Thursday, July 31, 2014

new Make It Market kit by Papertrey Ink...

Tomorrow, August 1st at 10pm EST, Papertrey Ink will have another card kit available for purchase put together by Betsy Veldman. This one is called County Fair, and I personally think this might be the best one yet! The colors are so HAPPY!

On the "Enjoy Your Day" card,  I used two papers from the kit and the border die, which is actually a die to make medallions! Silly me, I thought it was a border die. Ha. Oh well, it's cute as a border too! I die cut and stamped the "best" and the flowers and banner tails.

On the "Enjoy the Ride" card with the adorable ferris wheel, I used another cute paper from the kit! I added the blue checked paper at the top and cut a straw in half to add for more color... love these!
For dimension, I also stamped a little heart and popped it up over the existing heart on the paper. The ribbon is just folded into two loops and stapled on.

On the last card, I used the A2 sized cover plate die (Bandana Cover Plate) in the kit to cut out the design from white cardstock. When you get the kit, you'll see that some of the papers in the kit coordinate exactly with this die, so I backed the white one with a blue bandana paper. Isn't it neat how the designs show through the holes? I love how the die matches up with the papers! So cool!

Then I trimmed an orange bandana paper, just the center of the paper, to place in the middle of my card. I wanted to add a little bit more color to the white.

The sayings are stamped with the County Fair stamps, and I die cut the "best" from red cardstock and the flowers from white, then stamped the flowers.

There is SO much more in the kit... ribbons, tickets, medallions you can make, a quilt block die, berry baskets...etc, etc, etc... that I wish I would have had more time to make more with it all! Below is a little more info about the kit. Grab one quick, because I don't think they are going to last long!!
County fairs are the highlight of the summer!  From quilt shows to pie baking contests, midway rides and gunny sack races, fair days are filled with old-fashioned down home goodness...and this kit is reminiscent of all those things.  The NEW! County Fair Kit designed by Betsy Veldman exclusively for Papertrey Ink is full of specialty items that will instantly bring back summer memories when you open up your box!  If paper crafting is all about *fun* for you, then you are definitely gonna want to get your hands on this kit!  Of course there are gorgeous limited edition stamps and innovative dies, but all of the special little extras that are included are truly inspiring!  You will love mixing and matching all of the unique embellishments on your cards and experimenting with the fabulous packaging supplies to wrap up some special gifts!


  • County Fair stamp set (2 sheets)
  • County Fair die collection
  • County Fair Words die collection
  • County Fair Medallion die collection
  • County Quilt Block die
  • Bandana Cover Plate die
  • County Fair Patterned Paper Pad (8-1/2" x 11")
  • Custom County Fair Ribbons (set of 3)
  • Berry Baskets (set of 4)
  • 1 popcorn box
  • 1 peanut bag
  • County Fair Paper Straw Collection:
  1. Cherry Pie Swiss Dot Paper Straws (set of 2)
  2. Dark Denim Stripe Paper Straws (set of 2)
  3. Buttermilk Yellow Stripe Paper Straws (set of 2)
  4. Cotton Candy Blue Chevron Paper Straws (set of 2)
  5. Pink Lemonade Stripe Paper Straws (set of 2)
  • County Fair Mini Clothespin Collection:
  1. Cherry Pie Mini County Clothespins (set of 5)
  2. Dark Denim Mini County Clothespins (set of 5)
  3. Buttermilk Yellow Mini County Clothespins (set of 5)
  4. Cotton Candy Blue Mini County Clothespins (set of 5)
  5. Pink Lemonade Mini County Clothespins (set of 5)

  • County Fair Ticket Collection:
  1. Cherry Pie Customizable County Fair Tickets (set of 8)
  2. Dark Denim Customizable County Fair Tickets (set of 8)
  3. Pink Lemonade Customizable County Fair Tickets (set of 8)
  4. Buttermilk Yellow Customizable County Fair Tickets (set of 8)
  • County Fair Fibers Collection:
  1. 5/8” Burlap Cherry Pie Center Stitch Ribbon (1 yard)
  2. 5/8” Burlap Dark Denim Center Stitch Ribbon (1 yard)
  3. 2mm Cotton Candy Blue Paper Cord (1 yard)
  4. 5/8” Pink Lemonade Wired Raffia Bow String (1 yard)

The total retail cost of this kit is $105. There will be a limited number of these exclusive kits available so be sure to get yours tomorrow! The County Fair Kit will be available for sale beginning on August 1st at 10pm EST, only at Papertrey Ink. Read all the details on Nichole's blog or contact Customer Service with any questions.

