Good morning again and welcome to our second day of sneak peeks for the January release at Taylored Expressions! All of the products the Baker’s Dozen and I are showcasing will be available for purchase on Thursday, January 5th at 8am PST! And we have even more goodies to share today plus I have a little Valentine treat tutorial to share so I better get right to it!

I am super excited to introduce the first in a series of adorable abodes concepted by Jami Sibley. This is Love Shack illustrated by Doug Applegate for the Apple Doodle Ink collection! Each month we’ll be bringing you a unique abode making these houses the perfect option for decorating our calendar products. I’m sure I’ll be creating a calendar of themed houses sometime this year, but today I decided to create a Valentine card. I started by stamping the house in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloring it with Copics (E31, E34, E55, R81, R83, YG03, YG05, R27). I stamped the tiny picket fence in Colorbox Dark Brown ink, added a silver brad for the doorknob, and highlighted all of the red hearts with Crystal Stickles. I also used the cloud duo dies to cut clouds from the patterned paper. The patterned paper on all of my projects today is from the adorable We R Memory Keepers Love Struck collection.

See the little cone treats hanging from the tree in my photo above? Well, here’s the little treat tutorial that I promised using our new Large Layering Doily Die.

Super quick, super easy, and super cute! A few things I learned in creating these: a light weight patterned paper is easier to fold into a cone shape than cardstock… I found liquid glue to hold better than sticky tape… a Ferrero Rocher chocolate truffle fits perfectly in the cone.

My next project uses Cherie, the latest addition to the Moka collection illustrated by Nancy McKinney. I love this gal! I decided to try the Double Dutch fold for this card. It’s really easy so if you’re not usually one to try unique folds I would totally recommend this one! I stamped Cherie in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, colored her with Copics (R81, R83, R27, E21, E31,Y21, Y32), and cut out the image with Spellbinders Labels 17. With the die still in place I sponged around the inside of the image with blue ink. I added Crystal Stickles to the large red heart and finished it off with red glimmer ribbon, Doodlebug Valentine twine, and a heart embellishment that I created using our new Hearts A Plenty Dies. Here’s a look at the dies that I used on both of my projects today:

I’ve been so excited to share this next bit of info… eeks…here it comes! We’ve been working on a fabulous resource for you that I know you’ll get so much use out of. And the best part… it’s FREE!! We’re offering a Moka Hair Color Chart (designed by Nancy McKinney) and a colored inspiration sheet (colored by the talented Jen Shults) for your reference in coloring hair of all shades! In addition, we’ll be offering Copic Hair Color kits for purchase at the TE Store making it easy to purchase the colors you need. I almost always color hair brown, but thanks to Jen’s fabulous hair color suggestions I stepped outside my comfort zone and colored Cherie as a blonde!

So how do you get the Moka Hair Color Chart? You can find it HERE at the TE Store! It includes Jen’s color inspiration, suggested Copic combinations, and a blank sheet for you to practice and record your own favorite hair color combinations. The Hair Color Copic kits will be available for purchase with our new release items on Thursday, January 5th at 8am PST.

Edited to Add: There has been some confusion on how to download and access the Moka Hair Color Chart. Here are the step-by-step instructions:

1. Add the item to your shopping cart.
2. When you are in the shopping cart, select a shipping method and click the Update Cart button (you will not be charged shipping but you must select a shipping method)
3. Click the Check Out button.
4. Select Credit Card for the payment method. You will not be charged for the download but you still need to select a payment method to make it to the next step.
5. Either log in to your account or fill in the required account information (you do not need to fill in your credit card information)
6. Click the Proceed to Confirmation button.
7. Review your order and select a response to the required checkout question in red text.
8. Click the Finalize Order button.
9. If successful, click on the My Downloads link at the top of the page.
10. Click on the Moka Hair Color Chart file to download your file.

The fabulously talented Baker’s Dozen has more sneak peeks today so make sure you stop by their blogs. And don’t forget to read below for the details of our release and find out how you can win new stamps!

• We have sneak peeks to share Monday through Wednesday.  All of the new products will be available for purchase on Thursday, January 5th 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 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 here on Release Day!  Be sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each blog for more chances to win. Comments close Wednesday 1/4 at 7pm PST.

• 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

Thanks again for stopping by today! You won’t want to miss tomorrow for a sneak peek at two more full-size stamp sets…we have LOTS OF LOVE to share this month!