Celebrities at the Collins Show

One of the exciting parts of a trade show is bring able to meet celebrities in our industry and this year was no different.

First, there was a Vendor Quote Challenge, the first one ever!  All of the vendors were given the following quote, "Let Go.  Let Fly.  Forget.  You've listened long enough.  Now strike your note."  several weeks before the show and were asked to create a piece of work with it in  mind. All of the attendees voted on Sunday for their favorite piece.  I am happy to inform you that Mitra, of Impression Obsession won third place.  And Stacy of Stacy Stamps won 1st place!!!  How exciting, and we know both ladies! (I'm sorry, but I don't remeber who came in second)

Here are some pictures of the entries.

Card submitted by Mitra, owner of Impression Obsession

First place winner, Stacy, owner of Stacy Stamps

Michael Strong submitted this framed piece of art work.

Picture of some of the displayed entries.

 Now, for a special treat..............as you know, we are lucky to have Stacy visit us every year.  And this year she will be at the Creative Corner on Saturday, August 18 for a Day of Watercoloring!  You will have the opportunity to learn watercolor techniques from Stacy and create several cards.  In the second class, you will be able to re-create her winning piece!  Isn't that exciting?

Last, but not least, I was able to take a class given by Michael Strong!  Yes, the very same Michael Strong who appeared so many times on the Carol Duvall Show!

Here is a picture of Michael in order to jog your memory.  His class was great.  He had so many wonderful ideas, is a great teacher and is just so patient and jolly!  Just like he was on TV.   It was a thrill to be his student.  We used his unique cloisonne stamps and learned how to use them with a new product from Viva Decor, Inka Gold creams. Michael's stamps, as well as the Inka Gold creams will be arriving at the Creative Corner real soon!

I know that this post was a bit longer than usual, therefore, stay tuned for more tidbits from the Collins Show.

Thanks for "stamping" by,
       ~Anna

Easter Make & Take this Saturday

Here is another reason to join us on Saturday.........an Easter Make & Take.......create this pretty card just in time for Easter!  Don't miss this opportunity!

 We'll use  these pretty peel offs, a few markers and some stickles (of course) to make this pretty card.

We'll even decorate the inside of the card with the "negative" parts of the peel off.

Looking forward to seeing you!

              ~Anna

A Few Highlights from The Collins Group Education & Trade Show

Barbara and I are back from Boston and another productive weekend.  We met up with friends, saw new ideas and got to play!  What more could we ask for?

Let's see, Impression Obsession came out with DIES and wonderful ideas on how to use them in card making.  Here's my favorite card I made with the beautiful door, windows, and fence.

The card came out so delicate and just screams "Spring". 

Els, owner of Elizabeth Crafts had so many samples for us and she too has a few dies available now.  This beautiful hummingbird was the talk of the show!

Just imagine how this sparkles with the glitter and the Shimmer Sheetz!  Just gorgeous!

Stay tuned for more postings as I unpack more samples and download more ideas for you!  I am also getting everything ready for you for Saturday!  Yes, this Saturday, March 31st will be a Show & Tell, where you will be able to see all of the goodies we brought back, up close and personal!  You know it's always better in real life!

See you soon,
    ~Anna

Ring in Spring with Marianne Designs

Spring has definitely arrived today!  Look at this fabulous collage of spring decorations made with Marianne "Creatables" and "Craftables" Dies as well as her designer paper.    I just love this idea of taking a tree branch and hanging all of these beautiful spring ornaments on it!  The pale colors give it such clean lines and make the display so attractive.

Now, if you don't want to make a huge display, start out with some pretty "paper' birds to hang in your window!  What a pretty way to welcome spring into your home!

Looking forward to seeing your creations!
                  ~Anna

Inspiration from Ukrainian Style Embroidery

I belong to a stamping club, The High Nooners.  We meet at noon every other month at our favorite restaurant, have lunch, share stamping ideas, and catch up with each other.  We also make a card for the theme of that month and recently our theme was quilting.  We visited the Quilt Show at Bethel Woods and decided to to use the quilts as inspiration.

I decided to use the new JustRite stamp set, Starburst Medallion Labels.  As I was playing with the stamped and embossed images, moving them around on the table, I realized that they reminded me of the counted cross stitch I used to do.  The colors I chose are traditional Ukrainian colors used for embroidered linen towels and tablecloths.  These designs are also used to make beautiful folk blouses for the traditional Ukrainian folk costumes.  I liked that and therefore went in that direction.  As is, both quilts and Ukrainian counted cross are geometric designs.

I used a simple layout so that medallion would stand out and be the main focus of the card.  I stamped and heat embossed the medallion 3 times and paper pieced it.  The saying and the stitching lines are from Hero Arts.

I then went and pulled out the counted cross stitch that I had started way back in high school!  I know, it's still not finished!  LOL!  (OK, I'm sure you too have a bunch of unfinished projects!)

You can definitely see that the star in the center of the JustRite image is very similar to the repeated star design in the embroidery! 

And now for some nostalgia......................I went and found a photo that my dad took of us way back in the summer of 1971!  Back in the day when we were up at Mohican Lake with no TV (no reception up there), no computers, etc.  We swam, played games and us girls spent hours doing embroidery!

From the left:  me, Martha's grandmother, Martha Fenchen, and my sister, Olga

My gosh, where did the time go???  Could it really be 40 years already!

Hope you enjoyed this journey through time and my cultural background.
    ~Anna

Say Yes to Three Scoops of Ice Cream!

I have been truly enjoying the usually warm weather we have been having by opening windows and getting rid of that old winter stale air, putting laundry outside and even eating lunch on the deck the other day!  What a treat!  And speaking of treats, the Impression Obsession order came in and I just had to use the new stamp, Three Scoops.

 I had so much fun coloring it and putting it all together; all at the same time dreaming of summer!

I colored the image with my Copics and paper pieced the 2 top scoops.  The middle scoop only has one layer of foam tape where as the "strawberry" scoop has double foam tape.  I wanted it to have more dimension.  To finish it off I added glossy accents to the syrup, a few pearl accents to the ice cream and the card with the Viva Decor Pearl Pen Salmon color,  and of course some strategically placed stickles.  This image will be great for all sorts of fun cards. 

I don't know about you, but it just makes me smile and brings back so many memories!

Thanks for "stamping" by,
         ~Anna

Blog Update

Hi Everyone,
I want to thank all of my blog followers.  It is so nice to know that you are out there waiting for my postings and appreciate my work.  You have given me so much encouragement and confidence!  I, who used to stay AWAY from writing classes, took math and science courses because you didn't have to write a paper, now, actually enjoy posting!  Who would have thought?  Thanks again!

Now for some housekeeping........................many of you have signed up to follow my blog by e-mail.  (There is a "Follow by Email" box on the right hand side bar.)  You receive an e-mail of the exact posting straight into your inbox.  That's a wonderful way to keep updated automatically!

Since Google sends these e-mails, I don't receive any responses that are submitted by clicking the "Reply" button.  Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that some of you have tried to respond by doing so and I have not received those messages.   I apologize if this has happened to you.  

There is a simply remedy for this.  You can "Forward" this special e-mail to me and then write your message.  I have been receiving those and corresponding with you that way.

Hope this clears up any misunderstandings.  And of course, if you still have questions, please feel free to contact me.  You may check The Creative Corner's website "Contact us page" and just click on e-mail the store.  (There is also a direct link to the store on the blog's right hand side bar.)

Thanks again 
        and 
See You Soon,
      ~Anna