confetti by lexi

i scream, u scream...

we all scream hooray! i decided to dig through my scrap die cuts and put together an ice cream card in honor of national ice cream day. i ended up finding goodies for two, so i went with it. hey, you can never have enough ice cream, right?

first up, an old pint from comfort food - sadly, comfort food has gone the way of the dinosaur, although i will always pull it out from time to time. because ice cream and soup never go out of style. you may be able to find it on the second-hand market on the papertrey ink b/s/t board or another - it's perfect for so many occasions! anyway, the ice cream pint was already stamped in dark chocolate, so i decided on a pantone inspired card after finding this small squarish layer, also in the scrap box. i guess this is exactly why i kept it? or maybe just because i am a hoarder! i blended my base of dark chocolate, masking off the bottom for the sentiment in classic kraft to coordinate with the shades of pinks and tans i added with copic markers and then layered it all on a panel of bitty big pale peony. sweet and simple! 

next up, ice cream itself! this card was inspired by the fact that these "national holidays" are strongly tied to social media - it's so fun to participate in the hashtags. which is what got me stamping today, in fact! so, with that in mind, i paired a scrap hashtag everything love bubble with a fun lovin' ice cream cone and pulled out the #happyday sentiment (also from hashtag everything) to bring it full circle. the ice cream on top is cut from a scrap of paper with a glazed distress oxide treatment from this post. i rarely throw away extra techique-y scraps because i work hard on them, so they pop up until they're gone - every. little. piece. lol! i found a little frame to pull it all together and that was that. well, except for that yummy chocolate sauce, sprinkles, and cherry! what did we do before nuvo drops and shaker sprinkles?! #love #supersweet #yum

happy #nationalicecreamday!
:) lexi

 

celebrating the past, present and future: 2012

papertrey ink's five year anniversary in 2012 marks the year I began as a stamp designer. after following nichole and papertrey ink since the beginning, this was such an exciting new venture for me. an offshoot of my graphic design biz confetti by lexi, directly related to stamping?! and so pieces of confetti was born. comfort food was a last minute whim when I was submitting my ideas, but easily became my favorite of the year - and longer, when I added comfort food additions a few months later to expand the versatility of the set.

i love manipulating images, using them in different ways than i originally intended, and one of my favorite such tricks is opening up the ice cream pint in comfort food. it's easy to do with really fun results. simply layer a stamped die cut with the lid cut off over a plain white die cut, trimmed to finish off the open edge. for added interest, i die cut two spoons from luxe silver cardstock and stuck them in between the layers - ice cream for two! in this case, maybe a girlfriend dish sess to let it all out. ice cream is the cure!

here's an ice cream card from the original release. clearly, i love a good chocolate/strawberry color scheme!

and how about neopolitan? this one is from round two when comfort food additions was released - chocolate, strawberry and vanilla!

while i focused on the ice cream for today's card, the soup can has probably appeared here even more - these soup can telephones were a release original!

after doing several classic cans the first go round, i was stuck on warhol colors the second time. soup + kleenex - it does a body good!

i even created a clean and simple warhol inspired card - long before the stamp-a-faire version this summer!

check out my comfort food and comfort food additions pinboards for more past projects - from me, the design team, and some of you too!

my other two sets this year were baby face and just a kiss - i have boards for those as well...

thanks for joining me for another walk down memory lane! now that i have showcased how this product from the past has remained a classic, it's your turn to share your ideas for the future! stop by nichole's blog to share a new project you make with this product, or just share a creation that is somehow inspired by what i made. get crafting and enter today so you can be eligible for a fantastic prize! see you tomorrow in 2013...

happy stamping!
:) lexi

make it monday with sentiment strips

good morning! it's my turn again for papertrey ink's make it monday and i thought it would be fun to focus on quick and easy stamping and a clean and simple layout design after all the painting and ink blending during stamp-a-faire. while i love all that stuff, clean and simple will always be my first love. 

so i'm sharing one of my go-to layout strategies that i'm calling sentiment strip grounding - using a sentiment strip to ground images. the give me a hand card above is one of several examples i share from my past countdown stash. it's not so much a specific card layout as it is a strategy for grouping and grounding images around a sentiment in an interesting way. 

it's a perfect strategy for managing your white space on clean and simple cards like the one i make on camera using comfort food. the sentiment strip gives the impression of a table top, a place for the ice cream pint and bowl to rest. all together, the words and images play off of each other for a clean and cohesive look.

of course the strategy isn't only for clean and simple. if white space isn't your thing, add some patterned paper, or if more is more, i say go for it! it's one of those tricks that can be incorporated into a variety of design styles - anytime you don't want floating images really.

