me! We laughed and laughed, but I should give him a break since I did just cut off six inches of hair and dye it a lighter shade before I left. Just wanted to point out that that is me in the pictures in case anyone else is confused! lol. I have one more fun product to show you today... it's called Smooch and it's new from Clearsnap! What a cute name for such a cute product! It comes in packaging that resembles nail polish. The super fine foam tip allows you great control when applying and the pearlized finish leaves your images looking yummy. I can't wait to show you some pictures of Smooch in action when it arrives! The Taylored Expressions shopping crew ordered lots and lots of new products at CHA that we'll be debuting over the next several weeks so stay tuned to the blog and the TE Store!

Thank you to all of you who participated in the Cupcake Challenge anniversary celebration! You still have until tonight at 8pm PST tonight to enter the challenges to win a gift certificate to the Taylored Expressions store! The $75 grand prize gift certificate is also up for grabs for anyone who participates in all 9 sketch challenges. I'll announce the winners on Cupcake Friday tomorrow!

Celebrating a Year of Cupcake Challenges!

Happy Friday and Happy Cupcake Day! Today is a very special day here at Taylored Expressions! We're celebrating a year of cupcake challenges! I set out to make this the yummiest day in blogland with the help of the Cupcake Crew and my past Featured Cupcake Samplers! I've asked each of the ladies on the weekly Cupcake Crew to design a sketch challenge for the occasion. And all of the past featured cupcake samplers have made a card using one of their sketches! Even with 9 fun sketches and lots of yummy eye candy, it wouldn't be a party without you! For each sketch you participate in you'll be entered into a drawing to win a $10 gift certificate to the Taylored Expressions store! If you're a big party girl and you participate in ALL 9 sketch challenges you'll be entered into the Grand Prize drawing for your choice of the 5 January stamp set releases or a $75 gift certificate to the Taylored Expressions store! All of your entries must be posted to Splitcoast using the appropriate keyword. You'll find the keywords on each hostesses' blog. If you upload a creation for all 9 sketches, send me an email at tayloredexpressions@gmail.com and I'll enter you in the Grand Prize drawing! Since there are so many fun sketches to play this week we're giving you some extra time. Your entries must be uploaded by the evening of Thursday, January 29th. Each of the hostesses will be doing their gift certificate drawings that evening as well as the grand prize drawing. I'll announce all of the winners on my blog next Friday!

Now that you have all the yummy details, here's my sketch challenge! I created this card using the February calendar image from A Year of Sweets 1 (now back in stock at the TE Store). I colored it with Copic markers and added Taylor's Tiny Twinkles to the cherry on each of the cuppies and in each of the scallops layering the image. Yes, you read that right... Taylor's Tiny Twinkles are back! You'll have to stay tuned until the end of this message to read more about how you can get your hands on these little sprinkles of goodness! I embossed the background with the Swiss Dots embossing folder and chalked the raised dots with white ink. The red felt buttons and the red polka dot ribbon are also from the TE store. I punched the scalloped border with my Fiskars threading water punch. I'm so excited to introduce you to the Featured Cupcake Sampler this week! Not only did Christine impress me with her adorable creations last week, but she was so clever in telling a little tale of cuppie. And she's wowed me with another cute cupcake creation this week! I love those yummy colors and the cute paper pieced cupcake linings! You can check out all the details of this card and more of Christine's beautiful work on her blog: Christine Creations. Thanks for sampling the sketch this week, Christine! 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. I'll also choose one random winner from among all the participants in my challenge to receive a $10 gift certificate to the Taylored Expressions store. You're not required to use cupcakes for the challenge, but if you got 'em why not use 'em!? You must upload your creation to Splitcoaststampers using keyword TECC52TV to be eligible for the prizes. Leave a comment below using the Mr. Linky service I can check it out! You must have your cards uploaded by Thursday, January 29th at 8pm PST to be eligible for the featured cupcake sampler. You'll find more inspiration using this sketch on these past featured cupcake sampler blogs: Mary Fish, Terri Dodd, Laura Fredrickson, and Mary Jo Albright!

Make sure you check out the hostesses of the other 8 Sketch Challenges we have for you this weekend!

