Prairie Paper & Ink

CC Designs Winter Sugarplums BLOG HOP!

Welcome to the CC Designs Winter Sugarplums Blog Hop!!

The Winter Sugarplums stamp release is so large the entire team is participating in a blog hop to give all of you just a taste of the fabulous creations you can make with these stamps!

If you've just happened across my blog and didn't start at the beginning click here <-----click!

I had so much fun making this card!

I stamped the Sugarplums Presents image onto CCD White cardstock then stamped the Santa Emma image so that she was sitting on the one gift (so cute!).

I then colored Emma in with my Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol.

The presents I paper pieced using patterned papers from the MME The Merry Days of Christmas line.

The bows on the gifts were paper pieced as well - but instead of using patterned papers I just stamped them onto white cardstock and colored them with Prismacolors and Gamsol (it was easier stamping and coloring them separately rather than cut out each part of the gifts around all the bows and whatnot).

Of course I had to add some bling!!

I used my Quickie Glue pen along with some glitter to dazzle up Emma's outfit and the bows on the gifts.

The sentiment is from the Winter Sentiments set (made to go along with all the new Winter Sugarplums stamps) that I stamped onto green cardstock then die cut with one of the labels four dies.

The main image was die-cut with the largest of the labels one dies.

After adding a couple of strips of patterned paper (same as used on the gifts) I added some wide red grosgrain and that was it for the front!

I used the same papers on the inside of the card.

I also die-cut another piece of white cardstock using the labels one dies and added another sentiment from the Winter Sentiments set that I die-cut with the 2nd smallest of the labels four dies and that was it!

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Don't forget to comment! ONE random comment from one of the blog hop posts will be chosen to win the ENTIRE Winter Sugarplums stamp collection!! So make sure to leave a comment on each post to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by! Continue the hop by visiting  Treasure Oiler Designz
 

Enabler Alert - Sale extended at ATS!!

For those of you that might have thought you missed it - ATS is EXTENDING their 25% off Black Friday sale 'till TONIGHT (Saturday Nov 28/09).

The December release stamps are also still available AND you can still get them for 25% off as well!

Last but not least - for those that have been sitting on the fence over Copics - you can get them for 25% off during the sale as well! Copics <------click!

I gotta run - I'm trying to get some posts done ahead of time to go up (here and on the ATS blog as well) while I'm away this weekend for my nail art courses. Talk to you guys later!! :o)

SNEAK PEEK - AmyR Stamps Snowflakes Set

Well if you have been reading this blog for some time (or even just been reading for the last month or so!) you'll know that this past month has been just a *little* (UNDERSTATEMENT!) crazy for me.

And so I totally screwed up the dates AGAIN (I know!! I'm horrible!!) and thought the sneak peek for my new Snowflakes set was going up TOMORROW - nope! It went live today - without any samples from me!!

Now that I've smacked my forhead a few times - I finished up the cards I had started and wrecked (long story) by re-doing them - thank goodness they were simple (but with a wow!).

Before I post them I also have to say sorry over the rotten picture quality!! It gets dark here at about 5pm right now (really sucks - the days are SO short and at times it can be pretty depressing! There's no daylight 'till 9 am then dark at 5!) and by the time I got home from work and got a chance to take pictures it was DARK.

I use a photo-tent and all that but I have still noticed that I can get WAY better pictures during daylight hours.

I even tried holding up one of my other daylight lamps for more light (all the while managing my bulky Canon Rebel camera LOL) but it didn't help - sorry!

OK enough blabbering - here's the cards I made with my new Snowflakes set (available Monday the 30th!):

I did up a set of three cards - all using the Snowflakes stamp set in three different color combos.

Here it is in pinks:

 I used Stampin' Up!'s Shimmer White cardstock for the bases.

This cardstock is SO pretty in real life - it's not really a bright white - but it IS shimmery - so of course that is REALLY hard to pick up on camera.

I tried to get a shot here to show y'all the shimmer - you can kind of see it I hope!