 

so check out the video, stamp some fun sentiment strips, and link up over on nichole's blog. i can't wait to see what you create!

happy stamping!
:) lexi

SAF 2016: color blocking with me (and andy warhol!)

hello again! yay! you've made it to the final challenge!! are you ready for a little color block pop?! i have always loved andy warhol's art, especially the commercial, and now iconic, soup can.

i suppose that is partially what inspired me to design one of my first stamp sets, comfort food, around one. who knew that it would end up being the perfect image for stamp-a-faire masters?! but it's more than just the soup can - it's his saturated clash of color...

his focus on everyday american objects...

and celebrities...

and his use of repetition - coca-cola for everyone!!

even his business card was a work of art!

and he left us with some really cool quotes...

pop art is for everyone! so head on over to nichole's blog to read the full post, watch my video, and get to color blockin' - stamping, masking, and blending, oh my! here's the rest of my andy warhol pinterest board if you're interested, including links for all of the pictures included here.

let's catch up in the forum - it's a party over there! but first...

make it pop!
:) lexi

outside the christmas box...

welcome back to the final day of the papertrey ink october countdown to new stamps, including merry kiss-mas from me. today i wanted to challenge myself to create non christmas cards using this very christmas set! first up, two birthday cards. every time i have a die cut shape that could work for a banner, i create a card with this layout and these bows are no exception. a bow birthday banner had to happen! each bow is two layers with the baker's twine sandwiched in between. the ends are looped and hung over shiny black brads found in my bottomless studio. but, instead of sticking the brads through the paper, i bent both prongs the same way and tucked them behind the layer. i used the same colors i used the other day because they were on my desk, but colors could easily be changed match the recipient or season and sentiments for any occasion would work - even christmas!

next, i put a bow on a box! to create the present, i scored lines 1/4" apart diagonally across a 1-3/4" square - just big enough to stamp the xoxo's in rows to create the look of wrapping paper. it's hard to tell in the picture (thanks to late night photography!), but i covered the bow in glossy accents so that it had a little extra dazzle and shine. either of the two bows would work for this idea and again, colors could be changed to match the recipient. it could also be created for christmas too, but this time: hugs & kisses, birthday wishes! 

so the bows were kind of the easy answer to this challenge, but did you know the mistletoe has an alterego too? the image reminds me of dried flowers hung upside down, so that's exactly what i made it look like! i used the smallest flowers in betsy's brushstrokes kit, stamped and colored a little more with copics to get the edges, and pressed a stylus into the center on a foam pad. any small flower die or embellishments would work as well. assembled with a twine line stamped accross the frame and a bow of the same, now it's a stem of flowers hanging up to dry. if friends were flowers, i'd pick you - an oldie but goodie from green thumb!

and then there was take two, which actually started as take one. if you follow me on instragram you may have seen the simple black and white "leftover" i posted. the sentiment had smudged when i was working on the christmas tag for yesterday's post, so i had to redo it, but i cropped it and kept the mistletoe portion for another possible project. i almost added the flower die cuts to this one, but then moved on with the card above with other desk leftovers. when i came back to this one, i played around with "chalk" flowers, which started to match what had been in mind first - a chalk drawing of the hanging flowers. in the end, i like them both - same idea, different look. i really had fun adding the little details to the chalkboard! so there you have it, christmas stamps, but not just for christmas! and that's it for the countdown, too - i'll probably pop back in with a bonus post tomorrow and then the stamps will be availiable tomorrow night - yay! but first, it's another group day for the design team - head over to nichole for all the details and links. melissa has a post up with her new set as well...

enjoy!
:) lexi

release day bonus ghosts!

today's the day - the full reveal this morning, new product available in the papertrey ink store tonight! as i mentioned yesterday, i still had a couple designs brewing in my head, so here they are. both are mash ups with previously released, non-halloween sets. first up, haunted borders with lizzie's love potion. this one was literally brewing! the result: haunted potions - watch out for that green ghost goo!

