New Guest Designer and Attention SoCal & Central Iowa Stampers!

Happy Halloween! There's a strange tradition in the Des Moines area where trick-or-treating takes place on the evening before Halloween. So we welcomed ghosts, goblins, Spiderman, Batman, Minnie Mouse and more last night! Our cat Morris also made an appearance as a shark. He's so sweet and allows me to dress him in just about anything. I could tell he hated this costume though. It was a big snug through the mid-section and with the hood up he couldn't see anything. We had a good chuckle for a few minutes and then replaced his costume with the bumble bee from last year. It's always such a treat to see everyone all dressed up. Although I wish that were treat enough for me! I had one of those "I ate too much candy" tummy aches when I finally crawled into bed last night.

I have a few announcements today that have nothing to do with Halloween, but they're certainly spooktactular!

The Baker's Dozen and I will begin sharing sneak peeks for our November release beginning tomorrow at 8am PST so mark your calendars! Before we begin sneak peeks I want to introduce you to our new Guest Designer! But before I do, I must say a huge thanks to our September/October Guest Designer Barbara Anders! She's been working her magic with the TE Stamps and bringing them to life with her signature style! You can find all of her beautiful creations right here in the TE Gallery! Thank you, Barbara!

And so with Barbara's departure I'm super excited to introduce our next Taylored Expressions Guest Designer for the months of November & December, the talented Mona Pendleton! Mona shares her amazing artwork on her blog Cupcake's Creations (Mmmmm...cupcakes)! Her signature style features beautiful and dainty details that will bring a whole new look to the TE stamps! I can hardly wait to see what she has in store for us! Welcome, Mona!

ATTENTION SO-CAL & CENTRAL IOWA STAMPERS!

I'll be traveling to Southern California in November and would love to see you at one of the Taylored Expressions classes! I'll be teaching two card classes while I'm back and you can find all the details below:

Holiday Card Class

When: Thursday, November 11th @ 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Where: Pages from the Heart - Monrovia, California

Cost:
Card Class Only: $20.00
Add Penguin Pals OR Hangin' Out North Pole: $35.00
Add Penguin Pals AND Hangin' Out North Pole: $50.00 

Sign Up: Call Kathy @ Pages from the Heart 626.358.5334. Space is limited and spots are filling quickly! Make sure you tell Kathy if you want either or both of the stamp sets we'll be using!

Dinner & A Card Class

What: Not the traditional dinner and a movie, this is dinner and a card class! Join Taylor for a fabulous Italian buffet and a holiday card class featuring these five holiday cards.

When: Friday, November 12th @ 6:00 p.m.

Where: Frantone's Restaurant - Cerritos, California

Cost:
Dinner & Card Class: $38.00
Add Sparkle & Cheer OR Winter Wonderland: $53.00
Add Sparkle & Cheer AND Winter Wonderland: $68.00
*prepayment required*

Sign Up: Email Taylor to reserve your spot for good food and fun! 

Central Iowa is now the home of Taylored Expressions so I'll also be teaching a holiday card class for those of you located near Des Moines!

Holiday Card Class

When: Thursday, November 18th (two sessions)
10:30 am - Noon OR 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Where: Taylor's Home - Ankeny, Iowa

Cost:
Card Class: $20.00
Add Sparkle & Cheer OR Winter Wonderland: $35.00
Add Sparkle & Cheer AND Winter Wonderland: $50.00

Sign Up: Email Taylor to sign up for the card class and you'll receive directions to the location of the class.

Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #132

Good morning and Happy Friday! Did you think we had forgotten about the sketch challenge? The sketch crew and I have been taking a little break over the past couple weeks as I took you on a journey through the 12 Days of A Handcrafted Christmas. We're all excited to get back into the swing of the sketches today! I love these sketch challenges because they keep me stamping something unique every week. Otherwise my cards all start to look the same as I always seem to use some variation of my go-to layout! So I hope you'll have a little time this week/weekend to participate! Here's the sketch designed by sketch crew member Jami Sibley:

Just create a card using the above sketch as inspiration. You're not required to use TE Stamps in your sample, but I love it when you do! Link your creation below by Friday, November 5th at 8am PST. I'll choose the most clever and creative cards to be included in the TESC Top Crops on my blog! Each of our Top Crops receives a blog badge to proudly display on your blog sidebar and a link on the TE blog for all to marvel at your beautiful creation!

