confetti by lexi

happy earth day!

earth day is all the buzz today, so i thought i'd pop in quickly to share a cute earthy invite and stationary set from the stacks. this is one i created a few years ago for a party at a local discovery garden complete with a worm dig and a watering can fountain. it would also be great for a bug or garden themed party at home and could easily be created in brighter colors for a bug-loving girl. actually, two plus years later, i can think of lots of fun possible revisions! it's been a while since i posted invitations, but i really need to make better progress on getting some of my old faves up here. one up, so many more to go!

back to work...
:) lexi

my first make it monday!

today is make it monday for papertrey ink on nichole's blog and i'm so excited to be hosting for the first time! remember these white on white die cut cards from past releases and the pencil version from last week?

i thought it would be fun to highlight them, make a couple of new ones, and challenge you to create one of your own. i talk a bit about die choice and layout, white space and texture. watch and see...

 

please remember that this is only my third video and try to overlook my allergy sniffles, word tripping, and awkward talking hands, haha! once you get past all that, go get crafty with your own stamps and dies and link up over on nichole's blog. one randomly selected winner will win pti money! i can't wait to see what you create...

happy stamping!
:) lexi

 

pencil me in in review

pencil me in, pencil me in paper collection, pencilgrams, and pencil papers labels are all now available in the papertrey ink store. it's been a hectic few days since the release, but i finally had time (and a sunny day!) to photograph my countdown lineup. from standard no. 2's to colored pencils in rainbow colors - lots of fun possibilities with this set! it's hard to pick favorites, but i really love how the staggered rainbow pencils and the gold pencil with notepaper turned out. did any stand out to you?

Follow Lexi Daly's board pieces of confetti: pencil me in on Pinterest.

Follow Lexi Daly's board pieces of confetti: pencilgrams on Pinterest.

as always, the design team did a knock out job on their release projects. i've pinned them along with mine on stamp set specific pin boards for easy reference. i'll add more when i create or spot them, so be sure to follow the board if you want the inspiration to pop up on your feed from time to time. if you create something, i'd love to see it and pin it too. thanks so much for stopping by and leaving comments during the release - it's so fun to see your enthusiasm for my new sets!!

happy stamping!
:) lexi

release day bonus post!

today's the day! new papertrey ink product, including my new sets pencil me in and pencilgrams plus coordinating papers, will be available and ready for purchase tonight at 10 pm eastern. there's never enough time to make all of my ideas happen during a release, but i did manage to get one more ready to post today. while stamping the white and gold pencils the other day, i fell for the white colored pencil that is created when you stamp just the wood portion of the pencil point. it doesn't get easier than that! i didn't want the eraser, so i inserted the full pencil cut into the paper piece pencil die at the desired length and cut it that way to get the same die cut edge, but you could use a paper cutter as well. to finish it off, i mimicked the color name on the end of a prismacolor pencil by embossing the happy day sentiment in gold. a panel of white doodles on smokey shadow under the popped up pencil brings it all together and almost makes it look real. hip, hip, hooray! happy day! and a happy day it is with new stamps and papers to add to your collection...

 

 

 

 

 

here's the full reveal! stamps, dies, paper, more stamps, more paper - lots of mix and match options!! be sure to visit nichole's blog for the complete product release preview and the design team's release in review and contest. they'll make you need things you didn't know you wanted...

happy shopping!
:) lexi

pencil me in gold

welcome back to day five of the papertrey ink countdown - all of the new april goodies will be available tomorrow night! but first, i have a couple more cards to share. the card above was inspired by these pencils, available on etsy. i love the fresh look of the white pencils with the touches of gold.

and they were super easy to create - i simply stamped the wood part of the pencils at the bottom of the die cuts and swiped a bit of smokey shadow ink straight from the pad for the lead. the gold pieces at the top were cut from strips of gold sticker paper, impressed with an embossing tool to create the lines. i finished them off with gold hearts to mimic the original inspiration pic. i may need some of the real white with gold pencils for my desk!

next up, i decided to create a full gold pencil - once i start playing with gold, i can't stop! this time, i paper pieced the pencil on top of a full die cut, with the wood and lead added to the base, which adds depth and dimension to the pencil.

i popped the pencil up on foam tape over a mini notebook page, die cut out of the gray loose leaf from the pencil me in papers and adhered with gold dotted washi tape, slightly askew for a fun layout. i also lifted up the edges a little, for even more depth and dimension. clean, simple, and golden - i love the end result! well, that's officially it for me this countdown. i still have a few ideas in mind, so i may be back with a bonus project tomorrow, definitely more down the road. until then, be sure to click over to nichole to see what the group is posting about today - more amazing projects and products we can't live without, no doubt!

