Spring Circles with Prickley Pear

Happy Friday Sweeties! Today I have one last guest designer project for Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps to share. This time, a little Mother’s Day notecard featuring the Spring Scalloped Circles Clear Stamp Set and BasicGrey’s beautiful Spice Market collection.

This sweet little notecard is going to my own wonderful mom for Mother’s Day this year. She loves to garden, and loves flowers, so I know this stamp set is absolutely perfect for her. Such a lovely sentiment, and there are so many different flower stems and round frames to choose from. The only tough choice is deciding which ones to use.

Mixing and matching and stacking die cuts and images like this is a wonderful way to call extra special attention to your focal point. Here I’ve layered lots of pretty Spice Market die cuts and strips of patterned paper with Prickley Pear’s Scalloped Circle die for an eye catching tower.

I added Glossy Accents to the flowers for a bit of extra detail. Punched the sentiment using my window slot punch. A bit of foam adhesive between some of the layers helps set them apart. Finished off with buttons and trim.

For more details on my card, please visit the Prickley Pear blog. And thanks so much for stopping by. Wishing you all a very wonderful weekend!

In the Meadow with Prickley Pear

One of my favorite parts of working with stamps is the fact that you can combine individual images in so many different ways to create tons of unique focal points, like this peaceful garden scene. I am smitten with this little wooden fence image from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps The Four Seasons Clear Stamp Set. It always makes me think of roaming through pastures on a beautiful spring day. Just the mood I was going for on my guest designer card for the PPRS blog today.

Thought the pasture scene paired well with those sweet butterflies from the Scalloped Oval 4- Floral Clear Stamp Set. I used scraps of watercolor paper and paint for them. Fussy cut and added them to my meadow created with colored pencils and old chalk pastels. I stamped the beautiful verse from The Four Seasons set onto cream cardstock, edged in pastels, for a bit of a contrast. Stitched the panel onto my pretty patterned paper card base.

By adding just a small dot of adhesive in the center of the butterfly, the wings can by lightly bent up to give a bit of extra depth and dimension. Finally, the card was finished with a few of my favorite trims.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Wishing you all a very joyous and blessed Easter holiday with friends and family!

 

Hearts Doily with Prickley Pear

Happy Friday, Sweeties! Today I have a happy, spring-inspired card to share with you featuring an adorable red rubber image from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamp called Hearts Doily.

The Hearts Doily is such a pretty image, and I love how versatile it is, too. Not only does it make a fabulous background print when stamped repeatedly, the doily is also a great focal image when used alone. I think the doily would make a great snowflake image…although I know we are all rather sick of snow right about now. For my card today, I decided to think spring, and used the doily to create a lovely layered flower, instead.

This fun flower combines two of my most favorite things… playing with paper and playing with fabric. Since the Hearts Doily image doesn’t come with a stem and some leaves, I got creative making my own. The stem is a thin snip of grosgrain ribbon, adhered in a curved line across the center of my tag. I hand-cut the pair of felt leaves, and added a bit of stitching before tacking them to the top of the stem.

The flower itself was made with two layers of Hearts Doily. I fussy cut the first layer, and punched out the center of the second doily with a scalloped circle punch. Topped them both with a pair of pretty buttons.

Stamped the doily image repeatedly on the card base in matching red and pink ink to create my own custom print. Such a perfect match with the pretty patterned papers I used from BasicGrey’s Herbs & Honey collection. I’ve got more details up on the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps blog, if you’d like to learn more.

It’s finally feeling like spring here. The trees are all in bloom, and the wild wisteria is starting to put on it’s show. It’s quite late this year, but better late than never. Hope things are turning warm and sunny in your neck of the woods, too!

 

Hibiscus Blooms with Prickley Pear

Hi Sweeties! Waving hello to you from the sandy shores of Carolina Beach! I’m back today with another guest designer project for Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. This time, a pretty card in a soft springlike palette, featuring one of my favorite things…. a fluffy, shabby chic handmade flower.

There are lots of beautiful pre-made floral embellishments available on the market these days, but I really enjoy making my own.  Handmade flowers just add that little touch of personality and character that are completely unique to you.

For my card today, I created a frilly, shabby chic flower using a traditional floral stamp and die set , the Hibiscus 2 Clear Stamp Set and matching Dies.  And then I threw in another Prickley Pear die set that might seem totally unrelated, the Steampunk Gears. I think the combination is unexpected, whimsical, and just plain fun.

