Taylor Made designs

Tag it - Holiday Tags are here!

Tag it Holiday tags have arrived :) I don't want to freak you out, BUT, Christmas is only 64 days away. Last year I sold out early, so get your orders in now! This weekend, (ok,  by Monday at the latest) I will upload the 12 designs available. Just email me with which tags you are interested in and I will send you a paypal invoice. Then you will receive a delightful package from me. You can check out my Etsy store for additional holiday ribbon, journals + bookplates. As always, thanks for all your support!

{oh, The above photo shows how I set up my table for shows. I designed the display racks for my tags and Neal built them for me. I'm really happy with how they came out!}

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!

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.

Custom Tag it Wine + Gift Tags

I've been busy filling orders for some custom wine + gift tags. This order was for BoozeBros.com. They have an online store as well as a brick and mortar store in Las Vegas. They sent me their logo and asked me to create custom wine tags as well as square gift tags. Take a look at their site... you can order directly from there, and if you do, you'll see my tags on your bottles. Perfect for buying gifts for the upcoming busy holiday season! Everyone appreciates a nice bottle of wine :)

For many years we hosted Thanksgiving, but this year we'll be at my mum + dad's house. It's a bit nice, in that we don't have to do a lot. I'm bringing some apps + a few other things.  I shopped last week so I would not be in the stores with all the crazy people. Though yesterday, in the pouring rain, I stopped by the local supermarket to pick up three things of Land O' Lake Butter. It was only $1.99. Score! {you know you are old when things like this excite you!}

Oh, today we are making some Truffles. I made some last week and boy are these yummy. I'll post the recipe {which I found on a food blog} and some photos. They are very easy to make and eat!

TAG it | 2008 Holiday Tags

I've been busy working on the 2008 Holiday line for TAG it. They are printed and ready for purchase :) My wine tags are done too. I am on the ball this year :)

By this weekend they will be available via my TAG it site. I will also put some in my Etsy store. If you are interested in some tags, but want a different selection, (you know, 5 red, 5 green, a mix of different designs etc.) just email me. I'd be happy to put together a package just for you.

Oh, want to hear how small the world is getting? I received an email months ago from Andrea who I only know through her blog + etsy store – Well, she was at her local liquor store in Victoria BC Canada and she saw my tags for sale and thought it was so cool to see my stuff there. She was sweet enough to write and tell me :)

Many of you have been so generous to send me the addresses of local businesses that you thought would want to carry my tags. Well, I have reached out to many of them and they have bought them. SO, if you want to go to your local store, and not have to buy them online, just send me some addresses and I'll do my best to contact them + ask them to carry TAG it tags. Plus, if you do give me some addresses, I will probably send you something for being so nice!

Packing + Shipping

Mailed three packages out in the beginning of the week and have three more to do today. I think wrapping and packaging up stuff is one of my favorite things to do. For some reason, I get so much satisfaction from it. Silly I know :)

I can't believe tomorrow is May 1st. How fast is this year going? I feel like it was just February. Anyone else feel that way?

Tag it Presentation

I just finished making TONS of TAG it catalogs for a mass mailing and to be dropped off to local wineshops. I usually bring this catalog, order forms, and samples of my tags with me when I visit shops.

I "taylor made" boxes to hold my wine + gift tags. They serve as a nice way to present + hold my tags. The black is a great neutral background for my colourful tags.

The boxes were pretty easy to make. I cheated a bit by not making the actual boxes myself. (which is really time-consuming)  All I did was visit a local cigar shop and asked them if I could have some empty cigar boxes. (they are pretty happy to give you boxes if you ask!) I cleaned + aired them out. (a day or two outside works) and then covered them with black bookcloth. I always use archival glue for my book + box projects. I drilled holes on the front side and top for my TAG it ribbon. I normally hide the ribbon under the bookcloth so it's neat and clean, but with all the tying and untying of the ribbon, it is bound to get dirty. So I decided it would be best to just slip the ribbon through the holes and then adhere them with a simple knot. This way, at the first signs of dirt, I can swap them out for new ribbon. Nothing looks worse than a dirty box and ribbon! Presentation is everything :) I made a label for each top. Oh, I also Scotchgarded™ the bookcloth to help protect the cloth.

