Cupcake Challenge Vacation

Good morning! Happy Friday and Happy Cupcake Day! If you've come here looking for the sketch challenge, I have an announcement for you instead. The cupcake crew and I will be taking a little vacation from the challenge for a few weeks. Due to our move and the busyness that summer brings we will be rejoining the sketch challenges on Friday, July 17th.

In the meantime, you can check out all of the past sketch challenges HERE. And I know I'm soooo behind on this, but I finally have a sketch challenge badge for you to display on your blog! Just click on the "Want this badge?" link below and copy and paste the code into your blog sidebar!

Want this badge?

Getting there...

Does this look like fun to anyone? If you said yes.... you're crazy! These are the boxes we've packed so far and we've got a long way to go in a short amount of time. I've spent the morning debating over the clothes I might want to wear during the next two weeks. I think I'm finally ready to pack the rest of them up! And my mom and I boxed all of our dishes last night so we're officially eating off paper plates with plastic utensils for the rest of our time in Southern California. Although it would be nice if we had some sort of food to put on those plates! The fridge is bare.... all that's left is a little mustard, some shaved turkey breast, a teeny bit of milk, and some shredded cheese. Any ideas for dinner tonight!? *grin* Luckily we have several farewell dinners planned so we won't be starving. Since we have so much left to do it's starting to irk me watching my cats lay around and do nothing! Oh, how I wish I could lay on the couch all day with nothing on my mind but my next meal! I know... I know they're cats... what do I expect them to do? Well obviously nothing, but it's like they're rubbing their restful moments right in my face as I scramble around to get things done! So I thought I'd snap a couple pictures of them and the flash from the camera actually woke them up.... HA! I got my revenge! LOL! If any of you has any advice on driving cats across the country, Jon would love to hear it! He's been given the wonderful task of driving the car with the cat carriers in the back. I think he's a little nervous that this could be the longest three days of his life! Today I'm tackling the project of packing my stamp studio. I know all of you creative people will understand when I tell you that I have saved sooooo much junk with the hopes of making it into something fabulous someday. Well, the someday has come to just get rid of what probably should have gone in the garbage from the beginning. It's going to be a sad day, but I'll take comfort in knowing that I'll be able to amass new and useless treasures in my new home soon (shhhh... don't tell Jon)! I am thankful that so many of you have helped us lighten our load by placing orders during our moving sale! Tomorrow (Friday, June 26th) will be the last day to place orders to receive the moving discounts and also to have your order shipped before we take two weeks off. The store will remain open to take your orders, but they will not be shipped until July 11th at the earliest. Here's an update of what we have left:

50% OFF

• Crystal Twinkles
• Multi colored Twinkles
• Glitter
• 1/4” solid grosgrain
• JustRite Chique Oval Stamper
• JustRite dry ink pads (1-color oval, 1-color round, 2-color round)
• Carla Craft Binding Coils

40% OFF

• ½” sticky tape
• Alterables (alterable date stand, tidy handbag, recipe box, baby monologue, Perfect Package, square & rectangle recessed plaques)
• Basic Brads
• Stickers (Stampendous Velvet & Cosmo Cricket Snorkel)
• JustRite Ensembles (Baby, Wedding, Baking, Oval II Ensemble, 10 Designer Borders & Centers)

30% OFF

• Zva brads (rhinestone)
• Spring Flowers
• Felt Shapes (Jack)
• Rain Dots
• Zva Crystal words & letters
• Key Ingredients (Easter, May 20th)
• Patterned Paper (Birthday Boy & Birthday Girl)
• Chalk & Craft Eraser Refills

20% OFF

• Smooch individual colors
• Savannah Buttons
• Flower Soft Individual Pots
• Patterned Paper (Tiny Dancer, Garden Party, Blue Hill, Free Bird)
• Just Rite Complete Font Sets

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

Online Garage Sale!

Happy Monday Morning! I can hardly believe that just one week from today our 22 ft. truck will be pulling out of the driveway carrying all of our belongings! I suppose I should start packing now! LOL! I had so much fun at the TE Farewell party on Saturday. Thank you to all of you who stopped by to say farewell and eat cupcakes! I still have some leftovers from my personal collection and it's time to clear 'em out before we head out on the road! I'm hoping these products will get more love at another home... maybe yours!? Please read the following carefully and email me at (tayloredexpressions@gmail.com) if you're interested in any of these items. The items in grey have been claimed.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

--I will only ship Priority Mail. Usually 1 small set will fit in a Flat Rate envelope for $4.80. Otherwise, the next best rate will most likely be $9.85 for a Flat Rate box.

--I will only accept PayPal for payment. I apologize to those of you without a PayPal account, but I just don't have time to wait for checks and run to the bank, etc.

--When you email me, please include your full name, the sets you are interested in, and the email address where you would like me to send a PayPal invoice. Once I figure shipping costs, I will send you an invoice through PayPal. If you do not pay the invoice within 24 hours I will offer the items for sale to someone else.

--- I do not have pictures of these items. Please Google the item name in order to find pictures of the stamps and other products for sale here.

