A Monkey New Year - 2010!

HAPPY NEW YEAR all!!!! I hope this finds you healthy and happy on this first day of 2010. How weird is that to say?

I created this card for two different challenges - LSC253 on SCS and LNS51 on the Late Night Stampers Yahoo Group I am in.

I used the soon-to-be released Fox and Friends, coming in the Occasions mini. You can purchase these starting on January 5th! And, I used the new clear mount stamps!!! I love these, as they help make placement soooo much easier!

When I ordered this set I knew I wanted to do the Warhol technique I learned from Technique Junkies, at least once! But I think I see more cards using this technique from this set. It really lends itself to this technique.

I stamped the monkey in black staz-on on 3 each of Certainly Celery and Barely Banana and then punched them out with the scallop square. Each of the squares were then mounted to a black square and placed on the card using dimensionals.

The challenge for LNS51 is to use brads, so I put a black brad in the corner of each square.

LNS253 is create a Happy - New - Year card, but not necessarily specific to the new year.

The happy part is to create a card in 15 minutes or less. When you stamp one image six times and punch it out, makes the card go very quickly!

The new part is my Fox & Friends set. First time it's seen ink.

The year part was to create a card for an annual event - I just stuck to the New Year theme.

And, the best part of all, is this card was put together using only scraps from stash.

I originally intended this to be a birthday card, but as I was looking through my Teeny Tiny Wishes set, I saw the "Happy New Year" and thought it worked better.

Especially with the font. I used the Modern Label and Word Window punch for the sentiment panel. A strip of black gingham finishes it off.

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #53 - Sometimes We Need Limits!!

Hello All!! Sorry for the late post, but I got caught up in my craft room cleaning and organizing!!

Finally, here is my sample for this week's GCA!!! I started with a card base of Old Olive and then layered it with Crushed Curry and WW. I really like how Old Olive, Summer Sun and Ruby Red go together so I thought I would try it with Crushed Curry! Perfect!

I used the Birds w/leaves die for my bird and branches, and the "brads" are punched out of Ruby Red with the 1/4" circle punch. I used the Friendly Words jumbo wheel and Teeny Tiny Wishes. My bird is popped up with dimensionals. I am also entering this card in this months So Shelli Creative challenge. Click on the link for more info.

This week we are going to have limits to what you can, and cannot, have on your card. Think back to the early days when you just started stamping. Did you have every single tool, stamp set, color or embellishment? Probably not! I know I didn't, but did I want it all!! (That hasn't changed much!)

For this week you are to create a card, or project, using the following limits:

* No more than 3 layers - not including your base card

* No use of designer specialty paper

* Brads are the only embellishment (dimensionals, glue dots, etc are ok)

* Die cuts and punches are ok - no dry embossing with CB, Big Shot, etc

* No more than 2 stamps/stamp sets used. Background stamps count as a stamp.

So, the challenge this week is to make a card, project or scrapbook within the limits posted above, 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 August 15, 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 GCA53(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 53) 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~~~

Rich Butterfly Thanks

Hello all!! This is for the LSC this week on SCS: A Challenge to DIE for!!

This is the first time I have used my Rich Razzleberry, and I am so loving it paired with Orchid Opulence!!! That is one color I hardly EVER use and now I can see it will be used a lot!!

Since Wendy limited our stamping to either a sentiment or making our own BG dsp, I opted to use the sentiment. Again, I pulled out my new all-time fave: Teeny Tiny Wishes!!

And, since I finally got my first order in from the new catty, I had to play with new toys!!! Now, I know the M & S die has been out for awhile, but I have drug my feet about getting it, basically because I wasn't sure how to really use it! Well, I recently spent time at a fellow SCSer's house and saw how they worked! Thanks Debra!! So now I have it and the newest additions too!I used the curly label die to create my window and the modern label die to back my punched piece. Since we were limited on the number of stamps we could use, I punched three flowers from WW with the Trio Flower punch and made a bouquet.

And how about that butterfly punch!!!!!! LOVE IT!!! As you can see, the butterfly is going for the flowers.The rest is pretty obvious, except I used thin strips of WW through the button holes. (Not fun, but I do like the result!)

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Butterfly Healing - WT220, LSC22 & LNS 21!!

