confetti by lexi

throwback thursday: holiday double cuts

what a great papertrey ink throwback thursday die set this week! holiday double cuts is the perfect trio of holiday sentiments - three traditional words that can stand alone or be used to complete a variety of phrases. and the font and stacking layers are great for playing with color, too!

and play with color was exactly what i decided to do. i was inspired by the idea of a children's picture book. i feel like i've read "this book" somewhere but i can't put my finger on what book it is - i read a lot of books to kids for my day job! anyway, the idea of a mostly black and white illustration with a pop of color was stuck in my head, so i went with it.

important to that idea was coloring each letter of the word a different color to peek through the double cut top layer since that was my only color on the card. i cut a base layer and three top layers of the dies, keeping one of the top layers in tact. i masked off each letter and blended ink over each one individually. then i layered two white top layers, frame only over the top to build it up. the colored pieces show through perfectly! 

i selectively inked words from the same phrase from sentiment staples: christmas to build my sentiment around the word die cut and added a few stars to finish it all off. the outcome is exactly what i was picturing and fits the sentiment perfectly. i always love when that happens! do you have this set already? please share any great new ideas in the comments! and if you haven't already, be sure to check out a couple more throwback treats by michelle and kelly, both linked on the papertrey ink blog...

happy stamping!
:) lexi

 

simple to spectacular: painted poinsettias

painted poinsettia is the perfect set to revisit today as poinsettias are arriving to doorsteps all over my neighborhood. i'm hoping my husband picks up a few from costco soon! as always, i stayed true to my typical clean and graphic style on all three takes, each one a little more involved than the last. and I've paired old with new in the form of my very favorite shape shifter for a modern take on christmas. the natural steps of these die collections make the progression from simple to stepped up to spectacular so easy.

for all three of my cards, i decided to use the inner cut out circle for my green element and backdrop to a single poinsettia. on the simple version, it's the only circle cut that i used and the poinsettia is adhered flatly to it. i decided on the modern looking merry christmas from sentiment staples: christmas to play off of the linear pattern of the cut out. with these basics decided, i began adding more details...

for the stepped-up version, i added the stitched circle around the cut-out circle, popped up the poinsettia on foam tape, and added nuvo crystal drops in english mustard to the dots in the center of the flower. then i sprinkled clear glitter on top of it before it dried. voila! just a little more detail and sparkle! the inner portion of the flower is also die cut on its own for a bit more dimension.

finally, for the spectacular card, i used the same layer panel elements as before but trimmed just a bit off the bottom to have a piece of luxe gold paper peeking out from below. to balance the gold, i added a thread nest to fit just inside the circle element, layering the small flower on top of the large one for a more full poinsettia, which is also attached with foam tape. again, the center of the flower is die cut separately for added interest and depth.

and there you have it - three degrees of holiday double cuts! just like other times, i love all three for different reasons. "simple" less fussy cards are perfect and easy when i need something fast, and i really enjoy a good "spectacular" session when i have a lot of open-ended creative time. but the "stepped up" version is probably my most typical stamping zone. what do you think - do you have a favorite? let me know in the comments! and if you haven't already, be sure to check out the original post on the papertrey ink blog - lizzie and melissa have projects too! i always love seeing what my fellow stampers do with the same set.

merry merry!
:) lexi

transformation tuesday: 3D tree ornament

good morning! today it's my turn to host transformation tuesday for papertrey ink. we all have cards that don't necessarily turn out the way we had envisioned or a project that we designed to be feminine that could be made masculine with a few tweaks, etc. i always love this chance to revisit an old card... 

today, i decided to do something a little different. with holiday crafting gaining speed, i was inspired to take one of the tags from my recent design team tips post on 3D elements with symmetrical dies and transform it into an ornament. i love creating paper crafted ornaments as much as tags and everything else christmas related and the little alterations i made for this one were so easy.

i wanted a fully round tree, so this time instead of stamping three die cuts, i stamped six. the original tree was created from three and sat flat against the card, so i basically created two of those to sandwich the cord through. you can try adding a few more die cuts, but keep in mind that more means they're closer together and you may not see the stamped details as well.

i wanted the tree to hang or float in a frame, so i settled on the medium frame from pierced feature frames: oval. i cut two and stamped both of them with the same snowflake pattern from my original tag. i created a loop for the top with silver cord, leaving a long tail portion to sandwich between the two frames and the tree, using a couple of found beads to finish off the look and hold pieces in place. 

the result is a simple, but sweet ornament that can be used as a package embellishment, given as a gift, or hung on my own tree. because i was creating it based on the tag, i used the same colors and patterns, but really there are so many possibilities with this style of ornament and i'm sure you could find a variety of stamps that would be fun to dangle from a frame and hang on your tree. have you found any great symmetrical die and stamp pairings to share since my tag article? i'm always looking for something fun and new!

happy stamping!
:) lexi

neutral christmas palettes

Good morning! Welcome to this month’s color installment! Today I decided to go on a hunt for a few new Christmas color combos. Although I have my favorites like the candy-colored Christmas palettes I shared last month, I’m always looking to try something new. I came across a post on HGTV about “Fresh Christmas Colors” to incorporate into Christmas decorating. Perfect!

