Pamper Yourself Gift Set by Dawn

Today I have a wonderful little gift set to share with you! Taylored Expressions came out with a gorgeous new set called Luxurious Labels that I know everyone is going to ♥love♥! Gift giving is so much better when there are homemade touches. Like this gift tag for example ;)
This bath set had a crummy little tag on it that I quickly snipped off as soon as I got home. Adding a handmade tag using the Luxurious Labels makes this boring set spring to life!
The tag was created but layering several Spellbinder Nesties. First I stamped the image in Memento Black ink onto some Choice Snow White cardstock. The image was coloured with Copics and some Stickles were added to the bubbles. Organdy ribbon and paper piercing were added as final touches. To attach the tag I used an eyelet...I know...do people still use these things? LOL...well it worked well for my tag ;)
Thanks for taking a peek at my little gift set! I can't wait to give this away :)

Altered Date Stand by Sankari

Good Morning Everyone,

I am so excited to share a little project with you that I created for a special friend of mine who will be celebrating her birthday soon :) I have been eyeing this awesome alterable date stand that is in the Taylored Expressions store and couldn't wait to decorate it up!! I thought that it would make the perfect birthday gift for my friend - she is a busy girl these days trying to get some special projects done and I wanted to give her something inspiring that she could look at on her desk.

This little date stand comes packaged with two cubes of numbers so that you can always know what the date is and also with three longer rectangles with the names of the months.I gave the blocks of numbers and names a light wash of gold paint and then went ahead with painting the date stand red (with some acrylic paint from the craft section).

After painting the blocks - I went over it with a glaze black gel pen and attached faux stitching (I know that stitching on wooden blocks is impossible but I had to add some because I am totally addicted to dots!! LOL!) . I wanted the front panel to have an inspiring quote to start the day - and since she is working on something very special - I wanted her to have faith in her project and to know that it will happen - and so I used the very beautiful sentiment that says : "Faith is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark -Tagore" which is from the Lasting Impressions stamp line: Faith & Hope.

I cut this out with Fancy Tags Label from Spellbinders and then sponged the edges with Memento Ink: (Rich Cocoa) before adhering it to the date stand. On either side, I stamped the tree branch image from the Branching Out stamp set on Choice Buttercream cardstock and then used the Chipboard birds from Maya Road (that comes with the October 20th Key Ingredients Kit). And you know me and liquid pearls- those are my FAVORITE embellishments!!! - I used these Adirondack dimensional pearls (these two colors are Lettuce and Bottle) for some fun accents on the altered date stand:

I wanted her to have notepaper handy that had an inspirational sentiment at the top - and so, I cut out some different colors with the Long Scalloped Rectangles (Large) Spellbinders and then stamped these three sentiments onto the different colors: Along with the Tagore sentiment - I also added the sentiments: "And will you succeed, Yes, Indeed, Yes, Indeed" and the sentiment: "Congratulations, today is your today, You're Off to Great Places - You're off and away"...( both of which are from the Places You will Go stamp set).

I tied some Double Edged Polka Dot Ribbon onto the pens and as the last touch - I added some Dimensional Pearls from Adirondack onto the sides of the date stand and also to the leaves... (they make it soooooo easy to create leaves - just a few dots is all you need and voila: leaves!

I hope that she enjoys using this date stand and that she feels inspired every day as she works on her projects :) I had so much fun altering this date stand - and can't wait to get some more to make some Christmas presents. This whole project took about an hour and a half (drying time included) and I was thinking, that if I got a few more, I could just crank it out in an assembly style fashion :)

Hope you enjoyed this little birthday present!

And hope you are having a wonderful day!!!

Big hugs!

Sankari :)

Our Friday Friend Pam

It's been so fun lately searching the SCS gallery for Our Friday Friends. So many cute creations and we just love seeing what each of you make with your TE stamps and Key Ingredients kits! Please remember to use keyword tayloredexpressions (NO SPACE) whenever you upload so we can find you!

This week two Wings of Joy creations by the same stamper jumped out at us and we're excited to have Pam Varnell as Our Friday Friend today. You might know her as stampingpam on SCS. You can see her Wings of Joy cards here and here. Super cute, huh? We asked Pam to sample Taylor's sketch today and here it is. Click on the photo to see it larger and visit Pam's blog The Stamping Addict for more details.

