confetti by lexi

valentine, you're sweet!

good morning! welcome to day four of the papertrey ink december release countdown. today i have another project using fun lovin' plus a look at my new matchbook medley die collection! i'm so excited about this collection - i've been making matchbook treats and cards off and on for most of my stamping years. in fact, one of my make it mondays last january was all about making matchbook valentines! which is what inspired me to create the dies...

with the die collection, you can create a 3" x 4" matchbook. the main die cuts a piece that's 8-1/2" x 3" with all the score lines needed. (note: if you have a standard cutting plates, this might mean that the edges are right near the edges of the block, so it will work best to cut a piece that is already 8-1/2", lined up edge to edge so you don't have to worry about the edges not cutting because of the curve of the plates - it will already be the perfect length and the rest will cut just fine. if you have long plates, you can cut edge to edge.)

there are score lines for a gusset at the top of the matchbook if you want it to hold something with depth, but you can also just fold one of the lines and incorporate the other into your design for a flat matchbook. the die collections also includes a variety of dies for layers and trim to finish it off. 

a top layer, designed to mat flush to the edge of the cover so it tucks neatly into the flap.

and several options for covering the staples on the flap or adding decorative touches throughout. there is also a heart that can be used as a layer or window and a rectangle, perfect for smaller sentiments. 

the finished matchbook is just right for a bag of fun size m&m's or something of similar size - a tea bag, small notepaper (use the layer die!), stickers, etc. so many possibilities!

matchbook medley works perfectly with fun lovin' as shown here with the sweet ice cream cone from the set. add to and from on the back for your student to fill in and you have the perfect design for a set of homemade class valentines! (see how the trim is great for covering the staples on the back too?) of course, it's not just for valentines - how will you decorate it and what will you put inside?! be sure to visit the papertrey ink blog for more inspiration - design team members are playing with both of these today too!

until tomorrow...
:) lexi

 

stamp it!

introducing fun lovin'

hi! welcome to day three of the papertrey ink december release countdown and a first look at the second of my two new pieces of confetti stamp sets this month: fun lovin'! in addition to get well wishes, this release is also all about love and hearts. and also fun love puns - at least that's what valentines means to me! with that in mind, i created a new valentine set around a few such "punny" sentiments built right into the images they represent.

today i'm featuring one my favorite images in the set - hey, hot stuff - inspired by my hot sauce lovin' husband! i decided to flash back to my pantone match inspired make it monday for this design, creating a red hot pantone card to match my bottle, completing the phrase with will you be mine? (also from the set) below the color where the pantone color name would be.

the green bottle top is a nod to the green wrapping around the neck of a tabasco bottle, providing just the right pop of color. i finished off the focal cluster with a few hearts around the neck of the bottle and adhered it all to a 4 bar pink card base. if there's only one time a year when you can give a guy a pink card, valentine's is it!

and since i made a couple of bottles while working on the pantone card, i couldn't resist a second design. this one even quicker than the first thanks to betsy's fabulous mix & mat hearts. i used the main frame and arrows together in white on smokey shadow to keep the overall look a little more masculine, while still featuring the prerequisite hearts. like pink, hearts are a valentine must!

not only does the red pop against the black and white background, but the resulting frame layer perfectly showcases the simple bottle of hot sauce and sentiment. the end result is just the right mix of frilly and fun! hey, hot stuff - xoxo!

puns are perfect for fun lovin' valentines of all ages! i know i'm always a sucker for them! sorry for the posting delay today - we can thank typepad for that. hopefully they've got it under control now. i'm sure you've already been to the papertrey ink blog - as always, that's where all the pretty links are! and of course, typepad willing, i'll be back in the morning...

xoxo,
:) lexi

 

stamp it!

introducing sunshine & honey

good morning! welcome to the papertrey ink december release countdown and a first look at one of my two new pieces of confetti stamp sets this month: sunshine & honey! it's that time of the year when cloudy days and colds are more prevalent, and what would be a better cure than something bright and sunny and sweet like honey? the set includes a variety of fun images and sentiments for the perfect get well card or gift. first up (and probably my favorite!) is the honey bear bottle.

to get a bit a contrast between the cap and the honey, i stamped the bottle image twice in bright buttercup, and then again in summer sunrise, this time omitting the cap. the extra layer of a darker yellow really brings the bottle to life, the perfect shade of honey. to finish off the bottle, the set includes a few different options and combinations of words and images for the label. i chose bee well wishes and the bee to go with my overall get well theme.

pair it with a bright buttercup sun, and one of the title phrases and you will surely brighten someone's day, especially if you add it to a basket of sunshine - a real honey bear bottle, lemon tea, yellow candies, etc. how fun would that be? full disclosure: yellow is my favorite! but i also added a die cut line of hugs and kisses (more about that die later!) from pure poppy cardstock to ground the bottle and add a pop of red. because a pop is always a good thing!

