Not Stamping Related

But how could I not post about this? Stephen was awarded the Bronze Star earlier in the week, which is a pretty big deal. He wasn't expecting it, so it came as a very pleasant surprise. Can't wait to have him home!

Sympathy cards

What fun we had on Friday night! For those of you who couldn't make it, here are some of the cards we made! All of the pattern papers are from TAC. I am loving the new Juliette papers, and the colors are perfect for Sympathy... very muted purple/mauve/browns.

New Stamps!

The new stamps are out! Here's a link:

http://lanette.ismyangel.net/Products/Default.aspx?cid=265

Right now, it's only the stamps but there's more to come, so check back!

Not a Sympathy Card!

So I totally copied this card from one I'd seen today on SplitCoastStampers. What I originally envisioned was a Sympathy Card for the workshop, but when I got done with the colors and stuff, I ended up with more of a Valentine than anything else! So, it gets posted to the blog instead of being used at the upcoming workshop! I used my one and only swirly stamp set for the heart (cut out with a Coluzzle template). Those swirls are another trend for which I'm late climbing on the bandwagon!

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

Hard to believe it was almost 3 years ago that Stacey called me from the hospital to tell me he'd arrived... and I got to tell her we were expecting our own arrival that fall!!! The stamp is from a retired TAC set, the patterned paper is from Nana's Nursery (DCWV). Ribbon is from the Wright's Outlet Clearance shelves... it's the PERFECT shade of chartreuse to match everything I've been making lately!

I HAVE been stamping...

but I haven't been posting my creations because I'm working on cards for the Sympathy Workshop, and it wouldn't be any fun to see them beforehand! So, I'll post this one... I made it last year at this time... very simple, but lots of cutting (I stamped the flower on the back of the pink and green paper and cut them out.) The buttons are attached with glue dots after being threaded with Scrapper's Floss.

Bra and Undie Template

Awhile back, I posted a bra and undie card that I had freehanded. Well, another stamper has uploaded templates, which will make it much easier for these. Here's the link: http://www.stamperspad.com/tutorials/files/big_girl_panties_template_for_8.5x11sheet.pdf

Chartreuse, Baby!

Lately I've been using a lot of blue, orange, and chartreuse. I don't know why, but they seem to be everywhere. So I finally broke down and ordered the Cartreuse Palette Pad and am I ever glad I did. Again, the Bitty Blossoms added the little extra. PP is from the Nana's Attic collection that I just absolutely love!

My giga and mega scallop punches are on their way, so you'll be seeing more circles and scallops out of me... I was WAY behind in jumping on that bandwagon... which means the trend is probably on its way out, now!!!

Sympathy Workshop

Friday, February 29th at 7pm... at my house in Dudley. Pay just $1 per card and make only the ones you want! These are such difficult cards to make on-demand that I thought a workshop would be great for inspiration. Come and join the fun. Space is limited, so RSVP.

More Elegant Greetings

I am loving this set, and also the Bitty Blossoms. They come in great colors that seem to match everything. Originally, I had just the 'thanks' but it needed something. So, I turned to the Blossoms since I've been using them a lot lately, and it was just what the doctor ordered. The Pop Rockz paper is tons of fun, too!

The Purse, Revisted!

So, here's the latest purse design... I got both quotes from cafepress and KNEW they had to go on my new purse! I've put a lot of smiles on strangers' faces :-)

If you want your own, the purses are available here: http://lanette.ismyangel.net/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?prodid=2516&cid=202&pid=110

Copy Cat

So, I copied this card from somewhere, but I don't know where. I do know the original used a "Love" sentiment instead. You can't see it in the picture, but I scored 3 lines below the 'memories' just to give it some added texture. In the inside, I used a stamp from the Sympathy Set that says "We are blessed by the memories we have." A very simple and clean sympathy card...

My New Memory Purse

When I first saw this in the TAC Catty, I didn't know if it was worth it or not. But listening to other Angels talk about how great it was, I decided to order one... and I'm glad I did. The quality is right up there and I'm going to have tons of fun changing my purse!!!! This is what I did for now... will have to change it again once Stephen comes home, but I'll be more than happy to do it!!! For $29.95, I've already gotten my money's worth :-)

See for yourself!

