Los Angeles Cupcake Challenge

The Los Angeles Cupcake Challenge... oh my sweetness! We arrived at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and stepped into the grand ballroom filled from wall-to-wall with cupcakes. We were greeted by the Nesquik Bunny who offered us a choice of chocolate or strawberry milk to gulp down with our cupcakes. Of course we chose chocolate and we were off to the races! Well... it wasn't really a race, but I certainly felt the tug of each bakery's yummy display pulling me around the room. We visited the first three bakeries and instantly found three favorites...Pina Colada, Dulce de Leche, and Think Pink! We weren't sure if it could get any better, but we quickly found that the room was filled with favorites... White Chocolate Macadamia, Gingerbread, Sweet Potato Pie, Pineapple Goes Coconut, and Peanut Butter & Jelly! You know that feeling you get when you've gone on a rollercoaster one too many times? That's how I felt after about 10 cupcakes! I felt lightheaded and a bit queezy so we slowed our pace, took tons of pictures, and drank lots of water. After a few more cupcakes I knew I couldn't take anymore so we began collecting cupcakes to bring home and try later. You wanna see our mouth-watering treats? Everything from the traditional red velvet, chocolate, and vanilla treats to the unique flavors of peanut butter & jelly, chocolate malted milkshake, and sweet pototo pie! So many of the bakeries had such *cute* displays and I couldn't help snapping photos. I was especially drawn to the Cuppielove display. Of course, with cuppie in the name it was love at first sight! *grin* The yummy red velvet cupcakes were baked inside condiment cups with a dollop of vanilla frosting and a little blue heart adorning the top! The display was so simple and inviting and the cupcakes were absolutely delicious! So are you curious who got our votes? Jon and I were basically in agreement, but I'll tell you my favorites:

1st Place: Peanut Butter & Jelly by Oinkster/Boho (I know... it sounds completely weird and kinda gross, but you can't knock it 'till you try it! It is absolutely delicious!)

2nd Place: Dulce de Leche by Polkatots... the touch of caramel filling and the moist cake won me over on this one!

3rd Place: Pina Colada by Fairy Cakes... almost as good as the actual drink! The toasted coconut and delicious frosting made this one an instant favorite.

Everyone's votes should be tallied soon so I'll give you a report of the overall favorites once I hear from the event coordinator! It was soooo tough to vote for just three top favorites so I wanted to give a shout out to some of my other favs: White Chocolate Macadamia from Two Parts Sugar, Sweet Potato Pie from Southern Girl, and Gingerbread from Melli Belli. All in all, it was a delicious day of cupcake tasting that my tastebuds won't soon forget!

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #61

Happy Friday and Happy Cupcake Day! I should really say Happy Cupcake Weekend because Jon and I have tickets to the Los Angeles Cupcake Challenge on Sunday! I don't think I've ever been this excited for a single event (well, except our wedding). We're heading to the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel to taste and judge at least 34 different cupcakes from 18 bakeries in Los Angeles! Can you think of a better way to spend a day!? We might end up in a sugar-induced coma, but it would be totally worth it! *grin* I'll definitely be back on Monday with all the details! To kick off my 'cupcake weekend' I pulled out A Year of Sweets 2 for the sketch challenge. The image is stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic markers. I used Crystal Stickles, Tiny Twinkles, and a Red Rain Dot to dress up the image. I added a sentiment from A Year of Sweet Sentiments and lots of flowers from my stash. The bright and fresh patterned papers are from the SEI Dill Blossom collection. And now I'm so excited to introduce you to the Featured Cupcake Sampler this week! Heather Pulvirenti caught my eye last week with this simply stunning creation. All of her cards are so sweet and simple with the perfect balance of layout and embellishment! She decided to give this week's sketch a new look by flipping it vertically and I love the gorgeous creation that she came up with! The soft pink and blue is perfect with a pop of black. You can check out all of the details on this card and more of Heather's beautiful work on her blog {Witty Title Here}. Thanks for sampling the sketch this week, Heather! 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 TECC61 (for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 61). I'm also giving away a free Tiny Twinkle to one random winner from among all the people who upload their sketch challenge cards to PaperCraftPlanet using the same TECC61 keyword. So while you're uploading your card to SCS and your blog, hop over to PCP and enter yourself in the fun there! Then come back here and 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, March 30th at 8am PST to be eligible for the featured cupcake sampler. Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Stay tuned on Monday for a full report on the Los Angeles Cupcake Challenge!

