Paper, Scissors and Superheroes: Papertrey Ink Group Posts

Summer Camp...

Welcome to the second group post for the May Papertrey Ink countdown! Today the team is showcasing a new stamp set called Summer Camp, designed by Heather Nichols. It's a great set for all of those outdoorsy photos, masculine cards, gifts and more! The set has some great images and sentiments as well as a couple of label stamps that have coordinating dies. There is also a coordinating pattern paper pack. All of these new goodies will be available for purchase from the Papertrey Ink website on the evening of May 15.

So for our Summer Camp projects today, Nichole challenged each of us to find an image on the web to inspire us. While I was browsing around, I happened across this Eddie Bauer ad that someone had pinned on Pinterest. I loved the dramatic effect of the white letters against the pretty outdoor photos.

I decided to take that inspiration and create a mini album for some of last year's vacation photos. I used the Calendar Page die as the pages for my album and bound them together with my Bind-it All The little tabs work perfectly for holding photos. I chose two photos to use on my cover and used Photoshop to lay them out and print them one directly on top of the other. I took the "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints sentiment" and stamped it with Versamark directly onto my photo and heat embossed it with white powder. I really wasn't sure if that was going to work...I thought it might melt my photo, but I was careful to keep the heat gun moving. It did curl it a bit, but I adhered it to a piece of cardstock when I was finished and it straightened it right out.

The patterned papers I used here are from the new Summer Camp pad. The label in the lower right corner is from the Summer Camp set and there are coordinating dies as well. I stamped the year using the Library Ledger Year Additions set. The "Colorado" title was cut using the Block Alphabet die set. I also added a bit of background stamping using the corrugated image from My Hero, My Dad.

Here's a peek at the inside. The tabs on the Calendar Page die work perfectly for holding photos. I just printed them out at home at a 2 1/2" width, which fits in the tabs perfectly.

I used lots of sentiments from the set to create the word art borders along the pages. I used the label stamps and dies from the set as places to add a bit of journaling.

One other thing to note, I diecut the pages of my album from chipboard, then covered them with cardstock or patterned paper that was also diecut with the Calendar Page die. The chipboard makes them nice and sturdy.

For my second project today I wanted to create a Father's Day card using the new Summer Camp set. I came across this image on Pinterest and thought it was just plain fun...the colors, the design, everything! So I used it as inspiration for creating my card. (sorry, I couldn't find the original source, try as I might!)

I used the sky and hill stamp from the new On the Farm set (yes, I used it again...I warned you the other day I was slightly addicted to it!!). This time I stamped the sky in Aqua Mist and the hills in Simply Chartreuse. I then used Dark Chocolate ink and stamped the fun mountain scene from the new Summer Camp set over the top. It was the perfect scale to add to the scene! I love it when things like that work out and I can combine sets together in that way.

I really tried to mimic the whole look and feel of the scene in that graphic. I added some clouds using the smaller die from the Clouds Die collection. I trimmed off the bottoms to give them that trendy flat-bottom look I've been seeing a lot of lately. I heat embossed some of the trees with Zing powders, and some of the others I stamped onto cardstock and hand-cut. (pay no attention to the pine tree growing in the lake...ha! Didn't even occur to me until I was writing this post...)

I layered everything with different thicknesses of foam adhesive. The "happy father's day" sentiment is from My Hero, My Dad and the red "DAD" along the bottom was diecut using the Block Alphabet Upper die collection. I embossed the background with the Woodgrain Impression plate and stamped the rustic wood along the side using the new BB: Farm & Barn set.

That's all for my projects today using the new Summer Camp stamp set and coordinating products. Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope your week is off to a great start. You can swing by the other DT gals to see what they've created with these new products!

Finished size = 5 3/8" x 4 5/8"

Supplies not linked, but available on May 15th from Papertrey Ink: Summer Camp stamp set, Rounded Labels die collection, Summer Camp patterned paper pack

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Finished size = 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Supplies not linked, but available on May 15th from Papertrey Ink: Summer Camp stamp set, On the Farm stamp set, Background Basics: Farm & Barn stamp set

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On the Farm...

