Kathleen's Christmas Gift

Hello all!!! Here's another gift set I made for another good friend of mine, Kathleen. I met her about three years ago at a vendor fair and she's been hooked ever since!! So not only did I gain a good customer, but a even better a friend!!

I had displayed the framed card I gave my friend Deb at club this month and Kathleen just fell in love with it! So, I knew what I wanted to do for her Christmas present.

Again, the frame came from the clearance rack at TJMaxx for $5.50 and initially was pink! And a little beat up, but I knew I could cover that with paint. I used cream colored acrylic craft paint for the frame.

Now she LOVES purple and her entire bedroom is done in purples and the shabby chic style, so that is what I was going for. The background dsp is the retired set that went with Carte Postale. (Can't remember the name!!) The size of the frame is 5 x 7.

The "artwork" starts with a base of Shimmery White, 3 x 5 1/2, I think! I used a scrap piece of card stock to create my inside mask so I could evenly score an inside frame. Not as evident in the photo, but it's there!

Next I cut three pieces of card stock in Pale Plum, Kraft and Kiwi Kiss. These pieces fit just inside the scored frame. The Kraft piece was stamped with Soft Suede using the grass from Inspired by Nature, which the cone flower also is from. I then torn the edges, just to add a little character.

The flower was colored with my Old Olive, Choc. Chip and Perfect Plum markers and stamped onto Shimmery White. I outlined the flower edges with my Elegant Eggplant marker, but it didn't show like I hoped. Once I cut the flower out, I mounted it onto the card base with dimensionals. I used a flower button from the Playground set and some off-brand stick on pearls.

The neat thing about this is what I used for the "glass". I knew the glass that came with the frame was going to be too thick once I added the button and pearls, so I got out my thick window sheets and cut it to fit the frame! Perfect replacement!! I initially just place the window sheet in the frame and then laid the artwork over it, but once I had the back closed I could tell where the window sheet gave away at the edges, and I didn't want dust and dirt getting in. So, I ran sticky strip around the inside frame and then laid the window sheet back down.

Around the edges of the frame, the raised swirly parts, I very gently and lightly, daubed the Champagne Mist shimmer paint until I had the look I was going for. I did it a little heavier on the inside scrolls and lighter on the outside.


I also made her a set of 12 monogrammed notecards, again using the purples! The card base is Pale Plum and I used Rick Razzleberry and the purple dsp from Rallzeberry Lemonade.

These cards also use the new Butterfly embosslit, available January 5th, and the new scallop edge punch. The frame stamp is one of the Sale-A-Bration sets, Vintage Labels, which you can earn for free with a $50 order in Jan, Feb and Mar!!!! Her initial was stamped in Pale Plum with the Lovely Letters set.

I also threw in some older SAB sets I had, which she didn't, and of course chocolate!! It was a hit.

Happy Stamping and Happy New Year!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #71 - Background Stamping

Hello all! I hope everyone had a fun and enjoyable time over the Christmas holiday.

This past Thursday the Ways to Use it challenge was to use your background stamps as a focal image. As I was working on my card I thought this would be a good, and easy, challenge for us this week!

I have a SAS next month and was working on putting together some card ideas. What could be easier than using an elegant background stamp to create a quick and striking birthday card.

I stamped the Bella Toile in black staz-on to get that rich black color, onto Whisper White. The WW part is actually the card and it's backed on a piece of Basic Black.

Again, keeping the sentiment panel and embellishments simple, I stamped the saying in black staz-on and added a piece of black gingham. The panel is up on dimensionals.

This took me all of 15 minutes, at the most, for me to put togther! That doesn't happen very often for me!

So, the challenge this week is to get out those background stamps, or wheels, and create a card, project or scrapbook page that highlights those backgrounds.

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by January 2, 2010 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 GCA71 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~~~

Merry Christmas!!!!

Hello all!! Just want to pop on here and wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas! Attached is my Christmas card to all of you! Enjoy!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Deb's Christmas Gift

Hello all!! I hope you are finding time to spend with your family and friends this week, as well as some stamping time! I have the whole week off work and both of my grandsons here! (I have now retreated to my stamp room to preserve my sanity!!! LOL!!)

This gift set I put together for my BFF, Deb. Are 40 year somethings supposed to have BFF's? Too bad, I do! Actually we have been friends since we met in 1990 when we both started our pre -reqs at the community college for the nursing program. We have since gone through our bachelor's and master's programs together and have watched both of families grow through the years. And I wanted to really give her something from the heart this year as she, and her husband, have been so good to me over the past couple of years when I needed it.

She was just amazed at how everything looked liked you would find it in a store! She kept asking me, “Did you really make these?” She knows I stamp and she buys cards from me all the time!! When people only see the cards you make they don't realize all the other possibilities out there too!!



The picture frame I found on clearance at TJMaxx. I backed it with a piece of groom’s dsp and then laid my card front over it. This actually was a card to begin with, but someone suggested I should frame it and so I did! And I think it made a lovely gift.



The candle I just covered up the label on the front and wrapped some ribbon around the neck and the body. And yes, that is a contraband butterfly punch but the current SU! one is too big and my new butterfly embosslit comes today!!!! (Pre-order for the new Occasions mini & SAB starting on January 5th.)



