Stampin' Anne

Lucky in Love for Our Creative Corner

2012-03-17T00:15:00.000-05:00

Top o' the mornin' to ya! Happy Saturday and Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone out there! This week at Our Creative Corner, our very own Anita Houston has whipped up a fun challenge for us. Here are the details, in Anita's words, along with an inspiration photo:

"As luck would have it today's challenge falls on St. Patrick's Day! Ah, the luck of the Irish, or so some say. For this weeks challenge make a card or tag with some sort of bingo card on it, and use the color green somewhere on the project. With some luck, you just might have the winning one!"

So this was the first time I have ever used a bingo card...kind of shameful, right? After looking around the web and good ol' trusty, Pinterest, I was able to find a lot of free printable images for bingo cards. The free image I used on my card, was found HERE. I simply saved it to my computer, sized it to fit my card, printed it out (sponged the edges a bit) and there you go. Well THAT was the easy part...

After I had the bingo card, I was having a case of the hiccups trying to put it all together. I aspire to be one of those folks that can create "shabby-tastic" masterpieces. Admittedly, I struggle with that style...probably because it is out of my usual comfort zone. But that is what makes a challenge challenging, right?

I had some wonderful encouragement from my friend LeAnne, who wisely suggested that I use one of the bingo numbers to celebrate a date. Bazinga! There it was! (Thanks, LeAnne!) I happened to need a card to send to some friends of ours who are celebrating 15 wonderful years of wedded bliss, this year.

There are a lot of elements on the card, so I am just going to hit a few points. I colored the satin flowers with markers to match the card colors. I printed out an extra bingo card so I could cut out another rose to pop-up and glitter...I also punched out the "15" and popped it up on a heart for the love-birds. The scrunchy seam binding and crochet heart came from the amazingly talented Linda Coughlin, our fearless leader at Our Creative Corner. This is not my usual style but I really, REALLY enjoyed stepping out of my usual "crafty safe-zone" to make it. All of the supplies are listed at the end of the post.

Here is the inside of my card, perfect for the happy couple. Isn't that sentiment wonderful? This could also easily be used for a wedding card.

I sure hope you will join us this week at Our Creative Corner! The lovely ladies on the Design Team have whipped up some gorgeous creations for inspiration this week. Please check them out and share some bloggin' love:

Linda Coughlin- The Funkie Junkie

Vicki Burdick- It's a Stamp Thing

Sue Butler- Scrumplescrunch
Anita Houston- The Artful Maven Haven

Anne Marie Hile- Stampin' Anne

Wendy Janson- It's All About Stamping
Marcy Kaminski - En Papillote Arts
Holly Kean- Kean On Paper
Irena Kowalczyk (aka Rudlis) - Love, Life and Crafts
Meihsia Liu- Simply Paper Crafts
Tui Nathan- Stampin Time
Lori Rider- The Diva Stamper
Kristin Tierney- Lilly Beth Boutique
Sharon Wheet- Designs by Sharon

Our Guest Designer this week:

Amy Lazzell- Just a Thought...Cards by Amy

Thanks for stopping by!
Have a HAPPY (and lucky) day,

Stampin Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Tiny Tags and Occasional Quotes (ret. on inside of card)
Paper: Ruby Red (ret.), Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla and Soft Suede card stock
Ink: Ruby Red (ret.), Soft Suede and Crumb Cake (for sponged distressing) Classic ink
Punches: Bitty Punch Pack (small circle for date), small heart, Tiny Tag
Accessories: Basic Pearls, Vintage Walpaper Embossing Folder, Vanilla Satin Rosettes (ret.), Ruby Red (ret.) and Pretty in Pink Stampion' Write Markers, Dazzling Details, Hemp Twine, Twitterpated Designer Mini Buttons (Occasions Mini Catalog) and a whole bunch of Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU! Accessories: free bingo card image, scrunchy seam binding and distressed crochet heart (both from Linda Coughlin)

Send Me Soaring for Paper Players #86

2012-03-11T23:50:00.000-05:00

Hi there stamping friends! I know...I am a wee bit late with my Design Team card for the Paper Players, this week. So sorry! Yesterday was a bit of a challenging day for this gal. I had a couple of hot dates with a silky-smooth dude, named Pepto Bismol...maybe you have heard of him...I hear he is mighty famous! Haha! Needless to say my "date-night" set me off my game a bit, BUT I am happy to report that today is a much better day and here I am. Although, I am not sold on being cheated out of that extra hour of sleep last night with the time change. *sigh*

This week our lovely leader, Lesley Croghan is our hostess with a "spring-tastic" color combo that is sure to get you in the mood to create. I'm on a Pool Party kick lately so you could pretty much pair that color with anything and I would be game. But, this is one gorgeous mix of colors that Lesley selected...perfect for the spring season.

I got a big ol' box of stamping goodies delivered on Friday and was super-excited to break into them for this card. I paired the color combo with the awesome sketch from Linda Callahan at Freshly Made Sketches.

I finally ordered the Send Me Soaring stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalog, after making some fun projects with it at the Stampin' Up! Regional event here in San Antonio (a couple of months ago). Here is one really cool thing about this set...if you are one of those people who dread the "fussy-cut image"..then buy this set ASAP. It is super easy to cut out and you can add fun dimension to your cards without a lot of "do-over's" and anguish with the Paper Snips. I think this is the set for the stampers who aspire to be fussy-cutting rockstars simply, like me.

Hey, did you know that the heart from the SU! Owl Builder punch fits perfectly on the stamped kite in this set? It sure does! I added a pop of sparkle to the heart, with Glimmer Paper. I tried not to...but the lure of the sparkle is too hard to resist. Lol! The Baker's Twine is actually not Pear Pizzazz (it's Lucky Limeade)...but if I didn't mention it, it is kind of hard to tell, right? The rest of the supplies used are listed at the end of this post.

I sure hope you will join us at the Paper Players this week. Please stop by and see what the rest of the gals on the Design Team have created this week. You will not be disappointed!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy
Jenn Picard
Heidi Boos
Sherry Eckblad - GD for March

Thanks for stopping by!
Have a HAPPY day,

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Send Me Soaring (Occasions Mini catty)
Paper:: Silver Glimmer paper, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder and Whisper White card stock
Inks: Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party Wisteria Wonder and Whisper White card stock
Punches: Owl Builder punch (heart), Scallop Border punch, 1' Circle punch, 1- 1/4" Circle punch. 1- 3/8" Circle punch
Accessories: Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Textured /expressions Embossing folders (embossed hearts), Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals

Tic-Tac-Toe for Our Creative Corner

2012-03-10T01:53:00.001-06:00

Hello and Happy Saturday to you! This week at Our Creative Corner, our very own Holly Keen is hosting and she has a fun challenge to try.

Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge: "Play along with us in a game of papercrafting tic-tac-toe. Choose "three in a row" on the Tic-Tac-Toe board and make sure you work those elements into your papercraft project.

I know this is shocking...but I decided to go with the top row of the "bingo challenge" featuring: Brads, Pink and Flowers. I used the retired Loves Me DSP for the basis for my color combo of pretty in Pink and Regal Rose. Sure it is retired, but let's face it...I think we ALL have those items in our craft rooms that are begging to be dusted off and brought out of retirement. I paired the paper with a fun dimensional flower that I first saw HERE from my friend, Nance Leedy.

The Tic Tac Toe challenge was created by the "pinks" of Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink...the Antique Brad flower center...along with the dimensional flower on the card and the floral pattern on the paper. This card is very PINK...even for this pink-lovin' gal! (Thanks to my friend Rita for the awesome encouragement while making this card! You ROCK, girl!)

Before I go, I wanted to share a shot of my boys. It's a little cold here in Texas, so they are sporting their coats in this shot. I might have been bribing them with a "cookie" so that is why they are so attentive. Haha!

I hope that you will join us this week and play along at Our Creative Corner. Please check out what the rest of the Design Team have shared this week...these gals are super-talented:

Linda Coughlin- The Funkie Junkie

Vicki Burdick- It's a Stamp Thing

Sue Butler- Scrumplescrunch
Anita Houston- The Artful Maven Haven

Anne Marie Hile- Stampin' Anne

We sure hope you will join us and play along! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a HAPPY day today!

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Short and Sweet
Paper: Loves Me DSP (ret), Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose card stock
Ink: Close To Cocoa and Regal Rose Classic ink
Punches: Word Window punch, 3/4" Circle punch, 2- 3/8" Scalloped Circle punch
Accessories: Antique Brads, Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon, Finial Press Embossing Folder, Stamping Sponges (sponged Regal Rose ink around all of the edges), Basic Pearls (colored with a Pretty in Pink marker) and Stampin Dimensionals

Spring Has Sprung at The Paper Players

2012-03-04T12:11:00.003-06:00

It's Sunday and over at The Paper Players, the lovely Jaydee is our hostess this week and she has a fun new challenge for us. Although nice weather not the case everywhere...spring has definitely sprung here in Texas. The weather has been wonderful here over the past couple of days....windows open, temps in the mid-70's, lots of sunshine. I know we won't be celebrating that in July when it is 110 degrees, so time to enjoy it while we can.

So, here is my card. The layout was inspired by an older sketch from Clean and Simple Stamping that I jotted down a while ago. Love their sketches! The color combo is Pool Party, So Saffron and Blushing Bride. The colors reminded me of spring. (...and for some reason I am on a kick with using yellow lately)

I stamped and embossed one of the flower images from the Mixed Bunch stamp set, then embossed some vellum with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. I punched out three flowers with the coordinating Blossom punch then decorated the flower center. This flower has a lot of dimension "in-person" and was pretty simple to create. I made a bunch of these cards for my swaps with the Stamping Divas this month, as well.

I hope you can join us this week over at the Paper Players with your card celebrating the spring season. Please stop by and visit the rest of the gals on the Design Team to see what they have shared. We also are welcoming some new DT members this week, which is really exciting:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy
Jenn Picard
Heidi Boos
Sherry Eckblad - GD for March

Before I go, I wanted to share a few photos. I'm having fun scrapbooking with Becky Higgins' Project Life this year and am determined to snap more photos to document everyday happenings. First up, here is Benjamin Maxwell exploring the yard. He is an indoor kitty, but every once in a while he gets a "supervised" backyard romp.

Next, I was fortunate enough to snap a shot of these sweet deer in the woods behind my house, last week. My Schnauzer, Emmmitt, is fascinated with the deer and likes to sneak under the fence to chase them so we have to keep a close eye on him when they are in the area.

