Treasure it!

I love the new Sneak Peek set by The Angel Company called "Treasure It". It is a 2-step stamping set and is all flowers!! I love 2-step stamping stamps. They are so fun and so easy and depending on the ink colors that you choose, you can have a different look each time! The flyer that TAC put out about this new set says that it is a set of 10 but I cut mine into 9 stamps. I want to show you how I cut my stamps and I also want to share a tip on matching up your 2-step stamps.

Now, first, some of you may be wondering what a 2-step stamp is. Well, that is easy! It is an image that you make in 2 steps. First, you have the solid stamp and you stamp that image on your paper, in this case it will be a flower. Then, you find the outline stamp of the image you just stamped and you stamp that on top of the solid stamp. This produces an outline of the image.

Now sometimes it can be frustrating to try and match up the outline stamp on your paper exactly to the solid stamp. I have an easy way to do this and it gets great results (almost) every time!!

First of all, this is what your flowers will look like once they are cut. You will notice that I put little notches in between most of the petals instead of just cutting the flower in one big circle or square shape. I like to cut my images close & I like to place as many notches in my images as I can so that when I am stamping I can see exactly what I am stamping and where I am stamping and the notches provide me with great reference points!

Now, here is the tip: Figure out how your images line up. You can see by looking at the photo of the blue rubber flowers that they are already lined up on the blocks--the outline stamp's petals match the position of the solid stamp's petals. So, if I were to stamp these flowers now, I could just turn the blocks over and be ready to stamp & my images would line up perfectly. But, I really don't want to have to try and figure out each time I stamp (especially if I am in a hurry) what position to stamp the images in so that they will match. So, this is what I do:

Once I have figured out how the images line up to match each other I take a black sharpie pen and put a large dot on the bottom of each stamp in the same position (on the cling side). Now, each time I stamp the image, I remember where I stamped the side with the dot and then line up the dot on the other stamp in the same position and stamp! By lining up the dots, I know exactly where to place my image every time! Simple!

I also want to show you how I cut out the stem to this set. You will notice that I cut it fairly close to the image. I like cutting off as much of the extra rubber as I can so that I won't catch the edge of the stamp when I ink it up. I hate when I have everything cut and ready to go and then I catch an edge in my ink pad and transfer it to my paper. Very frustrating! I also like being able to see as closely as possible where I am stamping my image so that it goes exactly where I want it to. (It looks like my blocks need a good cleaning again too, doesn't it!)

I also told you that I cut my set into 9 stamps, instead of 10 like the flyer shows. This is because when the rubber comes, the 2 leaves are already lined up with the leaves on the stem. So, by leaving them together and not cutting them into 2 pieces I can stamp both solid leaves right on top of the leaves on the stem all in one step, rather than stamping each leaf individually!

This is a mini clipboard that I made with this "Treasure It" stamp set and Palette inks. These are so fun to make! The photo at the top of this post is another mini clipboard and it is made with this same set using VersaMagic Chalk inks. These make cute gifts! You can use formica chips or small plastic sheets as your base. The clip that the ribbon is tied to are just mini silver binder clips that I bought at Target and Office Max (2 different sizes). When the clipboard is finished, you can take a magnet and glue it to the back. Now you have a magnet for your fridge or file cabinet. What a fun place to clip a note to someone special or to remind yourself of something that you need to buy or do. You can also clip a mini calendar to the clip.

Spring Fling Ends This Week!

This is the last week to purchase your TAC Spring Fling sets! Until May 31st you can purchase each of the Spring Fling sets, at a cost priced lower than retail value, with one $30 purchase! There are four sets to choose from.

This is another sample from the "Happy Bug Day" stamp set which is my favorite of the four! So, so cute!! It's hard to see from looking at this photo but the bug and the grass have shimmery chalk on top of the ink which gives the card a little sparkle. The brad that the ribbon is tied to is called a Loopy Brad. All items are available in The Angel Company catalog.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Want to Save Some Money???

I love to save money! I am always looking for a bargain! If that is you too, then I have a deal for you! The Angel Company is offering all kinds of sales right now. There's something for everyone!!

To start, the Final Farewell list is out and all stamps that are being discontinued (these are ones that will not be in the new catalog) are 25% off of the retail price! If you viewed the list already, be sure to check out the one posted here because it has been slightly revised from what was released previously. A few of the sets that were origianlly on the list have been taken off and several new ones have been added. There is a chart on the bottom of the page that shows what the cost of the sets are now.

To view this in a larger format, click on the list.

The Angel Company also has their Designer Paper Pads on sale for over 25% of the retail cost (these are the paper pads available on pages 30 - 31 in the TAC catalog). They are now only $5 until June 18th. Each pad is 8 x 8, has 6 different designs in 6 different colors. They are acid & lignin free and perfect for cards or scrapbook pages!

The June Stamp of the Month (SOTM) is called "Monkeying Around" and can be yours during the month of June with a $30 purchase. The set has a retail value of $10.95 but can be yours for only $6.95! Aren't those monkeys so cute??!!


The new Angel Company catalog is almost here!!! I am SO excited!! I just can't wait to see it at Seminar! Yesterday, TAC released a sneak peak of some of the sets that will be available in the new catalog (July 1st) and the best part is that they are already available for purchase! Here are the sets that they revealed:


Treasure It


Set of 10 stamps
$10.95








These are 2-step stamping sets--my FAVORITE kind! They make coloring so easy! The way that these sets work is that you stamp the bottom image first (which is typically the solid image). With this set you would stamp one of the solid flowers first. Then, you stamp the outline of that image with a darker color. That's all there is to it! Now you have an image with 2 colors that you didn't even have to color in with crayons or pencils. Of course, you could always use these stamps alone as well. You could stamp the outline flowers and color them in with your coloring method of choice. Very versatile stamp sets!


Curls & Swirls
Set of 8
$19.95





He Said
She Said
Set of 11
$7.95





More Abundance
Set of 31

$19.95








Spirit of Christmas

Set of 20

$19.95




Also, don't forget that Spring Fling ends May 31st! If you want to order any of the Spring Fling sets, you have to place your order by May 31st. These stamp sets are available with a $30 purchase!

**Also, I want to apologize about the formatting on this post, I know that that makes it hard to read but I tried to get it right and after playing with it forever decided that it was good enough and it was time to go push my son on the swing!**

Altered Wood Blocks

Here is a project that I made a while ago that was a lot of fun! These are wood blocks that I bought from Oriental Trading Company and altered. The papers and stamps are all from The Angel Company. The "LOVE" is chipboard that is also available from TAC and I used ink to change the color and then gave it several coats of Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel to add dimension and shine.

Here is a close-up photo of one of the blocks. The white swirl is from the TAC "Flourishes" set. That stamp set has so many uses, it is just awesome!! The white dots are made using the Souffle pens--another one of my loves--and the diamonds are from the "Distressed Designs" stamp set.

When you turn the blocks around, they have a Christmas theme and spell "Joy". The paper on this side is from the TAC "Vintage Holiday" paper pack. It has 36 8x8 sheets for only $6.95!