Pressing Leaves

Do you have a long forgotten, dust covered "tool"? Over 8 years ago I bought a microwave flower press and did a lot of work with it...but then, I just shifted gears and stopped using it. Last week I mentioned that I thought the turkey head would look neat on top of a leaf - and while I was out running a day later, I saw the most beautiful red maple leaves. That started it all again and so on my walks, dog in tow and in the rain, I was in search of some tiny leaves too.

It felt good to use the press again and I am so excited about the results!

These "hinges" are from the free Level A hostess set that you can pick from The Angel Company when you have a workshop order. I thought they were perfect for this wood grain technique background. The Scor Pal makes for especially realistic looking panels.

This technique has been around for a few years but I hadn't used it in a while. The dark panel was starting with a "mustard" colored piece of cardstock and then I used White Brilliance ink and a dark brown dye ink. The light panel was cream cardstock and I used the white with a Haystack palette ink. I scored my lines first though!!

My mom loves more "natural" cards and I think this is one that she would enjoy sending out to her friends.

Switching gears...tomorrow is Halloween! I wanted a quick and easy "treat" to throw together and remembered making chocolate covered popcorn at Christmas time. I had a bag of white chocolate candy disks and added some food coloring to make it orange...

It may be too late for you to make this now but it really only takes about 15 minutes or so - I made it before my son left for school this morning (including the tags and photo!). And if you plan for it now by buying this super cute but limited edition, Bone Appetit stamp set, you'll be already for next year.

Chocolate Covered Popcorn

2 bags microwaved popcorn (popped)

1 bag chocolate candy disks (melted)

Mix together until popcorn is well coated and then spread over waxed paper covered cookies sheets to dry. Store in an airtight bag and try to make it last! tee hee...

Have a super weekend! I'll see you back on Monday - the kids are off for two days and I hope to have some fun with them!

Ping Pong!

I feel like I'm jumping from Halloween to Christmas to Thanksgiving and back again! Not many more chances to post a Halloween card but I had fun putting this together with the free downloadable papers from The Angel Company. (You can find the link in my sidebar)

I was totally inspired by a card Loretta Lock did for the Our Creative Corner blog this week and I immediately thought, "hey, I can do something like that!"

The cat is actually embossed but we've been having rain now for several days so it was tough getting a decent photo. This is a 5 inch square card that I plan to hand carry over to my sister's on Friday - may have to add some googlie eyes before then since I don't have to worry about the mailman destroying it! :)



Card Materials: all stamps and papers from The Angel Company
Stamps: Happy Haunting
Papers: orange/black misc scraps, Black/White both sets of TAC downloadable papers, MS punch, ribbon, embossing powder

I just love mixing all of these different patterns together. If you've made any cards with this paper too, be sure to leave me a link with Mr. Linky!

A Country Christmas

Although my decorating style isn't "country", there are so many instances where I just love the simplicity and the colors that go along with that look. To me, this is a perfect example!

I fell in love with the Vintage Santa as soon as I saw him in the Inspiration Avenue that recently came out...here I embossed him with clear Versamark and then went to town with my Haystack inkpad. At first I just sponged it on but in the end, I just dragged my ink spot around the entire area... Remember that "bad" punch I picked up? Well, I returned it and instead of getting money back, this new punch came home with me! I hope you like it!



Card Materials: all stamps and paper from The Angel Company
Stamps: Vintage Santa, words (retired)
Accessories: Kraft, black and cream cardstock, ribbon (Big Lots), black button, twine, Nestabilities (I used walnut spray, also from TAC, to distress the paper first)

I can't wait to play some more with this whole set ... there are some many great pieces in it, from the snowflakes to the vintage text ... my head is swimming with ideas!

Thanks - giving

I love the set, Give Thanks!

You've seen this pumpkin several times and now I created this easel card for my Hostess Club ladies. We all think that the recipient will be happy to display this card - and what a great idea for place settings! I can just see this turkey head decorating a mint pattie covered in a scalloped circle...or as I look out my window at the changing leaves - I think it would look super on top of a maple leaf (so that the leaf becomes the feathers...are you with me?!) :)

Here's my card using the Amelia Soar with it Collection from The Angel Company. I love these rich colors - it really looks elegant in real life! (May I boldly insert a sales pitch here?! Every time some one sees these papers in real life, they say, "wow - these are so much prettier than in the catalog!". Honestly, it's true. Even Juliet says that and she is one tough critic!).

Just show us the card, Chris!! I know, I know!

I found the idea for this card over on Trudy's blog who pointed me to this tutorial. The best part is that this card lays flat so you can easily mail it!

