It's my Anniversary!

Yep! It's been 11 years since we tied the knot! Click here if you want to see us on our special day. I wanted to make a special card for my groom, but it's a challenge to make a "romantic masculine" card. Too often I think that phrase is an oxymoron. But I think this attempt turned out rather well.

I started with this week's sketch from Mercy Kerin, some Rustic Chic papers, and the Forever Family stamp set. I used a marker to ink up only the "forever" in the phrase stamp. And I even finished off the inside...something I rarely do, but this is for someone special, right? The heart is also from the Forever Family set, and the sentiment was a GWP in the previous catalog. I think this card would work very well for Valentine's Day too if you're still needing for an idea for that special guy.

Don't forget about the class kit giveaway! You still have a few hours to post a comment to win!

Amy R's Friday Sketch

I just recently started trying some of Amy R's sketches. I really love this Friday Sketch!

The patterned paper is Amberley Grace and the sentiment is one of the GWP's in the current catalog. Did you know that for every $30 in purchases from The Angel Company you can choose a Free Gift With Purchase (GWP) stamp? The Petaloo flowers and rhinestone brad were RAK'd to me by an online scrapping gal Deb Harter, and I found the button and satin ribbon in my stash. Make sure you check out Deb's blog! She is one awesome scrapbooker!

Thanks Amy for another great sketch! I'm planning on using this one again very very soon.

The Magalogue is here!

My personal copy was in my mailbox last night, and I'm hoping that the bundle I ordered will arrive sometime this week. This is not your ordinary Spring Supplement. 47 new stamp sets, new accessories, lots of step-by-step project instructions! Just WOW!

Here's a peek at a couple of the sets tops on my wish list. Definitely NEED that Little Cupcake set of 11 stamps for $18.95.



And how about Mice Day?



Email me if you'd like to have your very own copy of Serendipity. It retails for $2.95. But if you've placed an order with me from the Fall/Winter '08 catalog, be on the lookout for a complimentary copy from me.

Another Giveaway from The Angel Company

Did you already register for your chance to win this Lilly Anna loot???

There's just a few more days to enter this The Angel Company giveaway! But it's almost January 29, so hurry!! Click here for your chance to win.

Class Projects - last installment and A Giveaway!!!

As promised, here are the rest of the projects we made yesterday in the "love-themed" class!

This one uses the Seeds of Blessing stamps colored in with markers. It's hard to tell in the photo, but we painted the "heart wings" with Candle Light Shimmerz.



The next card uses a stamp from the All Occasion Icons set and paper from the Uptown girl collection. We stamped the image with Versamark, heat embossed using black embossing powder then cut out the image and adhered it with pop dots.



This sweet little decor project uses Catelynne papers and the Love Blooms set in the Fall Supplement. All on a 4" square coaster with a magnet on the back.



And our last project is an oldie, but a goodie! Especially for using up those little clamshell cases that the Free GWP stamps come in. Four Hershey nuggets fit perfectly in those. We used the January Stamp of the Month Dropping Boxes on address labels to wrap the nuggets. The outside is decorated with a couple of little images from the Sweet Goodies set and finished off with some cute heart ribbon from one of the big-box craft stores.






Want a chance to make these projects? I have 2 class kits left over to send out to two lucky winners. All the cutting, stamping, embossing will be done so you can just put these 6 little projects together in a jiffy! That would be a great way to get some Valentine's cards and gifts made if you find yourself running short on time. And yes...the chocolate is included! *wink*

To enter the giveaway, just post a comment telling me which of the six projects is your favorite! Here and Here are the two that were shown earlier. For a second chance in the drawing, link me up to your blog post or forum announcement spreading the word about this giveaway! Post your comments by 11:59PM CST on Saturday, January 31st. Winners will be chosen using Random.org and will be announced on Sunday, February 1. The kits will go postal as soon as I have the mailing address for the winners. It should be in plenty of time for you to actually USE these before Valentine's Day!!!

