A Mother's Day Recipe for Our Creative Corner

Hello, hello! It's Saturday and you know what that means...time for another fun challenge over at Our Creative Corner. Whoo hoo! This week, I am the humble hostess and I wanted to share a challenge to celebrate the upcoming Mother's Day holiday. This week we are cooking it up in the "creative kitchen." The mission is to create a "Recipe for Mom" with a list of fun "ingredients" to whip up the perfect project for Mother's Day. I sure hope you will join us! 

I was also really inspired by the sketch over at Stamping 411. I just love their sketches! When I saw it,  I knew I wanted to use a whole bunch of my under-utilized products from the SU! Occasions Mini catty....which sadly expires on April 30th. 

This is the first time my Apothecary Art stamp set (from the mini catty) has seen ink. That is crazy! It is such a pretty set and if I can watercolor it, anyone can. Haha! I used a Blender Pen and Classic Ink Pads for my watercoloring. I love how it coordinates with the Labels Collection Framelits...which was also used for the first time on this card. I'm a slacker! Ugh! 

There is a lot of texture and dimension on this one. I popped up and also heat embossed the sentiment from the Something to Celebrate set (ret.) for a little added interest. What better way to dress up an image then to add some pretty pearls? They help to distract from my lack of coloring skills. All of the supplies I used are listed at the end of this post. I'm always so hesitant to over-explain my card, but if you ever have a question, please shoot me an email at: annemariehile@gmail.com. :) 

Please join us this week at Our Creative Corner! The challenge runs through 11:59 pm (EST) on Friday, May 4th, 2012. Be sure to visit the rest of the lovely ladies on the Design Team to see what they whipped up in the "creative kitchen": 

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

Thank you so much for stopping by today! 
Hope you have a very HAPPY day, 



Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Apothecary Art (Occasions Mini Catty) and Something to Celebrate (ret. Hostess) 
Paper: Twitterpated DSP (Occasions Mini), Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze and Blushing Bride card stock
Inks: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, VersaMark, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride and Baja Breeze Classic ink
Accessories: Blender Pens, Labels Collection Framelits (Occasions Mini), Baja Breeze Seam Binding, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Elegant Lines Embossing Folder, Twitterpated Designer Buttons  (Occasions Mini), Basic Pearls and Stampin Dimensionals

Exciting News!

Hello there! I am super-excited to share some Design Team news. I have been invited to be a part of the inaugural Design Team team over at the NEW Dynamic Duos Challenge. Whoo hoo!!! 

I am so thrilled to work with the amazing ladies that are on this team.

Here is the DT line-up: 

The Dynamic Duos Challenge Blog

Allisa Chilton

Anne Marie Hile

Anika Lerche

Bronwyn Eastley

Kim Singdahlsen

Lesley Croghan

Lisa Elton

Melissa Chipperfield

Paige Grabau

Sue Joyce

Our first challenge will premiere on Saturday, May 5th. You won't want to miss it! Our first challenge colors were decided via our Facebook page. CLICK HERE to "like" the Dynamic Duos team on Facebook. Here is how our challenge works: 

The challenge is divided into weekly "themes"...
Week 1-Bold and Sassy - bright, happy colours
Week 2-Subtly Yours - soft, romantic colours
Week 3-Black Tie - one colour plus black and a dessert option
Week 4-Monochromatic - same colours in different hues (light/dark)
Week 5-Mix and Match - we choose one colour and you add the other colour to ours to create your own "Dynamic Duo".

Thanks for visiting! 

Have a HAPPY day,

Time to Say Goodbye - SU! Retired Lists are HERE!

This morning, Stampin' Up! announced the accessories that are set to retire with the arrival of the new catalog. 

This list is packed with some fantastic deals that are available ONLY while supplies last, through May 31, 2012 

Some items are up to 70% off! Wowza! 

Don't wait to purchase, as these items will sell out quickly!

Click this link to view the list: Retiring Accessory List

Don't stress out when you see the ink pads on this list....they are simply re-designing them to make them better then ever! 

Also, don't forget to check out the retiring stamp sets that will only be available through May 31, 2012. 

Click this link to view the list: Retiring Stamp List

Contact me today to get your hands on these great products before they are gone! As always, you can always place your order anytime 24/7 on my website. 

