Tag: Papertreyink

Some announcements and News!

Hi there my crafty and creative friends! How are you? How is your new year going so far? It's been a minute since I checked in and said hello and wrote a post that wasn't for a team. I really want to touch base today and catch up. I hope that 2018 is treating you well so far! I think overall it's been good to me. I am excited about new opportunities to come and the forward progress I've made in the last year working on myself and my goals. It's been a pretty creative year so far too! And it's only two weeks in! LOL. I cannot wait for the rest of this year. I know God has been preparing me for something wonderful!

First of all I have some big news… I made the decision a few months ago to go into 2018 without being under contract by any stamping/paper design teams. For eight years I have been on a design team (usually more than one at a time!) and it just felt like my inner voice was telling me it is time for a break. Time to regroup and re-energize my creativity. Time to relax about it all for a minute and let some things naturally flow. I have so many ideas to share with you and there is never enough time! I have been incredibly blessed by people in this industry and I'm so grateful for all the wonderful opportunities I have had. It makes me want to cry (happy tears).

Papertrey Ink was the last team I was on and I have not renewed my contract for this coming year. My post on Sunday was my last official PTI blog post. It was a SUPER hard decision to make, because I absolutely adore the ladies on that team. Like REALLY adore them. The kindest, sweetest, most talented bunch. Just as amazing as you all think they would be (and more). I was sooooo honored to stamp with them for a year. One of the highlights of my stamping career! I have been a PTI customer since the very beginning and a fan girl from the beginning too. So, a HUGE shout out and THANK YOU to everyone at PTI for letting me be a part of the legacy of your awesome company. From the bottom of my heart – thank you! Thank you.

In addition to saying thank you to Papertrey Ink and the amazing design team, I want to say thank you to all of you who have followed along with me on this awesome journey the past year. I met lots of new friends and got to know a lot of new followers because of my work with PTI. Thanks for your uplifting, kind, sweet, and funny comments all along the way. You brought me a lot of joy and smiles. It's a great community for sure. CLICK HERE to see all my PTI cards from 2017!

It feels right to me to share a few of my favorite PTI cards from the past year here….GOOD memories!

This coming weekend (starting tomorrow) is the giant Creativation Trade Show in Phoenix! (Formerly called CHA) I will be flying to Phoenix on Friday morning and staying until Tuesday and I cannot wait! OMG I look forward to this so much every year! This is my seventh year attending the show! WOOOOOT! I am excited to see the new products, and network professionally, and see (and hug) all my friends. It is always one of the highlights of my year every year. For the first time, this year, I will not be working at the show. I will not have a set schedule or any deadlines. So this year I can take my time and walk the show, stop and chat with EVERYONE and be a bit more chill about it all! (If you've ever seen me at CHA this last part will make sense! Ha) I won't be staying up until 2am writing blog posts and editing photos! Should be great.

I will be posting on my social media throughout the Creativation show – sharing what I see and what I'm excited about. I will try to post often but I'm not going to stress about it. I think the easiest way to connect and follow along with me from the show is on Instagram Stories. My Instagram account is @stampcatwg. You can also follow along on my Facebook page for A Blog Called Wanda. I will do my best to bring you with me! I really enjoy that part of things. CLICK HERE to see my wrap up post from last year!

I have some fun blog hops and guest designer gigs lined up for February which will all be fun. Other than that, I'm going to see where creativity takes me in 2018. Thank you for following along with me on this journey. Have a wonderful day! XOXO

January 17, 2018
Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release Week: Life Is What You Bake It and Confetti Sentiments!

Hi everyone! What a fun week we've had… And here we are on the last day of previews for the January Papertrey Ink New Release! Only one more day until everything new is available! I've enjoyed sharing with you this week and hope you've been inspired and excited to create! Visit the PTI Blog to see what the rest of the design team has to share with you! And, everything will be available in the PTI store tomorrow, the 15th, at 10pm EST! YAHOOOOO! Do you have a favorite item from this release?

Today I have two final cards to share with you. I'm featuring the new Life Is What You Bake It stamp set and the new Mix and Mat Die! Two more birthday cards. SO great to have a bunch of birthday cards made and on hand to give out to friends! Festive, fun and pretty.

This first card has an awesome retro mixer image as the focus! The mixer is made with layering stamps so it's easy to add color to the different parts – silver, red, blue on my card. I used my MISTI to line up everything just right. I created my own background paper with some of the tiny accent stamps. For this birthday card I used cream cardstock and inked the edges to go with the overall vintage feeling of the image. My finished card is an A2 size on a kraft base.

Here you can see a close up of the mixer and the different colors of ink. I used a metallic silver ink for the handle and mixer blades!

The sentiments are adorable in this set! Mixing up Birthday Wishes! Love it!

Next up is a silver shimmer bright birthday card made using the new Mix & Mat Die and the new Confetti Sentiments Stamps. These Confetti Sentiments are pretty 'burst' of color images the have pretty sentiments inside them. I used the Let's Eat Cake one in pretty blue. I first die cut the new Mix & Mat Confetti die in crisp white and layered blue behind it. I used some red balloons for a pop of color. The finished card is A2 on a white card base.

Look how pretty and intricate this new die is! OOOH LA LA!! Love that varied scallop edge!

WOW! As always, thank you so very much for sharing with me this week! I so enjoyed giving you my take on the new Papertrey Ink Release! It's a fun week for me too! I hope you have fun shopping and get some good things to get your creativity flowing! I'll have another post this week sometime before I get ready to head out to the Creativation (CHA) Convention in Phoenix! Until then, have a wonderful day friends XOXO

January 14, 2018
Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release Week: Birthday Balloons, Birthday Strings, and Never Enough Birthday!

