A Christmas Thanks & Happy Heart Day

First off I hope everyone had a wonderful and a very Merry Christmas!! It has been a very busy week here at my house and we have one more family Christmas to do on Saturday!!! And then on January 1, 2008, I will be off to San Francisco for 9 whole days!!! I have never been there and I am so excited to go!! I will be attending 2 different conferences, which is the main reason for going. Now on to the cards!!

The first card is for this week's color challenge and sketch challenge on SCS. The colors this week are Gable Green, Glorious Green and Real Red. Great colors for Christmas thank yous, which is what I need now!! So with the combo of both challenges this is the card I came up with.

I used Embrace Life for the flowers and the leaf stamp on the white circle. The flowers were stamped in black craft and embossed with black ep on Shimmery White. Then I watercolored with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and a blender pen.

I used my distressor tool on all three circle panels and DTP on the white. The red circle panel is cardstock by Wausau and is a shimmery red.

My BG was made with the polka dot stamp from Polka Dots & Paisley's stamped in Gable Green. I finished off the card with some wide white organdy and a Real Red grosgrain.

My second card is for the Featured Stamper challenge from Sunday, December 23rd. This week's FS is Crissy AKA #1artistforhighhopes.

For this week's Featured Stamper Beth chose a stamper with an amazing ability for watercoloring all of her images!!! If you haven't seen her gallery, you really need to check it out!!

This is the card I chose to chose to CASE: Bugs and Kisses Levi Tab. I chose this one, as usual, for the layout!!! But when I went to make my card, the original image I started with was too big for the offset panel. So on to plan B and that was the new Happy Heart Day set.

The things I changed are:

* Colors, but I did keep the red theme

* Stamp set

* Added extra layers

* My main image panel is on pop up glue dots

* My "stitching" is done free hand with the black SU! marker. I tried using my All in a Row like Beate does, but I still haven't got that down yet!!

* Added a ribbon

* Moved the placement of my button and used only 2 brads

* Distressed the edges of the main BG panel

On the mouse I did paper piecing for his shirt and punched a flower for the heart and added a brad.

Happy Stamping everyone!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Thinking of You - CC145 & New Stamps

Well it feels good to be making a non - Christmas card!!! I am all done and they are out in the mail!!

This week for the Color Combo challenge the colors are Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron & Wild Wasabi. Such beautiful colors together and perfect for a sympathy type of card. This past weekend Shelli Gardner's (SU! co-founder) mom, Heather, passed away. I made this card to send to Shelli at this time. I used my new Level 2 hostess set we could pre-order, Infinite Goodness, on here.

All of the white cardstock is Shimmery White and sponged with either Eggplant or Wasabi. On the large BG panel I used my Rough Texture jumbo wheel and did my Triple 3 BG with all the colors. I "off-wheeled" with Eggplant and Wasabi to keep them toned down.

I used four different punches to create the "pad" the dragonfly is on: Key Tab, Scallop, and 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" circle punches. The images are colored with Watercolor Crayons and blender pen.

I also used Mary Jo Albright's sketch she has posted on her blog for her blog candy contest. Check out her blog here: beauty lies within

You can find out how I did my scallop punch here also!! Check out her pictures to see how it's done!! My camera washed out the Elegant Eggplant, but that's what it is!!

I also have been playing with my new stamps from the Spring/Summer preview and here's what I have so far.

This first card uses Happy Heart Day. The elephant is so cute and this can be used for more than just Valentine's Day. Originally this stamp has a saying which flows along the trunk and top of his head, but I cut that off and mounted it on another block. This way I can use the saying separately, and easier, if I want.

I think everything on here is pretty straight forward. A very simple and quick card to make. I used a pewter jumbo eyelet to set the ribbon. The entire panel is up on dimensionals.

The second card uses the "Thank You" from Happy Heart Day, Trec Chic BG and Seeing Spots. While the last two are not new, I did just receive both of them. Another quick and easy card to make and just add some bling to jazz it up!!

And my last card uses A Beautiful Thing with my Rough Texture jumbo wheel. Beate did a fabulous tutorial on Reverse Spotlighting and this is my attempt at that. For the life of me I could not make those flowers match up under the circle no matter what I did!!!! So I just ended up placing them on top of the circles and slightly off centered! I like how this turned out though. I also tried a new way to put ribbon on.

Well, I should get to that Christmas present wrapping before Christmas Eve!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Blog Candy Winner!!!

Here is the winner of my recent blog candy and the stamp set from Treehouse Stamps!!!

CAKVD said...
These stamps are FABULOUS!! The site is great too...easy to navigate. I love the idea gallery and the photos of the design team members.

Thanks!Cheryl KVD
December 13, 2007 9:44 PM

My prize will be on it's way in the next few days and so will your stamp set from Treehouse Stamps!!!

Congrats Cheryl!!!

Sorry for the late post! Huge snowstorm last night causing internet issues!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Free Shipping to Canada!!!

I just wanted to let everyone know, especially my Canadian readers, that Treehouse Stamps has decided to offer free shipping on orders of $40 or more to Canada also!!! Isn't that just awesome??

Don't forget to check out their site and leave me a comment in the post below to be entered in the blog candy contest!!

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Heavenly Snowmen and Blog Candy!!!

Here is another card showcasing the one of the new stamps from Treehouse Stamps!! The site is now officially open for business (that is what the blog candy is for). More about the blog candy in a minute, but first the card.

On this card I used the snowman from Winter Memories, including the sentiment. All of these stamps are so cute and very easy for coloring with any type of medium.

On here I used my Watercolor Wonder Crayons from SU! and a blender pen. I didn't start out for a masculine feel to this card, but the colors I chose were going that way!!! So I softened it up with the large circle flower copper brad, organdy and satin white ribbon and small piece of blue embroidery floss.

