PPRS December Sketch Challenge

Wowzers! Can you believe that it is the 15th of December already?!? Just 10 days until Christmas and I haven't even started my Christmas shopping! That is typical me, always waiting until last minute to do things.

Today launches the start of the December Sketch Challenge over at Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. Here is this month's fantastic sketch made by Nicole.

Super fun and super inspirational! Here is my take on it:



I used the super pretty Ornament Bunch red rubber stamp along with the adorable It Came Without Ribbons sentiment red rubber stamp. So, now that you have seen my take, hustle on over to the PPRS blog where you can find more information on how you can join in on the fun. No PPRS products are required to play and you can win a $15 gift certificate to the PPRS webshop!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will play along with us!

Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps Meets Tim Holtz

Happy Mon...err, I mean Tuesday! This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but my internet has been shoddy over the last few days and I haven't had decent internet access on my computer. I was able to access the internet on my phone, but I did not want to write up a blog post on my phone, let alone take crappy pictures with my phone's camera. So, I decided I would do it today once the internet serviceman left and I am now again with access to the world wide web! Woo hoo!

As you may know, yesterday was the last day of Tim Holtz's annual 12 Tags of Christmas. I absolutely heart Tim Holtz, his style, and his techniques. So, my project today incorporates Tim Holtz along with the super cute Pumpkin and Snowman clear stamps set.

I absolutely love Tim Holtz's kraft resist paper with Picket Fence Distress Stain swiped over the top. This is perhaps one of my favorite easy-to-do techniques.

Isn't this snowman absolutely adorable? I love this stamp set and have used it several times since I purchased it. Did you know it also has a coordinating die? Makes it so much more convenient when crafting!

Well, that's it for today. Hope you enjoyed my project as much as I enjoyed creating it. Be sure to check out the PPRS blog for more inspiration from the DT. Oh yeah, the December sketch challenge goes live on Thursday! Stay tuned for more information as there is a great prize to be won!

Hugs,
-A

PPRS Poinsettia Postage

Greetings everyone! I have been on some kind of simplicity kick as of lately. I think it's because my crafting time has been extremely limited. I haven't gotten to participate in challenges as much as I'd like. The only crafting I have found time to do is for PPRS. While I have been disappointed about my lack of crafting time, when I sit down with PPRS goodness all around me, my spirits are lifted momentarily.

Today I would like to share a card I made featuring the PPRS Poinsettia Postage red rubber stamp. This card took me a total of 15 minutes from start to finish and I was amazed I was able to squeeze in this crafty time in the few spare minutes I had before taking my kids to dance classes and grandma's house.

The image was stamped on kraft cardstock and colored with Copics. Added a few strips of patterned paper, some fly fishing trim I picked up from Sportsmans Warehouse, some Wild Orchid Crafts pearl sprays and an I Am Roses poinsettia and this card was finished in minutes flat. Love how it turned out for being so quick to finish!

Thanks for taking a peek! Be sure to head on over to the PPRS blog to see what the DT has whipped up for you this week!

Hugs,
-A

PPRS Snowman and Bird

I have to say that for the two months that I have been blessed to design for Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps, not a day goes by that I don't fall more and more in love with their beautiful stamps. My new favorite happens to be the super adorable Snowman and Bird red rubber stamp. I love that although it is small, it packs a big wintery punch!

I punched out a one-inch circle with my Fiskars circle punch, and stamped just the head of the snowman and bird in the circle.
My inspiration comes from last Monday's Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge. I am always too late to enter my card, but I love to play along anyways!

The PPRS stamps I used in my card were the Snowman and Bird red rubber stamp along with the Ornaments Set 2 clear stamps set for my sentiment.

Oh, before I forget, the November Sketch challenge over at the PPRS blog ends this Wednesday, November 30. A super prize is up for grabs! Deets can be found here.

Thanks for gracing me with your presence! I hope you have a super crafty week!