Then I made a set of 10 monogrammed notecards for her. She loves red, so I used my leftover Riding Hood Red and Bella Rose dsp. I am so happy with how they came out.
And, one of the best parts is this only cost me around $10 to put together! I also put some lotion/bodywash in I bought after Christmas last year on clearance. But, most of all she loved it and that is what makes me happy!!



I also gave her the button wreath card I made for GCA68. She thought the buttons were purchased that way and then I put the bird and branch on it. I think I told her three times that put the wreath together myself!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #70 Winner is...

...Wendy!!!! You can see her fabulous card on her blog Got Rubber Will Stamp. She used a pop can to create her fabulous snowflake with the Big Shot!! You must check it out!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and/or played along this week. Sorry I didn't post the winner yesterday. We had our family Christmas with both of my grandsons yesterday and it was one busy day!! LOL! But fun!

I am taking this week off of the GCA with Christmas being this week and I am spending time with my family. I hope you enjoy your family and the most wonderful time of the year! Remember though who is the real reason for this season - Jesus!

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Christmas Memories

Hello all!! Are you getting everything ready for Christmas? My grandson Cameron is coming over tonight through next Tuesday!!! We will probably do our Christmas with him on Sunday. I am so excited to see him open his presents this year. It will also be interesting to see how Malaki reacts to all of this!

In keeping with the Christmas theme and opening presents, I have a 2 page scrapbook layout for you today. These are pictures of my son during his first and second Christmases. This was my first 2 page spread and I came up with the layout on my own!! As I am no seasoned scrapbooker, anytime I can do that I just love it!! LOL!!

The base is Sahara Sand textured with Holiday Lounge dsp, Whisper White and Taken with Teal card stock. I used the sheet with the trees and cut them out for some dimension.

The letters were cut with my Big Shot Billboard alpha strip in Whisper White and backed with Sahara Sand circles. The snowflake punch was used to help fill in some spaces!!

Can't wait to have grandson Christmas pictures to scrapbook this year!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #70 - Non - Traditional Christmas colors!

Hello all!!! How are things going for you this week? Are you feeling the last minute crunch of getting your Christmas cards out, presents bought and wrapped and your family get-togethers planned? I know I still have to get my Christmas cards out!

Well, in helping you get finished, this week we are making Christmas cards, tags, projects,scrapbook pages or anything you come up with, in Non-Traditional Christmas colors!!

What are those you ask? Well, they could be any of the following:

* Pink/Light Green
* Purples
* Oranges
* Browns

Anything that is not your "normal" red/green/gold of traditional Christmas colors.

As you can see, I used anything but traditional colors on this Christmas card! My colors I used are Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Green Galore and Whisper White text. Who knew that Green Galore would this good with Curry and Suede? I used this SU! color combo site to come up with this combo!

This card is serving a two-fold purpose of my sample for this week and is my TJ 1 on 1 card for December. Each month TJ members have the option of joining in a swap with another person. During this swap you receive a card that highlights one of the TJ techniques.

On this card, I used the Fantasy Chalk technique, but I had to alter it a bit after I messed up the first! When you use chalks you need some kind of sealing medium, and usually I have a sealer. But, do you think I could find that sealer?? NO! So I thought I would try using hairspray. It's worked in the past, but you need to make sure that you use aerosol and not the pump kind!!

So I started over and this time I sealed the images with Versamark dazzle and clear ep. Not sure how well the chalks show up, but on the sentiment panel I used a combo of Summer Sun, Green Galore and Creamy Caramel chalks. On the tree panel I used Green Galore.

My layout is sketch #2 in the current issue of Papercrafts.

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 19, 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 GCA70 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 #69 Winner is...

.... paperpapier!!!! You can see her adorable little snowwoman gift box on her blog Paperpapier. Please send me your address to pinkstamper06@yahoo.com and I will get you a goodie package out! Thanks for playing along!

And thank you to everyone else who played along or just stopped by and took a look at my blog!!

Up Next: GCA #70 - Non-Traditional Christmas colors! (You knew I would do this!!)

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Gregory in Circles!!

Hello all!! I've mentioned several times about a wonderful stampin group I am part of, called Utah Divas International. For awhile now I have been one of the blog coordinators and I post a project, either one of mine or one of the other members, every Friday. Well, Max (she's the founder) sent an email out in October and stated she wanted to give the blog coordinators a gift! Of course that meant stamping goodies and mine was the clear circle Big Shot die. Thank you again Max!!

Well, in keeping with the theme for the GCA this week, and not to mention the season, I created this hanging picture display. I'm not sure if I want to keep this for myself or give it to my mom for Christmas!! I think I will make another with pics of Cameron and Malaki and put one of Greg in there at about the same age.

The chocolate chip circles were cut out with the clear circle die and the rest of the circles were cut with the Circle Scissors plus. I also cut out circles from the thin cardboard backing that comes with our dsp packs. That helps gives the "frames" some substance and hopefully not warp or anything.

This is the perfect type of project to use the wide twill tape for. It is attached to the back of the circles with sticky strip and then I put a white 5/16" circle brad to each of the circles. The bottom of the twill tape was frayed by simply pulling one of the loose threads. I love doing this to the twill tape.