Stampin’ Up Stamp Sets
Cheers to You (some still unmounted) - $10.00
Genuine Articles - $5.00
Fabulous Flowers (very stained) - $5.00
All I Have Seen (unmounted) - $2.00
Sealed with a Kiss - $5.00
Hugs & Wishes - $5.00
Garden Whimsy (stained) - $8.00
Holiday Tag Team - $5.00
Natural Beauty - $8.00
Cause for Celebration (unmounted) - $8.00
Boatloads of Love (stained) - $8.00
Season of Joy (stained) - $8.00
Ahoy, Matey – $10.00
Bundle of Joy - $8.00
Perfect Presentation - $8.00
Tall Tales Alpha - $15.00
Tidy Alphabet - $7.00
Big Deal Alphabet - $15.00
Everyday Flexible Phrases -$5.00
Heartfelt Thanks (split-mounted & stained) - $5.00
Doodle This (stained) - $10.00
Bodacious Bouquet - $8.00
Aida Cloth Background - $5.00
Itty Bitty Backgrounds (stained) - $2.00
It’s All Good - $3.00
Little Pieces – $3.00
Perfect Ending - $3.00
Never-Ending Joy - $5.00
Olive You (stained) - $4.00
Happy Harmony - $4.00
All in a Row (stained) - $3.00
Forever in my Heart - $5.00
Wild About You - $15.00
Think Big (stained) - $5.00
Booglie Eyes - $10.00
Peaceful Wishes - $8.00
In the Spotlight - $5.00
A Light Unto my Path - $7.00
Cold Play - $5.00
Friendship Blooms - $5.00

Paper Collections (includes patterned paper and matching die cuts… some may be partially used or missing, but complete for the most part!)
Cosmo Cricket Wanted Collection - $4.00
Basic Grey Mellow Collection - $4.00
Basic Grey Blush Collection - $4.00
Crate Paper Crush Collection $2.00
Crate Paper Samantha Collection $2.00
Stampin’ Up Pockets & Pieces Office Accents (kraft color) - $1.00

Cardstock (all 8.5" x 11")
Stampin’ Up Soft Subtle Pack (6 Mellow Moss, 15 Lavendar Lace, 13 Perfect Plum, 2 Pale Plum, 10 Pretty in Pink, 6 Bashful Blue, 4 Barely Banana, 1 Apricot Appeal, 1 Blush Blossom, 6 Almost Amethyst) Total: 64 sheets for $6.00

Stampin’ Up Bold Brights Pack (10 Brilliant Blue, 14 Pixie Pink, 14 Orchid Opulence, 12 Yoyo Yellow, 6 Only Orange, 3 Green Galore, 1 Gable Green, 4 Lovely Lilac) Total: 64 sheets for $6.00

Stampin’ Up Earth Elements Pack (10 Close to Cocoa, 2 Creamy Caramel, 8 Really Rust, 3 Cameo Coral, 9 Not Quite Navy, 12 Summer Sun, 1 Pumpkin Pie) Total: 45 sheets for $4.50

Stampin’ Up Rich Regals Pack (1 Brocade Blue, 5 Night of Navy, 10 Always Artichoke, 16 Handsome Hunter, 4 Regal Rose, 4 Ballet Blue, 18 So Saffron, 1 Elegant Eggplant, 8 Bordering Blue) Total: 67 sheets for $6.00

Stampin’ Up Retired In Colors Pack (13 Blue Bayou, 19 Groovy Guava, 2 Purely Pomegranate, 27 Soft Sky, 3 River Rock, 2 Wild Wasabi, 27 Cool Caribbean, 5 Baja Breeze, 1 Pink Pirouette, 4 Tangerine Tango, 26 Marigold Morning, 10 Buckaroo Blue, 13 True Thyme, 25 Vintage Violet) Total: 177 sheets for $17.00

Glimmer Mist - $3.00 each
Pink Bubblegum
Gold
Frosty Nights
Pearl
Moonlight
Vintage Pink
Sugar Cookie
Hollyberry

Stampendous Fun Flock - $2.00 each
Pixie Pink
Blue Suede
Chili Pepper Red
Cotton Ball White (2)
Balboa Blue
Tree Green
Panda Black

Other Miscellaneous
--- Stampin’ Up Watercolor Crayons - $15.00

--- Stampin’ Up Watercolor Crayons (neutrals only) - $3.00

--- 12 x 12 Patterned Paper grab bag (tons of popular brands… Fancy Pants, Basic Grey, My Mind’s Eye, Crate Paper, Heidi Grace, KI Memories, Doodlebug, and much more!) – 20 sheets for $5.00

--- Basic Grey Notch & Die cutting tool - $7.00

--- Making Memories tag maker - $7.00

--- Stampin’ Up Color Coach - $1.00

June 20th Key Ingredients now available!

The June 2oth Key Ingredients kit is now available for purchase! Each month we're excited to bring you a brand new set of coordinating patterned paper, card stock, and embellishments... enough to make at least 16 cards for just $16.95. Each month our Key Ingredients subscribers receive their monthly kit at a discount in addition to many other benefits! You can read more below about all the benefits included in the Key Ingredients Subscription, but first I want to tell you about an added benefit for this month only! When you purchase our 6 month subscription before June 25th you'll receive $12-$15 in TE products FREE! I know I love the excitement of a crafty grab bag!

º Tons of creativity in a box! Everything you need to make at least 16 cards (including 6x6 patterned papers, 8.5 x 11 card stock, 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

3 month 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 30th of May 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.

