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GOOD NEWS!  The Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge is BACK!!!  New sketches will be offered on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month and there will be a PRIZE DRAWING each time!  You will be able to get all the sketch info both in the SCS TE Forum and on Taylor’s blog.  You are NOT required to use TE stamps to play, but there’s a bonus prize available if you do! We’re kicking it off today with TESC135!!

And here’s my sample featuring Hello Spring.

I was totally inspired by Beate’s little mint basket project.  I thought it was so cool the way she punched out portions of these larger images, that I couldn’t wait to try it myself!  Patterned paper is We R Memory Keepers from the TE Spring Project Pantry kit.  I kept this card fairly simple because it will be one of the cards we’ll be making in my Hello Spring Class on April 15th.

You have 2 weeks to enter this challenge and I hope you’ll play along with us!  Are you ready to hop around and see all the samples created by the TE Sketch Crew?  Let’s go!

• Jami Sibley <– you are here!
• Lisa Hjulberg
• Lori Craig
• Melissa Sauls
• Monika Davis
• Rachel Sztonyk
• Taylor Van Bruggen
• and special guest Amber Hight (winner of the TE SCS Grand Opening Gallery Challenge)

Would you like to join the TE Sketch Crew?  Taylor is looking for a new sampler for the team.  If you’d like to be considered please play in this week’s sketch and upload your sketch card featuring TE images to your SCS gallery using keywords:  tayloredexpressions, TESC135, TESampler2011 

(be sure to use a comma and then a space between each of the keywords as shown)   

Note:

• To be entered into the prize drawing you MUST upload to SCS with keyword TESC135.  
• To be considered for the open spot on the Sketch Crew you MUST upload to SCS with keyword TESampler2011
• To have any creation featuring TE stamps show up in the Taylored Expressions Gallery, you must upload using keyword tayloredexpressions (no space)

 Taylor will contact the chosen sampler via Private Message on SCS, so be sure you have the PM option turned on. 

CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT

If you’re in SoCal, I’d love to have you attend my next class!

Hello Spring Stamp Class

Friday April 15th

7pm

Registration is $35 for 4 projects plus a Hello Spring Stamp Set

-or-

$18 just for the class

Regsitration must be pre-paid by April 7th.  Here’s a photo of 3 of the 4 projects we’ll be making that night.

I currently have 5 spots open and I’d love for you to join us!  Send me an e-mail if you’d like to register and I’ll get the details to you right away.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  I’m looking forward to a Women’s Day Conference at church tomorrow as well as getting the 5th wheel ready for our upcoming trip!

Happy Almost-Turkey-Day Wednesday!  I got a chance to play with the Sketch Challenge on SCS today – SC308 – and I made another Christmas card for my stash.

My 4.25″ square card features the little elf and one of the frame images from Taylored Expressions Take Note – Holidays stamp set along with the Take Note Frame 3 Taylored Die.  The little elf was designed to look like she’s sitting on a shelf or something and ever since I got the set I’ve wanted to perch her on the edge of this frame image.  I stamped her first and masked her, then using my trusty stamp-a-majig I placed the frame *around* her.  I colored her with Copics and die cut with the coordinating Taylored Die.

Color combo is Chocolate, Riding Hood Red, Olive and Ivory.  Designer paper is retired SU.  Sentiment is from TE Tag You’re It!  Chocolate border at the bottom is die cut with the Scalloped Eyelet Border Die (Taylored Dies.)

And now for the Shoportunity Announcement:

Starting TODAY through Cyber Monday Taylored Expressions has some fantastic deals for you! Visit the Black Friday Blowout Department to see them all in one place. Here is just a sampling of what you’ll find when you get there:

Stamp Sets – Purchase any 5 full sized Stamp Sets and GET ONE FREE!

Taylored Expressions T-shirts (3 styles to choose from) at 25% off!

Twinkles Special – Buy 2 Multi Colored Twinkles and get a Free Package of Crystal Twinkles.

Stickers and Tags – Purchase either the Sweet Season or Waiting for Santa sticker sheet and receive a set of 10 coordinating die cut tags free.

Key Ingredients Subscription – TE is lowering the monthly subscription fee for a 3 Month KI Subscription from $25.95 per month to $23.95 per month just for our Black Friday sale. Normally you would need to subscribe for 6 months to get this low monthly rate. This is a great time to give Key Ingredients a try!

A la Carte Stamps – Purchase any 3 Animals in Love A la Carte stamps and GET ONE FREE!

AND SO MUCH MORE!!!! Click over to the Black Friday Blowout Department right now to take advantage of these incredible deals. Some quantities are limited, so for best selection shop early! And don’t forget that you get FREE SHIPPING on orders over $75 every day!

