Introducing Bowl of Sunshine

I'm up at 5:30 the mornings of the release countdown for Papertrey Ink to write up my blog posts. This morning, sunshine was already streaming through the window. Which means....it is SUMMER!!! And we're so close to the longest day of the year. Sigh. Makes me so happy. I'm a summer girl through and through. Just something about that sunshine that I need. Ups my melanin levels I think:).  So this sweet, vintage bowl stamp set by Lizzie is just the ticket to spread a little summer sunshine around. I'm completely charmed by it. And I hope you will be too.

This assignment was nicely timed for me. Hank's last day of school was Thursday and I needed to whip up a gift for his teacher. I used Bowl of Sunshine, Seasonal Stitches: Summer Fruit, and the Berry Basket II to create a gift ensemble full of all the pleasures of the season. Let me show you.

 
Using juicy shades of Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise, Hibiscus Burst, and Simply Chartreuse, this teacher gift is sure to please. I have a box of jelly beans, a foursome of stitched felt citrus slice magnets, a card set of four cards, and a thank you note that all fit in the Berry Basket II.

This is the basic format for my card set. A strip of patterned paper goes behind the main panel cut from the Stitched Rectangle dies. I chose to use Sentiment Signs for my sentiment because it has the same basic width of the bowls from Bowlful of Sunshine and has a lot of variety in the set. A bowl of fruit is stamped on the Bowlful of Sunshine dies in the same color as the patterned paper. In this case, Hibiscus Burst.

It's important to have a good plan when making card sets, especially if you want them all to be variations of one design. Everything is consistent in the layout and product, but variations exist in color, pattern, and sentiments. I'm really using the Perfect Match system by PTI to my advantage here. And not only that, a broad range of our stamp sets have this "variation in theme" idea(such as the bowls and fruit in Bowlful of Sunshine), that make putting together sets like this easy and fun.

Here's another idea using the Stitched Rectangle Dies...just thread two opposing corners and tie a plump bow. So easy to add impressive detail like this.

Carrying over my citrus theme, I created these felt magnets using the third of the summer Seasonal Stitching dies being released this month. This is Seasonal Stitches: Summer Fruit. Lots of detail in those sections.

My felt colors were picked to match the cardstock and ink color I used in my card set. The patterned paper is the same I used as well, just carried that over for consistency.  This are presented on a chipboard rectangle that I covered with paper. "Magnets" is spelled out using the Smooth Alphabet set released in May.

To make these citrus slices magnetic, I created a pocket using two cuts of the back layer of the Seasonal Stitches: Summer Fruit. Before I sewed up the last edge, I slipped two magnets inside. Very simple.

I used some magnets I bought at Michael's called Flexible Magnets. They also had something labeled "Super Strong Magnets" (or something along that line) as well that reminded me of the Basic Grey magnets that you can buy. Super strong. You hear that loud click when they come together. They are twice as much money as these, but I think in the future, I will go with those.  With a coupon, they would be reasonable. These hold well, but probably only could keep up two or three pieces of paper. I need a bit more than that. So Super Strong Magnets it will be from now on. I'm thinking I need an army of ladybugs for my fridge here soon. :)

Magnets are hot glued onto the backer to hold the felt magnets in place.

I have a candy store locally that sells bulk Jelly Bellies by the color. I custom made this mix to match the citrus flavors in my stamped bowls and magnets. How fun is that? Of course, I probably only needed like $5 worth of jelly beans and walked away with $17! I blame the kids.

I've wrapped this clear box with Summer Sunrise Gingham paper, added a grapefruit filled green vintage bowl (my mom had this one!) from Bowlful of Sunshine. Wet Paint Cuts in Hibiscus Burst adds a little thanks.

And lastly, a thank you card for Mrs. S. I used a lot of the same elements and colors, only differently. See that Stamper's Select White die cut? It's from the Berry Basket II! Love the detail it adds. I also used Dawn's new Thank You Kindly set. Man, that set is going to get a workout! And of course, Lizzie's charming bowls. Sigh. I'm in love with this set.

Back to Seasonal Stitches: Summer Fruit. In addition to citrus slices, you have an option of making a watermelon as well, as demonstrated here. It fits really well on the Mega Mat Stack 3 die. I thought the citrus slices would make an interesting sun, so we have a sun on top of a watermelon. That says summer to me! And summer birthdays are my favorite. Today is Eliza's, next week is Sully's, and in a few weeks it is mine. Lots of celebrating going on in my family.

I hope you enjoy your summer. And all the pleasures that come along with it like stamping summer themes on your projects using Bowlful of Sunshine. I don't know about you, but I want to go antiquing to pick up a bunch of Pyrex bowls now. :)

More Bowlful of Sunshine posts below. And just one more day to wait for these fabulous new products. They'll be available tomorrow night at 10 PM EST at www.papertreyink.com.

Nichole Heady

Dawn McVey

Melissa Phillips

Heather Nichols

Betsy Veldman

Laurie Willison

Laura Bassen

Danielle Flanders 
Ashley Cannon Newell
Maile Belles
Lizzie Jones

Supplies

Gift Set
Stamps: Bowlful of Sunrise, Sentiment Signs
Cardstock: Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, Hibiscus Burst, Orange Zest, Stamper's Select White, Classic Kraft
Ink: Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, Hibiscus Burst, Orange Zest, Dark Chocolate
Felt: Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, Hibiscus Burst, Orange Zest, Vintage Cream
Patterned Paper Sets: Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, Hibiscus Burst, Orange Zest
Dies: Berry Basket II, Seasonal Stitches: Summer Fruit, Bowlful of Sunrise, Stitched Rectangles, Smooth Alphabet, Wet Paint Cuts

Teacher Thank You
Stamps: Bowlful of Sunrise, Thank You Kindly
Dies: Wonderful Words: Teacher, Bowlful of Sunrise, Thank You Kindly, Button Stacks I, Berry Basket II
Cardstock: Orange Zest, Stamper's Select White, Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse
Patterned Paper: Hibiscus Burst, and Orange Zest
Ink: Orange Zest, Hibiscus Burst, New Leaf

Watermelon Card
Stamps: Kid Kudos
Dies: Seasonal Stitches: Summer Fruit, Mega Mat Stack 3
Spring Rain Gingham Paper
Cardstock: Hibiscus Burst, Simply Chartreuse, Summer Sunrise, Dark Chocolate, Spring Rain
Ink: Dark Chocolate