sunshine and honey and lots of hugs, something sweet to cure the ughs! if i was under the weather, this would definitely make me smile! well, that's it for me today, but there's so much more to see - all starting on the new papertrey ink blog, so if you haven't stopped by there yet, be sure to go and follow the links! and then tomorrow, let's do it all again...

happy stamping!
:) lexi

 

stamp it! (all new product will be available on december 15)

one more bonus post!

hello! the papertrey ink june release, including my new set hello mother, hello father is now available for purchase! i have one more quick card to share, another "tiny pantone match" inspired one, like the yellow tent card earlier in the week. i had originally started with this blue color chip and ended up switching to the yellow because of the sunshine sentiment, but couldn't throw this one away when i was cleaning my desk - all it needed was a mostly blue boat and oar! this time i decided to switch things up and chose an orange gingham card base from my bottomless stash rather than the gray dots. i really like the way blue pops on orange. hello summer!

here's a look at the complete set. a fill in the blank letter body along with several images to decorate camp stationery and postcards. plus, they're great for creating fun summer cards on their own as well. i hope you've enjoyed my projects as much as i enjoyed creating them! it's hard to pick a favorite, but i think i'm kind of partial to the camp postcards and the two pantone match inspired ones, especially the yellow tent because #yellowismyfavorite! the color blocked one was right up my alley too, lol! see, so hard to choose. as usual, i've created a pinterest board dedicated to the set. let me know if you create something - i'd love to add it too...

happy stamping!
:) lexi

 

make it:

LinkDeli.com

hello mother camp trifold

good morning! we've made it to day five of the papertrey ink june countdown to new stamps and i have one more look at hello mother, hello father for you. today, i decided to create another take on the original focus of the set, mail from camp. ease of use is always a good idea for younger campers, so i thought it would be fun to create a trifold all-in-one card. like a postcard, there's no envelope necessary, but this one folds in on itself, covering the contents. 

the center panel (and thus the folded size) is 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" - just the right size to fit the fill-in-the-blank letter with room for design elements on each side. textile impressions has lots of options for adding those and other fun details throughout. i went with lemon tart cardstock rather than white because it's less see through after stamping and writing on it and it will stand out when it arrives in the mail. plus i love the look of color on color stamping.

the trifold design left room for a framed out section on the bottom fold-up flap for the camper to add a few more personal details or draw a picture, depending on her age or fancy. that way, the card can be a mix of information rather than just the fill-in-the-blank. i really wanted the design to be colorful and fun since this is kid's stationery, so i really went for it! i imagine a complete set to include the same stamped color scheme and layout on different coordinating light shades of cardstock. 

i also carried the color and design to the other side as well, so that the card was as cute on the outside as on the inside. the front features lines ready and waiting for both the address and the return address plus a couple of oars, while the back features corner details on the flap and a line element for additional color along the bottom edge. the finishing touch is a coordinating sun sticker to close it up before mailing. it would also be fun to further personalize a set of these by adding the camp name to the line "from camp" or changing "camp" to the camper's name. either way, it will be happy mail for sure!! from camp stationery to summertime fun, i hope you've enjoyed my projects this week! remember hello mother, hello father will be available tomorrow at 10:00 pm et, along with everything else featured over the last few days. stay tuned to nichole's blog as usual for all the good scoop...

thanks for stopping by!
:) lexi

 

make it:
(hello mother, hello father; keep it simple: happy mail; and textile impressions will be available on june 15!)

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hello sunshine, happy summer!

good morning! it's day four of the papertrey ink june countdown and i'm back with another look at hello mother, hello father, available june 15. today, i have two more general summer time cards using images from the set. of course, you can send them to your favorite camper, but like yesterday's they can be sent to anyone who loves a good campy summer theme.

first up, i created a happy summer stack of boats. i take a variation of this picture pretty much every time i go to the beach, so i thought it would be fun to recreate it with stamps. the stacks are usually lots of yellows, some faded and worn, with at least one pop of red. yellow is my favorite, but there's something about that pop of red! to create the stack, i stamped from the bottom up, masking each boat as i stamped the next, fussy cutting the stack when i finished coloring. to ground them, i stamped the line detail image from textile impressions as a nod to beach grass, and since i usually take said pictures when i'm heading in for the day, i added a setting sun. the sentiment and the oar finish off the focal cluster perfectly - happy summer!

next up, i created a card based on a layout idea that's been in my head for a while - completely inspired by an instagram account i follow, @tinypmsmatch which matches small everyday objects to their pantone color card. from the objects to the mini pantone color cards to the gray dots, it's clean and simple and graphic and fun - so much to love! so starting with my favorite color and the phrase hello sunshine (in the perfect font!), i created a mini papertrey pantone card and added a tent and sun as my tiny objects on top, colored with copics to match. the line of dots from textile impressions was perfect for creating the gray dot background to match my inspiration, the finishing touch - hello sunshine! that's it for today, but stop by tomorrow for one more countdown project and if you haven't already, head over to nichole's blog to get all the scoop.

happy summer!
:) lexi

 

make it:
(hello mother, hello father and textile impressions will be available on june 15!)

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happy campy summer!

hello! welcome back to day three of the papertrey ink june countdown to new stamps! today i wanted to share a card that is a little less about camp and more about summer in general, so i came up with a happy summer design with a focus on the individual images and pops of summer color. a color blocked card like this takes a little planning and measuring to get the blocks right, but i always love the outcome. 

first, i stamp the images on scrap paper in a stacked, puzzle pieced kind of way to figure out how to block them - this works well on my grid pad, so i can pay attention to the space around the images and the sizes of blocks i'll need to cut. once i have the puzzle figured out, i search through my scraps for the right colors - in this case, a fun, summer palette. i wanted the colors to really shine on this design, so i stamped my images in slightly darker shades of the same color as the paper, coloring them in with slightly lighter shades of copics to make them pop just a bit. clean and simple stamping and lots of color make me a happy camper - pun intended! as always, you can get all of today's scoop on nichole's blog and then head back here tomorrow for another look at hello mother, hello father...

see you then!
:) lexi

 

make it:
(hello mother, hello father will be available on june 15!)

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happy mail postcards

good morning! welcome back for day two of the june countdown to new papertrey ink stamps and another look at my new stamp set - hello mother, hello father - available june 15. today, i've created a set of camp postcards. no envelopes necessary for easy posting from camp!

the postcards are 4-1/4" x 6" following the usps specs on the maximum size to be used with a standard postcard stamp. and to minimize possible postal machine issues with layering, i stamped my scenes on text weight kraft paper and adhered them with edge to edge spray adhesive. this way, my stamping doesn't show through to the letter side or vice versa when writing is added, and it doesn't add much weight or depth difference.

for each of the three designs i used images from hello mother, hello father and textile impressions (also new!) with stencils created from scene it: skyscapes dies, along with sentiments from keep it simple: happy mail (you guessed it: new!) and pencilgrams (to add "from camp"). following the same formula to create a cohesive set of cards, i stamped the words on two lines in pine feather and dark chocolate, building a camp scene above. for the canoe design, i used the zig zag textile element to create water and on both the tent and fire designs, i used a different textile element on either side of the sentiment.

after stamping and masking the camp images, i cut the various skyscapes in acetate to create (reusable!) stencils with which to ink the backgrounds in layers. i also used post it tape to mask off straight lines where necessary, grounding my scenes above the sentiment. once the backgrounds were inked, i took off the masks and colored the images in with colored pencils, blending them with a colored pencil blender pen to give a smooth inked look.

the combination of coloring, masking, and ink blending really gives an illusion of depth on the flat card. the starry night sky was a little more challenging than the others in that i wanted light stars on a dark sky and it would be pretty difficult to mask all those stars. the solution was to ink the full circle in blue and then ink the star layer in white ink right on top, resulting in pretty light blue stars.

to complement the somewhat rustic look of the kraft paper, i stamped the letter text in dark chocolate on the back side, close to the left edge. on the right, i added four lines for the address using moments inked: posted, also in dark chocolate, masking off the right edge to get the perfect length and margin. to divide the two sides, i stamped the zig zag line from textile impressions in classic kraft. i see myself using this stamp a lot!

and there you have it - a little more involved than yesterday, but still so campy and fun! if you're making a set of postcards for an older camper, you can simply leave off the letter text in favor of space for the camper to write on his or her own. make a few of each and look forward to them coming back to you! or make them to send to your camper, taking off or changing the "from camp" part of the sentiment. hmmm, i may have to do that one myself when my girls head out next week. but first, more ideas tomorrow! until then, be sure to check out all there is to see today on nichole's blog...

enjoy!
:) lexi

 

make it:
(hello mother, hello father; keep it simple: happy mail; and textile impressions will be available on june 15!)