Thanks for stopping by!
Have a HAPPY day,

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Mixed Bunch and Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Subtles DSP in So Saffron, Vellum, Pool Party, Blushing Bride, So Saffron and Whisper White card stock
Ink: VersaMark, Blushing Bride and Pool Party Classic ink
Punches: Scallop Trim Border punch, Blossom punch, 3/4" Circle punch, Modern Label punch and Word Window punch
Accessories: Pool Party 3/8" Ruffled ribbon, Square Lattice Embossing folder, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder, Basic Rhinestones, In Color Designer Printed Brads, Clear Embossing powder and Stampin' Dimnsionals

Getting My Groove On for Our Creative Corner

2012-03-02T23:18:00.001-06:00

Hello there and Happy Saturday to you! It's time for another fun challenge over at Our Creative Corner. I'm SO excited to share that our very own Holly Kean is hosting this week. She has a really cool inspiration challenge for all the music-lovers out there. I don't know about you, but I love music. Not in the "I'm such a good singer that I'm trying out for American Idol" sense...but I have an absolute appreciation for music, in all forms.

"Making Melody" -

Music can be such a motivating thing in life, why not in your papercrafting too? Take inspiration from a song and work it into any papercraft project you'd like. Just make sure your post includes the song title (and if possible the artist) that inspired you!

While trying to decide what to create for this challenge, the song "Where Are You Going?" by the Dave Matthews Band began playing on my iPod and I was immediately inspired. Time to ink up that Up, Up & Away stamp set for the first time!

Have I shared before that I am a HUGE fan of the Dave Matthews Band? I sure am! I have seen them in concert more times then I can count and have even met them...three times! The photo above is from one of their concerts here in Texas. I think it was 6 years ago. We had VIP passes that night. It was AWESOME...although it was also about 98 degrees that same night. Gotta love that South Texas summer! Phew!

I used the fantastic sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches along with the happy color combo from Create with Connie and Mary, to put it all together.
(My supply list is at the end of the post)

This card is great for a few different occasions: a new job, a graduation, encouragement...or maybe just to celebrate buying a brand new, hot air balloon. Hey, that happens, right? ;)

Here is the inside of the card with a sentiment from the Sprinkled Expressions stamp set that was free during SU's Sale-A-Bration. I meant to color the stars green...ugh...and I smudged the sentiment a little. My OCD will probably win this battle and I will give the inside a "do-over":

So cue up your iPod...or Pandora...or a favorite cd. Get yo' groove on and share what melody inspires you over at Our Creative Corner this week. Please hop on over and visit the rest of the lovely ladies on the Design Team to see what rocked their world for this challenge:

Linda Coughlin- The Funkie Junkie

Vicki Burdick- It's a Stamp Thing

Sue Butler- Scrumplescrunch
Anita Houston- The Artful Maven Haven

Anne Marie Hile- Stampin' Anne

Thank you for stopping by!
Have a rockin' day,

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Up, Up & Away and Sprinkled Expressions (SAB set)
Paper: Just Add Cake DSP, Island indigo, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Island indigo, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue (to shade the clouds) and Basic Black Classic ink
Punches: 1" Circle punch, 1- 1/4" Circle punch, 1- 3/8" Circle punch and Scallop Trim Border punch
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Signo UniBall White gel pen, Blender Pens, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Island Indigo Stampin' Write marker, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals

Going Over the Edge at Our Creative Corner

2012-02-26T17:45:00.000-06:00

Hello there! Hope you are having a fantastic Sunday out there! I'm back again today with my belated Design Team card for this week's Our Creative Corner challenge. Better late then never, right? Sheesh! This week our hostess is the fabulously talented Tui Nathan and here is what she has to say about our "Over the Edge" challenge:

"This week the challenge I have for you is "Over the Edge" - create a card, or paper craft item with a design element that is not restricted to the boundaries of the card edges, and continues to flow off the edge of the card, for instance this could be a die cut element, a sentiment banner, a fussy cut image, ribbon etc.

Push your design to the edge .... and have fun!"

My inspiration for the card came from this image of printed fabric on Pinterest (where else, right?). Click HERE for more info. I am seriously loving this color combo right now.

It was time to bust out one of my all-time favorite stamp sets for this one: Avairy. That chubby little owl always makes me smile. It's tough to see in the photos but the birdcage and the sentiment are heat embossed in Basic Gray for a little added shine. The striped ribbon is my "over the edge" element. It adds a fun pop but still allows the card to squeeze into an envelope...well sort of, all of the popped up layers make this card "chunky" like that sweet little owl. All of the supplies I used are listed at the end of the post.

Here is a quick shot of the inside of the card with the sentiment continued from the front and one more chubby owl, just for fun:

Thanks for visiting today! I sure hope you can play along with us and go "Over the Edge" this week at Our Creative Corner. Please stop by and see what the rest of the gals on the Design Team have created for inspiration:

Linda Coughlin- The Funkie Junkie

Vicki Burdick- It's a Stamp Thing

Sue Butler- Scrumplescrunch
Anita Houston- The Artful Maven Haven

Anne Marie Hile- Stampin' Anne

Have a great rest of your day! Speaking of Pinterest...I'm off to whip up a batch of Peanut Butter and Nutella cookies that I "pinned" earlier this week. Mmmm! I rarely bake so this should be interesting. :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Aviary and Petite Pairs (sentiments)
Paper: Basic Gray patterned DSP (from ret. hostess paper pad), Basic Gray, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White card stock
Ink: VersaMark, Basic Gray and Daffodil Delight Classic ink
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Daffodil Delight 1- 1/4" Striped Grosgrain ribbon, Basic Rhinestones (colored with a yellow marker), Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder, White Baker's Twine, Basic Gray button and a ton of Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU! accessories: gray bling, circle and scallop circle die cuts

Have a Seat for Paper Players #84

2012-02-26T01:12:00.000-06:00

Hello there! I know it has been a while since my last post. I'm not really sure how this past week got away from me, but somehow it did. *sigh* Here it is, Sunday (again) and time for another fun challenge over at the Paper Players! This week, LeAnne is our hostess with a fantastic sketch.

Who loves things in "3's"? *raising my hand in the air...and waving it like I just don't care!* LeAnne also loves crafty trio's and that is why her sketch is SO much fun to try. Although, I have to say that getting my mojo working for this one was a bit of a slow start. I'm trying this new thing where I am determined to actually USE the supplies I ~~collect~~ ok, stockpile. I have had the Have a Seat stamp set for...oh, I don't know...maybe a year now and have never inked it up. Shameful, right?

My card is an "odd shape"- 4- 1/4" x 6- 3-4", so I am just going to cheat and slip it in a 5" x 7" envelope to mail.

I also pulled out some Mocha Morning Specialty DSP which I haven't used since Christmas. I mistakenly stamped and embossed the chairs on River Rock card stock, instead of Crumb Cake (because I was too busy rocking out to some tunes in my stamp studio, while making this card). After I realized my mistake, I tried to camouflage my error by sponging the edges and giving it a healthy "spritzing" with a Crumb Cake marker using the Color Spritzer Tool. It almost looks like Crumb Cake, right? Maybe? Hey, I stamped those images straight on the first try, so I wasn't going to risk wasting them! That's a rare thing...haha! I also added one teeny, tiny, sparkly heart because it was perfect with the "miss you" sentiment.

Here is the inside of the card, ready for a handwritten note for my sweet friend:

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit today! I sure hope you will join us this week at the Paper Players and play along with LeAnne's fabby sketch. Please stop by and visit the rest of the Design Team and see what they have whipped up for some inspiration:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

I will be back a bit later today with my (really late) card for this week's Our Creative Corner challenge. Stay tuned! :)

Enjoy your day,

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Have a Seat and FYI (ret. for sentiment)
Paper: Mocha Morning Specialty DSP, Red Glimmer paper, Basic Black, River Rock (should have been Crumb Cake, though) and Soft Suede card stock
Ink: Basic Black Craft ink, Soft Suede Classic ink
Punches: Owl Builder punch (tiny heart), Small Oval (ret.) and Large Oval
Accessories: Stamping Sponges, Clear Embossing Powder, Crumb Cake Stampin' Write Marker, Color Spritzer Tool and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU! Accessories: black hemp twine

Using the 'Stache for Paper Players #83

2012-02-19T02:03:00.000-06:00

Well hello there! It's Sunday and time for a new Paper Players challenge.

This week, I am hosting our CAS (clean and simple) challenge and it's all about the guys this week. I don't know about you, but I never seem to have nearly enough "man" cards in my supply. Every time an occasion comes up, I'm always scrambling to put something together. When I think of cards for the guys, I always tend to think that less is more. My usual fixation on shades of pink and sparkly goodness just seem to be...well, a little over-the-top.

So, I started attempting to whip up ideas for a "man" cards and kept gravitating toward really dark, earthy colors. Ugh! That was NOT helping my mojo, so I decided to dip into my huge "stache" (hmmm, perhaps that is a blatantly obvious pun) of DSP to find a color combo that inspired me. I stopped on the Big Top Birthday DSP. I HAD to have this paper, when I saw it months ago, yet I've only used it once...until today. *sigh*

Talk about keeping it simple. I decided to use the patterns in the DSP to create my card, with a few easy accents. This super-strong, moustached dude just says "look at me", so I cut around him to make him the main image for my card. The pennant paper made a festive background, along with a sentiment from the Happiest Birthday Wishes set. I added some texture with the embossed circles, metal brads and Crystal Effects (to the big man's weight and belt buckle) for a little added pop. I know these are some bright colors for a guy card but this one got "two thumbs up and a laugh out loud" from my husband and one of his friends last night. I suppose it could also be used as a kid's card, too. I added one more GIANT moustache to the inside of the card, for good measure. (Sorry that photo is not all that great...I ran out of daylight!)

Thanks for stopping by today! I sure hope you can join us this week at the Paper Players. We are also having an Design Team Call. CLICK HERE for more details. Please stop by and visit the rest of the gals on the Design Team to check out their fantastic creations for the guys:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Have a HAPPY day! :)

Stampin Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Happiest Birthday Wishes (sentiments, hostess set) and Many Moustaches (inside 'stache)
Paper: Big Top Birthday DSP, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Versa-Mark and Tempting Turquoise Classic ink
Punches: 1- 1/4" and 1-3/8" Circle punches
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Silver brads and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non-SU Accessories: rectangle scalloped die

Color Splash for Our Creative Corner

2012-02-18T05:00:00.000-06:00

Hello there! Well after a busy week, here it is Saturday and it's time for a new weekly challenge at Our Creative Corner. This week, the lovely Tui Nathan is our fabulous hostess and she has a fun challenge for us.