Lastly, I just wanted to share that even more items have popped up on sale over at The Angel Company...it's almost like a warehouse sale! These items do count towards a workshop party with rewards so if you think you will reach $100, PLEASE contact me by email. You will be able to earn free stamps and paper if I place your order for you!

SPECIALS include a Big Shot machine for only $80, paper keepers, albums, kits and of course the chipboard (yum!) and paper sales I've been telling you about...check it out HERE. It's while supplies last.

Have a super weekend! Another football game this weekend - and more rain! But the good news is, we remain (knock on wood!) undefeated! woo hoo...and I'm finally beginning to understand this game after 3 years. tee hee....

More Great Paper! {and Rum Cake recipe}

Last post I told you about free paper downloads, well, these aren't free - but they almost are! The prices on the following paper lines from The Angel Company are marked at 50% off -- and you may find some of your favorites here that no longer are in the catalog. That means, scoop them up while you can!

For just $9.98 you can get any of these paper packs which consist of a 12 x 12 cardstock collection includes one sheet of each design, one sheet of small cardstock alphabet stickers, one sheet of large alphabet stickers and one sheet with an assortment of coordinating die-cut cardstock tags and embellishments. Acid & lignin free. Made in the USA.

Kaleidoscope Brites -

Kamahlt

Merry Wishes

And for an unbelievable $3.48...you can get these paper packs! These are: 8 x 8 collection pad consists of 36 pages. 12 designs, three of each design. Acid and Lignin free. Made in the USA.

Whimsey Blossoms

Surf Shoppe

and 4 Designer Collections including Finger Paints, Country Cottage, Metropolis and Lap of Luxary

Also available and on sale are:

A10 ABC Frameworks Retail $7.95 Clearance $3.00

A11 Essential Elements Retail $8.95 Clearance $3.50

A12 Pockets and Pieces Retail $5.95 Clearance $2.50

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL SALE ITEMS ARE LIMITED QUANTITIES AND ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

I've had some gentle reminders for my Rum Cake Recipe which really came from my friend Rosa!

Rum Cake (or little cakes)

1 box yellow cake mix
1 box vanilla pudding (not instant)
4 eggs
1/2 cup rum
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped pecans (save for bottom)

Mix cake mix with pudding, add remaining ingredients and mix. Butter and flour bottom of bundt pan. Sprinkle pecans on bottom. Pour in mixture and bake at 325 degrees for 55 to 60 min.

Topping:

1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup rum
1/4 water

Cook over low heat until sugar melts and sauce is smooth for about 10 min. While cake is warm and still in pan, pour butter sauce into cake. Allow to soak through to bottom. Let cake cool before inverting. Tip: Start sauce towards the last 10 min. of cake's baking time.

Yum, yum! I was so lucky that one of my little cakes "broke" while I was taking it out of the pan so naturally I couldn't send it to the bake sale...tee hee...

Free is Good!

I was tickled this week to discover that The Angel Company had added a batch of new black and white paper patterns to download for free. I had a lot of fun with the first offering and these new patterns are even better! I can say that, can't I?!? tee hee...

Anyways, be sure to check them out here.

My card is based on one I saw in notimetostamp's gallery over on SCS and I finally got to use my picket fence punch (have had it over one year now!) and did some paper piecing on this lovely pumpkin -- you will see some more from this stamp set later this week (I'm so excited to share my card that I'm practically jumping up and down!).

Card Materials: All paper and stamps from The Angel Company

Stamps: Give Thanks

Accessories: Black/White FREE download, Amelia Soar with it Collection and cardstock, ribbon, MS punch, CB flourish die

TIP: Look carefully on your printed papers for the registration...um, I should be wearing bifocals and missed the words on my paper until after the card was put together! oops! I don't think my parents will mind though...

On a funny note. Yesterday I wanted to bake some banana bread but was one egg short. I went out the check the coop but no luck (now that it's getting colder and darker earlier, they are laying less) so I had to wait today for an egg (which I got!). There was no way I was going to go buy a dozen eggs because I was one short! {grin}

Fall Fun

I bought another new punch this week - I know, I need to go to some kind of 3 step class to stop this madness (because you may not know that I just got two more spellbinder label sets!). The good news is that it doesn't work so I will return it. But, I wasn't going to let the disappointment of punching a new border stop me. I grabbed some scraps and got to work. Even this oval and scalloped black oval were in my precut pile so this card came together so quickly - I was able to finish it in one sitting!

I masked just a bit of the bottom of the oval so that the little girl's dress and feet are missing but she still managed to look centered. I'm taking a watercoloring class and I think the ideas are even helping me with my colored pencil work. I love the fall colors here!

