witticisms: August Release in Review!

Hello, there, friends :)

It's about that time.
{If you're a child of the 80's and you just followed that sentence up with "...to break forth, the rhythm and the rhyme..." then I salute you.}

Time for the epic Papertrey Ink monthly release in review post!
As always, all of the new August release products will be available at Papertrey Ink tonight, so be sure to head on over and check it all out.

But before you do that, we'll whet your whistle with some projects first, k?

First up... Nuts For You...

I just had to give that little cutie pie a foxy girlfriend ;)

The previously released Hello, Foxy image pairs up just right with our little Nuts For You squirrel.

The little guy is clearly in the midst expressing his heartfelt emotions with the help of a few Bubble Talk word bubbles...

This was the first card I made with the Bubble Talk bubbles... they're just the right scale to use with these little critters and many more - think Tremendous Treats critters, etc. So stinkin' many options with the combinations here.

My 9 year old suggested I switch the words out to say "You are nuts" instead, which I suppose is a card most of us want to send to someone every now and then ;)

The bubbles would also work great with this... um... critter...?
I guess he's more of an apparition...

This is a little triad of new release projects... the ghost guy is from Polka Dot Parade #7 and the dies are one of the new Tricky Trio dies and one of the new Notched Star Banner dies.

They're all working together here to embellish a little Halloween treat bag...

I really wanted the Notched Star Banner to be big and bold against the coffee bag, so I adhered some strips of cardstocks together on a white cardstock base and then die cut the banner from that.

I love how the white stars peek through and the contrast of the colors against that black Tricky Trio die cut sentiment. And the spooky/friendly ghost is made from vellum so he's nice and translucent
against all that color.

Now for something a little more elegant...

For some reason, I'm really loving how this little Mum's the Word card came out.

The mums are large enough to create a focal point, but airy enough that they're not overwhelming. I think that makes them a little easier to overlap without looking off to me.

I especially love the design of the sentiments in this set. If you're on the fence about this set, think of all the options that more rectangular sentiments like these give you... love them for adding to PTI's banner dies, etc.

I nearly added the filigree border from Boutique Borders: Sympathy to this card because the sentiments work so well in that image as well, but I held off and let the flowers stand on their own.

I did pull out Boutique Borders: Sympathy for this one, though...

My goal for sympathy cards is to keep it simple and elegant.

I rarely add embellishments but I do like to add embossing to add a little detail. For this card, I started by adding a little pattern with one of the new Autumn Pattern Pieces images. I knew that I wanted to add a velum overlay but that I didn't want to cover the entire card with it, so I put the pattern at top and bottom. The pattern peeks out from above and below the overlay and adds a little interest.

Soft Stone + White + Gold...
my love for it will apparently never wane ;)

Up next... Basket of Blessings...

The little vine image at the top makes a sweet frame for the sentiments when you mirror two of the basket images. I reversed what might be a typical "home base" for a card (light base/dark sentiment) and went with something a little more unexpected for this image.

The white sentiment is balanced on each side with a bit of Soft Stone patterned paper on the card base. And it should be noted... the sentiments in this set are really fantastic. I always love the option to overlay the smaller font sentiments over the larger fonts.

Bubble Talk made another appearance this month...

Definitely more of a simple card... I had my 9 year old in mind when I made it. We're transitioning from a full-time homeschooling family to having our oldest at school this year. This school model has him attending 2 days a week and still homeschooling the other 3... definitely a change for us.

One that involves sending lunches and hidden notes along in them, of course :)

Heads up... Bubble Talk is seriously awesome for cards for guys. Just something to consider.

Well, new school means new teacher...

I thought I'd get us started on the right foot ;)

Now.

This card is a bit of a departure for me.

I started playing around and stamping these without being my perfectionistic little self. As in, I just stamped them and didn't really worry about planning it all out first or being super analytical about getting everything all lined up perfectly.

So, yup... I just stamped 'em... without a plan... and the sky didn't fall down.

What?

A little stitching adds to the more casual feel. I added the new Wonderful Words: Thank You die cut at the bottom to kind of echo the thank you stamps. And the ribbon at the bottom finishes it off.

This one just makes me happy :)
It feels a little different for me... and I like the feeling of stretching myself a bit.

Well, folks... there's lots more happiness to be found with the rest of the design team today...

Nichole Heady
Betsy Veldman

Cristina Kowalczyk
Erin Lincoln
Ashley Cannon Newell

Thanks so much for stopping by today.
I really do mean that.

I love seeing what you guys think and always hope that something will strike you and bring you your own bit of happiness today.

Later, friends...