Category: Papercrafting

Taylored Expressions November Sneak Peeks – Day #2!
November Release At a Glance
- We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday. All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, November 3rd 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.
- Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate. Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day! Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please. Comments close Wednesday 11/2 at 7pm PST for the drawings.
Today I have TWO projects to share with you! We have a new stamp designer here at Taylored Expressions and today I'm using her first stamp set! EEEK…it's so great! You guys will love this one!

Stamp Set – Love Grows Here – introducing our newest illustrator, Emily Burger, and her collection called Embracing Grace. Emily kicks off her collection with this darling set of 7 tree vignettes for year-round fun and versatility! (full size set – 18 images). Like I said, you are going to love this one! I had such a hard time choosing which tree to use for my card today. You just gotta check out all the other gals' blogs today!

Isn't that the cutest sentiment!? The Hello wording next to the tree comes with the set too. I colored the tree and the little beeeeez with my Copic Markers and then I added some clear glaze to their wings and faces to add a little dimension.

I cut out a circle with my Nestabilities and popped up the window on some foam tape – I am really liking this effect lately. I also popped up that sweet little hive with some foam tape!

The seoncd card I have to share today is made with on our our newest Moka stamps! Her name is Moka Morgana and she is an adorable ballerina!

Stamp Set – Moka Morgana – Illustrated by Nancy McKinney for the Moka Collection. Nancy was inspired by her daughter who loves to dance! What girl hasn't dreamed of being a ballerina at some point in her life? (set of 5 – Petite set)

Isn't she too adorable? The color scheme for this card was inspired by my memories of taking ballet classes as a wee lass. Back in the olden days (haha!) we always had to wear a black leotard and pink tights and pink shoes… I must say that it is both classic and classy and I like how this card came out very feminine…

I stamped the sentiment onto some vellum and then added a pretty resin flower….

I think this is a very nice saying…don't you? See you tomorrow!

Here are the links to the rest of the Baker's Dozen!
Danielle Lounds
Charmaine Ikach
Jami Sibley
Jen Shults
Jodi Collins
Karen Giron
Melissa Sauls
Melody Rupple
Nancy McKinney
Regina Mangum
Sankari Wegman
Taylor VanBruggen
Tori Wild
Wanda Guess

November 1, 2011

Taylored Expressions November Sneak Peeks Day #1!

November Release At a Glance

We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday. All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, November 3rd 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.
Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate. Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day! Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please. Comments close Wednesday 11/2 at 7pm PST for the drawings.

Here is my first project for the week… I made miniature easel-fold cards and turned them into our Thanksgiving place cards! I am so pleased with how this idea turned out. Normally, an easel fold card would end up being an A2 card size. I cut my paper down so that my finished cards are 3×3 square. I used two new stamp sets and the new mini leaf dies. These were just so much fun to make!

Here is all the information on the three main parts of my project:

Thankful – the newest set in the Lasting Impressions line. Concepted by Jami and beautifully illustrated by Doug, this set is all about thankful thoughts and counting our blessings. These traditional images can go super cute or very elegant and are perfect for this season and beyond. (set of 15 – full size set)

Mini Leaves Taylored Die set – a set of 4 miniature leaves. Each die also has impressed veins for extra detail! I am going to use this again and again…and not just for fall!

Labels of Love II – To follow up to the popular Labels of Love, we have a new set of labels/frames and the sentiments cover almost every holiday throughout the year. This will be a great set for any stamper to add to their stamping arsenal. This will also make a great Christmas gift for your stamping friends! (set of 27 – full size set) Coordinates with Labels of Love and Spellbinders Ribbon Tags Trio 3

Here is my little happy pile of leaves! I used three images from the Thankful set today and I will use another image from that set on Thursday. It's wonderful!

The Labels of Love II set is part of the TE GIving Tree program, which is a program designed to raise funds for a different charity each quarter. For the months of November, December and January, Taylored Expressions will donate $5.00 from the sale of each Labels of Love II stamp set to the Union Rescue Mission. The URM's Mission is to embrace people experiencing homelessness with the compassion of Christ – giving hope and healing for a changed life and helping them find their way home. Taylor's husband, Jon, served at the Union Rescue Mission when they lived in California and saw first hand the impact it had on the lives of the homeless. Visit the Union Rescue Mission website at http://urm.org/

As always, some things to remember about TE stamps: They are always pre-cut for you on high quality pink rubber for a great impression. The sets come on a full color panel and store perfecly in specially designed Binder Boxes. CLICK HERE to see the awesome storage system!