Stamps: Fall Fun, The Angel Company

I also was busy baking yesterday for our church Bazaar today...These rum cakes are absolutely delicious and I'll be back next week to share the recipe. They are perfect for fall. (anytime, really!) To dress them up, I used my largest scallop Spellbinders die and punch them out of parchment paper for the cakes to sit on. A matching scalloped tag finished it off - too bad my ribbon tying skills are still lacking.

Have a wonderful weekend! We have a big football game tonight - my son's undefeated team against the only other undefeated team. And the forecast? More rain and cold!! ugh.

Funny Bones and a cute mouse

The other day I spotted this great treat idea and finally broke down and ordered the Bone Appetit set from The Angel Company. I can't wait to get started...

hmmm...so many great sayings! There are several that would work with these bones! :)

Here's the recipe...and don't forget that this stamp is available only for a limited time!

Funny Bones Epicurious October 2009
by Sharon Bowers

Ghoulish Goodies

More fun with pretzels and melted chocolate! Like the pretzel lollipop ghosts, these are a tasty mix of sweet and salty. With the white chocolate coating on them, they are uniformly charming. For the best effect, heap and jumble the little bones in a bowl rather than laying them on a plate. (Although I call for white chips, this is one place where lower grade white "coating" chocolate or bark is so easy to work with that it might be worth the trade-off in taste.)

Yield: Makes 36 bones

1 (12-ounce) package white chocolate chips (2 cups)

36 pretzel sticks and rods of various sizes

72 mini-marshmallows (about 1 cup)

1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
2. Place the chips in a double boiler over just-simmering water and melt, stirring frequently. As soon as the chips are just melted (there may even be a few solid ones left), remove the pan from the heat and remove the top section of the double boiler so the chocolate’s temperature doesn’t keep rising.
3. Stick marshmallows onto both ends of the pretzels, with the marshmallows’ flat sides parallel to the pretzel.
4. Dip each pretzel in the chocolate and lift out with a fork, letting the excess drip back in the bowl. Lay the bones on the baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes to harden the chocolate. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or at a cool room temperature.

I was tickled to get this cute card in the mail yesterday from Angela...thank you so much! I don't have this set myself (darn!) and so it's especially fun to see what others do with their stamps. I really like the fall colors. Angela paper pieced the entire outfit so it's really extra nice.

Mice Day is in the Serendipity magalogue from The Angel Company and is still available until next spring...if you want to see what other great stamps you may be missing, check them out HERE!

Trees...

Late this summer I watched my neighbor's house and kept his garden and pots watered for 3 weeks - easy "duty", for sure. So, I was overwhelmed when he came over with a gallon container of pure maple syrup made in Canada where they had been visiting. I wanted to make a nice thank you note and thought this tree would be perfect. My folks actually make maple syrup themselves in upper Wisconsin and I know it's hard, hard work to just get a gallon of "finished" syrup and that's why it's so expensive!

Card Materials: all papers and stamps from The Angel Company

Stamps: Good Timber

Accessories: Amelia Soar with it Collection and cardstock, buttons, brown scrapper floss, nestabilities

Sorry for the dark photo - it's really a dreary day. My kids are home for the holiday but it's not the type of day to do anything outside; so, we're just vegetating!

Edit: Patti J. - you were right to question a gallon! I just looked again and as it's Canadian, the measure is one Liter - but still quite a lot of syrup. Especially since (brace yourself!) my husband and son prefer the store bought "fake" stuff! ugh...

I had meant to include this photo from Oktoberfest of a man dressed up as a tree - which really puzzled my little niece and nephew!

hence the title of my post, Trees!

Halloween Decorations

I've always decorated our house for Halloween in a more "cutesy" style...funny eyes that light up, a big stuffed spider on a cobweb, lighted feet that I got on sale after Halloween from Michaels. Last year I picked up some hanging skulls from there when they went on sale - I know that sounds scary - but they aren't!

We have new neighbors (who are great, by the way) and they have a 3 year old little girl. Well, on Sept 30 out came the Halloween decorations and they are making my 11 year old son drool. Three fake graves with fresh dirt, skulls and skeletons, cobwebs - everywhere!! hmmm....the man was having so much fun and I asked him if this was all for his daughter, or him!? We did get a good laugh.

Okay, so where am I going with all this? A cute Halloween card!

• Recently Melissa Phillips (and I'm sure many others) used one big and one small googly eye on a project and I just loved the silly look.
  
• I've also been itching to do some black and black embossing after seeing the terrific results Mischelle, the owner of The Angel Company, has gotten and featured recently on her blog.
  
• Lastly, I loved the recent sketch over on SCS (used in my very last post) and challenged myself to try again with it.

Card Materials: All stamps and papers from The Angel Company

Stamps: Happy Haunting, Spring Dream

Accessories: Designer Collection papers, DCWV, black/white paper, brads, Martha Stewart punch, versamark ink and black embossing powder

I hope you have a terrific weekend, and be safe over the holiday here in the US! We have a football game on Saturday and are meeting my sister and her family for an Ocktoberfest on Sunday.

SCS 249 Sketch - Fall Flowers

Wow...I can't believe that I actually completed a SCS sketch and got it posted on the day it came out! This is a first for me. George is traveling so I stayed up a bit later and stamped my Watercolor Plants by coloring them with tombow markers and just a spritz of water. I also happened to get some new Label Nestabilities in so I was happy that the two paired well. No sketch when I checked so I went to bed. In the morning, the perfect sketch awaited me and I got to work!

Just for some extra pizzazz...I hand cut the brown border out around the main image and I stamped Swirlies with Tombow green markers, again lightly spritzed with water.



Card Materials: Stamps and papers from The Angel Company
Stamps: Watercolor Plants, Swirlies
Accessories: TAC Brown cardstock, DCWV pack, antique brads, nestabilities, fiskar border punch, watercolor paper, Tombow Markers and water bottle

Now if my work with Watercolor Plants hasn't convinced you yet to buy this set from The Angel Company, I hope you'll take a peek at what Silke has been doing with them over in Germany. She's used different techniques and some great, non traditional colors with this set for some WOW cards!

Random Sequence Generator says:

Random Sequence Generator
Here is your sequence:

13 and that happens to be:

missy said...
Oops! it didn't post my first comment! Maybe cause I wasn't signed in! So I will repeat that I am from Tennessee! And I love your card! Thanks for being so generous!!
October 3, 2009 9:27 PM

Congratulations Missy! Please send me your address and I'll get this package out to you right away. Thank you to everyone who gave it a try!

I know many of you have made some great friendships and/or connections via the blog world. I am so happy to have gotten to "know" Barb Foster who is a super talented, fellow Angel. If you don't know Barb - she loves Halloween! She's made a believer out of me and I was so happy to see her work featured on The Angel Company's website - in the Creative Corner.

This is just a taste of her work but see all of her super creations here! I wanted to share these ideas here because this stamp set is available for a limited time and it would be a shame to miss out.

In case you missed it, The Angel Company is now offering a special buy on Copic Markers! If you are a hostess with a $100 party, you have the opportunity to buy a Copic Ciao Marker set A, B, C or D for just $120... offer is good through the end of December (just enough time for you to get this as a special Christmas present!! No more PJs or fuzzy slippers under the tree...get what you REALLY want!)

World Card Making Day

The long awaited day for card makers all around the world is here!! Hooray - and thanks for taking the time to visit my blog today!

My card today features the sketch from Card Patterns (http://cardpatterns.blogspot.com/) this week...be sure to go by and visit them for an extra chance to win a spec-TAC-ular prize from me!

And...don't miss out out on my personal specials for this World Card Making "weekend" extravaganza, as well as a chance to win some blog candy below.

Card Materials: all stamps and papers from The Angel Company
Stamps: Give Thanks
Accessories: Penelope Soar with it Collection and cardstock, Kraft cardstock, In Bloom blossoms and buttons, book page, corner punch, ribbon, twine

CUSTOMER SPECIALS!! ** please email me your order and choice of specials **

With a $30 order: Pick either a Tombow White Gel Pen or your favorite color of Stickles for FREE!

With a $60 order: Pick either a package of Clear Acetate or a jar of Prisma Glitter for FREE!

With a $100 order: Pick either the most amazing stamp cleaner ever or a Noir Palette inkpad for FREE! That's in addition to:

• 2 FREE Level A hostess sets,
• 2 half priced items off anything in the catalog and...
• a Miss Moxie Soar with it Collection for FREE all courtesy of The Angel Company.

For a chance to win this blog candy, just leave a post telling me where you are from - I will draw the winner at midnight, 4 Oct.




Good luck and have a fabulous weekend!

New Baby

Not for me - phew! But for a lady at my husband's work... I think this card is perfect for a little baby girl and I just fell in love with the baby carriage from The Angel Company's hostess set, Just Bee-cuz.

It's a very simple card but I thought the rounded corners and pearls inside the flowers made it more elegant. And, can you ever go wrong with a cream and black color combo?!



All stamps from The Angel Company.

I hope you will be sure to stop by tomorrow and see the specials and "chance to win" I am having in celebration of World Card Making Day! If you subscribe to this post, you probably already saw a sneak peak as I accidently went "live" when trying to schedule a post...sigh...if only I could master the computer! Have a great weekend!