Category Archives: Taylored Expressions

Today I am sharing projects made for the brand new Taylored Expressions Christmas collection! I love getting a jump start on my holiday crafting, and I loved the variety of themes within this release.

For this card, I used the Festive Fir die with an embossing pad kit to get a crisp impression of the die detail without cutting through the cardstock. I added a masked rectangle frame and added a border using A2 Thin Frame Cutting Plate. The card features a foiled sentiment from the newest collection of Foil It items in the TE Store and white TE Tiny Diamonds.

Next I used the Arched Nativity Cutting Plate with Arched Stacklet Dies to create a framed night sky nativity scene.

I created my scene with Blue Corn, Gumball and Jelly Donut TE Premium Inks blended on Sugar Cube cardstock using the Arched Masking Stencils from the I Want It All Nativity Bundle. Then I used the Twinkle, Twinkle Background stamp and Sea Salt TE Premium Ink to “lift” the stars from the ink blended background. Love this tip I learned from Noriko Fairchild.

I finished this card off with a sentiment foiled from Simple Strips Reverse Christmas, an embossed frame using the Floral Vine Embossing Folder, Bits & Pieces Sparkly Stars in the background sky, and spritzed the black pieces with TE Liquid Watercolor Shimmer.

Again, I reached for the Festive Fir Die. I first cut the tree from Salt Water Taffy Cardstock and Green Apple Cardstock. The Green Apple cardstock was covered with a Sticky Sheet before cutting. After cutting and peeling away the top layer of protective film, I sprinkled the Green Apple pieces with Sugar Cube Glitter. Then I lifted each piece, peeled the back sticky layer and inlaid the pieces into the Salt Water Taffy layer of cardstock.

I added a little detail in the corners of a base layer of Green Apple Cardstock with the new and finished it off with a sentiment foiled from Simple Strips Reverse Christmas – cut with the Sentiment Strips Die.

My next card features elements from the Merry Blooms Stamps and Stencil Combo that is being released as individual items today. I used Blender Brushes to apply the floral blooms and the stamp to add the background foliage. My card features a scoreline accent and set on the Petite Scalloped Rectangle diecut layer. How fun are the Tiny Diamonds to add a little petal center glitz?

Here I’ve used the Trendy Tree Farm stamp and masking stencil combo for a quick and easy card with the Merry Christmas sentiment from the set

I added trees with the stencil layers and then did a simple Gold Embossing Powder layer over the top with the stamp set. Again, I’ve added TE’s Tiny Diamonds for a little glam – I love the size of these Tiny Diamonds! Just a little sparkle and they won’t get caught up in the postage machines.

One more mini slim card featuring the Merry Blooms Stamps and Stencil Combo. I’ve used a variety of Mini Slim dies to create the frames on Green Apple Cardstock – Mini Slim Thin Cutting Plate Frame and Mini Slim Petite Scallop Rectangle Stacklets with more TE’s Tiny Diamonds. (Love those!)

My last card features the Trendy Tree Stamp & Stencil & Die combo again – the elements of this kit are available individually. This was a quick and easy card. After stenciling the trees, I added Happy Medium Glitter through the window and dropped in tiny Bits & Pieces Sparkly Stars and Bits & Pieces Full of Hearts. So easy!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour through my Christmas card projects. Love the different style options from Taylored Expressions, truly something for everyone.

Find much more inspiration from these fabulous designers:

• Noriko Fairchild
• Wanda Guess
• Jill Hawkins
• Emily Mydiowsky
• Kavya
• Heather Nichols
• Melody Rupple
• Jen Shults

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know I’m passionate about living in the Midwest. I find a raw beauty in fields that stretch to the horizon, and I’m in love with our summer and fall seasons here. I think our prairies and prairie flowers are a calming gift, and they my preferred subjects for cardmaking, painting, and sketching.

Today, I’m thrilled to share my latest illustrated stamping kit from Taylored Expressions called Wheatfield Dreams and a few samples that I’ve created! It’s even more special to be a part of Taylor’s 13th Birthday celebration month! Wheatfield Dreams follows two previous sets in my Field Notes Series, Sketchbook Florals and Sketchbook Bouquet. This limited kit includes my new stamp set of the same name with coordinating dies, a beautiful burlap background, 12 fabulous wheatfield foil panels, Copper embossing powder, envelopes and TE matching seals all served up in a fabulous zippered pouch. The kit retails for $69 and is only available from Taylored Expressions while supplies last.

In this card, I’ve used the Foil It Wheatfield panel heated with Deco Foil – champagne color. I love the richness that foil brings to a card!

