A Fruitful Thanks - DIC115

Hello all!!!  This week for the UDI inspiration challenge I stretched the design slightly.  (Actually, as I am out-of-town this week, and worked so much on stuff for this upcoming weekend, I am using a card I made a little while ago!!!)  Please Maria, don't shoot me!  Check out the UDI Blog to see the inspiration piece, a gumball machine, and play along if you can!

This card is a "tent topper" card.  You can create these several ways, but I usually like to make mine with a rounded topper.  But, I have made them with a square topper.  On here I used the scallops #2 die, large size, and the Circle Scissors plus to make the inside circle with Shimmery White.  The scallop is made using Daffodil Delight and finished with piercing in each of the scallops.

Now, to make your base, you make it 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 square and when you put the topper on, line it up to make it no longer than 5 1/2.  That way you can still put it into a regular A2 envelope.  I layered my base, made with Riding Hood Red, with Whisper White and Greenhouse Gala dsp.  I used the Daffodil Delight ornate flower pattern.  My sentiment is  stamped in Black Craft and clear embossed.

The white organdy ribbon was tied on my bowmaker and then fastened on the back of the Whisper White layer.  The topper portion was attached using dimensionals.  I get very picky about making sure the image is straight and I don't go past the 5 1/2 length.  Using my grid paper from SU! is perfect for this!!

My stamp set I used is Studio Sketches, and I almost didn't buy this!  This is one of the pre-order sets we could purchase before the new catalog came out.  I am not the greatest with watercoloring, but this set really makes it easier than it looks!  I colored the pears with the Pear Pizazz marker, along the edges, and then used my aquapainter to pull the color up in the rest of the image.  The  Shimmery White cardstock is awesome to watercolor on!!  The apples were stamped, colored the same as the pears using the Soft Suede and Riding Hood Red markers, cut out and popped up with dimensionals.

Actually I don't think I strayed to far from the inspiration piece, as it is a gumball machine and I did use a rounded tent topper and similar colors!

Don't forget to  check out the UDI Blog if you have a minute and play along with us!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #107 - Seaside Wishes!

Hello all!!!  I've been very busy today preparing for a presentation at my upline's Michigan meeting this Saturday.  I am so excited she is coming to MY town!!!!  My upline I am talking about is Janet Wakeland.  I've met her several times and she is the nicest, and funniest, person to know!  Anywho, that doesn't mean I forgot about the GCA for this week. 

Sorry for losing the post earlier today!  I tried to upload the pic and the new post at work, and it was blocked!!

This weekend I have also been working on wedding invitation samples for my best friend's daughters wedding.  This is what brought the GCA for this week up.  On some of the samples I used a stamp of the South Haven lighthouse, which has special meaning for all of them.  So, I thought what better idea than thinking about the seaside and what goes with it. 

So, think about what encompasses the "seaside":  Lighthouses, water, boats, seagulls, fish and so many others!  There is really no limit to what you can do with this week's challenge.  Use the colors of the water, images of water/boats/lighthouses or whatever makes you think of the seaside.
I used the new set, Uncharted Territory, for my seaside inspired card.  This is a great set, and I can see the uses for it for many cards.  I started with a Whisper White card base and then layered it with a piece of the white satin striped dsp from last year. 

I tried to keep this simple and the focus on the main image.  Matted the main image with Night of Navy and Marina Mist.  The image was stamped in Black staz on onto Whisper White.  I then watercolored the image my aquapainter and ink from the stamp pads.  Whisper White is not the best card stock for watercoloring, but if you aren't too heavy with the aquapainter, it works out ok.  The sailboat was colored the same way, cut out and then popped up with dimensionals.  The entire main image panel is also popped up with dimensionals.  To keep the embellishments light, I used a silver clip and a piece of Marina Mist 1/8" taffeta.
Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by October 2, 2010 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner the next day. If you upload your card to SCS, PaperCraft Planet, Stampin' Addicts, Stampin' Connection (for SU! demos) or Stamp TV, please put GCA107 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 #106 Winner is.....