I checked the Martha site again tonight and the whole card segment is on video. Here's the link:

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=d574d37efb6c7110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&rsc=ts_Homepage_Homepage

I'm going to use the Shamrock idea for St. Patty's Day of '09 when Stephen is actually home!!!

Not for the easily offended...

...but this was so funny I had to share. We're all girls, right??? Anita told me about a card that she saw made on Martha Stewart's show today. I looked for pictures on the website, but couldn't find any. So, I made my own. It's so very simple... cut a small rectangle, then a small triangle out of one of the long sides to make the 'boxers'... the inside says "to get into your pants"........

There was another idea, and I'll work on that tonight, I think...

Finished my Swap!

So, awhile ago I posted the Masculine, Girlie, and Boy birthday cards I was working on for a swap. Tonight I finally had the time to finish the Feminine cards. I like the way they came out. I am loving my Cropadile for hole punching and eyelet setting. I used paper from the Frutti Fusion set, the candle stamp from Mini Occassions, and the 'happy birthday' sentiment from the Squiggle Ladybugs set. Since I don't have a lot of bright ink pads, I decided to use the Impress Markers to ink up the candle. I also broke out my deco scissors from YEARS ago in order to do the scallop (ok, confession... I stole them out of Abby's craft box because I thought I'd never use them again...)

Little Stinker!

So here is one of the skunks that Rita was nice enough to send me. The patterned paper is from the DCWV boy set that I've been using. The background paper is also DCWV, but it's all glittery, which is why it looks so funky. This is also a baby card, because on the inside it says "Congratulations on your new little stinker!"

Sometimes I crack myself up.

I need this "Sweet Skunks" set. The possibilities are endless... "It stinks that I missed your birthday. Hope it was scent-sational, anyway"
or "Friends like you are phew and far between" or "Congratulations on your scent-sational news"

Cupid Crap!

So, I got a bunch of Kisses for 38 cents a bag after Christmas. I decided I would make some cute little bags up for all of the guys in Stephen's unit. I wanted to do "Cupid Poop" but figured that was too cutesie. Instead, here's the poem I came up with:

Valentine's Day won't be easy
Spent so far from those you hold dear
So I thought I'd send a little token
To bring you some loving cheer.

But cookies wouldn't have lasted
And flowers are too hard to wrap.
So all you're getting for Valentine's Day
Is this handful of Cupid Crap!


The heart stamp is from a retired set, and I used some scrap paper for the paper piecing.

Smooth Sailing

I absolutely love this set (Pull up Anchor) and hate that I haven't had a lot of time to play with it lately. This is a card idea that I basically stole directly from Risa's blog (memorypreserves.blogspot.com). However, this is going to be a baby boy card. In the inside it's going to say... get this... "Wishing you smooth sailing with your new baby boy. Here's hoping he doesn't spring a leak!"

Heehee!!!

So, aren't these adorable? I'm sending them to Stephen, who is VERY ready to come home. These are just my way of letting him know that I'm also VERY ready for him to come home! It's hard to see, but the butt has a bee 'tattoo' stamped on it! The paper is from TACs Frutti Fusion set, and I used it because I actually own underwear in a similar pattern. Typical guy, when Stephen was home and helping to fold laundry, he put them in ABBY'S pile because he thought they looked girl-ish. Don't I wish my butt was as small as hers :-)

More Baby Cards!!!

As you can see, I've been making more baby cards. Have I mentioned how much I love my new baby papers from DCWV? It's all glittery and fun! And can you tell I've been using more eyelets than ever before? This is due only to the CropADile, which I absolutely love. No more banging the hammer while the girls are sleeping in order to set eyelets. Wahoo! The baby buggy is from one of TAC's 'Skinny' Sets, which I don't actually own. I got the image from Rita, a wonderful Angel who sent me some of the buggies. She also sent me some of the Sweet Skunk images, which you will see more of, since I've decided I NEED to buy that set!

Another Boy Birthday

I got the idea for this card from another Angel's Blog (forget where exactly, or I would link it!) I loved the color combo with the contrasting zebra.

I cut the circles using my Coluzzle, then 'borrowed' my scallopped decorative scissors back from Abby for the red. Remember when they were all the rage???? I'm dating myself...