Hugs,
A

Supplies Used:
Size: 6x6
Stamps: Snowman and Bird, Ornaments Set 2 (PPRS)
Ink: Pine Needles, Fired Brick (Ranger), Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Paper: Cardstock (Bazzill), Patterned Paper (The Paper Studio)
Accessories: Circle Punch, Scalloped Circle Punch (Fiskars), lace (Wright's), mulberry poinsettias (I Am Roses)
Challenges: Mojo Monday 216

CAS with PPRS!

Hello, hello! It has been a super busy week full of taking care of my mother, who was just released from the hospital, and everyday happenings in reference to our five children. During weeks like this, I never have much time to craft and with the holidays quickly approaching, I decided to make a CAS Christmas card that would be easy to replicate super fast for friends and family. I have never found it easy to make a CAS card. Whenever I create them, they always seem to have something missing. With that in mind, I had to come to terms with not overembellishing and enjoying the simple things in crafting. :)

For this card, I used the PPRS clear stamps set, Ornaments Set 2, along with the coordinating Ornament die, as well as the Tis the Season red rubber stamp. The image was colored in with my Copics and attached to a piece of green embroidery floss. Simple, yet pretty!

Thanks for stopping by! Stop by the PPRS blog for some more fab inspiration!

Supplies Used:
Size: 4.25 x 5.25
Stamps: Ornaments Set 2 Clear Stamps Set and Tis the Season (PPRS)
Paper: The Paper Studio, Recollections
Ink: Distress Embossing Ink (Ranger), Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: Ornaments die (PPRS), embroidery floss (DMC), Copic markers, embossing powder (Ranger), pop dots (EK Success)

It's Time for the PPRS November Sketch Challenge!

Hello, dear friends! It is time for another super fun sketch challenge by Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps! Here is the fantastic sketch that Nicole has made to inspire you!

Here is my take on the sketch:

Super fun sketch and what great inspiration to get a start on the Christmas cards you know you need to get done! For my card, I used the beautiful Evergreen with Star red rubber stamp, along with the Home for the Holidays red rubber sentiment stamp.

Everyone is welcome to participate; PPRS stamps are not required in your creation. The winner receives a $15 gift certificate to the PPRS web store. Simply make your project based on this sketch and link it up using Mr. Linky over on the PPRS blog post. You have until November 30 to play so dust off your stamps and ink pads and go play!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you will join us in the challenge!

Supplies Used:
Size:  5.25 x 5.25
Stamps: Evergreen with Star and Home for the Holidays (PPRS)
Ink: Fired Brick, Pine Needles, and Vintage Photo (Tim Holtz Distress)
Paper: Patterned Papers (K and Company, Anna Griffin, and The Paper Studio), Cardstock (Office Max, Recollections, Bazzill)
Accessories: Santa Baby and Juniper (Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists), Branch Punch (Martha Stewart), Lace (Wright's), Mulberry Flowers (Wild Orchid Crafts)

Christmas Spirit with PPRS

Good morning!! It is already Monday and it seems to me that the closer we get to Christmas, the faster the days fly by. Our household seems to be in the Christmas spirit as soon as the Halloween costumes get put away. Looking forward to spending time with family, good food, and Santa Claus puts everyone's minds at ease as we celebrate one of the most joyous times of the year. For my project, this week, I incorporated some classic Christmas colors, as well as a beautiful sentiment from PPRS.

This card features the Spirit of Christmas red rubber stamp. I stamped it onto a Tim Holtz baroque die cut and colored the patterned paper with Distress ink. I added some Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze to the poinsettias to give them some shimmer and added some pretty little pearls as accents. The seam binding bow was hand dyed using Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. I just love to alter seam binding in order to match my projects!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out some more inspiration from all of the amazing PPRS DT! You can find their blogs on my sidebar. :)

Oh, and just a reminder....The new PPRS sketch challenge will go live tomorrow, November 15! Keep your eyes peeled over at the PPRS blog for details.

