Prairie Paper & Ink

Christmas Card!

There was talk of color combos for Christmas Cards using the new Cranberry Crisp in the demo forums on SCS. Well all that talk got me itchin' to make somethin' Chrissmassy! I thought that Cranberry Crisp and Old Olive would look really good together. Then cdjkssss mentioned she made a couple using those 2 plus More Mustard - well I *had* to try that out!

I did this super-quick b/c I wanted to share ASAP! Just an easy 5 minute card. The large snowflake was stamped in Old Olive craft and embossed w/ Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder. The card base was "textured" using Old Olive Classic Ink and saran wrap. I used the small snowflake and stamped it off once each time before stamping it on the base. Some Mustard Grosgrain (which I still have TONS of - I rarely use it) completes the look!

CS: Old Olive, Cranberry Crisp, More Mustard, Very Vanilla. Ink: Old Olive Craft and Classic, Cranberry Crisp. Accessories: Mustard Grosgrain, Dimensionals, II EP.

No Backgrounds!!

I *heart* my background stamps - not counting the monograms I currently own 19 SU BG's. My biggest challenge is *not* using them on every card I make! lol

I really like the crisp clean look of cards made NOT using BG's and I challenged myself to make a card I would be proud of w/out resorting to using a BG (or 2 or 3!). This is what I came up w/ and I *am* pleased w/ how it turned out!

This is a pretty simple card - the watercoloring took a while b/c I actually did several layers of color on the octopus to get it to where I wanted it (I stamped him w/ Stazon on SU watercolor paper and colored w/ WCC's and an AquaPainter). The little photo corner tab I made by hand out of Certainly Celery CS sponged w/ Old Olive. This sentiment from Warm Words was too *perfect* - Silly Sealife (and Fishy Friends) are such goofy sets - I love them! I was *really* tempted to break out the DD Glitter and CE but I decided to leave it as is.

I'm in the Top 50!!!

I can't believe it! I made it into the top 50 stamping sites! You can see the purple link near the bottom left of this page (I have yet to figure out how to get the actual # to show up - if anyone knows what I did wrong please help! lol).

I *never* thought my little blog would be so popular - especially in such a short amount of time! And it's all thanks to YOU!! I have received so many positive PM's and e-mails from people all over North America and it's been *SO* nice hearing what others have to say and how they heard about my blog.

I have a *ton* of ideas for what I want to do - but I'd appreciate any feedback, suggestions, tips etc. You can tell me what you'd like to see here in the comment area or shoot me an e-mail - I read every singe one and I try to reply ASAP.

Anywho tho I need to go finish the laundry - I was just so excited about all of this I had to take a break and share! (And like I needed an excuse to not do the laundry lol)

Masculine Cards

I enjoy making guy cards - I really do. I find them challenging b/c I want to impress the receiver of the card, keep it masculine, and avoid using anything that would be considered *girly* (ahem Prima flowers). Another thing that's challenging is the COMPLETE lack of masculine stamps!!! I do have several SU sets - but sadly almost all of the masculine ones are retired (and I'll never get rid of 'em as I have yet to see ones that compare!) so I can't demo w/ them or use them for my display cards.

I used Classic Pickups for this card. It was retired in the Canadian catty - but is still available in the US - I'm glad I got it when I did! It's one of my fave guy sets. My older brother's b-day is coming up and this set is perfect for him. I hope he likes it.

I stamped the truck using Black Stazon on SU's watercolor paper. I watercolored it w/ re-inkers and WCC's - I used some Silver Encore Ink and an AquaPainter to do the tire rims and the grill - it shimmers just a little bit. I went totally nuts w/ the Color Spritzer - I kinda wanted it to look like it got good and splattered w/ mud or something. The CS distressor in the cutter kit was used to rough up the Marigold CS. The screw head brads are from Karen Foster (aren't those things cool? I picked them up at my LSS a couple of weeks ago).

I got a couple of rolls of jute at a Liquidation store a long time ago - I like using that for guy cards - a totally non-girly embellishment! lol The sentiment was stamped on watercolor paper as well and punched w/ the ticket corner punch - I matted it w/ Marigold CS and put it on w/ dimensionals.