I hope you have fun this week checking out all the new stamps and goodies. I know the Baker's Dozen had fun making projects to share with you! Here are the links to the rest of the group!

Trick or Treat!

Hellooooo there! Happy Thursday, which I like to call Friday Eve! It's been a long week and I'm ready for the weekend so I can get out and enjoy the glorious Fall weather. Can you believe Halloween is on Monday already? Wow. Time is a flyin'! I have a bright and cheery card to share with you today…inspired by CANDY! I found these cute little glittery candy embellies at Michael's and wanted to use them up.

Thank you to everyone who left me a comment yesterday about my big announcement. I appreciate you coming by and I really appreciate you supporting me in all my crazy crafty endeavors. Thank you! I love my bloggy friends – so wonderful. I'm have been very blessed this year with many opportunities and in meeting so many sweet people. I am so grateful.

This card is one of those ones that doesn't have a lot of stamping to it. That big sentiment is from an old Stampin' Up set I've had for a long time. I stamped it in a dark purple color to match the paper. I am loving the bright lime green ribbon to match that paper too! That is one of my favorite colors.

A crisp black border and scallop add nice contrast to all that bright color. I wrapped the ribbon around twice and then put a brad in the center. (Cuz we know I am bow-impaired)! Aren't those glittery candies the cutest thing??

TRICK OR TREAT!!!! GIve me something good to eat!!!!

October 27, 2011

Super Cool Announcement! I’m joining the Memory Box Team!

Hi everyone! I am very excited to sit and write this particular blog post! I have a super fun announcement to make today. I have officially joined the Memory Box Team! As you know from my blog posts, I am a huge fan of Memory Box, Poppy Stamps, and one Mr. Dave Brethauer. I have been buying Memory Box stamps for as long as I can remember and I love the beautiful images. Don't even get me started about the dies and the papers! Over the years, Dave and I have gotten to know each other at classes and such and kept in touch via email and Facebook. A little while ago he asked me to join his creative team to help handle the social media and blogging for Poppy Stamps! Can I get a giant YAY!? I am thrilled and excited to be a part of his company. Dave has amazing talent, a kind spirit, and a true commitment to the stamping community.

Poppy Stamps is one of the amazing lines of stamps from Memory Box, and they are whimsical and fun and just plain adorable! There are new images for Winter 2011 and new dies too. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face. The Poppy Stamps web-site is in the process of being revamped and redone and should be available soon with all the new items. We will also be setting up a Poppy Stamps Twitter account, Facebook Page and Flickr Page so that we can all share projects and information with each other. It would be so great if you all would contribute your projects and ideas too!

I will be making samples in the near future to share with you over at the Poppy Stamps Blog and also filling in making some samples for Memory Box as time allows. It's a new situation and we are still figuring it out as we go along. I will keep you posted and updated here. Thank you for letting me share this happy news with you! I've been dying to let this cat out of the bag!

October 26, 2011

Holiday Hoopla Blog Hop!

Hi there! Thanks for joining us today on the Taylored Expressions Holiday Hoopla Blog Hop! So many cool, crafty ladies have projects to inspire you for Christmas time! I hope you're having fun hopping around looking at everything! My choice for today was to make an invitation using the super swanky and cool Merry Little Cocktail stamp set! I love the cool vibe of it. (Click here to order the whole set)

There are 22 designers today showcasing Christmas/Winter/Holiday stamp sets from TE with samples that include all types of projects. We worked really hard to coordinate and bring you a good variety of things. We want to inspire you to get your holiday crafts done! Be sure to read the whole post…because there's a very good coupon waiting for you!

You can see the whole list of hoppers by going to Taylor's Blog first. You should have arrived here from Corinna McGregor's Blog!

