Fun With Favors

Good Morning Everyone!

I love all the favor boxes, bags and more that Taylor has in her store and for today's project -loved creating some goodies with the clear favors(there are both the circle shaped favors and the heart shaped favorsavailable) and I couldn't wait to use these favors into my cards :) I love using an item for more than one function - and love that you can use it for giving treats to friends to using it on your card for a fun look. I used the clear circle favor that looks like this <--

And created a little goldfishy bowl card with the sweet little fishes from from the Fish In Love A-La-Carte stamps along with the scalloped lid favor box for a little extra sweet holder :)

Here is a picture of the individual card with the clear favor box as the center piece:

And here is a side view of the "goldfish bowl effect":

I love all the favor boxes - its nice to have so many options and I love being able to pull out a favor box when I need something and its already scored and ready to go. I used thescalloped lid favor box to create this:

Project Ingredients:

Paper: Prism Papaya Puree (medium and dark) and Prism frosted Teal and Cosmo Cricket

Inks: Memento Ladybug red/copics

Stamps: Fish-In-Love a-la-carte stamp set and Animal Love sentiments

Accessories: spellbinders (circles and labesls), adirondack liquid pearls (stream), kaiser bling, MS heart punch, white gel pen, glue dots, orange and eucalyptus stickles, sponger and dimensionals

Check out all of the variety of favors that Taylor has in the store! And also make sure you hit the subscribe button at the top of the blog, so you can stay up to date on all of the happenings atTaylored Expressions and be in the "know" for all the deals and steals that Taylor has in her store!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sending you happy "fishes" for a great day ;)

(i just couldn't resist :)))

Sankari :)

A Frame for the Fridge

Happy New Year!

Hope that everyone had a lovely holiday and that you are rested and geared up to start the New Year (and New Decade!! WOW!) Today, I am excited to share with you something that I made to use all year long ... a little something for our fridge :)

I don't know about your fridge - but ours always looks full and cluttered and is such a mess - everything always ends up on the fridge, artwork, appointments, notes of numbers without names :) and so this year- one of my New Year's Resolutions is to de-clutter our house - so I thought I would start with our fridge. I saw this frame (it holds 3 photos that are 4x6) and thought that it would be something nice to have up on our fridge - where I could change up the monthly calendars and photos for each month:

All of this is from the August 20th Key Ingredients kit and to adhere it to the fridge - I just added some magnets to the back of the frame and then attached it to the fridge:

The top photo area has a place for holding the awesome Mini-Calendars that you can download right away from Taylored Expressions. I thought that each month to create a little mini calendar/affirmation site that could be the focus of that month - here is the one for January:

And then the second photo area I thought could be a place to display a picture of that month of my two wee children :) and in this way at the end of the year, I can put together some scrapbook pages of all 12 months worth of pictures of them. Here they are from a couple of weeks ago :) with one of my most favorite sentiments from the stamp set: Discover Your Wings.

And the the last photo area could be a place for some stamped creations: The sentiment (dream), the embossed butterfly and the silhouette scene is from the beautiful and inspiring newly released stamp set: Discover Your Wings:

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Stay tuned for next week where we start to show you some awesome peeks of the stamps that Taylor will be releasing in January!

Wishing You a New Year full of fulfilled dreams and all joys and happiness!!!

Big hugs!

Sankari :)

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Card Ingredients:

Paper: August 20th Key Ingredients

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Expresso

Stamps: Celebrate Life and Discover Your Wings from Taylored Expressions

Accessories: Bling it On, corner rounder, EP bridal, EK sucess punch, Sakura gel pens & magnets

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 :)

TEBB Challenge #12 Hosted by Sankari

Hi Everyone! Sankari here to bring you another challenge!!! Woo-hoo!!!

Today has been a nonstop birthday bash PAR-TAAY! One of my favorite things to do for birthdays is to decorate - I love making crowns for the bday girl/boy, balloons, streamers, treatbags - the works! So how about a little decoration with embellishment challenge - specifically buttons!

CHALLENGE: Get out your buttons!!! Decorate your creation with buttons as the main embellishment - they can be BIG, small, colorful, different shapes, sizes, etc. - whatever you would like! The main thing is to have buttons (more than one) as the main embellishment - let's see the most creative button usage you've got!!! woo-hoo!!

KEYWORD: Upload your creation to your blog or online gallery (or both). If you’re uploading to online galleries, use the keyword TEBBSW. Then come back to this challenge and leave a comment with a direct link to your creation! In order to be eligible for the prizes, you must leave a comment with a link to your card by midnight PST Wednesday, September 9th.

PRIZE: I will choose my favorite creation from among all the participants and mail you the button box that I created for this challenge along with a $10.00 gift certificate to the TE Store!

GRAND PRIZE: One random person who participates in ALL 13 of our Birthday Bash challenges will receive a $50 gift certificate to the TE Store in addition to an 8x10 custom watercolor Cuppie painting by our very own Jessie Oleson! Click here to check out all of Jessie's adorable artwork at her Etsy Shop. Once you complete and link all 13 challenges, send an email to tayloredexpressions@gmail.com to be eligible for our grand prize! Just include your name and “I completed all 13 challenges!”

MY BUTTON PROJECT:

I love all the yummy buttons in the Taylored Expressions store - especially the Clear Buttons - because you can make SO many fun buttons by combining them with different Designer Papers!!!

Here is what I made using the Clear Buttons, with the August Key Ingredients (which I think is one of my FAVE Key Ingredients and the Perfect Package Card Box (specifically designed to hold A2 cards! :

Here is a closer peek:

Card Details:

All of the papers, ribbon, bling, rub ons and cardstock are from the August Key Ingredients. The rest of the project is made up using the Clear Buttons from TE, Perfect Package card box from TE, spellbinders, and adhesive!

Can't wait to see how you ROCK the BUTTONS!!!!

Have Fun!!!!

Sankari :)

And stay tuned for Jackie who is going to be next with the last challenge!

A Chillaxin' Favor Box

Good Morning Everyone,

Are you loving all the sweet sneak peeks from the Baker's Dozen for the two new sets that are being released tomorrow? I love the Chillax set and used it to create a party favor for my friend's birthday party: (this set will be available tomorrow, Aug, 5th!)

I love all the Favor Boxes that Taylor has in her store! I love having a few of each handy - because you can create a sweet packaged treat in a snap! I used the scalloped lid box (and you can pick out of a zillion different color choices too!!!)  and created this little favor box from a smoothie mix - using the sentiment from the newest stamp set called: You're so smooth!

Here is a picture showing the favor box not assembled, some plastic treat bags, a smoothie mix and the finished product:

And here is a picture of when the treat box is opened: I put the smoothie mix in the plastic treat bag and finished it off with a ribbon:

This was such a quick and easy way to make some fun party favors for the birthday party - and you can decorate it in a snap! Please check out the Taylored Expressions store for all the variety of favor boxes and Perfect Packages!!!! Trust me - these are fantastic for creating something special in a snap!!!

Also you can sign up for the newsletter for all the happenings from the Taylored Expressions store right on the right side of the blog! And make sure you check out Taylor's blog tomorrow and the store for the details on the newest release!!!

Hope you are having a smoooooth day! 

Hugs :)

Sankari :)

A Beary Special Gift Set

Hi Everyone,

My good friend just had a wee little baby last week and we are going over to see the new baby and her big sister tomorrow. I have a little  present ready for the baby - but I wanted to make something special for her big sister who is still young and is transitioning from being an only child to the role of a big sister. So when we give our gift to the baby, I wanted to make something special just for her to open also :)

I saw this little footstool over at Target the other day and couldn't wait to transform it into something "beary special" ;) using Taylor's sweet Beary Special Stamps and Beary Special Accessories stamp set. I love using these stamps because they were created to be part of Taylor's Charitable Giving Tree and a portion of both of these stamps will go to benefit the Hospital for Sick Kids - you can Check out Taylor's Blog Post for more information about the Charitable Giving Tree and this beautiful cause. 

Steps for the Foot stool:

1.  I cut out a shape from my Spellbinders and taped that onto the stool and then I painted the whole foot stool with some patio paint furniture (any paint that can go on wood is fine). I also cut out a scalloped edge that I taped on the stool before painting and on the sides I did the same thing by punching out a circle (1 3/4") taping it on the stool and then painting over it in a lighter shade of pink. After masking and painting the stool - I took the masked shapes out to reveal the shape in white on the stool.

2. With my stamp-a-ma-jig, I aligned the bear and stamped with Staz-On Black. I did the same kind of alignment with the flower stamp so that it could be stamped as if the little bear was holding it and also stamped the sentiment "You are Beary Special" in the same way using the Stamp-a-ma-jig. 

3. I painted the bear and flower with the patio paint with a small paintbrush 

4. Stamped the sides with the heart stamp from this stamp set and then painted it. 

5. I used my stamp-a-ma-jig again to stamp the images with the Staz-On Black ink again so that if any of the outline got covered up in the painting process, it would appear again.

5. Outlined the spellbinders shape, scalloped edge and the circle on the side of the stool with liquid pearls.

6. I took the pictures while still wet :) so I didn't have a chance to paint a clear finishing glaze over the whole stool, which will not only protect it, but also will not allow the stamped images or colors to fade.

I also made a matching card for the gift using the June 20th Key Ingredients paper. The bear and flower were paper pieced from these sweet papers. I used the same motif of outlining with the liquid pearls and finished off the flower with the candy dots that are part of the June Key Ingredients pack.

Card Ingredients:

Paper: June 20th Key Ingredients and the Bluish Dark Red cardstock Taylored Expressions

Ink: Chocolate Chip from SU!

Stamps: Beary Special stamp set and Beary Special Accessories stamp set 

Accessories: Spellbinders Die, Candy dots and Ribbon are part of the June 20th Key Ingredients kit, EK success border punch, embossing folder

I had a lot of fun making this project and using these sweet stamps. I can't wait to see the baby - and to give her big sister this little ensemble so that she will also feel beary special!! :)

Don't forget that if you aren't already signed up for the SASI newsletter - you can click the button on the right sidebar!

Thanks so much for dropping by :)!

Sankari :)

Father's Day - BBQ Gift Ensemble

Good Morning Everyone,

Today I am excited to show you a project that I have been working on for my Father-in-law who loves to fire it up on the grill :) He loves to cook and has some awesome recipes - so I thought I would make a personalized recipe box for him to go with the BBQ set. 

So I made a little BBQ card, a personalized recipe box, some fun recipes and a little gift box with some grilling sauces, brush and skewers to go along with it using Taylor's Boys Will Be Boys set. (The The Boys Will Be Boys set is currently out of stock. But if you'd like to be notified when it becomes available, go here, and click request restock notification. Just enter your email address and you'll be notified as soon as it's available!)

The BBQ Gift Box 

1. I took a wooden box and then painted it red - kinda BBQish :)

2. Filled it with two grilling sauces, a brush and skewers with some packing crunchies

3. Created a little tag from this stamp set that reads: All Hail the Grill Master!

The Card

1. Everything on this card comes from the Father's Day Key Ingredient's set 

2. All the stamps are from the Boys Will Be Boys stamp set - I stamped the grill on to the metal plate and then paper pieced it onto the grill - so that it is all metallic

3. I used Taylor's Friday Cupcake Sketch # 68 sketch for this card

The Recipe Box

1. I took a recipe box and painted the top brown (it had some flower motif on it before)

2. covered it with some of the papers from the Father's Day Key Ingredient set

3. I used the Cuppie Nurse image from the Doctor's Orders set and paper pieced her uniform into an apron and created a little chefs hat for the cuppie

4. I created the sentiment - Paul's Top Secret Recipes with the Just Rite Stamp set available at the Taylored Expressions store  and cut it out with my Spellbinders and added some ribbon from the Key Ingredient's set

5. The front of the box has a little slot for labels that reads: Paul's - also created with the Just Rite system

6. The box opens to reveal 8 tabs each of them stamped with individualized recipe divisions: Veggie, BBQ, Polish, Pizza, Chili, Soups, etc. (all of my Father-in-Law's favorite foods that he loves to cook)

7. I also created three recipe inserts (one for the soup section, one for the pizza section and one for the BBQ section and stamped a little something on them)

8. For the BBQ section, I stamped one of the skewers from the Boys will Be Boys stamp set.

9. For the Soup section, I stamped the cuppie from Thanksgiving from theYear of Sweets 3- I paper pieced him and instead of thanksgiving I created a bowl (and actually, the bowl is the cuppies head, upside down and paper pieced :)

10. For the Pizza section, I stamped the Cuppie from Christmas from the Year of Sweets 3 - I paper pieced him also and instead of the plate of cookies, I created a little pizza on the plate :)

I had so much fun creating this little father's day gift for my Father-in-law because I know he will love his new BBQ goodies :) and it was so easy to create with all the fun products at the Taylored Expressions store!!! Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter (button on the right side of this blog) so that you can get all the most recent information and inspiration from the Taylored Expressions store!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!!

