Prairie Paper & Ink

Glitter Stained Glass VIDEO Tutorial

You can see the original card and post HERE <----click!

You can also watch the video on YouTube HERE.

Enjoy!

Applying Fun Flock Using the Quickie Glue Pen VIDEO

OK here's the second video I made when I was making this card <----click!

You can find Fun Flock here, and the Quickie Glue Pen here.

Watch the video over on YouTube HERE <---click!

Here's the video:

Coloring the Bumble B Bear Image with Copics VIDEO

LOTS of requests keep coming in for me to continue making Copic coloring videos!

I'm hearing y'all loud and clear! I'm definitely no expert at coloring but if y'all are wanting more videos showing me coloring with Copics then I'll continue to upload them :o)

So here's the one I did using the Bumble B Bear image from Diane's new set - and if you missed it you can see the full post HERE with the card and whatnot.

You can check out the video on YouTube HERE <----click!

**And FYI I received a lot of questions asking why some of the videos pause every few seconds or take forever to play all the way through. When a video is first uploaded on the site it takes a while for it to stream and process and all that, and if there is a lot of traffic everything gets slowed down.

What works best is to click PLAY then IMMEDIATELY pause the video and allow it to fully upload - the light red bar will move all the way to the end - once it's all the way to the end the video is fully uploaded and you should be able to watch it no problem all the way through.**

Here's the video:

Another Copic VIDEO

My next video will be something OTHER than coloring with Copics - promise! Altho I do get a lot of requests for Copic videos so I hope y'all enjoy!

This is of the Teacher Anya I colored for the cards I posted yesterday - I had to cut it down some to be able to get it under 10 minutes - so here it is:

(if it's not showing up on here you can see it HERE on YouTube<---click!)

Copic Shading and Blending VIDEO

Yup I made another video! I did this one last night but it turned out OK so I edited it and uploaded it this afternoon:

I made a card with that bear I colored so I'll have to post that in a bit as well.

And if you haven't already you can check out my other Copic coloring video here <-----click!!

How to Make a Shaker Card VIDEO Tutorial

Yup that's right - I made another video!!

I'm so glad y'all seemed to enjoy this shaker card I made and posted last week and now that I've finally got my digital camera that takes video up and working again I decided to do a video on HOW I made the shaker:

So I hope y'all enjoy!

Cutting and Embossing using Nestabilities and the CuttleBug VIDEOS

I FINALLY made a couple of videos yesterday - these ones being some of the most requested ones! So I hope y'all enjoy them! :)

Using Copics with SU!'s Color Spritzer

Check out what I just discovered!!:

I'll have the card to share using that Bella image from the video once I get it done. Then I can take a close-up of it so y'all can see it better.

I was totally stoked tho that it worked. I am getting a couple more air cans for my airbrush (I'd LOVE to get a compressor at some point but untill I can find one for cheap....) but until I get them I can totally use my color spritzer with my Copics! Woot woot!! LOL (yes I know I'm a total nerd *grin*)

Copic Coloring VIDEO

I've received numerous requests, comments and e-mails about me showing y'all how I color with my Copics.

While I don't think I do anything fabulous with them and I'm NOT Copic Certified (yet! I hope to take one of the certification classes this summer!) I did this video anyway to show how I color. I hope it helps!! :)

The image isn't totally crisp and clear - I just use my Casio digi camera to take videos and while it does an OK job it's definitely not HD (high def) quality! Sorry!

Here's the video - you can also watch it on YouTube here <----click! All the links to everything are on the sidebar on the YouTube video.

EDITED TO ADD:

Duh!! I forgot to add this link to theI Like Markers blog. Marianne is THE Copic lady - she's the one that travels around the US teaching the Copic certification classes and her blog is FULL of helpful advice on Copics.

Seriously if you haven't already checked out her blog and subscribed you HAVE to if you want more info about Copics. I've been reading it regularily for months now and have learned a TON.

Trust me if you have questions about Copics go there - if you do a search I'm sure you will find your answer on there - or leave her a comment and I'm sure she'll help you out. The wealth of info on Copics there is fabulous :o)

Detail Cutting VIDEO Tutorial

OK I did a quick video this morning showing how I cut out a stamped image.

This one only took 2 takes - the other video I was working on took a few more and I'll post that later.

It is REALLY hard some days to attempt to do videos - as soon as I start Josie usually decides it's time to freak out over something and all you can hear is her screaming and crying because Veronica isn't sharing or whatever. So I have to stop whatever I'm doing, calm her down (and give back the toy!) then go back to re-doing the video (my camera only takes videos in 10 minute spurts - and I haven't yet figured out how to splice more than one video together - so usually if I get interrupted I have to start everything over from scratch!!).

