Tag Your It!

This is a fun game to do. My friend Kathy at http://www.kraftinwithkathy.blogspot.com/ Tagged me so it is my turn to tag you. Here are the details:

Kathy has tagged me with the Middle Name Game! These are the rules:-*You must post the rules before you give your answers.
*You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name.
*Each fact must begin with that letter. If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name.
After you've been tagged, you need to up-date your blog with your middle name and answers.At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details.)
My middle name is Ann


A- Always buying new stamps


N- Needing to put more embellishments whenever possible


N- Night Owl stamper


Alright, I am going to tag Joanne, Gwen, and Jeanette

I feel so Grateful......

I wanted to take some time to thank a lot of my stamping friends as well as my close friends here in Franklin for encouraging and inspiring me to go beyond with my stamping and creativity.

Ann V. is my upline at SU and has been a cherished friend as well who inspires and shares with me her ideas. Not to mention the girls in PA whom are part of the group that I started with, swap with me on a monthly basis. These girls have some fantastic ideas and go outside of the box.

When I came to MA, I looked around for other Demos and was invited to Amy C.'s group which really blew me away. I just was amazed at all that they do and was inspired by their designs and creativity. I was welcomed into the group especially by Erica A. who has really encouraged me not to give up and find my nitch in the stamping world here in MA although it is saturated with alot of SU Demos. Within Erica's group, I have met alot of inspiring people. Kathy W. is such a nice person who is helping me out with my blog and is always working on new ideas and comes up with such creative things. You can vivist her blog on www.kraftinwithkathy.blogspot.com where you will find interesting ideas. In addition, there is Joanne who is involved in several venues but has encouraged me to enter some stamping contests and some publishing entries. She is very creative and always working. You can visit her blog on www.stampedbyhand.blogspot.com for all her latest work and ideas.

My neighbors have also inspired me to move forward and continue to create and share my work. It is fun to share my new creations with them as well as share my craft.

My biggest fan is my daughter. She also creates cards which give me ideas. I also showcase her work as well. She likes creating and doing crafts as well.

I feel so blessed to have all of these people around me to encourage and inspire me! Thank you everyone!

Ellie Valentine

I love the Happy Heart Day set from SU and I was trying to make a Valentine card that was not too girly. I came across this card on SCS and loved the colors and the layout. I cannot take credit for this one..the original card was made by momof3boys on SCS (I am not sure how to link yet). Since I did not have all the tools and elements to make her exact design, I had to modify it a little with what I had. I used Real Red, Glorious Green, Whisper White and Tempting Turquois CS (can substitute Flowers for YOu DS). I tried several ways to color in Ellie but the one I liked the best was using a grey watercolor pencil with the blender pen. I used Real Red and Glorious Green markers to outline the grass and flowers. On the butterfly, I used Real Red ink pad with the blender pen. The corner punch added the accents to the Glorious Green paper. The scallop punch and Real Red grosgrain ribbon added an interesting feature. I paper peirced around the White CS which always adds a bit of dimension. the Tempting Turquois CS was dotted using Itty Bitty Backgrouns stamp set (SU) with Whisper White craft ink and then embossed with white embossing powder. To add the shine to the hearts and butterfly I used crystal effects. Eventhough there were alot of steps, the card came together rather quickly. I used this card front for a recent swap and most demos loved the different color combination used for a Valentine Day card.

Elegant Sofia

Here is another sample of the cards I made for the Cutie Pie Contest for Paper Pretties. These two cards were made with the same elements but different orientation to give some variety. The "Cuddle Me" stamp set was used from Paper Pretties. Again, I used the Marvy Giga Scalloped and the Mega Oval Punches to highlight Sofia. The dress was made with stickles in which I had to apply twice and wait for it to dry but the result was worth the wait. I colored in the rest with SU Markers. For a more elegant look, I used SU Basic Black and the DS paper Scrap Strip was from Scenic Route (http://www.scenicroutepaper.com/), the Loveland series, that I purchased at Right At Home Scrapbooking Store (http://www.rightathome.typepad.com)%20in/ ) in N. Attleboro. To make a more symetric look, I used scalloped scissors on the black paper around the words. the ribbon was a combination of organdy white and black polka dots together. I added matching rhinestone brads for the final touch to add some Bling! This card would make a perfect valentine.

What a fun night!

Last night the Paper Pretties website announced their first ever winner for the "Cutie Pie" Contest. So I used the "Cuddle Me" stamp set from Paper Pretties to enter. There are so many people with great ideas and their creativity astounds me. It was so much fun to play with this set. I entered about 4 or 6 differnt cards. I had so many ideas for this stamp set that I could not help myself but make them all. I was so excited last night and surprised as well that I won! I was very honored to be chosen.

Thanks Christie and the Design Team!

Visit Paper Pretties to see the winning card at http://www.paperpretties.net/ under PaperClip.

Sofia Loves Me

Paper Pretties has launched their new stamp sets. This one titled "Cuddle Me" is just so cute that I made several cards with this stamp set. Here is the first set of cards that I just adore. This card uses Chocolate Chip CS and Loves Me DS (retired) from SU. I colored Sofia using my SU markers with More Mustard for the Bear and Regal Rose for her dress. I dotted her dress using a gel pen. I used the Marvy Giga Scalloped and Mega Oval punches for the girl which simply framed her. So CUTE! I found some brown polka dot ribbon from American Crafts and these super cute heart brads that I have been hoarding from Queen & Co. that I purchased years ago. I used two different sentiments: one from the Cuddle Me stamp set and the other from Holdiays & Wishes. These were quick and easy cards. I must say that this set is a must have! Visit http://www.paperpretties.net/ for their super cute stamp sets! They are a must have!

Valentine Tic Tac Treats

This cute little treat I cased from another SU Demo in PA who gave this as their Halloween Swap. I just had some tic-tacs around so decided to try this myself for a valentine treat. In this image, I used Purely Pomegranate and Regal Rose CS (fav color combo) with the Pomegranate stitched ribbon. The new Happy Hearts Day stamp set made it really easy to decorate the front using the Rose Red and Regal Rose markers to stamp the image. I added Dazzling Diamonds to just add a little sparkle. It was pretty easy and lots of fun. I also used Real Red and Pretty in Pink CS and markers to make some other ones as well.

Winter Wishes

I wanted to thank my neighbors for all the thoughtful gifts they gave us at Christmas time. I saw this card a friend of my received as a swap from convention and put it on my MUST DO list. I thought it was the perfect card for this time of year.

I am not sure who made this card originall y but would love to give credit to the person who did.

I did not have the supplies that the person used so I changed the colors around and came up with this version.

The stamp set used was Supersize Snowflake that I borrowed from my friend. I stamped the words in Purely Pomegranate on Whisper White CS which matched the Bravo Burgundy Grosgrain ribbon. I used stripped glitter paper from Provo Christmas Glitter Stack. The Snow Jumbo wheel was used with a versamark ink cartridge and embossed with Iridescent Ice powder. I punched a snowflake, added Dazzling Diamonds to the ends and place a green rhinestone brand in the middle to add the final touch. I was very pleased with the outcome and my neighbors seemed to like it too.