Tune In Tuesday - Nesties Need A New Home

It's Tune In Tuesday over on the Savvy Projects Blog! Today we are making masculine cards! I made these two with a set I got a long time ago as a freebie. See, TAC rocks and sometimes offers special sets free with parties of a certain amount. I got this one a while ago. I wasn't sure I liked it until I actually used it. I have to say, after playing with the set, I am a fan!

Both of my masculine cards feature TAC's Reece SWIC pattern paper and cardstock. I embellished with jute twine and some rust color mini brads that just didn't seem to match anything until I made these cards. The stamp images are all from TAC's Greatest Dad and they are colored with Copic Color Caboodles Set F, C01, Boo, Booo, Boooo, and W1 markers.

Can you make a new home for my Nestabilities Blossom Die? I bought a multi-pack over the weekend and had one of the four already. I would love to get this set off my table. If you are interested in the die email me. I am asking $15 for it, plus actual shipping if I have to mail it. It retails for $24.95.

Thank you for stopping by! Please take a minute to check out these masculine cards. If you have time join us by making a masculine card and adding your link.

TAC's Pot of Gold Challenge

I did it! OK! Fine, we did it! I finished my pot of gold card today with a lot of help from my friend Rhonda. I couldn't have done it without her! See, I am feeling a little under the weather and I can't make decisions alone at the moment. Rhonda really helped me through this one! My card is super CAS style. I used the darker pink and lighter blue cardstock from TAC Cardstock Caboodles Set B. The rain boots are from TAC's Girls Day Out stamp set. I used Nestablities to cut my rectangle and scalloped rectangle pieces. The dots are white cardstock cut with my Marvy 1/2 inch circle punch. The ribbon is Bazzill and the button is a lucky find from one of the Audrey Embellishment Jars. Play along with the Pot of Gold Challenge this weekend if you have some time. Here's what your card must contain to qualify for the challenge:
Stitching - Either stamped or stitched, your choice.
A punched Item - Punch with a Clever Lever, Spellbinders or other punching tool.
Ribbon
A button and/or a bow and/or a brad.
The color GREEN! Use a little or a lot!
and Layers, use more than one layer of cardstock.
Here's a linky, play along! Happy stamping!

Tune in Tuesday - Pop Up Card

It's Tune in Tuesday over at The Angel Company! Today's challenge is make a pop up card! I had so much fun with this challenge and love the way my card turned out. I wish I could have gotten it to photograph a little better. I have a really pretty blue sky behind the cat and mouse that just would not show up. It really completes the ground I drew in for both animals. I took a close up here and if you look knowing that it's there you can almost see it!

My card is made with TAC Cha Cha Soar With It Collection pattern papers and cardstock. I think it has been a year since I used this collection last....BOY have I been missing out. I am not sure why it got shoved to the back, but not any more that's for sure! The image and sentiment on the front of the card are from TAC's Animal Thoughts. I LOVE THIS SET. The art is quirky and the sentiments are punny. It's a ton of fun to make cards with these interesting images.

The background on the cheese color cardstock is from Simple Starters. I thought dots made the paper look even more cheesy. Mice like cheese you know?!

Flower and circle punches are Marvy from TAC. The perfect match red and green ribbons are from the Cha Cha ribbon collection.

I treated myself to Tim Holtz teeny tiny stapler last time I was out at the craft store. Aren't those tiny little staples wonderful!?

My image is colored with Copic Markers from TAC's Color Caboodles and I used B0000, B000 and B00 for the sky that you can not even see in the photo. Too bad, because it looks good. Come over and see.

Next photo is a side view of the pop up inside. I did a very basic piano hinge pop up. I hope the photos make it clear how the pop up works. You can check out The Savvy Projects Blog for Paula-Kay's tutorial.

I stamped a cat and lots of little mice, colored them and trimmed them out. The flower is a bigger Marvy flower punch.