InLinkz.com

hello mother, hello father...

hello! welcome to day one of the papertrey ink countdown to the june release, and a new pieces of confetti stamp set, available on june 15. as if printing camp stationery all day every day isn't enough, now i'm stamping it too!! i began designing camp stationery when my girls started going to camp, and after their first letters of not so much information, i added fill-in-the-blank designs to my offerings, which continue to be among my most ordered items ten years later. because of their popularity, i thought it would be fun to create a stamp set along the same lines for my fellow stampers and other diy-ers who have camp kids and friends.

the set includes a fill-in-the-blank letter that hits the basic highlights of the camper's day, plus a few line drawn camp images. for today's designs, i wanted to use the stamps in their most straightforward form and create a set of simple camp stationery. i stamped the letter on several quarter cuts of white cardstock (thanks, mini misti for making that go quickly!) and drew a frame around the edges, before adding small camp scenes and coloring them in with colored pencils.

i chose a color scheme to coordinate with a few brightly colored envelopes i found in my stash for a fun overall look. what camper wouldn't love to send such cheerful, happy mail to family and friends?! frame border tip: cut a piece of cardstock to 4" x 5-1/4" and center it on the card base to trace around - one easy step with no extra measuring! i did this after stamping the text, but before stamping the scenes. the line not only finishes the edges but also helps ground the images.

speaking of the images, i really wanted them to have a true children's coloring book quality to them, so i left them very open and simply drawn, so that the resulting projects have a look that appeals to the kids who will use them. this also makes for quick and easy coloring that even they can do with ease. a camper who helps to create his or her own stationery may be more likely to use it!

or if you're making a set as a gift, you can leave them black and white and include a small set of colored pencils to take to camp with them. colorful envelopes can still add the bright and cheerful element to the card set and inspire the colors the camper chooses to finish them. a rest time spent on quick writing and fun coloring will surely make the day of the recipient who is missing their camper at home. i know i always love happy camper mail days!! that's it for my intro today - head on over tomorrow to see what else i come up with. until then, nichole's blog is the place to be...

happy saturday!
:) lexi

 

make it:
(hello mother, hello father will be available on june 15!)

InLinkz.com

alphabet soup - literally!

today's the day and i couldn't resist coming back for a release day bonus post! new stamps and goodies, including alphabet soup, will be available for purchase on papertreyink.com at 10:00 pm eastern time. but first, i've been dreaming of an alphabet soup/comfort food soup can mash up all week. mostly because this little tester can has been sitting on my desk since before stamp-a-faire - actually there are several more, but this one got the job today. i decided on a high contrast black and white background on the card base and simply layered the prepared andy warhol can on harvest gold cardstock and popped it up on foam tape. meta pop art!

and with black and white still on the brain, i whipped up one more clean and simple creation. i just love this stamp in black and white - it's so crisp and graphic and fun. i adhered it to a soft stone card base for a little color contrast and added a sentiment strip created with red embossing dymo tape. you're just my type! (yes, i do love a good pun!) and there you have it - for real this time! thank you so much for stopping by and leaving sweet comments - it's always makes my day! and hopefully i've helped you see how much you really need this fun stamp...

as always on release day, nichole has the full august product preview along with the design team's release in review (and contest!) on her blog. i can't wait to see what amazing things they've created. they're so good at making me want it all...

happy shopping!
:) lexi

 

supplies used ~ alphabet soup (available tonight!!)

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alphabet wall art

good morning! we've made it to day five of the papertrey ink august countdown to new stamps and one more look at my new background stamp, alphabet soup. today, i'm going big - instead of cards, i've put together two examples of personalized wall art.

i love personalized items in kids rooms - letters, monograms, framed birth announcements, etc. by isolating a single letter, the alphabet soup image would be perfect for just that sort of artwork. i knew right away that i wanted to create this with secret agent. the idea of "highlighting" the letter both with color and the magnifying glass was so fun and i couldn't wait to make it happen!

like several other projects this week, i isolated the j to ink and stamp in orange zest. unlike those, i then masked it to ink and stamp the rest of the image in blueberry sky. i continued the orange and blue theme over to secret agent himself, adding in the blue details by fussy cutting and paper piecing those pieces right over the orange layer. i chose smokey shadow as my "black" for a bit more of a soft look. and i included acetate on the magnifying glass - of course!

next, i had to challenge myself to create a girl version. i wasn't sure what i was going to create around until i remembered super succulents. my girls are so into succulents! once again, i isolated and masked to get the c in green (for colleen!), while stamping the rest of the letters in pink.

using the various die cuts and stamps in the set, i created a hanging garden and hung it from the alphabet panel. because the focal image is smaller, i decided to go with a busier leafy background layer in soft stone. it's a little like wallpaper and it's the perfect backdrop to the plants! big sis mignon was a little annoyed that i didn't highlight the m. and i have to say i agree, but i'm thinking i should have done L!

well, that's a wrap from me officially. although i may have to post again tomorrow - so many ideas, so little time! definitely check back. until then, be sure to head over to nichole's blog for the daily scoop and links. and then start finalizing your list for when everything goes live on papertreyink.com tomorrow night...

is your wallet ready?!
:) lexi

 

supplies used ~ alphabet soup (available august 15th)

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hi, friend!