Although not entirely the focus of the article, I found myself gravitating to the more neutral palettes included – green and brown, parchment and white, turquoise and white. Paired with the right images and sentiments these can be great colors for Christmas, especially if you’d like a break from the traditional red and green.

First up, green + brown. According to the article, it’s a good idea to take cues from Mother Nature and to consider layering several shades of green for added interest. I chose Classic Kraft and Dark Chocolate for my browns with Spring Moss, Simply Chartreuse and Pine Feather for my greens.

This palette lends itself to a woodsy look, so I pulled out Text and Texture: Wood Slices for a patterned tag. I added the sentiment and leaves in Pine Feather and Simply Chartreuse on a strip of Spring Moss cardstock and finished it off with a plain tag in Classic Kraft for writing a sentiment and a green ribbon. I love the results! I will definitely be using these colors again.

Next, parchment + white with a metallic. According to the article this less is more approach is timeless and easily adaptable, resulting in a look of understated elegance. Adding the metallic breaks up the neutrals for a bit of a pop and any metallic will work – silver, gold, bronze, pick your fave!

I do love a less is more approach, so this one was a no-brainer. Fine Linen is my parchment color and after digging around for a metallic, I settled on silver and immediately thought of snowflakes, so that became my focus. The Pitter Pattern Tag Dies are perfect for adding layers of color to tags and the one with the circle cut outs reminded me of snow. Add a few silver snowflakes and silver edged ribbon along with a small sentiment and this clean and simple design is complete!

And last but not least, I landed on turquoise + white + parchment. Or in Papertrey colors, Hawaiian Shores, Stampers’ Select White, and Fine Linen. Turquoise is often paired in smaller doses with red and green or other jewel tones for Christmas, but here it is the main color along with white, while Fine Linen is an accent color.

While it’s a little less expected as a focal Christmas color, it works nicely in that role, especially when used on images like bows and ornaments. Again, a Pitter Pattern Tag Die is perfect for layering color, even when one of those colors is white. In keeping with parchment/Fine Linen taking an accent role, I added it only in the sentiment and ribbon, covering as little Hawaiian Shores as possible. A scattering of white sequins adds a bit of bling and finishes the tag off perfectly.

So there you have it – three neutral color palettes that are perfect for Chrismas and a few more to try if you follow the link! Even if you don’t go all out on these color palettes, they would make perfect one-offs for hostess gifts. I’m thinking my tags may end up around a bottle of wine or three. So, are you more of a candy-colored or neutral Christmas crafter? Inquiring minds want to know…

Have a colorful day!
:) lexi

 

Supplies:
Happy Holidays tag
STAMPS: Text and Texture: Wood Slices
INK: Classic Kraft, Dark Chocolate, Pine Feather, Simply Chartreuse
PAPER: Stamper’s Select White, Spring Moss, Classic Kraft
DIES: Scalloped Tags
OTHER: MISTI, green ribbon

Peace on Earth tag
STAMPS: Glorious Globes: September
INK: Fine Linen
PAPER: Stamper’s Select White, Fine Linen, Luxe Silver Cardstock
DIES: Pitter Patterns Tags, Bold Borders: Prism
OTHER: Multi Medium Matte, silver and white ribbon

From Our House to Yours tag
STAMPS: Sentiment Staples: Christmas
INK: Fine Linen
PAPER: Stamper’s Select White, Hawaiian Shores
DIES: Pitter Patterns Tags
OTHER: natural ribbon or twine, Multi Medium Matte, white sequins

make it monday: envelope bags with patterned paper

good morning! it's my turn for make it monday with papertrey ink this week. today i'm sharing how i use the envelope bag technique to create simple gift bags out of patterned paper. with color coordinated paper and a little stamping (or not!), you can have small bags in a variety of sizes in a snap.

easy to coordinate with elaborate tags or as a small gift ensemble, it's a great trick to have in your gift packaging pocket as we head into the holiday giving season! i always need last minute packaging, how about you?head over to the papertrey ink blog to watch the video and play along... i can't wait to see what you create! 

happy stamping!
:) lexi

the 30-day coloring challenge

i've watched the daily marker's 30-day coloring challenge from the sidelines for a while now, always wanting to jump in, and always feeling too busy. but with my recent harry potter stamp purchases from the sassy club that all need to be colored in, i decided to make it happen this time. i've been in denial that it's november already and missed the first few days, so i started with all four hogwarts house crests to cover days one through four. i know it's not required to catch up, but it was a natural foursome!

it remains to be seen if i can hang in all month, but i will definitely try - i'm hoping that participating in this will help me make it through that pile of stamps i've been dying to color and create with!! i'll mostly be sharing on instagram and focusing on coloring rather than full cards, but i may posts here a bit, too. or maybe just a recap at the end. we'll see. are you coloring too? look me up and let's cheer each other on...

happy stamping!
:) lexi