The papers are from BasicGrey’s Highline collection. 6×6 Paper Pad. Added in some candy buttons and soft matching twine. The beautiful sentiment is from the Flourished Ovals 2 Fall Clear Stamp Set. I’ve got the details for creating my flower up on the Prickley Pear blog, if you’d like to learn more.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Wishing you all a very wonderful weekend!

Best Friends with Prickley Pear

I hope you all like cute, because today I have a card to share with you that is fun and playful, and downright cute, to boot! It features a couple of adorable Prickley Pear red rubber owl images, and is my guest designer project this week on the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps blog.

This is the Flourished Owl and Small Flourished Owl red rubber images, and they make quite the pair, don’t they? Kinda reminds me of myself with my wee baby, Nik. With her big 16th birthday coming up next week, I think I’m feeling a bit sentimental. 😉

Love the pretty shape to the window opening. That was made with Prickley Pear’s Scalloped Circle die, die cut slightly off-center on my panel of woodgrain patterned paper. The paper is Authentique’s Glistening collection. A winter line that definitely doesn’t have to be used for winter.

The sentiment is from the Spring Scalloped Circles Clear Stamp Set, and is truly a perfect match for those sweet friends. I stamped the image onto cream cardstock, then hand-cut little notches from the sides. Inked the edges and attached the sentiment onto a thin strip of recycled cardboard. Looks like an old funky, junk wooden sign, doesn’t it? Just what you’d expect to find out in the woods with a pair of owls!

Thanks so much for stopping by, my friends! This afternoon starts Spring Break for us! Yahoo! It’s going to be a great weekend. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend, too!

Just a Note with Prickley Pear

Hiya Sweetie Peas! Happy Friday and Happy Spring to you! Goodness, how wonderful it is to say that. I’m just hoping Old Man Winter is listening, and will take a cue now, and go away.

Today I’m back with another guest designer project for Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. This time, a little note-card in neutrals that features one of my most favorite Prickley Pear red rubber images, Dandelion Bunch.

I am quite taken with the natural “wildflower” look to this Dandelion Bunch image, and tried to give my card design a natural vibe to go along. So lots of layers of neutral cardstock here, in grey, kraft, and mustard yellow. I know what you’re thinking……It’s not often I sport a cardstock-only design. I think we just might need to alert the presses…

The image was stamped onto watercolor paper using a “faux” water-color technique. The simple sentiment tag was made from scrap water color paper and the beautiful script Just a Note red rubber image. Final step was adding a kraft paper butterfly die cut using the Mini Butterflies die set. I’ve got the full step-by-steps up on the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamp blog, if you’d like to learn more.

So now that spring is officially here, I’m thinking it’s time to put away all my snowmen and break out my spring decor. Thankfully, I already have several new spring bunnies to add to my collection this year, including my new paper mache buddy from this week. I thought some of you might get a chuckle to see how she turned out. I don’t think paper mache is quite my medium.

What I wanted was this. But that’s not quite what I got.

I guess I need to keep practicing!

It’s the Little Things with Prickley Pear

Hi everyone, it’s Audrey, back today with another fun guest designer project for Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps. This time, a cute spring-inspired card featuring the adorable Scalloped Circle & Oval 4- Floral clear stamp set.

It has been a really long winter for so many of us this year, and I’m sure I’m not the only one with a touch of spring fever. This stamp set is perfect for satisfying those spring cravings. Those little ducks definitely put me in the mood for longer days, plenty of sunshine, and lots of fun Easter projects, too.

I created my little tag with Prickley Pear’s Flourish Oval Nesting Die. I die cut the tag once from watercolor paper and a second time from patterned paper, trimming off just the bottom portion and layering it onto the stamped layer. Then a bit of lace trim across the middle and decorative stitching and inking around the edges. The sentiment, from the same set, was trimmed into a banner and added to the center.

Adhered the tag with pop dots to my card base, pieced from BasicGrey’s Herbs & Honey and Fresh Cut 6×6 paper pads. I used a large transparency frame from the Herbs & Honey collection just below the tag. Love how the smooth texture plays against all the stitching.

After the beautiful weather we had earlier this week, spring cannot come soon enough! Wish we could just go and flip the switch on Mother Nature….sorry, Momma, but we’ve had enough winter. It’s time for lights out! 😉

Coffee-Lover’s Gifts with Prickley Pear

Hi friends! I’m sneaking in today with a little surprise post.  I’m so excited to say that I’ve been asked back to guest design for Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps this spring. Over the next couple of months, I’ll be popping in on Thursdays with lots of fun projects to share featuring some of my favorite Prickley Pear stamps, starting today with this little gift set that’s perfect for all the coffee-lovers in your life.

This fun set includes a card and a matching pillow box, and was made with a super adorable red rubber image from Prickley Pear called Coffee Stain. I really love the artsy, random look to this stamp. These truly look like real little coffee cup rings, don’t they? So perfect for creating your own custom background paper and so easy to do, too. And what a great match for that fun journaling card I’ve been dying to use.

To create my own custom background paper, I randomly stamped the Coffee Stain image repeatedly onto kraft cardstock. I stuck with dark brown ink to mimic the real look of coffee cup rings. Then I simply cut down my panel and layered it onto a white card base. Machine stitching around the card adds a decorative touch. I adhered the coffee sentiment card onto some scalloped-edged paper, tying it with baker’s twine before adding it to my card base using foam dots for dimension. Last touch is a fun chipboard bottle cap embellishment that perfectly matches my theme.

The matching gift box is just as easy. After die cutting my box shape from kraft cardstock, the Coffee Stain image was once again randomly stamped in dark brown ink over the entire surface. Then just fill the box with goodies and tie it closed with baker’s twine. I added a white cardstock belly band to match the card and added a few die cut embellishments for a fun hang tag. Super simple and super fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed my little coffee-lover’s gift set. I’ll be back next Thursday with another fun Prickley Pear Rubber Stamp project. Hope to see you all then!

A Little “Thrilling” Without the Thrill

Happy Monday, my friends, and happy Labor Day to all of you in the States. Today is a big, big day in our house. Today my boy, Pete, turns the big 18! So the Missy Nik and I are making a road trip to go spend the day with him. I am so excited to see him I can barely stand it. Think I’m going to squeeze that child in two!

Before we hit the road, I have a fun fall project to share featuring Authentique’s adorable Thrilling collection. If you are at all familiar with Thrilling, you know that it is mainly a Halloween collection, but today, the team thought it would be fun to showcase this line in a whole new light.

To me, autumn is all about warm colors of orange and yellow, but there’s also nothing that screams fall more to me than a nice mix of neutrals. So for my project, I pulled out papers in a white, black, and cream color combo and added in a bit of kraft for a fun fall look on this card and tag gift set. I don’t think you’d ever guess that this was a Halloween line.

The rest of the team has come up with some more amazing non-Halloween Thrilling projects to share with you today on the blog, if you’d like to take a peek. And if you leave a comment while you are there, you have a chance to win the entire Thrilling collection for yourself.

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

 

___________________________________________

Supplies:

Authentique Thrilling Collection:
6×6 “bundle”
8×12 “elements” sticker
Cardstock: The Kraft Outlet, Stampin’Up
Dies: Sizzix, Papertrey Ink, Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps
Embossing Folder: Sizzix
Trim: May Arts
Decorative Pins: Maya Road
Ink: Imagine Crafts for Tsukineko
Buttons: craft supply

Christmas Greetings with Authentique

It’s the end of the first week of school and the start of a long holiday weekend. What a wonderful combination, and what a very wonderful weekend this will be. Not only do we get an extra day off, but this weekend just so happens to be extra special, as it is Mr. Pete’s big 18th birthday! So of course that means I get to see my boy again this weekend. And that, in turn, makes this old momma happy, happy, happy.

One might could say I’m feeling rather joyous. A perfect day to share a bit of Authentique Joyous with all of you!

This cutie pie little frame is another project I created for Authentique’s CHA Create n’ Connect booth last month. It was just the right size to showcase that adorable Santa, which has got to be my most favorite image in the entire collection. I simply added one of the scalloped shapes from the Frames & Corners die cut sheet to the opening of the frame. Then the Santa cut from the Magical 12×12 paper fits perfectly behind.

The frame itself is another of my junk store finds. I removed the glass and lightly sanded the wood. A few swipes of white and brown ink give the project an instant sense of age. Tied the bottom of the frame with a big happy bow, dressed up with a few die cut leaves, brads, and decorative pins. The sentiment strip is from the top of the Santa image, which I cut off to fit the frame. Doesn’t get much easier than that, my friends.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Wishing you all a very joyous long, holiday weekend!

 

__________________________________________________________

Supplies:

Authentique Joyous Collection
Magical 12×12 Paper
6×6 Paper Bundle
Frames & Corners Die Cuts
Details Sticker Sheet
Die: Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps
Decorative Pins: Little Yellow Bicycle
Round Brad Setting, Round Epoxy Cap: Epiphany Crafts
Brad: WeRMemoryKeepers
Trim: May Arts, American CraftsInk: Clearsnap
Paint: Delta