Poppy Paperie

Papertrey May 08 Release!

I had a great time creating sample for this months Papertrey Ink release. Each piece I created has a little story behind it that I wanted to share with you. Please check out the PTI Gallery for all supply lists... and to see all the amazing projects the other DT members came up with!

This card  was the Sympathy card I created for our family friends a few weeks ago. Hopefully it brought them a smile.

My DH, Chris, is constantly looking for where I put the mail... I'm such a scatterbrain. Now I will bring in the mail and put things that need his attention in it and put it where he puts his personal items when he comes home. The mini envelope is a Marvy Punch... I love it combined with this set!

You might have spotted this on Nichole's Blog with the other DT members Baby Favor projects. I found this diffuser at Pier 1 a few months ago and just knew I would need it someday for a project. This little door hanger ensemble was created for a friend in my church. I just found out that she is expecting her 9th child. She has a little one right now too and she constantly writes a "dint ring the bell, baby sleeping" note for her front door. I thought this might be a welcomed present!

The first time I saw Honey Bees this project popped into my head... litterally... all finished. There is a book out called "Way to Be!" It's specifically geared toward youth and how to help them be positive and do better in life. This project hangs right by the door. The kids get to see it during their comings and goings. It's a not so subtle reminder for them to stay true to their convictions.

I wanted to create a Bright and cheery card that incorporated the new color, Lavender Moon. I decided to leave the sentiment off... a rarity for me. I thought it would be nice to have a nice finished card that could be just written in.

I really LOVE this Bee set. I thought the crown was a fun addition to it too. I cant wait to make a princess card with it. I've been working with someone lately who has been put into the situation to pull off a great event. She has risen to the occasion so I made this card for her busy little self!

Well, thanks for popping by... I hope you found something to inspire your creativity!

Lisa

Odds and Ends...

The past few days we've been hit with the flu...  you know the stuffy head soar throat, aching body kind. arg! I spent Mother's day in bed. The kids made me breakfast in bed and I watched movies and stamped all day. Yes... I gathered up up some supplies into a little cubby bin and created. There is nothing worse for me than feeling like I can't DO anything productive. I finished up a few of my Papertrey samples and also created some samples for next months release with my first stamp set. Yes... you read it right... my designs are in photopolymer form! *can you say surreal?!* I can't wait to start showing you sneak peeks on June 10th. It seems like a long time... but hopefully it will be worth the wait for you. *cheesy grin*  it inks up So niiiiiice! (doing a happy, silly girl dance!)

It's a tad strange to put on the Stamp Designer hat... it opens up a perspective that could never really be explained to me. One of the things that came over me was the total gratitude I feel for Papertrey for the opportunity. I know they chose the designs because they really liked them. I feel honored to work with them. The gratitude also flows to the Papertrey Design Team. I was looking at the soon to be revealed gallery for this month's release and was in awe. It hit me how these ladies and their phenomenal creative talents were going to bring my set to life ways I never imagined! I seriously got goose bumps! Have you seen Nichole's blog with all of the teams baby favors!?! Jaw dropping! Also, I hope you are stopping by the Senior DT blogs (Amy, Debbie, Heather and Taylor in the links to the right) to see their sneak peeks... lovely, they are! (Hmm.. that sounded slightly Yoda-ish... eek!) The other perspective is how a set really comes together. What I mean buy that is how the coordination of the images, usefulness of the images actually work. Ive also learned through the process that what looks good digitally doesn't always look great on paper... So I print and cut my images before sending them off...get a feel of their size and how they look in color....see what adjustments might be made to make them work with some of my favorite products. I hope I'm making some sense. LOL!

While I was playing with my stamps, a few thoughts came to mind... "I wonder what fun technique or fold or anything the readers would like to see or learn?"  So... any thoughts? Anything you have been dying to learn or simply want to ask? Feel free to leave a comment and we can have a little Q& A! (I'm going to hold off on answering specific questions about the set until my countdown though.)

Personal note: Thanks to all how posted and email me in private about the loss of out family friend. {{{group hug}}}

See you tomorrow when I post my Papertrey Samples. Ohh... I had some serious fun this month creating... it was great therapy!!!

Lisa

Papertrey Ink May Sneak Peek!

It's my turn to present a fun sneak peek of one of the newest Papertrey Ink stamp sets. Alli Miles has done it again! She has created a unique set called "Mail Box Greetings"! This is a versatile set that features a fun row of mailboxes and coordinating images.