Anyone who's a mom gets it - it's the same thing with the phone - as soon as someone calls or you pick up the phone to make a call the kids go nuts. Why is that?? Mine will be playing quietly and getting along beautifully UNTIL I start a video or get on the phone. Then all he** breaks loose!! My mom just loves when I complain to her about it - payback is sweet as she says me and my siblings were the same way LOL.

ANYWAY - here's my quick little video on cutting out images - I hope it helps!

Here's the link to my scissors post: Scissors

and to the stamp I used: Gingersnaps Spring Thing!

Bow and Knot Tying VIDEO Tutorial

OK after fiddling and re-uploading and all that fun stuff I finally got this video uploaded to YouTube.

Now to get it IN my post!! I haven't done this in forever so here's hoping I do it right!!

You can also see my original ribbon tying tutorial HERE <----click! that has a quick little video (it's so old! I made that almost 2 years ago - notice it's the same ribbon? LOL) that also has step-by-step pictures for the knot tying.

Enjoy!

Glitter & Re-inker Ornaments - 2 Years Later

Remember these??

Glitter and Re-inker Ornament Tutorial

You can click on the link above to be taken directly to the tutorial I did a couple of years ago on how to make these.

NOTES:

I just took this picture TODAY of these ornaments - the smaller ones are the exact same ones I made over 2 years ago when I did the tutorial - as you can see they look just like they did then! The glitter is still completely coating the insides and nothing has changed.

The large ornaments I made last year - they still look fabulous as well. I got those at Michael's when they were on sale (the glass ornaments generally go on sale for 40 - 50% off at some time before Christmas and of course after the holidays).

Glitter - you need a LOT of glitter - a LOT. I posted in the tutorial that I used one container of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (from Stampin' Up!) for about 8 ornaments - no joke. I LOVE DD glitter for these tho b/c it's extra sparkly - this glitter by Stickles I also highly recommend as it's uber-sparkly.

Look for FINE, WHITE/TRANSPARENT glitter - the sparklier the better. 

I HAVE used Martha Stewart glitter for these - when I made the large ornaments I used a jar of MS glitter mixed with Dazzling Diamond glitter and went through all of it and then some (the larger ornaments use a massive amount of glitter). I mix the glitters b/c MS white glitter isn't sparkly enough in my opinion - I would use a jar of that and add a jar or two of the Stickles glitter that I linked to above.

Last time I was at Michaels I saw the new HUGE jars of MS glitter - get one of those with a 40% off coupon and you're good to go! (I plan on getting one next time I'm there).

Colored glitter - I've been asked about using that - it's up to you. Since you're using re-inkers if you add colored glitter it will need to be a similar color otherwise it may not look good. I don't have any empty ornaments at the time to try it out with but I really recommend sticking with white/transparent glitter as it takes on the color of the ink you use.

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If there's any questions that I haven't answered here or in the tutorial I'll edit this post to add them here (I'm linking this post to the tutorial as well so that everything is in one spot).

Papertrey - Mini Treat Bag Tutorial

The other day I was at Costco, and came across this HUGE package of Play-Doh containers. There were 80 of these little containers in the pack for $11 (Canadian)! I snatched them up because not only are they great Halloween "treats", they're also perfect for birthday party favors etc etc since they're only about 15 cents each!!

When I got them home I sat down and fiddled around with a few of my Papertrey packaging items to try and come up with a cute (yet quick and inexpensive) way to package up these containers - and came up with this Mini Treat Bag.

Read on to find out how to make them!

I started with a Medium Glassine bag (at 25 for $3 they work out to 12 cents each)

I cut the bag so that it was about 2.5" high.

Using my Scor-pal I scored the sides and bottom of the bag - 1/2" from each edge.

It helps if after you score you fold the score lines back and forth a couple of times with these types of bags - it makes the next step easier.

Open the bag and shape it on the fold lines - there will be two little triangle tabs on the bottom - fold them under and adhere them in place with mini glue dots.

Then set the bag aside.

Next take a piece of cardstock (here I used PTI's Kraft CS) cut to 2.5" x 8.5" and score it twice - 3.75" in from each edge.

After that I used my Stampin' Up! Word Window Punch to punch "handles" in each end.

To decorate my treat bag I stamped the web from Spooky Sweets II set in white pigment ink, and the bat from the Spooky Sweets set with black ink.

I created a fun little label for the bag using the Spooky Sweets set, oval nestabilities dies, black and Summer Sunrise ink, and orange glitter.

