Prairie Paper & Ink

Winter Cards!!

I totally forgot to upload these the other day!! I made them over a week ago when I made those 2 snowmen cards and they've been sitting on my desk (so as to REMIND me to post them) ever since!

On this first card I pulled out my Snowflakes embossing folder (this has got to be one of my favorites) and embossed some Cool Caribbean (retired from Stampin' Up!) CS, then I rubbed Brilliance Moonlight White ink onto the snowflakes.

The Winter House image was stamped onto Papertrey White CS, colored in with Copic markers, then the snowflake CS was punched with my Marvy Mega Scalloped Oval punch and adhered over top.

I used clear glue on the scallops and the "snow" then poured on Dazzling Diamonds glitter (SU!).

The twill is from Michaels (Martha Stewart brand), and the brads are SU!. I used SU!'s cutter kit to rough up the edges of the white CS, and the card base is Chocolate Chip CS (SU!).

On the inside of the card I stamped GinaK's Happy Holidays stamp with the Moonlight White ink.

For this card I again used the Winter House image - this time I stamped it onto a Fabriano notecard (I got mine from StarLitStudio) using Brilliance Coffee Bean ink (heat set it) and then watercolored it with Watercolor Wonder Crayons (Stampin' Up!).

I then used clear glue and Dazzling Diamonds glitter to add a little sparkle to the "snow"!!

The Believe Script stamp is also by GinaK, and the polka-dot ribbon is May Arts.

Another MFT Sneak Peek! Meet Me at the Cafe...

First off let me say I REALLY hope that the pink of the gal's dress on both these cards isn't as horrible neon on YOUR monitor as it looks on MINE! In real life it's not so bright LOL!

These 2 cards I made using yet another new MFT set that will be released on the first - Meet Me at the Cafe - it's a really cute set! And since I made these on the same day I made the other cards I used the Piggy Tales Gretal Papers and some matching CS and embellies (I LOVE doing that - instead of cleaning up between each card I just leave it all piled up and create till I have no more space on my desk! Then I clean it all up, put everything away and do it all over again with a different set of papers/embellishments etc etc).

This set comes with it's own awning stamp that I stamped onto patterned paper then cut out and adhered over their "heads" *wink*. As previously mentioned I used Copic Markers to color in the image, and then used my sewing machine to attach the matted layer.

I kept the layout super-simple for this card, just centered everything and attached it to a base (made of Prism pink CS), then attached a Prima Silk Road flower with a Karen Foster thumbtack brad.

With this one I had a bit of fun mixing patterns (floral, stripes and polka dots!) and playing with the layout. I didn't even bother to mat the main image - instead I just sewed it right onto the card - I really like how it turned out!!

The flower is one of the new Prima Esprites - I didn't realize till I got them that they're fabric! Just like the Bazzill bitty blossoms and Prima Silk Road flowers - I LOVE that - so I'll be for sure getting more of them!

Don't forget to check out the other My Favorite Things Design Team Member's blogs and galleries for their sneak peeks of the soon-to-be-released sets - there's a TON of them and they're all fabulous!

All Too Short

I had to run in to the city yesterday afternoon (had to pick up some craft organizers that Conni helped me get my hands on - thanks Conni!! That's a whole 'nother post tho!) and met up with Julie of Paper Pleasing Ideas in front of (you guessed it) Michaels!! She took this pic of us (to document this oh-so-rare occurrence of us actually meeting face to face *wink*) and I lifted it off her blog to share w/ y'all.

Jeepers - we live an hour away from each other and we never get together! We only had a bit of fun at Mike's before we had to leave (and I let her take a pic of us - a rare thing if you haven't noticed as I don't like having my picture taken! But it turned out OK (BTW Julie I forgot to mention I LOVE your hair! It's super cute!!) - especially for her just holding up the camera and taking a random shot ROFLOL!!) next time we'll definitely need to have coffee and do MORE shopping!

I SHOULD be in bed right now - it's 3 am!! I have 2 sick little girlies tho and have been sleeping on and off between taking care of them (poor kiddos!).......maybe nows as good a time as ever to start putting together those craft organizers so I can take a pic of them in the morning to show y'all.........we'll see tho if I even have the energy!