Here are the challenge details from Tui:

"Black and White with a splash of Colour" - create a card or paper craft item with the colours black and white, and then add a splash of colour of your choosing! Which way will you go .... classic and elegant, modern and contemporary, clean and simple or shabby chic ... the choice is yours so have fun and be creative!

For my card, I turned to my trusty Owl Builder Punch. I have seen SO many cards on Pinterest lately featuring this little guy, I was itching to get punchy with him again. I have always loved the sentiments from the Perfect Words stamp set (SU! Hostess set) and once I selected RED as my choice for a "splash" of color, I decided that one of these tiny owls needed to take center stage. What better way, then with some sparkle and shine...while his little owl friends look on in admiration. Haha! The sentiment and those little eyes say it all for this "superstar owl", eh? He really stands out in a crowd! All of the supplies I used are listed at the end of this post.

Thanks for stopping by today. I sure hope you can join us this week at Our Creative Corner and have some fun making a "splash" with this fun challenge. Please stop by and see what the rest of the gals on the Design Team have created for inspiration this week:

Linda Coughlin- The Funkie Junkie

Vicki Burdick- It's a Stamp Thing

Sue Butler- Scrumplescrunch
Anita Houston- The Artful Maven Haven

Anne Marie Hile- Stampin' Anne

Have a very HAPPY day! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Perfect Words (Hostess set)
Paper: Night and Day DSP (ret.), Silver Glimmer Paper, Red Glimmer Paper, Whisper White, Basic Black and Real Red card stock
Ink: Basic Black and Real Red Classic ink
Punches: Owl Builder Punch and Itty Bitty Punch Pack (for the sentiment)
Accessories: Houndstooth Embossing Folder, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Basic Rhinestones (colored with a red marker), Basic Black 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Tombow glue and Stampin' Dimensionals

Fresh Vintage with Fresh Colors- {PP#82}

2012-02-12T01:25:00.001-06:00

Hello and Happy Sunday to you! Can you believe that it is almost Valentine's day? This year is sure flying by, isn't it? It's time for another fun challenge over at the Paper Players!

Whoo-hoo!! The lovely Ann Schach is our hostess this week and she has a fantastic color challenge to try out. I really like all of these colors independently, but when you add them together in a combo...they really ROCK! Thanks for the inspiration this week, Ann! :)

I used the sketch from Mojo Monday for my card design. I generally do not like like design elements that are "tilted", but have to admit that this sketch is pretty awesome! I think it has something to do with all of those fantastic layers. *grin* It's going into the book of favorites, for sure! :)

I featured the Fresh Vintage stamp set and the Everyday Enchantment DSP from the Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration catalog on this card. If you would like more info about the Sale-A-Bration promo, jplease contact me! (...or check out my sidebar to view the catalog.) I distressed all of the layers with Soft Suede sponged ink, for a slightly "dirty" look. I'm still trying to get into the groove of "shabby-chic-ness". A complete supply list is available at the end of this post, if you are interested.

Thanks for stopping by today! Please pop by and visit the rest of the PP Design Team (along with the Mojo Monday challenge) to view some fantastic creative inspiration. I hope you have a chance to join us at the Paper Players, this week. The challenge ends Friday, February 17th at Noon (PST).

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Have a HAPPY day,

Stampin' Up Supply List:
Stamps: Fresh Vintage (SAB) and Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Everyday Enchantment DSP, Poppy Parade, Pool Party, Soft Suede and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Poppy Parade and Soft Suede Classic ink
Punches: Word Window and Scallop Border punch
Accessories: Soft Suede polka-dot ribbon (ret.), Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder, Square Lattice embossing folder. Basic Pearls, Stampin' Dimensionals and Stamping Sponges
Non-SU Accessories: oval and scallop oval die

Best Friend for OCC

2012-02-11T05:00:00.000-06:00

Hello there, stamping friends! I'm so sorry about my blogging absence over the past week. Lots going on in my world, but I am happy to finally be back in creative action. I was seriously missing my stamp studio! It's Saturday (already!) and that means it is time for another fun challenge over at Our Creative Corner. This week, the super-sweet, Sharon Wheet (hey, that rhymes!) is our hostess and she has a great challenge for us.

'Best Friend' is the title and theme.

Make a paper craft item (card, scrapbook page layout, a 3-D item, an altered item) for a Best Friend! It can be for a birthday, a thank you, or to just let her know she is your best friend! The only other requirement, is to include a flower! The flower can be hand-made, an embellishment, or a stamp. It's your best friend, you decide what works best for your paper craft item.

No, your eyes do not deceive you...those really ARE fussy-cut flowers on my card. 5 of them to be exact...and one on the inside. (For those that have never visited before...I'm NOT the biggest fan of fussy-cutting) But after inking up the Array of Sunshine stamp set for the first time today, I knew I wanted to layer these pretty flowers. I got my inspiration from my fellow OCC Design Team Member, Vicki Burdick and her gorgeous designs with this set. All of the layers are popped up for added dimension and finished off with a spot of sparkly bling. The inside of the card is dressed up, but left blank, for a sweet note to my BFF. The card is pink and it sparkles, so I'm pretty sure she will love it. *grin* I listed all of the supplies used to make the card at the end of this post.

My colors for this card were inspired by this week's Colour Q challenge.

Love, love, LOVE this color combo, so much!

I added a tiny pop of Pear Pizzazz for the leaves, I hope that is ok, ladies.

The layout was inspired by the Scrapbook Essentials sketch challenge. Check out both sites for some awesome creative inspiration!

Before I go, I wanted to extend a big welcome to our new Design Team Members over at Our Creative Corner, as I was absent last week. Please welcome the following lovely ladies to the team. Their creativity is amazing, so please stop by their blogs and say hello:

Sue Butler - Scrumplescrunch
Anita Houston - The Artful Maven Haven
Marcy Kaminski - En Papillote Arts
Irena Kowalczyk (aka Rudlis) - Love, Life and Crafts

Meihsia Liu - Simply Paper Crafts

Thanks for stopping by today!

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Array of Sunshine (hostess set) and Friendly Phrases (sentiment)
Paper: In Color DSP pack (ret. Hostess item), Regal Rose, Peach Parfait, Pear Pizzazz, Poppy Parade and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Regal Rose, Peach Parfait and Poppy Parade Classic ink
Punches: Bird Builder punch (leaves), Scallop Trim Border punch and Large Oval punch
Accessories: Square Lattice Embossing folder, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder, Whisper White 5/8" Organza ribbon, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non-SU! Accessories: circle and scallop circle die

Flowers for The Paper Players #81

2012-02-05T03:30:00.000-06:00

Hello and Happy Super Bowl Sunday to you! Are you planning to watch the big game today? Or are you just planning to watch for the commercials?

Well, before the Super Bowl begins, why not check out this week's challenge over at the Paper Players? This week, the lovely Nance Leedy is our challenge hostess and she has a fun theme challenge to play along with. We've got Spring Fever this week at the Paper Players and having fun with FLOWERS.

For my card, I pulled out a few products I haven't used in a while. I started with the colors in the Paisley Petals DSP and then decided to do a punched flower for the main image. This is not the flower I had planned on using originally. I had a different plan with the Blossom Petal Builder punch but just couldn't get it to work the way I wanted it to. THAT flower is currently sitting in "time-out" on my desk. I'm going to attempt to make friends with it again this week. We will see how it goes. In the mean time, I needed a card for a friend who just had surgery, so that is who this card will be on it's way to. I hope she likes it. :)

I distressed the edges of the card with some sponged ink and broke out the Color Spritzer Tool to "dirty" it up a little more. I'm pretty sure this is the second time I have ever used that Elegant Lines embossing folder, too. I forgot I had it...whoops! The layered flower was made from the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch and the stem was created from the branch of the Bird Builder punch. All of the supplies used are listed at the end of the post, too.

Thanks for visiting today. Please stop by and visit the rest of the gals on the Design Team. If you are ready to get some crafty "flower power" on, it would be great if you would join in the fun this week at the Paper Players. You have until Friday, February 10th at *noon* (PST) to link up to the challenge.

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Have a SUPER day! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Paisley Petals DSP, Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy, More Mustard, Sahara Sand and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Bravo Burgundy and Crumb Cake Classic ink
Punches: Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch and Bird Builder punch (flower stem)
Accessories: Stamping Sponges, Color Spritzer Tool, Crumb Cake Stampin' Write Marker, Chantilly 1/2" Crochet trim, Elegant Lines Embossing folder, Basic Pearls and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non-SU! Accessories: green marker (to color pearl), oval and scalloped oval die

Valentine's Day Swap with the Divas

2012-01-31T17:08:00.000-06:00

Hello there! I wanted to share the swap cards I received in the mail yesterday from the Stamping Divas. This month our theme was Valentine's Day cards and everyone's creations were just LOVE-ly, as always. So many wonderful ideas and thanks to the swap I have quite a few things added to my "must have" list. Thanks, ladies! ;)

My swap card is in the photo below on the left. I changed it up slightly from the card I made in THIS POST for The Paper Players tag challenge. All of the details for the card, including supplies used, are listed in that post. With that, here are all of the swap cards:

~My card (left), Stephanie Fairbanks (right)~

~Nancy McClain (left), Olive Barnes (right) ~

~Gina Taylor (left), Kerry Hansing (right)

~Jacquel Bowman (left), Sharon Tong-Robinson (right) ~

~Debora Shaw (left), Teresa Payne-Neal (right)

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your day! :)

Filled with Love for Paper Players #80

2012-01-29T07:44:00.001-06:00

Hello there and Happy Sunday to you! Is is just me or did this month just fly by? Can you believe it is almost February? Wow! This week I am hosting the challenge at the Paper Players and have created fun sketch to play along with. I hope you will join us!