Welcome to the first group post day for the May Papertrey Ink countdown! Today the team is playing with a new collection of goodies that are all farm-inspired! There's a new stamp set called On the Farm and a whole slew of coordinating products -- a background set called Background Basics: Farm & Barn, a Chicken Wire Impression Plate and a Shape Up Series: Barn Die. So much fun! All of these new products will be available for puchase on the evening of May 15 from the Papertrey Ink website.

I created a couple of projects using just a few of these new goodies. First up is a little set of notecards. I used the sunrise and hill images from the new On the Farm set in the background. For some reason that image reminded me of a vintage fruit carton, so I decided to pull out my Fruit Fusion Apple die and make a set of fruity notecards.

When I thought about how to package them, I decided that the Berry Basket die that was released last month would be really cute. I didn't want a whole basket though, but more of a pocket instead, so I only diecut two Berry Baskets. I trimmed off the entire bottom of one and left just a 1/2" or so on the other to use as a tab to adhere the two together. I made for a cute little pocket! I always love the versatility of the dies and how you can change them up to suit your needs.

The Take Note sentiment is from the new On the Farm set -- I love the font combination. I stamped it on an Angled Label die which was stamped with the coordinating frame stamp from the Label Basics set. The background of the card was embossed with the new Chicken Wire Impression Plate. How fun is that?

For my second project today, I created a simple card. I found this image from Country Living and love how the colorful animals pop against the neutral background.

(image credit)

I decided to let that image inspire my card. Again, I used that sunrise image (becuase I just can't get enough of it!) this time stamped in Fine Linen ink on a white cardstock background. The animals were diecut using the new On the Farm die collection.

To create the debossed effect around the sunrise image, I stamped the sunrise first, then cut a piece of chipboard and place it directly on top of the image before running it through my Vagabond with the Chicken Wire Impression Plate. The same principle as using a die over an impression plate, but this time I had to make do with something else because I didn't have a die the exact size to cover that spot. The chipboard was quick and easy. The checkerboard pattern along the bottom is a fun border strip that's included in the On the Farm set.

Thanks for stopping by the farm today! I hope you enjoyed checking out my projects as much as I enjoyed creating them. Now be sure to hop around to the other team members to see what they've created with the new farm products!

Finished notecard size = 3 1/2" x 5"
Supplies not linked, but available on May 15, 2012 from Papertrey Ink: On the Farm stamp set, Chicken Wire Impression plate

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Finished size = 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Supplies not linked, but available on May 15, 2012 from Papertrey Ink: On the Farm stamp set, Chicken Wire Impression plate

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Garden Variety Continues...

It's time for group post day #2 for the April Papertrey Ink countdown. Today the team is featuring some new additions to the Garden Variety line up. This new addition to the previously release Garden Variety set includes the Garden Variety II stamp set which contains a new seed packet frame image and some additional labels and elements that coordinate with the original set. There is also a new Seed Pack Frame die to coordinate with the new frame image. Also being released this month is a new set to coordinate with the Year of Flowers series called Year of Flowers Titles. It's a simple little set that contains titles for each type of flower in the 12 Year of Flowers collection. These titles fit nicely in the seed packet frame.

So, a little more about today's project. Nichole asked us to find an inspiration piece to jumpstart our projects today. I came across these fun garden markers on Etsy. I loved the rustic feel of the stamped letters and I decided to see what I could come up with using some of the new products being released this moth

(image credit)

Using those beautiful markers as my inspriration, I created a gift ensemble that would be perfect for any flower garden lover. The ensemble includes a card, a seed packet which holds a gift card, and some garden markers.

First, a little about the card. I used the new Seed Packet Frame 2 die and the coordinating image from the new Garden Variety II set. The watering can is from the original set, but the flowers filling the can are new! There is a pot image in the new set that coordinates with this flower bunch as well. I added the "mother" sentiment from the Mother stamp set. I give my mom a gift certificate to her favorite nursery almost every year for Mother's Day, so this will be perfect for her!

I used the Seed Packet die to create a coordinating gift card holder. I cut the Seed Packet from patterned paper and added the new frame over a piece of vellum which I stamped "A gift for you" from the Delightful Dahlia set.

For the garden markers, I took some polymer clay out to play around with. These were fun to make and I felt like a kid playing with Play-doh again! I used the flower names from the new Year of Flowers Titles set to make an impression into the clay before baking it. I also added a few decorative elements from the new Garden Variety II set.

