Valentine's Day Swap with the Divas

Hello there! I wanted to share the swap cards I received in the mail yesterday from the Stamping Divas. This month our theme was Valentine's Day cards and everyone's creations were just LOVE-ly, as always. So many wonderful ideas and thanks to the swap I have quite a few things added to my "must have" list. Thanks, ladies! ;)

My swap card is in the photo below on the left. I changed it up slightly from the card I made in THIS POST for The Paper Players tag challenge. All of the details for the card, including supplies used, are listed in that post. With that, here are all of the swap cards: 

~My card (left), Stephanie Fairbanks (right)~

 ~Nancy McClain (left), Olive Barnes (right) ~

~Gina Taylor (left), Kerry Hansing (right) 

~Jacquel Bowman (left), Sharon Tong-Robinson (right) ~

~Debora Shaw (left), Teresa Payne-Neal (right) 

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your day! :) 

Filled with Love for Paper Players #80

Hello there and Happy Sunday to you! Is is just me or did this month just fly by? Can you believe it is almost February? Wow! This  week I am hosting the challenge at the Paper Players and have created fun sketch to play along with. I hope you will join us! 

For my card, I decided to dust off a stamp set I don't seem to use as often as I would like: Filled with Love. I also used the Spring Fling Simply Scrappin' Kit for my paper and color inspiration. That little punched tag on the bottom of the card is one of the stickers from the kit. Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzaz together are such a fun mix of colors, I can't seem to stop using them together. :) The stamped images are all heart embossed for added shine. All of the supplies I used are also listed at the end of the post.  

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a chance to play along with the sketch this week at the Paper Players. You can link up a project until Friday February 3rd at Noon (PST). Plenty of time to play! Please stop by and say hello to the rest of the fabulous gals on the Design Team. They have created some beautiful projects, as always! 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Have a very HAPPY day! :) 

Stampin' Up! supply List: 
Stamps: Filled with Love
Paper: Spring Fling Simply Scrappin' Kit, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz and /whisper White card stock
Ink: Versa-mark and Pear Pizzazz Classic ink
Accessories: Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder, Melon mambo Embossing Powder, Clear Embossing Powder, Fashionable Hearts Embosslits folder, 3-4" CIrcle punch, Daffodil Delight 3/8" Taffeta ribbon (ret.), Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU!: oval and scallop oval die

Our Creative Corner Sketch Challenge

Hello there! I'm not exactly sure where this week went...but it is Saturday already and time for another challenge over at Our Creative Corner. Phew! This week, the lovely Lori Rider is our hostess and she has whipped up a really fun sketch to try...on a SQUARE card. I decided, after making this card, that it really IS "hip to be square". Haha! Square cards are so much fun. I really need to make them more often. 

My card front measures 4-1/2" x 4- 1/2" inches and will need a custom envelope to fit it, but that's ok. I used the new Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper as my color inspiration. This paper was *free* during SU! Sale-A-Bration. Woot, woot! For more info, check out the left-hand side-bar for details. I am also really fascinated with anything that features a butterfly. (Must be all of this beautiful weather here in South Texas!) Actually, I recently pulled out the Beautiful Wings Embosslits die, after neglecting it for quite some time. Sometimes rediscovering those stashed-away stampin' goods can be a creative motivator, right?  All of the supplies used are listed at the end of the post. 

Thanks for visiting! I sure hope you will hop on over to the Our Creative Corner site and check out Lori's awesome sketch. The rest of the gals on the Design Team have created some wonderful inspiration, too. These ladies are absolutely fabulous! We hope you will join in the fun and play along! 

Have a very HAPPY day! :) 


Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Oval All (sentiment) and Four Frames
Paper: Everyday Enchantment DSP (Sale-A-Bration), Pool Party, Crumb Cake and Peach Parfait card stock
Ink: Peach Parfait and Crumb Cake Classic ink
Punches: Decorative Label punch, Large Oval punch, 1- 1/4" Square punch
Accessories: Beautiful Wings Embosslits Folder, Stamping Sponges, Basic Pearls, Square Lattice Embossing folder, Mini Glue Dots and Stampin' Dimensionals
non-SU!: scalloped square die

Stampin' Up! Regionals 2012 in San Antonio

As promised, I wanted to share some photos from the Stampin' Up! Regional Event, held right here in San Antonio, TX last weekend. There were over 1500 people at the event, it was huge! I thought it was fitting to share my favorite photo from the event first. I was SO excited to meet Shelli Gardner, Stampin' Up! CEO and Co-Founder. She is absolutely as wonderful in person, as I imagined her to be. WOW! Here is the fun project she shared on stage: 

I rode to the event with my dear friends, Amy Lazzell and Minnie Cieslak. (that's me in the middle) We started the early day with Starbucks for breakfast and a caffeine fix. Is there any better way?  