Visit Betsy, Dawn, Heather and Melissa for more ideas with this kit!

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Countdown to Christmas...

Wait, what? Christmas?
I know, I know. It's hard to think about Christmas right smack in the middle of summer. But, did you see the new line by Basic Grey called Evergreen? It is irresistible and really puts me in the mood to get a head start on all my holiday projects! I was asked to do a guest design post for them this week, and I made a little Countdown to Christmas Calendar. It's a frame I made myself from scratch with wooden pieces from the store, and has a clip to hold the countdown tags, one tag for each day. My kids will have such fun changing these out every day when December arrives!



Swing by to see how I made the frame to hold the countdown numbers and all of the fun tags at the BasicGrey blog. Thank you to Basic Grey for having me this month! I LOVED the Evergreen line so much, and I know you all will too!

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Make It Market: County Fair...

Wanted to pop in and share a sneak of the next Make It Market card kit put together by Betsy Veldman for Papertrey Ink, which will be available on August 1st! Oh my...the patterns, the stamps, the multitude of dies! The possibilities of this kit are amazing! You will absolutely fall in love with the charm in this sweet card kit. I'm sure County Fair will bring back sweet summer memories for you, like it has for me. Once again, I am enamored with Betsy's choice of contents! SO MUCH fun! 

The Make It Market kits are put together BY a card maker FOR card makers, that's what I love so much about these kits. She knows what works!

See below for all of my release projects for July. Wishing you the BEST day! :)

Release day: July...

Today is the big day! The Papertrey Ink team is showing you some of the new releases coming out this month. All of the new products will be available tonight at 10pm EST. First up is an August birthday card made with Birthday Classics: August. I created a border with the Life Is Beautiful butterfly dies and stamps on the front of the card. I'll try and get a video together on how I did this! Maybe for a Make It Monday? 


Happy August Birthday card:
(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)
STAMPS: Birthday Classics: August, Life Is Beautiful
INK: Lavender Moon, Pure Poppy
PAPER: Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy, and White cardstock, Harvest Gold Pattern Pack, Pure Poppy Pattern Pack; floral patterned paper by Crate Paper
DIES: Life Is Beautiful, Heart Border die, Tremendous Tags
OTHER: Twine - The Twinery, gems - unknown, staple, gold foil tape - Make It Market Luxe Letterpress kit by PTI.
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Here I used Botanical Blocks II with Keep It Simple: Thinking of You. I embossed the floral stamp with white embossing powder, then painted it in with my watercolors. I wanted a light background, but with a pop of contrast, so I used Soft Stone cardstock and stamped the stitches in black.

The banner was scored and bent to create some dimension.
Thinking of You card:
(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)
STAMPS: Keep It Simple: Thinking of You, Background Basics: Stitching, Botanical Blocks II
INK: Tropical Teal, True Black
PAPER: Soft Stone, Aqua Mist, White; watercolor paper
DIES: Banner Sentiments
OTHER: seam binding by Zipperstop.com, resin by Melissa Frances.
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These are made with Note Niblets. I used the buttons in the set to make some little confetti-looking note cards and added a little bit of gold embossing and foil tape from the Make It Market Letterpress kit.




Just a Little Note card set:
(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)
STAMPS: Note Niblets
INK: Raspberry Fizz, Hawaiian Shores, Sweet Blush by PTI, Soft Granite by Hero Arts
PAPER: White cardstock
DIES: none
OTHER: gold embossing powder - craft supply, twine - The Twinery, gold foil tape - Make It Market Luxe Letterpress kit by Papertrey Ink.
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Another card using Botanical Blocks II, paired with Banner Sentiments. I wanted to try a gold and peach color scheme. I really love it!