Click HERE to shop NOW! 

Happy "Bird-day" for Paper Players #92

Hello and Happy Sunday to you! 

This week at the Paper Players, our very own Nance Leedy is our hostess 

with a super-fun sketch challenge to try.  

I decided to throw this challenge to the birds...well, not literally... but they were the theme of my card. I have completely neglected the Nursery Nest DSP over the past few months and decided that it was time to dig that paper out for this week's challenge. After a couple (*cough, cough*) stamped attempts with a few different images, I finally decided to go with a trusty punch for this one. I dressed up the bird with some embossed accents for texture along with a polka dot wing and some sparkle for good measure. This is the first time EVER that I was able to punch a banner sentiment with a 1- 1/4 Square punch. I usually snip the banners by hand...but I followed THIS TUTORIAL and finally achieved "punchy-success!" Thanks Mary Fish!! All of the supplies used are listed at the end of this post. 

Finally, here is a quick shot of the inside...with the "punny" sentiment that plays off the front of the card..."Happy *Bird* Day!":

Please join us this week at the Paper Players! If you have a chance, please stop by the rest of the Design Team blogs to see what they created with Nance's awesome sketch this week. The challenge closes at Noon (PST) on Friday, April 27th, 2012. 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy
Jenn Picard 
Heidi Boos 

Shirley Pumpkin - GD for April

Thanks for stopping by! :) 

Have a very HAPPY and creative day,  

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: You're a Gem and Picture This (inside sentiment, retired)
Paper: Nursery Nest DSP, Subtles Collection DSP (for the bird wing), Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Perfect Plum and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Perfect Plum and Pear Pizzazz Classic ink
Punches: 1- 1/4" square punch (to create the banner sentiment), 1- 3/4" Circle punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch and Bird Builder Punch
Accessories: Blushing Bride 1/2" Poly-Stitched Ribbon, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals and Basic Rhinestones
Non SU! Accessories: circle and scallop circle die cut

Bright Butterflies for Our Creative Corner

Hey, hey, it's finally Saturday! Woot woot! Time for another fun challenge over at Our Creative Corner. This week, Irena Kowalczyk is our hostess once again and she has a fun theme challenge to share: 

"This week's challenge is based on this inspiration photo of "Butterflies". Make a project, card, or tag inspired by the photo. Then tell us why you love butterflies."

My card ended up pretty clean and simple. When I thought about what I wanted to make for this challenge, all that came to mind was to use the Summer Smooches DSP. I love the bright and cheerful colors in that paper! Then I just played off the colors in the paper to create some layered butterflies using the Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die.  I added some texture and a little bling (shocking, I know) and there you have it. I'm planning to use this card for one of the projects in my Summer Fun Big Shot class, next month. 

Speaking of butterflies, we seem to have a lot of them visiting our yard over the past week or so. I snapped a few photos of them to share. 

They are such beautiful and delicate creatures, aren't they? 

I sure hope that you will join us this week at Our Creative Corner as we celebrate butterflies. Please stop by and visit the rest of the gals on the Design Team to see their creations: 

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: 

Birgit Edblom- Rapport från ett skrivbord

Thanks for stopping by! 
Have a HAPPY day, 



Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Friendly Phrases
Paper: Summer Smooches DSP, Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Island Indigo and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Island Indigo Classic ink
Accessories: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals

CAS Watercoloring for The Paper Players

It's Sunday and you know what that means! Time for another fun challenge over at the Paper Players! This week, Jaydee is our hostess and she has challenged us to create CAS (Clean and Simple) projects featuring: Watercoloring. 

Now, I'm not the best at watercoloring, but it's fun to keep on trying it out. I decided to color-up the Greeting Card Kids stamp set using my Blender Pens and ink pads. I attempted to keep it pretty CAS, which for me, still means a couple of layers. One day, I will make a one-layer card...really. All of the supplies used are listed at the end of the post.