Now, I'm definitely not a clay expert by any stretch of the imagination, and I don't have any fancy tools for working with clay besides a basic tool kit, but I'll show you how I made these. I learned a few things along the way and if I do any more of these, it should go a little more smoothly. :-)

I started by rolling out my clay. It can't be too thick, but it shouldn't be too thin either. I would aim for about 1/8" thick...maybe a little more. So that you don't distort it by moving it from one place to another, you can roll it directly onto the surface you plan to bake it on, or you could do it on parchment paper. After it was rolled out evenly, I took the Happy Day Label die and pressed it into the clay.

I used a needle-ended tool from the clay tool kit to "cut" around my die. I think a paper piercer would also work for this part.

Then I peeled away the excess clay.

I pulled the die away and I was left with my clay label which I then "stamped" with my flower names and added a few decorative elements. When impressing the images into the clay, try to do so with even pressure...enough to get a good impression, but not too much pressure that the image becomes distorted.

After I finished the stamping, I baked the clay according to the instructions on the package. I attached my markers to some small wooden dowels. I put a block of floral foam in the bottom of a metal bucket (from the Target Dollar Spot) and trimmed a circle from patterned paper to fit inside my bucket. I just stuck the ends of the dowels through the paper and into the foam.

Well, that' all for today! Thanks so much for stopping by! Before to check out what the other DT gals have put together using this new line up of Garden Variety products.

Supplies not linked, but available as of April 15th from Papertrey Ink: Garden Variety II stamp set, Year of Flowers Titles stamp set, Seed Packet Frame 2 die

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Strawberry Patch...

Welcome to the first group post of the April Papertrey Ink countdown! The team has some fun projects to share with you using a new line up of products called Strawberry Patch! This new line of products includes the Strawberry Patch and Strawberry Patch Sentiments stamp sets, as well as coordinating dies! There are dies to match the strawberries as well as the strawberry tops and some tiny flowers. There is also a coordinating set of dies called Perfect Patches, which I'll show you more of in a bit! Along with all of the strawberry goodies is a new die called Strawberry Basket. It's a super fun die that creates a nearly full sized berry basket once it's all assembled. All of these new products will be available for purchase from the Papertrey Ink website as of 10pm on April 15th.

So let's talk about today's project. I created a bath gift basket using all of these new Strawberry Patch goodies.

The card features the big berry cluster -- that large image is all one piece! It is just an outline, but there are coordinating stamps to stamp the leaves and strawberries, just in case you're not too keen on coloring (raising hand!!!) yay!

The sentiment I used on my card is from the Strawberry Patch Sentiment set. I inked it up with Hibiscus Burst ink, then rolled the bottom edge in Pure Poppy for a gradient look. I embossed my stamped panel with the Picnic Plaid Impression Plate (the perfect companion to the strawberry set, don't you think?!?!). As for that sweet bottom edge, I diecut several patterned papers using the new Perfect Patched die, lined them all up along the bottom edge of my cardstock, then diecut it with the Edgers #4 die.

To fill up my basket, I dressed up some lotions and body splash with patterned papers and berries, which were stamped onto the Perfect Patches diecuts. I also included some felt strawberries, which were done the same way I showed in THIS post.

So let's talk a little about the basket. It was, of course, created with the new Berry Basket die. Now, if assembled normally, this basket would be square. For my particular project today, I decided an oblong basket would be better, so I altered it a bit. I'll show you some details on that in a bit. I also added a fabric liner (step-by-steps later in this post!). The handles are just strips of felt which I attached with some cute flower brads.

So, as promised, here are a few shots of how I trimmed/assembled my basket to make it rectangular instead of square. For one side of the basket I trimmed it down, leaving 5 rows of square openenings (across the top) and just adhered the tab from the back panel to this piece, just like you would if you were creating a full-sized basket.

For the other side, since I will need to trim away the tab that would normally be adhered to that back panel, I left a little excess -- the little pieces that would have formed the 6th row of holes -- to create tabs which I then could adhere to the back panel. Clear as mud? It sounds a bit complicated when I type that all out, but it's really pretty simple. :-)

Now for the fabric liner. I wanted to use two different fabrics -- one that would show through the holes in the basket, and a contrasting fabric that would show in the portion that folds over the top of the basket. So, I took my two fabrics and laid them out, wrong sides together.