Hello all!!! Well, I haven't stamped in almost a week for a variety of reasons!! Last weekend I was busy taking advantage of the holiday weekend and four days off, painting in my apartment. That was all fine and dandy, until Monday morning when I bent over to pick something up off the floor, and there went my back!! Early in my nursing career, I injured my back while transferring a patient at the hospital, and every once in awhile it goes out! Usually with little to no warning, as it did this time!!

So, off to the doctor on Tuesday and the rest of the week off work! Sounds like a vacation right?? WRONG!!! I tried to stamp, thinking all I have to do is sit, but I didn't realize how much I twist and turn and reach and grab when stamping! So, three days this week have been spent either lying in bed or sitting with my feet up and taking the good drugs my doctor prescribed as ordered!!! I AM GOING STIR CRAZY!!!! I don't mind time at home, but I really am ready to get back to work.

Anyway, today I finally was able to stamp without causing unnecessary pain to myself, and I combined 3 challenges into one card! For me, I would also classify this as Clean and Simple!!

First off is the Late Night Stampers Yahoo group challenge of a summer theme. What says summer more than bright colors, flowers and butterflies?? The only stamping on here is the sentiment and you;ll see why in a sec!

The LSC this week is to focus on Patterned Paper!! Only the card base could be plain card stock, any other paper on here had to be patterned! My choice was the Tea Party dsp along with the Certainly Celery prints for my leaves. I used my Big Butterflies and Oval Scallop frame dies, the Birds & Blooms and Little Leaves sizzlets and the Simple Flower embosslit. And since we are to keep embellishments to a minimum, I used 3 buttons and some crochet thread. The main flower is up on double dimensionals and the rest are on single dimensionals.

The WT for this week is to use buttons!! I love using buttons and SU! has some fabulous ones to choose from. One here I used the Button Latte and Pretty in Pink buttons.

I am also sending this out to a fellow demo who recently lost her husband.

Please send a prayer up for son's girlfriend, Misty, who trying very hard to bring forth my grandson Malaki, who is being stubborn!!! (Just like his daddy!!)