.... Jan from She's Gone Stampin'.  She made the most adorable Halloween card with Pumpkin Marci!  Jan please email you address to pinkstamper06@yahoo.com and I will send out a stampin' goodie package to you.

Thanks to all who stopped by, took a look, left a comment or played along.  I have so much fun looking at your creations and reading the comments.

Up Next:  GCA #107 - Seaside Wishes

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Sock Monkey Thanks - DIC114

Hello all!!  Thursday again and time for another UDI inspiration project.  Check out the UDI Blog to see the inspiration piece, a collection of cereal box covers, and play along if you have time.  To be honest, when I saw the inspiration piece for this week, I was a little scared!!  I thought, "What am I going to do with this?"  Well, after I took a deep breath and calmed myself, I focused on the one thing that jumped right out at me:  COLOR!  Bright and bold colors.  And bold and bright colors mean fun, at least in my book!!

So, I looked through my stamp collection and took out Sock Monkey.  He's fun and playful and makes for fun image to create with.  He's a lot of fun to paper piece  with and watercolor.  And, of course, I had to buy the new More Monkey Accessories in the new catalog.  The hat he's wearing comes from that set. 

My sketch is from the weekly sketch on Stampin' Connection, which a site just for SU! demos.  My card is 5 x 5 square and the base is from Pacific Point.  I pulled colors from most of the cereal boxes and put on here!  I couldn't seem to stop, yet they all go together wonderfully on here.  At least I think so.  The colors I used are: Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Real Red and Very Vanilla.  The dsp is Newsprint and my goal was to mimic the words on the boxes. 

A lot of dimension going on here too!  The balloons are popped up and I used linen thread to "tie" them all together.  The Daffodil Delight strip is from the Tasteful Trim die, available in the Holiday mini. 

Don't forget to check out the UDI Blog and play along!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #106 - Time for Halloween!!

Hello all!!!  Another week gone by and we are now into the middle of September!!  Can you believe it?  Before you know it, the man in the Red Suit will be here!!  But, before he comes, the Great Pumpkin will arrive!  You know, that holiday where we loved to be scared and get all kinds of treats!  Halloween!!!

I'm not big into Halloween, but I do put some small decorations up and send Halloween cards to my friends that "do" Halloween.  I prefer the cute and fun images/things for Halloween as opposed to the gory and scary.  This year at convention, one of the bundles they offered us was one for Halloween.  This bundle was from Brent Steele's presentation, as he loves Halloween.  The bundle included: Spooky Things decor elements, 1/2" Raven lace trim and Black Flourish designer jewels.  I haven't bought the sheet of decor elements in the past, but as I work with this set I can see so many possibilities for projects.

On my project for this week I used 3 of the d.e. images:  "Happy Halloween", the full bat and the smallest spider.  I started with the saying applied directly to the glass and then backed with a piece of Rockabilly dsp (retired) in the Kiwi stripe.  Now, the cracks in the glass were not, at first, planned, but as I was working on this one happened and then I went with them.  I used Black staz-on along the cracks to give it a "eerie" look.  Does it work?  I ran a piece of the black lace along the bottom.

The bat was put onto a piece of Pumpkin Pie and cut around.  The same for the spider.  Now, Putting the d.e. onto card stock is tricky when removing the transfer paper.  It likes to pull up the card stock when you remove it.  The bat was put on with double thick dimensionals and I "squished" him in the middle to make it look like he was flying.  With the spider, I ran a piece of Very Vanilla through my Big Shot with the Spider web eb folder.  I covered the folder with black ink first and then cut around it to get the size I wanted.  After that, I spritzed it with water and crumpled it up.  Once it was dry I stuck it onto the corner of the frame with Sticky Strip.  The spider is up with dimensionals.

The "hanger" is made using Pumpkin Pie 1 1/4" gg and tied with the black lace and Concord Crush poly twill.

