The ABC's of Stamping

Oh My Goodness, It has been a long time!

2010-01-25T19:38:00.004-06:00

I'm still here! Don't fret! I really haven't been stamping much anymore because I've found a new obsession: digital scrapbooking. I do want to get back into stamping, having classes and paper scrapbooking. I started a new digital scrapbooking blog in case you are interested! It's called B2N2 Scraps. B2 is for my husband and I, Brian and Becky. N2 is for my children, Natalie and Noah. I love to scrap pictures of them! You can find my new blog here.

I made several cards in the fall and I never shared them with you. Most of my stamping was done fairly quickly because I was taking care of babies who didn't nap for a long time! Now they nap at least 1.5 hours so I can get stamping done if I am so inclined!

Here's a card I made for my upline Marisa because I had some stamp sets of hers that she was looking for, so I sent her the stamp sets along with a card to apologize for having them so long! went to my card kit stash and came up with a Valetine's Day card kit and decided I needed to try to remake it. It was tough! Here is the end result:

I used Butterfly Bits for the main image but also for the corners using Versamark. I added Running Stitches with Palette Noir and 3 pink eyelets. I could NOT get my Crop-a-dile to set these eyelets right! Maybe I'm out of practice! LOL

Hopefully I'll be back soon with some new cards and Angel Company news!

New card kit challenge

2009-08-21T20:21:00.005-05:00

I have a lot of friends and family with birthdays in August so I needed a lot of birthday cards and didn't have a whole lot of time to make them. How did I solve my dilemma? Go to my card kit stash! I didn't want to make the same card because the kit was from my Blossom Builders one sheet wonder class. So I did what I normally do, rework the card kit. This time I created a new challenge for myself. I had 2 of the same card kit so I had the idea to make 2 very different cards with the same card kit. For the first card I used Toodles stamp set. I colored the bear with prisma colors and odorless mineral spirits. The stamp on the green cardstock is from Butterfly Bits and stamped with Giverny Green Palette ink. The sentiment is from Tag Tidbits stamped with Violete Palette ink.

For the second card I used Robot stamp set. I colored it with prisma colors and odorless mineral spirits (I guess I should find another way to color!) The green and red cardstock are versamarked with Circle Sampler. I'm really pleased how the two cards turned out and I think they look really different from each other. They are very different from the original card too!

Penelope Scrapbook Pages

2009-08-12T13:55:00.003-05:00

My aunt is celebrating her 50th year of being a nun this year and is having all the family down over Columbus Day weekend to help her celebrate. We won't be able to go because my sister-in-law is getting married! My mom had the idea to make a scrapbook for my aunt and asked each member of our family to put a picture on a scrapbook page and write a note. My mom and I decided to use Penelope pattern cardstock and the coordinating cardstock. We had to make 30 pages (I have a large extended family!). As the babies were napping, I had fun creating simple layouts to send out to my family members. I was able to get 5 done in about an hour and a half so it didn't take me too long to get them done! My mom came over and worked on them too. I love how the pages turned out and I can't wait to see them with pictures on them! I had never done a whole scrapbook just with a Soar With It Collection and it's cardstock but I have to say it is a very easy and inexpensive way to get your scrapbook to look coordinated. I also just used brown ink on the pages and 1 swirl from Swirls and Curls. I wanted to show how great a scrapbook can look with limited supplies! All you would need to purchase is a Soar With It Collection, the coordinating cardstock, 1 stamp set and 1 color ink. Here are some of the pages that I did of my aunt plus the page for my family.

Robot Birthday Card

2009-08-07T13:56:00.004-05:00

I tried to post this the other day but the babies had something else in mind! I've been making some cards here and there but only when I have a specific occasion! My father in law's birthday was two days ago so I needed a masculine birthday card which I don't generally keep around! I bought the Robots stamp set a while ago and it has sat uncut in my craft area. I can't imagine what has kept me from it! LOL So I decided I must use it. Here's the card:

I colored the robot with prisma colors and odorless mineral spirits. I used Palette Orangiere ink to stamp Running Stitches around the robot and to ink the edges of the white cardstock. I also used the ink to stamp Distressed Designs, a retired TAC stamp set, on the orange cardstock. I wanted to use Kaleidoscope Boyz paper so all my color choices came from the paper! I found some blue paper in my scraps that I had crimped. I don't have a paper crimper (at least I don't think I do) so I must have crimped it at my upline's house and then saved it! I stamped the sentiment, colored the boxes, added a brad and adhered it to the card. All of the layers are popped up with foam tape and the heart on the robot's chest is also popped up with foam tape. It's a busier card that I've been making lately but I like it! Oh I almost forgot to tell you about the corners of the green cardstock! I have tool that can punch holes, set eyelets, cut out circle notches and do ribbon slits. I used one of the ribbon slit pieces and punched at each corner so I could slip the white cardstock into the green paper. How cool!

Another reworking of a card kit

2009-07-27T20:33:00.006-05:00

One of my good friend just had twins and I wanted to send her a congratulations card. I never know how much time I am going to have to make cards because the babies' nap times vary. So I grabbed a card kit to rework it to make a new card. I just love doing this. I am actually almost running out of old card kits! Here is what the original card looks like (I actually used it for the same friend's card party a couple years ago).

Here is the new card.

I used Twins stamp set and Double Trouble stamp set from TAC both of which just retired! I colored the image with prisma colors and used a gray marker to give shadows to parts of the image. The background on the red cardstock is Curls and Swirls. The background on the buff cardstock is Crackle background which was retired a while ago. I stamped Running Stitches around the image and distressed the edges of the white cardstock. I added some ribbon in the corners and a paper posey. I haven't sent the card yet but I don't think my friend will be looking at my blog, she'll be too busy with something else!

Here's an updated picture of my babies who are over 5 months old already!

Birthday Card

2009-07-14T21:46:00.003-05:00

Here's a card that I was able to make today while the babies were out with their daddy. My mom's birthday is tomorrow so I wanted to make her a nice card. I started with Build-a-Flower stamp set and used 4 colors of Versamagic ink: Purple Hydrangea, Pink Petunia, Pumpkin Spice and Tea Leaves. It was a different color palette for me but I was in the mood for something different! I then used Script Background and Haystack Palette ink and stamped over the flowers. I realized after I had glued the white paper on that I glued it on upside down! Oh well, you can't really tell. On the terra cotta card, I stamped Swirls and Curls using Palette Cognac ink and distressed the edges of the cardstock with the Cognac ink as well. I laid acetate over the card and used crystal lacquer and prisma glitter to make the flowers fancier. To attach the acetate to the card, I just tied a ribbon around it. The sentiment is from Celebration Time. I glued it on the acetate rather than on the cardstock. Now I need to make another birthday card by Thursday. Hopefully the babies will cooperate and take nice naps tomorrow!

Return to card making

2009-06-21T12:38:00.004-05:00

I have been able to stamp a little bit now. My babies have been going to bed a little earlier so sometimes I take that short amount of time before I need to go to bed to stamp. Here's a card I made for my cousin who had a little boy over a month ago. Better late than never for sending a card, right?

I used Swirly Gigs in the background, Running Stitches around the image and Ordinary Greetings for the sentiment. I took "welcome" from one stamp and "baby" from another. I colored the image using magic pencil. I used my edge distresser on the bottom and burnt umber ink around the edges. The paper is Reece Soar With It Collection. The teddy bear came from a limited time offer stamp set whose name escapes me at the moment.

Here is an updated picture of my twins who are 4 months old now. Natalie is on the left. Noah is on the right.

Updated babies

2009-04-26T17:46:00.002-05:00

Natalie and Noah

Noah

Natalie

Here are more pictures of my babies from Easter. They are now over 2 months old and I still don't have any time to stamp. I've made 2 cards in 2 months! Oh well, I know eventually I'll get some time to myself once the babies start sleeping regularly during the day in their cribs. I have to go back to work in about 2.5 weeks so things will be hectic until summer vacation starts.

My Babies

2009-03-11T19:42:00.002-05:00

Sorry I haven't been on much but I wanted to let you know why. My babies were born on Tuesday, February 17th. I went in for my 37 week doctor appointment and my doctor walked in the room and announced that it was time for my babies to born. So I went home, got ready, got my husband home and went to the hospital.

Natalie Marie was born at 8:46 pm and weighed 5 lbs 10 oz and was 18 inches long. Noah Richard was born at 8:47 pm and weighed 6 lbs 4 oz and was 20 inches long. Both babies are doing very well. I'm recovering fairly well too. We're adjusting to life with two babies at home! (Noah is on the left, Natalie is on the right in the picture)

I wouldn't count on seeing any new cards or projects any time soon. I have NO time at all and that's with having my family help me all day and night!

Twin Baby Card Remake

2009-02-06T11:47:00.003-06:00

Well, I'm off bedrest and just waiting for my twins to be born! I really can't stamp much- I'm too big! But I did finish my baby announcements, all we need is pictures and the information filled in. I also was able to make a baby card for a friend of mine who is expecting twins. I went to my card kit box and pulled one out. Here's the original card using Hello Seasons and Swirly Sayings:

I changed the orientation of the new card. Instead of tearing the bottom of the green paper, I used my edge distresser and distressed the green paper and the edges of the pink card. I used Bold Flourishes and Versamark on the pink card and on the green paper using a sanding block to get the distressed look. I forgot how much I like using that technique! The main image is from the Twins stamp set. I used prismacolors and odorless mineral spirits. My friend doesn't know the genders yet so I tried to keep it relatively gender neutral (I know pink isn't gender neutral but I thought the other colors balanced it out!) Here is the new card:

No more stamping for a while

2009-01-19T16:58:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to let you know that you won't see any new cards or projects from me for a while. I'm on bedrest and am not able to stamp. I'll post The Angel Company specials but none of my new creations since there won't be any! Hopefully I'll be able to stamp before too long.

Spec-TAC-ular Savings!

2009-01-08T19:06:00.002-06:00

www.theangelcompany.net

I am so excited about this promotion! I really hope you all take advantage of this promotion because it has never been offered before. ALL T-coded stamps in the catalogue are 50% off!!!! How awesome is that? That means that if you look at the code below the name of the stamp set, if it starts with a "T", it is half off! You can order as many stamps as you would like. This offer ends January 26th so get your orders in soon!

Remade card kit

2008-12-26T13:33:00.003-06:00

My mother-in-law's birthday is on Christmas and my grandmother-in-law's birthday is on Christmas Eve, so I had to make 2 birthday cards last minute. I should have made them earlier but for some reason, time got away from me. Maybe I was making too many baby thank you cards! I went to my card kits to see what I had and what I could quickly turn into a birthday card. It's really a fun challenge for me to rework card kits. Here is the original card that used Hello Seasons. The card opens in the middle.

Here is the remade card. I used Everyday Events and changed the orientation of the card. I used Running Stitches on the green, Paisley Rockz (that spelling doesn't look quite right!) versamarked on the pink card and Linear Sentiments for the sentiment. I used prismacolors and odorless mineral spirits to color the image. I added some stickles for some interest and the card was done!

One more thank you card

2008-12-23T08:58:00.003-06:00

Here's another thank you card that I made for the baby showers. I used Heather Scott's layout to help me out with the card. I wanted to mke the card simple but of course, I managed to make it more complicated! I need gender neutral cards since I'm having a boy and a girl and I thought the striped paper from Mia's Cottage would be great for gender neutral! I was going to leave the orange cardstock plain but I thought it needed something so I stamped the stars from Linear Sentiments with versamark. Then I decided I wanted some sparkle so I embossed the stars with shimmery clear embossing powder. That's what took me a while when I mass produced these cards. The pins are from a retired stamp set, Hello Seasons. I used eyelets from Mia's Cottage coordinating hardware and also from Cha Cha coordinating hardware. The sentiment is from Double Trouble.