happy saturday & welcome to day four of the papertrey ink august release countdown and another round of cards using alphabet soup. today is all about isolating individual letters on the background stamp. while the stamp is so much fun on it's own, there might be letters - or words! - that you want to use separately. although completely unplanned when i designed this image, the word "hi" popped right out to me and demanded attention...

using the same technique from the baby shower invites, i isolated the letters h and i together using post-it tape and stamped them in black. the letters are puzzle pieced together with no touching or overlapping, so isolating them is actually pretty easy. then i stamped the full stamp in versamark, right over the black letters as well, and embossed with clear embossing powder. a mini star sequin to dot the i finishes the sentiment off perfectly.

from there, it was clean and simple all the way! i trimmed out the alphabet soup image and cut a strip of patterned paper in the same length to fill the leftover space. then i added them color block style to my card front with foam tape for added depth and interest. i'm really loving the alphabet with tone on tone embossing - i definitely keep going back to my embossing powders this week, which is rare!!

next up, another clean and simple design. this time, i isolated and stamped "hi" without the rest of the alphabet, positioned toward the lower right corner of a 4 bar sized card.

i finished off the sentiment with the word friend from colorful words and dotted my i with an enamel dot, in limeade ice and turquoise respectively, to coordinate with the strip of patterned paper i added off to the side. a die cut arrow was the perfect addition - i love how the black and white dots play off of the colorful chevron!

and last, a monogrammed notecard with my own initials. i simply isolated the L and stamped it in bright buttercup and then isolated the D and stamped it in hawaiian shores, offset and slightly overlapping. after trimming it out, i layered it on black and added the complete focal piece to a soft stone 4 bar note card over a strip of dots from comic strip paper collection. super easy - and monogram notes make great gifts! there are so many fun fonts on this stamp - i'm considering cutting apart a second one to have all the letters individually as well.

once again, that's all i've got, but i'll be back again tomorrow! don't forget to check out today's official scoop and links on nichole's blog - it's all about halloween and the design team is killing it as usual!!

enjoy!
:) lexi

 

supplies used ~ alphabet soup (available august 15th)

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brides & babies part two

hello! it's halfway day in the countdown to papertrey ink's new august stamps and my third day of projects with my new background stamp, alphabet soup. i thought i'd follow up yesterday's invitation post with a couple of cards for the same occasions. first up, a fairly simple wedding or love card. i stamped alphabet soup in versamark on soft stone cardstock and embossed it in a satin pearl embossing powder (it was take one of the invite yesterday and i thought i grabbed white! #saveallmistakes) 

i trimmed it to 4-1/2 x 3 which falls just at or inside the image edge - the perfect front layer panel for a smaller 4 bar notecard. in keeping with the graphic typography theme, i added a big silver chipboard ampersand and finished it off with a heart stamped on a punched circle. the circle felt out of place flat, so i dug around in the bottomless studio and found an ancient page pebble that did the trick just fine. for now, i've left the card blank inside, but i think it would be perfect for a wedding with "congratulations mr. & mrs." or for valentine's day with "i love you & me" - an extension of the ampersand fun!

next, i turned to babies again, with a rainbow pastel typography card. to create the rainbow background i stamped the image twice, isolating rows to stamp them in different colors. i used a simple lightweight piece of gridpaper for my mask - the stamp is sticky enough for it to stick to the areas i don't want to ink while i inked up the ones i wanted. once again, misti helped. first i covered the middle row and stamped the pink and yellow, then i cleaned and covered those and stamped the orange. then i moved my stamp (usually i move the paper, but i had it nestled into the corner and it was better to keep it there) and repeated the same steps with green and purple, and finally blue.

don't you love all that color?! to mix up a little, i fit the panel to the card at an angle and trimmed the edges away. i added a sentiment strip (b is for baby in keeping with the alphabet theme!) straight across the card, careful not to cover too much of one color and finished it off with a silver rattled die cut tied with a black and white bakers' twine bow. i chose to stick with black and white, keeping these add-on elements simple so that they could pop against the color. plus the color needs to shine the most!

so that's my two cents for the day - i'll be back again tomorrow! as always, be sure you read all the scoop and click all the links on nichole's blog. there's so much good stuff coming this month and so much eye candy to see on the way. today is all about thanksgiving inspiration. remember all new stamps will be available on august 15th...

stamp, post, repeat!
:) lexi

 

supplies used ~ alphabet soup (available august 15th)

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alphabet soup showers

welcome back to day two of the papertrey ink august countdown to new stamps and my second post using my new background stamp, alphabet soup. this set came to life first as a printed invite for a customer who was hosting an alphabet bridal shower. each guest gets a different letter that should guide their gift purchase. fun idea, right?! so i thought i'd share a couple of stamped versions of the original printed one (click to see it on instagram).

first up, the same basic invite in soft stone and white. i printed the invite wording in a warm gray on a half sheet of soft stone cardstock leaving room to stamp alphabet soup in versamark above which i then embossed in white. after trimming about 1/8 of an inch off of each side, i backed it with a half sheet of fresh snow linen cardstock to add a little more texture and pop.

like the original, i tied on a large silver letter (adhesive chipboard from michael's), hanging over the stamped image and secured with a little washi tape on the back. not only is this how the guests know what letter to shop for, but they are asked to detach the letter and include it on their gift. (we also created an alphabet garland out of these same letters - i love coordinated party details!)

with the gift in mind, i decided to create a gift tag next. i started by spreading pearlescent embossing paste over a quarter sheet of cardstock, coated my stamp in versamark, and stamped it in, peeling it away carefully. once it was dry i trimmed around the image and cut it into two tags, adding a hole to tie on another big silver letter balanced by a sentiment strip near the bottom. while i created this to coordinate with the invitation, it could easily be a monogrammed stand alone gift tag for any occasion!

when i was originally researching the wedding shower alphabet theme, i found that there were way more baby alphabet shower ideas out there. it's definitely a fitting theme for babies, too! so i decided to create a couple of those with the new stamp as well. this time, instead of adding a letter to be removed, i've highlighted the assigned letter in the same color as the invite and changed the note at the bottom to reflect that - plus a few other words too. pink or blue, a baby's due!

i simply isolated the letter i wanted to feature using post-it tape and inked it up in the color of choice. then after stamping and cleaning it off, i inked up the whole stamp in versamark and embossed it all in clear - right over the colored image (misti helped!).

the result is a tone on tone image, with one letter in color, all shiny and pretty. because you ink the individual letter in dye ink first, and ink over it again all at once in versamark with the rest of the letters, it's not really that many steps. i suppose it's a little more time intensive if you're having a big crowd, but totally cute and worth the effort. i wish i had time to do a full alphabet for you today!

the only bad news really is that cards in these pale and pastel colors are so hard to photograph - especially when it's dark and rainy all day! none of these pictures truly do these invites justice, but hopefully you get the idea. i love seeing graphics i create for invites turned into stamps - it's so much fun to incorporate different stamping techniques on invitations!

that's all for today - more tomorrow! but first be sure to click all the links on nichole's blog for new eye candy every day! remember: all new product will be available on august 15th from papertreyink.com...

you're invited!
:) lexi

 

supplies used ~ alphabet soup (available august 15th)

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introducing alphabet soup!

good morning! welcome to day one of the papertrey ink august countdown to new stamps and a new pieces of confetti offering. introducing alphabet soup, an alphabet background block. i love a good background stamp and this one will be so fun for a variety of occasions. first up, with school (so sadly) looming, i have a couple of teacher cards... 

the size of the background block is such that it can also be used as a focal point on a standard A2 card, with the full image showing - or in the case of this card, i guess you might call it a focal background. there's room for the image to have a little white space on all sides, plus a little extra at the bottom to fit a sentiment without covering it up much if you stamp it towards the top like i did. and wouldn't you know it? i created a sentiment strip (white embossed on true black) to ground the coffee and apple for teacher. ha! (aka: have you played make it monday yet?!) 

one idea often leads to another. and after stamping alphabet soup directly on the card above, i wanted to create a layer with it. not surprisingly, chalkboard art came to mind! i stamped it in versamark ink on smokey shadow cardstock, embossed in white and then stamped it again in white slightly offset from the first image. then i smudged a little extra white ink to chalk it up a bit and trimmed it out. like the first card, i placed it toward the top of my card, using it as a focal background more than a simple background. no sentiment strip this time - instead i stamped it in pure poppy off to the left to balance the apple, which is popped up on foam tape with the coffee cup. i wanted a little extra pop of green as well, so i created a straw for my cup this time using new leaf ink to coordinate with the leaf on the apple. i simply masked off a skinny rectangle on a scrap of white cardstock with post-its and used an ink blender to color it in, so i could cut it out with a white border to coordinate with the rest of the image. add a pocket to the inside of these for a coffee shop gift card and you've got a great back to school treat or thank you for teacher!

that's all for today, but i'll be back tomorrow. until then, be sure to head over to nichole's blog for more scoop and design team links - laurie's showcasing alphabet soup as well! and remember, all new product will be available from papertreyink.com on august 15th...

happy countdown!
:) lexi

 

supplies used ~ alphabet soup (available august 15th)

InLinkz.com

sneak peekin'

hello stamping friends! here's a little peek nichole posted of my latest pieces of confetti stamp set, actually a background stamp. i'll be sharing countdown projects here for the next few days - all new products will available on the fifteenth...

abc-ya tomorrow!
:) lexi

superheroes galore!

good morning! the countdown to the papertrey ink march release is underway, and while i don't have new product this month, i am thrilled to be joining in to show off betsy's new dress up dolls: superhero set. i just couldn't wait to get my hands on it and do a mash up with my own superhero and zappy birthday products. talk about a perfect match! if nothing else, the comic strip paper collection is definitely a must have for creating a cool comic book look, like on the birthday card above. of course, the sentiments and sound bubbles from zappy birthday are super fun, too! and if you want to create comic strips in other colors, the cover plate: comic strip will help you do the trick. before i move on, don't you just love the headband and top bust detail to make the superhero more girly? little things like that are the best!

speaking of super fun, i had this instant vision of a flip card. a clark kent flip to superman - what could be better than that?! it took a while, but the payoff was so much fun. above, i give you clark on the outside using dress up dolls: basics. all business in his glasses, with two of the more simple comic strip patterns paired with a grid paper from pencil me in paper collection. i even doodled a tie on his t-shirt!

and then, bam! when you pull the blue edge open, the card flips to superman. you still see the papers from the outside, but i've added in both red and yellow for a more complete colorful comic book feel along with the sentiments that were hidden behind. super!

here's another look at the closed front without the envelope behind it. it's been a while since i've made one of these. i didn't have the right sized die to create the flip layer the die cut way. but with my new silhouette, i was able to create a perfectly cut card base.

i really wanted the finished card to be the standard 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 and have an open channel around the flip layer, neither of which i could find in my quick search for measurements and templates. but with a few scrap attempts and a little math, i figured out how to do both. it's so much fun to open and close - i feel the need to say "bam!" every time too, haha!

last, but not least, i have a birthday invitation. way back in the day, i created a birthday invitation with sizzix paper dolls to resemble my daughter and her american girl doll. (actually, we played with those paper dolls a lot!) having these new ones reminded me of that, so a superhero bday invite had to happen! i print many complete invitations, but even when i'm stamping one, i like to print the wording - i love rhymes and tying the look together with a fun font. this flat invite is 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 - again a typical invite size i work with and a good size for adding in the dress up doll and other details here specifically. i used the filled in comic strip patterned paper as my guide, and cut pieces of coordinating one color patterns to recreate the comic strip on a larger scale. i started with small scraps that i had on hand, and then measured here and there to perfect it and fit the pieces into place. i decked out my superhero, and added a strip of skyline and a few sound effects. the phone from heart-2-heart #4 was turned into a special super hotline with the tiny suit lightning bolt from the superhero doll set - i love those little details!! finally, the words were printed, fussy cut and popped up into place. now, i need a kid who wants a superhero party!! so that's it for now. i'm sure i'll be playing with these dolls plenty more. they're addictive! in fact, i had an idea while working on these that i just have to make happen today. but first, this is a group post day i can't miss - links and more on nichole's blog...

have a super day!
:) lexi

edited to add: the silhouette cut file and a pdf template for the flip card have been posted - click here!

new moments inked

stamps, dies, and pages, oh my! anniversary month wouldn’t be complete without fun new goodies for our moments inked planners, right?! and that’s exactly what we’re getting with everyday symbols, posted ii, binder listed, and perpetual daily pages. i was especially excited about binder listed to create new perfect fit page markers. and lines and numbers for the large white post it - yay! plus fun new symbols that are oh so cute. i'm so excited to show you how it’s all fitting right in...

as i mentioned above, i was very excited about the new binder listed die. i like being able to quickly flip to the month or week in progress and this is perfect for that, extending just above the length of the page.

the die is the same as last year's tabbed list die, but with binder holes in place of the spiral ones. it includes the same label cut out and will work perfectly with the listed stamp set for making all kinds of list inserts. i specifically wanted place markers for "this month" and "this week" so i cut two from different sheer basics vellum patterns and opted to use words from the remembered stamp set with a smaller "this" from clip tips on luxe gold adhesive labels to coordinate with the binder's gold details.

i laminated these twice for durability and snipped the edge to the hole so that i can snap them in and out, kind of like how the spiral bound die cuts work. although opening the binder isn't that big of a deal, i will be moving them often, and this will make it easier to do so more quickly.

next up, i couldn't wait to stamp a few 3" x 6" white post-its with the new longer posted ii - color coordinated of course! this new posted set has a title box and fifteen lines to stamp at once, plus numbers to number them and new titles too. it was a breeze to stamp a small stack of these - once for the lines in raspberry fizz, and again with both the title and numbers together in simply chartreuse. remember the color names are right in the front of the planner for reference! also, the note page die from the binder page die collection released last month is a perfect dashboard for these. like the binder listed page markers, i cut the note page from patterned vellum and laminated it twice. i love coordination and a perfect fit!