My colors came from the medium size blue panel as I wanted to try out the Faux Denim technique in the newest Technique Junkie newsletter. So easy to do and I like how this came out!!

My base card is PaperTrey Ink's white, then Creamy Caramel which I ran through my Cuttlebug with the snowflake folder, followed by the Faux Denim piece mounted on Choc. Chip text. and Night of Navy under the main image. The second and third panels are distressed around the edges and I did light sponging around the base card, snowman and the sentiment in Creamy Caramel.

I really like doing the sentiment layers as I feel this really makes the sentiment pop! I did revers paper piercing on the round tab layer and faux stitching on the Brocade Blue circle. Both the second and third panels are up on different size dimensionals for depth.

I used small pom-poms for the hat and his buttons!

Please let me know what you think about this little guy!! He will be off in the morning mail to my vets office for Christmas!! We have had some animal emergencies this year and they have taken great care of them, and us, during those times!!

The sketch I used here is this week's SC on SCS!

Now for the blog candy!!! How would you like to win a free stamp set?? The two sets pictured here are the new sets from Treehouse Stamps which I have been showing all week!!!




This is what you do to enter: Take a look at the website for Treehouse Stamps and then come back here and leave me comment. In your comment please let me know what you like, dislike and any suggestions you may have for the site. And please let me know what set you prefer if you win. I cannot guarantee you will receive your preference as Ashley and Kristen will be mailing them out, but I will give it my best shot!! In addition to that, I will personally be sending the winner a small gift made with one of the sets!! I'll get a pic posted by tomorrow of my gift!

Isn't this the greatest??? Who doesn't love free stamps & gifts?? So jump on over to the Treehouse Stamps website and look around and come back here with your comments!!! You have until Saturday, December 15th at 11:59 pm to get your comments in!!


Happy Stamping!!!!



~~~Ann~~~

Here's a Sneak Peek!!!

Here's a sneak peek of two of the stamps which are being released by Treehouse Stamps on Wednesday, December 12th!!! The images in both sets are too darn cute and adorable!!



On my first card I used the moose from Snowball Fight. I just love this guy the best for some reason!! Maybe because he is so innocently waiting with that snowball to throw at someone?? I colored him with my SU! markers and I used the colors from today's Color Challenge on the card. Those are Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie and Certainly Celery. Not a combo I would have thought up, but I do like how they came together.


The sentiment here is also in this set. I made a layered sentiment panel using my round tab and 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" circle punches. Used my gel pen for some faux stitching. I did some distressing on the Pumpkin Pie and Certainly Celery base panels and sponged Pump. Pie around the main image panel.

For his snowball I attached a small pom-pom. The main image panel and the sentiment layer are up on dimensionals or thick foam squares.



For my second card I used the cup of hot cocoa from Winter Memories. Again I used the colors from the CC. Both cards use dp celery and rose red.

For my ribbon tie on the bottom panel I used both oval punches and placed a white eyelet in them and ran the white taffeta through the open holes. A simple knot with another piece and it's done. Again I did distressing to the Pumpkin Pie and Celery layers, as well as sponging on the main image panel with Pump. Pie. I always like to tone down the glare of white cardstock.

I used the same small pom-poms for the marshmallows in the cocoa and touched them just lightly with Pumpkin Pie. This panel is up on dimensionals.

I hope you like the sneak peek. I've got more to come to help whet your excitement for these new stamps!! You can check out the website here: Treehouse Stamps



Happy Stamping everyone!!!




~~~Ann~~~

Purely Friends

This week's Featured Stamper is Charlene AKA LilLuvsStampin! Charlene has an amazing gallery chock full of the sweetest, adorable and amazing cards!! And she's from Michigan too!! Just a hop, skip and jump from me!

I had 4 cards picked to case and decided to go with this one here: Petal Pushers I loved the layout, clean and simple, but I also like the color scheme from the LSC she created this card for.

My changes are:
*Colors - Basic Gray, Purely Pomegranate, PaperTrey Ink white
*Stamp set - Time Well Spent (new Level 3 hostess set)
*Ribbon
*Brads
*I distressed all the edges with the distressor tool
*I kept the layout the same and I did use the ticket corner punch, on all the corners of the image panel and only the corners of the larger sentiment panel.

I used my blender pen in P. Pom. to color in Friends.

The flower centers were stamped on Purely Pom. and punched out with the 3/4" circle punch and then I matched up the lines to the bottom flower.

I just had to share this newest picture of Cameron, my grandson, with everyone. As you know I am remodeling my home and right now I have my stamping supplies all over the house!!!

Well, Cameron found the shelf which I have my Pearl-Ex stored on and decided he needed to wear some!!! He must see his mother or other grandmother put make-up on as that appeared to be what he was mimicking!!

He's just so cute I couldn't even get mad, instead I just laughed and took a picture!! Isn't he just a ham??

Take Care everyone!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Exciting news to share with you!!!!

Ashley Bowen and Kristin Edwards are starting their own stamp company called Treehouse Stamps. They have some of the cutest images in their first two sets scheduled to be released this month. So why am I so excited about this? Beside the fact there is another wonderful company to buy even more stamps from??? Well.......

I am on the Design Team!!!!!!! How cool is that??? This is the first time I have ever applied to be on a design team and I just about fell off my chair when I saw the email from Ashley with the email stating I had been picked!!! So as soon as I have the stamps in my hot little hands to play with, I will post pictures for you see and enable you to run to the place to purchase them!!!!

Here are my fellow team design members and links to their blogs or SCS galleries:

*Amber Hillman - Amber's Antics
*Kelly Sampson - Dairies of a Stamper
*Karen Hunsaker - Karen's SCS gallery
*Elizebeth Neuman - ebethonline

I will also be posting these to my blog list on the side. Please take a moment to check out the wonderful work of these ladies!