MFT Sneak Peek!! How Sweet It Is...

Here's a couple more quick cards I made using the Piggy Tales Gretel Papers - this time using a brand new MFT set that's being released Oct 1st called How Sweet It Is. (it will be available on the first at the MFT site, AllThatScraps and eclecticPaperie - along with 4 other new sets!).

I used Copic Markers to color in the image, and to color in the Prima Flower b/c I wanted one in a color similar to River Rock - I didn't have one so I took a white Prima and colored it with the marker and viola!

The pink flower is a Bazzill Bitty Blossom and the ribbon is SU!'s stitched grosgrain in River Rock. The colored CS is Prism.

For this one I stamped the Kiss image onto watercolor paper using Brilliance Coffee Bean ink (heat set it), then watercolored them with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons (SU!).

I attached 4 Bazzill Brads then adhered the main image to the card and stitched around the edges - quick and simple!

Don't forget to check out the blogs and galleries of the other MFT Design Team Members for their sneak peeks of the new sets as well!!

Better Late Than Never

Here's a couple of cards I made using the Shower Time set by My Favorite Things that was released Sept 1st (you can get it from MFT's site here, as well as eclecticPaperie and AllThatScraps).

I wanted the cards to be quick and simple as I didn't have a whole lot of stamping time - I hope y'all like them!

For both cards I used patterned paper from the Gretel Collection by Piggy Tales - I just got a bunch of their papers and I LOVE them!

On both images I stamped the umbrella onto patterned paper, cut it out and adhered it over the stamped image. I also did that with her shirt on the second card, and on the first I cut out the whole image and adhered it onto colored CS.

And as y'all can see I'm still using my sewing machine! I LOVE using the zig zag stitching - much quicker than the faux-stitching method - and I'm getting a little better at keeping it all straight LOL!

The colored CS used on these cards is River Rock (SU!) and Prism - I hadn't used any Prism CS in a while and pulled some out - I really like the soft texture of it and the colors are divine!

The white CS is Papertrey's Stamper's Select, the ribbon is Offray (WalMart) and the brads were originally Bazzill white ones but I used a pink Copic marker and colored them. :o)

Wanna Go On a CRUISE?????

Well Nichole, Gina, and Em have finally revealed what they've had up their sleeves these past few months - it's a STAMPING CRUISE!!! <-------click!

I still need to talk to Tim about it before pulling out the credit card - the fact that it leaves the day of my birthday (I wish I could take credit for that and say how sweet they all were to think of me ROFLOL!!! *wink*) next year is just too good to be true - what a birthday present that would be eh?? LOL

I have a year to save up - Tim and I have been throwing the idea of going on a cruise for a while now and THIS kind of cruise would be the funnest EVER!!

Lemme know if you're gonna go!

Nanaimo Bar Recipe

I've had a few questions about the bars shown in the chocolate picture in this post <----click! Well they ARE Nanaimo Bars - I just assumed everyone knew what they were! I guess that they're more of a Canadian thing? Anywho - here's a recipe for them I found online (you can check out the site where I found it here - there's a little tidbit at the top about the history of the Nanaimo Bar) - if you've never had them before you gotta try them out - they are GOOD!! And FYI I've substituted chopped up pecans for the almonds on the bottom layer - really gives it a different flavor (and more texture too).

Nanaimo Bar Recipe

Bottom Layer

• ½ cup unsalted butter (European style cultured)
• ¼ cup sugar
• 5 tbsp. cocoa
  1 egg beaten
• 1 ¼ cups graham wafer crumbs
• ½ c. finely chopped almonds
• 1 cup coconut

Melt first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut, and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 8" x 8" pan.

Second Layer

• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. and 2 Tsp. cream
• 2 Tbsp. vanilla custard powder
• 2 cups icing sugar

Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.

Third Layer

• 4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (1 oz. each)
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, but still liquid, pour over second layer and chill in refrigerator.