next, haunted borders plus comfort food. i scream, u scream, we all scream boo! i wonder what screaming ghost tastes like? or maybe it's boo-berry! it's been a whirlwind of stamping this week for me after being away from home for the week and a half before, but i made it and with lots of cards created, too! i'll have to post my usual roundup tomorrow or after the weekend, maybe. it's my birthday today, so i guess i should enjoy that first! anyway, thanks for stopping by all week - nichole's got all the scoop you need to make your list and the design team members are showing it all off, which may make you add to it! so much good stuff this month and it all goes live tonight at 10:00pm est. and don't forget, next saturday is stamp-a-faire! busy, busy, busy...

happy shopping!
:) lexi

way back wednesday :: bubbles & banners

how about another round of way back wednesday? this time, i decided to pull out photo album fun, a stamp set from my very first stampin' up! order. playing with this set was a little like wearing that random saved item of clothing that has made it back in style again. trends can be very cyclical - speech bubbles and banners are all over the place lately, yet this set is circa 1998! i've always had a thing for speech bubbles and often draw my own to custom fit various sentiments, both by hand and on the computer. i kind of forgot i had these! for my first card, i decided to build a rainbow with the different bubbles, adding in a pop of black and white with card stock and washi tape - clean and simple, light and bright. i esecially love that the words from comfort food additions are a perfect fit!

next up, i created a birthday card using the banner. like the main speech bubble above, it is fussy cut and popped up. where were the dies? lol! the trio of stars is also from the set. once again, i got stuck on black and white and rainbow all over. it's such a happy color story, perfect for congrats and birthdays. plus the six stars were just begging for roygbv!

and last, but not least, the front page news. the newspaper was actually the main reason i bought this set. i designed a birth announcment option with it while waiting for my first baby, but after having a girl, another design won out. i still love that little newspaper and how you can personalize the headline. again, i chose a few comfort food additions sentiments for a sweet congrats card, clustering the elements together to create a unified focal point. the cartoon sound effect bubble is a fun way to add a pop of color, while the chevron washi arrow points us in the right direction. chances are you have a few bubbles and banners in your collection, so go have fun! if not, a quick search will turn up several options...

happy stamping!
:) lexi

comfort food additions in review

so i made it back. just not until after midnight! it's been a busy day. teaching, creating proofs, dealing with a dead printer, manis & pedis for a 6th grade dance, etc. but i found a few minutes here and there to take a look at the design team projects. as usual, they blew me away...

ashley - warm winter wishes. love the cut out heart, the bowl, the colors!

betsy - wow!! total corny love!!! awesome animated comfort food, let's get together! i also found myself singing "let's all go to concessions..."

cristina - from our house to yours. comfort food additions + houses from spring hills and winter hills. clean and simple and perfect!!

danielle - ice cream party - love the brightly colored bowls full of brightly colored ice cream!!

dawn - let's celebrate birthday card - love how she used the sunrise impressions 1 plate!!

erin - i scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream - total rainbow ice cream love!! and the banners are perfect, too!

heather - i scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream - and a ticket to the country fair!

jessica - congratulations from our house to yours - love her take on the iconic pyrex bowl!!

maile - we all scream for this stack of ice cream pints - love this clean and simple design!

melissa - hooray! let's celebrate! with all those perfect melissa touches!!

and we can't forget nichole's chalkboard card earlier this week!!

it's so much fun to see my stamps in action. especially this time around, with a new take on my personal favorite set. they definitely took comfort food out of the comfort zone and into the party!! now it's your turn the join the fun. the shelves at papertreyink.com have been stocked. comfort food additions mini stamp set, along with the rest of the march line up, is ready and waiting to be added to your cart. i'm surprised at how many cards i created up there - do you have a favorite? you can also see them together with all of the design team projects in one spot on my pinterest board which i add to whenever i create something new. i hope we've inspired you to create lots, too!

happy stamping...
:) lexi

bonus bokeh

the countdown is complete! today is release day and that means that comfort food additions will be available for purchase from papertrey ink at 10:00 pm est along with the rest of the march release line up. but first, i have one more card to share - and there's not a pint of ice cream in sight! like a couple of the rainbow cards on tuesday, i combined two new sentiments as my focal point to create a more sophisticated card. the yellow chevron washi tape "arrow" points right to the sentiment and "bokeh dots" in yellow, teal, and gray add color and interest. i think i might have to use this design for a few graduation cards this year - i can even match school colors!

