Prairie Paper & Ink

Papertrey - "It's In The Bag" Challenge

Yup it's the first again (happy Canada Day to all my Canuck readers!!) which means another challenge for the Papertrey Senior Design Team members.

This month's challenge was to use Papertrey's coffee bags in whatever cool way we wanted to. I must admit mine isn't totally mind blowing as I kept it pretty simple - but I still like how it turned out!

I feel like I was channeling Pine as I created this - I was really in a mood for white, Kraft and black - and stuck with just that.

I used PT's large white windowed coffee bag, and I filled it with all sorts of great pampering goodies - bath salts, soaps, hand and foot butters etc. I LOVE that these bags have a plastic lining - it's great for baked good and also for things like this as the soaps can't leave any residue on the bags to soak through to mar the outside. PLUS if you're packaging a gift like this that is scented (as all these products are) the bag really helps keep the scent IN the bag if you know what I mean.

This bag does have a window but I didn't want to have the contents visible (more of a surprise that way) so I created a band out of PT Kraft cardstock. I used black CS and cut a scalloped trim from it with Fiskars cloud scissors, then adhered it to the Kraft CS.

The stamped images are from PT's Flower Garden stamp set, I stamped the stems onto the Kraft with white pigment ink. The flowers were stamped onto white CS with black ink, then cut out, and I attached buttons to the centers with black embroidery floss before attaching the flowers with dimensionals.

I created the "From Your Favorite Bunch" sentiment using the Flower Garden Sentiment set, a 1" circle punch and Marvy's extra jumbo scalloped circle punch.

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Don't forget to head over to the other DT members blogs to see what they came up with!:

Lisa

Heather

Lauren

Debbie

{SUPPLIES}

STAMPS: Papertrey Flower Garden and Flower Garden Sentiments.

CS: Papertrey White and Kraft, Black.

INK: Pigment White, Black.

ACCESSORIES: Papertrey Large White Window Coffee Bag, Fiskars Cloud Scissors, Button, Embroidery Thread, Dimensionals, Circle Punch, Marvy Scalloped Circle Punch.

Quick Card

Since I had all the supplies sitting out on my desk I thought I'd quickly make another card to share today.

This uses GinaK's Friendship Blooms stamp set - I stamped the image onto white cardstock then colored it in with Koh-i-noor colored pencils and Gina's blending stumps with OMS. It looks rather funky in the picture but I covered the vase with Icicle Stickles.

I embossed the card base with the Floral Fantasy CuttleBug folder, then used tape to adhere the lace ribbon (from May Arts) to the card before attaching the cardstock layers.

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On a side note - my mouth is doing OK. As long as I remember to take my pain meds on time I'm good to go. I have not and will not drink through a straw (the dentist really emphasized with me to not do that as I def. do NOT want to get dry socket!!) and have been able to eat softer foods here and there. I am craving steak and potatoes like you wouldn't believe tho!!!! Since tomorrow is Canada day I have steak marinating in the fridge to be grilled up for supper. I'm going to see if I can eat it - it should be pretty tender and if it's cut up small enough I should be OK (I sure hope so as that is ALL I want to eat right now!!! No more baby food for me LOL!!)

CPS Sketch #71

Yeah I know I'm shocked I got a card done too (I actually made TWO cards!! So proud of myself - I'll share the other one later on this week) - I've been dying to stamp these past couple of days but in NO way felt up to it. Earlier this afternoon tho I was feeling pretty good for a bit so I was able to throw this card together.

The image I had already colored in the other day when I made this card - except on this image I used only Copic markers to color (pretty big difference eh?). I had it sitting here on my desk and came across this CPS sketch and thought it would work perfectly.

The patterned paper is from Basic Grey's Periphery 6x6 pack. The sentiment is from GinaK's Friendship Blooms set (stamped onto one of her plastic tags that I attached to the ribbon with a jump ring).

The little embellishments on the panels are Bella Dots - these ones are marbly/sparkly and just went perfect with this card.

OK I need to crawl onto the couch - my meds are wearing off again and the latest dose hasn't kicked in - ugh my mouth hurts! :(

{SUPPLIES}

STAMPS: Botanical Dreams and Friendship Blooms stamp sets by GinaK Designs.

CS: Papertrey Vintage Cream, SU! Going Grey, Basic Grey Periphery.

INK: Ranger Adirondack Black, Baisc Grey (SU!), Copic Markers.

ACCESSORIES: Bella Dots, Ribbon (Michaels), Plastic Tag, Dimensionals.