Here's the inspiration from the Sketch Crew:

Created by Lisa Hjulberg: The Craft's Meow

Created by Alice Wertz: Alice's Little Wonderland

Created by Sherrie Siemens: Card Creme

Created by Jami Sibley: More is More

Created by Melissa Sauls: In Stamping Mode

Created by Rosie Hughes: Love my Craft Room

Created by Taylor VanBruggen: Taylored Expressions

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

Created by Rachel Sztonyk: Gingerbread Gallery

TESC132 - Happy Fright Night

Good morning! Can you believe Halloween is here already? Well, the weather has been super cold this week, but I've been so focused on Christmas that it's hard to get back in the Halloween mood. To help put me in the mood I decided to create one last Halloween card with today's sketch. The card is super simple and uses only black ink... gotta love that every once in a while! I also pulled out my Spooky Expressions set from last year's Halloween release to make sure it wasn't feeling neglected. Do your stamps have feelings too!? *wink* I stamped the spider web, spiders, and sentiment onto Choice Buttercream cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I outlined the spiderweb with Stardust Gelly Roll pen for a little sparkle and added a 'creepy' gummy embellishment from my stash. The patterned paper is Cosmo Cricket Matilda, the ribbon is Black Organdy Swirl, and I used the Martha Stewart 'drippy goo' border punch.

I hope you all have a spooktacular Halloween! I'll be back tomorrow to share pictures of our cats in costume. In the meantime, click here to check out their costumes from last year!

12 Days of A Handcrated Christmas - Day 12

Welcome to Day 12, the final day of our journey through the 12 Days of a Handcrafted Christmas! As you all can imagine, a lot of work went into sharing these handcrafted gift ideas and I'm so thankful for my 'behind the scenes' team who joined me in the creative process and video production. As we began this journey three weeks ago I remember wondering if we'd ever make it to the end, but now that we're at the end I'm getting a little sad! I'm going to miss typing "Welcome to Day ___ of a Handcrafted Christmas! *grin*

If you've been hanging around my blog for long, then you know how much I love making cards. I'm excited to get back in my comfort zone for our final handcrafted gift idea! Today we're introducing Monogram Card Kits. These kits will include all the pieces you'll need to create a beautiful and personalized gift for friends and family! And the best part about the card kit... all of the pieces are cut to the size you'll need to create the sets pictured below saving you tons of time!





Each Monogram Card Kit comes with enough supplies to create ten cards along with envelopes, a Perfect Package gift box, and a full-color instruction sheet. We've also provided the patterned papers you'll need to decorate the Perfect Package as pictured below. And if that's not enough... when you purchase the Monogram Card Kit you'll receive our Monogram Download FREE! The only thing you'll need to complete the project is a rubber stamp, a little black cardstock, and a border punch.


Below you'll find links to the supplies I used to create each card kit. Many of these products can be found in our 12 Days of Christmas category along with lots of the supplies we've used to create the other handcrafted gifts we've shared! All products in this category will remain on sale through October 31st or while supplies last.

Kioshi Monogram Card Kit (Purple)
Frame from Summer Afternoon
Wisteria Colorbox Chalk Ink
Acanthus Leaf Border Punch
1 3/4" Circle Punch
Extra Black Cardstock (for punching your borders)


Bliss Monogram Card Kit (Pink)
Butterfly from Garden Party Critters
Lime Pastel Colorbox Chalk Ink
Deco Scallop Border Punch
Extra Black Cardstock (for punching your borders)

Thank you again for tuning in during our 12 Days of a Handcrafted Christmas! If you've missed any of our videos you can find them all HERE. And here's a re-cap of the handcrafted gift ideas that we featured:

Day 1: Personalized Photo Frame

Day 2: Frame Your Imagination Calendar Stand

Day 3: Test Tubes & Potion Bottles (Bath Salts, Cookie Decorating Kit)

Day 4: Perfect Package Gift Box (Baby Photo Frame, Homemade Caramel Recipe)

Day 5: Canvas Bag & Clutch

Day 6: Hair Clips, Pins, and Magnets

Day 7: Acrylic Accordion Album

Day 8: Holiday Favor Box & Tag Treats Sampler

Day 9: Cinch Books

Day 10: Gift Card Holders

Day 11: Binder Box Recipe Books

Day 12: Monogram Card Kits

There's still time to enter to win the holiday cupcake apron that I've been wearing throughout our video series! Just leave a comment on today's blog post (or any previous 12 Days of Christmas blog post) and you'll be entered in the random drawing. We'll be announcing the winner during our first day of Sneak Peeks on Monday, November 1st! 

12 Days of A Handcrafted Christmas - Day 11

 

Good morning! Today is Day 11 on our journey through the 12 Days of A Handcrafted Christmas at Taylored Expressions! Since we began our journey I have been anxious to show you today's fun gift idea! I'm sure you all can guess another one of my favorite parts about the holiday season...eating! All of the family favorite recipes are brought out this time of year and I just wouldn't be polite if I didn't have a little taste of everything! Although I must admit I often have more than just a *taste*!