Here is my invite: The information is on the card that fits into the pocket on the front…I kept it relatively flat so it would be an easy card to mail out.

And here's the inside! Love that Christmas martini! Ack!

The small holly berry stamp is perfect for accents… And I love the sentiments in this set!

The images were colored using this classically Christmas color palette of Copics. (Say that three times fast!)

The red part of the card is an A2 standard size piece of paper. The bright green is folded in half to make the pocket for the invitation to slide into. This is a fun way to layer elements and would really work for any kind of card! The cool diamond paper can be found HERE!

Don'tcha love the sparkly border!?

Are you getting in the mood to stamp? Be sure to check out Taylor's 12 Days of A Handmade Christmas Video Series for lots of easy gift ideas. CLICK HERE to check it out!

Now, who loves a SALE? Use Coupon Code HOOPLA2011 to get 25% off the following holiday stamp sets (released in 2009 and 2010) at Taylored Expressions now through November 2: Christmas Blessings, Enjoy!, From the Heart, Hangin' Out – At the North Pole, Holiday Wonder, Home Sweet Home, Keeping Tabs, Merry Little Cocktail, Penguin Pals, Season's Sweetings, Sparkle & Cheer, Tag Treats , Tag You're It, Take Note – Holidays , Wings of Joy, Winter Wonderland.

The coupon code is case sensitive. Follow these instructions to apply the discount to your order:

1. Add the desired stamp sets from the above list to your shopping cart.

2. Insert the coupon code into the Promotional Code box.

3. Click the Update Cart button. Your discount should now be applied.

4. Proceed to checkout to finalize and submit your order! Easy Peasy!

Now…You're ready to hop on over to the next crafty gal on our list for today….and that is the lovely and talented Cassie Trask! CLICK HERE to go to her blog! Have fun!

October 25, 2011

Wanda’s Brew…

Hi there! Happy weekend! It's the weekend before Halloween…are you scurrying around trying to make costumes and decorate your house? Or are you just enjoying the smorgasbord of mini candy bars like me?! Hahaha. I love Halloween, but I don't really dress up or anything. How about you? Do you go all out? It's been hot here this week so it doesn't really feel like Fall. I'm hoping for some spooky fog for next week! We are off to a football game today (and the scrapbook store) but I wanted to share a card too.

I bought this stamp set last year from the most awesome Waltzingmouse Stamps Company! The set is called Wanda's Pantry! Can you believe that? A whole stamp set, just for ME!? Hahaha. I about fell out of my chair when I first saw it and ordered it right away! Claire makes the greatest stamps. You really need to check out her store. Love.

I mean, seriously, how cool is that stamp??? ACK! I cut it out using my Nestabilities (Labels Four) and then cut a layer of black to go around it. There's that neato argyle paper again…and some vintage ribbon. Kept is classic in orange and black.

I took a bit of a darkish orange Copic (YR14) and colored just some parts of the label…

Added some spooky spiders (from Martha of course) and some torn paper with a gothic font…

Finished it off with some spritzes from my black blo-pen and a scary key (thanks again Martha)….

You'd better be nice to me or else I might have to give you some of my special brew next time you stop by my house! Mwah ha ha ha… Okay, I know you're not scared…but it was still fun! Have a fabbie weekend everyone! See ya soon!

October 22, 2011

Happy Bird-day!

Hello! I'm temporarily interrupting the Halloween festivities to share a birthday card! I have lots of friends with October and November birthdays! You would think that I would plan ahead and have some ready…but nope! I made this fun card the other day using one of my favorite Taylored Expressions stamp and die combinations. I love how Taylor is making dies to match all the stamp sets – makes things so much more fun and versatile.

Here's my bird-day card!

I used the Birds of a Feather stamp set and the Medium Scallop die…

I also used the Birds and Branches Die set… My Paper choices are from the SUPER great Lost and Found 2 Collection! The Happy Birthday sentiment is from the Embrace Beauty stamp set. I really love that font – it's so pretty.

I tried to keep a Fall color palette since it's for a November birthday. I love that deep red with a pop of golden yellow. Those little red birdies make me smile. 🙂

Thank you so much for coming by today!

October 21, 2011

Happy Owl-oween!