I love Ordinary Greetings, it's the super useful sentiment set that I pulled Happy Birthday from. It's a must have with Animal Thoughts because the fonts match perfect and you can make your cards say so much more!

The last photo I took was inside the card straight on. I wanted you to see all the little mice all stacked up! Notice the ribbon loop on the flower stem? I like little touches inside that tie together with the outside of the card. It's a little detail that makes all the difference. I tried to leave plenty of room inside to write a birthday greeting. I think that is one of the challenges with a pop up card. You can really only send them to someone if you don't have much to say.

I hope you liked my pop up card! You don't know how bad I want to show you in real life! Be sure to pop over to the Savvy Projects Blog and check out the pop up action from Paula-Kay Bourland. If you have some time, please play along and add your link below!

Team Time Shoebox Swap & Schedule

Team Time last Saturday was a BLAST!! This is the card I made for a shoebox swap. The card on the left is with Catelynne Fly With It Collection Paper and the card on the right is made with Maggie Soar With It Collection Paper. I stamped the background with Background Soup using VersaMark ink. Isn't that paper pieced phone cute? It is a freebie Gift With Purchase from TAC. Place a $30 order with me or join my hostess club and I will give it to you FREE! The little LOVE U sentiment comes with the phone. I just had to make a card with the phone and helloHELLO from Sophisticated Sentiments. I have team time scheduled in my calendar for the next couple of months. Here are the dates:
Saturday April 16th
Saturday May 21st
Saturday June 18th
If you are planning on attending email me! I have limited space at my home. I can make arrangements for us somewhere else if we out grow my space. I need to know if you are coming so I know where we will get together.
Are you an IL Angel and want to get together with us? Just shoot me an email! Maybe you are not an Angel, but you want to be...just email me and we can get you every thing you need to join my team. If you join during Spring Fling you will get all the cutie new Spring Fling stamp sets FREE with your starter kit!

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

Going Green Birthday Card

Today is my big day! No, it's not my birthday. It's my first post on TAC's Savvy Projects Blog! It's my first assignment as a TAC Dream Team Designer. It's my first time on a design team and I am PUMPED UP!

What is my assignment for the TAC Dream Team you ask. Well it's Going Green Week! I had to make a card that fit the green theme and post it on Savvy Projects. Pop over to check out my post and discover my twist on the Going Green theme.

This little card is inspired by a card over in my Savvy post.

I used the same layout and paper ruffle but made a more all occasion card.

I am so pleased with the way this card turned out. In the close up you can see just why. I have been browsing the gallery over at SplitcoastStampers and have found a few stampers that do lover-ly work. One of my recent favorite galleries is bfinlay's. I love the way she inks around her images. I have always been afraid to try. I thought after I took the time and colored an image I didn't want to ruin it if I made a mistake with the sponge! Well, inspired by Bridget, I decided to just go for it! I got my sponge out and some VersaMagic Thatched Straw ink and just did it! I LOVE the way it turned out! It's so different from my usual! What do you think? Other materials used to make my new favorite, bfinlay inspired, card include; Sophisticated Sentiments TB3364, Sugar Coated Sweetness T3341, Spring Time T2944, the cardstock is from my scrap bin, and the pattern paper is from TAC's Tutti Frutti SWIC. I used Nestablilities Classic Circles to both cut my circles and mask my edges when I sponged. The cake image is colored with Prismacolor Pencil and Mineral Oil and then glittered with Prisma Glitter.

Thanks so much for stopping by! It really makes my day. Don't miss all the other FUN activities and hops going on at TAC's Savvy Projects Blog! Please pop in on the other designers and check out their idea of what 'Going Green' means. You will not be disappointed!

