Prairie Paper & Ink

SNEAK PEEK - AmyR Sympathy Set

This is post #2 for today PLUS I edited my other sneak peek post HERE <---click! as promised!

OK today is the day for sneak peeks of ONE (b/c there's going to be TWO!) of my new sets being released on Monday August 3rd!

Today's set being peeked is called Sympathy Sentiments - something that wasn't necessarily fun to create but is nonetheless needed. I have the hardest time finding the right stamps and sentiments when making sympathy cards - so I came up with this set and I hope it helps to fill a niche.

Here's the first card I've made with the set:

This set comes with this main blossoming branch image along with 14 other word and sentiment stamps.

I stamped the branch onto white cardstock with Memento ink then colored it in with my Copics.

I used the latest sketch when making this card (I'm still trying to find my mojo - after almost 2 weeks of NO stamping it's hard getting back into the groove - so the sketch definitely helped!) and pulled out my Cosmo Cricket Everafter papers.

I wanted something a little more elegant and nice for this card as it is a sympathy card - but not drab so I think these papers were perfect as the orange brightens everything up.

The sentiment was stamped onto Baja Breeze (SU! retired) cardstock then cut out with a nestability die.

I lined the inside of the card with more patterned paper then stamped another sentiment from the set and adhered it and that was it.

You can check out some more samples in the ATS sneak peek post HERE <----click!

Friday Sketch! with Guest Tammy Fielder (July 31/09)

WOW I'm seriously behind on EVERYTHING right now!! I have been completely scatter-brained all week ever since I got back (I can't believe I've been home for 4 full days already - it feels like yesterday!) and I REALLY need to hunker down and get things DONE!

SO - here's this week's sketch - another fabulous one by Tammy!

And as always if you don't read her blog you should! Check it out HERE <-------click!

And as always here's all the info:

- keyword to use when uploading to public galleries is AMYRTFS4.

- link directly to your creation when posting a link to your card - why you ask? Check out this link for more info. (I've been editing the links that lead just to a blog to the proper link directly to the post - BUT generally I don't have time to do that. If I don't then I'll just delete the link - if yours is missing this is generally the reason why and you can just re-enter the proper link to your creation in the gallery/blog post!)

-not sure HOW to link provide a DIRECT link? Check out this post by Kristina Werner - she explains how to with her video (it's meant for her color inspiration challenges but it's the same idea) - check it out HERE <----click!

-you are welcome to save this sketch to your computer (right click then save to your computer) and upload it to your blog post along with a direct link to this post with credit given to me for the sketch :o)

- have your card done and linked before next Thursday at 10pm EST in order to have it included with the participants links - other than that there is no time limits - this is all for fun! If you've missed the deadline feel free to include a link to your creation in the comment section of this post!

- ANYONE can participate- you can use whatever products/stamps/embellies you want - sky's the limit :)

- I WILL remove any links I deem inappropriate (self-promotional, spam, card not following sketch in any way etc etc etc).

.................................................................................................................................................................

AmyR's Friday Sketch! Participants

1. Andrea M 2. Rachel A 3. Cheri G 4. Rene' Sharp 5. Lacey 6. lily 7. ginny

8. Tammy Fielder 9. Nicki Turner 10. Kimberly O'Rosky 11. Crystal 12. Sparkle 13. RobbynW 14. Tina

15. Megan 16. Lisa Kind 17. Kimberly L. 18. andrea m 19. Bela

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SNEAK Peek - Swiss Pixies Heidi Among the Flowers

Sorry this has to be a QUICK post!! I had some reschedules and am now working all day doing nails - so I whipped up this card this morning between my shower and breakfast LOL!

I'll come back later and add in all the details (and I'll finish the inside and show that too along with a pic of the Copics used) - I don't have time right now as my first client will be here any minute!

This is a sneak peek of one of the new Swiss Pixies stamps being released on MONDAY (August 3rd) - they are both so adorable!!

Heidi Among the Flowers:

 

Alrighty here's the rest of the info:

I stamped Heidi onto CCD White cardstock with Memento ink then colored her in with Copic markers.