Greetings bloggy pals! Whooooooo is ready for more Halloween cards!? Har har har…I'm cracking myself up! Today's card is made with the really cute Owl Witch stamp and sentiment from Amuse! She is the most adorable little witch! I had fun with the coloring and the cool Halloween argyle paper. Take a look…

Here's my Copic color palette for this card…lots of browns and oranges…

Here's a neat trick for making a zig zag border from your argyle papers…Here's the before…

And the after! All I did was cut out along the edges of the diamonds…easy peasy no?

I love this sentiment stamp – use it a lot! Added some orange blings to the corners of my black square…

Hope the rest of your week goes by in a flash!

October 18, 2011

Halloween Minis!

Hellllooooooo! I'm just home from spending the day with some crazy crafty gal pals! What a joy it is to spend time with girlfriends! We went to this cool craft fair/flea market sort of thing and I bought some old books, and then we had pizza and gabbed the afternoon away. What is more perfect than that? What a nice day. This weekend sure flew by didn't it? It's time for me and the hubs to go back to work… It's been a nice two weeks off of sleeping in and relaxing. It was good while it lasted! Haha.

Today I'm sharing a little set of cards I made with one of my all time favorite Stampin' Up Halloween sets. I got it out yesterday and inked it up. The images are retro and fun. I made a set of three minis – each card is 3.5 inches square. Hope you likey!

Here is the stamp set…isn't it super cute!? I love that face on the spider! Cracks me up every time I see it.

Colored them in with my trusty Copics…

Here is my color palette for this project…

I added some glitter glue to the stars on each one and then just an accent of glitter on the main images. I got out the cute twine and buttons to finish them off.

Have a wonderful week ahead! Come back lots this next couple of weeks because I have been cooking up lots of Halloween cards in my craft cauldron! 🙂

October 16, 2011

Watercolor leaves…

Hi friends! How are ya? I'm sitting in the craft room with my trusty sidekick Mr. Buddy, waiting for my new iPhone to arrive (I just may hug the UPS man when he gets here) and stamping and blogging. I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Today I'm sharing an old technique that I used to do all the time many years ago. I found these old stamps and thought they would make some nice Fall Birthday cards for my October friends. Do you guys remember Fred B. Mullett? About 10 years ago, I took a few super fun classes with him when he came to town. He makes these wonderful nature print stamps: fish, leaves, Asian chops… I love them all!

The technique is to color directly onto the stamps with water based markers, spritz the stamps with water, and then stamp onto watercolor paper. The results are different each time and so so pretty and elegant. Maybe you've tried this before? Maybe you'll try it now?!

Here are the two final cards I chose for my friends…Kept it simple with the sentiments and some kraft paper and a pretty cranberry red accent paper.

Here is a close up of one of the prints…Isn't the watercolor paper texture just yummy?

Here are my supplies for the project:

I colored directly onto the stamp with my Marvy markers. I colored the leaves all over with the golden yellow color and then added some orange and finally some red just on the edges.

Here is what it looks like after I spritzed the image with water. The trick here is to hold the stamp at arm's length away from the water so that you only get the finest mist. I pump six times usually. You want the stamp pretty wet so that the ink colors run together. This just takes practice and time to figure out how you like it best.

This picture shows two versions of the same thing. The one on the left had much more water on the stamp so it all bled together. The one on the right was not as wet, so the detail of the stamp was retained. It's really just a matter of preference.

I found that I can usually stamp the image three times before having to re-ink…

Happy weekend to you! I hope you do something fun!

October 14, 2011

I’ve gone batty!

Hi! How's your week going? Mine is going great…but fast! The DH and I spent a lovely and rainy day in Napa on Monday and then yesterday we did some more driving around and photo spotting. Today we've been at home taking care of business and phone calls, etc. Generally taking care of things. Tomorrow I have lunch plans with a gal pal and before you know it…poof…the week will be over. It's been a nice break from the office and lots of sleeping in. Hope you have been having a good week!

Today's card is a CAS Halloween card with a cool Bat cutout made from a EK Success punch. This idea just popped into my head because I kept thinking…what am I going to do with that giant bat punch?? haha.

