Taylored Expressions December Sneaks - Day 2

Good morning! It's time for our second day of sneak peeks before all of our new products are available tomorrow morning at 8am PST! I hope you enjoyed the calendars yesterday and today the Baker's Dozen and I are bringing you inspiration using 4 new cards kits along with our sneak peeks from the 12 new Petite stamp sets. Here's what you'll want to know for this release:

December Release At a Glance

• Tuesday is Calendar Day as we showcase FOUR new TE calendar products - all perfect for gift giving!
• Wednesday is Card Kit Day as we introduce FOUR new Taylored Card Kits available just in time for the holidays!
• All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, December 1st at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store.
• Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL Facebook GIVEAWAY, on Wednesday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.
• PETITE-A-PALOOZA SPECIAL:  Purchase any 6 Petite Stamp Sets (new or old) through Friday December 9th and receive a Petite Storage Case absolutely FREE!

I thought I'd start today by showing you a picture of all four of our new card kits:

Each card kit features one of the following patterned papers (from top left to bottom right): My Mind's Eye Happier, Basic Grey Indie Bloom, October Afternoon Sidewalks, Echo Park Times & Seasons. We've paired the patterned paper with 10 card bases, 10 image panels, 10 envelopes, 3 yards of ribbon, and a package of Kaisercraft Pearls/Rhinestones. Each card kit is packaged up with a full color supply list and inspiration sheet in one of our new Petite Storage Boxes! Yep... you read that right! We're now offering a storage solution that's perfect for keeping your Petite stamp sets in order. Each storage box holds 6 Petite stamp sets:

If you read the December Release at a Glance then you know about our Petite-a-Palooza special! For every 6 Petite stamp sets you purchase, you'll receive a FREE Petite Storage Box! YAY!

My first project uses the Indie Bloom Card Kit along with the new Fly Your Flag 1 stamp set! Each Fly Your Flag stamp set offers a uniquely shaped flag with a coordinating die. All you need to do is stamp the image, trim with the coordinating die, fold the flag in half, and string along a piece of ribbon or Baker's Twine! Each flag image is double sided allowing you do decide if you'd like to spell out a word in the opening or just string a plain flag. The Fly Your Flag stamp sets coordinate with the previously release You're My Type Upper and Lower alphabet sets. Let me show you just what I mean. Here's a photo of the Fly Your Flag 1 stamp set and coordinating die:

The die trims out the entire flag shape and you can either cut them in half and pop up your pennants on foam tape or fold them in half and string them along a piece of ribbon or twine. Or maybe you'll find a new and clever use for the diamond die shape on its own! I'm super excited for all the possibilities with this series of stamp sets!

My next project uses the Happier Card Kit and the new Simply Magical Petite Set. It just doesn't get better than Cuppie and Unicorn! Wouldn't this make a sweet set of cards for a young girl? I also used the Medium Scalloped Border die and an Ice White Pearl Pen on each scallop for more detail. And the clouds are covered with glitter for even more sparkle and shine (just like the sentiment says!). :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Our fabulous Baker's Dozen is sharing sneak peeks using the card kits and even more new stamps. You don't want to miss Polar Pete, Sky's the Limit, and more Fly Your Flag so make sure you hop along to check 'em out:

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Jen Shults
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Lori Craig
• Melissa Sauls
• Melody Rupple
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• Wanda Guess

Taylored Expressions December Sneaks - Day 1

Good morning and welcome to the first day of sneak peeks for our December Release! I can't believe how quickly the months have been flying by, but I've been so excited to show you the new products in our December release that you won't hear me complaining! We're celebrating this month with a Petite-a-Palooza as we introduce A DOZEN new Petite stamp sets from every stamp collection available at TE! In addition, we're introducing a Petite Storage Box, 4 new calendar products, and 4 new card kits. This release has everything you need for gift making and gift giving in the upcoming year!

If you want to be 'in the know' for this release, then keep on reading!