Botanical Blocks II is stamped with Versamark ink, then embossed with white embossing powder and painted in with watercolors. I added a few gold accents, such as the Embellished Elegance leaf, which I really like in the top corner to add some softness to all of the sharp corners and straight edges of this card. The sequins add a little bit of movement to the straight lines of the card also.


Congratulations to You card:
(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)
STAMPS: Banner Sentiments, Botanical Blocks II, Embellished Elegance
INK: Versamark
PAPER: Smokey Shadow, Fine Linen
DIES: Cover Plate: Horizontal Stripes, Banner Sentiments, Embellished Elegance
OTHER: watercolor paint, gold and white embossing powder, skinny gold foil tape and gold sequins - Make It Market Letterpress kit by PTI.
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Last is Phrase Play #6 stamps and die. I cut the die out of Classic Kraft cardstock, then used the new Note Niblets stamps and dies to add the leaves and berries. Also added a postmark over the top with Postmarks stamps.

I added a slight bit of pink watercolor underneath the Phrase Play #6 die onto watercolor paper on the top and bottom. I wanted a bit of color under there, but didn't want to overwhelm the kraft die. I wanted the kraft and red to be the focus.



Sending Holiday Cheer card:
(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)
STAMPS: Note Niblets, Phrase Play #6, Postmarks
INK: Pure Poppy, Classic Kraft, Simply Chartreuse, True Black
PAPER: Rustic Cream, Classic Kraft, Pure Poppy Pattern Pack
DIES: Phrase Play #6, Note Niblets
OTHER: twine, watercolors.
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Visit the rest of the PTI team to see more with these new products! Everything will be available at Papertrey Ink on 7/15 at 10pm EST. Thanks for swinging by!

Monday, July 14, 2014

Designer phone case inspiration...

You will love this new stitching die by Papertrey Ink that allows you to make phone cases and iPod cases! It's so much fun! I've made two so far...they are easy and quick to make...and would be fun for craft fairs or quick gifts!

The new Phone Case dies and the Phone Case Details dies were used to make this stitched heart phone case with a coordinating card. I cut the front from white felt and the back from Pure Poppy felt, but before I stitched the front and back together, I die cut the stitching holes for the heart with the Phone Case Details dies and stitched little X's with red thread.


The large felt heart is just attached with twine through the top right hand side of the stitching holes. It can be taken out, since it's separate from the stitching I used around the edges. If you sell these at craft fairs, you can easily hang a little tag with your name, price, etc!


On the back, I folded up the headphones that go with my iPhone and hot glued a strap on the back to tuck the headphones in. (Strap is from Tag Sale #11.) It's very secure, and the headphones won't fall out. You could always velcro it instead of hot glue on the ends, and that way you could pull the strap as tight as you wanted it over the velcro ends to hold the headphones in. So many ways you could hold the headphones. I'll show you another way at the end of my post.


Stitched Heart iPhone Case:
(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)
STAMPS: none
INK: none
PAPER: none
DIES: Phone Case, Phone Case Details, Tiny Tags, Tag Sale #11
 OTHER: Papertrey Ink felt - Vintage Cream, Lavender Moon and Pure Poppy, thread and twine - craft supply.
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This card coordinates with the phone case above. Couldn't help myself, had to stitch another one of those hearts! This time on paper, a ticket that I die cut from Big Ticket Basics. You can certainly use those Phone Case Details dies (heart, chevrons, etc) on paper too.
Just love that font in hello from Big Ticket Basics Additions.


Hello Stitched Heart card:
(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)
STAMPS: Big Ticket Additions
INK: True Black by PTI, Soft Granite by Hero Arts
PAPER: Vintage Cream cardstock, Soft Stone cardstock, Soft Stone Pattern Pack, Smokey Shadow Pattern Pack
DIES: Big Ticket Basics die, Phone Case Details dies, Tiny Tags dies
OTHER: Twine, Lavender Moon felt.
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And one more phone case...I actually made this one first before the heart one. When I first received the phone case dies, I immediately thought of answering the phone...we all say, "Hello?", right? My mind went to the "hello" in the Quick Stitch Sentiments dies, so I used that die to create the stitching on this phone case. I also used the Stitching Lines dies to create the lines for the hanging hearts and cut some hearts from Tiny Tags.

