Prairie Paper & Ink

It's Been A While...

Since I last stamped (about a week or so) and I can feel it. I have SO many things to do and not much time to stamp right now but I so *wanted* to play w/ my new sets so I took a few minutes and made this:

What's funny is this looks better in the pic than it does in real life - I'm serious!! I had a hard time making this - I was using this week's SCS Color Challenge and I had SO much difficulty concentrating as I have a ton of things on my plate right now (not to mention I should be peeling veggies and cleaning house right now!) and I've so lost my stamping groove. Oh well I tried!! After tonight tho I should have a little extra "me time".

So anywho - I used the new Big Pieces set from the Winter Mini (I LOVE that it perfectly matches Little Pieces - this will be so awesome for scrapbooking!). I colored the images in w/ markers, stamped them onto Whisper White CS and cut them out.

The Bordering Blue piece behind the flowers was DTP'd (Direct to Paper) w/ a Bordering Blue Stampin' Spot that I used a circular motion on. I made "grass" by only coloring a portion of one of the stamps w/ a marker and stamping it over and over, I then DTP'd the Celery CS as well.

I free-hand faux stitched the stems and wasn't planning on using the gel pen but it looked really bare w/out it. Once I did that I matted it on Elegant Eggplant and distressed the edges and added the ribbon.

The card base was stamped w/ the large circle from the set (I stamped it off once first to soften the color), then I added the strip of Certainly Celery CS and the sentiment from Quick Thinking.

I promise I'll make something better to upload next time! I'm off to peel and chop a bunch of veggies (aren't you jealous?? *wink*)

SETS: Big Pieces, Quick Thinking. CS: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Bordering Blue, Elegant Eggplant. INK: Certainly Celery, Bordering Blue, Elegant Eggplant. ACCESSORIES: Cutter Kit, Paper Piercer, Uniball White Gel Pen, Celery, Eggplant and French Blue Grosgrain Ribbon.

All Natural Thank You

SETS: All Natural, Paisley, Cheesecloth. CS: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Rose Red, Certainly Celery. INK: Basic Black, So Saffron, Certainly Celery. ACCESSORIES: Stampin' Pastels, Blender Pens, Crystal Effects, Dimensionals, Eggplant Grosgrain Ribbon.

Man it's been a looonnnggg time since I've used All Natural!! I made up a gift set for the ppl we stayed w/ over the weekend (something I'll post later) and this card to match.

I stamped and masked the flowers to overlap them, then colored them in w/ Pastels and a Blender Pen (another thing I haven't done in a long time). *Then* I covered them all w/ Crystal Effects (serves two purposes - totally seals the Pastels - **note you don't need to seal them when you apply them w/ a Blender Pen - I just like to w/ the CE b/c of the look. And by putting CE over top it makes the color POP and looks really cool.) and cut them out. They are adhered to the card w/ dimensionals.

I stamped the So Saffron CS w/ (you guessed it) Paisley (I swear I'd take it to bed w/ me each night if it wasn't always covered w/ ink ROFL!!! - I seriously LOVE this BG stamp!! *wink*) then I stamped the sentiment from Friend to Friend (which I just got a few days ago for *free* - I earned a set b/c of my sales and whatnot) using Basic Black and tied on some eggplant grosgrain ribbon.

I matted the So Saffron onto Elegant Eggplant CS and then again on Rose Red CS. The card base I stamped w/ Cheesecloth and sponged the edges.

Now I gotta run and keep cleaning the house (we're hosting Bible Study tomorrow night and this place is a disaster - blech) and *hope* that I can get a chance to do some stamping - I haven't stamped since last week!! (WAH!!) AND....my SU Winter Mini pre-order is here!!! I so wanna play! I got a chance to cut and mount like ONE set and caress the new ribbon (I can see myself getting more of it so I never run out - it's so ME!) and that's IT!! So I gotta run!!

Using VersaMark & Classic Ink

For those that don't know - you can ink up your stamps w/ VersaMark then ink them up (w/out stamping it) w/ Classic (dye) ink *then* stamp them - the VM keeps the ink from drying right away and you can then emboss the image w/ embossing powder (usually clear or something sparkly like Iridescent Ice EP as the whole point of doing this is to *see* the colored ink) or use Heat & Stick Powder.