thanks for stopping by today and for the comments throughout the countdown! of course, the fun's not over yet. the release day party is underway on nichole's blog - full product previews, links to the design team's release day posts, and a contest! and then shopping later tonight...

have fun & good luck!
:) lexi

i scream, you scream...

we all scream for ice cream! so ice cream it is for day five of the papertrey ink march countdown. i have two cards today, both created with the same color scheme - my go-to ice cream colors of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, plus the added pop of teal. a lot of times, i sit down to stamp and start playing with things to see where i'll end up. other times, i know exactly what i want to make. these two cards had been slowly coming together in my brain as i worked on the other designs, so i was particulary excited to make them a reality...

the more i stamped the sentiments on other projects, the more i kept thinking of this card or something like it. it features 6 of the 12 stamps in the mini set! after testing out a couple of layouts, i settled on creating a banner. i used all of the colors on the ice cream carton, and then repeated them with the other elements for a balanced, colorful look. the card fits in a standard 6-3/4 envelope. it doesn't work for every design, but i really like the narrower proportions of this size. and the banner fit perfectly! sweet! hooray! i did it! let's celebrate!

like the banner card, this design kept calling out to me, too. as soon as i settled on the color scheme for that one, i knew it had to be the same here! the ice cream carton was perfect as is, so i just copied what i did first, and then using trajan monogram, i stamped the letters of "surprise" with the same colors. notice that i swapped out a lighter brown for the p, which helped soften the pattern and makes it look a little more spontaneous - it was too short a word to be completely random. while the first card uses many sentiments, this one uses only one. a partial one at that! i selectively inked it to leave off the "for." when i designed the set, i was torn about whether to have it separate or not. finally i decided that it's more trouble to line up the smaller words perfecly, than it is to selectively ink the shorter phrase on the edge of your stamp pad, which is exactly what i did here. doesn't the spoon make a great exclamation point? and the sequins definitely add just the right bit of a festive flair, the perfect finishing touch! i scream, you scream, we all scream surprise!

well, we made it. tomorrow's the day! comfort food additions mini set will be available for purchase at papertreyink.com - for $5 you get 12 new sentiments that coordinate with and give new meaning to my previously released comfort food. i believe i've shared all but two of them! while waiting, be sure to visit nichole's blog for another group post day and lots o' links - melissa is sharing with her new sets, too! i might be back with another card in the morning (we'll see how it goes!), but i'll definitely be back with my usual round up at some point later in the day...

get your lists ready!
:) lexi

wednesday, zooop!

today is wednesday! do you know that song? with a focus on soup on this specific day of the week, i just couldn't resist! so, welcome back for day four as we count down to the papertrey ink march release, and a new pieces of confetti stamp set, comfort food additions. i've been serving up a lot of ice cream so far this week, and now it's time for a little soup. as winter tries to hang on and the temperature changes back and forth, you might find yourself needing a get well card. while most of the sentiments in the additions set focus on the ice cream carton and celebrating, i've also included a few with the soup in mind. this old milk phrase kept popping in my head when i was creating with the soup can in november and i think it's a perfect match. when you're sick and you can't eat much else, what do you eat? soup - it does a body good! i wanted to create a fun get well card, one with more springtime colors to carry us into the new season, so i turned to andy warhol's pop art for inspiration. the first one (above) started with a single warhol inspired soup can, then i added more color and patterns similar to his aesthetic to pull it all together. i even created a cute tissue box out of a scrap of cardstock, stamped all over with the mini daisy from baby face, with a little piece of real tissue sticking out of it!

of course i had to recreate a small grid of soup can art while i was at it. while i liked the look of stamping directly on colored cardstock for the first card, i wanted a softer, more translucent look. so for these, i stamped the wrong side of the stamp in four light colors first for a shadow or halo of color. then i stamped the can image right over those, all in vivid quirky color pairs to resemble warhol's work. not only would this be great for a get well card as planned, but the sentiment can easily be changed to happy birthday or hello, or anything really. i think i need to make several of these to have on hand!

