Floral Pop-Up Gift Card Holder at Craft Project Central

Why give a gift card in a plain old envelope when you can present it in this beautiful pop-up card?  This pop-up gift card holder template can be adapted for any holiday or occasion.  Just change the greeting and make several for your kids’ teachers to show your appreciation at the end of the school year, which is coming up soon for many!

This beautiful pop-up gift card holder project comes to you designed by the fabulous, Kim Score. To get the instructions for this great project, that you’ll use over and over again, just subscribe to April at Craft Project Central!

I'm also really excited to share that I was asked be a guest designer (once again) for the month of May at CPC!  :) Thanks for stopping by today! 

Thanks for Caring...The Lost Post

Hi there and Happy Friday to you! I am taking a small "creative hiatus" this week, but I wanted to share a quick post of two cards I made LAST week. I thought I had this one scheduled last Friday and there is was, sitting in "draft" status. Grrr...Blogger! 

These cards were made from the same design, just using different color combos. The first one uses the Thanks for Caring stamp set, Vintage Wallpaper DSP, Rose Red Seam Binding and Framed Tulips Embossing Folder (sponged with Very Vanilla ink) from the Occasions Mini Catalog. Tomorrow is the last day to order from that catalog, by the way. :) 

The second card uses a lot of the same items, along with the Paisley Petals DSP, which is going to be in the *brand new* catalog which launches in July. Tomorrow is also the LAST day to take advantage of the promotion to get it BEFORE it launches. If you order $20 in SU! product, you will be able to purchase this paper (for $9.95) before it is available in the new catalog. This paper is gorgeous! At our monthly demo meeting this week, Minnie put together some awesome projects for us and now, I love it even MORE!  Thanks for the awesome inspiration, Minnie! :) 

Of course, I dressed up the "inside's" of both cards with the scraps: 

Thanks for stopping by today and I'm sorry I have been SO absent this week. Lots going on here and I just needed to take a short "break". I hope you all had a great week out there! Until next time....

Have a HAPPY day! :) 

Bustier Favor Box and Card at Craft Project Central

Here is a cute little box that would make great favors for a bridal shower!  Use the matching card as a cute bridal shower invite!  Or change up the theme and colors and use it for other types of parties.  The possibilities are endless when you change the colors, embossing folders and more! 

This cute project comes to you designed by Marisol!

To get the instructions for this project, just subscribe to April at Craft Project Central!

Springtime Treat Cup Gift Basket and Card at Craft Project Central

Hello there and Happy Wednesday to you! 

I'm SO excited to finally share that my project as a Guest Designer is now posted over at Craft Project Central!! :) 

This fun and springy basket is a great way to wrap up a gift of shower gel, body lotion, bubble bath or body spray, along with the added surprise of a sweet treat for the recipient.  Perfect for Mother’s Day, a birthday, a gift at the office or just something special to brighten a friend’s day.  This project also includes directions for a coordinating card! It is also a great class or club project!

To get instructions for my project, please stop by Craft Project Central and subscribe to April! 

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a very HAPPY day today! :) 

Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenge #65: Mother's Day

Hi there! I just wanted to share the new weekly challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments with you. I'm taking a little break this week, but please stop by and see what the rest of the fabulous Design Team has cooked up for inspiration. I sure hope you will play along with us! 

Have a great day! :) 

Elegant Stationery Set at Craft Project Central

Here is an Elegant Stationery Set for you to give as a gift to your friends, co-workers, kids’ teachers, etc.  It’s also a great set to have on hand for yourself!  This elegant and easy project is perfect for classes and clubs as well!

***This elegant project comes to you designed by Tammy!***

To get the instructions for this great project, just subscribe to April at Craft Project Central!

Have a great day! :) 

Paper Players Challenge #44-Lesley's Sketch Challenge

Happy Easter Sunday! 

Today at The Paper Players, we are kicking off a new weekly sketch challenge, hosted by the lovely Lesley. We hope you will give it a try and play along with us. Feel free to flip it, rotate it and/or change up the shapes. The important thing is to just have some FUN! 