TAC Specials

2008-12-21T09:22:00.007-06:00

TAC has a whole assortment of promotions going on right now! Click on the picture of Reese paper on the left to enter to win Reese plus Joy of Christmas stamp set (which I just love!). You must sign up by December 31st.

Another TAC special is A Feast of Fabulous Collections. Various TAC exclusive papers are Buy One Get One Free! These collections include Winterberry Designer Collection, Kaleidoscope Girlz, Kaleidoscsope Boyz, Catelynne, Pop Rockz, Tutti Fruitti, Mimi, and 2 kits: Rockin' Roxie and Natalee. Hurry and get these collections Buy One Get One Free by December 31st!

TAC has released some new stamp sets that you can get now through February 2nd. When you place a $30 order, you can get these stamp sets at a reduced price! Also if you host a party and have a qualifying party, you can get one of these stamp sets as a hostess benefit rather than the stamp sets in the catalogue.

Another special going on right now through the 31st of December is Whimsy Wintery Vintage sets. These are Maybelle RO stamp sets rereleased for a short amount of time for a reduced rate. Get them now before they are gone!

What else? More baby thank you cards!

2008-12-20T15:37:00.006-06:00

I've been so busy with the end of school. I'm done with teaching until after the babies are born and it's been such a big job to get ready for a sub. I've also had 2 showers since my last post. I had to resort to using store bought thank you cards for one of the showers because I just ran out of time to create my own cards! But now I have some time to create and I made 2 different thank you cards today. I also made some of the baby cards into baby congratulations cards because I have 2 baby showers to go to soon and a friend who just had a baby. It's just baby season around here!

This card is another sketch challenge from Heather Scott. I used the Twins stamp set and the star from Linear Sentiments. I VersaMarked the stars in the background and distressed the edges of the white paper. The paper is A Little Whimsy. I colored the twins with Prismacolors and odorless mineral spirits.

Teddy Bear Thank You Card

2008-11-30T18:52:00.003-06:00

I made yet another set of baby thank you cards and I still don't have enough! I made 10 of these cards to send out. I used another card sketch layout from Heather Scott. I liked this layout because it was really simple and I thought it would be really cute with the teddy bear from the Twin stamp set. I had wanted to make the bear all fuzzy using liquid applique but once I tried 2 teddy bears that way I decided that it just wasn't the right look. So instead I used black liquid applique for the eyes and the pads on the feet. I used the paper from Rustic Chic to compliment the colors in the teddy bear. I imitated the harlequin background of the Rustic Chic paper in the background using Distressed Designs and Sahara Sand ink. The final touch was to pierce the paper around the image. I think it turned out really cute!

Another baby thank you card

2008-11-21T10:54:00.002-06:00

I have a shower tomorrow and another one in 2 weeks so I really need to get moving on making baby thank you cards. I made 12 of the same card from the last post. So far I've only made 2 of this card but I know I can make more when I get home. I used Heather Scott's challenge again for this week because I wanted a simple layout and this week's challenge was simple but allowed for a lot of creative touches. I used Frutti Fusion paper behind the duck. I don't think I've ever used that piece of paper before! I wanted something that could be gender neutral since I'm having a boy and girl. I colored the duck from the Twins stamp set at first and then realized I had yellow liquid applique and how cute would that be???? The first card I made I used an orange circle instead of the scalloped circle but I like the scallop better than the plain circle. I versamarked Swirlies in the background (I just LOVE these swirls!) and used clear embossing powder. I also got out my paper piercer and pierced holes around the circle and in the corners of the card. I finished off the card with some sunflower ink around the edges and a paper posie in the corner.

Baby Thank you card

2008-11-16T09:08:00.005-06:00

I have some baby showers coming up really soon and I thought I better get working on making my thank you cards. I don't know if I can get as many made as I need to get made but I need to try! I wanted to use TAC's twin stamp set and I wanted a simple layout. I came across Heather Scott's challenge for this week and I thought it would be perfect for the two babies together. I used a Little Whimsy paper because I thought it could be both boy and girl. I love the colors in it. The only problem I have is that I don't have a prismacolor pencil that matches the green in the paper. I guess I'm going to have to go to the store to find one! Just a note about the coloring. The babies' skin really was colored, I didn't leave it white! I guess my scanner just doesn't pick up the light peach color! I also used Curls and Swirls in the background and a paper posy flower to add some interest. Now I just need to make a TON of these! I may have to make some other ones so I don't get bored making the same card over and over again!

More baby scrapbook pages

2008-11-08T08:09:00.002-06:00

This is what I've been busily working on when I'm not at work or sitting with my feet elevated. Stamping is hard when I'm supposed to be resting! I picked out Catelynne paper for my baby girl scrapbook. This paper is simply gorgeous! The pages are turning out to be so beautiful! I finished up my last couple pages of my baby boy scrapbook using Kaleidoscope Boyz. That one is now done! I finished up with a customer about a week ago her baby girl scrapbook using Toodle Loo. I know I keep saying this but it's amazing how different these scrapbooks come out with the different paper that TAC sells. Each collection that we've used (Amberly Grace, Tutti Frutti, Sands of Time, Toodle Loo, Kaleidoscope Boyz, Gentle Beginnings, and now Catelynne) have all turned out unique and beautiful! Here are some layouts using the different papers. I'll try to get to some card making soon and post pictures of those!

Birthday Card

2008-10-26T08:25:00.001-05:00

I finally made a card without having any inspiration like another card or a card sketch. This is a big accomplishment for me! I got some new level B hostess sets recently and I couldn't wait to play with Crisscross. I have a friend at work whose birthday is on Monday so I thought I would make her a card. I wanted to use some pattern paper so I got out my scrapbag and started looking for inpiration. I just love the colors in A Little Whimsy and the harlequin pattern is so fun! I stamped the butterflies to match the colors in the paper. I versamarked the background using the butterfly as well. I took out some black paper thinking I would mat the image but decided that I liked this layout. It's a different layout for me but I like it! When it was all put together I thought it still needed more so I distressed the edges with white ink. I love how it turned out!

Baby pictures

2008-10-25T10:41:00.003-05:00

Here are pictures of my two little peanuts. The first one is the boy who happens to be a fighter already! You can see his little fist ready to punch. The second on is of my little girl (Yay that we finally found it out!) who has her brother's foot in her face. She was being very docile during the ultrasound. So we're having a BOY and GIRL! Now I can get working on those baby announcements that I posted a couple days ago and I don't even have to change the colors!

Baby Card

2008-10-19T20:10:00.003-05:00

It seems like I all I do these days is make baby cards or baby scrapbooks or baby announcements! There are babies everywhere! A friend at work and one of my cousins had baby girls a while ago (pregnancy has made me fall behind so much!) and I finally got around to making them cards. I made a boy card too since I have a friend having a boy! I made 3 of these cards, two on purple and one on blue. I used one of Heather Scott's card sketches to get some motivation. I used TAC's So Silly, which has been retired, but I still love the set, Swirly Gigs, Running Stitches, Hello Seasons for the sentiment and Toodle Loo paper. Toodle Loo is such cute baby paper for either boys or girls!

Baby Annoucement

2008-10-16T18:41:00.003-05:00

I decided that I better start working on the baby announcements for my twins because they'll probably take a long time to make and I want to get them done before the babies are here! The twins will be here in 19 weeks (or less, but hopefully not a lot less!) and I've got a lot of announcements to make. I've been waiting for a reason to buy the Twins stamp set from TAC and now I finally have a reason!

I've been trying to find a cute idea for baby announcements for twins. There were so many great ideas for one baby but it was hard to find something that would work for 2 babies. I really wanted to have pictures of each individual baby plus a picture (or pictures) of them together because pictures of twins snuggled together are so adorable! I found this blog and realized that this would be perfect for twins.

I know I'm having one BOY for sure so I put blue inside! The pink is wishful thinking. At the last ultrasound that I had, the technician thought the other was a girl but couldn't tell for sure. I'm hoping to find out for sure next week. I can always change the pink to another blue one!

I used Twins (I LOVE the stork!) and Double Trouble on the outside. On the inside I used Our Baby and Swirlies. The blank spots are for pictures of each baby. On the other side, I can put pictures of the babies together. I'm even hoping to get some of the information filled out before the babies are born.

Mini Calendar Class

2008-10-04T09:38:00.003-05:00

Sunday, October 26th from 2-4 I will be hosting a mini calendar class at my house. This calendar is a great gift for teachers, coworkers, friends and more! The nice thing about the calendar is that the calendar pages are attached with clear photo corners so the pages can be removed and replaced year after year! All you need to do is print out a new calendar, cut it and insert it in the photo corners. It's a very sturdy calendar made of coasters. It stands up on its own! The cost of the class is $15. If you want to make more than one, let me know! Please RSVP by October 17th so that I can get the materials ordered in time. Here are some pictures of the pages.

Card Buffet on Friday

2008-09-28T20:49:00.004-05:00

I'm having my first workshop in a long time. I finally have a little more energy now but still not as much as I would like! I guess carrying twins is hard work! On Friday, October 3rd from 6 tp 8 pm (let me know if you want to come earlier, I'm fine with that) I'm having a card buffet at my house. You can make as many cards as you would like (of what I have available) for just $2 each. If you place an order of $30 or more, you can make the cards for just $1 each and you get double gift with purchases too! What a bonus!

Here's a card that I'm going to have available on the card buffet. Just a note: the butterfly is more purple in person than the scan shows (and it is sparkly). It really does match the purple in the pattern paper. I don't know why it looks so blue! I used a couple of my new stamp sets: Butterfly Bits and Swirlies. I also used Juliette paper, which I haven't really used before. I love how classy this card looks. Last minute I added the brads and the scrappers floss. It didn't look finished before that and that was just the right touch! I'll have this card and more available on Friday. Please email me to let me know if you can come! Hope to see you there.

Angel Company News

2008-09-17T20:01:00.011-05:00

Wow The Angel Company is busy right now! The fall supplement is now out and has some great stamp sets including a set with sentiments in Spanish. Anything you want to say, you can find in this stamp set! Click here to see the fall supplement.

Starting on Monday, The Angel Company started a promotion called Double Dips. It runs now through November 3rd. What that means is you get double benefits! If you host a $100 party, instead of getting 1 level A hostess set, you will get 2 and 2 half price items. If you order and spend $30, you will get 2 gift with purchases rather than 1! If you become an angel during this time period, you will get an extra $50 t-coded stamp benefit! Click here for more details. If you want to earn hostess benefits but can't host a party at this time, get together with a friend and each order $50 to split the hostess benefits! Contact me today to schedule a stamping party to get your hostess benefits!

Enter to win a free Angelee/Natalee package. What you would get if you win is
Angelee™ Paper Collection, retail value: $6.95
• Natalee™ Accordian Album Kit, retail value: $8.95
• Antique Copper Hardware, retail value: $4.50
• Pewter Hardware, retail value: $4.50
• Angelee™ Coordinating Cardstock, retail value: $6.50
• Angelee™ Ribbon, retail value: $4.95
• Just a Note Stamp Set, retail value: $19.95

Total retail value: $56.30.

Click here to enter this contest. You can only sign up to win until September 30th.

Want to get your hands on some new paper from The Angel Company? Right now, TAC is offering a kit called "Fall in Love With Sydney." It's only available to September 30th. This kit includes Sa ydney Circle Tin, Sydney Circle Album Kit, Penelope Soar With It Paper Collection, Penelope/Sydney Ribbon Collection, and True Love September 2008 Limited Edition Stamp Set. The cost of this kit is $34.95. Click here to see the items included in the kit. You can also see a picture of the promotion on the lefthand side of my blog.