To adhere the glassine bag to the cardstock "cover" - use 2 strips of strong adhesive (I use Red liner tape) cut 5" long. After peeling off the liner adhere the bottom of the glassine bag first then fold up the sides so that they adhere to the bag as well.

Here's a side view of the finished bag. I adhered the label with dimensionals and tied on some Summer Sunrise Grosgrain ribbon.

And here's the final bag again.

These are SO quick and easy to make, and the great thing is you can easily change up the colors and stamp sets and make these bags for Birthday Party/Baby Shower/Wedding Favors etc etc!!

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{SUPPLIES}

STAMPS: Spooky Sweets, Spooky Sweets II.

CS: Papertrey Select White and Kraft, Black (SU!).

INK: PTI Summer Sunrise, Black Ink, White Pigment Ink.

ACCESSORIES: PTI Medium Glassine Bags, SU! Word Window Punch, Summer Sunrise Grosgrain Ribbon, DoodleBug Glitter, Oval Nestabilities dies, dimensionals.

Peerless Watercolors and a Card

Not too long ago I won two packs of Peerless Watercolors from Stamping Bella's blog (thanks Em!!). I have heard of these before but have never seen them in real life so I was quite excited for this chance to try them out.

I received the Complete Collection (shown here) and the Terra Sahara pack. I took some pics of this whole process so y'all can see them for yourself b/c they are seriously the neatest things ever.

I copied this from the Peerless website here:

The most convenient form yet devised to keep colors clean and available for instant use. The color sheet is a heavy film of highly concentrated pure color of intense strength and absolute solubility. The color is coated on one side of a special paper fabric that readily discharges when it comes into contact with water or any soluble mixture.

So this is what the Terra Sahara collection looks like (the sides showing are the actual watercolor pigment - some of them look almost black but they're really dark browns/reddish browns etc)

And here's the other side - you can get a much better idea of the colors and the info for each color is printed right onto the paper.

FYI you obviously don't want to get these wet unintentionally or spill on them as they'll run color everywhere (thankfully I did NOT do this but I can just imagine the mess). I plan on storing each set in ziplock sandwich bags to prevent that from happening.

And another thing - if it is hot and humid where you are you need to be more careful handling these as the color comes off really easily onto your hands. There is no risk of ruining the papers or losing all the color b/c of the climate - but you could unintentionally get some on your hands and then touch your clothes or cardstock or whatever and transfer the color (now THAT I did do b/c it was SO hot here when I was using these!)

So - I stamped this image from Stamping Bella ("attitudy" cats) onto watercolor paper (Strathmore Watercolor Cold Press 140lb - got a pad of it at Michaels with a 40% off coupon months and months ago).

I originally meant to use Stazon but as you can see it didn't stamp well (and I could find my re-inker to see if that was the reason it didn't stamp well - tho it seemed to be fine) so I stamped it using Palette Hybrid Noir instead - MUCH better!

Oh and let me say that I am in NO way an expert on watercoloring - far from it in fact. I am sure what all I don't know about watercoloring can fill many books - I just thought I'd share all this b/c it's pretty cool and FUN to do!!

I began by wetting the cat I wanted to color first (I use Aquapainters from SU to do my watercoloring. I always keep some paper towel handy to dab them on when they become too wet for my liking. I hate using a dish and a regular watercolor brush as more often than not I knock over the dish (usually ON to whatever I was working on....))

Then to use the Peerless watercolors you just dab the wet brush right onto a corner of the paper. The color is VERY concentrated so it doesn't take much to get a lot of color picked up on your brush (which also means that a set of these will last you for a VERY long time).

Then all you have to do is paint away!

This didn't take me very long to color at all. And I must say using these is a GREAT way to entertain children - Veronica was sitting with me the whole time (for those that don't know she's my oldest daughter and she's 5) and was just awestruck with the whole process. To her it was like magic getting colors off these papers (and of course she thought the cat stamp was the coolest thing ever *wink*).

I am thinking that down the road I will get her a set of these for herself as they aren't expensive at all and like I said they'll last for a LONG time (even with a kid messing around with them).

Here's my finished card. I added sky and ground using two colors from the Peerless Complete Collection (all the cats were done with the Terra Sahara collection).

I used a sentiment from A Muse (punched out with a Marvy circle punch then sponged with brown ink), some patterned paper from Basic Grey, ribbon, primas, Doodlebug Crushed Velvet Brads (so fuzzy in real life!!) and the Houndstooth CuttleBug embossing folder on the brown cardstock.