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FYI I'm feeling better - all the Tylenol I took finally kicked in and I'm not as achy and miserable as I was - here's hoping it doesn't get worse overnight tho......

I was hit by a bus....

No not literally - but that's how I felt when I woke up this morning! Everything hurt (mostly my back which I still have major issues with) so unbelievably bad and all kinds of other stuff too (upset stomach, chills etc etc). All I gotta say is how thankful I am that Tim's dad has taken the girls today so that I can try and sleep (so far that hasn't been working but it beats chasing around 2 small children when I can hardly move!).

I sure hope this doesn't last very long - this is the first I've been able to sit up today without getting woozy but it all aches so bad so I'm heading back to bed!! :o(

Snowman Fun

I went on a sudden holiday cardmaking blitz the other day and made these 2 holiday cards (using GinaK's Snowman stamp) along with a couple others I'm saving to share later!

I stamped the snowman onto Papertrey white CS, then used Copic markers to color in his scarf, nose and buttons, then added a touch of pale aqua (BG10 Cool Shadow) on the sides of the snowman to make him look more white.

TIP: adding a pale touch of blue or very light aqua to select areas that are supposed to be white actually enhances the white!

I then punched him out with my Marvy Giga Scalloped Oval, and sponged the edges with Almost Amethyst (Stampin' Up!) ink.

I added glitter using Crystal Ice Ice stickles - and even put some on the brads to make them glittery as well.

The embossed background was made with the Sledding Folder - I LOVE this folder - it's so cute and goes perfectly with snowman images like this!

I finished off the card by adding some Soft Sky stitched ribbon (SU!) and stamping one of GinaK's winter sentiments on the inside.

STAMPS: Snowman and sentiment by GinaK Designs. CS: Papertrey Stamper's Select White, Soft Sky, Taken with Teal and Almost Amethyst (all Stampin' Up!). INK: Brilliance Graphite Black, Almost Amethyst, Copic Markers. ACCESSORIES: Giga Scalloped Oval Punch, Crystal Ice Ice Stickles, Dimensionals, 3/16" Corner Rounder Punch, Horizontal Slot Punch, CuttleBug A2 Sledding Folder, Soft Sky Ribbon, Sponge Daubers, Bazzill Brads.

For this card I again stamped the Snowman onto white CS and colored him in with Copics, but this time I cut him out and adhered him to a Celery Giga Scalloped oval that I stamped the snowman on (so that I didn't need to cut out his twiggy arms!). I used Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the snowman as well as the scallops on the card and in real life it's SO much more glittery!

I stamped GinaK's little snowflakes stamp all over the white CS with Soft Sky ink, scalloped the edges using the 3/16" Corner rounder punch without the guide, then attached the sentiment over top with white eyelets.

The ribbon is satin ribbon from May Arts - I got several different colors in my last ATS order and OMGosh is it EVER nice ribbon!! And cheap too!! I got 5 yards of this and it was only 1.65!! The cheapo Offray satin ribbon I got at WalMart was almost twice as much as this and it's nowhere near as soft and it's not as wide either. I will definitely be getting more of this ribbon in the future *wink*!

The card base measures 4.25" square and I adhered the scalloped oval so that it doesn't make the card taller than 5.5" so that it will still fit in a standard A2 envelope.

STAMPS: Snowman, snowflakes and sentiment by GinaK Designs. CS: Papertrey Stamper's Select White, Certainly Celery, Real Red and Soft Sky (all Stampin' Up!). INK: Brilliance Graphite Black, Soft Sky, Copic Markers. ACCESSORIES: Giga Scalloped Oval Punch, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, White Eyelets, 3/16" Corner Rounder Punch, May Arts Satin Ribbon.

New Stamps!!

GinaK has just released part 1 (there's gonna be more!!) of her Fall and Holiday Collection!! Go here <----click! to check them out!! I gotta say my favorite is Sandy Claws - isn't he the cutest thing EVER??? I can't wait to ink him up!

About Time!!

