A MI Mingle weekend & I'm sorry!!

Hello all!!! I am so sorry about not posting this weekend, but I went to Bay City, MI for the 2009 SCS MI Mingle!!!! Last year was our first event and this year was even bigger and better!!! It was so much fun to reconnect with old friends and to meet new friends!

I met Kristi Ferro of Hanna Stamps and Karen Desmet of ArtDeclassified. They are both from MI!!! I never knew! And such wonderfully funny and talented ladies!!!

Kristi, her friend Judy, Brandy and myself all went shopping together at Wal-Mart Saturday night!! Kristi gave all the minglers a wonderful gift bag with Hanna stamps and a Riley!! You'll see new cards soon with those! That's Kristi in the picture just above! I'll have more pics to show you later!

And Karen created a stamp set just for the mingle!! It even has one of the images we use on our t-shirts!!! I promise to post pics soon!!

So, I have to say this week we are skipping out on Getting Creative with Ann!!! But I have A LOT of fresh and wonderful ideas from this past weekend to share with you!!

I can tell you for GCA #35, you will need a clear plastic frame for the project. Any size will do you, but you can get the 3.5 x 5 at Wal-Mart for $1.49 I believe!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Chance for awesome blog candy!!

Hello everyone!!! Hope you are having a wonderful day and you find a small amount of time for stampin'!!

Tiffany Bauer, of My Crafty World, is giving away a huge amount of SU! stuff in celebration of her free trip to Hawaii. Tiffany was the #1 Rising Star for 2008 and is currently enjoying a free vacation with SU! and many other demos!!

Now, Tiffany wont remember this, but I met her on the Trax in Salt Lake City last year while we were there for Convention!!! Was I surprised when I saw her name as #1!!

So check out her blog and enter!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Debra has tagged me!!

I don't get tagged very often, and when I do I am soooo slow to respond, but this tag is relatively quick!!

Debra tagged me and I am to go to my pictures folder, to the 6th folder and the 6th picture and then post that photo!

This photo is one of my grandson Cameron, at 9 months, and myself!!

Now I have to choose 6 people to tag!

Michelle - The Crafty Cat

Patty - Paper Patty

Ashley - Ashley's Creative Corner

Brandy - Brandy's Stamp & Share

Faith - Stampin' with Markie's Mom

Michelle - CMU grad - My Stamp of Approval

Here's what you do ladies:

Open your photo folder on your computer

•Open the 6th folder of photos

•Select the 6th picture
•Post the picture on your blog with a description

•Invite six friends to join the challenge

•Link your six friends to your blog post

I hope you all can play along!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #34- Think Spring!!

Good afternoon all!!! Well Friday was the first official day of Spring and for that reason we need to celebrate the arrival of Spring!! I believe this is my favorite season, as fresh new wonders come out to inspire us and delight us!

For this week's challenge your creation should be Spring themed, and use colors from the Soft Subtles color family. Not to worry if you don't have any SU! cardstock, just use light and airy colors that remind you of spring.

On my sample here I used one of the new sets, Petal Pizazz. The colors I used were Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White and Kraft. This color combo came from Stampin' Addicts combo #3. I also used sketch challenge #2 from Stampin' Addicts. If you haven't checked out their website yet, you should!! Here's a link for you!

For my main flower I used the rock-n-roll technique with Pink Pirouette and Perfect Plum. The center flower was stamped in Perfect Plum, punched out with the 3/4" circle and layered behind a 1" circle in Perfect Plum. This is popped up with a dimensional as is the entire flower. Then the main square panel is also raised up with dimensionals.

The squares were stamped with Bella Toile in Perfect Plum ink on those squares and in Sahara Sand on the Pale Plum. I used my newest sizzlit, Little Leaves, in Kraft along with the leaf from the set in Certainly Celery.

And since I haven't used the square rhinestone brads very much, I thought this was the perfect embellishment for this card. A strip of the white organza wrapped with a piece of Pretty in Pink taffeta, and it's done!!

To be entered in the challenge drawing, make a card showcasing a spring theme and spring colors, 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 March 28, 2009 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner through a random number generator 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 GCA34(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 34) 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!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #32 Winner is....

.... Cathy!!! Cathy you have become such a wonderful friend and loyal to my little weekly challenges!!! Thank you for playing along every week!

Up next: GCA #33 - Think Spring!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Are you a Stampin' Addict???

I know I am, but if you are too I have great news for you!!!

There is a new stampin' site in town and it's called Stampin' Addicts!! By clicking on the link it will take you to the site so you can see for yourself how wonderful it is!!!

The site is set up much like SCS, but the focus here is more on SU! and remaining positive in all aspects of stampin' and life!

I hope you check it out and see for yourself. There is no fee to register, so what do you have to lose?

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #33 - Only Orange!!!

Hello all!! Sorry for the late post, but I had a workshop today that ran later than I expected! I hope this finds everyone having enjoyed a wonderful weekend. Today in Michigan it was in the 50's, sun out and just gorgeous! Bring on Spring!!

Starting this week, I am extending the deadline for you get your creation posted by one day!!! Now you will have until the next Saturday at 12 midnight to post your creation and link!!