moving on, the most fun product this month has to be everyday symbols. i love icons, so this set was made for me! you have to have words in a planner - there's no getting around that. but i like little pictures to break things up here and there, especially for quick visual reminders of things that just don't need to be written over and over. stamping directly on the planner pages makes me a little nervous, so i decided to make stickers that can be moved around if necessary. this way i could also color them without worrying about bleed through.

and extras store nicely in my binder pocket, ready and waiting to be added where needed! the stickers i used are mini removable labels by office depot (same as avery 5424) that i had on hand. they turned out to be a perfect fit for both the images and binder placement. there's even a little room for the many coordinating words in the set, which can be used to clarify the image. you could also stamp the icons on circles or squares die cut from white adhesive sheets to keep on hand with your banners.

and last, but not least, daily pages for 2016 have arrived! perpetual daily pages, to be more precise. first, a few details. they're available in both binder and spiral editions. they're now printed in neutral colors and feature a perpetual calendar style for flexibility. and there is a new tear-away corner to make it easier to keep track of where you are. much of the layout is still the same - hydrate, nourish, focus, grateful, memorable moment, and be active. but a few things are different based on feedback from last year. in addition to the calendar along the top for labeling the day, there are two open ended lists - a large box near the top left, and a smaller checklist on the lower right. overall, there is more flexibility in terms of how often you choose to fill out the dailies, as well as what you choose to include. maybe you just want to do weekdays or just a few a week. this makes it easy to do just that. and because the pages are neutral, you can add details to color coordinate to the month if you're adding to your binder, or go crazy with colored pens like i did above. for the open ended list areas, i decided to experiment with my listing this month. yesterday's "list" inspired a little stamping in the box! this is actually a great option for a new lister who doesn't want to get overwhelmed with quantity - three items should be easy to start with. for the other small list section, i decided to add a couple of hashtags i wanted to participate in on instagram. 

speaking of hashtags, mark your planners for our new hashtag campaign, #saturdaysnailmail. on saturdays we will share customer photos from instagram, facebook, and twitter that you take of cards you are mailing out to friends or family. sending cards is definitely something i want to do more of! to kick things off today, we encourage you to make a card to send to the warehouse staff at papertrey ink headquarters. don't forget to snap a picture and hashtag it if you're on social media! check out nichole's blog for more details on how to play along, including the address - as always, prizes are up for grabs! remember, all new product will be available at 10:00 pm eastern time on february 15. meanwhile, the team takes on the new product can get your brain planning ahead... 

ashley  |  audrey  |  laurie s.  |  laurie w.  |  lizzie  |  rebecca

happy shopping!
:) lexi

caution: another year older in review

caution: another year older and the coordinating dies are available for purchase, and maybe even already on their way to your stamp room. as always, i had fun creating with it during the countdown. this month, i really can't pick a definite favorite, although i was particularly excited about the rows of candles in black and white with random color and the candles/zappy birthday mash up. and i love the soft stone background ones. see what i mean? so hard to choose!

Follow Lexi Daly's board pieces of confetti: caution another year older on Pinterest.

as always, i've pinned all of my projects along with the design team's projects to a set specific board on pinterest for easy reference. i'll keep pinning as i create or come across them, so be sure to follow the board if you want the inspiration to pop up on your feed here and there. and if you create something, i'd love to see it and pin it too. thanks so much again for following along this week!

happy stamping!
:) lexi

better late than never...

hi there! if you follow me on instagram, you already know that my daughter's team won the game yesterday and are regional champions in their division. so exciting for them!! i was a little more tired than expected when we made it home, but i finally got a few cards complete to share - just in time for caution: another year older and the rest of the release to go live in the papertrey ink store. i've shared several cards that use only stamps in the set and different ways to use them other than borders. so today, i wanted to highlight how well they work with other sets. first up, with heather's new set good times again, this time adding in the confetti stamps and pairing her die cut sentiment with a snippet of one of the caution tape sentiments. and then i put a party hat on it!

next i paired it with betsy's new shaker shapes: balloon again - i loved the layout i used the other day, so i just had to repeat it with a full shaker version and a different twist on the elements, incorporating caution tapes for the sentiment. hello, favorite comic strip patterned paper! and how about those gold flakes from the shakers and sprinkles collection?! 

i also wanted to pull out a few previously released sets - give me a hand and keep it simple: birthday combine perfectly for a birthday sentiment for the party hats, complete with a speech bubble for added interest. i also used a strip of pencil papers adhesive labels for an additional layer of color.

and finally, probably my favorite today, i paired the candle border and a snippet of the so many candles caution tape with zappy birthday and coordinating dies - the end result is wow!

here's a look at the complete stamp set, coordinating dies, and prices. nichole's got the full product preview and links to the design team's release in review posts. it's all available now!! i hope you've enjoyed the release as much as i have. thanks so much again for all the sweet comments. it's the best part of every release!

happy shopping!
:) lexi