This month I've issued another challenge to half of the Baker's Dozen to get busy with their new Key Ingredients kit! We're all creating a card or project for a June event (graduation, Father's Day, wedding, last day of school, etc.). Every project must include some sort of dimension, and we're not allowed to use Copics. Can you believe it!? That was definitely the toughest part for me, but I'm proud to say I survived a Copic-less creation! Well... maybe that's a teeny fib. I didn't use Copics to color my image, but I did use them to change the color of my white candy dots that accent each scallop at the bottom of the card. I received this gorgeous card from Denise for my birthday and she inspired me to dig out my neglected watercolor paper and try my hand at water coloring. It was fun trying something I don't do very often, but I was reminded why I don't do it very often...water coloring just isn't my forte! June is a busy birthday month for us so I decided to create a birthday card using the For the Love of Cupcakes set. Can you tell I love this set!? I just can't put it down! Other than the stamps, everything I used on this card is part of the June subscription kit. We'd love to have you join us for the challenge this month. If you're a subscriber you've probably already received your Key Ingredients kit and can jump right in! Just leave a link in the Mr. Linky below to be eligible for the prize drawing. Congratulations to last month's winner Patti Olson whose prize includes Sweet Celebration and Tiny Twinkles! Patti, your prize is on its way in the mail today! If you haven't purchased the June 20th Key Ingredients you can still get in on the fun. We have a 3 month and 6 month subscription option available and you can also purchase the kit individually. Thanks for stopping by today!

Now head over to the Baker's Dozen blogs to see what they've created for our Key Ingredients challenge! Sankari Wegman, Dawn Easton, Denise Marzec, Jen del Muro, Karen Motz, Laurie Schmidlin

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #73

Happy Friday and Happy Cupcake Day! First of all, I wanted to thank you all for making my birthday such a special celebration last Friday! I had so much fun hopping around and seeing all your wonderful creations and birthday wishes for little 'ole me! This weekend is sure to be another exciting one... I can hardly wait for the TE Farewell Party tomorrow! I've ordered the cupcakes, purchased the cutest cupcake plates to eat them on, and priced all of my stamping stuff for the garage sale. I excited to meet everyone and see old friends again! But first... for today's cupcake sketch I decided to pull out my Cupcake Key Ingredients again. I just LOVE these! And these adorable Sweet Treats Icons glitter stickers were sitting right next to my Key Ingredients kit. It was so easy to create this scene of sweets with the stickers! I just added some rhinestone bling to the cherries and some Multi-colored Twinkles to the sprinkles on the ice cream sundae and cupcake. The cupcake is popped up on foam tape to add some depth to the scene and then I used my Copic markers to ground the images. The sketch doesn't call for a bow, but I just couldn't resist a little ribbon! This was totally a 10 minute card and since I'm not used to spending just 10 minutes on a card I decided to create a whole set of cards! All of the supplies were already out on my table so it was easy to create three more sweet scenes with the stickers. And for a little variation, I flipped the sketch and created one card for each of the four possible sketch variations. The sentiments on all of these cards are from the For the Love of Cupcakes stamp set. My finished set of cards took less than an hour...gotta love that! But after photographing and editing all of these I decided to go back and add ribbon to each card (I just couldn't resist!) so try to picture that in your mind. That's it for my cards, and now I'm so excited to introduce you to this week's Featured Cupcake Sampler! Rachel Sztonyk has been catching my eye with her cuppie creations since we released our very first sets in September, but she blew me away with this cute sunning cuppie card! And she's got another bright and fun card to share with us today using the Sweet Celebration stamp set. The cute little button and bow she added are the perfect touch! You can check out all the details on this card and the rest of Rachel's beautiful work on her blog: Gingerbread Gallery! Thanks so much for sampling the sketch this week, Rachel! Now it's your turn to try the sketch! Just create a card using this sketch and link your creation below with Mr. Linky by Friday, June 26th. I'll choose the cutest creation from the submissions to be the Featured Cupcake Sampler. 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 TECC73 (for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 73). 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 TECC73 keyword. So while you're uploading your card to SCS and/or your blog, hop over to PCP and enter yourself in the fun there! Now last week during my birthday celebration I offered a $25 gift certificate to one random participant in the sketch challenge. Well, that winner is Dawn Barghorn! Dawn must be a lucky lady because she was also the grand prize winner of our store opening anniversary celebration in March! Dawn, just send me a quick email at tayloredexpressions@gmail.com and I'll email you the gift certificate code. Thanks for stopping by today! I always look forward to seeing what you come up with using the sketch!

The Cupcake Crew has done it again this week with more fabulous sketch challenge inspiration... don't miss it! Donna Baker, Jackie Pedro, Jami Sibley, Lynn Mercurio, Monika Davis, Sherrie Siemens, Stephanie Hargis, Vicki Chrisman

Taylored Expressions Moving Sale!

The time has come! We're busy packing boxes and we're hoping you can help reduce the number of boxes we still need to pack by taking advantage of these great deals! Tons of products on sale at deep discounts... up to 50% off most items in the store! These great deals are available only while supplies last so get your order in early for the best selection! When you add products to your cart, they are not reserved for you until you finalize your order with payment. The sale will go through June 26th. Orders placed after June 26th will not be shipped until we arrive at our final destination and get unpacked (approximately July 11th). Here's a list of all the products on sale at the TE Store! Just click on the words and it will take you right to that product in the store.