Take care!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Time Well Spent in my Stamp Room!!!

Early in November SU! sent all demos a Level 3 hostess set which will be in the new Spring/Summer 2008 catalog. I can now finally show you the first card I have made with this set. I entered this in a contest and so I had to wait until the contest was over to post it. The contest was the Card of the Month on Technique Junkies using the Colorwash Technique. Check out the TJ link for more great techniques.

I recently purchased one of the Martha Stewart border punches and had played around with on a scrap piece of Orchid Opulence and wanted to use this on my card. I really like how Certainly Celery, Orchid Opulence and Black go so well together. A few embellishments with ribbon, photo corners and brads completes the card!

I really like the versatility and coloring capabilities of this new set. And the sentiments are so accurate.

Ok I promised some pictures of my stamp room, which still in the process of completion. But I want to show you some before pictures and what my new room looks like so far!

See how cramped everything is and what a tight space I have. I know some people have very limited space available to them, but thankfully I am fortunate to live alone in a two bedroom house. I have switched rooms, and the room that was my master bedroom is now my stamp room/office. This room is approx. 12 x 15.

My new room has a great muted orange color on the walls called Butterscotch Sundae. It reminds me of Apricot Appeal mixed with some Pumpkin Pie! And the trim is Really Rust. Gotta love those SU! colors!!! The wood laminate flooring is still being installed, but the part that is complete makes the room feel so warm and inviting. I can't wait to get all of my supplies in here and set up. Right now I have my table set up in the living room and my stamping stuff everywhere in the house!!! Makes it challenging to stamp!

Gotta go, my grandson Cameron is is having a fit because he can't be in here with me!!

Take care and I'll have some exciting news to share with you in a few days!!


Happy Stamping!!!


~~~Ann~~~

Happy Sunday!!

Hello everyone!! Just a quick note to let you know I haven't abandoned you!! I've been busily working on my remodeling this week with very little time to stamp!!! : ( So not right!! But I have a workshop this afternoon and so this evening I will be uploading some pics of my stamp room to give you an idea of my progress so far. The last piece to go in is the wood floor which is being worked on today!!! I am so excited!!

Plus today is Featured Stamper day on SCS, so don't forget to check that out!! CuttersCallous, aka RoseAnn is our FS this week! I have my card picked out and ready to go when I come back from my workshop!!

Take care and Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Christmas Cards Galore!!!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving Day yesterday!!! I spent the day with my son's girlfriend's family, and talk about the food her mom made!!! I think I gained 10lbs!!! And how many of you ventured out for Black Friday shopping today?? Not me! I've done that for many years and it gets a little tiresome after awhile. I am going out after I post this, but to Home Depot to look at items for my soon to be completed new Stamp Room!!!!!! Besides I have a lot of my Christmas shopping done. On to the cards!! All 4 cards I have to show you are Christmas cards as I am working on completing them with each of the SCS challenges I do.

The first card is for the color challenge this week of Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink and Shimmery White.

I've wanted to try the layout of the card on the front cover of the November Paper Crafts mag, and so that is what I did for this card. The sample card did not have a sentiment on it and is regular size, but I made mine 5" square and added a sentiment. I wanted to keep the angular feel of the main image panel with the sentiment panel so I only punched 3 corners with the tag corner punch. I used Wild Wasabi textured for the card base.

My second card is for Sketch Challenge 151. A very simple, and easily reproducible layout, for this week. For the main image I used my Cuttlebug snowflakes folder and did the Cuttlebug Smoosh technique from the Oct/Nov '07 Technique Junkies newsletter. A very fun and easy technique to do!

I used Pretty in Pink textured as my base, Cranberry Crisp (need to use this up!) and white from PaperTrey. This paper is heavier and embosses great! My ink I used on the snowflakes is the Cotton Candy spectrum pad.

The main image snowflake and sentiment were stamped in silver metallic and embossed in silver. I did tool distressing on the Cranberry panel edges. Faux brads punched from silver cardstock complete it!

The third card is for Ways to Use It 141 - Faux Stitching. I have some card bases left from last Christmas I found and so I am using those up as well!!

My faux stitching is done with the x's from All In A Row in black craft. Beate does this all the time, and I have tried it a few times with so, so results, but this time I think they came out pretty good! I used Dashing dp on here along with Always Artichoke and Naturals Ivory.

My flower is from Time Well Spent, a new level 3 hostess set coming out in the Spring/Summer 08 catalog. This was gift to demos from SU! How sweet was that!!

My intent here was to create the look of a poinsettia, or a Christmas type flower, and I think I did ok. I used my Bravo Burgundy marker on the outside edges and a blender pen to draw the color into the flower. I did the same thing on the leaves.

A few buttons and some ribbon and this card is done!!!

My fourth, and last card, is for Limited Supplies challenge 141 - Sensational Snowflakes. For this challenge you could only use snowflakes, one sentiment, main colors had to be neutrals, one embellishment, one speciality tool and just a touch of color.

I decided to go with the blacks and grays, just to see how they would look in this combo. Again, I did the Cuttlebug Smoosh with the snowflakes folder using Going Gray ink. Some wide white gg and a touch of blue taffeta, and it's done!!


Well I'm off to Home Depot and such for items I NEED for my new stamp room!!




Take care and Happy Stamping!!



~~~Ann~~~

Believe in Santa

Most of you know by know on Sunday SCS has the Featured Stamper, and this week it is Shelly aka Papermoon04!! What a fabulous gallery!! You have to check out the FS for this and see all of Shelly's great work.