Quick and Easy Notecards

2008-09-06T09:08:00.005-05:00

I had a birthday party recently and I wanted to send everyone a quick thank you note thanking them for coming to my party. Tricia at ASB had given a challenge a while ago to make a simple set of notecards that don't open. I was confused at first as to where you write your note but once I made them, I realized it was a genius idea because you don't have to write a hugely long note! I made 2 sets of notecards using just 4 sheets of cardstock (2 for the blue bases, and 2 for the white layer). I hadn't used my new stamp sets yet that I got for winning a contest, so I got 2 of them out: Circle Sampler and Linear Sentiments. I stamped the star and the flower from Linear Sentiments and cut them out. They fit so nicely inside some of the circles from Circle Sampler. I added a strip of paper from A Little Whimsy (I just loved the colors!) and a sentiment from Ordinary Greetings and my notecards were done! How easy was that? I made 8 of them in under an hour.

More Baby Scrapbook Layouts & Announcement

2008-08-31T08:40:00.009-05:00

I haven't been creating many cards but I have been working on finishing up a scrapbook for my cousin who just had a baby girl who didn't want things to be too girly. We've been making this one with Sands of Time and it has turned out beautifully! I don't think it has been too girly at all! Soon I'm going to start working on one using Toodle Loo for a baby girl. I don't have any of the pages finished yet but I've cut some of the pieces and I think it is going to be great also! I've been so happy with each and every paper collection that we have used from The Angel Company. So far we've used Kaleidoscope Boyz, Frutti Fusion/Tutti Frutti, Amberly Grace and Sands of Time. I think any of the exclusive paper collections would work well for the baby scrapbook that I have created. If you would like to make your own baby scrapbook, just email me and we'll find a time to get together and pick out your paper collection.

Soon I'm going to have to make 2 more because I'm expecting TWINS! That's the reason I haven't been stamping because I've been so tired! These will be the first 2 babies for my husband and I. We are so excited to be doubling our family. I'll start working on baby scrapbooks once I know the genders and I need to work on baby announcements too!

Angel Company Give Away

2008-08-19T20:40:00.006-05:00

Want to win a new Woodrowe package? Here's what the package includes.
• Woodrowe™ Keepsake Album Kit, retail value: $14.95
• Antique Copper Hardware, retail value: $4.50
• Willoughby™ Ribbon, retail value: $4.95
• Reece™ Ribbon, retail value: $4.95
• Life Thoughts Stamp Set, retail value: $19.95
Total retail value: $49.30
Click HERE to enter the contest to see if you win!

If you don't happen to win, The Angel Company is offering the Woodrowe kit plus 2 stamp sets that are only available through the kit! For just $49.95 you would get the Woodrowe album kit, Antique Copper Hardware, Willoughby/Woodrowe Ribbon Collection, Reece/Woodrowe Ribbon Collection, From A-Z Limited Edition Stamp Set, A-Z Alphabet Limited Edition Stamp Set. The retail value of this kit is $89.25. That's a lot of money that you will save! This offer is only good until September 2nd, so email me to get your kit today! Click here to see the two stamp sets that go along with the kit.

Welcome home!

2008-07-23T19:06:00.003-05:00

I LOVE the new Welcome Home stamp set in the catalogue. I wasn't sure what to do with exactly but the houses are so cute and looked so fun to color! So I stamped one out and started to color. I wanted to use TAC's Rustic Chic paper (which at first I wasn't sure if I liked and now it's probably my favorite paper) because I love the colors. So I colored the house to match. I mounted it on brown cardstock, rounded all the corners, inked the edges of all the layers, and added some brown ribbon. I thought the card needed something in the background so I versamarked Eclectic Swirls and added a sentiment from the set. It says "From our home to yours" just in case you can't read it! Then the card was done. It was such a fun and easy card to make (and so cute)!

Butterfly Bits

2008-07-19T09:31:00.004-05:00

I was stamping at my upline's house, Marisa, and she showed me all her new stamps. I really want to order Butterfly Bits but believe it or not I have not placed an order yet from the new catalogue. I really want new stamps so I'll be ordering soon! Let me know if you want me to order you anything!

Anyways, I had to make 2 birthday cards, one for my mom and one for my mom's cousin (who is like an aunt to me). I had no plan in mind, I just grabbed some ink and started stamping the butterflies (which are REALLY beautiful no matter how you stamp them). The first card I made I used the largest butterfly and two tones of purple: lavendar sachet and violete. I stamped Swirls and Curls using white ink on kraft cardstock. I used Robin's Egg 2 and scored it using the Scor-Pal. I then sanded the score marks to give it a distressed look. I saw on Julie's blog how to embellish with the Bind It All. I don't have a Bind It All yet (but I think it will be going on my next order) so I used Marisa's. I love the detail it adds to the card. It was still missing something and we couldn't figure out what. When I got home I added a strip of paper from A Little Whimsy and I now I think it's complete!

My next card I just made this morning (even though I stamped the butterfly on Tuesday). I used two different colors of ink to stamp the butterfly: Raw Sienna and Orangiere. The pattern paper is from the Miss Moxie collection. I just love this particular sheet of paper. It's so beautiful! I distressed only one edge as well as one edge on the cardstock underneath. I pierced a line of holes to add some detailing. I cut out the butterfly (due to a mistake I made with the crop-a-dile) and mounted it with foam tape. I stippled around the edges of the white circle and the card using the same two colors of ink. I added an eyelet, some ribbon and scrapper's floss (which I stippled over with Raw Sienna ink) and then the card was done!

Back to stamping

2008-07-12T12:34:00.003-05:00

I finally am settled down from getting back from vacation. All those mundane things are done like tons of laundry, unpacking, finances, etc, so now I can get back to my regular routine. Well how regular can my routine be with not having school during the summer??!! But it is time to stamp!

A friend and colleague of mine had a baby girl while I was gone. I needed to make them a card so that was first on my list. I happen to LOVE card sketch challenges because it gets me thinking in ways that I don't normally think. They also help me focus when I'm creating. I print out several card sketch challenges, from AS B, Paper Wings and Heather Scott's blog and I put them in a binder so I can refer to them anytime I need help creating a card or just want a challenge. This time I went to one of Heather's layouts.

I decided to use Mimi paper because I thought it looked baby girlish. I used the butterfly from Oh How. I'm waiting to get some new butterflies called Butterfly Bits which I would have loved to use but I don't have them yet! I used the rock n' roll technique to put a slightly darker pink color around the edges of the butterfly. I used Fancy Swirls LE as a background. To add a sentiment (which was a last minute thought), I used a tag that comes with the Mimi SWIC and stamped a sentiment from Everyday Events. I meant to do some paper piercing but I forgot! It's too late to peel off a layer so when I make another card like this, I'll try to remember to pierce the paper! Off to make some birthday cards!

Back from Vacation with big TAC news!

2008-07-10T14:26:00.005-05:00

I got back from Alaska on Tuesday and have been trying to get some sleep. Sleeping with daylight for 21 hours of the day is really tough for just a week. I imagine you get used to it after a while but I sure didn't have enough time to get used to it. I have some crafting that I need to do: several birthday cards and some scrapbook projects. I better get started soon!

While I was gone TAC introduced their new Fall/Winter Inspiration Book & Catalogue. It was the first piece of mail that I looked through after I got home at 6:30 a.m.! I LOVE some of the new stamp sets and I can't wait to place my first order. There are also 5 new beautiful paper collections. If you would like a copy of the catalogue please email me and then I'll follow up to get your order later!

TAC also has a enter to win contest going on until July 31st. Click here to register. You have the chance to win Toodle Loo pattern cardstock, coordinating cardstock, ribbon and hardware PLUS On Safari stamp set and Running Stitches stamp set. This is over a $50 value! Enter to win today! You can only enter once!

Stamping Room

2008-06-16T18:19:00.009-05:00

I realized that I never shared pictures of my crafting room that we built in the basement. We started with an unfinished basement, concrete floors and walls! We built studs, hung drywall, painted, added a laminate floor, put in closets, got cabinets and countertop, found furniture and then I was able to move all my stamping and crafting things into the basement to start working. It's such a great room because it's custom built to my specifications. It's a little chilly in the winter but it's really nice down there in the summer. It's been done for about 5 months now. We are finishing up the stairs right now (we had construction grade pine steps with no risers). I LOVE having my own craft room now because I can leave all my stuff out and not need to move it in order to eat dinner (I used to craft on my dining room table). I have places to display my projects and a place to have my classes. One of the things I love the most is my ribbon holder that my husband designed and built. The only problem with it is that I'm out of room, I can't buy more ribbon! I also love my paper closet because it's custom built to what I wanted! The table in the center folds all the way in to look like a small cabinet. I am planning on getting a sturdier table and chairs but there's no rush! Hope you enjoy my craft room!

Just a note: I will be on vacation for the next 3 weeks so don't expect to see anything new on my blog! But please check back in after July 8th because I will have new projects to post and new classes will be scheduled! Have a great 3 weeks.

Father's Day

2008-06-14T08:48:00.003-05:00

I got one of my goals done yesterday: make father's day cards. I really should have made the graduation card yesterday because the party is today. I better get working soon! I decided to make the father's day cards first just because I had 2 of them to make.

I had no vision so I grabbed a stamp set that I thought would be masculine (I have very few masculine stamp sets). Forget Not is retiring soon! Actually I realized that I grabbed a sheet of blue cardstock first (before the stamp set) and cut that into cards. I also decided to grab my watercolor palettes which I haven't used in ages! I didn't feel like using the same old thing (prisma colors and odorless mineral spirits). I love how the trees came out all shimmery! I should remember my watercolor palettes more often! So I stamped the trees and colored them and then thought, what next? No idea still! I got my Running Stitches out, stamped them around the trees. So I had a blue card and trees. Hmm, not much of a card. As I was sitting there trying to figure out a layout, I remembered Heather's layouts where a layer is against the edge of the card. I've never done a card like that before, I generally avoid the edge of the card! I really love how they turned out with layers against the opening. I may have to try that again! I couldn't figure out what I wanted to stamp on the background but I knew I wanted it masculine. I thought Bold Flourishes were good masculine images. I ruined one of the blue cards trying to figure out what I liked, so I ended up making one blue card and one green card. I can't decide which one I like better! Inside I stamped "Happy Father's Day" from Trendy Greetings. Happy Father's Day!

CASE 13

2008-06-13T18:04:00.001-05:00

My sister wanted to change some of the layouts of the baby scrapbook that I made. I showed her some scrapbook pages online that I particularly liked. She really liked a page from the gallery of katiestowell on ASB. She made a really cute page using a layout very similar to this. My sister wnated to use the circle page from Frutti Fusion. I found cardstock that matched the colors from that pattern paper to use as the circles. I thought the blue was too plain, so I stamped swirls and curls on the edges. I also used Our Baby to make a title/notes section on the page. I finally finished the scrapbook right when my niece was born so all my sister has to do is add pictures!

Tagged!

2008-06-13T16:13:00.002-05:00

I've been tagged by Sandy. Here's what it means.

The "rules" of the game:
Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

Ten years ago: I was entering into my third year of college at Illinois State University. I was studying to be a bilingual elementary school teacher. I spent the summer between my second and third years in Taxco, Mexico, a place I would love to go back to. I was also dating my husband-to-be.

Five things in todays 'to do list':
1. Balance checkbook
2. Pay bills (I should do that before #1)
3. Make father's day cards
4. Make graduation card
5. Start packing for my trip to Alaska

Things I would do if I was a millionaire: I would travel all over the world and see those places that I really want to see but don't know when I will because of the cost. I would go to China, Russia, Australia, Egypt, a safari in Africa, Antarctica, Peru, and many more places. I would also pay off my mortgage and maybe even buy a bigger house. Oh, and I would hire a housekeeper who cooks and a chauffer. (I guess I would need more an a million for all those things!)

