Sprinkled with Love

Good morning! I've been trying to figure out how the days get away from me, but this time I can tell you precisely where they went. My last several days have been spent preparing for my trip out to California for CHA. While I'm very excited to get there, the whole "getting ready to go" process is not one of my favorite things. I'm sure you know the drill... laundry, packing, cleaning, more laundry. Our February sneak peeks will be starting while I'm still away so I've been working ahead on my projects and also prepping for the class I'll be teaching while I'm there. Today is my last full day before I leave and it's going to be packed with packing. Of course I'm one of those who waits until the last minute to pack and then I consistently over-pack because I just never know what I'll feel like wearing 'in the moment'! I'm also really good at procrastinating my packing so that's why I'm here right now! I've been wanting to show you this little sprinkle project I made with stamps from A Little Love. I bought the sprinkle containers in the $1 spot at Target... all 5 jars for just $1. I thought it was a great deal so I might have cleaned out my local Target... I use a lot of sprinkles, you know! I have a few friends who also like to bake so I thought I'd decorate a set of the jars as a Valentine gift. I stamped the labels onto sticker paper and cut them out with the Favor Frame Die. Then I stamped additional images, punched them out, and adhered them to the top of the jars. It was super quick and easy! I've already used lots of the sprinkles on a batch of Valentine mini cupcakes so it's a good thing I bought extras!

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

Out with the Old.... In with the New!

It's almost time for me to head out to Southern California for the CHA trade show! I'm crossing my fingers for 72 and sunny (or better yet, 80 and sunny!) because all the snow in the Midwest is starting to wear on me. Not only am I excited for the warmer weather, but I'm also getting excited to scope out the latest and greatest products from my favorite manufacturers! And I bet y'all are getting excited to see what we'll come back with!

Out with the Old

In the meantime, we went a little crazy clearing space on our shelves! We now have over 100 products in our What's the Deal Department discounted 30% - 70%! When these items are gone, they're gone... so don't wait! There's something for everyone! Are you a patterned paper collector? Find several packs for just $2.37 each. Or maybe you're a ribbon hoarder? Find new ribbons to hoard as low as 15 cents a yard!

In with the New

Even though we haven't been to CHA, we already have some exciting new things to share with you! We know that many of our crafty friends also love to be in the kitchen (and that includes me!). Whether you're a cook, a baker, or a "mostly eat take out" papercrafter, it seems that just about everyone loves a pretty apron. We're excited to bring you a new selection of one-of-a-kind handmade aprons! On the 20th of each month we'll add a half dozen new aprons to the TE Store. When you see one you like, grab it! At only $23.95 each, these unique aprons are a steal! Our initial offering is available in the TE Apparel Department now.

If you've been shopping our patterned paper collections recently, you may have noticed something new. TE is proud to present Cardstock Companions! We're known for our kits and coordinating products and we want to make sure you have just what you need on hand when you sit down to stamp. With so many beautiful paper collections available, it can be an overwhelming task to figure out cardstock matches for all the patterned paper you want to purchase. So we've created Cardstock Companions, a simple system to provide you with the best matches from among the Prismatics & Canvas collection by Bazzill Basics. Single colors of cardstock are available in 10 sheet packs making it affordable to get the colors you need.

We currently have Cardstock Companions available for eight different patterned paper collections (including the brand new Echo Park Little Girl collection!) and we'll be continually adding more as time goes on. There are two way to use this service:

1. Click here to visit our Cardstock Companions page to see all of the collections we currently have matched for you.

2. As you click on items in our Patterned Paper Department, you will see the Cardstock Companions listed under the photo of the patterned paper. From there you can visit our Cardstock Department and add as many single colors to your cart as you want.

We hope you find this to be a useful tool for your papercrafting! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

**Much of the information in this post is also included in the TE Newsletter. If you're not already signed up to receive our newsletter, you can sign up HERE!

January Blast from the Past Blog Hop

It's time for another Blast from the Past blog hop and I'm super excited! It was nice to take a break during December while we all enjoyed the holidays, but I'm ready to get back to hopping with all of you! The theme for our hop today is Love so I'm sure you'll be seeing pink and red and lots of hearts along the hop. As always, Baker's Dozen design team member, Sankari Wegman has provided us with another inspiring sketch as a starting point. It's optional for our hop participants to use the sketch and I promise I started off with the best intentions of using the sketch! My card took a turn somewhere along the way and I ended up without circle elements and my ribbon switched spots. But that's why sketches are so great... you can use them as a jump start and sometimes end up with something totally unexpected!