And you don't want to miss the sketch challenge inspiration from the Cupcake Crew: Donna Baker, Jackie Pedro, Jami Sibley, Lynn Mercurio, Monika Davis, Vicki Chrisman, Ana Wohlfahrt

Sweet Treat

I had an agenda with today's card... sweet and simple! I achieved the sweet by using the ice cream cone from Kim Hughes' Little Gal set. I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored it with Copic markers. Then I added the 'yum' sentiment from the Sweet Spring set. And where better to go for simple layout inspiration than Julie Ebersole's blog, Paper Trufflez? I spotted this beauty right away and searched for a few patterned paper scraps to match my image. Then I added a strip of black swiss dot ribbon and a pink square button. The background is embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder and the image panel is popped up on foam tape. See? I told you it was sweet and simple... a ten minute card! Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

New JustRite Stamps have arrived!

I arrived home last night to a big box of new JustRite products! I tried to contain my excitement until after Jon's birthday dinner, but promptly ripped into the package when we got home! You can see all of the new products in our Fresh Out of the Oven category at the Store. Today I decided to use two of my favorite new items... the 2" Double Border Stamper with a Bonus font and center and the Celebrations Demi Phrases. The new 2" block allows you to use your 1 5/8" centers and borders and have an additional border around the outside to write whatever your heart desires. This is where the Demi Phrases come in handy! These are half-written phrases and you can fill in the other half with the bonus 15pt. font that is included with the new 2" block. I used the half "You're in our thoughts today" and filled in the other half with "Hope you get well soon". Here's a close up of the block so you can see how I added the sentiment. I also trimmed my center to avoid getting ink on the outer portions of the stamp. I stamped the image and sentiment combo in Memento Rich Cocoa ink and colored it with Copic markers. I decided to add some Lemon Flower Soft and Summer Flower Soft to the flowers in the vase. I've been getting lots of questions about Flower Soft lately and today I have some answers for you. The question I get most often is, "How do I apply the Flower Soft?" I would suggest using a container (like a paper or plastic bowl) and dumping your entire pot of Flower Soft inside. Then sift through the Flower Soft with your fingers until the clumps are gone and you just have small sprinkles. Then apply the Flower Soft glue to your project. The fine tip allows you to get into small spaces, but it can cover large areas too. Sprinkle a generous amount of Flower Soft over the glue and tap the excess back into your container. There are so many more things you can do with Flower Soft so I encourage you to watch this very informative Flower Soft Video. The Product Focus Team at Splitcoast also posted their opinions and advice regarding Flower Soft today. You can check out their reviews here and the gallery of Flower Soft projects here. After fussing with the image I finished off the card with a combination of Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie and Scenic Route patterned papers, lemon grosgrain, and a green button from my stash.

I hope you're still hanging in there, because you don't want to miss this! We're offering 10% off individual pots of Flower Soft at the TE Store through Friday, March 27th! So get your shop on for the new JustRite goodies and fabulous Flower Soft!

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

Happy Birthday, Jon!

Happy Birthday, Jon! My sweet husband turns 31 today... he's officially in his 30's and I'm back here snickering still in my 20's for another 3 1/2 years! *grin* I'm so tickled to show you the card I bought for Jon. After you get over the initial shock of the fact that I actually bought a card, hopefully you can appreciate the birthday validation from Mr. Rogers. Really... who can pass up validation from Mr. Rogers!? Each of the buttons below the picture says press here. So close your eyes and try to remember the calming voice of Mr. Rogers (you'll need to open your eyes again to read his validations!):

1. You're just the way you're supposed to be. You're growing just right.

2. In some way, just by being a human being each one of us is very, very fancy.

3. You're unique. You're the only person who is you. There has never been another person exactly like you and there never ever will be again.

4. I hope wherever you are or wherever you're going, you will have a very special day.

I am laughing out loud as I listen to the card and type his words! I wish you could all hear his voice too! I think Jon will get a kick out of this card... he better because it nearly cost a fortune! I'm not used to paying for cards! Tonight we're heading out his restaurant of choice, The Cheesecake Factory...yum! I don't have anything creative to show you today, but here are some others that do:

-- Laurie is sharing the cutest Knock, Knock... Whoo's There card on the SASI blog today!