I then made a pattern by assembling another basket from scrap paper. You could also do this with your actual basket pieces before you adhere the side edges...I was just experimenting when I did mine and my basket was already assembled before I figured out I needed it for a pattern! :-) I pinned it in place through both of my fabrics.

Then take a ruler and measure 1 1/2" from the end of each basket side -- this extra length is what folds over the top edge of the basket. Cut it out, following the marked lines, and leaving about 1/4" extra around all of the other edges (for the seam allowance). I wasn't very fussy about this at all...I figured it was going to get bunched up inside my basket anyway...so don't sweat it too much!

Once you have the pieces cut, it's time to start sewing. Working with each liner piece seperately and with right sides of fabric together, line up the edges (the edges that you would normally put adhesive on if you were going to assemble it out of paper) and sew a 1/4" seam. Repeat with all four sides on both fabric pieces.

Once all four sides of each liner piece are sewn, this is what you end up with.

Now put one inside of the other, right sides together. Sew along that top edge, leaving an opening so you can turn it. Turn it right side out and then stitch the opening closed. It's now ready to place in your basket!

I hope you enjoyed today's project! Feel free to email me if you don't understand my clear as mud instructions and I'd be happy to help. :-)

Now be sure to hop around to the other DT gals to see what they've created using this new line up of products!

Supplies not linked, but available on April 15th from Papertrey Ink: Strawberry Patch and Strawberry Patch Sentiments stamp sets, Perfect Patches die, Berry Basket die

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Super Stars...

Today the Papertrey team is showcasing a new stamp set called Super Stars. This set will be available for purchase from the Papertrey Ink website at 10pm EST on March 15th. There are also some fun star border dies to coordinate!

Nichole challenged us to find an inspiration piece for our Super Star projects. THIS amazing paper sculpture book by Ron Van Der Meer was the inspiration for my project today (btw -- if you're up for some interesting reading, just Google his name and read about his art...incredible!)

For the front of my card, I was inspired by the front of his book. I thought the lettering was super fun and followed his lead. I used the Block Alphabet Upper die to diecut the letters. I cut them again from different patterned papers and snipped away the negative portions to fill in the spaces, just like the typography on the cover of the book.

The moon was created by first punching a 1" circle, then punching a portion of it away using a 3/4" circle punch. The sentiment is from the new Super Stars set, as is the dotted flourish. The entire sentiment reads "shoot for the moon and even if you miss, you will land among the stars". I did a little creative masking with scotch tape on the sentiment to allow me to use diecuts to spell out "moon" and to finish the sentiment on the inside of the card. The fun star borders are, of course, the new Super Star border dies.

And as for the inside? This is the fun part....just like the pop-up book I used as my inspiration piece (except mine isn't neeeeeeaaaarly the intricate work of art that his book is!! :-) ) I used the Movers & Shakers Popper spiral die on the inside, along with lots and lots of stars.

I actually used three spirals...the center one was left full-sized, but I trimmed the other two down just a bit so they would all fit inside my A2 card. And then I just went a little crazy adding diecut stars. The tiny stars are trimmed from the new Super Star borders. I stamped the remainder of the sentiment down in the lower right corner.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my project today! You can stop by the other girls to see what they've created with the new Super Stars collection!

Supplies not linked but available on March 15 at 10pm EST from Papertrey Ink: Super Stars stamp set, Super Stars border dies

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Birthday Bash...

It's time for the first group post of the March Papertrey Ink countdown. Today the team is featuring the new 2012 Birthday Tags set. I always love the tag sets, and this one is definitely no exception. I love the addition of the oval tags this time around!

For my project today I created a card, a gift bag and tag and an invitation...all done up in a happy color scheme!

First the card. I used this pretty solid/reverse floral image from the new 2012 Birthday Tags set. I combined it with the Rosie Posie stamps and dies.

I'm pretty sure it's impossible to create a bad card with Rosie Posie...I've seen so many gorgeous creations on the web using this set! I stamped the flowers in Pure Poppy, Hawaiian Shores, and Summer Sunrise. I added in some pretty coordinating papers...the red floral paper along the bottom is from the Avalon collection by Bazzill and the jumbo chevron is from Canvas Corp.

Next up is the gift bag and tag. I love how easy it is to make gift bags with the Front & Center dies. I used the Front & Center #2 die here.

The tag on the front was made using the same oval image from the new 2012 Birthday Tags set, layered over the Tag Sale #6 die.

And last but not least, is the invitation. This project uses a couple more new products that are being released this month. The first is little $5 set called By Invitation. It contains one large "when, where, rsvp" lined stamp with a few additional "you're invited to:" stamps done up in different fonts. The other new product I used here is the start of a new series of dies called Card Base-ics. There are two different Card Base-ics diec being released this month. I combined the Card Base-ics #2 die with the Movers & Shakers Sliders dies from last month to make in interactive invitation.

I was excited about the fact that the Slider die fit perctly inside the tabs of the Card Base-ics die...what a fun find! That adorable "celebrate" cupcake tag is also from the new 2012 Birthday Tags set. The Slider die pulls out to reveal the party info.

Well that's all from me for today, but there's lots more inspiration to be found at the other DT blogs, so check it out!

Supplies not linked, but available as of 10pm Eeastern at Papertrey Ink: 2012 Birthday Tags stamp set, Card Base-ics #2 die, By Invitation stamp set

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Movers & Shakers...

Welcome to the second group post of the February Papertrey Ink countdown! The 5th anniversary festivities are nearing an end...only a few more days!

Today the team is focusing on a new line of products being released in just a few days called Movers & Shakers. The product line consists of two stamp sets: Movers & Shakers Sentiments and Simply You, along with a collection of dies intended to create interactive cards. So. much. fun. Eeek!

My post is quite long today, so bear with me! There's lots of fun stuff to see! I chose to feature one of the new dies from the Movers & Shakers: Zipper collection. There are two dies in the set, both cut a rectangular panel, but one with the zipper along with short edge and one with the zipper along the longer side. For my projects today I'm using the die that cuts the zipper along the short edge.

My first project uses this die along with the new Simply You stamp set to create a boxed set of notecards.

There's a twist though! Inside the box there is a pocket (created with the Library Pocket die) which is filled with sentiment strips stamped from the new Simply You set. Each one finishes the sentence "You..." and conveys a different sentiment.

These sentiment strips can be inserted into a little pocket that was created by stitching above and below the "zipper" portion of the diecut. This allows you to customize the notecards for different occasions as you need them...or this set would be perfect for gift-giving as well!

Once the sentiment strip has been inserted into the pocket, the card is ready to be given away. The recipient of the card can then follow the instructions on the little arrow by the zipper tab and pull it away to reveal the sentiment.

After the zipper strip has been torn away, the stitching holds the edges firmly enough that the strip stays put and won't slip out, even though there's no adhesive on the strip (it would be too difficult to slip it into the pocket it you tried to put adhesive on it). I hope this all makes sense...it's a fun concept but a little hard to put into words and pictures, so I hope it's making sense! :-)

And here is the box, all closed up. Creating the box is very easy...I posted a tutorial HERE a while back...it's my favorite way of packaging card sets.

And that's not all...I have another project for you! Nichole challenged each of use to use our assigned die along with an existing set to create a second project. I chose to combine the Movers & Shakers: Zipper die along with the Tiny Treats: Valentine set. Today is Valentine's Day...how could I resist sharing a Valentine's project?

For this project, I used the zipper die to create little notebooks. The die itself makes up the front and back covers as well as the pages.

The zipper portion hides a secret message on the front cover. For the rest of the notebook pages, it acts as the perforation so the pages can be torn out of the notebook.

Here's a peek at the secret message hidden on the cover of each...

My daughter and I worked together to make 25 of these for her class Valentine treats! We used a Silly Band to attach a pencil. The backside was stamped with the "to, from" message from the Tiny Treats set and a heart from Simple Valentine...

I realize it's too late for you to use this concept for Valentine treats, but you could use this same idea with any of the Tiny Treats sets. They would make adorable birthday favors, Christmas treats, etc. Here are a few construction tips if you'd like to try your hand at making something similar...