For my card, I used one of my favorite color combos. If you have visited me before, you may have already heard about how much I love the color PINK! Haha! ;) At first, I stamped the main image on white card stock and it just didn't really "work" like I had planned. So, I snagged some striped DSP and tried again.

I also used a favorite stamp set (Apple Blossoms, Hostess, Level 2) for the main image. It's tough to see but the main flower and the sentiment were both heat embossed for some added shine. I added some layers to the flower with two of the flowers from the Boho Blossoms punch. What goes better with pink...then BLING? The pink, punched flower was heat embossed with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. Then, I broke out the trusty Basic Rhinestones to add a bit more flair. 

Here is how the finished inside of the card came out, with room for a personal message: 

Head on over to The Paper Players blog to see what the rest of the gals on the Design Team have whipped up this week. Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you enjoy your Easter Sunday, if you are celebrating the holiday. Please leave a comment to say hello before you leave. I always enjoy hearing from you. Have a great day!! :) 


Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Apple Blossoms (level 2 hostess) and Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Pretty in Pink DSP, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Basic Black Craft ink and Versamark (for the punched, pink flower)
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Basic Rhinestones, Basic Black 5/8" Satin ribbon, Boho Blossoms punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Circle from Itty Bitty Punch pack (inside), Curly Label punch, Scallop Trim Border punch (inside) and Stampin' Dimensionals 

Simple Saturday and a Give-Away Winner!

Hello there and Happy Saturday to you! Better late then never with this post today. Today was a very busy day. Whew! I thought I would share the card I didn't post last week for "Keep it Simple Saturday". I was doing really well posting a CAS (clean and simple) card every week...last week I broke the streak. *sigh*

My card was pretty simple in the fact that I simply pulled out a piece of Greenhouse Gala DSP that I had yet to use. I grabbed card stock in coordinating colors and used last weeks sketch from The Paper Players for the design. The colors have a very retro, "1970's-vibe", don't you think? The only stamping is the sentiment (from the Wow Flowers set). The whole card took about 15 minutes to create, including the finished inside:

Today is also the day to announce the winner of the April Subscription to Craft Project Central! Whoo hoo! Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave such nice comments! :) After entering the total number of comments that were left into random.org:

**The lucky winner is Patti C.!!**

Please stop by her blog, What are You Inking and check out her awesome creations! Congratulations, Patti! Please email me at: annemariehile (at) satx (dot) rr (dot) com so I can give you the deets about your subscription to CPC. 

Thanks for hopping by today! Please stop back again soon! 

Have a HAPPY rest of your day today! :) 

Card Monkey Coffee

Hello and Happy Thursday! I hope you are having a great day today! Here is a card that I created inspired by this week's challenge from A La Card Monkey. It immediately caught my eye because the sketch is centered around one of my favorite things: COFFEE! Of course I had a trusty Starbucks cup by my side, when I made this one. Haha! 

The main image is from a retired set called Sip by Sip. After I colored it in, I decided to abandon the search for patterned paper and used an embossing folder to mimic the steam coming off the cup and a paper crimper to mimic the little "sleeve" on my Starbucks cup. What is the actual name for those things? Does anyone know? I also added some Crystal Effects to the coffee in the cup and on the coffee pot. 

When it came to the color combo I just HAD to use Early Espresso. ;) What goes great with coffee? Crumb Cake and Cherry Cobbler sounded good to me, so they were added, too. I also love using that satin ribbon, any chance I get. It ties perfectly EVERY time! Behind the little hearts, I added a layer of Glimmer Paper for a little pop of sparkle.

Here is the shot of the inside of the card, made with scraps from the front. I stamped a little trio of coffee beans, because they were too cute NOT to:

Thanks for visiting today! Before you go please leave a comment to say hello. (Scroll down two posts to check out my give-away, going on through Friday, too!) Have a fantastic rest of your day! Is is too late for more coffee? Hmmm.... :) 

Stampin Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Sip by Sip (main image, retired), Morning cup (sentiment) and Espress Yourself (coffee beans, inside, retired)
Ink: Early Espresso and Basic Black Classic ink
Papers: Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and Very Vanilla card stock
Accessories: Paper Crimper, Pinking Hearts Border punch, Word Window punch, 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval punch, Scalloped Oval punch, Crystal Effects, Early Espresso 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Red Glimmer Paper (Occasions Mini catty), Baja Breeze Stampin' Write Marker, Riding Hood Red Stampin' Write Marker and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU! Accessories: rectangle/scalloped rectangle die cuts, swirled embossing folder, gold brads and gray alcohol-based markers

Plane and Simple Birthday Card

Hello there! Two posts today...that pretty much, NEVER happens! ;)

I wanted to share a card that was inspired by the weekly challenge over at Friday Mashup. This one is both a sketch AND color challenge!

