Girlie Card Set

I'm hoping when my little niece goes home to England in a few weeks, that she'll keep in touch via the mail. She and her brother stayed with us for two weeks recently and I really fell in love with them both. You really need to co-habituate to really get to know somebody. It's the first time we've done that. Hoping it won't be the last.

To encourage her to write, I made her a note set. 5 cards in turquoise, light grey, and yellow. Simply Stationary and Mat Stack 1 and Mat Stack Layerz used here on the belly band of a clear card box.

Sweet silhouette of a girl was downloaded from the Silhouette website. Recognize it? It is also a stamp by Hero Arts. I really like the look of cutting it out of diagonal paper (Echo Park). Makes it just slightly edgy. I cut it to fit inside the new Mega Mat Stack 1 by Papertrey Ink.

Sentiments are from Dawn's Hello, Friend set. The sentiments in this set speak to me as they are things I would normally want to say, so I'm thrilled that they are in stamp form. Felt they would really well for a eight year old girl. Sort of  sassy and sweet.

August 2011 Papertrey Ink

It's just a few weeks before PTI Christmas stamp craziness...so I thought I'd get my August fall themed cards up to share.

It's always the cards that take the least amount of time that seem the most inspired. I suppose there is a lesson there. In any case, this Autumn Acorns card was created in no time flat.

Color and botanical theme of this Harvest Berries card was inspired by a shirt I saw somebody wearing at Chick-Fil-A. So love how that sentiment fits in the Mat Stack 1 shape. The other frame in Plum Pudding was created by cutting the center out of the new Mat Stack Layerz 1 die. Delicate.

Table Service fills a hole in my collection. I do a lot of dinner for people. And have always wanted to have a thank you note for those who have invited us over. Maile's Background Basics: Houndstooth with the extra wide base is very easy to line up. I did this in poor lighting and with a Versamark pad...seamless. I'm a believer.

The little images from all the Tag-its sets make for fun themed postage stamps. Easy and adaptable theme.

Mask off part of your Mat Stack 4 die to create the top label. Love the look.

Houndstooth acorns? Get out of town. I adore. Card features Think Big Favorites and the new patterned paper collection as well.

Thanks for stopping by for another great month. Bring on the holly jolly for the next 3 months with PTI, I'm ready for ya.

Garden Variety Birthday

Mom's got a big day today. So along with a few books (Lost in Shangri-la and Small Batch Baking), I've got a gardening card for her.

With so many new PTI products every month, I can't even begin to use them all. This is my first time using the watering can from Garden Variety. Sweet little thing. The stamped strips from Half & Half and Ribbon Tails are stamped in the new ink. I have a couple prototype pads. Nice, rich, dense, juicy color. Liking how the striped pattern grounds the watering can, but highlights it as well when the die cut Spring Moss piece draws your eyes. Something to remember. Sentiment is from Fillable Frames #4. 

For you smutty romance fans out there--and it is fabulous to know I'm not alone--I've got a few good ones for you. Lord of Scoundrels is only $1.99 on Kindle! Very good. The heroine I found to be very atypical. And then there was Flowers From the Storm.. Sigh. I was up a few late nights reading that one. Although I did find some of the dialogue to be a bit hard to get through because the hero had suffered a stroke and the heroine was a Quaker. It wasn't mindless reading, but it sure was worth it.

And just to prove I read some pretty high brow stuff as well,  Lost in Shangri-la (linked above) was excellent and riveting, but didn't not nearly as good as Unbroken. Unbroken leaves you a different person after you finish. I highly recommend both. I think the majority of my family have read it at this point.

 Happy reading!

Kerri's Winner and a Few Answers

Lancene won the $50 of free digital downloads from Kerri Bradford Designs. Click on over and send her a message. I'll let her know to expect you.

I've a few questions in the comments the last few days, so let's go ahead an answer those:

Regarding the journal I used for my Papertrey Ink Gratitude Journal project. In particular the sunken window on the cover. It came that way. Nice, huh? I've had it for ages and ages. Something tells me in the back of my brain that I got it as a freebee. The label says it is a "Stamp Art Journal" and the manufacturer is All Night Media. A super quick Google search got me nothin' when I went to find a source online.

Susan asked if I stamped on die cuts before I cut them or after. It depends on the stamp. If they are background strips like any of the PTI ones, the answer would be yes. If I'm using a large background stamp like the design blocks from Hero Arts (like I did on the bike card), I stamp after. Just depends.