--JustRite Stampers is celebrating 250,000 hits with a Blog Candy Celebration!

--Jen Tapler is celebrating her Blogoversary with a way for you to help support a great cause and be entered to win some fabulous blog candy (including a gift certificate to the Taylored Expressions store!). Check out all the details here!

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

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #60

Happy Friday and Happy Cupcake Day! I'm sure am looking forward to the weekend! I'm going to spend some time at my parent's house this weekend... dinner at Outback (where my sister is a waitress) and a trip to the thrift store in the morning (I love thrift stores!). I have lots of things to share with you today so I hope you'll stay with me to the end! I decided to use my Sweet Spring stamp set for today's sketch challenge. Cuppie sitting on the Easter egg fit perfectly! I colored the image with Copic markers, added a red rhinestone to the cherry, and some White Opal Liquid Pearls to decorate the egg. I also added green Tiny Twinkles to each scallop and some pink stitched ribbon. The patterned paper is from the Tiny Dancer Collection that comes with the Easter Key Ingredients. The cardstock is Razzleberry Light, Razzleberry Medium, Frosted Kiwi, and Choice Buttercream. And now I'm so excited to introduce you to the Featured Cupcake Sampler this week! Jen Tapler caught my eye last week with her whimsical Branching Out creation and she's captured the whimsy of this set with another gorgeous creation! I love the bright colors and patterns she used and the cute addition of buttons in the corner! You can check out all of the details on this card and more of Jen's beautiful work on her blog Jen Tapler Designs. Thanks for sampling the sketch this week, Jen! 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 TECC60 (for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 60). Beginning this week we'll be giving away a free Tiny Twinkle to one random winner from among all the people who upload their sketch challenge cards to PaperCraftPlanet using the same TECC60 keyword. So while you're uploading your card to SCS and your blog, hop over to PCP and enter yourself in the fun there! Then come back here and 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, March 23rd at 8am PST to be eligible for the featured cupcake sampler.

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

This week you've also heard about our new Key Ingredients Subscription Service and seen some of the creations I've made using elements from the kit! The subscription service is a great value with lots of added benefits exclusive to subscribers. You can read all about it on this blog post. You can buy the subscription at any time, but if you purchase the 6 month subscription on or before Sunday, March 22nd you'll receive free shipping on your first month's kit and any additional items you add to your order!

Today also marks the day when the kit is available for purchase in the store for those of you who do not want to subscribe. To kick off the release with a bang, half of the Baker's Dozen and I are making "anything but a card" to showcase elements from the March Key Ingredients kit. I wanted to use one of our new Alterable Date Stands for my creation. I started by spraying the entire base with Brown Maya Mist. I love the way it turned out and it was so much easier than getting out the paintbrush and stain! I covered the shelves of the stand with patterned paper from the KI kit. I also covered a pencil with the same paper to match. I added the red twill and buckle as a background embellishment. And I decided to customize it by adding my own monogram to the pad of paper with the JustRite Brayton font. It needed just a touch of something else so I added strips of clear crystals to accent the lines of the stand. I can see myself making lots of these for gifts... they're good year 'round no matter when you give them!

You definitely don't want to miss the rest of the KI Kit inspiration from these Baker's Dozen ladies: Charmaine, Donna, Ana, Karen G., Jodi, and Laura. I'm know they're gonna knock your socks off! Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Easter Bunny

Good morning! I have a quick Sweet Spring card to share with you today. I was feeling inspired by the sketch that Sherrie Siemens designed for the Year of Cupcake Sketch Celebration on my blog in January. The circles in the sketch were perfect for using my Zva clear and pink crystal circles. I stamped the background with the Polka Dot Background from Cornish Heritage Farms and added a touch of frill with the pink accordion satin ribbon and the scalloped border. The image was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic markers. I added white fun flock to the bunny face and ears. Then I cut and embossed it with my Spellbinders dies and popped it up on 1/8" thick foam tape. Super simple and sweet too! Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Also, I know how much you girls love stamps so I wouldn't want to keep you from this fabulous stamp giveaway! Cath Edvalson contacted me about donating the Branching Out stamp set for the PaperCrafts Moxie Fab World giveaway. Of course I said YES! There are 15 other fabulous companies who donated product for the giveaway and you don't want to miss your chance to win these yummy stamps. Check out all the details HERE!

Key Ingredients Sketch Set

I'm always so inspired by the sketch sets that Laura Fredrickson creates each weekend! So as the March 20th Key Ingredients kit was still spread out on my stamping table I decided to use the elements from the kit paired with some of my favorite Stampin' Up stamps to make a sketch set. There's so much versatility with this kit...it can coordinate with many of the images you already own! Since I've given up my demonstratorship my Stampin' Up collection has dwindled, but there are still those favorite sets I can't seem to part with. Garden Silhouettes and Upsy Daisy are two of the sets still left in my collection. The classic beauty of these images just can't be beat! The first sketch I started with was Julee's Mojo Monday Week 78 sketch. I stamped the blossoming branch in Close to Cocoa ink and used Siren Smooch and Pumpkin Smooch to dot the blossoms on the ends of the branches. The sentiment is from the Branching Out set. I'm also taking cues from Jodi Collins with all the piercing on these cards. I thought I had finally conquered my addiction to piercing, but after seeing all of the piercing on Jodi's beautiful creations, she has enabled me to pick up the piercer again! After finishing this card I remembered that the SCS Sketch Challenge 220 was posted today. The paneled background was a great place to use a lot of the patterns included with the kit. I stamped the daisies in Ruby Red ink and then used the Siren Smooch and Pumpkin Smooch again. I highlighted the inside of the flowers with the Siren and the outer petals with Pumpkin. It creates a nice sun-kissed looks that was hard to capture in the photograph. Both the sentiment and the image are from the Stampin' Up Upsy Daisy set. I finished it off with a piece of soft red twill and one of the chipboard buckles from the KI kit. By this point I was running out of time (places to go... people to see, ya know?) so I decided to use the TECC59 sketch for the last card. Since I had already done this sketch once it was even easier to lay out the combination of papers and images for the card. I stamped the image in Memento Rich Cocoa ink and highlighted the blossoms with Siren Smooch. Can you tell I love the Smooch!? I couldn't stay away from it with these cards... it's just too fun and easy! I added some piercing (a la Jodi) around the image, on the circle in the background, and along the bottom layer of patterned paper. The sentiment is from Branching Out. I cut a strip of paper and formed it around a pencil to create the wavy look. Then I glued down only the two ends and added a small chocolate crystal. That's it for my sketch set! I think I'll be doing this more often. It really only took about an hour and a half to create these three cards. Having all of the coordinating embellishments and the sketches right at my fingertips made it super fast! I also wanted to let you know that there's still time to sign up for our 6 month Key Ingredients Subscription Service and receive free shipping on your first month! Or if you can't spring for the 6 month subscription, we also have a 3 month subscription. You can read all the benefits of the subscription service and find the free shipping coupon code on this blog post. Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

March 20th Key Ingredients Subscription Kit

Thanks to everyone who subscribed to our Key Ingredients subscription service yesterday! We're so excited to be able to offer these coordinating kits each month and we're glad you're excited too! If you missed the announcement, then click here to see all the details on our new subscription service. You still have until Sunday, March 22nd to sign up for our 6 month subscription and receive FREE SHIPPING on your entire order! Today I want to show you all of the elements included in the March 20th Key Ingredients kit. With this month's Key Ingredients kit you'll receive 20 sheets of 6"x6" patterned paper, 12 sheets of coordinating cardstock, 5 yards of ribbon, 1/2 oz. Parisian Mist glitter, and an assortment of chipboard buckles with matching cardstock overlays. Everything in this kit was hand-picked to make perfectly coordinating cards and projects! Stay tuned on Friday when half of the Baker's Dozen will be showcasing projects they've made using the March KI Subscription Kit!

I'd also like to answer some of the questions that were posted and emailed to me yesterday. If you have more questions, feel free to email me or leave a comment. I will update this post with the answers:

Q: Do the kits include stamps too?
A: No, the kits do not include stamps. Including stamp sets in the kits would increase the price dramatically. It may become an option in the future, but right now you can still add any of our stamp sets to your order separately.

Q: Are the kits available to Canada? And if so - what are the shipping prices and options?
A: Yes, we will ship the kits internationally. The shipping cost to Canada will be the same as the United States. However, your packages will be shipped Parcel Post as opposed to Priority Mail. All other countries, please email me for a shipping quote.