Later today I will upload my catalog to my sidebar. I created it for wholesalers but it's a comprehensive look at all the designs, the pricing, and how to order. So it's helpful to everyone :)

:: Day 2 - Macro Photograpy ::

Totally loving the Macro feature of my camera. Goes to show you, reading the darn manual is a good thing :)
{Oh, I use a Sony Cyber-shot}

:: friday wrap up ::

It's been a busy few weeks. Sold some of my ABC prints in my Etsy store. Had tons of inquiries for my wine + gift tags, sold some of them in my online store, and filled a few wholesales orders. phew. I'm glad it is the weekend. Not that I am complaining. Nothing makes me happier than to be filling orders :)

Here on the east coast, it's suppose to be sunny but still cool this weekend.  Perfect weather for spring clean up. What will you all be doing? Anything fun?

:: tags tags + more tags ::

holy gamoly. I've been busy busy busy filling orders for my Tag it wine + gift tags. Everyday I seem to be getting more and more orders. Which is fine by me :) Yesterday I shipped a pretty big wholesale order out. Which was a big relief :) The big orders take so much time in preparing for shipping. Because, as most of you know... I like to make each package feel like a present, which takes time to do. But I love to hear or get an email from the vendor saying, "this is the nicest package I have ever received!" Makes it all worth it.

For those of you who have bought my tags, thank you so much for your support. I truly appreciate it.
So tell me/us.. who have my tags...what do you think of them? Any reviews? Are they handy? Are they worth purchasing? I hope so.. let me know :)

:: Taylor Made designs products ::

Well, I've been busy with a lot of Taylor Made design products and thought I'd show some of them since I have a lot of new people visiting my blog. They might not be familiar with my stuff :)

I finished a custom order for a mini taylor book. {top photo, pink} I love when people custom order because they put together totally different stocks and colours than I normally would. Which is so great. Love getting a new and different perspective. Every book is treated with ScotchGuard™ and comes nicely packaged. I also offer gift certificates for those of you interested. {i did a few of them for christmas for people - see lower left photo} These books are the perfect size to fit into your handbag and keep all your notes handy. I actually get a lot of orders from event planners. They are able to customize their books to their events and it's a gift that their attendees will actually use way past the event.

I have a bunch of new bookcloth colours: brown, teal, and a vibrant green. I'm going to upload my catalog for my books and have them on my sidebar. That way I won't have to keep emailing them out. I don't know why I did not do that earlier! I will also upload my TAG it catalog as well.

I am doing a lot of custom orders for my wine tags. I did a couple of weddings last fall and the wine stores are loving them. Customizing tags are a terrific way to extend your brand. I just received an inquiry from a dentist rep. She has some great idea about branding. Very exciting.

And of course I am always making up silkscreen ribbon to tie my packages up. I get a lot of emails asking me how I am able to print my ribbon so clearly. And the answer is practice :) There are so many variables in printing the ribbon. The moisture in the air can affect the ink, the type of ribbon and it's ability to accept the ink is important too. I always practice on some ribbon before I start on a final roll. Sometimes it takes quite a few goes with the Gocco press before I am happy with the results and I am able to start on the final ribbon roll.  Barbara just emailed me asking if the ribbon was washable... and I have no idea ~ So today I'm going to throw some in with a load of laundry and find out :) I will let you know the results. Meanwhile, have a wonderful day!

:: Holiday tags from Taylor Made designs ::

At long last, here are some of my Holiday gift tags. We are working on the website today and Friday with hopes of having the gift tags + wine tags available. I know, you are totally excited, huh :)

Well, if that's not exciting enough, how about free shipping for the month of December? Woohooo~

I hate paying shipping fees, so I thought that would be a nice little present to my customers.

:: Revised TAG it Ad ::

Just thought I'd post my new TAG it ad that I submitted to ORGANIZE Magazine. I added a blue background and then using curves + unsharp mask in Photoshop I was able to make the ad pop more + I think look 100% better. What do you think?

Oh if you haven't been there since I first uploaded, take a look. I changed the homepage, I made all the tags rollovers so you can see them in each colour available, changed the navigation menu, and added an idea gallery. I'm getting some good traffic, but not a lot of buying... wondering if people prefer to buy tags etc. at a store rather than online. Or maybe, there just isn't much of a market for them. I thought the wine tags would sell really well. Any thoughts?