Happy Stamping!!!!

~~~Ann~~~

GCA #27 - Let the Sun Shine On!!

Hello everyone!!! You're probably asking yourself, what does she mean by that!?!? Well, for this week we are focusing on Yo Yo Yellow, or equivalent, in our creations!!! The other day I was working on some card samples for an upcoming make & take, and wanted to use some colors I seldom use. Yo Yo Yellow definitely fits that bill!! I think because it is SO bright, I have a hard time using it! What about you? Here's your chance!!

I have two samples to show you, both similar in style, but using different stamp sets and one less layer on one card.

The first card uses A Little Birdie Told Me to make a get well card. I just received the Circles scallop #2 for the Big Shot and just HAD to play with it!! So my Yo Yo Yellow scallop is cut with the large scallop circle and the really rust scallop is cut with the smaller circle. When I first made this card I thought it needed something behind the yellow and so I cut the Pumpkin Pie circle out with my coluzzle. I do like how that really made it pop. The leaves for the "flower" were punched with my small oval punch in Old Olive. And to take the glare off the white, I sponged around each white circle. A very quick and easy card to make!

The second card is the same layout, minus the large Pumpkin Pie circle. On this card I used my much neglected Flight of the Butterfly for a springy card! This time I cut the smaller scallop circle out with Pumpkin Pie and didn't sponge around the white circle. I did sponge around the large white circle with Yo Yo Yellow.

Of the two samples, the butterfly one was chosen!! Again, another quick, clean and simple card to make!! Both of these uses Kraft as the base card and each of the smaller scallop circles are up on dimensionals.

To be entered in the challenge drawing, make a card using Yo Yo Yellow, or an equivalent, as focus on your card, 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 February 6, 2009 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner through a random number generator and post the next Saturday or 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, or Paper Craft Planet, please put GCA27(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 27) 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~~~

Some of my favorite things are...

.... COFFEE and SWEETS!!!!

This week for the Limited Supplies Challenge on SCS, Judy took inspiration from lyrics from the Sound of Music! When creating your card you are to use some of favorite things, but on a limited basis!!! She even gave us a list, which I too kept checking to make I stayed within the "rules"!!

Limit: Your creation should have your favorite things!

Stamps: no specific theme, but should be one of your favorite companies, or your favorite set or images

Cardstock and ink:Your favorite color combination using three colors (neutrals can be added in addition to the three, if desired). Designer paper is fine, as long as it is mainly the three colors (or less) you have chosen.

Embellishments and tools:TWO or THREE of your favorites from this list:1)brads/eyelets/hardware (so if you use both brads and a metal frame, that still only counts as one since they are listed together); 2)punches; 3)ribbon/trim/cord/twine; 4)Nestabilities/Big Shot/Sizzix/Slice/Cricut/Cuttlebug; 5)flowers (paper or otherwise); 6)chipboard/grungeboard; 7)piercing/faux stitching/stitching ; 8 ) glitter/embossing powder

Technique: No limit here, but if you want to use a favorite technique too, that would be great!

So for my card here I used:

* Stamps: Thanks a Latte by Treehouse Stamps. This is my favorite of Ashley's stamps, and I LOVE coffee and sweets!! I could drink coffee all day long and if sweets were a food group, I'd be in heaven!!

* Cardstock: My favorite color combo is pink/brown, but I also really like Pumpkin Pie!!! So pairing these three colors together was a no brainer with the new Sweet Always dsp I just received!!!

* Embellies/Tools: Well, I LOVE my punches!! So I went punch crazy here using my MS scallop border, ticket corner, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches. I used buttons as my embellies, but now I see they aren't on the list!! Oh, well!

* I did paper piecing on the coffee cup with the Sweet Always dsp and popped up the cup portion with dimensionals. That is one of my favorite techniques, as well as sponging my cardstock. I really like to add sponging to any white cardstock, as I feel it takes some of the glare from the white away!! I also used Crystal Effects on the coffee, steam & cherries to make them more "real"!

As you can see on the inside of my card I added more of the dsp using my MS scallop border punch and used the "leftover" strips as added dimension. Some stamping with the cupcakes and coffee bean, and wa la!!

Take a minute and check out LSC201 and make a creation with some of your favorite things!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Coffee and 10,000 Hits!!!!

Hello everyone!! I just noticed my counter went over the 10,000 hit!!!! Woohoo, that means I'll be offering up some Blog Candy!!! I'll go shopping to see what I find and get the 10,000 hit blog candy up this weekend! Thank you to everyone who has helped me get so many hits! I hope you keep coming back for more!

My card I have for you today is for LSC184: Orange Roasters. I have to admit when I first read the title I thought, "Orange Roosters? I don't have any rooster stamps!" Then I re-read Silvia's post and noticed it said roaster, not rooster! It was kate and I was tired, ok! LOL!

I also combined this with WT182 - Speciality Paper. I've had this stack of DCWV Pocket & Posies sparkle dsp for quite some time! Not that I don't necessarily want to use it, but I forget I have it!! LOL!!I found a color combo using this paper I would have never thought to put together too! I used Tangerine Tango, Apricot Appeal and Sage Shadow. But I have to say the Sage Shadow works on here!