Q: If I subscribe and get 10% off on any order placed between the 10th – 14th of the month to be combined with the KI Subscription auto-ship, does this mean I will not pay additional shipping costs for the items I order since I prepaid for the shipping when I subscribed?

A: Yes, for any items you order between the 10th and the 14th of the month you will not pay additional shipping charges.

Key Ingredients Subscription Service

Our Key Ingredients kits have been hugely popular as our customers love getting coordinating patterned paper, cardstock and embellishments all in one value-packed kit handpicked by me just for you!

The next big thing at Taylored Expressions is the debut of our Key Ingredients Subscription! We will be releasing a Key Ingredients kit on the 20th of each month and we're excited to share how you will have the opportunity to subscribe to our auto-ship program and have these kits shipped right to your doorstep each month! It is important to note that the Key Ingredients subscription does not include the KI showcased during our monthly stamp releases. The subscription kits will be released separately on the 20th of each month.

You know the excitement of opening your mailbox and finding a surprise package? Well now you can experience that excitement on a regular basis – it will be like your birthday EVERY MONTH when you subscribe on either our 3 month or 6 month plan.

Here’s just some of what you’ll LOVE about your Key Ingredients Subscription:

º Tons of creativity in a box! Everything you need to make at least 16 cards (including 6x6 patterned papers, 8.5 x 11 cardstock, ribbon, and various embellishments) in a different color palette each month. The subscription kits will coordinate well with the TE stamp sets, but you can also use them with the many other stamp sets you own. Simply add the stamps, ink and adhesive to cook up a batch of coordinating cards.

º Key Ingredients savings
Regular KI price = $16.95 per kit
3month Subscription price = $15.95 per kit + shipping
6 month Subscription price = $14.95 per kit + shipping

º You get them FIRST! These kits will debut in the store on the 20th of each month, but they will be shipped out to our Subscribers on the 15th, so in most cases you’ll have the product in your hands before anyone else even sees it!

º Monthly Challenge. Each month there will be a KI Subscriber’s Challenge included in your kit and you will have until the 25th of that month to upload your card and link it back to my blog to be entered into the monthly prize drawing. Of course playing is totally optional, but we just can’t wait to see what you come up with!

º Baker’s Dozen Samples. Each month when the KI’s are debuted on the 20th, half of the Baker’s Dozen will share a creation they've made with elements from the KI Subscription kit so you’ll have plenty of project inspiration!

º Storage. Subscriber kits will come in a plastic storage case. This $3.00 value is a FREE and exclusive benefit to Subscribers only. Non-subscribers purchasing the kits on regular orders will receive their Key Ingredients in the acetate envelopes they've always been packaged in. The plastic storage cases will not be available for separate purchase in the store for at least the first 6 months of our subscription program.

º Store Discount. Subscribers will be given a special discount code to save 10% on any order placed between the 10th – 14th of the month to be combined with your KI Subscription auto-ship.

The Key Ingredients Subscription service can be purchased at the TE store today! If you purchase our 3 or 6 month plan on or before the 25th of the month, your subscription will begin with the March Key Ingredients. Any subscriptions purchased after that date will begin with the April 20th kit. I'll be debuting the full KI kit on my blog tomorrow...a tad early this month. Just to whet your appetite, I have a card to share with you that I made with elements from the March 20th KI Subscription kit! This KI kit goes great with our new Branching Out and Branching Out Coordinates sets. I started by stamping the leafy part of the tree onto a piece of patterned paper and cutting it out. I used a Copic marker to shade the leaves and then added a little bit of Parisian Mist glitter to them. Then I stamped and cut out the trunk of the tree and covered it with Espresso Liquid Pearls. I added a few trimmings to the scene (the birds nest and eggs, the swing and bird, and the squirrel and nut). I also added some leaves from the green leaf trim included in the kit. I wanted some matching brads so I heated a silver brad with my embossing gun for about 3o seconds. Then I promptly dipped it into clear embossing powder. Because the metal is so hot, the embossing powder will melt onto the brad quickly. You need to have your glitter ready to go and then just dip the brad into the glitter and let it cool down. The embossing powder will hold the glitter in place on your brad.

