Thursday is THE day!! Hey, Facebook friends and family!!

Thursday will mark the first day of Ann & Charlotte Annual Card Sale.  YOU don't want to miss it.  Come bright and early for the best choices as there are many one-of-a-kind cards this year!  AND don't forget the snowglobes.  You can visit http://www.createdbyann.com/ for details or times and directions as well as pictures of only some of our cards.  Charlotte makes BEE-U-tiful pressed flower cards and bookmarks. 

Take a look at this deal!!

Have you ever thought of becoming a Junkie?  A Technique Junkie, that is!  You've seen a ton of techniques that I have used on cards here on my blog.  You may have wanted to know HOW to do them?  WELL.......here is some exciting news.  The owner, Pat Huntoon, just posted this awesome deal!!  You can't even get a stamping magazine subscription for this price!!  If you have been waiting on the fence, NOW is the time.  Make sure you tell her Ann sent you.  (I won't get anything out of it, just so ya know!)

Here is her message*********************************

For NEW Subscribers.....

Subscribe today to the Technique Junkie Newsletter and receive 7 issues for only $19.95*!
You will receive the issues from December 2009 through December 2010 – with a whopping 105 Technique Tutorials in step-by-step format delivered right to your door! In addition, our website features step-by-step pictorial tutorials for each of those 105 techniques – exclusively for subscribers.
As special incentive, I will send one additional issue to the first 20 people who sign up for this offer! That is 120 techniques for $19.95! Order yours today!
To order, send me an email for an invoice through PayPal, or send a check to me to the address below. Hurry, though – and you will get that extra issue for free!

AND for RENEWALS.....For a limited time only...

All renewals to the TJ Newsletter to US addresses will receive 2002 pricing!
That is only $16.50 for renewals!! (Sorry, US addresses only) Hurry, though, this offer ends soon!
Want the CD, too? Renew and order CD7 for only $28.95 (US addresses only) -- prices have NEVER been that low!!
One year renewals only at this price...(ie: no two year renewals.
To renew, send me an email and I will get an invoice to you right away!
Pat Huntoon, phuntoon@optonline.net
*************************************
There you have it!  Don't delay!!!!

The countdown begins!

Every year the last few days before my card sale, I seem to go into panic mode.  Do I have enough made?  Shouldn't I make just a few more?  What types of cards have I forgotten?  Oh Why didn't my grandson sleep just a little longer so I could get this card ready to assemble!!!!

I find that my creative juices kind of hit a flat spot this time as well and I revert back to basic designs without any special techniques (unless those BG's are already made!).  So.......after all that complaining, here is the card that I came up with today.  And below it is the card I designed yesterday.  I also provide some prestamped sentiments that my customers can pick out to go into a blank card.  That way they can make it into any kind of card they want.  The sentiments from SU work great for this as they cut down to 1 x 2".  I then cut a bunch of 1 1/4 x 2 1/4" colored pieces that they can pick to go behind the sentiment to match the color of the card.  It also gives the sentiment a little bit of weight visually.   So......today I got all the sentiments stamped and cut.  All the colored backing pieces were cut as well.  It is a great way to use up some of those smaller pieces of scrap paper that I've saved!  I have this WONDERFUL double sided tape that I get from the man that does the trophies for our car club.  It is clear, on a 72 yard roll and is only $10.  I can usually get 75 to 100 cards out of a roll.  AND the best part is that since there is a backing on the tape, I can place pieces of it on the backs of my sentiments and colored pieces and you just peel off the backing when ready to use.  AND......another part that I just LOVE about this tape is that is it REALLY sticky.  It almost takes an act of God to get the cardstock apart when this tape is used.   I NEVER have cards that fall apart!!  A very important factor when you are selling your cards!  Okay....enough of my rambling today.