Jami Sibley

Ana Wohlfahrt

Vicki Chrisman

Donna Baker

Jackie Pedro

Sherrie Siemens

Stephanie Hargis

Monika Davis

Just a few more things to share today so hang in there! While we're away at CHA scoping out all the newest products in the world of papercrafting we want to celebrate the spirit of INSPIRATION and CREATIVITY that CHA represents by offering you two CHA Specials. These specials are valid for all orders placed in the Taylored Expressions Store Friday, January 23 through Wednesday, January 28th.

Special #1 - Buy 2 packages of Taylor's Tiny Twinkles and Get 1 FREE! No coupon code is needed for this offer. For every 2 packages on your order, you will receive 3. It's that simple! Over 1200 rhinestones for just $7.98. There is no limit on this offer - just make sure you order in multiples of 2.

Special #2 - FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $40. Simply use coupon code FREESHIP0109 (all caps, no spaces) upon checkout. Now is the perfect time to peruse all the different departments at TE to see everything we offer as well as pick up those items you've been eyeing for awhile! Please feel free to share this coupon code with your friends! Orders will continue to ship during CHA.

And last, but certainly not least... thank you all for your sweet comments on my new blog design! Are you wondering who won their very own blog design from Nancy? The lucky winner is.... Kristie Larsen from The Kristie Sessions! Kristie, send me an email at tayloredexpressions@gmail.com and I'll put you in touch with the fabulous Nancy!

New Blog Design Debut + Blog Candy

Good morning! I'm so excited to unveil my new blog design today! What do you think!? There were only a few things I knew when I decided I wanted to change my blog design. I knew I wanted the design to be simple and I wanted the colors to match the Taylored Expressions store logo. I also knew that I couldn't do it myself. I just don't have the time (or the skill!) to create a whole new design. So... what to do?

Well, I came across Karen Motz' blog in December when she began participating in the Cupcake Sketch Challenge. Not only did I notice Karen's beautiful cards, but I also noticed her wonderful blog banner! I read along Karen's sidebar that her friend Nancy had created the banner for her. So I followed the link to Nancy's blog and discovered that she is a freelance graphic designer. Her blog didn't say anything about banner design services, but I figured it couldn't hurt to send her an email and see if she'd consider doing my new blog design. She said yes and we collectively arrived at this design in early January. Nancy was such a pleasure to work with and the whole thing came together so quickly!

Nancy has decided that she'd like to continue creating blog banners, sidebar labels, and watermarks, but with a little twist! Instead of the standard payment for services rendered, she will design your blog banner and a watermark in exchange for a minimum $50 donation to Sick Kids, Canadian Immunodeficiency Society, Starlight Foundation, or a children's hospital in your area. Nancy's son, Henri, made an amazing recovery from a bone marrow transplant and an underlying immune disease with much thanks to Sick Kids. Now that Henri is better, Nancy is hoping to be able to raise some money for Sick Kids and other organizations who help children with similar diseases. If you'd like to contact Nancy about helping you with a new blog design, leave a comment on her blog or email her at nancy.mckinney3@gmail.com.

Check out more of Nancy's banner designs on these blogs:

Card Worthy (Nancy's blog)
The Paper Playhouse
Dana's House of Cards
Willow and Paisley

To make this debut even more *sweet* Nancy has agreed to design a blog banner, 3-5 sidebar labels, and watermark FREE for one lucky reader of my blog. If you'd like to be entered into the drawing, just leave a comment on this post by Thursday at 9pm PST and I'll announce the winner on Cupcake Friday.

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

You are so sweet!

Whew... what a weekend and what a completely insane Monday! You wouldn't believe how many times I sat down to type up a post over the weekend and I kept getting interrupted. And then I was at work until 8pm last night...not exactly what I had planned! I've been wanting to give you a sneak peek of one of the new releases from JustRite Stampers and I've finally found a minute to click "publish"! I used the new JustRite lowercase font debuting at CHA next week! I knew I wanted to create a border for my kissing cuppie couple. So I laid out the text on the large Harmony Classic Rectangle stamper and stamped it onto Choice Snow White cardstock. I added red heart brads to the 'o' in love. The corners looked a little bare so I drew a double line in each corner and colored it in with red marker. I stamped the kissing couple from Love is Sweet in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored it with Copic markers. I added a row of rhinestones to Mrs. Cuppie and a little bowtie to Mr. Cuppie. I think they look like quite the dashing couple! :) The black polka ribbon is from the TE store and I used up some KI Memories patterned paper. Thanks for stopping by today! Don't forget to check out the JustRite blog for more CHA sneak peeks!

