GCA #38 - Butterfly Wings!!

Hello all!! I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend and that spring has sprung in your area!! Spring has finally come to my area of Michigan and I am ever so grateful!! I have a flowering tree right outside my bedroom window that is getting ready to bloom soon!! I think it is a crab apple tree, or dogwood, I don't know!!! I even had to get out my shorts, sandals and summer skirts!!! Oh I am in heaven!

For this week's GCA, you will need to have a butterfly somewhere on your card. It can be a stamp, a die cut, a sticker or 3-D embellishment, you just need to have a butterfly on there somewhere!!

For my sample, I was inspired by a nurses scrub top I saw that was black & white, with butterflies all over it. I tried to do my card in just black & white, but it just wasn't working for me! So I added a touch of Riding Hood Red.

My butterflies are from the Beautiful Butterflies die cut (which I love and can't seem to quit using!!) and the sentiment is from the new set, Sense of Time, from the Occasions mini. I took the basic layout from a card on the front cover of the newest Papercrafts magazine.

In my attempt to try and do more clean and simple cards, I worked very hard to not keep adding more stuff!! Actually, I really like how this turned out. I am always looking for new or different ways to use the spiral punch, so this is great!

I also used the white pin stripe dsp from the Taste of Textiles dsp and the black glossy striped paper from Rockabilly for the small butterfly. The pearls are from the Pretties Kit.

To be entered in the challenge drawing, make a card or project using some type of butterfly image, 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 May 1, 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 GCA38(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 38) 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 #37 Winner is....

...Cathy!!!! Congrats to you again Cathy for winning!!! I so appreciate your playing along every week and look forward to your creations each week!! I have a package ready to go out to you tomorrow!!!

Up next: GCA #38 - Butterfly Wings

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Viva Las Vegas - VSN style!!!

Hello all!!! Well, I didn't get to pre-posting some items like I wanted, but I will try again this week-end!!

Today on SCS, they are hosting a mini-VSN to get our juices pumped for the main event in May!! You can click on the link and go right to the main challenge forum! But hurry, as you only have until Monday, 4/27 @ 10 pm to get your entries posted!! They're giving prizes!!

This is my first card I made for the "Bellie Up to the Buffet" challenge. This was hosted by Jenn Balcer and Lori Craig last night.

I also combined this with the LateNightStampers sketch challenge this week and CC215 on SCS: Basic Rose Pirouttes.

Now the challenge for this event was to use as many embellies as you wanted!!! No problem for me, seem to use alot anyway!! But, it was a little more difficult than I expected. I kept wanting to use so many things, and yet I had to stop because my card was getting really tacky!

I used the new dsp, Walk in the Park, Basic Gray corduroy brads and the white satin ribbon (all in the Occasions Mini), Button Bouquet and Fresh Fav. II buttons. I also used my Beautiful Butterflies and Billboard alpha die (for the bracket). The Pink Pirouette dsp in the bottom portion and then the PP gg finishes it off.

Now with VSN challenges, you only have 45 minutes to finish and this took me 30 minutes to assemble and complete, UNTIL I got to the corduroy brad!!! It took me almost 15 minutes of fiddling around with that to get it to cooperate!!

You can see on the inside, I put a strip of the Pink Pirouette and Walk in the Park dsp, along with a new toy I just received today: Simple Flower embosslit!!!!!! My Stampin' Sis through UDI sent me this and a jam packed box of wonderful goodies!!! Thanks Kay!!

If you have time, head on over to SCS and try your hand at VSN!!

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #37 - Time to get Vintage!!

Hello all!!! What a busy and crazy week I've had!! As you know, my grandson Cameron was here last week, and just went home yesterday!! I love that boy, but oh does he make me work!! LOL!

I did get some stamping time in, and I have projects to share, I just couldn't find the time to post!! My goal for today is get these uploaded and set to post during the week! Somehow I have to fit in the laundry and finish the baby shower invites!!

But, on to this week's challenge!! For this week, we are going for the "vintage" look. Now vintage can mean different things to different people and you may create your card/project with your style of vintage! This is an area I have difficulty with, but I do love all the cards/projects I've seen with the vintage style.

My sample is the teacup I made at the SCS MI Mingle in Bay City last month!! This was one of the coordinator challenges and my teacup won second place!! This challenge was hosted by Pattyb. She had the template printed on different colors of cardstock and we went to town on the rest! I was attempting to go for a "vintage" look, but not quite sure I achieved it!! I also used my new wheel, Friendly Words and my Lots of Dots wheel.