I punched a bat out of some crisp, black paper and then layered that piece over some orange and white gingham. I popped that piece up over some orange paper with foam tape.

The Happy Halloween sentiment is from Amuse Stamps…don't you love the cheery mix of fonts? I had to add a couple of blings…even though it is CAS!

I took a ton of pictures in Napa on Monday but haven't had the chance to decide which ones to post, and haven't had the time to watermark all of them. I really wanted to share just a few today, though. I hope you enjoy the scenes!

Thank you so much for coming by today to see what I'm up to! Have a wonderful day today!

October 12, 2011

Boo! A Vintage-y Halloween Card!

Yes, I'm back already with another card! I gotta keep things rolling along here! Hahaha. The DH and I are off to spend the day in Napa together…snapping pictures and having lunch and maybe a few wine tastings. Lucky for me the DH doesn't drink wine, so I don't have to worry about driving! My favorite winery is V. Sattui…been going there for years…ever since I turned 21…which was MANY years ago! hahaha. We are lucky to live so close to such a beautiful place. Hopefully, I'll have some fun pictures to share later in the week.

Today's card is a vintage creation made with some cool new supplies I got last weekend at Ben Franklin Crafts when we were out driving around. I found some neat vintage glass glitter, some banner chipboards and this new tool from Epiphany Crafts that makes bubble shapes. Yay! I took lots of pictures as I was making this card – hope you enjoy the process!

First I started with the neat-o chipboard banners….

I wanted them to be black, so I inked them up with an ink pad. This part was messy!!

A bead of glue and some cool sterling glitter around the edges of the banners…

My rosettes started with strips of paper 1/2 inch by 6.5 inches, scored every 1/4 inch. I cut one piece of paper, scored it, and then cut it into the 1/2 inch strips. I've never made rosettes this small, and it was a challenge! Be patient!

For the middle word bubbles, I stamped my letters with orange ink onto a piece of patterned paper first. Used my new distress inks again. LOVE this orange color. YUUUUMMMM.

Here's my new Epiphany Shape Studio Tool! AWESOME! It cuts the shape and adheres the bubble at the same time. You just line up what you want to be in the center and punch! This comes in several shapes and I will definitely get some more. I have a hundred ideas for this….

I stamped my sentiment and some cool bats on my background paper and layered my card…

Put the banners together….

ACK! Here's my desk! What a disaster area….

October 10, 2011

Sweet Sunday Sketch #138 and Spooky Tabitha!

Hi friends! Well, my crafty cave is in full on Halloween mode now! I am whipping up lots of orange and black concoctions to share with you! Having fun too! Have you started your Halloween crafts yet? I have collected so much stuff over the years that now my Halloween stamping stuff takes up two giant plastic bins! Love that. Every year, there's more cute stuff. Today I'm posting a card I created using Taylored Expressions stamps for Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #138. The sketch just went up, so there's lots of time to play…care to join me?

First off, here's my card:

And here's the sketch image:

Great opportunity to use lots of cool patterned papers! I chose these papers from Echo Park and the Project Pantry Kit from Taylor! The stamp set is the uber cute Moka Tabitha!

I wasn't really sure how to line up everything! I really just winged it with the diagonals. I cut a piece of white paper the size I wanted and then layered my pieces (cut to 1.5 inches wide) over that white piece and then trimmed the whole thing at once. I think it came out okay. I'm sure there's a good trick to this somewhere!

I cut a black scallop using this die and then layered a piece of ribbon tape on top…Stamped my sentiment and put the whole thing together!

I used a lot of markers on this one! Lots of cool grays instead of black, for her dress, hat and boots. The rest of the colors were oranges and browns.

Isn't she the cutest witch ever!?

Okay, that's it for me today! I hope you're having a wonderful weekend! See you soon!

October 9, 2011

Taylored Expressions October Release Day!

TE Release Day!

All of the new products are now available for purchase! Check out the Fresh Out of the Oven Department to see everything in one place!
More projects from the Baker's Dozen to inspire you. Just follow the link list below.
Did you win one of the Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaways? Find the list of winners on Taylor's Blog.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month – you can help support the Susan G. Komen Foundation through the purchase of Moka Hope (insert direct link to stamp set). Plus you can donate cards to the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center through Hope You Can Cling to at SCS.

