Taylor Made designs

Need some ideas? I've got 'em. Perfect Teacher Gifts :)

I know. I am tooting my own horn here, but honestly, this is what's been keeping me busy the last few weeks. Bookplates + notecards for teachers, kids, and friends. I didn't realize how popular these would be. I think both products are priced right and are pretty darn sweet. Boy, I really am tooting my horn huh :)

So get your orders in today. The end of the year is almost here! For my kids June 15th + 18th are the last days of school. You can either contact me via my email address, kat at taylormadedesigns dot com or visit my etsy shoppe.

Here are a few answers to some questions I have already received: Here's the 411. 

Turn Around Time
It's usually a week turn around time, even for custom illustrations. I ship USPS, first class. Depending on where you are, that takes around 3-4 days delivery. Canada, it's longer!

Custom Illustrations
Yes, your order can be  "Taylor Made". I am offering all the illustrations on my ABC print for both the bookplates + the notecards. I also have available: a horse, a crab, flipflops, a purse and a few additional illustrations that I will put in my etsy shoppe. I can create a custo, taylor made illustration for an additional $4.00. Really now, how cool is that? A " Caramel Frappuccino® blended coffee at Starbucks cost more than that!

Email me with questions or requests. Thanks again for all your support!

Bookplates! Perfect for your kids + teacher gifts!

 The end of the school year is quickly approaching! I can't believe a whole school year has past. Time is just flying, no? Time to think about teacher gifts, graduation gifts etc.

My Taylor Made design party the other night went really well. One of my best sellers were these new bookplates I created. As with all my products, I originally made these for Will + Davis. They are always bringing books to school and sharing. We have lost our fair share of books, so I decided it would be pretty smart to create some bookplates to put in their books. Only took me a few years to do it! Well, a couple of parents saw them and asked if I would make some for their children. And tadaa... a new product.

They are available using my ABC illustrations + basically any other illustration you would like. Of course,  I take "taylor made" orders - so a few people the other night asked for a tennis racket and flipflops.  I'll take photos of those and show you how they turned out. (hint, they came out really cute!) They come in a custom made black box. A really delightful gift for anyone!

They will be available in my Etsy store, or if you want, just contact me directly via my email. kat at taylormadedesigns dot com. I can design anything (well, within reason) for you. They are 30 labels for $12.00. A bargain if I do say so myself!

Taylor Made design Party at Sandi's house

On May 8th I am having a Taylor Made designs party at my friend + cousin, Sandi's house. We pointed people to my blog so they could get a sneak peek of my stuff. So welcome to all of Sandi's friends! I hope you will make it. I do not make a boring + painful presentation. It's a pretty casual affair with no pressure to buy. Of course I hope you will find some stuff you'll like. You can see some of my products by checking out my photo album - located on my sidebar to the right. Just click on Taylor Made designs products. You can also visit my Tag-it site, as well as my Etsy store. Oh, I accept all forms of payment: cash, checks and credit cards :) If you see something you'd like, let me know and I will make sure I bring it. Thanks and I look forward to seeing you all next Friday! A big thanks to Sandi for hosting!

Custom Silkscreen Ribbon

I have been getting a lot of inquiries to my custom silkscreen ribbon, it's kinda weird! Out of the 10 emails and phone calls I received, here are two orders that were actually placed. Oliver. is a repeat customer, and Green Gal is new. I have four other people on the fence. Two others who are definitely going to place an order, but need to finalize their artwork. The others, well, they were looking for a 100 yards of ribbon for cheap. I wish I could do cheap... but it's just not doable for me. This custom ribbon stuff takes time! And for a mere $35 bucks, well, I think people are getting something special :)  

Knitting 101

A few years ago my sister Nicole, who is an awesome knitter, taught me how to knit. I completed a small scarf for baby Davis and then just practiced, practiced. Naturally, I got bored and just stopped. Over the years I would pick up my needles, but I couldn't remember how to cast on properly or I would make a mistake and not know how to fix it. Oh, that did not stop me from buying nice yarn whenever I was with Nicole. Funny how that happens huh?

So now I have all these balls of yarn at my house. They look so sad and lonely. So about two weeks ago when I knew I would be seeing Nicole, I brought my knitting and got a refresher course. I feel like I finally got it now. I enjoy sitting in bed, watching some mindless TV and knitting. {Housewives of Orange County anyone? yup. I'm admitting it. Boy is that Tamara a mean girl or what?}

This is my practice scarf. I am going to rip it all out and start again now that I know what i am doing. Nicole thinks I should make a sweater and I think she is right. Then I will feel like I am investing my time and yarn money into something worthwhile. What do you think? Am I being too ambitious? Should I work on something smaller? Let me know what you think :)

Print Gocco – Custom Ribbon

Just thought I'd show some ribbon that I finished this weekend using my Gocco printer. The type came out so crisp and was easy to print this time around.  A lot of time it takes quite a bit of practice to get the ink to lie down on the ribbon nicely. Sorry, the photo of the ribbon isn't the best. I took it late at night.

I know I'm going to get emails asking about this :) So here is the 411:
Nicole will get around 80 tags from this spool of ribbon. In addition to the spool, I cut up and sent her my practice ribbon – which was around 25 tags. So, for those doing the math... that's about .33 cents per tag. Not bad for a custom silkscreen tag :) For those interested, either email me, download my order form located on the right hand side of my blog, or visit my Etsy store for information about ordering ribbon.

I'm sure you've heard the news... but Riso, the owner of the Print Gocco has stopped making supplies. It's getting harder and harder to find supplies for my Gocco baby. I have 2 boxes plus of bulbs, and 9 screens left. I plan to stockpile supplies in the next few weeks. Anyone know of a good supplier? If you do, please let me know! I'll be your best friend :)

Have a Heart

We've been on vacation this week. yipeee! The kids had their very first sleep over. They stayed at my sister Renée's place. Well, I should really say that Willilam had his first sleep over, as Davis chickened out and insisted on coming home with me. On the way home in the car she told me, "mummy, I would sleep over if you did too." awww, break my heart. She's only four and still my baby girl. 

Remember how I didn't know what to send in for William's Valentine's party at school? Jen over at Our Daily Big Top had a great idea. Send in cheese and crackers, but cut the cheese with a heart shaped cookie cutter. So that is what I did. They came out adorable and William said the kids loved it. I used the cutter on some brownies too. Those did not go to school, much to the happiness of my family!

Despite coughs + runny noses {yes, we've all been battling a cold} tomorrow we are off to the Museum of Science. Happy day!

Valentine's Gift Tags

Today Davis is celebrating Valentine's Day at school – so out came the red tutu :) She wore this for Christmas and looked so cute. Since the school frowns upon non-healthy treats, I decided not to make or send in homemade valentines. We went to Target and l let the kids buy valentine's for their friends. I picked up daffodils for the teachers and made sweet little tags for them. I did make homemade lollipops and candies for the kids... but they will get them on Saturday. William celebrates tomorrow. His teacher said if we want to send in a special and healthy snack I can... but I'm stuck as to what I should send in. Any ideas?

Valentine's Day Party

What's not to love about Valentine's Day? Candy, cake, parties + love :) This weekend we went to a Valentine's Day party. {I posted the invited I designed about a week or so ago} The kids had a good time trying to hit the heart decorations we had hanging from the ceiling. I made some cuppie cakes for the event. Naturally they had to be pink :) They tasted quite yummy. This week I need to put together some valentines for the kids. What do you get for your kids or loved ones? Candy? Toys? I'd love to hear.

My Favorite Artist

One of my first jobs when I graduated from college was as a graphic designer for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. My boss was the curator of their fabulous american art collection. She was fantastic. The best boss I have ever had. She brought be to all these fabulous art openings+ galleries and introduced me to some amazing, upcoming Boston artists. She convinced me not to be afraid of spending money on artwork. She bought art that "spoke" to her and encouraged me to do the same.

Well, it's been many years, and I continue to buy artwork that "speaks" to me. I have a lot of wonderful pieces at my house and many pieces still not framed. [many times, framing costs more than the artwork!} But there is one new artist that I just adore – who speaks to my heart. That would be my Davis. She is so prolific. Everyday she comes home with some new masterpiece. I just framed three pieces for my studio. Look at the colours, the composition. Fantastic. I really hope she continues to paint and draw as she gets older. Because, I think she is really good!

