Angels Among Us

Welcome to a new week, my friends! I hope you had a fabulous weekend and a very Merry Christmas! We had all four of the kids, Amelia, and my mom here for dinner. It’s such a blessing to all be together. I’m having a hard time cooking for the family these days, though. I realized I’m still using the proportions from the years when we had all the parents and my aunt with us as well as kids. Mike’s parents and my dad are no longer with us, and my aunt is in “adult housing.” She has an apartment, and while we’d love to have her here, if she is in someone’s home, she has to quarantine for a week or so when she goes back. She is very social, so that would never work for her. I visited her last week, and she was looking forward to having dinner at the facility with a friend.

After Mom got home Christmas evening, she called to “pick my brain.” A friend has been in the hospital and wanted to give her nurses little angels to let them know how much she appreciated their care of her. I wasn’t 100% sure of what she was asking, but I heard, “paper, angels, and maybe pin them to their scrubs.” (Ok, I’m not sure what nurse tops are called. But you know what I’m talking about, right?) I came up with an idea, and suggested Mom and I work on them after church on Sunday. My idea wasn’t that elaborate, but it was better than “a piece of paper with an angel on it” that our friend asked for. To be fair, she had just received some meds, so she was a little incoherent. (Our friend, not Mom. Mom made a lot of sense.)

As it happens, I have the Stampin’ Up!® Angels of Peace Stamp Set, so I thought that would be perfect. Having the word “pin” stuck in my head, I ran to the craft store and bought some pin backs. Here’s what we made.

We stamped the little angel on Basic White Cardstock using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. I colored them with Stampin’ Blends while Mom watched in fascination. (Actually, she was probably playing with her phone. Oh, my gosh! That woman and her phone. Out of eight people at the dinner table Christmas day – with six over 30 and one almost 30 – my octogenarian mother was the only one who kept looking at her phone. She claims she was adjusting her hearing aids, but I’m not sure.) Mom did tear herself away from the phone long enough to add some Wink of Stella on the angels’ wings.

We die-cut the angels with the retired Stitched Shapes Dies. (Oh, my goodness. I need a moment. I love those dies!) We also die-cut some designer series paper cardboard backing and a Balmy Blue Cardstock layer using the same die. Each angel is two cardboard and two card stock layers. Mom glued these together. We dipped each one in Versamark Ink, then embossed with Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder. I added the you’re an angel sentiment on the back, and then Mom stamped a copyright stamp on the backs using Night of Navy Classic Ink.

Now came the dilemma. Even though these were smaller than the “adult” angel, they were still fairly large for a pin, especially if you’re wearing a name tag and other information. We decided to ask Mike: pin or magnet? He suggested we make magnets, just in case there are restrictions on what you can pin to your uniform. After we added the magnets to the back of each angel, we stamped the other sentiment (also from the Angels of Peace Stamp Set) on a 2-3/4″ x 4-1/4: piece of  Balmy Blue Cardstock, then attached the magnet with a Mini Glue Dot. Here’s a closer look.

I’m thinking the recipients can use the entire piece on their refrigerator or other magnetic surface, or just the angel. They can also remove the magnet and use a pin if they want, and add it to their lanyard.

Quick note here – the Angels of Peace Stamp Set will be retiring on January 3, so you need to order it now. It’s perfect for any day of the year; people need to know they are appreciated for what they do!

I loved making these, and I hope they convey how much our friend appreciates their care. Most of all, I totally enjoyed spending the afternoon crafting with Mom. She is so much fun, and I love every minute I get to spend with her.

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!

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