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #51

Good morning! Happy Friday and Happy Cupcake Day! I can't believe it's Friday... this week just flew by! Jon has been helping coach a local high school boys basketball team and they have a game tonight so I'll be heading to that. Tomorrow we're off to the mall for a little shopping spree! Jon needs to find a suit, but I might find a few things for myself as well. *wink* Now on to what you all came here for... the cupcake sketch challenge! I haven't used this Whipper Snapper cupcake image in a long time. I also haven't used my Prismacolor pencils and gamsol for quite a while. In keeping with my New Year's resolution I am using what I have! I used some My Mind's Eye patterned paper and random buttons from my stash to complete the sketch. I've become quite fond of buttons lately. I used the "Seize the Cupcake" sentiment from Hero Arts again for a couple of reasons. One, because it was still sitting on my desk from last week's card and two, I think it was made for this image since the little guy is literally seizing the cupcake! *grin* And now I'm so excited to introduce you to the Featured Cupcake Sampler this week! Jenn Diercks caught my eye last week with her sweet baby creation and she's done it again with another adorable cupcake card this week! I love how the little elephant is holding a cupcake... such a clever way to incorporate a cupcake with an image not traditionally containing one! You can check out all of the details on this card and the rest of Jenn's beautiful work on her blog: I Got Stamps. Thanks so much for sampling the sketch, Jenn! 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!? You're welcome to create something other than a card, just stick as closely to the sketch as possible and you'll be eligible for the Featured Cupcake Sampler honors. If you're uploading to Splitcoast use keyword TECC51 (for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 51). 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 Monday, January 19th at 8am PST to be eligible for the featured cupcake sampler. Thanks for stopping by today! I hope to see you here tomorrow! I'll have a JustRite sneak peek to show you using one of the new products debuting at CHA!

Don't forget to check out the sketch challenge inspiration from the Cupcake Crew (they're also linked below!):Donna Baker, Jami Sibley, Jackie Pedro, Sherrie Siemens, Vicki Chrisman, Monika Davis, Stephanie Hargis, and Ana Wohlfahrt

Mister Linky was a success last week so we're doing it again! Please enter your name and the link to your blog post or gallery upload and we'll all be able to click through easily! Remember to directly link your post pertaining to TECC51, please do not leave a general blog link. Thanks!

Be Mine Froggie

I was in the mood to dig into my drawer of images again last night and I came out with another cute froggie. This image is from Penny Black, appropriately named Found Love. I picked out patterned paper and cardstock to match my already colored image and used Julee's Mojo Monday sketch as a launch point. The cardstock colors are Prism Blush Red Dark and Herbal Garden Medium. I embossed the red layer with my Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles embossing folder. The moss colored grosgrain ribbon is from the TE Store. I stamped the Be Mine sentiment from Love is Sweet separately and punched them out with a 3/4" circle punch. I colored and cut out the heart from the "Cuppie writing a Valentine" image in Love is Sweet. I added Crystal Stickles to the heart the botoom and the one on the end of the fishing pole. I had to get some sort of bling on my card today since I held off on the rhinestones! Oh and the little frog was just begging for googlie eyes. I'll take any excuse to use googlie eyes... they're so darn cute! Thanks for stopping by today! Hope to see you all here for tomorrow for Cupcake Friday!

