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~~~