When I saw the colors, I immediately decided to make a masculine-themed card. It was finally time to ink up that new Plane and Simple stamp set (Occasions Mini Catalog) that has been sitting on my desk for over a month. Yikes! 

The background paper is the Presto Patterns Specialty DSP. I inked up my brayer with Cajun Craze ink and rolled it over the paper to add color and a distressed finish. (I also stuck my arm in the open ink pad, so that was an added bonus, UGH!) That paper pretty much ROCKS, I don't know why I have waited so long to use it. All of the edges were sponged with Crumb Cake ink and I used the Color Spritzer Tool to add more distressing to the main image.

 Finally, here is a shot of the inside of the card: 

Thanks for stopping by today! Please leave me a comment and say hello before you leave. (I also have a give-away going on right now...scroll to the post right below this one, for all of the details.) Have a great day! :) 

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Plane and Simple (Occasions Mini Catalog)
Paper: Presto Patterns Specialty DSP, Marina Mist, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Cajun Craze, Marina Mist and Crumb Cake Classic ink
Accessories: Color Spritzer Tool, Crumb Cake Stampin' Write Marker, Paper Piercing Tool, Scallop Border punch, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, 1 1/4" Circle punch, 1 3/8" Circle punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Brayer and Rope Twine (ret.)
Non-SU! Accessories: copper brads and embossing folder (inside of card)

Cupcake Box and Card at Craft Project Central

Who doesn’t love cupcakes?!  Here’s a cute cupcake box to put a yummy cupcake in and give to a friend with a little matching note card!  In addition to your friends, how about giving a cupcake to the kids’ teacher, or a co-worker on their birthdays?  This project is also great for a club or class project!

This fun project comes to you designed by Sonya!

To get the instructions for this fun and fabulous project, 

just subscribe to April at Craft Project Central!

****GIVE-AWAY ALERT!!!!****

As promised I have something fun to give away to one lucky blog reader!

What can you win?

• A free, subscription to Craft Project Central for all of the April projects. That's right, you could win the tutorials for 10 awesome projects, like the one featured above. :) 

How can you win? 

• Simple, just leave a comment on any of my blog posts dated today (4/20) through Friday (4/22).
• If you would like to follow my blog, that would be awesome, but it is not required to win.
• I will draw one random winner and announce them here on Saturday 4/23, so check back to see if it's YOU! 

Have a HAPPY day! 

Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenge #64: Graduation Theme

Hello and Happy Tuesday to you! 

It's time for another fun, weekly challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments. 

This week we are focusing on a GRADUATION theme. 

I found a retired set in my "stamp stash" called Sketch an Event for the graduation cap image. I used a black marker to color-in the image outline, omitting the tassel, because I wanted to make my own out of embroidery floss.

CLICK HERE for a great video tutorial on how to make your own tassels. (Thanks Gen, for sharing this one!) I just scaled down the size of the tassel featured, to fit my project. My card stock was a square, measuring 1 3/4" x 1 3/4", then folded in half. I wrapped the embroidery floss around 7 times. These numbers make more sense if you watch the video. Then, I poked a hole in the center of the cap, pulled the floss through and added a brad to secure the tassel. I also added a Mini Glue Dot to secure the tassel to the front of the square.

The decorated box was created with the Box #2 Sizzix Die. I just cut about an inch off the top flap to fit the wrapped gift box, placed inside. The box can hold a special gift for the grad. It could be a beautiful piece of jewelry...or, maybe a key to a brand-new ride. (hee hee, lucky, grad!) You could even use it to present a gift card or some good ol' $$$, in a small envelope. I wrapped the gift box in First Edition DSP (Occasions Mini Catalog) because it resembled the look of a text book. 

You can easily switch up the color combo of this project to the school colors of the graduate. That's what I did for this one. 

Finally, here is the inside of the card. I used a lot of the same elements from the front, along with a sentiment from the Something to Celebrate stamp set (level 2, hostess, Occasions Mini). I also used the Star punch (ret.) to add a little, something special for the *super-star* graduate. :)  

I hope you will join us this week at Hand Stamped Sentiments with YOUR graduation project. You have until Monday, April 25th to link up your creation. Thanks so much for popping by today. Please leave me a comment to say hello before you head out today. I'd love to hear from you. Have a very HAPPY day! :)


Stampin' Up Supply List: 
Stamps: Sketch an Event (ret.), Teeny Tiny Wishes (front sentiment) and Something to Celebrate (hostess, level 2, Occasions Mini, for the inside)
Paper: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Garden Green and Daffodil Delight card stock
ink: Basic Black Classic ink
Accessories: Sizzix Box #2 Die, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Star punch (ret.), Scallop Edge Border punch, 1 3/8" Square XL punch, 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval Large punch, Scallop Oval XL punch, First Edition Specialty Series DSP ( Occasions Mini Catalog), Basic Black 5/8" Satin ribbon, Neutral Brads in Basic Black, Stampin' Dimensionals, Paper Piercer, Mini Glue Dots and Basic Black Stampin' Write Journaler
Non SU! Accessories: Gray alcohol-based marker, yellow bling, chipboard numbers and yellow embroidery floss

Paper Players Challenge #43-Jaydee's CAS Sketch Challenge

Hello everyone! It's Super Sunday...why is it "super"? Because it is time for another fabby, weekly challenge over at The Paper Players. This week, the lovely Jaydee is our "hostess with the most-est" and our challenge is a CAS (clean and simple) sketch. 

For my card, I kept it simple, focusing on the *brand new* Paisley Petals DSP (it will be coming out in the new SU! catalog in July) along with the Beveled Windowpanes from the Occasions Mini Catalog. I haven't played with these little gems yet, although they have been sitting in my stamp room for over 2 months. Yikes! CLICK HERE for a great tutorial on how to use them. They are SO cool! 

PS: If you absolutely can NOT wait to get this pretty DSP, you can get it right now! Click the promo on the right-hand side-bar for details.

I also overcame my fear of using River Rock for this card. It was tough, but I think I made friends with this color, for the first time EVER! :)  I actually made 3 cards with this sketch before deciding on this one! Stop by again, soon to see the others that did NOT make the cut! 

Of course, my card wouldn't be complete without a decorated "interior":

I sure hope you will join us this week at The Paper Players, with YOUR take on the sketch. Thanks so much for popping by! Please leave me a comment to say hello before you go. Have a HAPPY day today! :)

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 

Stamps: Thanks for Caring (Occasions Mini Catalog)

Paper: Paisley Petals (Sneak Peak from the NEW SU! Catty premiering in July!) 

Ink: Not Quite Navy Classic ink

Accessories: Beveled Windowpanes (Occasions Mini Catty), Baja Breeze Seam binding, Scallop Trim Border punch, Finial Press Embossing Folder, Hemp Twine, Basic Pearls, sponges and Square Lattice Embossing Folder

Anne Marie

Peeps Easter Gift Box and Card at Craft Projects Central

Peeps are so cute, but you can’t give them to someone in the box they come in!  Here is a little box and matching card that you can use to give your peeps some Peeps!!

This fun, little Easter project comes to you designed by Jacque!

To get the instructions for this fun project, just subscribe to April!

And in case you’re interested some Peeps fun facts!

• Peeps were introduced in 1953 by the Just Born company out of Bethlehem PA.  At that time it took 27 hours to create one marshmallow Peep!  Today it takes six minutes.
• As many as 4.2 million marshmallow Peeps bunnies and other shapes can be made each day.
• Yellow Peeps are the most popular, followed by pink, lavender, blue and white.
• Each Easter season more than 700 million marshmallow Peeps, shaped like chicks, bunnies, and eggs are purchased making them the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy!