witticisms: January Release in Review

Well, folks... the first Papertrey Ink release of the new year has come and almost gone already.
Time flies and all that, right?

It's time to get down to it, and, as always... I just had to start with one of my favorites :)

This month's newest (and last!) edition of Framed Out is probably my favorite of the twelve. That mini polaroid frame... love! I was tempted to make some mini photo magnets similar to the Fabulous Frames magnets in this post, but I really wanted to go bright with the frame and image for this one.

A colorful ephemera butterfly seems to float right out of the frame. And I couldn't resist adding a tiny little stamped accent at the bottom for just a bit of detail...

As always, I love a happy card :)

I also love that frame die cut so I put it to use again, this time pairing it with the new Destination set. Even if you think a travel themed set isn't really for you... trust me, this one's a winner. There are several images that are just classics... the plane, ship, ticket, and round map are super, super versatile.

I based my card on this soft sky patterned paper. The little square that comes out of the frame die cut served as the perfect mask on the patterned paper, allowing me to stamp the travel definitions without having the text in the open part of the frame.

The real key here, though, is the layer of clear cardstock behind the frame. That shine just brings the whole polaroid idea to life.

I know I say it all the time, but if you're not using clear cardstock... you're missing out. There's something about that extra layer of depth and shine that just adds the perfect clean and simple touch to so many projects.

I wasn't quite ready to let go of the Destination set so I kept it in play and added Square Prints to it...

You know I love a classic, basic set... this one fits the bill. You're really only going to be limited by your imagination with this set.

I started by stamping the squares on a panel of white cardstock to make some ocean waves. The little Destination ship sits right on top, embossed on the Soft Stone layer.

Love the sentiment here. A friend of mine is facing some big life changes and this sentiment seems to fit the bill for me. I stamped the sentiment with Enchanted Evening over the Aqua Mist squares to keep up the nautical feel with my color choices.

I don't often go with an extra layer, but in this case, it seemed to add some weight to the card and give it a "sturdier" feel. Adding the bright white also seemed to lighten the feel of the Soft Stone and give it a bit of a happier feel.

Speaking of happy...

I always love the Heart-2-Heart (this is #12) series for a quick and easy card. I started by trimming down a Tag Sale #5 die cut to better fit the sweet sentiment from Happy For You.

A few stems and flowers stamped later and I was done :)

This layout with the image in the lower right corner with the sentiment directly below the image or layered over it is a go-to for me. If I need a card quick, this is where I like to start.

Here's another example. This time I used the new Fancy Folk Art and Everyday Photo Finishers set but I started with the same layout...

Since my Fancy Folk Art examples from yesterday were a bit more involved, I decided to go simple here. I love how it looks without being colored in.

The Everyday Photo Finishers images work really well size wise with this Fancy Folk Art image. I used vellum for the Photo Finishers die cut and repeated the Orange Zest ink for the sentiment.

A few colorful buttons under and on the Kraft layer adds a sweet touch. I love non-traditional color schemes when it comes to baby cards! There's nothing wrong with blue or pink, but I love that cards in other colors really stand out when it comes to baby cards. Orange is always a winner for me :)

I'm sure the design team has lots of winners in all the cards they have posted today! It's about time for me to browse around and check 'em all out... join me?
Nichole Heady
Ashley Cannon Newell

Cristina Kowalczyk
Erin Lincoln

I'm hoping you've found some new favorites here today!
See anything that really floats your boat?