Here's a more detailed shot so you can see the fuzziness of the brads and the texture on the CS.

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SO - will I use these again? Well I just finished ordering the Bella Blend and Rejuvenating collections from Stamping Bella (along with a few other goodies I couldn't resist - and for some reason totally MISSED getting the Calypso Pink, Serenity and Bonuspak collections!! I just realized that as I went to link to the other ones - ugh!! Oh well I can get them some other time...) - so how's that for an answer? I really like them - they're affordable and take up next to no space as they're small and flat (an important feature for me as I am really trying to cut down on the amount of STUFF I have in my studio right now - or at least the amount of space my STUFF takes up....), they're easy to use, keep children entertained while using them, and will last for years and years. So really what's not to love? In fact I don't have anything negative to say about them at all.

If you're interested in trying these out I recommend starting with the Complete Collection as there's a bunch if info and helpful tips in the packet - there's even tips for each color - it's very cool. Tell Em if/when you order that AmyR sent you (and says Hi! LOL).

OK I've blabbed enough about these - and FYI I am in no way getting compensated for all of this. I just thought they were really cool and knew it would help to be able to SEE what I'm talking about. I didn't think I'd go on and on about them but what can I say - I'm a talker in real life and it tends to flow over into my blog *wink*

Paper Piecing Tutorial

I know I used Papertrey's Bitty Baby Blessings set for my last newsletter tutorial (and Debbie also used it for her tutorial last week and made THE most adorable bib card), but I HAD to make up more baby cards (is it just me or does anyone else notice that there seems to be a major demand for all things baby-related this summer??? I am constantly in need of baby cards and gifts!) - and this set is beyond perfect for creating quick, simple CUTE baby cards in a snap! And when you combine the Bitty Baby Blessings set with Papertrey's 6x6 collection of patterned papers, Perfect Match cardstocks and ribbon you have a plethora of options to make even the simplest of cards look like it came straight from a boutique!

I started with a few sheets from PT's 6x6 patterned paper collection.

Pictured from left to right are papers from: Bitty Baby Blessings, Father Knows Best, Pink Patterns and Everyday Blessings.

I prefer to use the 6x6 papers for paper piecing as the scaled-down patterns (50% of the 12x12 paper patterns) are PERFECT for smaller images such as the ones in the Bitty Baby Blessings stamp set.

I decided to make 6 cards - each one using a different image from the set.

As you can see I stamped some of the images more than once onto different patterns - you will see why when you scroll down.

A good black ink like Palette Noir works great when paper piecing.

For the onesie and duck image all that needed to be done was to cut them out (I use small detail scissors when cutting out stamped images - they are great for getting into corners and whatnot - Stampin' Up! has a great pair and the Cutterbee brand ones are similar if not the same thing).

For images like this I cut out certain pieces from the second stamped image and adhered it over the first - it gives them that extra pattern to define them.

Notice with the elephant I cut the tail right off - that was on purpose. It would be too difficult (and time consuming) to cut around the tail - scroll down to see how I fixed that tho.

I stamped the elephant image onto a square of white cardstock (that was cut and embossed with a square Nestabilities die) then adhered the paper-pieced elephant over top - so he got his tail back!

I did the same thing with the boat and carriage - I stamped the images onto the white CS then adhered the paper pieced images over top.

I use Tombow Mono Multi glue when paper piecing - a tiny dot here and there adheres them down perfectly and I am able to glue down even the tiniest of pieces with this glue.

And here are the finished cards!

I used the same layout for all of them, using my Scalloped Square Nestabilities die to cut a mat out of coordinating Papertrey cardstock.

I used the same patterned paper on each card to match the main image, and tied coordinating PT twill ribbon around it before adhering it to the card base and attaching the scalloped mat with dimensionals. On the inside of each card I stamped a sentiment from the Bitty Baby Blessings set.

I used Copic markers to color in the duck's beak, the wheels and parts of the carriage and the openings of the baby onesie to give them all a more "finished" look, and that was it!

{SUPPLIES}

STAMPS: Papertrey Bitty Baby Blessings Stamp Set.

CS: Papertrey White, Lavender Moon, Sweet Blush, Summer Sunrise, Aqua Mist, Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss, 6x6 Patterned Papers: Bitty Baby Blessings, Father Knows Best, Pink Patterns and Everyday Blessings.

INK: Palette Noir.

ACCESSORIES: Spellbinders Square and Scalloped Square Dies, Papertrey Twill Ribbons (Lavender Moon, Sweet Blush, Summer Sunrise, Aqua Mist, Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss), Dimensionals.