Motif Building with Papertrey Ink

I had a fun time participating in Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday #231: Motif Building.  There's a great tutorial on the PTI blog - basically you first choose a centerpiece image, then use a bunch of tiny images repetitively to create one larger image.  It's a great way to give some love to all of those teensy images that are included in your larger stamp sets.  It creates a folk art type of style, which I particularly love for Christmas.

Here are some more pics - I have the details about which sets I used at the bottom of the post.

Stamps used (all Papertrey Ink):

Both wreaths: Wreath for All Seasons

Birds, dotted heart: Feather Finery

Solid hearts, sentiment, circle heart in center of wreath: Love Lives Here

Greenery with bow: Two Feet Deep

Swirly embellishments: Calendar Basics

Build A Bouquet Challenge

Getting my mojo back and playing along again today with Papertrey Ink's Anniversary Celebration. Today's challenge is to Build A Bouquet using more than one floral stamp set. For this card I've used Year of Flowers: Larkspurs and Botanical Silhouettes (Anniversary Set from 2010). I started with a base of Distress Inks in purples and greens, laying down color before I stamped in order to keep it loose and fluid. I then stamped the larkspurs and added the floral silhouettes in around them, an attempt to subtly suggest a riot of spring flowers going on in the background. I went back in with markers and colored the larkspur to give them more definition and pop, since they are meant to be in the foreground. Also added a bit of collage-feel to the background with Background Basics: Text Style and Fancy Flourishes. The sentiment is from Mega Mixed Messages.

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend! Dreaming of spring.....

Papertrey DT Inspiration

Catching up with the first day of Papertrey Ink's anniversary celebration challenges.... this card is for the DT Inspiration challenge and combines the last color recipe and the second sketch:

I started out stamping the "sky" using Background Basics: Text Style in aqua. A strip of washi tape and some Dearest Jane patterned paper ground the houses, which were created using the Love Lives Here stamps and dies. The sentiment is from the same set, die cut with Spellbinders' Labels One die.

Getting those Valentines done.... just might get there in time this year!

Bagged and Tagged

Moving right along with the challenges for this weekend.... this little Valentine's packet is for Papertrey Ink's Bagged and Tagged challenge. I designed a little treat bag (the prototype for about a dozen more to come....) for my daughter to give out cookies to her friends. I started with a pre-printed dotted kraft bag and stamped circle hearts from Love Lives Here. The two tags are cut from Tremendous Tags and Tiny Tags dies - they make a bunch at once so it saves some time! The sentiment is from the Mega Mixed Messages set. A bit of twine and washi tape keeps everything in place. This went really quickly so I'm thinking of passing the task along to my daughter.... along with the baking of the cookies (it's so easy once they get to be teenagers!)

Jumping Back In....

Ok it's been a long time (no small exaggeration), but I'm jumping back into blogging with something a bit clean and simple. I'm playing along with the Papertrey Ink Anniversary challenges, and this card is for the Maile Belles Inspiration Challenge. It uses the 2010 Anniversary set Botanical Silhouettes, as well as Calendar Basics for the sentiment. It was inspired by the technique Maile used for this card:

I was also inspired by the fact that Maile's new series is all about watercolors - so I used a watercolor stamping technique of inking up the flower stamp with a couple different Distress Inks (Seedless Preserves and Worn Lipstick) and misting it with water. I then splattered some of the same inks onto the entire front of the card.

Special thanks to the Farm Girls (you know who you are) for giving me an extra bit of incentive I needed to get back in the stamping saddle again!

