More is More

The Rocket Scientist and I were married on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, at half past four o’clock,

November 30th, 1991.

It was one of the very happiest days of my life!  We were surrounded by wonderful friends and family and it was just the perfect day!

I really can’t believe it’s been 20 years!  It’s been quite a ride!

I’m looking forward to the next 20 years!

Happy Anniversary, Sweetie!  I love you!

Welcome to the Taylored Expressions Black Friday Tag Hop!!!  We’re celebrating the biggest shopping day of the year with a Tag Hop and a HUGE SALE!

• Hop around for tons of inspiration for your holiday tag making. Link list below.
• One lucky customer will win a set of 10 tags (one each of the tags featured in today’s hop.)  Everyone who places an order at Taylored Expressions Friday – Monday (11/25 – 11/28) and writes “I want those tags!” in the comments section of the order form will be entered to win.  The winner will be announced on Taylor’s blog on Tuesday 11/29.
• Introducing Tags & Tag-a-longs kits designed so you can quickly and easily create your own tags inspired by today’s samples.
• Black Friday Sale – enter coupon code BLACKFRIDAY2011 on any order Friday through Monday to save 10-30% off your entire order!  HURRY! The earlier you shop, the MORE you SAVE!  Details on the TE Store homepage.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Taylored Expressions is running an amazing Black Friday Sale and I’m super happy to be participating in a Hop & Swap with some of the Baker’s Dozen.  We each created a set of tags, so we can swap.  Here’s what I made.

My tag features Penguin Pals with the 12 Days of Christmas Project Pantry (cardstock, ribbon, patterned paper), along with Tag Treats Die Cuts, wide eyelets (Cool Metal), Baker’s Twine (Ladybug and Limeade), and Viva Decor Pens (Paper Pen in Light Carmine Red and Pearl Pen in Cream.)

The image was stamped on TE Choice Snow White cardstock and punched with a 1″ circle punch.  I used various circle punches and dies to forn the layers and as you can see above I used a brad to attach all of the top layers to the bottom layer.  The top swings open to reveal the “to and from”.  I used these new Viva Decor pens to dot little “pearls” around the circles as well as to add a nice thick layer of glitter to the little penguin’s hat.  These pens are quite easy to use as they have a nice even flow to them.  It takes less than an hour for the “pearls” to totally dry.  The pearl pens have a really nice pearly finish and the paper pens have more of a glossy look.  You’ll definitley want to add a couple of these to your cart when your shopping the TE sale!

After you’ve hopped around and seen all the tags in the hop, I bet you’re going to want to create some of your own!  Taylor has put together some great little kits – Tags & Tag-a-longs – to make it super easy!  These will be great for Christmas, but you might also want to think ahead to Valentine’s Day (that pink pack is calling my name!), Easter, and birthdays.  Once you start playing with tags, you’ll be addicted! Of course you can also order the items separately.  The Tag Treats Die Cuts come in sets of 10 in your choice of 40 colors.

Now let’s check out the rest of the Hop!

Taylor VanBruggen

Jami Sibley <—- you are here

Karen Giron

Charmaine Ikach

Jen Shults

Jodi Collins

Lori Craig

Melody Rupple

Danielle Lounds

Sankari Wegman

Thanks for stopping by.  Have fun with your Black Friday Shopping! 🙂

Just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow-American friends!

Happy Tuesday!  Thank you to everyone who offered congratulations on our new family member through e-mail, Facebook and comments here on the blog.  The pups are becoming better friends each day and we are enjoying them immensely.  🙂

Today I want to show you a quick and simple gift bag and tag that we created in my class last week.  You’ll notice that the bag uses just a 2″ strip of patterned paper.  This is a great way to use all those scraps you end up with from 6×6 pads when you cut 4″ pieces for cards.

We started with a simple kraft gift bag.  I purchased a package of a dozen at Joann’s.  The papers, cardstocks and ribbon are from the TE 12 Days of Christmas Project Pantry.  Since I was using a 6×6 pad, everyone in class got a different patterned paper.  It was fun to see how all the different bags turned out.  I wish I had taken a photo of them.  Since  the papers were all from the same collection we could all use the same colored cardstocks and inks.  The stamp set is SU Delightful Decorations used with the coordinating punch.  Ink colors are Lucky Limeade, Real Red and Pool Party.  The middle ornament on the back is popped up on double thick (1/8″ as opposef to 1/16″) foam tape.  Everyone got a kick out of the HUGE roll I had out on the table.  Seriously – it’s the size of a pizza!  LOL!  The tags are die cuts that can be ordered in sets of 10 from the Favor Box Department at Taylored Expressions. There are tons of colors to choose from.  The large eyelets are coming very soon to the TE Store.

These bags are so quick and easy to create!  It would be great to have some made up and on hand, but they can also be done last minute just using the scraps from the last project left on your stamp table!  Just be sure to have some plain gift bags on hand at all times.  I like to have kraft and white in two sizes.

I’m off to work.  I hope you have a fantastic day!

Happy Monday!  We had quite the eventful weekend here!  If you read my last post, then you are aware that we had an appointment for someone to come meet Roger on Saturday and most likely take him home.  Friday was Curt’s day off and I swear all we did all day was discuss Roger and what we should do.  In the afternoon we ran some errands that included buying some toys and food to go with Roger.  Each purchase we made seemed to stab at our hearts.  And we recognized that each day Tessa seemed to get along a bit better with Roger and maybe it would indeed be ok.  We questioned if perhaps God really meant Roger for us, in the way that I am absolutley certain that He intended Tessa for us.  Finally aorund 7:30 pm, Curt uttered the fateful words “I think we should keep him.”  I called and cancelled the appointment.