As far as cutting PTI cardstock with my Silhouette, the only time I've ever had much luck is when I have a brand new blade. Otherwise, it just doesn't cut all the way through. But, and maybe somebody can chime in here and answer me, I have the original Silhouette. Not the SD. I think the pressure settings might be different with the newer machine. And when the new 12x12 Cameo comes out, I'll be able to tell you myself--that thing is SO mine.:)

And just for fun, I made these Zucchini Grilled Pizzas tonight for dinner. SO. GOOD. Got rid of my pizza craving, but it was mostly veggies. YAY!  I highly recommend. I picked the 8 Ball Zukes up from my local farm stand for 3/$1. Next year, I'm putting them in my garden.

Gratitude Journal

Hey Everybody, welcome back. I've got a project for you today featuring Dawn's new Gratitude Journal set and tab dies. What an awesome concept for the fall release. And even though Thanksgiving comes but once a year, this is a concept you can use year around.

I decided to channel my inner Oprah Winfrey and create a Gratitude Journal to keep on my bedside table for the years to come. Seeing as I intend to use it, I put a lot of thought into the design so that it would be not only practical and usable, but pretty as well. Let me show you some of its unique features.

Like many of you, I have lots of supplies that I had purchased in the past that have never been used. I have a whole box of blank mini-books/journals. Instead of going out and buying something new, I decided to dig in and see what I could put to use from my stash. I found a thick, kraft colored binder full of blank pages that seemed to have lots of potential.

Half & Half stamps/dies as well as the new Fillable Frames Addition #2 set made up my front. Take note of the ribbon that is adhered on the cover...

...when not in use, it tucks in the front cover.

But  can also act as a book mark. Leaving it adhesive free allows you to do this.

My book is divided up into years. I used the new Journaling Tab dies and Library Ledger Year Additions to create a cover page every year. I like how half of the Fillable Frames Addition 2 stamp and the journaling tab looks a little like an acorn.

Now, the one thing I don't like about journals is that often, you run out of room or you have too much room between sections. To eliminate that issue, I'm only going to stamp ten pages or so at a time. I will stamp the rest as I go. The plan is that there are no blank pages when it is all said and done, but have the years divided up with cover pages in the appropriate spots.

The actual journal pages have a numbered list left justified on the right page. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts to put down than I have the desire to write in a list format, so I left the rest of the page blank for more structured thoughts. I like the idea of have both styles of journaling on a single page.

I also added a date stamp from Mini Scrapbook Series: Library Ledger because it is always insightful to know the time and place when one goes back to read journal entries.

Notice the numbers? Place them all on your block at once so you can stamp multiple pages with ease.

When each subsequent year is finished, I'm planning on cutting the next blank page for my "Year Cover Page" and adding a tab. I've already created the tabs (with adhesive) and they are kept in the envelope in the front cover. The Seed Packet die worked great in this application.

Since all the stamping will be done as needed in this journal, I used the last page as a reference. I can now see in a glance what stamps and ink colors I would need to use to add on. Seems a little silly now, but I'm sure in 2018, I might need to refer back to it.

Don't be afraid to take something that is already existing and adding to it with your stamp supplies. If you mess a page or two up--no biggie. Just rip it out and go on to the next. The spiral binding helps with this too:).

I hope you are inspired to create some "stamp as you go" mini albums of your own. Be sure to check out the PTI design team blogs for even more creative ideas. Thanks for stopping by!


Nichole Heady
Jessica Witty
Betsy Veldman
Dawn McVey
Heather Nichols
Lisa Johnson
Melissa Phillips
Michelle Wooderson
Maile Belles
Danielle Flanders

Supplies:

Gratitude Journal

Stamps: Gratitude Journal, Autumn Acorns, Half & Half, Fillable Frames Additions 2, Label Basics, Mini 

Scrapbook Series: Library Ledger and Library Ledger Year Additions

Cardstock: Spring Moss, Terracotta Tile, Stamper's Select White

Ink: Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss, Summer Sunrise, Dark Chocolate

Adhesive Back Cardstock

Terracotta Tile Swiss Dot Ribbon

Vintage Button in Terracotta Tile

Dies: Journal Tabs Addition, Seed Packet Envelope, Angled Labels

Other: Blank Journal

Hat's Off to Kerri Bradford

ETA: Extending contest until midnight EST of August 13th.

This delightfully talented lady is celebrating her first anniversary of making the sweetest digital cut files around. She's really got the touch when it comes to graphic and stylish die cuts. I'm such a fan. And to help celebrate, I put together a fun card today using her bike from the This and That  Spring Shape Kit. I've been eyeing it up for awhile now, just knowing that the flat rack over the back tire meant creative possibilities.

I used PTI's Vintage Picnic for my bike cargo. The sweet thing about digital die cuts is that you can resize until you get the perfect fit. So I simply measured my basket, created a rectangle of the same size in my Silhouette software to represent the basket, and then resized the bike to fit. Before cutting, I deleted my rectangle because it had served it's purpose as my basket stand in. The result? A perfectly sized bike. LOVE it.

