It's a Holiday Hoopla Blog Hop!!!

Taylored Expressions is hosting a Holiday Hoopla today and I'm excited to be a part of it. You should have arrived here from Lori Craig's blog.  If you didn't (or if you get lost along the way) you can head back to the beginning at Taylor's blog for the full list of participants. There are 22 designers showcasing Christmas/Winter/Holiday stamps sets from TE with samples that include all sorts of projects from cards to gifts and beyond!  We want to inspire you to get your holiday crafting and card making into high gear!  Be sure to stick with me all the way to the end of the post to get a coupon code for 25% off holiday stamp sets at Taylored Expressions! 

The set I'm showcasing is Woodland Winter and I love it because the little critters are so cute and there are endless combinations for intricate or simple cards!

With Christmas less than nine weeks away (eeks!), it's time to get going on all your crafty holiday projects. I'm still on my card-making kick so I created a set of four sweet holiday cards using the super cute Woodland Winter set. I seriously can not get enough of this set!!!

I created a simple set of four single layer cards...sort of. Ok, they started as single layer cards but I really wanted to add the "snow" at the bottom, then a little scallop detail at the top. I think they still qualify as single layer though...right?

The big message here is these cards were quick and easy!! I stamped the trees with Memento Tuxedo Black onto kraft card stock and added a hint of colour with copic markers. Then I stamped the owl onto choice buttercream, coloured him and cut him out. I added a little bling to his hat.

The papers are all from the 12 Days of Christmas Project Pantry and I used my medium scallop border die to cut out the red strip. For the sentiment tag I started by cutting out the green piece with one of the dies from Totally Tags. Then I stamped the sentiment in black ink. The tag was a little too long for the sentiment so I just chopped off the bottom using my paper trimmer. I wrapped up these cards with some red twine.

Creating for this hop caused to me to go back and look at some of my previous creations and I wanted to share one of those with you today too. Here's my Warm Winter Wishes card using the sweet Penguin Pals set. I adore the non-traditional pink and blue in this card.

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. I especially love ....

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.

Now you're off to see what Monika Davis has created. I just know it'll be fabulous!!!

Here are the dies I used:

These cards are numbers 25, 26, 27, and 28 in my Project Christmas 2011. I'm getting there...slowly but surely.
Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Taylored Expressions 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 you're going to see a recap of all the sets the Baker's Dozen has been previewing the past three days, and it's going to be a FUN recap because the sets are all so adorable!

I worked with Woodland Winter again and used supplies from the 12 Days Project Pantry, along with the Trim the Tree dies. I adore the little critters in this set and decided to use the raccoon. He cracks me up holding that little candy cane, and with his raccoon mask it makes me think he's going to steal the present under the tree or maybe beat it open like a piñata. LOL!!!

The images are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with copics, except the tree which is all done with patterned paper thanks to the Trim the Tree dies. I added sparkle to the candy cane and the red bow with red and green Spica glitter pens. Oh, and I gave the raccoon some dimension by popping his head up on foam tape. I used my swirls impression plate on the patterned paper behind the tree to add a little texture the added some rhinestones to decorate the tree. The small scallop border die was perfect to cut out the green strip just below the ribbon. The layout is Jen's October Sketch For You To Try.

Before you head off to Taylored Expressions fill your shopping cart, be sure to hop over to the rest of the Baker's Dozen blogs for more inspiring projects.

Charmaine Ikach

• Danielle Lounds
• Jami Sibley
• Jen Shults
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Melissa Sauls
• Melody Rupple
• Nancy McKinney
• Regina Mangum
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Tori Wild
• Wanda Guess

Here are the dies I used:

This card brings my Project Christmas 2011 card total to 23. Yipee!
Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Taylored Expressions 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 OvenDepartment 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 the Baker's Dozen is sharing samples created using Wreaths of Joy, and the set I used, Glad Tidings.

Glad Tidings is illustrated by Doug Applegate for the Apple Doodle Ink collection and is a mini set on a sturdy 4.75" square full colour storage panel. There are 10 images for just $12.95. This is an adorable nativity set that allows you to build your own scene and combine it with animals from other sets in the Apple Doodle Ink collection.

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured it with copics before cutting it out with rectangle Nestabilities. I paired the image with another new set, Banner Holiday, which is a perfect holiday sentiment set that coordinates with the popular Banner Day 1, 2, &3 sets. Banner Holiday is designed and illustrated by Taylor for the *te* collection. It's a mini set of 15 holiday sentiments for just $12.95. The banner day 3 die was perfect for cutting out the sentiment and I used the small scallop border die to cut out the green strip.

All the papers are from the Holiday Wonder Project Pantry. 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.  We've found that some of the best cake and cookie recipes are the ones based around a basic batter or dough recipe with lots of options to spice it up according to your tastes.  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.

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

Authentique Wonder 6x6 pad

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

Here are the dies I used:

Now it's time to hop around to see what the rest of the Baker's Dozen created.

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

This is card #22 for my Project Christmas 2011.  :-)
Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Taylored Expressions 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 OvenDepartment 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 we have lots of new stampy goodness to share from Taylored Expressions. I'll start with the adorable Woodland Winter set, illustrated by Doug Applegate for the Apple Doodle Ink Collection. This is a full size set on a 5.75" x 8.5" full colour sturdy storage panel and includes 21 images and sentiments for just $21.95. You'll fall in love with these cute little critters!

