Happy New Year


gg designs' blog STAMPSggdesigns@aol.com Carved Look, Unmounted Rubber Stamps January 2009

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Day Two of 2009 and the
First Sketch of the Year Has Arrived!

It's a Good Start

Jeanette Waters rose to the challenge and here is her sketch:

No size requirements, no color limitations, no special materials. You have free rein. Though gg designs' would like to see one of our stamps used somewhere, even that is not carved it stone....so have fun! Use your project for Thank You Notes (we all have plenty of those at this time of year) or Valentines' Day or???? Just enjoy!!!

This is the first "Throw Down" of 2009. We think that's what this kind of challenge is called.....we'll have to check with Heather. This is a "Blogging from A to Z kind of question.

We will be posting submissions as they come in so you might want to register with rss fwd (bottom of the page) to be notified whenever this page is changed.

We haven't decided how (or even if) a winner will be selected. gg designs would never presume to judge anyone's work and voting is often not fair. So, since Price-Waterhouse is a tad out of our budget and secrecy is not a big issue : ) we may decide on another drawing, selecting a name from the pool of entrants. Why a prize? Why not? Like virtue, participation is not its own reward! And having folks join in is great fun.

Thank you Jeanette, for getting us off to a good start. For making visiting the Gazette pages much more entertaining.

Sketch Challenge
(In Order of Submission)

Jeanette Waters answers her own challenge.

I used:
Stamp Small tile from gg designs
Card stock black,brown, beige, gold
Designer Paper beige w/brown spots
Embellishments Animal print suede boot lace and wood beads.

First Sketch/First Response/First Question....Question about Jeanette's card -- What are the 4 fasteners in the corners of the tilted rectangle? Hard to believe they are the "wood beads" she lists in materials...M.

Clarification Jeanette?

Jeanette writes: Yes, it is wood beads at the corners. They are from an old hippie type necklace.
And, the leather laces came from Big Lots.

Note: As "gg designs" we should be interested in the use of one of ggd's images but truthfully, we were most intrigued by the shoelaces : ) If we are spotted running around in sloppy, floppy shoes you'll know the laces went on to a better life!

Audrey Roseman, who's new to gg designs', sends in her first submission:

Here is what she had to say about it:

The card is a standard 51/2X4 card with the layers of cardstock, rose pink and then a slightly patterned cardstock crimped with a hearts border done with the fiskars border punch. The small cream cardstock is 3X3 with rounded courner and metal heart brads. I then stamped 3 flowers, hero Arts stamps (I don't have my gg designs stamps yet) and colored them in with gel glitter pens and embossed over the entire image with clear embossing powder. I also added some pink ribbon

And literally seconds after this was posted we received this email:

Sorry I did it wrong. I thought I could do my own sketch. Didn't realize I was to use Jeanette's sketch. Just exclude mine, I have never done this before so was not sure of the rules. DUH!!

Nothing goes to waste at gg designs! We thought you'd like to see this and welcome Audrey who bravely "Came out to play!" We're saving this spot for her submission using Jeanette's sketch. So....could we have a warm welcome for Audrey please? Thanks!

Here is Audrey's interpretation of Jeanette's sketch:

Here is my submission using Jeanette's sketch.
The card is a 5 1/2 X 4 layered with jeweltone cardstock. The stripe is leftover Christmas cardstock. The strip with the images is from a piece of scrap paper from Club Scrap. The flowers are from Hero Arts and the flowers are colored in with gel glitter pens then embossed with clear embossing powder. The flower brads are metal, and come in assorted colors.

Again, thanks Audrey and welcome.

Oh What Fun! Another Challenge Response Winging It's Way to These Pages

Wanda Hentges used "Wanda's Birds" to send a "love message." (A Ha! One card down, how many more to go Wanda?) Great way to get a head start. Valentine's Day will be here before we know it!

Can't you just see this attached to a heart shaped box of chocolates? (Guess it's the "chocolate colored" birds that sent me there.)

We still have plenty of space for YOUR answer to Jeanette's challenge!

Check the ETC. page to see how Linda Reid's grandchildren have grown and find out if you are the first winner of the New Year.

In case you missed the New Years' Day Discussion:
As most of you have noticed, gg designs has moved from new carvings weekly to new carvings....hardly ever! . . . With the beginning of yet another year, we are accessing our position and attempting to decide what to do next. We will still order anything from the catalog when someone requests a particular stamp or set and we will offer stamps routinely in the Mini Mall and on eBay. But that's not terribly exciting stuff for image/technique hungry veteran stampers or folks new to the stamping/scrapbooking scene.

Unless we can build a small community here, we won't have much to offer our customers. Let's make this (possibly) last year for gg designs a "fun and games" time for us all

Especially for those of you feeling the January Deep Freeze.....

Jeanette Waters' Bluebird Tree is a reminder of
softer, warmer times ahead.

Until gg designs creates a special "Throw Down Gallery." we will provide links to previous challenges here. (See the "starter" information at the bottom of this column..)

If everyone enjoys these challenges, we will be continuing them throughout 2009.

* * *

"Throw Down is for a design team."
gg desings has never felt the need for a Design Team. We know that many companies use them and they do lovely work. But we have always felt very lucky to have such talented and generous customers, who freely share their work.

Check the samples in the catalog and the amazing Click Classes.....all done by our customers.
Heather's classes were presented "live" in the Cyberstampers' Hey Day.

Thank you again, to all of you.

* * *

Sketch Challenges
and Throw Down Links :
• October 2008--Heather's
Sketch Challenge

Blogging A to Z Heather Strenzwilk

Q What is a Throw Down?

A Throw Down (AKA Throwdown!)

A Throw Down is a challenge extended to one person or many (and the more the merrier!) For crafters it might be a sketch,(click to see Heather's explanation of a "Sketch") a color combination, technique or a particular stamp or tool which must be used to create a project. Get your creative juices flowing by using colors you don't normally use or a new technique. Most crafters hoard at least some of their supplies- what are you saving it for? Just use it. Who knows what you'll create?

Often the individual or company who issues a throw down will set aside a special online gallery so everyone can view the creations. This is a fantastic way to get new ideas or inspirations for future projects too. Try looking on company web sites, blogs or message boards for details.

Another version of a Throw Down is for a design team. Often the members of a company's stamp team will challenge their teammates. These creations are often posted in a special gallery for everyone to see. Design team members are cream of the crop artists and it is fun to see their creations. In particular, this is a great way to get multiple ideas for a specific stamp or stamps.

I have also done personal Throw Downs with friends. I have challenged friends to use a particular stamp or technique and after we were done we swapped our finished artwork.

Whether you do a 1:1 Throw Down or participate in a larger scale challenge, Throw Downs can be an excellent way to stretch your creativity, try new things and offer inspiration to others.

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Heather's columns will be saved so you can refer to them at will. (Click on the Heading) She has a lot of information and it's fun to share so we expect this section to grow.

Many of you have written to say you enjoyed the intital challenge and are looking forward to more. Don't forget, it's more fun if you participate, both in answering the challenges and posing questions for Heather.

Write to her: Heather's Q & A

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Confused About Purchasing gg designs Stamps?

See directions below (from a list of "Survival Techniques" shown on the first page of gg designs' catalog):

• Survival Technique No. 5--To purchase stamps.....We are very "low tech" in this department. No shopping cart! No credit cards! Just individual, personal, service. Send an eMail to gg designs with the item(s) you wish to buy. Include price, name/number if known and page on which the item appears. We will check the availability/price/shipping costs and get back to you. You can use Paypal or a check whichever is more convenient for you. We do not keep many stamps on hand but if you want a stamp that is not in stock, we place orders on the 15th of each month. JustRite items have their own Paypal order pages. If you want to purchase JustRite items without using Paypal please write to gg designs to make special arrangements.

Corner Questions and Answers has moved! It has it's own page.
Check it out! (Click on logo) To learn more about JustRite Products see links below.

To visit any of the stores in the Mini Mall...just click on any door below.
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Visit the MiniMall--where items are always on sale at the lowest possible prices--located on the SALES page. It's a good idea to check there first....before purchasing any gg designs stamps. They will always be the better price.
Like any "store" the MiniMall inventory changes. New images are added, others are sold out. Anything listed in any of these stores is a "bargain" with anywhere from 10 to 50% (sometimes even more) discount.

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