Make It Monday: Splattering...

I am up this morning with a Make It Monday video! Today I'll be sharing a couple of ways to get the "splattered" look on your tags and cards.

There are a couple different ways to splatter...well, I'm sure there are MANY different ways, but in the video, I'll show you two techniques, a fine splattered look and how to get the big droplets, as well as how to make these pretty tags!

Swing by Nichole Heady's blog to see the new Make It Monday video tutorial! Have a very happy Monday!

SAF 2015: Threads Challenge...

Welcome to another challenge for the Stamp-a-Faire event today, this one is the Threads Challenge! I was assigned to work on a few projects using twine, so I came up with a "Ten Trendy Twine Techniques" video!

If you know me, you'll know I have a love for twine and seem to add it to almost every project! It gives that little touch of softness, color and dimension to a card that I just adore. In my video, you'll see ten twine techniques that I use quite often on my greeting cards...as well as some brand new twine techniques as well. Twine is inexpensive and so easy to add to your projects in so many different ways! CLICK HERE to watch the twine video, then create a project for your chance to win!

Official Customer Challenge:

Choose one of the ten twine techniques shown in this video and use it on a card, tag or project.

1. Wrap twine around a card where two patterns meet to create a border.

2. Add a piece of twine to a section of a card with staples.

3. Wrap twine around an embellishment before attaching to a card.

4. Create a twine nest or branches with jute twine.

5. Use twine as balloon strings.

6. Stitch with twine.

7. Bundle twine behind a focal point.

8. Tie twine onto a tag.

9. Create faux crocheted flowers with twine.

10. Create luggage tag tied buttons with twine.

Twine Techniques video supplies: 
STAMPS: Button Up, Cutting Garden, Background Basics: Herringbone
INK: True Black
PAPER: Spring Moss, white
DIES: Circle punch,Vintage Linens die, Button Up dies, 
Cover Plate: Stitched die, Tremendous Tags dies
OTHER: Twine (Colored twine, Rustic Cream Twine, Rustic Jute twine)

Release day...

It is release day for August and that means we get to show you more new products coming out tonight at 10pm EST at Papertrey Ink! First, I have the Keep it Simple: Home stamp set. I've also added some leaves and acorns with Quilted: Autumn.

Happy New Home card:
STAMPS: Keep It Simple: Home, Quilted: Autumn
INK: Simply Chartreuse, Harvest Gold, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate, Classic Kraft, Orange Zest

PAPER: Autumn Chicken Scratch Gingham, Autumn Abundance Patterned Paper

DIES: Quilted: Autumn

OTHER: pearl, twine, pin.

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Next, I used Pumpkin Patch stamps and dies and had to add a few leaves from Quilted: Autumn again. :)

Many Thanks card:
STAMPS: Quilted: Autumn, Pumpkin Patch
INK: Canyon Clay, Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest

PAPER: White, Classic Kraft, Autumn Chicken Scratch Gingham

DIES: Quilted: Autumn, Pumpkin Patch

OTHER: pearl, seam binding.

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I think this one is my favorite. I cut a big leaf from watercolor paper with the new Enclosed: Leaf dies, then used Papertrey Ink ink pads: Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise and Harvest Gold. I dipped a paintbrush in the ink and some water and blended the colors on my leaf.

When the inks were dry, I added the stamped veins in Summer Sunrise and a die cut from the Enclosed: Leaf dies.

Grateful For You card:

STAMPS: Enclosed: Leaf
INK: Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Harvest Gold

PAPER: watercolor paper, Vintage Linens Paper Pad, white, Dark Chocolate Pattern Pack

DIES: Enclosed: Leaf

OTHER: seam binding, pearl.

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Last is a beautiful new floral set called Fall Florals. I just love it! I used a Vintage Linens paper in the background.

Happiest Birthday To You card:
STAMPS: Fall Florals
INK: Tropical Teal, Aqua Mist, Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest, New Leaf

PAPER: Aqua Mist, white, Vintage Linens Paper Pad

DIES: Fall Florals

OTHER: pearl.

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Is there a product you can't wait to get? All of the new products you see here today will be available August 15th at 10pm EST at Papertrey Ink. Here are the other design team members' wonderful blogs...stop by and visit them to see more!