I was pondering what to create for you this month while reading the sentiments in the set. Moving is still fresh in my mind since we moved last August. We are still adjusting...and I realized how much I miss my friends in Bellingham this past week when we were up there. It's amazing to me  how little distance and time can change my love and friendship for others. I thought of one friend in particular and thought I would make that friend a card.

Watercoloring has been around for hundreds of years.  :) It's one of my favorite ways to color in a stamped image and I have been noticing that it's taken the back seat to many designers with the rise of Copics and Gamsol. I jumped at the chance to watercolor some PTI images. Here's how I went about watercoloring the focal image on my card.

The first thing I do is to dab my pad onto a solid non-porous surface. (Foam plate, CD case, Regular plate to name a few, I use the lid most often) This gives me a dash of ink to play with. Most people use their re-inker but I'm lazy and want quick use. I've also found that I'm able to control my color a little better since I'm not having to use as much ink to start with.

There are several brushes that I love to use. One is a flat chisel and it's fantastic for floating ink or paint around images. A round brush is also a staple item. I prefer sable over synthetic when using traditional brushes. I chose to use my Aqua Painters for this particular card because I wanted to control the amount of water being used.

One of the important things to remember while watercoloring is to think of light and shadows. a shadow naturally falls on the posts under the Mail Boxes. If you look at the photo above you will see the elements watercolored separately. The brown wood, green mailbox and blue outline. I wanted to show you them separately to help you see how the ink is darker in some areas. I go over the area with the lighter colors then go back with the brush loaded with a more concentrated ink to add depth. Also, be careful to not fill in all of the areas... leave some white to show through.

Here is a close up of the finished image. I sponged the edges to help POP it out a bit.

And finally the finished card (I added some sewing for a cozy feel) ready for the snail mail and hopefully it will brighten someone's day! Be sure to check out Nichole's sneek Peak for this fun set!

If it's been a while since you have used this technique or it's new to yous, try it out... it's really quite fun!

Supplies (all Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted)

• Stamps- Mailbox Greeting
• Ink- Timber Brown StazOn (Tsukineko), Jungle Green, Salvia Blue, Dark Brown, Red (Marvy Matchables)
• Paper- Everyday Blessing 6x6 pattern paper, Stampers Select White, Kraft cardstock (SU!)
• other- Spring Moss saddle stitch ribbon, Sewing Machine, Synthetic sponge.

The passing of a beloved friend.

This past week was a hard week for my family. A dear friend of many years and prior Bishop was riding a bike to work, just like every other morning, when a young girl turned out in front of him. The injuries were to great for him to overcome and Terry is now home with his Father in Heaven. We are firm in the knowledge that he and his family will be together again someday but sorrow for the trials they face in the years to come as they move forward here and now without him by their side. We also sorrow for the young girl and pray that she will overcome her grief. The sun created a blind spot (it was 7am) as she was looking up the hill he was coming down, she didn't see him and turned out to go up the hill. It was all such a fluke. "willing to mourn with those who mourn" is a part of a scripture that keeps coming to mind. Truly understanding that we are needed to grieve with those who go through trials and adversity... that our love and compassion as well as sympathy are the very arms of love that are needed to lift up... and bring comfort.. That extension of love blesses them and helps us in our grieving process. We attended his funeral in Bellingham on Monday and it was wonderful to see the love of so many there in support. There must have been over 1000 in attendance... the chapel of the church, overflow and the entire gym was filled... with people spilling out into the foyer. the feeling of love was abundant.
I took a long time creating the sympathy card for his family (I will share that at a later date as I used new unreleased stamps) I was feeling at a loss as to what to create when I remembered a dress that Pepper had worn as a baby that Keeley (His wife) had commented on...and how she LOVED those colors together. So I created a card with Summer sunrise, Spring Moss and Lemon Tart. It's hard for me to create sympathy cards... I think it's because I feel like I want it to instantly brighten their day... or help them feel peace. I'm hoping I achieved this for them. I know that this very personal thing isn't very paper crafting related but I really felt the need to share this and express my love for their family.

I did want to share these older cards in hope of giving you a little inspiration today. These all use SU images. Sympathy cards aren't ones I stock up on... more of a create on demand card...then when the need comes I struggle with it because the sorrow quashes my creative spirit. Enough time has passed now that It's come back and I'm back to my late night stamping. time does have an amazing healing power.

Thanks for popping by. The next post will be more on the fun side. :)

Lisa

Glittering in a Snap!