Anywho - I like using this type of cardstock for "no-layer" cards like this because it definitely gives it that extra "wow" factor!

The color combo for this card was Rose Red, Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink (all Stampin' Up! colors).

After stamping the snowflakes on the front and inside I stamped the large 'Peace' sentiment from my Christmas Sentiments set.

Then on the inside of the card I stamped a verse from my Christmas Verses set.

I REALLY like how this one turned out with the greens (and it's driving me nuts how bad the picture lighting is!! I tried fiddling with it in Photoshop but everything I did just made it worse).

The color combo for this one was Always Artichoke, Old Olive and Mellow Moss (all SU!).

And again I used sentiments and verses from my Christmas Sentiments and Christmas Verses sets.

Now for the blues!

Seriously these cards are SO quick and easy to make - you could mass produce a TON of them in little time and have all your Christmas cards done in a snap!

The color combo for this one was Not Quite Navy, Brocade Blue and Bordering Blue (again all SU!).

To be totally honest I wasn't planning on sending out Christmas cards this year. With how crazy everything has been I just didn't think I had the time - and I certainly didn't want to add one more thing to my already-overloaded plate!

But now that I've made these cards and have the design and everything planned out - all I'd have to do is get a bunch of family pictures printed (I took some at Easter that will work - we definitely don't have time to get professional ones done - tho I would LOVE that!) to put in them and I'd be good to go!

If you've made it this far - you can be entered in to WIN this set for FREE - all you have to do is visit the ATS blog and leave a comment on the post peaking this set HERE <------click!

Good luck!  
 

 

HUGE Enabler Alert!!

FYI!!!

All That Scraps is having a ONE DAY Black Friday sale TODAY!!

EVERYTHING in the store is 25% off (no code needed!).

AND - you can even get the December stamps (that aren't being released 'till Monday!) in the sale for 25% off too!!

Which means those of you reading this can get a FULL peak at my two newest sets AND can buy them for 25% off at the same time!:

AmyR Snowflake

AmyR Winter Sentiments

Of course all my other stamp sets are included in the sale as well - y'all can check them out here:

AmyR Stamps

Happy shopping!! :o)

Friends!

This has to be a SUPER-quick post - I need to get to work!

Isn't she CUTE?? This was one of the other Wild Rose Studio stamps I had bought (I've got one more to share - the card should be done later on tonight!) so I colored her up to make this card.

This Cat and Flowers image is so cute - as soon as I saw it I had to have it!

I stamped her onto white cardstock then colored her with Copic markers.

COPICS USED: C3, C5, C7, R83, R85, R39, R59, YR04, YR07, YG23, YG25, BG05, BG07, BG0000.

I cut out the image with my Labels Three dies, and then I added a bunch of little adhesive rhinestones to the flower centers - that turned out so cute!

Do y'all recognize the patterned paper? LOL I'm STILL using the MME Colorful Christmas papers - and I'm totally stoked that they work for creations OTHER than Christmas cards and whatnot!

The opposite side of most of the papers works perfectly for non-Christmas/holiday cards - so I thought I may as well keep using the papers - maybe I'll actually use these papers up for once!

The sentiment is from the Friends Sentiments set - I stamped it onto pink cardstock then punched it out with a Stampin' Up! punch ( I really should label that punch b/c I ALWAYS forget the name of it LOL).

On the inside of the card I added more patterned paper along with some pink cardstock and die cut a piece of white cardstock with the largest of the Labels Three and that was it!

Seriously gotta run otherwise I'm gonna be late!

*mwah!*

 

Copic Hair Color Combos

I get asked a lot about Copic color combinations that I use on hair and whatnot and while I was quickly browsing through my Google Reader this morning before I head off to work I came across this post that I am sure a LOT of you will appreciate!!

A Few Fun Formulas For Hair Color! <----click! on over to the Club Anya blog!

There are some GREAT hair color Copic combos (say that 3 times fast!!) on there - I got a few ideas from it too - I'll have to go through my stash as there are a couple of colors I don't think I have (yet!).

Just had to share that with you guys!! Hope it helps! *grin*

Peace on Earth

I'm sitting here drinking tea and listening to Christmas music - yup I'm getting into the spirit early this year!

Normally I wait until the beginning of December to start decorating and getting "into it" - but this year with everything the way it is I'm starting early otherwise nothing will get done!

I'm gone this coming weekend for a 2 days of nail art courses (pretty excited about that - I've been feeling it's time for me to take my gel nails to another level!), the weekend after that we're celebrating Josie's birthday (I can't believe my youngest will be 4 on the 1st!! ACK!), the weekend after that is Tim's Christmas party for work, and I'm sure things will be cropping up as they always do (again I am SO glad I'm done Christmas shopping - I should actually pull everything out and double check and make sure I have everything covered!!).

ALSO - All That Scraps is going to be releasing the December stamps on November 30th (Monday)!! So the sneak peeks are starting THIS WEEK on the ATS blog!!

I have another couple of sets being released so I need to get my butt in gear making samples for that! I am BEYOND excited to share them with you (some of you that got the Winter Kit early already know one of the sets - but the other y'all will see peeks of SOON!).

ANYWHO - I actually had this weekend off - I know I'm as shocked as the rest of you.

I have to admit I spent the first part of yesterday lazing around and doing nothing (well reading a book and eating chocolate that I shouldn't have been eating!) but then I kicked it into high gear and did dishes, made supper, cleaned and all that stuff.

I'm determined to get this house cleaned this weekend and get the tree up - so we'll see how that all goes!

I'm also determined to lose another 10lbs before Tim's Christmas party on the 12th. I've been WAY too lazy (and telling myself I'm too busy or whatever) these past couple of months and not following the program like I should - and have decided to really take it seriously. Especially as it's costing me $$ to be on it I better actually DO it!

I've been toying with the idea of setting up a separate blog to keep track of all my weight loss stuff - as I don't want it cluttering up my posts on here - this is a STAMPING blog after all! I'm just not sure if I can juggle that as well!

But it would be nice to have a spot where I can keep myself accountable and where others can comment and check in and join me if they'd like! Because I have a ways to go - I want to lose at least another 40lbs (I've lost over 20 so far) so I've got my work cut out for me!

We'll see - I need to come up with SOME way to hold myself accountable and stick to it b/c I am a HORRIBLE snacker and late night eater - my self control is practically non-existent!!

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NOW - for those still reading!! - I made a card!

I bought myself a couple of Wild Rose stamps from ATS several weeks ago and they've been sitting on my desk untouched ever since! :o(

I decided to pull them out and use them the other day - and it took me all week just to get this one card done with all the craziness that was going on.

This Christmas Friends stamp I HAD to have - I mean how cute is it??

I stamped the image onto white cardstockthen colored them in with my Copics.

COPICS USED:

E33, E35, E37, C3, C5, C7, YG23, YG25, YR04, YR07, R83, R85, BG05, BG07, BG0000, BG10, R39, R59.

I then cut the image with the largest of my Labels Four dies (I'm thinking that set is my favorite of all the labels - I seem to reach for it the most often).

The patterned paper is (again!) theMME Colorful Christmas papers - I LOVE these papers! The colors are so bright and cheerful and are so fun for Christmas cards. I just can't stop using them!

I made the snowflake embellishment by punching a snowflake from teal cardstock using one of my Marvy snowflake punches.

I then coated the snowflake with glue (I just used Tombow Mono Multi) and covered it with chunky glitter (it's from Stampin' Up!s Chunky Sprinkles glitter set).

I also added the same glitter to the main image b/c I liked how it turned out so much.

The burgundy snowflake was made with a Martha Stewart punch.

I then attached the embellishment to the card with a button from my stash and some white embroidery thread.

The "Peace on Earth" sentiment (punched out with a 1" circle punch) along with the sentiment on the inside are both from the Christmas Card Greetings set.

To get it like I did on the inside here I stamped the sentiment along the bottom of the green cardstock then die cut it with the largest Labels Four die before adhering it to the white cardstock that had also been cut with the same die.  