Love is in the Air

Good morning! Love is in the air today with this cute froggie image by Rachelle Anne Miller! My friend Lori had some of these images while we were all in Texas last fall and I just couldn't help myself. I had to stamp and color this cuteness! When I brought the colored image home I stuck it in my image drawer where colored images disappear into a black hole never to be seen again. Does anyone else have that bad habit? Well last night I broke away from that habit and decided to delve into the black hole. I pulled out this already colored image and just need to find some patterned paper and embellishments to match. I used a piece from an old Paper Salon collection. I love the soft blue, pink, and brown combination and it matched my image perfectly! I used Caribbean satin ribbon from the TE store. I added clear rhinestones around the image... I just can't stay away from the bling lately! I'm always looking for places to add more, it's a disease I tell 'ya! *wink* In addition to the rhinetsones I also added Crystal Stickles to the belly of Ms. Frog and a layered button embellishment at the bottom left. Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Fun Dip Valentine

I feel like a broken record with the Michael's thing lately, but here I go again. The other day while I was at Michael's I spotted these Fun Dip Valentine's. I loved Fun Dip as a kid! Who am I kidding!? I still love Fun Dip! Something about Cherry Yum-Diddly and Razz-Apple Magic just make me smile. And we all know the best part of Fun Dip, right? The stick! At least that's my favorite part. Anyway, I picked up a box of 24 Fun Dips and wanted to make a little package for my sweet treat. I created this flap lid box (like for a deck of cards) with a little measuring, cutting, and scoring. I added a Zva Creative rectangle rhinestone to the front of the packaging and my Copic colored cuppie also. I wrote Be Mine with a black marker inside the little heart and added a Red Candy Dot to his cherry. The little red bow at the top is red glimmer ribbon. Then I needed a matching card for my treat box. I used TECC45 sketch for this card. I still turn to this sketch often... it has become one of my favorites! I used a Zva Creative oval rhinestone to surround my image and then popped it up over a scalloped oval. I used heart eyelets in the image and along the top left. All of the cardstock, patterned paper, and ribbon can be found in the Valentine Key Ingredients and the images and sentiment are from Love is Sweet. Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Custom Soccer Thank You Cards

I was commissioned by one of my very best customers to create two soccer themed thank you cards for their team soccer mom and soccer coach. I started by tearing pieces of green WorldWin Ruche paper. The texture on this paper really makes it looks like grass! I knew the adorable Soccermomabella image from Stamping Bella would be perfect for the soccer mom thank you. I colored the image with Copics, cut it out, and popped it up on dimensionals. I stamped several extra soccer balls and arranged them around her feet. The card needed some girly bling so I used a crystal thank you sentiment (a new product from Zva Creative). I finished it off with the 'soccer mom' sentiment that comes with the Bella image. Now soccermomabella just wouldn't work for the soccer coach's card. I needed something more masculine with a few less "pieces of flair". I purchased some realistic looking soccer stickers from Michael's and came up with this card. I love the sentiment and thought it was so appropriate for a coach: "Sports do not build character - they reveal it." I mounted the sentiment sticker onto black cardstock and popped it up on dimensionals. The green background is stamped with the Weave backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms. I printed the 'Thanks, Coach!' sentiment on my computer, added a strip of realistic grass along the bottom, and a whistle. My customer loves the two cards I made... although she's very sweet and probably wouldn't tell me if she didn't! :) Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Divine Design 2009 - January

I mentioned yesterday that I would be participating in the Divine Design Challenge again in 2009 along with my friends Lori Craig, Angel Wilde, and Nancy Morgan. We're also welcoming a new face to the Scripture Chicks this year, Jami Bova! We'll be posting our Bible verse creations on the 9th of each month, and we hope that you'll join us in sharing a verse that has meaning for you. There are very few rules to this challenge, but you can read all of them on this thread at Splitcoaststampers. For Divine Design this year I've decided to create 6x6 page layouts with some of my favorite verses. Since this is the first month in a new year, I've been reminded of the word renewal. God makes all things new and He is constantly purifying my heart. He peels back the layers of junk and renews my spirit. This is another of my favorite verses and a frequent prayer to God to continue His work in me:

"Create in me a new heart O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

I laid out the verse in Photoshop using the Trajan Pro and KonTiki Enchanted fonts and printed it onto Choice Buttercream cardstock. The flowers are cut out from a piece of patterned paper in the SEI Dill Blossom collection pack and popped up on dimensionals. I added a strip of chocolate crystals along the bottom of the verse and a chocolate and gold crystal swirl above. The butterfly (from PaperTrey's Butterfly Kisses) was stamped onto patterned paper and cut out. I used Platinum Pearls, more chocolate crystals, and some Stardust Gelly Roll pen to embellish the flowers. You can see the closeup pictures above.

