100 Posts - Woo hoo!! Blog Candy, PW Blog Challenge #5 and SBS4 CASE a Sister Challenge

100 posts - can you believe it? I've learned so much since the first post and still have a lot of things I'd like to try. But, I wouldn't be having as much fun if it weren't for all of you! Your comments and your visits to my blog are awesome and I really appreciate it!

To show my appreciation, I'd like to offer up some blog candy. How do you get it? Leave a comment by Monday, February 2nd at midnight CST and let me know what stamping technique you'd like to try in 2009. I can't wait to see the list!

The blog candy winner will receive these wonderful goodies and perhaps one or two more little treats. :)


I'm participating in a Paper Wings Blog Challenge #5 for Seeds of Blessings. This is a great stamp set with all kinds of wonderful friendship quotes. Makes great cards or great tags or great gift adornments. Here's my take on it. I used Icicle stickles which is a chunky clear glitter glue but it photographs with a blue tint so please pretend it photographed clear. *grin* I love the colors in the Catelynne paper which provides the base and some of the circles. Such pretty paper. Finally, the Running Stitches stamp set used around the edge gives that great "sewn" look without the hassle of pulling out the sewing machine. love it!

And, here are the other Angels (TAC demos) participating in the blog challenge:
Melisa
Jany
Diana
Trudy
Suzanne
Barb
Christina
Angela K
Chelsea

Last, but absolutely not least, on the very last day for submissions, the Seeds of Blessing card is also my Case a Sister Challenge card. I belong to this wonderful blogging group called the Sisterhood of Blogging Stampers #4 (SBS4)- see the list in the sidebar. We all joined the sisterhood a little over a year ago and are still blurfing and commenting on each other's blogs and participating on a message board and in challenges and it's wonderful. We're all over the world (Canada, Scotland, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, US - did I miss any countries?) but we all share a love of stamping and creating and have become friends through the process. I love it! This is a great group of talented ladies and I've learned and been inspired so much by what they do! I encourage you to visit their blogs! The CASE challenge is to CASE a card created by one of our sisters. I CASEd the super fun layout for my Seeds of Blessings card from a very creative stamper who has the most amazing coloring and design skills but I can't tell you whose because that's part of the challenge. :) And, if you figure out the CASE and participate in the blog candy question, I'll throw in a bonus item if you win!

Thanks again for stopping by and commenting! Happy Stamping!

A variety of cards

I love how this card came out. It pairs a retired butterfly stamp with Linear Sentiments in pink on birch and brown cardstock. Love it!


I've had Pattern Sayings since they came out last Spring and love it but have always felt like I was missing the mark with the design. I finally figured out that stickles ties the letters together and just makes for a super fun design. Oh, and the background is a piece of Design Cut with a View white core cardstock that has been scored on the scor-pal and sanded. Love this technique!


You may have noticed that I have an unhealthy attachment to the Gerbera Daisy but it's just so easy to stamp in so many colors and put with birthday and sympathy and get well sentiments that it's always my "go-to" stamp in a bind. I love, love, love how this card came together. The blue and brown inks paired with the brown ribbon and dew drops. It's so soothing. More Elegant Sentiments - great set for those special/important occasions. Don't you think this combination makes for a wonderful sympathy card?


Glittering Gel Pens are the coloring medium for an angel from the Just Dream set. I love how the Tombow Grey Marker grounds the angel and finishes off the design.


Last but not least, is the Fall Harvest birthday card I made for my youngest niece's 4th birthday. She is quite the stamper so I knew she'd appreciate the card (and she did!). I used the Tombow Bright Markers with the clear blender to pick up color rather than coloring directly on the image. This gave it a softer pastel look. Then, I covered the image with a white shimmer chalk to finish it off.


Cynthia and Diana gave me this lovely blog award. It really made my day. Diana also gave me two other blog awards (see them here). Thanks bunches!!! Be sure to check out their blogs to see some great stuff!

There is a cat set in the new magalogue that I just have to have! There are sooooo many neat sets to color and a paper doll monkey set that's just tooo cute!!! February 1 is the first date to order from the new stuff. fun, fun!

My next post is my 100th so check back for some awesome blog candy!!!

Happy Stamping!

Magalogue! It's here!!!

