GCA #69 - Gift Giving Time!

Hello all!!! We are certainly in that time of year where the thought of giving gifts is utmost on our minds. And while many of us love to give to give gifts, we also love to be as "frugal" as we can be!

The challenge this week is to create a gift worthy of giving to either a friend, neighbor, teacher, co-worker or even the postal carrier!!! Look around your house and see what types of containers you have left from cookies, chips or coffee drinks and let your creative side take over!

My sample for you this week is an altered cookie tin with a stamped candle inside. I used the Christmas Cocoa dsp currently in the Holiday mini to decorate the outside of the tin. And since the lid already had a red trim, I went that and left it plain. The top of the lid was covered with dsp cut out with the clear circle die and then I sanded the edges to take off the tiny bit that hung over. As I was sanding I noticed I was also distressing the red trim and just took off from there! The top layer was cut from the scallop circle die and I centered it with the snowflake flocked portion of the dsp.

I used my Mover & Shapers die for the ornament tag back layer and the ornament punch for the top layer. I do so love my Big Shot!!!


For the candle inside I used my Beary Christmas set and I also stamped the tissue paper in Real Red and Soft Suede with the snowflake to help jazz it up some.

I can't wait to see what gifts you come up with week!!

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by December 12, 2009 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner the next day. If you upload your card to SCS, PaperCraft Planet, Stampin' Addicts or Stamp TV, please put GCA69 in your keywords. That way everyone can see all of the wonderful creations at once!

Even if you can't make the drawing deadline, PLEASE feel free to participate in the challenges and upload your creations at any time. I would love to see it! And yes, my challenge is open to everyone who visits, even if you live outside the US!

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #68 Winner is...

... Clare!!! She created two wonderful cards with buttons!! Clare please email me your address to pinkstamper06@yahoo.com so I can send out a stampin goodie package to you!!

And thank you to everyone who played along this week with my button challenge!!! I so appreciate all you coming by.

Up Next: GCA #69 - Gift Giving Time!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Make Merry with Christmas Cocoa!

Hello all!!! Another Christmas card for you, today using the delicious Christmas Cocoa dsp and Beary Christmas, both in the Holiday mini.

My Big Shot came in handy for this card as all the circles are cut with the various circle dies and the Mover & Shaper die for the Modern Label background piece. Love my Big Shot!! It makes it so quick and easy to make projects and cards.

The bird is cut out with the Merry sizzlet, also in the Holiday mini. I cut the bird with Real Red and then went over it with the Champange Mist shimmer paint. That stuff is awesome too!

The colors used on this card are Real Red, Soft Suede, Whisper White and Christmas Cocoa dsp, with the exception of the Old Olive for the wreath. The bird, holly berry & leaves and the sentiment panel are up on dimensionals, as is the entire image circle panels. I used the Soft Suede polka dot gg for my ribbon ruffle. These are so fun and easy to make.

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #68 - How do you use those buttons?

Hello all!!! I hope everyone is enjoying the end of the Thanksgiving weekend, but the start of the Christmas Holidays!!!

I love Christmas with all the lights, sounds, decorations and simple happy time the season evokes. But, we must also remember, at least for me, the real reason for the the Christmas Holidays - the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As I was thinking about what to do for this week, I had some spare buttons laying on my table and started to play with them and viola! - GCA #68 was born. I've also seen some very cute cards lately where buttons have been used in place of more traditional items. Like what you ask?

Well...

* red buttons as holly berries
* green buttons as a wreath or Christmas tree
* white buttons as snow or snowmen

The possibilities are endless and only limited by what you want to create!!! Now, the challenge this week is to show how you use your buttons on a papercraft creation, either card scrapbook page or gift item, but DOES NOT have to be Christmas related.

Well my sample for you this week took on a life of it's own as I created this card!! It took me all day, as I had to wait for the glue to dry and then decide on placement and so on!!! But, I love the end result and this is a card that will be going to someone very special and not through the mail!!!

For my button wreath I used buttons from the Playground and Button Bouquet sets - only the green ones! The red ones came from the Playground set. To make my wreath I first started with a circle template cut to use as a guide. The buttons cover this so you can't see it. I used linen thread through my buttons and then placed them in a circle after they were all strung. Using Tombow multi glue, I glued them onto the circle template.

Because I had three different sizes of the green buttons, I used the two larger ones for the wreath base and the smaller ones for adding a second layer. The red holly buttons were strung together as the green ones and then pulled snug to "jumble" them. I used my 5 petal flower punch for the leaves in Garden Green.

The bird is actually a leftover piece I had on my table from an earlier project and I thought it looked just right on the wreath. The bird is from Friends 24-7 and is stamped in craft Garden Green on Certainly Celery and clear embossed.

My base card is Shimmery White and I used a piece of scrap Christmas Cocoa dsp in the flocked red on the top. The wreath is up on dimensionals as is the bird on top of the buttons!

Can't wait to see what you come up with for how to use your buttons!

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by December 5, 2009 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner the next day. If you upload your card to SCS, PaperCraft Planet, Stampin' Addicts or Stamp TV, please put GCA68 in your keywords. That way everyone can see all of the wonderful creations at once!

Even if you can't make the drawing deadline, PLEASE feel free to participate in the challenges and upload your creations at any time. I would love to see it! And yes, my challenge is open to everyone who visits, even if you live outside the US!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #67 Winners are....

... Liz and Michelle!!!! I am so thankful and humbled when other stampers check out my blog, leave a comment or play in my weekly challenge, how can I NOT have both of them as the winners this week?? Check out each of their creations by clicking on their names! Thanks ladies for playing along this week!

Please email me at pinkstamper06@yahoo.com with your address so I can get a stampin goodie package out to each of you!

Up Next: GCA #68 - How do you those buttons?

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Merry Christmas with Snowbuddies!

Hello all!! How many of my friends are out in the mob of people today shopping???? Not me! Been there, done that and I am in no hurry to do it again! I would rather stay home and stamp!

The card I have for you today is one of them I made during my peace and quiet yesterday! I certainly wouldn't want to mass produce this as it took me around 2 hours to complete!
I had an idea for this in my head and I think it came pretty close to what I envisioned. Since I was going for the whole snow and cold feeling, I used Night of Navy, Ballet Blue and Whisper White as my color choices.

The Night of Navy layer was swiped with Whisper White craft ink and left to dry. I was going for the look of snow. How did I do?

On the Ballet Blue Top Note piece I stamped some of the snowflakes from the Snow Buddies set (Level 2 hostess - Holiday Mini) in Whisper White craft and heat embossed with white ep. I then overstamped the other other snowflakes and the star in Ballet Blue to create more depth.

My snow was created with Tombow multi glue, Dazzling Diamonds and Chunky clear glitter. Before I applied the glue and glitter I swiped the pieces, which I tore to create hills, with Ballet Blue ink. Since the Tombow dries clear, the ink shows better than I thought it would.

Each of the snowmen were stamped on Whisper White with black staz on and then cut out. Again, I would not want to mass produce this card! What was I thinking??? I then took scraps from the Christmas Cocoa dsp and paper pieced the hats and scarves. The "carrot" noses were stamped on Only Orange and the boots were done in Kraft. I used small pom-poms for the tops of the hats.



I wanted the snowmen to look like they were holding a "sign" and so I used a leftover piece of jute and strung it through the ends and around. Not sure if you can tell in the photos, but I put their hands around the jute. Both of the snowmen are up on dimensionals and the sign is up on double dimensionals.

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Hello all!!! I hope all my American friends are enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving today! I am not doing much today, and it's just what I want! My son, his girlfriend and Malaki are over at her mom's and I have some peace and quiet!!!! I will be doing some quality stamping today.

Since the challenge this week is Thankful Thoughts, I thought I would post some of what I am thankful for.

First and foremost, I am thankful to my God in Heaven for His saving grace everyday of my life! (I so need it some days more than others!!)

Second, I am most thankful for my family. While I do enjoy the peace and quiet today, I also thoroughly enjoy having my grandchildren around me. The joy they have brought to my life is unspeakable and nothing I thought it would be. The pictures I share with you today were taken just a couple of weeks ago. Cameron is 4 1/2 years and Malaki is 5 months.

Third, I am thankful for my friends. Those who live near and those who live far away. One should never be without friends and I am so grateful for those I have.

And lastly, I am thankful for my stamping habit!! Without stamping I would not have met some of the friends I am ever so grateful for, nor would I have my blog, or people who stop by and say hi! Stamping has helped keep me sane in the past couple of years when times got tough and dark.

So, what are you thankful for? Even if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving today, it's never a bad idea to reflect on thankful thoughts once in a while.

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~