I had a hard time picking out just one card, and then I saw this card here: I Believe . I just received my Santa from Lizzie Anne Designs and I knew this was a great chance to use!!

The changes I made were:

*Colors, stamps*I used brads in the right upper corner instead of eyelets

*I placed my sentiment on an oval punched piece on the lower left

*I ran my ribbons under the vertical panel

*My dp is layered on colored cardstock

I embossed Santa in black and colored him in with different mediums. On his hat I used Reneejul's No Copics, No Problem! technique, on his face I used the Blush Blossom marker and his beard, mustache and eyebrows were done with my Signo white gel pen. I used a small pom pom for the ball of his hat.


Nothing major to describe about my card except how I colored Santa.

My second card uses Beate's week end sketch and a new technique from Technique Junkies: Cuttlebug Smoosh! Check out TJ from the link in side bar for more info on the fabulous newsletter Pat puts out every other month!

I joined in the TJ swap and this is my swap card. I used the snowflakes folder and Cotton Candy spectrum pad for my main image. I also used PaperTrey's white cardstock for the embossing. Since it is heavier weight than SU's! I think you get a deeper embossed image.

And since I like to use more non-traditional colors for Christmas, I went with Cranberry Crisp, Pretty in Pink, Always Artichoke and Brushed Gold. I used my crimper on the Artichoke strip to give even more dimension to the card.

The single snowflake is from Season of Joy stamped in whisper white craft and embossed in white ep. The sentiment is from So Many Sayings stamped in Artichoke and punched out with the WW punch and layered onto both oval punch pieces. I took the plunge and cut my So Many Sayings apart and mounted them on EZ Mount and use them with a clear block. This makes this so much easier to use this set!!!

Well this makes 2 more Christmas cards done!! How are your's coming???


