Pocket Full of Flowers for Hand Stamped Sentiments #55-Sketch Challenge

Hi there! It's Tuesday and that means it's time for another fun, weekly challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments! This week we are focusing on a sketch challenge! I created a pocket card in my design, but you can use ANY shape your little, heart desires in it's place. The important thing is to HAVE FUN with it! I sure hope you will join us this week with your creation!! :) 

My little, pocket card is actually multi-purpose. It is both a card AND a gift, all rolled into one. Good thing, because this card measures 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" and weighs in on the very "chunky" side. I figured why not pack as much punch as I could into it! I think I'm going through a BIG card phase right now, lol! In the main photo, you will see a tiny clip in the top, left-hand corner. That was added to help slide the flower bouquet OUT of the pocket and reveal something special: 

After removing the flower insert, the hidden card holds a gift card inside the pocket. The gift card is held in place by using 2 clear, adhesive, photo corners. That way, it can easily be removed by the recipient so they can use it to shop 'til they drop! (I also decorated the inside flap with a little personal note, just for fun!)


**Edited to add: I have had a few emails requesting dimensions for the card, pocket, etc. Please email me at annemariehile@satx.rr.com if you are interested in the specifics. I'm happy to share them with you. 

 Below is a better close up of the insert:

My trio of flowers were created with the 5-Petal Punch. I usually tend to overlook that punch, for some reason. I was determined to dust it off and try to do something fun with it for this card. 

• Each flower is made from 3 punched flowers. 
• Two were punched out of Sweet Stitches DSP and one was punched out of Pear Pizzazz card stock. 
• I spritzed all of the flowers punched out of Sweet Stitches DSP with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, folded each of the petals in half lenght-wise for dimension, then blasted them with the heat gun to help tem hold their shape.  
• For the flowers punched out of Pear Pizzazz card stock, I scored them on each petal, with a bone folder (to make tiny "leaves") then folded each petal in half at the score line, for added dimension. You can see them better in the photo below: 

After layering each of the flowers together, I added a button in the middle, threaded with some white embroidery floss. There are a LOT of different patterns and textures on the card, but I think it all works well together. I was really inspired by all of the fun patterns in the DSP! (*all of the supplies used...and there were a LOT...are listed below*) The stitching on the card is actually created through the magic of rub-ons. Goodness knows, I cannot actually sew, so why risk injury when rub-ons can do the job safely and easily. Whew! Finally, here is a shot of the decorated inside: 

There you have my take on this week's Hand Stamped Sentiments sketch. Please stop by and see what the rest of the Design Team has created this week for inspiration. I hope you will join in the fun with this sketch, too! Thanks for stopping by today! Please leave me a comment to say hello and let me know what you think. I really enjoy hearing from you. Have a very HAPPY day today! :)

**You can order any of the items used to make this card, anytime 24/7, through my website by clicking HERE**
Stampin' Up! Supply List:  
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes (sentiment on front) and Create a Cupcake (Occasions Mini, inside sentiments)
Ink: Chocolate Chip classic ink (front) and Melon Mambo / Tempting Turquoise / Daffodil Delight clasic ink (inside)
Papers: Sweet Stitches DSP, Melon Mambo, Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango and Whisper White card stock
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Square Lalttice embossing folder, Eyelet Border punch, 5 Petal Flower punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Curly Label XL punch, 2 x 1 3/8" XL Oval punch (inside), Decorative Label punch (inside), Tangerine Tango Pom Pom trim (Occasions Mini, inside), Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, Pear Pizzazz Seam binding (Occasions Mini), bone folder, pop up glue dots and Sticky Strip
Non SU! Accessories: stitched rub-ons, white embroidery floss, pink buttons and clear yellow accents

Keep it Simple Sunday

Hello there and Happy Sunday! As I have posted before, one of my goals this year is to make more CAS (clean and simple) cards. So, I wanted to try something new with my blog to ensure I keep to that goal. Every Sunday I'm going to feature one CAS creation, that was made in 30 minutes or less.

I'm calling it:

"Keep it Simple Sunday"! 

This week's card is based on the *fall to layout #127* over at Clean and Simple Stamping:

I did use a lot more layers then I probably should have for a CAS card, but it still came together in about 20 minutes. THAT is reason to celebrate, in my book! I was really inspired to break in some of the new goodies that were delivered to my door on Friday. Whoo hoo! Don't forget that Sale-A-Bration is going on right now and there are lots of ways to earn FREE SU! product. Click the link above! :)

Anyhoo, there you have it. Keeping it simple on a Sunday. 

