Hey, crafty friends! It’s Heather again today! We are so overwhelmed and grateful for all of the wonderful 12th birthday wishes that so many of you have sent our way this week. Thank you so much and we are so thankful for all of you and the part you play to Share Joy and support us at Taylored Expressions.

I have lots of inspiration to share with you today with the new products from our 12th Birthday Release. You’ll get a look at our new Candles Layered Stencil set in a video by Mindy Eggen, a closer look at a few more products from this release, and inspiration from the TE Creative Team.

Before we get to all of that, I want to make sure to remind you about the promotions and the contest to celebrate our 12th Birthday!

Right now through Sunday, September 13th you can get our 12th Birthday Bundle for only $62. The 12th Birthday Bundle includes:

• Bokeh Layering Stencil
• Building Blocks – Happy Additions
• On the Block – Happy
• On the Block – Happy Shadow
• On Repeat – Birthday
• On Repeat Die

We also want to see YOUR favorite handmade birthday cards. Post them on the Fans of Taylored Expressions Facebook Page now through Sunday, September 13th for a chance to win one of 12 – $50 prizes (awarded as store credit)! Winners will be announced on September 14!

If you haven’t shopped the new release yet, click below to check out our new product offerings. Then make sure to keep scrolling for today’s video and inspiration!

• Tune in for new product inspiration: the Creative Team and I have been busy creating with this release which includes 18 new products covering all of our product lines, expanding on popular collections, and introducing new and innovative ideas!
• Our TE blog posts this week (Monday – Thursday) will feature a new how-to tip, technique, or process video.
• Receive FREE shipping on orders of $50 or more in the United States!
• Earn a free, exclusive stamp set with purchases of $100 or more.
• Receive a BONUS I (heart) TE enamel pin FREE with your order!

Today, Mindy Eggen is giving you a closer look at the new Candles Layered Stencil set and coordinating Counting Candles Add-Ons Clearly Crafty stamp set. Watch the video below to see how easy it is to recreate the cute and colorful candles that Mindy stenciled on her card:

In the video, Mindy gives you a closer look at the Candles Layered Stencil set. She shows how to add the color and line up the stencils to create the candle image and how you can add details to the candles using the Counting Candles Add-Ons stamp set.

Here is a closer look at the products that Mindy used on her project:

Use your Blender Brushes to create a lineup of colorful candles with the Candles Layered Stencil set – the alignment guides on the four stencils make everything quick and easy! Add stamped details and sentiments with the coordinating Counting Candles Add-Ons stamp set.

The color options with the candles are endless, especially when you use masking. Mindy used Low Tack Artist Tape (the stickiness is comparable to a Post-it note) to mask off the candles on the stencils so that she could use a rainbow of colors.

Once Mindy stenciled her candle image, she added the star details and sentiment from the Counting Candles Add-Ons stamp set.

Check out the supply list below for everything that Mindy used on her project:

Here is more inspiration from the TE Creative Team using the new 12th Birthday release products…

Noriko Fairchild created shimmer and shine on a few of the candles on her card created with the Candles Layered Stencil set. After stenciling the two solid candles, she applied Stickles Moondust glitter gel through the stencil to add the sparkle. Noriko added finishing touches to her stenciled design with the coordinating Counting Candles Add-Ons stamp set. She added details to the candle flames, the stars twinkling above the candles, and the ‘celebrating you’ sentiment.

Jill Hawkins looked at the candles from the Candles Layered Stencil set from a new angle and the results couldn’t be more fun! Jill stenciled the candles in pinks and greens and used the Counting Candles Add-Ons stamp set to add the details to the candles, stamp the stars, and add the sentiment. I always love spotting Jill’s signature stitching details on her cards!

The new On the Block – Happy stamp (+ the coordinating die) features the word ‘happy’ in a block style font with overlapping letters for a bold and graphic look on your projects. Pair the large ‘happy’ word with other words and sentiments to build your message!

Arjita Sepaha Singh stamped the On the Block – Happy multiple times down her card using two different colors of ink – think of the fun color possibilities you could use on this card design! Arjita added a ‘happy birthday’ sentiment to her project from the Balloon Bouquet Additions stamp set. It’s stamped in Oreo ink on the banner die from the coordinating die collection.

Introducing On Repeat – Birthday! The On Repeat stamp sets (notice the plural… there are more coming!) will feature one word repeated eight times. This will help with mass producing for those holidays and occasions where you’re often making multiple cards. Cut out the eight words from the On Repeat stamps in one pass through your die cut machine using the coordinating On Repeat die and our innovative alignment guides. The On Repeat die cuts out four rectangle shapes and four flagged banners.

We’ve also included a whole bunch of words and phrases to pair with the On the Block – Happy set in the new Building Blocks – Happy Additions stamp. 22 words and phrases are included and can be cut in one pass through your die cut machine using the coordinating Building Blocks die. You can also pair the words and phrases from the Building Blocks – Happy Additions stamp with other ‘happy’ dies in our collection (like Caps Lock – Happy & Happy Script)!

Kevin Bray stamped the ‘happy’ word with the On the Block – Happy stamp in multiple colors on his project. He added the ‘birthday’ word from the new On Repeat – Birthday stamp that is die cut using the On Repeat die. This is a great card design to mass produce for a bunch of different uses: adding birthday cards to your personal stash, gifting cards as a set, or other reasons that you might need multiples of a card design.

Kavya put the On Repeat – Birthday stamp to work to create this fun birthday card. She embossed the ‘birthday’ word in white on several cardstock colors, cut them out with the coordinating On Repeat die, and stacked them up to create a great border design. Kavya left a gap in her border and that was the perfect spot for Millie the mouse and her colorful cake from the Millie’s Birthday Bash stamp set!

Jill Hawkins paired the On the Block – Happy word with one of the sentiments from the Building Blocks – Happy Additions stamp. I love the multicolored ombre affect that Jill did with the ‘happy’ word and how she layered it over a background created with the Bokeh Layered Stencil set (more details below). If you look closely you’ll notice that Jill stenciled one of the bokeh layers with Sugar Cube ink and it adds the coolest effect layered over the other ink colors on Sugar Cube cardstock!

The new Bokeh Layered Stencil set includes three stencils with alignment guides, designed to layer together to create a gorgeous bokeh dot effect. Create colorful card backgrounds with inks, glitter pastes, foils and more to celebrate birthdays and so many other occasions!

This birthday card created with the Bokeh Layered Stencil set by Jen Shults is definitely a favorite! I love how Jen used the bokeh effect as the background on her shaker card and then filled the shaker with sequins and beads that shimmer, shine, and add to the great bokeh effect! She used the On the Block – Happy stamped in Oreo ink paired with the ‘birthday’ word from the Building Blocks – Happy Additions stamp to create the sentiment.

Laurie Willison added a whole layer of shimmer over the top of the colorful polka dot background that is created with the Bokeh Layered Stencil set. Laurie also used the On the Block – Happy stamp (+ coordinating die) along with the On Repeat – Birthday (+ coordinating On Repeat die) to create the sentiment on her birthday card.

And finally for today is this fun birthday card created by Latisha Yoast. I love how Latisha took the On the Block – Happy stamp and coordinating die to create a fun shaker element in the middle of her card background created with the Bokeh Layered Stencil set. She also added in a few of the fun critters from the new Life of the Party stamp set to step up the birthday celebration festivities!

That wraps up the inspiration that I have to share with you today, but there’s one more day of inspiration for the TE 12th Birthday release coming your way tomorrow! There are a few more products from this release that we will take a closer look at plus a video featuring the new Pretty Package die collection. Make sure to stop by and check it out!

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