Mighty Oak

 

I love a good twist on a set :)

 

It's release week at Papertrey Ink and we're back today to feature some of this month's latest and greatest happenings.  {It'll all be available at Papertrey Ink starting tomorrow.} 

 

And today's feature? 

Mighty Oak.

Instantly classic but with a modern twist and one of my favorite coverplates ever.

 

I'm working my way backwards today and starting with a creative twist on Mighty Oak.  It has lots of sweet leaf images to play with.  My initial thoughts when coming up with non-traditional uses were campfire flames... fish (just add a tiny triangle to the end)... and spooky eyeballs.

 

Winner!



 

A few rhinestones in the centers and one of the new Bubble Talk die cuts bring it all together. 
The stripes definitely keep it interesting ;)

I admit...
the stripes are totally stolen from this Ikea rug...

Which is soon to be appearing in the boys' bedroom right above me :)

Seriously, bold cardstock stripes... try it, you'll love it.


But back to Mighty Oak...

I'll go a little more traditional (but still with a modern twist) this time :)

Can I just tell you how much I love Mighty Oak and its matching cover plate?
Such a cool look.

I had lots of ideas for this one... I finally had to make myself settle down into just one. 

I decided to show the Mighty Oak set and cover plate paired with some patterned paper.  The paper shows through the die cut leaves... love those fall colors next to the white. 

I wanted to keep it feeling cool, so I die cut the tree image from cork.  Once it was stamped I just slipped it into the die cut opening on the panel above.  A simple change, but I love how much texture and warmth the cork adds. 

Sidenote... doesn't this coverplate work well for a 3.5x5" card?  The coverplate is the standard, slightly larger than A2 size, but the die cut trims down and works well for smaller cards, too. 


There's more Mighty Oak magic to be seen with the rest of the team today so check 'em out...

Nichole Heady
Betsy Veldman

Maile Belles

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Melissa Phillilps

Danielle Flanders {sorry, folks... Dani is without her PTI box thus far and is thus on an impromptu PTI vacation for the moment :)  }

Cristina Kowalczyk
Erin Lincoln
Ashley Cannon Newell

And I'll be back with your favorite big release in review post tomorrow!

In the meantime, let me know what you think of Mighty Oak...

 

{Boo} card

Supplies not available now but available 8/15: 

Stamps - Mighty Oak
Die -  Bubble Talk, Mighty Oak coverplate
Supplies available now:
CS - White, True Black, Smokey Shadow
Ink - VersaMark; Summer Sun (SU)
Other - rhinestones

{Two Roads} card

Supplies not available now but available 8/15: 

Stamps - Mighty Oak
Die - Mighty Oak coverplate
Supplies available now:
CS - White
PP - Basic Grey
Ink - Canyon Clay, Dark Chocolate
Other - cork sheets

Latte Love

Hello, there!

 

Fun times today for the Papertrey Ink design team :)

We're kicking of the August release with a group post focused on one of this month's all new sets... Latte Love.  {Just like always, you'll find all this month's new release items at Papertrey Ink on 8/15.}

 



 

Now... there are those of you that drink coffee...
and then there's the rest of us :)

I know, I know... we're a rare breed.

I do have a daily drink of choice, though... a nice cold protein shake before and after my workout.  I drink about a gallon of water a day (true) and rarely anything else, so I can assure you, my protein shakes are delicious... definitely something to look forward to. 

So while the idea for this little Latte Love set is as a gift... wellllll... it is possible that the concept was born as a gift for myself.  What can I say?  It happens.

PTI's new Coffee Cozy dies are super sweet... just the right size for making a super cute paper coffee cup card (think gift card holder!) or a real life coffee cozy like this one.  The Coffee Cozy die comes with two pieces... I used the longer die twice for my cozy to make it a bit larger... it fits my cup just right. 

To get my cozy pieces, I just bonded a piece of vintage fabric to some of PTI's felt, then die cut it as normal - do that twice to get both pieces done.  I also jazzed it up a bit with a border of Pure Poppy felt cut with the Pinking Shears die.

I'm no expert seamstress but everything here is just a simple straight stitch.  Once the border is stitched on to the top and bottom of each cozy panel, all that's left to do is just stitch the two ends together.  I did add a little detail right before doing that... I used the new Coffee Cozy Details die to add a tiny felt heart tag...

So sweet, right?

To complete the set, I added one of PTI's small kraft coffee bags and filled it up with the emergency coffee we keep on hand for those folks who visit and need their coffee ;)

All of the tag images are from Latte Love and that little felt heart is part of the Coffee Cozy Details die collection.  Those stitched dies are worth their weight in gold, folks.  This little heart took me less than a minute to stitch up thanks to the die cut holes in the tag and in the heart.  I can see that the heart is going to be making lots of appearances...

Next up, a card to focus a little more on just the Latte Love set...

A little simple masking is all it takes to make that stacked cup image twice as tall.

I wanted to keep the feeling of the card warm so I went with a layer of cork over the card front.

Some creative trimming on the sentiment panel adds a bit of interest.  I'm totally digging the fonts in this set... the larger words have just the right almost vintage feel to me.  I love how it pairs with the smaller and more simple font of the other words. 

But wait, there's more :)
The rest of the design team is bringing you lots more Latte Love...

Nichole Heady
Betsy Veldman

Maile Belles

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Melissa Phillilps

Cristina Kowalczyk
Erin Lincoln
Ashley Cannon Newell
 

And I'll be back PDQ (that stands for "pretty darned quick" in our house... do other people say that?) with another release post for you, so until then...



{Handmade Coffee Cozy} set

Supplies not available now but available 8/15: 

Stamps - Latte Love
Die - Coffee Cozy & Coffee Cozy Details
Supplies available now:
PP - Echo Park
Ink - Dark Chocolate
Die - Tag Sale #7, Double Ended Banner Die, Pinking Shears border
Other - small kraft coffee bag, Pure Poppy felt, white DMC floss, vintage fabric, interfacing

{Perk Up Your Week} card

Supplies not available now but available 8/15: 

Stamps - Latte Love
Supplies available now:
CS - White, Orange Zest
Ink - Dark Chocolate, Orange Zest
Other - cork sheet, enamel dots

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

Maile Belles

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Melissa Phillips

Danielle Flanders

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?



{Happy Homes} card

Supplies not available now but available 7/15: 

Stamps - Summer Hills
Supplies available now:
Stamps - Love Lives Here
CS - White
Ink - True Black, Copics
Die - Heart-2-Heart #6
Other - Canyon Clay felt

{You Rock} card

Supplies not available now but available 7/15: 

Stamps - First Place
Die - Rainbow Circles
Supplies available now:
CS - White, Enchanted Evening, Aqua Mist, Soft Stone; bright yellow (unknown)
Ink - Soft Stone, Enchanted Evening; Summer Sun (SU)
 

{Happy Happy Birthday} card

Supplies not available now but available 7/15: 

Stamps - Wishes Come True, Inside & Out: Birthday II
Die - Birthday Trio
Supplies available now:
CS - White, Aqua Mist
Ink - Aqua Mist, Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest; Summer Sun, Going Gray (SU); Copic

{Thanks} card

Supplies not available now but available 7/15: 

Stamps - Polka Dot Parade #6, Meadow Greens
Die - Polka Dot Parade #6, Meadow Greens
Supplies available now:
CS - White, Hibiscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz
PP - Basic Gray
Ink - Aqua Mist, Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz, Dark Chocolate
Die - Fabulous Frames
Other - silk ribbon; butterfly punch (Martha Stewart)
 

{Celebrate} card

Supplies not available now but available 7/15: 

Stamps - Balloon Bash
Die - Balloon Bash
Supplies available now:
CS - White, Aqua Mist, Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest; bright yellow (unknown)
Ink - True Black, VersaMark
Die - Sketched Shapes
 

{Happy Hello} card

Supplies not available now but available 7/15: 

Stamps - Delightful Dahlias, Scrolling Script
Die - Delightful Dahlia Additions, Mat Stack 7 Collection
Supplies available now:
CS - White, Soft Stone
Ink - Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest, Hibiscus Burst, True Black, Soft Stone; Summer Sun (SU)
Die - Hexagon Cover Plate
Other - black rhinestones

Meadow Greens

Welcome back, folks :)

Today's Papertrey Ink countdown post features this brand new beauty... Meadow Greens.
{Just like always, all of Papertrey Ink's newest releases will be available the evening of the 15th.}

Our challenge with this set was to create 2 projects based off of two contrasting inspiration pieces.


It didn't take me long to pick the first one...