There is NO stamping involved in this project at all!! Can you believe it??? I used the Tall Tales dsp and cut out the various animals I wanted from the dsp.

This was fun to make and I hope I have given you some inspiration to create a unique gift for someone you love.

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

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~~~

GCA #67 - Thankful Thoughts

Hello all!! For those of celebrating Thanksgiving this week, a Happy Thanksgiving to you! But, more important we need to remember what Thanksgiving is all about and be aware of what blessings we have in our life. My sample will be up later.

So for this week our creations will be centered around thankful thoughts. Your creation can be either a thank you card, a Thanksgiving day card or a scrapbook page telling us what you are thankful for. Anything is possible to show your thankfulness.

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by November 28, 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 GCA67 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!

There is no winner for last week as there were no entries.

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #66 - Grab a Mask!!

Hello all!! I am so sorry that I wasn't able to post the newest GCA until today. Life just got in the way for a few days.

The challenge for this week is to use the MASKING technique on whatever it is you create. When you click on the link it will take you to the SCS tutorial for masking. This was one of the first techniques I learned as a new stamper, and did I ever say WOW!!

Basically, you need a piece of copy paper or a post it note, to use as your mask. You want to be careful with the images you choose to mask, as you will be cutting out a copy of that image.
For my sample I simply used a 1 3/4" circle punched out of a post-it note. When you do that make sure you have some of the sticky part on your mask. Or you can use removable adhesive.

Since I was going for the look of a wreath on here, I placed my circle mask in the center of the card and then began stamping my image around the circle to create the wreath. I used the snowflake stamp from Berry Christmas, in Old Olive, currently in the Holiday mini. There is a wreath stamp with this set, but I was going for a larger wreath and something a little different. I think I achieved what I wanted. Once I had stamped enough images, I pulled up my mask to check the end result. It needed to have few more images stamped, so I put the mask back down and continued stamping. It's that easy!

To finish the wreath I stamped the holly leaves in Certainly Celery on Certainly Celery card stock. The berries were punched from Melon Mambo with the 1/4" circle punch. I just layered the leaves and berries on until I got the result I wanted.

Now for the rest of the colors on my card, anyone who has come by my blog around Christmas, or knows me, knows how I LOVE to use non-traditional colors for Christmas cards!! This card is no exception. The card base is Shimmery White with a layer of Melon Mambo and then Shimmery White over that. This card actually uses only two colors, plus white, yet the impact those colors make is wonderful.

I used the wonderful new Melon Mambo polka dotted gg, with one piece turned over and the ruffles showing the polka dots. I used a Filigree brad with a pink (fire) circle rhinestone brad in the center. The sentiment is stamped onto Shimmery White and punched out with the Word Window punch and layered on the Old Olive piece punched with the Modern Label. The sentiment panel is popped up with dimensionals.

So, the challenge this week is to create a card, scrapbook page, or project using the masking technique. Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by November 21, 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 GCA66 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 #65 Winner is....

...Irit!!! You can see her fabulous pages on her blog Irit Shalom's Designs. Thank you Irit for playing along this week. I'll get a stampin package out to you this week!

Up next: GCA #66 - Grab A Mask!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #65 - A Scrappin' We Will Go!!

Hello all!!! Sorry for the late post. Today was club day and I am also packing to be out of town all week.

As I've said in previous posts, my club girls want to do more scrapbooking pages and so I really need to practice!! I am not a traditional scrapbooker and therefore I look at my pages more as a card front than a scrapbook. But, like my cards I tend to over do!!!

The page I have for you today is the actual page we did at today at club. The colors we used were different, but the layout was the same as well as the overall theme.

I started this page with a 12 x 12 piece of Creamy Caramel, since my theme was fall. The center mat piece is 8 x 8 from Confetti Cream.

The strips of dsp on the right are from the Autumn Meadows pack out of the Holiday mini. Those are both cut at 10" long and the top piece of dsp is ripped along the edge. A strip of 1/4" Chocolate Chip grosgrain, More Mustard brads and Not Quite Navy buttons finishes the strip off. Not sure if you can see in the picture, but I tied linen thread (LOVE IT) around the ribbon and through the button holes.

The leaves were cut with the Leaves #2 die and my Big Shot. I just received this die and I love it!! So many possibilities and not just for fall. And since I do not have any of the alphabet dies (I know what am I waiting for?) I used one of the sayings from the Bright Blessings jumbo wheel: "Blessings brighten when we count them". This is so true for me and the two little guys and one big guy on this page!!!

On here I have my son Gregory, grandson Cameron and second grandson Malaki. I wanted to put another photo of Malaki on here, but my printer wasn't cooperating with me!

So, the challenge this week is to create a scrapbook page, or a scrapbook theme project, upload it to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by November 14, 2009 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner the next day. You DO NOT have to follow my layout!! If you upload your card to SCS, PaperCraft Planet, Stampin' Addicts or Stamp TV, please put GCA65 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 #64 Winner is....

..... Kate!! You can see her wonderful card on her blog Kate's Creations. Kate please email me your snail mail addy to pinkstamper06@yahoo.com so I can get a stampin' goodie package out to you!