For my card, I decided to dust off a stamp set I don't seem to use as often as I would like: Filled with Love. I also used the Spring Fling Simply Scrappin' Kit for my paper and color inspiration. That little punched tag on the bottom of the card is one of the stickers from the kit. Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzaz together are such a fun mix of colors, I can't seem to stop using them together. :) The stamped images are all heart embossed for added shine. All of the supplies I used are also listed at the end of the post.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a chance to play along with the sketch this week at the Paper Players. You can link up a project until Friday February 3rd at Noon (PST). Plenty of time to play! Please stop by and say hello to the rest of the fabulous gals on the Design Team. They have created some beautiful projects, as always!

The Paper Players Design Team

Nance Leedy

Have a very HAPPY day! :)

Stampin' Up! supply List:
Stamps: Filled with Love
Paper: Spring Fling Simply Scrappin' Kit, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz and /whisper White card stock
Ink: Versa-mark and Pear Pizzazz Classic ink
Accessories: Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder, Melon mambo Embossing Powder, Clear Embossing Powder, Fashionable Hearts Embosslits folder, 3-4" CIrcle punch, Daffodil Delight 3/8" Taffeta ribbon (ret.), Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU!: oval and scallop oval die

Our Creative Corner Sketch Challenge

2012-01-28T05:00:00.000-06:00

Hello there! I'm not exactly sure where this week went...but it is Saturday already and time for another challenge over at Our Creative Corner. Phew! This week, the lovely Lori Rider is our hostess and she has whipped up a really fun sketch to try...on a SQUARE card. I decided, after making this card, that it really IS "hip to be square". Haha! Square cards are so much fun. I really need to make them more often.

My card front measures 4-1/2" x 4- 1/2" inches and will need a custom envelope to fit it, but that's ok. I used the new Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper as my color inspiration. This paper was *free* during SU! Sale-A-Bration. Woot, woot! For more info, check out the left-hand side-bar for details. I am also really fascinated with anything that features a butterfly. (Must be all of this beautiful weather here in South Texas!) Actually, I recently pulled out the Beautiful Wings Embosslits die, after neglecting it for quite some time. Sometimes rediscovering those stashed-away stampin' goods can be a creative motivator, right? All of the supplies used are listed at the end of the post.

Thanks for visiting! I sure hope you will hop on over to the Our Creative Corner site and check out Lori's awesome sketch. The rest of the gals on the Design Team have created some wonderful inspiration, too. These ladies are absolutely fabulous! We hope you will join in the fun and play along!

Have a very HAPPY day! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Oval All (sentiment) and Four Frames
Paper: Everyday Enchantment DSP (Sale-A-Bration), Pool Party, Crumb Cake and Peach Parfait card stock
Ink: Peach Parfait and Crumb Cake Classic ink
Punches: Decorative Label punch, Large Oval punch, 1- 1/4" Square punch
Accessories: Beautiful Wings Embosslits Folder, Stamping Sponges, Basic Pearls, Square Lattice Embossing folder, Mini Glue Dots and Stampin' Dimensionals
non-SU!: scalloped square die

Stampin' Up! Regionals 2012 in San Antonio

2012-01-27T09:04:00.002-06:00

As promised, I wanted to share some photos from the Stampin' Up! Regional Event, held right here in San Antonio, TX last weekend. There were over 1500 people at the event, it was huge! I thought it was fitting to share my favorite photo from the event first. I was SO excited to meet Shelli Gardner, Stampin' Up! CEO and Co-Founder. She is absolutely as wonderful in person, as I imagined her to be. WOW! Here is the fun project she shared on stage:

I rode to the event with my dear friends, Amy Lazzell and Minnie Cieslak. (that's me in the middle) We started the early day with Starbucks for breakfast and a caffeine fix. Is there any better way?

I was really happy to finally meet my friend and fellow "Stamping Diva", Sharon Tong-Robinson, who makes the most beautiful swap cards.

She made me the cutest Valentine's Day treat box, from the Designer Rosette die and Heart Framelit Die from the Occasions Mini catty...filled with chocolate treats. Yummm! Thank you, Sharon.

I also visited with my friends Rita Wright and fellow Paper Player, Ann Schach.

Rita was a "Prize Patrol" winner and went home with a super-cool new product that hasn't even been released yet. LUCKY! Here's a hint...you can use it with the Simply Scored tool. ;)

...to create something COOL, like this:

(don't you LOVE the chevron-style? Fabulous!)

Here is a sampling of one of the ideas shared for our own creativity journals that we all received at the event!

Look at this cute journal cover idea:

Jackie Ross did a fantastic workshop demonstration with lots of inspirational ideas, too:

I was so excited to have the opportunity to meet so many fellow demonstrators. I would list all their names but I would hate to leave someone out. I met SO many fantastic gals! I wish I took more then the 250 photos I snapped. There were hundreds of cool, creative ideas!

After the event, a few of us headed to the Riverwalk for dinner (and margaritas...it IS Texas, after all!) As soon as my dinner arrived I felt a pinch on my hip. I looked down and saw this little lady:

Yes, I was bit by a duck! But it didn't stop there. Throughout the meal, I was pecked at in the leg and the...um...bum. I kept throwing tortilla chips to her to make her leave me alone, but the basket emptied quickly and she had my chicken enchiladas on her mind. EEEK!! This is not the first "duck attack" on record this week. (there may, or may not, have been other SU! demos assaulted by a Riverwalk duck...or so I heard. *wink, wink Ann*)

Group shot at Casa Rio of me with Amy, Ann, Ginger and Nicole:

(the duck was busy with her tortilla chip)

All and all, Regionals was awesome!

Next up: "Convention 2012" in Salt Lake City, UT!

I'm SO excited! :)

Sale-A-Bration is HERE!

2012-01-25T22:52:00.000-06:00

It's finally HERE! The best time of the Stampin' Up! year: Sale-A-Bration!

*January 24th through March 31st, 2012*

There are THREE ways to take advantage of this awesome event:

CLICK HERE to view the Sale-A-Bration brochure.

CLICK HERE to shop at my online store 24/7.

CLICK HERE to contact me today to book YOUR workshop here in the San Antonio area.

CLICK HERE to join my stamping team.

Please contact me with any questions you might have:

annemariehile@gmail.com or HERE at my SU! website.

Have a great day! :)

Twitterpated Tag for The Paper Players

2012-01-22T15:26:00.002-06:00

Hi there! Happy Sunday to you! This week at the Paper Players, the fabulous Jaydee is our hostess and our theme is to create a Clean and Simple card with a tag incorporated into the design.

I realized while making this card...that I am pretty much "tag-LESS" in my stamp studio! I guess I really don't use tags a lot on my projects so this was a real challenge for me. I guess I know what will be on my next Stampin' Up! order. Sheesh! My tag was created from a punched 1- 1/4" Square punch and a 1- 3/8" Square punch with the top corners snipped with the Tag Corner punch (ret.)

Ok, I guess technically this isn't a really Clean and Simple card, by the standard definition. As a self-professed "layer queen", I am still challenged with CAS cards. I guess it's a known fact because while we were creating our make & takes at Regionals yesterday, everyone at the table kept saying to me "You probably want to add a few more layers to these cards, don't you?" Yes, (shaking my head*) I sure did! However, this IS a CAS card in the sense that it didn't take very long to create since I focused on using punches for the images. It came together very quickly. Gotta love those punches! The supplies I used are listed at the end of the post.

Thanks for visiting today! I hope you will stop by and play along with us this week at the Paper Players. Please stop by and visit the rest of the lovely ladies on the Design Team to see what they created, too.

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Before I go, I wanted to share one quick photo from Regionals yesterday. There will be more to follow really soon. Stay tuned! It was SO much fun! From left to right: Ann Schach, Rita Wright, me and Amy Lazzell:

Have a HAPPY day! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Short and Sweet
Paper: Twitterpated DSP, Riding Hood Red, Island Indigo, Blushing Bride and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Riding Hood Red and Blushing Bride Classic ink (which was sponged around the bird)
Punches: 1- 1/4" Square punch, 1- 3/8" Square punch, Tag Corner punch (ret.), Bird Builder punch, Small Heart punch, Scallop Border punch
Accessories: Square Lattice embossing folder, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Riding Hood Red Pleated Satin ribbon, Twitterpated Designer buttons, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU!: circle and scallop circle dies

Oh Baby! for OCC

2012-01-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

Hi there! Happy Saturday to you! I am actually spending the day today at a Stampin' Up! Regional event right here in San Antonio. I'm really looking forward to visiting with some wonderful friends and getting crafty. Yee Haw! I'm sure I will have lots of photos to share. Stay tuned for them.

It's time for another fun challenge over at Our Creative Corner and this week Lori Rider is our lovely hostess. We are using the following photo for inspiration:

Here are the details of the the challenge, from Lori:

"Please choose at least two elements from the photo and describe how they inspired your card or project. Optional: since this is a baby shower dessert table, make something with a baby theme!"

I decided to use the coral and blue color combo and a baby theme for my card. I was also inspired by this week's sketch over at Stamping 411. These gals always have a fun sketch to play with and some fabby inspiration to share. Check it out. :)

I paired the Domestic Goddess DSP with the Baby Bundle stamp set to create my card. That little bitty baby face is SO stinkin' cute, right? I dressed up the baby buggy with some Dazzling Details on the polka dots for a little pop.

The hearts were created by rubbing a Versa-Mark pad over some Calypso Coral card stock and then embossed with Iridescent Ice Embossing powder. I punched them out with the small heart punch and then popped them up with some Stampin' Dimensionals. I'm actually pretty excited that I finally made a card that can be easily mailed, without extra postage. Haha!

Thanks for visiting today! Please stop by Our Creative Corner to see what the rest of the Design Team has whipped up with Lori's fun challenge. We sure hope you can play along this week.

Have a great day! :)

A Pink Christmas for Merry Monday #3

2012-01-18T19:50:00.002-06:00

Hi there! This week, my friend Lesley, has a fabulous sketch for her Merry Monday Challenge. You can find the details on her blog: Always Playing with Paper. The goal is to make one Christmas card each week of the year...to be a little more prepared to get those cards sent off on time. *crossing fingers* I played along the first week of the challenge but missed last week. Ugh! That sketch is pinned (all of you Pinterest addicts know what I'm talking about) so I can go back and catch up. Here is the sketch for Week 3:

So, it's a very PINK Christmas for this one. Shocking for me to use pink, right? :) That pink plaid paper is from the Letters to Santa DSP...which technically IS a Christmas paper pack. Hooray for non-traditional colors! I embossed the image form the Christmas Lodge stamp set and added some "snowy" accents with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. I sponged the edges with Early Espresso ink. It's also my first time breaking in the new Labels Collection Framelits (from the Occasions Mini catalog) for the frame around the image.