Amy Sheffer
Ashley Cannon Newell
Betsy Veldman
Dawn McVey
Erin Lincoln
Laurie Willison
Lizzie Jones
Maile Belles
Melissa Phillips
Nichole Heady

new Make It Monday video tutorial...

Today it is my turn for a Make It Monday video tutorial at Papertrey Ink! One of the lessons I taught in my online Craftsy class is using patterned papers on cards: arranging them, how to choose certain papers, etc., so I thought it would be fun to give you a little sneak peek into that. In today's video, I'll show you my inspiration photo and how I will pull five colors from the photo to use in my paper designs, and then I'll show you how to make your own set of patterned papers that all coordinate with these colors and how to scale them appropriately. And finally, I'll show you a few ways to use those papers you just created and how to arrange them on a card!

When creating a set of stamped patterned papers or using pre-made papers on a card, you'll need to make sure you create at least one that is a large scale pattern, at least one medium scale pattern, and at least one small scale pattern. You can create/use more than that on your card, of course, but as long as you have one of each on your card, it will be very pleasing to the eye as far as the scale goes!

Here, the die cut flowers from Cutting Garden create the large scale on the card, the dots and stitches are medium scale (made with Polkadot Basics III and Chicken Scratch), and the plaid is more of a small scale (stamped with the line stamp in Note Niblets).

One more thing to think about is to create a stamped patterned paper that has ALL of the colors in it from your inspiration piece. Then when creating other papers to coordinate with this main paper, you'll pull colors from that main paper to use for the supporting papers.

There are really an unlimited number of ways you can use patterns on a card! You can place them horizontally, vertically, or horizontal AND vertical like I did on the "Thanks for all you do" card. Or you can use punches and dies to cut shapes out of them. If you'd like to play along, pop over to Nichole's blog to enter a card to win a $25 Papertrey Ink gift certificate! I can't wait to see what beautiful patterns you'll make!

Supplies:

(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)

STAMPS: Chicken Scratch, Background Basics: Super Gingham, Cutting Garden, 
Note Niblets, Polkadot Basics III, Mat Stack 2, Mat Stack 4

INK: Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz, Summer Sunrise, 
Orange Zest, New Leaf, True Black; Soft Granite by Hero Arts

PAPER: White cardstock

DIES: Cutting Garden

OTHER: sequins by Pretty Pink Posh, twine by The Twinery.

burlap and bouquets...

Just a couple of cards for fun today made with Fancy Pants' new Burlap and Bouquets line...isn't it lovely? I just layered some of the Large Decorative Tags in the background, some of the Brag Cards on top of that, and then a few of the Ephemera pieces (florals).

On the Thanks card, I stamped the sentiment with Papertrey Ink's Thank You Kindly stamp set and added some gold twine. The "And" is from the Button Set. It's chipboard, and I love the dimension it gives!

I'm loving the color black lately. Not sure why, but I think it may be the contrast it lends with the other colors, just makes everything pop!

Well, I'm very glad you stopped by and hope you are having a great weekend! I'm getting my house all spiffy for my friend Claudia to come over and visit tomorrow. Can't wait to see her again. What are you currently working on? I'll be back soon with some Gossamer Blue cards, the next Make It Market kit called Tinsel & Tags, and another Monthly Moments project, so lots coming!

Inspired by a card sketch...

With just a few supplies, you can make a layered card like this that looks like you spent a ton of time on it. Working with a particular collection from a scrapbooking manufacturer really helps make the process quick, because everything coordinates in the line. For example, this Twirly Girly line by Chickaniddy Crafts...

All you need to make a card is a few items that coordinate to create a background and a focal point, and it was so easy to find pieces I loved in this collection!

Stop over to the Chickaniddy Crafts blog to read more about how their card sketch inspired the little bits and pieces I chose for this project. Thanks for reading today! Come by again soon!

Indigo inspiration.

All this week on the Pink Paislee blog, we are showing projects made with the Indigo Bleu line, a pretty line of blues and yellows. For my post, I wanted to talk about the Chat Clouds from the line. You might be thinking (*insert chat bubble here*), "what can I use chat clouds for?" But they really are just cute little die cuts that can be used just like any other die cut. Let me show you some samples...

On this card, I've first prepared a card base by cutting a Card Base-ics #2 die by Papertrey Ink with Indigo Bleu - Denim paper. I used my Cuttlebug machine to cut out the shape, and then slipped in a piece of the yellow Burlap paper under the notches.

Next, I need a frame/focal point for my sentiment, so the chat clouds will work perfectly for this. I don't need the little point on the chat cloud, so I can either snip off the little points on them or tuck them under something like I have here. As you can see here, they are super cute when layered!

I've added a little felt flower I made myself and a Spring Jubilee chipboard butterfly. "Be happy" is a stamp from the Indigo Bleu Clear Stamps.

On the next card, the lined die cut is the chat cloud, and I've simply tucked it under the edge of the card base again. You could also cover up the chat point with a flower or button or any other embellishment! They don't have to be used as chat clouds if you don't want to use them that way. They are gorgeous little die cuts!

On the "smile" card, I layered some of the flowers from the Chat Clouds and added a pearl in the center. The wooden button is from the Indigo Bleu - Boutique Flair. Love these!

Indigo Bleu cards:

STAMPS: Indigo Bleu Clear Stamps by Pink Paislee
INK: True Black by Papertrey Ink
PAPER: Indigo Bleu papers, Indigo Bleu Chat Clouds by Pink Paislee
DIES: Card Base-ics 2 die and the Heart-2-Heart #7 flower die  by Papertrey Ink
OTHER: Indigo Bleu Boutique Flair buttons by Pink Paislee, Spring Jubilee Chipboard Stickers by Pink Paislee, rustic twine, felt, pearls by Melissa Frances, hole punch.

Thanks for reading today!

Shaped cards.

Today Lisa Dickinson and I are up for "shaped cards" on the Lily Bee blog! Sunbursts are all the rage these days, so at first I thought of doing a round card with a sunburst on it, but ended up trimming the bottom of the card flat instead, and I kind of like it better! Reminds me of a sunset. I used many different patterns from the Lily Bee papers with some gray cardstock, and I think the patterns really "shine" against the gray!

To create the sunbursts, I die cut them out with a die called Hello Sunshine by Papertrey Ink. After attaching them to the card, I trimmed off the tops to create the rounded look. A little strip of washi tape jazzes up the bottom, and the Lily Bee cardstock stickers spell out, "hey, sunshine!"

A couple of little tips: don't forget to leave a fold at the top of your circle when creating the card base. Also, thicker cardstock works much better for this application. You don't want a flimsy card!

Hey, Sunshine card supplies:

STAMPS: none
INK: none
PAPER: Victoria Park papers by Lily Bee, Handmade papers by Lily Bee, Cardstock stickers by Lily Bee, Double Dutch Index Journaling cards by Lily Bee, gray cardstock
DIES: Hello Sunshine dies and Heart-2-Heart #3 die by Papertrey Ink
OTHER: washi tape, Martha Stewart 1" circle punch.

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For my second card, I made a little 8th birthday card with a large number. I simply used a coffee mug to trace the two circles and cut the number out myself. I used a little heart die (Heart-2-Heart #3) to cut out the centers of the 8. To do this, I placed the heart die on top of the 8 and ran it through the Cuttlebug. I couldn't use a punch to cut out the centers, because my punches wouldn't reach all the way into the center of the 8.

Those cute Lily Bee banner stickers from the Victoria Park line dress up the center of the number 8, along with the word "happy" cut from patterned paper cut with the Pretty Peonies dies. And you can never have enough confetti, in my opinion, on a birthday card.

This would be fun for any birthday age!

So there you have it. My take on shaped cards. Have you tried a shaped card lately? I would love to see your take on this if you'd like to play along. Have a great day,

Happy 8th! card supplies:

STAMPS: none
INK: none
PAPER: Victoria Park papers by Lily Bee, Handmade papers by Lily Bee, Cardstock stickers by Lily Bee, Double Dutch Index Journaling cards by Lily Bee, gray cardstock
DIES: Pretty Peonies dies (happy) and Heart-2-Heart #3 (heart) die by Papertrey Ink
OTHER: small hole punch, The Twinery twine.

an idea for twine

Twine always lends a helping hand to any project! :) Here I've used twine from Trendy Twine's Original Mini Pack of colors. I cut a Pink Paislee - London Market die cut in half and punched holes on the two ends to hang a little paper heart banner with the "Strawberry Cupcake" twine.

I really like how the kraft paper looks with the fun colors! The pink and white twine shows up nicely on the kraft. Twine can be used for so many things, but hanging things with the twine is one of my favorite ways to use it! You can punch any shape from patterned paper, then use a small hole punch to create a hole for hanging. String them on the twine, and you have a cute banner for a card or layout!

Want more twine ideas? Visit the Trendy Twine blog!

4 You Friend card:

Stamps: Mat Stack 2 and Mat Stack 5 by Papertrey Ink

Ink: True Black by Papertrey Ink
Paper: Raspberry Fizz Pattern Pack by Papertrey Ink, Aqua Mist Pattern Pack by Papertrey Ink, kraft cardstock by Papertrey Ink, teal paper by Heidi Swapp

Dies: border punch by Fiskars

Other: twine by Trendy Twine, die cuts - London Market Ephemera by Pink Paislee, number - London Market Jumbo Numbers by Pink Paislee.
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WE HAVE A WINNER for the Sketchbook 4 class, since the class starts SOON, April 1st! Congratulations to SUSAN!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

8

Timestamp: 2012-03-27 23:14:09 UTC

susan said... 8

This is the inspiration I need! My fingers are crossed :)

March 24, 2012 4:34 PM

There are so many different ways you can create with layers in your scrapbooking and card making. Stop over to the Pink Paislee blog all this week to read several different ways by the team members! I'm impressed at how differently everyone's take was on the "Layered Look" theme this week!

I decided to show how layers can be added with stamping on these two cards. On this card, first I adhered two die cuts from London Market Ephemera (post card and flowers). Next, I stamped the postage stamp with red ink onto pink patterned paper from the London Market 6x6 Paper Pack and cut it out. I adhered it, then stamped the black postage mark over the top. The black frame is another Ephemera piece also that I folded in half over the top of the card! (It was actually placed there to cover up a stamping mistake!) Stamps are from the Spring Jubilee stamp set.

Other ways to layer include patterned paper bits, tape and buttons and twine like I did here. Am loving this twine by Trendy Twine! I wrapped it around the card top before adhering to the card base and tied on a Wooden Spool Button by Pink Paislee.

On the second card, I used the Spring Jubilee stamps again and first stamped with Jenni Bowlin's Chewing Gum ink (pink). Next, I used Papertrey Ink's Pure Poppy to stamp the flowers in red over the top. A similar design was used for the sentiment in New Leaf ink by Papertrey Ink, and I stamped again and again without reinking to get a lighter version of the sentiment. Really creates dimension to the eye, without actually adding dimension!

The Trendy Twine is used here to create butterfly antennas - just wrapped it around the butterfly and tied, leaving two tails for the antennas. I also stitched around the die cut to add dimension and interest to a plain 'old die cut. :) (Oops, one antennae is falling down in my pic.)

Visit the Trendy Twine blog to see more twine ideas, and the Pink Paislee blog to see more layering ideas! :)

Ella fun...

Recently, Ella Publishing asked me to write up an article on tips for making assembly line Christmas cards. They have free E-zine articles, free blog posts with tips and tricks, and inexpensive E-books you can purchase related to scrapbooking, photography and much more.

Would you like a few tips on creating fast and fabulous holiday cards? Visit the Ella Ezine to see five card samples to help you on your way to creating them! Here are a couple of my samples for the E-zine:

On this first card, I simply stamped the Background Basics: Houndstooth background, added a strip of kraft cardstock, tied the twine on. Then I die cut a Damask Snowflake and stamped the JOY from the 2011 Holiday Tags.

Not too difficult, right? I love the look of the gray houndstooth with the red and white!

On this card, I stamped the floral stitches from the Stitches & Swirls set, then I wanted to add a sentiment over the top, so I needed something solid to stamp on. I cut a "Holiday Photo Finishers" strip from kraft cardstock. I stamped peace on it with True Black ink.

Last, I cut the Holly Jolly die from Pure Poppy felt.

(Full supply lists can be found at Ella.)

Who doesn't like a good giveaway? I hope to have these on a regular basis on my blog. After all, I want you to have a good time visiting me! I love to be able to give back to my readers.

Please visit the Ella site to read the article, then come back here and leave a comment for your chance to win some of this beautiful twine like I used on the JOY card, courtesy of Scrappantry on Etsy! Two winners will be chosen, one to receive a set of Vintage Twine (9 colors - 90 yards total) and another winner to receive some Divine Twine (10 colors - 100 yards total).

Which card can you see yourself making out of the five in the article?