Geez it's been FOREVER since I posted a card eh?? I got TWO to post now, and hopefully I can post TWO more tomorrow too!! *wink*

I sat down yesterday and pulled out several of GinaK's images that I've had sitting here from her earlier (as in when she first started this adventure in stamp-makin'!) releases and just played around. I used her Gift Trio stamp, and the sentiment is from the Make a Wish set - I just inked up the part of the sentiment I wanted.

I used Copic markers to color in the gifts, then added some glitter with Crystal Ice Ice stickles (be warned I'm on a MAJOR glitter kick lately - I think I used it on EVERY card I made yesterday LOL!).

The Prima is from the pink Sprites pack (I love how they're embossed - SO cute) and I attached it with a Making Memories Jewel brad. The little flower brads are also Making Memories.

The patterned paper on this card and the one below are from a box I got at Costco over the weekend. It's all made by K&Co and there is some really cute patterns and some of it has glitter on it (maybe that's what inspired the sudden need to use glitter on everything??) - the paper I used on this second card is one of the glitter sheets. I can't even tell you how much the pack was as I just tossed it in the cart without even looking at the price LOL. All I saw was the colors and the glitter and that it was by K&Co and I had to have it. I'll have to take a picture of the box it came in as it's really nice too!

STAMPS: Gift Trio and Sentiment by GinaK Designs. CS: Papertrey Stamper's Select White, Barely Banana and Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up!) K&Co patterned paper (Costco). INK: Brilliance Graphite Black, Copic Markers. ACCESSORIES: Prima Sprite, MM Jewel Brads, MM Flower Brads, Crystal Ice Ice Stickles, Ribbon (Offray).

Can you see it?? The leaves and flowers on the patterned paper are COVERED in glitter *hugs self in glee* LOL!

I used Copics again to color in the Gift Trio, then used my Quickie Glue Pen and poured on Dazzling Diamonds (Stampin' Up!) glitter. I also went over the Happy Birthday (same sentiment used in the card above) with the glue pen and poured on the glitter.

I'm still learning with my new Janome Mini sewing machine - I still have trouble keeping the stitching STRAIGHT!! The machine doesn't have the little lines most other machines have - so it's more a matter of eyeballing it. I'm usually good at eyeballing things but I know I still need practice with this! At least I did a decent job with the scalloped scissors - THAT I just eyeballed!

This is a 5.25" square card. I finished it off with some grosgrain ribbon and 3 pink Bazzill brads.

STAMPS: Gift Trio and Sentiment by GinaK Designs. CS: Papertrey Stamper's Select White, Certainly Celery, Orchid Opulence and Pretty in Pink (all SU!), Patterned Paper by K&Co (Costco). INK: Brilliance Graphite Black, Copic Markers. ACCESSORIES: Sewing Machine, Fiskars Scalloped Scissors, Quickie Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Dimensionals, Bazzill Brads, Ribbon.

Now I'm off to go watch Survivor! Honestly I'm not the biggest fan - but Tim likes it and I like to watch it with him (now when LOST starts I'll be taking the phone off the hook - I am so antsy for it to start up again!) - it's nice to spend time together after the girls are in bed!

Well.......

I don't have any pictures to post - YET. Ya know why?? I'm actually STAMPING today!! *shock---------gasp* And it feels GOOD!!!

The rest of my house is a mess, I have 50 loads of laundry to fold, and gobs of e-mails to answer.......but I'm in a serious groove and I don't want to come out!!

Oh wait I DO have a couple of non-stamping-related pics to share *grin*!!

When Tim and I got to the hotel on Saturday this gorgeous floral arrangement was on the front desk - little did I know it was for ME!! When we came back (the room "wasn't ready yet" obviously this was why) and got in the room it was sitting on the table in the "sitting room" (I swear it was the biggest hotel room I've ever seen! I didn't want to leave LOL!). We stayed at the Delta Bessborough again - I love that hotel and it's right by the river too.

I felt so conspicuous when we left and I was carrying this mondo thing in front of me trying to get in the car!!

Tim also got us the "Romance Package" - this plate of chocolates and a bottle of wine (I don't know anything about wine and really I'm not a fan - I'm pretty sure tho that it was cheap wine and neither of us liked it!). The chocolates were FABULOUS tho!! Seriously if you ever stay there make sure to order them - LOL they told us if we became platinum members we'd get them for free every time we stayed - then I found out you need to stay there at least 25 times a year to become platinum members - so that won't ever happen!