I decided to grab my Valentine Project Pantry kit and the Love Everywhere stamp set (which is currently on sale!) for my card. I started by stamping the tree in Memento Rich Cocoa ink. Then I stamped the hearts onto scraps of Choice Snow White paper in Lime Pastel, Rouge, and Warm Red, cut them out, and popped them up on the tree branches. I also stamped the dog and bench in Rich Cocoa ink. I think I had the most fun embellishing the bottom of the card. I used the Medium Scallop Border die and cut it out of pink and red. I lined them up, glued them together, and trimmed the layers to fit my card front. I find myself in a bling'y' mood lately and I just couldn't leave the card without adding some Stardust Stickles to the hearts on the tree and Crystal Twinkles on all of the scallops (with the help of Embellie Gellie, of course!).

Thanks so much for stopping by for our Blast from the Past blog hop! I hope you'll click through the links below and check out what the rest of our hoppers have created! We'd love to have you join us for the blog hop next month too! You can find all the details here.

Valentine Embellishment Blitz

So have you started thinking about how you'll be sharing the love this Valentine's Day? I know sometimes the TE Store can be overwhelming as we're always adding new products and categories. So I thought I'd take a "walk" through the store and share a collection of embellishments perfect for your Valentine projects! Psst... don't forget to scroll because there's a sale at the end!

In honor of Valentine's Day, we're also offering 20% off select Valentine stamp sets at the TE Store. This sale is only good through Sunday, January 23rd so act fast!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a LOVE'ly' day!

Birthday Filled with Cupcakes

Today I want to share another project I made using the January Key Ingredients kit! If you're a member of our kit club then these supplies are already on their way to your doorstep. If you're not yet a member, click here to find out how you can receive perfectly coordinated supplies for cardmaking each month! And just in case you missed out, our talented Key Ingredients design team posted some amazing projects on the new and improved Key Ingredients blog last week! For this card, I started by stamping the frame from New Beginnings in LuLu Lavender ink. I cut the frame out with the Frame it Up 1 die. I stamped cupcakes from the For the Love of Cupcakes set inside the frame (masking each one along the way). Then I colored them with the January Copic Kit and added small buttons from the kit to each cupcake as the 'cherry on top'. I used the Hearts Impression Plate on the pink background sheet and cut a scalloped strip out of yellow cardstock with the large scallop border die. I couldn't leave the card without some bling so I grabbed my Embellie Gellie and Crystal Twinkles and added the rhinestones to the scallops. The ribbon and yellow heart die cuts are also from the kit. To finish it off, I just popped the image panel up on foam tape. It was super quick and easy with the help of all the coordinating supplies!

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

More Announcements!

Hey Everybody! I have a few more announcements today and as usual I tried to get them posted earlier in the day, but I am happy to report that all of the Key Ingredients kit club packages have been picked, packed, labeled, sorted, and all the other good stuff we do with them before they head out in tomorrow's mail! And that means that Jon and I get to enjoy a dinner date tonight!

So before we head out to Red Lobster (mmmm... Crab Alfredo!) I want to let you know about a few things. Do you live in the Southern California area? If so, I'm coming your way (and all that rain better be gone when I get there)! I'll be teaching a card class at Pages from the Heart, my favorite little scrapbook store in Monrovia! We'll be creating four cards using the new Valentine penguin cuties! You'll get a chance to try out the popular Copic markers and fun patterned papers and embellishments from the Valentine Project Pantry kit. Each person will get to take home their very own Valentine Project Pantry kit ($17.95 value) with enough supplies left over to create at least 10 more cards! If you'd like to join us, just give Kathy a call and she'll get you all signed up: 626.358.5334.  

When: Tuesday, February 1st @ 7:00pm
Cost: $25.00

A special thank you to Karen G. and Karen M. who provided the inspiration for the cards on the top left and bottom right!

And even if you don't live in the Southern California area, you can get involved by joining us for the Blast from the Past blog hop! We took the month of December off, but we're ready to get back into the swing of things with another blog hop on Wednesday, January 19th. I always have so much fun hopping with fellow TE friends and fans and getting inspired by your amazing creativity!

Our theme for the hop is "Love" and I can hardly wait to see what you all create! There's still time to sign up, so here are all the details... I hope you'll join us!

-- January Hop Rules: Create a card featuring any Taylored Expressions Stamps released prior to November 2010. The theme for our January hop is LOVE.

We will provide a sketch challenge to give you a jump start on your card, but the challenge is optional. Then just post your card on your blog on January 19th at 8am PST and include links to all participants in your blog post. We'll provide you with an easy stretch of code to copy and paste into your blog post so you don't have to spend hours linking to everyone! We hope you'll have fun getting out your TE stamp sets and meeting fellow TE lovers on the hop!