I'm not going to pass on the tag because most people's blogs that I visit have already been tagged. I would hate to have someone do this again! :)

Baby Announcements

2008-06-09T09:29:00.004-05:00

I got the idea and the directions from Jen Carter for this cute baby announcement. I saw it on her blog, showed it to my sister and she loved it! So I changed it a little and made 52 of them for my sister (complete with them filled out on the inside). I used swirls and curls to stamp the background, Special Delivery (which is retired! but I still love) for the main image, and Our Baby for the inside to put the birth information. Our Baby is a great set to make baby announcements or to put in a baby scrapbook.

Reworking More Card Kits

2008-06-07T09:36:00.004-05:00

A friend approached me on Wednesday and wanted two packs of cards to give as gifts, one of 5 thank you cards and the other one of 10 assorted cards. She wanted them by Friday! I was busy all Wednesday night (visiting my adorable new niece) so I had to make all 15 of them on Thursday night after work, plus finish the baby announcements for my sister. I don't keep a lot of cards made that I can just wrap up. Generally I have 1 card of each design as samples and I don't like to give those up because I'll forget what they look like! So I relied on my card kits. I did end up making some of them the same but I changed other ones. It's a fun challenge to use the same cut pieces and use them in a different way!

I had tons of this baby card kit made from a FUNshop where many of the guests didn't show up! I've been running out of baby girls to give this card to. It was a big challenge to change the pieces and make it look NOT baby since I used such a soft pink. I changed the orientation of the card, added the splits frog from Hoppy Frogs, a sentiment from Friendship Flowers, and a background using Script Background. I thought the frog needed something in his hand, so I added a paper posey.

Here's another one that I reworked. I made this one for a FUNshop that my mom had where she wanted me to have her guests make 5 cards using the same stamp set to show people that they don't need tons of stamps to make cards. I had only a couple card kits left and I wanted to change them up a little. The first one I didn't change that much but I really think I like the reworked card kit better than the original one. I changed the stamp set from Hello Seasons (which is retired) to Everyday Events. Having an all season stamp set is really important! I added running stitches to the card and I think it really made the card!

New baby!

2008-06-03T21:31:00.005-05:00

I'm an aunt for the first time! I'm so thrilled! My sister had a baby girl last night named Amelia Marie (isn't that a beautiful name???!!!) I've been so busy stamping birth anouncements for her (shhh, they're a secret!), finishing her baby scrapbook and then tonight I made a card for my niece, a welcome to the family card! Ordinary Greetings has a sentiment that says "Welcome to our family" and I never knew quite when to use it until now! I stamped it on the inside of the card, in case you were wondering! I used the elephant from Everyday Events because it is so cute! I used my scor-pal to make the criss cross pattern on the white paper. I keep seeing people's cards that I love using this technique and yet when I try to do it, it just never looks right! I went over the scor marks with some shimmer chalks just to make the lines stand out more. The background is stamped with Swirls and Curls. I'll post the baby announcement soon and another scrapbook page! Off to see my niece tomorrow!

Reverse Masking

2008-05-27T16:28:00.004-05:00

My CASEing challenge on ASB made me try a technique called reverse masking. It was actually harder than I thought! I used long post it notes and cut the sticky part to 1/4 inch strips. I then laid them out on the white cardstock to divide it into even sections (that was the hard part since I'm such a perfectionist!) and I still don't think I got them even. Oh well. I stamped Treasure It (a stamp set I haven't used in a long time) on the white cardstock, stipped seascape ink and then took the strips off and I had a framed look for my images. I just simply added cardstock, some ribbon and a sentiment from Tag Tidbits and Voila! I'm going to send this to my cousin who just graduated from college.

Something's Fishy

2008-05-26T14:41:00.003-05:00

I'm having fun playing with this "new for me" stamp set borrowed from my upline, Marisa. I HAD to use this cute girly fish! I had no idea what I was going to do with the image but I knew I had to use it! I decided to give her some eyelashes because she seemed so feminine. I'm pretty pleased what I came up with! I used Swirls and Curls stamped on Kraft cardstock (one of my new favorite cardstocks). I used my new TAC corner round to make the scallop on the edge. I saw this technique on Jen's blog and I thought, why not? I also used my paper piercer and pierced along the edges of the Mia's Cottage paper as well as on each scallop around the fish. Little details make cards so much fun!

Retiring Stamp Sets

2008-05-23T20:54:00.004-05:00

TAC has announced the stamps that will be retiring with the end of this catalogue. There are some great stamp sets retiring that I will be sad to see go! Get them before they're gone!

T-2746 A God Thing Page 26
T-2660 Abundance Is Page 36
T-2333 All Season Skinnies Page 53
T-2680 Animal Blocks Page 75
T-2604 Autumn Smiles Page 92
T-2265 Be Page 80
T-2181 Be Authentic Page 86
T-2656 Beach Fun Page 55
T-2605 Beautiful Place Page 31
T-2358 Birthday Buggies Page 67
T-2321 Blossom Builders Page 21
T-2515 Buggie Christmas Page 99
T-2202 Calendar Page 69
T-306 Chicken Scratch Page 87
T-2573 Distressed Designs Page 37
T-2124 Diva Dresses Page 81
T-2619 Don't Bug Me Page 56
T-2755 F is for Family Page 19
T-441 Faith Hope Love Page 95
T-2283 Fanciful Flowers Page 27
T-2562 Fangtastic Page 91
T-2650 Forget Not Page 34
T-2623 Friendly Goblins Page 90
T-2611 Friendly Note Page 76
T-2791 Giggly Goblins Page 92
T-2328 Hang Loose Page 54
T-2728 Happy Celebration Page 69
T-2713 Happy Holiday Squares Page 101
T-2769 He Said She Said Page 87
T-2406 Heart-itude Page 38
T-2325 Hip Hardware Page 37
T-2370 His Angels Page 40
T-2794 Jolly Jack-O-Lanterns Page 92
T-2704 License To Chill Page 102
T-2560 Lily Pad Pond Page 56
T-2375 Little Inspirations Page 41
T-2615 Live Inspired Page 40
T-2372 May Your Merry Page 100
T-2548 Mini Sampler Page 69
T-2334 More Season Skinnies Page 53
T-2578 My Favorites Page 81
T-2874 My Spiritual Journey Page 41
T-2821 My Story Page 88
T-2649 Needed Numbers Page 45
T-2661 Nurture Your Soul Page 43
T-2643 Old Friend Page 43
T-2357 Pals Page 51
T-2858 Party Notes Page 68
T-2690 Party Time Page 69
T-2683 Playful Paisley Page 75
R-2027 Pretty Posies Page 76
T-2540 Ragdolls Page 85
T-2774 Remembrance Page 18
T-2797 Retro Christmas Page 100
T-2788 Retro Halloween Page 90
T-2787 Retro Reindeer Page 100
T-2789 Retro Treaters Page 90
T-1232 Rub A Dub Page 81
T-2353 Sassy Cats Page 51
T-2712 Sentimental Boxes Page 75
T-2152 So Girly Swirly Page 61
T-2288 So Silly Page 45
T-2639 Stipple Bet Page 32
T-2221 Sweet Sayings Page 87
T-2695 Swirly Seasons Page 88
T-2327 The Buzz Page 50
T-2800 The First Thanksgiving Page 92
T-2618 The Only Thing Page 95
T-2566 Tip Toe Page 33
T-2602 Too Spooky Page 92
T-2301 Truly Blessed Page 27
T-2360 Wedding Wishes Page 14
T-1205 Wishing You Page 69
T-2569 Write It Page 33
T-2823 You Are Mine Page 38
T-2809 You're A Hoot Page 17
T-1203 You're Invited Page 69

TAC Specials!

2008-05-23T20:35:00.005-05:00

There is so much to tell you about The Angel Company! One of the specials that TAC has brought back is mini versions of current stamp sets. There are 4 sets that can be purchased for $2.95 each with a $30 order. You can order 1 of each with your $30 order. They are on sale until June 16th! E-mail me with your order today!

TAC is also offering both of their Matchbook Kits (Pemberely Bay and Rockin' Roxie) PLUS a limited edition stamp set that can only be purchased through this special for just $28.90! That's a great deal! This special is only available until June 16th!

Swap card

2008-05-21T21:22:00.002-05:00

My upline, Marisa, is having her team do a swap. I really haven't been creating anything recently so I was unsure if I wanted to participate. But she talked me into it and I actually had fun creating a card last night. The hardest thing for me was what stamp set to use. I didn't want to use any of my stamp sets (I bored with them, I guess I need new ones!) I flipped through the catalogue to find inspiration and I tripped across Something's Fishy. It wasn't a stamp set that I thought I would like but it just called to me. Luckily my friend, Sandy, had the stamp set and let me borrow it as well as her scrapper's floss. I had brought Miss Moxie paper with me that I wanted to use. Once I stamped the fish and started to color, the card just came together for me! That's exciting because I haven't had that happen in a long time! I used Eclectic Swirls for the background, borrowed from Marisa. It's great to have friends who will let you borrow stamps when your own become boring! Now I have to make 6 more but they should go together quickly!

Doing Things Differently

2008-05-15T16:06:00.002-05:00

I run a CASEing challenge on ASB and I took a break for a while. I finally am creating again so I thought I would get my challenge back up and running. I was inspired by a card by Trudy that she made a while ago. The colors were great and the background was well designed. I decided to use ladybugs from Squiggle Ladybugs for my main image since I haven't used them in a while. The colors Trudy used were blue and brown so I had to make my ladybugs blue! That's certainly different but I think they are really cute! The background is done using Distressed Designs which is a great stamp set to make backgrounds. The sayings come from Sweet Sayings and I thought they were perfect for these blue ladybugs! I also added a brown metallic brad to each of the ladybugs to make their spots more interesting. I should try this more often: doing something differently because the results are great and it was so much fun to create!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-10T21:54:00.004-05:00

I forced myself to create today and it really got me going. I made 4 cards today! That's more than I made last month, I think! When I have a deadline for things I have to get done, I get them done. I guess I need to put more pressure on myself! I made these two mother's day card for my mom and mother in law. I had some scraps of Miss Moxie laying around that I wanted to use. I also used the coordinating cardstock for Miss Moxie. I never would have put light purple together with orange but they came in the Miss Moxie cardstock pack together and I thought they looked nice with the pattern paper! Both of these are sketch challenges from ASB. That's how I'm getting things done these days, using challenges to spark my creativity. I think it's working! The top card uses Spring Flowers and Bold Flourishes. The bottom card uses Everyday Events and Bold Flourishes. Happy Mother's Day to all those moms out there!

Reworking Card Kits

2008-05-07T16:01:00.005-05:00

I've been struggling to creating anything these days and I needed to make cards for various reasons, one being nurse's day today. I had no ideas so I went to old card kits that I had (I have extras after having classes and parties and I don't know how to "get rid" of them). I didn't feel like making the same old card so I challenged myself to come up with a new way to use the same precut materials. Here is the card kit that I had:

To change the card, I used a different stamp set for the main image. I used Seeds of Blessings (which I hadn't pulled out in a LONG time) for the main image. I also turned the card the other way so that it is landscape instead of portrait. I used my edge distresser to distress the white edge. I versamarked solid flowers on the background and sanded over it. Added some snaps, stickles and a little souffle pen and voila! I really think the card came out totally different and most of the supplies are the same! Neat, huh?