And don't forget....just a little over 24 hours left to grab these stamp sets at 50% off!!! Click here for more info and please email me if you have any questions or want to place an order at these unbelievable prices!

Love Class Card

I'm pre-scheduling this to post during the Love-Themed class I'm hosting this afternoon so that it will be a surprise to the gals who are coming. I used this sketch by Lauren Meader, Catelynne paper, and the Forever Family stamp set. I love all the pinks and reds this time of year, but this card is a nice variation.

You've already seen this card we're making. And I'll be back tomorrow to show you the rest of our projects --- SIX in all!!!

I'm also stalking the mailman today. Word has it that my copy of the new Magalogue might arrive. I've seen some sneak peeks and it is WOW!

Also, just a little over 48 hours left in the great Spec-Tac-ular sale. Get all those stamps on your wish list at 50% off before time runs out. Just email if you have ANY questions!!

CPS Readers Choice Week - Wee Ones Baby Card

For Reader's Choice Week at the CPS blog, I chose Sketch #25 for this slightly overdue baby card using the Wee Ones stamps set. The sentiment is from one of the current Level A Hostess sets. The papers are from the Gentle Beginnings and Mimi collections. Ric-rac from my stash. After watercoloring the images using Burnt Umber and Toile Pink, I painted the pink with some Candle Light Shimmerz, but the sparkle is just not showing up in the photo. I'm not sure how many baby cards actually use brown, but I think it turned out okay.

This one is more like Toadally Just Okay

I needed a card for Addison to take to a birthday party Saturday. She really wanted to use the card in my last post, but I needed to mail it out. So in the wee hours of Saturday morning I started with Taylor's sketch and Hoppy Everything and came up with this. The strips of paper are from the Kaleidoscope Boyz pad. The only part of this card that I really like is the masking. I stamped the frog then masked him before I stamped the mushroom under him.

Oh well...I'm sure her 7 yr old friend won't be too critical, do you think?

Toadally Awesome!

*He-he* I just love this little toad. (Or is he a frog?) Maybe it's because my first grader is toad-ally into the Frog and Toad series right now. She is reading one of the little stories to us every night at bedtime.

So we start with: (1) I need a thank-you card for a online gal that is just the sweetest! And (2) I wanted to work with this month's SheetLoad of Cards sketch. SheetLoad makes it so easy telling you the exact sizes to cut each paper. I used the Hoppy Everything set and some Just Like Dad papers. The little guy is stamped with Palette Burnt Umber, then colored in with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. After adding some Cuttlebug embossing and fiber from my stash, VOILA! Toadally Awesome, huh?

Don't forget....just 12 more days to order all those stamps on your wish list at 50% off!!! Details are here. Email me if you're placing an order of $30 or more to make sure you get your free gifts!

Quick Valentine's card

Do you ever visit blogs just hoping that some of the creativity will ooze over the web to your chair? Lisa Johnson's projects always amaze me. When I saw this card (scroll to the bottom of her post), I knew I needed to pull out my Love Doodles and Sweet Goodies sets. I'm just loving the kraft cardstock and the simple color scheme. And WooHoo....already got one Valentine ready to mail.

OCC Sketch Challenge Card

One of my goals for 2009 is to participate in at least one online blog challenge every week. I loved this week's sketch at Our Creative Corner and decided to use it to make my daughter's birthday card. I used the Pirates and Treasure Seeker sets coloring the images with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. The paper is from the A Little Whimsy pack. Then I applied Stickles over the "treasure" and added some craft jewels for extra sparkle. When she opened her card she said, "How did you know I liked pirates?" LOL She turned 7 yesterday and you can peek here for pics from our little family celebration.

Don't forget! The great Spec-TAC-ular Sale started yesterday! 50% off almost ALL the stamp sets in our catalog...but only until January 26th! If you're shopping online, the prices have already been adjusted for the 50% off. What a great time to try out TAC's unmounted rubber stamps or add to your collection if you already know how great these stamps are! Shop online...then email me your order to make sure you take advantage of any free Gift With Purchase stamps or hostess benefits.

More Specials in January

As if the Spec-TAC-ular Savings Event wasn't enough, here are a few more promotions going on right now!





Click here for more details on Vintage Bella Flor


Click here to view the Wonderful Winter Wishes Stamp Sets



and another Great Giveaway!

Click here to Enter to WIN this Lilly Anna™ Package!


What you could win!!!
• Lilly Anna™ Soar With It Collection™ retail value: $6.95
• Lilly Anna™ Hardware retail value: $4.50
• Lilly Anna™ Cardstock retail value: $6.50
• Lilly Anna™ Ribbon retail value: $4.95
• Bold Flourishes Stamp Set retail value: $15.95
• More Abundance Stamp Set retail value: $19.95

Total retail value: $58.80

Storing Odorless Mineral Spirits

My friend Julie asked about using odorless mineral spirits and prismacolor pencils for coloring stamped images. There are lots of tutorials out there that show how to color and blend and shade, but I told her I'd show how I store my OMS. It's not the prettiest set-up but it works for me. LOL

I cleaned out an old jar of nail polish remover. Any jar will work as long as it has a spill-proof lid. I put a couple of round sponges in the jar and then just pour enough OMS in the jar to barely cover the bottom and keep the sponges saturated. The sponges will soak up the OMS. Then when I'm ready to use it, I dip my blending stump into the sponge. A bottle of OMS will go a LONG way. I've had mine over a year and still have a lot left.

I keep my pencils, blending stumps, sandpaper (for sanding the stumps in between colors) in a mini tote from AMM. There's even a pocket on one side that keeps my pencil sharpener handy.

So when I need to color, I just grab the little jar and the tote and I'm ready to go! I have been in a frenzy all weekend with organizing my craft room/office. I am exhausted but I hope to post some pics on my personal blog later today!

Quick and Easy Thank You Cards

After all the Christmas cheer, I was especially in need of extra holiday Thank You cards. When I saw this design by Joan B., I knew I could knock out several in just a few minutes! Paper from Merry Wishes (retired), a Spring/Summer '08 GWP stamp, a scalloped square punch, and VOILA!!!

New Catalogue Plan

The Angel Company has announced their plans to return to an annual Inspiration Book & Catalogue. This new catalogue plan will involve a “Base Book” which will be our “core” catalogue. This catalogue will be released on an annual basis at each year’s summer Seminar and will offer a variety of merchandise including our top-selling stamp sets. To supplement that annual catalogue, two “magalogues” (cross between a magazine and a catalogue) will be released throughout the catalogue year…one during the fall and one during the spring. These magalogues will have a seasonal focus and will also introduce new products, including new hostess sets.

A new 48-page magalogue will be introduced at Leadership Conference at the end of January and will go “live” February 1, 2009. This magalogue will introduce a variety of new products. It will have stamp sets corresponding to the Spring/Summer seasons and will take the place of our Spring Supplement. The items in the current catalogue will remain in circulation until the new catalogue takes its place in June.

One of the most frequent requests heard was that our stamp images be reflected at 100%. Returning to an annual ‘base’ catalogue will allow TAC to do that. Stamp images will also be 100% in our magalogues.

I'll be submitting my order for the Spring Magalogues soon. Just let me know if you'd like to receive one!

Ornamental Snowflakes Thanks

I need a few thank-you cards to send for Christmas presents and such. Coincidentally, this happens to be the challenge over at Mothers & Daughters Creations! I started with CPS sketch #97. The paper is Merry Wishes (retired). I stamped the circles with Ornamental Snowflakes. The sentiment is one of the free Gift With Purchase stamps available with any $30 order. (Actually this GWP is from an old catalog, but there is one very similar in the current catalog).