Thanks to all who stopped by and played along this week!!

Up next: GCA #65 - A Scrappin We Will Go!!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Fun with Faux Paper Folding

Hello all!!! Can you believe it - 3 days in a row of posts!!! Seriously, though I am making an early resolution to post more often, share my creations more with the groups I belong to and comment like crazy on creations that come through from other people! I know how much I love to get even one comment, so I am trying to repay that kindness to my fellow stampers.

This is an amazingly easy treat bag to make!! I received one in a recent swap and just knew that I had to CASE it!! This one was made as Halloween treat bag and I did the Faux Paper Folding from Technique Junkies. This is so easy to do too! I was amazed at easy it was.

On the swap I received, made by Robin Spinner, she used the ornament M&S die to create a window. I did the same thing with my Pumpkin sizzlet, but covered it with the faux paper folding. The swirls are made with the Scribbles sizzlet. I used the Modern Label punch with scrap dsp and stamped in Choc Chip "Happy Halloween" with Teeny Tiny Wishes.

As you can see in the photos I attached, I used pumpkin and mustard dsp for inside the pumpkin and the Cast a Spell dsp for the swirls and sentiment tab. I also used my new MS pumpkin punch that I just HAD to have!!

The button is literally tied on with the linen thread through both layers. Once untied the button wont fall off as it is glued on.

I used a cello bag, held in place with sticky strip, for the candy. I put a fun size Milky Way and Reese PB Cup inside.

Off this went to my UDI Stampin' Sis - Carol!! Hope she enjoys it!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

October Just One from Karyn

Hello all!! As you've seen from previous posts, I am a Technique Junkie! I may not do alot of the techniques, but I love learning and seeing the wonderful art that produced by the JT design team! And the JT members!

Every month there is a "Just One" teaming coordinated by Beth U. This is voluntary and sooo much fun! My partner for October was Karyn C. at A Froglady Creation. The idea is to send a card to each other using one of the many techniques available to us.

On this card Karyn used the "Drywall Stitching" technique on the frame. The leaves she used on here are metallic and so shiny and she even put shimmer mist on the scarecrow! There's even a row of metallic leaves inside.

I have gotten some great cards with this swap and love seeing the many different techniques in person.

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Reese's Gratitude - LNS43

Hello all!!! Wanted to share another Late Night Stampers challenge card I did. The challenge last week was to be inspired by a piece of candy for your creation. I chose the Reese PB cup.

Actually, the card came together from scraps that were sitting on my table! I had started a previous card with the "cattails" from Inspired by Nature, but it wasn't working so I went to something else. This piece uses the Gesso Off technique which I learned from the Technique Junkies newsletter. This is a fun technique, but messy!!

The strip of Kraft with the Bright Blessings wheel is left over from a recent club meeting. I just cut out the words from the wheel I had in Old Olive.

Not sure how I feel about the butterfly, but it needed something and this is what I came up with.

