confetti by lexi

invitation basics bonus post!

surprise, i'm back for another day! all new stamps will be available at 10:00 pm est tonight in the papertrey ink store. but first, i've had this birthday card idea floating around in my head all week and had to make it happen, especially after all of the invitations the last couple of days. the inspiration comes from the empty birchboxes i use for ink cube storage. have you seen them? the size is great and the patterns are always so cool. anyway, the september one has been in my peripheral vision begging to be turned into a card - so "candle confetti" came to life! a lot of color and a lot of random stamping. then i mimicked the black and white text on the box bottom for the sentiment, inlaying the happy die cut, popping up birthday on a strip of white. i think this would also make a fun stamped wrapping paper and tag a la my recent make it monday! i have so many ideas for these candles, so you will definitely see them again.

for those of you who are planning to make printed invitations in addition to cards, i also wanted to leave you with some of the rhymes i brainstormed to coordinate with the images. change the names and numbers for perfect personalization. most of these have to do with cake and candles, and some may need tweaking depending on the length of the honoree's name, but it's a start. i love thinking up new rhymes and jingles for invites - it's the kind of thing i mull over while driving, showering, or drifting off to sleep! as always, thanks so much for stopping by and leaving comments during the countdown. hopefully, i've helped you see how much you need this fun new birthday set...

and the dies that go with...

so, have you made your list for tonight? so much good stuff to choose from! if you're not sure yet, be sure to head over to nichole's blog for the complete product preview and links to the design team's release in review - they always push me over my spending limit, lol!

happy shopping!
:) lexi

shhh! don't blow it!

yay! we've made it to day five of the papertrey ink countdown to new stamps, and one more look at invitation basics. after sharing invitations for younger kids yesterday, i wanted to focus on the versatility of the images by sharing a few older invitations today, all three a combo of printing and stamping and fairly easy to mass produce...

first up, a surprise fortieth invitation for a woman in tropical teal, hawaiian shores, and aqua mist with gold accents. i printed the text on a narrow strip of cardstock and added balance with a die cut and stamped cake with candles and the reminder: shhh! don't blow it! (one of my favorite surprise party phrases, especially when paired with candles for the full pun effect!) a gold luxe foil paper with scribbled circles provides the base with an additional pop of gold in the cake plate, die cut from a scrap of luxe gold adhesive. clean and simple and elegant!

next, another surprise party, but this time for a fifty year old man. i had milestone birthdays in mind when i designed the set of five candles for the cake. on their own, they make a perfect focal point for a big birthday celebration - just stamp out a pattern with them like the one i did above in enchanted evening and stormy sea, and you have a perfect birthday themed invitation for every big decade. shhh! don't blow it! tucks in between the candles and the printed verse and calls attention to the surprise, while the square shape and colors set a manly tone. so many candles, so easy to stamp!

and, finally, i created a sweet sixteen invitation with sixteen candles. while the smaller candles are perfect for multiples of five, the larger versions of the candles can be stamped individually, enabling you to create a grid of candles for any age, as well as being able to stamp them in multiple colors and fill up more space. here i decided to stamp the candles in different colors in a grid of 4 x 4, leaving room for the wording off to the side. Sixteen candles, hip, hip, hooray! after printing and then stamping, i layered the white panel on a piece of patterned paper from betsy's shakers and sprinkles kit. clearly, i like these colors because i keep coming back to them. what will i do when the paper is gone?! although i ended on a "kinda" kid invite (don't tell the 16 year old!), i hope i've demonstrated that the images are not just for kids - there really are so many possibilities for invitations and cards alike! remember all new stamps go live in the papertrey ink store tomorrow night at 10:00 pm eastern time. until then, be sure to check out nichole's blog for the complete scoop and links - today is "invitation inspiration" group post day and i can't wait to see what everyone else did with invitation basics!!

happy hopping!
:) lexi

you're invited!

hello! it's day four of the papertrey ink november countdown to new stamps and a third look at my new set invitation basics. today i've created invitations... 

first up, balloons! what's a party without them, right? i chose a rainbow striped patterned paper from betsy's you are a masterpiece kit, added die cut balloons stamped in coordinating colors along with party time in white, one the new big basics dies, and finished it off with the fill-in party details from the by invitation stamp set. this follows the basic formula for many invites i make - a white panel layered on a frame-like background piece.

usually, my invitations are 5-1/2 x 8-1/2, but sometimes i like the smaller A2 size. here i decided to create a superhero invitation in the smaller size, using a background layer from the comic strip paper collection and the superhero silhouette as a cake topper on a two shades of blue cake. zap, bam, pow! almost anything can become a cake topper for a fun themed invitation!

and last, i created a combo stamped and printed invitation. i like to personalize invitations with fun rhymes that include the honoree's name and age, and printing is the best way to do that. once i plan out the images i'm using, i figure out the spacing and print the wording accordingly. here the white panel is 4 x 7, layered on a patterned page from betsy's shakers and sprinkles kit, cut to 5-1/2 x 8-1/2. i stamped the cake and candle die cuts in colors that matched the paper and adhered them to the empty space i left above the words. since this is a first birthday invitation, i used a single large candle to match the rhyme - cake and ice cream, one candle to blow! there's only one more countdown day left, so be sure to stop by again. and as always, don't forget to visit nichole's blog for all the scoop and links.

until tomorrow,
:) lexi

a gift for you!

good morning and welcome back for day three of the papertrey ink november countdown to new stamps including invitation basics, my new birthday themed stamp set. yesterday's cakes have been transformed into today's gift boxes...

by swapping out the cake plate and candles for a bow on top, the two rectangles are now a sweet coordinated gift stack! first up, i used the individual dies to create the ensemble, layering them on extra die cuts for additional weight and durability. 

next, by using the larger rectangle twice on end, i was able to create a different shaped present. i love to play around with color and pattern - black and white with brights are always fun. although not planned, i've dubbed this one the pineapple gift in my head! it kind of resembles one, doesn't it?

and last, i stamped a pink and green gift set on the one piece gift die cut (there's also a similar die for a cake with candles as well). with the surprise big basic die cut in white on avocado, this one ended up being somewhat retro cool. gotta love versatility! so that's it for today - another birthday icon and three more cards. rectangles for the win! i'll be back tomorrow for another day of birthday fun. meanwhile, head over to nichole's blog for links to more design team eye candy...

enjoy!
:) lexi

introducing invitation basics

good morning! welcome to day two of the papertrey ink november countdown and a first look at my new pieces of confetti stamp set, invitation basics. i thought i'd start by showcasing the images on cards, and get to a few invitation ideas later in the countdown. so today is all about cake!

the set is centered around these two rectangles, with which you can build a cake - cake plate below, candles above! i finished off the image panel with a strip of the new scalloped washi tape (love!) and one of the upcoming big basics dies. the whole thing is adhered to a soft stone card base. wish big!

next up, how about a three layer chocolate cake using only the smaller of the two rectangles, again set on top of the cake plate. this time, i've stamped on individual die cuts and used a larger single candle instead of the smaller cluster of five. i've also doubled up on the die cuts to add a little weight to the cake pieces. i adhered the cake on top of a shimmer cardstock piece and finished off with a birthday banner - happy birthday!

and finally, a trendy rainbow cake! six layers of the larger rectangle on top of a white die cut cake plate, with a large candle on top and another upcomong big basics die - party time! clean and simple is the name of the game here, but a few star sequins add just enough sparkle and shine. who knew you could make so many different cakes out of two rectangles! be sure to come back tomorrow to see what else you can do with them. but first, head over to nichole's blog to get all the scoop and links. so much fun stuff to see!

happy stamping!
:) lexi

introducing moments inked meal planner system

one of my goals has always been to be a little more organized about meal planning, so i was really excited to see the new moments inked weekly meal planning pages. nichole has included so many great details - i love the colorful days of the week and the tear-off grocery list is particularly genius! And with the binder insert format, i can incorporate the pages into my existing planner. so much to love!

as with the rest of the planner, the color scheme is fun and the layout is very user-friendly. you get 55 pages in the binder pack - a little more than the 52 needed for a full year, so you can make a mistake or two! they're also not dated, which is perfect for if you're skipping a week here and there for vacation or some other reason.

there are three lines per day to write the meal, followed by a smaller column of three lines to note where the recipe is located for reference, and check boxes for further details - defrost, advanced prep, slow cooker. and then comes the real genius part - the perforated grocery list where you can organize the ingredients you need to buy to later tear off and take to the store.

i have decided to incorporate these pages into my planning binder, adding one to a week spread in order to plan my meals when i update that week. i like the coordination and having everything in one place. there is also a spiral bound option if you prefer your meal planning to be separate or you could purchase a second binder.

i like the binder version because it's easy to take the page out and cross reference my meals with the recipes and ingredients in the kitchen when working on the grocery list portion. and the grocery list isn't just your basic list paper - it's sectioned into different categories of items to make the shopping go even more smoothly with the list in hand.

once the list is complete, you simply tear it off when you're ready to shop! have i mentioned how genius this is? with a system like this, how can i not be more organized and motivated!

the meal planning pages are available now on papertreyink.com, along with the new calendar binder inserts and spiral calendars for 2017. there are only minor changes this year. colorful happy stripes and polka dots mostly. and there's new washi tape too! you can see nichole's original post (and others) plus continued reviews from the design team here. and my review in video form here:

like i said before - so much to love!

happy planning!
:) lexi

p.s. i've had my hands full lately, so one post was all i could manage today, haha! but don't worry, i'll jump into the countdown tomorrow with projects using my new set, sneak peeked by nichole yesterday - be sure to come back and check it out...