Now on to the challenge!! And don't let the title scare you! I actually got the idea for this week's challenge after I read the April issue of Stampin' Success. This is a magazine SU! demos receive each month filled with all sorts of good information.

There was an article in this issue addressing the "bad rap" orange gets and how under used it is sometimes. As I read the article I remembered the challenge we did with Yo Yo Yellow and figured this was good challenge too!

Now for this challenge you can use any shade of orange, but in my sample I used Only Orange. My sample here is one I made in February 2008 and was one of my entries for the Artisian Award. It is a flap-fold card and I designed it to be an invitation for my grandson's birthday. I apologize if I already have posted this, but I knew I used Only Orange here and I wanted to have a sample for you.

This is paired with Brilliant Blue, Wild Wasabi, Barely Banana and Whisper White. I used the now retired Unforgettable set and the Hugs & Wishes set, which is still current.

To be entered in the challenge drawing, make a card using any shade 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 21, 2009 at 12 midnight. Please also include the TLC208 in your keywords when you upload!! I will choose the winner through a random number generator 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, or Paper Craft Planet, please put GCA33(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 33) 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!!

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #32 Winner is.....

.... Cathy!!!! Thank you Cathy for playing along again this week!! You can see her awesome Round Top Box here. Cathy please let me know if there are any Stampin' Up! images you would like, and if I have them I will send them off to you!!

Up next: GCA #33 - Only Orange!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #32 - Round Top box!

Hello all!! I thought it was time for a technique challenge this week and this round top box is the perfect one!!

This little box was the featured project for the TLC on SCS the week of 2-16-2009 - #208. Click on the link for the thread and you'll find all the directions and the template for the box. One sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock will make the body of the box!! If you have a printer that will cooperate when you put cardstock through it, you can print directly on it! My printer gets a little picky about the cardstock it likes to work with!!

My sample here I made for my Stampin' Sister with UDI. My box is made from Confetti Cream and my accent colors are Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss and Hawaii Papaya dsp. The band goes all around the base of the box.

I used my circles scallops #2 for each of the scallops. I roughed up the edges a bit with my cutter kit and pierced the scallops with my piercing tool.

I used Flight of the Butterfly on here and topped it off with a Button Bouquet in Kiwi and one of the new library clips with white taffeta!! I think I put about 10 pieces of mini chocolates in here.

One additional thing I did was place an extra piece of cardstock on the inside bottom base for a little more support.

To be entered in the challenge drawing, make a Round Top box, 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 March 13, 2009 at 12 midnight. Please also include the TLC208 in your keywords when you upload!! I will choose the winner through a random number generator and post the next Saturday or 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, or Paper Craft Planet, please put GCA32(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 32) 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!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #31 Winner is.....

.... Cathy!!!! Congrats to you Cathy for awesome sketch card and thank you for playing along again this week!! You can see Cathy's card here.

Thank you to all who played along or just stopped by to leave a comment!!! They are much appreciated!!

Up next: GCA #32 - Round Top box!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Sweetly Thinking of You - FS108

This week on SCS the FS is Kelly_H AKA Kelly!!! She has an awesome gallery and so many different cards to choose from!!! With the card I chose I was drawn to it because of the layout and the colors!

I chose this card http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ga...p;ppuser=65016

My changes:

* Stamp set and colors - (Trendy Trees & Choc. Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, Pink Piroutte and WW)

* Ribbon placement

* Added layers

* Different size scallop squares

* No dry embossing on the scalloped squares

I used the new Trendy Trees on here!! One of my new faves!! And the Sweet Always dsp is one of my faves too!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #31 - Time to get Sketchy!!!

I know, I know what a goofy title, but hey it got your attention right?

Hello all!! This week we are using one of the first sketches introduced for the Sketch Challenge on SCS!! I've made cards with this sketch before and I ALWAYS have trouble getting a good end result! But, I saw a card on SCS by Vera that uses a similar layout and decided to give it another try!

So for this week's GCA we are using the sketch layout from SC38. Click on the link and it will take you to the thread for SC38 and show you the layout.

On my sample I combined a couple of last week's challenges into one card: CC207 - Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun & Kiwi Kiss; WT207 and my GCA!!!

I just love the colors of the CC for last week! They are very retro felling to me and give off a 70's vibe!! And I think they are very fresh and springy and I am so wanting spring to arrive!!!

The WT for last week was Frugal Finds! All of the cardstock I used on here came out of my scrap bins, the thick foam dimensionals under the circle panels is one large square cut into two different pieces and the dimensional under the flower is from the edge of a pack of SU! dimensionals. No need to overdo on those when no one sees them! I'm very frugal with my ribbon too, and I try very hard not to cut more than I need as I always trim the ends! And my copper edge circle tag I've had forever!!! It's an old/retired tag from SU!

My inside was sponged with Summer Sun and then I stamped the vine from Fresh Cuts in each of the colors and the flower in Pumpkin Pie and Summer Sun. I then stamped a flower on the textured Summer Sun, cut it out and adhered it over the vine ends!!

To be entered in the challenge drawing, make a card with SC38, 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 March 6, 2009 at 12 midnight. Please also include the SC38 in your keywords when you upload!! I will choose the winner through a random number generator and post the next Saturday or 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, or Paper Craft Planet, please put GCA31(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 31) 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!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~