Here is the inside of the card. That sentiment was originally going to be on the FRONT of the card...until I showed it to my husband and he said: "Is that a Christmas card? Why is it pink? What 'season' is that sentiment for? You should add some snow to it. I don't get it!". Ahhh, leave it to him to give me an objective opinion that makes sense. ;)

Thanks for stopping by. If you get a chance, check out Lesley's Merry Monday challenge. It's a lot of fun! Have a great day!

Stampin' Up Supply List:
Stamps: Christmas Lodge, Teeny Tiny Wishes (front sentiment) and Beautiful Season (inside sentiment)
Paper: Letters to Santa DSP, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Versa-Mark and Early Espresso Classic Ink
Accessories: Clear Embossing powder, Snowburst Embossing folder, Word Window punch, Labels Collection Framelits Die, Chantilly Lace trim, Basic Pearls,Dazzling Diamonds and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non-SU! Accessories: oval die cut

Paper Players #78 - LeAnne's Color Challege

2012-01-15T18:09:00.000-06:00

Hello there! Sorry my Paper Players post is so late today. I have not been having a lot of fun with my allergies this weekend. Mountain Cedar season has arrived here in South Texas and it is my nemesis. Itchy eyes, scratchy throat, sneezing fits and a voice that seems to be coming and going every 30 minutes. Blech!

Let's get to the challenge at hand, shall we? The super-fabulous LeAnne is our hostess over at the Paper Players this week and she has come up with a color combo that is chock full of "Spring Fever"! I'm not allergic to these colors...how could you be? They are so happy and fun for the upcoming spring season!

Here is my card:

I was also inspired by this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

This was actually my second attempt at a card for LeAnne's colors. Note to self: never try to watercolor a detailed image all hopped up on allergy meds. Bad things will happen. So, the first card went bye-bye and then I remembered the Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die that hasn't seen the light of day in a while. I love that it cuts the shapes and embosses them at the same time. Hooray for multi-tasking!

I really wanted to keep the card clean to show off the colors. I won't bore you with all of the info on how I made it...I will just list all of the supplies I used at the end of this post. It is tough to see in the photo but I did heat emboss the sentiment so it had a shine to match the ribbon. That beautiful ribbon is just one of the many fantastic items you can earn for free (with a qualifying order) at SU! Sale-A-Bration which begins January 24th!! :)

Thank you so much for stopping by! Please check out what the rest of the Paper Players DT have whipped up with these fun colors and if you have a chance this week, please join us with YOUR creation. You can link up until *NOON* (PST) on Friday, January 20th.

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Have a HAPPY day today! Ah-choooo!! ;)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Sincere Salutations
Paper: Blushing Bride patterned DSP, Calypso, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Versa-mark and Calypso Coral Classic ink
Accessories: Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, Basic Pearls, Square Lattice Embossing folder, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder, Pear Pzzazz Glimmer brad, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool,Stampin' Dimensionals and Calypso Coral ribbon from Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad pack (Sale-A-Bration)

Up in the Air Over Pleated Ribbon

2012-01-14T18:18:00.000-06:00

Hello there! Happy Saturday to you! I usually post my DT card for Our Creative Corner on Saturdays but guess what? I didn't play close enough attention to the guidelines of the challenge when I made my card, so it is NOT posted on the OCC site...but I wanted to share it anyway. This week at Our Creative Corner, Vicki Burdick is our hostess and here are the details, so that you can check it out and play along:

Paper Piecing: Use some kind of paper piecing on your card or project this week. Stamp something and use some Designer Paper to piece an element of the stamp or paper piece your Background. In addition NO ribbon and only one embellishment is allowed.

It really was a true challenge for me NOT to use ribbon or multiple embellies on a card, so there they are! For some reason, I had convinced myself that the challenge was to include ONE ribbon. Wrong! (*shaking head*) I'm sorry gals! What can I say...I just love that new pleated satin ribbon TOO much to not use it! ;)

My card was also inspired by the following challenges this week:

~Sketch from Mojo Monday~

~Pleats or Ruffles Theme Challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments~

(looking forward to seeing a few of these girlies at the Stampin' Up Regional Event next weekend! Woot woot! )

The little balloon from the Ain't Love Grand Hostess set using the Loves Me DSP (ret.). After I finished the paper piecing I added some Dazzling Details to highlight a few of the parts, then covered the entire balloon in Crystal Effects. The sentiment from the Up, Up & Away set was colored with markers then stamped to make the hearts stand out a bit more. There is also a little pop of Glimmer Paper behind the punched border and all of the edges were sponged with ink. All of the supplies used are listed at the end of the post.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please check out the Our Creative Corner site to see what the other gals on the Design Team created (using the correct guidelines...lol!) and I hope you have a chance to play along.

Have a HAPPY day! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Ain't Love Grand (hostess) and Up, Up & Away (sentiment)
Paper: Loves Me DSP (ret.), Silver Glimmer Paper, Taken With Teal (ret.), Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Basic Black and Regal Rose Classic ink
Accessories: 1- 1/4" Circle punch, 1- 3/8" Circle punch, Dazzling Details, Crystal Effects, Taken with Teal, Close to Cocoa and Regal Rose Stampin' Write Markers, Pretty in Pink Pleated 3/8" Pleated Satin ribbon (Mini catty), Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder, Basic Rhinestones, Stamping Sponges and a whole lot of Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU! Accessories: scalloped circle and large circle die cuts

Paper Players #77 - All You Need is Love

2012-01-08T01:37:00.000-06:00

Hello there! The Paper Players are finally back from holiday hiatus this week with a super-fun challenge. Our fearless leader, Lesley Croghan is hosting and our theme is: "All You Need is Love". That also happens to be one of my favorite songs by The Beatles. Are you humming the tune now? I know I am. Here is more about the challenge, in Lesley's own words:

"Today's challenge is a Theme Challenge. I decided to focus on love with Valentine's Day fast approaching...but you could also create a project for a man/woman, a best friend, a work mate, or even a family member. Love comes in all forms, so feel free to choose romantic or platonic love!"

For my card, I used one of my new favorite color combos, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz (and in this case some Old Olive, because I grabbed the wrong card stock to match the DSP on accident...oops!). Everything about these colors together just says HAPPY to me. :) I also used some new products from the Occasions Mini Catalog: DSP from the Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit and the Fashionable Heart Embosslits Die. The Daffodil Delight DSP on the main panel is from the (ret.) Sunny Garden DSP. THis paper is still available, however, as a digital download in My Digital Studio. Please contact me for more info or to place an order.

For the sketch, I got inspiration from this week's design over at Freshly Made Sketches, which I flipped on it's side.

All of the edges are sponged with ink to give them more dimension and I popped up all of the layers with Stampin' Dimensionals, as well. I also added some sponged ink to the pieces of Silver Glimmer Paper, although the Melon Mambo scalloped oval came out a little lighter then I had hoped. All of the supplies I used are listed in detail, at the end of this post.

Thanks for stopping by! Please stop by the Paper Players site and check out the rest of the projects from the LOVE-ly ladies on the Design Team. We sure hope you will play along this week. The challenge closes at Noon (PST) on Friday, January 13th, 2012.

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Have a HAPPY day today!

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Well Scripted (retired, Sale-A-Bration)
Paper: Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit, Silver Glimmer Paper, Sunny Garden DSP (ret. but still available in My Digital Studio), Cottage Wall DSP (ret.), Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight Classic ink
Punches: Large Oval, Scalloped Oval, Extra-Large Oval and Pinking Hearts Border punches
Accessories: Fashionable Hearts Embosslits Die, Houndstooth Embossing Folder, Old Olive 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stamping Sponges and Basic Pearls

Show Us Your Shape at OCC

2012-01-07T05:00:00.000-06:00

Hello and Happy Saturday to you! Hope the first full week of 2012 has been a good one for you. :) It's time for another challenge over at Our Creative Corner and our hostess this week is the lovely Vicki Burdick:

"Show Us your Shape"

Shaped cards. Anything but a square or rectangle.You can find so many cute templates on the internet or use a die or cut file (and your imagination) and show us your shapes!!

I came upon a super-cute, dress template at Stampington & Company. Click the site name for the FREE dress template, along with lots of others. I started out by printing the template on a 8- 1/2" x 11" piece of Blushing Bride card stock, cut it out and scored where directed. Then, because I really like fussy-cutting (*insert sarcastic tone here*), I added more layers of DSP for the front and inside of the card. That dress needed some girly flair, even if it meant more cutting! I just love the new Twitterpated DSP from the Occasions Mini Catty. It looks very shabby-chic and what goes better with "shabby" then lace, ruffles and pearls?

The layered ruffles add extra dimension to the card. I adhered the ruffled Chantilly Lace Trim under the DSP using Sticky Strip. I tried to get those ruffles even...I almost succeeded. Ugh! :) Then, I stuck down the Blushing Bride Pleated Satin Ribbon over the top and wrapped it around all the way through the inside of the card, for a clean finish.

Here is the inside of the card, with a sentiment on layered punches. The edges inside of the card were sponged with Pear Pizzazz ink and then I added some Dazzling Details glitter glue to trim the dress. (I had to get some sparkle in there somewhere, right?) This could also be a cute card for a baby shower invite or a birthday card for a little lady.

Thanks so much for stopping by! The rest of the gals on the Design Team created some awesome projects, as always. I hope you will stop on over to the Our Creative Corner site to check them out and to play along with us this week.

Have a very HAPPY day! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Petite Pairs
Paper: Twitterpated DSP, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Rose Red and Blushing Bride Classic ink
Punches: 1" Circle punch, Scalloped Circle punch, Small Oval punch (ret.), Large Oval punch, Scalloped Oval punch, Owl Builder punch (for the centers of the flowers) and Extra-Large Oval punch
Accessories: Chantilly 1/2" Lace Trim, Blushing Bride 3/8" Pleated Satin Ribbon, Stamping Sponges, Subtles Buttons, Basic Pearls and Stamping Dimensionals

My First Card for 2012

2012-01-02T22:04:00.001-06:00

...and it's a Christmas card! Go figure, right? When I saw that my friend Lesley had posted a Christmas sketch challenge on her blog, I was immediately inspired to create. She's calling it "Merry Monday" and the goal is to make a Christmas card every week this year to get a head start on your holiday cards. CLICK HERE for all the details. Lesley's sketches ROCK!! Admittedly, I was getting a bit tired of Christmas cards, but MY cards were late this year. Some still need to be sent off, actually..shameful, I know. I think I can really benefit from Lesley's challenges.