Today I'm posting another project with Moka Hope. We saw her first on Monday. She is in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month which is October. You can use the images to make encouraging cards and projects. She is so sweet. Taylored Expressions will donate $1 from the sale of each Moka Hope set to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. TE is a proud sponsor of the Hope You Can Cling To card drive.

I have a lot of friends who do the Susan G. Komen walk/run for Breast Cancer, so I thought it would be fun to create a package of goodies for a race team. I made some hang tags for water bottles, a wrapper for a power bar and a badge you can put on a lanyard and personalize on the back.

This set is perfect for all types of encouragement cards and while it was designed with breast cancer in mind, her ribbon can be customized to any color for any cause or disease. Moka Hope is a petite stamp set on a 3" x 5" full color sturdy storage panel and includes 7 images and sentiments for $7.95. It was designed and illustrated by Nancy McKinney for the Moka Collection! Taylor has already announced the stamp set on her blog as part of the Hope You Can Cling To card drive. Please take some time and check it out!

Here are the links to the rest of the Baker's Dozen Team blogs for this wonderful release day! It's been really fun having you along all week! Thank you…now get shopping! hee hee.

Wanda Guess

Taylored Expressions October Sneak Peeks Day 3!

October Release At a Glance

We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday. All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, October 6th 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.
Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate. Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day! Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please. Comments close Wednesday 10/5 at 7pm PST for the drawings.

More Christmas fun to share today! Today's featured stamp set is Wreaths of Joy! Taylor is continuing our seasonal wreath series, and we had to give you two wreaths for the Christmas season! If you've been on the fence about these wreaths all year, we're sure this set will push you over the edge! The seasonal wreath series is originally concepted by our very own Jami Sibley! The set is illustrated by Nancy McKinney for the Whimsical Wishes Line. It is a mini set on a sturdy 4.75" square CD sized full color panel – includes 13 stamps (4 images plus 9 words and sentiments) – $12.95. It coordinates with the Seasonal Wreath and Bow Dies.

Yesterday's projects were very classically Christmas. Today's are more fun and glitzy Holiday! I am loving this color combination – so happy and cool. There is more information below about ordering the paper kit!

I used the Banner Holiday set again (you saw that yesterday too)– the perfect holiday sentiment set that coordinates with the popular It’s a Banner Day 1,2,& 3 sets and the Banner Day 1, 2 and 3 Die Sets!

Today I used the 12 Days Project Pantry – Basic Recipe Kit and Spice it Up Optional Ingredients! Seriously, you must have this!!!

The 12 Days Project Pantry Basic Recipe Kit is $11.95 and includes:

My Mind's Eye 12 Days of Christmas 6×6 pad

12 sheets of 8.5" x 11" cardstock in coordinating colors

6 yards of ribbon (2 yards each of 3 different styles)

Optional Spice it Up Ingredients (choose any or all) are:

Christmas Button Mix
Doodlebug Holiday Brads
Rockin' Pink Sparkly Fluff
Rhinestones (Red, Split Pea, Island Lagoon)
Coordinating Copic Markers
Additional Cardstock Pack
Additional Ribbon Bundle

As with every day…hop around! Here are the linkies to the rest of the Baker's Dozen team!

Have a wonderful day!

Taylored Expressions October Sneak Peeks Day 2!

October Release At a Glance

We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday. All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, October 6th 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.
Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate. Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day! Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please. Comments close Wednesday 10/5 at 7pm PST for the drawings.

Today I am featuring Peaceful Poinsettias! Peaceful Poinsettias is an elegant set that gives you options for both open line and solid stamping to create beautiful layered poinsettias, along with heartfelt sentiments. The coordinating die set makes building these Christmas beauties a snap! It is a full sized set on a 5.75" x 8.5" full color sturdy storage panel and has 16 images and sentiments – $21.95. It was illustrated for the Whimsical Wishes line, by Nancy McKinney.

