Welcome to the 2011 Artisan Award-winning projects Blog Hop! We are so excited to share our projects with you! It still takes my breath away to know that I was chosen as one of this year's Artisan Award winners. I feel so blessed to have my projects picked along with so many talented ladies.
Hundreds of talented Stampin' Up! demonstrators in the United States and Canada submit their entries each year, but only ten are chosen as Artisan Award Winners. Entries must consist of five cards, three scrapbook pages (8" x 8", 8-1/2" x 11", or 12" x 12", single-layouts only), and two three-dimensional projects. The projects are judged as a whole (not as individual projects), so while some entrants may be very talented in one area, Artisan Award Winners must demonstrate proficiency in a wide variety of categories. Entries are judged on creativity and style, craftsmanship, composition, color, and consistency. Please remember that art is very subjective. Just because something isn't "your style" doesn't mean it isn't worthy of winning the Artisan Award. Each of these talented ladies worked very hard to make their projects stand out above all the others and deserve your respect. Please keep your comments positive and upbeat!
Every day for the next ten days we will be posting a new project. I hope you have fun checking out our projects. I had the opportunity to see the projects in real life at convention, but now I get to find out how they were made and maybe hear some interesting stories along the way.
Our blog hop of ten Artisan Award winners makes a complete circle. It doesn't matter where you start or start, just be sure that each day you visit all ten blogs to be inspired by these incredibly talented ladies. I am first on the list, but since we are making a circle, you may have arrived her from Heather Summer's blog, Stamp with Heather. Many consider Heather to be the Queen of Stampin' Up! She was the number one demonstrator in Canada this past year, has a fabulous blog, and is a familiar face on the My Digital Studio blog. On top of all that, she is incredibly talented and a genuinely sweet person. I am so glad I can call her my friend.
For my first project I would like to share a fun card. Using clear mount stamps made this card a cinch to create, but I masked off the top of each flower just in case I didnt' hit the mark. Craft (Crumb Cake) card stock is really popular right now as a neutral color. You see it in all the card magazines. I wanted to capitalize on the trend so I made sure to utilize it on some of my projects. I stamped the leaves in Old Olive and ink and carefully used a blender pen to color the leaves. A simple sentiment and some sponging give this clean and simple card just enough pizazz to keep it from being too simple.
Supplies: Card Stock: Crumb Cake; Classic Ink Pads: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip;
Stamp Sets: Sweet Summer, You’re A Gem; Blender Pen; Stamping Sponge;
Linen Thread; Mini Glue Dots; Ice Cream Parlor Button Pack.
That's my project for today, now hop on over to see Sandra Farrell's amazing project at Stamper on the Shore. If you get lost along the way or if some of the links get broken, you can refer to this list for a direct link to each blog. Have fun and happy hopping and be sure to check back for the next nine days for more award winning projects.
1. Connie Collins (that's me)
2. Sandra Farrell
3. Heidi King
4. Heather Klump
5. Cheryl LeFore
6. Laura Mellinger
7. Jennifer Picard
8. Heather Stevens
9. Summer Stone
10. Heather Summers