Happy Stamping!!


~~~Ann~~~

GCA #64 - Inspired by Art

Hello all!! This week we are using some wonderful artwork pieces to create our own masterpieces!

My sample for you is using the C is for Cat set. This is one of the first sets I bought as I am a major cat lover!! The piece of artwork I used for my inspiration can be found in the Ten Marilyn's poster originally done by Andy Warhol. Hence the name of the technique too!!

I'm sending this off to a very good friend, who also likes cats, and her favorite colors are from the Earth Elements family.

I used Ruby Red, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Dusty Durango, Old Olive, More Mustard, Soft Suede, Autumn Traditions dsp and Confetti White. The difficult part of this type of card is getting your squares the same size and matching them up when you adhere them to your card!

This was also the first time I made the ribbon ruffles, and I like the result on here. The sentiment is popped up with dimensionals and I used felt flowers from Flower Fusion and an EE brad in Ruby Red.

Please take a moment and check out the Fulcrum Gallery and find your inspiration. Either link us to your inspiration piece or describe it to us.

So, the challenge this week is to create a card, project or scrapbook page using one of the art pieces found on the Fulcrum Gallery site, upload it to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by November 7, 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 GCA64 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 #63 Winner is.....

....Olivia!!!! You can see her wonderful creation at Olivia's Creative Quest. I'll be getting you some stampin goodies in the mail this week!! Thanks for playing along again!

And thank you to JuneeRene and SuzARTe for joining in this week too!!!

Up next: GCA #64 - Inspired by Art

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Happy Halloween with love!!!!

Hello all!!! I hope you are having a Happy Halloween and celebrating it in your own fashion. My grandson Cameron is eagerly awaiting trick or treat time! He has been wearing his costume since Thursday night when I picked him up!! He is so cute!

Today I have two creations for you! I know, I know - I don't post all week and then I post two samples at the same time!! LOL!!

My first card is a Halloween card (how fitting, right?) that I made for one of my good customers and friend, Kathleen. I am putting together a little treat bag for her and will take it over to her today.

Since the only Halloween set I have is Halloween Frights, that is what I used! The sketch is SC252 on SCS.

I started out by stamping my trees, from Lovely As A Tree, in black staz on on Whisper White. I then sponged the grass in Certainly Celery and over stamped that with some Old Olive. The night sky was completed the same way with Bashful Blue and Brocade Blue.

The moon was masked with a 1 1/4" circle punched piece and then reversed it to actually sponged the colors for the moon. The base was Summer Sun and I over stamped that with some Going Gray and Basic Gray. Not quite sure how I managed the ring of white around the moon, but I like the effect.

The bats were stamped in basic black craft and clear embossed. I really like how this makes them pop against the sky.

The pumpkins were stamped in Pumpkin Pie, what else right? I then cut them out and popped them up with dimensionals. The middle one is up with two. I then pierced the bottom of the Pumpkin Pie layer.

My dsp is the new Cast-A-Spell (which I love!) even though you don't see much once I put the black panels on. Those panels were embossed with my diamond texture plate, but I didn't mist them first so the impression isn't that great. I used my Modern Label punch and M&S die for the sentiment. The orange ric rak is from last year, but I still have some left! I roughed the edges for added detail.

My second sample is a 12x12 scrapbook page I put together last night! I was so tired when doing this, but I had to be up with my grandson so I needed something to occupy me! And, my club girls this round want to do more scrapbooking, so I need to practice! And, this also qualifies for Shelli's challenge this month to create a scrapbook page!

The adorable little boy on here is my son at different ages in his first year, 1987! It warms my heart to look at these now and see the likeness my two grandsons have to their father.

My layout is based on a scrap map from SU! in 2008. Once I started moving my pictures around, it morphed! I took the colors of red and turquoise from his clothes and added the So Saffron and put it all on a Whisper White textured 12 x 12.

The dsp is the Write Stuff speciality as is the journal block and Flock Together. Since it already resembled notebook paper, I punched holes along the side and tore in between them.

The letters are chipboard, inked in Turquoise and clear embossed. Oh, that was fun!! Here's what the journal block reads:

"Gregory: You bring such joy & love to my life. I was amazed to watch you grow & develop into you during your first year. From learning to walk & discovering you, it just made me even more aware of how much... I Love U."

The hearts are punched with the Full Heart and Heart to Heart punch. I crimped the turquoise ones, but that doesn't show up too well. The circles were cut with my Circle Scissors Plus, which I think we have a love/hate relationship going! LOL!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

A Fall Thank You

Hello all!!

I belong to a wonderful Yahoo group called, Stampin Up Late Night Stampers. Each week, the design team hosts a wonderful challenge and this week it was color combo of Old Olive, Ruby Red and Really Rust. Now I like Old Olive and Ruby Red together, but was a little unsure of the Really Rust. But, I do like how it turned out in the end.

For the large background panel I used a new technique from Technique Junkies, Crinkled BG. I used all three colors and stamped with wax paper onto my card stock. I used my tag punch on each of the corners and shaded with Old Olive and Ruby Red. Then I tried something I've been wanting to try, but just haven't made the time.

I swiped the edges of the panel with my Versamark ink pad, not really paying attention to where it was swiping, and then covered that with clear embossing powder. Not sure how much you can see in the photo, but it makes for nice framed look on the background piece and the main image panel.

I used the row of trees from Lovely as a Tree, inked in Old Olive and then I used my markers in Choc Chip, Ruby Red and Really Rust to add the color. The Ruby Red kind of overpowered the other colors.

The sentiment is from Fresh Cuts and I clear embossed the entire panel after stamping. The frame was cut with one of the dies from Lots of Tags and then I paper pierced the edges.

The flower/leaf design is made from the die Birds with Leaves. I used the pine cone from Lovely as a Tree for the center.

Lots of dimension on this card, as I added dimensionals under the main image panel, the flower/leaf design and on the sentiment panel.