I used regular copy paper to diecut the notebook pages. Each notebook has 24 pages. I was able to cut through a stack of 6 sheets at a time, so four passes through my Vagabond was all it took for each notebook. The back cover is cut from plain white cardstock, the front cover front patterned paper. I also diecut 2" strips to use as the topper of the cover. This allows you to create the hidden message under the zipper. Just make sure when you adhere this topper to the front cover that you aren't putting adhesive on the zipper part...put it above and below, but not directly on the zipper or the recipient won't be able to unzip it! :-)

For the binding, I just punched a row of holes across the top through all layers (cover + 24 pages + back cover) using my Crop-a-dile and then stitched through the holes with twine, stitching all the way across and then back again, tying the ends together into a bow.

What do you think? Fun, huh? I've got lots of other ideas for this die, not to mention the others in the collection! I can't wait to play with them more! But for now, be sure to swing by the other DT gals to see what they've created with the Movers & Shakers collection!! :-)

Supplies not linked, but available on February 15th at 10pm EST from Papertrey Ink: Movers & Shakers Sentiment stamp set, Simply You stamp set, Beautiful Butterflies stamp set, Movers & Shakers: Zipper die collection, Fine Linen ink

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Supplies not linked, but available on February 15th at 10pm EST from Papertrey Ink: Movers & Shakers stamp set, Movers & Shakers Zipper die, Raspberry Fizz and Aqua Mist Pattern Packs

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Sweet Spring...

Welcome to the annual Papertrey scavenger hunt! There may or may not be eggs hidden in the image above - can you find them? There may be one, there may be more than one, there may be none! Count them up and mark them down, then make your way around to the other Papertrey designers...count their eggs too and then be sure to return to Nichole's blog to leave a comment stating the number of eggs you found. One random winner with the correct answer will receive an awesome prize! (click on the photo above to enlarge it if necessary - you only need to look for hidden eggs in the photo at the top of this post). Here are links to the other designers participating in today's scavenger hunt....

Now if you're done hunting and counting, are you ready to hear more about today's products and projects? The sets the team is featuring tonight are Scrambled Eggs by Heather Nichols and Sweet Spring by Lisa Johnson. Both sets are perfect for spring and Easter crafting and even beyond.

I created a little Easter ensemble using these two new sets.

The little felt treat bag was created with the Favor-it #4 die. I modified it a bit by only cutting the front and back panels (trimming away the portion that make up the sides and bottom) to create a flat bag that I could stitch together.

I embellished that adorable bunny egg from the new Scrambled Eggs set with a diecut bow from the Bells & Boughs die collection and I diecut the ears from some fur fabric.

And here is the coordinating card. The floral background was created by stamping the smaller floral bouquet image from the new Sweet Spring set in Aqua Mist, Hibiscus, Chartreuse, and Autumn Rose inks onto Rustic Cream cardstock. The sentiment label is also from the new Sweet Spring set and it coordinates with the previously released Christmas Label die, also from Lisa Johnson. I love that I now have more options for that label, since I love the shape of it!

For my card, I put that cute bunny in the spotlight by placing him in the center of the frilly frame from last month's Simply Jane set and die.

Thanks for hopping by today! Supplies are linked below...but my apologies...many of my Papertrey Ink links are not working. They are revamping the website and things are a little wonky right now. Hopefully everything will be up and running smoothly soon and I can fix whatever links need to be fixed at that time. Thanks for your patience!

In the mean time, happy hopping! :-)

Supplies not linked but available as of February 15th from Papertrey Ink: Sweet Spring stamp set, Scrambled Eggs stamp set and coordinating die collection

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Posted at 06:00 AM in Cards, Non-card projects, Papertrey Anniversary Festivities, Papertrey Ink, Papertrey Ink Group Posts, Stamping | Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBack (0)

Simply Jane....

Welcome to Group Post #2 for the January Papertrey Ink countdown! Only one more day until you can order all of these goodies for yourself!

Today the team is showcasing the new Simply Jane collection. The collection includes the Simply Jane stamp set and coordinating dies, along with a Simply Jane text paper collection. The stamps and dies were designed by Nichole, and were inspired by the books written by author Jane Austen. I love the vintage look and feel of this set! I can see it being used for so many different occasions.