Sunday Q&A

Hello Everyone. First off thank you for all the well wishes - I'm feeling OK. I spent most of yesterday on and off the couch and loaded up with pain meds and am still needing to take them today as man does it hurt when they wear off! I look like a chipmunk with all the swelling but so far *crosses fingers* I don't have any bruising. My bottom wisdom teeth had to be broken to get out and I had to get stitches and all that but in the end I'm just glad it's over with! I feel like I've wasted the past couple of days since I've done NOTHING but rest (even tho I know I NEEDED to) but hopefully that will help speed up the healing so I can get back to normal!

There were only a couple of questions this week so here they are (and FYI you can post paper-craft related questions in the comments on this post and I can get to them next week. I also try and catch any questions posted on my other posts to answer here as well to keep them all in one place!):

Where does one purchase Star Dust Stickles?

I get all my Stickles either from All That Scraps or I pick up a bottle here and there from my local scrapbook store. Tons of other online stores carry them as well!

Just one question did you cut on the inside or outside of the line for these cards? (referring to this post)

Basically I cut right on the line when I paper piece - right on the outside or a hairline in from the outside line. Really as long as there are no bits of paper left along the outside of the image then you're good to go and it will look great!

Would you mind sharing what color that copic is you used to outline the flower image. That's a good color. (card in this post)

I used the Dull Ivory E43 Copic marker to outline the image :o)

Might Be Taking a Break

I got all my wisdom teeth pulled this afternoon and am not feeling too hot. Thank goodness my in-laws are taking care of my girls for the weekend so I can get some rest and pray that the pain meds kick in. So I might not have anything new to post till after the weekend.

Really the worst part about this whole thing is I AM STARVING!!!!!!! I am so unbelievably freaking hungry right now - and the thought of blending up anything at the moment doesn't appeal in the slightest..........mebbe tomorrow I can blend up a fruit smoothie (I make awesome fruit smoothies....) but 'till then I think I'm gonna be pretty miserable!

To all those who DIDN'T get any teeth pulled - have a fabulous weekend!! I'm heading to bed where I might just stay for the next day or two.........we'll see how I feel tomorrow.

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.

New Rubbah!!

My box with the latest GinaK release arrived yesterday - YAY! I got all the new images trimmed and had a heck of a time choosing which image to ink up first. This new orchid stamp from Asela's Botanical Dreams set won!

I stamped the image onto Papertrey Vintage Cream cardstock, then used Koh-i-noor pencils with GinaK's blending stumps and odorless mineral spirits to blend them. I have to say that these pencils ARE really nice - really smooth to lay down the color and they blend really nicely too. And Gina's stumps and OMS work great too - this is the first time I've ever got to use them and I like 'em! I might actually set aside the Copics more often now to play with these.....(altho I did use a Copic marker to outline the image before I cut it out).

I used patterned paper from Basic Grey's Perhaps collection on the rest of the card, and stamped the sentiment (from Gina's Friendship Blooms set) onto one of the papers.

The bling is also from Gina's store - it's self adhesive so I just peeled and stuck 'em on :o) Ribbon is May Arts.

Have a great day everyone!

New Embellies

OK my camera batteries are charged, this pic was taken and edited and I'm good to go!

I recently got a few new embellies from Stamping Bella - she calls them Bella's Dots. I used 2 large light plum ones for my flower centers - just attached them with a mini glue dot. I'm really liking these new embellies - they're lightweight and since you use glue or glue dots to attach them there's no "backs" to hide ----- not to mention they come in like a bazillion colors AND different finishes (glitter, marble etc)!! It's going to take me forever to collect them all *wink*

The other embellies are fuchsia bonbons - I used a dot of glue on the back of each one to attach them.

The bella is billboardabella - I colored her in with Copic markers, then used Stickles on the billboard and her hair-band. I cut her out with my paper cutter - using scissors to cut around the billboard.

The colored CS is Prism, flowers are Bazzill, patterned paper is Me & My Big Ideas, and ribbon is May Arts.

Now I need to figure out what to make me and the girls for supper - it's so hot and muggy here and I don't have A/C so I try to avoid turning on the oven at all cost!!

For Sale

My camera batteries are recharging - I went to take a picture of the card I made yesterday and they were dead - so until they're recharged I have nothing to post!

However what I DO have is a set of 72 Prismacolor markers (this has now sold!)- barely used (a good 80% or more of them have never been used) that I would like to sell. E-mail me if you are interested! I will only take PayPal and this is first come, first serve.

Be back in a bit!!

Happy Birthday To You Bella

Here's another fun Bella card I made not too long ago.

I used partygirlabella, colored her in with Copic markers, then cut her out with my paper cutter and used scissors to trim around her balloons and hat.

I highlighted some of the balloons and the cupcake and hat with Stickles glitter glue.

The sentiment is from A Muse - stamped onto vellum and attached with bazzill brads.

