Half & Half

Hello, all!
{Hey, look... I'm back after a little summer bloggy break :) }

Welcome to Papertrey Ink's July countdown to release night! 

All of Papertrey's design team members are bringing you some special projects highlighting one of this month's new sets... Half & Half!  Good times, good times.

First up from me is a card/gift.  I work with lots of high school students and the latest group is headed off to college this year.  I've been teaching this group of girls since they were in, oh, the fourth grade.

Here.
I'll add it up for you.
That's NINE years.
Yikes.

Needless to say, I'm going to miss them.  And I also don't want them to forget me :)
And I figure the best way to do that is with mail.
Sneaky, right?

So, I had them in mind when I came up with this...

It's a little card to send some encouraging words in...

with a detachable bookmark to remind them of what's important.
I love cards that have a little bonus to them!

The bookmark is super simple to make with the Half & Half dies.  My bookmark needed to be a bit shorter than the die to fit on my card, so I started by folding my cardstock to just a little longer length than I needed.

I sent it through my die-cut machine with it folded and it came out just right...

I stamped both sides with the dotted image from the Half & Half set then added a Half & Half sentiment to the front as well.  My thought is that the bookmark will be used in a bible, so I added an encouraging scripture from Beautiful Blessings on the back.

To make sure the bookmark does it's job, I used an adhesive magnet {Basic Grey} on the inside.  Those little suckers are perfect for bookmarks - self-adhesive, flat, and strong.  I just slipped the bookmark in place on the card and the magnets hold it in place there, too. 

Sidenote... love the brackets in this set :)  I know I'll be using those for highlighting sentiments and images that need a little extra emphasis.


Next up... a card/gift for a totally different occasion... a wedding.
My students better not be needing this card any time soon :)

Those Half & Half dies... they are pretty darned handy.  First they transformed themselves into bookmarks, now super-long panels.

To make the panel that wraps around the card front, I trimmed a long piece of cardstock and sent it through with the die all the way at one end.  For the next pass, just flip the die around to the other end of the cardstock and line it up with what's already been cut. 

The Half & Half dies don't have a cut line at the top, so the panel comes out connected all in one piece.
Sweet, huh?

I had a plan for that extra long panel...

It's concealing the wedding gift.
And just in case you were wondering...
yes... when this card is given away, I swear I will exchange the $1 for a gift worthy amount :)

The new Little Labels set makes an appearance on the money tag.

I used a little notch tool on the card front for the slits and then proceeded to bling it all out.
$$$ {or in this case, just $} + bling = fun detail

And if that isn't enough Half & Half love for you, not to fear, my friends...
cause there's more right here...

Nichole Heady
Betsy Veldman
Erin Lincoln
Maile Belles
Lisa Johnson
Dawn McVey
Heather Nichols
Melissa Phillilps
Michelle Wooderson
Danielle Flanders

I hope you like my little card presents!
Let me know what you think!

Back tomorrow with more of the July countdown!


{Hope Sunshine} card & bookmark
Stamps - Half & Half, Dot Spot, Beautiful Blessings
Cardstock - Kraft, Aqua Mist, Simply Chartreuse
Ink - Versamark, Fresh Snow, True Black
Embossing Powder - Powder Zing (American Crafts)
Die - Half & Half
Other - Button twine, Aqua Mist ribbon, rhinestones

{Joy & Happiness} money holder
Stamps - Half & Half, Little Labels
Ink - Gold (Encore), Sweet Blush, Tea Dye Duo
Cardstock - Rustic Cream
Die - Half & Half
Embossing Plate - Damask Designs
Other - Button twine, rhinestones, pearls, glitter brads (Making Memories)