50% OFF

• Crystal Twinkles
• Multi colored Twinkles
• Glitter
• 1/4” solid grosgrain
• 5/8” solid grosgrain
• JustRite Chique Oval Stamper
• JustRite dry ink pads (1-color oval, 1-color round, 2-color round)
• Carla Craft Binding Coils

40% OFF

• ½” sticky tape
• Alterables (alterable date stand, tidy handbag, recipe box, calendar stand, love & baby monologue, Perfect Package, square & rectangle recessed plaques)
• Shimmer Pearlescent Chalks
• Basic Brads
• Stickers (Stampendous Velvet & Cosmo Cricket Snorkel)
• JustRite Ensembles (Baby, Wedding, Baking, Christmas, Circle II Ensemble, Oval II Ensemble, 10 Designer Borders & Centers)
• JustRite Deluxe Kits
• Spring Action Scissors

30% OFF

• Zva brads (rhinestone and corduroy)
• Spring Flowers
• Felt Shapes (Ella & Jack)
• Rain Dots
• Zva Crystal words & letters
• Key Ingredients (Easter, Mother’s Day, & May 20th)
• Patterned Paper (Birthday Boy & Birthday Girl)
• Chalk & Craft Eraser & Refills

20% OFF

• Smooch individual colors
• Savannah Buttons
• Flower Soft Individual Pots
• Patterned Paper (Tiny Dancer, Garden Party, Blue Hill, Free Bird)
• Just Rite Complete Font Sets
• Ribbon Ring Starter Set

Thanks for stopping by today! Happy Shopping!

The happiest place on Earth...

Jon and I got back from the wedding yesterday. It was so beautiful! I just love weddings... the dancing, the cake, the toasts, the whole thing is just so special and fun! Today we are going to the happiest place on Earth... Disneyland! We're heading there with the rest of my family to celebrate my youngest sister's graduation from high school. Can you believe we haven't been to Disneyland since we moved here 4 years ago!? I can hardly wait! I'll have lots of pictures to show you tomorrow, but today I thought I'd share with you the simple graduation announcements I made for Hannah. I used burgundy and gold cardstock (her school colors), printed the text from the computer, and added one of her senior pictures using photo corners. The Follow Your Dreams printed twill was the perfect finishing touch! I am so incredibly proud of the beautiful woman she has become and I'm excited to see what her future holds. She'll be attending the Aveda cosmetology school in the fall and I know she'll be awesome! I can't wait to have a stylist and makeup artist in the family... I'll never have a bad hair day again! *grin*

That's all I've got to share today, but several of my Baker's Dozen girls are sharing projects using some of their favorite JustRite projects! You can check 'em all out here: Donna Baker, Jodi Collins, Karen Giron, Karen Motz, Laura Fredrickson, Sankari Wegman, Jami Sibley

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #72

Well... it's official! Yesterday was my last day of work. It was a busy day tying up loose ends and taking time to say goodbye to my colleagues who have become my friends over the past four years. I'm excited to see where this journey leads and I think they're genuinely excited for me too! This weekend Jon is performing the wedding ceremony for two of our friends, JulieAnn & Robert. They've been a big part of our lives during the last year and we're so excited to see them tie the knot on Saturday. We're heading north today for the rehearsal dinner and then the wedding celebration is on Saturday night! And in the midst of all this transition, today is my birthday! I can't believe I'm another year older! A couple years ago I was complaining about being a quarter of a century old, and now I'm beyond that by two years. Ah well... I have a lot to be thankful for and the older I get the more resigned I become to the fact that I'm getting older. Did that make any sense? Jon took me out for my birthday dinner last night and gave me my gift. I got tickets to The Fray concert!! Yippppeeee! I can hardly wait! Any other Fray fans out there!? As if all of this weren't enough to make it a great day, it's also Cupcake Friday! I have to be quick today because I still need to pack and get out the door to make it to the rehearsal tonight! I decided to use the Beach Bum stamp set and the Beach Bum Key Ingredients for my card. This image makes me want to head to the beach...it's been way too long since I made a sandcastle! I colored the image with Copics and covered the sand with a touch of Sparkly Fluff in brown sugar. This week I've got another awesome stamper to introduce you to, but you probably already know her fabulousness! Our Featured Cupcake Sampler this week is Bonnie Sharp! She caught my eye with this wonderful creation. The bright, fun cards she makes match her bright and fun personality! I just love the pink and green combo on her sketch card this week... and the lollipop looks so yummy covered in Crystal Effects! You'll definitely want to check out all of the details on this card and the rest of Bonnie's awesome stuff on her blog: The Lucky Clucker. Thanks for sampling the sketch this week, Bonnie! Now this week I have something special for you... even though it's my birthday I want to offer you a present! I'll draw one random name from among all the participants this week to receive a $25 gift certificate to the TE Store! Just create a card using this sketch and link your creation below with Mr. Linky by Friday, June 19th. I'll also choose the cutest creation from the submissions to be the Featured Cupcake Sampler. Your design and blog will be featured on my blog during Cupcake Friday. You're not required to use cupcakes for the sketch challenge, but if you got 'em why not use 'em!? Can't wait to see what you all come up with!