 

{Rifle Paper Company}

Love those saturated colors.
Plus, it's a pretty rare day that I'm drawn to purples so I wanted to take the shot to work with them here.

Man... I'm totally loving how it came out...

Meadow Greens is one of those sets that kinda snuck up on me here.
I almost always gravitate to large scale images, though, so I probably should have guessed :)

Those leaves... the perfect size to take up a good portion of a 3.5 x 5" card, which is what I start with most of the time.

 

I wanted those bright pops of white and color so I started with the Meadow Greens flower and embossed it in white.  The rose from Sweet Life and buds from Rosie Posie add the pops of pink and orange.

 

My goal was to frame the sentiment out a bit, so I kept that in mind when arranging everything.  {I almost always start a card by figuring out where I want the sentiment... is that the way everyone else does it...?}

 

 

 

 

I had a little bit more trouble settling on an idea for a contrasting inspiration.  In the end, I went with this sweet paper packet...

 



{Helen Philipps}

 

I like that the overall feel is sweet, a bit soft and vintage, and a little homespun (all definitely a challenge for me) but that the look is still clean and fairly simple (well within my comfort zone). 

 

I tried to keep those general ideas in mind as I created this one...

 

The star of the show here is definitely the Queen Anne's Lace image.  To keep it a bit soft, I stamped it with Raspberry Fizz first, then rotated the stamp a bit and stamped it again with Sweet Blush.
 

A vintage button and some stitching around the edges give a bit more of that homespun feeling. 

The new Scrolling Script set is making an appearance here for the sentiment... couldn't resist those pretty fonts :)  To give it the same softer feeling, I went ahead and stamped it twice, just like the flower image. 

 

I'd say this is my take on something a bit softer, a bit vintage, and a bit homespun while still keeping it clean and simple. 

 

And to see the rest of the team and their takes on it, just head on over...

Nichole Heady
Betsy Veldman

Maile Belles

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Melissa Phillilps

Danielle Flanders

Cristina Kowalczyk
Erin Lincoln
Ashley Cannon Newell

Seems only appropriate to end with...
have a lovely day :)

Back tomorrow with a little July release wrap-up...



{More Than You'll Ever Know} card

Supplies not available now but available 7/15: 

Stamps - Meadow Greens
Die - Meadow Greens
Supplies available now:
Stamps - The Sweet Life, Rosie Posie
CS - Simply Chartreuse, New Leaf, Hibiscus Burst, Canyon Clay; Purple (unknown)
Ink - Simply Chartreuse, Ripe Avocado, Orange Zest, Hibiscus Burst, Berry Sorbet, VersaMark
Die - The Sweet Life, Rosie Posie
Other - Filigree White embossing powder

{Lovely Day} card

Supplies not available now but available 7/15: 

Stamps - Meadow Greens, Scrolling Script
Supplies available now:
CS - Kraft
PP - Basic Grey
Ink - Raspberry Fizz, Sweet Blush, Simply Chartreuse
Other - vintage button

Ultimate Birthday Inspiration!

Happy July, y'all!

I'm fresh off a week at family camp and now that I'm not canoeing, singing, playing Gaga ball, eating (desert at every meal... dangerous), fishing, playing board games (Settlers of Catan, salad bowl, and team Nertz were this week's fave), arranging a one room sleepover for 9 elementary age kiddos (we decided to be cool parents for a night), or having uncomfortably close encounters with tadpoles (thanks to my 9 year old) it's time to welcome Papertrey Ink's July release :)

Everything you check out this week will be available the evening of July 15th... I'm thinkin' you'll see some new faves for sure.

We're kicking things off with a post celebrating all things birthday!

Clearly, the star of the show here is the new Rainbow Stripes die. 
Love at first sight for me.

You know I love cards with one big focal element and bam... there it is :)

As per usual, I started with a white card base and went for one of my standard color combos... and then I decided that the pattern could really stand up to something more bold.  Switching out white for Berry Sorbet and adding in some contrasting colors (Raspberry Fizz, Smokey Shadow, Canyon Clay, and bright yellow) put a whole new feel on things.  A few vellum strips add some interesting depth.

I played around with this die quite a bit and I have to say... this one will give you tons of bang for your buck.  Lots of options here... you can assemble the strips side by side or leave some spaces as I did.  Clearly, it would look fantastic in some monotone colors, rainbow, etc. 