On this case, I stitched the sides closed with twine, and it has a Raspberry Fizz felt back on it.
The new Tag Sale #11 die was used to make a pocket on the back for the headphones, and I stitched a little music note with tiny hearts as the circles on the music note. The tiny hearts are cut from the Tiny Tags die (center of the one rectangle tag.)



Hello Hanging Hearts iPhone Case:
(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)
STAMPS: none
INK: none
PAPER: none
DIES: Phone Case, Quick Stitch Sentiments, Stitching Lines, Tiny Tags
OTHER: Twine - The Twinery, sewing thread - craft supply, Papertrey Ink felt - Aqua Mist, Raspberry Fizz, Lavender Moon, Summer Sunrise, Harvest Gold, hot glue gun.
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My girls have already claimed these, so it's time to make one for me. Ha. Visit the rest of the PTI team to see more with these new products! Everything will be available at Papertrey Ink on 7/15 at 10pm EST. 

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Wish you were here...

I have a few new "travel" themed items to share with you today using some new products coming out by Papertrey Ink in a few days! First up are These United States stamps, State Abbreviations stamps and all of the new state dies! (Sold in sets of 2 or 3 states.)
Let me just preface by saying I know the states are not exactly proportional! I realize that, but I just had to cut them all out and try them together. The only spot I ran into a bit of crowding was in the northeast states. All in all, I think it looks really neat all together. I made a little home decor framed piece, and I plan on getting some white Ikea picture ledges for my office and filling them up with framed maps and calligraphy sayings and some vintage things!

First, I laid out all of the state dies on my table where they would go and labeled the dies with a Sharpie marker. Then I took a few at a time (4 or 5) and cut them out from watercolor paper and placed them back on my table in place of the die. This way I could keep track of which ones I've done and which ones I still needed to cut.


Next I was going to watercolor them, but after cutting them all out, I was afraid I might not like it and didn't want to start over, so I left them white. I might play around with them later and try to watercolor each state a pretty pastel color, like a vintage pastel map.

Then I transferred them to a large piece of watercolor paper 11 x 15". (I bought a large 11 x 15" watercolor pad.) I have a frame that I white-washed, and it fits perfectly in there. I added the Banner Sentiment dies stamped with These United States. Then I used twine and staples to mark the 3 states I've lived in recently, SD, NY and CO, which are stamped with State Abbreviations.

And here is the finished piece. Picture it on a shelf with a globe or a vintage camera on a couple of books. :) And...uh oh. I just realized I forgot to include Alaska and Hawaii! 




Wherever You Go Framed Decor:
(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)
STAMPS: These United States, State Abbreviations
INK: True Black, Raspberry Fizz by PTI, Soft Granite by Hero Arts
PAPER: watercolor paper
DIES: Banner Sentiments, all of the United States die sets
OTHER: twine, staples.
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Next up are the new Pack Your Bags stamps and dies. I also added the leaves and berries from Note Niblets.
The suitcases are so cute. I thought it would be nice to give to someone who watches over your house while you are away for Christmas.

Thanks for Taking Care of Things card:
(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)
STAMPS: Pack Your Bags, Note Niblets
INK: Simply Chartreuse, New Leaf, Aqua Mist, Tropical Teal, Pure Poppy
PAPER: Tropical Teal, White, New Leaf Pattern Pack 
DIES: Pack Your Bags, Note Niblets
OTHER: twine.
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Last is a retirement card made with Get Lost stamps and the Tag Sale #11 die. I love this die and the nice embossed stitching detail it creates! I popped up the top part of the tag for dimension.

The stripes on the top were stamped with Monthly Moments: July stamps (as well as the red striped border, made with the bottom edge of the arrow stamp).