Today's projects are wrapping paper, a gift tag, and a card that all match beautifully and would be so elegant to give to that special someone. I haven't made my own wrapping paper in a long time – forgot how fun that is! You can buy rolls of plain wrapping paper at craft stores…and DIY!

To coordinate with Peaceful Poinsettias, there is the Poinsettia Taylored Die Set - 5 dies! I used it for my projects today and it made everything a breeze! Don't you love those layers? YAY! I am all about the matching dies for stamps! I love how Taylor does this.

I also used Banner Holiday which is the perfect holiday sentiment set! LOTS of goodies in this post! Banner Holiday coordinates with the popular It’s a Banner Day 1,2,&3 sets originally concepted by Iwona Palamountain – you can use the banner frame images from these sets and the matching dies! Banner Holiday was designed and illustrated by Taylor VanBruggen for the *te* collection. It is a mini set on a sturdy 4.75" square CD sized full color panel – includes 15 holiday sentiments – $12.95

When you want to bake up a yummy dessert you head to your pantry for the ingredients. When you want to create a sweet papercrafting project, you can head to our Project Pantry for all the coordinating elements. Taylored Expressions is offering our Basic Recipe Kit along with optional Spice It Up Ingredients that you can pick and choose from to build the kit just the way you want it. For my projects today I used the Holiday Wonder Project Pantry – Basic Recipe Kit!

The Holiday Wonder Project Pantry Basic Recipe Kit is $11.95 and includes:

Authentique Wonder 6×6 pad (gorgeous!)

10 sheets of 8.5" x 11" cardstock in coordinating colors

6 yards of ribbon (2 yards each of 3 different styles)

Optional Spice it Up Ingredients (choose any or all) are:

Decorative Brad Mix
Red/Green Paper Roses
Christmas Glitter Assortment
Red Pearls
Coordinating Copic Markers
Additional Cardstock Pack
Additional Ribbon Bundle

Please go hop around and check out everyone else's amazing projects for today!

Taylored Expressions October Sneak Peeks Day 1!

October Release At a Glance

We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday. All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, October 6th 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.
Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift Certificate. Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day! Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each and every blog for more chances to win. Limit one comment per blog per day, please. Comments close Wednesday 10/5 at 7pm PST for the drawings.

Today I have two projects to share, featuring two different stamp sets! I love release week! It is hard to keep all these fun stamps a secret… Now I can finally share with you!

First up is the Woodland Winter Set! The cutest little critters create the most wonderful Winter and holiday scenes! Plus the pine tree has a matching die! This is a full sized set on a 5.75" x 8.5" full color sturdy storage panel and has 21 images and sentiments. It sells for $21.95 The set was illustrated by Doug Applegate for the Apple Doodle Ink Collection. The Trim the Tree Taylored Die Set has 8 dies to create Christmas trees and woodland scenes! ACK!

I created a clean and simple card that would be an easy one to mass produce for Christmas cards. I used the birch trees and the adorable little owl to say a happy hellooooooo!

The birch trees were stamped with white ink on kraft paper. I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to line them up just perfectly. I love to use my Copic markers on kraft cardstock too. I added just a touch of green to the leaves. The little owl was stamped and colored on a piece of white cardstock and then cut out.

I mounted my main image paper onto the card with foam tape. This is a nice trick for adding a little extra something to your card without making it too bulky to mail.

The next card for today features the newest addition to the Moka Collection…Moka Hope. She is in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month which is October. You can use the images to make encouraging cards and projects. She is so sweet. Taylored Expressions will donate $1 from the sale of each Moka Hope set to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. TE is a proud sponsor of the Hope You Can Cling To card drive.

Here are the linkies to everyone else's blogs for this release day! Thank you for coming by and for joining in the TE Sneak Peek fun! See you tomorrow!

A Shabby Autumn…and I’m the Guest Designer!

Well…today is jam packed on the bloggy blog! I have two posts to share today! Wow! First time that's every happened. I am SUPER excited to announce that I am the Guest Designer this week over at The Shabby Tea Room! The theme this week is "A Shabby Autumn" and the insipration image is just gorgeous. I always love STR challenges and I'm so honored today to guest design for them. Debbie is so kind and sweet and I am thankful for the opportunity! I hope you will pop over to the blog and check it out today…and participate in this week's challenge!

