GCA #132 - Anything Goes with a Technique!!

Hello all!!!  Sorry for the late posting.  Actually, I thought I had it posted earlier and just needed to add my sample!  Oh, well!

So, the challenge this week is "Anything Goes" theme wise, but with the additional twist of using a technique. Is it required to use a specific technique? No. I just like finding all the new techniques that I can!! If you do use a technique you found on a blog, in a paper craft mag or even one you came up with, let us know so we can check it out too!!  A couple of sites I can lead you to is SCS - Try a New Technique challenge and Technique Junkies.

Actually the sample I have for you tonight is one of the technique cards we did at club today.  This one is called Faux Mother-of-Pearl.  And does it pack a WOW!!  A little messy, but the results are worth it.

Started with a card base of Daffodil Delight, folded at the top.  On a piece of Whisper White the swirl from Baroque Motifs was stamped in Wild Wasabi and the flower in Tangerine Tango.  Once those were stamped the entire piece was run through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice ebf.  Sort of gives the panel the look of fabric, doesn't it?  I took my inspiration for this card from one I saw on Stampin' Connection by Brenda Ruse.

The butterflies were cut with the Butterfly die and Big Shot with glossy white card stock. 

To create the Faux MOP look you need shimmer paint, preferably white, plain or glossy white card stock, paper plate, plastic wrap and ink.  Here's how it goes:

1.  Pour a little of the shimmer paint onto a paper plate.  Scrunch up the plastic wrap and lightly dip into the paint.  Dab off excess if needed.
2.  Dab the paint over the image, or panel, randomly.  Leave parts of the card stock open.
3.  Set aside to dry.  Doesn't take long.
4.  Once dry, use a sponge or brayer to cover the image or panel with the ink of your choice.  On my sample the large butterfly is sponged with Daffodil Delight and the smaller one with Tangerine Tango.
5.  Set these aside to dry for a few minutes.  Then embellish and finish your card!

Daffodil Delight 1/8" taffeta and white crochet thread finishes off the butterfly.

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 23, 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 GCA132 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~~~~ 

Love You - DIC141

Hello all!!!  Time for another UDI Blog Inspiration challenge!  I just love the inspiration picture that Maria picked for us this week.  A very simple, yet focused, picture of a Monarch butterfly on a yellow flower.  It gives such a nice feeling that Spring is finally coming.   Make sure to check out the UDI Blog and play along.

My inspiration came from the yellow of the flower and the butterfly.  The newest Technique Junkies newsletter is loaded with fun and interesting techniques to try.  The technique that I used on here is called Millefiori.  It is based on an Italian way for making stained glass.  I used three different sets to create the background piece:  Flower Fancy, Pick a Petal and Dreams du'Jour.  I can't give you all the specifics of the technique, but if you check out the Technique Junkies site, you can get the details for getting the newsletter.

The main image and butterfly come from the Dreams du'Jour set.  And this image is great for also using the Outof-the-Box technique because it's already set up for you!  I stamped it twice, once in black staz on and again in Kiwi Kiss.  I then cut the image out, leaving the leaves and bud outside the box, following the inner boxed lines.  I then layered it with a dimensional with the second image.

Luckily for me, I stamped a butterfly in just the right spot so I could cut it out and pop it up over the stamped image.  Helps to give it even more depth.

The "bow" is a faux bow using the instructions from Mary Brown.  The entire background panel and strip are popped up on dimensionals too.

This is going out to my March Just One partner with Technique Junkies.

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

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Birthday Wishes - Western Style GCA 125

Hello all!!!  So sewing was not that popular last week!  This week we'll try something fun and easy!  Birthday cards!  That's it.  All you need to do is make a birthday card.  It can be for a man, woman or child and whatever colors/theme you like.  It just needs to reference "Birthday" somewhere on the front.

My card this week is for three challenges.  Mine and the Late Night Stampers Yahoo group I belong to.  The challenge for LNS was to make a masculine card.  I think this is masculine!  I also used the Monday Lunchtime Sketch challenge on the Technostamper Blog by Mary Jo.

The card base is Marina Mist, layered with Soft Suede and Crumb Cake.  Very Vanilla is my neutral. 

It's hard to see on here, but on the Crumb Cake piece I did the Faux Suede technique.  I also stamped the hat and boot on there in Crumb Cake and spritzed with Soft Suede.  On the Soft Suede panel I stamped the horseshoe and steer head, but they are pretty much covered up on here.

The thing I like the most is the "stitching" on the scallop square piece.  That was done with linen thread, needle and free hand!  I like the rugged look it gives here.  The Soft Suede square was distressed with my distressor tool and then layered with a piece of the Crumb Cake Faux Suede.

The cowboy, from the Out West set, was first stamped on Very Vanilla in Brown ink.  Then he was "cut out" using the Out-of-the-Box technique.  I just love doing this technique with this image.  Once I had him cut to where I wanted, I colored him with my aquapainter, stamp lid inks and markers.  The main image/Crumb Cake piece is up on dimensionals as is the entire scallop square.

My birthday sentiment is from the SAB set, So Happy For You, stamped in Marina Mist.  I tried the curly/pennant tag on here.  Need some more work on that!

On the inside I stamped the boot in Soft Suede, steer head in Crumb Cake and the hat in Night of Navy on Marina Mist.  The hat is popped up.  The sentiment is non-SU!

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 26, 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 GCA125 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~~~~ 

Playdate Goes Western!!

Hello all!!!  Here we are at the end of 2010!  Kind of hard to believe that in 24 hours, or less, we will be starting a New Year!  Do you have your resolutions ready?  And can you keep them for more than a day??? LOL!!