I put CE on the spots on the coffee cup and on the "coffee" part. Not sure how well that shows up in the pic. This wonderful coffee/latte set is NOW available from Treehouse Stamps!! For any coffee lover this set is a must have!I used the coffee bean with this set in all the colors on the white middle strip. Covered up most of it!

Had to cut out the steam again! It's a given with this since steam isn't flat, right?

I also used the sketch I am featuring this week's GCA. One of my first players, and winners, sent me a RAK with this sketch and I just loved it! She found it on Julee Tilman's blog. There is still time to play in my challenge this week and be entered in the raffle. You have until 12 midnight Friday 9/5. Come on and get creative with me!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Happy Fourth of July America!!!!

Hello my fellow stampers and I hope this finds everyone having a safe and enjoyable day!! Here in Jackson, MI we experiencing a gloriously beautiful day of sunshine and just right temps! That has happened here in a few years.

For LSC175 on SCS today we are incorporating the 4th literally!! Judy is the guest hostess and her challenge for us is to us only four colors; Red, White and Blue (she counted the and), no more than four layers of cardstock and only four embellishments or speciality tools.

WOW!, did I have to think on this one, but I love how this came together. I knew right away I wanted to use Bayou Blue, Ruby Red and River Rock along with my White. I love how well Bayou Blue and Ruby Red go together and River Rock fits perfectly as my fourth color.

I chose to use my American Dream set from Treehouse Stamps since it embraces the holiday so well. I stamped my kids in black staz on and colored them with my SU! markers. They were stamped on watercolor paper. Once I was done, I used my ink pad lids of Soft Sky and Cert. Celery to brush on the sky and grass with a watercolor brush. The firecrackers were stamped with Summer Sun and punched out with the 1/2" circle punch and raised up with a dimensional.

My BG white layer was ran through the CB with the Distressed Stripes folder using the Cuttlebug Smoosh technique. The scallop circle was punched in River Rock and layered with a white circle and the sentiment stamped in Ruby Red. I used Summer Sun around the edges.

The final step was running the River Rock stitched ribbon around the top and tying a knot with the River Rock & Blue Bayou stitched and white taffeta. The main image panel and sentiment circle are all up on dimensionals. Judy said they counted as adhesives!!

Happy Stamping everyone!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Christmas Cards Galore!!!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving Day yesterday!!! I spent the day with my son's girlfriend's family, and talk about the food her mom made!!! I think I gained 10lbs!!! And how many of you ventured out for Black Friday shopping today?? Not me! I've done that for many years and it gets a little tiresome after awhile. I am going out after I post this, but to Home Depot to look at items for my soon to be completed new Stamp Room!!!!!! Besides I have a lot of my Christmas shopping done. On to the cards!! All 4 cards I have to show you are Christmas cards as I am working on completing them with each of the SCS challenges I do.

The first card is for the color challenge this week of Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink and Shimmery White.

I've wanted to try the layout of the card on the front cover of the November Paper Crafts mag, and so that is what I did for this card. The sample card did not have a sentiment on it and is regular size, but I made mine 5" square and added a sentiment. I wanted to keep the angular feel of the main image panel with the sentiment panel so I only punched 3 corners with the tag corner punch. I used Wild Wasabi textured for the card base.

My second card is for Sketch Challenge 151. A very simple, and easily reproducible layout, for this week. For the main image I used my Cuttlebug snowflakes folder and did the Cuttlebug Smoosh technique from the Oct/Nov '07 Technique Junkies newsletter. A very fun and easy technique to do!

I used Pretty in Pink textured as my base, Cranberry Crisp (need to use this up!) and white from PaperTrey. This paper is heavier and embosses great! My ink I used on the snowflakes is the Cotton Candy spectrum pad.

The main image snowflake and sentiment were stamped in silver metallic and embossed in silver. I did tool distressing on the Cranberry panel edges. Faux brads punched from silver cardstock complete it!

The third card is for Ways to Use It 141 - Faux Stitching. I have some card bases left from last Christmas I found and so I am using those up as well!!

My faux stitching is done with the x's from All In A Row in black craft. Beate does this all the time, and I have tried it a few times with so, so results, but this time I think they came out pretty good! I used Dashing dp on here along with Always Artichoke and Naturals Ivory.

My flower is from Time Well Spent, a new level 3 hostess set coming out in the Spring/Summer 08 catalog. This was gift to demos from SU! How sweet was that!!

My intent here was to create the look of a poinsettia, or a Christmas type flower, and I think I did ok. I used my Bravo Burgundy marker on the outside edges and a blender pen to draw the color into the flower. I did the same thing on the leaves.

A few buttons and some ribbon and this card is done!!!

My fourth, and last card, is for Limited Supplies challenge 141 - Sensational Snowflakes. For this challenge you could only use snowflakes, one sentiment, main colors had to be neutrals, one embellishment, one speciality tool and just a touch of color.

I decided to go with the blacks and grays, just to see how they would look in this combo. Again, I did the Cuttlebug Smoosh with the snowflakes folder using Going Gray ink. Some wide white gg and a touch of blue taffeta, and it's done!!


Well I'm off to Home Depot and such for items I NEED for my new stamp room!!




Take care and Happy Stamping!!



