PTI Post-Release Post

And so another new Papertrey Ink release comes and goes :) I've had to hold off posting my release projects until now {more on that later} so let's just consider this as a pooooost-release bonus. First off, I received a few question about this little project during Nichole's post-release wrap-up... I was really taken with the open flower image from Flower Fusion #2 and wanted to show it off with some bright colors. I also wanted to pair one of the sentiments from that set with one of the new sentiments in Think Big Favorites #2. See? Don't they just look they were made for each other? In this picture, it might look like the flowers are just stamped in white right on top of their little circles... but here you can see that the cardstock base has a clear cardstock overlay. I started with a Kraft card base and added just the colorful cardstock circles (punched with a 1" punch, I believe). I liked how it looked, but I decided it needed something more, so I filled in the rest of the card front with kraft circles. I love the pattern and dimension it adds while still keeping the style modern and cohesive. One thing to note on this part... I knew I would be using the Think Big sentiment, so I went ahead and stamped it on the flat card front first, then lined it up and stamped it again in the same spot on top of the cardstock circles. I knew it would be tough to get the image evenly stamped once the circles were down, so doing it twice eliminated that issue. The clear cardstock overlay is folded and scored just like the card base, then slipped over the card. When I do clear overlays like this, I tend to add some adhesive on the backside of the card to hold the two layers together. It's very simple to stamp the overlay after that. I used StazOn Opaque ink to stamp the open flower and the sentiment, off-setting it so that it snuggled right up to the larger one. Staz On Opaque dries fairly quickly, so I was able to stick the matching rhinestones on right away as the final touch. Cool, huh? I totally love simple techniques added to simple cards that give the card a whole new dimension of excitement. Moving on to a card I like to think of as simple vintage... I love the look of lots of vintage elements on a card, but really... quick and easy is who I am. So I stamped up a little label using the Basic Labels set and added a simple line of the dotted image and a sentiment from Ribbon Tails at the bottom. Stitched it on to a card base topped with a part of a vintage map and voila... done. Very satisfying. I can already tell that I'm going to be using those Label Basics on loads of projects. They just make the perfect little highlight for a sentiment, image, etc. For a Modern Basics project, I went back to the clear cardstock since it was already out from my Flower Fusion project :) Do you not just love Maile's first set? The whole thing is just so Maile to me... modern, clean, simple. I know I'll use it for a million different things. I used some more Staz On ink... White, and Blazing Red on the clear cardstock strips. The red always comes out more of a Raspberry Fizz color when it's stamped on clear. I just layered the strips and stitched right down the center for a quick and easy card. If I had a favorite project from this month {meaning, I likely do have a favorite, but I feel bad admitting it, so IF I had a favorite}... it might be this one... I can't help it. The cutie pie little polka dot frame from Tag-its #2 goes totally modern with a gray/yellow color pallete and the addition of another Label Basics image. I used a Grid Lines cardstock card base to keep everything all nice and lined up. {Call me a cheater, but that cardstock is genius for making patterns on.} I added the sentiments (big one from Daily Designs Sentiments, small one from Tag-Its #2) to a simple strip of vellum, wrapped it around the card front, and adhered the ends to the other side. Hi, my name is Jess, and I'm officially addicted to layering sentiments. Obviously, I cannot be stopped :) And on to my final card. This one featuring the Sending You set... This one is difficult to write about as I actually made it for a sweet family enduring a great loss... that of our sweet friend, Luke Steinmann, who I first mentioned to you here. It has been 8 days now since his passing... 1 visitation with his family... 1 service where a huge church with balcony seating was full to the brim with those drawn to say good-bye to this honorable young man... 1 burial where his senior classmates would not leave the gravesite until they could not see a trace of his casket any longer and Brian and I stood and hugged them until they were ready to go... and one youth group meeting where those friends remembered their friend and who he was. His was a life well lived. And making this card for his family in the midst of tears was difficult. As I always do when making sympathy cards, I wanted to keep it simple and elegant. I cut the leaves using the new Turning a New Leaf die and simply adhered them to the card front... no stamping on them needed. I added a vellum overlay to the card to gently diffuse the leaves, heat embossed the Sending You flowers, and added the simple sentiment... "heartfelt" was ringing true for me. It must be said... thank you so much for thinking of this sweet boy... lifting him, his family, and his friends up in your prayers. I have been incredibly overwhelmed by the sweet words some of you have sent expressing your care for him... a stranger to you. One PTI reader even noticed his passing in my facebook status and emailed me out of the blue with such a sweet note... how blessed I feel to be surrounded by such caring friends. Thanks, friends. {I Appreciate You} card Stamps - Flower Fusion: #2, Think Big Favorites 2 CS - Kraft, Raspberry Fizz, Pure Poppy, Terra Cotta, Summer Sunrise, Lemon Tart, Simply Charteuse, Ocean Tides, Spring Rain, Royal Velvet, Clear Cardstock Ink - Fresh Snow, StazOn Opaque White {Thinking of You} card Stamps - Ribbon Tails, Label Basics CS - White Ink - Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist, True Black {Modern Friend} card Stamps - Modern Basics CS - Simply Chartreuse, Clear Cardstock Ink - Staz On Opaque White, Staz On Blazing Red {Thanks Very Much} card Stamps - Tag-its #2, Label Basics, Daily Designs Sentiments CS - Guide Lines II Grid Sheets, vellum Ink - Versamark, True Black Other - Zing Embossing Powder (Mustard; by American Crafts) {Heartfelt Sympathy) Stamps - Sending You CS - White, Simply Chartreuse, Vellum Ink - Dark Chocolate, VersaMark Dies - Turning a New Leaf Ribbon - Simply Chartreuse Other - Filigree White Embossing powder