Finally...Going Green!

This month the theme over at The Angel Company is "Going Green"! That means your project can focus on recyling, reusing, St Patty's Day or just plain green! My card today features green as it's main focus but I am also bringing out some of my retired stamps to "renew" them...and I used a piece of ledger sheet from a package my Mom gave me years ago.

I spotted a candle from a Pier 1 Imports catalog that I thought was beautiful:

That inspired a card for my Birthday Card Class for my Meet Up group...we met on Monday and have one more session tomorrow. It's so much fun! Wouldn't you know, Juliet grabbed my sanding paper for my gamsol stumps and used it to distress her cardstock. It has a white core and I loved the results...I'd forgotten that technique - I call her the Distressing Queen. So that card was the base point for this one...

My butterfly is colored with Copics and then I just cut it out and layered it on top. I love collages and it's a good way to use a variety of your stamps in a new way.

Card Materials: All stamps from The Angel Company (So Girly and Fern: retired)

Vintage Backgrounds, Fanciful Vintage, Give Praise to Him, Ribbon, Kraft cardstock, green DCVW, Copics, Palette inks: Haystack, Landscape, Burnt Umber

Don't forget about this month's specials! Stamps with our four legged friends and a flower are all on sale this month. All of the information is in my sidebar, just a click away!

Are you done wrapping yet?

Amazon just delivered two more little presents that I have to wrap up but I am almost done! Yahoo! Just time though to feature some more fun tags.

The first one is one more from my Masterpiece card class...I threw in a few tags, just for fun! Here is the Poinsettia stamp but colored in blue. I love it paired with the silver Brilliance ink - which looks amazing whether it's embossed or not. I think this little tag will dress up any present, don't you?

The next tag arrived yesterday from my friend Julie - she is in my hostess club and brought ME a present - I'm the one who should be giving out the gifts...sigh. Anyways, these are two retired stamps from The Angel Company (I have them both and love them) but I love all the layers in this tag!

Even the back is finished off nicely...

I hope this gives you some inspiration to finish your wrapping. I've got to pull my Pumpkin Cranberry bread out of the oven and head off to our brunch for the Mom's Bible Study at church...hope your week is going terrific!

Pink...everywhere!

Last month was Breast Cancer Awareness month and everywhere I looked, I saw pink! Football players were wearing pink, my chicken feed came in a pink bag and the blogs were filled with beautiful cards honoring women who were battling cancer or were celebrating being a survivor.

Monday the school secretary called and needed another card...one of the active moms in the school had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and she wanted to give her a special card. This is what I came up - I channeled many of the elegant cards I had seen. Strangely, I just kept adding and adding elements, until it seemed "finished". {This set came out during Hurricane Katrina when The Angel Company donated part of the proceeds to the Red Cross...it's a great set and I use it for making cards for the wounded soldiers too.}

I know it's very busy but in real life, it came together well. I put Tim Holtz clear crackle over the word strips to match the crackle paint in the background. And, that's my new Martha Stewart punch that helped balance things out and matched the MS doily perfectly, I thought.

This particular mom is usually dressed in sweatsuits and is pretty casual so I started having second thoughts about my fussy card and quickly made a second card the next morning.

Another retired set from The Angel Company. I thought the pearls across the top made it fun but it's a much simpler card...

In the end, the secretary picked the first card! Both of these are 5 inch square cards and featured the More Mimi Soar with it Collection...I find that a fun size to work with but I only do it when I don't have to mail a card.

Special Order

The secretary from my kids' old school called me on Friday and asked me if I still "make cards"? Ummm, yah! :) She has had some special orders in the past and needed 6 thank you cards for the cafeteria workers. What is nice is that she doesn't really want a school theme but rather, she likes the card to match the gift cards going on the inside pocket that I add to my cards...so she had 5 Bath Body Works gift cards and one Panera gift card (for the male worker).

I knew immediately what I would do and grabbed for some of my retired TAC stamps...this was a "style" The Angel Company had a few years ago (I love the variety they offer) and they remain some of my favorites!