Going Green Week:

Friday March 11th - Angela Kelley

Monday March 14th - Kerry Urbatch

Tuesday March 15th - Michelle McDaniels

Wednesday March 16th - Heather Scott

Thursday March 17th - Marisa Alvarez

Friday March 18th - Christine Pennington

Hostess Club Top 10

Hostess Clubs are forming NOW!
If you are considering hostess club but you haven't emailed me to join, what are you waiting for?? Here are my Top 10 reasons to join my Budget Friendly Hostess Club:

10. I will include FIVE cards, one each month, for you to make with fun stampy friends!

9. I will schedule the time and motivate you to participate in TAC Challenges PLUS photograph and post for you! If you are not local, I will walk you through it...PROMISE.

8. Enjoy 40-50% off ANY TWO items in the TAC catalog! NO required purchase when you are hostess so you can take full advantage!

7. Receive a FREE Level A stamp set of your choice. The first card features Whooo Loves Ya TA3324. The second card features Happy Today TA3409. Either of these sets could be yours free. There are 8 total to choose from!

6. Be the first to know about up coming sales, promotions, bonuses, and challenges with prizes awarded.

5. Collect all the CUTE Gift with Purchase Stamp Sets.

4. The discontinued list is scheduled for MAY! Get those retiring sets while you still can! Earn great hostess benefits for your purchase!
3. You will have access to all the promotions, like Stamp of the Month, Blast From the Past and MUCH MORE!
2. SPRING FLING is here!
1. The TAC 2011-12 catalog debuts July 2010. Hostesses get a FREE copy!

Fan Fold Birthday Flower

I try to do a shoebox swap once a month with Jo Ann, Arleen and Shar. This month we are swapping cards with a different fold. I don't think that this is the kind of fold they had in mind when we decided on a theme. So far this is all my creativity has allowed. I hope that they like my interpretation of the theme!
I made my festive flower with Kaleidoscope Brights from TAC and the Birthday Blessings sentiment is from a Level B hostess set called Love You. I stamped my sentiment with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. The card is finished with a Yellow DCWV card base a fun spotted button from my stash and some piercing.
Super simple, but festive.
Thanks for stopping by!

Tune in Tuesday - Flower

It's Tune in Tuesday and the theme is flowers! Let's see your cards with flowers on them. Holly Mays is the featured designer on the Savvy Blog today. You just have to see her cards! I thought I got creative with my flower...wait til you see hers! Be sure to hop along the blogs below and leave some love in the comments section. Bloggers love to know that they are not talking to themselves!

My card showcases TAC's Joyful Notes, Happily Grateful and Just a Note. I broke down and cut up cardstock from my Color Caboodles Cardstock set C. I am a paper hoarder no longer! Aren't those greens just lover-ly? The Color Caboodles Cardstock sets are hand picked to match with our Copic Caboodle Marker sets. They make card crafting a breeze. I used Palette Reflection Blue to stamp the notebook paper from Just a Note. I used Memento Tuxedo Black to stamp the sentiment from Joyful Notes. The background is the very versatile vine from Happily Grateful stamped with VersaMark. Thank you to Mary Allenspach for the fabric scrap I used for my yo yo flower. The leaves are cut with a Stampin' Up! sizzlets die. Ribbon was permanently borrowed from Sandy Gordon, so I don't know what brand. Thanks for the ribbon Sandy! It really made the card POP!

Now it's your turn! Get stampin' and show us your cards with flowers!

Really Reasonable Challenge

I made this card for Really Reasonable Ribbon's Challenge 19 to use green and ribbon. I pulled out an embossing folder that really had not had much love and embossed the green layer. That's when I decided that the leaves just NEEDED a butterfly. The butterfly is from TAC's Happily Grateful and the sentiment is from Joyful Notes. My sentiment is stamped on a die cut, Nestabilities Labels 1, that I cut in half. My butterfly is colored with Copic Markers from TAC's Color Caboodles C and G. After I colored the butterfly I covered it in Crystal Lacquer and dusted it with Prisma Glitter. It's was a very hard card to photograph. I hope you can imagine how pretty it is in real life. Thank you for popping by!