The card base (Cool Caribbean - I can't get enough of this color!) was stamped w/ Houndstooth (another great retired BG) and sprayed w/ the spritzer (I sprayed the rest of the base - inside and out -as well. My hubby said it looks like a Cadbury Mini Egg - which was great cuz now I'm craving some). The Choc Chip CS was stamped w/ Canvas and I DTP'd the edges.

I had fun making this - now if I can only figure out what to get him as a gift! It's way easier to make a guy card than it is to actually get them something they're gonna like!

Sets used: Classic Pickups, Houndstooth, Canvas, Warmest Regards (all SU - first 2 are retired). Colors: Black Stazon, Cranberry Crisp, Marigold Morning, Cool Caribbean, Chocolate Chip, Silver Encore. Cardstock: Cool Caribbean, Cranberry Crisp, Marigold Morning, Chocolate Chip, Watercolor Paper. Accessories: Karen Foster Screw Brads, Jute, Dimensionals, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, AquaPainter, Ticket Corner Punch, Color Spritzer, Cutter Kit.

Making a Punch Bookmark

Here's something I did last night that only took like 5 minutes:

Gather up all your punches (I have *almost* all the ones in the SU catty - it didn't seem like a lot till I had them all sitting out on my desk!!) and a piece of 5.5" x 8.5" CS (here Cool Caribbean of course! - use a lighter color so that you can label it when you're done)

Use all your punches on the half sheet of CS taking care not to make them too close so the CS stays intact and doesn't tear.

Once you have used all your punches you can label them if you'd like (I just used a black pen [shown in next pic]).

So now you have a catty bookmark! It's perfect for keeping your place, and you can hold it up to images to see if a certain punch will fit. You could laminate it if you want to make it longer lasting - I won't be doing this tho b/c it's perfect for placing the punch on my card - I can use the bookmark and trace w/ a pencil where I want the punch to be.

Demos this is also cool as you could show this at w/s's (or even have your customers make them as they so quick and easy) so that ppl can see the actual size of the punches and see what images fit them. I HTH someone!!

So Hot!!!!

The heat outside is awful. I've been living in my basement for several days now - my stamp space and the computer are down here (so nice) - but the basement is unfinished so I have to keep a super-close eye on my kids. So I don't get a lot of stamping done! Sad thing is tho that the heat is so bad it's not even cool down here - yuck!

I did a couple of cards the past couple of days - nothing really fancy - mostly I did them to pass the time while my hubby was playing poker lol!

I was playing around w/ more of my Dollarama patterned paper (it was like 6 sheets for $1 - and it was pretty cute so I couldn't pass it up!) and the Sakura Stardust Pen.

The main image was stamped on Whisper White - and I stamped and cut out the dress pieces from the patterned paper. Her little whatchamacallit ribbon thing (I seriously have *no* clue what it's called - is there a proper name for it? I was never in a pageant and have never been a beauty queen so I have no clue! lol) was stamped on shimmer white CS (thanks to the SAMJ I was able to get the word straight on it - it looks wonky in the pic but that's cuz I outlined it in the glitter pen so it sparkles and the camera didn't pick that up too well).

I colored her in w/ markers and a blender pen (and no I couldn't resist doodling a little frame and doing a little faux stitching). I used the glitter pen on her dress, crown, the rose, frame and the glitter sentiment too - I went a little crazy! That thing is FUN and it dries quick!!

For this one I experimented w/ watercoloring w/ re-inkers. I prefer using the WCC's as I find them much easier to move around and blend *but* the new colors don't come in WCC's (OK there's my other gripe - I want WCC's in the new colors!!) so I used re-inkers. I think the biggest thing you need to remember when watercoloring is to let each color dry fully before adding more color or going to a different color. Using good quality watercolor paper is a must too - I *love* SU's watercolor paper. It's actually not paper- it's 100% pressed cotton.Since I have little patience I use my heat gun to speed up drying time. So this little piece took only a few minutes to do. Which was good b/c the ribbon took way longer!

It looks all crooked in the pic but it's really not. I used a tiny dab of ribbon glue to hold it in place - used the SU Stitching template to pierce holes - then stitched the ribbon into place. (BTW I dyed the ribbon w/ Pink Passion re-inker - it actually matches Pixie Pink CS [which is what I used] *exactly* as I watered it down a little more - I LOVE this color!). I crumpled the Pixie Pink CS and distressed the edges a bit too.

Now I want to try and work on some of this week's SCS challenges. Later!

Using In-Colors as Markers on Stamps

I did pics for this too - same idea as how you'd use them w/ the Spritzer. As w/ that you *need* re-inkers to be able to do this - just squeezing the pads together isn't going to get enough ink - the re-inkers are concentrated enough that this works *really* well and a little goes a long way!!

Dab your Blender Pen in a drop of re-inker in your choice of color (start w/your lightest color and work from that to darkest).

Color on the section of the stamp that you want in that color.

Scribble off the excess ink until the blender pen runs clear before moving on to the next color.

Using your darkest color last fill in the spots on the stamp - taking care not to run the color into the other lighter colors.

You don't need to be super-fast w/ this either. Take your time to get it the way you want it.

Huff on the stamp to re-moisten the ink and press it onto the CS.

(I used cheapo GP white CS here - it sure doesn't hold the ink as well as SU's Whisper White! I was playing around tho and didn't want to waste my SU CS!! lol)

So now you've got markers in all the new In-Colors (as well as any other color re-inker you have!). I HTH everyone!

Using In-Colors w/ the Color Spritzer

OK here it all is w/ pictures!!

You *need* re-inkers to be able to do this. Just squeezing the pad together won't get you enough ink.

You just dab the blender pen into a drop of the re-inker - don't hold it in there b/c it absorbs immediately and a little goes a long way!

Once you have some ink in your blender pen put it in the Color Spritzer like you would the Stampin' Write® Markers.

Spritz away!!

Once you've done what you want just take the blender pen out, scribble off any extra ink onto scratch paper and it's good to go for the next color!

Using the Color Spritzer

I don't know about you, but I am a very visual person. I have to *see* it to get it. I got the new Color Spritzer tool w/ my big SU order and it took me a little while to get the hang of it. I wasn't liking it much at first - until I realized I wasn't holing it properly! Once I changed my hold on it I was good to go and now I LOVE the thing!!

This is about how far I place the marker on it and I tighten the screw.

This is how I *was* holding it.

And how I sprayed it onto the CS.

I was finding I had to squeeze *really* hard to get any spray and it was difficult to get it to go where I wanted. All of a sudden I discovered *this* way to hold it:

It's *so* much easier to do it this way. My wrist holds the marker in place and balances the spritzer. Having it in a grip like this makes squeezing the bulb a breeze and gets a good amount of spray w/ little effort.

It only takes seconds now to spray the ink exactly where I want!!

I bet most of you are going "Uh, duh!!" but it took me a while! lol - so hopefully there's *someone* out there that can benefit from my discovery!!

What I *did* actually discover was how to use the new In-Color colors w/ the spritzer even tho they don't come in markers. That will be in my next post!!

 

Alexa

**I've edited this and made it so it stays at the top here for the next while - I want to make sure everyone sees it! All my new posts will appear in regular order below this one.**

I am so excited right now!! MissyB Designs has designed a set especially for Alexa!

Alexa is the 6 year old daughter of Lauren (mytime on Splitcoast) and was diagnosed w/ leukemia on Feb 7th of this year. On top of that she was born w/ Down Syndrome and had heart surgery at 3 weeks of age. She has gone through numerous tests and treatments and has come through them all like a little trooper!!

All the proceeds from Alexa's set will go towards the Turtle Girl Designs group - a non-profit organization that creates hand stamped cards to sell w/ all the profits going towards children's cancer research. Lauren was asked to join the Turtle Group as a designer and accepted - she does beautiful work and I can't wait to see the designs she comes up with!!

Please check out Alexa's set as well as the other cute MissyB designs - I've already ordered and can't wait to get them all and stamp w/ them!! Supporting a great cause is a wonderful bonus!! FYI - Alexa's set is named just that: Alexa's Set - it's at the very top and has a little blurb about her.

Blah

Well I *did* get a card done in the half hour! I was putting the finishing touches and got a blob of ink on it - no big deal - I added an extra Prima to cover it up. As I lifted my hand from putting on the prima I saw another *huge* blob on the main image! Somehow I had got ink on my hand and it got on the card. I would have had to peel off the main image and do a new piece but I was out of time!

Everyone was waiting for me so we could leave - and I was sitting here almost in tears. My hubby came down to see what was keeping me and when I told him he felt bad but I highly doubt he fully understood how bad I really felt (guys just don't get how important this all is! lol). So I grabbed an extra b-day card I had sitting here - but it wasn't the same. After we got back I fixed the card - it was just eating away at me. So now it's done and I can give my MIL the card she was supposed to get!

You can't really tell but I added glitter (via the Sakura Gelly Roll Sardust pen - love that thing) to the candle flames, the flower centers and whatnot. I also used it on the Prima centers.

The main image was stamped with Stazon on SU's watercolor paper and watercolored w/ Watercolor Wonder crayons and sponged w/ Vintage Violet ink. I used the dress stamp to stamp the flowers on the Barely Banana CS. And I of course used the new Paisley BG - I always want to use it! It's so pretty!!

I have a really bad headache tho so I'll get back to everything else I was planning on posting (using the new colors w/ the color spritzer tool and whatnot) tomorrow.

No Time!!

Eeekk!! I have 1/2 an hour to make a nice birthday card for my Mother-In-Law. We're meeting them for lunch (at the BEST Chinese food restaurant *ever*! - seriously - I've never had such good food anywhere else - my mouth is watering just thinking about it! But anywho back to OP) and I need to have the card and gift all ready for her. We all chipped in and got her a bunch of SU stuff - was an easy decision as she has all boys so I saved them the trouble of having to shop for a gift! lol

OK I'm off to stamp something up for her - wish me luck!! :D

One Sheet Wonders

I've been stamping for over 2 years now and can you believe I've *never* done a One Sheet Wonder before??? Well I haven't - I've just never got around to it! My friend Lauren (mytime on SCS) was after me to do one - so I cheated and used a sheet of 12x12 patterned paper lol! I finally decided that now was the time to actually *do* one! I had the new Seeing Spots set sitting here just *begging* to be inked up - so I did!

The first try got scrapped as I *hated* the color combo - it just looked icky. *This* combo turned out great tho! Chocolate Chip, Cranberry Crisp, Cool Caribbean, and Marigold Morning. The CS took like 2 minutes to stamp up.

I didn't use a template for the cards. I played it by ear - I think it's more fun that way! I have seen some really good templates on Splitcoast (you can do a search in the Resources forum and I'm sure you'll find some along w/ all kinds of other goodies!)

So here's the 7 cards I made using the one 8 1/2 x 11 stamped CS.

They didn't take very long to make either - I had to stop and dye some matching marigold ribbon (on the far right card) - and I discovered some interesting tidbits along the way:

#1 - You CAN get "markers" in the new colors! Wanna know how? I used a drop from a re-inker and a blender pen - not only was I able to color directly on the stamps that way (and still had plenty of ink left in the blender pen) - BUT that also works in the color spritzer!! How cool is that? A *dab* into an ink drop is MORE than enough to use when you use the spritzer - I was so giddy when I saw how well this works! Now I so don't care if SU comes out w/ Markers in the new colors - I don't need them! (tho I'd totally buy them if they did lol!) - I *do* wish we could get Craft Pads in the new colors tho - that's my  *only* gripe - honest!

#2 - The Color Spritzer is *awesome* once you get the hang of it!! How I use it will go in my next post (prolly old news for some but I was tickled pink when I figured out how to use it properly!)

#3 - You need hardly *any* pressure when distressing CS using the distressor in the SU Cutter Kit - that blade is sharp! I haven't played much w/ the other attachments tho (except to note that the rotary cutting blade is wicked sharp!)

Anywho you can check out my SCS Gallery for close-ups of all the OSW cards. I haven't had a chance yet to upload all my SU cards into an album on here (I'll get to it eventually!).

Dyeing Grosgrain Ribbon Tutorial

I have had a lot of requests for tips and advice on how to dye grosgrain ribbon. I thought what better way to help than a tutorial w/ pictures! So here we go!

Supplies you will need:

• White Grosgrain Ribbon
• Re-inker in choice of color (here Bashful Blue)
• Water (I prefer to use a spray bottle to better control the amount needed)
• Small Container
• Gloves
• Paper Towel
• Scissors
• Hair Dryer (or a Heat Gun - if you're dyeing a small [say 6 inches] amount of ribbon you can use your Heat Gun to dry it - just make sure to hold the ribbon w/ tweezers so as not to burn your fingers!)

Step 1:

Cut desired length of ribbon (here approx. 2 yards) and wrap it around your fingers to make it easier to manage. Set aside.