Here is a close-up of my awesome coloring skills. *Insert chuckles here.* I added some Dazzling Details (glitter glue) to her little heart and a piece of bling to her hair bow. Yes, I am attempting to distract you with sparkly accents. Is it working? ;) 

This card is going in the mail to a good friend who needs a little cheering up (along with a cute pair of earrings from Brighton). Here is a shot of the inside with a sentiment from the (ret.) Occasional Quotes stamp set:

I hope you will share some CAS Watercoloring with us this week over at the Paper Players! The challenge is open until Friday April 20th at Noon (PST). Be sure to visit the rest of the gals on the Design Team to see what they have created this week: 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy
Jenn Picard 
Heidi Boos 

Shirley Pumpkin - GD for April

Thanks for stopping by! 
Have a HAPPY day today,



Stampin' Up Supply List: 
Stamps: Greeting Card Kids, Perfect Words and Occasional Quotes (ret.)  
Paper: Everyday Enchantment DSP (ret.), Pool Party, Poppy Parade and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Poppy Parade, Pool Party, So Saffron (hair), Crumb Cake (hair) and Basic Gray (ground) Classic Ink Pads
Punches: Large Oval punch
Accessories: Blender Pens (to watercolor), Blush Blossom Stampin' Write Marker (to color skin), Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad pack from Sale-A-Bration (ret.), Dazzling Details, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU! Accessories: circle and scallop circle die cut

Boys and Their Toys for Our Creative Corner

Hello there and Happy Saturday to you! This week at Our Creative Corner, the amazingly talented Irena Kowalczyk is our hostess and she has a fun theme challenge for us. Here are the challenge details in Irena's own words:  

"Our Boys and Their Toys": Show us the hobby or interest of a man in your life – husband, father, son, brother or another male member of your family. Maybe he likes sports or cars or models. Make a paper craft project that depicts that hobby/passion – and be sure to explain what it is in your post write up. 

There are a lot of guys in my family who really enjoy the game of GOLF. As soon as I saw this challenge, I knew I wanted to make a card centered around that theme. I know this card will be put to good use in the coming months...so I made a couple of them to have on hand. For inspiration, I used this week's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches (created by the lovely Tui Nathan, who is also on the OCC Design Team): 

I dusted off my And Many Mower (ret.) stamp set, which I will never get rid of because, let's face it...can you ever have TOO many guy stamp sets? I paired it up with the polka dot patterned paper in the Just Add Cake DSP. The paper and the embossed layer reminded me of the textured pattern of a golf ball. The border on either side of the polka dot embossed layer was created by...are you ready for this?...some old school decorative edge scissors. Awww yeah, I dusted those babies off to create a "grassy" border for this little golfer.  There is always hope for forgotten crafting supplies! 


I'm not sure why I decided to add the baker's twine bow. It felt like it needed "something" else and I'm not positive that was it...BUT it is tied on the cards and all put together, so I guess it is staying. I added some silver-toned pearls as a final touch. Regular pearls just seemed to frilly.

Here is the shot of the inside of the card, with the "PAR-fect" sentiment for a golf enthusiast:

I sure hope you will join us this week at Our Creative Corner where we are celebrating "boys and their toys" this week! Please be sure to stop by and visit the rest of the gals on the Design Team to see what they have created:

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

Thanks for visiting! :) 
Have a very HAPPY day and a wonderful weekend,



Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: And Many Mower (ret.)
Paper: Just Add Cake DSP, Wild Wasabi, Peach Parfait and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Basic Black Classic ink
Punches: Word Window and Modern Label punch
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, White Baker's Twine, Peach Parfait, Wild Wasabi and Baja Breeze Stampin' Write Markers and Stamping Dimensionals
Non SU! Accessories: decorative edge scissors, some markers, silver pearls, circle and scallop circle die cuts

Party This Way for Paper Players #90

Hello there! Sorry my card for this weeks Paper Players challenge is a wee bit late. I got really caught up in the Easter festivities yesterday. I snapped some family photos in the Texas bluebonnets for our dear friends (sadly, this is their last year in Texas) and then we hosted a delicious dinner at our house. I'm still pretty full! It was a wonderful day! 

Now, let's talk about that challenge! This week at the Paper Players, the lovely LeAnne is our hostess and she has selected a beautiful palette perfect for the spring season. 

I have had the Party This Way stamp sitting on my desk for a couple of weeks now begging to see some ink. It's a great set for birthday cards...something I know I am always in need of. 