Feel free to grab that banner for your own blog to help spread the word about the sale! 🙂

Thanks for stopping by today!  We’re looking forward to a wonderful evening with our church family – a Thanksgiving Eve service, followed by pie night and an outdoor movie.  I hope you have a great evening.

Taylored Expressions Store! It’s time to DIG IN!!! Be sure to check out the Fresh Out of the Oven Department for all the stamp sets and dies plus tons of other new products.  I’m joining the Baker’s Dozen today in presenting even more shopping inspiration for you.  *wink* 

It’s Release Day at Taylored Expressions.  Everything we’ve been showing you over the past several days in now available for purchase at the

Today I have 2 gift card holders made with the new stamp set Enjoy!, the Gift Card Frame Die, and a couple of small hindged tins (or altoids tins).  The frame image and die were designed to fit perfectly on or in these tins. 

This first tin was made to coordinate with the card I showed you on Monday as part of a little thank you gift.  I stamped the place setting image on Buttercream cardstock and colored it with Copics.  Then I punched it out with a 1 3/4″ Circle Punch and trimmed it out with Taylor’s Tiny Twinkles.  You can see the polka dot frame was cute with the Gift Card Frame Die and fits perfectly on top of this tin. 

I trimmed the edges with ribbon adhered with Zip Dry.  Inside is a gift card for Ruby’s Diner.  YUMMMMM!  Did you know that they have these gift cards at Costco here in SoCal? Only $40 for two $25 gift cards!   Like I said…yum! 

My second tin was created to hold a Starbuck’s card – still a super popular gift for all sorts of occasions! 

This time I used dp from the Snow Day Project Pantry and put the frame image on the inside of the tin. This tin is super simple and it would be really quick to whip up several of these to have on hand.  You could even leave off the image until you’re sure what type of gift card will go inside.  Although this is Christmas paper, it will really work year-round. 

You might notice that my cards are raised up on a platform in my tins and that I included little ribbon loops.  I simply use a piece of 3×3 cardstock scored and 1/2″ on each side to create the platform.  I’ve put together a video to share a few tips about creating these gift card tins.  If you have a few minutes, take a look and let me know what you think.  I’m going to ask you to please cut me a little slack as this is the first time I’ve made an over-the-shoulder video. There are several times when I thought I was holding something up to the camera for you to see close up, only to find that I was actually holding it out-of-frame!  LOL!  I promise to get better!  I’d love to make more video tutorials! 

  [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufhd1uP-7H8[/youtube]

Thanks so much for spending some time with me today.  Let’s check out what the Baker’s Dozen has cooked up with all the new goodies…they will have samples of all the new sets… 

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Donna Baker
• Jackie Pedro
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Karen Motz
• Melissa Sauls
• Mona Pendleton – Guest Designer
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild

Happy Hopping and Happy Shopping!  Have a great weekend! 

Welcome to Day #3 of the sneak peeks for the November Release at Taylored Expressions!  Everything we are showing you will be available for purchase in the TE Store tomorrow, Thursday, at 8am PST.  I am especially excited about the peeks for today’s stamp set – Enjoy! – because it was developed from my very own concept!  *GRIN*  Nancy McKinney took my elementary (as in looked like a 2nd grader drew them – LOL!) sketches and worked her magic on them to become a Whimsical Wishes stamp set.  I am so thankful to Taylor for the opportunity to see my ideas in rubber and to actually get to stamp with them.

The idea behind Enjoy! is to have images available to create special, yet quick and easy, packaging for gift cards at Christmastime and throughout the year. And I think you’ll also find plenty of uses for this set even beyind gift cards! There is a fun polka dot frame image and coordinating Gift Card Frame Die that fit perfectly on a small hinged (altoids style) tin and also makes a wonderful tag or focal point on a card.  Plus there are 11 images for all types of gift cards – from Starbucks (or other coffee houses) to Macy’s (or any boutique or department store), from iTunes to Home Depot…and much more!

Enough of my yammering…let’s get to some projects.  The first project I have to show you today is a tin to give movie tickets in.  I love to buy movie tickets at Costco ($15.95 for a pair) and give them as gifts, but the paper tickets need to be dressed up a bit and I’m always looking for ways to do that.  I think I’ve finally found the perfect way to present movie tickets as a gift!