Supplies Used:

Size: 5.5 x 5.5

Stamps: Spirit of Christmas (PPRS)

Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Distress (Fired Brick, Vintage Photo)

Paper: Patterned Paper (Anna Griffin), Cardstock (Recollections)

Accessories: Die (Tim Holtz Alterations), Pearls (K and Company), seam binding (Hug Snug), mulberry poinsettias (I Am Roses), Glimmer Mist and Glaze (Tattered Angels), lace (Wright's)

A Very Cold Prickley Pear Monday!

Good morning, my sweet blog friends! It is only 44 degrees outside and very wet! Here in the Phoenix metropolitan area, we rarely get any snow. I long for chilly evenings sitting by a fireplace, hot cup of cocoa in my hand, while the kids beg to put on their snowsuits and boots and play in the winter wonderland outside our door. My kids have only seen snow one time around Christmas of last year and how I loved to see the expressions of joy on their faces as they experienced this beautiful gift from Mother Nature! Let it Snow!!!

For this card, I used the Pumpkin and Snowman clear stamp set, along with the coordinating Pumpkin and Snowman die. I love how versatile this stamp set is; it can be used for Halloween as well as Christmas! I colored the sentiment as well as the snowman with my Copics. I also cut a small strip of silver cardstock and stamped the image from the Ornaments ATC red rubber stamp. It is absolutely adorable!

Speaking of which, would you like to see the snowman they built that day? There wasn't much snow left and it was starting to turn muddy, but we found a spot that still had quite a bit, and let them have at it!

This is the snowman that my oldest three built together.

This is the snowman that my daughter, who was four at the time, built all by herself!

Well, that's it for now! Be sure to stop by the Prickley Pear blog and see what all of the other beautiful projects the DT has up to inspire you!

Thanks for stopping by!
-A

Supplies Used:
Size: 3 1/2 by 4 1/2
Stamps: Pumpkin and Snowman clear stamp set, Ornaments ATC red rubber stamp (PPRS)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento). Chipped Sapphire (Tim Holtz Distress)
Paper: DCWV Christmas stack, The Paper Studio cardstock, Bazzill cardstock
Accessories: PPRS Pumpkin and Snowman die, tinsel trim from Sportsman's Warehouse

Happy Halloween!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that this Halloween finds you well and in the mood for some treats! My craft room looks like a tornado went through it so after some last minute shopping for Halloween costume supplies that I forgot to pick up, I will have to put my scrap haven in some kind of order. Today, I would like to share with you my last Halloween project of the year featuring Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps.

This tag was super fun as it was chock full of different techniques. I dry embossed the background and swiped some Tim Holtz Embossing Ink over the whole thing. I sprinkled some two-toned embossing powder over it and heat embossed. Then, I went over the white areas with TH Distress Ink in Rusty Hinge. See those super cute and super fun stamps? I used the Pumpkin Clear Stamps Set 2, along with the coordinating Pumpkin die. I love how Prickley Pear has several stamp sets with coordinating dies! When I use these, I know that I will not have to do ANY fussy cutting, which is something that I don't enjoy, because it is too time consuming and I am too impatient!!!  Here are a couple more photos for your enjoyment! :)

Look at all of the texture and shimmer!

Be sure to stop by the Prickley Pear blog and see all the other wonderful projects and inspiration from the Design Team! Thanks for stopping by and may you all have a fun and safe Halloween!

-A

Supplies Used:

Size: 2 5/8 by 5 3/16

Stamps: Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps (Pumpkin Clear Stamps Set 2)

Paper: Recollections (Ravenhead Manor), Premade tag by The Paper Studio

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Rusty Hinge, Embossing Ink), Memento (Tuxedo Black)

Accessories: PPRS Pumpkin Die, burlap, embossing powder (LSG), Tim Holtz Texture Fade, bling ribbon (Recollections), bling flourishes (Recollections), tinsel trim (Bass Pro Shops), Hug Snug seam binding

MFTWSC42!