I have one more announcement to share today! From now until Sunday, anyone who places an order that includes a 6 month KI Subscription will receive free shipping on their entire order. Once you've added the subscription to your cart, just enter the promotional code KIFREESHIP to receive the free shipping. We've got lots new products in the store (be sure to check the Fresh Out of the Oven category!) and this is a great way to get free shipping on all of the goodies you've been wanting! Are you still looking for a little more information? Check out the KI Subscription items in the store for all of the teeny details. If you still have questions, feel free to send me an email or post your questions here. Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #59

Happy Friday and Happy Cupcake Day! You may have guessed by my lack of posting that I've been sick for the past few days. I think the couch is calling my name again, but it's time for me to soak in the bathtub and try to head into work this morning. When I sat down to make my challenge card last night I knew I needed something bright to cheer me up. So I inked up the cuppie on the beach image from A Year of Sweets 2 and paired it with some bright and cheerful patterned paper from KI Memories. I started by paper piecing the umbrella to match the patterned paper. The middle of the umbrella is popped up with foam tape and the sides are glued down to the paper. I colored the image with Copic markers and added a rhinestone to cuppie's cherry. I hadn't gotten out my faux stitching supplies for quite a while and I decided my image needed some stitching to match the stitched ribbon I planned to use. I also covered the yellow circle in the background with Crystal Stickles to look like the sun. The sentiment is from A Year of Sweet Sentiments. And now I'm so excited to introduce you to our Featured Cupcake Sampler this week! Jessie caught my eye with her beautiful Flowers of Happiness card last week. Jessie's creations are always the perfect blend of design and embellishment and she's done it again this week! I love the white background, the big white brads, and the cute little circular paper clip! You can check out all of the details on this card and more of Jessie's beautiful work on her blog: Can You Say... Addicted to Stamps? Thanks for sampling the sketch this week, Jessie! 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 TECC59 (for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 59). Beginning this week we'll be giving away a free Tiny Twinkle to one random winner from among all the people who upload their sketch challenge cards to PaperCraftPlanet using the same TECC59 keyword. So while you're uploading your card to SCS and your blog, hop over to PCP and enter yourself in the fun there! Then come back here and 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, March 16th at 8am PST to be eligible for the featured cupcake sampler. Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

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

and we're also welcoming Our Friday Friend on the SASI blog! You don't want to miss the sketch challenge inspiration that she's cooked up!

More Sweet Spring...

The first time I sat down with my Sweet Spring set I couldn't tear myself away from these adorable images! I made six cards in one sitting which rarely happens for me! So I have a few more Sweet Spring cards to show you today (and there are still more in the stash!). Both cards are made with cardstock, paper, and embellishments from the Easter Key Ingredients. I started by stamping cuppie in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloring him with Copic markers. I added some Crystal Stickles to the grass and Red Liquid pearls to the cherry. The sentiment needed a little 'oomph' so I finished it off with a Zva green crystal strip. From the first time I saw the Easter egg image, I knew I wanted to paper piece the egg that cuppie is painting. Would you look at that design he's painting on the egg!? He's quite an accomplished artist. *wink* Once again I colored the image with Copic markers and highlighted the cherry with Red Liquid Pearls. I used my Stampamajig to separate the sentiment. The double loop trim, pink glitter brads, patterned paper panels, and cardstock are all part of the Easter Key Ingredients kit. Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

P.S. You don't want to miss the Egg-stra special project that Charmaine posted on the SASI blog this morning! What a clever and cute way to give these little candy eggs!

Divine Design 2009 - March

Can you believe we're well into March already!? That means it's time for another Divine Design with Lori, Jami, Angel, and Nancy. I'm continuing on with my Frame Your Imagination vertical stand project by creating a 6x6 layout to add each month. You can see what I came up with for January and February here. I'm using the same collection of patterned paper (SEI Dill Blossom) for all of my creations. The verse I chose this month is just the reminder I needed:

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord"

Romans 8:38-39

I'd like to do a word study on the ancient Greek of this verse. I love that its been translated as "I am convinced". It doesn't say "I believe" or "I hope" or "I think". Convinced is such a strong word that leaves no room for doubt. And that's just what I needed today! There is no doubt in my heart that absolutely nothing can separate me from the love of God. What a strong promise!

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.

And now I'm so excited to announce the winners from our big Birthday Bash over the weekend!