Papertrey Ink Make It Monday

I couldn't resist taking part in a new-to-me challenge over at Papertrey Ink called "Make It Monday."  This week, the Make It Monday challenge is to hand draw a line frame as a border on your card.  I hope this counts, since I did in fact start out with a line frame - two, in fact, one around the entire periphery and one around the sentiment.  But then, it seemed to need a bit of whimsy.... so I doodled around the line frame.  And then I colored in some of the loops with Copics... and gave some others some polka dots.....  Seriously fun. ;)

A little tip I discovered for doing this type of doodling... actually, a couple of tips:  Doodling, by its very nature, is not perfect, so don't try to be perfect! It is much more appealing if it's got some character to it.  That being said.... so that you don't end up with a ginormous loop at your corner, or two teensy loops scrunched in at the end of your line... start out by making the little doodled loops at each corner first, on all sides (also at the ends of your lines, if the lines are broken up by your images).  Then start doodling loops along your line to fill in between the corners.  After you get about 2/3s to 3/4 of the way through, go to the other end of your line and make loops (in the opposite direction) until you meet up with the ones you have done.  Why?  Because then, if you have one loop that is notably larger or smaller than the rest, it looks like you *meant* to do it, since it is in the middle.  Follow? (Hmmm, I'm probably being as clear as mud..... should have taken pictures along the way... sorry!)

Anyway, the details..... the little girl image is from Paper Whimsy, cut out and distress inked.  The houses and wings are cut from Papertrey Ink's Love Lives Here Collection dies (one house from corrugated paper), and the house and sentiment stamps are from the Love Lives Here stamp set.  I started out by cutting out everything, stamping and distressing the diecuts, and arranging them on the card to get an idea of placement.  I then laid out my frame using the technique in Nicole's video.  I masked out the framed area, added Distress Inks in Antique Linen and Tattered Rose, then stamped a Text Style stamp in Tattered Rose as a background.  After doodling my frame, I added the little road using Copics, then glued down my elements.  A couple of little details... I added some vintage glass glitter behind the heart in the middle house, and popped up the house.  I also went in and "shaded" my doodles and the sentiment frame with a warm gray Copic marker (W2, I think) to give it all a bit of dimension.   


I know Papertrey is kinda known for it's clean and simple approach.... but as you can see, you can certainly take it all shabby chic and vintage.  Thanks for stopping by - I hope you can give this technique a try. :)

CR84FN25 Color Challenge

There's another gorgeous color challenge over at the CR84FN blog - the CR84FN25 colors are red, aqua, and white.  What a fab combo to take us into spring!  Here's the yummy inspiration photo:  

For my little card, I started with a Unity bicycle stamped in black, then colored over the top of it with colored pencils to bring in the bold red and aqua.  For the background, I stamped PTI's text background in aqua, and distressed the edges of the panel with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink.  The sentiment is PTI as well.  I also made the background paper on the top of the card by stamping with another Unity stamp repeatedly, and blending in some more Distress Ink.  The red scalloped border is Crate Paper Restoration (I swear I will use every last scrap of that line!)  Finished off with a little lipstick red bling.  I kept this quite flat because I'm going to be mailing it soon. 

As always, there's tons of inspiration over at the CR84FN blog.  (And have you noticed the great quotes that are included in every color palette photo?)  Thanks, ladies! 

Papertrey January Blog Hop Challenge

Ever have an idea rattling around in your head for ages, and need a little extra "push" to bring it to life?  Enter the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop!  The theme was to use either a new set that had never been inked, or an older set that needed some love.  I chose to combine the two.  Since the moment I saw the Love Lives Here set, with it's little hearts embedded in every sweet image, I've wanted to pair it in some way with the little birdies from Bird Watching Additions, especially the one with the little heart, of course.  So that's what I did here.  I gave the little bluebirds a home, backed by some sweet birdsong (vintage sheet music).  I inked up the sentiment with Memento markers and cut it out with Nestabilities Curvy Rectangles.  Added a little button, and some red and blue baker's twine from Mish's Etsy shop.  A bit of stitching around the edges to give it a little more homespun feel, and it was done.  Fast, fun, and sweet.  Hope you enjoy the rest of your evening!

Gingersnap Creations Creative Connection - Only One Stamp

It's time for another fun Gingersnap Creations Creative Connection (GCCC).  The idea is to first create a piece of art using a particular theme as inspiration - and this month's theme is "Only One." Make a stamped creations that uses Only One Stamp - use it as many times as you want, but don't bother to ink any others up!  Once you've posted your piece to your blog or other share website, mention my post and the Creative Connection post on Gingersnap Creations.  Whoever is inspired by your post should similarly link to both your post and to GCCC.  We all "craft it forward" so to speak, and see how far we can get this connection to go.