Hello! Just a quick post to share my project I created for the MFT Wednesday Sketch Club Challenge over on the SCS website! Of course, I'm too late to enter it in the challenge, but it was still fun to play along. I haven't had much time to play in awhile so I was happy that I was able to squeeze in a few minutes and whip up this card. Here is the sketch:

I used some pretty old DCWV papers and some Bazzill cardstock on my card, along with the Pure Innocence-Flurry of Love stamp set and the Bracket Tab Die-namics. Here is my take:

I stamped my image on Gina K cardstock, colored it in with Copics, and added accents with my Copic Spicas. The snow and snowflakes are accented with some Frosted Lace Stickles. Sorry about the bad photo; the lighting here is dreadful!

Here's a sneaky peeky of the inside:

That's it, for now! Thanks for stopping by!
-A

Tis the Season with PPRS

Good morning everyone! I hope this Monday finds you all well and in a crafty mood! I am excited to share with you some NEW super adorable rubber stamps from Prickley Pear Rubber stamps. The first featured stamp in my project is the Evergreen with Star. Super pretty!

I stamped this image on some Gina K cardstock and colored it with my Copics. I added some random miniature buttons from my stash, Stickles on the star, and the rhinestone on the star is was originally clear, but I just had to alter it with my R29 Copic marker to make it match my card.

I found the Tis the Season rubber stamp to be so appropriate for the sentiment of my card. Do you want to peek at the inside? Of course you do! :)

I stamped the Evergreen with Star stamp with Distress Ink in Tea Dye to add a subtle image to the cardstock and added a clear rhinestone to the star. Simple, yet so pretty!

I hope you enjoyed my project as much as I enjoyed creating it! Don't forget that you still have a week to play in the PPRS monthly challenge. You can find all of the info about the challenge here.

Have a great week!
-Amy

Supplies Used:
Size: 6x6
Stamps: PPRS Evergreen with Star and Tis the Season
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Distress Ink (Tea Dye, Old Paper)
Paper: Cardstock by Gina K, Recollections, The Paper Studio
Patterned Paper by DCWV
Accessories: Rhinestones by K and Company, Buttons from my stash, Ribbon (Offray), snowflake embellishment from my stash, Stickles (gold), Fiskars border punch

Happy Holidays!

Happy Monday all! Hope you had a great weekend! It's time for my Monday Prickley Pear post and today, I want to share with you a sweet little Christmas card I made! Although it's only October, it's NEVER too early to get started on your holiday greetings!

I used KaiserCraft Christmas papers, some I Am Roses mulberry poinsettias, and the gorgeous Ornaments Set 2 clear stamps set and coordinating Ornament die from Prickley Pear. Here are some pictures of these gorgeous stamps and die.

So, I'm thinking this set is super cute and I can't wait to make some more cards using these darling little ornaments! I stamped my ornament on designer paper and colored it with my Copic markers. The gold ribbon is around twenty years old or so. My mom just recently gave it to me and I love it!

Thanks for stopping by! I always appreciate your visits and sweet comments! Don't forget that Prickley Pear is having a challenge on their blog for the month of October! You can find more out about it here.

Have a great week!

-Amy

Supplies Used:

Size: 5x7

Stamps: Prickley Pear Clear Stamp Set Ornaments 2

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: Cardstock by Recollections, designer paper from KaiserCraft

Accessories: PPRS Ornament die, K and Co rhinestones, gold ribbon from stash, flowers from I Am Roses, Copic markers in E37 (Sepia) and G99 (Olive), glue dots



PPRS October Sketch Challenge

Hello everyone! Today is October 15th and it's time to launch a new sketch challenge! YAY! Nicole has made a super fun and super inspiring sketch to work with this month.

To me, this screams Halloween! LOL. I had some yummy Halloween papers from last year's Recollection's collection and I knew that the Dancing Skeletons Clear Stamp set and coordinating Dancing Skeletons die would go perfectly with these papers! Here is my ever-so-spooky take:

One winner will be chosen at random and the prize is a Clear Stamps Set and coordinating die of the winner's choice.

The rules are simple:

• Make a card based on this month's sketch.
• Use your Prickley Pear products.
• Link it up using the linking tool found under the October Sketch Challenge post found on the Prickley Pear blog.

I hope that you will play with us this month! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

-Amy

Thankful for PPRS!

Hi everyone! With the holidays around the corner, I am always inspired to reminisce about what it is in my life that I am truly thankful for. My family, my friends, and the fact that I am fortunate to have a job are truly parts of my life that I can sometimes take for granted. With our busy lives, it's often hard to let those that you love know how much they mean to you. With that in mind, I created some cards that I can send to those special people in my life, to not only let them know how much they mean to me, but also to wish them a "Happy Autumn"!

I used some old MAMBI papers to make this card. They are beautiful and full of fall and Christmas colors! My main image is the rubber Turkey stamp, colored with Copics. I used the Scalloped Circle die with the coordinating new stamp set, Circles Clear Stamp Set Fall. I love the versatility of these stamps and the fact that you can use them for all sorts of fun fall projects!

Here are the Copics that I used on the turkey:

I am also truly thankful to be a part of the PPRS design team working with some of the most amazing and talented ladies! I appreciate their inspiration, talent, and friendship and I can't wait to see what this next year has in store!

Supplies Used:
Size: 5 1/4 x 5 1/4
Stamps: PPRS rubber stamp (Turkey), PPRS clear stamps (Circles Clear Stamp Set Fall)
Inks: Memento (Tuxedo Black), Distress Ink (Walnut Stain)
Paper: Me and My Big Ideas (Harvest Collection), all cardstock by The Paper Studio
Accessories: PPRS die (Scalloped Circle die), fall leaf from The Dollar Tree, Fiskars border punch (Apron Lace), Copic markers

Thank you for taking the time to stop by! I appreciate each and everyone of you and your amazing comments!

PPRS Crafting with Recycled Packaging!

Hello there, everyone! I want to take you on a bit of a science lesson today before I show you my project. Did you know that plastic is one of the biggest environmental problems and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of humans and animals each year? This is because plastic is not biodegradable, or unable to be broken down by bacteria. Because plastic is associated with everything we buy, millions of pounds of plastic gets dumped into our local dumps every year.

Did you ever wonder where it goes? Plastic makes its way into the Pacific Ocean. As I type, there are two locations in the Pacific between the United States and Japan of floating plastic, roughly the size of Texas each. Now when I found out about this, I decided that in addition to recycling trash in the blue barrel that gets picked up every Thursday, I wanted to incorporate some packaging that is leftover from scrappy products into my everyday crafting.



I used the back of a package from my Tim Holtz sanding block and formed it into the shape of a tag.

I inked the tag with alcohol inks to give it some color. Then, I brought out my darling stamp sets and coordinating dies from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. I used the Scary Cat and Bats Clear Stamp Set along with the coordinating die. I also used the PPRS Scalloped Circle die for my sentiment. This was a super fun project and I was excited to be able to keep at least a little waste out of the environment!



I rubbed some Rub n Buff with my finger over the whole tag, as well as on the edges of the Scalloped Circle.


Supplies:
Size: 2 5/8 x 5 1/4
Stamps: Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps (Scary Cat and Bats Clear Stamp Set)
Inks: Ranger Distress Inks in Black Soot, Spiced Marmalade, and Shabby Shutters
Ranger Alcohol Inks in Butterscotch, Eggplant, and Lettuce
Paper: DCWV Ghosts and Goblins patterned paper and The Paper Studio cardstock
Accessories: PPRS dies (Scalloped Circle, Scary Cat and Bat die), Recollections bling, Imaginisce I-Rock gems in Metal, tinsel trim from Bass Pro Shops, Rub n Buff in Antique Gold, Glue Dots



Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you have a great week!