December Release At a Glance

• Tuesday is Calendar Day as we showcase FOUR new TE calendar products - all perfect for gift giving!
• Wednesday is Card Kit Day as we introduce FOUR new Taylored Card Kits available just in time for the holidays!
• All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, December 1st at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in the Fresh out of the Oven Department at the Taylored Expressions Store.
• Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL Facebook GIVEAWAY, on Wednesday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.
• PETITE-A-PALOOZA SPECIAL:  Purchase any 6 Petite Stamp Sets (new or old) through Friday December 9th and receive a Petite Storage Case absolutely FREE!

If you paid attention to the release points above then you already know that today is calendar day! Each of the Baker's Dozen is featuring one of our new Petite stamp sets along with a calendar product. Today we're sharing new stamps from the Whimsical Wishes & Moka Collections illustrated by Nancy McKinney. The first project I want to share uses our new Desktop Calendar Set:

Our Desktop Calendar Set comes with both the calendar case and the monthly calendar inserts ready for you to personalize with your choice of stamps! We're filling in our Seasonal Wreath series with 3 new wreath stamps this release so now you'll have a full-year of wreaths to fill a calendar. I decided to use all of the wreaths to create 12 unique calendar inserts:

Here are the wreaths that I used for each month:

January: Snowflake Wreath (NEW)
February: Wreath of Love
March: Wreath of Luck
April: Spring Wreath
May: Strawberry Wreath (NEW)
June: Summer Wreath
July: 4th of July Wreath
August: Sunflower Wreath
September: Apple Wreath (NEW)
October: Spooky Wreath
November: Autumn Wreath
December: Wreaths of Joy

The second project I have to share uses our new Mini Tear-Off Calendar and magnetic acrylic base. I've always wanted to have these cute mini calendars without having to download and print them and now we're bringing that to reality! Each little cutie measures 2 1/4" x 3" and the possibilities are endless. I decided to start January off with the sweet new Moka Kristie!

But wait, there's more! This next calendar product is even more exciting because it helps keep me organized (which I need a lot of help with these days!). This is the Perpetual Occasions Calendar! Decorate it once and use it for a lifetime to help you keep track of birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. Just decorate the small insert that separates each month and hang the calendar on the wall. Wouldn't these make a great gift too!?

I decided to do a different Bible verse for each month so not only will it remind me of upcoming birthdays, but it will be a constant reminder of some of my favorite Scripture. January features a verse from the Rest & Renewal stamp set and February features a new Petite set that we're introducing during this release... I'll be sharing more about that tomorrow!

And last, but certainly not least, is a long-time customer favorite...our 6x6 calendar download and Frame Your Imagination Stand. While this isn't a new product, some of the Baker's Dozen will be sharing new and inspiring ideas for creating a fabulous calendar using this stand. Here's a project that I made last year and you can find all of the months of my calendar HERE:

Whew... that was a long post, but I hope you see some new ideas that inspire you to start creating for the new year! The rest of the Baker's Dozen also has some fabulous sneak peeks to share with you today so check 'em out:

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Jen Shults
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Lori Craig
• Melissa Sauls
• Melody Rupple
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• Wanda Guess

TE Tag Hop & Black Friday Sale!

* Sale excludes gift certificates and Key Ingredients subscriptions 
and is only good on in stock items while supplies last.*


Welcome to the Taylored Expressions Black Friday Sale & Tag Hop!!! 

Today we're kicking off the biggest shopping day of the year with a Tag Hop, new product introduction, and a HUGE SALE! We are so thankful for you, our customers, who make the dream of Taylored Expressions a reality! I love hearing the stories of how you use your crafty talents to bless those around you with handmade love and I'm so thankful to play a small part in that by satisfying your creative sweet tooth with stamps and stamping supplies. Thank you from all of us at Taylored Expressions!