Four way combo

Here is my card for th Sweet Stop Sketch challenge AND the Artful Sentiments Copic Challenge AND the TJ challenge to post a card with a TJ technique AND my Sweet N Sassy digital image for Sweet Stop Design Team members.  The whole image is of a little boy pulling the wagon with the pumpkin but since the copic challenge colors were just orange, yellow, and a W (grey) copic, I decided to only focus on the pumpkin.  You can see the sketch challenge and the copic challenge home pages by clicking on the links and banners to the right column.  The TJ challenge was to use any TJ technique.  Well....believe it or not, I had never done Score grid.  At least I don't remember doing it.  It is quite easy!  Always nice to have another way to use my Scor-It (which I love BTW). 

And..........make sure you click on the Sunbeams flashing blinkie to the right side column.  Sweet N Sassy stamps is celebrating their second birthday and they are having a give away.  WOW......can you believe that it has been two years already!  Congratulations, Korin!!

A little wine!

Would you like a little bit of cheese with that wine?  Thought I'd color up a few tumbled coasters for my sale since I had them in the Stamp Hole and would like that room for something else.  They were stamped with black StazOn ink and colored with prismacolor pencils.  I have a coaster that I stamped and colored this way several years ago and it has done so well.  So........I have several boxes of the tumbled tiles so I'll do 3 or 4 different images on them.  I like this wine one.  If you were buying them, what other images would you like to see on them?    I needed to watch Zander today while his mommy and daddy celebrated their 5th anniversary.  Hard to think that it has been 5 years already.  They took the underground tour in Portland.  I'll be anxious to hear about that.....we've wanted to take that tour for a while now!  They will be eating dinner in the restaurant where Adam proposed to Leah.  We went to the Portland City Grill for my daughter, Angie's, birthday.  So being there with lots of family was easy.  Adam had talked to the waiters and had a special costume set aside in a back room.  After our dinner and while we were waiting for dessert, several of us went out to go to the bathroom.  Perfect timing for Adam to sneak out and get dressed.  He had borrowed a real helmut and breastplate of a knight (his were leather) as well as a real sword.  He was sooooo nervous. It was also natural for us to have our cameras there since it was Angie's birthday.  My daughter, Leah, didn't see Adam coming back but all the waiters and waitresses were gathered and knew what was going to happen.  He walked up and told her that he wanted to be her knight in shining armor forever and would she marry him.  I'm sure she remembers all the words better than me.  When she said yes, all the waiters and waitresses and half the restaurant cheered.  It was such a fun time. 

So.....now after that long story, please remember to tell me what other images you think would be great for the coasters!

Why oh Why?????

Why oh Why haven't I used these stamps before.  The rose on this memo pad is by Kitchen Sink and I soooooo love using this set.  I tried it once before and it just didn't work well for me.  This time I vowed that I would get this rose stamped and I think that the colors that were picked this time were the real key!  I sooo love their stamps and see more of them in my future! 

Cute little memo pads

I'm making some covered memo pads for my upcoming sale.  They are very cute and easy to make.  I'll have four done of each image.  Here is the first image using Branch Out.....my oh my.....SU really made a mistake when then didn't have this set in their current catty!!  It is one of THE best trees!  I angle cut the inside of the front flap so you could store receipts in there.  Sorry that the ribbon covered part of the front, it isn't there permanently!

H1N1?

Here is one of the last get well cards I'm doing.  It is my tribute to the swine flu this year!  Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!  Nothing special technique wise on this one......I just hope that you enjoy!  It was colored with prismacolor pencils and gamsol.

Old Sick old Lady out of the box.

Hee hee.......I just had to do another 'out of the box' technique.  They are so fun and so effective.  This card also uses paper piecing.  The chair, pillow, Old lady's dress and sweater are paper pieced.  Talk about little pieces!  They were smaller than they looked at the beginning.  The image is one that I got used from Novell at a SCS shoe box gathering we had in Oregon.  I believe it is an Art Impressions stamp.....that old lady's fingernails look pretty familar.  It is funny though that the block of wood has no company listed only "factory second'.    The only second part about it must be the block of wood and the image on the top of it....they are kind of mushed.  I'll try to do one more get well card design for my sale then on to something different.  Hope you enjoy her!  I think her name is Ethel....what do you think?