The Cupcake Crew has more sketch challenge inspiration to show you... don't miss it! Ana Wohlfahrt, Donna Baker, Jackie Pedro, Jami Sibley, Lynn Mercurio, Monika Davis, Sherrie Siemens, Stephanie Hargis, Vicki Chrisman

Enjoy Life

Thank you for all of your best wishes on our move! I have such respect for those of you who move around the country every 3-5 years... I can't imagine! Although I guess it's a good thing in that you never have too much time in one place to accumulate a ton of junk. Even with the busyness of the move I'm going to try to keep up with blogging over the next several weeks. When I don't blog I find that I have entirely too many words for my husband to handle in a day. LOL! If I can get a bunch of them out here on my blog I don't overwhelm him as much with my chattiness. Today I have a pretty simple card to show you using images from the new Beach Bum stamp set and Key Ingredients kit. I stamped the images onto the Choice Buttercream cardstock that comes in kit. The beach bag, beach ball, and suntan lotion are all separate images so I used Eclipse Tape to mask each image when I stamped it. The 'Enjoy Life' sign is from the Cosmo Cricket Snorkel cardstock stickers. I love these stickers!! They add such a fun element to a card that otherwise would have been all stamping. I cut out the image with a square Spellbinders die and layered it onto the scalloped square. I tied two ribbons from the Key Ingredients around the top and added an ice tea pewter charm from the Beach Bum Charm Collection. That's it... super simple! Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

P.S. It's my second to last day at work today. I don't know whether to feel anxious, sad, or excited! I think I'm a combination of all three! *eeks* *waaaaah* *wooooohooooo*

We're Moving!

Yes, I've been keeping a secret! Now that our newest releases are out in the open, I've decided to let my secret out of the bag too. You might remember me talking about the vacation that Jon and I took in the middle of May. Well... it wasn't much of a vacation! We traveled back to the Midwest with a purpose and we spent 5 long days searching for a home. Guess what!? We found one! So where are the new digs? You might also recall that we were both born and raised in Iowa so this will be a homecoming for us as we move to a home in Ankeny, Iowa (right outside of Des Moines). I think the single most exciting part of this move is that I'll also be taking the plunge into working full-time for Taylored Expressions! It has been a dream of mine since beginning this adventure last year! We'll be leaving California on June 30th and arriving in Iowa on July 2nd. We move into our new home on July 7th so you'll need to give us a few days to get everything set up and then the store will be up and running again on July 11th. You can continue to place orders while we are moving, but we will not resume shipping until July 11th. Also, because of the timing of our move there will be no July 5th stamp release.

While this is an exciting new adventure for us, it also brings a great deal of sadness as we leave friends and relationships we've developed during our last four years in Southern California. I've made so many wonderful friends through our shared love for stamping. I know many tears will be shed on moving day, but I take comfort in knowing that conversation is just a click and a keystroke away. For those of you located in the Southern California area, I will be hostessing a Taylored Expressions farewell party (complete with cupcakes!) on Saturday, June 2oth from 11am - 4pm! I hope you'll save the date and plan to join in the fun! Whether we talk once a week, once a month, or maybe we've never met, I would love to meet you and give you the opportunity to shop at the TE Store before we move it across the country. If you are able to make it to the TE Farewell Cupcake Reception, I'd appreciate it if you could RSVP to tayloredexpressions@gmail.com. I will email you back with the specific location (in Pasadena) and a special coupon code for a TE shopping spree. You'll receive free shipping on top of any moving discounts (beginning on Wednesday, June 17th) and you'll be able to pick up your order during the cupcake reception. Those of you unable to attend the farewell party will still be invited to help us lighten our load before we pack up and ship out. Stop by my blog and the TE Store on Wednesday, June 17th for all the moving specials!

P.S. If you live in the Des Moines area, I would love to hear from you! Jon and I grew up in the Northwest part of Iowa so we're not very familiar with Des Moines. I'd love it if you would share your favorite restaurants, favorite parks or bike trails, and of course your favorite stamp stores! *grin*

UPDATE: Love of Cupcakes Bundle

Good morning! I hope you're having a wonderful weekend! Guess what I discovered yesterday!? You LOVE cupcakes as much a I do!!! The Love of Cupcakes Bundle sold out during the first day! However, if you'd still like to order the discounted bundle you may do so until 11:59 pm PST on Sunday night (June 7th) with an estimated ship date of Monday, June 15th. After Sunday, June 7th some of the contents of the bundle may be available for purchase individually at regular price. Thank you for shopping at Taylored Expressions!

Taylored Expressions Release Day!

Woooohooo! The day you've been *patiently* waiting for has finally arrived... it's RELEASE DAY! I've got a ton of information to share with you so grab a cupcake and a coffee (or maybe a coffee cupcake!?) and settle in! We are releasing five new stamp sets, two Key Ingredients kits, three Bundle deals, and more than twenty new coordinating products!

Beary Special and Beary Special Accessories are the next two stamp sets being released as part of the TE Giving Tree charitable program. What is the TE Giving Tree? Each quarter Taylored Expressions releases a new set of stamps (or in this case... two new sets!) with a portion of the proceeds being donated to charity. These two stamp sets were designed by Nancy McKinney to benefit Sick Kids Hospital, a charity very close to her heart. For each Beary Special stamp set sold during June, July, and August, Taylored Expressions will donate $7.00 to Sick Kids and $4.00 will be donated for each Beary Special Accessories mini set sold. It is important to note that these sets are the same deeply etched rubber you have come to love! However, in order to cut down on manufacturing costs and donate more to charity, they will come as one sheet of rubber and will need to be trimmed when you receive them.