I'd love to hear what you think, as CAS cards are something I really struggle with. 

Thanks so much for popping by and enjoy the rest of your day! 

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: A Slice of Life (level 1 hostess set, Occasions Mini catalog) and Create a Cupcake (sentiment, Occasions Mini)
Ink: Basic Black and Melon Mambo Classic ink
Paper: Ice Cream Parlor DSP (from Sale-A-Bration), Whisper White, Pacific Point, Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight card stock
Accessories: Stampin' Write markers in Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight & Peach Parfait, Basic Rhinestones, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder and Stampin' dimensionals
Non-SU! Accessories: glitter glue, border punch and yellow button

Love is In the Air for The Paper Players

"Love is in the air...everywhere I look around." Can you say, old school disco? Awww yeah! Google the Tom Jones version of that song for a really good chuckle. C'mon it's fun! My card today is to share for this week's theme challenge at The Paper Players, perfectly titled "Love is in the Air". It also happens to be THE card for my favorite sweetheart for Valentine's Day. Yup, my hubby promised NOT to visit the blog for the next few days, so as not to spoil the surprise. That guy is pretty awesome, I tell ya! :)

I think it is pretty safe to say that I was almost TOO literal in my translation of this theme challenge. Nothing says "Love is in the Air" like a heart-shaped, hot air balloon in the clouds. Haha! I inked up my Sweet Centers stamp set for the first time ever for this card. I also took the advice of my handy Color Coach for this non-traditional, Valentine's Day color combo. I really like how this mix looks together. Note to self: use more Crumb Cake. 

I stamped the balloon basket on Bashful Blue card stock in Basic Black Craft ink. (What? No, there's not a little smudge on the bottom right side of the basket...look away...I ALWAYS wait until the ink is completely dry before I try to put everything together! Whoops!) Then, I stamped the heart in Real Red on Whisper White card stock and cut it out. Oh, how I love to cut things out...at least this one was pretty easy to do. I just felt like it needed some more pop, so I stamped the image again in Basic Black craft ink on Crumb Cake card stock. Then, punched out the center of the image and attached it to a scalloped circle punched from Glimmer Paper. Just a little more layering with a 3/4" circle punch and a small heat punched out of Glimmer Paper and it finally felt like it was complete.

From there I just added a few, little details (including those stinkin' CUTE cloud rub-ons!!) to finish everything off. All of the supplies used are listed below, if you are interested. This big ol' card measures 5 1/2 x 5 1/2", simply because there was just TOO much love to fit on a regular sized card base. Haha! Of course, my card wouldn't be complete without a co-ordinating inside, so here it is:

I'm finally finished with Valentine's Day cards this year, phew! Perfect timing as I have a big ol' box of new SU! goodies being delivered to my door later today. Can't wait! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and visit. Before you go, please leave me a comment to say hello. I really enjoy hearing from you! Hope YOU have a fabulous day today! :)

SU! Supply List:
Stamps:  Sweet Centers
Ink: Real Red classic ink and Basic Black Craft ink
Paper: Red Glimmer Paper (Occasions Mini), Real Red, Bashful Blue, Crumb Cake and Whisper White card stock
Accessories: Basic Rhinestones, Small Heart punch, 3/4" Circle punch, 1 3/8" Circle punch, Scalloped Circle punch, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, 5/8" Organza Whisper White Ribbon, Hemp Twine, Heart to Heart XL punch (inside), Love Impressions Rub Ons (Occasions Mini), Chit Chat Rub-Ons (retired), Scallop Trim Border punch and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU! Accessories: red glitter glue, large circle die cut, large scalloped circle die cut and button

I {Heart} Hearts and I {Heart} Pink

Hello everyone! Hope you are enjoying your Thursday so far. I have had a very busy and productive week, unfortunately it hasn't been in my craft room. Eeek! I had a few more Valentine's to whip up for some friends, so I thought I'd better get going on them today since the big day is almost here. I used two online challenges for inspiration for this card. First, I discovered a fun new site called Crafty Cardmakers and their theme this week is: -HEARTS-. There is some great inspiration there, so pay them a visit if you never have. 


