PaperTrey Ink December 2016 Blog Hop

This month's PaperTrey Ink Blog Hop starts with this inspiration piece:

The stars seemed like a good starting point to me, so I used the Simple Stars cover plate and stamp set and popped them up on a pink card base. Individual stars were stamped in blue, pink, yellow and silver and randomly placed, leaving many blank. The sentiment is a Swoosh die in silver, and the card is finished with blue twine. I'm going to add this one to my Valentine stash.

Time to wish you all a Happy New Year!

PaperTrey November 2016 Blog Hop Challenge

I love to participate in the PaperTrey Ink monthly challenge and blog hop when I can. Nichole always chooses a really cool inspiration picture, like this month's:

In planning a card with PTI products for this challenge, I was wishing I had the new pine branch edge stamps. Wouldn't pine branches be pretty in white against a darker background? Anyway, I liked the non-traditional colors, and used the PTI Quilted: Winter set to make my card:

I love the Quilted series, and splurged on all 4 seasons. It doesn't show up in the picture, but the background of the quilt square is white glitter paper. The sentiment is embossed in white on two colors of pink paper.

Thanks, Nichole, for another fun challenge!

PaperTrey October Blog Hop Challenge

I enjoy PTI's challenges and blog hops. The October Blog Hop challenges us with this lovely picture:

Those leaves called to mind the Harvest Berries stamp and die set I just purchased and had fun with at a weekend crop. The background used an embossing folder touched with blue ink. Here's what I came up with:

The challenge is open until 11:30 tonight (October 25). What are you waiting for?

PaperTrey June Blog Hop Challenge

The next PaperTrey Inc challenge is today, June 25, using this lovely artwork by Yellena James as the inspiration. I checked out her work online and oh, my! I'm a big fan now!

 

I had a couple of ideas, both involving vellum and watercolor. I made one and then decided to try the other idea too, and liked them both so much I now can't decide which one to use for the challenge (only 1 allowed). These were so much fun to make: watercolor, heat embossing, stamping, distress markers, gel pen and oh yes, vellum!

This one used the PaperTrey Ink Mighty Bloom Die, cut in vellum (also PTI) layered over a mixed media background:

The second one was watercolored over a heat-embossed wavy background, decorated with PaperTrey Ink Circle Scribbles heat-embossed on PTI vellum.

So...eeny meeny miny mo! Which one to choose for my entry?

Online Card Class: Clear & Sheer

I made two more cards for the Clear & Sheer Class in time to post them to the Gallery before it closes tomorrow.

Day 1 included a lot of tips about adhering vellum, and I used a die to cut holes in both the watercolored card front and the tag, and then stitched them together at the top. Which you can't see in the photo, Just just pretend, OK?

My Day 2 assignment was to tone down paper with vellum, and this one worked out much better than I expected. I've never known what to do with this busy garden-themed paper, but a little vellum allows me to carry out the theme with a watering can and tools.

I probably won't get any more done before the Gallery closes, but I'm going to a crop Saturday and will be taking these ideas along with me.

Online Card Class: Sheer & Clear

I'm taking the current Online Card class: Sheer & Clear and, wow! what a lot of great projects in the lessons over 4 days! I've had a terrible time downloading the videos (probably my own computer glitch), but have finally watched the last of them.

I was hoping for a card that I could easily make in triplicate for Mother's Day cards for my daughter and two daughters-in-law, and I wasn't disappointed. I love my embossing folders, and embossed vellum is just so pretty. The xoxo was cut on the Cricut and heat embossed. I'm real happy with the way these turned out, and hope my girls like them too.

PaperTreyInk April 2016 Blog Challenge

I've been so busy with holidays and company and my volunteer job, that I am just now getting back into one of my favorite things -- participating in challenges! I really like them because they give me a focus, an assignment and a deadline so to speak.

The April Blog Challenge at PaperTreyInk starts with an inspiration picture. It reminded me of a kraft envelope closed with string in a figure 8, so I worked from that idea. PTI Circle Scribbles stamps created the background in warm colors on cream cardstock, and the hello tag is one of the PTI tiny tags and stamp sets.

Now if I can just remember to link this up on the 25th!

PaperTrey Ink Anniversary Celebration

I've been looking forward to PaperTrey Ink's 9th anniversary celebration. I discovered this fun company several years ago when I saw one of their stamp and die sets demonstrated on another blog, and I've been a customer ever since. They release great new products every month and I'm always eager to see what's new.

The festivities include a challenge each day, and I've been participating so far.

Day 1 -- choose one of the color combos suggested by the design team. I used Erin's color choices, at least to the extent I could approximate them, to create a quilted square using PTI's Quilted: Summer die and stamps.

Day 2 -- pick a garment in your closet that you like, and interpret it as a project. I chose a paisley top with shades of denim and navy blues, burgundy, orange and gold, and finished my card with a happy birthday Swoosh die and stamp from PTI.

Day 3 -- take no longer than 5 minutes to grab products, and then make a card from them. I used PTI's String Frames die to frame a die cut with twine..