Happy Retirement! card:
(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)
STAMPS: Get Lost, Monthly Moments: July
INK: Pure Poppy, True Black, Tropical Teal, Simply Chartreuse, Summer Sunrise, Ripe Avocado
PAPER: Ripe Avocado, White, Classic Kraft
DIES: Tag Sale #11
OTHER: twine, pop dots.
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Visit the rest of the PTI team to see more with these new products! Everything will be available at Papertrey Ink on 7/15 at 10pm EST. Thank you for your visit and nice comments, I always appreciate them so much.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Monthly Moments: July...

Good morning, Papertrey Ink fans!

The Monthly Moments stamps and journal cards by Papertrey Ink for July are all about travel and adventures! I had to scrap one of my favorite pictures from our trip to the Rockies a few weeks ago. We traveled up Trail Ridge Road to the top of the Rocky Mountains, what a scary but gorgeous ride!! Most of the road does not have guard rails and has huge drop offs. I wouldn't want to have a tire blow out! Up at the top, we got out and walked even higher, where I took this pic of my husband. Did you know it's considered tundra up here? Everything above the tree line is tundra. It gets VERY cold, yet it's hot and you get sunburned while up there. So strange, but darn was it ever amazing!!! A trip everyone should take, truly.

So I printed out this photo at 8.5 x 11" at home. I would have liked to do a 12x12", but I don't have a large format printer. Then I cut a few of my favorite pieces out of the Monthly Moments: July Journal cards and a few from the free July download (free with purchase), added some stamping from the Monthly Moments: July stamps and the Monthly Moments: Travel Plans stamp set.

The colors in the Monthly Moments Journal Cards this time work great with outdoor photos, I must say! "This" is cut from the new Wet Paint Cuts II dies.


I love that I have a large photo of this to keep....it was one of my favorite pics from our trip.

Every Day Is An Adventure layout:
(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)
STAMPS: Monthly Moments: July, Monthly Moments: Travel Plans
INK: True Black, Aqua Mist
PAPER: Monthly Moments: July Journal Cards, Canyon Clay cardstock, free July download
DIES: Wet Paint Cuts II dies
OTHER: none.
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This one is a pocket page from the 4th of July, just a few of my favorite pics from that day. I used the Monthly Moments: July stamps and dies, Monthly Moments: Travel Plans stamps, Wet Paint Alphabet stamps and the Monthly Moments: July free download.

We stayed home on the 4th and attended some of the functions our neighborhood had put on, then later watched the town's fireworks from our back deck! The top right-hand pic is of my family hanging out waiting for it to get dark enough for the fireworks to start. You can even see my little dog. lol 

"Destination", "lodging" and "details" are cute little stamps from the Monthly Moments: Travel Plans stamps. Even though we stayed home on the 4th, I thought it was fun to incorporate them into my journaling! I cut the July die from several colors of cardstock and stamped the "4th".

Our rec center does such fun things for the holidays. For the 4th, they had a parade, pool party with DJ, games, lunch and free cotton candy. Nothing like a holiday without cotton candy. Ha. I was bummed I didn't get pics of the fireworks, because some friends stopped over later and we were too busy chatting. I completely forgot about getting pics of the fireworks!
July 4th pocket page layout:
(All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.)
STAMPS: Monthly Moments: July, Monthly Moments: Travel Plans, Wet Paint Alphabet
INK: Pure Poppy, True Black
PAPER: Monthly Moments: July Journal Cards, free July download, Pure Poppy cardstock, Canyon Clay cardstock, Harvest Gold cardstock, Spring Rain cardstock
DIES: Monthly Moments: July, Heart Border die
OTHER: none.
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I'd love to know, do you scrapbook? Or make pocket pages like these? What do you think of the July products? Visit Nichole Heady, Ashley Cannon Newell, Heather Nichols and Melissa Phillips for more Monthly Moments inspiration!

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Video tutorial: Creating felt roses...

Well, hello there! Long time, no see. I am currently working on the next release for Papertrey Ink, which we will show you in just a few short days! Meanwhile, I forgot to post this video that I made. Had a few people ask me how I do these little roses on my baby booties last month, so I put a short video together! You can watch it HERE. I'll be back very soon with more new projects! (For more info on the baby booties, visit my blog post HERE.)