Yup......another out of the box sickie!

Okay.......so these images just lend themselves to being out of the box technique images......You'd do it too, right?!  This is another of the images from the get well set from Our Craft Lounge....they are so cute.  I just love them.  I knew right away that the end of the thermometer needed to have a red jewel, which lead to red jewels on the corners too!  I wanted to do something different with the sentiment and remembered somewhere I had see the little flag type for the sentiment.  This design will be for my upcoming sale.  I've been making 4 of each design that I post.  Have at least two more Get Well card designs to do!  One will just have to be flowers, right?  Enjoy!!

One sick out of the box card.

Sounds like the card is sick, doesn't it!  Well.......the card IS for someone who IS sick but nobody I know.  It will be for my upcoming sale.  My daughter, Angie, requested this image.  I've used it before and she really loves it.  Since I colored it with copics this time, I was able to use the blender and make some 'bubbles' in the green liquid.  Glad she's not coming for me!!  The needle is really narrow so I needed to reinforce it so that it wouldn't just break off.  Out come the packing tape!!  This technique of reinforcing small cut out pieces is so slick and easy.  Just place a piece of clear packing tape on the back of the image before you cut it out and it gives the paper just a little more stability when it is really narrow like this needle.  After I punched the layer for the ribbon, I thought I'd use the same punch to 'adorn' the corners.  Pretty neat way to get some extra umph for the corners without shaping them or using brads or eyelets.  I believe that the image is from Lasting Impressions with Panache!

Out of the box twice!

When I posted this card to my TJ group I had entitled it "Out of the Box Twice"....then I realized that not only was the image 'out of the box' but so were the tissues!  That's my quirky sense of humor!!  The stamp is from Our Craft Lounge and is in a set that is really cute with running tissue, thermometer, and nose.   The out of the box technique using the Nestability is described in a post a couple of days ago.  It is so easy and looks soooo cool.   I colored the tissue with light blue so it would show up a little better.  I've been diligently trying to use up old patterned paper.  I really love this one....it is by Magenta. 

First is last and Second is First!

I know a little double talk and a small reference to a Bible verse!  HA!  Here is the explanation. 

These two cards........yup.....they are for my sale!  The first is the last of my sympathy cards.  The design was inspired by Markie's Mom on SCS.  Thanks, Faith!  The second is the first of a number of Get Well cards for the sale.  The running nose stamp is part of a get well set from Our Craft Lounge.  These designs were drawn by Marianne Walker (my copic instructor extraordaniare).  And you thought the title was something really heavy, huh?!   Enjoy....

I hoping to get a few more get wells done today and will post when done.

My website for my sale!

Yeah!!  My darling son came today and helped me solve some of my website issues.  Thank you sweetheart!  I have my own website to show some of my cards to the people I have invited to my home card sale.  It is a very simple site.  You can see it here:  http://www.createdbyann.com/.  Once we got the pictures into the correct directories and created a site on my home computer for the files (I guess it was different than a directory), then my problems were eliminated.  There is a picture of my mom on the site too.  She is 84 as of yesterday!  I think she is a pretty good looking lady for her age!  Other than playing at church, getting the website done and spending a little time with family......no creating got done today!  Tomorrow, I'll have to really get on the ball again.....only one week left!!

AND one more!

I've been creating like mad today.....at least this one came together quicker!  The beautiful tulip stamp is from Endless Creations.  The decorated paper is from Hot Off the Press and has shiney gold stripes on it.  The gold brads scanned dark and they aren't really so that makes it look kind of strange.  The tulip was colored with copics.  The inside has a sympathy sentiment.   The tulips were cut out and mounted up with foam tape.  Sorry for all the posts today.  I hope that you have enjoyed them!  I do have one more that I created today but will post it tomorrow.