Oh, Davis hates that photo of her with hair in her face. She told me to "trash it."But I find it too cute. Happy weekend everyone. It's going to be in the 50's this weekend. See, Spring is coming.

Party Invitation

Just finished this invite for Davis's school. Cute huh?
We are bracing for another #@$%%*# snowstorm. I'm just tired of snow and ice. seriously. Spring can not come fast enough for me. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see it is 4:30 and it's still light outside.

Handmade Children's Aprons

So, I'm one year late, but I did it. For Christmas, I finally made aprons for the kids that I said I would.

I bought the fabric over a year ago with plans of making aprons for Christmas 07, but it never happened. Last year the kids loved to cook with me in the kitchen.  I knew aprons were a must. I started making them in November 08, but time just escaped me and I found myself swearing at my sewing machine on Christmas Eve :) Ho Ho Ho.

They were easier to make than I thought. Amanda Jean was a big inspiration to me. She sews a lot and always offers sewing tips on her blog. I have discovered, thanks to her, that the iron is your best friend when sewing. If you always press your fabrics and seams, it makes sewing much easier.

Crate & Barrel had the cutest kid's spatulas this year, so I bought those for the kids. Perfect for the pockets. As you can see from the photos that the aprons actually fit the kids and I think they turned out pretty cute. We'll be road testing them by making some chocolate chip cookies. Yummy!

January Sale in my Etsy Store

This past weekend I did a major clean up of my studio and decided that I should try to sell some of my products, you know, make room for new stuff...and what better way to do that, than to have a SALE!

Mini Taylor books were $20 - they are now $15.00.
Perfect books to keep in your bag. Think about how many times you make a list and lose it.
Keep track of your to-do-lists, measurements of windows, walls, furniture, paint chips etc.
These are perfect teacher gifts and hostess gifts too. {think of june, end of the year presents}
Also, these books are environmentally friendly. Once the spiral pad inside is filled, you just take it out and replace with a new pad.

ABC prints were $15 - they are now $10.
I sold quite a few of these prints at my Taylor Made designs parties this past fall.
They are perfect for kids rooms. They look fabulous framed. Nice birthday or baby presents.

Wine + Gift Tags were $6 - they are now $4.
How often do you find yourself giving wine as gifts? If like me, then lots!
Whenever you go over to your friend's house I'm sure you bring a bottle of wine. My wine tags would be perfect to put over the neck of the bottle and let your hostess know it's from you. {plus, it's environmentally more friendly than all that ribbon and packaging!}

So head on over to my Etsy Store and buy yourself some great stuff.

Holiday Gifts for Teachers

So what do we think of 2009 so far? Too early to tell? :)

Thought I'd show you what I put together for the kid's teachers. I always give money towards the class gift, but enjoy putting together packages that are just from Will + Davis too.

For Davis, there are so many people to put packages together for: her main teacher and her assistant, the Spanish teacher that Davis just adores, the woman who changes her clothes when she gets wet or dirty (which is at least once a week} the librarian who helps Davis pick out great books, the two women who take care of Davis during lunch bunch, the head of school and her assistant. That's a total of nine. phew.  For William, I only had to make four packages up. One for his Kindergarten teacher and her assistant, but also for the first grade teacher + her assistant. {William spends the morning in the 1st + 2nd grade class for math + reading}

I used brown paper bags and made up custom tags for each package. In November, when I had a lot of silkscreen ribbon orders, I decided to make up some holiday ribbon for myself. You'll see that I silkscreened red twill ribbon with the words, "happy holidays from the yarrantons" I think it made the packages feel more personal. I created the tags in Adobe Illustrator, and printed them out on one of my printers. I made homemade truffles, sweet + spicy pecans + chocolate covered preztels. I bought a little can of hot coco mix from Crate + Barrel as well as some ornaments. I included some of my holiday tags + notebooks. Nothing too much, but hopefuly enough to make the teachers smile and let them know how much we appreciate all they do for our kids. :)