Sarah had a question about using VersaMark w/ the Classic (dye) inks when I did my Tall Snowflake Card:

"Does the versamark rub off on your classic ink pad? Will it ruin the pad? Do you clean the ink pad off somehow?"

When using the 2 inks together I *always* ink up w/ VersaMark first (so important b/c if you do it wrong you're gonna wreck your VersaMark pad - ask me how I know...).

Now you will get *some* VersaMark ink in your Classic ink pad and there's not much you can do about it. If you think you've got a lot then you can try dabbing your Classic pad w/ a paper towel to absorb any excess VersaMark.

If you only do this every once in a while your Classic pads should be fine and have no problems (I have yet to notice any difference) - but really the only reason I would do it is b/c I don't have that particular color in Craft ink (which is all the new In Colors - everything else I have all the Craft pads for). Using this trick a lot *could* eventually ruin your ink pads and you don't want that!

If you find you want to use the VersaMark and Classic ink together a lot I *highly* recommend getting the Craft Pads as they stay wetter for longer and then you won't ruin your Classic Pads.

I hope this helps any of you who were wondering about this! :o)

Heading for Home...

Of course I'm hoping I can hit a couple of scrappin/stampin' stores first! *Then* we'll be heading for home. I don't know if I'll have anything to post later as it's a loooonnngggg drive and I have a party tomorrow that I need to prep for after we arrive! I just hope the highways aren't as icy as they were when we were coming in.

I hope everyone had a great weekend - I know we sure did. We did *some* shopping - went to the West Ed Mall (which I so dislike b/c it's SO busy when we're there and we could barely get into any of the stores there was so many ppl - blech) so we didn't stay long. We went to IKEA (twice *wink*) and I got a few little things - man I love that place. I've been there only like half a dozen times in my life but I could live there LOL! We went to Costco too and got a few more little things (and I got Tim one of his x-mas presents and he ended up seeing it later darnit!! So much for a good surprise! Oh well hopefully he forgets about it before the actual day).

Anywho tho I must run as we're packing up the vehicle and getting the girls ready to go.  More later...

Heat & Stick Powder & Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

I just saw Laura's comment asking if Heat & Stick Powder was the best way to use Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.

Well...it all depends. If I want the *entire* image to be glittery then yes - and it packs WAY more of a WOW than using Iridescent Ice Embossing powder (which is basically just DD Glitter and Clear EP anyway - just more convenient!). I LOVE the look of H&S powder and DD Glitter - it's just gorgeous and is SO worth the extra couple of steps!

I've also used the 2 Way Glue Pen to apply glue to select places then poured on the DD - you *must* work quickly tho as this glue dries really fast to that "sticky note" tackiness and the glitter won't stick well to that - I still prefer it to the Liquid Glue (especially when doing w/s's) as the LG takes forever to dry and it's almost guaranteed that someone will smear it before it dries.

I hope this helps!!

Tall Snowflake Card

I made this card right before we left on Friday. It's a 4" x 8.5" card made to fit a business sized envelope (I have some papers to mail and wanted a pretty card to mail them with LOL!).

It's a different size to work w/ and you need to put a little effort into balancing out the layout and whatnot otherwise the card will turn out looking choppy (in my opinion anyway!).

For the snowflake I inked it up *first* w/ VersaMark then w/ Cranberry Crisp before stamping it onto Whisper White CS. I then poured on Heat & Stack powder (**note - you need to work quickly when doing the VM and Classic Ink method as it's not as sticky and the H&S powder doesn't stay as well - also heating the CS from *underneath* helps a lot as it keeps the powder from blowing off).

Once the H&S Powder was melted I poured on the Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and re-heated the powder and glitter to set it. I then matted it on True Thyme CS and on Bashful Blue CS that I roughed up the edges of.

The card base itself was pretty simple. I made it from Cranberry Crisp CS (which I have to order more of - I LOVE that color - it's so perfect for Holiday cards!!) and added some Holiday Thyme DS Paper to the bottom 2/3s.

After I adhered the main image to the card I faux stitched a border around it (w/out using a gel pen - just poked the holes and left as is). I then tied on some of the stitched Thyme ribbon and added 3 Burgundy Eyelets to the bottom of the card.

I decided to stamp the envelope to match (which I rarely ever do but I should as it looks SO much nicer to get a card w/ a stamped envie!) - and that was it!