Gotta run!! :o)
 

Winner and more randomness from me

Thank you all SOOOO much for all your comments on my blog candy post!!

Yes I had meant to draw the random number yesterday and didn't - I've been working ALL week and yesterday I worked like 13 hours?? Something like that - by the time I got home I was exhausted and fell asleep - I missed Survivor AND Grey's Anatomy (which *would* make me cry but I've got them saved to watch later thank goodness! I can't miss Grey's especially!!!).

Then I had to get up early to work again today - my sister has been sick all week so I've been working double-duty - and I REALLY am hoping she gets better (like NOW!) because I am beyond tired at this point. When it gets to the point where I can't even think straight I know it's time for a break!

Ever since mom broke her foot I've been running on overdrive which is fine - you gotta do what you gotta do right? But this past month I've been going non-stop and I most definitely would love some time to chill (and maybe even stamp?? That would be nice I think LOL) - so here's hoping.

I have my fingers and toes crossed and am knocking on wood that I actually get this weekend to stay home, get things done and maybe, just maybe do some stampin'!!

NOW - I haven't read all the comments yet on my blog candy post - but I most definitely will be reading each and every one of them!!

I DID go to Random.org as soon as I sat down here and had it draw a number out of all the comments - and this is what it was:

#55!!

SO I scroll down through the comments and here's #55:

 Congrats Danielle H!!! *grin*

Normally I would say you can contact me (insert e-mail addy here) and I'll mail it out to you but yep - we live in the same town. So Danielle I can just give you the set next time I see you - you never know this may be the start of a pretty fun hobby!!!

Not only that but Veronica is in Sparks (Canadian junior version of Girl Guides) and Danielle is the leader - so yeah what are the chances that the random number would be someone I KNOW??

ANYWHO - stay tuned folks b/c once I get a good night's sleep I plan on stamping, and I still have a video to edit and post as well. AND there will be more blog candy offerings in the near future - I've got other goodies stashed here with the intent to give them away - so keep checking in!

K I gotta run and have some supper - I ran up here to post as soon as I got home and it's 7:30 and I am STARVING! Don't worry I did make sure my kids were fed first *wink*
 

BLOG CANDY!

This has to be a quick post as yup - I'm heading off to work early again.

My sister is sick again so I had to work yesterday and am going in early to open the coffee shop this morning then working 'till late at my salon.

FYI mom is doing good - she's in a walking cast now and can put weight on her heel. There are still pins in her foot that won't be removed for another 3 weeks or so - but she's hobbling around and getting things done!

Now I know y'all are itching to know what the blog candy is *grin*:

Right now it's this stamp set - the Stampin' Up! Christmas Punch set that was a level 2 hostess set I think?

Anyway it's a set of 7 brand new unmounted set and all you hafta do is leave a comment (ONE comment per person please! Duplicate comments will be deleted!) letting me know what you'd like to see here on my blog (no guarantees that I will do everything that's asked but I always welcome ideas!!) and also where you are from (it's always so cool to see where y'all come from when visiting me here).

I do have several things that I plan on sharing on here in the near future - including more videos - I have a bunch I need to do! I also have more goodies for blog candy too......*grin*!!

And I get asked a lot where *I'M* from - Saskatchewan, Canada! Smack dab in the middle of the Prairies folks!

So leave a comment on this post and on Thursday night (prolly late as I have to work then too) I'll use Random.org to pick a number and that commenter will win this set!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED - WINNER IS ANNOUNCED HERE <-----click!

Christmas Trio

This post has to be quick as I need to get to work!

I came across the last few Heidi Swapp Ghost Shapes in my stash the other day - and there were three of the largest ones left so I decided to use them up and make three cards with them.

Here was the end result:

I pulled out some more new patterned paper that I got a couple of months ago - the new MME Merry Days of Christmas paper (it's GORGEOUS paper in real life! The pics online don't do it justice!! And it's all double-sided too which also isn't shown online) to make all three cards with  - I decided to alternate the colors to make them all just a little different from each other.