-- Sign up to play by sending an email to bloghop@tayloredexpressions.com with the subject line "January 19 Hop". In your email simply list your first and last name and a link to your blog. By sending this email you are committing to posting a creation on your blog at 8am PST on January 19th according to the Hop Rules above.

-- You will receive an email confirming your spot in the hop. That email will also include the optional sketch challenge, a list of excluded stamp sets (released after October 2010) and a recap of the rules. You will receive another email 2 days prior to the Hop with a list of all participants and links to include in your post.

-- We saved the best part for last! One random participant will be selected to win the stamp set of your choice from Taylored Expressions! Someone will also be chosen to have their card featured in an upcoming TE newsletter.

An exciting announcement!

Hey everybody! I intended to get this exciting announcement posted earlier, but we've been super busy packing all of the Key Ingredients orders today. If you're a subscriber, there's still a little time left to place your extra orders for the 10% discount!

Now for the big announcement! Have you been tuning in for the big Spellbinders Blog Frenzy!? They've been sneaking peeks at their new dies that are being released at CHA in a few weeks and I've been trying hard to keep my lips sealed. But it's finally time to announce that Taylored Expressions will be joining Spellbinders as one of their Preferred Stamp Partners! What is a Preferred Stamp Partner? Well, it means that Spellbinders will share their new die templates with us ahead of time so that we have the opportunity to design stamps to coordinate with their dies! What does this mean for Taylored Dies? No worries! We'll also continue to design new rubber stamps to coordinate with our own Taylored Die shapes.

We know how much you love Spellbinders dies (and so do we!) and this will be a great opportunity to give you even more TE style stamps to coordinate with the dies you love!

So did you see these fun Nested Pennants and Lacey Penants yesterday? Each set contains pennants large enough to create home-decor projects as well as flags and pennants small enough for using on card projects!

 

We certainly jumped at the chance to design stamps to coordinate with these fun shapes and I want to show you a little sneak peek of what's to come! We'll be releasing our coordinating Pennant Parade stamp set once the dies are available for purchase so be on the lookout! In the meantime, we'll have more Spellbinders-compatible sneak peeks to come as they continue revealing their die templates this week!

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

New Year....New Planner

If you're like me, then the turn of a new year means a trip to the store to choose a new planner! I must admit that I use Google Calendar for a lot of my business planning (meetings, release dates, etc.), but there's just something about having a paper planner that I still love! So I keep my personal life (dentist appointments, dinner dates, birthdays and special occasions) organized in a paper planner. While perusing the aisles of Target I discovered a section of planners and they were on sale. I love a sale on something I would have bought anyway! It took me at least a half an hour to flip through all the options and finally settle on this teal planner. Of course, I couldn't just leave it teal with the numbers 2011 on the front. Uh...uh...no...no! I wanted something bright and sunny and the patterned papers from the MME Tickled Pink collection fit perfectly. This particular sentiment from the New Beginnings set is one of my favorites! I think it works great for a planner! I started by stamping the sentiment onto Choice Snow White cardstock with Memento Rich Cocoa ink. I cut out the sentiment using the Frame it Up 1 die. Then I stamped the solid roses in each corner with Memento Angel Pink ink. To create the frame around the sentiment I stamped the frame image from New Beginnings onto patterned paper with Versamark ink. I covered it with clear embossing powder, heated it, and trimmed around the outside and the inside of the frame with scissors. Then I just adhered the frame over the top of the sentiment. I wanted to keep it simple since my planner spends most of its time inside my purse. So I just added a small strip of mini ric rac and a few rhinestones inside the flower centers.

So are you a planner person? Am I weird...or do you decorate your planner too? Or maybe you use Google Calendar? Or is there some other life organizing tool I should know about!?

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

Dinosaurs & Dump Trucks

While I was illustrating the Kid at Heart stamp set I found myself thinking of all the kids in my life and wondering which image would be their favorite. We have lots of nephews and many of the images in this set are perfect for little boys. So I set out to create a Valentine gift for two of our nephews who live nearby. Grant loves dinosaurs so I purchased a dinosaur figurine and created a card and gift tag to match. He's like a mini paleontologist with all of his dinosaur knowledge and he corrects me anytime I say one of the dinosaur names wrong. And these aren't names like T-rex! Nope... he goes for the big ones like Parasaurolophus! 