I added the polka dots to the flowers and some highlights to her hair with my white gel pen, then added Basic Grey mini brads to all the flower centers.

I die cut the main image with a circle nestabilities die then added a strip of green patterned paper to the bottom that I cut to look like grass.

All the patterned paper along with the brads are from Basic Grey's Urban Prairie line.

I punched out the butterflies with my Martha Stewart punch.

The sentiment is from the Friends Sentiments set - I stamped it onto pink paper from the BG pack then die cut it with another of my Nestability dies.

The inside of the card was lined with more yellow cardstock and then I added a couple of strips of the same patterned paper that I used on the front. I cut the green paper again to look like grass to tie it all together and that was it!

Don't forget to check out the DT samples on the ATS blog HERE <----click! They're awesome!!

I'm HOME!!

Actually we got home late Monday night, but I was EXHAUSTED and I just puttered around the house yesterday trying to get a few things done. I have so many things on my to-do list (BIG things - most are unrelated to this blog and stamping and all that) that I'm a little frazzled right now so y'all will have to forgive me!

I barely took any pictures on vacation - it was SO humid and hot that the camera was constantly fogging up and it was a pain to try and get a clear picture. That and the fact that I preferred to concentrate on keeping up with applying my sunblock rather than lug my camera around meant very little pics were taken (but I didn't burn!!). I have a few here tho for y'all:

The beach in front of our hotel is where we spent most of our time. It was semi-private so there weren't a lot of people around and we could just hang out and swim.

The villas where we were staying at were SO cool - they're all different and the one we shared with my brother-in-law and his wife was HUGE with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room/dining room/kitchen/patio and even our own laundry - all that and with the sale we got when we booked it was cheaper than any of the hotels we could have stayed at! It also had 2 pools so we swam every day (and sometimes at night too).

There were hibiscus plants EVERYWHERE on the villa grounds along with a bunch of other plants (and palm trees of course!) and everything was blooming - it was so pretty. There were tons of little geckos too which I thought were uber-cute - no one could get very close to them tho as they'd run off in a blink.

We walked through the Atlantis resort while we were there a couple of times - but I didn't get any pics as at both times it was dark out and none would have turned out anyway. While it is a REALLY nice resort (even the bathroom stalls are marble!) I wouldn't stay there as it's so expensive. For all 4 of us JUST to go on the waterslides it would have been $440 US - so needless to say we didn't go for that (obviously if we had stayed there you get full access but the price difference was huge and I'm glad we stayed at the villas - it was so much more fun and the Atlantis was insanely crowded everywhere we went).

Anywho that's my quick update on the trip. I'm finally getting things put away, getting laundry done, photos and whatnot uploaded and HOPEFULLY I'll stamp a bit later on this afternoon as ATS has a new release on Monday and the sneak peeks started TODAY!! Ack!

Talk to y'all later! :o)

Friday Sketch! (July 24/09)

Here's this week's sketch - another oldie-but-a-goodie that I've re-done - you can check out the original post here <---click!

And as always here's all the info:

- keyword to use when uploading to public galleries is AMYRS5.

- link directly to your creation when posting a link to your card - why you ask? Check out this link for more info. (I've been editing the links that lead just to a blog to the proper link directly to the post - BUT generally I don't have time to do that. If I don't then I'll just delete the link - if yours is missing this is generally the reason why and you can just re-enter the proper link to your creation in the gallery/blog post!)

-not sure HOW to link provide a DIRECT link? Check out this post by Kristina Werner - she explains how to with her video (it's meant for her color inspiration challenges but it's the same idea) - check it out HERE <----click!

-you are welcome to save this sketch to your computer (right click then save to your computer) and upload it to your blog post along with a direct link to this post with credit given to me for the sketch :o)

- have your card done and linked before next Thursday at 10pm EST in order to have it included with the participants links - other than that there is no time limits - this is all for fun! If you've missed the deadline feel free to include a link to your creation in the comment section of this post!

- ANYONE can participate- you can use whatever products/stamps/embellies you want - sky's the limit :)

- I WILL remove any links I deem inappropriate (self-promotional, spam, card not following sketch in any way etc etc etc).

.................................................................................................................................................................