The Faith & Hope set is one that you have not seen yet during our sneak peeks! The Baker's Dozen is showing projects today that they've made with the first stamp set in this brand new collection called Lasting Impressions. My faith is a very big part of my life and when I first dreamed of creating stamps I knew I wanted to bring my love for the Lord to the world of stamping. As believers, we're called to uplift and encourage each other. The sentiments, quotes, and Bible verses in the Faith and Hope set were born from my own personal need for encouraging stamps. I'm sure you all have people in your life who need an encouraging word, whether going through a divorce, job loss, or even a serious illness. It is my hope that this set will become a staple in your collection as you seek to encourage those around you with these words of faith and hope. And we're excited to bring you even more Lasting Impressions in the months to come!






















And last, but certainly not least, more Sweets! We're adding Beach Bum to the ranks of our popular Stamp a Sweet Impression collection. These cute cuppies are sure to put a smile on anyone's face! And as if cuppie weren't *sweet* enough, we're offering you even more cupcakes in the For the Love of Cupcakes set! Young and old will love these delectable desserts!


So those are all the new stamp sets! If you want ALL of the new sets, we've got a special bundle just for you! When you purchase the Stamp Lover's Bundle you'll receive our Mini Binder Box FREE! Up to four stamp sets fit inside this awesome storage system to save you space and money!

In addition to the stamp sets, we have two new Key Ingredients kits, Cupcake Key Ingredients and Beach Bum Key Ingredients. The coordinating cardstock, patterned paper, and embellishments give you everything you need to cook up the perfect batch of cards! There are too many new products to talk about each one so make sure you check out the Fresh Out of the Oven category at the store! And don't forget about the bundle deals I showed you yesterday (Cupcakes Bundle & Beach Bum Bundle)...the bundles are the best buy when you want it all!

Whew.... I'm finally done telling you about the new releases and now I get to show you some more projects! Today the Baker's Dozen and I are showcasing Faith & Hope from the new Lasting Impressions Collection. I wanted to create a set of cards to keep on hand for friends and family members who need a boost. You never know when you'll need one, and this stamp set makes it easy to always have the perfect card ready to go in the mail at a moment's notice. I started with several coordinating pieces of glittered paper from the My Mind's Eye Laundry Line collection. I wanted to keep my layouts very simple and let the sentiments do the talking so the cards are pretty self-explanatory. I accented them with peach flower lace trim, vintage flower trim, and grosgrain ribbon. I also tied a cross charm from the Cross Collection onto the grosgrain ribbon. Here's a closeup of one of the Bible verses included in this set. I just love the sweet, delicate lettering of these sentiments!

I know the Baker's Dozen has more beautiful creations to show you today using the Faith and Hope stamp set. These ladies blow me away with their creativity so make sure you don't miss one little detail:

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

Thanks for stopping by today! Always feel free to send us an email with your questions! You can use this contact page on our website to send us an email. Oh... and did you think that I forgot about the Cupcake Friday sketch challenge!? How could I forget!? The sketch is posted below so scroll down to check it out!

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #71

Even with all the release excitement I just couldn't skip Cupcake Friday! Of course I had to use the new For the Love of Cupcakes stamp set for my sample! I started by stamping a single cupcake on Choice Snow White cardstock with Memento Rich Cocoa ink. I paper pieced the lining, colored the cake with Copics, and used Glossy Accents and pink glitter on the frosting. Everything on this card (cardstock, patterned paper, glitter, ribbon) are part of the Cupcake Key Ingredients also released today at the TE Store. After coloring my image the card came together super fast! The layout was already decided and so were the papers and embellishments with the help of the Key Ingredients kit. It was just a matter of picking out which yummy papers I wanted to use where! And now I'm so excited to introduce you to another talented lady as our Featured Cupcake Sampler! Barb Foster caught my eye with this gorgeous card! Doesn't that cupcake look yummy!? I love the button border and the big bow too! Barb also used images from the new For the Love of Cupcakes set for her sketch challenge card. I love her take on the sketch and how she used the soft swiss dot fabric layer! The cupcake looks so yummy I just want to eat it (but it's too pretty to eat!). The closeup picture shows even more of the beautiful extras Barb added! You can check out all of the details on this card and more of Barb's beautiful work on her blog Foster Design House. Thanks for sampling the sketch this week, Barb! Now it's your turn to try the sketch! All you need to do is make a card using the sketch below and upload your link using Mr. Linky by Friday, June 12th (that's my birthday! *grin*). I'll choose the cutest creation from the submissions to be the Featured Cupcake Sampler. 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 TECC71 (for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge 71). 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 TECC71 keyword. So while you're uploading your card to SCS and your blog, hop over to PCP and enter yourself in the fun there! I always look forward to seeing what you come up with! Thanks for stopping by today!

For even more sketch challenge inspiration, don't miss the goodies from the Cupcake Crew: Ana Wohlfahrt, Donna Baker, Jackie Pedro, Jami Sibley, Lynn Mercurio, Monika Davis, Stephanie Hargis, Sharon Harnist, Lori Craig

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peeks - Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of sneak peeks! Today the Baker's Dozen and I are showcasing our creations using Beach Bum and For the Love of Cupcakes, two of the five stamp sets being released on Friday, June 5th at 8am PST at the TE Store! Not only are we bringing you these two adorable stamp sets, but we're also offering the Beach Bum Bundle and For the Love of Cupcakes Bundle chock full of coordinating goodness! You'll read more below about the awesome products included in these two bundles.