Some Exciting News To Share!

I am extremely excited to announce that I am one of the new 2011-2012 design team members over at Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps! I am incredibly humbled that I was chosen out of so many fantastic entries! Thank you, Nicole, for giving me an opportunity to be a part of your team! I am really looking forward to working with their products and sharing my beautiful creations with all of you!

I will be hard at work creating over the next week or so, so stay tuned for some PPRS yumminess!

Card Share!

I have been busy making cards and thought I would share my creations! Making these has put me in a bit of a Halloween mood, even though it's still over a month away! Using the sketches from the MFT Getting Sketchy Challenges, I came up with two cute little cards.



This card is using MFT's Who's That Mummy stamp set, along with the DCWV Ghosts and Goblins Halloween stack. A couple of embellies from Michael's finishes this one off!



This little witch card uses the MFT Little Witch stamp set along with the same DCWV papers. Aren't they just adorable images?

And finally, my third card, which has nothing to do with Halloween, but I wanted to use this birdcage stamp set and sentiment. It's so pretty!




That's all I have to share today! Thanks for visiting and I hope you will join us for MFT Wednesday Sketch challenges over at SCS! You can win $15 towards anything at the MFT store!

Dressform Craze!!

I can not even begin to express how much I love dressforms. Seeing them gives me a nostalgic feeling and I can't help but to think about days gone by and imagine what it would have been like to wear beautiful gowns on a daily basis.

Then, I look down at myself and see my frumpy old t-shirt and unmatching pajama bottoms and I tell myself that if I can't wear them, I will surely make them!

Here are a few of the dressforms I have made in the past few weeks. On several of them, I used the Sewing Room Alterations die, as well as the Caged Bird die to make the hoop on the skirt.






So, hopefully you have been inspired to make some of these gorgeous creations! I would love to see what you come up with.

Loving my Frogfeathers

Hola everyone! I would like to make a confession. I am horribly addicted to trims, ribbons, and laces. I am always on the search for unique, inexpensive, beautiful trims. Recently, I came upon an Etsy store that features many different kinds of trims. They are absolutely gorgeous! It is called Frogfeathers and Christi, the owner of the shop is super sweet! She is always getting in new trims of all styles and colors. I wanted to share this rare gem of a store with you, as her prices are amazing, as well as her product. Go check her out! www.frogfeathers.etsy.com

My YT video is finally up and running!

Well, due to operator error, it took way longer than expected to get my first (and only) video uploaded on YT. But, I can safely say that it is finally up there and now, you can see the Tattered Time mini a little better. My filming skills need a bit of work, but I had fun in the process, and I promise I will improve over time! LOL.

Tattered Time Mini Album

Hello everyone! Today, I want to share with you a project I completed using the Tim Holtz Weathered Clock die, Bo Bunny Timepiece Collection patterned papers, Lindy's Stamp Gang Products, and IAmRoses!








The bling in the above photo is made using my Imaginisce IRock tool. Man, does that thing get HOT! I think I burned my fingerprints off in the process of making this mini! Oh, and I would like to thank Cynthialoowho for the red and black flowers in the photo. I received them in a kit I purchased from her and they are gorgeous!





I wish you could see how totally beautiful the shimmer in the flowers are, thanks to LSG products! Absolutely stunning color and shine!







Sorry for the bad pics! It's nighttime and the lighting is horrible, but I could not wait until tomorrow to upload them! This was a lot of fun to make and came out awesome! A YouTube video has been made but I will have to upload that tomorrow, so stay tuned and thanks for stopping by!

Lindy's Stamp Gang products used:

Starburst Stains: Dark Chocolate Truffle, Cajun Carnelian Red, Cadbury Milk Chocolate Brown, Poinciana Red Flame

Moon Shadow Mist: Jolly Roger Red

Glitz Spritz: Desert Moon Cactus Gold