Take care and Happy Stamping!!


~~~Ann~~~

Simply Thanks from the Heart

Hello fellow stampers!! Fridays mean Limited Supply Challenge over on SCS! For this challenge you have to follow the list, which is:

A) Use 2-3 stamps - one should be a heart image or sentiment.
B) Choose one designer paper pattern OR one embellishment.
C) Choose one specialty tool. (Optional)
D) Limit the layers.
E) Use any coloring tools.

On my card I used exactly 3 stamps: 2 hearts and a sentiment from Simply Said. This is the set I thought of immediately after I read the first "rule"! And since this set is a 2 step stampin' set, it took up 2 stamps right off the top. I wanted to use Linen on the Only Orange layer, but I couldn't.

The layout I used came from the new Paper Crafts magazine I received today. It is the January recipe 2 on page 30. I opted for an embellishment instead of dp because of the layout. This gives the feeling of a hanging picture on your card. I used Vanilla wide grosgrain.

My speciality tool I used is the Martha Stewart scallop border punch I recently bought. I love how this looks when completed.

My color scheme came from a card I saw on SCS using Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie and Cool Caribbean. I really miss Cool Caribbean, but I stocked up on it as much as I could in June!! I used Chocolate Chip textured here.

I really did limit my layers on this card. Actually the hardest part of this card was running the ribbon through the front image. Overall this card probably took me 30 minutes to make.

Take care and Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Featured Stamper Sunday - Stampowl!

Hello my fellow stampers!! Today is FS day on SCS. Beth chose Stampowl aka Frances for the honor this week. If you have time stop on over to SCS and check out FS40 for the link to her gallery. Frances has some unique and beautiful cards. The card I chose to CASE she made from Sissix dies, but I used a stamp set. You can see her card here: 1st Birthday Card.

The changes I made are:

*Stamp set instead of Sissix dies - I used Zoofari

*Colors - I used Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky, Ruby Red and Naturals White (This weeks Color Challenge)

*Sponged my sky and made clouds with cutouts

*Added the photo corners and brads

*Kept mine a birthday card, but changed the sentiment

Now for some details about the card. I made my grass my cutting small snips in the cardstock and then just fanned them out.

The rhino and zebra were first stamped in black craft and then embossed with black ep. I used my watercolor wonder crayons to color them in. The monkey was stamped in Chocolate Chip and colored with the WWC as well. It seems every time I use this set that little guy somehow makes onto the card!! He's a scamp!

The birds were colored with the Ruby Red marker omitting the legs so they look they are flying. I distressed the edges of the Soft Sky base and I'm done!

I had fun making this card as it will be for my nephew for his birthday. As he has a twin sister, I will make another but in girly colors for her.

Take care and Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Santa's Workshop and I've Been Tagged!!

Hello my fellow stampers!! Wow, I didn't realize I hadn't posted in awhile! Sorry about that. What I have to show you today are the projects my guests made at my recent Santa's Workshop I held. I charged $15 for the class, and I really should have charged $20 or $25. The projects included:

*3 Christmas cards - everyone made 2 of each

*An altered mini book, jumbo paperclip bookmark and decorated pen

*3 3 x 3 gift cards - everyone made 2 of each design

*A decorated gift bag and tag

*Hanging coaster photo display

*Set of binder clip photo holders

The class was scheduled for 3 hours and everyone took the entire class time to make this projects!! But we were also laughing, talking and eating as we stamped!! I have a couple more of my customers who were unable to make it last Sunday and so I am doing a class for them this Saturday.

Now, on to the tagging!! Michelle S. of Wanna Stamp, tagged me on October 31st. Sorry Michelle I didn't notice sooner!


Ok, as I said before... Michelle tagged me, and I had to do the following:

1. Link to the person that tagged you. (*done!*)

2. Post 7 random/weird facts about yourself on your blog (can I really come up with 7?!).

3. Tag 7 people at the end and link to their blog.

4. Leave comments on each blog you tag so they know their tagged!!

My 7 random/wierd facts:

1. I recently turned 41, I have a 20 1/2 years ols son who graced me at an early age with a grandson who is now 2 1/2 (you do the math!!!) and I live with 4 cats!!!

2. My friends call me Annabanana or Annabelle! OR they call me "The Crazy Cat Lady"!!

3. I am newly single and loving !!!

4. I am renovating/remodeling my entire home RIGHT now and hope to be done by January!! Am I crazy or what????

5. I am a nurse professionally and obtained my master's in Nursing Education in 2006 and start work as a clinical instructor at a local community college in January.

6. I live in Michigan and can't stand the cold winter months!!

7. I've been on medical mission trips to San Cristobel, Guatemala.

Now for my 7 fellow bloggers to tag!! Aren't they in for a surprise!!

1. Fat Cat Stamper - Danielle's blog is filled with awesome and amazing designs and projects!!

2. INKspired Treasures - Connie is a fellow Technique Junkie and a design team member for TJ.

3. Just Give Me Stamps - Anyone who visits SCS on a regular basis knows just what a fabulous stamper and creator Laurie is! And she is currently a part of the Dirty Dozen!!

4. Kimm's Daily Grace - Kimm is a wonderful stamper and also a fellow Technique Junkie!! Her blog is full of beautiful creations!

5. kwernerdesign - Kristina has an amazing and delightfully simple approach to her card designs!! You'll love it!

6. Stamping Therapy - This is the blog by Jen70 from SCS. She does the Limited Supplies challenge every Friday and has a Saturday challenge on her blog! She does the most adorable and darling cards.

7. The Crafty Cat - Michelle has a great style to her cards and she has become a good cyber friend of mine!!

Well, there's my 7 bloggers for everyone to check out! I hope I provided some new blogs for all of you to visit. Each wonderful lady I listed has an amazing talent and flair to her creations!

I'll have more cards and such for you soon, I promise!! I have two on my table right now that are just about done!

Take care and Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Sending a Friend Smiles

Hello stampers and fellow bloggers!! Well I'm up late again tonight and Beth, MyPrecious on SCS, posted the Featured Stamper so I played now!! This week's FS is nitestamper. She has an amazing style and and wonderful layouts on her cards. As I've said before, the layout is what usually draws me to a card and that was no exception with this week either. Here is a link to her card I cased: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/657967?cat=500&ppuser=10116

The changes I made are:

*Stamp set: True Friend, Linen, Thoughtful Phrases from Verve Visual
*Colors: River Rock, Choc. Chip, Close to Cocoa, Wild Wasabi, Really Rust, Very Vanilla, Apple Cider dp

*I used the photo corners punch for the main image

*Omitted brads on the ribbon and used hat pin and pearls from my Pretties Kit

*Distressed the Really Rust, Choc. Chip and Wild Wasabi panels with distressor tool

On my flower I stamped this three times in Choc. Chip, Really Rust and Wild Wasabi and then cut it out at different points. The middle and top layers are up on dimensionals. The entire main image panel is up on foam tape. I stamped Linen in Close to Cocoa, very lightly, and sponged the edges.

Looks like a lot of work, but surprisingly it came together very quickly. If you are so inclined, take a trip over to the Featured Stamper forum and look at nitestamper's gallery. I'm sure you'll find some more inspiration!!

Take care and Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Kindred Spirits & More!!

Hello fellow stampers!!

I have some creations to finally share with you!! My first card is from last Wednesday's SC (10-17-07). I placed an order with PaperTrey and bought some of their white cardstock. Talk about heavy and durable cardstock!! This is perfect for using as a base card. I will still continue to use my SU! white for stamped images and such, but SU!'s white is rather light to use for a base card. On this card I used Garden Silhouettes as my focal image and went with a pink/brown combo. I love pink and brown together.

I used my SU! markers to color the image and then stamped onto the cardstock. I lightly sponged the edges in Pretty in Pink & Close to Cocoa. The larger piece of dp is from Apple Cider which is in the Holiday mini, as well as the chocolate satin ribbon. I overlayed a piece of pink taffeta with that.

The smaller pink/white panel is first stamped with Linen in Close to Cocoa and overstamped with the polka dots from the Happiness BG stamp in Pretty in Pink. Light sponging of the edges in Close to Cocoa. The dp is from Petals and Paisleys and was a scrap from a former project. This is the negative piece from the punch out with Square Steps.

The flowers on the main image come from PaperTrey are made by Maya Road and are velvet!! So yummy! The main panel is up on foam tape.

My next SC card is this week's sketch. This week Roxie set some ground rules: the left panel had to be asymmetrical and not touch either end of the base card, the top panel could not touch the left panel and had to be wider than it is tall. She also suggested we use lots of hardware!!

So I was itching to use my Wanted set again with some of the Outlaw dp I haven't used yet. My colors I chose were Sage Shadow, Choc. Chip, Natural Ivory with a hint of Really Rust.

All of the base panels are distressed with my disstessor tool and the bottom panel is inked with Sage Shadow. The main image panel was done in a collage effect and overstamped with Linen in Choc. Chip, 3rd generation.

My western medallion was stamped in Really Rust and rock n rolled in Choc. Chip, punched with the scallop circle and layered on a copper scallop. This was adhered with foam tape. The copper brad finishes it off.

I went to a craft store on Monday called Crafts 2000, and bought this really neat mobile scrapbooking cart to help me keep things handy while I do my room renovations. This cart can store a ton of stuff!! It came with the 4 hanging files, 2 baskets and four shelves. The plastic bins under the files I purchased separately and they store extra 12 x 12 paper, chipboard and other stuff. It also rolls around easily. Here is a pic:

Well, that's all I have for now! I am working on some more creations to show you and will post more over the weekend.

Take care and Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

So Sorry for the Quiet!

Hello my fellow stampers and blog readers!! Sorry I have not posted in a few days. I do have some great card creations to show you too!! I will get those up and posted hopefully tonight!

Sometimes it's a little difficult to stamp while you are trying to work on home improvement projects that have needed to be done for quite some time. And this is exactly why I have been so quiet!! Some of my stamping supplies are in another room, or will soon been packed up as make the switch to a bigger room. I have plenty of before pics and will take after pics when I'm done to show what I've been working on.

I also have a Santa's workshop class coming up on November 4th I have been preparing for and I am doing a Women's Holiday Expo on November 3rd!! Next week-end will be a busy one!

Take care and know that I have not gone too far!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Opulent Birthday Wishes

Hello stampers and friends!! So sorry for being away for a few days! :( Have you ever started home improvement projects that just seem to take on a life of their own?? Well that is what I am in the midst of now!! As you know from my previous posts I am going through a divorce and my soon-to-be-ex-husband did move out last Saturday. I am very thankful to my Lord in Heaven for how uncomplicated this whole thing has been. Needless to say, now I am starting on my remodeling projects that have been on hold for quite some time. And I'm not talking just one project, no I have to tackle multiple projects!! Some of the renovations are being completed by professionals, such as my wood flooring and new carpeting, but all of that id dependent on me pulling up old carpet and such! Which means I have had limited time for stamping, much to my dismay!! Never fear though I do have stamping projects coming up which will be posted.

The card for today is for the Limited Supply challenge on SCS. This week's theme is Quick & Easy. While this card may look like it took awhile to complete, in reality it took me only about 25 minutes to put together. The hardest part was deciding which colors to use!! I already knew what stamp set I wanted to use.

For Limited Supplies we could use one flower stamp, inked once and we could do generation stamping with this stamp if we wanted. One swirl stamp and a sentiment were the other allowable stamps. Our layers were to be self limited, we could use plain and patterned paper, the only embellishment allowed was ribbon and we could use any type of "quick" tools such as punches, Cuttlebug, etc.

Since I just received Garden Silhouettes I wanted to use the flower branch from that set and I used the swirl from Baroque Motifs. My sentiment came from Circle of Friendship. The colors I opted for Orchid Opulence, Basic Black, Wild Wasabi text. and Whisper White. The patterned green panel from last summers Petal Patch.

I used my Orchid Opulence, Certainly Celery and Elegant Eggplant markers to color the flowers and stamped 3 times on the WW panel. Some light sponging in Orchid Opulence around the edges finished off the main panel.

I used Wild Wasabi ink on the wasabi panel with the Baroque Motif swirl. The remainder of the card is pretty self explanatory.

Take care and Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Happy Birthday Jennifer!!

Hello everyone!! I know I've been gone for a few days and I am so sorry!! But you know how life intrudes on our plans at times and this week that has happened almost everyday!! My soon-to-be-ex-husband is FINALLY moving out on Saturday and I have been busy packing up all of his stuff and the items we have split. Just let me say this is the strangest divorce I could have ever imagined!! LOL!! But it is a very amicable one, and for that, I am very happy. For anyone who read my blog in early August, Discussion with Self!, this is one of those items which needed to be dealt with. Enough of me and onto the card!

Wednesdays are sketch challenge days on SCS, which I love. Sometimes, for me anyway, the hardest part of putting the card together is coming up with a layout that I like. I may have all the right colors to go with the right stamp set, but I get hung up on layout. That is where the sketch challenges come in very handy. I also look through my card magazines, my current and old SU! catalogs and I have a "Cookie Cutter" template book from Simply Sentiments I refer to also.

For this week's challenge Roxie asked us to please follow the sketch as is and try not to do any tweaking. I did not tweak at all!! The fold is on the left and on the right side you cut off 1" so you can see the inside also. With the 1" inside panel you could decorate with stamps, designer paper or whatever.

I already knew what set I wanted to use, Make A Wish, by Gina K. for a birthday card for my sister. And then I looked at my cardstock and decided to use a color I haven't used in awhile, which would be Pixie Pink. I referred to my Color Coach to see what colors went well with Pixie Pink and Green Galore and Certainly Celery were both listed. As I played around with these I thought the two greens just didn't stand apart enough and the Pixie Pink was still overwhelming them. So throw in the Basic Black! OK, not bad but the Green Galore just wasn't doing enough for me, so took that out and played around some more with just the Pixie Pink, Cert. Celery and Black. Love this combo!! I used a piece of the Cert. Celery dp on my inside 1" strip and went from there.

I used my Watercolor Wonder Crayons to color the main image. The large white panel is stamped with Cert. Celery in Linen and sponged in the same around all the edges. The sentiment was stamped three different times in Pixie Pink craft ink and heat embossed with clear ep. I had to "stack" the saying in order to make it fit the panel.

My main image is up on foam tape and three different ribbons and eyelets finishes it off!!

Now lets hope I don't forget to mail the card! I can't forget her birthday since she is exactly 7 years younger than me as she was born on my 7th birthday!! Our birthday is October 22nd.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

One Touch of Nature

Hello everyone!! It's Sunday once again and that means Featured Stamper day on SCS!! This week's FS is Anna Wight AKA SweetMissDaisy. She has an amazing gallery of beautifully watercolored images and creations. She is one talented artist! If you haven't already check out the FS challenge on SCS today!

Since I finally broke down and ordered Touch of Nature, I really wanted to use that set on my FS card. Well Anna has a card with this set in her gallery that I just fell in love with!! Usually when I pick out a FS card to CASE, I am looking at the different layouts used and then I change the other elements, like the stamp set, colors and so on. However, when I found this card: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/231241?cat=500&ppuser=53903 I just knew this was the one I wanted to do.