Today I have 2 cards for you that I created using my newest set, Out West.  This set is perfect for any and all male cards.  And, if you are like me, those are not the easiest to create!!  Both of these cards actually started, and were completed, with scraps/leftovers on my craft table.

Each card uses pretty much the same supplies, just in different ways.  The background piece is what started it.  This was left from the strips I used on my reindeer scrapbook page.  It's rolled with the Rough Texture wheel in Crumb Cake and stamped with the Sanded bg in Choc. Chip.

What I really want to point out are the techniques on the two cards.  On the first card, I used the out-of-the-box technique with the horse and cowboy.  Normally I would leave a little more of the base card, but every time I placed it on the square layers it looked liked just a little more needed to come off!!!  I do like how the cowboy and horse seem to really be coming off the card!  They were colored using my aquapainter and stamp pad lids.  Once dry, I went over some of the highlighted areas with my markers.

On the second card I used the "Depth of Field" technique I learned from Technique Junkies.  You have to look very carefully, but the horseshoe is there, stamped in So Saffron.  Then the cowboy hat in Old Olive and the steer in Choc. Chip.  Not sure how many cowboys wear green boots, but it certainly does make the boot pop off the card!!  The felt ribbon is from last year's holiday mini and the baby safety pin came from a recent clothing purchase.  It was just sitting on my craft table and tried it on here.  I like how it looks on here.  This will be my card for my supervisor who is retiring in April.  Since he likes "cowboy coffee" I thought this set was appropriate!!

I'm also entering both of these in Shelli's monthly So Shelli contest.  This month is focused on techniques!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #115 - The Colors of Christmas!!!

Hello all!!!  Did you think I forgot??  I really didn't didn't, but I got pulled away by two very adorable and lovable little boys yesterday!!!  However, on to the stamping today!!

This week the focus is on the colors of Christmas.  Traditional colors, like:

RED
GREEN
GOLD

You may use any combination of these colors, or or just one, but your creations for this week must include one of the colors above.  Of course, neutrals may be added as needed.

The card I have to show you today covers 4 different challenges!!!!  The first is CC299 on SCS.  The colors are Real Red, River Rock and Old Olive.  The second is SC309 on SCS.  The sketch calls for a square card and I went with it!!  The finished size is 5.5 x 5.5.  This is one large card!!  The third is for Shelli's monthly challenge on her blog, So Shelli.  She is the co-founder of SU!  The challenge this month is techniques.  And of course, the fourth is for the GCA!

Most of the details are pretty obvious, but I want to talk about the techniques I did on here.  The most obvious is the Torn Frame technique I learned from the Technique Junkies.  It really is easy to do and makes a wow for your images.  Another one, and one of my favorite, is watercoloring with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons!!  I used my blender pen to pull off the color from the crayon and onto the image.

It's a little difficult to see, but I used the Champagne Mist shimmer paint for the tree ornaments and around the scallops on the sentiment.  I used my stylus, dipped it into the paint and then dotted the shimmer paint where I wanted it.  The background dsp is from Presto Patterns, which I highlighted with Real Red and River Rock.

And the last technique on here is the hot new trend with ribbon: scrunching/ruffling!  This is so much fun to do and very easy once you get the hang of it!  When you give it a try, be prepared though, because you do use more ribbon than you think you will!!!  The bow was tied using my bow-maker.

Upload your creation to either your blog or to an online gallery and post a link to your creation to this blog entry by December 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 GCA115 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 #108 - Trees, Trees Everywhere!!

Hello all!!!  Yesterday I spent a wonderful day at a stamping event with my up - upline, Jan Wakeland.  She is from Pennsylvania and she some to my little town of Jackson, MI!!!  Jan is an awesome person, so full of love, warmth and such a passion for guiding you in your SU! business.  I have learned a lot from her.  She asked me to do a presentation at the meeting, showing how to use our new Distressing Essentials Kit.  It was a lot of fun, and I forgot completely to take pictures of my projects!!  I know a couple of my friends did so I will see if they can forward them to me.

As I contemplated the challenge for this week, I sat on my balcony looking out and thought "I will sure miss the leaves on the trees surrounding the back of my apartment building."  Since I live in an older complex, we have many, many grown and mature trees that shade us and create privacy.  During the spring, summer and fall seasons I feel like I"m living in my own secluded world as much of the surrounding neighbors are hidden by the trees.  So that is where the idea for this week's GCA came from!

The card I have for you is one I made last year, while still a current set (Trendy Trees), some of the papers and embellies are not.  I used Sage Shadow, dsp from 2009 Holiday mini, Sage Shadow gg, Creamy Caramel textured card stock and Whisper White as my card base.  But still, it's a cute card, if I do say so myself!  This card was created for a VSN challenge on SCS last May.  Here's the details of that challenge:

For this challenge there was a list of items you needed to include on your card!! Those are:

5 layers of dp and/or cardstock
3 colors of ink
1 image
1 sentiment
3 dew drops (brads, bling or liquid pearls will qualify for this - no faux brads/etc)
Stickles or Shimmerz or glitter or glittery gel pen to glam it up!!
some sponging....
and to get the suitcase closed, you'll need some ribbon!! (thread will work too)

* Well, I have 6 layers of card stock, not counting the base layer!
* 1 image and 1 sentiment
* 3 brads
* ribbon and thread!!
* sponging on the frame and image panel
* gold and clear glittery pens used on the tree

My frame around the main image was made using the torn frame technique from the Nov/Dec 2008 TJ newsletter. I love how this turned out, but it took over half my time to create!! Good thing the rest of the card came together very quickly!!!!

My glittery pens on the tree don't show too well, but they are there!

So, the challenge for this week is to have your creation incorporate a tree, or trees, on it.  Even branches count.  And if you don't have any tree stamps, feel free to make your own!

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 9, 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 GCA108 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 - 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~~~

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~~~