Next, my sketch came from the fabulous gals over at the "Just Us Girls" Challenge this week (it's been a while since I played along):

If you have visited my blog (or my craft room) before you probably already know that I love anything and everything PINK. So, my color inspiration came from the color combo of the place I spend my time creating. I will be posting photos sometime soon of my pink, black and white stamp studio..when I can finally get my crazy desk cleaned off for more then 10 minutes. 

I heat embossed, punched out and popped up 2 hearts for my main image. Then I decided to try some ~flourish accents~, since I never really seem to use them on my projects ever. Hmmm, why is that? I found the fabulous pink adhesive felt stashed away in my supplies which was awesome because I was having a hard time finding patterned paper that worked perfectly. Then, I added some pearl flourishes to try to bring it all together. I think it works...I don't know...maybe flourishes aren't my thing...Gah!! What do you think?

Finally, I added some silver, glass glitter around the main heart to make it stand out a bit more. Here's one last photo of the inside of the card, using more of that felt adhesive, a stamped heart from the I {Heart} Hearts set and the sentiment from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set:  

Thanks for stopping by to take a look. Please leave a comment to say hello. Your comments truly mean a lot and I appreciate you taking the time to visit. Have a HAPPY day today!! :)

SU! Supply List: 
Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts (front "friend" heart and inside heart), Filled with Love (second heart on front) and Teeny Tiny Wishes (inside sentiment)
Ink: Basic Black Craft Ink and Pink Passion Classic Ink (inside heart)
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Blck and Pink Passion card stock
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heart Punch and Dotted Scallop Border Punch
Non SU! Accessories: pink adhesive felt, lace trim and swirl embossing folder 

Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenge #54: Ribbons and Lace

Hiya friends! It's Tuesday and that means it is time for another fun and fabulous challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments. This week we are challenging you to share your creations showcasing RIBBON and LACE. We sure hope you will come play along! 

You might be saying...hmmm, another Valentine's Day card, Anne Marie? Well, that's where I tried to shake things up a bit. One thing I love about the Artistic Etchings set is how it just has a romantic, vintage vibe. That makes it perfect for Valentine's Day, weddings, anniversaries or for just a lovey-dovey card to share with a sweetie. 


I ruffled up some 1/2" Raven Lace Trim (ret.) to frame the embossed Eiffel Tower to give some extra texture to the card. (I used Sticky Strip to keep it in place.) I also broke out the Color Spritzer tool to add some Riding Hood Red distressing around the main image. I added a vintage brad because, it kind of reminded me of a full moon on a beautiful, Paris night. Oooooh, so romantic, huh?  A few pearls later and I felt like my main image was accented appropriately. 

For the ribbon treatment, I went BIG! (I mean, I DO live in Texas and all...haha!) I used some 1 1/4" Riding Hood Red, Striped Grosgrain ribbon (sadly, ret.) and although I was a little hesitant, attempted to sew again. I only sustained a few injuries this time and think I might be getting used to stitching up some super, scrunchy ribbon. In the words of my sweet husband: "Wow! This is a puffy card!" Yes, it is...and I LOVE it! 

To get everything to fit on my design, the card was NOT a traditional size. This one measures 5 1/4" x 5 1/2" inches, so I will definitely be making a custom envelope for it. 

The finishing touch was to decorate the inside of the card. I left the sentiment blank (for now) and will save it in my card file for the perfect occasion to share some love! 

Thank you for taking a look and I do hope you will join us at Hand Stamped Sentiments this week with YOUR creation featuring ribbon and lace. I hope you are enjoying your week so far. Before you go, please leave me a comment to say hello and to let me know what you think of my card today. I really enjoy hearing from you and would love to visit your work, too. 

Make it a great day today! :)

SU! Supply List:
Stamps: Artistc Etchings
Ink: Riding Hood Red Classic ink and Basic Black Craft ink 
Papers: Love Letter DSP, Newsprint DSP, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black and Very Vanilla card stock
Accessories: Scalloped oval punch,1 3/8" x 5/8" Oval punch, 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval punch, Scallop Trim Border punch, 1/2" Lace Trim in Raven (ret.), 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain ribbon in Riding Hood Red (ret.), Color Spritzer Tool, Antique Brads, Small Heart Punch (inside), Heart to Heart XL punch (inside) and Basic Pearls

Paper Players Blog Hop Winner!!

After 106 comments on my blog (WOW!)  and 79 entries into The Paper Players "Anything Goes" challenge this week, I have a WINNER! 