Back to Swapping!

It's been almost a year since I've participated in any swaps, so I figured it was time to get back into it. Here are my cards for Masculine, Boy, and Girl Birthdays... still have to do the feminine birthday but that will have to wait until after this busy weekend. The Masculine card uses the "Needed Numbers" set and TAC's exclusive Kamahlaht paper collection. I was happy with the way it came out, since I usually have a rough time making masculine cards. The Boy Card was inspired by a card on page 10 of the new TAC catalogue.

Orders to fill!

Yeah, so I need to fill several orders from the boutiques... they need baby cards (I'm getting sick of them, how about you?!?!) But I've made some using some pretty cool paper that I LOVE... it's by DCWV, so it matches all of my cardstock, and the patterns are fabulous. They have boy and girl stacks called "Nana's Nursery" and they have glitter on them and everything. Very cool. Got them on sale at Joanne.com along with some DCWV card sets that I love.

Left-overs!

So I had a table full of scraps from the cards I've been making. I put them together and VOILA! I love love love the simple way this card came out. Perfect for spring, don't you think?

The polka-dot paper is from the "Nana's Kids" Stack, flowers are from the "Wild" set.

So Sorry

This originally started out as a Sympathy Card. But I'm thinking I may have to put it aside for when Stephen and I have our first fight (yeah, that's right... 6 and a half years and still hasn't happened... helps that he's been deployed 3 times!) I love the Fanciful Slowers set because it's SO versatile. I use it for birthdays, sympathy, thinking of you... almost anything!

Anatomy of a Card

Ok, so I saw a card on Splitcoaststampers that I really liked. So I made it my own (on the bottom). But, it was lacking something. I didn't know what, but I DID know that the black ink was a little too stark. I trimmed the blue so that a small border of white would show. Then I added some pen stitching and a border around the flowers. And voila! I like the result. (What a surprise, the flowers are from the "Wild" set! I cut the flower away from the stem so that I could use different colors on them... yet another benefit of unmounted stamps!)

This could be a sympathy card, I suppose, but I made it for a friend of mine in California who's going through a rough time.

My Saturday Afternoon

So, I want to order all of the new TAC papers, but I just can't justify it when I have paper coming out the wazoo. Today I decided to use up some of it, so I found a 12x12 sheet of polka dot paper from Michael's, and then I found 3 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of matching solids. Then I grabbed the "Wild for You" set, a brown and green ink pad, and some white cardstock and went to town. I ended up with 8 different cards, and then embellished them with eyelets and Prima Flowers and ribbon. None of them are absolutely fabulous, but that's ok!

Another Valentine

This one was done for a color challenge on another board. How easy is this? Stephen's going to be rollin' in the cards this week!!!

I just use the All Occasion Uppers set, handcut the heart, and off we go. For those of you in Annapolis, this was very much inspired by the Noel Card we made. Come to think of it, I'll post that one, too so everyone can see. Once you find a card design you like, a simple change of shades and image and you've got a completely new one!

Seeing them side-by-side, I should have stamped the green background with a heart (using versamark), so may be I'll go do that and see how it looks... may add the eyelets, too. Stay tuned.

Sympathy Cards

Sue mentioned she has a hard time with Sympathy Cards. Don't I know it, sistah! I was very happy when TAC came out with a Sympathy Set... but it's still difficult.

And it was 100 times more difficult for me to come up with this one, for friends of ours in Annapolis who lost their 4 month old, Luke, one year ago today. After struggling for way too long, I finally realized that it was the thought that counts, so I put this simple card together using a prepunched tag that came with the ToodleLoo set. All of my patterned paper seemed too cheery, so I decided to just use solids.

We will remember, Baby Luke. Sleep soundly in the arms of Jesus. Your baby sister should be arriving any day now, and we pray she brings unimaginable joy to Chris, Christie, and big brother Caleb.

Happy New Year's!

So, I was invited to an Open House tonight, but I decided that I just wanted to stay home, in my pajamas, and stamp. I made several cards that I can't post because they are for the TAC Demonstrator Contest due 2/1. So, as I was getting ready for bed I saw Shanie's suggestion for a Valentine Card in pink, lavender, and yellow... and decided that I'd stay up to midnight and make one more card.

