Saturday, February 7, 2015

Papertrey Ink 8th Anniversary Challenge #2

Today's anniversary challenge at Papertrey Ink is dedicated to welcoming Maile Belles back as a stamp designer. She took a year off to take care of her family and new baby, and now is ready to return with a renewed focus! Welcome back Maile!

The challenge was to peruse Maile's blog and choose a card to interpret as my own. I have always admired Maile's sense of color and use of white space. She makes this look so simple, yet her designs are well thought out and stunning! Here is the card I chose to base my project on:
And this is my project:
 
I used the same older PTI set, Mehndi Medallion, and a newer set that I associate with Maile, Wet Paint (and dies). I used Versamark Ink and Powdered pearls for the main images, then die cut Wet Paint dies, stacking and gluing together several die cuts for strength. I also white heat-embossed two of the cards with additional sentiment from Wet Paint stamp set. All card stock is Papertrey Ink.

While I was at it, I decided to reproduce this card using my new MISTI from My Sweet Petunia, which arrived in the mail yesterday. This is my first project using this wonderful tool. It actually was a breeze to reproduce this card - three was as easy as one! (Sorry - I used turquoise pearls on the top medallion which did not photograph well.)


Friday, February 6, 2015

Papertrey Ink 8th Anniversary Challenge Day 1

Yesterday marked the beginning of one of my favorite times of the year in the crafting world. Papertrey Ink is celebrating their 8th year in business. This company completely changed my approach to stamping when I purchased my first acrylic images PTI in 2010. (I had been a pure "Rubber" stamper from the beginning.

For this first challenge, we were offered Color Recipe and Sketch cards on which to base a creation. These are to two I chose:
And this is my project. I used Beautiful Brushstrokes and Keep it Simple: Valentine stamps, as well as PTI card stock and inks. It was difficult to photograph, but the roses actually are over-stamped with a glue pad, with glitter applied to the roses. My 91 y/o MIL taught me to grow the most beautiful roses, and I know she will love this rose-themed card for Valentine's Day.

BTW, if I never purchase another stamp set, Beautiful Brushstrokes will make me happy the remainder of my crafting life! It is such a gorgeous set, designed by Betsy Veldman. 







Thursday, January 29, 2015

Clean and Simple 4 Challenge Day 1



I love these faux ceramic tiles you can make using Inchies! I've seen this technique done previously, so was happy one of my favorite designers featured this technique in Online Card Class. The dies used for this technique are from Memory Box, inks from Colorbox.

Papertrey Ink: Make It Monday #199: Confetti Garlands

Papertrey's MIM video is from Betsy Veldman this week, encourage us to use a confetti garland in our creation. I threaded each felt die-cut onto clear mono-filament thread, which you can see if you enlarge the second photo. I took Betsy's advice and glued mine down in a few strategic locations, so it feels more secure on the from of the card.  I'm can't decide - do these Little Bitty Bird felt die-cuts qualify as confetti? 



Supplies:
Papertrey Ink: Little Bitty Bird stamps and dies; card stock, felt, ink
Inkssentials Black Enamel Accents for eyes



Sunday, January 25, 2015

PTI January 2015 Blog Hop Challenge/ Clean and Simple #4

The Papertrey January Blog Hop theme this month is all about hearts. Timely, considering Valentine's Day is just three weeks away. And our 25th wedding anniversary follows shortly after that. This card is one I made as a possibility to give to my DH. As it is our silver anniversary this year, I am toying with making a different card that uses more silver in it's design. Will see if I get all my other V-Day cards made first. 
Can't believe it is the 25th of January already! What happened to all those resolutions we made just three weeks ago? Did you keep any of yours? I wish I had kept at least a couple of mine. For starters, I would certainly have made a 2015 blog post before today.  I've been stamping a ton, but photographing and blogging are not nearly as enjoyable for me. I strive to improve!

Supplies:
PTI:  Cardstock, Heart Prints Sentiment
PTI: Limitless Layers: Heart Dies, Photo Finish Strips Die
Mirrorcard from Marco's Papers
Sizzix Embossing Folder
DMC Red Floss