I was really happy to finally meet my friend and fellow "Stamping Diva", Sharon Tong-Robinson, who makes the most beautiful swap cards. 

She made me the cutest Valentine's Day treat box, from the Designer Rosette die and Heart Framelit Die from the Occasions Mini catty...filled with chocolate treats. Yummm! Thank you, Sharon.

I also visited with my friends Rita Wright and fellow Paper Player, Ann Schach. 

Rita was a "Prize Patrol" winner and went home with a super-cool new product that hasn't even been released yet. LUCKY! Here's a hint...you can use it with the Simply Scored tool. ;) 

...to create something COOL, like this: 

(don't you LOVE the chevron-style? Fabulous!) 

Here is a sampling of one of the ideas shared for our own creativity journals that we all received at the event! 

Look at this cute journal cover idea:

Jackie Ross did a fantastic workshop demonstration with lots of inspirational ideas, too:  

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I was so excited to have the opportunity to meet so many fellow demonstrators. I would list all their names but I would hate to leave someone out. I met SO many fantastic gals! I wish I took more then the 250 photos I snapped. There were hundreds of cool, creative ideas! 

After the event, a few of us headed to the Riverwalk for dinner (and margaritas...it IS Texas, after all!) As soon as my dinner arrived I felt a pinch on my hip. I looked down and saw this little lady: 

Yes, I was bit by a duck! But it didn't stop there. Throughout the meal, I was pecked at in the leg and the...um...bum. I kept throwing tortilla chips to her to make her leave me alone, but the basket emptied quickly and she had my chicken enchiladas on her mind. EEEK!! This is not the first "duck attack" on record this week. (there may, or may not, have been other SU! demos assaulted by a Riverwalk duck...or so I heard. *wink, wink Ann*) 

Group shot at Casa Rio of me with Amy, Ann, Ginger and Nicole: 

(the duck was busy with her tortilla chip)

All and all, Regionals was awesome! 

Next up: "Convention 2012" in Salt Lake City, UT!

 I'm SO excited!  :) 

Sale-A-Bration is HERE!

It's finally HERE! The best time of the Stampin' Up! year: Sale-A-Bration! 

*January 24th through March 31st, 2012*

There are THREE ways to take advantage of this awesome event: 

 CLICK HERE to view the Sale-A-Bration brochure.

CLICK HERE to shop at my online store 24/7.

CLICK HERE to contact me today to book YOUR workshop here in the San Antonio area.

CLICK HERE to join my stamping team.

Please contact me with any questions you might have: 

annemariehile@gmail.com or HERE at my SU! website. 

Have a great day! :) 

Twitterpated Tag for The Paper Players

Hi there! Happy Sunday to you! This week at the Paper Players, the fabulous Jaydee is our hostess and our theme is to create a Clean and Simple card with a tag incorporated into the design. 

I realized while making this card...that I am pretty much "tag-LESS" in my stamp studio! I guess I really don't use tags a lot on my projects so this was a real challenge for me. I guess I know what will be on my next Stampin' Up! order. Sheesh!  My tag was created from a punched 1- 1/4" Square punch and a 1- 3/8" Square punch with the top corners snipped with the Tag Corner punch (ret.)

Ok, I guess technically this isn't a really Clean and Simple card, by the standard definition. As a self-professed "layer queen", I am still challenged with CAS cards. I guess it's a known fact because while we were creating our make & takes at Regionals yesterday, everyone at the table kept saying to me "You probably want to add a few more layers to these cards, don't you?" Yes, (shaking my head*) I sure did! However, this IS a CAS card in the sense that it didn't take very long to create since I focused on using punches for the images. It came together very quickly. Gotta love those punches! The supplies I used are listed at the end of the post.

Thanks for visiting today! I hope you will stop by and play along with us this week at the Paper Players. Please stop by and visit the rest of the lovely ladies on the Design Team to see what they created, too. 