So now that you know about the sale, why don't I show you some of the cool new stuff you can buy with the discount!? I'm super excited to introduce our new Tags & Tag-a-longs! We've put together the perfect little kit of coordinating tags and tag essentials... wide eyelets and Baker's Twine...enough to make 20 tags! The Tags & Tag-a-longs are offered in four color packs: Pink, Green, Brown, and Aqua for $6.95 each.

And now to inspire you with ideas for creating beautiful tags for your holiday gifts the Baker's Dozen and I are joining together on a Tag Hop! The best part of this blog hop is that you have an opportunity to win one of each of the tags we've all made! How cool is that!? Everyone who places an order at Taylored Expressions Friday - Monday (11/25 - 11/28) and writes "I want those tags!" in the comments section will be entered to win.  The winner will be announced here on Tuesday 11/29.

We've all used TE Stamps and the new Viva Pearl Pens & Paper Pens on our tags. I hope you leave the hop feeling inspired! Don't forget to check out the video I posted on Wednesday on how to use the Pearl & Paper pens. They are so fun and versatile! For my tag project I decided to create a wine bottle tag.... the perfect way to dress up a popular hostess gift for the holidays.

I couldn't stop with just the wine bottle tag so I decided to use the Pearl Pens to decorate a set of wine glasses with a holiday theme. I used Ice White, Green, and Red to create a swirly pattern with holly and berries mixed throughout. I mentioned in my video that these pens are water resistant and machine washable so they're a great way to decorate glassware, canisters, ceramics, fabric, and much more.

Don't miss the rest of the fabulous tags along the hop and don't forget to put "I Want Those Tags!" in the comments section of your order so you can be entered to win a set of tags from the amazing Baker's Dozen!

Jami Sibley
Karen Giron
Charmaine Ikach
Jen Shults
Jodi Collins
Lori Craig
Melody Rupple
Danielle Lounds
Sankari Wegman

Viva Pearl & Paper Pens Video

Good morning! Happy 'day before' Thanksgiving! My sister and I went to the mall yesterday and the Black Friday sales have already started at a lot of stores. Don't you think they should change the name of the sale if they're going to start it on Tuesday?

You know that feeling you have when you get a new toy and you just can't put it down? Well, I've been playing with a new toy for the past week and somehow every single project I make now has pearly dots on it! If you haven't seen or heard of the Viva Pearl & Paper Pens then I'm excited to introduce you to them today. We discovered these pens at CHA and fell in love! First, the pens solve a problem I was having with other pearly products. I kept getting these little tips on my dots that wouldn't settle and then instead of looking like half pearls, my dots looked like Hershey kisses. You know what I mean, right? Well, these pens are specially formulated to create dots that settle into perfectly rounded pearls. And the fine applicator tip makes it easy to create pearls in a variety of sizes.

While that was enough to sell me on these pens, I continued to walk around the Viva Decor booth and discovered four words that make these pens an absolute must-have for any crafter: water resistant & machine washable! Check out this amazing sweater that we found... don't you just want to reach out and touch those fantastic pearly dots!? And the pretty floral shirt underneath is decorated with pearls too! I've already scoured my current wardrobe to see if I have anything I can bedazzle with pearls! *wink*

And because the pearl pen is water resistant you could also use it to decorate glassware, dishes, canisters, ceramics... the possibilities are endless! We also found this fabulous chandelier.... can you believe all of those strings were made with pearl pen? WOW!

Here's a video I made to show you just how easy these pens are to use and give you even more ideas on how to use them! You can find all of the Viva Pearl Pens and Paper Pens at the TE Store!

And speaking of more ideas, the Baker's Dozen and I will be back on Friday morning at 12:00am PST (the evening of Thanksgiving) to share even more ideas for the Pearl & Paper Pens to go along with our  

HUGE Black Friday Sale. 

If you receive our newsletter then you already know this is the biggest sale we've ever offered...up to 30% off everything in the store! And the earlier you shop the more you save! So don't forget to mark your calendar and set your iPhone reminders for midnight on Thursday night/Friday morning! See you then!

Thanksgiving Plans in full-swing!