Leave a comment by midnight EST on August 13th and I'll randomly select a winner to receive a $50 gift card to Kerri's online store. Pretty sweet little prize.



Supplies

Stamps: Vintage Picnic  by PTI, and Hero Arts Envelope Pattern (must have btw!)
Dies: Vintage Picnic and Double Ended Banner by PTI
Copics
Kerri Bradford's This and That Spring Kit

Halloween Treats & Sweets

Surprise! It's an early countdown Group Post. Gotcha keep you on your toes and guessing. Never know what we might be up to at Papertrey Ink.

Tonight we are featuring Heather's Halloween Sweets and Treats set. If you like dies and customization, this is the Halloween set for you. Crazy fun stuff. Almost (just almost) makes me wish it was October already so I could put it to use some more.

For my project today, I decided to make some Halloween Push-Up Pop parfaits using brownies, Cool Whip, and Reese's Pieces. Have you seen some of the desserts on the internet using Push-Up Pops? Do a Google image search and you'll see what I mean.  I got a Betty Crocker 4th of July recipe email back in July that featured red and blue mini-cupcakes and Cool Whip in the containers. I think it was a grand total of two minutes before I was on the hunt for my own.

You can by all means buy some Push-Up Pops and wash/reuse the containers, but I was not that hungry. Plus, I wanted some with lids and I wasn't sure I could get those in the freezer section of the grocery store. I found--and splurged--on some at Amazon. Let me walk you through the conversation I had with my husband when I served him these delicious and fun parfaits the other night...

Matt: So, how much did these cost a piece? Two bucks?

Me: Oh no. Nothing like that. They were cheap. Worked out to like seventy cents a piece including shipping. And supposedly they are reusable. 

Matt: That's nothing. No big deal. Kinda fun.

Me: Yeah, I thought so. Guess you don't mind that I had to buy a hundred of them then. 


HA HA HA! We had a good laugh at the expression on his face. But seriously...they are reusable. I've been running them through the dishwasher. And I justified the 100 count knowing that I would use them for gifts. A bit of a splurge like I said, but seriously fun.

I did find smaller quantities here if you are interested, but they do work out to be a little bit more per pop

Back to stamping--I thought the little jack-o-lantern bucket made a cute tag. I tied the stick to the pop (for easy loading and delivery) with Baker's twine and hung my spider pumpkin off of it. I pulled out an oldie but still a goodie Spooky Sweets  to stamp an Avery label. The sentiment is new from Heather's set this month.

Just a view of what's in the pops. I baked a tray of brownies and used the open end of the pop like a cookie cutter to cut perfect brownie coins. Layered with Cool Whip and conveniently colored Reese's Pieces.  I have a few extra kids in my house--both them and my two were thrilled to eat these for dessert one night. I like that they are portion controlled. Once you're done, you're done.

Other thoughts for Push-Ups:

1. Layered jell-o
2. Homemade ice cream/sorbet layered with toppings. So going to do this.
3. Fill the pops with candy and leave off the stick.
4. Cupcakes and frosting
5. Cupcakes and ice cream toppings. We did this and it was delicious.
6. Frozen slushie cocktails/Jell-o shots for adults. YUM!


Now, how about a card using more of those fabulous dies? I thought the spider legs might team up nicely with the 1.75" Limitless Layers and PTI's collection of circle stamps. I busted out my 2010 Halloween Tags for this project. I'd imagine that you can play around with all the other accessories (bat wings, cat ears) to make other neat 1.75" inch circle projects.

Hope you are inspired...and totally understand why I had to buy 100 of them:). I'm in good company, right? Just too cute to resist.

Make sure you stop by the blogs of the other PTI girls to see what things they are up to using this set. I'm guessing we'll have all your Halloween ideas locked up tonight:). Be back soon with more PTI goodness this month.


Nichole Heady
Jessica Witty
Betsy Veldman
Dawn McVey
Heather Nichols
Lisa Johnson
Melissa Phillips
Michelle Wooderson
Maile Belles
Danielle Flanders

Supplies:

Push Ups
Stamps: Halloween Sweets and Treats, Spooky Sweets
Ink: Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest
Avery Labels
Dies: Halloween Sweets and Treats
Dark Chocolate Baker's Twine

Card
Stamps: Halloween Sweets and Treats, 2010 Halloween Tags
Cardstock: Simply Chartreuse, Summer Sunrise, Smokey Shadow, Orange Zest
Patterned paper: Halloween Prints
Dies: 1.75" Limitless Layers, Mega Halloween Sweets and Treats, Edgers #1
Orange Zest button