Prickely Pear Monday

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I had a great time decking my halls and breaking out the Christmas decor. Things are looking pretty festive here, but I sure could have used about two more days to the weekend. Even after all those hours, I still couldn’t get it all finished. Don’t know if it’s me slowing down, or the fact that perhaps I have way tooooooo much holiday stuff.

Today I have a Christmas card to share that I made using one of Prickely Pear Rubber Stamps’ beautiful red rubber images, Poinsettia Bunch.

I just love the elegant beauty of these poinsettias. Kept my design very CAS with just a bit of patterned paper, a die cut holiday frame, and a pretty bow to enhance the lovely image. Vintage simplicity.

For more inspiration today using Prickely Pear Rubber Stamps, be sure to visit the blog. You’re going to love what the rest of the team has created for you.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I always love to have a visit from you!

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Prickely Pear Monday

Hi again everyone! It’s the start of a new week, and time for some new inspiration on the Prickely Pear Rubber Stamps blog. This week, I created a card using one of my favorite holiday red rubber images, Snowman Postage.

Isn’t he a happy little cute thing? Love the slightly vintage look and the postage stamp edging. I cut my snowman out with pinking shears to enhance the postage look. Colored the image with Prismas and Gamsol and added a touch of sparkly glitter to his earmuff and mittens.

Layered my snowman on pretty holiday papers from Webster’s Pages and a big glittered snowflake. Tied the card up like a package with white satin ribbon and pink buttons. Used another red rubber image, With Christmas Goodwill, to stamp a sentiment banner for the bottom.

And into the top bow I tucked two holly leaves stamped and die cut using the Holly and Berries Clear Stamp Set and matching Holly and Berries Die.

Hope you’ll pop by the Prickely Pear blog to see all the other lovely holiday projects the rest of the team has for you today. And don’t forget about our November sketch challenge going on now. You still have until Wednesday to play along.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Wishing you all a wonderful day.

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Prickely Pear Monday

*This is my third post of the day. Please scroll down to see my Shabby Tea Room and Kraft Journal projects for this week.

Hi everyone, and happy Monday to you! I’m so excited this morning to think about all the wonderful things to come this week with the thanksgiving holiday just a few days away, and my birthday tomorrow.  I have been spending quite a bit of time these last few days counting my many blessing! I am so very grateful for my family and friends and all the wonderful people I have met through scrapbooking who have enriched my life. You all mean the world to me!

I am a very lucky girl.

Today is a busy day here on the blog, as I’ve got lots of fun things to share with you. For Prickely Pear Monday, the team has come up with some amazing new card ideas that will definitely get you in the holiday spirit.

I created a serene, nature-scene card using an adorable bird from the Birdcage Winter 2 Clear Stamps Set and the Birdcage Die.

I love this fun woodland paper from We R Memory Keepers Autumn Splendor collection. Thought the forest of trees would make a fun background for my little bird. I simply cut a portion of one tree trunk and used it as the branch for my bird to sit on. I die cut the bird, then stamped it in brown ink and colored with pencils and Gamsol. Popped him on the branch with foam adhesive for depth. Stamped the holly bough in brown ink on a separate piece of cardstock, colored it, fussy cut it out, and added it to the branch.

Then for even more depth, I added two large holly leaves die cut from the Holly and Berries Die. Stamped the matching holly image from the Holly and Berries Clear Stamps Set and added them to the branch along with a grosgrain ribbon bow and button.

For lots more inspiring Prickely Pear projects, be sure to check out the blog today. And just scroll down for more goodies from me today, too. Thanks so much for stopping by. Wishing you all a wonderful day!

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Prickely Pear Rubber Stamps November Sketch Challenge

Hi everyone, and happy Tuesday! We are halfway through the month already, and that means it is time for a new sketch challenge over at the Prickely Pear Rubber Stamps blog. This month, we’ve made some new changes to the challenge rules.  No PPRS products are needed to play along, making this challenge open to everyone! The winner will receive a $15 gift certificate to the shop to spend however you chose. I’m so excited about this and hope to see some of you playing along.

Here is this month’s wonderful sketch.

I created a Thanksgiving card using the beautiful Vintage Cornucopia red rubber image from Prickely Pear. The many round fruits pouring from the cornucopia reminded me of the circles on the sketch. I simply rotated the sketch and changed the orientation to better fit the image. Since the cornucopia image starts low on the right and moves upwards to the left, I flipped the sketch to do the same.

I stamped my image in brown ink on natural recycled cardstock and colored with Prismas blended with Gamsol. Kept the colors rather soft for an old-timey vintage look. Fussy cut the cornucopia out and adhered it to the card base on foam dots. Added a bit of my favorite seam binding ribbon and another circle element, a vintage mother-of-pearl button.

Stamped a Thanksgiving sentiment from the Oak and Maple Leaf Clear Stamp Set on kraft cardstock, trimmed it into a banner, and popped it up on foam dots for a bit of dimension. Paper is my very favorite Lunch Bag Kraft Cardstock mixed with lovely green patterns from My Mind’s Eye Lost & Found Christmas. A holiday line, yes, but so beautiful for the fall, too.

I so hope you’ll come and play along with our November Sketch Challenge at the Prickely Pear Rubber Stamp blog. Can’t wait to see what you all do!

And thanks so much for stopping by today. Wishing you all a wonderful day!

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Prickely Pear Monday- Winter Wonderland

Hi everybody and happy Monday to you! Today is another busy day here on the blog, as I have 3 more posts to share with you. I’m excited to show you what I’ve been up to, so let’s get started!

Monday’s are the day the design team gets to share lots of lovely creations on the Prickely Pear Rubber Stamps blog. Today, I have created a card using a very sweet red rubber image called Plump Cardinal on Berry Branch. Even the name just makes me smile.

The image is stamped in brown ink on recycled natural cardstock that has lovely flecked dots that remind me of a gentle snowfall. I shaded the bird with colored pencils blended with Gamsol, and added red pencil and crystal glitter glue to the berries on the branch for sparkle and shine. Sponged a bit of light pink ink around the edges of the cardstock panel to create a bit of framework. I love that this image has some glam for the holidays, but that it could work equally well on projects all year long.

Stamped a sentiment banner using the Winter Wonderland greeting, another fabulous red rubber image available from Prickely Pear. I wrapped the cardinal panel with shabby seam binding and hang tag string and added the sentiment on pop dots for a bit of dimension.

Layered pretty patterned papers on a green cardstock base. Added a paper doily and some vintage buttons. A few of my favorite things.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Hope you’ll pop by the Prickely Pear blog to see all the other creations the team has come up with for you today. And I hope you all have a very wonderful day!

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Prickely Pear Monday

*This is my second post for today. Please scroll down to see my Kraft Journal Give Thanks project*

Hi again, and welcome to Prickely Pear Monday! Today I have a fun holiday card to share that features the Ornament Set 2 Clear Stamp Set and matching die.

I just love the colors on this one. Went for a nice natural look to compliment the beautiful pine cone  image in the holiday ornament set. I think the combination looks like an icy day in a winter woodland. Just what I was going for.

The background is pieced from Webster’s Pages holiday Petite Paper Collection Pack. I die cut the ornaments from the patterned paper and stamped them using Stampin’Up’s Forest Foliage ink. Is that color still around these days?

I added touches of color to the images using watercolor pencils, and then added sparkly detailing with glitter glue. Used different thicknesses of foam adhesive to add depth to the design. Stamped the snowflakes on matching paper, cut them out, and popped them on foam dots for a bit more dimension.

Stamped a holiday greeting from the Ornaments Set 2 onto the bottom of the card. And for a final detail, I stamped the star-burst border from the Birdcage Winter 2 Clear Stamp Set below the sentiment and added center dots of glittery sparkle.

For more great inspiration using Prickely Pear Rubber Stamps, be sure to visit the Prickely Pear blog. The rest of the team has come up with some amazing samples for you!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope you have a wonderful day.

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Prickely Pear Monday

Hi everyone and happy, happy Halloween! What a special day it is! Halloween is here at long last. We’re excited and ready for tonight. The house is decorated, the candy is bought, and the costume is all picked out by one little girl. She’s decided to go as a devil this year. How perfectly fitting for a 13-year old girl, right?

Today I have a card to share that I made for the Prickely Pear Rubber Stamp blog.

I am absolutely smitten with the beautiful leaves from the Oak and Maple Leaf Clear Stamp Set and matching Die. I used two of the oak leaves and two of the maple leaves to create a bouquet for the little bird to rest in.

I stamped and die cut the leaves from patterned paper, and then added just a bit of chalk pastels to add depth. The paper is from Webster’s Pages new holiday Petite Papers Collection Pack, but I think the colors work beautifully for fall, too.

Fussy cut the bird from the patterned paper and popped it up with Glue Arts U Cut It foam adhesive for dimension. Added some Webster’s lace and a beautiful Vintage Sparkler. Layered it all on a Scalloped Circle Die cut from kraft cardstock.

Stamped the Give Thanks sentiment from the set onto kraft cardstock and cut into a banner. A few pearls finish things off.

Hope you’ll stop by the Prickely Pear blog and see all the other fabulous projects the rest of the team has to share today. And for those of you who wish to play along, today is the last day to upload your projects for our October Sketch Challenge. The winner will receive a clear stamp set of your choice along with the matching die.

And since it’s Monday, that means we have a new challenge for you over at the Kraft Journal, too. This week’s theme is Banners or Border Punches. It’s my turn to post a project for our Watch Us Wednesday Tutorial, so I hope you’ll come back then to see.

Thank you all for stopping by! Wishing you all a wonderful day and a Spooktacular Halloween!

