Prairie Paper & Ink

Congrats on Your New Nest!

Happy Monday everyone!! It's a long weekend for us in Canada so today is a holiday - yay!! It gives me an extra day to recuperate after the LONG week I had (topped off with the birth of my niece!!). This week is shaping up to be OK (busy as usual) except for Thursday when I have my first of many dentist appointments *grimace*. I went to the dentist a little over a week ago and I KNEW I would be needing a lot of work done but after they laid it all out needless to say I can't wait to get it all over and done with - especially the last appointment as I will be having ALL 4 of my wisdom removed at once (I knew that that would happen too - but what I DIDN'T know is that I should have had them out years ago before they even came through - my old dentist told me I had to wait and now I'm having issues with them and it's going to be a LOT more difficult to remove them.........). Anyway I'm rambling but man this is stressing me out!! It will be worth it when it's all over tho (and my new dentist is FABULOUS so I'm not as scared to go!! *wink*)

OK so here's another fun owl card I made not too long ago with GinaK's Owl Always Love You stamp set:

I stamped the image onto white cardstock then used Copic markers to color him in.

I filled in the flowers with Fruit Punch stickles, and used Fun Flock with my Quickie glue pen just along the sides of the owl to make him just a little fuzzy.

You can click on the picture to get a pop-up window with a bigger view.

The patterned paper is Amy Butler by K&Co, the ribbon is May Arts and the baubles are from Stamping Bella.

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Don't forget that GinaK is releasing new stamp sets TOMORROW and tonight from 7-10 Central Time there is a release party going on in their member forum on SCS! There's going to be games and contests as well as full reveals of all the new sets (I can't wait for mine to get here!)

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OK I gotta run and start getting caught up around the house as well as take care of some design team deadlines!!

Hey Everyone!

Sorry I never got my Friday Sketch posted yesterday. I had planned on making one with my sample and got the call from my sister - I took her to the hospital (driving her there on the highway to the city (over an hour away) on a Friday afternoon with long weekend traffic was interesting let me tell you!!!) and she ended up giving birth last night to a gorgeous baby girl!!!!

I just got home from the hospital (I stayed there overnight with her) so I'm going on about 2 hours of sleep and am completely exhausted. I will upload a pic of the new little girlie (man I got a serious case of baby fever holding her but being in the labour and delivery ward and hearing what some of the other women were going through cleared that up pretty quickly *wink*) once I actually bring in my camera and upload the pictures LOL!

Till later.......

ETA here's a pic of the new baby (she was named Dawson Rose - the Rose is in tribute to our Aunty Roseanne that passed away this past Christmas Day from ovarian cancer):

I took this one this morning. The little monkey already loves sucking on her fingers and has quite the attitude yet sleeps SO well! And TONS of really dark hair that is oh-so-fuzzy....................mmmm that new baby smell!!!!!!!!! Not to mention she weighed in at EXACTLY the same amount my oldest did when she was born (6lbs14oz) - I forgot how tiny that was..........

ACK!

Good Mail Day TWICE!!

First off I am still waiting along with my sister. Her doctor's appointment went well yesterday (and I was fine for most of the day but SO tired!!) and she was told she was already 2-3 cm and over the course of the afternoon and evening the contractions started. They're pretty sporadic tho and a good 15-20 minutes apart - so we wait! I am really excited about this and I was just on the phone with her and she is hoping it will happen tonight so we'll see! I am getting things ready so that I can go as soon as she calls......

Besides all that I am having a GOOD day today - I got TWO parcels in the mail two days in a row. One of them was my LONG awaited new CC Designs stamps:

YAY!!!!! I can't wait to get them inked up and start creating - these sets are too adorable to resist.

Oh and FYI I have had several people ask me if the size of the Glam Girls are different if you buy them individually versus getting the set - and no they are the same size regardless (all three of them are a little over 3" high).

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And THEN I got another parcel in the mail - something I wasn't expecting and had no clue what was in it - well I opened it up to find THIS!!:

'member me posting not too long ago about me winning some free iTunes music from the Cosmo Cricket blog? Well it turns out they couldn't gift me the music b/c I'm in Canada and they're in the US (iTunes between our countries is totally different and drives me mad.....) so they asked me if I'd like free CC product instead - was that a trick question? Of course I said YES!

So they sent me 2 different Paper Crafting Kits (Cogsmo and Hey Sugar) some Cogsmo Blackboard shapes and a blackboard album!

WOOHOO!! Thanks Cosmo Cricket!!! I can't wait to play!

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Also an FYI - I have heard y'all loud and clear - tons of you want to know exactly how I got the holes lined up on this card. I will show how I did it in a future post K?? :o)

Papertrey May Release Samples

Here are all the samples I made for this month's Papertrey release!!

All of them are pretty straightforward and all the supplies for each project are listed in my PT Gallery HERE.

I will try and come back later to edit/add in any more info about these samples but it's late and I NEED to get to bed - my (VERY) prego sister has a doctor's appointment early tomorrow morning and I am going to drive her there (last thing we need is her going into labor during the hour long drive!!) so I need to be up at 5 am!!

G'night everyone!!

Bonus Sketch!

I was asked to be a guest hostess over on Splitcoast this week for the Sketch Challenge so I made up a sketch and a sample and here it is!

I used GinaK's Owl Always Love You stamp set - stamped them with Brilliance Graphite Black ink then colored them in with Copic Markers. I went over their bodies with my quickie glue pen and covered them with carmel latte tan fun flock - check out how fuzzy they are LOL!!:

The baubles are from Stamping Bella and the ribbon I got some time ago from Michaels (I KNOW isn't it fabulous?? I wish I had bought more of it b/c I haven't seen it there since!)

Here is the sketch:

You can check out the challenge thread I'm hostessing over on SCS here.

The keywords for this one if you decide to play along and upload your card to a public gallery is SC176.

Papertrey May Release Countdown - 2

Have y'all been enjoying the sneak peeks so far? I know I have!! This month's sets are fabulous (as they are every month) and I have been having a blast creating samples with them!

For my sneak peek I thought I'd show y'all a card I made using the soon-to-be-released Favor It Baby set (it's not just for making baby shower favors and whatnot you know!) - like the Favor It Weddings set this one is only going to be $5 (for 12 sentiments!!) and the play on words is so cute - it's such a fun little set!

I started with a 3 3/4" square piece of PT's Aqua Mist cardstock and punched 4 holes in it with my 1 1/4" circle punch.

I then took my Polka Dot Basics set and stamped the smalled polka dots onto the cardstock with white pigment ink.

I next took a piece of Lemon Tart CS (it looks green in this picture but it really is yellow!) and cut it just slightly smaller than the Aqua Mist CS.

I placed the Aqua Mist CS over the Lemon Tart piece and used the punched holes as guides for where to stamp the bee image (from the new Honey Bees set) using black ink.

I made sure to leave one circle blank.

I stamped the "Mommy to bee" sentiment onto a scrap of PT White cardstock and punched it out with my 1" circle punch.

I then adhered the Lemon Tart CS to a card base made from Summer Sunrise CS (the card measures 4.25" square). Once that was attached I attached the Aqua Mist piece using dimensionals and then the stamped sentiment was attached with yet another dimensional.

By stamping the sentiment onto white CS and punching it out as opposed to just stamping it onto the Lemon Tart it really makes it POP don't you think?

I finished off the card with a bit of Summer Sunrise ribbon and that was it!

{SUPPLIES}

STAMPS: Favor It Baby and Honey Bees.

CS: Stampers Select White, Aqua Mist, Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise.

INK: Versafine Onyx Black, White Pigment.

ACCESSORIES: 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Summer Sunrise Luxe Satin, Dimensionals.

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Don't forget to head on over to Nichole's blog to see what the Design Team did with the Favor It Baby set!!

Dreams Come True

I hope everyone had a great weekend and a happy Mother's Day! Those flowers in the picture below are actually on a little plant I bought for myself for my Mother's Day gift lol - aren't they pretty?

I am absolutely BURIED right now under cardstock and stamps and ribbon (I know y'all feel SO sorry for me *wink*) trying to get all my samples done for Papertrey's release on Thursday (stay tuned for midnight when my sneak peek post goes live) but I wanted to hop on here real quick and share another Bella card I made recently.

This card uses imeldabella - and the sentiment from MFT's Essential Sentiments was too perfect for it.

I used Copic markers to color in the image then added some stickles to a couple of the boxes.

The patterned paper is from a slab I got at Michael's, ribbon is from RABOM, and I added a Prima Sprite and Bazzill Bitty Blossom with a Making Memories Pebble Brad.

The baubles are from Stamping Bella and I've been asked how I attach them - I used to use mini glue dots but now I just use a tiny dot of my Tombow Mono Multi and it works like a charm!

Have a great evening everyone!

Recipe Tags

I had a lady here in town call me the other day asking if I could make up some recipe tags for her. Since I got Kim Hughes Baked With Love set and it hadn't seen ink this seemed like the perfect use for it!! *grin*

I just printed out the directions onto Vanilla cardstock, then stamped some of the images from the set using various inks. I matted them with a scalloped rectangle (cut with my Nestabilities dies) and punched a hole in the corner for the ribbon to thread through when they're attached to the jars.

The recipe given to me is more or less just directions as the tags are going to be attached to jars that have all the dry ingredients already layered inside - so all they have to do is follow the directions to make yummy brownies! I was told that these will all be given to moms in her church on Sunday for Mother's Day - so I hope they like them! :o)

A STICKY Sale

Jody is doing a "STICKY" sale on her blog - check it out here. I LOVE redline products - I have their sticky strip (SU! sells it) and the full sheets from ATS and that stuff is AWESOME - so I jumped all over this sale! I never knew they made dimensionals! And the stars are too cool too (had to get me a pack of those!).

Don't forget to check out this post that Jody did showing some neat things using these sticky items - as soon as I saw the Crop-a-dile picture in the beginning of her post I had my order ready!

I've participated in Jody's ribbon and Prima shares in the past and she is FABULOUS to deal with - I always get my stuff in great condition and she ships out as soon as she gets the stuff in! So shop with confidence!

There's my public service announcement for the day *wink*

Friday Sketch! #17

Howdy!

Here's the layout for Friday and I hope y'all can play along!

Like the card I posted yesterday this one uses The Cat's Pajamas clear and swanky It's a Western Thing stamp set and patterned paper from daisyd's Autumn collection.

I stamped the kitty onto white cardstock and used my Copic markers to color her in.

The sentiment is stamped onto a punched out giga circle that I punched from one of the more solid colored patterned papers.

The black strip isn't paper but rather grosgrain ribbon I attached with sticky strip adhesive.

The stitched ribbon is from Michaels.

It's insanely early right now and I need to get to bed as I'm heading for the city (over an hour away) tomorrow morning with Veronica b/c we both have dentist appointments and I am DREADING them both. I am going to need a ton of work done and Veronica might need to have a tooth pulled and I am trying to be brave for her! WAH! I hate dentist appointments........

ANYWHO here is the sketch for today:

If you upload your card using this sketch to any public galleries please use the keyword AMYRS25 to make it easier to find.

And don't forget to link directly to your creation in the comment section of this post so that I can see it too!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Much Obliged!

I made this for one of The Cat's Pajama's weekly challenges and then promptly forgot to take a picture of it and post it!

Anywho here it is - I used TCP's clear and swanky It's a Western Thing stamp set and stamped each penguin separately. I colored them in with Copic markers then punched them out with a square punch and matted them with a scalloped piece of red cardstock.

The patterned paper is from this daisyd's Autumn collection, and I don't know if you can tell but the black strip isn't paper it's actually 2 pieces of grosgrain ribbon. :o)

The card base is one of SU!'s (retired) Cool Caribbean long notes - it measures 3 1/4 x 6 1/2".