To create the card, I stamped the balloons in place, then used a ruler and a black marker to create their "strings". On the first try, I tried to make the strings curly but it just looked wonky....and I have a slight obsession with keeping things linear. Haha! Then I stamped another set of balloons, cut them out, pressed them into a VersaMark ink pad and sprinkled some Iridescent Ice Embossing powder on them for some extra birthday sparkle. I popped-up the balloons, the cut out sentiment and the card layers using Stampin' Dimensionals. 

A quick shot of the inside of the card: 

Thanks for visiting today! I sure hope you will join us this week over at the Paper Players with your colorful creation. The challenge is open until Friday, April 13th (yikes...Friday the 13th!!) at 12:00 Noon PST. Be sure to pop on over to visit the rest of the Design Team to see what they have whipped up, as well:

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy
Jenn Picard 
Heidi Boos 

Shirley Pumpkin - GD for April

Have a HAPPY day! :)



Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Party This Way
Paper: Soft Subtles DSP Paper pad, Not Quite Navy, Pool Party, Certainly Celery and Whisper White card stock
Ink: VersaMark, Not Quite Navy, Pool Party and Certainly Celery Classic ink
Punches: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch
Accessories: Certainly Celery Stampin' Write Marker, Basic Black Stampin' Journaler Marker, Adorning Accents Textured Expressions Embossing Folder (Occasions Mini catalog), Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Easter, Everybunny!

Hi there! "Hoppy" Saturday to you! Can you believe tomorrow is Easter? Wow! 

This week at Our Creative Corner, the marvelous Marcy is our hostess and she has a fun challenge to share:

"My challenge for you this week, is to design a card/project that is inspired by a frilly Easter bonnet.  Use elements that you would put onto your own bonnet, such as lace, flowers, pearls, etc."

I just love the sketch over at Create with Connie and Mary and as soon as I saw it, I knew which stamp set was getting some ink this week.

If I were to have an Easter bonnet, it would probably be full of bright and happy colors. That is just my personality. Initially, I thought about soft pastels for this card but when I was scanning my card stock for some color inspiration...I stopped on Melon Mambo. I know, it is shocking for me to be inspired by the color pink, right? Haha! I'm also going to link this one up for the Lily Pad Card Challenge, where they are featuring a pink, green and yellow color palette right now. Thank you to Maria, for letting me know about their super-fun site! 

I wanted to include a few (ok, there are WAY more then a few) accents on this one including: a bow, pearls, texture, flowers and some scrunchy ribbon. That is what comes to mind with a fabulous bonnet. How cute is this sweet little rabbit from the Everybunny stamp set? After coloring her in with markers, inks and a Blender Pen, I added some pearl "eggs" to her basket and a little pearl to the bow on her dress. Every girl HAS to accessorize, right? :)  

I threaded some Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine through the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch. You can't really tell that it is not the same color as the Pear Pizzazz card stock, which I think makes it even more versatile. All of the supplies used are listed at the end of this post. 

Finally, here is a shot of the inside of the card with another image from the Everybunny set and the sentiment from the (ret.) Easter Blossoms stamp set. I always like to dress up the inside of my cards. It just "keeps the party going" from the front of the card! 

I sure hope you will join us this week over at Our Creative Corner. The challenge closes on Friday, April 13th at 11:59 EST. Be sure to check out the Create with Connie and Mary and Lily Pad Card challenges, too. The rest of the OCC Design Team have created some beautiful projects for inspiration, too. Stop by their blogs and say hello: 

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: 

Lisa Minckler- You Made Me Ink

Thanks for visiting today! 
Have a great day and a very Happy Easter! :) 




Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Everybunny and Easter Blossoms (ret.)
Paper: Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit, Pear Pizzazz, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Basic Black, Pear Pizzazz, Basic Gray, Pretty in Pink, Tangerine Tango (inside) and Melon Mambo Classic ink
Punches: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, 1- 3/4" Circle punch (for stamped bunny image), Owl Builder punch (for flower centers) and Large Oval punch
Accessories: Perfect Pennants Bigz L die, Square Lattice Embossing folder, Daffodil Delight Seam Binding (NEW!), Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine (Occasions Mini catalog), Daffodil Delight bitty button flowers (ret. from last year's Sale-A-Bration), Daffodil Delight Stampin' Write Marker, Basic Pearls, Stampin' Dimensionals and Blender Pens