Here's what I changed:

*Colors - Basic and Going Gray reg and Basic Gray textured, WW text., Pretty in Pink, Rose Red dp

*Added an additional layer under the main BG panel and used Linen BG stamp on WW panel

*Distressed the Going Gray and Pretty in Pink edges with the distressor tool

*Used dp on my middle layer on the image panel

*Placed two non SU! gray brads in opposite corners

*Used the sentiment from Touch of Nature, layered it and placed it in a different spot

*Used a pewter swirl clip and Pomegranate satin ribbon

*Used white/gray fibers on bottom of image panels

On the WW BG panel I stamped Linen in Going Gray after stamping off once first. The fern leaf was stamped in Going Gray and then stamped over the Linen. All of the WW panels are sponged with Going Gray.

The bird was watercolored with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons. Both the sentiment and image panels are up on foam tape.

Thanks for looking and stopping by!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Three Challenges in One!!

Hello everyone!! This doesn't happen very often, but my first card I have to show you combines this week's color combo, sketch challenge and the ways to use it challenge!!

The Ways to Use It challenge was just luck on my part last night. I was working on my card and needed to put some ribbon on there and decided to put the Blue Bayou double stitched ribbon over the twill tape to help set it off.

The color combo for this week was Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip and River Rock. I started working on one card and the way I was using the colors was just not working for me, so I checked to see if Roxie had posted the SC yet and happily it was up!! So I started over and this is what I came up with.

I really like this sketch and it actually comes from one of the former Featured Stampers: annieht. And this is the same layout of her card that I chose to case at that time.

I used Autumn Fest and created a collage effect on the main panel with most of the colors stamped off once or twice to keep them from overwhelming the card. I first stamped the main panel and sentiment panel with Linen in River Rock and then went from there. The clear button was from the first card I started on and I thought it looked good here.

I'm sending this out to my mother just because. She'll think I want something!!! LOL!!

The next two cards are from a recent workshop I did, and both used twill tape so they fit the Ways to Use It challenge. I really like using twill tape because it is so versatile. And it comes in three different sizes so you really can do a lot with it!

On the first card I used Wanted and the Outlaw dp that goes so well with this set. On the left sided strip I used the reverse side of the large panel piece. The stars were stamped in Sage Shadow and then punched out with the star punch. Perfect match!!

I used the small size of twill tape to make the two side tabs and attached them with copper brads. The main image panel is up on dimensionals. Stamp a sentiment and you're done!!

The third card uses the largest size of twill. When I came up with this card I was just playing around with layout and ideas and this is the finished product. I have so many scraps that I have been trying to use them up in my classes and clubs and not cut into more cardstock unless I have to!!

I certainly would not have guessed that Pumpkin Pie and So Saffron would go so well together, but they do! The twill is held on with four brads; two Pumpkin Pie and two So Saffron. We also frayed the the ends of the twill slightly to just add a little bit of texture to the card. That is another neat thing you can do to the twill tape.

The main image panel is up on dimensionals. The monkey decided he needed to hitch a ride on the rhino, but I couldn't get the masking to work for me so I did some paper piecing to avoid making the monkey look as if he was cut in two by the rhino!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Blog Candy winner is....

Hello everyone!! The random generator chose lucky #23 as the winner!!! And she is....

doverdi said...
Congratulations on your 500+ hits. I guess I'm lucky #23 if the count is correct. Thanks for sharing your creativity & talent & the chance to win.
September 26, 2007 6:08 PM

Please email me your snail mail address to pinkstamper06@yahoo.com and I will get your goodies in the mail!!

Again, congratulations!!

And a big THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by and entered my blog candy contest!! I appreciate each and everyone of your comments!!


Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

A Quick Fix!!

Hello everyone!!

Monday's are always crazy for me, as I know they are for a lot of you!, so I don't always get a chance to play in the Try a New Technique challenge on SCS. Today, however, I had a chance to play and what fun it was.

The challenge is to case one of your own cards, but the twist is you have to change only the stamp set and possibly the sentiment!!! You could not change anything else about the card. Paper, colors and such had to all remain the same.

The colors I used are Taken with Teal, Cool Caribbean, Always Artichoke, and watercolor paper. You can't see it very well, but I dry embossed the large oval with my Crop-A-Dile. The main image and sentiment are up on foam tape.

I chose to case this card of mine and I changed the set from Close As a Memory to the flower stamp from Year after Year and the sentiment from God's Way. I also watercolored the image as opposed to water misting the colored image on the stamp.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Wishing You Peace

Here is my second card for the Featured Stamper today on SCS. Again, still playing with my Make A Wish set.

This is the card from Jenn that cased: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/356747?cat=500&ppuser=1037

I don't have any of the Fabriano notecards, at least not yet yet!! There were two reasons why I wanted to case this card; One since I have a difficult time doing one layer cards and Two I wanted to try the masking technique I did on this card. I know this is not a new technique, but it is one that I have not gotten around to trying.

Since I do not have the notecard Jenn used, I went with Shimmery White and placed it on an Elegant Eggplant base card. My oval frame was sponged in Almost Amethyst. The flower is stamped in Elegant Eggplant and Always Artichoke and then stamped three times without re-inking. I also stamped the saying in Elegant Eggplant.

I used the ticket corner punch just for some drama. The ribbon is silver trimmed organdy I bought last year during the Christmas season. I think I finally found the right way to tie a simple, yet pretty, knot in my ribbon. Check out http://www.kwernerdesign.com/ for a video Kristina taped showing how she ties her knots. Awesome!!

That's all for today!! I need to finish up on the project I am teaching on October 6th, which World Card Making Day. I'll post a pics when I finish it.

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Have a Happy Bday!!

Hello everyone!! It's Sunday and you know what that means!! Featured Stamper day on SCS!! Today the FS is Jenn Balcer. She is very involved with the operations at SCS and a terrific stamper and scrapbooker!! And not only is her gallery filled with awesome and beautiful creation, but she shares pictures of stamping events she attends with other SCSers!! I really like that so I can put faces with screen names and learn their real names. You know where the link is for the FS! Go check it out, you wont be disappointed!

After browsing through Jenn's gallery I decided on a birthday card she made last year with one of the SAB sets. Since I am still playing with my new Gina K. set, Make a Wish, I thought a male birthday card would be perfect. Here's the card of Jenn's I chose: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/186666?cat=500&ppuser=1037

This was a quick and easy card to put together, especially since men don't like all the frilly stuff we ladies do. Here's the changes I made from Jenn's card:

*Colors more appropriate for a man: Not Quite Navy, Bashful Blue, Al. Artichoke & Nat. White
*Stamp set - I used Make a Wish
*I used my CB Happy B-day folder instead of a BG stamp
*I added another layer under the CB panel
*I did sponging on all the Naturals White panels
*My ribbon is Navy organdy and is with a pewter swirl clip
*I used my tag corner punch on all the panels

The main images are up on foam tape. I colored my cake image with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and blender pen. No distressing on this one!!

I'm working on another as I found so many wonderful ideas, and I'll post that as soon as I finish it!!

Thanks for stopping by!! Don't forget the Blog Candy contest! I will draw the winner on Tuesday around 12 noon!!

Happy Stamping!!