~~~Ann~~~

Simply Thanks from the Heart

Hello fellow stampers!! Fridays mean Limited Supply Challenge over on SCS! For this challenge you have to follow the list, which is:

A) Use 2-3 stamps - one should be a heart image or sentiment.
B) Choose one designer paper pattern OR one embellishment.
C) Choose one specialty tool. (Optional)
D) Limit the layers.
E) Use any coloring tools.

On my card I used exactly 3 stamps: 2 hearts and a sentiment from Simply Said. This is the set I thought of immediately after I read the first "rule"! And since this set is a 2 step stampin' set, it took up 2 stamps right off the top. I wanted to use Linen on the Only Orange layer, but I couldn't.

The layout I used came from the new Paper Crafts magazine I received today. It is the January recipe 2 on page 30. I opted for an embellishment instead of dp because of the layout. This gives the feeling of a hanging picture on your card. I used Vanilla wide grosgrain.

My speciality tool I used is the Martha Stewart scallop border punch I recently bought. I love how this looks when completed.

My color scheme came from a card I saw on SCS using Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie and Cool Caribbean. I really miss Cool Caribbean, but I stocked up on it as much as I could in June!! I used Chocolate Chip textured here.

I really did limit my layers on this card. Actually the hardest part of this card was running the ribbon through the front image. Overall this card probably took me 30 minutes to make.

Take care and Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Opulent Birthday Wishes

Hello stampers and friends!! So sorry for being away for a few days! :( Have you ever started home improvement projects that just seem to take on a life of their own?? Well that is what I am in the midst of now!! As you know from my previous posts I am going through a divorce and my soon-to-be-ex-husband did move out last Saturday. I am very thankful to my Lord in Heaven for how uncomplicated this whole thing has been. Needless to say, now I am starting on my remodeling projects that have been on hold for quite some time. And I'm not talking just one project, no I have to tackle multiple projects!! Some of the renovations are being completed by professionals, such as my wood flooring and new carpeting, but all of that id dependent on me pulling up old carpet and such! Which means I have had limited time for stamping, much to my dismay!! Never fear though I do have stamping projects coming up which will be posted.

The card for today is for the Limited Supply challenge on SCS. This week's theme is Quick & Easy. While this card may look like it took awhile to complete, in reality it took me only about 25 minutes to put together. The hardest part was deciding which colors to use!! I already knew what stamp set I wanted to use.

For Limited Supplies we could use one flower stamp, inked once and we could do generation stamping with this stamp if we wanted. One swirl stamp and a sentiment were the other allowable stamps. Our layers were to be self limited, we could use plain and patterned paper, the only embellishment allowed was ribbon and we could use any type of "quick" tools such as punches, Cuttlebug, etc.

Since I just received Garden Silhouettes I wanted to use the flower branch from that set and I used the swirl from Baroque Motifs. My sentiment came from Circle of Friendship. The colors I opted for Orchid Opulence, Basic Black, Wild Wasabi text. and Whisper White. The patterned green panel from last summers Petal Patch.

I used my Orchid Opulence, Certainly Celery and Elegant Eggplant markers to color the flowers and stamped 3 times on the WW panel. Some light sponging in Orchid Opulence around the edges finished off the main panel.

I used Wild Wasabi ink on the wasabi panel with the Baroque Motif swirl. The remainder of the card is pretty self explanatory.

Take care and Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Wishes and More Wishes!!

Hello everyone!! I am completely blown away with all my Blog Candy entries and your wonderful compliments!! I love to visit different blogs and learn new tips or techniques I haven't tried. Thank you again for visiting my blog and your comments.

I have two creations for you today. I am still playing with my new Gina K. Designs stamp set and working on my sample for my class next Saturday.

As you know on Friday's it's Limited Supply Challenge day and Jen gave us a Halloween twist!! For this challenge you are to use a Halloween stamp with a non-Halloween sentiment or words. Since I only have one Halloween set, Booglie Eyes, I decided to use Dracula with the wishing you well sentiment from the Make A Wish set. How many Dracula's do you know who send well wishes?? LOL!

As with all the LSC challenges items need to be limited. We are to self-regulate the amount of embellishments, layers and such. On this card I used two different embellishments: wide black gingham and black button brads.

I stamped Dracula on WW textured in black staz on and used my Watercolor Wonder Crayons. I finished with sponging on the edges in Pumpkin Pie. Of course I had to put googly eyes on him!! The black scallop is the Marvy mega and I punched the holes with the 1/8" handheld punch.

On the Pumpkin Pie piece I used my crimper in the middle and then experimented with my ticket corner punch. I took off the guard and punched a reverse scallop on the ends and used the 3/16" handheld punch.

I used my distressor tool on the Old Olive panel and that's it! This was a quick and easy card to make.

My second card is for Beate's weekend sketch challenge. This week she had a File Folder card to make. Check it out her blog on my side bar.