:) lexi

hi! pencil me in...

hi there! it's day four of the papertrey ink april countdown to new stamps, including my newest set, pencil me in. i have two more cards to share today. first up, a staggered set of colored pencils inspired by a rug i came across in a google search. i love finding inspiration pieces that immediately make me imagine them in card form! 

a panel of primary lined paper in gray was a perfect backdrop and it was also quite helpful in lining things up. because the red pencil "wrote" the sentiment, i popped it up to call attention to it. the end result is an almost one layer card that is bright and fun!

next up, i just had to create my favorite white die cut card with the pencil! i layered the paper piecing die cuts over full cuts to get the added lines of the dies for better definition and interest. to give the impression of pencils dropped on a table, i placed the pencils facing different directions, slightly askew.

like the others i've done before, i created one pencil in full color and popped it up on foam tape to call attention to it and highlight the sentiment. i love the end result - this is a layout and style that i just don't get tired of! i hope you enjoyed both of today's cards as well. i will back for day five tomorrow, so be sure to stop by. but first, check in with nichole to see what's in the spotlight today, plus links to the design team showing it all off. so much fun stuff this month...

enjoy!
:) lexi

pencil me in group post day!

welcome back to day three of the april countdown to new papertrey ink stamps. today is pencil me in group post day - yay! i'm also excited to be back at home with all of my supplies and can finally show you the dies and paper and everything else too. above, i used the second of the two patterned pencil fill ins that i mentioned yesterday to create a yellow pencil with a little pizzazz. i popped it up on foam tape across a layer of looseleaf paper cut with the new moments inked: edged die for design interest, but still wanted to stick to my usual clean and simple style. this paper definitely has the "write stuff" to warrant a smiley face, star, and check!!

next up, another layer cut from the pencil me in paper. the collection includes three designs in two color ways, in traditional aqua and pink and in gray. i thought the primary lined paper would be fun with fancy patterned colored pencils, right down to the erasers, and doodles in matching colors. write on!

here, a simple layer of graph paper in gray is the perfect blank slate to encourage someone to write. draw. create. paired with a pretty blue pencil, how could one not feel inspired?!

and last, but definitely not least, introducing pencil papers and pencilgrams! pencil papers is another new paper collection, actually a label collection that are designed to fit around pencils to dress them up. there is a white stripe of space on each design for adding a monogram or other image, both of which are included in pencilgrams, a mini monogram set created specifically to fit the space. here, i've presented a set of three pencils on a card cut three times with betsy's write stuff holders dies - genius! i kept the rest of the design super simple because i used three different patterns on the pencils and those needed to take center stage. sometimes quick and easy is definitely best.

as you can see from these two pictures, the pencil papers can be adhered with white stripe placed at the top or bottom of the pencil. gotta love options! these pencils definitely have the "write" stuff! i was working against the clock for this post after getting home from spring break at the beach and hearing about my older daughter's exchange trip to paris, and i just barely made it. of course, i'll be back with more tomorrow, but i had to join in the group post fun today. be sure click over to nichole's blog for all the scoop and links to see what pencil loving pretties the design team has created for us.  i'll be "write" behind you doing the same!

:) lexi

 

pencil me in color!

welcome back to day two of the papertrey ink april countdown to new stamps including my new pieces of confetti stamp set, pencil me in. while yesterday was all about the basic yellow no. 2, today i give you colored pencils! i designed the tip of the pencil open, with a fill in stamp, for just this reason. there are also two patterned pencil fill in stamps, one of which is shown above, for more pencil fun. the doodles, including the handwritten "hi" above, are great for showing the pencils in use.

speaking of doodles, i imagined this card before i even created this set. i think the loopy doodle is my favorite one. if you've followed my blog for a while, you know a set of rainbow pencils was a must!

i stamped the pencils off the edge of the panel for interest, lining up the loopy doodle to show them in action. write. draw. create. i see many colored pencils in my future! this is my last post from the beach. sniff, sniff. we will be driving home today, hopefully arriving in time to go to the airport with my husband to pick up my 10th grader from her paris exchange trip. yay!! she's been adding pictures to a cloud album daily and i can't wait to get the descriptions to go with them and see the fun stuff she bought! it will be a busy day, but i will do my best to stamp (with not so limited supplies!) and be back tomorrow. it's a day by day release for me because of spring break and paris. until then, be sure to get the total scoop from nichole, including links to what's in the spotlight today.

have fun!
:) lexi

pencil me in...

welcome to day one of the papertrey ink april countdown to new stamps and a look at my newest set, pencil me in! since i'm stamping and posting with limited supplies from the beach, i'm easing in with a couple of designs based on the yellow #2 standard. first, i channeled maile with a peek a boo panel showcasing the doodle designs in the set, all drawn with a special happy day yellow pencil.

next, a test-ready line up of several yellow pencils with a focus on the points - be sharp! for the paler pencil above, i used harvest gold with a hibiscus burst eraser. and for the bolder set below, i went with summer sunrise and pure poppy erasers. lots of possibilities - come back tomorrow to see what else you can do! but first, be sure to check out nichole's blog for more of what's in store and links to who's showing it off...

enjoy!
:) lexi

sneak peekin'

hello stamping friends! nichole posted a little peek of my new stamp set (and more!) this month, so i wanted to pop it up here as well. so much fun stuff - i can't wait to share it all! i'll be back for the countdown in a couple days, although maybe a little slow at first since i'm posting from here...

see you soon!
:) lexi