Hey everybody! LOTS going on around here! So many blog posts this week! I hope you saw them all! LOL. Yesterday's blog hop for Pretty Pink Posh has a prize, so make sure to leave a comment on that one! Today I'm continuing with the Papertrey Ink January 2018 new release countdown, and it's day four! That means only a couple more days until all the new products will be for sale. Be sure to pop over to the PTI Blog to see the projects from the other design team members. And, everything new will be for sale on Monday the 15th at 10pm EST.

Today I'm sharing two birthday cards with beautiful, colorful, happy balloons! there really isn't a more cheerful image that a brightly colored balloon! There are new stamps, dies and stencils to go along with the balloon theme. Today I'm featuring the Birthday Balloons Collection stamp set, the Birthday Strings stamp set (love), the Never Enough Birthday stamp set and the Birthday Balloons stencils! (say that three times fast!) All of these new products work so beautifully together to create birthday cards. That is the type of card I send the most – how about you?

For this first card I went crazy with the rainbow colors with the balloon stencil! So fun to ink the balloons with a small sponge dauber, and so quick. My card is a five inch square card and the layers were cut down in 1/4 inch increments. I centered the stencil on my white square panel. After I inked the balloons, I splattered white paint and some water droplets over the balloons for added interest. A vivid rich black die cut and a white embossed sentiment finish off this card.

I love the look of black cardstock with white embossing in contrast with lots of color. I used bright red cardstock for my card base.

In this close up you can see the white paint splatters!

For my second card, I made a really clean and simple card design with three cardstock balloons. The patterns were stamped onto the balloons using Versamark Ink for a watermark effect. LOVE that. This card is trimmed down 1/2 inch in width from a normal A2 card. I just thought that looked nicer to have a narrow card here. The new Birthday Strings stamps are so pretty! And I love this sort of tropical color palette. The stamp set has small accent stamps that look like confetti! Quick and easy to replicate this one in any color scheme!

As always, thank you so much for visiting today! ONE more day of previews this week! Be sure to come back tomorrow! XOXO

January 13, 2018
Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release Week: Lucky Scratch!

Hey hey hey! It's day three of the awesome Papertrey Ink January new Release previews! Welcome back! We're getting closer to release day! Everything new will be available for purchase on Monday the 15th at 10pm EST! Do you have a favorite thing so far? There's sooooo much good stuff! Thanks for hanging out with me this week while we reveal all the new products for you. I love being able to finally share these stamps and dies with all of you. It's hard to keep a secret! Be sure to visit the PTI Blog to see what the rest of the design team is sharing this week.

Today my featured post is all about the brand new collection of stamps and dies called Lucky Scratch! Fun mix and match stamps and dies that make announcements, coupons, tickets and all kinds of fun stuff. Really creative and clever. I especially love the new "Lucky" word die and I know I'll be using that one a lot. I have three cards to share with you today, all made with the same collection. You'll see how versatile it is!

First up is a St. Patrick's Day card! I looooove green! It was really fun to create this greeting. Only green and white, and one little pop of yellow! I made my own shamrock accent by combining three heart dies together and putting an enamel dot in the center. Easy peasy! I used green ink and a small sponge dauber to create ombre die cuts for the background. The Lucky Scratch stamps and dies are used for the sentiment.

Here's a close up of the shamrock! So pretty in polka dots! Also, you can see up close the ombre die cuts. I really like this look. I forget to do it more often. Simply use a small sponge and your ink pad to gently place the ink where you want it.

Next up is a baby announcement! It's a Girl! I used the new Lucky Scratch stamps and dies along with another new stamp set (Warm Regards) to create a pretty pink ticket card. I used the large ticket shaped die to create my card! I love doing this with large dies – just place the edge of the die over the top of a folded piece of paper and run it through your die cutting machine. Makes it unique and special.

Those little blossoms are perfect to announce a baby girl!

Finally, a Save-the-Date card! The new Lucky Scratch Wedding set has numbers included that allow you to fully customize your cards with your special date. I used gold glitter paper and a pretty floral (Especially You) stamp to make an elegant wedding appropriate card.

Soft watercoloring with a water brush and ink pads make this soft and dreamy!

Okay we're half way done now! Only two more days of release fun and then it will be time for Release Day! Thank you again for coming by and for your support! Have a great day! XOXO See you soon! All of the new items will be live for shopping on Monday the 15th at 10pm EST!

January 12, 2018
Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release Week: Brushed Birds, Year of Psalms, and Warm Regards!

Hi crafty pals! Welcome back to Day Two of the awesome January Papertrey Ink new release previews! So glad to have you here with me as we introduce the new products from PTI. We are doing previews every day until the 15th. All the new products will be available for purchase in the PTI Store on Monday the 15th at 10pm EST. Be sure to check out the PTI Blog to see what the rest of the design team is sharing all week! So much good stuff. Hopefully you saw my birthday card post from yesterday!

Today I'm sharing two cards! The new stamp sets I'm featuring today are: Brushed Birds, Year of Psalms January, Warm Regards and Ways to Say Missing You! That's a lot! But as you know, everything from PTI always works so nicely together. Both of my cards have a Spring feeling to them – birds and flowers. I'm so ready!

First up is a card made with the beautiful new Warm Regards stamp set. It's a grouping of pretty Dogwood flowers. I LOVE this set!!! I tried an old technique that I haven't used in a while. Thought it would be a good time to share something different with you. It's stamping on dark cardstock with white ink and colored pencils. I hope you try it! I'll talk more about it in a minute. Here is the finished card – on Smokey Shadow Cardstock.