To doll this up I have black stickles on some of the flowers on the inside panel, her towel wrapped head is done in shiny chalk, and I ended up outlining the nestabilities frame with a black gel pen to help it pop...not so easy to do but my hand did get steadier on the 5th card! :)

This guy is great! I paper pieced his chef hat and used copics for the rest of him...the paper is Basic Grey leftover from the days we used to carry that. I must say our own line of papers is just as luxurious! Can you see where I stamped Bon Appetit in the background and I used my scor pal to emboss the polka dotted panel?

They are 5 inch square cards, I decided to go big because I have a zillion clear envelopes and since they won't be mailed, I knew this would be a perfect presentation. I love these two cards - I hope you do too! Have a super week and if you have today off: happy Columbus Day in the US and happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends!

School's Out!

Yesterday was the last day of school for my two kiddos. In fact, they went in for only 2 hours (why?!?) and then were released for the rest of the summer. They both headed to the pool to relax and enjoy friends while I went to the auto shop to get my car's AC fixed. Oh joy. And, the fun continues this afternoon when I finally have my molar pulled. Two months of pain and a failed root canal and now this is the end for my tooth. I'm scared to death - has anyone ever had a post put in and a crown? I'm thinking I won't go that way but if you have any feedback, PLEASE let me know.

On to important stuff, stamping!



I used a retired set from The Angel Company to make this teacher thank you card. I colored it quickly with markers and I really liked how the white spaces were left between some of the strokes and I left them alone rather than coloring the entire image solid.

I'll be sharing some peeks of the new catty soon! I have envelopes addressed, stacked and ready to be mailed...now if Mr Brown would just bring my box of 100 catalogs!!

Enjoy your weekend! I hope all of the Angels at Seminar this weekend have a glorious time...wish I was there!! :)

So Long, Farewell...

Hostess Level Sets also retiring!!
TA3011 Hinges
TA3041 Cute as a Bug
TB2980 Flower Labels
TB3073 Purr-fect Friends
TC3010 Be of Good

Stamp Sets
T3032 A Kind of Gratitude
T3085 Floral Patches
T3084 Build-an-Owl
T3019 Fishy Friends
T3072 Happy Girl!
T3027 Flower Patch
T3049 Island Trees
T3031 Beautiful Day
T3033 Hotel Signs
R2045 Growing Love
T3036 Showers of Love
R2040 Special Delivery
T3051 Fairy Tales
T3071 Mice Day
T3069 Hoppy Day
T3055 Little Stinkers
T3068 Some Bunny
T3075 Feline Fabulous
T3048 Playful Parenthesis
T3016 Memo Fun
T3014 Creative Inspiration
T3030 The Renaissance
T3086 Today & Forever
T3057 Bird Cage

And don't forget that if you order in December...you'll be entered into my $25 of FREE TAC stamps raffle. I have some exciting (squeak, squeak) news to share with you on the next post.

Cards for Heros

This week many blogs I follow have been creating cards for the Cards for Heros blog hop. I wasn't an original poster but I've had fun hopping through the blogs seeing the various cards.

In case you didn't know, I served almost 8 years in the US Army when I married my husband and George just retired last summer after 20 years. I've always loved the military life and am happy to keep close to it by living here in Washington DC. I served under a great man, Lieutenant General Timothy Maude, several times in my short military career and it was with horror that I found out he was killed in the 9 11 attacks on the Pentagon. This is a weekend that I think of him and his family each year...and I know there are thousands of families out there with a similar emptiness.

The card I want to share is just a simple tribute to our brave men and women...and whether you live in the USA or abroad, how lucky we all are to have those that are willing to sacrifice each day to keep us safe!



This is a retired stamp set from The Angel Company - remember when that wrought iron punch was so poplular?! To check out the entire blog hop, and there are some spectacular treats awaiting you, be sure to go to the Cards For Heros blog...http://cardsforheroes.org/bloghop/

By the way, the name of my blog came from my stamping group at church where we get together once a month to stamp cards for wounded soldiers as part of Operation Quiet Comfort. A happy and safe Memorial Day weekend to all of you!

A Sad Farewell

On Friday The Angel Company posted it's discontinuing stamp list as they prepare for the new catalog coming out 1 July! The good news for YOU is that these following stamps are now discounted at 25% off...and the sales price is already showing up online!

Discontinued List of 2009

It’s time to make room for new stamp additions to our 2009-2010 Inspiration Base Book! It’s a great time to add the following stamp sets to your collection at a 25% discount before they are gone forever! As of July 1, 2009, these sets will no longer be available for ordering, will not appear online, and will be officially retired from the TAC™ collection.** Hurry and order
your favorite retiring sets before they’re gone as quantities are limited!

**Sets may appear as a future Vintage set at the discretion of the TAC™ corporate office.
*Orders for discontinued sets must be received at the corporate office by 5:00 PM CST on Friday, June 26, 2009.
*Orders placed from the discontinued list are commissionable and count toward FUNshop™ sales and benefits.
*No other special offers or discounts apply.
*TAC™ reserves the right to amend the discontinued list as we see fit.

These sets can be found here in the Fall Supplement

T-2933 Halloween Town 5 FS
T-3039 Pumpkin Day 5 FS
T-3005 Fright Night 7 FS
T-3042 Halloween Greetings 7 FS

And the rest of these stamps can be found here!

T-2882 All Occasion Icons 17 BB
T-2897 My Sunshine 17 BB
T-2835 Faithbooking 18 BB
T-2915 My Life 19 BB
T-2875 Fantasy Flourishes 20 BB
T-2622 Artsy Elements 20 BB
T-2847 Enchanted Florals 22 BB
T-2825 Butterbees and More 23 BB
R-2028 Blissfully Ever After 24 BB
T-2675 Wedding Day 25 BB
T-2833 The Wedding 25 BB
T-2848 Eclectic Swirls 26 BB
T-2955 Everyday Eclectic 26 BB
T-2849 Old World Ornaments 28 BB
T-2866 Starburst Florals 31 BB
T-2850 Ornate Swirls 28 BB
T-2801 Something’s Fishy 28 BB
T-2837 Distressed Typewriter Bet 29 BB
T-2812 Family Fun 29 BB
T-2744 Floral Dingbats 29 BB
T-2886 Pattern Sayings 30 BB
T-2865 Moxie Minis 31 BB
T-2829 Bloom And Grow 31 BB
T-2923 All Season Stamps 32 BB
T-2853 Seasonal Cuties 32 BB
T-2808 Oh How 32 BB
T-2852 Floral Favorites 32 BB
T-2831 Flower Doodles 33 BB
T-2814 Paisley Words 33 BB
T-2672 Salsa Flowers 34 BB
T-2856 Swirly Bouquet 35 BB
T-2855 Loops and Swirls 35 BB
T-2745 Rose Garden 36 BB
T-2750 It’s Always Springtime 36 BB
T-2339 Friendship Flowers 37 BB
T-2412 Enjoy Today 37 BB
T-2864 Juliette Florals 38 BB
T-2868 Fresh Air Favorites 39 BB
T-1234 Victorian Collage 40 BB
T-2408 The Arts 40 BB
T-2749 Ornamental Ribbons 42 BB
T-1014 Flutter By 43 BB
T-2636 Basic Birds 44 BB
T-2703 Goodness Of God 44 BB
T-1096 Tiger Face 44 BB
T-815 Mountain Scenery 44 BB
T-1101 African Giraffe 45 BB
T-2122 Charcoal Leaves 45 BB
T-2720 Punctuation 47 BB
T-2920 Floral Swirls 47 BB
T-2931 Our Savior 48 BB
T-2709 Love Doodles 48 BB
T-788 Celtic Images 49 BB
T-2699 Blessed With 53 BB
T-2670 On Safari 54 BB
T-2818 Our Baby 55 BB
T-2312 Ribbon Borders 55 BB
T-2545 Baby On Board 56 BB
T-2363 Peek A Boo 56 BB
T-2384 Double Trouble 57 BB
T-2631 Twins 57 BB
T-2686 Kid Praises 57 BB
T-2669 Bold Flourishes 58 BB
T-2870 Retro Rovers 60 BB
T-2862 Funky Felines 60 BB
T-2349 Hoppy Frogs 61 BB
R-2029 Blooming Builders 62 BB
R-2026 Deco Designs 63 BB
T-2932 Floral Labels 63 BB
T-2662 Treasure Seeker 64 BB
T-2657 Pirates 64 BB
T-2627 Pull Up Anchor 65 BB
T-2663 Sail Away 65 BB
T-2851 Euphoric Elements 67 BB
T-2718 Ocean Buddies 67 BB
T-2770 Fun Fish 67 BB
T-2959 Celebrate the Seasons 69 BB
T-2947 Sparkle 69 BB
T-2614 Flourishes 70 BB
T-2315 Paisley Rockz 72 BB
T-2652 Fun Time 72 BB
T-2838 Heavenly Father 73 BB
T-2873 G is for Gratitude 74 BB
T-2705 Nothin’ But Net 76 BB
T-2532 You’re A Winner 76 BB
T-2689 Girlie Gadgets 77 BB
T-2668 Teacher’s Helpers 78 BB
T-2684 All Season Athlete 78 BB
T-2934 Retro Tags 80 BB
T-2714 Keep Smilin’ 81 BB
T-2832 Fancy Punctuation 82 BB
T-2883 Summer Elegance 83 BB
T-2884 Elegant Sentiments 83 BB
T-2946 Retro Journal Tags 85 BB
T-2964 Sassy Girl 85 BB
T-2121 So Girly 85 BB
T-2318 Kallioppe 85 BB
T-2861 Travel Notes 86 BB
T-1130 Fore 86 BB
T-1091 Fish Story 87 BB
T-2846 Twists & Twirls 88 BB
T-2637 My Heart Gives Thanks 89 BB
T-2260 Hey Chick 89 BB
T-2957 Celebration Invitation 91 BB
T-2879 Playful Pirates 92 BB
T-2748 Spooky Swirls 92 BB
T-2601 Family, Food & Friends 95 BB
T-2790 Count Your Blessings 95 BB
R-2721 Simply christmas 96 BB
T-2706 Holiday Magic 96 BB
T-2792 Trendy Holiday Tags 97 BB
T-2810 Christmas Checklist 97 BB
T-2032 Cheery Christmas 98 BB
T-2685 Spirit of Christmas 99 BB
T-2603 ‘Tis The Season 100 BB
T-2772 Snowy Swirls 100 BB
T-2793 Birdy Holiday 100 BB
T-1253 Christmas Fun 101 BB
T-2679 Simple Snowflakes 102 BB
T-442 Snowflakes 103 BB
R-2031 Whimsical Greetings 104 BB
T-2701 Christmas Season 104 BB

I can now share some cards that I had submitted for the last catalog call around Christmas time...these stamps are suddenly on the retired list so I know these particular cards won't be featured in the next catalog. So sad...

This card features Mountain Scenery and Hemingway Soar with it Collection (paper, cardstock, hardware and ribbon).

More Mountain Scenery, Be Still (current) and Amberley Grace Soar with it Collection (paper, cardstock and ribbon). Plus, flower punch.

Lastly, Tiger Face looks great (I think!) with the cracked glass technique and more Hemingway Soar with it Collection (papers, cardstock and ribbon). Plus punch.

I'll be sending out my eNewsletter today to those of you who subscribe to it, if you want to stay current, drop me a line and I'll include you for all of the updates and sales info. If you'd like this file as a PDF, I'm happy to send it to you. Happy shopping!!

I've got sunshine...

okay, call me strange but I am so excited to see some sunlight out my window! It's been raining for days and we had the biggest thunderstorm this morning...that means spring is here! (Notice how it never thunders and lightnings in the winter?! hm...)

Speaking of other "keen" observations - yup, I'm on a roll here! - I just found this really cool download that is free over at The Angel Company website. I just love black and white based cards with a pop of color. The other day while I was window shopping past a Pendleton store, I saw the most beautiful white and black striped blazer and they paired it with a bright yellow sweater. I immediately thought of making a card with those colors -- look for it next week!

Sadly, I'm still working on taxes...but I'm almost done! In the meantime, I'd like to share my last muslin fabric card ... I just love the look and it's so easy to color with watercolor pencils and a Dove blender pen!

Card Materials: retired stamp set but I love this little house! DCWV Green #1 cardstock