My base is Sage Shadow, which I wheeled over in Lots of Dots with So Saffron ink, and then over stamped/wheeled with the Friendly Words wheel in Basic Gray. I then took my Basic Gray pad and ran it along the creases of the cup and around the bottom edge.

The 'trim' is with So Saffron and wheeled with SS ink with my Lots of Dots wheel. Again, I ran the pad along the crease of the trim. I used the scallop lace edge punch to make it look like "lace"!

The images are from the level 1 hostess set, God's Beauty, which I colored with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and cut out. The fern is the MS fern punch. I used the new white satin ribbon and PTI's lemon tart stitched gg to tie up the package!!

To be entered in the challenge drawing, make a card or project by "Going Vintage", 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 April 25, 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 GCA37(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 37) 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 #36 Winner is...

.... actually there are two!!! Brandy and Cathy!!! These two have been playing along with my weekly challenges since the beginning, and I am so appreciative of them!!

Cathy, I'll put some images from the Occasions mini in the mail to you!! Do you have any of these sets yet? Also, did you get any of the SU! SAB items?

Brandy, I'll put some goodies in the mail to you too!!

Up next: GCA #37 - Time to get Vintage!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA 36 - Outside the Box!!

Hello all and Happy Easter!!! Here in my neck of the woods, as Al Roker says, we have a beautiful sunshine filled Easter day, even though it is a bit chilly. My grandson is here is stay for a bit and we went out and saw the Easter Bunny last night! Of course, now it's all about the Easter basket and candy! LOL!!

For this week's challenge I want you to really "think" outside the box! My title is a little deceiving isn't it? Couldn't think of a better one!! : ) When I say think outside the box, I mean think of using colors, speciality papers and stamp sets (just to name a few) to make a traditional card, with un-traditional items.

As you can see on my sample, I have made an invitation. But this isn't any invitation, it's a baby shower invite!!! Now how many people make baby shower invites with skull & crossbones and black and red cardstock?? And just in case you haven't figured out the punch art, it's a pacifier made with the Round Tab and 1 1/4" circle punches.

My second grandson is due in June and you would have to know, and understand my son and his girlfriend, to know this invite is exactly what they wanted!!! They both have multiple facial piercings, tattoos and are in to the "goth" scene, so to speak. With all that said, they both will make great parents as I see this in how they both interact with Cameron, Gregory's first son. The picture above is a few years ago and the bottom one was taken just a few days ago.

So, put on your thinking cap and "Think outside the Box" in developing your creations for this week.

And this is Cameron, taken just this morning!!! What a ham and he loves playing in my craft room with me!!

To be entered in the challenge drawing, make a card or project by "Thinking outside the 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 April 18, 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 GCA36(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 36) 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 35 Winner is...

....Cr8ive ME!!! This is her first time playing along and I'm so happy she joined us!!! You can check out her wonderful card here. Please email me, at pinkstamper06@yahoo.com M.E. with your address so I can send you some stampin' goodies!!!! Thanks for playing along!

Up next is GCA36 - Outside the Box!!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #35 - Happy Easter!!

Hello all!! For the GCA this week we are making Easter cards or projects! Next Sunday is Easter, and if you're like me at all, I still have Easter cards to make and mail out!!

Now my sample here is not an Easter card, but the name tag I wore to the SCS MI Mingle last weekend!! And I tied for winning with Debra!!! She had a gorgeous name tag!!

I started with a base of chipboard cut out of the Top Note die, which I then covered with a piece of Very Vanilla. The basket was made using Close to Cocoa text cardstock, and I sponged the edges with Choc Chip. Once I had this laid out the way I wanted, I then ran this through my Big Shot with the Top Note die.

The bunny is put together entirely with punches!!! My upline just started a punch art class last month and this is one of the pieces we did. I know I've seen these on SCS, so thanks to whoever came up with the bunny!! I used my scallop oval and large oval to make the "name tag" which my bunny is holding.

The eggs are cut using my oval Fiskars cutter in two different sizes. I used scraps of dsp and ran the Apricot Appeal through my crimper. I then used my glitter pen over my name on the plain eggs for added sparkle.

My handle is made with the felt from the Alpine Originals and attached with brown brads. A piece of Pink Pirouette striped gg finishes it off! I ran a length of Cert. Celery gg around the back to make a lanyard for it.

To be entered in the challenge drawing, make a card or project focusing on Easter, 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 April 11, 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 GCA35(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 35) 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~~~