Now, its difficult to see in the picture, but I did a lot of distressing to the frame before I put all of this onto it!  My frame came from the $ store, $4, and I removed the stand from the back so it would lay flat on the wall.  My up-up-line is coming to Michigan on October 2nd, and she asked me to do a presentation for the event!  (I'm so excited, but scared silly at the same time!!!)  The item I am going to demonstrate is the new Distressing Kit (118762) on page 195.  This is an awesome kit and I'm sure I have only begun to tap into all the fun things I can do with it.  First off, I sanded down the frame, to help remove some of the glossy finish.  Once I had it where I wanted, then I swiped it with the Charcoal and then Mahogany ink spot.  Not satisfied with that, I then spritzed it with the Log Cabin smooch spritz.  I like the look, but it took forever for the smooch spritz to dry.  I hope you can see how all of this "aged" the frame.

So, for this week's challenge create anything that has to do with a Halloween theme.  Now, I understand that some people do not do Halloween at all, but I still want you to be able to play along.  So your creations DO NOT have to specifically have "Halloween" items on it.  By that, I mean you can use pumpkins, scarecrows, hay wagons or just the colors of Halloween.  Just have fun and create what you love!

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by September 25, 2010 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner the next day. If you upload your card to SCS, PaperCraft Planet, Stampin' Addicts, Stampin' Connection (for SU! demos) or Stamp TV, please put GCA106 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 #105 Winner is....

..... Sharon!!!!  You can see here fabulous card on her blog Cards and Greetings.  I love the layout she used and will try it on a scrapbook page.  Sharon please email me your address so I can send you out a stampin goodie package to pinkstamper06@yahoo.com.

Thanks to all who played along or just stopped by to take a peek!!

Up Next:  GCA #106 - Time for Halloween!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Just for You Clouds - DIC113

Hello all!!!  It's time again for another inspiration challenge on UDI!!  You can check out the UDI Blog and see the fabulous inspiration piece Maria has provided and the rest of the design team samples. 

Just so you have some idea where my card came from, the piece this week is clouds.  A picture of big, white, fluffy clouds.  My first thought when I saw the picture was a circle card and after that I just played around.

As you can see, my card base is made with the large scallop circle die in Marina Mist.  I sponged the edges with White craft to give it the "cloud" feel.  The Whisper White layer was cut with the clear circle (large) die from a piece of scrap that I had run through with the Perfect Polka Dots eb folder.

Now, my circles on the front came from an idea that is included with the new, and awesome, fabric in the Holiday Mini.  You get 4 ideas of projects to make with the fabric you purchase.  There is a project for a circle brooch and I attempted to mimic that with card stock.  I layered different pieces of Marina Mist, Whisper White and Candy Cane dsp.  I used the circles #2 die to cut them.  Do you see a pattern here??  : )

Now the circles didn't turn out quite like I wanted, but then I wasn't sure what I wanted it to look like!!  The top circle is up on dimensionals and the whole piece is up on dimensionals.  I used one of the awesome new buttons from the Candy Cane set, which you can get in the Holiday mini.  These are fabulous!!  I used white embroidery thread through the button holes.  A piece of Marina Mist 1/8" taffeta is tied at the top of the circle.

To finish off the card, punched a large oval from the Brushed Silver and layered it with a small oval punched from the Whisper White embossed piece.  I used the stamp from Teeny Tiny Wishes in Marina Mist.  Just to add some further interest, and every cloud has a silver lining, right?, I punched two leaves from the bird punch and stuck them behind the oval panel.

Not my usual style, but it's nice to go outside your comfort zone every once in awhile!!  Hope you enjoy it!  And check out the UDI Blog when you have a minute!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #105 - Scallops and Squares, Oh My!

Hello all!!  I've spent a wonderful afternoon stamping with my stamp club girls and enjoying the beautiful fall day we are having here in Michigan.  Perfect temps, 74*, sunny and a a very slight breeze!!  I could handle this weather all year long!

Speaking on my monthly stamp club, that is where this week's challenge comes from.  This is the scrapbook page we did, which is inspired by many talented crafters out there.  We used new products from the Holiday Mini and in the new catalog.