I used my Marvy Snowflake punches and punched out the snowflakes from some of the patterned paper, then attached the larger one behind the clear one and the smaller one in front of it.

All the fancy brads were from my stash - I got them in packs from the Dollarama years ago!

 The ribbon is May Arts satin.

The sentiments are all from my Christmas Sentiments set.

I stamped all three onto scraps of white cardstock then used one of my Labels 4 dies to cut them out before adhering them to the cards - I LOVE the elegant look it gives by dressing up the card just that much more.

The scalloped edge on the striped patterned paper was made with my Martha Stewart Scalloped Lace punch.

 I kept all the insides simple.

I WAS going to stamp verses from the Christmas Verses set but decided instead to leave them blank this time.

 

I lined all the insides of the cards with the same pattern of paper that I used on the front, then die cut some white cardstock with the largest of the Labels 4 dies and adhered that.

As a finishing touch I punched out some more snowflakes from the patterned papers and adhered those and that was it!

TTYL!! :o)

I'm Almost Done My Christmas Shopping

**If y'all rather not read my blabbing you can scroll down to the dotted line - I've posted a card below it!!**

And yes I AM proud of it!! With all the craziness in my life these past couple of months - I am SO glad that I started EARLY with all the Christmas shopping.

I've been getting things here and there, setting them aside and mentally taking stock of what all I've purchased so far and what all else I need to get. I am thisclose to being completely done! YAY!

I LOVE Christmas, and I LOVE getting gifts for people (especially when I can find things that I know that the person really wants and I end up finding it on SALE *grin*) - but I HATE shopping last minute. I also hate shopping in huge crowds and it's already like that.

I took my Mom to Costco on Saturday as we had to stock up on supplies for the coffee shop (she does a TON of catering too - so we go through tons of produce/meat/etc etc etc) - and man what a nightmare that parking lot was! We got the very last handicapped parking stall (the only bonus for her having a broken foot!) and then had to navigate the warehouse - **I went into a whole rant for a good couple of paragraphs about how adults are SO RUDE there - all they do is stare and I can't tell you how many weird looks we got - but I deleted it!! Let's just say if someone looks funny to you - be discreet!! You don't need to stop what you're doing or nearly walk in to other people b/c you're staring at someone with a cast on - it wasn't like she had an alien sticking out of her head or something LOL!!**

ANYWHO - all that to say I am VERY happy to be nearly done with the presents-shopping. That is just one less (rather large!) thing for me to do/stress about/whatever.

Now I just have to figure out what we're going to do with a new cat and me and my Christmas trees and other decorations!! I can't NOT put them up (I'm for sure hosting my side of the family here this year - not sure yet if I'm hosting for Tim's side yet) but I can't say what I'd do if I came home to a wrecked tree/trees/broken ornaments/etc etc. Any advice from all you cat-owners out there??

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SO - since my sister is better and back at work (yay for her and me!!) I actually have today to be at home and get things done.

And of course I HAD to make at least one card:

This is card number three made with the new Swiss Pixies Holiday stamps (you can check out #1 HERE and #2 HERE) - and I think this one is my favorite of the three!

I stamped this Swiss Pixies Nora stamp onto CCD White cardstock then colored her in with Copics.

COPICS USED:

E50, E51, R20, E25, E27, R83, R85, R39, R59, YG25, BG000, BG01, BG0000

I made the design on her coat with the colorless blender (video on how-to HERE), die cut the image with my labels 4 dies then masked and airbrushed the blue around her.

**I've received several comments and e-mails about masking - you can check out one of my old tutorials on masking HERE - and I will hopefully have a video how-to up really soon! I did a video the other day and just haven't had the chance to upload/edit/get it onto YouTube yet! I'll try to get that done this week.**

I blinged her up with Stickles (for those that don't know Stickles are glitter glues in all different colors. You just apply them to your projects (they all come in squeeze bottles with narrow applicator tips) and they dry pretty flat and all sparkly!) on her wings and boots and whatnot.

The snowflake is a felt flurry from SU that I dabbed with a Copic marker to tint it the color I wanted (FYI be careful using Copics on felt - the felt can wick out a lot of ink - and it can take a LONG time to dry - even with using Copics!) then attached to the card with a MME brad.

The patterned paper is all from the MME Colorful Christmas line.

The sentiment is from the Christmas Card Greetings set. I decided not to add a sentiment to the inside of the card but instead just add the two strips of patterned paper to "finish" off the inside.

As always I gotta run! I have mountains of laundry to do plus I'm cleansing today so I need to keep busy so that I don't lose focus and start snacking!

TTYL!

**sorry this was posted so late! I had it typed up and ready to go a couple of hours ago but SaskTel showed up to fix my phone line and I've had no internet (and of course they showed up literally just as I was finishing up this post and ready to publish!!). Now that it's fixed I'm good to go (and hope I've finally got a phone line that WORKS - in the past month I've had maybe only 2/3's of it with a working phone!)**
 

Another Long Day

And my feet are killing me!

After being a stay-at-home mom and then having this salon where I sit most of the time - being on my feet for 9 hours straight and not just standing but constantly moving (back and forth prepping, making coffee, waiting tables etc etc etc!!) makes my feet ACHE!! I've got good shoes but still - feet can only take so much!

It's nice to just SIT - and since Tim had bowling tonight I got a little time for just ME - so I made a card!

Before I post it I have to thank y'all AGAIN - seriously I am really appreciating all the comments and feedback lately!! I've said before that I read ALL the comments I get (and I do!) and try to reply to all of them (so if you post a comment with a question I will generally post my reply to it right below said comment) but lately it seems like there are a LOT more of y'all commenting than usual - and I'm liking it!

Makes me feel like I'm actually talking to people (and not just to myself - tho I tend to do that a lot too.........) ROFLOL!!!

ANYWHO - while I'm sitting here enjoying another cup of tea (peach and passion fruit by Twinings - YUM!! I still dunno why I'm on such a tea kick - I'm a gal that loves her coffee/espresso drinks!! If I could have a large carmel macchiato with whipped cream and drizzled carmel every day without putting back on all the weight I've lost (or better yet keep LOSING weight - wouldn't that be heaven?) I would be a VERY happy girl) - again ANYWHO (I keep getting side-tracked tonight) - here's the card:

 
This is another of the Holiday Swiss Pixies images I had colored the other day.

 I stamped her onto CCD White carstock with Memento black ink and colored her in with Copic markers.

COPICS USED:

E50, E51, R20, E25, E27, R39, R59, R83, R85, YG23, YG25, BG0000.

I then masked her and airbrushed the pink around her (after I'd die cut the oval and leaving the die in place).

Oh and of course I had to add a bunch of Stickles - the image wouldn't be complete without!! (sorry the pic isn't as bright as it should be - I just took all these pics now and it's dark :( )

I used the same papers as the last card - all from the MME Colorful Christmas line (LOVING THOSE - they're so bright and cheerful!!) along with some punched snowflakes (both Martha Stewart punches - I wonder if there will be new Snowflake punches this year?? I hope so - I LOVE snowflake punches LOL!) and prima flowers.

The ribbon is just cheapo Offray ribbon I got at either Michaels or WalMart.

The sentiments on the front and on the inside of the card are both from my Christmas Card Greetings set.

I finished off the inside with a couple more punched snowflakes and that was it!

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My cup is empty - I think I'm going to brew up another cup of tea. Hopefully all this herbal stuff I'm drinking aids me in NOT getting sick! My mom saw my sister and she's still pretty sick - so I'll be working all day again tomorrow and Friday.

I can't wait for this week to be over honestly - I still can't believe it's only Wednesday!!

Just Random Stuff

First off - all the new November stamps are now available at All That Scraps HERE <-----click!

That includes my new Christmas Card Greetings set:

 
You can get this set HERE <-----click!

You guys have given me some good ideas for a new name for our cat!

I'll let y'all know if and when we choose a new name and what it is.

I had hoped to make another card or two today as I only had one nail client booked, but my sister is now sick so I ended up working ALL day between the coffee shop and my salon!

I just got home a little while ago, had a cup of tea and have been reading all the comments on my last post (*warm fuzzies!*).

I also attempted to begin to finish a card - and yeah that's just not going to happen tonight! I'm exhausted!!

So I'm going to go crash on the couch (mebbe have another cup of tea - all of a sudden I've become obsessed with tea and am LOVING it! It's weird b/c up to now I've always loved the SMELL of tea but never liked the taste of it - now I really am liking it! Just another random tid-bit about me.....) and mebbe watch a movie with Tim (if I don't fall asleep during....).

We'll see how tomorrow goes - I may be working all day again if my sister is still sick (she's been working more than me since my mom broke her foot, and definitely more stressed than I've been. I REALLY hope I don't get sick!! *knock on wood!**) - if she's better then I may get some time to get SOMETHING crafty done!!

Here's hoping!

Shocking I Know

I actually stamped today!!

AND I actually got a card done!

Yes, only ONE card.

Between dropping V off at school then picking her up, running an errand for my mom, dealing with a miserable 3-year-old doing a little house cleaning (why I felt I NEEDED to really clean the stove top today is beyond me....)and chasing that d**n cat out of my studio - I'm impressed that I got even the ONE done!

Speaking of the cat - here's a pic of her that I took today:

**notice the sock in her bed?? This cat has a thing for socks. She just goes nuts and attacks them whenever they're left out. And this one she appears to have taken full possession of LOL**

I REALLY think we need to come up with a new name for her. I refuse to call her "Princess Sparkles" (more often it's "that d**n cat" LOL) and the girls don't even call her that anymore either - they just call her "kitty". We need a normal name for her - any suggestions??

OK on to the card - as some of y'all know tonight is release night over at All That Scraps - all the November stamps will be up right away actually (10pm EST is when they go on sale!) and one of those sets is by me - called Christmas Card Greetings.

So I definitely had to make at least one sample using my new set - and had to use some of the other soon-to-be-released stamps - I just had a heckuva time trying to choose which stamps to use!

I decided to go with the Holiday Swiss Pixies - so here's the first card I've finished so far:

I also pulled out all my new My Mind's Eye Colorful Christmas papers and whatnot that I ordered weeks ago - it's been sitting in the box it arrived in ever since so I was happy to finally pull it out and use it!

This card also took forever b/c it's been HOW long since I last stamped?? It feels like forever - but it's been a good couple of weeks - maybe more......so yeah things just weren't working like they usually do (more proof that one needs to stamp OFTEN! *grin*).

I stamped this Swiss Pixie onto CCD White cardstock that I die cut in a circle and colored her in with Copics before I masked her and airbrushed the green around her.

COPICS USED:

E50, E51, R20, E25, E27, R39, YG25, R83, BG05, BG07, N1.

And then of course I had to bling her up with a bunch of Stickles.

The sentiment from the Christmas Card Greetings set was stamped onto a circle of pink cardstock that I trimmed with my paper trimmer before adhering it below the Swiss Pixie.

I added flower and felt snowflake from my stash that I attached with a MME brad.

The little bauble-thingies (the name of them escapes me at the moment) in the bottom right corner of the card are from Stamping Bella.

For the inside of the card I added more MME patterned paper along with a piece of white cardstock I die cut with one of my nestabilities dies.

I finished it off by stamping one of the (many!) companion sentiments from the Christmas Card Greetings set and that was it!

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Oh and another update on my mom - she's doing fine. She's got a full cast on - all the way up to her knee and she can't put any pressure on her foot for the next two weeks. So she's hopping on one foot prepping and baking and catering and all that as usual (if you knew my mom this wouldn't surprise you). She definitely has to take time out to rest and DOES. Now that she HAS to maybe we'll finally get the chance for me to do her nails and pamper her a bit (since a pedicure is no longer an option - at least for a good while) as she's been wanting to get her nails done for weeks now and has just been too busy.