For this I used the star cluster stamp from Make A Wish. I was going to watercolor my images, but as I was positioning cardstock and such, I thought about cutting out the stars in different pieces of cardstock. The star image panel is up on foam tape. I also used my color spritzer in Old Olive and sponged the edges in Only Orange. My base card is Only Orange, with a Wild Wasabi layer and textured pattern dp by K & Co.

I used twill tape as my wrap and this also keeps the card closed. However, I think the next one I make I will use sticky strip to keep the card closed and the ribbon will only be for added embellishment.

To make the stars on the front, I used SU!'s star punch to punch out two and then used my sponge in Only Orange to stencil them. The "NOW" is handwritten in Old Olive. My idea is this will be for someone who has graduated, gotten their first job, promotion or their dream job.

The insert is Wild Wasabi textured and WW. I stamped a saying from In My Thought's (SU!) and Make a wish!. I stamped the stars after coloring them with SU! markers. The roundtab punch piece is WW textured, sponged in Wild Wasabi and 3 punched stars on top.

I think I may have gone overboard on the stars!!! But I like the end result.

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

True Friend and Thank U

What do these have in common? They are two of the cards I've worked on this week for SCS challenges!! Both cards use True Friend from the Holiday mini collection and one uses Zoofari.

The first card is for the Wednesday sketch challenge. I needed to make up some samples using True Friend to show my customers and club members and this is what I cam up with.

The colors for this card came from the piece of swirly dp (not sure who makes it) which incorporate Choc. Chip, Ruby Red, and Blush Blossom. I hardly use Blush Blossom, but I like how these all go so well together.

I mounted the dp on Choc. Chip and did some paper piercing around the edge. On the Blush Blossom layer I stamped Linen in Choc. Chip/Ruby Red. I stamped off once before putting it on the card, but I think I should have stamped off twice. Oh, well too late now!!

On the vertical strip I layered Choc. Chip, Ruby Red and Very Vanilla with distressing done on the Choc. Chip layer. I stamped the small flower medallion in Blush Blossom and stamped the sentiment in Ruby Red. Some light sponging with Choc. Chip ink and it's done!

The flower was inked in Ruby Red and rock n rolled in Choc. Chip. I used my Always Artichoke marker to color the stem and then stamped onto Very Vanilla. Blush Blossom on Linen was over stamped on the image, more light sponging and I used the ticket corner punch on all 4 corners. The Ruby Red panel has distressing on all the edges as well. Four copper brads completes this panel. This panel is up on dimensionals.

I wanted to put some ribbon on here, but I didn't want to cover up the dp so I opted for a simple knot bow onto a Hodge Podge Hardware clip in Aged Copper. The ribbon I used is the new Chocolate satin from SU! in the Holiday mini. Very soft and shiny!!!

My second card is for today's Limited Supplies Challenge. Today Jen had us using no more than 4 layers and self limiting our embellishments. Since I just had my stampers club meeting on Wednesday night, one of the cards we made fit with a few changes.

This card literally took me 15 minutes to make!! One of the fastest I've ever made! The base card is Groovy Guava with Groovy Guava dp layered on there. We used Zoofari for my club cards, and it was on my stamp table!!, I went with it!

The zebra is stamped in Groovy Guava with sponging around the edges and layered onto Always Artichoke. The ribbon is Wild Wasabi double stitched and Always Artichoke gg stapled on with a green staple.

The 'Thank U' is from True Friend and is stamped in Always Artichoke. Remember when I said I was involved with a large stamping event? Well, these are the thank yous I will be sending out to my customers who attended.

The base card and the middle panel are sponged in Always Artichoke to give it some depth. The paper piercing was a last minute decision and I like how it really makes the middle panel 'pop'!

I've now added a subscription spot if you would like to subscribe to my blog and know when I add new posts.

Take care and Thanks for stopping by!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~

Here Comes Autumn & Halloween

Jen gave us a real challenge this Friday for the LSC, 3 parts and all had to be completed to be eligible for the random drawing she will hold on Monday, 9/3.


Part 1 was to create an Autumn or Halloween scene card. Part 2 was to create a Halloween card using an animal stamp you wouldn't normally see in a Halloween card. And part 3 was to create a tent topper card in a Halloween or autumn theme. These could all be combined into one card if you wanted.