The size is 12 x 12 and starts with a base of Very Vanilla.  The scalloped squares are cut from Marina Mist using the large scallop square and the scallop square duo in the Holiday Mini.  The small scallop square is cut from Wild Wasabi.  Each square is matted with Very Vanilla and then the picture on that.  I am slowly trying to scrap pictures of myself when I was younger.  It's fun to look at them and try to remember what it was like back then.

The ric rac strip is cut from Daffodil Delight using the Tasteful Trim die, as well as the Wild Wasabi zig zags.  This die is also in the Holiday Mini.  Strips from the Newsprint dsp finish off the bottom.  On the upper right corner, I used one of the Candy Cane buttons (gorgeous and huge!!) and new Decorative Label punch.  Both of these items are in the Holiday Mini.  The stamp set is Define Your Life.  This is a great set for scrapbooking.  I also used some Daffodil Delight and Marina Mist 1/8" taffeta.

Since I have an apple in one of the pictures, I stamped the apple from Tart & Tangy and put in the smallest square.

So, this week your creations need to use scallops or squares, but you DO NOT need to use both on your creations. 

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by September 18, 2010 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner the next day. If you upload your card to SCS, PaperCraft Planet, Stampin' Addicts, Stampin' Connection (for SU! demos) or Stamp TV, please put GCA105 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 #104 Winner is...

..... Jessica L.!!!!  You can see her creations on her blog: My Craft Blog.  Check her out and see what she created for fall flair!  Jessica please send me your address to pinkstamper06@yahoo.com and I will get a stampin' goodie package out to you!

Thanks to all who stopped by, played along or left comments!!

Up Next:  GCA #105 - Scallops and Squares, Oh My!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Watercolored Thank You - DIC112

Hello all!!!  It's Thursday and time for another UDI Inspiration challenge.  This week Maria has a picture of crayons, in the bold/primary colors, perfect for school!  Well, that's where I thought I was going with this card!!  About the only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to have a white card base!  Sometimes I love how a card takes on it's own life and others I don't.  This card I do.

The card base is Whisper White and folded at the top.  I used an older set, Fresh Cuts, that allows for coloring and adding other colors into the card.  I first stamped the image in Black craft and then clear embossed.  The images on here were colored, roughly, with my SU! markers: Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive.  Then I went over those images with the aquapainter to smooth and soften them.  There was still too much white showing, so I used the Crumb Cake ink pad and aquapainter and "aged" the white space.  And since I can't seem to stop when I'm ahead, I spritzed it with my Pacific Point marker.  Little darker than I wanted, but I still like how it turned out.

The Old Olive scalloped strip was a leftover on my table and just happened to fit on here!  Don't you love it when that happens??  The strip of dsp is from the Blueberry Crisp set.  I used the checked/grid pattern to pick up the "school" feel of the crayons!

To finish it off I used a 1/2" library clip and wrapped Daffodil Delight and Marina Mist 1/8" taffeta ribbon around it.  These clips are thick, so I used double dimensionals on the back panel!!  Will need to pad this well if I mail it!  And, to balance out the silver from the clip, I used the new SU! basic rhinestone jewels on the scallops.  Love those!!

If you have a minute, check out the UDI Blog and see what the other girls on the Inspiration team came up with!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #104 - Fall Flair!

Hello all!!!  Can someone please tell me where the month of August went?  I'm shocked that September is here already and my grandson, Cameron, is starting kindergarten this upcoming week!  Seems like yesterday I found out about him and met him, now he is 5 years old!!!  And on the grandchildren front, my son informed me that grand baby #3 is on the way!  Maybe we'll get a girl this time!!!  I sooooo want to buy cute, pink, ruffly clothes!

Officially, summer is still on, but here in my corner of Michigan, a taste of fall has arrived.  And while I love summer, I DO NOT love the hot, humid, drain-you-of-everything heat we have had.  Some days it seems like it just went on and on and on!!  So nice to have the AC off, the windows open and sleep with the cool nights!  Even some leaves are beginning to turn.