SETS: Snowflakes. CS: Whisper White, True Thyme, Bashful Blue, Cranberry Crisp, Holiday Thyme Paper. INK: Cranberry Crisp, VersaMark, True Thyme, Bashful Blue. ACCESSORIES: Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Eyelets, Thyme Ribbon, Paper Piercer.

Quick Hello

Just wanted to say hi to everyone!! We drove to Edmonton Alberta today (over 5 hours from home - I mentioned in a previous post that we were staying the weekend) and arrived safely (tho the highways were icy and I was *stressed* for some of the time!).

I don't have ANY stamp stuff w/ me (WAH!!) as there wasn't room however I saved some pics of recent cards onto my TypePad account here to see if I can upload them over the weekend since I have computer access where we're staying. So we'll see what happens.

Also I will still be doing the draw for the free stamps on Sunday as promised!! So if you haven't commented on that post or signed up for e-mail updates (and you can do both and have 2 chances to win!) make sure to do so before then. I have really enjoyed reading everyone's comments so far!

Anywho I have to get some sleep! It's LATE and it's been a long day - and tomorrow is going to be busy (gotta go to IKEA - there's some fun things I'm so wanting to get) as we have a bunch of things to do and a large dinner (for Tim's brother and his fiance) to attend!

That's it for now and hopefully I will have some cards and whatnot to post later (and *hopefully* some fun finds I'm thinkin *wink*).

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Hip Hip Hooray!!

Ahhhhhhh.......

I haven't done a challenge card in almost 2 weeks and it feels SO good to get back to doing them!!

I did this one for this week's Sketch and Color Challenges. I doubt I would have ever put these colors together but they look great! :o)

First I stamped the beaver on Whisper White and masked him so I could stamp the small a*muse oval stamp to ground him (**see my note at the bottom of this post**). I used markers to color the balloons before stamping them and then cut out around the tops of them when I cropped the image.

The beaver was colored in w/ Prismacolors and Gamsol and then I doodled a little frame on the Whisper White before matting it and then faux stitching the Cool Caribbean mat.

To do the "patterned" piece I stamped some of the images from the Hip Hip Hooray set in the 3 different colors (plus Black) then sponged the edges and lightly sponged the rest of it so it wasn't so starkly white.

I stamped the card base w/ the dotted BG (only the top 2/3's) and the More Mustard strip w/ the confetti stamp in the set (and sponged all the edges) then assembled the card.

I added the ribbon and adhered the main image w/ dimensionals (and put a tiny one under the balloon that sticks out).

**So about the a*muse stamp - I ordered the small and large oval along w/ a couple of other ones (which I haven't had the chance to ink up yet) a few weeks ago and I LOVE the ovals - I don't know how I lived w/out them LOL!! Sadly tho the shipping was WAY more than I thought it would be ($10 US - the order was about $40 when I called it in and she said it would be no more than $6) but I'm still glad I got them!**

SETS: Hip Hip Hooray, Dotted BG - both Stampin' Up!, a*muse small oval stamp. CS: Whisper White, Cool Caribbean, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip. INK: Basic Black, Cool Caribbean, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip. ACCESSORIES: Paper Piercer, White Uniball Gel Pen (SU), Sponge Daubers, Chocolate and Mustard Grosgrain, Dimensionals.

Mint m&m's and Michaels $1 Christmas Stamps

My goodness you guys are awesome!! I can't believe how many ppl have offered to send me mint m&m's and to try and find the Michaels x-mas stamps (when I said the ones I wanted were sold out!!) for me and send them to me! You guys rock!!

Well Tim and I and the girls are going to Edmonton this weekend to visit family and I'm *hoping* I can get into the Michaels there (not to mention IKEA and a couple of stamp/scrapbook stores!! but I'm not getting my hopes up) to find those stamps I want. Also I'll post a pic of the ones I *did* get so y'all can see them - and hopefully I can find pics of the others - I saw them on SCS so that's why I KNEW there were other ones that I wanted! LOL

And as for the mint m&m's - I SO want to say YES to everyone!! LOL I LOVE m&m's and adding mint to them is like the best of both worlds me thinks - I'm still PO'd that I hadn't even heard of them till you guys started mentioning them in the comments for my Free Stamps post! I can't believe they're not available in Canada - boogers.

