confetti by lexi

stained glass in review

today is the day! nichole has revealed full product previews of everything in the september 2013 papertrey ink release, including my new pieces of confetti stamp set, stained glass. the new goodies are available for purchase now and the release party has been underway all day. as part of the festivities, the design team members have showcased their full round up of projects created with the new sets on their own blogs, too. of course, i love what they've done with stained glass...

ashley - clean and climple christmas cross

betsy - an amazing stained glass church window, complete with white siding!

cristina - stained glass manger on vellum - perfect purples & beautiful blues!

danielle - embossed panes of stained glass

dawn - merry christmas manger window - love the reds!

debbie - beautiful christmas angel in stained glass on vellum

erin - a window card with stained glass stamped on the inside - love the depth!

heather - rustic water colored window on kraft card stock - very pretty!

laura - soft & white + brilliant & bright - a lovely stained glass bookmark!

maile - clean & simple with a little extra - love the extension of the lines to the card front!

and we can't forget the introductions to stained glass from nichole and melissa earlier this week.

it's always so much fun to see what the team does with my little images. so many pretty creations and lots of great coloring techniques! so, now it's your turn - do you have a favorite?  any that you want to case as soon as you get the stamp set? i can't wait to see what you do too, so be sure to come back and share...

happy shopping!
:) lexi

year round stained glass

welcome to day five, the last day of the countdown! the papertrey ink september 2013 release, including stained glass, will be fully revealed and available for purchase tomorrow. but first, today, i have two quick and easy cards - and they're not christmas cards! the images in this "christmas" set can also be used for several other occasions, particularly the angel and the cross windows. for my first card, i used the angel window to welcome a sweet baby. and for today's coloring technique, i decided to use gelatos in a super easy way. you don't always have to color in every section of the window as i've been doing so far. sometimes it fun to try something a little out of the box. i simply swiped three pinks across a scrap piece of cardstock and blended them together for a ombre effect with a large watercolor brush. i wanted some of the streaks to show, so i didn't blend too much. once it was dry, i stamped the window and cut it out closely. and that's it - a cool look for a lot less effort than coloring! washi tape, sequins and a sentiment from baby face finish it off. welcome baby!

for my second card, i wanted to use the same technique with the cross, while kind of coloring it in. again i applied my gelato colors to a piece of scrap cardstock first - lines forming a cross in gold followed by streaks of blue coming out of the center of the cross. this time, when i blended the gelatos, i was careful not to blend the colors into each other much at all, blending the gold cross first, then gently blending the blue away from the cross in diagonal swipes like the image. this way, the colors don't get too muddy and the blending that does occur is soft. i made sure that i had a scrap that was a little longer than the image and positioned the horizontal line strategically, so that when i stamped my image, i could place the cross into the right position. the idea here is to follow the basic lines, but not necessarily to color the cross in perfectly. once i cut it out, i colored in the smallest cross in the center of the image with a gold paint pen for added interest. finish it off with congratulations (also from baby face) below the foam mounted window, and you have a card that would be perfect for a baptism, first communion, or confirmation. lots of possibilities!

wow, this week flew by - there's only one more day before the stamps are available! until then, check out nichole's blog for another group post day with links to the design team projects. lizzy and melissa are sharing more with their new products as well. i hope you've enjoyed the various stained glass coloring techniques these last five days. is there one you like best or that you can't wait to try? i'd love to know...

happy saturday!
:) lexi

stained glass ornaments

hello! welcome to day four of the papertrey ink september 2013 countdown to new stamps, and another look at my new set stained glass, available for purchase on the 15th. today, i have ornaments! and another cool stained glass technique - one that looks even more like the real thing...

it's a little easeir to see in the detail shot because they overlap and you can see right through. pretty cool, right? i stamped each of the windows on clear cardstock in versafine onyx black ink and embossed them with clear embossing powder. then i colored them in by filling the spaces with glossy accents tinted with dye ink refills. a little time consuming, but not difficult at all - and i love the results! the frames were made using the coordinating dies, two cuts per window, trimmed to the final size after sticking it all together. punch a hole, add some ribbon or cording, and the ornament is complete!

here's a progress shot along with a few tips. use scrap acetate or something non-porous as a pallette for your tinted glue. (you can toss it when you're done!) the glossy accents worked well because it's pretty fluid, but other similar glues would work too. start with small dots of ink when tinting. apply the tinted glue to the embossed image with a toothpick, kind of pushing it into the corners as you go. work fast! it starts drying and can get gummy in the process. if you had stray embossing powder speckles, the tinted glue covers it right up, so don't stress too much with the embossing. scribble on your pallette with a white paint pen and add the glossy accents to it for white glaze. the clear cardstock will warp when you heat it. try bending it back with your hands or press the finished ornaments in a book after they are completely dry. and finally, while the whole ornament is transparent, the "back" becomes the perfect front - the glass looks smother and you see less of the bubbles and streaks. these would look great decorating a package, hanging around a bottle of wine for your party or dinner hostess, or given as a little thought all on their own. you could also use the same technique on a window card similar to the one i posted on day one. hopefully you can tell how much fun i'm having with this set!

nichole and the creative team have lots to share today - it's group post day, so it's best to follow the design team links from there. plus melissa is sharing more with her new sets as well.  and don't forget to stop by tomorrow. there's one more day of countdown projects to go and i have a hint for you: there won't be any christmas cards in the mix...

t.g.i.f.!
:) lexi

away in the manger...

hi again! we've made it to day three of the papertrey ink september 2013 countdown to new stamps, including my new set, stained glass, available on september 15. surprise, i have another clean and simple card, and with it, another stained glass technique. today, i'm featuring the manger window from the sneak peek last week, the third and final of the windows - and possibly my favorite!

like yesterday, i went to town coloring with copics. for some of the colors, i simply swiped the colorless blender over them instead of blending even more color, both to preserve the lightness of the light colors, and to add a mottled texture. then came the glassy detail of the day - embossing! versamark all over, clear embossing powder, heat & repeat. i did it two times in order to get a nice thick "glass" coating. i really like the way the embossing deepens the color, too. i decided to fussy cut over die cutting, because i didn't want any extra white around the image. i also dragged the edges of the card across my black ink pad for a more polished look. adhere the window with a little foam tape, add a sentiment, and there you have it!

you know the drill - check out nichole's blog to see what's being featured today. erin, danielle, dawn, heather, maile, and melissa are all sharing too. and be sure to come back tomorrow for more stained glass!

thanks for coming by...
:) lexi

joy to the world

hi! welcome back to day two of the papertrey ink september 2013 countdown to new stamps and a closer look at my new set, stained glass, available for purchase on september 15. today, i wanted to focus on coloring the windows with copics. while i did use copics yesterday, vellum takes the ink differently than cardstock, and i wanted to show how you can create the look of transparent glass by blending two shades of each color.

i used watercolor paper to create a card base that fits a #6-3/4 envelope. watercolor paper is great for adding easy texture and the long, narrow proportions of this card size work perfectly with the shape of the angel window. i die cut and stamped the window, coloring the sections first in a light shade of each color, adding the darker shade around the edges. then i colored over each section with the lighter color again, blending the darker edges in towards the center. i colored the frame portion of the die cut with a walnut copic, streaking a little gold over it with a gold leaf paint pen. it's hard to see in the picture, but the window part is popped up with foam tape, while the frame is flush against the card. stamp a sentiment below and there you have it. clean and simple, with touches of texture and dimension for added interest. just the way i like 'em!

if you haven't already, check out nichole's blog for the big scoop on what else is being shared today. heather, dawn, maile, erin, and melissa all have posts up too. and don't forget, come back again tomorrow for another stained glass creation...

happy hump day!
:) lexi

introducing stained glass

the countdown to the papertrey ink september 2013 release is officially underway and i'm so excited to show off my newest pieces of confetti stamp set, available on september 15. introducing stained glass! stained glass is a set of three different stained glass windows plus christmas phrases and dies to accompany them. the windows are clean and simple, and somewhat modern, featuring shapes and clean lines. small, but with nice open spaces within which to color.

i decided to ease into the countdown with a first look at the cross image. i wanted to create a true window card, so i did just that on the card front with the coordinating die. i also cut an extra from scrap paper slightly bigger than the the die to create the frame overlay. after stamping and embossing my image on vellum card stock (versafine black ink & clear embossing powder), i colored it in with copics, adding the negative die cut layer and the thin frame (colored with a dark grey copic) over the top of it. then, i trimmed the pieces together, leaving just enough room for adhesive around the edges, and placed it over the die cut hole on the card front. voila! a stained glass window. i love how the light shines through the copics on the vellum. it almost lights up! i also like how the copics didn't totally blend into the vellum, leaving pools of saturated color here and there, much like the real thing. rounded corners, red twine, and a sentiment finish it off perfectly. clean, simple & pretty!

i'll be back with another stained glass creation tomorrow, so don't forget to stop by. meanwhile, be sure to check out peeks from nichole & the rest of the team. dawn, erin, heather, maile, and melissa bickford all have projects posted today. and melissa phillips is actually showcasing stained glass - yay! can't wait to see what she comes up with...

thanks for stopping by!
:) lexi

flashback friday :: christmas stamping

i'm not at all ready to start thinking christmas. but with a christmas set being released this month, i have to start stamping with it, ready or not! so to get into the spirit, i decided to look through some of my old christmas blog posts, and chose a classic pti card to flash back to. i was also not so much ready for christmas when i posted it in october of 2007. in fact, when this christmas set, take a bough, arrived on my doorstep, i promptly created a halloween card with it! which inspired this christmas version (and an easter one, too!), which was then chosen by nichole to win guest star stamper. i had a blast creating out of the box with this set - you can see all three different tree versions of this card on the original post. looking at old christmas cards was a great step in the right direction. next, i think i'll pop in a favorite christmas movie or two (love actually, the holiday) and stamp the weekend away! any suggestions?

see you on the other side...
:) lexi

original post: october 15, 2007

sneak peekin'

hi there! long time, no blog. the second half of summer sped into the beginning of school with my new high schooler, and life has been super busy. but i'm working to catch up and start checking in here more often. as always, i have so many fun things to share from my time away - someday, i'll get to the bottom of it all. i hope. until then, i have stamps coming! nichole posted this little peek today to kick off the countdown to the september 2013 papertrey ink release and i just had to pop it up over here, too. a new christmas pieces of confetti set will be released on september 15th and i can't wait to show it off! be sure to come back for the countdown, beginning september 10th, when you can see it in action...

see you soon!
:) lexi