How do you do this??? It's so fun and easy! I used white pigment ink (listed in supplies) and inked my floral images. I set it aside and waited for the white ink to dry. After the white ink is dry, I went back with my colored pencils and colored over the white ink! PRETTY! I used bright pink and lime green and just a touch of brown. I think this is very elegant. I splattered some white paint over the images for an artistic look and feel. Added a few sequins…

I used the small stitched rectangle die from the Noted die set to cut my inner layer. I stamped a few blossoms in white on the card base. This is A2 size!

I used the new Missing You Die Cut to add my sentiment across the bottom of the card. I also think this card design would work well for a sympathy card.

Next up is a cheery bird card made with the new Brushed Bird Stamp Set and Year Of Psalms January Stamp Set! Those little birdies are adorable! I used another of my go-to techniques for this card – distress ink stamping with water spritzing. Also, very easy and fun. I started with an A2 card base and layered watercolor paper for my top layer.

I used mini Distress Ink pads in different shades of blue, green and purple and inked directly onto the bird stamp. Then I used my water sprayer and spritzed the stamp/ink before stamping onto watercolor paper. It makes all the inks blend together for a beautiful watercolor effect! I did the same thing with the sentiment. Looks very artsy and painterly!

For the background I used a water brush and some extra ink and gently painted a wash on the top and bottom of the panel. Then I attached the bird with some foam tape. Of course I added paint splatters too! (I love doing that!)

That's it for today's projects! I hope to see you right back here tomorrow for more fun and inspiration as we count down to the Papertrey Ink release! Have a wonderful day everyone! XOXO

January 11, 2018
Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release Week Starts now!

Greetings! It's the 10th of the month, which is always exciting! Why? Because it's the day we officially start the new release countdown at Papertrey Ink! For the next five days the design team will be previewing all the fun and awesome new stamps and dies coming in January! All the new items will be available in the PTI Store on Monday the 15th at 10pm EST. But, for now, we'll enjoy a look at everything together! Be sure to pop over to the PTI Blog to see what the other designers make each day. This month's release is full of cool birthday items and some pretty new florals…and lots more goodies!

Today I'm introducing the new stamp set called Fiesta Flag Birthday, along with a new stencil called Diamonds. Two products that work great together. I made a super bright and cheerful birthday card with my two favorite Papertrey Ink colors (Bright Buttercup and Hawaiian Shores)! The new birthday set is great for customizing in any colors!

I started with an A2 card base in crisp white cardstock. I layered pretty stripes on top of the card base (covering the entire front of the card). Then I layered white and Hawaiian Shores cardstocks. The top layer has an oval cut out of it using a die.

I stenciled the Diamonds stencil in Bright Buttercup ink and used that as the background layer for the cake. It's mounted on the bottom of the card and then the top (Oval) layer is attached over it with foam tape.

The matching die cuts make for a beautiful perfect edge on all the pieces of the stamp set.

I added a few accents of Diamond Stickles onto the cake and the banner! Here's a side view to see all the layers!

Thank you so much for coming by today! I'll be back every day until the 15th with new Papertrey Ink projects! Hope to see you tomorrow! XOXO

January 10, 2018
Papertrey Ink Throwback Thursday – Candy Cane Christmas!

Hi everyone! It's almost Christmas! Hope you've been having a wonderful season this year! Our holiday season has been very low key this year, and that's totally okay with me. I'm winding down from a hard year and trying to really give myself a break and not be too stressed out. I'm anxiously looking forward to a new year and a fresh start. Creatively I've been a bit burned out and I feel like I need a renewal and a rest! It gets like that from time to time, right? I have been making Christmas projects since June (that's how the creative calendar works!) and I'm just ready for flowers and hearts!

With that being said, I have one final Christmas project to share today! A Christmas thank you card! I like to make these and have them on hand for whenever someone gives me a special gift or extends an invitation to me. I like to have holiday themed cards for that occasion! Today is Papertrey Ink Throwback Thursday and the stamp set we're featuring today is called Candy Cane Christmas! It's clean and graphic and happy! I used two of the peppermint stamps to create a vivid background paper and I love how it looks against the red card base!

I started with a red card base (A2) and then layered some pretty white glitter cardstock. The center panel is crisp white paper stamped with pretty red ink. SO fabulous! I used Diamond Stickles to 'color' in the white spaces of the candies with glitter. Then I had to leave my craft room for three hours so I didn't touch it!! (Can you relate??)

I used the brand new Huge Sentiments Thanks die to make a black die cut sentiment. It looks really nice set off against the white and red. Lastly I added clear gems to the centers of the larger candies.

Thank you for stopping by today! Happy Christmas time! Merry Christmas to you and your family! Thank you for always being there for me! XOXO

December 21, 2017
Papertrey Ink December 2017 Release Week: Brighter Days, Keep it Simple, Stuck on You & Sunshine and Honey!

WAHOOOOOO! It's day five of the release week fun! That means that tomorrow is the big day! All the new items for the December 2017 Papertrey Ink Release will go live for sale tomorrow at 10pm EST! Yes! What do you have your eye on? I love it all! I was so ready to move on from holiday crafting and towards spring and Valentine's Day! Everything in this release is so HAPPY! Today I have two more cards to share with you. As always, be sure to visit the Official Papertrey Ink Blog to see what the other design team members have to share. I think everyone knocked this release out of the park!

Today I'm showcasing the following stamp sets: Stuck on You, Brighter Days and Sunshine and Honey!