More Baby Scrapbook Pages

2008-04-30T16:37:00.005-05:00

It's been a while! Sorry! I've been working on making a lot of baby scrapbooks with friends, family and other customers. Each scrapbook is different because each person selected different paper. I already shared with you early pages done with Amberly Grace and Kaleidoscope Boyz. Now I'm going to share some pages done with Tutti Frutti/Frutti Fusion and another one with Sands of Time. Each of them are coming along so beautifully and I love all of them! It's amazing how great each one looks. If you would still like to make your own baby scrapbook, just e-mail me and let me know which paper collection you would like to order. The cost of the class is $25 plus the cost of paper. You'll make 10 pages for that price. If you would like to make the second set of 10 layouts, it's another $25. So you'll get a complete 8x8 scrapbook for $50 plus the cost of paper.

TAC special

2008-04-13T15:58:00.004-05:00

I am so excited about this special!! TAC is offering 4 mini sets of awesome stamp sets for just $2.95 each with a $30 order. I want them all!!! You can only get them until May 5th, so hurry and place your $30 order now so that you can get these before they are gone. My favorite one is "A Little Spring" which is a mini version of a stamp set from the Spring Supplement. The great thing about these stamps is you can get 1 of each one with a $30 order. These retail at $5.95, so you are getting a great deal! Email me today!

I want to apologize for not updating my blog for a while. I haven't done much stamping recently. I've been making other things like baby shower invitations, baby shower favors and more. I'll try to do some creating soon! I hope you all of feeling more creative than me!

Happy Belated Easter!

2008-03-24T19:21:00.003-05:00

I meant to post this before Easter but I forgot!!! I hope you all had a blessed Easter with your family and friends. I made this for my card buffet last week and it was a hit! I made it with TAC's No Bunny Like You and Oh How. I decided to pull out my shimmer chalks (which I haven't used in such a long time and I forgot how much I like them!) to add some sparkle to the flowers. I used a light pink from the Pinks Bazzill pack and the blue and green are from the Mia's Cottage cardstock pack. The scan cut off the edges of the card but there is blue and white all the way around!

Happy Birthday to my sister!

2008-03-19T20:32:00.005-05:00

Today is my sister's birthday (Happy Birthday Marcie!) and here is the card that I made for her. Trudy posted this sketch on ASB a couple weeks back (she got the inspiration from a card on the Paper Wings Gallery). I loved the layout the minute I saw it and I loved the cards that were made based on it! I just had to make one but I didn't get to it right away! Oh well, better late than never! I used Mia's Cottage paper, coordinating cardstock, and coordinating ribbon. This is a great layout to use up those tags that come with the Soar With It Collections which is always a challenge for me! The stamp sets are Party Time (which I grab all the time when I make a birthday card), Swirls and Curles and Ordinary Greetings. Enjoy!

Card to Crop

2008-03-14T18:18:00.003-05:00

I wanted to share with you my card to crop entry for this past month's contest. I found out today that I won the contest! It's always super exciting to see your work on TAC's website! I made this scrapbook page a long time ago (back in September or so) and I didn't send it in immediately because I didn't have a card completed. Then when I was ready to send it in, the current card to crop was using similar supplies (TAC's brown cardstock and Rustic Chic) so I decided to wait. Then I was going to send it in again, and the Take 3 projects used the same supplies. So then I waited and finally sent it in for the March 1st contest!

This was actually my first "fancy" scrapbook page and I just loved how it turned out. This is a picture of my grandparents when we got together to celebrate my grandpa's 90th birthday. This is one of my favorite pictures of my grandparents because they look so happy here. I kind of scrapbooked backwards here, I created the page without having a picture in mind to use. When I finished the page I searched high and low for the perfect picture and this was it! I made a coordinating page with a picture of my cousins on the same day.

I used Rustic Chic paper, which is one of my favorite papers to use now. Thanks to my friend and fellow angel Sandy for convincing me that I liked the paper! I also used TAC's brown cardstock which is now a little darker than the color shown here. There are so many little details that you can't see in the picture. I have glitter several places and I added dimension with a souffle pens. Other supplies used are Swirly Gigs, F is for Family, Palette Burnt Umber, VersaMagic Key Lime, Bazzill Bitty Blossoms, Mimi Ribbon, Ordinary Greetings, and Chipboard Rectangles.

Mini Album

2008-03-09T12:11:00.007-05:00

A customer of mine wanted to do a mini scrapbook class for her friends, so I needed to come up with something new. I'm not great at coming up with mini scrapbooks on my own, so I go out and look for inspiration. I got this idea for a mini album from Julie, aka PaperJewels. Check out her awesome blog, it has fabulous ideas for mini albums and more! I actually CASEd the idea of making the mini album into a love album, so the covers look similar. I put pictures of my husband and I over the past five and a half years that we have been married. I really love how it turned out! I used Mimi cardstock, hardware, ribbon and cardstock. It really is great to have all those things coordinated for you so anything you grab will match! I loved this album so much that I'm offering a class at my house on Friday, April 4th at 6 pm. The cost of the class is $15 and that includes the Soar With It Collection of your choice. Please RSVP by March 21st with your paper choice. If you would like to bring pictures, I would suggest 3x4 (you can print these at Sam's Club or CVS). I did mine all in sepia because they fit so well with the Mimi colors. Hope you can make it to the class!

Elephant Baby Card

2008-03-06T19:33:00.003-06:00

I found this card on my camera that I had completely forgotten about! It's not as nice as finding money in your pockts that you didn't know was there but it's still exciting! I made this card for my friend's baby shower. She doesn't know if she is having a boy or girl so I needed to make a neutral card. I used the elephant from Everyday Events, isn't it really cute?? I figured baby elephants could be any color, even aqua! I also used Gentle Beginnings paper because it's so perfect for babies! The background is done with Swoops and Swirls which is a level A hostess set. Want to get it? Just get together with a friend and each place a $50 order so that both of you can get hostess benefits. It's double hostess benefits month!

Simple Monogram Cards

2008-03-04T16:38:00.001-06:00

I had to come up with a fast and creative birthday gift idea for one of my friends. So I decided to make monogram cards and give a set to her. I have seen cards with diagonal embossed pattern made with the scor-pal all over stamping blogs, I just had to give it a try! It's a really fast technique that gives your card a "wow factor." These cards are so fast and easy to make! I used Matchmakers cardstock in a variety of colors and white cardstock. I got the level D hostess set, Flower Bet, and I hadn't really used it yet, so I decided to use that for the letter. I love the scallop punches that TAC carries now. I could use them on every project. I used the Mega one here. I added a simple strip of black grograin ribbon. Voila, the card is finished!

March is a great month to get the scor-pal because it's double hostess benefits month! (And April too!) You and a friend could get together and each order $50 in products and then both of you will get hostess benefits. You could both get scor-pals if you wanted to! What a great month it is for hostesses and customers!

Baby Scrapbook Class

2008-03-02T07:38:00.010-06:00

I've been working for a long time on putting together an 8x8 baby scrapbook class. I started working on layouts in November. I'm finally done with the whole scrapbook (all 20 layouts)! This is a big accomplishment for me because I don't really scrapbook, but now I'm becoming a scrapbooker! It was so much fun to create these pages that I want to do more. What prompted the whole class was that my cousin was having a baby and we wanted to give her something special. Usually we make a quilt for the new babies in the family but her sisters were going to do that, so we decided to make her a scrapbook. My sister is having a baby too and she wants to have a scrapbook done before the baby is born so that all she has to do is add pictures. So that's how the class evolved.

In the classes you will have the chance to make the whole scrapbook (all 20 layouts). We'll try to get 10 done at each class (we may need to have 3 classes). You can pick whatever paper from the TAC catalogue that you would like. My cousin had a baby boy, so we used Amberley Grace to make her album. It came out beautiful and sophisticated. For my sample scrapbook I used Kaleidascope Boyz which is bright and fun. My sister is going to use Tutti Frutti for her baby girl scrapbook. Another customer is using Gentle Beginnings and another is using Toodle Loo. The possibilities are endless! Each one will come out different even though we are using the same layouts.

Here are a couple pages from the scrapbook. I decided to show you the same pages in the Amberley Grace and in Kaleidascope Boyz so that you can see how different it looks with different papers. I know scrapbook pages look better with pictures on them but I don't have any baby pictures to add to them! Once your baby is born, all you have to do is add pictures. How easy is that??? I'll post the dates of the class once I get them set up. Please email me soon if you would like to attend so that I can order you paper. The cost of the class is $25 per class plus the cost of the paper from TAC. You will need to provide your own 8x8 album. TAC offeres 8x8 albums in red, black, navy and light green. Let me know if you would like one of those colors for your album.

News from The Angel Company

2008-02-24T19:37:00.003-06:00

The Angel Company has just announced that there will be double hostess benefits and double gift with purchases during the months of March and April!! That means that with a $100 party, you will get 2 hostess level sets instead of 1 and 2 half price items instead of 1!! Isn't that exciting?? With every $30 in purchases, you get 2 gift with purchases. Isn't TAC awesome for having these great double benefits for 2 months??? Book your party today so that you can reap the benefits of this promotion!

Also just released was the Spring Supplement. There are 14 new stamps sets for you! There are also project ideas using some of these great new stamp sets. Check them out for some inspiration!

On a side note, sorry for the delay in posting new creations but my scanner is not working so I can't upload my pictures! Hopefully I'll get something worked out soon!

Petal Pack Power!

2008-02-13T20:53:00.004-06:00

My wonderful upline, Marisa, gave me Petal Pack for Christmas. She knew that I was drooling over it ever since it was a Jubilee hostess set. I kept putting off buying it because there were other things I needed first. I was so excited when she gave it to me! What a wonderful upline!

I made this card this weekend (I was on a roll!!!). Sorry that it isn't the best picture. My scanner is causing lots of problems (don't you just love technology???) I used Kraft cardstock (again, something my upline introduced to me) and some scraps of Match Makers cardstock. This is a great card for using up some of your leftover bits of cardstock. I also decided to go look at my embellishements that I haven't used in a while and came up with rhinestones. They just look so perfect in the center of the flowers.

Materials used:

Petal Pack, Running Stitches, Ordinary Greetings, Kraft cardstock. Apple Green 2, Golden Yellow, Blue 2, Pink 4, Sahara Sand Versamagic ink, Giverny green ink, Cote d' Azure ink, Raw Sienna ink, scallop scissors, edge distresser.

Birthday Card

2008-02-07T17:27:00.001-06:00

I am in charge of another challenge (besides the Take 5 challenge) on ASB, a CASEing challenge. CASE stands for "copy and steal everything" or "copy and selectively edit." Most of the time I choose to do the second one. I was browsing through my ASB favorites and came across a card made by JenCarter. She made a window card that inspired me to try one.

For this card, I used some new stamp sets.(Dont' you just love new rubber?? I used Curls and Swirls to make myself a background. Then I went over some of the swirls with a Sakura Stardust Gelly Pen. I am loving this product because it easily adds just a little bit of shimmer/shine to any project! I also used Script Background on the purple strip to give it some umpf! I used Ordinary Greetings for the sentiment. That is such a fun, versatile new word set! The flower inside is an old set, Flower Collage Trio. I colored in in using prismacolors and odorless mineral spirits. To make the circle, I just took my coluzzle and coluzzled out a circle. What a fun and easy card to make!

Valentine Card Buffet

2008-02-03T10:00:00.000-06:00

My creativity has returned! That's always good news! I had so much fun yesterday making Valentine's Day cards for my upcoming card buffet on Friday from 5 to 8 pm. Please email me if you can make it. You can make all these cards (and more!) for just $2 a card. Place an order of $30 and make all these cards for just $1 a card!