For this card, I added a clear cardstock overlay on top to give a solid surface for my sentiment.  The large sentiment from the brand new Inside & Out: Birthday II set goes pretty darned perfectly with the large "Wish Big" from the previously released Stylish Sentiments: Birthday. 

I stamped and embossed the bottom sentiment first, then went back over and stamped the upper sentiment with StazOn... that allows the upper sentiment to sit "behind" the lower sentiment visually and prevents the letter g loop from being embossed in the middle of that sentiment.  I also like how it echoes the transparency of the vellum :)


And now, for something more in line with my usual tendencies :)

I had fun with some new dies on this one as well... the By the Numbers border and Suffix Style are making their first appearance. 

I'm thinking that Suffix Style was intended to pair up with the original By the Numbers dies (and new By the Numbers Mats dies) but it seems to work well here, too. 

To leave space for the sentiment, I made sure to selectively die cut the border. 

Super easy to do by just arranging the border on the upper panel (I used a post it note over it to keep it in place), then placing the panel on the die cutting platform, making sure to line the 6 up at the very edge of the platform.  The 7 and rest of the panel should be overhanging the platform and, therefore, not cut. 

That left plenty of room for the Suffix Style die cut and some more sentiments from Inside & Out: Birthday II.  I love how it sort of rhymes :)

 

You can tell from the reflection in the numbers that I added a layer of clear cardstock to the back of my upper panel.  I consider clear cardstock (and vellum, at times) is a design element, but it's also a fantastic tool.  In my first card, it's purpose was giving me a solid spot for my sentiment.  In this case, it's there to give me a place to adhere the centers of the 6 and 2. 

 

Fun birthday times, right?

And there's more fun stuff to see with all of these gals... 

Nichole Heady
Betsy Veldman

Maile Belles

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Melissa Phillips

Danielle Flanders

Cristina Kowalczyk
Erin Lincoln
Ashley Cannon Newell

I love a good birthday card, don't you?
That's it for now, but tomorrow brings a whole new peek at this month's release.
See ya then :)


{Wish Big} card

Supplies not available now but available 7/15: 

Stamps - Inside & Out: Birthday II
Die - Rainbow Stripes
Supplies available now:
Stamps - Stylish Sentiments: Birthday
CS - Berry Sorbet, Raspberry Fizz, Smokey Shadow, Canyon Clay, Vellum, Clear; yellow (brand unknown)
Ink - Cotton White Stazon, VersaMark
Other - Filigree White embossing powder

{Make a Wish} card

Supplies not available now but available 7/15: 

Stamps - Inside & Out: Birthday II
Die - By the Numbers Border, Suffix Style
Supplies available now:
CS - White, Aqua Mist, Clear; yellow (brand unknown)
Ink - True Black, Aqua Mist

And the winner is...

Winner, winner, chicken dinner ;)

And the winner of that chicken dinner Summer Card Camp spot is...


Jennifer K said...

I'd love to win a spot. Thanks for the opportunity.

June 29, 2013 at 10:41 AM 

 

 

Yay, Jennifer!

Thanks for all your comments... so glad to see that you guys love the folks at Online Card Classes as much as I do :)  Go check 'em out!

Summer Card Camp 2 Giveaway!

I love a good giveaway, don't you?
And this one's a good one :)

It's Summer Card Camp time again (that would make it Summer Card Camp 2) and I'm joining in!  Here's the info, straight from the Summer Card Camp crew...

Join your Online Card Classes Summer Camp counselors—Kristina Werner, Jennifer McGuire, and friends (including me!)—for a three-week adventure packed with cardmaking ideas!

Each day, you’ll discover a new way to have fun with your cardmaking supplies, whether we’re exploring a color combo, transforming a design sketch, or learning a new technique together. Summer Card Camp 2 includes designs from over 40 guest artists (yay!), lively videos, PDFs containing step-by-step instructions, shopping discounts, and loads of giveaways! Plus, you'll have lifetime access to all of the class content - talk about making that summertime feeling last!

Summer Card Camp runs July 8-29.  Sign up now for only $35!

I really love these classes... they're so well thought out and packed with tons of inspiration and ideas.
I think you'll like it, too ;)

Speaking of ideas... here's a sneak of the card and technique I contributed...

Sooo... wanna give winning a spot at Summer Card Camp 2 a shot?
Just leave me a comment today and I'll post a winner on Monday.
Sound good to you?

Good luck!