witticisms by Jess Witty

June 15, 2012

PTI June Release In Review

Here it is, folks!
The works.
The big kahuna.
The whole shebang.
The last of my PTI release projects
All that :)

Let's kick it off with a Little Layers project, shall we?


I'm not gonna lie... this set snuck up on me.  I had no idea I'd love it so much.

I was brainstorming some ideas for it when I remembered this:


Only those who find themselves enchanted by various reality television competition series and lovers of HGTV will recognize the above as the design of one of Rachel Kate, a designer on HGTV's design star

I thought the new Hexagon cover plate die cut in white over black could stand in for the the graphic paint treatment.  But how to incorporate all that fun color?

Love the Lovely Layers set for that...


All of the layers are stamped and embossed with clear powder. When you want a really deep pop of color, clear embossing is the way to go.  Love the way it brings out the color.

I added a little sentiment strip to the side and notched the end to match the cover plate die cut.  That little detail makes me so darned happy :)




I kept going with the Hexagon cover plate die and combined it with Happy Hexagons.


I thought I'd clean out some of my tiny scraps with this one.

I started by setting up the card base (Soft Stone) and clear overlay. I went ahead and ran the white cardstock panel through my Xyron to cover the back with adhesive, then die cut it with the Hexagon cover plate without removing any of the sticker backing. I typically just add a bit of adhesive to the edges, but because I wanted to add this to a clear overlay, I wanted to get the adhesive on there without making a mess.




I set the plate up on my Big Shot and then went through my scrap basket.  I pulled out the smaller scraps (keeping in this Aqua Mist/Summer Sun/Harvest Gold color scheme) and trimmed them to fit over just one or two hexagons.  I kept laying them on the plate until I had all the spots covered somehow. 

It wasn't a tedious process... I did it twice; not being super careful with the scraps, pretty much just laying them on there however.

That left me with lots of random patterned hexagons to place inside the hexagon die cut.  I added the sentiments on vellum because I didn't want to cover too much of it :)


I have to say... I really think you can't go wrong with getting this cover plate and stamp set.  I don't consider myself a super trendy stamper, but man... this combination packs so much visual punch.  I just love it :)


Next up is the newest Framed Out installment, #5...


I paired it with the cutie Happy Trails set.  Those sentiments just seemed perfect for a design with some kind of movement, right? 

I used one of the trails to connect the two sentiments for a fun little detail...




Moving on to Military Stars...


This is such a neat military set... love the versatility it has by focusing on stars. 

I knew I wanted use the Welcome Home sentiment from Military Hero, so I thought that combining it with the sunburst scene from the previously released On the Farm set would be perfect... it kind of has that feeling of "home." 

The Sunrise impression plate and On the Farm are a match made in heaven, too...


To do the double layered sentiment on vellum, make sure you wait for the first sentiment to dry completely before you stamp and emboss the second sentiment.  In this case, I stamped My Hero from Think Big Favorites #17 in Orange Zest, then went over it with a heat gun to make sure it had completely dried.  Then I was able to stamp the Welcome Home sentiment in VersaMark and emboss it with white powder without the white powder catching all of the first sentiment as well.


Now for a simple no layer card...


I love the little flags in this month's Heart-2-Heart #5! 

I also really love using these smaller images to build something bigger and take up the card front.  This card is deceptively simple... all it took for me to line it up was a light pencil line at the bottom.  I stamped the row Raspberry Fizz flags right on the line.  It was actually super simple to just stamp the rest of the rows (Berry Sorbet, Hibiscus Burst, Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise, and Harvest Gold) in the negative space. 

I ran into a slight problem when I grabbed the wrong color to start stamping the Harvest Gold row at the top.  I put on my Tim Gunn "make it work!" attitude and just trimmed off the side of the panel.  That paved the way for a short card front card with a cute Summer Sunrise stripe peeking through from the inside :)


Lemons into lemonade, right?


I saved my favorite for last :)
This is one of those rare times when the vision in my head actually came out like I hoped... so satisfying.

The You Make Me Happy sentiment from the new We Go Together set totally inspired me with the thought of a cloudy sky... something hazy and gray, but still pretty...


I started off with a Soft Stone card base for my gray sky, then added a Summer Sunrise sun (I used the circle die cut from Hello Sunshine) and overlapped lots of Clouds die cuts on top, turning them this way and that for some variety.


The key to the hazy sky is the vellum overlay... it softens all of the die cuts and gives it that soft, filtered effect.

I trimmed out that happy little banner and gave it a few bends for some dimension... it kind of has the effect of being blown in the wind to me :)

I masked off the first part of the sentiment so that I could add the last part all by itself...


I'm just so pleased with that one.
That is the special song between my younger sun and I so this card just makes me think of him.

Him and all of his what-looks-suspiciously-like-chicken-pox spots that we discovered tonight.  Yeah... awesome :) 


For more happy cards, be sure to head on over to the rest of the design team...
Nichole Heady

Soooo... thoughts?  As always, this release turned out some surprise favorites for me.  I'd love to hear what you're thinking about this month's release!



PS... Inlinkz is having some trouble right about now, so I'll be back later today with all of your supply list needs :)

19 comments:

Kristin said...

These are *so* very awesome :)... chickenpox, not so much!

Love the banner card that "you made work" but my favorite is definitely the last one. Special place in my heart for that song as well. ;) (moms and sons, I tell ya!)

Suzanne Russell said...

As usual, all of your projects are amazing, but the last two in the post made me squeal with delight! The banner arrangement and color combo is just fabby wonderful and who wouldn't love a cloudy card with so much happiness attached? I MUST start utilizing my stash of vellum and this is just the inspiration I need! thanks :)

Kelly S. said...

OMG, these are AWESOME Jess! I just love the grey card with the sentiment and the faint little sun. Your banner card is perfectly stamped! Those hexagon cards? SWOON! Amazing samples (as always) for this release!

Kristii said...

love, love, love your projects!! The grey skies card totally knocks my socks off!! So soft and pretty and totally makes me smile!!

marilyn said...

Wonderful cards...love the last 2 especially....the cloud card looks soooo soft.

Lee Anne said...

Wow! You got me with the last card. My son and I have a special bond with that song too. And your card is genius. Love the vellum overlay.

see mary stamp said...

I love all of your projects but especially the black and white hexagon cover plate/lovely layers card and the phenomenal card one at the bottom. I could add absolutely everything from this month's release to my cart. Hello Sunshine and Happy Hexagons and coordinating products are going in for sure. Sorry about the chicken pox!

Sue in Grapevine said...

Love all these! Thanks for the hint about using scraps w/hexagon coverplate.

Lani said...

So awesome!

Tracey McNeely said...

All wonderful projects but I have to say your last 'hazy sky' card is genius.

Gabby said...

Great cards! I particularly love the hexagon cards and the cloud card. You bring such unique talent to the PTI DT. Your creations are inspiring. TFS :)

Anonymous said...

Love your cards! The Lovely Layers card really pops!! And of course the skies are gray card is so simple yet so pretty! Nice work!

jintyoo7 said...

eeek, poor little fella - sorry abou the Chicken pox :(

Cards are incredible - I am so inspired to dodge my shopping :)

Nancy said...

Beautiful cards, I love the hexagon cover plate die & the colors you used can't wait to get my hands on that one. I too watched that episode of HGTV & was blown away with the design that inspired your card. Such great ideas you have, love the cloud card as well, but all are so nice.

Mendi Yoshikawa said...

Oh my goodness! I love your b&w happy hexagon card so much!!! I was inspired by that HGTV Design Star room in my papercrafting this past week! ;)

Gina said...

Cards are beauties. I pinned several of them!!! What's the ruling? Chicken pox? :( Hope not - for all y'all's sake!

Shobana said...

Just LOVE your projects! You always manage to come up with some amazing ideas to use the supplies you have...so inspirational! :)

gardener said...

Can't wait to be able to order the hexagon die - hope it's available soon. That's not usually my style but your projects make me want to stretch in that direction. Love your ideas. Visit your blog frequently and am never disappointed. Thanks for all your inspiration.

Anonymous said...

I've said it once and I'll say it again.
Jess cards make me happy.
A lot.