I created ink blending over the foil panel with Confetti Cake Ink and added Distress Clear Rock Candy glitter from Ranger in the kernels of the wheat. The foil panel was trimmed down and adhered to a Confetti Cake cardstock base back-stamped with clear embossing ink for a watermark and splattered with white paint. I added the large Signature Thanks die cut from TE’s gold foil cardstock and a frame from my favorite accent die set, A2 Thin Frame cutting plate. This frame is a perfect complement to any card design. The thin-line frame finishes the design with no added bulk or weight. I love it!

As with all of Taylor’s kits, I love the coordinating seals and envelopes. The packaging for the card ends up being a real treat to hold in your hands.

It would not be a wheatfield inspired kit without a sunflower. Fun fact, in the midwest, wheat is harvested in the spring – early June, and our sunflowers do not usually show up until late August. No matter about that, they are hand-in-hand for me. Here, the sunflower was heat embossed on watercolor paper and painted with Taylored Expressions Liquid Watercolor colors (brand new: Honey, Mulled Wine, and Sweet Basil) and Chocolate Truffle.

To help launch the kit this month, in addition to the rockstar line up of designers on Taylor’s team, I asked four designers I adore to help me celebrate. Please visit:

• Dana Kirby
• Amy Kolling
• Kelly Lunceford
• Jennifer Timko
• Noriko Fairchild
• Jill Hawkins
• Heather Nichols
• Melody Rupple
• Jen Shults

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you feel a joy in our shift of seasons and find plenty of time for things that bring a smile to your face. If you need me, I’ll be stamping! Have a GREAT DAY!

Something special to share today! It’s a fabulous, easy-to-use Butterfly Wishes kit from Taylored Expressions!

Two included stencils make the shading easy, and the extra space between “rows” of butterflies made it easy to ombre the rainbow across the card panel.

Look at this cuteness! Butterfly Wishes! The $55 kit includes:

• Butterflies Stamp & Stencil Combo
• Sweet Sentiments
• Butterfly Wishes
• Butterflies Dies
• 6 Custom Envelope Seals
• 6 A2 Envelopes (Toffee)
• Pot of Diamond Jewels
• Custom Pouch with Sticker

This was my favorite card, and I put it together with the Butterfly Wishes stencils and stamp. The first step is to stamp the thorax/abdomen cavity of the butterflies.

Then two stencils layer seamlessly over the darker body to give forewing blending with one stencil and hindwing blending with the other. I just reviewed a butterfly project for my college daughter’s art class this weekend, so I’m well versed on butterfly anatomy right now. LOL

For the sentiment, I blended a 2nd panel of wings in the same color combos without stamping the body, stamped the sentiment from the spectacularly versatile, Just Saying and then trimmed the strip to fit. The sentiment tag blends right into the color scheme but the sentiment ink and the body ink do not have to compete with each other, giving your sentiment the attention it deserves.

I finished this card off with the Diagonal Stitch Rectangle Stacklets and Petite Scallop Rectangle Stacklets. LOVE the stitched rectangles to frame the edge of a stamped panel!

In this example, I used only the stamps from the kit to flitter my wings across the canvas. Love the vibrant pop of color on white!

Finally, I’m sharing a tag in one of my favorite color combos – TE Peaches and Cream/Candy Corn, Pineapple/Lemonade, and Pink Champagne/Cupcake blends.  The tags are cut from Tag Stacklets 2 and the stitched cousin, Pierced Tag Stacklets 2. I love how the nested tags with the stitching on the top layer are polished off. One of my favorite looks!

Can’t wait to check out the designer samples for this kit! I know I’ll be blown away and want to get back into my stamping studio pronto!

You can find the Butterfly Wishes Kit HERE while supplies last.

Thanks for stopping by!

I can only take so much alone time, so I gathered some friends for a fun challenge and a fabulous announcement today!

In October I was fortunate to participate in the Taylored Expressions Virtual Stamp Joy event (this is the link to the October event that is over, but you can read all about the fun!) It was 2-days full of fun – make and take projects and classes with 900 of my stamping friends – together, but apart!

This fun collection of stamps, dies, and stencils are the free product that you received for the classes and gifts with purchase that go with the event stamp set. It’s so pretty and versatile, but it was sitting on my desk, waiting for more fun!

So, I gathered up Heather Nichols, Jill Hawkins, Jen Shults, and Caren Bartholomew for a challenge to put the Taylored Expressions Full of Flowers stamps, dies and stencils into action!  The only rule was to use the collection to create a set of 4 cards that you could use as a gift!