AmyR's Friday Sketch! Participants

1. lily 2. Claire (Australia) 3. Susan Zuzarte 4. Katie Skiff 5. RobbynW 6. Katerfly

7. Nancy (Inkcicles) 8. Gigi 9. k berthiaume 10. Tammy Fielder 11. Kimberly O'Rosky 12. Lisa T

13. Karen Giron 14. Snow 15. Rachel A. 16. Susan Zuzarte

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Birthday Nurse

First off Bev if you're reading this stop!!

Unless you want to see your birthday card early of course ;)

Anywho - when I got this Nurse Anya stamp not too long ago I KNEW I had to use it for my MIL's (mother-in-law) birthday card b/c she's a nurse of course.

Since it's her birthday on Friday and we're still down in the Bahamas I had to get everything ready ahead of time (including this post!).

While making it I decided to use my latest Friday Sketch as I didn't have time to make any other samples!

Here's the card I made for her:

I stamped her onto CC Designs Copic Cardstock with Memento Ink then colored her in with my Copics.

It's hard to tell but I used my Sakura Clear Glaze pen on the red cross and the items on the tray to make them a little raised and shiny.

I ran the gray cardstock through my Big Shot with the Swiss Dots embossing folder and then kept the rest of the card pretty simple!

The sentiments on the outside and inside are from my Birthday Sentiments set.

Happy Birthday Bev!!

Quick Hello

Hey everyone!

We arrived OK in the Bahamas yesterday around lunchtime and so far have been having a great time!!

It's DEFINITELY hot and humid here (BIG change from the warmish-to-hot dry summer weather I'm used to!) but not unbearable.

Oh and all our luggage came through OK (we flew with WestJet which is a Canadian airline and we're allowed 2 carry-ons and 2 checked luggage per person - SO nice) and I didn't get anything confiscated - OR broken so I am happy (except for the fact that I dropped my Mac blush on the tile bathroom floor here and it broke into a million pieces :( - but that was my own clumsy fault!).

Our hotel is SO cool - it has it's own private beach so of course we've swam in the ocean a few times already. I've never done that before so it's been a pretty cool experience.

Anywho this is just a quick update as my internet access is pretty sketchy and obviously as the weather has been awesome we've been outside nearly the entire time. 

If I get some free time I'll try to upload the couple of stamping videos I have saved onto my computer to YouTube for y'all. We'll see how this 'net connection goes.

I'm off to get some sleep - it's been a long day and this heat and humidity takes a lot out of a person! I just quickly wanted to say Hi to y'all!! :)

(((((HUGS))))))

Vacation!!

Eeekkk!!

In about 2 hours Tim and I (the girls are staying with his parents) will be heading out on vacation! In case you're wondering we're going to the Bahamas for a little over a week - a friend of mine is getting married so we're going for the wedding plus to have a hopefully fab vacation as well!

I've never left the country before (seriously!) and I haven't been on a plane in oh - 11 or more years or so?? Not too worried about that - mostly I'm just trying to make sure all my stuff meets "regulations" and I won't have any of my makeup or anything confiscated!!

Anywho - I have a couple of posts pre-posted and timed to go up while I'm gone - PLUS I *might* have a couple of (stamping related!!) videos going up too so you can keep checking in here!

Depending on what kind of Internet connection we have down there I might be able to share some pics while we're there too.

And obviously there is a good chance that I won't be able to respond to comments or e-mails while I'm away - so anything like that will prolly have to wait 'till I get back!

So before I jet (literally) here's the luggage tags I made:

These were SUPER quick to make. I just made a base from cardstock then added patterned paper that I cut at an angle from the My Minds Eye Bloom & Grow collection, then stamped images from Kim Hughes Paradise Found set in black. After adding all our info to the back I slipped them into the plastic tags and that was it!

Can you guess which one was for Tim? (*hint* - it's the one with NO pink on it. So yeah the other three are mine - he's got one piddly suitcase and I've got a TON of stuff. I have a hard time packing for ANYTHING and always bring way too much but I'd rather have extra than forget something important!!)