Hope you all have a great day!

Sankari :)

Mini Bookcase with Drawers

Hi Everyone, 

Have you had a chance to read through this blog - because it is just full of inspiration! You can sign up for the newsletter to this blog (on the right hand side) and that way - all the updates come right to you!

Today's project is a little birthday present that I created  for one of my dear friends who is a writer. I wanted to give her something that she could keep on her desk that could hold some office supplies like paper clips, thumb tacks, etc. I love the papers from the Key Ingredients and I adore Taylor's newest stamp set Branching Out and used both of these to create this little mini chest with drawers.

In each of the drawers I put a little special something in it and one of my favorite things in creating this project was to create a little special drawer for a secret stash of chocolate :) YUM! 

It was really simple to make this project - it goes very quickly because the boxes are super simple and easy to make. 

TO CREATE THE BOXES: 

To make them you need a 5 x 5 piece of cardstock, scored at 1.5 inches from the edges, and then folded and adhered. To create theses 6 boxes took about 15 minutes! Very quick! Here is a little tutorial with pictures how to make the boxes:

1. I used my The Tiny Dancer Collection paper that comes with the Easter Key Ingredients kit from Taylored Expressions to create my drawers

2. Cut cardstock to 5 x 5 inces

3. Score cardstock at 1.5 inches from the edges

4. If you don't have a Scor Pal - you can use a Paper cutter - just place where it needs to be scored and use your scorer along the path of the blade.

5. Cut the paper along the vertical fold only until the middle

6. Fold and adhere

7. Use a mini circle punch (1 "punch) to create a half circle to create room to pull the drawers out

8. Your 2 x 2 inch card is ready to be decorated and filled!!! 

TO CREATE THE HOLDER FOR THE BOX: 

After you make the boxes - you can create a little shelf to hold them in - I created a box that was to hold the drawers in. All you need for this is a piece of cardstock that is 8 3/16 by 5 1/2 inches to hold two of these drawers. The cardstock is then scored at 2 inches, folded and adhered. Here is a little tutorial on how to make these drawer holders:

1. I used the beautiful and heavy cardstock from Taylored Expressions (comes with the Easter Key Ingredients kit) and measures 8 1/2  x 11 inches

2. I cut the cardstock to 8 3/16th by 5 1/2 inches and then scored at 2 inches from the edges.

3. No Score Pal? No problem  - you can use your paper cutter as a scorer - just run the scorer through the tracks of where the blade would run

4. Cut vertically up the folds towards the middle (2 cuts going up on the bottom and 2 cuts coming down from the top)

5. Fold and adhere.

6. Your rectangular box (4  3/16  x  2 inches) is now ready to hold two little drawers!!

Then all you have to do is to adhere and create levels to your mini chest by stacking them up. I created three levels. And then decorate as you like. 

This project was really simple - because all the papers in the Key Ingredients kit coordinates and it comes with built in accessories such as the felt flowers, brads and matching ribbon. Everything is already ready at your fingertips! 

Since this is a gift for one of my dear friends - I used this beautiful sentiment: We are friends forever in sunshine and shade! Isn't that sentiment just the sweetest! It was fun to stamp the tree from the Branching Out set on either side and decorating them with the emerald liquid pearls for leaves and brads for flowers (an idea that was inspired by Donna Baker). I stamped and cut out the tree branch from this set and also two little cutie owls from the Branching Out coordinate set and then tired a little bow from this sheer ribbon. On the front of each of the drawers, I attached these super cute felt flowers with these cute glittery brads - all of which come together as part of the Key Ingredients kit. 

Supplies:

Paper: Easter Key Ingredients Kit

Stamps: Branching Out and Branching Out Coordinates

Ink: SU! Rose Red

Accessories: Scorer, Paper Cutter, ruler, (Ribbon, felt flowers, brads - all come with the Easter Key Ingredients kit), adhesives, 1"circle punch (Martha Stewart), Liquid Pearls

This was such a fun project and a quick one too - and once everything was folded and stacked - it was so much fun to decorate and fill it up! I still love that one drawer with a secret chocolate stash! Thanks so much for visiting!

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Sankari