Grant's younger brother, Tyson, is into trucks, trains, cars...pretty much anything with wheels. So I bought him this dump truck that winds up and makes noises when you push different buttons. Parents always appreciate toys that add more noise to their home, right? *wink* I made the card base using my new Spellbinders Labels 1 Grand Nestabilities and the original Labels 1 die set for the inner layers (except the black layer which is hand-cut). I used a white gel pen to stripe the lines on the road and carefully inked the image in order to get the yellow truck and black tires. Then I covered the tires with Glossy Accents.The stamped tags were cut out using the Take Note Die 3 which coordinates with the frame image in the Kid at Heart stamp set.

So these are just a few more ideas for using the Kid at Heart stamp set for the kids in your life. Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Kicking off the Key Ingredients!

Today I'm excited to be kicking off something new! Many of you have probably heard about our Key Ingredients kit club. Maybe you've even considered joining us, but just haven't pulled the trigger yet! Or perhaps you're a current subscriber just waiting for your January kit to arrive! Well, I have something for everybody today! We've taken much of your feedback and suggestions and we've made some exciting changes to our kit club that I think you're going to love!

First, let me start by sharing our January Key Ingredients kit! We're featuring patterned paper from the Cupcake Love collection by Little Yellow Bicycle. The yummy patterns are covered with glitter and glitzy foil accents and they'll be perfect for Valentine creations and birthdays throughout the year! We've paired the patterned paper with coordinating buttons and heart die cuts along with the standard components of our kits: 12 sheets of 8.5" x 11" cardstock, 5 yards of ribbon, and 20 sheets of patterned paper. Enough supplies to create at least 16 cards! In the past, I usually share our monthly kit on the 15th of each month, but we're bumping it up for a big reveal on the 10th of each month! So this kit is now available for purchase right here at the TE Store! And now is a perfect opportunity to join us as we're offering the following specials for our subscribers!

NEW SUBSCRIBER SPECIAL

During each month of your 6-month subscription, we'll send you a FREE GIFT with your kit! And we're even telling you what it is so if you want to be surprised then try to forget before these arrive on your doorstep! *grin*

JANUARY: Free Animals in Love A la Carte Stamp (of our choice)
FEBRUARY: Free Multi-colored Tiny Twinkles
MARCH: Free package of Choice Cardstock (10 sheets)
APRIL: Free jar of glitter (color of our choice)
MAY: Free package of cardstock that coordinates with the March kit (10 sheets)
JUNE: Free Perfect Package Card Box

This comes to over $20.00 in free products during the length of your subscription! What do you need to do to get these goodies? Just purchase a 6-month subscription from the TE Store before January 31st and we'll automatically send your gifts each month of your subscription!

RENEW OR EXTEND YOUR SUBSCRIPTION

Are you a previous or current subscriber to the Key Ingredients kits? We appreciate your business and we want to pass along some freebies to you as well! If you renew or extend your subscription for 6 months by January 31st, you'll receive the following free goodies for the next three months:

FEBRUARY: Free Multi-colored Tiny Twinkles
MARCH: Free package of Choice Cardstock (10 sheets)
APRIL: Free jar of glitter (color of our choice)

What do you need to do to get these goodies? If you're renewing your subscription (i.e. you've been a subscriber before, but not currently), just purchase a 6-month subscription at the TE Store and your free goodies will be automatically shipped to you! If you're a current subscriber and would like to extend your subscription for an additional 6 months, send an email to kits@tayloredexpressions.com and we'll update your profile and make sure the freebies are automatically shipped to you!

We also have many other exciting changes for our subscribers including a new design team member, monthly inspiration sheets (starting this month), and a new Key Ingredients blog WEEK! I'm kicking off our first blog week over on the KI Blog today where the Key Ingredients design team and I will be sharing our projects, tips, tricks,and tutorials using supplies from the kits between the 10th - 15th of each month. This is a little sneak peek of the project I'm sharing on the Key Ingredients blog so hop on over there to read about all of our exciting changes!

If you have questions regarding our kit club feel free to email me at kits@tayloredexpressions.com or check out our frequently asked questions right here!

January Release Roundup

Thank you all for giving us a fabulous start to our January release! You've been keeping us busy picking and packing and labeling as we get all of your orders ready to ship! As always, the Baker's Dozen design team put their heart and soul into creating fabulous projects to inspire you and they did an amazing job this month! I'd like to take a moment to show you my favorites from the week:



Danielle inspired us with cute packaging for her clever chocolate lollipops! She used A Little Love for the tags and the popular Echo Park Be Mine patterned paper. Jackie took the same patterned paper and created this adorable penguin card with the Will you be Mine? Petite set. I especially love the heart border!