Good morning! I hope you're all having a wonderful week so far! This is one of my favorite times of the year! I love welcoming family and preparing for the big Thanksgiving meal! My sister and her husband arrived from California yesterday and my aunt and uncle and their kids are driving in from Texas today. And then we welcome more aunts and uncles on Thanksgiving Day. It's such a wonderful time to be together and give thanks for the ways we've been blessed throughout this year.

One of the most fun parts of preparing for Thanksgiving is designing the table setting. My mom and I like to go all out! This was our table setting two years ago:

We used the Celebrate Life set to create the different elements like the napkin ring, menu, and place card. And we also made a Blessing Mix favor for each person. You can read about the ingredients for Blessing Mix HERE.

We just finished up the place cards for this year's Thanksgiving table so I thought I'd share. My mom is a bit obsessed with acorns... each time I go over to her house I spot a new acorn that I haven't seen before! My aunt gave her a bunch of these little acorns that she picked up at Tuesday Morning and we figured out a way to transform them into a name card for each place setting. We cut out oak leaves using the Mini Leaves die, punched a little hole through the top, tied some brown baker's twine through, and hung them from the stem of the acorn. It was super easy and I love how they turned out!

And now I'm off to make my famous sweet potato casserole for the big meal! You can find the recipe HERE. I hope you'll stop back here tomorrow... I think it's about time for a new video! What do you think? We spent some time recording over the weekend so come back to get a first hand look at the new product we're bringing in to the TE Store!

I hope you're all having fun with your Thanksgiving preparations! Oh just one more thing... have you seen the iPhone app that plans out your Black Friday shopping for you? I don't think I'll go crazy early morning shopping this year, but I still have it planned out *just in case*! *grin*

Calling all Cincinnati Stampers!

Good morning & Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend! I have an exciting announcement today! Do you live in the Cincinnati area? If so, I'm heading your way soon! I'll be teaching two classes at Stamp Your Art Out, a fabulous stamp store in Cincinnati. All of the class details are below and if you'd like to join us, just give Connie & Kat a call and they'll get you all signed up (513) 793-4558.

Love Grows Here Card Class

Date: Friday, December 9th
Time: 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Cost: $26.00

It's a great time to stock up on all-occasion cards using the cute Love Grows Here stamp set. I'll be showing the versatility of these stamps as we create five cards using Echo Park's Country Drive collection and Copic Markers.

* Special thanks to Charmaine, Karen, and Melody for inspiration on 3 cards created above!

Friendship Blooms Desk Set

Date: Saturday, December 10th
Time: 9:30 - 11:30 am
Cost: $31.00

Are you looking for a great gift for that special someone on your list, or maybe you want the perfect addition to your own desk? Come join me as we create a desk set including a bound journal, desk calendar & notepad, and three cards.

*Special thanks to Lea Lawson for inspiration on 1 card created above!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope to see you in Cincinnati! :)

November Key Ingredients Blog Hop

Good morning! I hope you're all having a wonderful and relaxing Sunday! Today the Key Ingredients Design Team and I have more projects to share that we made using the November Key Ingredients kit. We're doing our own little blog hop so make sure you check out the rest of the links below! Here's a pic of this month's kit:

I decided to create a 'desk set' including a journal, desktop calendar, and three cards. I used the Friendship Blooms stamp set along and the following colors of ink (Lime Pastel, Rouge, Maroon, Yellow Ochre from the Colorbox Chalk collection and Sea Breeze from the VersaMagic collection). And I must give credit to KI Design Team member Lea Lawson for the card on the bottom right. I cased my version from her beautiful original.

These projects were all super quick and easy to make... even the journal with the help of my trusty Cinch machine! This will definitely make a fabulous gift for someone on my Christmas list this year.... now I just have to decide who gets it!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Now you can follow the links below to check out what the rest of the Key Ingredients design team has created using their November kit! And as always, you can find inspiration for our past and present kits in the Key Ingredients Gallery! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

• Corinna McGregor
• Jessica Diedrich
• Lea Lawson
• Monika Davis
• Rachel Sztonyk
• Stephanie Kraft

November Blast from the Past Blog Hop

Good morning and Happy Hump Day! The weeks fly by so quickly lately that I don't think of Wednesday as hump day. This is how I would describe a week... I start out on Monday sitting on a sled at the top of a snowy mountain. I really don't want to start down the hill, but eventually someone gives me a giant push from behind. And so my sled starts traveling down the mountain and gaining speed quickly. By the time Friday night arrives I've been going at the speed of light for four days and I can't stop the sled! It takes me two days to slow it down and then on Monday morning I'm magically sitting atop the mountain again waiting for that big push! *grin*

I'm sure y'all can relate to that picture, huh!? Especially as the holidays draw near! And speaking of the holidays, today I'm super excited to join our customers on a Blast from the Past blog hop with a Thankful theme. As Thanksgiving is literally right around the corner (or right down that mountain I'm traveling!) I thought it'd be a great time to show our thankfulness! I can hardly wait to see what the rest of the hoppers have created using their 'older' TE stamps! And as always, the fabulous Sankari has designed a sketch to give us a creative jump start. We'd love to have you join us on our next Blast from the Past blog hop. We'll be taking a 'holiday break' for the month of the December, but we'll make sure you have all the details to sign up in January! And maybe Santa will bring you some new goodies to play with before our next hop! ;)

The sketch that Sankari provides is optional and I'll be filing it away to play with a little later. I decided to share a set of baby thank you cards that I made using the Welcome Little One stamp set. Unfortunately, I didn't make enough of these and I've since resorted to sending store bought thank you cards for gifts we've received. (*gasp*) I've been hoarding this pretty patterned paper from the Cosmo Cricket Little Girls collection and decided to finally use it for these cards. I stamped and trimmed each of the icons and popped them up on foam tape. The inks I used are Olive Pastel, Rose Coral, and Warm Red. The sentiment is from Labels of Love. I used up ribbons from my stash and of course my Bow Easy helped me finish it off with the perfect little bow!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Don't miss the rest of the projects along the hop. I'm always blown away with the creativity!

Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #150

Good morning & Happy Friday! It's time for another sketch challenge and it's a big one! I can hardly believe we're at Sketch 150 already! I've been sharing some of my past favorites on Facebook this week and we also have a special prize drawing for cards entered into Sketch 150!

I hope you all have some time to participate in this sketch over the next few weeks as this will be our last sketch challenge of 2011. The sketch crew and I will be taking a break for the rest of 2011 to enjoy the holidays! Let's go out with a bang!

Here's this week's sketch designed by sketch crew member Jami:

Here are the sketch requirements:

Create a card using the above sketch as inspiration. You're not required to use TE stamps to play, but there's a bonus if you do! Those who use TE stamps will be entered into the prize drawing twice! To be entered into the prize drawing you must upload your card to Splitcoaststampers using   keyword TESC150 by Thursday, November 24th. And here's the prize that's up for grabs:

1. We'll be giving away 3 prizes for Sketch 150... one of each of our newly released stamp sets: Love Grows Here, Labels of Love II, and Thankful!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the TESC149 sketch! There are so many fabulous entries! You can see all of the entries HERE. The winner of a $10 gift certificate to the TE Store is:

Debi Costello! Check out the beautiful fall cards she created HERE!

And now here is the inspiration from our talented sketch crew:

 Created by Cassie Trask: A Day in the Life of a Homeschooling Mom

 Created by Jami Sibley: More is More

 Created by Lisa Hjulberg: The Craft's Meow

 Created by Lori Craig: Make a Difference

 Created by Margie Cortina: Oh Bumble is Me

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

 Created by Taylor VanBruggen: Taylored Expressions

 Created by Tracy Clemente: Eat, Sleep, Stamp

 Created by Rachel Sztonyk: Gingerbread Gal