Can't wait to go!! :o)

Review Preview Thank You Cards

Today is Review Preview day over on the ATS blog (every Friday is RP day and a different new set is slated for previews each week) and today's set is my new Butterfly set.

I actually got some time to play along and this is what I made:

Aren't the colors SO pretty???

I got a sei Mimosa 12x12 patterned paper pad at Michaels (on SALE of course!) a couple of months ago and this is the first chance I've had to cut into it.

I gotta say while I LOVE the colors and the patterns of the papers in the pack - a lot of the patterns are scaled way too large for cardmakers. As in if you cut them down to use on a card you'll lose most of the pattern/detail etc. I still love it tho - and some patterns (like the one I used here) have glitter while others are a bit metallic and whatnot - VERY pretty!!

Anywho - I made these 4 cards and kept the layout and whatnot simple.

The butterfly itself I had some fun with (I did a how-to video on that so I will hopefully get that up soon to share with y'all) using vellum and glitter and different colors of ink.

The pink cardstock is SU!'s new Melon Mambo color - LOVE LOVE LOVE this color!! I diecut it with my Spellbinders Mega Curved Rectangle die then stamped and embossed the Thank You with white embossing powder.

On the inside of each card I added a strip along the bottom of the same paper used on the front, and another stamped butterfly.

This one I just stamped with white pigment ink onto one of the other patterned papers in the Mimosa pack, heat set it to dry it faster then cut it out and adhered it to the card.

Make sure to check out the DT samples using this set HERE <---click!

STAMPS: AmyR Stamps Butterfly and Thank You Sentiments set.

CS: CC Designs White, SU! Basic Black, Melon Mambo, and Cardstock Vellum, sei Mimosa patterned papers.

INK: ColorBox Pink, Moss Green and Canary Pigment Inks, SU! Whisper White Craft.

ACCESSORIES: Spellbinders Mega Curved Rectangle die, Stickles Crystal (dry) Glitter, Stampendous Stamp N Bond Powder, White Embossing Powder.

Friday Sketch! (July 17/09)

Here's the latest sketch!

And all the usual info:

- keyword to use when uploading to public galleries is AMYRS72.

- link directly to your creation when posting a link to your card - why you ask? Check out this link for more info. (I've been editing the links that lead just to a blog to the proper link directly to the post - BUT generally I don't have time to do that. If I don't then I'll just delete the link - if yours is missing this is generally the reason why and you can just re-enter the proper link to your creation in the gallery/blog post!)

-not sure HOW to link provide a DIRECT link? Check out this post by Kristina Werner - she explains how to with her video (it's meant for her color inspiration challenges but it's the same idea) - check it out HERE <----click!

-you are welcome to save this sketch to your computer (right click then save to your computer) and upload it to your blog post along with a direct link to this post with credit given to me for the sketch :o)

- have your card done and linked before next Thursday at 10pm EST in order to have it included with the participants links - other than that there is no time limits - this is all for fun! If you've missed the deadline feel free to include a link to your creation in the comment section of this post!

- ANYONE can participate- you can use whatever products/stamps/embellies you want - sky's the limit :)

- I WILL remove any links I deem inappropriate (self-promotional, spam, card not following sketch in any way etc etc etc).

.................................................................................................................................................................

AmyR's Friday Sketch! Participants

1. lily 2. Lisa Kind 3. Pam Varnell 4. Mercy Kerin 5. Amy Young 6. Silke Ledlow 7. Kristy Young {Australia} 8. Rachel Hope 9. Kelly Schelske

10. Nicki Turner 11. Monika/buzsy 12. Janet R 13. RobbynW 14. Sharon S. 15. Tammy Fielder 16. Leisa (Big Red Scraps) 17. Deborah N. 18. Julia Lim

19. Elena 20. Kimberly O'Rosky 21. Rachel Arambula 22. Nikki 23. Mary Brown 24. Andrea L - EnchantINK 25. Judy M 26. Donna MacDonald

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Check it out!!

Look at my pretty MacBook!!:

EEEEKKK!! Isn't it PRETTY????? I *heart* it!

I am gaga over the new Stampin' Up! Definitely Decorative catalogue - there are so many cool ones that I want to get from there (if I could afford it my entire house would be decorated with them all by now!).