Here is the Merry Monday sketch for the week:

Although this is a Christmas card, I tried to shake it up a bit with some non-traditional colors. I used the (ret.) Jolly Old Saint Nick stamp set paired with some new goodies from the upcoming SU! Sale-A-Bration event, which begins January 24th. You can earn the Everyday Enchantment DSP and Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad pack for FREE with a qualifying order. How cool is that?

I colored the image in with markers and then dressed it up with some sponged edges and Dazzling Details glitter glue. It's tough to see but the buttons have a pop of Crystal Effects on them as well. All of the supplies used are listed at the end of the post. Here is a quick shot of the inside of the card, too:

Before I go, I wanted to share a cute gift I received this Christmas from my blogging friends Shirley and Terry, from A La Card Monkey. Shirley makes these absolutely adorable owls (click her name above to check out her blog) and it was such a sweet surprise when I found him in my mailbox. I have affectionately dubbed him Owen and he is proudly displayed in my stamp studio. He's SO cute!! Thanks gals, I love him! :)

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you get the chance to check out Lesley's blog and play along in her Merry Monday challenges. Have a very HAPPY day!

Pin It

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Jolly Old Saint Nick and Petite Pairs
Paper: Everyday Enchantment DSP (SAB), Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Basic Black and Crumb Cake (for sponged edges) Classic ink
Accessories: Small Oval (ret.), Scallop Trim Border punch, Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad Pack (SAB), Basic Pearls, Stamping Sponges, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade and Basic Gray Stampin' Write Markers, Dazzling Details glitter glue, Crystal Effects and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU! Accessories: frosty blue marker for the "sky", oval and scalloped oval die cuts

Year in Review - Part 2

2012-01-02T00:19:00.001-06:00

Hello again! As promised, I'm back with my favorite cards from July through December 2011. Oddly enough, 4 of the 6 are Christmas cards and 3 of the 6 use the Ornament Punch. Hmmm! One would think my Christmas cards would have went out on time since I started them so early this year. HaHa! :) For more info about each card, you can click on the link above each photo to get to the original post. Here we go...

July - Christmas in July

It's not a big secret that I love lots of layers on my cards...and of course, sparkle. It was fun to create a holiday card when it was 105 degrees in South Texas in July, too.

August - Corduroy Pumpkins

Two of my favorite things...the Button Buddies stamp set and Corduroy Buttons (retired). A friend who received one of these cards told me she framed it to put out every year in her home for Thanksgiving. That totally made my day!

September - Wicked Little Owl

This little owl card was so much fun to make! Actually, I liked this card so much, I never sent it out. The treat bag with the bitty face just makes me smile. :) This card also made it into the "took-over-3-hours-to-make-club" because I kept adding more and more to it.

October - Tri-Fold Shutter Holiday

This fold always intimidated me, but was really pretty easy to make. I also seemed to be sponging ink on EVERY edge of my cards for a few months this year. Isn't it funny how you get into using a technique and it becomes your "thing" for a while?

November - Mocha Morning Christmas

I really wanted to try to make a Christmas card with very non-traditional colors and I loved how this one came out. This Mocha Morning DSP is GORGEOUS!! The sketch (designed by Lesley from the Paper Players) is one of my favorites, also.

December - Snow Swirled Christmas

The Snow Swirled stamp set has seen a LOT of ink in my stamp studio. There is something about the way that tree looks embossed. This was for Ann's CAS color challenge over at the Paper Players. I really learned to like CAS cards over the past year...although I still tend to use a lot of layers on them.

Well there you have it! I guess it's time to get crackin' on some new creations for 2012. Hope you are having a great day today and thank you SO much for stopping by! :)

2011 Year in Review - Part One

2012-01-01T23:06:00.000-06:00

Hello and Happy New Year to you! I hope this first day of 2012 has been great for you!

I have noticed that a lot of my blogging buddies have been posting their favorite cards from 2011, so I decided to jump on board and head down memory lane with my favorite creations from the past year. I am sharing January through June 2011 today and will be back with the rest of the year tomorrow. Click the month and title of each card to view the original post.

January - Thanks for Caring Joy-Fold Card

I really enjoy making Joy-Fold cards and seem to create them a lot. It is one of the few "fancy-folds" that I can create with confidence. Lol! I loved making this card for a blog hop with the lovely ladies at the Paper Players.

February - Sew Suite and Shabby Chic?

This card was my first real attempt at "shabby-chic". This one took a while...layered flowers, fussy cutting and deciding on the layout. It has officially been entered into the "took over 3- 1/2 hours to create" club. Ugh!

March - Springtime Shadow Box

I have to be honest...making a Shadow Box card scared me and this was the first time I attempted a "sponged sky". I still love this stamp set, even if it is retired. I used it a LOT!

April - Sail Away

This card came about totally by accident. The color combo was laying in a pile of scraps to be filed away and I thought it would be cool for a nautical-themed card.

May - Kimono Kids Friendship Card

One of my favorite stamp sets for one of my favorite friends. I used a Mojo Monday sketch for inspiration and just seeing this card again makes me smile. Sometimes the occasion for the card seals the deal for the "favorites" list. *grin* :)

June - Butterfly Thanks

Embossed and blinged-out butterflies with a bright and happy color combo...I can't even tell you how many of this particular card I made. This DSP is still well-loved (I'm into my 4th pack of it!)

I will be back tomorrow with the my favorites from July through December. Thank you so much for stopping by today! Wishing you all the best in 2012! This past year was filled with SO many wonderful memories, I can't WAIT to see what this new year brings.

Big Hugs,

Bright and Happy New Year at OCC

2011-12-31T00:44:00.000-06:00

Hi there and Happy New Year's Eve to you! (albeit a little late in the day...guess who forgot to schedule her blog post to go live this morning?) Well, another week has passed during this busy holiday season and it's time for a new challenge at Our Creative Corner. I am the hostess this week with a "Color and Theme challenge":

"Bright and Happy New Year" -

It's time to ring in 2012! Create a card for a CELEBRATION using this color combo. There are so many occasions that call for a celebration ...New Year's, birthday cards, congratulations...just to name a few. Have some fun with these bright and happy colors!

I decided to create a birthday card with some new SU! goodies that are coming out in the Occasions Mini Catty starting January 4th. This post is a little "sneaky-peeky". The flower is stamped from the new Mixed Bunch stamp set, which has a coordinating punch. (Hooray!) The striped DSP is from the Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit. My favorite product in the new Mini HAS to be the Pleated Satin Ribbon. It comes in 4 colors and is sooo pretty! I have a feeling I will be using a LOT of it!

I embossed the stamped flower in Clear Embossing Powder on Melon Mambo card stock. The center of the flower is a punched 3/4" circle dressed up with a bunch of Basic Rhinestones that I colored with markers. I popped up all of the layers of the flower with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Finally, here is the inside of the card:

Thanks for stopping by today! If you have a chance this week, we hope you can play along over at Our Creative Corner. The lovely ladies on the Design Team have created some beautiful projects for inspiration, too. Be sure to check them out. Have fun ringing in the New Year tonight!

Happy 2012! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Mixed Bunch (new!), Short & Sweet (front sentiment) and Happiest Birthday Wishes (hostess, inside sentiment)
Paper: Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit (new), Pear Pizzazz, Melon mambo, Daffodil Delight and Elegant Eggplant card stock
Ink: VersaMark, Elegant Eggplant, Pear Pizzazz (for sponging around flower center) and Melon Mambo Classic ink
Accessories: Blossom punch (new), 3/4" Circle punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Pear Pizzazz 3/8" Pleated Satin Ribbon (new), Perfect Polka dots Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Basic Rhinestones and markers to color them!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:21:00.000-06:00

Hi there! I just wanted to peek in today to say Merry Christmas! I hope you all are enjoying this holiday season and have been spending time making wonderful memories with those that you love most. It truly is the "most wonderful time of the year"! I don't have a card to post today, but DID want to share two little, furry faces that are chock full of holiday cheer!

I found some elf hats for the dogs this year:

Turns out they fit the cats, too:

(words can NOT describe how angry he was in this photo)

I hope these little elves made you smile. I wish these furry helpers could have assisted me in getting my holiday cards out on time, but sadly, they will be late this year...along with a couple of gifts. Eeek! I just ran out of time.

But it is a great excuse to keep the holiday spirit going, right?

Thank you SO much for stopping by to visit!

Have a MERRY day! :)

Ho-Ho-Home for the Holidays - OCC Theme Challenge

2011-12-24T18:28:00.002-06:00

Hello there! Happy Christmas Eve to you! I am super-duper late with my card for this week's challenge over at Our Creative Corner. (Sorry!) This week has been busy, busy and I ran out of time yesterday to get my post ready. Eeek! This week at OCC, Sharon W. is our hostess and she has a fun Theme Challenge for us:

For this week's challenge, we would like you to use the scene in your own home for your inspiration. You can use the decorations on your Christmas tree, a center piece from your dining room table, the winter wonderland seen from your front door, or the wreath on your front door. Whatever your inspiration, please share that with us, in your paper craft item. You can create a card, a layout, a 3-D item, an altered item; whatever your paper crafting heart desires. The only requirement - show us some glimmer/sparkle!

I paired it up with the sketch from Stamping 411...except I accidentally flip-flopped the bow and the sentiment. (I hope that is still ok, ladies!) That will teach me to actually jot the sketch down next time. Sheesh! This is such a fun layout, I love all the different layers!

I added a lot of little details to the Santa image. His gloves, belt and boots are topped off with Crystal Effects for some shine. All of his fur trim is glittered up and I paper pieced his bag o' presents with some textured card stock...because I really messed up trying to watercolor it. I actually like the texture of the bag better anyway, so I will act like I meant to do it from the start. Finally, I used a clear glitter pen to add a tiny bit of shimmer to his red suit. Santa is rocking the sparkle and shine, indeed!

So where did my inspiration come from? I focused in on two of my favorite holiday decorations this year. First, a plush Santa that my husband and I picked up at Nordstrom the first year we were married. This little guy has seen many holidays and every year he still brings a smile to my face when I take him out of that shiny silver box.

