GCA #45 - All About the Baby!!!

Hello all!!! Well, I'm sure you can tell where this challenge came from, but it's not just about MY new grandson, Malaki!! This is about all those wonderful babies out there! Whether it's a new baby just arrived or one that is due to arrive soon!!!

This week I actually made a 6 x 6 scrapbook page. I have a hard time doing scrapbook pages, not sure why, but this one came out very good, IMHO!!! This page actually started based on Sharon Johnson's weekly Friday Stamp Simply challenge 91: Half Circles! Please note: This is not a requirement for this week's GCA. I simply used her challenge to springboard my challenge, which you are more than welcome to do if you like!!!

Now, on to the page! When I first started working on this I thought it would be just a scrapbook page for Malaki's book, but the more i worked on it, the end result is what evolved!

Since I just received my sneak peek order of new stuff coming up in the new catalog, I decided to use them! The new dsp is Tall Tales and coordinates with the new stamp set Animal Stories. When I first saw this set I wasn't too sure of it, but the more I looked at it and thought about what I could do it grew on me! And since I am losing Wild About You and Zoofari, I needed a set that would be suitable for children.

The scalloped circles are made using the scalloped circle die and Big Shot. To achieve the double layer, all I did was use the bottom, or cut off, portion of the circles. The elephant was cut out and placed directly over the elephant in the dsp. I really wanted it show, but the ribbon cut him in half!

The nameplate was made with my Matchbox die and I hand wrote the stats on it. The label at the top is made with the new Modern Label punch, Word Window punch and the new set Teeny Tiny Wishes!! This is one of the sets I received for my SAB sales this year! It is a very versatile set and I can see using it alot!

The end result is a hanging scrapbook page which I am taking into work for my cubicle!! And to show off Malaki! I am in the process of making one for Cameron as well, so I'll post that when I get it done. As you can see, I finished the page for Cameron!! I used retired Western Sky dsp and last years In-Colors of River Rock and Blue Bayou. The corner piece is cut from one of the sheets in the dsp and then I cut out part of the star.

So, for this week's challenge you need to create a card, project, scrapbook page or whatever, with a "BABY" theme, upload it either to your blog, or to an online gallery and post a link to your card to this blog entry as a comment by June 20, 2009 at 12 midnight. I will choose the winner through a random number generator and post the next Sunday.

Even if you can't make the drawing deadline, PLEASE feel free to participate in the challenge and upload your creations at any time. I would love to see it! If you upload your card on SCS, Stampin' Addicts or Paper Craft Planet, please put GCA45(NO SPACE IN BETWEEN GCA AND 45) in the keyword section. That way everyone can look at all of the creations at once! If you've been waiting to join in the fun, jump on in and have some fun!!

Happy Stamping!!!

~~~Ann~~~

Stamping Simply with Inspiration

Hello everyone!!

I hope your holiday weekend is going well and you are enjoying the time. We had another beautiful day here in Michigan and tomorrow is no different, except maybe a little warmer. Not sure how much I'll be able to stamp tomorrow as I HAVE to clean out my gutters!!! I have a forest growing on one side! Oh the joys of home ownership and being a single woman!! But I have all my supplies and I'm not afraid to do it! Until then I have 2 cards to share with you today.

My first card is for Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply challenge she hosts every Friday on her blog, No Time to Stamp. This Friday the challenge was to "Make it Girly"#42! Well, when I think of girly I think of flowers, pinks and fancy ribbons to name a few things! Almost immediately I thought of the soon to be retired SU! set, Blossoms Abound. I haven't used it much, and I'm not sure why. I love lilacs and I love the look of the stamped images.

Part of Sharon's challenge is to stamp simply, which can be difficult for me!! I just don't seem to know when to stop! But I think I adhered pretty well to the stamp simply idea on this card. I stamped my lilacs three times, twice on the cardfront and once on a separate piece and then cut them out. I used Pretty in Pink and Purely Pomegranate ink, but I stamped off once on my Purely Pom. so it wouldn't overwhelm the Pretty in Pink.

My thought with the strip of cardstock at the top of the card is give the illusion of the lilacs hanging from a beam, so to speak. The middle lilac is up on thick foam squares, and yes I cut out the branch and leaves!!! Not sure what I was thinking, but I really do like the effect it provides. I then coated my lilac with crystal effects. Some sheer white ribbon edged in silver and piece of pink taffeta finishes it off.

I used PTI white cardstock here as I like how much sturdier it is than SU!'s white.

My second card is for today's IC135 on SCS. Steph inspired us to create based on enameled products from Macintosh Enamels. You can see the piece I was inspired by in the IC135 forum.

When I saw the plate I knew I wanted to use one of my carousel notes to provide the circular feel. Then I cut the largest circle from my Coluzzle, ran it through my Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers folder, after I sponged Wild Wasabi & River Rock ink onto the negative part of the folder. This I learned from Technique Junkies and it's called Cuttlebug Smoosh. I sponged the edges heavily with more Wild Wasabi to help achieve the darker green look from the plate.

The dragonflies were stamped in Choc. Chip, cut out and adhered with thick foam squares. More sponging around the sentiment and I layered this with Brushed Gold and Choc. Chip cardstock. A clip from the Aged Copper HPH set was used to hold the ribbons on. The sentiment panel is on using SU! dimensionals. As an added touch I used my 1/8" punch for the holes on each scallop section and mounted all of this on a 5" x 5" square card of River Rock textured.

Well, that's all I have for now! Off to make, and photo, a project for the July newsletter for Treehouse Stamps!!

Happy Stamping!!

~~~Ann~~~