I was inspired to participate in this month’s "GCCC" - Only One - by Aisling's gorgeous fall card on her blog, Aisling's Hobby Blog.  The "one stamp" I chose to use was a larkspur flower from Papertrey Ink.  I stamped it twice on some background paper in lavender Archival ink, then again in black on a cardstock panel, which I colored in with Copics.  Also added a little patterned paper, some crinkly seam binding, and a decorative edge.  I wanted to continue the theme on the inside, so....

Now before you start pointing fingers, I can explain....... the sentiment is a *sticker* from SRM.  Nope, it's not cheating, it's being creative!!!  LOL!  This little card has already found its way to my MIL.  (Had to mail it, that's why I kept it relatively flat.... for me, anyway!).


I hope you'll have time to play along - it's a fun challenge!

Quilted Midnight Madness

This card is my take on the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge for Week #13. When I saw this sketch, I just knew I had to work it into a quilting theme. My mom is an avid quilter, so I have set out to collect some quilting-themed stamps and make her a set of cards. This card uses Karen Lockhart's Quilt Block 2 stamp for the main image, which I colored with Copics and cut out using the Nestabilities Labels One die set. For the background and the sentiment, I used the Quilter's Sampler set from Papertrey Ink. I aligned all the little quilt squares by placing my acrylic block on a patterned grid and setting them out (luckily these stamps are clear.... I'm just not that savvy with my Stamp-a-ma-jig just yet LOL!). The cardstocks are Baja Breeze and Blue Bayou from Stampin'Up!, and white cardstock from PTI. I finished it off with some vintage buttons and Martha Stewart twine. Hopefully some day I will get my sewing machine in working order - this type of card just cries out for some stitching!!!

Thanks for looking!

Vintage Wedding - Something Old

The current challenge over at Moxie Fab World is to use vintage items in a card. I am always scouting for inexpensive vintage books and music that are falling apart, so that 1) it's cheap, and 2) I won't feel guilty when I cut it apart to use in papercrafting projects. I've had a falling-apart 1955 edition of Little Women that I've been using the text from, but finally decided to use one of the chapter heading images for this challenge. It's actually amazing how everything old is new again... the line-drawing doves and scalloped hearts could be stamp images from right now! And the color.... Kiwi Kiss :). So for the challenge, I used the gorgeous image to make a wedding card. The sentiment is from Stampington. I added an ampersand (from a My Sentiments Exactly alphabet) in Kiwi Kiss. The background paper is K and Company, and the leaf ribbon is PTI. As an extra vintage touch, I used six mother-of-pearl buttons from a stash that was my grandmother's. If I manage to get this card to the happy couple a little ahead of time, the bride could even remove these gorgeous buttons and tie them into her dress or bouquet as her "something old." Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day!

Mojo Monday, SCS Inspiration, and an Amazing Sight

We'll start off with the card, but if you'd like to skip to the amazing sight, then scroll down :). Here's a little card I made based on the Mojo Monday Week 90 sketch
and Saturday's Inspiration Challenge over at SCS. The Inspiration Challenge was based on a company called Design Dazzle, and the picture I chose is this one.









There's a lot happening in this card, so here we go with the deets: The stamped images are by Papertrey Ink (Bird Watching Additions), Cornish Heritage Farms (Vintage Ledger Scrapblock background behind the birds, Ornamental Beauty ornament thingy in the circle), Stampington (branch), Judith (leaves), and Fiskars (howdy from the Just Between Friends set). The circle label is by K and Company. The leaf ribbon is Papertrey Ink's, and the twine is from Martha Stewart. The patterned paper is from Crate Paper (Samantha), and the cardstock is all Stampin Up (Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze, and Ivory... is it Vanilla?) The inks are Stampin Up's Certainly Celery and Baja Breeze for the birds, and Chocolate Chip for the sentiment and feet. I used Ranger Distress Inks in Antique Linen for the ledger and branch and Vintage Photo for the distressing around the edges. The top green panel is punched with Fiskar's threading water punch. I added a little bling from my stash for the eyes. Whew, is that everything?