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Before I go, I wanted to share one quick photo from Regionals yesterday. There will be more to follow really soon. Stay tuned! It was SO much fun! From left to right:  Ann Schach, Rita Wright, me and Amy Lazzell:

Have a HAPPY day! :) 


Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Short and Sweet
Paper: Twitterpated DSP, Riding Hood Red, Island Indigo, Blushing Bride and Whisper White card stock
Ink: Riding Hood Red and Blushing Bride Classic ink (which was sponged around the bird)
Punches: 1- 1/4" Square punch, 1- 3/8" Square punch, Tag Corner punch (ret.), Bird Builder punch, Small Heart punch, Scallop Border punch
Accessories: Square Lattice embossing folder, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Riding Hood Red Pleated Satin ribbon, Twitterpated Designer buttons, Basic Rhinestones and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non SU!: circle and scallop circle dies

Oh Baby! for OCC

Hi there! Happy Saturday to you! I am actually spending the day today at a Stampin' Up! Regional event right here in San Antonio. I'm really looking forward to visiting with some wonderful friends and getting crafty. Yee Haw! I'm sure I will have lots of photos to share. Stay tuned for them. 

It's time for another fun challenge over at Our Creative Corner and this week Lori Rider is our lovely hostess. We are using the following photo for inspiration:

Here are the details of the the challenge, from Lori: 

"Please choose at least two elements from the photo and describe how they inspired your card or project. Optional: since this is a baby shower dessert table, make something with a baby theme!"

I decided to use the coral and blue color combo and a baby theme for my card. I was also inspired by this week's sketch over at Stamping 411. These gals always have a fun sketch to play with and some fabby inspiration to share. Check it out. :) 

I paired the Domestic Goddess DSP with the Baby Bundle stamp set to create my card. That little bitty baby face is SO stinkin' cute, right? I dressed up the baby buggy with some Dazzling Details on the polka dots for a little pop.  

The hearts were created by rubbing a Versa-Mark pad over some Calypso Coral card stock and then embossed with Iridescent Ice Embossing powder. I punched them out with the small heart punch and then popped them up with some Stampin' Dimensionals. I'm actually pretty excited that I finally made a card that can be easily mailed, without extra postage. Haha! 

Thanks for visiting today! Please stop by Our Creative Corner to see what the rest of the Design Team has whipped up with Lori's fun challenge. We sure hope you can play along this week. 


Have a great day! :) 

A Pink Christmas for Merry Monday #3

Hi there! This week, my friend Lesley, has a fabulous sketch for her Merry Monday Challenge. You can find the details on her blog: Always Playing with Paper. The goal is to make one Christmas card each week of the year...to be a little more prepared to get those cards sent off on time. *crossing fingers* I played along the first week of the challenge but missed last week. Ugh! That sketch is pinned (all of you Pinterest addicts know what I'm talking about) so I can go back and catch up. Here is the sketch for Week 3:

So, it's a very PINK Christmas for this one. Shocking for me to use pink, right? :) That pink plaid paper is from the Letters to Santa DSP...which technically IS a Christmas paper pack. Hooray for non-traditional colors! I embossed the image form the Christmas Lodge stamp set and added some "snowy" accents with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. I sponged the edges with Early Espresso ink. It's also my first time breaking in the new Labels Collection Framelits (from the Occasions Mini catalog) for the frame around the image. 

Here is the inside of the card. That sentiment was originally going to be on the FRONT of the card...until I showed it to my husband and he said: "Is that a Christmas card? Why is it pink? What 'season' is that sentiment for? You should add some snow to it. I don't get it!". Ahhh, leave it to him to give me an objective opinion that makes sense. ;) 

Thanks for stopping by. If you get a chance, check out Lesley's Merry Monday challenge. It's a lot of fun! Have a great day! 


Stampin' Up Supply List: 
Stamps: Christmas Lodge, Teeny Tiny Wishes (front sentiment) and Beautiful Season (inside sentiment) 
Paper: Letters to Santa DSP, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Versa-Mark and Early Espresso Classic Ink
Accessories: Clear Embossing powder, Snowburst Embossing folder, Word Window punch, Labels Collection Framelits Die, Chantilly Lace trim, Basic Pearls,Dazzling Diamonds and Stampin' Dimensionals
Non-SU! Accessories: oval die cut