This is what I came up with. It really DOES look better in person. Patterned paper is from DCWV "Nanas Attic" Stack from Joannes. Love it... it's got glitter on it everywhere! The tiny heart is from TACs "Mini Occasions" set.

So now I guess I will send it to Stephen, since I've been neglecting him (like the shoemaker's kids who don't have shoes, he's the cardmakers husband who doesn't get cards.)

Happy New Year!

By Request

Ok, so I am sick of making baby cards. And I'd like to know who's reading this blog. So here's the deal... tell me what kind of cards you find the toughest to create and I'll try to come up with an idea to get you inspired. Or, issue me a challenge (like "make an Easter Card using purple and green") and I'll see what I can do.

And, here's the icing on the cake: First person to reply to this thread with a challenge or card suggestion will receive their copy of the new Inspiration Catalogue for FREE!

The new GWP'S!!!

I am so in love with the new selection of GWP's. For every $30 you spend, you get a free stamp (or, Gift With Purchase). I want them all!

It's here!!!

The new Inspiration Book and Catalogue has arrived. The name changed from "Idea Book" to "Inspiration Book" because that is what TAC is about. The new Signature Series stamps collections contain words and phrases that will enable you to bless and encourage the lives of others. The new sets can be seen on my website, lanette.ismyangel.net, by clicking on the 'product' tab, and then clicking on the stamp link on the left-hand side of the screen. The new papers are also incredible, and I can't wait to get my hands on them!!! They are perfect for stamping, scrapping, and papercrafting of all kinds!

Welcome, Clara!

Yup! Another baby girl. This card is for Clara Noel Kallgren. Zebra from the "Wild..." set (but of course!) I have absolutely no idea where the patterned paper came from!

More Baby Cards

As several of you know, I sell my cards at several boutiques around the country. Baby themes sell the best, so that's what I'm concentrating on now. This is another stamp from the "Wild..." set. The patterned paper is from a DCWV stack that I've had for ages. My goal is to start using up some of my paper, because as soon as I get the new TAC Catalogue I KNOW I'm going to want more. I've heard fabulous things about it... I also broke out a pair of Abby's decorative scissors for this one (remember those, folks???)

Merry Christmas!

This year I knew I needed a quick and easy design for my Christmas Cards. When this 'Joy' stamp came out in the Fall Supplement, I knew I had to have it. To make the card, I just embossed in Silver, then added green, red, and crystal Stickles. It's very easy because there are no layers... I didn't have to cut any paper or glue or anything... just had to wait for the Stickles to dry! I've gotten so many complements on it that I may never do a complicated Christmas Card again! :-)

I'm BACKK!!!!

Yeah, so it's been a crazy year. I am hoping to start posting again to this blog to give you some great cardmaking ideas. This card is in honor of Meaghan Elizabeth Crafts... welcome to the world, baby girl! Can't wait to meet you!!!

The stamp is from the "Wild for You" set and the paper is from the Lilly Anna Collection, which I adore. The blue cardstock from DCWV coordinates perfectly. (Most of the TAC paper sets match EXTREMELY well with the Stacks from DCWV. It makes cardmaking pretty brainless. I always get my stacks on sale at Joanne's. Check the Fall Christmas Stacks, as they will probably be on clearance.)

Another non-winner!

I had high hopes for this card. I entered it into the "Creative Cards for Kids" category of last months' TAC Contests. The bad news is that it didn't win. The good news is that they liked it enough to put it on the website!

http://www.theangelcompany.net/Touches79.html

One of these days I'm gonna win! Just not anytime soon, apparently :-)

Baby Gift

I made a bunch of these to give as a baby gift to one of my neighbors... she just had her 3rd girl, so she certainly wasn't in need of clothes :-) I figured she COULD use some thank-you notes, though :-) The stamp is from the "Little Friends" set that I am absolutely adoring! The paper is from Michael's.

Fair Winds and Following Seas...

Loving my military stamps from www.artdeclassified.com

Check 'em out! :-) This one is for Capt. Doyle's retirement. Stephen wanted me to use cammo paper at first, but I decided that would look silly since clearly he's in his dress uniform!