The sketch is from Gretchen Barron at Inspiration in Action. She is a fellow LNS member and she now has her own week end sketch challenges she hosts. This is my first time to play, but I'll be back for more!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #63- Black & White with a touch of Orange!

Hello all!! Since this week ends with Halloween, I thought this weeks challenge should be Halloween themed too! Well, sort of. My sample this week covers two other weekly challenges too!! First the sketch is WSC 103 by Beate and the second is Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply #110 - Feeling Square?

I started out with a square card base, 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 in Whisper White. Then I layered on a piece of dsp from the Night & Day set, which is currently in the Holiday Mini. Actually all the dsp on here is from that set.

My 2 Whisper White squares are 2x2 and layered with a sheet of dsp. I used my black marker to make the dots around the border.

The main black square is 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 and layered with Whisper White and overlaid with the black polka dotted window sheet that comes with the Night & Day dsp.

The ribbon on the top is from last year's ribbon originals, Valet I think. This is ridged velvet. I used a smaller strip for the bow and then put a jumbo silver brad, which I embossed first in black, through the middle. This covers the strip of adhesive along the top.

Along the bottom adhesive strip I put my sentiment strip, made from the Modern Label and Word Window punches and stamped with the thank you from Teeny Tiny Wishes. I used a Fire circle rhinestone brad in Pumpkin Pie to keep with my "Touch of Orange" theme.

The black and white flowers are some I've had forever and as I was cleaning out today I found them! At first I started with just the black flower, but I added the white and really like how it makes the pumpkin pop! The pumpkin is a Martha Stewart punch, which I just HAD to buy because it was on sale at my local LSS.

I hope this inspires you to create a black, white and touch of orange creation this week!!

This week is a color combo of sorts, too. We are going to use the colors of:

Black

White

Orange

The "twist" is to make your card with the majority of Black and White, white only a touch of Orange. That touch of Orange could be in a button, brad, ribbon or punched image from orange card stock. Just remember, the amount of Orange is to be a small amount.

So, the challenge this week is to make a card, project or scrapbook page using Black, White and a touch of Orange, upload it either to your blog, or to an online gallery and post a link to your card to this blog entry as a comment by October 31, 2009 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner through a random drawing and post the next Sunday.


Even if you can't make the drawing deadline, PLEASE feel free to participate in the challenge and upload your creations at any time. I would love to see it! If you upload your card on SCS, Stampin' Addicts or Paper Craft Planet, please put GCA63(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 63) in the keyword section.That way everyone can look at all of the creations at once! If you've been waiting to join in the fun, jump on in and have some fun!! And yes, my challenge is open to everyone who visits, even if you live outside the US!!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #62 Winner is....

.... JuneRenee!!!! You can see her wonderful Halloween colored card on her blog Junque by JuneRenee. Congrats to you June Renee and please email me your address to pinkstamper06@yahoo.com so I can send out a stampin goodie package to you!

And a big thanks to all of you who played along this week. The colors of Halloween, and Halloween in general, was big hit on many blog challenges! And I am astounded by how many of you were able to incorporate multiple challenges into one! Way to go!

Up next: GCA #63 - Black & White with a touch of Orange!

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Halloween EEK!!!!

Hello all!!! Sorry it's been a few days, but I have to hit up the local Big Boy for my Internet connection this week!!! But, I didn't want to miss out on posting.

This Halloween treat bag is actually made from two of the Top Note die cuts. For the middle part I cut strips of card stock and made a pocket, but you could do this with a cello bag or other type of bag.

My stamp set I used is the Sweet Centers set, the Halloween image. I stamped the image twice, once in black and the center image in Old Olive. I punched it out with my 1 3/4" circle punch. I layered this with Old Olive and rounded each of the corners with my corner rounder punch.

The dsp is from the Cast A Spell set, which I just love!!!!! I already have some Halloween scrapbook pages made with this dsp, and I'll post them soon! And next week is Halloween and I will have both of my grandsons this year!!!! Cameron is set to be Spider Man and Malaki is Darth Vader. Leave it to my son to make a 4 month old Darth Vader! Back to the project at hand.

The handles were punched out with the new Modern Label punch. After I took this picture I tied a piece of the Old Olive striped grosgrain around the handles.

The treat cup is filled with brads, clips and other doo-dads that rattle when shaken. They are in the colors of orange, white and copper.

Again, I have to say, if you don't have this Top Note die you don't know what you are missing!!! I love it!

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Crazy Happy Birthday!!

Hello all!!! Since today is my birthday, I thought I would show you a birthday card I made back in 2007!!! I don't think I have posted this on my blog, but it bears a repeat if I have!

This card was for IC80 and if I remember right it was a site of crazy cakes!

I love how this turned how though! Except with the ribbon and the oval overlay you can't see the middle panel.

I took Pink Passion, Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink and swirled the ink on dtp style. I made my stars by just drawing a star on the card stock and then cutting them out. Harder than thought because they were so small!

This was even before the scallop edge punch when I used my slit punch to make scalloped borders!! I hope you enjoy!

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #62 - Colors of Halloween!!

Hello all!! I'm back and ready for another bout of stamping! Not only did I, NOT, get any posts pre-set, but I didn't even get to stamp this past week!!! I believe that I am in withdrawal!

My sample for you this week was created a few backs for a sketch challenge on Stamp TV, hosted by my wonderful friend Charlene of Where M&M's Gather. I am just now getting around to post a pic! Sad, I know! I used the well from a Gina K set, Make a Wish and the bats are from the Halloween Frights set by SU! The dsp is the Cast A Spell and has all the colors for this week's GCA in it!