In today's video I'll be introducing you to our Binder Box! The Binder Box is traditionally used to store Taylored Expressions stamps, but I'll be sharing another practical use for it as a recipe book. We have two recipe card downloads and new recipe box spine labels to save you valuable time in creating this fun gift. So let's get started!





You'll find many of the products that I used in the video in our 12 Days of Christmas category. The sale prices on these products are valid through October 31st or while supplies last. We'll continue adding products to this category each day that a new video is posted (our last video will be posted tomorrow).

Binder Box
Binder Box Recipe Label Download
Recipe Card (Vertical) Download (shown in the video)
Recipe Card (Horizontal) Download
Choice Buttercream Cardstock
Fly A Kite 8x8 Pad
Thickers

Don't Forget...

--- Leave a comment on today's blog post to enter yourself in the random drawing for the holiday cupcake apron I've been wearing during our video series! Each person is allowed one comment per day during the 12 days of Christmas. If you've missed any of our videos you can find them all on the "Videos" tab at the top of this blog.

12 Days of A Handcrafted Christmas - Day 10

Good morning and welcome to Day 10 of A Handcrafted Christmas! The holidays are such a busy time, which is all the reason I need to plan ahead and begin my handcrafted gifts now. I always have the best intentions of finding the perfect gift for everyone on my list, but it never fails that I'm out doing last-minute gift shopping a few days before Christmas. And in that situations, my go-to purchase is a gift card! It's easy and I know the recipient will get to pick out something they love! But, because I don't spend a lot of time considering the gift, the packaging better be extra special!

Today's video will focus on three easy ways to package your holiday gift cards. Just whip up a few of these now and tuck them away for the busy holiday season!

As you saw in the video, I used the Snow Day Project Pantry kit to create this set of coordinating gift card holders. You'll find the Project Pantry kit and many other products on sale in our 12 Days of Christmas category. We'll continue adding products to this category each day that a new video is posted. The sale price is good while supplies last or through October 31st.

A2 Gift Card Favor Box
Small Hinged Tin
Snow Day Project Pantry Kit
Crystal Tiny Twinkles
Snowflake Chipboard
Tag You're It Stamp Set
1/8" Thick Foam Tape

Just a Reminder...

--- Help us spread the word about the 12 Days of Handcrafted Christmas by adding our blog badge to your sidebar! We have several blog surfers on the lookout for the badge and we'll be giving away a few prizes to those who have shared the badge on their blog. You can grab the code from the sidebar or from the "Badges" tab at the top of the blog.

--- Leave a comment on today's blog post to enter yourself in the random drawing for the cupcake apron I've been wearing during our video series! Each person is allowed one comment per day during the 12 days of Christmas.

12 Days of A Handcrafted Christmas - Day 9

Welcome back for Day 9 of A Handcrafted Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We're in our final week of handcrafted gift presentations and we've saved some of the best for last! I know many of you have heard me rave about my Cinch machine so today I'm taking a little more time to show you how fun it is to create a variety of projects using the Cinch and coordinating accessories.

The video below focuses on creating a book to store all of your web passwords using our new Web Passwords Download. With the help of our easy-to-print downloads and the Cinch machine you'll be on your way to making professionally bound projects right in your own home!

You'll find many of the products used in today's video along with the rest of our special offers in the 12 Days of Christmas category! We'll continue adding products to this category each day that a new video is posted. The sale price is good while supplies last or through October 31st.

Cinch Machine
Cinch Binding Wires
Cinch Book Board
Cinch Wire Cutters

Web Passwords Book
Web Passwords Download
Choice Snow White Cardstock
Sassafras Indie Girl Patterned Paper
Olive Mini Rose Trim
Seaside Labels
Indigo & Cream Mini Market Stickers

Journal
Lil' Man Patterned Papers
Take Note Die 3
Mini Market Ledger Stickers

Do you want to WIN!?

--- Help us spread the word about the 12 Days of Handcrafted Christmas by adding our blog badge to your sidebar! We have several blog surfers on the lookout for the badge and we'll be giving away a few prizes to those who have shared the badge on their blog. You can grab the code from the sidebar or from the "Badges" tab at the top of the blog.

--- Leave a comment on today's blog post to enter yourself in the random drawing for the cupcake apron I've been wearing during our video series! Each person is allowed one comment per day during the 12 days of Christmas.

October Blast from the Past Blog Hop

Thanks for joining us for another Blast from the Past blog hop! Each month we invite our fabulous customers to participate in our blog hop by posting a Taylored Expressions creation on their personal blog. This month's theme for the hop is Christmas/Holiday/Winter and I can hardly wait to see what everyone has created! Our Baker's Dozen design team member Sankari Wegman has provided us with another inspiring (yet optional) sketch as a starting point. We've been focusing a lot on our recent holiday stamp releases, but today it's all about a Blast from the Past. So as I went flipping through my 'older' holiday sets I kept coming back to one of my all-time favorites, Wings of Joy. I just adore the sweet little birdies and the "JOY" motif was calling out to be used with this sketch.

Nobody said anything about using up old paper and embellishments and while that is a great idea, I decided to use the new Tinsel and Twig Project Pantry for my card. I love the traditional red and green color combination and the beautiful contemporary yet vintage patterns in these papers! I started by stamping my image onto Choice Buttercream cardstock and coloring it with Copics. I added touch of Fire Engine Red glitter to the berries and the Santa hat on the bird. Then I stamped the sentiment on two separate lines, punched it out with a circle punch and adhered it underneath the main image panel. I layered the image panel onto Hillary cardstock and the card base is made from the same color. I arranged the patterned papers to match the sketch and finished it off with a couple green baubles (that unfortunately turned minty looking when photographed) and some red glimmer ribbon.

Thanks so much for stopping by for our Blast from the Past blog hop! I hope you'll check out what the rest of our hoppers have created and come join us next month! You can find the signup details here!

12 Days of A Handcrafted Christmas - Day 8

Welcome back for Day 8 of A Handcrafted Christmas! We're having so much fun with these handcrafted gift ideas and I hope you're enjoying them too! For me, half the fun of giving a handmade gift comes in creating the packaging for it. I'm sure you've all heard the saying "Good things come in small packages." I always open the smallest gift under the tree first!

Today we're sharing a Holiday Favor Box Sampler to help you with packaging small gifts like jewelry, gift cards, ornaments, nail polish, lip gloss, candy or other homebaked treats! We're offering 10 different favor boxes cut from a variety of holiday colors and patterns so this is a great opportunity to try many different styles at one low price! Check out the video below to see how quick and easy it is to create a pretty package for your gift!





You'll find our Holiday Favor Box Sampler & Holiday Tag Sampler along with the rest of our special offers in the 12 Days of Christmas category! We'll continue adding products to this category each day that a new video is posted. The sale price is good while supplies last or through October 31st.

Holiday Favor Box Sampler
Holiday Tag Sampler
1/4" Sticky Tape
Crystal Twinkles
Embellie Gellie
Best Glue Ever

Thanks for tuning in for our second week of A Handcrafted Christmas! I hope you'll join us tomorrow for our Blast from the Past Blog Hop and I'll be back on Monday with another handcrafted gift idea!

Do you want to WIN!?

--- Help us spread the word about the 12 Days of Handcrafted Christmas by adding our blog badge to your sidebar! We have several blog surfers on the lookout for the badge and we'll be giving away a few prizes to those who have shared the badge on their blog. You can grab the code from the sidebar or from the "Badges" tab at the top of the blog.

--- Leave a comment on today's blog post to enter yourself in the random drawing for the cupcake apron I've been wearing during our video series! Each person is allowed one comment per day during the 12 days of Christmas.

12 Days of A Handcrafted Christmas - Day 7

Today is Day 7 of the 12 Days of A Handcrafted Christmas series and that means we're officially over half way through our handcrafted gift ideas. I'm so glad that you've been tuning in during the past few weeks and if you've missed any of our videos you can find them all right here! Today's gift idea will be a cherished treasure for the recipient and now you'll have the perfect use for your kid's school pictures or wallet sized photos. It also makes a beautiful home decor piece to keep the holiday spirit alive!

In the video I'll be sharing how to create these projects that feature our clear acrylic accordion album! These are so fun and easy to personalize and I can already think of several people on my list who would like one of these!

Here is a list of products I used to create the projects in today's video. You'll find these and the rest of our special offers in the 12 Days of Christmas category! We'll continue adding products to this category each day that a new video is posted. The sale price is good while supplies last or through October 31st.

Clear Acrylic Accordion Album
White Accordion Album Tin
Wander 6x6 Paper Pad
Wander Woolies
Sweet Season 6x6 Paper Pack
Thickers By the Yard - White Fabric
Crystal Twinkles
Winter Wonderland
Winter Wonderland Snowflake Dies

Just a Reminder...

--- Help us spread the word about the 12 Days of Handcrafted Christmas by adding our blog badge to your sidebar! We have several blog surfers on the lookout for the badge and we'll be giving away a few prizes to those who have shared the badge on their blog. You can grab the code from the sidebar or from the "Badges" tab at the top of the blog.

--- Leave a comment on today's blog post to enter yourself in the random drawing for the cupcake apron I've been wearing during our video series! Each person is allowed one comment per day during the 12 days of Christmas.