That brings us to this week's GCA:  Fall Flair.  Create something - card, scrapbook page, 3-D item - that represents fall in some way.  Use the colors of fall, the leaves, sports that are played during fall or holidays. 

I made this fall card using the SCS SC295, my Autumn Splendor stamp set and fall colors.  The card base is Very Vanilla with Chocolate Chip dsp over it.  I wanted a back drop, but not anything to overwhelm the main images, so I used the subtle square pattern.  (This is now retired.)

The main image panel is using Cajun Craze, and I distressed it up using the Torn Frames technique I learned from Technique Junkies.  I did this to the circle frame with the acorns on it also.  The stamped images are in Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Certainly Celery and Wild Wasabi.  Some of the colors show up more than the others, but I like how it has the collage look.  This was stamped on Very Vanilla.

The front strip is More Mustard textured and wrapped with 2 different colors of embroidery floss.  I used the leftover pieces from punching the border on here also, but the floss covers most of it up.  It made a nice ton-on-tone look.  This panel is up with dimensionals, as is the circle image.

With the acorns, they were stamped on Very Vanilla in Chocolate Chip twice, and the nut portion cut out and popped up.

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by September 11, 2010 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner the next day. If you upload your card to SCS, PaperCraft Planet, Stampin' Addicts, Stampin' Connection (for SU! demos) or Stamp TV, please put GCA104 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 #103 Winner is....

..... Priyanka from Priyanka's Creations!  You really need to check the fabulous stair step/get well card she made!!  WOW!  Priyanka please send me your snail mail address to pinkstamper06@yahoo.com and I will get a stampin' goodie package out to you!

And to those of you who have packages coming, rest assured they are!  All will be on their way the beginning of this week.  (Can someone tell me where August went?)

Thanks to all who stopped by, played along or just left me a comment/advice on migraine relief.  Always open to trying something new as I really hate to fill my body full of pills so much.

Up Next:  GCA #104 - Fall Flair!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

UDI Inspiration - Vintage Printed Apples

Hello all!!!  I hope your week is going good and you find time to relax this upcoming weekend.  I have a four day weekend, and I am sooo excited!!

I've mentioned the Utah Diva group I belong to on here before and now I was asked by Maria to be a part of the Inspiration challenge design group.  How cool is that??  Thanks Maria!!

The inspiration for this week is apples, and you can see it on the UDI Blog.  I am also using this card as my inspiration creation for the weekly Be Inspired challenge I host on Stampin' Connection.

Honestly this card took on a life of it's own when I started working on it!!  I have been playing with the new Distressing Essentials Kit in the catalog, and I just went to town!  Around the edges of the base card of Very Vanilla, I used the Tea Stain ink spot.  What's really neat about these spots, is that once they dry, they really change the look of the project and add a greater dimension.  By using the Tea Stain spot on Very Vanilla, it makes it look like aged parchment.  IMHO!

Since I was going with the aged/vintage look, I decided to use the Torn Frames technique I learned from the Technique Junkies.  There is something cathartic about distressing card stock!  On this panel I also used the Charcoal spot on the edges, lightly, and then went over that with the Tea Stain.  The front of the panel was stamped with the Sanded background stamp in Soft Suede, off stamped twice.  I even used the Tea Stain spot on the ribbon!!  Can't have "new" ribbon on an old card and an antique brad holds it in place!  I even distressed the sentiment punched piece.

My stamp set I used is the new Studio Sketches, which I am so glad I bought, and is a combo of three of the stamps.  I used the wine bottles, bowl of apples and bananas/apples.  All were stamped with brown staz on on watercolor paper.  The images were colored with SU! markers and an aquapainter.  Lots of dimension going on here too!  You can see it better in the close up shot.  Used more of the wonderful Newsprint dsp on here to add to the aged look.

Hope you have time to check out the UDI Blog and see what the other members of the team did!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~