and last but not least, how about a bouquet of flowers to brighten your day? i stamped yet another warhol inspired can and filled it up with a bouquet of flowers from green thumb, sticking with a bright and cheerful color scheme. the complete sentiment is warm winter wishes - since there are more spring days than winter here lately, i thought i'd selectively ink warm wishes (separately) and leave winter behind for now. isn't it great? when you're finished eating the soup, repurpose the can!

these were so much fun to create - i hope you've enjoyed them! as usual, i'll be back tomorrow with another serving of yummy cards. until then, don't forget to visit nichole's blog to see what's in the spotlight - it's group sharing day so there are lots of links to follow. and melissa is sharing more with her sets too!

see ya' tomorrow...
:) lexi

what's your flavor?

welcome back to day three of the papertrey ink march countdown and another peek at my soon to be released mini set, comfort food additions. today i decided to add a little flavor - ice cream flavors, that is! first up we have neapolitan. i stamped three carton diecuts with the colors shown, cut them up together so they matched and pieced the pieces i wanted back together - voila! a pint of neapolitan ice cream. a few elements from grunge me layered in matching colors behind the focal element provided just the right touch of cool, and really tied it all together. i scream, you scream, we all scream happy birthday!

how about a little mint chocolate chip? one of my personal favorite flavors! i created the bowl the same way i did when comfort food was released, using 2 bowl diecuts. i trimmed along the front rim of one, inked the back rim of the other, and stuck them together, sliding the ice cream circles and spoon in between the layers. the speckle stamp (still sitting on my desk from the first card!) was perfect for adding the chocolate chips, and a trio of leaves from beautiful blooms was a nice stand in for a sprig of mint. i scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream - congratulations!

and last, one of my daughter's old favorites, cotton candy! i thought it would be fun to create an ice cream cone for a change, so with a circle punch, snips, and the little dotted grid stamp from grunge me, i did just that. the speckle stamp came in handy again once again to create a mixed up pink & blue similar to the real thing. the end result is soft and sweet, great for a little one's birthday! i scream, you scream, we all scream hooray! happy birthday!

so what's your favorite flavor? while you're thinking it over, be sure to check out nichole's blog to see what's in the spotlight today - including the most fabulous comfort food + additions chalkboard card! melissa, danielle, dawn, heather, maile and melissa all have posts to share, too. thanks for stopping by and don't forget to c'mon back tomorrow...

:) lexi

we all scream hooray!

welcome back for day two of the countdown to the papertrey ink march release, and another look at my up and coming mini set, comfort food additions. i have an affinity for rainbow cards and have created many over the years. they're bright and cheery and always make me smile, so i thought it would be the perfect color scheme to scream "hooray!"

first up, i started with a rainbow of ice cream cartons from comfort food. i scream, you scream, we all scream hooray! i drew the speech bubble by hand to fit the new sentiment perfectly. i liked the extra bit of flair it gave over stamping it in line with the rest of sentiment, which had been my original plan. this card is larger than usual, sized to fit a #10 envelope, and would be perfect for the whole family or office to sign. hooray it's your birthday! hooray graduate! hooray on your promotion! one card, many occasions.

next, it's time to celebrate with a rainbow of hoorays! clear stamps make a design like this so easy to stamp. but a little tip is to lightly draw a line in pencil where you want the hoorays to line up, and erase it after stamping. to get consistent spacing between them, i simply lined up the top edge of the stamp in the same place in relation to the stamped image above it as i went along. i also had the let's celebrate! piece ready for proper spacing, but didn't stick it down until last so i could center the dotted line from faux ribbon in the opening after stamping the hoorays. the end result is bright and cheerful, clean and simple!

and last, but not least, a birthday card. more black and white with a splash of rainbow, this time in the form of buttons. i dug through my button jar for a variety of tiny buttons and discovered that they were just the right size to space out on the diagonal striped washi. the sentiment is adhered with foam tape to better match the height of the buttons, while the red mat adds an extra pop of color. hooray! hooray! happy birthday!

i hope you've enjoyed my trip over the rainbow. i feel like i should be eating skittles or have a pot of gold hidden here somewhere! don't forget to visit nichole's blog for more eye candy as usual - heather, ashley, dawn, maile, and melissa are all sharing too. have fun and i'll see you tomorrow...

