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~~~

GCA #103 - Under the Weather!

Hello all!!!  This past week has been a very busy and hectic one for me!  And I don't have any children at home that I am getting ready for school!  Today was SUPPOSED to be my annual SU! Open House, but unfortunately a migraine derailed that plan today.  I believe it is time to go see the doctor about what else we can possibly do.  Anyone out there with any suggestions that has worked for them?  At this point, I'm willing to try almost anything!

So, that leads me to this week's challenge: Under the Weather!  Were always making birthday, thinking of you and just because cards, but how often do we make a Get Well card until we need it?  This week put on your thinking caps, and build up your stash of Get Well cards.  With school starting back, you know these are going to come in handy!!

My card is a very simple one, different for me I know!  Actually, this is an altered card from one we made at stamp club a few months ago.  The images are from Thoughts and Prayers and C is for Cat.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  The cat/button square was left over from another project and I used it on here to create a get well card.  The card base is Crumb Cake and is a top fold card.  The other card stock is Dusty Durango, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla and Autumn Meadows dsp.

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 4, 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 GCA103 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 #102 Winner is....

...... Lawren from AHobby-holic.  Check out her fantastic card at her blog.  Lawren please email me with your address to pinkstamper05@yahoo.com and I will get a stampin goodie package out to you.  Thanks for playing along!

Thanks to all who played along, or just stopped by this past week!  You are appreciated.

Up Next:  GCA #103 - Under the Weather!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #102 - Back to School!!!

Hello all!  Well it is that time of year again!  Back to School!!  How many moms, and dads, are jumping up and down???  Be honest, you know that a little peace and quiet is what you want!  And more time for stamping!!

This week we are focusing on those "Back to School" items that pop up all over at this time.  Pencils cases, book bags, notebook covers, books, pens and pencils to name a few!

For this week think about all those back to school things while creating your card, scrapbook page, 3 D item or whatever!!  You could make thank you cards that feature an owl, schoolhouse or school bus.  Anything school related it up for grabs!  Working on my sample right now!!

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by August 28, 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 GCA102 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 #101 Winner is...

......Hippieaud (AKA Audrey) of Peace, Love and Crafting and you can see her fabulous birthday card here.


Audrey please email 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 just took a look!

Up Next: GCA #102 - Back to School.

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~