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Hocus Pocus

* This is my second post for today. Please scroll down to see my Kraft Journal project for this week.

Today is a big day at my house. Paige and Joanne are joining me today here at my house to wrap up our annual Halloween Haunted House Tour & Lunch. I’ve got the house looking pretty spooktacular, if I do say so myself. I’m hoping to wow the girls enough to be declared the winner of the house tour for the second year in a row. I promise to share some photos soon. In the mean time, keep your fingers crossed for me.

So not only am I hosting my big lunch today, but I have cards to share, as well. This one features some of my favorite stamps from Prickely Pear Rubber Stamps.

I just love the adorable red rubber Witches Post stamp I used for the main image here. I know I’ve shown it to you before, but today I used it in a different way by punching out just a portion of the image with my 1 3/4″ circle punch. Talk about an easy and fun way to highlight certain focal parts of your stamps.

The image is stamped onto patterned paper and colored with pencils and Gamsol. I popped it up with foam adhesive and layered it with cardstock stickers and labels die cut from my Spellbinders Labels Twenty.

Used a mixture of black and orange patterned papers and tied the whole up with purple seam binding ribbon. Added a rub-on sentiment banner popped on foam adhesive for dimension.

And my favorite part? The Small Whiskers kitty I stamped on the side of the sentiment. He just cracks me up. I colored his eyes yellow to give him a spooky glow.

I just adore the range of fun Halloween images available at Prickely Pear Rubber Stamps, in both acrylic and red rubber designs. For more great projects, be sure to check out the blog today to see what the rest of the team has cooked up for you.

And wish me luck on my big day! Thanks so much for stopping by.

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Too Cute to Spook

Good Monday morning everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We had another glorious fall weekend in our neck of the woods, and we took advantage of every moment to get out there and enjoy it.  I just love this time of year.

Today I have a fun Halloween card to share that I made using the most adorable stamp from Prickely Pear Rubber Stamps.

This is little Buster. Isn’t he sweet? So fun for a Halloween card, but truly, he’s too cute to be very creepy.

Colored Buster with watercolor pencils and Gamsol and punched him out using my 1 3/4″ circle punch.  He’s nested on a Scalloped Circle Die cut from kraft cardstock. I used foam dots for a bit of dimension. Inked the edges of the scalloped circle and layered all on a second die cut that just so happened to be the perfect fit.

The paper I used is a combination of Pink Paislee Soiree and Crate Paper Restoration. I added a wide grosgrain ribbon, vintage buttons tied with baker’s twine, and a paper doily. The fun sparkler stick from Pink Paislee reminded me of a witch’s broom. And since Buster is obviously hanging out with witches, on it went.

It is a little frightening………

but overall, just too cute to spook.

Today the Prickely Pear design team is showcasing lots of fabulous projects on the blog. I do hope you’ll pop over and take a look.  Thanks so much for stopping by. Wishing you a wonderful day!

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PPRS October Sketch Challenge

Hi everyone! Happy Saturday! Today I have a card to share that features some of my new favorite stamps and coordinating dies from Prickely Pear Rubber Stamps.

This card uses the Oak and Maple Leaf Clear Stamp Set and Die along with the Pumpkin Clear Stamp Set 2 and Die. Such pretty leaves, aren’t they? Just love the combination of shapes and sizes. It’s so fun to mix the patterns and simple outline images with the detailed solid ones.

Started by die cutting two oak leaves and one maple leaf from patterned paper. The paper is Webster’s Pages Let’s Celebrate, All About Me & Western Romance Petite Papers. Such a pretty color palette for fall, isn’t it? After die cutting, I stamped the outline images from the Oak and Maple Leaf Clear Stamp Set onto the oak leaves and the solid falling leaf image onto the maple leaf using dark chocolate ink. I then die cut the small leaf from the Pumpkin Clear Stamp Set 2 from MME Sunshine text paper for a bit of contrast. Stamped the matching leaf image using the dark brown ink.

Stamped a Holly Swag red rubber image onto patterned paper using Stampin’Up’s Cameo Coral ink, and fussy cut it out. Then arranged all the leaves together in a cluster, popping some on foam adhesive for dimension. Tied the cluster up with a simple hang tag string bow, topped with the Holly Swag and a vintage button.

The font on the sentiment is SO beautiful.  I know this is one I will be using over and over again.

The layout for my card was inspired by the October Sketch Challenge at Prickely Pear Rubber Stamps.

The challenge starts today and runs through the end of the month. One lucky winner will receive the clear stamp set and matching die of their choice. You can see all the details here.

And don’t forget  to enter my Glue Arts Giveaway here. I’ll pick one random winner on Monday.

Thanks so much for stopping by! My daughter and I plan on heading to our local farmer’s market today to see all the glorious fall mums, pumpkins, and gourds they have, and sample the delicious fresh-pressed apple cider. It’s a fall outing we look forward to every year. Hope you all have wonderful plans for the weekend, too.

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