Day 1 of It's A Banner Day + Dies!

It's Day 1 of the December 2013 Papertrey Ink Release Countdown. I've got a few things debuting this month. There's a fun little $5 stamp set that features a banner and four fresh sentiments, which you've probably seen a bit about from Nichole's blog. And then there's two new sets of stitching dies for Valentine's Day! I'm so excited about them! Love those stitching dies and I hope you do too. So let's just go ahead and get started with all the fun.

First up, we have a card featuring "It's a Banner Day". The set revolves around this banner. It comes in two steps. You've got the solid outer image and then you've got the crosshatched banner center image. I used the center image here to create a background in Ocean Tides ink on Aqua Mist cardstock.  It's got a retro feel. (It also reminded me of an artistic interpretation of waves...so maybe pair it up with some nautical images for another option?)

I die cut my banner out of Winter Wisteria cardstock and stamped it in Royal Velvet. The crosshatch center is stamped in Winter Wisteria ink. I stamped one of my favorite sentiments in the middle. This one works for so many occasions. Anything from a friendship card to a thank you.  The floral spray included in the set was stamped repeatedly in Winter Wisteria and Royal Velvet ink. A Smokey Shadow felt butterfly adds a little weight and interest to the top of the card to finish it off.

Have ya'll seen the movie "Frozen" yet? Absolutely delightful. I was so inspired by the color palette in the movie. All the jewel tones against grays and icy blues. It wasn't hard to find my color direction for this card. I've been itching to use it since I saw the movie a week ago.

Shifting gears a bit, we've got a little felt project featuring Valentine's Stitches dies and Limitless Layers: Heart Stitches dies. The Limitless Layers: Heart Stitches dies are designed to coordinate with the original Limitless Layers Hearts dies. Think of the possibilities! My ideas for projects are a mile long with this little babies.

This project in particular got whipped up just in time for the snow that is currently falling at my house. They are felt hand warmers stuffed with rice. Microwave them for 20 to 30 seconds and pop them in your jacket pockets to warm your hands.

They fit perfectly in a Favor It 2 box stamped with BB: Striped Sweater and a very appropriate sentiment from Come All Ye Faithful.

How about more details about the dies? The Limitless Layers: Hearts Stitches dies work like all the other stitching dies in that you have dies to cut just the holes and dies to cut the holes/shapes together. Here I used just a "hole" die to add stitching holes to Lavender Moon felt scalloped hearts that I cut using the original Limitless Layers: Hearts. Before I stitched two halves together, I took Valentines Stitches dies and die cut holes for the "x" and "o" into the surface of one. I stitched in the "x" and "o" cuts out of Autumn Rose felt. I then stitched the two Lavender Moon hearts together and stuffed with rice before I closed them up.

I tested these little guys out. They really do stay nice and toasty after a few seconds in the microwave. A sweet, thoughtful, and practical little gift.

OK. Off to enjoy the snow! All these new products and more will be available for purchase at 10 PM EST at www.papertreyink.com. I hope you like them as much as I do!

For more new release peeks, click on the links below.

Cristina Kowalcyzk

Ashley Cannon Newell

Nichole Heady

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Melissa Bickmore

Maile Belles

Melissa Phillips

Supplies

Smile Card
Stamps: It's a Banner Day
Dies: It's a Banner Day, Butterfly
Cardstock: Smokey Shadow, Aqua Mist, Winter Wisteria
Ink: Winter Wisteria, Royal Velvet, Ocean Mist
Felt: Smokey Shadow

Heart Hand Warmers
Stamps: BB: Striped Sweater, Come All Ye Faithful
Dies: Limitless Layers: Heart Stitches, Valentine Stitches, Favor It Box 2, Tremendous Tags
Cardstock: Autumn Rose, Aqua Mist, and Lavender Moon
Ink: Autumn Rose
Felt: Lavender Moon, Autumn Rose, Aqua Mist