I had so much fun playing with a gift with purchase stamp, faded heart. I made these three cards with this free stamp with a purchase of $30! This stamp is versatile! It makes perfect Valentine's Day, love, anniversary or wedding cards. I can't wait to make more cards with this stamp! Come to the card buffet on Friday to play with this fun stamp!

Products used:

Faded Heart

Script Background

L'Amore Red Palette Ink

Burnt Umber Palette Ink

Brown Scrapper's Floss

Crystal Lacquer

Versamark

Distressed Designs

Curls and Swirls

Be Authentic

Pink Petunia VersaMagic Ink

Vellum

Cupcake Paper Posies

Pop Rockz

Mega Scallop Circle punch

Coluzzle

White ribbon

Claret Palette Ink

Spring Pansy VersaMagic Ink

Clear Embossing powder

White, cream, brown, red, purple, pink cardstock

take 5 Challenge

2008-01-24T21:53:00.000-06:00

Another week of challenges. This is what has been keeping me stamping recently. I need to get moving!! This week I wanted to play with acetate. Sometimes it's nice to get out products you haven't played with recently to help spur on your creativity.
This week's 5 products are:
1. Colored cardstock
2. Colored ink
3. Acetate
4. Gel pens
5. Scallop/circle punches
You can always use stamps, black ink, and neutral colored cardstock. I'd love to see what you create so please post a link here to your creation.

I used TAC's Party Time. It was a hostess set in the last catalogue but you can purchase it now if you missed your chance to earn it free from the last catalogue. This look is easy to create. Just stamp an image on acetate, let it dry and then color it with gel pens. The trick is to let the colors dry before applying the next color. The gel pens will bleed together so be careful!

Be on the look out for my upcoming classes schedule. Hopefully I'll get it out this weekend!

It's been a while!

2008-01-19T10:34:00.001-06:00

I'm not doing well with my resolution of trying to post more often! I really haven't been creating much so there's nothing to share with you! I did create a couple cards this week for various challenges.

This week's Take 5 challenge uses the following products
1. Colored Cardstock
2. Colored ink
3. Vellum
4. Brads
5. Glitter Pen

I'd love to see what you come up with. Please post a link here so that I can see your creation. Remember you can always use neutral colored cardstock, black ink, and stamps.

I created my card using TAC's Basic Birds which my upline lent to me! Thanks Marisa. There's nothing better for your creativity than playing with a new stamp set! I also used two all time favorites: Be authentic and Spring Dreams (swirls stamped in the corner, kind of hard to see here). I just love those two stamp sets. I wasn't sure what colors to go with so I grabbed the cardstock that coordinates with Mulberry Meadows cardstock. It's so great to have a pack of paper that all goes together. I used the two purple colors from the pack. Then I need to color in the bird (and I didn't have any products left, so I had to use the colored ink). I used the Dove Blender and Palette Violete ink to color in the bird. I used Stazon white ink to stamp on the vellum. I used Sakura Startdust Pens for the glitter. TAC now has pens like these in the new cataogue! This was such a fun card to create!

Take 5 Challenge #7

2008-01-09T18:59:00.001-06:00

My creativity has been stifled lately. I haven't felt like stamping at all! I went over to Marisa's house, my friend and upline. She kindly let me borrow one of her many, many stamp sets. I chose Simple Birds because the set isn't one I would grab right away and I didn't think it was my style. I wanted something new, something that would challenge me. I needed to come up with a Take 5 challenge sample for this week and I wanted to try something new. I did a paper sampler and I was left with all the tags. I didn't know what to do with them so I challenge myself to come up with something. Here is what I came up with. I'm actually very pleased with it because it is a different style card for me. I generally don't go with muted colors but I really like them. Maybe I'll have to buy myself some Hemingway paper to play with!

I used Hemingway tags, Hemingway cardstock, Hemingway ribbon, and Hemingway hardware. Isn't it great to have everything coordinated for you???? I didn't have any Hemingway pattern cardstock so I used one of the tags for paper piecing the bird. I think it turned out really cute! I also used another tag on which I stamped the bird. I thought this was a great use of the tags! I stamped Spring Dreams on both the tan and blue cardstocks using Palette Cognac ink. Spring Dreams is one of my all time favorite stamp sets!

The 5 products for the Take 5 challenge this week are
1. Colored cardstock
2. Pattern paper
3. Colored ink
4. Eyelets (but you can use brads if you don't have eyelets)
5. Ribbon
(You can always use black ink, stamps and neutral colored cardstock)

Please post a link in the comment section to your creation so I can head on over to your site and admire it. Happy creating!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-06T18:56:00.000-06:00

Hello again everyone! Happy New Year! I'm back from my trip and ready to start creating again. I'm going to try to post more each month, so stay tuned. I had a nice surprise right before I left on my trip. I found out that I won the Terrific Trio contest that I had entered. I was so excited that I was literally jumping up and down! Here are my winning entries (you can also see them on TAC's website. They have much better quality pictures but the one card is oriented in the wrong direction and they do now show the front of the circle card). I used TAC's Spring Dreams set (which was a hostess set but now you can buy it!) and Nuture Your Soul. I used Mimi paper, cardstock, ribbon and hardware. It's no nice to create and have coordinating materials!

When I got home I could not WAIT to get my hands on the new catalogue. The Spring/Summer Inspiration book/catalogue has been released. You can now order from it. Send me an email if you would like to get a catalogue to look through. There are 3 new paper collections (and they are beautiful!) and many, many new stamp sets. There are also new matchbook kits that are a small scrapbook that you punch out that also has embellishments to add (brackets, photo corners, etc). The pages are even double sided! All you need to do is add pictures and journaling. This would be a GREAT way to make a simple scrapbook. Get a catalogue from me so that you can see what I am talking about!

Take 5 Challenge #6

2007-12-20T21:35:00.000-06:00

I haven't had much time to stamp recently with getting ready for Christmas and also for my vacation to Greece and Turkey over winter break. This will probably be my last post of 2007! I needed to come up with something fast and easy for my Take 5 challenge on ASB. I wanted to create a winter card to send to one of my friends. This is what I came up with. I used TAC's Snowflake set stamped with versamark on Match Makers paper and sanded over it. I used a metal rimmed tag that we sell at TAC and punched another hole in it so that I could thread the white scrapper's floss through both sides. I wanted to add glitter (crystal stickles, my favorite now) but then it would have had to be called the Take 6 challenge!! The 5 products this week are:

1. Colored cardstock

2. Tag

3. Colored ink

4. Versamark (and sanding block if needed)

5. Scrapper's floss

If you would like to participate in this challenge, post a link in the comments section so that I can see your creation.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! When I get back I will be anxiously waiting to share the new TAC catalogue with you (I will be salivating on vacation waiting to see it).

Take 5 challenge #5

2007-12-12T19:33:00.000-06:00

Hello! I haven't had too much time creating because I was sick all last week and now I'm trying to catch up on my Christmas shopping! I did manage to squeak out a card yesterday for my Wednesday Take 5 challenge on ASB. This is a great challenge to do if you don't have tons of supplies like me (although I'm getting more and more as time goes on because I think I can't live without it, LOL)! In this challenge you may always use stamps, neutral colored cardstock and black ink. Here are the products for this week's challenge.

1. Colored cardstock (it's hard to live without it)
2. Colored pencils (or another coloring medium)
3. Glitter (I used orange peel stickles and crystal stickles)
4. Eyelets
5. Tags

I tried to use colors that I don't normally use together and I really like how it came out. I becoming addicted to orange cardstock! I think it's my new favorite product. I really wanted to grab my sanding block and versamark but I resisted! I used TAC's friendship flowers and Matchmakers cardstock. Have fun creating with these 5 products and post a link so I can see what you created!

Snowman Nativity Wall Hanging

2007-12-08T12:43:00.000-06:00

I collect nativity scenes. I have over 190 of them. I've been collecting since I've been 4 or 5 years old. Each year around Christmas, I haul them all out and display them somewhere. I had my display this past Saturday to show them off to the public. I decided that I really should show off my papercrafting skills too and have a hand stamped nativity scene at my display. Unfortunately I didn't get it done early enough! I got it done once the display was over. Oh well! I saw a wall hanging on Heather's Scott's blog and I loved it. I knew I wanted to make one like it!

I used TAC's Mulberrry Meadows paper because I loved the rich colors. I used TAC's Snowman Nativity stamp set (which I LOVE). At first I couldn't figure out the exact order for the words (that's the great thing about the stamp set, that it basically tells the whole story of the Nativity) but then with my husband's help we figured out an order that made sense! I had so much fun coloring the snowmen (and for those of you who really don't like coloring that much, there's not tons of coloring because the snowmen stay white!) I used white liquid applique for the sheep's heads and tails. It makes them look so cute! I also used a LOT of stickles to give some depth to the snow. I used gel pens and prisma glitter to give shine to the star and the dots around the angel. I also used my Dove blender and chalk to highlight the snowmen and give them some depth. After I laid out all the coasters, I used my Crop-a-dile to punch holes in the coasters. Then I tied them together with ribbon. Voila! A wall hanging! I already have a class booked next October to make this fun wall hanging!

Edge Distresser Question

2007-12-06T17:33:00.000-06:00

Jany posted a comment under my last post saying that she didn't have an edge distresser, was there another way to achieve the distressed look. I have never distressed edges in another way but on ASB a discussion was going about it because a lot of people didn't have an edge distresser. Someone said that running the blades of a scissors over the edges of the paper would give the same effect of the edge distresser. If you don't have an edge distresser, give this a try but be careful. This could be a little dangerous! An edge distresser is a VERY inexpensive tool. TAC sells one for just $2.25. Here's a picture of one. Let me know if you would like to add it to your next order!

Take 5 challenge #3

2007-11-28T16:40:00.000-06:00

Need some inspiration to stamp? Here's one for you. I'm hosting a challenge on ASB every Wednesday called Take 5 (see one of my previous posts for an explanation of the challenge).

This weeks products are:

1. Pattern paper

2. Colored pencils

3. Edge distresser

4. Flowers

5. Brads

One of my friends just had a baby girl and I wanted to create a card for her and get a sample made for the challenge. Why not kill two birds with one stone? I used Uptown Girl for the pattern paper. I paper pieced it into the blanket around the baby. The stamp set is Special Delivery, which is retiring! I'm so so that this set is leaving. It is one of my all time favorites. Make sure to order it before December 22nd to get your stamps (the last day to order from the catalogue is December 28th but I'll be in Greee with my family so I can't place an order for you after December 22nd). I am in love with distressing my edges! The edge distresser is such an easy tool to use and it's really inexpensive. It adds a little something to any card! I also LOVE the bitty blossoms that TAC now carries in their catalogue. I use so many of these flowers. They come in such pretty colors.

I hope you are inspired by this challenge. Post a link in the comments section of my blog to show me what you created with these 5 supplies! Thanks for playing.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T08:14:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope you have a blessed day spending time with your family. I wanted to share with you more pictures of projects that we will be making at my Christmas gift class which has been rescheduled. It will now be on Sunday, December 2nd at 3 pm. Please email me to let me know that you are coming. Cost of the class is $25 and that includes all the materials to create fabulous gifts for all your friends!

One of the gifts you be learning how to make is a stamped tumbled marble coaster. Make these as a set and they would be a great gift for anyone! You will also be making a great desktop calendar to give to a family member or friend! I got the idea from Angie's blog. Each month is different and uses paper from TAC's designer paper collections, Brighten My Day, Country Cottage and Gentle Beginnings. The calendars can be swapped out for years to come so this isn't just a gift that will last for one year!

Christmas Gift Class

2007-11-17T09:52:00.000-06:00

Don't know what to get your friends or coworkers for the holidays? Want to make something that is homemade, unique and inexpensive? Then this class if for you! Sunday, November 25th at 3 pm I am having a Christmas gift class at my house. We will be making 5 projects that you can easily make at home to give to many people on your Christmas list. Cost of the class is $25. Please let me know if you are coming by November 2oth. Watch my blog for pictures of some of the projects that we will be making.