It was wonderful to get away just for the night - and just because too (it wasn't our anniversary - we just needed a bit of time away!) My birthday is next month (exactly a month from today) and I keep teasing him that he's really gonna have a hard time topping this weekend ROFL!!

OK back to stamping.......

Announcing!!

The All That Scraps Design Team!!

Cathy Indelicato - her blog: Crafty Thoughts

Christina Fischer - her blog: Flowers and Ink

Jenn Diercks - her blog: Stamp Your Heart Out

Jennifer Ofiana - her blog: Jen's Stampin' Spot

Julie Buhler - her blog: Paper Pleasing Ideas

Michele Boyer - her blog: Paper Cuts

Sophia Landry - her blog: Moonlight Inker

Valerie Stangle - her blog: {stampin' gal Val} creating paper sunshine

And I also can't stress it enough - I had THE toughest time choosing only 8 members out of over 150 applications. There were so many talented people who applied and narrowing it down was so NOT easy!! For those of you who didn't make it PLEASE don't give up and don't take it as a knock against your work - just keep plugging away at it and in time it will all pay off!! ((((HUGS))))

All of these ladies are incredibly talented and I am so proud to have them on the All That Scraps team!!

and of course don't forget (who could?? LOL) Lauren Meader - my Senior Design Team member - and her blog: My Time, My Creations, My Stampendence

ATS Design Team

Sorry I don't have an official announcement to make yet regarding the new AllThatScraps Design Team! I just contacted the ladies yesterday that made it and am waiting to hear back from each of them before making the official announcement!

I just wanted to say I had an unbelievably hard time choosing people as I got over 150 applications!! Narrowing it down was NOT easy as there were so many really talented stampers/scrappers/papercrafters that applied. Please do NOT take it personally if you weren't selected - there were too many talented people and not enough positions available!! It was also especially hard for me as there was a lot of people I "know" that applied - I really had to distance myself from that and look at the person's work and not take into account WHO they were!!

For all of you who didn't make it don't let it get you down - I posted before that it's the nature of this business and I STILL face rejection a LOT and it's something you have to learn to accept!! It doesn't make it any easier but take it from someone who now knows firsthand how hard it is to DO the "rejecting" that it in no way reflects upon the applicant - there were so so SO many people I really wanted on the team as I really loved their work, but I was also looking for some different styles and a variety and working with a limited number of positions to fill and my hands were tied!! I do hope tho that in a few months IF I open another call (this was a lot more work than I anticipated so I don't know if I'll do it quite the same way next time!) you will apply. I've also saved all the applicants e-mails just in case I ever want to contact some of you personally down the road!

I'd love to be able to contact each and every one of you personally as I know how hard it is to put yourself out there and apply for teams - but with the amount there are it just isn't possible!! PLEASE take this tho as a personal thank you from me and please don't stop trying!! We are all so blessed to have a truly enjoyable hobby and to me Design Teams while not necessary for the enjoyment are like icing on the cake!

I'm done rambling (I really do feel like I rambled on too much!) and now must pack and get ready to leave! My hubby got us a (REALLY NICE!) hotel room in the city tonight and his parents are going to babysit the girls for us so we can get some MUCH NEEDED alone time together!! I'm so excited I can hardly wait! I need a bit of time away with him to recharge and just veg out - I'll be back to posting either tomorrow night or Monday!!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!!

Want FREE Papertrey??

EDITED TO ADD - the winners have been announced here!!

Is that a dumb question or what? Of COURSE you want free Papertrey!! Well all you gotta do is leave a comment on Nichole's post HERE <------click!! She's giving away one EACH of the sets that are being released tonight!!

And FYI we're all hanging out on her blog tonight b/c the new Papertrey forum is experiencing technical diffuculties (I don't wanna blame it on those Refresh Queens (LOVE that) but you never know with them!!).

Can't wait to see what y'all think of the new releases!!