I used Taylor's current sketch challenge for the layout, TESC147, and supplies from the 12 Days Project Pantry. I started by stamping the little mouse then I masked him and stamped the fox, to create this adorable duo. The image is coloured with copics and I added some rhinestones (which I coloured with R29) to their hats. Do you see the subtle tree background paper? I repeatedly stamped the tree image with old paper distress ink to create this look.

Next up is Snow à la carte, another fun image illustrated by Nancy McKinney for the Word à la carte Collection. This single stamp is just $5.95, perfect for quick cards and projects.

I took my own advice on this one and created a clean and simple single layer card. I know...freaky for me, eh? :-)

First I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Snow White then I coloured it with copics. Next I ran it through my swiss dots cuttlebug folder to add the snow. Then the snowgirl looked a little sickly with bumps all over her body so I stamped her again, coloured her and popped her on foam tape. Love how this little bit of dimension adds so much detail to this simple card.

I have another very special stamp set to tell you about, and I know you'll see fabulous samples with it on some of the other Baker's Dozen blogs: Moka Hope. As you probably know, October is breast cancer awareness month. Taylored Expressions will donate $1 from the sale of each Moka Hope set to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

TE is also a proud sponsor of the Hope You Can Cling To card drive over on Splitcoast and we encourage everyone to participate in the challenges during October and donate their cards to the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center.

This little 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 colour for any cause or disease.

Now it's time to hop around to the rest of the Baker's Dozen blogs and see what everyone else created.

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

See you tomorrow for more stampy goodness!!!
Oh, and by the way, these two cards are numbers 20 & 21 for my Project Christmas 2011.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Caroling Penguin

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, SSSC137.

Karen has switched up the size of the card for today's sketch, and I decided to flip the sketch. So the finished size of my card is 3 1/4" x 6 1/2". This is card #19 for my Project Christmas 2011...yay!

I used the fun Penguin Pals set from Taylored Expressions and paired him with patterned papers from the Echo Park Holly Jolly Christmas 6x6 pad. I thought the colourful music paper was perfect for this little caroler.

He's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with copics. I added some white liquid appliqué to his hat and some red Twinkles for the berries. I used my medium scallop border die to cut out the green strip, and it wasn't quite long enough to reach across the entire card so I cut two strips and hid the seam under the scalloped circle.

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch and link your creation on Karen's blog. Now it's time to hop around and see what the rest of the Sweet Sunday Stampers created.
Dana White
Jen Tapler
Lynn Put
Sarah-Jane Kalé
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Life is a Circus

My card today exemplifies how I've felt lately...juggling all the jobs and tasks that come with relocating. I can not wait til we're settled in the new place!!!  :-)

I used the new Life is a Circus set from Taylored Expressions and lots of dies. The clown is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with copics and I dug into my button stash for some fun balls (ooh, that sounds so wrong!).

The patterned paper is from the Bo Bunny Blast Off pack. The new star border die was perfect along the bottom and the seeing stars dies were another fabulous addition! I used the take note 3 die behind the image...it has such a wonderful shape and size! The layout is SC342.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peeks Day 1

July Release At a Glance

• We have sneak peeks to share Wednesday and Thursday.  All of the new products will be available for purchase on Friday, July 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 GIVEAWAY, on Thursday 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 Thursday 7/30 at 7pm PST for the drawings.

Let's start with In The Clouds, illustrated by Nancy McKinney for the Whimsical Wishes line. This is a full sized stamp set on a 5.75" x 8.5" full colour sturdy storage panel and includes 25 images and sentiments. 

I didn't have a chance to play along with this week's Sweet Sunday sketch, SSSC123, on the actual sketch day, so I used it for my card today. There are plenty of different blimps in this set but I chose one that I could colour with copics, and I really wanted to highlight it and make it the focal point. It was super quick to cut out using the coordinating Blimps and Banners set of 4 dies. The patterned paper is from the My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Fly a Kite pad.

Notice the cloud background paper? It's not patterned paper, but rather the awesome new Clouds Impression Plate. It impresses not just the outline of the clouds but the entire solid cloud shape...swoon!!! After I had impressed the clouds on the light blue paper I sanded the shapes to highlight them a little more. The best part about the Clouds Impression Plate is that it's one plate with a different cloud pattern on each side. You'll want to use the embossing pad kit with all the Taylored Impression Plates. 

Next up is Life Is A Circus, illustrated by Doug Applegate for the Apple Doodle Ink line. This is also a full sized stamp set and includes 17 images and sentiments. 

I can hear the circus music now...and doesn't that bring back fun memories? The images in this set are perfect for either stand-alone focal points or for building little scenes like my "Under the Big Top" scene with the tent and the seal. 

I used fun papers from October Afternoon's Campfire collection and popped the seal and the stand on foam tape so they'd stand out from the tent and look like they're in the foreground. 

The blue strip with the circles and stars is the new Star Border Die. I cut it out once from blue cardstock, then again from yellow, and used the yellow stars to fill in the negative space on the blue strip. 

Now you're off to hop around and see what the rest of the Baker's Dozen created today!

Charmaine Ikach 
Danielle Lounds 
Jami Sibley 
Jodi Collins 
Karen Giron 
Melissa Sauls 
Melody Rupple 
Nancy McKinney 
Regina Mangum 
Sankari Wegman 
Taylor VanBruggen 
Tori Wild

Wanda Guess

See you tomorrow with another day of fun sneak peeks!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen