Papertrey Ink December Countdown Day 2

Hello and welcome to Day 2 of the Papertrey Ink December release countdown! There are some super fun stamp sets and dies being released, so let's get started! The details  of each of the stamp sets will help you get a feel for everything that is being showcased today! The first set that I am showing projects for today is called Love in Bloom! It is such a fun and whimsical set that you are sure to fall in love with! I love the multiple step stamping that allows you to create many different looks depending on your color combinations. I chose something very similar to my Traveler's Journal December project because I'm still in holiday mode! LOL! I switched out the Vintage Jadeite for Mint Julep and added in the Berry Sorbet for a soft, unconventional, yet Valentine-y palette! What do you think?

Valentine's Day is THE day for sweet little packages filled with sweet things to eat as well as all kinds of cards, so I decided to create an ensemble worthy of the day! I used many of my favorite things to create this set! The Essential Pillow Box die is the perfect size to tuck candies and gift cards inside to give to all of your Valentines! I die cut it out of Mint Julep cardstock and then stamped the "Be Mine, Valentine" sentiment, which is included in the set, repeatedly using the coordinating Mint Julep ink, repeatedly across the die. I am in LOVE with the font that Lizzie used for all of the included sentiments.

I did the same pattern stamping for the card across a piece of Mint Julep cardstock that had been die cut using two of the newly released Pierced Rectangle Dies. I just love the quick and easy detail it adds to my projects! I was able to lay this entire panel over the top of a piece of Mint Julep cardstock that has been die cut using the Scallop Stackers: Large die, which is back in stock! yay! I used a lot of foam squares on this design. Each layer is stacked on top of each other using foam squares for optimal dimension! I used the outer edge of the Scallop Stackers using Sweet Blush cardstock so that it would peek through the loops of the scallops. 

I used my MISTI to do all of the stamping of the floral hearts. I die cut them out of white cardstock and then got to work stamping. It was easy to stamp a bunch of these using the MISTI. I have additional hearts for me to create additional boxes. I plan on using each of the sentiments included in the set! 

The sentiments are heat embossed using Rose Gold embossing powder which is the perfect choice with all of the beautiful shades of pink and coral! I added some Nuvo Crystal Glaze to the centers of some of the flowers on the card. For the pillow box, I created little felt flower clusters using Sweet Blush Felt that I glued in three places on the heart image. I can't find the dies that I used in the shop, but there are lots of similar options HERE. I simply folded them in half and secured them with hot glue, and then folded them in half again and added more glue. Once that was dry, I added them to the three flowers on the heart using more hot glue. I tied it up using some red baker's twine for a pop of color!

The next set that the team is showcasing today is called "Perfect Match"! It is such a fun set that will work so well to create all of those "punny" gifts that are so popular for Valentine's Day, but with a "hot" theme! As I read each of the included sentiments, I knew that the "there's a spark between us" sentiment would be perfect to package up some sparklers! {I would not hand these out to unsupervised children or to a classroom} 

I used the Limitless Layers: 2 1/4 inch heart dies to stamp and emboss the sentiments. This gave me an easy way to hide the tape that I used to secure the sparklers. I simply added the hearts using a double thickness of foam squares.

I love all of the matches, sentiments, and accessory images that are included in this set! I can tell I will reach for this one again and again during the season of love! Thanks for fluttering by! 

P.S. remember that all new products will go on sale on Dec. 15th at 10 pm EST!

Tuesday Ideas {Sending Hugs}

Welcome! I'm over on the Precious Remembrance Shop Blog today sharing this quick and easy Valentine's Day idea {or even thinking of you}! I've been having so much fun creating my own custom backgrounds using the smaller images in the stamp sets, so that is what I did today! I stamped one of the smaller heart images from the Love Coupon stamp set using Versamark ink onto a 4 by 5 1/4 inch piece of pink cardstock. I poured Wow! puff white embossing powder over the top and heat set it for a fun, textured look.

I adhered a Pink Doily over the top using some Scor Tape for security. Once that was done, I stamped the "sending hugs" sentiment in black in a random, yet thoughtful way. This particular sentiment is from the Everyday stamp set.

I created a custom tag using the sentiments from the Love Coupon stamp set. The cluster of pink hearts at the end are from the Everyday stamp set as well. They pair so perfectly with the heart image that I used for the background. I added a silver eyelet and a bow of black baker's twine for some added texture and detail.

I finished the design off with a trio of sparking clear sequins for some shine! I hope that you'll try creating your own custom backgrounds using the smaller images included in your stamp sets! Thanks for fluttering by!

Papertrey Ink December Release Day 1

Welcome to Day 1 of the Papertrey Ink December release! Today the team is showcasing some really fabulous new products that I'm sure you will love as much as I do! For my first project I am sharing the new Penned Elegance II as well as the new Delicates Dies. My mind is whirring with all kinds of ideas on how to use these, but be sure to head to the Papertrey Ink Blog to see how the other designers used these wonderful new products!

As you know, I am a big embosser; I love to emboss sentiments, backgrounds, and more! It is only fitting that I chose to emboss these beautiful dies using a Gold embossing powder to create some fabulous accents for today's design.  I really wanted these beauties to be the star of the show, so I decided to only add minimal details to really let them shine! I used the newly released Nesting Basics Rectangles Dies as well as the Nesting Basics Pierced Rectangles. This gave my design just enough added detail without detracting from the boldness of the Delicates Dies. 

The sentiment is heat embossed in the same  Gold powder onto a strip of vellum. The sentiment strip is adhered to the back of the main panel using clear tape. I love how you can still see the dies behind the translucent sentiment. These sentiments also have coordinating dies, but I opted not to use them for this particular design, although I love them so much! To emboss the "flowers", I just simply pressed the Versamark ink pad over the top and sprinkled the embossing powder over half and heat set it and then repeated the process for the other half. I added a rhinestone gem to the center of each bloom for some additional shine and detail. I also added a trio of sparkling clear sequins using liquid glue.

My second card for today uses the new Text and Texture: Bokeh. I am so happy to have images like this to set the stage for Birthday cards, New Year Cards, Anniversaries and more! I'm still in Christmas mode, which I can't seem to veer away from, so I chose to use it in a Wintery, frosty way! Bokeh photography is so popular during the Christmas season so I thought it would be fitting!

 The team is also showcasing the new Words to Live By: Happiness. I love all of the sentiments that are included in this set. Since I was going for a Winter-y design, I decide to make a card that could work well as a Christmas Thank You card. 

 The word "Happiness" is die cut using the new "Words to Live By: Happiness die out of silver glitter cardstock. I heat embossed the "You bring" and "to those around you" portions of the sentiment in silver onto a strip of vellum. I didnt' want to cover up any of the beautiful Bokeh background! I added the "happiness" die cut using liquid glue!

 The frosty branches and pinecones are heat embossed in WOW puff embossing powder to achieve the snowy feel I was going for. I used the Sending Joy stamp set for all of these images. 

 I also added some Martha Stewart Crafts Tinsel glitter to the pine boughs as well as around the perimeter! I love how it looks like the edges are frosting up! It really enhances the "twinkles" on the background. I also added some sparkling gems to the pinecones for some additional detail and shine.

 The background is dry embossed using the Wood Grain Impression Plate. It gives just a hint of additional rustic and woodsy charm that I was hoping to create on today's design! I hope you've enjoyed the sneak peeks of Day 1! Thanks for fluttering by!

Traveler's Journal: Vintage Santa Christmas address book and cover

***If you're looking for my Reverse Confetti Blog Hop post, please scroll down***

Welcome to this month's Traveler's Journal post! This month the team has busy been working on creating some fun covers for our journals and/or some clips and embellishments! I just couldn't resist working on an entire Santa themed project that is perfect for the season! For my project, I have created a Traveler's Journal Address Book that is specifically made for me to use to get all of my Christmas cards addressed. As a card maker, I'm sending out cards on a regular basis and always searching for addresses. Unfortunately, I only need some of them at Christmas time. This will be a place for me to have them all together. I love that with the Traveler's Journal: Passport Page Blanks I can add more pages if I need to. I also created a fabric cover and a few clips for my book, which I show further down.

 Isn't this fabric the cutest? I found it at my local fabric/quilt shop when I was buying fabric for handwarmers. I didn't have a clue what I would be making with it, but I knew it needed to come home with me! LOL! I'm so glad it got used on this project, because it turned out so well and it is so useful! The fabric is called "Swell Christmas by Urban Chiks for Moda. It is so yummy! I'm running out of time to get other projects made with it! Eek! I measured it so that it is the exact dimensions as the Traveler's Journal: Passport Cover. I contemplated adding some grommets on the spine to thread it like a regular journal, but decided that it wouldn't be necessary since my address book is the only thing going inside.

I sewed on a large Sweet Blush Vintage Button and some elastic cord to secure the cover. I love all of the variations in buttons that you get in each bag. This particular button had silver reinforcements around the holes which gives it some extra detail that I love!

I went to the Post Office so that I could get some stamps. The local Post Office has a display of current stamps that are magnetic so that you can see them when you get up to the register. I spotted these Vintage Santa stamps and was beyond thrilled! Aren't they PERFECT for this project? Not to mention my love affair with these particular Santa images! These bring back so many fond memories of my childhood Christmases! Anyway, I asked the clerk if he still had the vintage Santa stamps and he said, "No...we don't have anything like that." (as I'm staring at the magnet that shows that they clearly DID or DO have them). I replied that I wanted these stamps and picked up the magnetic board. He said,"That is SANTA!" I said," I know...vintage Santa". LOL! I said," Ya know...old-fashioned? " He chuckled and said that they did! Whew! I clearly can't use befuddling words like "vintage" these days! LOL!

I added a pocket on the inside of the cover that is the perfect size to hold a book of stamps. Now I want to go back and buy every last Santa stamp so that I will never run out! LOL!

The address book is created using the same measurements as the page blanks cover. I just made my own using Vintage Jadeite cardstock. Look at me, using confusing words like that again! LOL! I decorated the cover using images from one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE sets; Santa Stationery. 

I also added a strip of felt that has been die cut using the rickrack border die. Rickrack also brings back fond holiday memories. My mom made us felt stockings with rickrack trim and I always LOVED them! The address book is tied up with red baker's twine.

I wanted to make a few clips so that I could use them with my book. Oftentimes I will rip off a return address when a card comes if I don't have that particular address. This way I can clip them inside until I can get them transferred, or just keep them with the sender's handwriting for nostalgia. 

Many of you know how much I love shrink plastic. I wanted to use the large Santa image from the Santa Stationery set, so I stamped it in red ink onto the shrink plastic. I die cut them using a circle die cut and then used my heat gun to shrink them. I made two so that it would be double sided. The bow clip that you can see at the top of the book is created using Pure Poppy Saddlestitch ribbon. 

The paper ones are made using some other images from the Santa Stationery set.  I used the Postage Die to die cut the Santa stamp image. All of these are hot glued onto paper clips that are slightly larger than normal. I did use a glue dot for the shrinky dink because you can see the hot glue through the two layers. I had to make two, so I know! LOL!

Reverse Confetti Blog Hop: A year to remember!

Welcome to the December Reverse Confetti Blog Hop! This month we're celebrating with the theme "a year to remember" and boy, has it been! If you told me last year at this time that I would be where I am today, I wouldn't believe you! Many of you have been on this creative journey with me from the very beginning and it hasn't always been a smooth ride! I feel so blessed to be here and I hope that feeling is communicated through today's bright and cheerful card! Today the team will share with you their new creation as well as three of their favorites from the year! Isn't that fun? Before I dive into today's card and my 3 favorites, let me give you the blog roll so that you can hop along to the other designer's blogs!

Reverse Confetti Blog

Amy Kolling

Melissa Phillips

Amy Sheffer
Tricia Barber

Kelly Lunceford

Lisa Henke
Leanne West

Amy Rohl

Heather Hoffman

Amy Tsuruta

Kathy Schweinfurth
Audrey Tokach

Melissa Bickford
Jeanne Jachna

Olga Moss
Deanne Kuntz

My card is 100 % inspired by the paper cone Christmas trees that Meg made for the Whatever Craft House on the fireplace mantel! She did such a great job and I knew that the Triangle Trees stamp set and the Christmas Circles sentiments would make a fitting design! I'm thrilled with how it turned out!

I didn't use any colored ink for the trees, but opted to do some heat embossing over the top of cardstock instead. I love the tone on tone effect! The Christmas Circles are stamped onto white cardstock and then die cut using the Bags and Tags Creator: Scallops. 

The sentiment is also from the Triangle Trees stamp set and is heat embossed in silver. I also did some ink blending on a think panel of cardstock and then used my paper crimper to add the texture. I spritzed it with Shimmer Spray for some sparkle. I added some nuvo glaze to some of the trees to mimic ornaments and then I added some rainbow sparkle gems from Lucy's Cards above the trees for some extra detail and shine! And now...on to my top three favorite projects from the year!

This is a card I made just recently, but it is one of my favorites! I love the bright red and green! You can read all about it HERE!Another one of my favorites is from the latest release! I just love how these mug rugs and coordinating tags turned out! You can see the entire post HERE. 

My final "favorite" is a sweet gnome ensemble I made for the Fall-idays celebration from October. You can see the post  HERE. It definitely has been a year to remember and I'm glad you have been a part of it! Thanks for fluttering by!

Papertrey Ink Design Team Tips: Monochromatic Jewel Inspired Holiday Cards

Welcome! I'm so excited to be sharing my first Design Team Tips for Papertrey Ink!  I'm sharing what I am calling "Monochromatic Jewel Inspired Holiday cards". The holidays have a tendency of bringing on all of the sparkle and shine and women dripping in jewels at fancy parties, so I thought it would be fun to try and create some "paper jewels"! Monochromatic or tone on tone stamping can lead to a soft and subtle feel, but I knew that with some glitter and embossing powder, I could turn things around and get some dramatic results!  When the idea popped into my brain for these cards, I had originally thought of using traditional jewel tones; ruby, sapphire, and Emerald. Believe me, I know these would be stunning, {and I think I'll give them a try}, but I opted instead to create some Aquamarine, Peridot {my birthstone}, and Pink Tourmaline for a softer winter palette. I also added in some mixed metallics on the snowflakes and sentiments to balance the warm and cool colors. I'm also sharing some tips and tricks for using intricate dies, like these Bold Borders dies. Thanks for joining me and let's get started!

To begin, I chose the three most intricate of the Bold Borders dies; Bold Borders: Prism, Bold Borders: Flurries, and Bold Borders: Yuletide. I knew that these three would provide stunning seasonal results. Because these dies are so intricate, my Cuttlebug requires a metal shim to be used in addition to my regular die cutting sandwich. I have found that this alone does not solve all of the issues that can arise when using these intricate dies. I will try and explain my troubleshooting process to the best of my ability, but if you have any additional questions, please feel free to leave me a comment at the end of this post, or send me an email and I will respond promptly. When preparing to die cut the Bold Borders, I cut a piece of cardstock slightly larger than the die. I adhere a piece of Washi tape that won't damage the cardstock along the inside of the border; the portion that will be removed to reveal the frame, making sure it is connected to the metal of the die on each side. My process requires shifting the die multiple times so it needs to be secure. To begin, I lay it in my Cuttlebug horizontally and run it through twice. Then, I rotate it and place it on one of the side edges and run it through again. Finally, I move it to the other side and run it through one last time. Once this is done, I use a  paper piercer to remove the pieces. I find that this gives me crisp, clean cuts and they are able to be easily removed. If you have any dies that are stubborn, simply move them to the furthest edges of your die cutting machine. My plates have a tendency to bow, so the edges give a good, clean cut. Also, turning your die upside down can get a good cut as well. Play around with these tips I have given and see what works best for you and your machine. 

I die cut each of the Bold Borders twice and adhered them together using Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue. I like using liquid glue because it helps me get into the tiny places that a regular tape gun wouldn't allow. Once they were stacked together, I pressed my Versamark Ink pad all over the top of the frame. I sprinkled a sparkly embossing powder all over the top and heat set it. I did one side of the frame and then the other so that I had someplace to hold onto. The pink frame is Pale Peony cardstock, the green frame is Simply Chartreuse cardstock and the Aqua frame is Aqua Mist cardstock. I opted to have a darker color as the frame with a softer color underneath . Each card uses three different shades of the same color, with the exception of the Aquamarine card because there isn't a shade softer than Aqua Mist, but because of the embossing, it gives the illusion of it being lighter underneath. That is another tip I want to share; using any type of clear or glitter embossing powder over your carsdstock will darken it a shade or  2, so make sure you experiment on a scrap before committing to it and risk ruining all of that hard work! Some of you may have noticed that my color choices in correlation to their frame aren't what you would expect. I opted to shake things up a bit and provide a bit of the unexpected. Normally one would most likely make the snowflake frame blue, the foliage frame green, and the prism frame pink. I just couldn't resist pink snowflakes and blue, icy branches and foliage!

 Once all of the frames were die cut, I added some sparkling clear gems here and there to enhance the jewel feeling of each card. I spritzed some Shimmer Spray as well for added sparkle. I wish you could all see these cards in real life, because the shine is AMAZING!! I also added some glitter over the top of the blue card because I just couldn't resist and it is SO sparkly. I opted not to add any snowflakes to this card because of the glitter.

I also die cut an additional smaller frame using the Pierced Feature Frames: Rectangle dies. These frames were all cut using the softer shade of cardstock; Spring Moss cardstock for the Peridot card, Sweet Blush cardstock for the Pink Tourmaline card, and of course just Aqua Mist again for the Aquamarine card, as I mentioned earlier. These frames are also embossed using the same powder as the frames using the same technique with the Versamark pad. I adhered the Bold Borders onto their lighter shade using liquid glue and then added the smaller frame using foam squares.

The sentiments are all from the beautiful Penned Elegance: Christmas stamp set and then die cut using the coordinating Penned Elegance Dies. Each sentiment is embossed in gold onto a shade of darker cardstock than the frames. I used Pinefeather cardstock, Autumn Rose cardstock, and Ocean Tides cardstock. I absolutely LOVE that these sentiments have the coordinating dies because you can use them as a focal point in ways that would other wise be impossible without the die cuts. I used foam squares to adhere them to the center  of each card. I love the warmth that the gold embossing adds to these cards.

The snowflakes on the pink and green card add that little extra detail of holiday magic. The images are from the Seasonal Borders: Winter stamp set and are heat embossed in silver on the same color cardstock as the frames. You can tell how much darker the embossing makes the paper when you compare it to the snowflakes!  I added a gem to the center of each snowflake because I just couldn't resist! LOL! Each card front is mounted onto an A2 cardbase in the lightest color of cardstock. I was so thrilled with how these turned out. They really did turn out as I had envisioned and I can't wait to send them to family and friends this holiday season! I hope that you have found this post inspiring and informative! Thanks for fluttering by!

Silent Night

Things have been a little quiet around here lately, but when it's quiet here, it means it's hopping behind the scenes! LOL! I'm popping in really quickly this evening with a fun Christmas design I created earlier in the week! I've been dying to use the new Floral Fantasty: Christmas stamp set again; I've only used it once on a tag during the 25 Days of Christmas tags event.  It is such a lovely set with so many possibilities. I've used it today on a rustic Christmas design.

To begin, I die cut the Bold Borders: Yuletide using Pinefeather cardstock. I layered it onto a piece of Kraft cardstock that had been dry embossed using the Woodgrain Impression plate using liquid glue.

I stamped the deer using Pure Poppy ink onto Kraft cardstock and then die cut it using the Floral Fantasy: Christmas die set. I actually die cut 4 deer and then stacked them together using liquid glue to create a chipboard weight piece. 

The sentiment, which is also from the Floral Fantasy: Christmas stamp set, is heat embossed in gold onto Pinefeather cardstock. I used the coordinating die cuts to cut it and then I added it to the bottom of the deer using foam squares.

I added some red Nuvo drops to the "berries" on the frame and some tinsel glitter to some of the greenery around the frame. A few sparkling clear sequins finish off this rustic Christmas design. Thanks for fluttering by!