The first samples I want to show you today use the Beach Bum set, our newest release in the Stamp a Sweet Impression collection. This time Cuppie has taken a trip to the beach...who knows what adventure you'll find him on next!? I started piecing my scene by creating the ocean waves first. I drew waves onto a piece of Doodlebug polka dot glittered paper and cut several layers out. I sanded the edges of the waves and popped up each progressive layer on foam tape. The image was stamped onto Choice Snow White cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I colored the image with Copics and cut it out with Spellbinders dies. I also cut out the sentiment with a Spellbinders ribbon tag die. The patterned paper with the yellow circles on it was the perfect backdrop for my surfer scene. I punched a yellow circle from cardstock and added some Crystal Stickles to make the sun. The cardstock, ribbon, and yellow dot patterned paper are from the Beach Bum Key Ingredients. The second card I have to show you is also made with elements from the Beach Bum Key Ingredients, which include *cute* Cosmo Cricket cardstock stickers from the Snorkel Collection. Again I stamped the images in Memento Tuxedo Black, this time onto Choice Buttercream cardstock. I colored and cut out an additional palm frond and popped it up over the original image. I also added some Brown Sugar Sparkly Fluff (part of our Beach Bum Bundle!) for the sand. As I mentioned above, we're super excited to bring you lots of coordinating products as part of our Beach Bum Bundle. By purchasing our bundle deal, you not only get the products included at a discount, but you also get something free! One of the fun embellishments included in the Beach Bum Bundle is an assortment of summer brads (shown below). You'll get one of each pictured including a life preserver, summer drink, shovel & pail, flip flops, palm tree, popsicle, bathing suit, and sunglasses. You'll find samples using these brads on several design team sneak peeks both today and tomorrow. Make sure you keep this bundle in mind when you're shopping at the store in the morning!

Now hang onto your seat... that's only half of what I have to show you today! You all know how much I love cupcakes, right? In my opinion, you can never have too many cupcakes so today we're introducing another set of sweets called, For the Love of Cupcakes! As Nancy was designing this set I was dreaming of the perfect cupcake shoppe. When I had the finished stamps in my hands I knew I had to create a Cupcake Shoppe window using these delectable desserts! I started by stamping a scene of sweets in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I colored the images with Copic markers and added some Doodlebug Sweet Treats glittered stickers (those are included in the Cupcake Bundle). Then I cut a piece of brown cardstock to completely cover my scene. To create the shoppe window, I measured four equal blocks onto the brown cardstock and cut them out with my paper trimmer. I adhered a piece of transparency to the back of the window and popped up the entire piece with foam tape over the top of my sweet shoppe scene. Then I started on the awning. I had to get resourceful for this so I headed to the kitchen and grabbed one of our cereal bowls to use as a template. I traced it onto pink cardstock, cut it out, and cut it in half. I used my Stampin' Up scalloped border punch on the straight end of my half circle. Then I added a Tiny Twinkle to each of the scallops, and sketched curved lines onto the awning with a light pink Copic marker. Then to finish it off I added a Queen & Co patterned brad (from my stash of 'way back when' embellishments) and then popped the entire awning up over the window. Now maybe intricate cards like the Sweet Shoppe aren't your thing. Well, I have another card to show you... quick and simple! I stamped each of the cupcakes onto Choice Snow White cardstock, colored them with Copic markers, and cut them out. I punched the Stampin' Up Label punch out of three different colored cardstocks and added the white layer inside. Then I popped up my cupcakes on foam tape and added some Espresso Dimensional Pearls for the frosting and Ruby Red Liquid Pearls on the cherry. The white background was embossed with my Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder. I added a little snippet of ribbon and a button to the sentiment to finish it off. Now if you're like me and you can't get enough of cupcakes, we have the For the Love of Cupcakes Bundle just for you! The bundle includes the Key Ingredients, the stamp set, yummy Doodlebug Confections brads & glitter stickers, and Maya Road cupcake chipboard. You'll receive all that for only $51.95 plus 10 free cupcake die cut cards!

Once again, the Baker's Dozen has some sweet sneak peeks to share with you today so head on over to their blogs and take a look: 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

Thanks for stopping by for our second day of sneak peeks! We hope you'll stop back tomorrow morning at 8am PST when everything will be available to purchase at the TE Store! We'll also be showing you our creations with the first stamp set in the newest collection of stamps at TE! Wooohooo... I can hardly wait!

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peeks - Day 1

The TE Giving Tree Continues

Three months ago we introduced our very first quarterly stamp set designed for the purpose of stamping for a charitable cause. We want to thank each of you who purchased Branching Out and Branching Out Coordinates to help support Eden Projects. With your help we were able to donate enough money to plant over 13,000 trees across the world! While the Branching Out and Branching Out Coordinates stamp sets will continue to be available for purchase in the store, the TE Giving Tree Program is moving on to a brand new stamp set supporting another worthy cause.

We are so excited to introduce Beary Special and Beary Special Accessories to raise funds for Sick Kids! These adorable teddy bear sets were designed by Nancy McKinney for a charity very close to her heart. Please go to Nancy’s blog Card Worthy to read the story of her son Henri and how he and their family were helped by Sick Kids. The Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids) is a health-care community dedicated to improving the health of children. Their mission is to provide the best in family-centered, compassionate care, to lead in scientific and clinical advancement, and to prepare the next generation of leaders in child health. The hospital is located in Canada, but is known around the world for its innovation and leadership in research.
Here is some more information from Nancy, in her own words, about how Sick Kids helped her son Henri and their whole family:

"Learning that your child has a serious, life-threatening disease is a mother’s worst nightmare. Having Sick Kids; the medical expertise and research it attracts; and the caring, compassionate nurses, volunteers and staff who embraced Henri made our difficult and lengthy journey one worth remembering and sharing. Our lives have changed; our child is cured; our hearts are healing... Why support Sick Kids, a hospital for children located in Toronto, Canada?