:) lexi

more ice cream!

the countdown to the papertrey ink march release is officially underway and i'm excited to have a little something new to add to the pieces of confetti line up. when i designed comfort food, the original inspiration and purpose was for get well and hang in there type cards. but as i started to create with it, i wanted to use the images for other reasons, too. first and foremost, i had to finish the saying on the ice cream carton - i scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! so for my first look at the new sentiments, i thought i'd focus on just that. and we're screaming for chocolate ice cream specifically! stamp one of the included phrases, like happy birthday or you did it!, on the inside and this card would be great for a birthday or congratulations card - two happy occasions that easily call for ice cream. yum! if you haven't already, be sure to stop by nichole's blog to see what else is coming - betsy, erin, dawn, heather, maile, and melissa all have posts as well. and don't forget to come back tomorrow for take two...

enjoy!
:) lexi

sneak peekin'

it's time for another pieces of confetti stamp set - a mini set of new sentiments for my previously released comfort food! here's the little peek nichole posted today. and i'll be back for the countdown starting tomorrow...

hooray!
:) lexi

comfort food in review

today is the day! nichole has revealed full product previews of everything in the november papertrey ink release, including my new pieces of confetti stamp set, comfort food. the new goodies will be available for purchase tonight at 10:00 pm est 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 comfort food...

betsy - don't fret, dearie! she read my mind and raised the creativity bar when she stacked those bowls in bright colors!!

cristina - love the spoon background - especially how she used the back of the stamp!!

danielle - a bowl of button ice cream - so cute & clever!

dawn - mmmm...noodle soup, lol! such a cute tag detail, paired with tag sale #7. and i love the colors!

debbie - a gorgeous take on that classic can - i love the blue-green copic glow!

erin - a pint for two! i love her nod to the ice cream cone using the harlequin cover plate over the aida impression plate!

heather - a cozy bowl of soup paired with think big favorites #22 - just what the doctor ordered! and don't forget the one earlier this week using the bowl and spoon with her sentiment signs set - another perfect match!

maile - a heartwarming soup card that really pops!!

melissa - mother's homemade soup is truly delicious!! total vintage love, especially the bowl details from stitched sentiments!

of course we can't forget jessica's fabulous creations earlier this week! and ashley hinted at something to come next week for thanksgiving, so be sure to check back there.

it's so exciting to see what they've done with my little images! i'm amazed by the talent and all the different ideas they put together. plus, it sounds like they had as much fun creating with comfort food as i did. that's a lot of cards up there for five short days - release time is major stamping time and i love it! 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

thinking outside of the set

well, we've made it to day five of the countdown! tomorrow comfort food and the rest of the papertrey ink november line up will be fully unveiled and then, at 10:00 pm est, available to purchase - yay! but first, i have two more cards to share today. my goal was to think outside of the set, to use the images for cards other than the get well/feel better theme for which they were created...

ring, ring! - i feel like i need progresso cans here! paired with a little baker's twine and the two hello sentiments from heart-2-heart #4, the soup can makes a great can phone for a just saying hi card. i know i said i would give the red and white can a break, but it occured to me that if i embossed the image in white on red, i would have an even closer replica of the original - especially when i colored the heart circle with a gold paint pen. i love how it turned out! the yellow panel and yellow washi tape coordinate well with the gold seal and add just the right pop of color to the overall design. hello, hello!

here we go again with the chocolate ice cream! but this time, it's a birthday card and i've added a little mint to the mix. the little balloons from heart-2-heart #2 are the perfect way to dress up the ice cream carton for a party, along with a little bakers' twine to tie them on. i love touches like that! finally, i used both birthday sentiments from the set - today is all about you on the outside, happy birthday on the inside - to complete the sweet birthday treat. quick, easy & cute - gotta love that!

so, you have one more day of hopping around to the design team and other illustrators' blogs. be sure to head on over to nichole to see who's sharing - it's group post day with knit bits & purls! melissa has another look at her sets too. and please stop back by here from time to time. i'll post a release day round up around midday tomorrow and i have other projects ready in the wings. i'll definitely be posting more fun creations with this set.

see you soon!
:) lexi

pass the ice cream please...

it's day four of the papertrey ink november countdown and after all that soup yesterday, it's time for dessert! i keep finding myself gravitating toward brown, pink, and cream with the ice cream pint, so i decided not to fight it...