The skulls are just punched from one sheet of the dsp and then mounted to Old Olive circles. The circle for the main image were cut with the Circle Scissors Plus and then roughed up with my cutter tool. The black circle is actually a piece of the new Groom's dsp, but you don't see much of it.

The pumpkin is super easy to make, too! You need 3 circles, or ovals, of an orange cardstock. (Unless you want your pumpkin another color!!) On here I used three 3/4" circles, and then layered them over each other. The top circle is the one that will be your main pumpkin image and the two background circles are for the width. So, you can play around with the circles and get the size you want. Then to make it look more realistic, I swiped the Pumpkin Pie ink pad over the top and used my Choc Chip marker to create the "ridges". A small scrap of green for the stem and some linen thread for the vines, and you have a pumpkin!

For this week we are getting our inspiration from the colors of Halloween. I am not a big Halloween person, per se, but I do love the colors. This week your creation needs to use at three of the following colors, but DOES NOT have to be a Halloween card!

Green

Purple

Orange

Black

So, the challenge this week is to make a card, project or scrapbook page using any type of Halloween Colors stamps, upload it either to your blog, or to an online gallery and post a link to your card to this blog entry as a comment by October 24, 2009 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner through a random drawing and post the next Sunday.

Even if you can't make the drawing deadline, PLEASE feel free to participate in the challenge and upload your creations at any time. I would love to see it! If you upload your card on SCS, Stampin' Addicts or Paper Craft Planet, please put GCA61(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 61) in the keyword section.That way everyone can look at all of the creations at once! If you've been waiting to join in the fun, jump on in and have some fun!! And yes, my challenge is open to everyone who visits, even if you live outside the US!!!

Happy Stamping!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #60 Winner is...

...actually there are two!!! Both Cathy and Maria are my winners this week!! I will get both of you something special in the mail!!! I do so appreciate you both playing along so faithfully!

This week I am taking a break from the GCA. It has been a very hectic week and even crazier weekend, and I really need to have some down time. I am going to work on getting some posts pre set, so you have something to look at this week. I am, yet again, out of town this week. But good news, I now have my lap top and I can access the Internet!!!

Thank you for understanding and I promise we'll do something really neat for neat! Halloween is coming!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA# 61 - Poppin' Pastels!!

Hello all!!! Now you can't say I didn't give you a heads up that this technique was coming!! This technique has been around for the longest time and is really easy to do! Poppin Pastels can be as detailed and elaborate as you like or clean and simple.

As you can see in the two posts here and here, what different types of styles can be accomplished with this technique.

If you click on the Poppin Pastels link above it will take you to the tutorial on SCS.

I will put up a fresh sample in the next few days as I am in South Haven, MI right now. Spent a wonderful weekend in this lovely little town with my best BFF - Deb! She has a delightful cottage here and I use it when I have to work on the west side of the state.

So, the challenge this week is to make a card, project or scrapbook page using any type of Forest Friends stamps, upload it either to your blog, or to an online gallery and post a link to your card to this blog entry as a comment by October 10, 2009 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner through a random drawing and post the next Sunday.

Even if you can't make the drawing deadline, PLEASE feel free to participate in the challenge and upload your creations at any time. I would love to see it! If you upload your card on SCS, Stampin' Addicts or Paper Craft Planet, please put GCA61(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 61) in the keyword section.That way everyone can look at all of the creations at once! If you've been waiting to join in the fun, jump on in and have some fun!! And yes, my challenge is open to everyone who visits, even if you live outside the US!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #60 Winner is.....

.....Lori!!!! Congrats to you Lori!! You can see her fabulous card on her blog here. Lori please send me your address to pinkstamper06@yahoo.com and I will get you a stampin goodie package!

Thanks to all who played along again this week!!!

Up next: GCA #61 - Poppin' Pastels!!! Did you see that one coming???

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Another Poppin Pastels the Charming Way!!

Hello all!!! I have to show you the second card I made using this fun and quick technique!! Have you tried it yet? You might want to think about it!!!!!

On this card I did double stamping with the versamark and double usage of the chalks. By that, I mean I first stamped the script BG in versamark and went over it with the Pale Plum chalk. Second, I stamped the flower in versamark over the already chalked BG. (See how versatile this technique is?) I then went over the flower with the Elegant Eggplant chalk, carefully so as not to muddy up my colors. The image on the punched circle was colored with the Old Olive chalk and then a second one was stamped and the middle portion was punched out and Pale Plum was used.

I also did another circle medallion with my Top Note die!!! These are addicting!!

This was my card for FS138 who is NancyRuth this week!!! What an awesome gallery she has to see. You really should take a peek.

My card I chose is here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ga...p;ppuser=42694

My changes:

* Colors & stamp set

* Kept the medallion circle, but used a different style

* used pearls instead of brads

* used my SU! texture plates instead of CB folder

* used chalks to color my images

This is also for the LateNightStampers challenge this week to use our chalks!

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Poppin Gingko!!

Here is my Tri-Shutter card for the VSN mini. Since I had alot of these papers/colors out on my table from a previous project, the card went very quickly, AFTER I got all the cuts figured out!! Actually it was the folding that hung me up more than anything. I used the Melon Mambo & Going Gray textured cs, Basic Black and Urban Oasis dsp. My stamp set is the Kind and Caring Thoughts - Hostess Level 3. But I made it just under the 45 minute limit! If you click on the link it will take you to the tutorial on SCS for this awesome card!!

I made my first circle medallion with the Top Note die and I just love doing that!! And as you can see I used the leftover pieces on my card. The two brackets are from the first cut and the faux photo corners are from the third cuts. If you click on the link for the circle medallion, it will take you to the blog post by Kimberly Van Diepen, who came up with this cut!! Another great use for the fabulous Top Note die!!!!