I'm often looking for the easy WOW! That technique or tool that makes it easier to do my job, achieve my goal and maximize my creative joy! Glitter always adds WOW in my book and is really easy to apply. I love when it gets even easier than easy though! LOL!  I'm a real lover of heat and stick but hate dragging all of my stuff out to use it. (Don't get me wrong I still do it!) Recently I received this awesome Glue Pad by Tsukineko and I gave it a try. Um.... LOVE IT! It makes adding flock, glitter, foil to an image a snap... and there is no need for a heat tool.

Here is a project that I created with it featuring some of my favorite Papertrey Ink images!

  (Click to see a larger image)

The fun part about this project and product is that it is a literal stamp and apply glitter product!

Here is an example of how I stamped and glittered the design elements for these projects.  The first thing I did was to stamp the base rose image in Lemon Tart then I stamped the outline image using the glue pad. A simple sprinkle of the glitter of my choice (Orange for the Rose) gave it a POP!

The next step was for me to stamp the leaf image then strategically sprinkle the leaf image with Pastel Green glitter.

You can see how simple, yet effective this technique is!

The next step was to allow it time to set... maybe 5 minutes... then lightly brush off the glitter. Since Glitter is more 3-D it will attach flat to the glue... giving a more foiled appearance.

Here is a close up of the card that shows this effect...

I was excited to see how elegant a kraft coffee bag could look with a little touch of glitter too! It really showed me the versatility of the technique!

TIPS to note: If you own an embossing buddy or a product that is used to remove static from your paper... this is a great tool to use with this technique! That glitter really tries to make itself at home. LOL! ALSO... this technique works INCREDIBLY with flock! just stamp and stick. :)

ETA: A question was asked about how much to "ink" the pad with glue.(As this comes a an empty pad and refill) I personally add about four straight lines of glue down the pad and work it in until it's tap-able with the stamp but not goopy. Then it's a simple stamp with image and clean up with any stamp cleaner. HTH

Supplies

• Stamps- Garden of Life, Polka Dot basics
• Ink- Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise, Tsukineko Glue Pad
• Paper-Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise, Spring Moss
• Other- Small Kraft Coffee Bag, Spring Moss Swiss dot ribbon, Circle Punches (green and blue by Marvy Uchida).

Thinking Outside the Tin challenge

Quiet Time + Ella (5) + Magnetic flowers and Faeries = Happy Mom! Heehee! Yes... I know... I AM a silly girl!  But when Nichole's challenge to the Papertrey Ink Senior Design Team came, to think out side of the "tin" with Papertrey Ink's Nugget tins...this project popped straight into my head.

Magnetic Flower & Fairy Dress up kit.

The flower can also be used as her dress up clothes!

I knew I needed simple. Honestly... this project is going to be played with to the end of time. I knew if I decorated the outside with anything removable... she would peel it off. Let's face it... ALL of my crayons are peeled... trust me, I know what I'm talkin' about. LOL! My answer to make it still cute was to simply personalize it with her name in white ink with Stickles Glitter. Trajan Monogram Edition is the perfect alphabet for her right now since there are no curves. (they learn Ball & Stick in Kindergarten here so we concentrate on straight lines in teaching her letter skills) I used a crop-a-dile to attach the ribbon handle. Honestly, cant you see a sweet 5 year old girl walking into church carrying this!

I played off this Fairy card, using The Garden of Life , Father Knows Best, Faux Ribbon and Pond Life sets as well as my Pebbles Inc. Shimmer chalks again, to create a shimmer to the ensemble. The magnetic sheet was recycled from an old magnetic calender from the middle school from last year. Very cost effective and "green". I used the small hinged tin to hold all of the magnetic pieces while in transit. This also will help during her play time. See how the lid drops down and creates a tray for lap play! She is SO excited to play with it... but she will only get to at church or other special times... this will help it keep it's magic in her heart! A few years ago I crafted a felt doll kit and she still loves playing with it... these are playthings that will revisit her memory when she is a Mother.

Tips and Variations-

• Stamp your image and slightly trim BEFORE adhering it to the magnetic sheet. Then cut the details. This give you more maneuverability with your scissors.
• Seal the chalked images with a fixative if you are concerned with maintaining the chalk. (I skipped this step)
• Create an Animal set with Pond Life for the little man or tomboy in your life!

Make sure to check out the other Senior DT member's blogs... they really out did themselves!