Next, I was inspired by some pretty famous shoes. One of my favorite ornaments on our Red and Gold tree (we have 6 trees, in total, this year) has to be these "ruby slippers". What gal doesn't want their very own pair to prance around town in? I know I'm not the only one! *sigh* The quote on the ornament makes me happy, too. Although I wanted to go full-on sparkle on my card, I added just a pop of Glimmer Paper, because just like the shoes, it is meant to "accessorize".

I sure hope you can join us this week at Our Creative Corner and play along with some holiday inspiration from your home. Stop by and see what the rest of the Design Team has created, too. Thanks so much for stopping by today! We are off to have dinner with friends and to see the Christmas lights downtown on the Riverwalk tonight. Can you believe it is already Christmas tomorrow? Wow!! I hope you are enjoying the holiday season so far!

Have a HAPPY day! :)

SU! Stamps: Petite Pairs (sentiment) and Jolly Old Saint Nick (ret.)
SU! Paper: Letters to Santa DSP, Silver Glimmer Paper, Red Glimmer Paper, Riding Hood Red, Soft Suede, Old Olive and Very Vanilla card stock

Holiday Color Combo for Our Creative Corner

2011-12-17T05:00:00.000-06:00

Hello there and Happy Saturday to you! This week at Our Creative Corner, we have a holiday color combo hosted by yours truly. *grin* I found a cute inspiration photo on Pinterest, once again, and thought it would make for a fun for a holiday card. Can you believe Christmas is only one week away? Wow! Hope you can play along with us this week. Here are the details of the challenge:

Holiday Color Combo

Create a holiday card using Light Pink, Light Blue, Red and White

*PLUS a touch of holiday SPARKLE, just for fun!*

You can also use the photo for some inspiration!

I saw those buttons in the photo and immediately knew what set was going to make an appearance on this card...Button Buddies! Awww, yeah! I love that set! Next up, I spied a holiday catalog on my coffee table and that was just what I needed to put it all together. The blue shade on the cover pretty much gives away where that catty came from, too...Tiffany & Co. *sigh* Maybe Santa will do a little shopping there for me this Christmas. ;)

The little snowman was inked up using markers, then stamped and embellished. I added some red glitter to his hat to play off of the sparkly scalloped border and the polka dots in the patterned paper. That Candy Cane Christmas Specialty DSP is retired and I am stretching out every, single, last piece of it. The white button is adorned with some baker's twine and then the edges of the ovals were dressed up with Pretty in Pink sponged ink and Baja Breeze Glass Glitter (ret.).

I know the challenge says a "touch" of sparkle...but I just decided to "touch" about 3/4 of the card with sparkle. That's just how I roll!

There is a lot of dimension on the card from the popped up layers and the red satin ribbon. That ribbon ties beautifully every time. Finally, I topped the card off with some rhinestone accents. This is as close to a snowman as we can get for the holidays here in south Texas, so why not bring the bling? :)

Thanks for stopping by today! I sure hope you can join us this week at Our Creative Corner and play along this week with the colors. Please stop by and see what the rest of the lovely ladies on the Design Team have created, too. They are so amazingly talented and have whipped up some gorgeous projects, yet again.

Have a very HAPPY day!

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Button Buddies and Short & Sweet
Paper: Candy Cane Christmas Specialty DSP, Red Glimmer Paper, Pretty in Pink, Baja Breeze, Real Red and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Basic Black and Pretty in Pink Classic ink
Punches: Scallop Border punch, Word Window and Modern Label
Accessories: Red Satin Ribbon, Baja Breeze Glass Glitter (ret.), Stamping Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals, Basic Rhinestones, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie and Black Stampin' Write Markers
Non SU! Accessories: oval die cuts, white button, red/white baker's twine, red glitter glue, snowflake embossing folder

Paper Players #76 - Ann's Color Challenge

2011-12-11T09:28:00.001-06:00

Hi there! It's Sunday and it's time for another fun Paper Players challenge. This is the LAST challenge for the year 2011, as the Players are taking the next two weeks off for the holidays. The good news is, the challenge will be open until December 30th, so there is plenty of time to play along.

This week, the lovely Ann Schach has a CAS (clean and simple) color challenge for us, which is just perfect for finishing up those holiday cards: Cherry Cobbler, Gold and Very Vanilla. Such an elegant combo, isn't it?

For my card, I went with the Snow Swirled stamp set. I love this set! I heat embossed the tree with Cherry Cobbler Embossing powder and dressed it up with some gold pearls. The background is embossed with the Snow Burst Embossing Folder for some texture along with the 3/8" Quilted Cherry Cobbler Satin Ribbon. It is a clean and simple card to create and really easy to make a bunch of cards at once....which I did to finish up my Christmas cards this year. I have to get them mailed out next week, for sure. Eeeek!!

Here is a quick shot of the inside. I popped up a snowflake image from the stamp set and finished it off with a tiny gold pearl.

Thanks for visiting today! I sure hope you will join us over at the Paper Players and play along with Ann's colors. Remember, the challenge will be open until December 30, 2011. Also, please stop by and visit the rest of the gals on the Design Team to see what they created this week.

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao

Rita Wright

Have a very HAPPY day today! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Snow Swirled and Petite Pairs
Paper: Brushed Gold, Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Cherry Cobbler Classic ink and VersaMark
Punches: 3/4" Circle punch (inside), Small Oval (ret.) and Large Oval
Accessories: Snow Burst Embossing Folder, 3/8" Cherry Cobbler Quiled Satin Ribbon, Cherry Cobbler Embossing powder, Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU! Accessories: scalloped square die cut and gold pearls

All Ruffled Up for Our Creative Corner

2011-12-10T05:00:00.000-06:00

Hi there and Happy Saturday! It's time for another challenge over at Our Creative Corner. This week, I am your hostess and I have a fun theme challenge to try out. We're getting "All Ruffled Up"! In all of my browsing on Pinterest recently, I noticed that "ruffles" are a pretty popular trend right now. On everything from fashion to food to home decor, they are popping up everywhere.

Here are the details of the challenge:

Create a project showcasing ruffles!

Whether it is ribbon, lace, paper, fabric, stamped images or ruffled embellishments....get all "ruffled up" and show us what you can create, using the photo above for inspiration!

I decided to ruffle up some lace and some Glimmer Paper for my project. Now, this is not a card you are going to pop in an envelope and mail...there is a LOT of dimension. My intention was to add it to a hand-delivered gift, as part of the packaging.

I found an awesome video by Julie DiMatteo on how to create a paper lollie with a punched trim. you can find it by clicking HERE. Just a tip, I started with a 2" x 12" piece of Red Glimmer Paper for the lollie and a 1- 3/4" punched circle for the back of the lollie to hold it together. (Those are a little different then the measurements in the video.) Julie's tip in the video to use a hot glue gun is REALLY helpful. I tried liquid glue at first but couldn't get it to hold. The Glimmer Paper is super-thick, so the hot glue gun made it SO much easier to hold in place.

Here is the really FUN part about my card...It's also an ornament. That ruffled, layered lollie is designed to be removed to hang on the recipient's tree. I simply adhered it to the card with a spot of velcro. Then it can easily be removed without damaging the card or the ornament. You can't even see the velcro while it's hanging on the tree, either. Easy peasy! The Glimmer Paper really sparkles in the lights on the tree, too. Love that! :)

Here is a quick shot of the inside of the card and I also listed all of the supplies I used at the end of the post:

I sure hope you will join us this week and get "All Ruffled Up" over at Our Creative Corner. Please stop by and see what the rest of the lovely ladies on the Design Team have created. Thanks so much for visiting today!

Have a very HAPPY day! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Bright Hopes
Paper: Holly Berry Bouquet Specialty DSP, Red Glimmer Paper, Wild Wasabi, Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Real Red Craft ink and Versa-Mark ink
Punches: Eyelet Border Punch, 1- 3/4" Circle punch (for the back of the "ornament")
Accessories: Wild Wasabi Embossing Powder (for wreath image), Basic Rhinestones (coored red with a marker), Basic Pearls, Color Spritzer Tool, Crumb Cake Stampin' Write Marker, Stamping Sponges, Gold Elastic cord (ret.), Chantilly 1/2" Crochet Lace Trim, gold glitter, Sticky Strip and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non-SU! Accessories: red glitter embossing powder, velcro, hot glue gun, circle and scallop circle die cuts

Paper Players #75 - Holiday Hoopla

2011-12-04T18:06:00.001-06:00

Hi there and Happy Sunday to you! Sorry my post is running late today. I had internet problems this morning, which almost sent me into a tizzy. (Gasp!) I'm back online and ready to share my card for this week's challenge over at The Paper Players. The super-sweet, Nance Leedy is our "hostess with the most-est" for a fabulous theme challenge: Holiday Hoopla! This was a whole lot of fun, as the objective was to create a Christmas card using non-holiday stamps and non-traditional holiday colors.

I decided to make a Christmas card for my Mom, who lives in Florida. (Mom, here is a "sneak peek" of what will be in your mailbox really soon!) I used a retired set, Tropical Party which was previously un-inked. I HAD to have it when it came out and just never found the motivation to use it. Has that ever happened to you?

I created a little beach scene by sponging the sky with Pool Party ink and then tearing some Crumb Cake card stock to make "sand". Then I sponged the paper with Soft Suede ink and used the color Spritzer Tool to create little speckles. I felt like it needed a little sparkle (...shocking, I KNOW!) so I dressed up the edges with Dazzling Details.

I colored different sizes of pearls with a marker to create the little ornaments. I decided, in the end, to only decorate one of the palm trees because both of them seemed like fa-la-la-la-over-kill. I'm not going to even talk about that triple twine bow. It took me entirely TOO long to get that thing situated and I'm still a wee bit bitter about it. I dressed up the button with a Glimmer Brad and right now, will probably never recreate that look again...unless I find myself with an extra hour and a half to kill. Lol!

Here is the inside of the card, with a simple sentiment:

Thanks for stopping by today! I sure hope you get a chance to play along in all the Holiday Hoopla this week at The Paper Players. The challenge goes through Friday, December 9, 2011 at midnight PST. We can't wait to see what YOU create! Also, please stop by and visit the rest of the lovely ladies on the Design Team to see what they whipped up. The sassy Rita Wright is joining us in December as a Guest Designer, too. (Hi Rita!)

