witticisms: July Release in Review

The release in review... my favorite Papertrey Ink post each month.

{As you know, we'll review all of Papertrey Ink's July releases today and they'll be available for purchase online at Papertrey Ink this evening.}

Apparently there's just something about cramming so much fun stuff into one mammoth sized post that appeals to me. Similar to Christmas morning, ice cream from Marble Slab, and Disney World :)

Let's kick it off with Summer Hills...

This one might be my favorite of the series, although I probably said that about each one :)

The tree, though... definitely love that modern shape...

I trimmed out the house, colored it simply with a few Copics, and popped it up over the tree image. The little pinked border grass grounds it and creates a nice spot for the sentiment.

I pulled that one out from the oldie but goodie Love Lives Here.... the fonts there pair up really well with the Summer Hills fonts so I added one of the Summer Hills sentiments to the inside.

I thought this card would be perfect to go with a housewarming giftor even to go along with a wedding gift.

Next up... something completely different...

I used the new Rainbow Stripes die in my first post this week but I couldn't resist trying out the new Rainbow Circles die, too! It was just calling to me :)

And it was apparently saying "you know you're gonna love me so just go ahead and pair me up with the new First Place set and make it official." Love how the First Place emblem stamp and sentiments seem made for this die. (The new First Place set is a gold mine for good sentiments, by the way.)

Just a few reasons why you should love this die:

If you struggle with color combinations, this is a super easy tool to try some new ones out with. Sometimes I feel like combining colors with just cardstock can sometimes be easier than trying new combinations with stamped images... both Rainbow dies are really perfect for putting some new colors together.
If you ever need to make masculine cards/projects, the Rainbow dies are *perfect* for that. Modern and hip, without being fussy. I made this one with my 9 year old son in mind, but I think it would work just as well for my husband, etc.

Definitely a new favorite :)

There were loads of really notable dies this release... here's one of the Birthday trio dies paired with the new Wishes Come True set...

Not sure I'll ever tire of these colors together... Raspberry Fizz, Aqua Mist, Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest, and I think a bit of a bright yellow thrown in there.

The candles make a fun pattern all lined up in a casual row. Love the size, too... they can hold their own on a card front. I added the die cut panel at the bottom to ground them and give the eye a bit of a break from the patterns.

A good general occasion birthday card never goes out of style, right?

Well, then... here's another :)

How fun are those balloons??

I started by die cutting the Balloon Bash balloons in the upper panel. The balloon dies come wired together as a set of 3... I just twisted them apart, die cut two balloons in the first pass, and then die cut the third balloon so that it overlapped the second one a bit.

The Aqua Mist, yellow, and Orange Zest balloons are really just bits of cardstock stuck to the card base. I added in a section of Summer Sunrise between the yellow and Orange Zest balloons as if they're overlapping.

It's a bit hard to see, but I stamped the balloons in their coordinating colors... stamping right through the die cut holes. As a last step, I added a layer of vellum behind right behind the upper panel to give the balloons their translucent appearance.

Now.
I could end the card summary there.
However.
In the interest of full disclosure, I give you this shot...

Clearly, my cavalier days of photographing my cards on the patio while the kiddos swim a few feet away have caught up with me.

This is the first card I photographed and I literally had taken *one* picture - the full card shot above - when The Great SPLASH of 2013 happened. It was epic, I assure you.

Photographing paper projects next to the pool... are you all rolling your eyes at me right now?
Hey, I'm college edumacated, too :)

In my defense, in 3 years of patio paper photography by the pool, this is the first casualty.
I see a paper surgery in the near future.

Luckily, all my other cards made it out unscathed, including this one...

This one shows the new Polka Dot Parade #6 set which features a tree or branch image along with a few flowers and leaves.

I positioned the image as a tree (you could also stamp it to the side and go for more of a branch feel) and then reimagined the Queen Anne's Lace image from Meadow Greens as the "tree." I think it works! I love unexpected pairings :)

And yes, I'll take any opportunity for a good overstamped sentiment. The larger plus smaller sentiments just seem perfect for that to me.

Last up in today's gigantor post... and you know it's one of my favorites if I save it for last :)
You also know that if it has Soft Stone + White it was already a favorite, anyway...

The Delightul Dahlias Additions images just pop when surrounded by those pretty neutrals. I started with the hexagon image from Scrolling Script, which pairs with the new Mat Stack 7 dies. I used the extra little divot in the hexagon to emphasize the sentiment... love that extra little detail.

I also love figuring out some fun color combinations for multi-step images. For the large flower I started with Hibiscus Burst, then Summer Sunrise, then Orange Zest. The smaller flower got Summer Sunrise, then a bright yellow (old SU), then Orange Zest.

A simple background made with the Hexagons cover plate echoes the Mat Stack 7 shape and brings everything together.

Whew!
Holy moly, folks... that was one heck of a post!

And guess what, there's *so* much more to see with the rest of the design team...
Nichole Heady
Betsy Veldman

Cristina Kowalczyk
Erin Lincoln
Ashley Cannon Newell

And thus wraps up the July release.

Thanks so much for joining in!
Any surprise favorites for you this time around?