So.... obviously I have a wee bit of catching up to do (and explaining of my blog absence)!  Life hit with a slam bam in 2013.  A very rough year for me and my family with knee surgery for myself, and multiple major health problems for my brother.  We almost lost him three separate times.  He had a major stroke, as well as multiple heart surgeries throughout that year and was in the hospital/rehab from mid March to mid November.  However, I am happy to say he pulled through, and is back in his own home now.  Life is different for him now than before his health crisis, but he is managing and I hope with time will thrive.  Now this year my father has had a few hiccups in health of his own, and is pending a knee replacement, but also doing okay now.  As for me this year, health is good, but just got done doing a 5-month remodel on a house we purchased for a rental, which turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself!  Whew!  Okay, so we're all caught up.  My last blog post was about the annual rubber stamp convention here in town, and me not winning.  The following year, entered cards in the contest and they got lost in the mail at the PO box, and didn't make the judging, BIG bummer.  But this last convention, well... guess what?  I entered and won second place with this card!

The theme was African Safari.  I made the binoculars out of toilet paper tubes and black duct tape!  I also entered this card....

and the theme was "food for thought!"  I really, really liked this card, but nope didn't win a thing with that one.  Can't wait for this next year's convention... maybe I could win first place!  What fun that would be! 

Convention Fun!

So had a blast at the Rubber Stamp Convention here in town!  But... I didn't win the card contest with either of the "friends" cards I entered. (Boo hoo!!)  I was glad I entered though and it's a good way to push oneself.  Atleast I was proud of what I entered, and not embarrassed (whew).  You never know, there are a lot of really talented people out there!  

Speaking of... my friend Ronni won first place with her entry!  It is a great 3D card that was very vintage.  My favorite!  I also got to see lots of great card examples and new techniques for things.  It's fun to do the make and takes.  Oh if I only had a million dollars!  ;-)

Let's Catch Up.... Shall we?!!!!

Hi all!  I know, I know, it's been a while since we talked... (uh... since like last year in November, but who's actually keeping track, not me!!)  Let's see... oh yes... I had made cards for Veteran's Day, and a few of us from the Albuquerque Angels did go and hand deliver those to our Veterans in the Veteran's Administration Hospital here in town.  WOW!!! What an experience, and a delight to get to talk with each of them.  Such courage and honor they display, and they all said they would do it again!  Amazing people that I was lucky enough to meet that day!  Our Angels put together over 4,000 cards for 2011 that were sent out to our troops.  I think that is just awesome for a small handful of people to accomplish!  Bravo for us!  Then... of course the holidays hit, you know Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years... and of course made a few cards for those too.  I also joined a Stampin Up club in December that meets once a month, and we do a card swap for that, which has been a ton of fun.  But whew... then I had a whole bunch of birthdays mixed in there as well as a baby shower too!  My mother's birthday is two days before Christmas, (this is her card)...and...



a friend in January, a friend in Febuary (this is her card because she loves a good soak!!)....
 

and...

my dad's birthday a week ago.

Cards for men have not been my forte as of yet... as I struggle with what to put on there, but hey, he loves fishing, so I guess what more do you need besides a pole, a caught fish, potentially more fish, and blue skies above!!   Well, that catches us up to this week.  Oh I forgot... there were a few other creations in there as well...

Baby shower fruit picks, and some tags....

So... the Rubber Stamp Convention is Saturday here in town, and I'm so excited... I did get two entries in for Saturday's card contest "Friendship."  Fingers crossed I win!  I'll give you a tiny sneak peek-ish of one of the cards...

I will post the full pictures of both next week and let you know how I did, and you can let me know what you think.  And now... we've come to my daughter's upcoming birthday on Sunday.  Ideas are flowing, and I must get going!

Happy Birthday Little Lady!

Today's a BIG day!  It's my mother-in-law's 94th birthday!  She is doing great, living independently in her own apartment, and an inspiration to all!  So... I saw this digi stamp, and immediately thought of her!  She loves to go to parties and weddings and get all gussied up, so I thought it quite fitting to create her a unique card that's all gussied up too! 

I put one of the digi stamp sentiments on the inside...

and also dressed up the outside of the envelope too!

Yep, looks like her I must say!

YAY for Veteran's Day!

Hello again... I know, I must get better about posting on a regular basis, but man... it's hard to find the time for everything, especially when I was on a mission this month for the Albuquerque Angels... make 30 cards (my personal goal) for our local Veteran's Hospital for Veteran's Day!  Well... drum roll... I made it!  That's a new record for me, 30 cards in one month!  (Managed to snap some quick photos of a few of my favorites below!)  Our goal was 150 cards so each Veteran could have a card especially for them, and we actually ended up with 170!  We all signed each card and now they are ready to hand out in November!  YAY!!

If you would like information about the Albuquerque Angel's or would like to donate cards to us, just give me a holler!  We would love to have your help.  Any of you stamp demonstrator's out there that have card fronts, etc., that you would like to get rid of... we would love to have those too!  Everything helps!

Thanks guys!!

Changes all around!

Hello everyone!  As many of you know, last week The Angel Company closed their doors.  This was sad for all of us "Angels," our customers, and of course the owners.  I had not been an Angel for very long, but in that short time I had the opportunity to meet some great Angels, even if only over the internet, that I hope to keep in touch with for many years to come.  Also, being involved with The Angel Company lead me to become involved with the Albuquerque Angels, a great organization that sends handmade cards to our soldiers, and I am thankful for that.  So... my blog is getting a new look, and a wider perspective.  I do hope you will stop by occasionally and take a look! 