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
Rita Wright (December GD)

Have a very HAPPY day today! We have been busy decorating the house for Christmas. So far we have the 4 "little" trees up (including my PINK tree). We still have the "big" tree and the outside lights to go this week. I DID have to pluck a Maine Coon cat from the tree in our bedroom today, so I fear this is going to be an interesting holiday. :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Tropical Party (ret.), Holiday happiness (sentiment) and Bright Hopes (inside sentiment)
Paper: Sweet Stitches DSP (ret.), Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Pool Party and Melon Mambo Classic ink
Punches: Large Oval and Scalloped Oval
Accessories: Subtles Buttons, Wild Wasabi Glimmer brads, Hemp Twine, Dazzling Details, Color Spritzer tool, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink and Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Markers, Stamping Sponges, Basic Pearls and Stampin' Dimensionals

Haul out the Holly for Our Creative Corner

2011-12-03T05:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday to you! After a long week of battling a horrible cold, I'm finally back...just in time for the new challenge over at Our Creative Corner. This week, Wendy Janson is our hostess and she is challenging us to the folowing challenge:

"Haul out the Holly"...It's time to Decorate! Challenge

The challenge this week is to take this very basic sketch,

use it, and "decorate" it!

This weekend my husband and I are decorating our home for the Christmas season and I am really in the festive spirit! For my card, I decided to break out my beloved Dasher stamp...although he is disguised as "Rudolph" on this card. I heat embossed him using Pewter Embossing Powder. Then, I layered him on a larger circle, dressed up with Silver Glass glitter. When do I ever skimp on the sparkles? All of the Soft Suede edges are sponged with ink in the same color, to add some extra shading.

I used the Christmas Cocoa Specialty DSP (ret.), because the paper itself has a soft shimmer to it. To finish it off, I added a snowflake embossing folder, some trim using red Glimmer Paper and Real Red Satin Ribbon. All the layers are popped up using Stampin' Dimensionals. I left the sentiment off the front of the card, because I thought it was fairly evident that this was a Christmas card. ;)

Here is the dressed up inside of the card, using a sentiment from the Contempo Christmas stamp set:

Thanks for visiting today! Please stop by the Our Creative Corner site and see what the rest of the Design Team have done with the sketch this week. We sure hope you will join us and play along. We can't wait to see how YOU "decorate" this sketch for the holidays!

Have a very HAPPY day! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Dasher and Contempo Christmas
Paper: Christmas Cocoa Specialty DSP (ret.), Red Glimmer paper, Real Red, Soft Suede and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Versa-Mark and Soft Suede Classic ink
Accessories: Scallop Border punch, Pewter Embossing Powder, Silver Glass Glitter, Real Red Satin Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Stamping Sponges and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non-SU! Accessories: oval and scalloped oval die cuts, snowflake embossing folder

Christmas Swap with the Divas

2011-11-29T14:29:00.001-06:00

Hi there! I am still battling this nasty cold I have had since Thanksgiving, so I have not been spending a whole lot of time in my craft room recently. (Thank you for all of the well-wishes that have been sent my way!) As, I just received my swap cards back from the Stamping Divas yesterday, I thought I would share them with you. Every month we do a different "theme" swap and in November it was all about Christmas cards.

My swap card is in the photo below, on the left. It's the same card I made for the Paper Payers color challenge a few weeks ago. I made 10 of those little buggers, in total. All of the details for the card can be found HERE. With that, here are the swap cards from the DIVAS! Beautiful work, as always, ladies!

~My card (left), Kerry Hansing (right)~

~Stephanie Fairbanks (left), Sharon Tong-Robinson (right)~

~Debora Shaw (left), Olives Barnes (right)~

~Gina Taylor (left), Teresa Payne-Neal (right)~

Thanks for visiting today! I hope to be back in the swing of things soon. Until then, I'm back to hot tea, tissues, lots of rest and catching up on my DVR from the past few weeks. Maybe Top Chef and Grey's Anatomy will have magical healing powers. Haha!

Have a very HAPPY day today! :)

Paper Players #74 - Lesley's Sketch

2011-11-27T05:30:00.000-06:00

Hi there and Happy Sunday to you! I am hoping for good day today but have been battling a NASTY cold since Thanksgiving. It has taken my voice and pretty much ALL of my energy, but I am armed with vitamins, DayQuil and lots of fluids. I know it's just a matter of time before it moves along. Until then *cough, cough* I am pressing on!

This week at the Paper Players, Lesley is our fabulous hostess and she has a fun sketch to try out.

Blame it on the cold meds, but I wanted to try something a little out of the ordinary with my card. I recently received the Mocha Morning Specialty DSP and have been itching to open it up. I decided to try to play with these colors for a Christmas card. If you have visited me before, you know that I like to branch out from "traditional" colors on holiday cards. It's just a quirk of mine. I just like to be different, I guess. ;)

I embossed the ornament and the sentiment in black, which may be a little dramatic but I am really hoping it works with the papers. I tried to soften it up with some sponged ink and delicate pearls. Two of the patterned papers have a soft "shimmer" to them which the photos just don't capture.

Here is the inside of the card...with the strategically placed watermark...so you won't see the horrible fold...because I seem to have misplaced my bone folder. Look away from that, please. Have pity on the sick girl! Lol!!

Please stop by and visit the rest of the gals on the Paper Players Design Team and see what they have to share this week. You will NOT be disappointed! I hope you have a chance to play along this week, too.

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao
Susan Joyce

Thank you SO much for stopping by! I hope your day is HAPPY! :)

Hugs,

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Tags 'til Christmas and Petite Pairs
Paper: Mocha Morning Specialty DSP, Soft Suede, Basic Black and Crumb Cake card stock
Ink: Basic Black Craft ink, Soft Suede Classic ink (for sponging)
Punches; Ornament punch, Scallop Trim Border punch and Scallop Corner punch
Accessories: Black Embossing powder, Stamping Sponges, Basic Pearls, Stampin' Dimensionals and Basic Black 1/8" Taffeta ribbon
Non-SU! Accessories: Oval and scalloped oval dies

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas

2011-11-26T05:15:00.000-06:00

Hi there! Happy Saturday to you! Time for another fun challenge over at Our Creative Corner! This week, Wendy Janson is our hostess and we are having a theme challenge:

*Make a project with a Christmas tree (or pine tree if you would rather)*

I also found some inspiration from the sketch over at Inkspirations. I flipped the sketch to accommodate the tree. As I have mentioned before, I LOVE using non-traditional colors for holiday cards, so this week's combo at Create with Connie and Mary, immediately grabbed my attention. Who loves Lucky Limeade? I do, I DO!!

I finally ordered the Lovely as a Tree stamp set (what took so long, right?) and couldn't wait to use it for this card. I wanted the card to have a woodsy-theme...hmmm, which is odd because there is nothing "outdoor-sy" about this gal. ;) The tree and the sentiment are embossed, although it is tough to see in the photo. I also used my new Woodgrain background stamp...which I was convinced I needed to buy after seeing the awesome creations by my stampin' friend Nance. :)

Then after getting the card all dirtied up with sponges and the distressing tool...I couldn't help but add some holiday pizazz with the pearl ornaments. I colored them with a marker...they really look more "navy" in real life, the photo makes them look lighter. I also added a light dusting of "snow" to the "ground" using Dazzling Details. It rarely snows here in Texas, so my card is celebrating a GREEN Christmas.

Finally, here is the inside of the card, using the same elements from the front:

Thanks for stopping by! I sure hope you will join us this week at Our Creative Corner and play along. Please check out what the rest of the lovely ladies on the DT have created for inspiration, too.

Have a very HAPPY day today! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Woodgrain background, Teeny Tiny Wishes and Peace on Earth (inside sentiment)
Paper: Night of Navy, River Rock, Lucky Limeade and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Versa-Mark, Lucky Limeade, River Rock, Crumb Cake and Night of Navy Classic ink
Punches: Word Window
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, 3/8" Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon, Rich Regals Buttons, Basic Pearls, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Color Spritzer Tool, River Rock Stampin' Write Marker, Dazzling Diamonds, Twine, Distressing Tool and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non-SU! Accessories: oval and scallop oval die, blue sharpie marker

Thankful for Birthday Wishes

2011-11-23T20:27:00.000-06:00

Hi Stampers! I wanted to share some HUGE thanks to everyone who sent some happy thoughts and wishes for my birthday last week. I don't think my iPhone has ever had that kind of work-out, EVER! :) I truly appreciate all of the sweet blog comments, phone calls and emails. Thank you!

To start the day, my sweet assistant at work presented me with this sassy little number to wear for the day. It's pink. It sparkles. Did I wear it? You betcha! This tiara was also accompanied by a huge box of Peppermint Bark. My favorite!

I wanted to share the gorgeous handmade cards that arrived in my mailbox. (Not that the abundance of Hallmark cards weren't special, too...but they would be a little out of place on a stamping blog, right?) These gals are SO amazingly creative! Check out their blogs with the links under their cards.

Here is a beautiful card from my sweet friend Genny. The colors are so bright and happy and I love how she stamped the butterfly on the vellum.

Genny Valdes

Stampin' By Genny

Next, here are some of the beautiful cards from my dear Paper Players friends:

LeAnne Pugliese

weeinklings

Lesley Croghan

Always Playing with Paper

Ann Schach

The Stampin' Schach

(the poem on the inside of the card STILL makes me laugh out loud when I read it!)

Nance Leedy

Canopy Crafts

I wish I was tech-savvy enough to post the audio clip from my friend Beth's kindergarten class singing birthday wishes to me first thing in the morning...It was awesome! Beth is ONE whole DAY older then me and I never let her forget that. (Love you, "Burger"!) I also took a ceremonial spot on the "birthday board" in her classroom for the day, which was pretty exciting. :)

I was also beyond blessed to have received some wonderful gifts. I won't name them ALL...but a few (of my non-stamping) friends DO pop by my blog on occasion, so a big shout out to them. First, to Kristina and Eric for the fabulous new TOMS...click HERE to see them. (I *heart* TOMS!) Thanks to Deb and Vinny for the beautiful Pashmina scarf and amazing bottle of wine. Thanks to Kasia (my friend since 3rd grade) for the gorgeous flowers that were delivered to my doorstep. Of course, my Hubby gets major props for pulling off the best surprises EVER!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are having a great day today!