Grand Prize Winner (chosen at random from among all orders placed Thursday-Sunday): Dawn Barghorn

Friday Party Favor Winner (chosen at random from among all participants in the Cupcake Friday Sketch Challenge): Toni Storie

Saturday Party Favor Winner (chosen at random from among all those who helped spread the word about the TE Birthday Bash): Ange Kelley

Sunday Party Favor Winner (the first person to correctly answer our trivia questions): Julie Campbell

Here are the correct answers to our TE Trivia Questions:

1. What was our single best-selling product during the first year? sticky tape
2. Who illustrates our Stamp a Sweet Impression line of rubber stamps? Jessie Oleson
3. In what month did Taylored Expressions release our first rubber stamps? September 2008
4. Where is Taylored Expressions located? Pasadena, California
5. What is Taylor's favorite cupcake shop? Dots Cupcakes

Please email me (tayloredexpressions@gmail.com) with your snail mail address and I will get your prize package sent out to you! Thank you to all who stopped by our 1st birthday party! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Birthday Party Sweepstakes - Day 3

Today is the last day of the Taylored Expressions 1st birthday party! Would you believe that I haven't had a cupcake yet this weekend!? That's gonna need to change very soon! *grin* For today's party game we've decided to test your brainpower with a little trivia! So grab a cup of coffee and join in the fun because you'll definitely want a chance at this last party favor prize. The first person to correctly answer the following five questions will receive an assortment of 10 colors of KaiserCraft Pearls inside The Perfect Package large square box. Comments close tonight at 10pm PST and the winner will be announced tomorrow. I've enabled comment moderation so your comment will not show below until after the deadline for entering your guesses has passed. Can't wait to see who gets these all right!

1. What was our single best-selling product during the first year? (those of you who attended our PCP release party should know this one already!)

2. Who illustrates our Stamp a Sweet Impression line of rubber stamps?

3. In what month did Taylored Expressions release our first rubber stamps?

4. Where is Taylored Expressions located?

5. What is Taylor's favorite cupcake shop? (I'm always talking about my trips to _____!)

Now head on out to do your detective work! And don't forget that there's still time to play in the Friday sketch challenge to be entered to win our Friday party favor prize. And read here to find out how you can be eligible to win our Grand Prize too! Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Birthday Party Sweepstakes - Day 2

Good morning! I have a quick card to show you and then I'll tell you about all the details of our party game and prize package for the second day of the TE Birthday Bash! I absolutely love these new Spring Flowers that we just got in the store! I wanted to create a card with the flowers at the focal point. They come in a great variety of sizes in a combination of shimmery material and felt. I started by drawing a curvy line on one of the patterned papers from the Easter Key Ingredients. I cut along my drawn line, adhered the patterend paper to a white base, and then started arranging my flowers along the curve. I had so much fun layering these flowers! I still thought it looked a little bare so I grabbed my Zva Crystals and added in a few pink swirl designs. Then I added the scalloped border (that comes with the Easter Key Ingredients) and dotted each scallop with hot pink Zva Crystals. Finally, I finished it off with a sentiment from the Sweet Spring set.

Now on to the PAR-TAY! Today's party game is telephone. Help spread the word about the TE Birthday Bash and invite others to play along by including a link to my blog in your blog post today. Then come back here and leave a comment with a link to your blog. Comments will close Sunday night at 10pm PST and the winner of the party prize package will be announced on Monday. Today's party favor includes Shimmer Pearlescent Chalks by Pebbles, Inc. and a Versamark Dazzle Frost ink pad (a $27.00 value)! Don't forget to check out the sketch challenge below to see how you can win Friday's party favor and be entered into the drawing for our Grand Prize Party Package! Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

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

Taylored Expressions Release Day!!

The BIG DAY has finally arrived!! We're so excited that you're joining us for this very special release! I've shared a ton of information over the past two days of sneak peeks, but I have several more announcements today! We've had so many requests to do monthly stamp releases and I'm so excited to finally announce that your request has been granted! Beginning with this release, Taylored Expressions will be releasing new stamp sets on the 5th of every month! So mark your calendars and tune in for sneak peeks and fun, new products each month!

I don't want to keep you waiting any longer, so here are the newest sets available right now at Taylored Expressions:

As we mentioned during sneak peeks, simply by purchasing Branching Out and Branching Out Coordinates, you'll be participating in the TE Giving Tree. For each Branching Out stamp set sold over the next three months, Taylored Expressions will donate $7.00 to Eden Projects. And for each Branching Out Coordinates stamp set sold over the next three months, Taylored Expressions will donate $4.00 to Eden Projects. If you purchase both sets we’ll donate a total of $11.00 to help Eden Projects with their mission. We hope you’ll join us in supporting this relief effort of hope! It's also important to note that rather than coming to you pre-trimmed and ready to go, these two sets come in sheet form that you will need to trim out. This was done to save on manufacturing costs, allowing us to maximize the amount we’re able to donate to Eden Projects.

We're also giving you more of the cupcakes you love with this Sweet Spring set! This set is filled with 15 adorable images and sentiments that are sure to put you in a happy mood! The stamps are the same high-quality, deeply etched pink rubber and each set comes already trimmed and mounted on a full-color storage panel. Make sure you don't forget to pick up an extra Mini Binder Box to store all of your new stamps!

And now for all of the special bundle deals available at Taylored Expressions through Sunday! For those of you in love with our new Whimsical Wishes collection, you'll definitely want to pick up the Branching Out bundle. Those of you more enamored with our cupcakes will grab the Easter bundle. But I'm sure most of you really want it all, right!? So we have the Hot & Fresh bundle just for you filled with lots of FREE stuff. Just click on each image below to be directed to the store. Here's the deets:

This post is going to be super long, but I just couldn't leave without showing you a few more of the projects I've created with these new stamps. I just can't seem to put them down! I decided to use some of the trimmings from Branching Out and Branching Out Coordinates to create a set of 3 x 3 gift cards. I started with The Perfect Package (small) and covered it with patterned paper from Scenic Route. I decorated the front of the box with a little scene from Branching Out. I added Zva crystal strips around the outside and some Caribbean satin ribbon around the lid of the box. The cards I made to go inside the box are super simple. It was fun to use some of the supporting images as focal points... endless possibilities. I could have kept going all night, but I decided to stop at four cards. My favorite card is the top right. I used the back of one of the Cosmo Cricket Mr. Campy papers that looks like tree bark. I punched a scalloped circle in the front and popped it up over the top of my little birdie in the nest. The ribbons are Caribbean satin and Celery Swiss Dot. I used Memento Rich Cocoa ink to stamp the images and Copic markers to color them.

We also have a really cool new product that we're debuting with this release! Have you heard the buzz about Flower Soft? Flower Soft is a little pot of colored sprinkles that can be used for just about anything! On the card I made last night I used the Flower Soft glue to dot the ends of the branches. Then I sprinkled the Sweet Pea Flower Soft over the top of the glue and tapped the excess back into the pot. Voila... an instant blooming branch! My mind is already running circles around this fun product...I'm thinking snow for winter cards, blooming flower pots, fuzzy teddy bears and easter bunnies, and even some cupcake frosting! The possibilities are endless! Below you can see a super closeup of the Flower Soft. It has a unique, fluffy look and it really sticks to your card too! I actually did a little test to see if it would come off if I tried to get it off and it totally stays put! You can also see that I added some Tiny Twinkles on top of the Flower Soft with a dot of glue. We have 20 colors for you to choose from and they retail at $5.95 a pot. Or you can get 5 pots for $25.95 when you purchase any of our four bundles: Natural, Pastel, Bright, or Mixed. I also added some of the new mini Zva Crystal Swirls to my card. Zva came out with a ton of new products at CHA and some of my favorites are all the miniature swirl designs that are perfect for us cardmakers!

I bet you thought I'd stop here, but the party just never ends! If you were at the release party this morning at Paper Craft Planet then you probably already saw this color challenge. In case you didn't make it to the party, I wanted to post the color challenge here as well. To celebrate the release of the new stamps, we're giving away a Birthday Boy Key Ingredients. All you have to do is create a card inspired by these colors and upload it to Paper Craft Planet using the tag: tecolorchallenge (all one word, all lowercase). You must have your cards uploaded by Monday, March 9th at 8am PST to be eligible for the Key Ingredients prize.

Whew... we're almost there! We're also celebrating our 1st Birthday this weekend with party games and party favors starting tomorrow with our regularly scheduled sketch challenge and even more giveaways! Thanks for stopping by today and happy shopping!

Don't forget to check out the release day eye candy from the Baker's Dozen: Ana Wohlfahrt, Charmaine Ikach, Dawn Easton, Denise Marzec, Donna Baker, Jen del Muro, Jodi Collins, Karen Giron, Karen Motz, Laura Fredrickson, Laurie Schmidlin, Sankari Wegman