Let's get to know a little bit about Pam:

--What city/state do you live in?
Ringgold, GA

--How did you become addicted to papercrafts? How long have you been stamping?
I got addicted to papercrafts when I was asked by a cousin to go to a local scrapbooking store for a crop. Crop, what was a Crop. It took me just one night to get hooked. That was in 2001. I started stamping after going to my first SU party 2 years later in 2003. Been addicted to stamping ever since.

--How would you describe your style? What are you favorite projects to create?
I love bright, bold colors and I would describe my style as "funky". I love to make cards more than any project I know.

--Do you have a favorite TE image?
My favorite TE image is the "Joy" image from the set Wings of Joy.

--What is your favorite sweet treat?
Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate, particularly ice cream.

Thank you Pam for being Our Friday Friend!

I hope you all have a sweet weekend! Be sure to hop over to Taylor's blog to see the sketch and play along!

-Jami

Minestrone Recipe Card by Denise

Hey all! It's Denise here. Today I want to show you a 4x6 recipe card I made for some Minestrone soup. It's a REALLY yummy recipe from Rachel Ray (I love her show!). In the fall and winter, soup just tastes better and this one has a great crunchy topping that you can add...a topping of crumbled up bread, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese toasted with butter. Oh yum!! It takes minestrone soup to a whole new level, let me tell ya!

Oh, and go ahead and laugh at me for the *who* grain penne, LOL! Oops! Oh well, gives it character, right?? {wink}

I typed up the recipe on my computer and printed it out on Choice Buttercream CS, stamped some images from my Celebrate Life set over the text in Memento Cocoa and So Saffron, and added little dots of Platinum Stickles to the centers of the saffron silhouettes. The rust-colored DP and twill ribbon (the reverse side of the alphabet twill) is from the Places You'll Go Key Ingredients Kit.

I put my recipe cards in a binder with clear card protectors (two recipes per sheet) so they don't get messy when I'm cooking, and because I can see both sides through the clear protectors, I make my cards two-sided. I put the title and ingredients on the front of the card, and here's the back with the cooking instructions and calorie info.



SUPPLY LIST ~
Stamps: TE Celebrate Life
Paper: Kraft, Prism Suede Brown Dark, DP from Places You'll Go Key Ingredients
Ink: Memento Cocoa, So Saffron
Accessories: Platinum Stickles, Twill Ribbon from Places You'll Go Key Ingredients, Corner Rounder Punch

Have an awesome day!
Denise

Holiday Luminary by Charmaine

When I was thinking of what to create for my post today, I remembered something I wanted to do when I created this project a month ago. I wanted to create a luminary using this house image.


When I was a little girl, I remember many Christmas Eves at my grandparent's house. My grandma had this church that used to sit on the mantle. It was a wind-up musical church. There was a light inside that glowed through the faux stained glass windows. It played Christmas carols like Silent Night and Away in a Manger and I spent many Christmas Eves winding it up and listening as I watched the glow through the windows and imagined a little village with little people. . .I had quite an imagination growing up! :) Anyway, when I created my little box last month, I knew I wanted to re-vamp it and create a luminary box!



The first thing I did was cut all of the windows from the image using a craft knife.









The next thing I did was stamp the house image from Holiday Wonder on a piece of vellum.















I cut the window sections from the vellum.







Then I adhered the vellum windows behind the cut out windows.














I didn't have another of the tall gable favor boxes, so I opened up and traced the one I had onto brown cardstock. I cut off the top tabs so that the box would be flat on top. Before assembling the box I cut out the front portion that would be hidden behind the house image.












I assembled the box and inserted my battery-operated tea light.













I attached the house image to the front of the box and there you have it! A cute little luminary that hopefully will give my girls lots of the special memories that I have! Can't you just imagine little Cuppie and family inside all toasty in front of the fire opening presents? LOL The tea light flickers, so it really does look like a fire is going inside! Hope you enjoyed my project and try one yourself!

Happy Friday! Do you have big plans for Halloween? It's a big holiday at Taylored Expressions, you know? The sweets, the decorations, the cats in costumes... *grin* Today Taylor has another sketch challenge for you over on her blog and we have a sample of it right here brought to you by Our Friday Friend. Please welcome Regina Mangum - you may know her as *thestampinbean*. Her Merry Little House card caught our attention last week, so we thought it would be nice to get to know her a bit better. Regina is making all pink cards this week in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Today's card features Wings of Joy, For the Love of Cupcakes and A Year of Sweet Sentiments. Do you see all three sets in there? You can hop over to Regina's blog The Stampin' Bean for more details.