Oh my gosh - the magalog is here and it's fabulous! There are over 40 fabulous new stamp sets (pictured at full size!) and new embellishments and new mini albums and ... so much more! It's awesome! It's truly a magazine/catalog. There are tips and idea sheets and project samples and I think it's great! You can have one for only $2.95 (+ 1/2 of shipping if you're not local) so let me know if you're interested. You can start ordering on Feb. 1st. :)

Here are some sneak peeks:








There are also some darling cat stamps and a bunny set and a monkey set that are just wonderful!I can see that my pocketbook will be empty because there are sooo many great stamp sets already on my list. :)

But, since you can't order from the magalog until February 1st, don't forget to get me your 50% off stamp order by Sunday afternoon as the sale ends Monday! So many good things. How will the pocketbook survive?

I'll be posting again at the end of the week-end so check back soon. Happy Stamping!

Barn Yard Birthday! and a Sneak Peek!

Here are a few more examples of the Barn Yard Birthday. I'm totally hooked on fun flocking the little lamb. It's so cute and puffy. :)

The Happy Birthday is from the Hostess B set that ends at the end of January. It's free with a $250 party/order. Great set! I used Palette Noir Ink and Oasis Green Versamagic Ink. Love the color combo with the Bazzill Blue/Green monochromatic paper.



This second little birthday lamb features the Catelynne paper pack. Love the pinks/blues and browns in this paper pack. This particular sheet looks like a scrap quilt to me. Scrap quilts are my favorite! The Happy Birthday is from Ordinary Greetings. This stamp set is only $5.48 right now!! Wow - great set - great price!



The 50% off sale ends Monday, January 26th! The great news is that the sets are half-price on my on-line shopping site too so you can order and have them shipped directly to you! Or, if you want, you can place an order directly with me by 5:00 p.m. Sunday, January 25th.

Finally, here is a SNEAK PEEK of a new stamp set coming out in the magalog on February 1st. How cute is this skunk from Little Stinkers? I used Fun Flock and Gelly Glaze Pens and Stickles to pull it all together. Love it! Thanks to Christina who sent me the great RAK with this image!



Come back soon because I'm really close to my 100th post and I'll be having BLOG CANDY!!! woo hoo!!!

Happy Stamping!

My first tutorial - Faux Shaker Card

Welcome to my first (and possibly my last- LOL!) tutorial. I've wanted to make a shaker card for a long time now but wasn't really sure where to start. I googled shaker card tutorial and one of the links was to a "faux shaker card" post where they mentioned using an acetate envelope but didn't have any other directions. I didn't mark the link because I was still going to make a traditional shaker card. I read tutorials and then started looking for my foam tape. Guess what? I still haven't found it! So, after two days of looking, I gave up and decided that I would do the faux shaker card. Do you think I could find that post again? Nope! So, I apologize because I would give credit for the idea if I could find it again. Thanks to Mary and the other angels for helping me work out the details as my first version didn't shake as well as the modified one!

So, are you still with me? Hope so because here we go! It's almost Valentine's Day so it's time to start thinking about those heart cards. This card uses kraft cardstock, catelynne paper and pieces of a monochromatic red/violet bazzill paper pack.

I started with the sweet goodies stamp set (this is great for cards and homemade treat gifts and so much more!), bordeaux palette ink and a 3X3 square of Catelynne paper (It's a 9" X 9" paper pack so you can get 9 of these squares from 1 piece of paper!)


Stamp two hearts (also from sweet goodies) on white cardstock and cut out.


Cut a pop dot in half and pop up the heart in the middle of the stamped circle. It's hard to tell in this pic but it really is popped up on the page! Then cut a pop dot in fourths and attach to the corners of the square paper. Don't peel off the top covering on the pop dot.


Next, slide the popped up paper into a 3.25" X 3.25" square clear envelope (I got these from www.clearbags.com.) By keeping the top covering on the pop dots, your paper will slide right into the envelope and won't stick to the top. Add your favorite confetti, glitter, mini flowers, mini punched images or whatever... I've had these hearts for forever and it was fun to finally find a good place to use them! Fold the flap flush with the top of the envelope and seal.


Next, stamp swirlies with versamark on kraft cardstock to make a watermark background.


Use double-sided tape to attach the sealed clear bag to the watermarked side of the card base. Place it in the left third of the card.


Take a 4" X 4" piece of white cardstock. Use a centering ruler to find the card center. Draw lines to mark the center.


I made a comparable "site line" on the large coluzzle circle. Line up the cardstock underneath the coluzzle and cut the second circle from the center.


Stamp "With love" from Tag Tidbits in Palette Toile Pink around the "frame."


Punch a tag from the mini round tab punch out of the darkest pink paper.


Using pink staples (if you have them), attach the tab to the right side of the frame.


Cut a pop dot into fourths (it doesn't need more than that and it really stretches the amount of things you can pop from one package!) and attach to each corner of the back of the frame.


Place the "frame" over the clear envelope and center the image in the circle. My picture is a little off because it looks like my frame lines up with the top of the card but really it's centered vertically on the card. Now, you can just shake and enjoy! Have fun making your own "faux" shaker cards!


So - hope I did ok. Thanks for stopping in and Happy Stamping!

P.S. - don't forget that the TAC 50% off all T-coded stamps in the catalog and fall supplement sale is going on right now through January 26th! You can get both of the stamp sets used in this tutorial for only $15.48 + tax and shipping. It's a great time to pick up those stamps that you've been wanting. Let me know if you're interested!

More wonderful winter wishes stamp sets

Vacation is almost over (boo hoo!!) and my life will return to its crazy busy self. I gave myself a work and stamping vacation for about a week. I'm trying to rid myself of excess things but I like things so it's a definite challenge. However, if I can get more organized then it's all good and I've definitely gotten a good start on that. So, I will catch up on blog visits and cards for my SBS4 sisters that were being rained on in November (I'm really late as I somehow forgot to do this and I'm soooo sorry!) and Christmas cards (what? Is Christmas over already? hee hee!).

So, to kick off the new week of stamping and fun, here are a couple of cards using the Wonderful Winter Wishes stamp sets. This little birdy and flower stamp is from Early Bird and is colored in with Stardust Glittering Gel Pens. Love them!!! So shimmery and pretty. The Get Well Soon is from Trendy Greetings. So simple and quick!

I love this new stamp set, No Place Like Home. I've got Swirlies behind the sentiment on the giga scalloped punched circle that's popped up and have a few dew drops to finish it off. Wouldn't it make a great "miss you" card?

My dear SBS4 sis, Chris, gave me this great blog award. Thanks, Chris! She's got an awesome blog so you should definitely pop over to it. Let's see, I have to list 5 addictions so here you go:

1. stamping (the more I do, the more I have to do and it's connected me to sooooo many neat and creative people. I'm so lucky!!!)

2. cuttlebugging (if it's not a word - it should be! Dang, I love this little tool!!!)

3. spending time with friends - love playing games and cards and visiting and laughing

4. movies - love old, love new!!!

5. shopping for stamping and beading stuff. (too easy to add to my collection, esp. when I've got "stamper's block."

Happy Stamping!

50% off SALE!!! and MAGALOGUE!

Happy New Year!!! I have awesome news!!! From January 6 - January 26th, TAC is putting ALL T-coded (the ones that start with T in the catalog) on SALE for 50% off!!!! It's fantabulous!!! If you're like me, you might have some stamps on a wish list that you hadn't picked up yet. Well, if you do, this is the time to get them! If you're interested in any T-coded stamps or anything else, please let me know. Here are the complete details:
www.theangelcompany.net

Also, TAC is going back to a once a year base catalog with 100% images. I agree - it's awesome news!! In addition there will be two magalogues and the first magalogue comes out on February 1st! It will contain all new stamps and accessories. If you want to pre-order a Magalogue, please let me know. It'll be 48 pages and will have ideas and product items. I don't have an exact cost yet but probably somewhere around $5.

You'll also be able to keep ordering from the current idea book and fall supplement through June. If you don't have an idea book, you can look at the products on-line on my TAC on-line store: http://seleise.ismyangel.net/Pages/Homepage.aspx. I'm not sure if the sale items will show up on the online store so if not, please let me know and I can place the order for you!

In addition, the Wonderful Winter Wishes promotion is still on through February 2nd: http://www.theangelcompany.net/Promos_WonWinterWishes.html

And, there are other specials that are highlighted here: http://www.theangelcompany.net/Promos_Flyers.html

So - have fun shopping and perusing all these specials. Again, Happy New Year!!! May your year be filled with love, laughter, health, happiness and good times with friends and family! And, lots and lots of stamping!!!

Happy Stamping!