Super Stars revisited...

Today the Papertrey Ink design team is revisiting an older stamp set called Super Stars to give you a few fresh, new ideas for using it on your cards and projects! This is one of my all-time favorite stamp sets! I love the movement that the wavy sentiments give to a card: it's very free-form and fun! I have mixed the older Super Stars stamps with a few newer products from Papertrey Ink: the flowers from the Make It Market: Don't Forget to Write kit preprinted papers and the What The Doodle: Butterfly dies.

On my cards today, I wanted to use the wavy dotted lines to resemble butterfly trails. I stamped the dotted lines and sentiment from Super Stars, then added a floral die cut from the Don't Forget to Write kit papers. There is a die in the kit that trims out the florals perfectly from the pre-printed papers! I stamped a few stars from Super Stars also. The butterflies are die cut with What The Doodle: Butterfly from the Sheer Basics Vellum.

After finishing the card front, I adhered it to a Pure Poppy + White Basics paper (stripe).

On the next card, I used the dotted lines again as butterfly trails, but used a different sentiment from Super Stars. I've used the same design essentially, but positioned my card vertically instead of horizontally and used a different color scheme.

Again, I cut a pre-printed floral design from the Don't Forget to Write kit, stamped some stars, and added the vellum butterfly layers. The finished card front was added to a Tropical Teal patterned paper.

Really hope you enjoyed these ideas and cards today, now I'm off to see what the other ladies have made! It's always like Christmas for me to see everyone's projects made with the same products. :) Have a great day!!

Now visit...Betsy, Dawn, Heather, and Melissa for more ideas!

Pretty Pink Posh: March Product Release...

This month I was asked to participate in the March product release for Pretty Pink Posh! They sent me some fun stamps and dies, and here is what I came up with! I used their new Scallop Circles die set and the Birdie Friends stamp set and coordinating dies. I also used my MOST favorite thing that PPP carries - their Clear Sequins!

The Scallop Circle dies have a pretty "stitched" look to them that creates a nice finished look, love that. I did some ink blending in the background, then die cut the stamps, nest, leaves and branch and stamped them. The birds, nest and branch were colored in with Copic Markers: Y15 (birds), R20 (nest) and YG11 (on branch). The background paper is by Papertrey Ink's Vintage Linens paper pad and the inks used were: Tropical Teal, Summer Sunrise, Pure Poppy, New Leaf and Dark Chocolate by Papertrey Ink.

There are two $25 gift certificates up for grabs today by Pretty Pink Posh! Swing through each blog and leave a comment. Comments must be left by 11:59 PM PST on 3/14/2016. Winners will be announced on the PPP blog and will be picked randomly along the blog hop. 

P.S. If you enjoy my cardmaking style, I would love for you to check out my online card class called Cards With Dimension: Lovely Layers, Textures and Embellishments over at Craftsy.com. Right now I can offer you 50% off my class, and if you are new to Craftsy, you have a chance to win $1000 for your favorite charity by signing up for any class right now through Sunday, March 13th. 

Or if If you’d like to try one of the other awesome Craftsy classes at a discount, you can view them HERE. Thank you SO much for swinging by today, have a blessed day!

Now get to hoppin' for your chance to win:

Pretty Pink Posh blog

Laura Bassen

Heather Hoffman

Amy Kolling

Yana Smakula

Joni Andaya

Liz Sarkisyan

Melania Deasy

Nichol Spohr Magouirk

Lisa Elton

Danielle Flanders (you are here)

Yuki Yoshioka

Joy Taylor

Nina-Marie Trapani

Gayatri Murali 

Julia Altermann

Yoonsun Hur

Carissa Wiley

Introducing What the Doodle: Feather and Keep It Simple: Encouragement...

Today marks the beginning of the March reveal for the new products coming out at Papertrey Ink! I get to show you a couple of fun things today, the new What the Doodle: Feather stamps and dies, and the Keep It Simple: Encouragement stamps.

On the first one, I stamped and heat embossed the feathers around the edges of the card, then painted them in with watercolors (just on regular cardstock).