like the soup can yesterday, i had to open up the ice cream pint today. to do this i stamped the pint on one die cut and cut off the top, adhering that to a blank die cut that i trimmed in a curve to create the open carton. i inked the edge of the curve in pink to match and give definition. i wanted the top to be outlined in brown, so i stamped that on a small scrap and cut it out closely and colored with copics. using two die cuts for the carton provided the perfect opportunity to stick a spoon in it! a little washi tape was the perfect "table" for this late night snack.

again, like with the soup yesterday, i wanted multiple ice cream cartons in a row. three pints of chocolate ice cream definitely sounds like a cure to me! i stamped the three on a panel of white, using copics to color in all the white details with two shades of pink and a light caramel. this is such a yummy color scheme!

and finally, i put ice cream in the bowl - even though we tend to eat it right out of the carton! i created the bowl using two die cuts just like the open ice cream carton above, and filled it with two circles of pink card stock inked on the edges with pink ink, plus the spoon. i also accomplished what i thought about doing with the soup can yesterday - a background panel of repeating pints. the soft pink on cream is just the right touch behind the bowl. you know that they're there and important to the message of the card, but they're not in your face. with all that creamy softness i thought the white sentiment panel needed a little softening too, so i added a vellum overlay, which also framed the strip without obscuring the background too much. are you hungry for ice cream now?!

before you head off to the freezer, be sure to click on over to nichole, where she has the lineup of links for a group post of gorgeous "stitched" projects. melissa is sharing more with her sets, too. and don't forget to come back tomorrow for another fun serving of comfort food!

:) lexi

 

the classic soup can

hello and welcome to the papertrey ink november countdown day three! when you think of soup, it's hard not to think of the classic red and white can. so today, i have three clean and simple get well designs based on just that...


for the first card, i wanted to manipulate the soup can to make it look open. so when i inked it the first time on a die cut piece, i was very careful at the top to omit the inner circle of the lid. i used the pointed end of my ink pad, but the same can also be accomplished with a water based marker. then, i stamped it again on a small scrap just to get the lid, cutting that out closely, and assembling the two pieces together as shown. using a few of the sentiments, along with the bowl, steam, and spoon, plus the dotted line from faux ribbon, i created a collage around the can. this was a case of not knowing exactly where i wanted to end up, but totally loving the result!

unlike the first card, i pictured the next two in my head almost immediately. on this one, i wanted the cans to mimic how you see them on the shelves of the grocery store - in neat rows on top of each other. i still want to play with the idea of creating a full background on a card, but as you might know if you stop by here much, i'm a big fan of white space. plus i wanted these three cards to coordinate well with one another. so i decided to go with two simple rows, matted on black, with the feel better sentiment stamped above and to the right.

last, but definitely not least, i just had to create a pyramid of cans! this was another immediate vision, possibly from past experience in the grocery store or maybe a long lost commercial? i have to admit to fussy cutting these soup cans, as they ended up being a little off grid for my first attempt at the previous card - i didn't want to waste all those great cans! once i built my pyramid, i decided to bend the get well soon sentiment on my block to follow the curve of the top can. then i used a ruler and fine liner to draw the lines for added interest and balance, layering the finished panel onto a smokey shadow card base. don't you want to roll a ball at it?!

i hope you've enjoyed my classic takes on the soup can as much as i enjoyed creating them. now i need to challenge myself to move on from red for a bit! as always, be sure to click on over to nichole to see what else is in the spotlight today - plus maile, heather, melissa, and erin! and jessica, who is showcasing comfort food!! have fun and i'll see you tomorrow...

:) lexi

i scream, you scream...

welcome to day two of the papertrey ink november countdown and a second look at my new pieces of confetti stamp set. today's card showcases another iconic comfort food - a pint of ice cream. sure, soup's great when you're under the weather, but sometimes ice cream is the cure for what ails - two scoops, if not the whole pint! once again, i'm loving the dies - i've never minded fussy cutting, but the crisp and consistent edge of the die cuts is a nice plus. i had fun layering other die cuts to create the final layout, with a definite ice cream color scheme - i must be craving a little neopolitan! be sure to stop by nichole's blog to see more peeks - including a closer look at comfort food! heather, melissa, and erin all have countdown posts up too. and don't forget to come back tomorrow for yet another tasty sampling...

yum!
:) lexi