The first card I created was my Autumn scene. Well, as much as I love how this card turned out, my scene was not complete. I used Lovely As a Tree, stamped in brown staz on and sponged autumn colors over the image. The leaves are stamped on the Pumpkin Patch spectrum pad from Seasonal Whimsy. The pumpkins are made using my 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches. A bit of mellow moss gg for a stem and linen thread for the vines, and you have pumpkins!! Jen gave me some great creative advice in how to make a scene card. I have never attempted to create a card of this type before, so I was WAY out of my comfort zone!!

But the second card you see is my tent topper card combined with another scene, this time using Halloween stamps. I used the new textured paper in Basic Black for my base and then layered Pumpkin Pie, Creepy Crawly dp and WW. Again I used Lovely As A Tree stamped in black staz on here and sponged with fall colors. My tent topper is made using the Mary mega scallop and super circle punches in Wild Wasabi and Summer Sun. My ghouly friends from Booglie Eyes are out for a fun night of Trick or Treating and their friend the witch is pointing the way to the treats! No tricks here!! And they are not complete without the addition of googly eyes!!

The third card here is my Halloween card using a non Halloween image. I used the alligator from Wild About You, hand drew a witch's hat, and hung the pumpkin bucket from his mouth. I used the Creepy Crawly dp as the BG and as my sentiment. The torn papers are taken from a card on display at convention with another set of dp. Since we had to limit ourselves with layers, tools and embellishments I only used ribbon and the ticket corner punch on here. The main panel is raised with dimensionals and so is the gator and sentiment. The card looked "bare" yet to me, so I used my black marker and did some doodling. I used the new WW textured cardstock for my base.



Be sure to check out the SCS forums for all of the weekly challenges for your own fun & excitement. All of the links are in the side bar on the right.


Thanks for stopping by!!


Happy Stamping!!


~~~Ann~~~

Limited Supplies 8/24

Hello All!!




Fridays are the Limited Supplies Challenge (LSC) on SCS. The forum thread can be found in side bar on the right. The theme for this week was Oldies but Goodies. We were to use 1 or 2 stamp sets which have not seen ink in a looong time, and old sketch challenge, an old color combo and 1 -2 embellishments. The embellies were to be items that tend to get hoarded!! Since I seem to have my sleep cycle all backwards, I was up really late Thursday and actually made 2 cards for this challenge. My first I wasn't completely satisfied with, but it has grown on me.

This card was made using Blossoms Abound, Floral BG, Warm Words and Canvas. None of these sets have seen ink in quite some time!! The Floral BG was stamped with Pretty in Pink and then speckled lightly with Always Artichoke, CC #65. The sketch I chose was SC#48, and you were to use ovals in any manner you chose. I used my Fiskars oval templates for the main image panel and the oval from the Aged Copper HPH. To reduce the glare of the WW, I very lightly stamped Sahara Sand on both oval pieces and then stamped the main images. The rest of the HPH is all Aged Copper, and I do tend to hoard this! Not sure why because I can't sell this to my customers if I don't demo it's uses!!

Distressing was done on the Bravo Burgundy and WW panels and then DTP to the WW panel with Burgundy. Once I had the sentiment panel on, I needed something in the upper right corner but couldn't decide on what. So I went with a second ribbon treatment and a small piece of burgundy gg to tie all the colors in together.

Now I do use ribbon quite a bit, but I have been hoarding this new WW taffeta and it's gorgeous!! The Floral BG panel is up on dimensionals, the main oval image is also up on dimensionals and the oval HPH is up on thick foam squares.

My second card came together much quicker and I was much happier with the end result when I finished.

The image is House Mouse and I've only used him twice now!!! Isn't he just the cutest?? My sentiment came from Everyday Flexible Phrases which I also haven't used in a while. Again, I used more Aged Copper HPH to demo the uses to my customers. My customers look at it in the catalog, but they aren't sure what to do with all of it. So with these two cards, and with others I've done, I can keep with me at workshops and show just how to use some of the items.

I used CC#41 and SC05 for this card. The dp is textured and from K&Co. The small strip on the center panel is So Saffron dp. My ribbon choices are Burgundy gg and the new Very Vanilla taffeta. I brought the layered ribbon up through the double swirl clip and then tied together. More distressing on the So Saffron piece and the middle center panel. House Mouse is stamped in Timber Brown staz on and watercolored with my WWC. Paper piercing done around the Saffron edge and in the four corners of the scalloped square.

I hope these give you some ideas for using items you may tend hoard!! Don't hoard them!! Use them to create beautiful and unique creations!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~