For my project today, I created a girly-girl birthday card. I used the pretty, ornate frame image from the set and stamped it with Smokey Shadow ink, then placed that pretty rose bouquet image inside. I finished it off with my very favorite Think Big Favorite #12 birthday sentiment, along with a verse from the new Simply Jane set (this sentiment stamp has a script "happy birthday" at the bottom which I masked off while stamping).

To give it a little depth, I embossed the frame after stamping. I ran it through my diecut machine with the Limitless Layers 2 1/4" oval die, along with my embossing mat (so it would emboss instead of cut). I love that little extra touch! The background is filled with tiny roses, also from the Simply Jane set which I stamped with Aqua Mist ink stamped off once for a lighter effect.

To finish off the bottom of my card, I used the new Front & Center #2 die and just trimmed off the top scallop edge and flipped it upside down. I love the way the curve of what is supposed to be the "handle" frames my sentiment perfectly. I topped it off with some bow diecuts from the Bells & Boughs collection.

I hope you enjoyed today's peek at the new Simply Jane collection, available on January 15th from the Papertrey Ink website! Be sure to hop around to see what the other designers have cooked up with this new collection!

Supplies not linked, but available from Papertrey Ink on January 15: Simply Jane stamp set, Think Big Favorites #12 stamp set, Front & Center #2 die, Limitless Layers 2 1/4" Oval die collection

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Mat Stack 5 Collection...

Welcome to the first group post of the January Papertrey Ink countdown! Tonight the team is showcasing the Mat Stack 5 collection which consists of the new Mat Stack 5 Collection stamp set which coordinates with the existing Mat Stack 5 die. Rounding out the collection are the Mat Stack 5 Layerz die and the Mega Mat Stack 5 die. The shape of Mat Stack 5 has always been one of my favorites, so I'm excited for this collection to be completed! All of these new products will be available for purchase on the Papertrey Ink website beginning at 10pm EST on January 15th.

I was really excited to play with the Mat Stack 5 stamp set...the set consists of 2 "full" frames that coordinate with the die shape, but then there are tons of individual "building" pieces...which in my opinion makes it super fun. There are so many different possibilities for combinations that you could spend hours stamping with this set! I love mixing stapms to create patterns, so it is right up my alley for sure!

Nichole challenged the team to create two projects using the new Mat Stack 5 Collection. One using a "full" frame image and another using some of the individual design-building pieces. First off is a card that uses some of the individual elements. I layered all three of the Mat Stack 5 dies (referred to as MS 5 from now on :-) ), with the largest Mega die turned vertically. I was excited to find out that many of the individual design elements also worked quite well when stamped onto the Mega MS 5 die. I stamped the image resembling a half-medallion with Hawaiian Shores ink onto a Rustic Cream diecut. In the corners of the card I stamped another element from the set using Smokey Shadow ink.

For the focal point, I combined some of the MS 5 elements along with one of the small frames from the LIttle Labels set. It's a great way to make a smaller sentiment work with the larger space of the MS 5 die.

My second project today uses one of the two full MS 5 frame images in the set. I created a shaped card by running a folded piece of cardstock through my machine with the Mega MS 5 die, allowing the end of the die to extend just a bit beyond the fold of my cardstock so as to not cut through the fold. I just love how easy it is to make little shaped cards with that technique!

The full MS 5 is my focal point, but in the background I still managed to incorporated some of those pretty individual elements to create a pretty patterned background. I'll show you how I stamped them...

I treated each of the curves at the top and bottom of the die as a "corner", stamping that pretty medallion-like image in each one like so...

Continue stamping in each like this...they overlap just a bit, but I think it looks pretty that way!

Stamp all the way around in each of those four "corners" so it looks like this...

Then I took another flower/scroll image and stamped it in the rounded part at the end of the diecut. It makes for a pretty background that you could use just like this too! It would look pretty with a sentiment stamped in the center.

One other thing to note here....the circles under the gems were punched from the same image I just showed you above.

A 1/2" circle punch works perfectly to punch out that pretty little circle to use as an accent.

Well, thanks for stopping by today! I hope you're enjoying the countdown posts this month....only one more day to go and then you'll be able to purchase the new stuff! :-) Now be sure to hop around to the other DT members to see what they've whipped up with the new Mat Stack 5 Collection!