HOWEVER - I *have* to say no (SOB!!). I'm going to be a bridesmaid in May (Tim's older brother is getting married) and that's one reason why we're going to see them this weekend b/c I need to get measured for the dress (I'm also making all the invites for the wedding so I need to get more options for them made up to bring w/ us). So I CAN'T have m&m's b/c man I need to lose weight!! But I might be able to sneak in *one* little package *wink* but we'll see.

All of you that have offered to send them tho are the BEST!!

Rockstar??

I dunno about that - but it sure gave me a giggle and totally made my day!! "What on earth is she talking about?" you ask? LOL - check this out:

http://freckledfun.blogspot.com/ - scroll down a little and look on the far right of her blog to the blogs she browses and you'll see what I mean.

Thanx Bethie!! You're the bestest!! {{{HUG}}} (and BTW I added you to the Blogs **I** Browse - I love your sense of humor and you're a great stamper!!)

Quick Holiday Card

Sorry I've been practically MIA for the past couple of days!! I had a big workshop last night and after all the prepping and driving (it was an hour from home) I didn't have much computer time!

Here's a card I did a few days ago - a pretty simple and quick card using Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder (of course!):

I stamped the large snowflake w/ Bashful Blue Craft ink then embossed w/ the Iridescent Ice EP. I then stamped the other snowflakes around it and matted it on True Thyme CS.

I added a strip of Holiday Thyme Paper under the main image (warning - the next few cards I post for the next little while might ALL have this paper as I'm trying to use it all up! Once the Holiday Mini ends I'll prolly never use it again - I'm really bad for that. I have last year's Holiday Mini Designer Series paper sitting here gathering dust - it never made it into the big catty and I have NO desire to use it whatsoever!).

The sentiment was stamped w/ True Thyme ink and I added the snowflake b/c it just looked to bare! LOL

I added 3 burgundy eyelets (also trying to use those up as they're the "old" ones and I don't want to buy the new colors till I use the old ones up. It worked tho b/c the color really matched well w/ the Cranberry ink) to the top right of the card base and that was it!

SETS: Snowflakes, Many Merry Messages. CS: Very Vanilla, True Thyme, Bashful Blue, Holiday Thyme DS Paper. INK: True Thyme, Bashful Blue Classic and Craft, Cranberry Crisp. ACCESSORIES: Iridescent Ice EP, Burgundy Eyelets.

E-Mail Subscribers

Just an FYI to those that have signed up for e-mail updates - don't forget you need to verify your subscription before the updates will be sent to you. After you fill in your e-mail addy an e-mail is sent to you w/ a link to click on that verifies your subscription. If you didn't get one check your junk mail - that's where mine ended up.

And for those asking why sign up? You don't have to - I just know that some ppl prefer that as an e-mail is sent out when I update my blog - if I post several times in one day only one e-mail is sent as it's on a daily basis. If I don't post at all for a day or two then no e-mails are sent out - they are only sent to notify the subscribers of updates. The e-mails aren't sent out immediately either - more like early the next morning or late that night as it's on a daily basis. So I may update here early in the morning but you won't get the e-mail telling you until several hours later.

I know some ppl prefer just visiting here daily (or more!!) to see for themselves if there are updates and that's great :o)!! I just like offering this option to those that want it.

And I gotta add that I am WAY pleased w/ FeedBurner. All the ppl who were having troubles before when I was using FeedBlitz have said they have had no problems signing up w/ FeedBurner and are getting the e-mails! YAY!! They are super helpful and got back to my e-mails right away. I am so sticking w/ them from now on.

A Good Night...

We had a good time in the city last night. We didn't end up going for dinner - spent too much time at Costco, Michaels and Old Navy!! LOL

I got some of the new Michaels $1 ($1.50 in Canada of course) Christmas stamps - the selection was all picked over and all the ones I really wanted (someone posted a picture of them on Splitcoast) were gone. Oh well - maybe next time they'll have them!!

I got some tank tops at Old Navy for $1.97 (they were reg $20 or so) each - I LOVE those kinds of deals!! Tim got a bunch of shirts for that price too so we were happy.

I also found the most ADORABLE mega blocks sets at Costco for the girls for Christmas - they had a Little Mermaid themed one and a Winnie the Pooh themed one - I thought they were so cool (and Tim made me swear not to open them early and play w/ them myself!! LOL).