{SUPPLIES}

STAMPS: Partygirlabella by Stamping Bella, sentiment from A Muse.

CS: Papertrey White, SU! Chocolate Chip and Groovy Guava, Vellum, Patterned paper by Me & My Big Ideas.

INK: Black, Copic Markers.

ACCESSORIES: Stickles, Prima Daisies, Brads, May Arts Ribbon, Dimensionals.

Sunday Q&A

I haven't done this for a while as I haven't been getting a ton of questions to answer - but I got a few just over the past few days so here's the Q & A!!

Quick question - I was thinking awhile back, I had seen on your blog where you used a black cushion rather than the thicker EZ Mount - did I see that or was I dreaming?  If yes, can you direct me where you purchase yours?

No you weren't dreaming - you are prolly referring to this post where I discussed switching most of my UnMounted stamps to the black EZ mount (why? I like that it seems to cling better and when using the Little Monkey's Storage system the stamps take up less horizontal room when using the black EZmount versus the grey (which is about twice as thick)). I also like using the black because it makes stamping with tiny stamps WAY easier (ones with a diameter of less than 1/2") as it keeps them from rocking when you press them to paper.

I get my black EZmount here (she ALWAYS sells out of it really fast when she gets it in stock - but you can always add yourself to the waitlist and you automatically get an e-mail when it's back in stock!)

When you airbrush around an image, do you mask the image, then airbrush?  I love the effect and would like to try it.

When I made these cards I didn't mask the images at all - I just airbrushed on the color - I chose a light color and held the airbrush further away from the image so as not to cover it. If the image were larger then yes I would mask it first - it just depends on the project. If you have copic markers I recommend getting the system and trying it out - I don't use it a lot but I sure have fun playing around with it LOL!

How do you do the piercing and what tool do you use?

All you need is a foam mat (a mousepad works great) and a large needle or a paper piercer. (I prefer to use an actual piercer as it's easier to work with than a needle). To get them all evenly spaced you can use a template (I have the one from Stampin' Up!'s mat pack) or there is also a Tim Holtz ruler that has evenly spaced holes along one side just for piercing (I just ordered it and can't wait to get it - a lot of places are having a hard time getting it in stock as it's pretty popular!).

All you do is place the template/ruler over the area on your card that you want to have piercing (make sure the foam mat is underneath!) then use you needle/piercer and poke away! If you click on this link it will take you to the ATS website where the ruler is located - there is a video there of Tim showing how to use the ruler (he ROCKS btw) and that's what made me HAVE to get it!

Where in Canada can you purchase the Eclipse tape?

Honestly I don't know - I got mine from AllThatScraps. I thought Stamping Bella carried it (they're located in Toronto) but I couldn't find it on the site (and got totally sidetracked drooling over all the new goodies *wink*). FYI the roll I got will last FOREVER - I've used it quite a bit and have barely made a dent in it.

What a Way To Start The Week!!

I am just *bouncin* right now ------------------->click!!!!! I never thought in a million years that I'd win anything on Tim's blog (just look at the # of comments he gets on those giveaway posts - the one I entered had 699!!!) - but I was proved wrong! It just goes to show that no matter how slim you think your chances are at winning something - it can't hurt to say "Why not?" and go for it!

This cool win couldn't have come at a better time either - a GREAT way to start the week of with something HAPPY (last week was a rather difficult one for me - pretty much everything that could go wrong did and it was really starting to get to me and bum me out!!) - I can't stop grinning!!

Another couple of cool things:

I was the featured "Site of the Week" at R2Scrap - very cool (thanks Linda!)

and

my Congrats on Your New Home Gable Box was the Project of the Week over at CardoftheWeek.com

Friday Sketch! #21

OMG is it just me or has this month FLOWN by??? I can't believe that June is nearly over....it's almost midnight right now and I need to get this post typed up quick - I have a dentist appointment in the city tomorrow morning (thank goodness I'm nearly done with all these appointments!!) so I need to get to bed!!

For today's sketch I pulled out GinaK's Comfort & Peace stamp set (once a free with 3 set - now you can get it here) and made a few sympathy cards all using the same layout.

I used my SU! markers to ink up the main image and stamped it onto an oval (that I already cut with my Nestabilities die) made from Papertrey Vintage Cream CS (yup it's already become my go-to CS when I don't want to use white).

I used my Copic airbrush and a yellow Copic marker to get the "glow" around the flowers (it's softer than sponging - and I generally tend to smudge things when I use sponges!! *wink*).

The patterned paper is from Basic Gray's Sugared 6x6 pack (all the cards use various papers from this pack), and the ribbon is May Arts. The sentiments are from the same stamp set, and I stamped other sentiments from the set on the inside of each card.