I've NEVER used this vinyl decor before now so I wanted to start small and as soon as I saw the Upsy Daisy ones that were meant for laptops I HAD to get a couple.

I got Pretty in Pink and Basic Grey (the colors match my carrying bag for my MacBook LOL) and got to work.

For the first time using them they weren't too bad. I applied the pink one first as a whole sheet and it took a while to peel everything apart and whatnot but then the application was pretty easy. I then applied the gray ones and cut them apart and applied them in pieces to make it all look different - and that went WAY quicker since I knew what I was doing!

I am LOVING the finished look - what do you think?

Look Ma!! No Stamping!!

 **This is post #2 for today! So scroll down to read the other one too!**

NO stamps, NO coloring! ACK!!

I can't remember the last time I made a shaped card (if ever - I don't know if I've EVER made one???) but I've had this idea floating around for some time now and as my Dad's birthday was yesterday it was high time to finally make this card as he's been playing the guitar since before I was born.

I had seen an acoustic guitar shaped card in what I think was Papercrafts Magazine a while ago, and while I liked that I wanted to do something different.

Dad had shown me a green electric guitar he had got a while ago and in all my musings about making this card it was always green - so I went with Glorious Green SU cardstock (a color I hardly ever use).

Disclaimer - I don't know a THING about guitars. I had to google images of them to try and get a feel on the shape and all that. The rest of it I just made up as I went along.

The card fits in a standard A2 envelope - I just free-hand sketched out the shape with a pencil, cut it out with scissors then did the same thing with the white part.

A couple of circle punches, a small corner rounder punch, and some silver cord (SU!) and silver brads finished it off.

Tim's dropping the card off at my Dad's later today so I have no idea yet if he likes it or not! We'll see!

All That Scraps Autumn Stamp Kit (Limited Edition)

Just a heads up to let y'all know that ATS has just released their NEW Autumn Stamp Kit!

You HAVE to check out the samples on the blog post HERE <----click!! You can also see a bit more on Lesa's blog post HERE <----click!

Here's the info on the kit:

These are your only peeks at what comes in the stamp kit, I can tell you that you will get 5 Emmas, 3 Trevors, 6 Accessory images, and a set of sentiments.

Our Autumn stamp kit is available for a limited time only. The kit will be available from July 15th-July 28th only. Order will start shipping quickly after purchase.

These images will not be available again until our September release and at that time they will only be available as individual stamps.

You can find the stamp set here <---

**I** don't even have these stamps yet *sniff*!! And I can't wait to get them as they are freaking CUTE!! As soon as I saw the images I was bouncin' in my chair!!

A RAK and a Thank You Card Sketch Sample

I got a REALLY sweet little package in the mail the other day:

This came all the way from Australia!!! Thank you so much Makeesha!!

She sent me THE cutest stamp set called "Build a Roo" that I assume is exclusive to the Australian Stampin' Up! catty - it's so adorable! ETA- oops I obviously missed seeing it in the Canadian catty and apparently it's in the US one - so yay for all the SU! fans out there LOL!

And her super cute card using the set just made me grin!!

((((HUGS)))) Makeesha - you rock!

So of course I had to put the set together ASAP and make a card with it - so here it is:

 

I pulled out my SU! Walk in the Park patterned papers (retired) and followed my latest Friday Sketch to make the card adjusting it a bit to fit the image and the sentiment.

I even pulled out my Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol to color in the kangaroo (*shock* I know!! I didn't use my Copics!!) for something different - now that I have more experience with shading/blending etc with the Copics I can apply that knowledge to coloring with the pencil crayons.

So with a bit of coloring and experimenting I'm pleased with the end result! 

I die cut the image with my circle nestabilities dies, and did the same thing with the sentiment and one of the smaller circle dies.

The ribbon is from this DoodleBug pack, and I pulled the Primas from my stash along with the brads.

I didn't take a pic of the inside of the card as I kept it simple and lined it with the same green leafy patterned paper and that was it!

Glitter Stained Glass VIDEO Tutorial

You can see the original card and post HERE <----click!

You can also watch the video on YouTube HERE.

Enjoy!