"Hang in there" is from Keep It Simple: Encouragement stamps and "friend is from the feather set.

Hang In There card:

STAMPS: What the Doodle: Feather

INK: Versamark, New Leaf, Enchanted Evening

PAPER: white, Summer Sunrise

DIES: none

OTHER: watercolor paints, white embossing powder, clear sequins.

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Next is a card set. I first stamped and heat embossed the two feathers, then colored them in with Copic Markers.

Then I added some ink blending in the background with Aqua Mist ink, and a sentiment in Tropical Teal from What the Doodle: Feather over the top.

If you like to color, this is a great set! I loved working with it!

Hello Friend card set:

STAMPS: What the Doodle: Feather

INK: Aqua Mist, Tropical Teal

PAPER: white

DIES: none

OTHER: white embossing powder, Copic Markers, clear sequins.

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On the last card, I used the What the Doodle: Feather die cuts to trim some feathers from Papertrey Ink's Sheer Basics Vellum. Then I dipped the ends in gold embossing powder and heat embossed them. I trimmed a few little cuts into the feathers to give them a bit more definition.

The white splatters are made with white watercolor paint and water mixed together, and I just sprinkled them over the top with my paintbrush.

Hello card:

STAMPS: What the Doodle: Feather

INK: Versamark

PAPER: Smokey Shadow, Sheer Basics Vellum

DIES: What the Doodle: Feather

OTHER: white embossing powder, gold embossing powder, twine.

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There are also some beautiful feather papers coming out as well, but I didn't receive them in time to use them for my post. Everything you see here that is new will be available on March 15th at 10pm EST at Papertrey Ink. Visit Nichole, Betsy and Melissa to see more fun new things coming soon!

Cards With Dimension: Embellishments...

Happy Tuesday, and thank you for stopping in today! When I first began to create cards, I was more of a scrapbooker and hadn’t really dabbled in stamping all that much. This meant that I started to see my scrapbooking products in a whole new light…on cards! My style was very layered, and I loved to use embellishments! Embellishments were my absolute favorite thing. They added that touch of detail to my cards, a slight bit of dimension and extra interest that I didn’t feel a flat card could offer as well as an embellished card. My style is still very layered, and I love to use embellishments, but I like my cards to be clean looking as well, with a bit of white space.

Embellishments I love to use include, but aren’t limited to, chipboard elements, tags, rub-ons, sequins, ribbons, brads, rainstones, enamel dots, twine, etc.

For today’s card, I found a Heidi Swapp Washi Tape booklet in my stash that I hadn’t used yet, a Crate Paper tag and rub-ons, some Heidi Swapp chipboard pieces, enamel dots, and twine. I chose some of my favorite washi tapes from the booklet and attached them to a piece of white cardstock, then trimmed it down and rounded the corners. I added a “love you” rub-on to the tag. I stamped “Friend” on the card in Stormy Seas ink by Papertrey Ink from the Bitty Bouquets stamp set and “just thinking of you” with the Mat Stack 2 Collection stamps. I used a little hole punch to punch little notches for the twine. This way the twine will stay put while wrapped around the front piece.

When mixing embellishments, here are some tips: look for colors that complement each other (mix at least three for more interest!) and use different sizes of items – something small, something medium, and something larger in scale. Here the washi tapes add pattern and scale. The tag is the large item, the patterns are medium, and the enamel dots and text are small. It gives the eye so much detail to see! The black twine adds contrast to the lighter colors, which also keeps it interesting. Different shapes are good as well; see how the roundness of the enamel dots give the card softness from all of the hard edges?

Balancing the colors around the card in a triangle will also help you achieve success with embellishments. I have the aqua color spread around the card with the dots and washi tape. And I also have a triangle of black by using twine, tape, and sentiments in black.