According to my entry into random.org  (from my iPhone, while we were out and about earlier today)...my blog candy goes to lucky #8, which just happens to be: Susie!! 

Please send your mailing address to me at: annemariehile@satx.rr.com, to claim your prize. Please let me know if you have a candy preference, too. I take chocolate very seriously! ;) 


I want to extend an ENORMOUS thank you to all of the awesome, creative folks who took time out of their day to leave me a comment for this hop. I may not have visited everyone, YET, but I most certainly will. Please bare with me! I truly appreciate the time you took out of your day to share your kind words. Thank you SO much! :) 

She's All That in the Snow

Howdy! Guess what we woke up to here today? Yup, SNOW! Now, I now a lot of you have been getting horrible winter weather for the past week and this is may seem just silly. But down here in South Texas, where it pretty much NEVER snows, 1 inch of snow slows things down quite a bit. Mostly because of the slick layer of ice underneath. All the highways in the city were closed off, starting about 2am and didn't reopen until 11am this morning. Tomorrow it's going to be in the mid 60's. Crazy weather, although we know we could have it MUCH worse!  


For today's card, I was so excited to finally play along with The Color Dare challenge again. I just love the fabulous color combo (and all of the great inspiration from their DT) this week: 

Color Dare #95

Daffodil Delight

Marina Mist

Basic Black

I'm also entering this card in the Moxie Fab World Challenge: The Appearance of Cameos. (Thanks, Amy!) The image is from a retired set I just love, called She's All That. To me, she is a modern version of the classic cameo. I completely regretted never buying it when it was featured in a mini-catalog a while back. I recently purchased it from someone who was cleaning out her stamp room and couldn't WAIT to ink it up! 

When I was putting the card together, I decided to add the layer on the bottom of the card which I intended to look like a little "road" for this sassy gal to be strolling along on. What do you think? Maybe a little? I then added three glitter brads, a little bling to her ponytail and some glitter glue to the little pooch's collar to dress things up a bit. (*supply list below*) One last shot of the inside, where I used up some scraps from the front: 

Now for a few quick photos from earlier today! I thought to commemorate the rare TX snow sighting, a snowman was in order: 

Frosty the little, Texas snowman, with his eyes made out of...ummm...brads! :)

The boys were NOT fans of the cold, wet stuff covering their yard. Although, I took this shot AFTER most of the snow had already melted, their faces say it all! Please pardon Emmitt and his horrible case of "bed beard"! That's the schnauzer version of "bed head". You can always tell when that dog has had a good night's sleep from the shape that thing has in the morning. 

Thanks for visiting today! I hope you are enjoying your day today. Please leave me a comment and let me know you stopped by. I really enjoy hearing from you. :) Until, next time...

SU! Supply List:

Stamps: She's All That (retired)

Ink: Basic Black Craft ink

Papers: Sunny Garden DSP, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black and Whisper White cardstock

Accessories: Scalloped Oval punch, 1 3/8 x 5/8" Oval punch, 1 3/4 x 7/8" Oval punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Black Glitter brads, Daffodil Delight 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Basic Black 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon

Non-SU! Accessories: glitter glus and yellow bling

CAS Sunny Garden

Hello everyone and Happy Thursday out there! This is my second post today...Crazy, I KNOW!! (Scroll down to see the blog award post!) I thought I would share a quick card I whipped up earlier today. Two of my crafting goals in 2011 are to: 1.) make more CAS (clean and simple) cards and 2.) use up the huge stash of patterned papers I have stowed away in my craft room. That was the plan today. I came across this week's sketch challenge from Clean and Simple Stamping (Fall to Challenge #125) and decided to play along. 

I just love the Sunny Garden DSP, but never seem to actually USE it. Seemed like the perfect color combo for the dreary, cold day here in south Texas. (They are even talking about *gulp* SNOW tomorrow morning here...Eeek!) I used three of the bright and happy patterns from that paper pack and one pattern from the In Color DSP Hostess Level 1 papers. The sentiment is embossed in white and I added some glitter glue to the scalloped borders. Here is the inside of the card: 

There you have it: Clean, Simple and finished in under 30 minutes! Whoo hoo! What do you think? I almost added another layer but stopped myself at the last minute. Whew! Thanks for popping by for a visit. Have a great rest of your day! :)


**PS: If you are looking for my BLOG HOP / CANDY post keep on scrolling down to the post dated 1/31/2011. Tomorrow is the last day to enter! :) 