Then Taylor shared a secret, and we twisted her arm to blast the news! SPRING VIRTUAL STAMP JOY in March! YAAAS! Save the dates for Friday and Saturday, March 26 & 27. You’ll want to get really comfy at your stamp table and be ready for a weekend of creative learning and fun!

SIGN UP HERE FOR ALL UPDATES SO YOU DON’T MISS ANY STAMP JOY REGISTRATION INFORMATION! 

I knew that I wanted to use Full of Flowers to create a card set in the mini-slim size. It’s my new favorite size! My cards are a single layer on Sugar Cube with Spearmint and Salt Water Taffy inks.

After using the stencil with Taylored Expresssions Blender Brushes, I embossed ‘thinking of you’ from Handlettered Sentiments – handsdown favorite sentiments. I love the scripty font and the precision dies.

I am so happy to have this little gift set ready to go, that I had fun stamping with friends, and that I get to share the Spring Stamp Joy announcement! Turned into a fun project!

Let’s see what my girlfriends created – please visit:

• Caren Bartholomew
• Heather Nichols
• Jen Shults
• Jill Hawkins 

Don’t forget to sign up for more info and updates about Spring Stamp Joy HERE.

Have a FABULOUS Wednesday!

I found a little time to craft last night, and I need to bolster my stash of birthday cards. I’ve had these adorable Be a Unicorn sentiments on my desk along with the Starry Background from Taylored Expressions for months.

I used the Starry Stencil and a pastel rainbow to blend out my background stars. Then I used my Scor-Pal to create a scored frame 1/4″ from each edge. After stamping my sentiment in black, I cut a big white star from Star Stacklets and sprayed with glitter.

If you’re lucky enough to be different, don’t ever change. 

I popped each layer up on foam, and finished the front with a Clear Drip Drops. Relaxed blending and a pastel rainbow. Beautiful way to end my weekend!

Have a GREAT Monday, friends!

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, it’s not a secret that a sketchbook with watercolor or pencils has become a hobby-on-the-go. Business trips, vacations, or close to home – it’s very relaxing to me.  And, while landscapes are fun, I always seem to circle back to flowers.

It’s also no secret that I’m a long time Taylored Expressions fan, and today those worlds collide! Eep! 

My sketchbooks are full of flowers… and today, I’m excited to share that a few of my favorite florals have made their way into a brand new set called Sketchbook Florals in the August Taylored Expressions kit called Field Notes!

When it comes to florals in card making, I love simple blooms with depth and beauty in a single stem that allow for effortless card design, and simple blooms are what you’ll find here. Each is large enough to stand alone on the card-front and easy to color.

Taylor hit all the buttons with the additions to this complete stamping kit to include a beautiful, Rough Draft Background stamp, Frayed Edge masking stencils (the masking stencils are the genius brainchild of my friend Laurie Willison!), stamped sentiments and accessories that remind you of sketchbook accents like date stamps, grids, and swatch boxes… all easy layers behind beautiful blooms, without overpowering. And, it would not be a Taylored Expressions kit without beautiful coordinating stickers and envelopes.

First I stamped the coneflower in a very light Toffee ink on watercolor paper and added no-line watercolor. One of the neat things about no-line watercolor with these images is that they will be a bit forgiving. Just follow the basic shape image! The background was created with my Blender Brushes and splatters of color off of the paintbrush.

For my next card, I used the Frayed Edge stencil on my panel in Confetti Cake ink, embossed the blooms in Gold Embossing Powder on separate cardstock and watercolored before clipping with the coordinating die. I added the perpetual calendar and ‘birthday blessings’ from the Birthday Simple Strips. I’ll just circle the date for my special friend when I get ready to send this through the mail.

For the last card that I’m going to share today, it’s another no-line watercolor bloom, the panel is layered on vellum, and then layered on the toffee card stock with the grid background stamped in toffee ink. At the end, I added a little bit of splatter to both visible layers for interest!

Field Notes is available today from Taylored Expressions. The kit includes:

• Sketchbook Florals Stamp Set
• Sketchbook Florals Dies
• Field Notes Stamp Set
• Rough Draft Background
• Masking Stencils – Frayed Edge Rectangles
• 6 Custom Envelope Seals
• 6 Colored Envelopes (Blue Corn, Lavender Glaze, Salt Water Taffy, Sprinkles, Sweet Basil and Toffee)

I know the TE Design Team has been busy creating so many beautiful samples. I’m going to check out all of their inspiration by hopping over to the Taylored Expressions Blog. I hope you’ll join me!

• Taylored Expressions Blog 
• Jen Shults
• Melody Rupple
• Heather Nichols
• Noriko Fairchild
• Jill Hawkins
• Wanda Guess
• Laurie Willison