I am such a softie.  Sad movies can start the waterworks flowing.  Even commercials can make me weepy. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that I have been known to shed a tear over retiring stamp sets.  During  these final days of May, I want to revisit some of my favorite retiring stamp sets from the 2016 – 2017 Annual Catalog, while there is still time for you to purchase them. Today, the spotlight is on Traveler (134510 W, 134513 C).  These cards allow you to see the versatility of this set. Now keep in mind, many of these cards date back to 2014, and feature products which have since retired.  But let your creativity soar…and envision them updated with fresh products!

This card was created for my husband to celebrate his retirement from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Rail Road.  He still has it, tucked away safely in the top drawer of his dresser.  You may recognize the trees, which are from one of my all-time favorite sets, Lovely As a Tree (128655 W, 127793 C).  Lovely As a Tree was one of the sets in my Starter Kit when I became a demonstrator.  I’ve often jokingly said, when Lovely As a Tree retires, so will I.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes (128748 W, 127802 C). It is still available, too.

My poor husband probably grew tired of train cards. He received one for his birthday.

And my son, Brady, probably grew tired of me inspiring him to “Live the Life You Imagined”, which was my favorite sentiment from the now retired set, Really Good Greetings.  They were indeed really good greetings, and oh how I wish I had never sold that set. Yep, I have “seller’s remorse”.

Brady was the recipient of this card, too.  He and his father learned long ago to put up with my obsession for pearls, even on masculine cards.

These last three cards were part of the June 2014 Lesson of the Month Club.  Many of you who still follow me today were part of my lessons of the month.  CLICK HERE if you would like to see what my “students” experienced as a part of their lessons.

Today was not a great day for Brody.  This evening, he started drooling excessively.  Of course, you know me.  Off to the Internet I raced.  Of course, I found information which noted excessive drooling as an indicator of horrible things, like kidney failure.  This was not what I wanted to read.  I was just innocently hoping that maybe he had found a toad in the yard.  I also checked his mouth to see if he had been injured.  I looked for signs of a sting or bite, and thought I noticed a slight swelling on his lip.   Hedging my bets that he had been engaging in a rousing game of “Bite the Bee” (I found two dead bumblebees on the back porch),  I gave him Benedryl.  The drooling has stopped, and he is sleeping soundly while I type away!

He did have a great time on the grooming table this afternoon, however. He played “Kiss Mom”:

I played “Kiss Brody”:

And we both enjoyed a hug!

I hope you enjoyed today’s spotlight on Traveler.  It’s a wonderful masculine set….but it is only available through this month.  As always, if you ever have a question about the cards I create or the techniques I use, I am only an email away.  Until next time…

Note: For information about my annual catalog product shares, CLICK HERE.  Space is limited this year, and only a few spots remain.