--What city/state do you live in?
I just moved to New York, NY in August. I'm originally from Los Angeles.

--How did you become addicted to papercrafts? How long have you been stamping?
I've enjoyed craftmaking and papercrafts ever since I was a little girl, but it was only since the beginning of 2009 that I started stamping. My wonderful mom-in-law, an avid and talented stamper, got me hooked (much to the chagrin of her son!)

--How would you describe your style? What are you favorite projects to create?
I've been told that my style is a bit of everything. It depends on my mood, which means anything from clean and simple to bright and fun. I do admire all styles very much, so I think that's what makes mine a bit of a mish-mash. Though I also scrapbook, I love card-making most of all. I think it's so gratifying to make a hand-made card to send to someone I love. I'll make a card for no special reason and I know that the person that receives it gets a little bit of sunshine in their day. I also really enjoy making cards/scrapbook pages where I can use photographs or images that I've created myself.

--Do you have a favorite TE image?
That's a question with a near-impossible answer! What I love about Taylor's sets is that when you see one of her images, you know it's a TE stamp. Every time I get a new set, it becomes a favorite.

--What is your favorite sweet treat?
I am definitely an ice cream fan. I could eat it any time, any place. My poor husband is allergic to milk, but my son and I aren't, and we don't have any guilt about eating it in front of him!

THANKS REGINA FOR BEING OUR FRIDAY FRIEND!!!

How about you? Would you like to be considered for a spot as Our Friday Friend? Simply remember to use Keyword tayloredexpressions (no space) when uploading your TE creations to the gallery at SCS. We love to see what you make!

Have a sweet weekend!

-Jami

Merry Christmas Notepad by Jackie Pedro

Hi everyone! It's Jackie here with a fun project to get you a little organized for the holidays! I don't know about you, but I make a Christmas list every year but never seem to have it on hand when I need it most! Well, this year, I decided to make myself a little notepad that I can carry in my purse and pull it out whenever I need it!

I recently ordered some long notebooks and couldn't wait to make this project! The notebooks measure 2 1/2" x 8". For the notebook I cut a piece of cardstock 6 1/4"x8 1/4, scoring along the 6 1/4" side at 3" & 3 1/4". I used the darling whimsical tree from the new Taylored Expressions set Wings of Joy. It was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black, colored in with Copic markers and cut out with Rectangle Nestabilities. I sponged some Pretty in Pink (SU!) ink on around the edges of the image before removing it from the die. Love the look of the white edge! The quilted block background was made with the new Eskimo Kisses DP from Basic Grey and a 1 1/4" square punch. I adhered them to a piece of Pretty In Pink cardstock and then used my sewing machine to give it a quilted look! The sentiment was masked and then cut out with the Tag Trio dies from Spellbinders. Again, I sponged a little bit of Pretty in Pink ink around the image before removing from the die. A little bling, ribbon and button and I was done! I just love this little notepad!

Here is a little bit different view!

Here is a picture of the notepad itself! The notebook was adhered to the inside with some red line tape. I can't wait to put this to good use! I hope I gave you some inspriration to make one of these yourself! They really are so easy!

Did you know that Taylored Expressions has a monthly newsletter? It's so easy to sign up! Just head on over to the Taylored Expressions Website and enter your email under the "join our mailing list" icon and that's it! You will be informed of any new releases and and all of the new "Fresh From the Oven" products in the store!

Halloween Co-Worker Treats by Donna Baker

I know Halloween is literally around the corner and you may have already planned your treats, but I have a fun basket of goodies to share with you! 

While out shopping at Target a few weeks ago, I found some cute candy corn cello bags, perfect to make some co-worker gifts for my husband to pass out at work with some candy corn & salted peanut mix.  If you like sweet & salty, this is perfect for you!  It tastes like a payday candy bar.  Last year I introduced this treat to some of his co-workers and one guy, every time I see him reminds me of it & asks when I'm going to bring some more - lol.
Here are the treats close up.  I made these treats in less than an hour - stamping the circle stamps from Spooky Expressions with several greetings like sweet treats and boo bites.  Then, punched holes in them.  I used the twist ties that came in the package to tie them.  The one potion bottle was given to the co-worker who loves the mix - he was so excited! I stamped on sticker paper and topped with orange and black polka dot ribbon.

I hope this inspires you to brighten someone's day with some easy and fun treats; remember it doesn't have to be a special occasion - sometimes the best treats are the unexpected ones.  My husband passed these out 3 weeks before Halloween, so it was surely unexpected!