Karen M. used New Beginnings set for this beautiful masterpiece! I love the wood-grained patterned paper that she used for her sentiment and the rose is so beautifully colored it looks real! Sankari also used New Beginnings to make the bright and bold piece in her true signature style! Check out all of those pearly dots!



Donna created a stunning desk set using the Rest and Renewal stamp set. How perfect to have these beautiful verses as a reminder during our daily grind! And Charmaine got clever with our new Frame it Up and Heart Border dies. Can you believe she created that cute basket entirely from die cuts!


I love this adorable card that Karen G. created using the love birds from Kid at Heart! The way she made a frame for the scene using the Take Note label is such a great idea! And just when I think Regina can't get any more clever she's pulls out something new! She used the tugboat from Kid at Heart to create an amazing moving scene when you pull on the tab at the top!



We all know how much Jodi loves Cuppie so it was no surprise to see her adorable card using Sweet Friends! Her Copic coloring is always spot on! Tori, another one of of our Copic masters!, created this cute card using the new S.W.A.K penguin petite stamp set. Love the little bow in her hair!



Our Guest Designer, Lea, created this beauty using the New Beginnings set paired with the Valentine Project Pantry kit. I love the soft colors and those gorgeous glittery butterflies! And Melissa created this beautiful pairing with the Wreath of Love set in her signature shabby chic style! Love that heart pin cushion!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! You'll want to check back tomorrow because we have some fun announcements and a big Key Ingredients special! And if you missed our January release, click here to see all the latest!

Taylored Expressions January Release Day!

Release Day has finally arrived and it's time to dig in! Over the past several days, the Baker's Dozen and I have been sharing sneak peeks of more than 25 brand new products that are now available at the TE Store! Before you head off to shop you'll want to scroll down to see everything new in one place! We've hidden a special offer at the bottom so keeeeep gooooooiiiing all the way to the end!

REMINDER: Orders over $75.00 receive free shipping! For orders that do not qualify for free shipping, we will refund you for the difference between actual shipping and the shipping charged upon checkout once your order is weighed for shipment. It's a win-win!

STAMP SETS

New Beginnings - Set of 13 - $21.95
New Beginnings Inspiration Gallery

Rest & Renewal - Set of 11 - $21.95

Rest & Renewal Inspiration Gallery

Sweet Friends - Set of 21 - $21.95

Sweet Friends Inspiration Gallery

Kid at Heart - Set of 22 - $21.95

Kid at Heart Inspiration Gallery

Capture My Heart - Set of 6 - $7.95

Will you be mine? - Set of 5 - $7.95

S.W.A.K. - Set of 5 - $7.95

Penguin Petites Inspiration Gallery

Wreath of Love - Set of 8 - $7.95
Wreath of Love Inspiration Gallery

A Little Love - Set of 15 - $12.95
A Little Love Inspiration Gallery

TAYLORED DIES & IMPRESSIONS

--Coordinates with New Beginnings Stamp Set--

Butterfly Dies (set of 3) - $12.95

Frame it Up 1 - $12.95

-- Coordinates with Wreath of Love Stamp Set --
Basic Bow Die (dual cut & emboss) - $2.95
Seasonal Wreath Die - $7.95

Hearts Impression Plate - $15.95

Heart Border Die - $7.95

PROJECT PANTRY & CARD KITS

Valentine Project Pantry Kit - $17.95
Valentine Embossed Stickers - $1.99
Valentine Copic Kit - $19.96

Kids Valentine Card Kit - $9.95

SPECIAL OFFER:  Limited time offer - Friday 1/7 through Sunday 1/9 - Would you like to receive the Love Everywhere stamp set for FREE? Then you'll want to pick up the Valentine Bundle that's chock full of the newest Valentine goodies. Just for purchasing the bundle you'll receive the Love Everywhere set absolutely FREE! Here's a card I created using Love Everywhere:

Valentine Bundle - $99.95 + FREE stamp set

For quick shopping we've also included some additional one-click bundles allowing you to add 

all of the latest coordinating products to your cart easily!

Kids Valentine Card Bundle

Wreath of Love Bundle

Penguin Petites Bundle

Happy New Year Bundle

So there you have it... all of our new release products! You can follow the links above or check everything out in our Fresh Out of the Oven category. I hope you see something you like! Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you'll hop along to leave some love for our fabulous design team and check out their new release day projects!

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Donna Baker
• Jackie Pedro
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Karen Motz
• Lea Lawson - Guest Designer
• Melissa Sauls
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Tori Wild