GCA #79 - How do you use your ribbon?

Hello all!!! So sorry for the late posting today, but I've been "under the weather" today with a miserable migraine!! Hate those things. For now my meds seem to have it under control.

Ribbon is one of my favorite embellishments to use and I use it often! You can do so many different things with ribbon to create a truly unique card or project.

Here are some ways you can use ribbon on your creations:

* Make ribbon flowers

* Use green ribbon as stems and leaves for flowers

* Make ribbon butterflies

* Use ribbon as a background through "punched windows"

* Use ribbon scraps to create a unique background for your creation

I'm sure there are many more ideas than those I've listed and I can't wait to see how you use ribbon! Finally, here is my sample!!

My idea was to create a "ribbon punched window", but I'm not sure it came out as well as I had envisioned it!!

I started with a strip of Almost Amethyst and used my Boho Blossoms punch for the flowers. Then I took scraps of ribbon from my stash, Old Olive striped and plain gg, White satin, White taffeta and Elegant Eggplant ric-rak. The placement of each of the ribbons was pretty much random and I just put the punched strip over them to see how it looked.

I cut the bird from chipboard with my Birds & Flowers die and covered with Afternoon Tea dsp. I highlighted the wing and beak with a piece of Elegant Eggplant and crystal rhinestone for the eye!

The distressed the edges of the Almost Amethyst strip before attaching. The bird is popped up with dimensionals. The sentiment is from the new set in the Occasions mini: Vintage Vogue.

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by February 27, 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 GCA79 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 #78 Winner is...

....Kate!!!! You can see her wonderful creation in honor of President's Day on her blog Katie's Creations.

Thank you Kate for stopping by and playing along in my challenge last week. Please send me your address to pinkstamper06@yahoo.com and I will get a stampin' goodie package out to you!!

Thanks to everyone for who played along and for those who stopped by.

Up Next: GCA #79 - How do you use your ribbon?

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #78 - In Honor of President's Day!

Hello all!!! Wow what a fast week this past one was!!! While here in Michigan we did not receive as much snow as the DC area and East coast did, we did have a couple of days that were no fun!! I do not like snow, and I do not like driving in snow even more than that!!!

So, I was a slacker this week and did not get my sample card up from last week. So sorry!! On to this week, though!!!

Tomorrow is President's Day, which means I have the day off work, do you? And during the month of Febuary we also celebrate George Washington and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays.

So, for the challenge this week your cards, scrapbook pages or projects need to incorporate one of the following:

In Honor of George Washington:

* use the colors from the $1 bill
* use silver somewhere based on his appearance on the quarter
* use cherries on your creation - in honor of him chopping down the cherry tree
* make your creation something to do a "first" as he was our first president

OR

In Honor of Abraham Lincoln:

* use the colors from the $5 bill
* use copper somewhere based on his appearance on the penny
* make your creation a "celebratory" one in honor of his abolishment of slavery
* use something to represent his love for the theater

You do not need to use all four parts for either president on your creation. Only one element is needed.On my sample I decided to honor George Washington. My card base is kraft and I used a strip of the "Welcome Neighbor" SAB dsp of the trees and a strip of Old Olive embossed with the Polka Dots eb folder.

The flower was cut in chipboard from the "Birds & Flowers" die and covered with a piece of Sweet Pea dsp in So Saffron. The branch is punched with the new 2 step bird punch.

I ran a strip of chocolate chip poly twill around the front of the card and stamped "Happy Birthday" in brown staz on from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

And for me, this is a Clean and Simple card based on layout #77 on the Clean and Simple blog.

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by February 21, 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 GCA78 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 #76 Winner is...

....Cathy and Hazel!!! I chose both of them just because!!! I do so appreciate the two of you, and everyone else, who stops by to play along.

You can see Cathy's card here.

You can see Hazel's card here.

Up Next: GCA #77 - In Honor of President's Day

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #77 - Whose One of Your Favorites??

Hello all!!! Where do you find inspiration from? Nature, card magazines, old SU! catalogs or even items around your home?? While these are great sources for us to use as inspiration for our creations, do we not also look to each other? I have found so many tips, tricks and new techniques from fellow stampers, especially when it comes to sketches. And when your mojo goes awry, all you need to do is surf the web to help get it back!

We all know what CASE stands for in the world of stamping, right? If you don't, CASE stands for Copy and Share Everything. For me as a stamper, one of the best forms of flattery is to have someone "case" one of my cards and turn it into their own.

So, for this week's challenge I want to you chose one of your favorite stampers and CASE one, or two, of their cards. Maybe what draws you to them is their style, use of color, layouts or how they watercolor.

You can use more than one card/creation from the same stamper, just remember that you MUST change at least 2 things on your card. Once completed, make sure to give credit to the stamper you CASED and a direct people to their blog/online gallery.
My sample will be up later today.

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by February 13, 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 GCA77 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 #76 Winner is....

....Deb!!! I am so excited for her as this is her first time playing in my challenge and she the Chalkboard Technique was new to her!!! You can see her card on her blog Bee Bug Creations.

Deb please send me your address to pinkstamper06@yahoo.com and I will get you a stampin goodie package out to you!

Up next: GCA #77 - Whose One of Your Favorites?

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Inspiration for Sock Monkey!!

Hello all!! I created this card using my Sock Monkey set for the second Be Inspired challenge on the Stampin' Connection site. This little guy is just too cute and I haven't stamped with him much lately.

For this week's inspiration challenge I used the Kara Mia Sophia Etsy store we used on a recent GCA. I just love that store and the fabrics which are used for the items.

For some reason I had a desire to use the pink/brown combo and searched through the Etsy store until I found just the right item. You can see it here for comparison.

Of course I used the pink/brown colors, but I also used the twill fabric for inspiration for my flower.

Sock Monkey is paper pieced with Chocolate Chip dsp and Afternoon Tea dsp (for the pink). I used the new Sweet Pea dsp stack in the Occasions mini for the larger background panel. The rest of the colors used were Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink card stock.

My scalloped circle matt was created by using my Buttons #5 sizzlet and my Big Shot!! (I used the largest button and the 1" circle punched layer fits perfectly.)
The twill flower was made with the medium width twill from SU! (of course!) and then I put a simple basting stitch along one edge. I think it is called that!

If I am wrong, please someone let me know!! Once I had the thread through, I just pulled it together in a circle. The brown center was cut from felt with the smallest circle in Circles #2, 1/2" circle piece of Pretty in Pink and one of the yummy new Chocolate Chip epoxy brads!! These are also available in the Occasions mini!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~