Here's my card, a shabby chic version of Autumn:

Here is the beautiful inspiration image:

The focal image is an older Hero Arts stamp – and I have used it over and over…It's alwasy pretty and perfect for the season. Of course I used my trusty Copic Markers!

This is my Copic palette for today…

Here's a side view showing all of my layers. Those pretty paper leaves are from Prima I think…and I wish I would have bought more. I'm using them like crazy this year. The 'Autumn' sentiment is also from Hero Arts.

I had this pretty plaid ribbon in my stash…and added a button from Webster's Pages. You know I am loving the word paper scallops lately! haha. I couldn't resist adding another leaf. I used my blo-pen to add brown speckles to the image and sentiment. I seemed like there was too much white space to me and it adds to the shabby effect I think.

Here's wishing you the most lovely Autum Day!

Wanda

October 3, 2011

You’re a hoooooot!

Happy, wonderful, glorious Friday! Yeah! Hope you all had a great week. This is a particularly great Friday for me since I am off work the next two weeks! Can I get a woot woot? Our wedding anniversary is on Monday…10 years! (We have been together 18+ years!) We decided way back at the first of the year to schedule time off from work in hopes of going on a grand vacation to celebrate our anniversary milestone. Unfortunately, the vacation fund fairies did not arrive in time, so we are doing a stay-cation and just hanging out around home and spending time together. We both really need a break and a rest. We'll go out to a nice dinner to celebrate and then we will see what happens the rest of the time. I'll keep ya posted.

For today I have a papercrafting project to share. This card has no stamping – just cool new papers from We R Memory Keepers and some fun doo dads. I am all about that plaid paper! Mmmmmm. The colors are delicious and just right for Fall.

To make this I just cut strips of gingham ribbon and tied them with a knot of twine. Then I glued the paper leaves on and then put the acorn on the top!

I love card layouts where I can use a bunch of different patterned papers together. This layout is a keeper! The finished card is a 5.5 inch square.

Okay…that's it for today! Best wishes for a fantastic weekend my bloggy friends! Be sure to check back with me next week…lots going on. I have a blog post planned for every day. Taylored Expressions sneak peeks start Monday, and also…I'm the guest designer next week over at Shabby Tea Room! I also may or may not have some super cool crafty news to share (which I can't wait to tell you!)

September 30, 2011

Fall Blessings…Distressed Leaves Card…

Greetings!! I have something fun to share today!! I got out of my comfort zone and tried something new. I'm excited to share it with you. I was inspired by a couple of things for this project. First, have you seen the new Tim Holtz Distress Inks? He did a special release for Fall 2011 of three new colors. I picked mine up Saturday at the stamp store and they were sitting on my table waiting for me to get inky. Now…what to make? That's where the second part of my inspiration came in. I seriously am in awe of Jill Foster's mad distress ink skills so I hopped over to her blog to see if some of those skills would come through the computer screen at me! So this post spoke to me! And….here we go! This is my card:

I am really having fun this Fall incorporating new colors into my normal palette. This time it's this pretty cabernet-grape purple color! LOVE.

These are the new Distress Ink colors….yummmmmy!

I started with a manila tag, versamark ink, clear embossing powder and the pretty French Foliage set from Stampin' Up…

I clear embossed a couple of leaves and some water spots onto the tag…

I then dove right in! I started with the persimmon ink first and covered almost the entire tag with it…such a very pretty shade!

Next I added some of the purple shade around the leaves…

Finally I added the brown color around the edges and more around the leaves too. I added some text from the stamp set and a sentiment from a Waltzingmouse set.

For the background I used one of those cool, big giant honker stamps from Impression Obsession. These are fun! I love this paisley! It makes a 5 and a half inch square. I used the purple ink from the set on a sheet of cream cardstock.

I had these leaves in my stash and the color was spot-on. The felt leaves are from Hero Arts. I added just a few scattered blings also. I distressed the edges of the background paper and mounted it on a purple card base.

So, that's my adventure in distress inking! I definitely will try it again – maybe get a little braver with the colors!

Fall Blessings to you friends!

September 28, 2011