Step 2:

Take small container and spray water into it. For this amount of ribbon I sprayed approx. 15 times. There's no set amount of water that you need - it's best to start w/ a small amount and add more as you need it.

Step 3:

Add several drops of re-inker. Again there is no set amount - I used less than 10 drops - and the mixture looks a lot darker than you would expect - which is fine b/c the ribbon won't be that dark.

Step 4:

It's best to put your gloves on for this step - this is where things get messy!

Place the ribbon in the container.

Step 5:

Using your fingers press the ribbon into the ink and water mix until it's fully saturated.

**If you find you didn't have enough water and ink (as in the ribbon absorbed it all and there's still a lot of white) pull the ribbon out - and add more water and re-inker. Then put the ribbon back in and again use your fingers to press it into the mix.

Step 6:

Take the ribbon out of the container and place it on the paper towel. The paper towel will immediately begin to absorb all the extra moisture from the ribbon.

Step 7:

Unravel the ribbon on the paper towel and press it between the fold to help soak up the extra moisture. Then use your hairdryer on a high heat setting to dry. I just hold the ribbon in my hand when drying it and keep the dryer moving constantly so as not to burn my hands. The ribbon only takes a minute or two to dry.

There you have it! I now have 2 yards of yummy Bashful Blue Ribbon!!

**I have heard of people sponging ink onto Grosgrain, or using a marker or running/pressing it on a Classic Ink Pad to dye ribbon. These methods all work but I've noticed that when I do it the ribbon "fades" not too long after wards. I've heard the reasoning behind the fading is b/c the ribbon didn't fully absorb the ink and then as it sat later it absorbed and as a result looked like it faded. Doing it this way and letting the ribbon soak in the mixture and then heat setting it w/ the dryer *seems* to prevent fading. I have cards that have sat out for over 6 months now that have dyed ribbon on them and they haven't faded a bit! This is my personal experience tho so I can't take the blame if your ribbon *does* fade! I'm sure exposure to sunlight - the temp. in your area and all that can be a factor.

Hopefully tho this will help you next time you need a ribbon in a color you don't have to match your project!

If you have any suggestions for future tutorials just e-mail me (or post them along w/ any questions in the comments section). This was fun and I'd like to do more!

Both Way Blossoms

I LOVE the Both Way Blossoms hostess set!! I could have pre-ordered it months ago but didn't b/c I *knew* I'd end up earning it for free - but still it was really hard to wait! But now I have it and can play w/ it as much as I want!!

Both of these cards I've already uploaded to my SCS gallery but I wanted to share them here as well!

See this is what happens at 1:30 in the morning! I was too excited last night and couldn't sleep so I made a couple cards before turning in (and I so regret it now - I need more sleep!!).

I did this one for this week's SCS Sketch Challenge - using all the new colors of course!

This was rather quick and simple - I stamped all the flowers and colored them in, edged the CS w/ True Thyme ink, matted and adhered after stamping the base w/ Canvas. 

CS used: True Thyme, Cool Caribbean, Very Vanilla. Ink: Basic Black, True Thyme, Cool Caribbean, Cranberry Crisp. Burgundy Ribbon. Warmest Regards and Both Way Blossoms Hostess sets.

I *really* like how this one turned out! I used my new Soft Subtles brads, the Color Spritzer tool, and the Cutter Kit.

Now that I have all the new colors I could use the right ones for this weeks color challenge.

The BG was stamped w/ Whisper White craft ink - I like the look but it's a pain to clean the stamp after! (I take it to the sink and wash it off b/c there's too much ink and it will gum up my Stampin' Scrub).

The flowers were stamped in black then watercolored w/ an AquaPainter and re-inkers. Then I used the Color Spritzer tool to add some splatter - it's pretty easy to use but you need to play w/ it and practice w/ it to get a feel for it!

Since this weeks Ways To Use It challenge was to use vellum - I cut a piece the same size as the vanilla CS - stamped a sentiment from Friendship's Flowers on it - and used the Bashful Blue brads to adhere it. It really softens the main image.

I used the edge distressor in the Cutter Kit to distress the edges of the Cranberry CS - that thing works *really* well - not much effort is needed!

CS used: Bashful Blue, Cranberry Crisp, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Vellum. Ink: Whisper White, Basic Black, Cranberry Crisp (Bravo Burgundy Marker was used for the Spritzer), Certainly Celery. Soft Subtles Brads.