Here's one of the projects we will be making. This one here is a photo holder that someone could put on his or her desk. It's so simple to make but the effect is gorgeous! It's made with Rustic Chic paper from TAC. Come to the class to find out how to make this great project!

New Challenge at ASB

2007-11-14T19:05:00.000-06:00

I am starting a new challenge on ASB. It's called the Take 5 challenge. I provide a list of 5 products that I would like you to use in your project whether it is card, altered item or a scrapbook page. You can always use neutral cardstock (white, cream, etc), stamps and black ink. Other than that you can only use the products on the list! This is a great challenge for me to be doing because I don't have TONS of stuff! Want to join in? Just comment on the post with a link to your project! I'll post a new challenge every Wednesday.

Here's the Take 5 challenge for this week.
1. Colored Cardstock
2. Kaleidacolor pad (or any color ink if you don't have a k-pad)
3. Ribbon
4. Brads
5. Another color of ink

My sample was made using TAC's Goodness of God (Hostess level B set), Trendy Greetings, and Mini Sampler. I used Burnt Umber ink to stamp the leaves in the background and to distress the edges of the orange cardstock. I used two colors of Match Makers paper (have I told you lately that I LOVE Match Makers cardstock???) I used TAC's brown cardstock, which is such a great color brown! I don't have any Thanksgiving stamps so I had to improvise! I'm anxiously awaiting Thanksgiving and eating lots of turkey!!

Another creation

2007-11-11T16:35:00.001-06:00

Here's another card that I made yesterday during my crafting day. I used the color challenge from ASB to help inspire my card. The color challenge was cranberry, yellow, olive and blue. I used MatchMakers paper: Wine Red 2, Yellow 2, Green 1, Robin's Egg 2. I wanted to make a Thanksgiving card but I don't have any Thanksgiving stamps, so I used the scarecrow from Everyday Events. This stamp set is great for all seasons and possible events you would have! I distressed the edges with a sponge and burnt umber ink. Sponging is a new favorite technique of mine. I used brown scrapper's floss to add some interest to the card. Thanks for looking!

Saturday Stamping Day

2007-11-10T13:06:00.000-06:00

I've been lazing around today making some cards. It feels like it's been a long time since I have just stamped for no reason. Here's a card that I made today using Sketch Challenge 95 from ASB. I used TAC's Oh How which was an extra hostess B set in September and should be available in the next TAC catalogue, coming out in January. To make the stems, I used Running Stitches, which is such a versatile stamp set! I used Versamagic inks which are soft chalky inks that give very rich colors! I really love using these. On the cutout flowers I used clear embossing powder to make the color even richer. On the purple and orangish red colors, I used Versamark and sanded over them. This has been one of my favorite techniques lately. I just LOVE Match Makers paper and I wish I had all the colors that The Angel Company carries. Sigh, maybe one day! Hope you have a great day today!

Christmas Cards!

2007-11-05T18:16:00.000-06:00

I have been busy making my Christmas cards all year so that I wouldn't have a more stressful December. I finished the 40 that I wanted to make and now I'm making more because they are just so much fun to make. My mom ordered Snowman Nativity and she graciously allowed me to play with it before she used it herself. It's a fun set to color! I was inspired by a challenge on Beate's blog. I had never made a Z-fold card before and it was fun to try it out. Beate has a great tutorial if you have never made one before. I also used my notch tool for the first time. I've always used the coluzzle before for this before but the notch tool cuts a smaller circle. Inside the card I have a white piece of cardstock stamped with "Glory to God: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men." It's one of the many sentiments that come with the set. I hope you enjoy the card!

Supplies used:

Snowman Nativity

Prismacolors

White scrapper's floss

Swirly gigs (the purple paper has swirly gigs versamarked and then sanded over)

Sanding Block

Versamark

Match Makers cardstocks

Notch tool

Celebration!

2007-11-03T09:44:00.000-05:00

The Angel Company has announced that double benefits have been extended into November! Isn't that exciting? If you weren't able to host a FUNshop in October and thought that you missed out on receiving double hostess benefits, don't worry, you can still get the double hostess benefits all through the month of November. I have lots of dates available in November for your FUNshop. Contact me to set up your FUNshop today. Christmas is coming soon! I can provide Christmas cards make and takes for your friends to do at your FUNshop in November so they can get a jump start on their Christmas cards for this year.

This card was designed by one of my friends and customers, Cynthia. She made it with a hostess set, PerkyPenguins, that can be yours with a $250 party. During the month of November you could get this set (or any other level B hostess sets) PLUS another level B hostess sets, 2 level A hostess sets and 4 half price items just for having a $250 FUNshop. Those are GREAT benefits!!! Don't miss out on this opportunity!

This card is also made with Tag Tidbits and Snowflakes. I used whtie liquid applique on the hat. The snowflakes are stamped using Brillance Moonlight White ink. I also sponged the same white ink around the purple paper to give it a shimmery effect.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T16:58:00.000-05:00

I wanted to wish you all a Happy Halloween! I hope you have a spookTACular Halloween and have fun trick or treating! I thought I would share some pictures of cards that I made for Halloween. I had a lot of fun trying some new card folds and projects to make some cool Halloween cards. I got the templates and directions from Split Coast Stampers. I sent them all off to people so I don't have the originals anymore! I'll have to make more. I had so much fun making these that I would like to have a fancy folds/card projects class coming up soon. Keep an eye out for my monthly newsletter with my class schedule. I made these cards with my new favorite stamp set (have you noticed that it changes by the week!!!), Trick or Treaters. Have a great evening!

A Little Whimsy

2007-10-28T10:22:00.000-05:00

Here's a card that I made for my last card buffet using A Little Whimsy paper. I love using it on cards. This card was inspired by a card by Mary Leeson. Thanks to her for letting me use her layout and design! I used Everyday Events, which is a great all seasons stamp set. I also used Wishing You, which is a great sayings set because it says most of everything you want to say!

Retiring List

2007-10-25T21:40:00.000-05:00

TAC has just published their list of stamps that will retire at the end of this catalogue. The last day to order from the current catalogue is December 28th. Check out this list of stamps! I am sad to see many of my favorite stamp sets gone. Get them now while you still can! I thought I would add pictures of some cards that I made with stamps that are being retired.

Special Delivery is being retired!

Something for You is leaving (the great paper: Uptown Girl is staying though!)

Pressed Flowers (one of my very first TAC stamp set) will be gone December 28th!

Birthday is retiring! (Sounds kind of funny, doesn't it???)

My first "all season" stamp set is leaving. The hat is from the stamp set Hello Seasons.

And now for one of my all time favorites, the one I may miss the most, Oopsie Daisies! It looks great colored in ANY color.

Some paper is also being retired and they are on sale! Bella Flor and Kaleidoscope Brites are on sale for $10 (formerly $19.95). Simply Spooky, Vintage Holiday, Whimsy Blossoms and Surf Shoppe are on sale for $3.50. Four designer collection paper pads are on sale as well for just $3.50: Finger Paints, Country Cottage, Metropolis and Lap of Luxury. Get your hands on these papers before it's too late! I LOVE using Whimsy Blossoms and I will miss it! Email me today to take advantage of these great specials!

Card Buffet Sunday 2-5 pm

2007-10-20T11:53:00.000-05:00

Don't forget that tomorrow I'm having a card buffet at my house between 2 and 5 pm. Please email me to let me know that you are coming. I have great cards for you to make. Two of them are pictured in an earlier post. Here's another one for you. I just got this set from The Angel Company. It's called Trick or Treaters. Isn't it cute? It's from the fall supplement. This card is so simple to make. I used Brighten My Day (designer collection from TAC), white embossing powder and some orange Bazzill paper. Come tomorrow to make this great card!

Card Buffet Rescheduled and Snowflake Class Pictures

2007-10-04T21:49:00.000-05:00

My card buffet has been rescheduled. It will now take place on Sunday, October 21st from 2 to 5 pm. Please email me to let me know that you are coming. Hope to see you all there!

Here are pictures of cards that we will be making at my Snowflake card class on Friday, November 2nd at 7pm. We will make 5 projects and you will walk home with your very own stamp set. Cost of the class is $22. Please email me if you are coming so that I can order you a stamp set.

The pink and brown card is a criss cross card, one of the hottest new cards right now. I had a lot of fun making this one. You could even turn it into a gift card holder! The blue card with the ornaments is one that I saw at Seminar. I loved it so much that I had to copy it. Thanks to whoever designed the card!

Card Buffet Saturday

2007-10-02T19:04:00.000-05:00

I'm hosting a card buffet on Saturday at my house. Come between the hours of 2 and 5 to make as many cards as you (of what I have available!) for just $2 per card. Here are 2 cards that you can make on Saturday. The card with the squares of the designer collection paper from The Angel Company was designed by Mary Moilanen. Check out her awesome blog to see her card. Thanks to her for letting me copy her card to share with you. I hope you can make it. Please email me to let me know if you are coming.

Hoppy Green Frog

2007-10-01T20:25:00.000-05:00

I made this card the other day for the color challenge at ASB. If you haven't seen it yet, I have a link to the challenge blog on the lefthand side column of my blog. It lists all the challenges that are currently held on ASB. I get great inspiration from various challenges.

I made this card for the color challenge of the week. The color challenge was all green. I just bought this frog set from TAC. It's called Hoppy Everything. I love how cute these little fellows are! I paper pieced the frog using the designer collection: Brighten My Day. I love the colors in that pad. You get 36 8x8 pieces of pattern paper for only $6.95. That's a great deal! 4 of the designer collections are on sale right now for half off. That's even better! You can get Country Cottage, Fingerpaints, Lap of Luxury or Metropolis for just $3.50 plus shipping and tax. Email me to get yours today.

I also used two cardstocks from the Angel Company. The background color is Apple Green 2. It has a white core which makes sanding a great technique to use with it. I used Versamark and then sanded the cardstock to get the watermarked image to show up. Fun, huh? I also used some green cardstock from one of the cardstock collections we have to match the new pattern paper. The cardstock matches great with the pattern paper but it is also great to use on its own! The large eyelets I used comes from one of the hardware collections that match the pattern paper. It's fun to mix and match!

It's been a long time!

2007-09-24T18:16:00.000-05:00

I have been terrible at posting my latest creations. Want to know why? Because I have very few latest creations! I've been in school for over a month and just today things started settling down. Maybe now I'll have more time to stamp for myself. I did have a chance over the weekend to create with no purpose in mind. I did the sketch challenge over at ASB using one of my new stamp sets. If you want to see more challenges, check out the link I have posted on the left side of the screen to ASB's challenge blog.

I used TAC's Everyday Events, Spring Dreams, and Trendy Greetings. I stamped Spring Drams on the periwinkle cardstock with Burnt Umber ink. I then distressed the cardstock with a sanding block becuase I thought the brown was too stark on the periwinkle cardstock. Matchmakers cardstock is really fun to distress because it has a white core. When you sand, the white core will show through. I used my dove blender and chalks to color the chair. The flowers and pot, I colored with Prismacolors. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I think the color combination is great. Stay tuned for more cards that I am creating for upcoming classes.

September Specials

2007-09-03T14:02:00.000-05:00

Wow, there is A LOT going on in September with The Angel Company!! I am so excited about these specials, it's hard to contain myself!

1. TAC has put together Remember September kits for you that include a new Soar With It paper collection (either Mimi or Lilly Anna), coordinating cardstock, hardware and ribbon PLUS a limited edition stamp set for just $24.95! That's a great offer! The limited edition stamp sets are ONLY available in these Remember September kits (you cannot change around the stamp sets, sorry). The limited edition stamps are smaller than the original size stamp. Contact me today to order your kit. Offer ends September 30th. Click on the image to make it larger and to see the details.