SU! Supply List: 
Stamps: Heard from the Heart
Ink: Versa-Mark
Papers: Sunny Garden DSP, Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait and Whisper White card stock
Accessories: Peach Parfait 1/2" Stitched-Poly ribbon, Scalloped Trim Border punch, white embossing powder and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU! accessories: glitter glue

Liebster Blog Award

Just the other day I was given this lovely, Blog Love award from Kathy B. and Lucky. You know them, right? Well, if you have never visited Kathy's blog, then RUN...don't walk...to check out all of the wonderful creations she has to share with you. As an added bonus, you also get a daily photo of the notorious, Lucky. Quite possibly, the most adorable Shih Tzu, EVER! Think I'm kidding? Well you will just have to go visit them and see if I'm right! ;)

The rules of the Liebster Award are simple: 
1.) THANK the person who bestowed it on you, with a link to their blog
2.) ACCEPT the award by posting it on your blog
3.) SHARE the bloggin' love with 3-5 fellow bloggers. (This is the tough part...just picking 3-5 people?? NOT fair!)


So here you go! I am proudly sharing this award with a few fellow bloggers who I think are pretty awesome: 
-Dori at Paper Pleasures and Stamping Delights
-Colleen at ~Happy Little Art~
-Nance at Canopy Crafts
-Amy at Stamp-n-Paradise
-Patty at LaLatty's Stamp 'N Stuff


Unfortunately, I have a max of 5 bloggers I can share this award with. Trust me, I could go on and on! There are so many amazing blogs out there, with so much talent. Scroll down to the uber-long list on the left side of my blog to visit more fabulously, creative folks! 


Thanks for taking a peek today and remember to go forth and spread some bloggin' love today!  

Exciting DT News!

Hello there and Happy Tuesday to you! I have some exciting news to share this morning. I have been asked to join on as a member of the Design Team with the fabulous gals over at Hand Stamped Sentiments! Whoo Hoo!! (Thanks ladies!) I'm so super excited to be part of the team and look forward to sharing in the fun. Please stop by and check out the weekly challenges and play along with us!

PS: If you are looking for my Blog Hop / Candy post please keep on reading and scroll down to the next post (dated 1/30/11) for more info. :) A big thank you to everyone who stopped by, I truly appreciate all of your kind words. 

This week, we are having a COLOR CHALLENGE at Hand Stamped Sentiments! What a perfect time for this challenge with Valentine's Day right around the corner: 

I had a lot of fun with my first project! I busted open some Red Glimmer Paper (featured in the SU! Occasions Mini Catalog) for the first time for this lovey, dovey creation. This paper is just fabulous! I used a LOT of it on this card, even added a little strip behind the Pinking Heart Border punch. You just can't go wrong with sparkle, I say. I also attempted to try a stitched and pleated ribbon treatment on this card. Keeping in mind that I cannot sew in any way, shape, or form, I think it came out pretty well. I DID fidget with it for quite some time though, (to try to get the pleats even) then finally gave up and accepted that it looked pretty cool the way it ended up. I was trying to get it to resemble a garter...I can see it...can you? :)

There is a lot of dimension to the card, too. The panels, circles and hearts were all popped up. Also, I used a black polka-dot transparency sheet (from the retired Night and Day Specialty Paper) over a piece of Real Red card stock for a little added shine to the textures and sparkles. All of the supplies I used are listed at the end of the post, too. :)

Finally, here is a photo of the inside of the card. I couldn't STOP using that Glimmer Paper! I thought this would be a fun card for my sweet hubby, for Valentine's Day. But since he already had a peek at it, I guess I need to go back to the drawing board. Hooray, that means a chance to use more Glimmer Paper! *sigh*

Thank you for stopping by and please come visit us over at Hand Stamped Sentiments for many more, fun ideas with this sweet color mix. Hope you are enjoying your week so far! I'd love to hear fom you, so won't you leave me a comment and say hello? :) 

SU! Supply List: 
Stamps: Filled With Love
Ink: Real Red and Basic Black Classic ink
Paper: Night & Day DSP, Red Glimmer Paper (Occasions Mini Catalog), Real Red, Basic Black and Whisper White card stock
Accessories: Basic Black 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Small Heart Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Heart to Heart XL Punch (inside of card), Paper Crimper, Stampin' Dimensionals and Basic Rhinestone Jewels.