And since I had my chalks out from the other challenge to use our chalks, I went with those on here too! And you ask, what do my chalks have to do with this card? Ever heard of Poppin Pastels? It is an old, but wonderful technique to do with your chalks/pastels.

Here's a short tutorial for you:

* Stamp your image(s) in versamark on the cardstock of your choice

* Using a sponge dauber, q-tip or other type of applicator cover your image(s) with the chalk colors of your choice. BE CAREFUL to not rub or swirl with your applicator on the first layer. This will smear your image. You can use as many colors as you like, but be cautious with mixing too many colors as they will muddy.

* Finish your card as desired.

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #60 - Forest Friends!!

Hello all!! This week we will tone it down a bit and go easy! I certainly didn't mean to scare anyone off last week with the Basket Weaving.

This week we are going to concentrate our stamps on all of those fun and fuzzy Forest Friends we have around us. This can be an image of deer, rabbits, owls or anything that lives in the forest. NOT a jungle, but in a forest.
My sample for you this week is one from my archives, but one I still love!!

The owl is Oliver Owl from Treehouse Stamps and is no longer available. Isn't he just adorable??

I added another set of wings to him, popped up with dimensionals and colored him with my SU! markers on watercolor paper.

The sketch is one that Ashley, from Treehouse Stamps, came up with.

The other technique I used on here is the "Out of the Box" technique. This is a fun an easy technique to do. Let me tell you how so you can try!

* Stamp your image on your cardstock, cut to fit the image right now. You will cut it down later.
* Color, emboss, paper piece or whatever you are going to do with your image now.
* Once you have your image the way you want it, determine how much of the image you want to be left "Out of the Box".
* Using scissors or a paper trimmer, VERY CAREFULLY trim off the parts you decided could go.
* Once you have the image trimmed, now you can mount it onto other layers, if desired.
Have fun with technique if you give it a whirl!!

IT IS NOT REQUIRED TO DO THIS TECHNIQUE FOR THIS WEEKS GCA!!!!

So, the challenge this week is to make a card, project or scrapbook page using any type of Forest Friends stamps, upload it either to your blog, or to an online gallery and post a link to your card to this blog entry as a comment by October 5, 2009 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner through a random drawing and post the next Sunday.

Even if you can't make the drawing deadline, PLEASE feel free to participate in the challenge and upload your creations at any time. I would love to see it! If you upload your card on SCS, Stampin' Addicts or Paper Craft Planet, please put GCA60(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 60) in the keyword section.That way everyone can look at all of the creations at once! If you've been waiting to join in the fun, jump on in and have some fun!! And yes, my challenge is open to everyone who visits, even if you live outside the US!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #59 Winner is....

....Cathy!!! You can see her fabulous weaving on her card here! Thank you so much Cathy for giving this unique technique a try! (I have your address! : )

I certainly hope I didn't scare anyone away with this technique! It really is fun and easy to do. We'll try again sometime and I'll put together a tutorial.

Up next: GCA #60 - Forest Friends!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #59 - Basket Weaving!!

Hello all!!! Sorry for not posting during the week, even though I finally do have my new laptop!!! Still getting used to it and where I was this past week didn't have a direct Internet connection! I did get to know the ladies at Big Boy very well this week!! (They have WiFi).

Now, before you get all excited about this week's GCA and start thinking "I can't do this", let me explain! I use the term of basket weaving very lightly as I wasn't sure what else to call it! But it does resemble a basket weave, so we're going with that!

My sample for you this week is one I created for the IC on SCS. I used the picture of the bird on the bag, third one. So in recreating my card I did basket weaving with the Top Note.

I used To The Nines speciality dsp for my "bag" with 2 different patterns and used both sides of them. I ran this through my Big Shot to cut it and then backed it with a another Top Note die in WW. My strips on here are cut 1/2" wide. They can be any size, just depends on the look you are going for. My base card is Sahara Sand textured, layered with WW which I sponged Always Artichoke and Sahara Sand around. The corners were rounded with my corner rounder punch. I cut off the top part to resemble the bag and layered a strip of Chocolate Chip for my top band. Always Artichoke gg was used for the handle.

While making the bird was fun, it was also a challenge!! For the body I used a 2 1/2" circle, cut in half, out of Choc Chip textured. The bill was punched with the medium flower from my Boho Blossoms punch, and then I just played with until I placed it where it looked right! (So technical I know!) The eye is 1/4" circle from Summer Sun textured cs.

Now the fun part!! The tail feathers and wings. My first thought was to use the scallop circle punch and then cut pieces for them. Well, that is what I did for the wings, but that didn't work for the tail feathers. So, I looked at all of my punches and used the large heart in my Heart to Heart punch. For the middle feather I just cut one heart in half. Used my Tombo Mono glue to put them on with and the bird is done! I popped him up with dimensionals. Used the Modern Label & Word Window punch for the sentiment panel, which is also on dimensionals. Two little pearls were used as my accents. Again, used my new fave set Teeny Tiny Wishes for the sentiment.

So, the challenge this week is to make a card, project or scrapbook page using the Basket Weaving technique, upload it either to your blog, or to an online gallery and post a link to your card to this blog entry as a comment by September 26, 2009 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner through a random drawing and post the next Sunday.

Even if you can't make the drawing deadline, PLEASE feel free to participate in the challenge and upload your creations at any time. I would love to see it! If you upload your card on SCS, Stampin' Addicts or Paper Craft Planet, please put GCA59(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 59) in the keyword section.That way everyone can look at all of the creations at once! If you've been waiting to join in the fun, jump on in and have some fun!! And yes, my challenge is open to everyone who visits, even if you live outside the US!!!

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~