~~~Ann~~~

A Pink Pillow Hello!!

For today's Inspiration challenge, Karen presented us with a square throw pillow in pinks and brown with butterflies on it. I was really drawn to this pillow since I love pink & brown together and the butterflies were just the icing on the cake!! Make sure to check out the IC link in the side bar.

I decided to use an old sketch challenge #141 (not to old), but for some reason I wasn't "feeling" the sketch that week, but right away I knew this sketch is what I needed for this card.

Most of the stamping and layering I did here is self explanatory. I used the butterfly from Garden Whimsy for my main image. I inked it in Pretty in Pink and used my Choc. Chip & Regal Rose markers to highlight the wings and body. Light sponging in choc. chip was done on the edges. For this sketch the main image panel is diamond shape and Roxie wanted us to keep it that, but I forgot as I was cutting cardstock so I improvised and used the Choc. Chip panel as my diamond. I distressed the edges on this panel with my distressor tool.

On the base card I used my Whimsy wheel in PIP for a light BG look. The WW textured strips were done using Seeing Spots in PIP, Choc. Chip and Regal Rose. I stamped the CC and RR off once so they didn't overwhelm the card.

I kept my embellishments simple since the pillow also has a simple look to it. One rhinestone square fire brad and silver brads, along with a strip of white taffeta ribbon tied with pink organdy. I really miss the organdy ribbon SU! had. The main image panel is up on dimensionals. I wasn't sure about putting a sentiment on here since that would mean another layer so I almost left it off, but I saw my Happy Hello (from the now retired AYC1) and knew that would be perfect!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Wishes and More Wishes!!

Hello everyone!! I am completely blown away with all my Blog Candy entries and your wonderful compliments!! I love to visit different blogs and learn new tips or techniques I haven't tried. Thank you again for visiting my blog and your comments.

I have two creations for you today. I am still playing with my new Gina K. Designs stamp set and working on my sample for my class next Saturday.

As you know on Friday's it's Limited Supply Challenge day and Jen gave us a Halloween twist!! For this challenge you are to use a Halloween stamp with a non-Halloween sentiment or words. Since I only have one Halloween set, Booglie Eyes, I decided to use Dracula with the wishing you well sentiment from the Make A Wish set. How many Dracula's do you know who send well wishes?? LOL!

As with all the LSC challenges items need to be limited. We are to self-regulate the amount of embellishments, layers and such. On this card I used two different embellishments: wide black gingham and black button brads.

I stamped Dracula on WW textured in black staz on and used my Watercolor Wonder Crayons. I finished with sponging on the edges in Pumpkin Pie. Of course I had to put googly eyes on him!! The black scallop is the Marvy mega and I punched the holes with the 1/8" handheld punch.

On the Pumpkin Pie piece I used my crimper in the middle and then experimented with my ticket corner punch. I took off the guard and punched a reverse scallop on the ends and used the 3/16" handheld punch.

I used my distressor tool on the Old Olive panel and that's it! This was a quick and easy card to make.

My second card is for Beate's weekend sketch challenge. This week she had a File Folder card to make. Check it out her blog on my side bar.

For this I used the star cluster stamp from Make A Wish. I was going to watercolor my images, but as I was positioning cardstock and such, I thought about cutting out the stars in different pieces of cardstock. The star image panel is up on foam tape. I also used my color spritzer in Old Olive and sponged the edges in Only Orange. My base card is Only Orange, with a Wild Wasabi layer and textured pattern dp by K & Co.

I used twill tape as my wrap and this also keeps the card closed. However, I think the next one I make I will use sticky strip to keep the card closed and the ribbon will only be for added embellishment.

To make the stars on the front, I used SU!'s star punch to punch out two and then used my sponge in Only Orange to stencil them. The "NOW" is handwritten in Old Olive. My idea is this will be for someone who has graduated, gotten their first job, promotion or their dream job.

The insert is Wild Wasabi textured and WW. I stamped a saying from In My Thought's (SU!) and Make a wish!. I stamped the stars after coloring them with SU! markers. The roundtab punch piece is WW textured, sponged in Wild Wasabi and 3 punched stars on top.

I think I may have gone overboard on the stars!!! But I like the end result.

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~