Although children’s health care SHOULD differ greatly from adult health care, groundbreaking lab research and treatment at Sick Kids benefits all ages worldwide not just children in Ontario and Canada:

· Patients travel from around the world to be treated by Sick Kids specialists.

· Research at Sick Kids can help a child anywhere be diagnosed and treated correctly. Henri is a prime example: his lupus-like reaction to a fairly new and expensive drug used mostly in adults was carefully documented by a team of specialists at Sick Kids and presented as an important case study at an International conference. His successful bone marrow transplant confirms that the treatment protocol used by the Immunologists at Sick Kids works and is a viable option for children born with certain immune diseases worldwide.

· The teaching and approach used at Sick Kids reaches out to medical professionals across the world. HealthyKids International (HKI), an international initiative of SickKids Foundation, addresses the shortage of paediatric specialists working in countries where a lack of resources has created gaps in health care. HKI works to offer the same quality of care to children around the world as they would receive as SickKids patients. HKI brings fellows to Toronto to train side-by-side with SickKids specialists. Currently fellows from India, China and sub-Saharan Africa have been accepted into the program. At SickKids, they sharpen their skills through specialized training that can then be applied back home. They also take part in leadership training so they can impart their newly learned knowledge and expertise into their own practice and onto other doctors."

These two stamp sets will be released on Friday, June 5th at 8:00 am PST at the TE Store. For each Beary Special stamp set sold during June, July, and August, Taylored Expressions will donate $7.00 to Sick Kids and $4.00 will be donated for each Beary Special Accessories mini set sold. Note: These sets are the same deeply etched rubber you have come to love! However, in order to cut down on manufacturing costs and donate more to charity, they come as one sheet of rubber and will need to be trimmed when you receive them.

When I pulled out these two sets to start stamping, I knew the first card I wanted to make would be for my new little nephew! Yep, I'm a proud new auntie! My sister-in-law had her first child, a sweet little boy, on May 28th! I started by stamping the teddy bear in Memento Rich Cocoa ink onto Choice Buttercream cardstock and colored it with Copic markers. I stamped the 'sweet little one' sentiment inside the heart, cut it out, and popped it up in the bear's lap. I also paper pieced the feet and ears of the bear to match the patterned paper I used on the rest of the card. The image was cut out using a Classic circle Spellbinders die and layered onto the scalloped circle version. I added three panels of Bo Bunny patterned paper to the bottom of the square card. I finished the card off with some double-edge brown polka dot ribbon, and some buttons from my stash. After finishing this baby card I decided to try something a little different. I was going for a vintage teddy bear, but I think I ended up with something more shabby chic than vintage. Either way, I like how it turned out! I started by stamping the image in Memento Rich Cocoa ink. I colored the handles and the teddy bear with Copics. Then I paper pieced the backpack with the polka dot patterned paper and coral cardstock. The sparkly polka dot patterned paper is from the My Mind's Eye Laundry Line collection. I cut the image out with the Spellbinders Labels 4 die, sponged around it with brown ink, and popped it up with foam tape. To finish it off I added a little stitching with my sewing machine and some Vintage Flower Lace Trim.

I know the Baker’s Dozen has some darling sneak peeks featuring the Beary Special sets today! Stop by their blogs and check 'em out:

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

Thanks for stopping by on our first day of sneak peeks! We hope you'll tune in tomorrow for even more!

It's a *sneak* Sneak Peek!

Good morning! I just couldn't resist a *sneak* sneak peek today! The Baker's Dozen and I are chomping at the bit to show you some of the newest images being released Friday, June 5th at the TE Store! The real sneak peeks start tomorrow with the latest release for our TE Giving Tree program. Our first charitable stamp sets, Branching Out & Branching Out Coordinates, raised enough money for Eden Projects to plant over 13,000 trees in their effort to reforest African nations! All of this is possible only with your help and we're so thankful you're partnering with us to make a difference in the world! And we're super excited to be able to support another incredibly worthy cause this quarter. Tune in tomorrow for all the details!

A Belated Kona Birthday Card

As always, the weekend completely got away from me and I didn't get a chance to post a Kona card on Saturday. I did have a wonderful time doing the make and take and trunk show at Pages from the Heart on Saturday though! Thank you to all the blog readers who stopped by to say hello! I finally got a chance to sit down and stamp with the eP exclusive Hangin' Loose with Kona set last night. I created this belated birthday card for my sweet friend, Joy. If you don't know Joy, well then you're missing out! I feel so blessed to have met her during my first year in California. She is a bright spot in my life and I totally adore her! (((JOY))) You know what else I totally adore!? This cute Kona set! This image was so fun to color with my Copics and I even used some OCL Brown Sparkly Fluff for the sandy beach. I cut out the sentiment with my Spellbinders Labels Trio die. The patterned paper, cardstock, and ribbon are from the Dazzled Key Ingredients. All I added was the fluff, a little button, and some Stickles. I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but you all know what's coming this Friday!? It's that time of the month again... time for our biggest release yet at Taylored Expressions! We're announcing a brand new collection of rubber stamps, the organization benefiting from our new charitable stamp release, and much more! Hope you'll tune in to my blog tomorrow for a *sneak* sneak peek! The official sneak peeks begin on Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by today!