Seeing Shamrocks Blog Hop

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I know I am early. Today begins The Angel Company's "Seeing Shamrocks" Blog Hop. The hop runs through March 6th - play along and you could win some lovely TAC blog candy. If you don't blog, that is OK! You can upload your card to the TAC Paper Crafting Community Gallery, just tag your card "Seeing Shamrocks Blog Hop". While you are getting to know your way around the TAC PCC take note of the chat feature because Mischelle will be hosting a chat there on Saturday, March 5th at 8 pm CST. I can not be on the chat because I will be in Peoria for Desi's Winter Guard State Championships! Max and I are going while mom stays here with the littles. I can not wait for some alone time with the man. Don't let that stop you from playing along and stopping in on the chat!

My card for this hop was a fun exercise in creativity. See, I am not Irish nor do I believe in luck so I don't have a lot of shamrock supplies! I wanted to show you something that was different and worth your time. I appreciate that you stop in and read! After thinking a little about it I decided on a fabric FAV - The Yo Yo! I have had a long love affair with yo yos you see. I thought I would challenge myself to make them heart-shape for my very own clover. Here is how I did it:

Step One: I folded my fabric so I had three layers. Why? Because 3 heart yo yos and a little scrappers floss makes a shamrock!

Step Two: Find a circle object to trace. I start with a circle because it is easy to find (I use it for circle yo yos too) and keeps the hearts all uniform size.

Step Three: Trace with a black marker and cut inside the line with pinking sheers. I cut all three layers at the same time so that all the finished yo yos are about the same size.

Step Four: Trim the circle shapes into hearts. They don't have to be perfect! Let them have some character!

Step Four: Starting at the top, in the center of the heart, sew a running stitch all the way around. End right were you started.

Step Five: Pull and knot. Your yo yo will look like a little hobo bag. Make sure you knot it off tight, but don't cut the thread yet.

Step Five: Shape the little hobo bag into a heart shape and sew on the button to finish. Tie the thread in a tight knot and trim the thread.

Step Six: Repeat two more times.

Here is another look at the finished card. It's a long post, with lots of pictures! I hope it inspires you to play with yo yos! You can see a yo yo pumpkin on my blog here, and there is a yo yo flower here. <--- more yo yo inspiration. I used Kraft, White and More Mimi Cardstock on this card. The pink almost solid pattern paper is from the More Mimi Soar With It Collection. Trendy Greetings from TAC supplied the greeting. I am in love with the little Scor-Bug that I used to make the embossed stitched lines. After I made and adhered my clover to the card I stitched the stem with brown scrappers floss. Thank you so much for stopping by! Because of you, I am so blessed.

Tune in Tuesday - You Animal

Every Tuesday in the month of March is Tune in Tuesday! Tune in to my blog for a fun post, then hop around to other Angel Blogs to see more cards on the same theme! This Tuesday the theme is A Card with An Animal!

I am TOTALLY in love with this little Gift With Purchase stamp from TAC. Isn't he a CUTIE? Want one of your own? I will give him to you free with your $30 purchase. What's more, ANY stamp set with both a four legged ANIMAL and a FLOWER is on sale this month 25% off! YUP that's right! Get your critter fix for less $$ in March! Email me to place your order or get a catalog. Be sure you email or call instead of using online ordering. If you don't talk to your Angel, you wont get the freebies you have earned. Your demo has to add Hostess Benefits and Gift With Purchase Stamps on the order for you!

My cards feature Trunk of Love, a free Gift With Purchase (GWP) stamp from TAC and sentiments from Sophisticated Sentiments (left) and Joyful Notes (right). I used Kraft Cardstock for my card bases and Memento Rich Cocoa Ink for my main image. I also used VersaMark to stamp the horizontal cardstock panel on both cards. I used Awesome Blossom (left) and Simple Starters (right) for the background stamping. The card on the left is made with Maggie paper and cardstock and the card on the right features More Mimi papers and cardstocks.