If you are interested in learning more about my style of card making, I have an online class that I recently filmed here in Denver with Craftsy.com called Cards With Dimension: Lovely Layers, Textures and Embellishments. I have seven video chapters on adding dimension to cards, and working with embellishments is just one of the chapters, with three lessons in each chapter! Since March is National Craft Month, they are hosting a fun promotion for the next two weeks. Everyone who is new to purchasing a Craftsy class right now will be entered to win a $1,000 to donate to your favorite crafty charity. If you’ve been thinking of trying an online card class, now is a great time to give it a try! AND…as a special blog reader, I get to offer you 50% off! Click the link above!

If you'd like to try one of the other paper craft classes at a discount, you can view them HERE. Have a crafty, creative day!

Danielle

Gossamer Blue October kits...

The Gossamer Blue kits are up for sale right now, grab one while they are still available, you won't be disappointed! They are GORGEOUS! Full of Teresa Collins' new Nine & Co. line and lots more. You can see them HERE. I wanted to show you a few things I made with the main scrapbook kit and the Life Pages kit, and I'll have more to show you soon.

This card utilizes a PL card on the front from the Life Pages kit, and I added some things from the main kit over the top. The leafy rub-on was added to vellum, so that I could use it on more than one thing!

Forgot how much I love rub-ons. They are so much fun! Here I used a rub-on from the main kit (the type font) and added it to a die cut. Then I added the banner die cut, floral piece and the wood veneer. Simple to make, but all of the patterns together add a lot of interest and detail to the card.

This Nine & Co paper has gold foil in it...a feast for the eyes!

This bold black and white striped paper was irresistible... just added some rub-on stitches, a rub-on thankful saying and a few die cuts and banner stickers.

The friend card is a mix of the main kit (floral die cut) and the Life Pages kit.

The pretty gold string was from my stash.

Really hope you'll check out Gossamer Blue. I'm in LOVE with their kits!! Phenomenal. They are definitely my style and so easy to work with and packed with the most beautiful, newest products out there. I think you'll feel the same way too! You can see more of the design team's pages and cards with the October kits HERE (scrapbook pages), HERE (PL pages), and HERE (cards).

Gossamer Blue sneaks...

The October kits for Gossamer Blue will be out in just a few days! I have a few sneak peeks to share with you. I can't say enough about these kits. If you are looking for a great kit club, give them a try...there is no fee to cancel anytime you want, so there is really nothing to lose! This is just a peek of the main Oct. kit, a fun mix of Teresa Collins' Nine & Co. line, Crate Paper's Notes and Things, MME's Jubilee line, Chickaniddy Crafts and some exclusives made just for this kit.

These two were made with the main kit mixed with a couple of the project life cards from the Life Pages kit.

And last, a couple of sneaks from the October main kit only.

And I have some awesome news!

Gossamer Blue has 3 new scrapbooking collections of their own, and they're now shipping! You can order them directly from the Gossamer Blue store:

GET HAPPY is the first one - a beautiful holiday line. You can see more of it HERE on the blog.

GRAMERCY ROAD is the second one with the pretty leaves and unique take on fall colors! See more of this one up close HERE.

And ON MY DESK - with golds and peaches and blacks and teals. Very pretty! See it in detail HERE.

Papertrey Ink's new releases for January...

Tonight at 10pm all of the new stamps and dies for January will be released at Papertrey Ink! We've been sharing a few things that are new, and today we get to show you the rest. This card was made with Wonderful Words: Friends stamps.

I stamped the big "friends" onto vellum, embossed and cut it out. Yes, I'm so addicted to the vellum look! I also used another one of the flowers from Doodie-Do on vellum and backed it with Harvest Gold patterned paper. The background of the card was just made with strips of washi tape.

Friends Make the World card:

STAMPS: Wonderful Words: Friends, Doodlie-Do

INK: Melon Berry, Harvest Gold, Versamark
PAPER: white, Harvest Gold Pattern Pack

DIES: none

OTHER: white embossing powder, seam binding, washi tape.

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Next is Boutique Borders: Friends. I also stamped the background of the tag in Background Basics: Diagonal Additions.

I created a petal card with patterned paper and tied seam binding around to hold it closed, then added a quick tag.

My Dear Friend Envelope and Tag:

STAMPS: Boutique Borders: Friends, Background Basics: Diagonal Addtions
INK: Harvest Gold, True Black by PTI, Soft Granite by Hero Arts
PAPER: Rustic Cream, patterned paper by Crate Paper's Bundled Up line
DIES: Tag Sale #9
OTHER: seam binding, button, twine.
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Last, but not least is Life's Music on the front of a little notebook.

I added "just a note" from Think Big Favorites #22.

 Just A Note Notebook
STAMPS: Life's Music, Think Big Favorites #22
INK: True Black
PAPER: white
DIES: none
OTHER: washi tape, chipboard stars by Studio Calico, seam binding by Zipperstop, 
glassine bag from Michael's.
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Guess I was in a polka dot mood when creating these. Ha. Want to see more? Visit the other Papertrey Ink team members, and don't forget all of these new items will be available for purchase tonight!

Ashley Cannon Newell
Betsy Veldman
Cristina Kowalczyk
Dawn McVey
Debbie Olson
Erin Lincoln
Heather Nichols
Laura Bassen
Melissa Phillips
Nichole Heady

Studio Calico's October card kit, Antiquary...

It's that time again when the Studio Calico card kits (and all the other fun kits) are available - up for preorder at noon today. I used the main card kit, Antiquary, and the card kit add-on, Athens. Really loved the typography in this month's stamps!

On the first card, I loved the blue cardstock that came in the kit, so I stamped the big "happy" in Aqua Mist ink (by PTI), with another sentiment over the top in Ocean Tides. I stamped the flowers from the Athens add-on and colored them in with Copic markers.

The next card was stamped several times with Versamark ink and then embossed with white embossing powder. I had an old gold mist in my stash by Tattered Angels that I just painted over the top with a paint brush. I wanted a warm color to go with the pretty autumn patterned papers in the kit.

The flower was die cut from vellum with Papertrey Ink's Lovely Layers dies. Love those gold buttons!

On this card, I used one of Shanna Noel's cut files, the Antiquary Thankful cut design with my Silhouette Cameo machine to cut it out of paper from the kit. I used ink refills by PTI to paint the background in Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Harvest Gold and Classic Kraft (red, orange, yellow and brown) with a sentiment stamped from the kit on the bottom.

And after I trimmed out the background for the card above, I had a little piece of cardstock left over with the "ends" of the painted brush strokes - loved how it looked, so I used it on another card.

Added some stamped hearts in matching colors and then stitched a bit.

Here I stamped the "thank you friend" in all different inks. Makes a quick, easy card. And it's fun to boot! (The twine is from my stash, not in the kits.)

You can use a circle punch to add some patterned paper to your cards by just punching a circle, trimming it in half and add a little hole to tie on a piece of twine.
Next up are a couple of teacher cards stamped with the apple from the stamp set!

On this one, I simply stamped the background with the apple. These stamps are two-step, so I stamped the outline in one color and the inside of the apple in another.

I used a Papertrey Ink die to trim the polkadot paper into a scallop: Edgers #4.

My favorite paper in the whole kit was this gray floral. I wanted to use it, but not cover it up too much, so this one has a simple design across the top.

The banner was cut out with the Bountiful Banners die. You can't see it well in these pics, but I shaded the banner with a blue Copic marker...from top to bottom so it kind of has an ombre effect on the banner. I think I may have used these gold dots on almost every card!

Last up is a fun one with the fruit stamps in the main card kit. I added the large leaves from the Athens add-on. The wooden buttons in the kit are to die for also!

You can see that I stamped the inside of the fruit separately and cut them out, then stitched them down the center.

So there you have it! 8 cards this month, and I could have kept going if I had more time in the day. Such fun stamps this time. I just got a peek of next month's card kit and you are gonna LOVE it with a capital L! I can't wait. These kits are getting better and better, I tell ya. Studio Calico is really listening to our feedback about what we as card makers want to see. :) Grab a kit today!