Cupcake Bella

I love this cupcakeabella from Stamping Bella - she's so darn cute!

I stamped her onto white cardstock then used my Copic markers to color her in, and added Fruit Punch stickles to the icing of the cupcake. It's rather hard to tell but I also added a little rain dot to the cherry so that it's all dimensional and shiny.

The sentiment is from A Muse (too perfect for this Bella of course!).

That paper on the card base is Lace cardstock by KI Memories - this stuff is SO cool! I just cut a piece from the sheet and used a few dots of glue here and there to adhere it to the card base and that was it!

I finished off the card with a couple of Prima flowers (attached with a Making Memories brad), and some ribbon from my stash.

Does anyone else crave a cupcake slathered in pink icing??????

"Guilty" Owls??

LOL I am in LOVE with GinaK's Owl Always Love You set (see? Owls are so IN right now!! They're everywhere!!) - to me the expressions they have look almost guilty - it just makes me grin.

I had a LOT of fun making these cards - I pulled out some fun patterned paper, Stickles, Fun Flock, ribbon and baubles and went to town and this was the result!

I stamped this one onto white cardstock then colored him in with Copic markers. I then went over the owl's body with my Quickie Glue pen and pressed Carmel Latte Tan Fun Flock all over and now he's fuzzy!

I then took Grape Ice Ice stickles and filled in the flowers so they're all sparkly :o)

The patterned paper us a K&Company Amy Butler Pack, the ribbon is May Arts and the baubles are form Stamping Bella.

{SUPPLIES}

STAMPS: Owl Always Love You set by GinaK Designs.

CS: Papertrey White, Prism (purple), K&Co Patterned Paper, Chocolate Chip (SU!).

INK: Brilliance Graphite Black, Copic Markers.

ACCESSORIES: Baubles, Ribbon, Fun Flock, Stickles, Dimensionals, Corner Rounder Punch.

I used all the same supplies for this card except I used the other owl stamp from the set and different May Arts ribbon.

I also only applied the fun flock to the edges of the owl images - you can click on the picture to get a better idea of what I mean.

{SUPPLIES}

STAMPS: Owl Always Love You set by GinaK Designs.

CS: Papertrey White, Prism (purple), K&Co Patterned Paper, Chocolate Chip (SU!).

INK: Brilliance Graphite Black, Copic Markers.

ACCESSORIES: Baubles, Ribbon, Fun Flock, Dimensionals.

Glitter Nails

People have commented and e-mailed me asking how my whole venture into doing gel nails is going - it's been slow but I am LOVING doing them - check out what I did the other day to my own nails:

 

Instead of doing my typical french white tip I mixed Stampin' Up!'s Fine Cosmo Orchid glitter with gel and gave myself purple glitter tips!! I am REALLY pleased with how they turned out (and stoked that I can incorporate some of my stamping supplies into my gel nail stuff *wink*) - I already want to file them off and do another color - the Rose Pink glitter would look SO cool (and the Dazzling Diamonds, heck any fine glitter would look fabulous!!).

I'll be back later with an actual card-related post but I thought I'd share this with y'all!! :o)

EDITED TO ADD:

OK so I've had several people ask me how I have NO hagnails in these pics (trust me there's no fancy editing - my nails look just like that!!)

I used to get hagnails all the time - and they were nasty. I'm talking split and bleeding really GROSS fingers - it was awful and painful. But then I got gel nails put on and the hangnails stopped!! I now very rarely get hangnails (and when I do it's usually on my right (dominant) hand) and I don't wear gloves for anything (washing dishes, yardwork, any of that stuff - mostly b/c I can never find them and am too lazy to hunt for them.....).

However if gel nails aren't an option for you (lots of you have asked but sadly I can't afford to travel to do them *wink* even tho it'd prolly be tons of fun!) what you can do is get yourself a vitamin enriched cuticle oil and apply it to your cuticles and skin surrounding your nails twice a day. Also using a good moisturizing lotion at least once a day on your hands will help as well.

So there's my advice for the day - I hope it helps those who were wondering!!