Don't forget to sign up for the TE Newsletter-link is on the sidebar.  You don't want to miss out on any specials, samples and design team member features!

Webby Treat Bag by Sharon Harnist

Hi everyone -- I have Halloween treat bag to share with you today! With Halloween just a little over a week away, you still have time to package up some treats with this sweet bag and maybe give them to co-workers, neighbors, teachers, or your children’s classmates!


When I first saw this spider web in the Spooky Expressions stamp set, I knew I wanted to try sewing it! To accomplish a realistic look, I stamped the web with white ink onto vellum cardstock (I have a piece of black cardstock underneath the vellum so the web will show up for you).



Then I carefully stitched along the white lines with white thread. I found it easiest to stitch around the curved outer lines, working my way inward, saving the straight lines for last. Next, I die cut my bag (a variety package of 3 bright colors found at Target in the gift bag section) with Spellbinders Classic Inverted Scalloped Circle Nestabilities. The bag measures 3.5” x 6.5” – the perfect size for this web, I think!

To make the cut, just slip the die into the bag while it’s still folded, cutting edge up – position it low into the bag, about 1-inch from the bottom:



Apply adhesive either on the inside of the bag, near the die opening or if it is too difficult to get your hand and adhesive on the inside of the bag, apply adhesive to the front side of the vellum web cardstock and then slip it into the bag, pressing the vellum web in place. While the bag is still folded, stamp the spider.

I topped the bag with some Basic Grey Eerie patterned paper (from the Halloween ‘09 Key Ingredients Kit) that was punched with Martha Stewart’s Picket Fence edge punch. I stamped and colored the cute witch legs and die cut the image with the same Classic Inverted Scalloped Circle Nestabilities. It is popped up on foam tape.

To finish the bag, I added orange chipboard letters (from the Halloween ‘09 Bundle) to the bottom of the bag and filled it with candy corn. I think this bag will definitely make a smile on Halloween! Thanks for visiting today!


Supplies --
Stamps: Spooky Expressions Paper: Basic Grey Eerie (from TE Halloween Key Ingredients ‘09 Kit), TE Choice Snow White, black, vellum cardstock Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Palette New Canvas; Copic markers V15, YG23, YR12 Accessories: Orange sparkly chipboard letters (from TE Halloween ‘09 Bundle), Spellbinders Classic Inverted Scalloped Circle-Sm Nestabilities dies, foam tape, Target treat bag (3.5” x 6.5”), sewing machine & white thread

~Sharon

Halloween Smoothie - by Karen Giron

Hello everyone! Can you believe Halloween is right around the corner? Time to get ready, and I have the perfect little decoration AND treat for your office or stamping space and it is SO super easy to do. Whether you eat the treat or not, you can't deny how DE-lish all those yummy goodies look in the little jar, now can you? I think this cute little "smoothie" looks so cute sitting on my desk and boy are my kids going to be begging for all this sugar all day, every day. Hopefully my friendly little spider will keep them away, ha!

I'm using paper, ribbon, and brads from the Halloween Key Ingredients Kit as well as the set, Spooky Expressions. I stamped the images in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them with Copic Markers. Next, I used circle and circle scallop Nestabilities to cut the images out and layered them on coordinating card stock. I dabbed some Stardust Stickles on the witch's boots because I thought she would like to have some sparkly shoes, since Dorothy ran off with the red ones... Putting the jar items together is a snap - just find fun candies to layer on top of each other in the jar and add the Pixie Stick "straw" to finish the look.

Taylor is hosting the October 20th Key Ingredients Challenge at her blog along with some of the Baker's Dozen. Hop on over to Taylor's blog to see all the details, to play along, and catch a peek of this month's KI kit.

Have you signed up for the Taylored Expressions newsletter? You'll get the latest specials, news, and ideas delivered right into your inbox. Head on over to the Taylored Expressions homepage and sign up on the left sidebar.

Just a reminder, please "drink" your Halloween Smoothie responsibly so you don't go into a sugar coma - LOL! Have a wonderful day.

Karen


recipe -
stamps: spooky expressions
ink: memento tuxedo black
paper: prism intense kiwi, choice snow white card stock
accessories: copic markers, green glimmer ribbon, orange & black polkadot ribbon, spider brads, stardust stickles, circle & circle scallop nestabilities (spellbinders), mini glue dots