2. TAC has just annouced a NEW stamp set that is FREE to all hostesses who have a Funshop in the month of September that totals $250 in sales. This stamp set won't be available to until the Spring/Summer 2008 Idea Book but it's yours free with a qualifying party. You get the normal hostess benefits (found in the beginning of the catalogue) PLUS this stamp set. I am drooling over this one! I wish I could get my hands on this one but it is JUST for hostess. Contact me to set up a Funshop today so that you can get this stamp set. Don't think you can have a funshop in your house this September? Then book a party in a bag. Contact me today!

3. September stamp of the month. Here is this month's stamp of the month. It's yours for just $4.25 with a $30 order. Click here to see great samples using this stamp set. Contact me if you would like to purchase this great stamp set. Offer good until September 30th.

Finally! New Cards! Wax Resist

2007-08-28T17:12:00.001-05:00

I finally got these scanned in so that I can show you the cards I made using the wax resist technique that I learned about on Jen's Blog. This really is such a quick and simple technique. I would really recommend trying it! You need wax paper, an iron, glossy white cardstock, a brayer and ink. That's pretty much it!

I made 11 cards like these here. Each one has a different image and may be different colors but they are all the same layout. I thought I would keep it simple. I mounted all of these on plain white cardstock and inked the edges. I used my new favorite set (I know, I always have new favorite things) Everyday Events from TAC. I LOVE how versatile this set is. It has everything from baby, wedding, Christmas and much more!!!! It's on page 67 in the catalogue. I also used Hip Hardware and stamped the sentiments from Everyday Events into the middle. I used my crop-a-dile to set the eyelets. I can't decide which on my favorite is! I realize I should have kept one but I gave them all away for a swap. Oh well. Soon it will be time to break out the iron again. Happy stamping!

Slow Postings

2007-08-24T21:59:00.000-05:00

Sorry to all of you who have been checking my blog waiting for new posts. I started up school again on Monday and I have been so tired from that. Its so hard to get back in the swing of things! I haven't done much stamping lately but I do have some simple cards to share with you. I will try to take pictures of the tomorrow and upload them soon. I learned a great (and simple) background technique from reading Jen's Blog. It's called wax paper resist. I made 11 cards (for a swap) using this technique quite easily. I would highly recommend trying it. I'll write more later when I have the pictures of the cards uploaded.

Mini Scrapbook/Centerpiece Book

2007-08-16T20:11:00.000-05:00

On September 6th (Thursday) at 7 pm at my house, I will be hosting a mini scrapbook class. If you have never scrapbooked before or are just beginning scrapbooking, this is the perfect way to start. You will be making a scrapbook that is 4x4 and 10 pages long. It is a perfect brag book or a way to remember a mini vacation or family outing. Each person will get their own Soar With It collection ($6.95 sets) from The Angel Company to use on the scrapbook and take the leftovers home with you! When you sign up for the class, please let me know which paper collection you would like me to order for you. You can find them on pages 10-18 in the new catalogue. Cost of the class is $12. Please email me by August 25th to let me know if you are coming.

Card Buffet

2007-08-09T12:13:00.000-05:00

Don't forget that my card buffet is on Thursday, August 16th from 1 to 5 and 6 to 9. You can make as many cards as you would like (that I have available). Each card is just $2. Please let me know if you will be able to attend so that I know how many card kits to make. These are two samples of cards you can make at the card buffet. The daisy card was designed by Jackie Baugrud that I saw at Seminar. I just loved it so I had to copy it! I know you'll love making it too. Hope to see you next Thursday!

Open House Winners

2007-08-09T12:09:00.000-05:00

Thank you to all of you who attended my Open House. I finally got around to drawing the door prize winners. I know it's late but better late than never, right? Drumroll, please...

5 free cards at a card buffet: Joan
2 free cards at a card buffet: Marcie
Free stamp set (sweet tweets): Heidi Mals
Free catalogue: Alex

Congratulations to all of you! I will be in touch about these prizes.

Candle Class

2007-07-31T11:00:00.000-05:00

This Friday, August 3rd at 6:30, I am having a stamping on candle class at my house. I hope you can attend! Email my ASAP if you can attend so that I have candles for you. At this class you will be turning 2 ordinary candles into extrordinary gifts! Cost of the class is $10. We will be using several solid image stamp sets from The Angel Company. We will also be adding accents to the candles using several TAC products such as Mulberry Meadows exclusive TAC paper, rimmed tags and bitty blossoms. Check out this beautiful candle that we will be making. It uses Bold Flourishes, Palette ink pads: landscape, violete, and raw sienna, Bitty Blossoms, Tag from Tags and Handbag and Mulberry Meadow paper (all products from TAC). Hope to see you on Friday!

Catalogue Reveal Open House

2007-07-27T21:46:00.000-05:00

Please join me tomorrow at Wine Styles in Palatine on Dundee Road from 3 to 7:30 pm to celebrate the release of the new catalogue from the Angel Company. My upline, Marisa Alvarez, and I are hosting this party to show you all of the great new products from the Angel Company. We have 2 free make and take projects for you to do. This picture shows one of the free cards that you can make. The idea came to us from Seminar. We used the new Cha Cha exclusive paper. Isn't it beautiful paper? And the great thing is that TAC has matched it up with coordinating cardstock, ribbon and hardware. Just wait until you see all the new paper lines!

We also have some paid projects for you to do, including this one here. I LOVE this project. It's a magnet that is also a picture frame. It uses one of my new favorite papercrafting products: Bazzill Bitty Blossoms. I can't stop using them! They come in assorted colors and each one is beautiful. Bitty Blossoms are a perfect way to finish off a card or scrapbook page. Each magnet will be different and uses a variety of TAC's exclusive papers. Come early to pick your favorite magnet kit.

Now these aren't the only projects we have. But I'm not going to spill all of the beans today. You'll have to come tomorrow to see the rest of our projects. Don't forget that there is a free wine tasting as well. I'm just getting so excited thinking about all of it. Can't wait to see you there!

Stamping with new stamps!

2007-07-12T20:32:00.000-05:00

Here is a card I made with one of the new Hostess level B sets called Perky Penguins. Isn't this penguin adorable! I used a layout from a card trade that I received at Seminar. Those cards really inspired me to try new layouts and colors! I colored the penguin using prismacolors and odorless mineral spirits. I used my Sakura gelly glaze pens to make the penguin's body darker. I used another new stamp set (Spring Dreams, hostess level C set) from The Angel Company to make the background with VersaMark. I just love Versamark! I can't stamp without it. I used my coluzzle to make the circle with the sentiment. The sentiment is from Tag Tidbits. The most fun part is the liquid applique on the penguin's hat. All you have to do to get this effect is apply the liquid applique and heat set it. Nothing like Christmas in July!

New Catalogue!!!!

2007-07-03T11:09:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I have written anything! School ended, we went on vacation and I went to The Angel Company Seminar to see the new fall/winter 2007 idea book and catalogue! I am so excited by the new paper, stamps, accessories, and alterable items that are in the catalogue. The new paper is beautiful! I can't wait to make some cards, and mini scrapbooks with them. The great thing about these papers is that The Angel Company has matched them up with coordinating solid cardstock colors, matching hardware and ribbon. They even matched up the Palette ink colors as well as VersaMagic ink pads. They have made it easier for you to create! I have great ideas for stamps classes, so stay tuned.

Want to get free stamps from TAC? I can do a show for you so that you can get free stamps. Email me to let me know what dates work for you and get more information. The hostess stamps are brand new!!! You can only get them by hosted a Funshop (the Angel Company name for workshop). I am also creating a party in a bag so that if you aren't able to host a party, you can still share the products with your friends, coworkers and family members. Stay tuned for that.

My stamp class in July will be about stamping on candles. I have not set the date yet because I need to order materials from TAC before I can have the class. I will set a date soon, I promise! I will also be having a card buffet/class for those people who would rather make cards. I'll post that date later.

I made a card yesterday with one of the new hostess sets from the new catalogue. I used TAC Spring Dreams and Sweet Tweets. I got a trade at Seminar that used this layout and I just had to try it! I used the coluzzle to cut the circle in the green cardstock. I used Matchmakers cardstock. The flower image was colored with Prismacolors and I used the magic pencil technique for the leaves and the flower. Isn't this is a great idea because the part that pulls out can be used as a bookmark!

Retiring Stamps

2007-05-25T08:34:00.000-05:00

To get ready for the new catalog, The Angel Company is retiring stamps from the current catalog. These stamps will only be around until June 28th, 2007. Over a hundred stamp sets are retiring. TAC just announced that these stamps will be 25% off until June 28th! That means that tons of stamps are on sale! Also the designer collection paper pads are on sale for just $5 a pad. Check out the card off to the side to get an idea of how I have used the designer collection paper. Email me if you would like a copy of the retiring list.

One of my favorite sets to play with is retiring. I'm disappointed about it because this set has so many possibilities and it's fun to color! What set is it, you ask? It's Snail Mail! Check out these cards that I made with Snail Mail.

One of the Christmas sets that is retiring is Joy. Check out this card that uses this stamp set. I also used Crackle background to make the card. All backgrounds in the current catalog are retiring. These make great accents to all cards. Pick one up today!

Stamping on candles

2007-05-20T10:23:00.000-05:00

I was over stamping at fellow angel, Sandy Gordon's house on Friday night and saw her stamped candles. She made this first one at Madison Mingle and I couldn't wait to get home and make the same one! I was disappointed that I didn't have any candles or tissue paper at my house so I had to wait until I was running errands to pick them up. I stamped this one with the circle from TAC's blossom builders. I used Palette ink: giverny green, cote d'azure, bella rose, iris, sunflower and orangerie. You stamp the images on tissue paper, wrap it around a candle, wrap wax paper around that and then heat it up with a heat gun until the tissue paper melts into the candle. I added the ribbon and the little decoration to dress it up. I'm planning on making a set of altered items using this color combination and stamp for a graduation present. Stay tuned for a peek at them!

I was so addicted to this technique that I HAD to make another one! This second one I made with the same set (TAC's blossom builders). This time I used more than just the circle. This one may be too busy for me but I love the idea ot it.

Sneak Peek at Projects for May Stamp Class

2007-05-15T17:08:00.000-05:00

Here is one the cards that we will make at the May Stamp class on Friday, May 25th. Stamping one sheet of paper and then cutting it up into cards is a lot of fun and allows for a lot of creativity and flexibility! So many layouts can be made using the pieces you cut up. If you need help with layouts for cards, go to ASB and check out their card sketch challenge folder. That's where I get a lot of my ideas. Come to class and find out so much more! I hope to see you there. Email me if you would like to come.

May Stamp Class

2007-05-14T19:55:00.001-05:00

On Friday, May 25th at 7 pm, I am offering a stamp class at my house. Please email me by May 22nd if you would like to attend. You can make 5 cards for just $12. The class will center around two stamp sets, TAC blossom builders and TAC tag tidbits. All five cards can be made from these stamps sets (and many, many more!). You will stamp a sheet of white paper (I already stamped my as shown in the picture) and then we will cut them apart to make the cards and add embellishments. Stay tuned to my blog to get a preview of what the cards will look like (the picture below shows some of the materials we will use).

At the class you can order a kit, complete with instructions on how to reproduce the cards, including all the materials: stamp sets, paper, ink pads, and embellishments. This card kit is intended to show you how few materials you need to get started stamping! You CAN make beautiful cards with just a few materials. If you can't make the class but would like to order the kit, email me for more information.