So…please welcome Roger Dog Sibley!!

You might notice his tag.  🙂  On Saturday, we bought him a new collar and a tag with his name and our phone numbers on it.  We also bought him a bed.  We took him to the vet for a check up and to get his shots started.  The vet believes he is between 1 and 1 1/2 years old and gave him a clean bill of health.  He seems quite happy to be staying.  And Tessa seems pretty ok with it too…except when Roger wants my attention when she is in my lap…LOL!

So…ok everyone…now you can say “I told you so!”  Gosh that was an agonizing and emotionally exhausting week!

That was Friday and Saturday…now on to Sunday!  I was registered to take a Configurations Class at the Inspiration Emporium Warehouse in Anaheim on Sunday afternoon.  Although I was excited about the class, truth be told, I didn’t really want to go when it came right down to it.  I had to rush to get there from church, it was pouring down rain, and I was tired and just wanted to chill with the pups.  But, boy oh boy am I ever glad I went.  IT WAS A BLAST and I am beyond thrilled with the outcome of my project.  Here are several photos –

Michelle Fowler was an incredible instructor and I look forward to taking more classes from her in the future.  It had been so long since I had taken a class, I almost didn’t know how to act.  LOL!  Here are some close ups –

Yes, that’s a little Tim Holtz birdcage with a sprig of holly inside and a vintage Monopoly piece!  Here I am with the teacher, Chelle.

And here I am with friends Rachel Stzonyk (fellow TE Sketch Crew Member) and, of course, owner of Inspiration Emporium the sweet Joy Kennedy.

I think the class was scheduled for 3 hours, but we were there for 5 hours.  It was the fastest 5 hours EVER!  Can’t remember when I have had so much fun crafting. And of course the photos just don’t do it justice.  I would highly recommend everyone get a Configurations box, some Tissue Tape and 12 x 12 papers and try one of these!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in my eventful weekend!  We have a short week ahead with tons to do, and then hopfully some fun and relaxation over the holiday weekend.  I hope you’re having a great Monday!

Happy Friday!  Last night I taught my monthly stamp class and we had a blast as always!  I know I always say this, but I am blessed with just THE BEST group of stampers.  We had a newbie last night and I hope she had as much fun as the rest of us! It’s always great to introduce someone to stamping!  We created three projects last night and I’ll be sharing one of them with you today.

This card utilizes the current Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge – TESC150 along with the TE stamp set Thankful.  There were actually 3 different versions of this card each using a different Fall-colored patterned paper collection.  The paper on my sample is from SU.

The pumpkin image was stamped onto Confetti White cardtsock with Timber Brown Staz-on ink and watercolored with an aquapainter and ink from SU pads and markers that had been smeared onto a cd to create a pallette.  Colors used to paint are Peach Parfait, Cajun Craze, Old Olive, and Close to Cocoa.  SU punches were used to layer the sentiment.  The Martha Stewart picket fence border punch created interest under the image and the Mini Leaves Taylored Die set created leaves for the perfect finishing touch in the corner!

I won’t be teaching another class until January and it felt so weird when everyone left last night.

Roger/Tessa UPDATE:

Roger did great with the ladies at class last night.  I had been really concerned how he would react to a house full of people.  Everyone loved him.  We have someone coming to meet him tomorrow.  She is a co-worker of my Mom’s and I’ve never met her.  I have to admit that we are having a hard time at this point with the idea of letting him go and it’s much harder when we don’t know the people personally.  We had so hoped a friend would take him so we’d still be able to see him occasionally.

Tessa and Roger in the backyard yesterday.  Caught these shots as I was photographing cards.

Roger.  It’s funny –  he looks more tan in photos, but in person he has quite a bit of black fur that makes him look more gray overall.

Tessa – my sweet girl!

So yes, Tessa is tolerating Roger somewhat better.  And yes, we continue to feel very torn about keeping Roger vs finding a home for him.  Practically EVERYONE has said we should keep him, which just makes the whole thing that much more difficult.  To be honest, I’m pretty emotionally drained from this whole thing and just don’t have the energy to even try to explain everything I’m feeling and all the factors we are taking into consideration.  Roger really is a great dog.  He’s loving, playful and obedient. All that being said, Tessa has to come first.  As things stand now, it’s likely he’ll be on his way to his new home tomorrow afternoon.  Either way, I forsee an emotional weekend ahead! 

I’ll be back soon to share my other two class projects.  Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Wednesday!  Today I want to share a card I made with the super fun Happy Hoolidays clear stamp set from The Craft’s Meow.  I just couldn’t resist those adorable owls and this one all tangled up in the lights is my fave!

I colored the scene with Copics and used the Colorless Blender to create some texture on the branch.  Each of the little lights was covered with different colors of Stickles and the ornament was covered with Glossy Accents.  The patterned paper is MME 12 Days of Christmas and I added some Chocolate Chip cardstock to ground and separate layers.  Finishing touches include some white pom pom trim, Doodlebug Bakers Twine in Bon Bon, Viva Decor Light Carmine Red Paper pen (similar to Liquid Pearls), a glittery jingle bell and some faux stitching.

I just gotta say – this card really makes me smile.  I hope you like it too!  Thanks for stopping by!