Good morning, crafty friends! My heart has been heavy this weekend as I watched the coverage of Hurricane Irma which so closely followed the devastation from Hurricane Harvey.I hope that you and all of your family are safe and well. I’ve been praying and will continue to pray for all those affected!

As you know we celebrated our 9th birthday at Taylored Expressions last week! We marked the occasion with a special sketch challenge and a call out to all of our you to enter for a chance to win a prize pack and a chance to be the next TE Guest Designer! The prize pack winners were announced last week and I spent the weekend pouring over all the entries and writing a list of dozens of favorites! Thank you to everyone who participated and made my job of narrowing it down extra difficult!

So without further adieu, let me introduce you to our new Guest Designers! Yes, that’s ‘designers’ with an ‘s’ which means I had such a tough time choosing just one favorite that I chose two!

A note from Noriko:

My name is Noriko and here is a little about myself! By day I am a pediatric nurse on a vascular access team and by night I am a paper-craft enthusiast! I’ve been happily married to my high school sweetheart, Andrew, for over 10 years! No little ones yet, but we have the cutest fur-baby morkie named Winston! Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m full of energy at all times (without caffeine, and nicknamed “Rainbows & Sunshine”) and that I love to help those around me! In my free time I love to craft, travel and try new foods! I am beyond excited and honored to be a Guest Designer for Taylored Expressions!!!

Below is Noriko’s winning entry into the sketch challenge. I loved her choice of bright, bold colors and the adorable spots she added to the monster gave him so much personality! Stop by Noriko’s blog, Flourishing Creations, and give her a warm welcome!

A note from Valerie:

Hi! My name is Valerie and I am beyond thrilled to be here! I’m married to my college sweetheart, we have 4 teenagers ages 15-19 (yes, it’s a little cray-cray around here!), and we have 2 precious Shih-Tzu’s. I went to college for architecture but currently work in the orthodontics field as an Office Coordinator (and I am LOVING IT!). I’ve been scrapbooking since college, started card making in 2011, and I created my blog in 2012. Whenever I’m not busy with family or work, you will find me in my awesome craft room (that I know I am so blessed to have) buried in the wonderful world of creativity!

Below is Valerie’s winning entry into the sketch challenge. She chose my favorite holiday, Halloween, for her card so of course I was instantly drawn in! Her coloring is gorgeous and the glossy black eyes on the owl make me smile! He’s totally giving me the stare down! Stop by Valerie’s blog, Val by Design, and give her a warm welcome!

Stay tuned to see what these two gals create for our upcoming release! I can hardly wait! Thanks again to all who participated!