Oh and we saw Saw III - I'm not a horror movie person at all but we couldn't agree on ANY movie so we went to this one as it was the only one starting the soonest b/c we had an hour drive home after. Blech it was SO gory and the sound effects were so disgusting! I could close my eyes but it was difficult to plug my ears too  LOL (yes I'm a big baby)! We went to a new theater in the city tho and the seats recline and the armrests can be pushed up so I got to stretch out and cuddle w/ Tim during the movie so that made it all worth it!! *wink*

All in all it was a good night - a little rushed and the movie was ICK but it was nice to get away from the house for a few hours!!

Next time we go see a movie I want to see Stranger than Fiction (w/ Will Farrell) - that's much more my type of movie!

Hopefully I can post something stamping-related on here later. After we got home I had a bunch of prep to do for a workshop I have tonight and I was up LATE and could barely keep my eyes open!

Yay!!

No cards to post right now - maybe later tonight. Tim's taking me to the city for my belated birthday treat - dinner and a movie (and *hopefully* a little shopping *wink*)!! YAY!!

After reading all you guy's comments (you ALL ROCK!!) I wanna go pick up a ton of candy!! I read mint m&m's aren't available in Canada?? I never even knew those existed!!! :o( So YUM!!

K I gotta run and get ready to go - I just wanted to pop in and say Hi to everyone and let you all know I've REALLY enjoyed reading all your comments so far!! :o)

More later...

Free Stamps!!!

**This has been made "sticky" so it will stay at the top here till Sunday (Nov 12) - scroll down to see any new posts!! :o) **

WINNERS!!!!:

Winner from the comments is:

Isabelle Thomson/blues/ Timmy's Iced Capp

Winner from the e-mail subscriptions is:

[email protected]

CONGRATS Ladies!!! Send me an e-mail (link is on the left under my pic) w/ your mailing addy and I'll get the set of stamps sent out to you!!

Thank you to EVEYONE who left a comment of signed up for e-mail updates!! I had a LOT of fun reading what you all had to say (and learned of a *lot* of yummy treats *wink*!)!!

I have 2 sets of these to give away!!! You can enter **both** ways (so you have 2 chances to win 'em!) which are explained below:

#1 - Sign up for e-mail updates. (The box to enter your e-mail addy is there <--------- on the left under my picture)

As a LOT of you know I have had a TON of trouble w/ my e-mail subscription - a lot of you have e-mailed me saying that you aren't getting the emails or you try to sign up and it says you already have but nothings happening!! I've tried and tried and *tried* to fix it but nothing was working and FeedBlitz won't help me at all (they haven't EVER responded to ANY of my e-mails begging for help!!).

SO... I've removed the Feedblitz widget (those of you that are subscribed through it and it's working for you - great! I didn't delete it just removed the sign up widget on here) and instead opted to go w/ FeedBurner. Since that means you guys have to put in your e-mail addy yet *again* (sorry!!) - I will draw a name from all the subscriptions up to NEXT Sunday! (Nov 12!) The winner will get all 4 of these stamps!!

***ETA - the e-mail subscription is working!! Yippee!! FeedBurner got back to me ASAP and fixed the problem. *IF* it doesn't work for you (it's usually the link in hte confirmation e-mail - that's where I got stuck) you can try e-mailing FeedBurner support and they should be able to fix it for you.

A lot of you have already subscribed - thank you!! I will be drawing a name from all the subscribers on Sunday!!

#2 - Anyone who leaves a comment on *this* post by Sunday (Nov 12) will also be entered to win this set of 4!! AND...just to make it interesting - I want ALL the comments to start w/:

Your Name

Your Favorite Color

Your Favorite snack/candy/indulgence!! *wink*

Whatever else you want to add

So mine would look like this:

Amy/Pink/Chocolate (specially m&m's)/You guys are the best!!!

***FYI*** - your comment will NOT appear immediately - I have to "approve" them from now on - helps prevent the spammers and anonymous ones from ruining all the fun!! So dont' worry if you don't see yours right away as I only get a few minutes here and there to approve them!!

And yes you can do both!! You can subscribe for e-mail updates AND leave a comment so you'll have 2 chances to win these stamps!!

I look forward to reading your comments!! Good Luck!!!