(Poor pic I know, in too big of a hurry taking it!)

TAC 2011/2012 Inspiration Catalogue has arrived!

Beautiful new TAC catalogue just out and best of all you can see it online in PDF format!  Whoo hoo!  Check it out in full color here.  Pages 1-117 are stamp sets.  Papers and kits are pages 118-127.  Accessories and embellishments are pages 127-141.  The index is on page 142.  If you would like to order a hard copy just contact me! 

TAC June/July Special, Discontinued Stamps and... (drum roll...)... the new catalogue!

Hi everybody!  Just a quick TAC update here.  There is a new June/July Special Stamp Set out!

So cute!  Also... check out the discontinued stamps  at 30% off now through June 24, 2011 and then that's it for those guys!  (Prices shown reflect the 30% already taken.) Also, the new catalogue will be out on June 27, 2011.  Can't wait to see what new stamps we get to create with!  That's it for now!

Albuquerque Angels ~ Latest Creations!

I've been busy, busy making cards for the Albuquerque Angels.  Last month we made Father's Day cards, and Fourth of July/Memorial Day cards.  I managed to come up with 25 cards!  Whew!! That's a bunch for me!  I used the shaving cream technique for the background for my Fourth of July cards, and they really came out neat.  Sadly, I was in such a hurry to get them to last month's meeting, I forgot to take any pics :-(   But... not this month.  For today's meeting, I made New Baby cards, Sympathy cards, and Congratulations cards.  I worked with some TAC sentiments,  Hello Baby #T-1114  and Butterfly Swirls #T-2929 stamp sets.  I really tried to focus on layering, dimension, and textures this month, and I really like what developed!!  Let me know what you think too! 

Albuquerque Angels!

So recently, I had the pleasure of meeting a great group of people known as the Albuquerque Angels.  This is a group that creates cards to send to our military personnel.  What a great thing to do!  My first meeting I attended, they were having a signing party and we signed 400 "Thank You" cards thanking them for their temendous dedication and service to us all, and then we also included Easter cards for them to send and write to their families back home.  How cool is that?!  So... our mission for this month's meeting, which is already upon me tomorrow, was to create Mother's Day cards.  What fun!  So I pulled out all kinds of things out of the drawers, some of which I have had literally for years, and here's what I came up with!  Of course, I managed to work in some TAC sentiments, and stamps here and there!  Can't wait for tomorrow and see what great cards everyone has created!

TAC One Layer Wonders Challenge!

So the TAC challenge was to create a card with only one layer of cardstock.  YIKES!  One layer!! Really?!!! To say the least, that was a challenge.  But... we were able to embellish some, so that was a big whew!  So... after much staring at the card... here is what I came up with!  The little cutie pie was from the TAC set #T-3307 From the Heart .  I placed her on the inside of the card with an oval window to see her through, to add some dimension, with the sentiment "From the Heart" on the inside as well.  Hope you like! 

TAC for Flutter by Wednesday Challenge!

I created this card for the Flutter by Wednesday Challenge and this week it's utilizing a Sketch by Carly!  I love the sketch, and used a combination of The Angel Company stamp sets. 

Specifically, TAC Pretty Posies #T-3367 and TAC Bold Hello #T-3302 and TAC Decorative Designs #T3289 .  I also added some glitter glue, organza and pop dots for dimension.  I thought this would make a great Valentine's Day card for someone special! 

P.S.... also entered this in Really Reasonable Ribbon's Heart Challenge #16!

TAC Sew Thankful Set #T-3288

So the presents are open and now it's time for those "Thank You" cards. Love the TAC Sew Thankful Set. Sew.... cute!

Another variation with a scallop edge punch and more die cuts on the inside!

Creative Paper Idea!

Did anyone see the Today Show this morning, and that gal that had the great idea of scanning candy onto paper and then using it as wrapping paper? It looked fantastic! She used peppermint candies, gummy circle things, etc. Anything that had vibrant color. I was thinking... I think this would be a fabulous idea to scan candy canes, etc., and print onto card stock, and use for cards, gift bags, etc. You can create your own cardstock design that way! Who knew!

My Angel Company Goodies Arrived!

So today my Angel Company goodies box arrived!  Already!  Wow... there is an amazing amount of stamps in there.  So much to play with now, I can't wait.  Really such a good deal, and a big bang for your buck!  Always a good thing!

It's official! I'm an Angel!

Yippeee, so today I became an Angel!  Yay!  How fun, and can't wait for all the goodies to arrive!! http://www.theangelcompany.net/ 

My First Solo Card Creation!

Okay, so here is my first ever solo card creation.  So fun!  Made it for Danni's Flutter by Wednesday Challenge. 

A Thought About Card Giving ~

So I had this thought about card making today, and giving someone a Christmas card made for them, but instead of handwriting inside the card, I thought I would type up my personal sentiment on a decorated insert and sign that.  The thought being, that the card is still in brand new condition after they read the sentiment and remove it.  Then if they would like to use that card and send it to someone else they know, even in future years, they certainly could.  I thought it was kind of a cool "green" thing to do, but what do you think?  Maybe this is crossing over into regifting territory?  Hmm.... dunno :-)