First up is a cheerful get well card. We all need to have get well cards on hand to brighten up someone's day when they are sick. It's nice to be able to send a note to let someone know you're thinking of them and encouraging them. This new band aid die set is really perfect – and perfectly sized for the front of a card. I die cut the band aid out of two slightly different shades of pink cardstock and then put some red hearts right in the centers. I like this card because it's really graphic.

I lined up the three band aids and then heat embossed the sentiment onto black cardstock to make it stand out from the other colors.

I love the small sentiments that come in the stamp set – healing wishes is the perfect thing to say….

This next card will make you think of summer sunshine and honey bees! This Sunshine and Honey stamp set is ADORABLE! That little honey bear is the cutest stamp!! I used a clean color palette of black, yellow, kraft and white. The card base was made with the PTI Noted Die Set A2.

I used a Spritzer and a black marker to add some ink speckles to the card to break up all the white. I mounted the sun and the bee using foam tape.

Isn't that the sweetest sentiment?

Bright Buttercup is on of my favorite colors from Papertrey Ink! It's so warm and yummy…. I think I bought three packs of the cardstock!!! It's the perfect yellow!

Okay friends! That's it for PTI December 2017 Release Week projects! I'll update all my link lists once the products are live in the store so if you want to go shopping – come on back and visit! Have a wonderful happy joyous day! XOXO

December 14, 2017
Papertrey Ink December 2017 Release Week: Huggable Bear & Pencil Arrows and Matchbook Medley!

Hello there friends! We're getting closer and closer to Papertrey Ink December 2017 release day! Thanks for having fun with me this week and we showcase all the new products releasing on Friday! Today is day four of sharing new things with you. It's back to Valentine's Day today! I have three fun ideas for creating unique treats and cute Valentine gifts for kids of all ages. I love Valentine's Day – it's just a fun happy day to splurge on your friends and honeys. Everything new will be available for purchase in the Papertrey Ink Store on December 15th at 10pm EST. Be sure to click over to the Official Papertrey Ink Blog to see ideas from the other design team members! We all love sharing with you!

My first project for today is adorable treat boxes made with the new Huggable Bears Dies and Stamps! EEEP! They are so adorable! A sweet little bear face and a scarf! I love the sentiments in this stamp set too! I used the brand new Kraft PTI Patterned Paper in the large plaid to make the pillow boxes (with my We R Memory Keepers Pillow Box Punch Board). Then I had fun decorating them with the new dies and stamps, and some pretty ribbons.

The little face stamps right onto the bear die – so easy! I cut the bear out of kraft cardstock and his ears from pink cardstock. The scarf is red- perfect for Valentine's Day!

Bear Hugs! XOXOXO

Another new product launching this week are these really cute pencil arrows dies! These would make great treats for a classroom! I used felt for one side and silver glitter paper for the other side. They slide right onto a pencil. Just attach it to a Valentine or attach a quick little note to the pencil!

I wrapped the red ribbon around the pillow box and then used some twine to attach the tag. The bear is attached to the box using foam squares. Super fun to put some red and white M&M's inside or some other little treat!

The next new product I'm featuring is the set of dies called Matchbook Medley! I've never seen a Matchbook die before. SUPER fun for making gift card holders! These are awesome!! I had so much fun decorating with doilies, and stamps and twine…couldn't stop myself! LOL.

The sunglasses are from the new Fun Lovin' stamp set! I used some gems in the corners to add some sparkle!

Inside is perfect to tuck a Starbucks card or other gift card! I used my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher Stapler to add the two staples to the bottom of the front flap. The scalloped border die is part of the Matchbook Medley set! Perfect!

I can't thank you enough for all your support and for stopping by each and every day! It's always a blast to show you new stamping products! One more day of previews and then the big day to buy is on Friday! Have a super fabulous day! XOXO

December 13, 2017
Papertrey Ink December 2017 Release Week: Hexagon Stencils, Honeycomb, Year of Psalms December & Round off Edgers!

Hi creative friends! Welcome to Day Three of the awesome December 2017 Papertrey Ink Release Week! Have you liked what you've seen so far? What is your favorite thing? Thank you for coming by each day to see what I'm featuring! As always, be sure to visit the Official Papertrey Ink Blog to see the projects from the other design team members! All of the brand new items will be available for purchase on the 15th at 10pm EST. Just a few more days now! For my cards today, I'm taking a break from Valentine's projects. I have two cards to share made with the Quoted line of stamps and the Year of Psalms line of stamps. OH! And there are new Edgers Dies too! (YAY!)

My two cards today used the following new products: Stencil Basics – Hexagons, Quoted Honeycomb, Year of Psalms December and Round Off Edgers Dies. This first card is full of pretty yellow – which is one of my favorite colors to craft with. And I adore this new Quoted stamp set. Like I REALLY love it!! I started with an A2 card base made from kraft cardstock. Then I layered Bright Buttercup paper. My white layer was stenciled with the new stencils and two shades of yellow inks….

For the stenciling, I didn't fully ink each space. I wanted sort of an ombre effect. The honeycombs around the edges are darker and they get lighter as you go into the center of the card. The stamp set has a tiny honeycomb single stamp that was perfect for adding a few to the sentiment circle. I stamped the sentiment in rich black ink and added the bee. Two layers of circles make it pop off the page!

This little bee is trying to escape! Here's a better close up of the stencil inking…

I wanted a soft element on this card, so I got out my fav Branching Out die and cut it from vellum. I tucked the pieces under the main focal circle before attaching everything. I used a small strip of kraft ribbon and then some clear drops as accents.

This next card is very clean and classic! Rich dark navy papers accented with gold….so yummy! I heat embossed the new Year Of Psalms stamp in gold embossing powder. I added extra stars around the embossing by using Versamark Ink and the small accent stamps that come in the set. I used the new Round Off Edgers Dies to create a beautiful border to feature the new patterned paper.

Thanks for joining me again today! See you tomorrow! Visit the Official Papertrey Ink Blog to see what the other designers are sharing today! All the new products will be available in the PTI Store on December 15th at 10pm EST (Friday!)

December 12, 2017
Papertrey Ink December 2017 Release Week starts now!

Hi there creative friends! Happy Weekend! And happy PTI Release Week! Today is the 10th, which means we're kicking off five days of fun, new stamps, and inspiration leading up to the December release on the 15th! In crafty land, we are definitely already transitioning out of Christmas and on into Valentine's Day crafting! This new release is chock full of cute, sweet, funny and beautiful products sure to cheer up anyone you love. Something for everyone – kids, grownups, and the young at heart! I love this release and I am really looking forward to sharing with you from now until Thursday!

Be sure to visit the Official Papertrey Ink Blog all week for inspiration from other design team members, news, and contests! PTI really knows how to do a release up right! All of the new products will be available in the Papertrey Ink Store on Friday, December 15th at 10pm EST. Until then, we'll have fun every day looking at all the new stamps and dies (and paper!)

Today I made a cute Valentine to show you! I am featuring two new products: The Mix and Mat Hearts Dies, and the Everyday Affection Stamp set. I have a crush on YOU!

I started with an A2 card base from Classic Kraft paper. Then I layered some pretty gingham (love). I used my Big Shot to die cut out the Mix and Mat Hearts Dies from crisp white cardstock. I layered Melon Berry cardstock under the white die cut so that the hearts would be pink! I love that color pink!

Next I stamped and die cut the ice cream cone from the new Fun Lovin' Stamp Set! I layered the ice cream cone onto a kraft circle to kind of break up all the white on the card. I stamped the adorable sentiment in black onto a banner.

For the finishing touch I added a little resin heart and some sequins to the card. I thought it needed some sparkles and sprinkles!

This Mix and Mat die cut is so beautiful! I love the embossed arrows going around the inner edge. So sweet! I am thinking I want to make a shaker card using it as the top layer so the sequins would show through the heart cut outs!

Is anyone else humming this song by The Jets??? LOL. Is anyone else besides me even old enough to remember that song??!!

That's it for day one of Papertrey Ink December Release Week! Be sure to come back tomorrow for more cards – and the rest of the days too! It's good to see you. Last week I tagged along on my husband's business trip to San Francisco so I didn't do any blog posts. But I'm back! Thanks for stopping by today! XOXO

December 10, 2017
Felt Christmas Projects!

Hi everyone! Happy Thanksgiving Week! It's cold outside, and warm inside my cozy studio. I spent all day yesterday making felt projects to share with you! You might remember I went a little cray cray last year over felt! LOL. A couple of weeks ago I organized my studio (again) and finally found a nice big empty drawer to put all my felt in – together in one place. Well, that inspired me to bust out some projects. Also, this month's release from PTI has some felt dies in it, and I hadn't had a chance to use them yet. It was the perfect day to craft some Christmas projects to share with you. I'll post some tips and trick towards the end of my post. I've really honed in on what supplies work the best and want to share those things with you! You guys that have been following me for a while know that I have a soft spot (pun intended) for felt projects. They just make me happy!!

I think making felt projects is perfect for this time of year! It's easy to pack up a little kit with cut out pieces, needle and thread, and bring it with you as you go around in your day. If you have a few minutes in the car waiting for someone, or over at a friend's house, you can craft a little! Also, this is a wonderful project to do in a group – either adults or kids! And, the bonus is that you are creating a gift!

I have three new projects to share! All made with PTI Felt Dies. A Coffee Cozy (perfect gift to go with a Coffee Gift Card), a Snowman present tie-on, and a Gingerbread House ornament! Here are my three projects all laid out together!

I love this little snowman guy! He is going to be a topper for a present. I think I'll use plaid gift wrap (I have lots of that) and some red ribbon, and then attach him in the center on the front. I sewed a little loop on the back of his head for this purpose! The way the die cuts are made – his scarf is one piece that wraps around his neck, and the arms are one piece that goes through the center of his body – makes it so easy to work with. I added a pretty red button as an accent on the scarf. I also added a little felt heart to his hat. I use Doodlebug Enamel Dots for eyes on all of my plushies. I love how it looks!

There are multiple ways to stitch the felties together. I like to use a straight stitch and go around the edges. Some people like to use a Blanket Stitch. I think both look nice – really just a matter of preference. The die cuts have all the little stitching holes already in them so it's very easy to get a perfect stitch!

Next up is a fun Coffee Cozy! This is not a new PTI die – I've had it in my stash for a long time! I thought it would be nice to make some of these for Christmas gifts. I'll make a card, and then give a gift of a Starbucks Card and the little cozy. Perfect friend presents! You can make the cozy out of paper or felt. HERE IS THE LINK to a great video Erin did about how to use the Coffee Cozy Dies!

I kept it really clean and simple! Pretty heathered grey felt with red and green accents. I used red thread to make a contrasting stitch. The dies set comes with these adorable tiny tags to sew into the seam. I love that! EEEK. That tiny heart!

I tried the Coffee Cozy out on different sized coffee cups and it fits all of them! This is a Venti Starbucks cup! What's your favorite drink? I love a Soy Caramel Macchiato!

Finally today I made a pretty and sweet little Gingerbread House ornament! This is one of the new dies released this month. It has tons of pieces and parts so you can decorate your house as much or as little as you choose. When I sewed it together I used a piece of Kraft Polka Dot Ribbon to use to hang it from the tree. I also changed up the colors and used pretty pink and aqua for my color palette! Something so sweet about these colors together.

My work table, while I was cutting everything out. You can see the holes in the dies! SUPER easy!

I added pearl beads to the eaves of my pink gingerbread roof!

The die set even has tiny snow caps to put on the roof! LOVE this so much! You can customize the colors of this for any occasion…. Doesn't even have to be Christmas! Could be for a bag tie on for a housewarming, or a shower….

TIPS & TRICKS:

I have tried EVERY kind of felt! Super expensive, to super cheap. Ordered online, and bought at the craft store….. So, after all of that trial and error, now I only use felt from HERE and HERE. High quality wool felt that does not break the bank, in beautiful colors! Perfect for die cutting too. If I use these two brands I get a perfect cut every time. I use a Metal Shim with my die cutting machine whenever I die cut felt. It really makes a different in the edges of the cut. I highly recommend it! For eyes on animals, I like them to be shiny and happy. So I only use THESE enamel dots to make the eyes. There are different sizes and you can see which ones look best! I use a bit of felt glue to attach them! I use embroidery floss to do my projects and I use all six strands at one time. Just my preference on how the final project looks! I have tried Felting/Stitching dies from all the major crafting companies. My two favorites (both for designs and quality) are PAPERTREY INK STITCHING DIES and SIMON SAYS STAMP PLUSH DIES.

Here are some of my favorite felt projects from last year! Made with Simon Says Stamp Dies!

CLICK on the photo to go to that blog post for more information!

Thanks for stopping by today! It's going to be a great week! I will have another post on Wednesday as part of a giant blog hop celebrating Ellen Hutson's Anniversary! Hope to see you soon. Happy Thanksgiving Week! XOXO

November 20, 2017
Papertrey Ink November Release Week – featuring This Just in and Sunburst Stencils!

This just in! (That's the name of the stamp set featured today!) Welcome to Day FIVE of the new November Papertrey Ink Release! This is the last day for all of the design team to share our projects with you in anticipation of release day tomorrow! It's been fun sharing with you the past week or so. Everything will be available in the PTI Store tomorrow, the 15th, at 10pm EST. CLICK HERE to go to the Official PTI Blog to see the graphics for the stamps and enter to win some prizes!

Today is my 'feature post' which means I made three projects with the same new supplies: This Just In Stamps and Dies, and Sunburst Stencils. This stamp set is very unique and super fun. Perfect for any occasion. Dress it up, dress it down, make it bright and fancy, or masculine and cool… No end to the ideas! I've tried to give you three totally different ways to use these.

First up is a cool retro birthday card! I used black, kraft, white and green to make this one. This is a great 'manly' card! I used the stars dies set to create a background for the microphone. The stamp set is a giant old fashioned microphone with tons of sayings for all the parts….and the best part? Lightning bolts!! The card base is kraft A2… Then layered with True Black patterned paper and then chartreuse and white. I used the new stencils to make the rays behind the microphone and to match everything together.

This next card is a great all-occasion card! Maybe for someone who gets a promotion…or has a wonderful accomplishment. I used the sunburst stencils in bright yellow this time to frame the microphone. Also, I used the new color of patterned paper for this month! Yay!

This next project is a baby shower party favor! I love decorating glassine bags for candy or treats! I used the cute sentiments along with pink and grey to make the focal point. Then I had fun decorating with the doily die, some ribbon and pretty polka dots! Wouldn't these be pretty all in a basket ready for guests?

Little pearl accents make it extra feminine and girly!

What are you excited about from this new release? What are you going to want?! It's so hard to pick a fav….but this month I think the sweater set is my top pick! I hope you've enjoyed all my sneak peeks! Everything is available to purchase on 11-15 at 10pm EST! I will go back and update all the link lists once the new products go live! Thanks for sharing the week with me. XOXO

November 14, 2017
Papertrey Ink November Release Week – Window Works Dies!

Hi friends! It's day FOUR of the brand new November Papertrey Ink Release! It's getting closer and closer to release day! Everything new will be available in the PTI store on Wednesday the 15th at 10pm EST. I'm back today with a pretty red and green traditional Christmas card made with the new Window Works Dies. I made a fun shaker card! These new window dies are absolutely beautiful. I've never seen anything like them! They are so intricate, with pretty edges and interesting stitching around the openings. Love.

I started with an A2 card base made from Kraft cardstock. Then I layered two sheets of pretty patterned papers from a new pad I just got. Then a layer of vivid red with the window cut out. Behind the window is Vintage Cream cardstock.

I used the Merry Christmas Dies from the Travelers series (see links) and die cut them from pretty gold! I used the same gold on the die cut accents at the top. I made my own sequin mixture of reds, greens and golds. Really classic colors for the holiday.

Once the card was finished, I used some enamel dots and sequins to add accents.

I always forget how much fun it is to make a shaker card! They have such an impact when you send one. Everyone loves to get a shaker card! I hope I've inspired you to make one! 🙂

Thanks so much for joining along with me the past few days! I'll have one more post tomorrow and then it will be time for the release to go live! Have a wonderful day friends! XOXO

November 13, 2017
Papertrey Ink November Release Week – Snowfall Style & Winter Woolens!

Welcome back to day two of the November Papertrey Ink New Release! Five days of posting which will lead up to the new release going live on the 15th! Thanks for stopping by today to see some more projects made with the new products. Everything will be available in the PTI store on Wednesday the 15th at 10pm EST. Yay! Today I have two Winter cards – one is warm and fuzzy, and the other one is bright and icy! I like to make generic Winter/Holiday cards for certain friends or business associates in case I do not know if they celebrate Christmas or not. These two cards fit the bill perfectly. I'll tuck them away for when I need them. Are you excited for the new release yet? What did you think of the products shown yesterday? I'd love to know! Have a great weekend everyone!

This first card is SOOOO fun. OMG I already adore this stamp set called Winter Woolens! It's right up my alley – cute Christmas sweaters, mittens and hats! Gosh, I know I am going to use this set alllll the time. The stamps are two step so you can easily make each item two different colors. I used the sweater stamps with little deer on them!!!!

I had a really hard time choosing a color palette for this stamp set and card. Because…it looked great in every color! I loved it in red and black, green and grey, black and grey…OMG. So I decided to let a new paper pad be my guide. I used the pretty sweater looking paper to guide my color choices. It matched lots of my PTI cardstock and patterned paper. I really like how it came out. Can a card by cozy?? LOL. I stamped the sweater and die cut it with the matching die. Then I die cut a circle for frame it. I used the brand new snowflake die to add an accent.

Isn't that sentiment cute? I added a few pearls and some trim I had in my stash to bring some extra textures. The sweater, the circle, the snowflake and the sentiment banner were all sponged with Antique Linen Distress Ink.

All of these products are new – available next week! The papers are listed below in my supply links. I'll update the supplies once the stamps and dies go live!

So this next card is icy and bright and bold! Lots of red and white! Touches of sparkly silver paper and rhinestones. Oh my! I used the Winter Wishes dies (released last month) to make my focal point and then stamped snowflakes around it. Lastly I die cut one giant silver snowflake. This card was quick to put together.

For the Winter Wishes dies, I ended up stacking two die cuts to make it a bit thicker and to stand off the page. To do this, just use a glue pen and some tweezers! Easy!

Thanks for joining me for day two of release week! See you tomorrow! Happy Saturday! XOXO

November 11, 2017
Papertrey Ink November Release Week starts now!

Hi everyone! Wow, happy Friday! It's been a super fast week around here! I hope you've had a wonderful week. I can feel the Christmas and holiday frenzy starting as I'm out running around doing errands, and I've already been blasted with Christmas music! The new Winter Starbucks drinks are here (I love the Spiced Flat White) I'm still adjusting to the time change! I am loving the cozy nights inside bundled up with blankets and fuzzy slippers. Not too much planned for our weekend, how about you?

We are changing things up a little bit with the Papertrey Ink new release and I think you'll like it! All of the November products will be on sale on Wednesday the 15th at 10pm EST. So, every day until then, the design team will be sharing projects with you to get you excited and inspired about the new items. I'm so happy to share with you today. I have two cards made with a bunch of new items! Let's take a look!

The FIVE new products I'm featuring today are: Little Lift Me Ups, Background Basics: Birch, Mix & Mat Plaid, Year of Psalms November and Flower Power! YAY!

First up is a card made with the newest Year of Psalms stamp set. I chose to make this a more masculine card with lots of wood textures and warm earthly colors. Unfortunately we need to make sympathy cards from time to time and I think this would fit the bill nicely for that occasion. I used one of my favorite older sets (Meadow Greens) to stamp the ferns onto the center panel.

The new Mix & Mat dies feature a gorgeous tree/branch outline. I used the new Birch Background stamp to stamp the birch tree pattern onto the trees. I love how that came out! I cut the center panel out of cream cardstock, stamped it, and then edged in Distress Inks.

The font for this set is so beautiful. I love fonts!

Here's a close up of the layers and the pretty dies!

Next up is a card using the cheerful new set called Little Lift Me Ups! It's a set of inspirational sentiments in pretty fonts to use for your cards. I am going to use this one a lot! I used the Birch Background stamp again (love) to make the bottom part of the card design. The flowers were made using the new Flower Power stamps and dies. I used Autumn colors again since it's November and I love that color palette.

The sentiment is one stamp, the sun rays and the heart are different stamps – I love that you can combine and mix and match as you want. I popped some bright blue in there with the bow and added a pretty enamel dot as a finishing touch.

November 10, 2017
PTI Throwback Thursday – Featuring Stenciled Alphabet Dies!

Hi friends! Just a few more days until Halloween…and only a week until my birthday! YAY for Fall! I'm having a great week – lots going on this time of year – and I love it all. We went to this cool thing Tuesday night called Pumpkin Nights and it was so fun and festive. Got us way in the mood for Fall things! (Like I needed to be put in the mood! Ha) Check it out here! It's vest season in my world. I looove to wear vests – it's kind of a weird thing about me. I just had the hubs bring them down from the attic. I am always hot, so in the winter I never wear a coat! I love to accessorize with a vest instead. I call it A Vestivus for the rest of us! Plaid, buffalo check, floral, strips, houndstooth…. Today I'm doing some private photography lessons for one of my favorite local crafty girls and I can't wait to hang out with her. What are you up to? Are you pumpkin carving or costume planning yet??

Today is Throwback Thursday for Papertrey Ink! Yes! Today the design team is featuring the older die set called Stenciled Alphabet Blocks. We like to bust out some of our favorite older supplies and make them new again. I've combined the blocks dies along with two sets released this year to make a fun Fall banner card. These Alphabet Blocks dies are perfect for making banners. You can spell out the season, or a person's name, or anything! I used a Fall color palette and had fun paper piecing with 6×6 paper pads.

My card base is an A2 size made from kraft paper. Then I layered canyon clay plaid on top, and then a vintage cream panel. I die cut the FALL letters from kraft cardstock to match the card base. Kind of ties it all together. I gently inked around the edges of the cream panel with Antique Linen Ink and a sponge. I stamped the sentiment in black in the upper left corner to leave room for the banner.

The banner pieces were attached to the card using foam squares. After I had them attached, I used clear glue to affix the twine across the top of them. I tied a bow on one end and tucked the other end underneath Mr. Scarecrow's arm.

I had a lot of fun paper piecing this one! I just used tons of patterns and colors. I colored his face and arms, and the pumpkins and leaves, with Copic Markers (E000, RV10, YR12, YR16, YR18, Y15 and E17) Isn't he the cutest?

I added a couple of leaves to the banner and the card. They are so tiny and cute!

Thank you so so so much for stopping by today, and for your continued support of me, my blog, and my business. it's a time of year to be grateful and I am grateful for all of you, and the kindness you show me. I hope you have a wonderful day! XOXO

October 26, 2017
More Papertrey Ink October Release: To The Point Edgers II and Big Basics!

Hi crafty people! I'm back with, you guessed it, another Christmas card featuring some new products from the Papertrey Ink October Release! One of the great things about making all these Christmas cards is that now I'm almost done! I will still mass produce some more in the next month or so, but I have lots of cards ready to go! Have you started on your Christmas cards? How many do you make? I usually make about 75 handmade cards. I used to make them all the same but that's not really my gig. I get bored making a ton of cards all the same way. I like to pick out cards that I think the person will like! I'd love to hear your traditions about this!

Today I'm featuring a new addition to the "To The Point Edgers" Collection. These are amazing border dies that give such pretty sharp, crisp edges. They are so versatile and such a staple to have in your crafty stash. These new ones won't be leaving my desk for a while I'm sure. I chose some of my favorite Winter themed PTI stamp sets and used a new color scheme of red, white and kraft. I'm loving those colors together!! I hope you do to! Supplies at the end of the post. CLICK HERE to shop the new PTI October Release.

I started with a white A2 card base and layered Kraft onto it. I used the GORGEOUS Fair Isle Borders stamp set to stamp the pattern in black ink onto white paper. I stamped the stamp three times to get this effect. It was so easy to line up too. Didn't even use my MISTI this time! I layered the white piece with the Fair Isle pattern onto the kraft paper. Then I stamped and die cut out the sled using red and green ink on kraft paper.

I used the new To The Point Edgers II dies and cut one edger in red and one in white to layer together. I love that big bold scallop edge!! EEK! I adhered those two together and layered that part on top of my card.

I used foam squares to attach the sprig of greenery to the sled, and to attach the sled to the card. I stamped the sentiment vertically on the left edge in rich black!

Here's a close up of those beautiful edgers dies. Swoon.

It was super fun to showcase some of my favorite PTI stamp sets with you today in combination with the edgers dies. I forgot how much I love those Fair Isle patterns!!!

Thank you for coming by today! It's been so much fun sharing with you all week! My husband has been away on business this week and I can't wait to see him tomorrow. Kitty misses him too. It was a productive week, but now I'm ready to have some Autumn fun with the hubs. Hope you have something fun planned for your weekend. XOXO

October 19, 2017
More Papertrey Ink October Release: Mix and Mat Snowflakes and Year Of Psalms October!

Hellloooooo and happy Wednesday! We made it half way through the week already. The days are flying by so fast right now – probably because it's my favorite time of the year! I want October to last forever, but it is speeding on by! The weather has been super lovely this week. Crisp, cool mornings and sunny afternoons. This weekend is the Scrapbook Expo here in Sacramento and I'm hoping to be able to find the time to pop over there for a bit. I took another crochet class this week too! It's addicting and FUN!

Today is my third day introducing some more new Papertrey Ink products from the October release! My card is featuring Year of Psalms October, and the newest Mix & Mat Snowflakes Dies. I created a chalkboard effect and I really like how it came out!

My card base is A2 and made from Kraft cardstock. I layered white paper and Chartreuse plaid paper underneath the black die cut. I stamped the sentiment in Versamark Ink and heat embossed it in white embossing powder. To add to the chalkboard look, I smudged some white pigment ink with my finger on top of the embossing.

For accents I used a few Christmas trees and a smattering of enamel dots. I wanted to pop some red in there.

Thank you friends! Good to see you again! CLICK HERE to shop the new Papertrey Ink release! See you soon! XOXO

October 18, 2017
More Papertrey Ink October Release: Traveler’s Journal December, Typed Words and Quoted Little Bit More stamp sets!

Hi crafty people!! I'm back with my second Papertrey Ink post for this week – featuring two more brand new stamp sets! My cards for today are bright and bold and cheerful! These new sets called out for primary colors and graphic designs. CLICK HERE to shop the entire new release for October! Everything is now live in the PTI Store. Hope you have a great day, and thanks for coming by!

First up, I'm featuring the Traveler's Journal stamps for December, along with the new December Typed Words. I thought these two sets went well together! I love those tiny words and will definitely use them in my planner, as well as on cards and tags.

I used Smoky Shadow for my card base. I love to use different colors for card bases! I stamped the mittens in red ink and added a few snowflakes along with the sentiment for the focal point. I also used the typed words and added a few more sentiments on the card. I layered some banners and the Branching Out Die (my favorite) for pops of color.

My next card features the Quoted: Little Bit More stamp set! OMG I love a quote from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas!! Brilliant!! The font on this is bold and big! I decided to not add a lot to this card and let the words be the focus. I started with a Soft Stone card base and layered just a few strips of papers. Then one big glittery snowflake!

I couldn't resist adding a little heart at the end of the quote!

This snowflake die is part of last month's release: Silver White Winters! That's it for today! See you tomorrow! The new release is available now!

October 17, 2017