If you upload your card using this sketch to any public galleries please use the keyword AMYRS30 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!

Here are the other 2 cards I made:

 

{SUPPLIES}

STAMPS: Comfort & Peace stamp set by GinaK Designs.

CS: Papertrey Vintage Cream, SU! Chocolate Chip & Kraft, Basic Grey Sugared Patterned Paper.

INK: SU! Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Regal Rose, More Mustard and Ruby Red Markers, Copic Marker.

ACCESSORIES: Oval and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities Dies, Dimensionals, May Arts Ribbon.

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Don't foget to check out Gina's store ASAP - a bunch of fabulous new stamp sets are being released today!! Hopefully mine get here SOON so I can get 'em inky and make some samples for y'all!!

Grad Cards Again

I'm glad y'all liked the other 2 grad cards I posted earlier - and here are the other 2 I made for my customer.

All the same supplies were used to make these cards - the U R A Hoot set by Kim Hughes for CHF, and the Lined Paper background stamp.

The ribbon on this card is from Michaels. The red arrow was made with my SU! My Way punch.

This one is my favorite of the set - LOL the arrows pointing to the owl with the "wise guy" sentiment just cracks me up.

I've had several people ask me what I sell my cards for - honestly I sell them for WAY less than I would like. I live in a small prairie town and people will not pay what a handmade card is worth (in my opinion!) - therefore I price them so that they will sell.

I try to keep the cards I sell simple as I only charge $3.50 per card (or 4 cards for $12). Ones like these I would generally charge about $5 each for since I put a lot of extra time into them with the coloring and the layouts and whatnot.

When I do custom jobs I usually charge even more but it depends on the type of card and what all goes into it (lots of layers, embellishments, time for coloring etc etc etc).......and of course from now on I will ALWAYS be charging a "consultation fee" at the start of any custom job that will be non-refundable (remember this post?) to at least cover my time and expense if the clients decide in the end to do something else!!

It really depends on your area what you charge for your cards - some places you can charge a good amount - and in other areas you have to undersell yourself. You just need to determine at what amount is it worth it for YOU to go to the work of creating and then selling them - because if you feel like you are doing it for nothing then it starts to be a lot less fun.

Personally I don't mind selling them for less here as I create quite a lot of cards and it's a nice way to get them out of my house and make a little extra $$ for my stamping budget! *wink*

{SUPPLIES}

Congrats Wise Guy Card

STAMPS: CHF Kim Hughes U R A Hoot, Lined Paper background.

CS: Papertrey Vintage Cream.

INK: Ranger Adirondack Pitch Black, Palette Burnt Umber, Reflection Blue, Moulin Rouge, Copic Markers.

Accessories: Ribbon, Dimensionals, SU My Way Punch.

Wise Guy Over There Card

STAMPS: CHF Kim Hughes U R A Hoot, Lined Paper background.

CS: Papertrey Vintage Cream, SU! Creamy Caramel.

INK: Ranger Adirondack Pitch Black, Palette Burnt Umber, Reflection Blue, Moulin Rouge, Copic Markers.

Accessories: May Arts Ribbon, Dimensionals, SU My Way Punch.

 

Grad Cards

Good Morning Everyone!

I had someone ask me if I could make 4 grad cards for her to buy - which I said yes to because it gave me the opportunity to pull out my CHF Kim Hughes U R A Hoot set.

I also pulled out my CHF Lined Paper background stamp that hasn't seen ink - I thought it was perfect for these cards.

The owls were stamped onto Papertrey Vintage Cream cardstock with Ranger Adirondack Pitch Black ink then colored in with Copic markers and cut out. The cap was also stamped in black then cut out.

I kept the inside simple and stamped the smaller version of the owl along with the word graduate.

I stamped the background on this card with white craft ink onto Creamy Caramel CS (SU!).

I cut a slit in the spine of the card to thread the ribbon through (both ribbons are form Michaels) then attached the owl with dimensionals so that he's "sitting" on the ribbon.

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{SUPPLIES}

Congrats Card

STAMPS: CHF Kim Hughes U R A Hoot, Lined Paper background.

CS: Papertrey Vintage Cream, SU! Chocolate Chip.

INK: Ranger Adirondack Pitch Black, Palette Burnt Umber, Reflection Blue, Moulin Rouge, Copic Markers.

Accessories: SU Ribbon, Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers.

Wise Guy Card

STAMPS: CHF Kim Hughes U R A Hoot, Lined Paper background.

CS: Papertrey Vintage Cream, SU! Creamy Caramel.

INK: Ranger Adirondack Pitch Black, Palette Moulin Rouge, SU Creamy Caramel and Craft White.

Accessories: Michaels Ribbon, Dimensionals.