• Heather- Great minds thought alike as she created an elegant magnetic poetry set. *so peaceful*
• Amy- Tie Tin
• Taylor- Wedding Favor
• Debbie- Yummy Card Candy Tin
• Nichole

Laptop Lament

My Laptop is at the Note Book Hospital and I'm having a struggle keeping up with all I usually do on a PC! Trying to share a desktop with my DH is really hard... for one because it's stationary... believe it or not I roam a TON with my laptop... watching Little Mermaid with Ella on the couch wile I write a blog post or Write up a supply list for a publication while I'm waiting for Ballet lessons to finish. I've really intertwined my professional life with my personal life in how I multi task...and stationary just isn't a part of it. Chris (DH) also really likes his own space with HIS desktop. Hey... who can blame him huh! I've taken over the house with glitter, stamps... ink... can't the man just have ONE place to call his own? He is being very understanding... but it's been a bit of a dance! Anyhow.... this too will pass.....on with the post!

This past week has had many turn of events. Some great... some not so great. I've been doing a bit of professional house keeping... writing up supply lists, cleaning up accepted cards to be sent in to publications and working on some packaging for my stamps *eek*! This past week was also filled with service... to my family as well as some church members here. I went over to a new VERY young mommy's home and helped show her how to wash her little mans hair in the sink. He was just a week old and the cord wasn't quite gone. that sweet new baby smell was contagious... those mommy instincts just fly when I get a whiff of that sweet smell. I also woke up early a few days and filled in for early morning Seminary for our church. *groggy*. Alex (15) is in the class so I was able to get constructive criticism...sort of. LOL! For those of you who read/study the Bible... Isaiah 53 is amazing. really short chapter too... read it!

Oh, OH! I received a FANTASTIC surprise yesterday... but will wait to tell you about it at a later date so as to not spoil any surprises for YOU! (Although I did spend several hours stamping after I opened the box and squealed!) 

Finally... Cardmaker Magazine has revamped their website a bit and Tanya Fox (Editor) has linked over to my blog feed. How fun... and there are some other crafters on there too that you may know or may be new. ALSO ... there is a web download for a sketch section that they have in the magazine with one of my cards.... Check it out... maybe you will find something that inspires you!

Well... off to work on my Newsletter project for Papertrey Ink. Glad you stopped by... see you soon!

Lisa

Dream Big

I'm not sure if I shared this card before.... but I thought I would risk sharing it again even if I had....because Graduation is quickly approaching and you just might need a card idea! :D

This is a tall card that measures 4x8 and fits into a standard business size envelope. I wanted to play off the swirls in the pattern paper (by 7G) as if it was party streamers and confetti. The transparency window adds just a tad of sophistication (to me at least).  Hampton Art has a great clear set just for graduation! I also used Marvy's punches to spotlight and frame up certain areas of the card. Here is a perfect example of being able to use a scalloped punch in a gender neutral card...even thought this card was intended for and published in You Go Girl!

So today I'm frantically working to get a project out the door for Hampton Art. The cool thing about this particular project is that YOU will get a chance to create it at your local Joann's store sometime in Aug. I won't have the exact date... but check their stores in the beginning of Aug. to see when they might be hosting some Make and Takes. :)

Thanks for stopping by... I hope your week is going well!

Lisa

Simple Little Things

Today I get to share my samples of PapertreyInk’s 2007 Anniversary stamp set. This set is not available for purchase but is a gift given by PTI to those who participated in the Come Grow With Us program. Click Here to read all about it.

I created 3 different cards for the Simple Little Things gallery that I wanted to share here today.

The first thing I wanted to do was pull out my Kraft paper. A few of the images have a natural feel to them and really wanted to play with some Copics I had. (Need to hone up on my coloring skills)

This card in a mini card... about 2x3inches. It's a perfect size to sneak into a gift bag or with some flowers. I used 2 different green copics and a brown and Grey one.

The next thing that came to my mind was to use this fun flower like image to create a border. I trimmed around the one edge and repeated the element under the sentiment to tie it all together. I stamped Polka dots onto the twill to add a little extra fun!

For some reason I felt like creating something quilt like and bright.I have a friend that LOVES bright colors and I know she would love this card. I'm not one that likes Kelly green... but it seemed to work with this card.

I hope you will take the time to visit the Simple Little Things Gallery to see the other DT members progects... they did an awesome job!

Thanks for poppin' in today...hope you have a happy monday!

Lisa

Some Fun Links

Some fun links and projects...

You may have seen this before... but here is the full project on Hampton's website.

Amy's Papertrey Tutorial is SO smart! I have yet to  purchase a cuttlebug and it's got my really wanting one now!

Here is a fun SU! card that I made for Crafts 'n Things... just found it on the web!

Have you ever heard of Scrapbooking.com Magazine? Check it out... some fun stuff for FREE over there!

Hope these links lead you to something fun today!

thanks for popping by,

Lisa