GCA #133 - Anything Baby!!!

Hello all!!!!  Happy Easter to all who celebrate this wonderful day!

With the blossoming of spring, new buds on the trees, flowers coming up and the birds returning, what does that make you think of?  Babies, right?  And not just people babies, but the baby birds, animals and plants!  Yes, I said plants!  They are babies too to start with.

My sample for today is three cards made with the Nursery Suites dsp and Quick Accents that coordinate.  I actually made these for my grandchildren's Easter cards, but they can easily be baby cards too.  I purposely left off a sentiment on the outside and will write each of them something inside.

I also created one of the "Quilted Cards" that was recently spotlighted on SCS.  It was much easier to make than I thought it would be and I really like how it came out.

The two blue/green cards are for Cameron and Malaki and the pink one is for Alysha.  So happy to have a baby girl to create for now!!!  Love my boys, but there is something special about girls!!

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by April 30, 2011 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 GCA133 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~~~~ 

Hop on over - GCA #129

Hello all!!!  How is everyone doing??  In my area of Michigan today is BEAUTIFUL and sunny day.  Still a little chilly out, but the sun is out and that is what's important!!  Nothing like a sunny day to get the juices flowing.

Well are you ready to get back into the challenges???  This week is an easy one, I promise.  Easter is on the way and this week we are focusing on that.

So for the challenge this week, your creations need to be anything related to Easter.  Bunnies, chicks, carrots or Easter baskets, it all fits!!  My sample for this week is an easy one - even for me!!!  This was one of the cards I did for my monthly club.  The original idea came from Danielle Vincent on Stampin' Connection.  I apologize for those who are not SU! demos, as you will not be able to access the card.

What drew me to her cute Easter card was the bunny.  One: how it was punched with the 1 3/4", 1 3/8" and small oval punches and two: the button as the tail!!!Of course, I made some changes to make it my own, but the bunny is basically the same.  I sponged Regal Rose around all the edges and used a Pretty in Pink button with a pearl on top as the tail.  I also added "whiskers" to my bunny with white crochet thread.

To carry over the bunny/Easter theme I used the bunny dsp from the Nursery Suite dsp.  The striped dsp is the Pear Pizzazz from the hostess level 1 pack.  The "grass" is a strip of Pear Pizzazz card stock first punched with the pinking hearts border punch and then ran through the crimper.  I then used dimensionals behind the bunny for depth. 

I also used a new trick that I found out about from some fellow stampers!!!  SU! has the Movers & Shapers dies and XL die, which I have, but I rarely use.  Most of the time I forget I have them and the other times I just don't want to bother with pulling all that out.  But, some smart stamper discovered that if you have the clear circle or scalloped square BIGZ die, you can use the Mover & Shaper dies alone with those!  I usually just want the larger background piece so this works perfect!  The Regal Rose scalloped oval is from the Mover & Shaper and the Whisper White one is the large scalloped oval punch.  The sentiment is from Well Scripted.

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by April 2, 2011 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 GCA129 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 #82 - Here Comes Peter Cottontail!!!

Hello all!! We are experiencing one beautiful, slightly chilly, day here in Michigan! They were forecasting snow/rain mix, but I haven't seen any of that in my area!!

Do you realize that Easter is only 2 weeks away??? Do you have your Easter cards or projects done? Well, if not, here's where this weeks challenge comes to the rescue.

For this week, you need to create any type of project: card, scrapbook page, 3-D item or whatever you can image, which represents Easter.

And while the title of this weeks GCA mentions Peter Cottontail, you DO NOT have to have a rabbit on your creation. Anything Easter themed is good!

How's this for a cute, and quick, goodie bag? I found this idea on SCS in the gallery of Diana Seitz, AKA paperball, and you can find all the details on her blog: Stamping Moon.

Her goodie bag is made from a 3 x 3 mini envelope, and while this is very cute, I decided to change the size just a tad. I used 4 x 6 envelopes and only put the dsp on the front of the envelope.

I am using these as my 3-D swap for a stamping event I am going to this upcoming weekend. And since I only need to make 10, I thought I would expand the size and that way I can put a little more chocolate in them!! I used 1/4 sheet of tissue paper for the insert and then just trimmed the excess off once I had it in the envelope.

It's a little difficult to see in the photo, but the dsp I used is Bella Rose, now retired, and it's the Pink Pirouette damask print. The same print as the Kiwi Kiss dsp, but my camera washed the Pink Pirouette out. Another thing I did different on this bag is the ribbon. On Diana's she punched holes in the sides and tied the ribbon through. Because I used a larger envelope, I used sticky tape on both sides of the ribbon, Kiwi Kiss, and adhered it to the inside of the envelope. A piece of Pink Pirouette gg finishes it off.

The bunny was stamped in Chocolate Chip and Versamark and then clear embossed. Doesn't he look good enough to eat??? The flowers are from the stitched Sweet Pea felt flowers in the current Occasions mini. Not sure if I like the pom-pom on his tail or not.

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by March 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 GCA82 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 #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~~~