So on to the amazing sight. Have a look at this beauty (sorry for the blurry photos, it was dusk and I was far away).

He's an albino white-tailed deer! He was hanging out with a brown doe at the edge of a field after my son's baseball game. He appears to be either a spike buck or a 4-pointer, it was hard to tell. These two were completely un-bothered by the paparazzi that gathered to have a look and take pictures. Hopefully he will live a long and happy life! Here's one last photo of the two deer together.



Have a great day, and don't forget to be on the lookout for the little wonders of the world :)

TGIF - Dreams

My very late creation for the TGIF challenge this week, which is dreams. Thanks so much, ladies, for such a fun topic! In my lateness, I've had so much fun looking at the other submissions, and I'm still not done!

My main image of the lady in the shell is from Just for Fun stamps. I got it on ebay, along with the Poe quote, which unfortunately doesn't have a manufacturer's identification on it (perhaps someone's homemade creation?). The clock is from SU's Sense of Time, the scroll is from Stampington, and the birds are from Oxford Impressions and the $1 bin at Michael's. I used Anna Griffin and Fancy Pants patterned papers, along with some vintage French text. There's a Prima flower with a Flower Soft center, some Papertrey Ink leaf ribbon, and a Tim Holtz spinner. I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and Distress inks. Thanks so much for looking and have a great day.

Mojo Monday Week 89

Is it possible to fall in love with a stamp set? Seriously, to actually CRAVE using a particular set of stamps? Because when I saw these stamps, my heart melted! I just had to adopt (um, buy) these cute little bugs! :) Anyway, this is my card for the Mojo Monday sketch this week. This adorable bug stamp set is by Basic Grey, released as part of their Wisteria Collection. I did the card in Stampin' Up's Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, and Tangarine Tango colors, which happens to be the color challenge over at SCS. I colored the little buggies with Copics to match the paper, then added a little Dazzling Diamonds and cut them out with my Nestabilities Labels One die. The patterns in the stripe and the bottom paper were made with the stamp set. The top patterned paper is from SU's Urban Garden collection. I added some leaf ribbon from Papertrey Ink, a blossom from a spray (Michael's), and some Hero Arts bling. The stitching in the circle is actually a Hero Arts faux-stitch stamp (50% off at Archiver's!). I had so much fun with this sketch, the color combo, and my new pets ... er, I mean, stamps! Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

That's why they call them "Challenges"...

Today's challenge over at SCS was to make a card inspired by a bookcover at this site. My card is based on this bookcover (small photo). . This is quite outside my box, but hey, doing this sort of thing makes us grow, right? :) I used my new Papertrey Ink set called Bird Watching Additions (my first order), which I used for the colored bird images. The black and white birds are from Crafty Secrets and my daughter's Disney Hannah Montana set, of all things LOL!!. The blue cardstock is SU's Blue Bayou, and the rest of the paper, ribbon, and bling are from my stash (companies long forgotten, so sorry!) I computer-generated the sentiment.

So let me tell you, I had a very nice experience with Papertrey Ink. I put in my first-ever order, which included two stamp sets, white cardstock, vellum cardstock, leaf ribbon, and buttons. Everything was FABULOUS - the quality is excellent. BUT.... the buttons fell well short of the advertised quantity of 100 to 275 buttons per bag. So I sent an email to customer service, and you know what? I got an email back from Nichole Heady herself (she's the founder/owner) apologizing, saying she would send me an ADDITIONAL set of buttons free of charge, and saying that they will change their website to better reflect the actual quantity of buttons now in the packets (apparently they were doing it by weight, but as the buttons got larger, the quantity got smaller). I was blown away by the quick, personal, and wonderful response. I will definitely order from them again! It's so nice when people do the right thing - made my weekend :) Have a wonderful weekend yourself!