This is a clear top hinged tin (some of you may know them as “nugget tins”) and at 5.25″ x 3.5″ it is just the right size for those tickets!  I used some October Afternoon dp in the window of the tin and created a belly band around the outside with some red cardstock.  The popcorn and movie reel image was stamped in white craft ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  The images were punched with a 1 3/4″ circle punch.  All of the images in this set were designed to fit into a 1 3/4″ circle punch to make quick gift packaging a breeze.

I colored the popcorn with Prisma pencils and filled in the stripes on the box with a white gel pen.

I folded some black cardstock to create a little insert to cradle the tickets.

I plan to make up a few more of these so I will have them on hand because movie tickets are a perfect gift for practically everyone!

For my 2nd project I wanted to show how you can throw together a super cute birthday package in just minutes.

I keep a supply of small plain gift bags on hand – usually in both white and kraft.  This particular batch is a little lighter color than kraft and I think they came from Michael’s.  I used 2 of the long border stamps from Borderliscious to create a pattern on the bag.  I actually put both stamps on the same block and inked one with Pear ink and the other with Regal Rose ink for each impression.  This kept the spacing more even.  Then I went in with the cake image from Enjoy! and stamped that in Peach Parfait.  I created the hanging tag with the frame image and die along with the cake and pedestal (2 separate images for more versatility) and the sentiment “enjoy!”  I wish I had had this bag for the birthday party I went to last week, but now I have something all ready to go for next time.

As I mentioned above, that frame fits perfectly on an altoids style tin and I will have 2 of those for you tomorrow along with a little video.  In the meantime, let’s go see what the Baker’s Dozen has cooked up with Enjoy!

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Donna Baker
• Jackie Pedro
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Karen Motz
• Melissa Sauls
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• Nancy McKinney – Whimsical Wishes Illustrator

Oh and before you go I have one more thing to show you.  I was in the backyard yesterday morning trying to find some good lighting to take project photos before I left for work.  Right in the middle of my photo shoot the camera battery died.  I left my gift bag perched on the planter (which is about 2.5 ft tall) and ran in the house for a fresh battery.   When I came back out I found Tessa guarding my project.  LOL!

The sun was so bright that she was squinting!  It was 94 degrees here yesterday!  Happy Hopping!  Thanks for stopping by.  Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of Enjoy!

Happy Friday!!  Please join me in wishing a very Happy 2nd Birthday to Taylored Expressions!  It’s Birthday Bash Day and everything we’ve been showing you over the past several days is now available for purchase.  I’m joining the Baker’s Dozen in a Release Round-up as we each show 1 or 2 new samples of the many new stamp sets and products available at TE today.  You can hop over to Taylor’s blog for a summary or go straight to the TE Fresh Out of the Oven Department (click “show all” in the upper right hand corner when you get there) to see it all in one place.

The card I have to share today features the Belated Birthday A la Carte – Ducks in a Row.   I just had to make a card with this image right away because this concept is the one that started the whole Belated Birthday stamps idea in the first place.

We were driving down the freeway on vacation a few years ago when I saw a billboard with a row of rubber ducks and the tag line “Someday you’ll have all your ducks in a row.”  It was followed up by something like “in the meantime you have Chase Bank” – or something like that.  Anyway, I immediately thought how much I wished I had a stamp that said that so I could use it for belated birthdays.  Well hot-diggity HERE IT IS!!!

Although these ducks were drawn to be walking I realized that they would look really cute swimming, so I colored a pond with copic markers and covered it with crystal effects.  The sun is from Garden Party Blooms and I heat embossed it onto patterned paper with versamark and clear ep.  Then I die cut it with the  sun shape from Garden Party Blooms Die Set 2.  Paper is October Afternoon and cardstock is from a kit TE had to coordinate with the October Afternoon pads, but I no longer see it in the store.

These Belated Birthday A la Carte images come with the cute critter main image AND 2 coordinating sentiments.  In this case, they work equally well whichever you decide to put on the front.  Many of the sentiments will mix and match well with each other if you decide to pick up several of them.  It’s like creating your own custom set! And all of the images will also make adorable cards for occasions other than birthdays.

In celebration of TE’s 2nd Birthday Bash, Taylor is running some great shopping specials now through Monday:

Bash Buy #1 – Buy ANY 4 full size stamp sets (new or old) & receive a free Mini Binder Box.

Bash Buy #2 – Buy ANY 8 A la Carte stamps (from any line old or new) & receive a free set of Storage Panels.

Bash Buy #3- The first 20 customers to order the Fright Night Project Pantry will receive a free set of orange glittered chipboard letters

Win one of Four Golden Tickets – One TE Store order each day ( Friday – Monday) will be selected at random to win a $25 TE gift certificate!!!

And now it’s time to see what the Baker’s Dozen has cooked up today –

• Barbara Anders – Guest Designer
• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Jackie Pedro
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Karen Motz
• Melissa Sauls
• Nancy McKinney – Whimsical Wishes Illustrator
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a fabulous long weekend and I hope you make time for some stamping!

Happy Thursday!  On the menu today for the TE sneak peeks are creepy candy, witch’s brew and everything Halloween!  Taylor LOVES Halloween so you can always count on TE for some fabulous Halloween FUN!  Today the Baker’s Dozen will be previewing a full sized set (Hangin’ Out – Wicked Wardrobe illustrated by Nancy McKinney in the Whimsical Wishes line), a mini set (Frght Night Favors designed and illustrated by Taylor in the *te* line) along with a coordinating label die, a Spooky Tree A la Carte image AND the Fright Night Project Pantry.  So once again today, lots and lots to see!

The card I have to share today started with an idea for the background.  Ever since I first saw the Bubbles Big Background (introduced on Tuesday) I’ve thought there are a ton of ways to use it.  For this card I stamped it in white pigment ink on a kraft cardbase.  Then I took 2 of the little icons from Fright Night Favors (the bat and the spider) and stamped them in the large and medium circles with Brilliance black ink.  I then sponged white pigment ink all around the edges and took the tip of my Brilliance dew drop pad and applied that directly to the edges for a distressed *scary* look.

For the focal image I used the A la Carte Spooky Tree and stamped it in white pigment ink on craft.  Then I stamped part of a sentiment (“creepy”) from Fright Night Favors in the black Brilliance.  Both images were covered with clear embossing powder and heat embossed.  Next the image was die cut with Spellbinders Label 5 and with the die still in place I sponged Rich Razzleberry and then Elegant Eggplant inks.  The image was popped up on foam tape over 3 ribbons tied in knots.  The finishing touch is a row of Zva black crystals at the bottom edge of the card.  Overall, this was a really quick and easy card and I love how it turned out.

Now lets’ go see what the Baker’s Dozen has brewin’ today!

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Jackie Pedro
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Karen Motz
• Melissa Sauls
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• Nancy McKinney – Whimsical Wishes illustrator

Remember that everything we are showing you will be available in the TE Store tomorrow (Friday) morning at 8am PST.  I’ll be back then for the release round-up and I hope you’ll stop back by!

Happy Wednesday.  I’m tickled pink to play along the Baker’s Dozen to show you sneak peeks of  7 new Belated Birthday A la Carte images in the Apple Doodle Ink line and concepted by ME!  *GRIN*  I’ve always loved celebrating birthdays, but over the past few years I seem to be ALWAYS be late in mailing out birthday cards.  I don’t mean to be late…I hate being late…and yet I’m late.  As I’m sure you can guess, I handstamp pretty much all of the cards I send out.  You may or may not know that I am a sentiment fanatic.  In fact one of my very favorite jobs behind the scenes at TE is getting to help brainstorm sentiments for some of the stamp sets.  As far as I’m concerned my cards aren’t finished unless I have appropriate sayings for both the front and the inside.  So it drives me crazy that I have almost no belated birthday sentiments…and that’s what drove the concept for these stamps.  I’ve been collecting ideas for belated sentiments for quite awhile.  I finally decided to send a long list to Taylor that included an outside sentiment, and inside sentiment and ideas for a coordinating cute critters. I was over the moon when she decided to hand these over to our Apple Doodle Ink illustrator and release 7 A La Cartes!!! I may be a tad biased, but I think everyone needs at least a few of these in their stamping arsenal.  😉

I have two cards to share with you today.  Both of them feature patterned paper, cardstock and ribbon from the Make a Wish Project Pantry available Friday.  My first card features some cute little birdies!

On the front it says “I didn’t forget your birthday”

And on the inside…

I just wanted my card to stand out from the crowd!

{Oh so TRUE!!}

My second card

“Oh Nuts!”

and on the inside…

Sorry I forgot your birthday!

I am absolutely dying to see what the Baker’s Dozen has created with these images.  Between the entire team you should get a chance to see all of the different Belated Birthday A La Cartes.  Let’s go see what they’ve cooked up!

• Charmaine Ikach
• Danielle Lounds
• Jackie Pedro
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Karen Motz
• Melissa Sauls
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild

I’d love to hear what you think of these stamps and which of the 7 are your favorites!  Please don’t tell me that I’m the only one who can’t get my cards out on time!  LOL!

Remember that everything we are peeking this week will be available for purchase at Taylored Expressions on Friday morning at 8:00 am PST.  Thanks for stopping by!