In addition to creating these 6x6 layouts, I wanted to decorate one of the Frame Your Imagination Vertical Stands to display them throughout the year. I took cues from Ana Wohlfahrt's beautiful stand to decorate my stand. I started by painting it with white acrylic paint. Then I added strips of chocolate rhinestones around the base of the stand and along each of the posts. I used Zva Creative crystal swirl designs on the outside of each of the posts and on the base of the stand (right below the hanging verse). Then I finished it off with some chocolate satin bows. I added my finished 6x6 layout to a page protector and hung it from the dowel. I love how this project turned out and I can hardly wait to add the next verse in February. Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #50

Happy Friday and Happy Cupcake Day! Whew... this is the first full week I've worked because of the Christmas and New Year holidays and I'm so ready for it to be over! The first one is always the toughest, right!? I think this week's sketch is going to require a lot of you to step outside your comfort zone. I know it did for me. But that's why they're called challenges! On my weekly trip to Michael's earlier this week (please tell me I'm not the only one who makes a weekly trip! lol) these Martha Stewart felt cupcake embellishments literally fell into my cart. I set down an item I was holding in order to look at something else on the shelf. When I picked up the item these cupcake embellishments slid off the shelf and fell in my cart. When I picked it up to see what it was I was so tickled! Aren't they adorable!? I used my Zva crystal doodles to hang each of my cupcakes and added a tiny pink grosgrain bow to each. I also embellished each felt cherry with a red crystal. I picked up the Hero Arts sentiment on my trip to Texas last fall. The cardstock colors are Prism Vibrant Pink and Vibrant Teal, Stampin' Up Gable Green, and TE Choice Snow White. I'm so excited to introduce you to the Featured Cupcake Sampler this week! Renee Van Stralen caught my eye last week with her soft floral creation and she's created another masterpiece for us this week! I love how she used three different sized Stampin' Up cupcakes to complete the sketch. And doesn't that frosting look edible!? You can check out all of the details on this card and the rest of Renee's beautiful work on her blog: Stamping for Sanity. Thanks so much for sampling the sketch, Renee! 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!? You're welcome to create something other than a card, just stick as closely to the sketch as possible and you'll be eligible for the Featured Cupcake Sampler honors. If you're uploading to Splitcoast use keyword TECC50 (for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 50). Leave a comment on this post with a link to your blog post or gallery upload so I can check it out! You must have your cards uploaded by Monday, January 12th at 8am PST to be eligible for the featured cupcake sampler. I also want to let you know that on the 9th day of each month I will be participating in this year's Divine Design Challenge. Since today was also Cupcake Friday, I'll be posting my Divine Design challenge creation tomorrow. Hope to see you back here tomorrow!

Don't forget to check out the sketch challenge inspiration from the Cupcake Crew:
Donna Baker, Jackie Pedro, Jami Sibley, Sherrie Siemens, Vicki Chrisman, Monika Davis, Stephanie Hargis

I've also been wanting to try out the Mister Linky service. I saw it on Julee's blog and thought it looked like a fabulous way to organize all of the cupcake challenge links! Just enter your name and the link to your blog post or gallery upload and we'll all be able to click through easily!

Crystal Love

I love my crystals and my crystals spell LOVE! I don't know why that was funny to me, but it was! I used the Zva Creative crystal alphabet to create this card. The letters come in both lowercase and uppercase and are super easy to use! I adhered the letters to four different colors of cardstock, punched them out with the 1 3/8" circle punch and mounted them on a 1 1/2" scalloped circle punch (from EK Success). Each of the circles is popped up on dimensionals over a background that was stamped with Papertrey's Polka Dot Basics. I used patterned paper, cardstock, and ribbon from the Valentine Key Ingredients to complete the card. I think this one might be going to Jon for Valentine's Day! I don't think he reads my blog so the card will be new to him when February 14th rolls around! *grin* Thanks so much for stopping by today! Hop on over to the Stamp a Sweet Impression blog to check out Ana's cool "sweetheart" creation as well! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Monogram Purse a la Zva Creative

Last night I sat down with my Zva Creative supplies and a Provo Craft purse tin I've been hoarding for well over a year. I can definitely check off my New Year's resolution to use what I already have with this creation! It feels good to finally decorate something that has been sitting in my alterables cupboard forever! I decided to paint the middle of the purse with acrylic paint because it was just too hard to cover around those handles and the clasp.... this was much easier! I added strips of black rhinestones along the front and back sides. Then I used crystal rhinestone swirls all around the middle of the purse (right over the acrylic paint) and embellished them with felt and silk flowers. I use the Zva crystal strips all the time, but this was my first time using the crystal swirl designs. I was so pleased with how easy they are to use! They peel off the carrier sheet easily and the adhesive that shapes the design is firm enough to keep the shape, but pliable enough to allow movement). I also love the black crystal design on the front (those should be in stock at TE soon!) and I finished it all off with a crystal monogram. I overlapped the swoop in my monogram because I liked the way that looked... it's nice to have options with the design! I adhered Wild Asparagus patterned paper to the front and back of the purse with 1/4" Sticky Tape and sanded the edges. Here are a few more detail shots so you can see the flowers and crystals up close and personal. Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

You make me happy.

Guess what!? Did you know that CHA is less than 3 weeks from today? You know what that means... lots of fun new products! I can't wait to see what all the fabulous manufacturers have in store for us. I've been working on some show samples for the JustRite booth and the Zva Creative booth for the past few days. I made this one last night to showcase the Zva Creative Cool felt flowers, rhinestones, and canvas brads. One of my New Year's resolutions is to use the supplies I have (isn't that a resolution for all of us!?) so I grabbed a package of Stampin' Up rubons that have been taking up precious space on my Clip it Up. With the help of the pretty rubon, the card came together super easy! I just rubbed on the stem, sentiment, and butterfly and embellished it with the felt flowers, rhinestones, and canvas brads. I used PaperTrey's Polka Dot Basics on the Certainly Celery layer. Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Valentine Cookie Bouquet

I must have been in a baking mood on my latest trip to Michael's because usually I would have passed by the lip candy mold that I used in my sneak peek on Thursday and the heart shaped cookie on a stick pan that I used to make these Valentine cookies. To make the cookies on a stick, I molded sugar cookie dough inside the heart shaped opening. At the bottom of the heart shaped opening there is a place to insert a craft stick. Then when you bake the cookies, the dough bakes around the stick and you've got a cookie on a stick! I packed them up in cellophane tied with ribbons from the Valentine Key Ingredients with a little Love is Sweet tag tied on as well. Then I decorated a clear pail with patterned paper and cardstock from the Key Ingredients and Mr. Smoochy from the Love is Sweet set. I love Mr. Smoochy! I colored him with Copics, added a Red Candy Dot cherry, and cut out and layered the image with my Spellbinders oval dies. It was quick and easy to add some paper grass to the bucket and insert the wrapped cookies. I don't think these would have lasted until Valentine's Day so I'll have to bake another batch when the time comes closer. I told Jon he could eat these once the photograph had been taken! I also created a matching card for my sweet treat. I love the smooching couple from the Love is Sweet set! I used the sketch from TECC44 for this card. It was a great way to use a bunch of different patterned papers. I colored the cuppies with Copic markers, added Crystal Stickles to their cherries, and a pink heart brad overhead. Both the image and the scalloped square are popped up on dimensionals. I also wanted to take a minute to announce the next Top Chef Contest at Taylored Expressions! If you're not familiar with our Top Chef contest you can find all the details here on our website: Top Chef Contest. Just create a card or project using any of the January 2nd releases (A Year of Sweets 1, A Year of Sweets 2, A Year of Sweets 3, Love is Sweet) and email a photo to Taylor at tayloredexpressions@gmail.com on or before February 11th to be entered into the contest. Please use Top Chef in your email subject line. Taylor will choose the cutest, most creative entry to win one FREE STAMP SET from the next SASI release!! Free rubber! WooHoo!!!! Your creative will also be featured on the Stamp a Sweet Impression blog for all to see! Now all you have to do is STAMP and WIN! I'm off to ship order for the day! Thanks for stopping by! Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

Stamp a Sweet Impression - Release Day!

Welcome to the Taylored Expressions release party! The day is finally here and I can't wait to see what you all do with these images once you get them in your hot little hands! I want to start by giving you all the details on the sale and then the Baker's Dozen Design Team and I have more sneak peeks to show you along with the traditional Cupcake Friday Sketch Challenge.

We usually offer an "I Want It All, I Want It First" deal for those customers who arrive first to the big release party. But during this release we decided to offer something for everyone with these special bundle deals available through Sunday:

You'll notice the Perpetual Birthday Calendar is not included in the Calendar Bundle. Due to a last minute issue with our midwest manufacturer the perpetual birthday calendars will not be available to ship until approximately Saturday 1/10/09. We know you're going to want this fantastic product ASAP so we are offering the following: The regular price of the perpetual calendars is $9.99 each, however, if you choose to add them to your order during the release party this weekend you will get them at the awesome special price of $7.99 (limit 2 per customer at the special price). Please be aware that if you add perpetual calendars to your order, your entire order will be held to be shipped out as soon as the perpetual calendars become available. This special price is only available through Sunday 1/4/09.

If you truly "Want It All", you can simply add both bundles to your cart (don't forget the Perpetual Birthday Calendar!) and you'll have all the products from this New Year's release on your doorstep soon! So now that you know the deals you want to see the goodies, right!? You can click on the image below to see a larger version of all 5 sets and click here to find these products in the store: A Year of Sweets 1, A Year of Sweets 2, A Year of Sweets 3, A Year of Sweet Sentiments, and Love is Sweet. All 5 sets retail for just $21.95 each!

And I can't to forget to show you the Valentine Key Ingredients! The Key Ingredients will be sold separately from the stamp sets and will include coordinating cardstock, patterned paper, and embellishments... everything you need to make the perfect "batch" of cupcake cards. The Valentine Key Ingredients include 12 sheets of 8.5" x 11" cardstock (2 sheets each of red, pink, light teal, dark teal, brown, and white), 20 sheets of 6x6 double-sided patterned paper (4 of each pattern pictured), 5 yards of coordinating ribbon (1 yard each of 5 different styles), 1/2 oz. of Starfire Glitter, and 25 heart brads (red, pink, and white).

And last but not least, all of the new Taylored Expressions Calendar Products:

Frame Your Imagination Vertical Stand: $12.99

Perpetual Birthday Calendar: retailing for $9.99, but on sale this weekend only for $7.99 due to delayed shipping detailed above.

Dated Calendar Inserts: $6.99

6x6 Page Protectors (set of 6): $4.49

Are you all still with me? It's a long one tonight! But now on to the fun stuff... more cuppie creations!

There's one new stamp set that I haven't featured in any of my samples yet! I designed the sentiments in A Year of Sweet Sentiments to coordinate with the Calendar Cuppies, so we can use them to make cards as well as calendar pages. I decided to use the May image from A Year of Sweets 2 for this week's Cupcake Sketch Challenge. This sweet cupcake looks like she's thinking about somebody so I paired it with the 'thinking of you' sentiment from A Year of Sweet Sentiments. I stamped the image several times in Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Choice Snow White cardstock. The images are colored with Copic markers and I added a few mini Primas and pearls. I stamped a JustRite border (from the Special Occasions Deluxe Kit) onto each square and popped up the circle images on dimensionals inside the border. The punch that fits exactly inside the JustRite borders is the Stampin' Up 1 3/8" circle. The patterned paper is Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie and the cardstock is Prism Blush Red Light and Frosted Yellow. I'm so excited to introduce you to the Featured Cupcake Sampler this week! Carolina has won our SASI Top Chef competition, served as Our Friday Friend on the SASI blog, and now as the Featured Cupcake Sampler! Her beautiful Valentine card caught my eye last week and she's created some more adorable eye candy for us this week! I love how she used different elements from the Sweet Celebration set to complete each of the circles! You can check out all of the details on this card and the rest of Carolina's beautiful work on her blog: Carolina's Creative Pad. Thanks so much for sampling the sketch, Carolina! 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!? You're welcome to create something other than a card, just stick as closely to the sketch as possible and you'll be eligible for the Featured Cupcake Sampler honors. If you're uploading to Splitcoast use keyword TECC49 (for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 49). Leave a comment on this post with a link to your blog post or gallery upload so I can check it out! You must have your cards uploaded by Monday, January 5th at 8am PST to be eligible for the featured cupcake sampler. I can't wait to see what you come up with for the sketch. I'll be here all weekend with more SASI creations and announcements so we'll see you tomorrow!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the release day posts from the Baker's Dozen Design Team:

Ana Wohlfahrt, Carol Halvorson, Charmaine Ikach, Denise Marzec, Donna Baker, Jami Sibley, Jen del Muro, Laurie Schmidlin, Monika Davis, Sharon Harnist, Stephanie Hargis, Terri Dodd

And the sketch challenge inspiration from the Cupcake Crew (some of these posts may not be up until Friday morning):

Ana Wohlfahrt, Donna Baker, Jackie Pedro, Jami Sibley, Monika Davis, Sherrie Siemens, Stephanie Hargis, Vicki Chrisman

Stamp a Sweet Impression - Sneak Peek Day 2

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you had a wonderful New Year's Eve celebration! I cooked a romantic dinner for two last night and this morning Jon and I are continuing our New Year's tradition at the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl game. We don't have tickets yet, but if we head over to the stadium with some money I'm sure we'll find a seat! I wanted to start by answering a question that was asked yesterday: Q: "Does Taylored Expressions manufacture the 6x6 stands?" A: Yes, Taylored Expressions has contracted with our own craftsman to ensure the highest quality on our Frame Your Imagination vertical stands. In doing so we have been able to bring both high quality and unmatched value to our customers with this product. The stand will retail for $12.99 and include a pair of binder rings to hang your creations. Now let's get down to business! Today is the second day of sneak peeks from the new Stamp a Sweet Impression images available for purchase tonight at midnight EST (that's 9pm for those of us on the West Coast!) at the Taylored Expressions store! The Baker's Dozen Design Team and I are showing you sneak peeks using the Valentine stamp set: Love is Sweet, and the Valentine Key Ingredients. I decided to use last week's Cupcake Sketch Challenge for this card. I love Cuppie licking his lips... that would totally be me if I were surrounded by chocolates! I used cardstock, patterned paper, and a pink heart brad from the Key Ingredients. I also added Chocolate Dimensional Pearls to some of the chocolates surrounding cuppie. The pearls really make the chocolates look edible! I was at Michael's the other day as they were putting out the Valentine goodies. I found a cute candy mold in the shape of lips and decided to finally try my hand at pouring some candy. I melted the Wilton candies, added a little food coloring, and poured it into the molds. They were super easy to make and I love how they turned out! The candies are nestled in cellophane inside the Heart Handle Bag. This bag (and lots of other favor boxes) are available at Taylored Expressions in lots of different colors. I think this cuppie with the lips on his face is my favorite image in the new release... the look on his face is priceless! I colored the image with Copic markers, mounted it onto a Spellbinders scalloped square, and added red brads. I stamped a piece of white tissue paper with hearts from the Love is Sweet set. In addition to introducing new stamps and cool calendar products, I have something else I want to show you today! I've scoured the marketplace for a cardstock that will fulfill every stamper's needs. We need something sturdy and smooth with the ability to accept ink from bold images and blend well with the Copic markers everyone loves. Right? Well, I have good news....I found it! It's a smooth 100 lb. cardstock (perfect for one layer cards), it accepts ink beautifully, and blends perfectly with Copic markers. But don't take my word for it... I took pictures to show you. I used Real Red ink with one of my bold Stampin' Up images. Perfect coverage with no feathering! The Choice Cardstock comes in two colors, Buttercream and Snow White. Taylored Expressions will be debuting the Choice Cardstock at 25 sheets for $4.50. That's all the excitement from me today!

Don't miss the rest of the Love is Sweet sneak peeks from the Baker's Dozen Design Team: Jami Sibley, Jen del Muro, Denise Marzec, Laurie Schmidlin, Carol Halvorson, Monika Davis, Charmaine Ikach, Sharon Harnist, Ana Wohlfahrt, Donna Baker, Terri Dodd, Stephanie Hargis

Thanks for stopping by on the second day of sneak peeks! I hope you'll come back and join us for the release party tonight at Midnight EST! All of the products, prices, and announcements will be posted right here on the blog. See you soon!