Stamp-a-faire Cards 2015

For this year's Papertrey Ink Stamp-a-faire, I created 8 cards (shown above) from Sunday evening to Monday evening (today).  And tried some new things, learned some great tips and techniques, and enjoyed myself immensely!  Many thanks to PTI for all the inspiration!

Note: each card is posted individually (August 30-31) with details about the Stamp-a-faire challenges and the supplies that I used. 

Green Leaves with Raspberry Hello

A few unused "reject" pieces from my table, and a final card for the 2015 Papertrey Ink Stamp-a-faire.  This is for the "make it work" challenge.  I wouldn't have planned the stamped green leaves with the raspberry die cut word, but they do work together!  I had pulled out my scalloped edger die for a different challenge, but then didn't use it.  Here it was perfect for adding a soft frame to my leaves and word.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) stamper's select white, raspberry fizz (deep pink), sweet blush (light pink), and the bitty dots print from PTI new leaf (green) pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI turning a new leaf, wonderful words: hello, and edgers #3.
• The leaves are stamped with PTI turning a new leaf, using PTI new leaf ink cube.

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Teal Birds in Twine Nest

Going way outside my comfort zone with a twine nest (or wreath) for Danielle's twine techniques threads challenge in Papertrey Ink's 2015 Stamp-a-faire.  It was easy to loop my twine for the nest, which I attached with a staple (hidden under the left-hand bird), and then not so easy to make it into a card!

But for my first "messy twine" attempt, I'm happy that I came up with something, and actually I kind of like it.  Now that I've tried it, I'll do this again sometime.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) aqua mist (light aqua), tropical teal (dark teal), and the polka dot print from PTI tropical teal pattern pack.
• Twine is PTI rustic jute.
• Dies are PTI heart-2-heart #9.  I added dots for eyes with a black Micron pen. 
• Corners are rounded with Crop-a-dile 1/2" and 1/4" corner chomper.
• The sentiment "sending you smiles" is from PTI simple sunflower, stamped with PTI tropical teal ink cube.

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Bright Yellow with Multicolor Prints

Well, this is a bright and busy card!  But it all works together, thanks to a great tutorial in Betsy's "mixing patterns" video for the Papertrey Ink 2015 Stamp-a-faire mix and match challenge. 

I used Betsy's advice to plan for some white space (bright yellow in this case), to include a bold print accent of black and white (mine is dark gray), and to use the largest quantity of my biggest-scale print, then less of the medium-scale print, and even less of the smallest.  One of her samples also inspired my diagonally placed square.

It was fun arranging my patterned papers and just letting them be loud!  I edged all of them in red to unify and help them stand out from each other.  The bright "happy" word fits perfectly in size and theme. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) summer sunrise (bright yellow) and five papers from Basic Grey PB&J 6x6" pad, including the solid red.
• Patterned papers are edged with Copic marker R08.
• Die is PTI tipped tops.

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Blue Stars on Blue

My card #3 for the Papertrey Ink 2015 Stamp-a-faire runway inspired challenge.  The runway photos and color combinations have made such great starting points for me!  This card is inspired by Betsy's photo with a blue print dress.  The intertwining shapes made me think of starry stripes.  The rounded silhouette of the dress prompted me to round my card corners.  Perfect for a masculine birthday card that I need today!

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) spring rain (light blue), blueberry sky (medium blue), and enchanted evening (dark blue).
• Dies are PTI super star borders.  The tiny dark blue stars are leftovers from the die.
• Outer corners are rounded with Crop-a-dile 1/2" corner chomper.
• The sentiment "Happy Birthday" is from PTI communique sentiments, stamped with PTI enchanted evening ink cube.

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Wreath with Berries - Stamping with Shelf Liner

I felt a bit intimidated by the unconventional materials challenge for Papertrey Ink's 2015 Stamp-a-faire.  But looking around in the basement, I spotted some leftover beige non-adhesive shelf liner from the "home organization" section of our hardware store.  (See picture below.)

I cut an A2 size piece of the liner, taped it to a piece of scrap paper to hold it flat, and inked it with several colors of green ink, hoping for an ombre effect.  Then I carefully placed a piece of cardstock on top of it, held it in place, and pressed firmly with my brayer.

Wow!  I love the background pattern it made!  I would definitely try this again.  I can just rinse off the excess ink, let it dry, and keep using it.  I think the somewhat squishy texture of the shelf liner helped give me the good stamping results.  I'm a novice stamper and I don't know a lot of techniques, so although this was "original" to me, I would bet it's been done before by others. 

Card details:

• Papertrey Ink (PTI) rustic cream, spring moss (light green), simply chartreuse (medium green), ripe avocado (dark green), and terra cotta tile (deep rusty orange - not as red as my image). 
• Die is PTI rustic wreath.  I cut two extra sections to add to my wreath circle.
• The berries are punched with a very old 1/4" hole punch.
• The banner is notched with scissors.
• The sentiment "thank you" is from PTI communique sentiments, stamped with PTI terra cotta tile ink cube.  The inks for my shelf liner background are PTI spring moss, simply chartreuse, and ripe avocado.
• Shelf liner looks like this:

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Bright Flowers with Vellum on Black

My 2nd card for the Papertrey Ink 2015 Stamp-a-faire runway inspired challenge.   For this one, I chose Ashley's inspiration photo - a striking color scheme with bright flowers on a dotted black gown.  The softly draping scarf made me think of of vellum. 

 Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) vellum, new leaf (green), sweet blush (light pink), melon berry (medium orangey pink), pure poppy (red), and the bitty dots print from PTI true black pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI eyelet lace, heart-2-heart #12 (leaflets), and heart-2-heart #7 (flowers).
• For the flower centers, I used an EK Success 5/16" circle punch.

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Pastel Flowers on Cream Lattice

A soft and sweet card for the Papertrey Ink 2015 Stamp-a-faire runway inspired challenge.  My color schemes are typically bolder, but after I completed the all-white bridal challenge, Melissa's soft pastels really appealed to me.  Thinking about my design, I realized my wedding card was a perfect fit for that soft lacy netting in the inspiration photo.  I turned it to landscape instead of portrait, added flower centers, and omitted the sentiment, but otherwise kept things the same.

Note: the gray border is background, not part of the card.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) vintage cream, classic kraft (flower centers), fine linen (tan card base), sweet blush (pink), and spring moss (light green).
• Dies are PTI cover plate: twist, turning a new leaf (B), and pencil blooms.

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All White Wedding Card

An all-white wedding card for the Papertrey Ink 2015 Stamp-a-faire bridal challenge.  I popped up the leaves and trio of flowers to add more contrast to my design.

Note: the gray border is background, not part of the card.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) stamper's select white. 
• Dies are PTI cover plate: twist, turning a new leaf (B), and pencil blooms.
• The sentiment "Congrats" is from PTI communique sentiments, stamped with PTI smokey shadow (dark gray) ink cube.

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Aqua Prints with Brown Mat

Aqua prints with a brown mat.  Brown stars in two colors, embossed and die cut.  A simple "medallion band" layout with good contrast and texture.

Card details:

• Card stock is Hero Arts layering paper - earth - latte (medium brown), Papertrey Ink (PTI) dark chocolate (dark brown), and gingham and bitty dots prints from PTI aqua mist pattern pack.
• Embossing folder is Darice stars asst. [assorted]
• Dies are PTI mat stack 4 (regular and layerz sizes), Elizabeth Craft thank you #788, and MFT western star border (retired).

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Leafy Green Sympathy Card

Soft green colors and leafy textures for today's sympathy card.  I like the many curves of the script word and the leaves, with a few straight lines.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) spring moss (light green), simply chartreuse (medium green), ripe avocado (dark green), and rustic white.
• Embossing folder is Elizabeth Craft spring leaves.
• Dies are WPlus9 folk art florals.
• The sentiment "with sympathy" is from PTI communique sentiments, stamped with PTI limeade ice (a light, bright yellow-green) and simply chartreuse ink cubes.  On its own, the simply chartreuse ink looked a bit too gray or olive for this card.  Using the MISTI, I was able to triple-stamp - first with limeade ice, then (lightly) with simply chartreuse, and then again with limeade ice - for the exact color I wanted.

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Turquoise Damask with White Doily

Something lacy and a bit ornate, for a change.  The crisp white doily contrasts well with the tone-on-tone damask print. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) tropical teal, aqua mist, stamper's select white, and the damask print from PTI Hawaiian shores (medium turquoise) pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI Parisian lace doily, My Favorite Things stitched scallop edges (medium), and Memory Box fancy blossoms (medium).
• The sentiment banner is notched with scissors. 
• The flower center is punched with EK Success 3/16" circle punch.
• The sentiment "just because ..." is from Stampabilities card phrases, stamped with PTI Hawaiian shores ink cube.

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Watercolor Hello Stencil

A bit of stenciling (hello) with watercolors, and a watercolored die cut trim.  I like how it looks with the dark purple base and silver thread accent.

Card details:

• Card stock is Ranger distress watercolor, which I chose for its bright white color and convenient A2 size, and Papertrey Ink (PTI) royal velvet (dark purple).
• Dies are PTI wonderful words: hello (for the stencil) and My Favorite Things mini double dot border (retired).  I accidentally cut into one side of my dots border, so I trimmed both sides for a kind of hexagon effect. 
• I cut my stencil from Eclipse masking tape.  (I've had the tape for a long time, and it may be discontinued.)
• Thread is DMC silver metallic.
• Watercolor is Dr. Ph. Martin's radiant concentrated watercolors - green, violet, and three shades of blue - 8A, 9A, 10A, 11A, and 12A.  For more information about these watercolors, including my color chart, see this post on my Mostly Markers blog.

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Blue Framed Sympathy Card

A simple layout with blue patterns and a blue-and-white frame.  The dark blue border line adds contrast, and the ribbon adds a bit of shimmer.  

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) stamper's select white and the leaf and bitty dot prints from PTI blueberry sky (medium blue) and enchanted evening (dark blue) pattern packs.
• The white rectangle is edged with Copic marker B39. 
• The sheer-and-satin (woven stripe) 5/8" white ribbon is colored with Copic marker B41.
• The sentiment "with sympathy" is from PTI communique sentiments, stamped with PTI enchanted evening ink cube. The floral frame is from PTI framed out #10, stamped with PTI blueberry sky ink cube.

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Bright Flowers - Two Cards

Two cards with one of my drawings, scanned and computer-printed in black and white, then colored with Copic markers.  I love the bright tropical look of the flowers and leaves.  I will probably add a stem for the top flower, which looks a bit disconnected now. 

Like many of my drawings for cards, this one started with "just a drawing" (posted here), which I then rearranged and redrew to work in a card setting.  Technique:  When coloring a complex image like this, I tend to lose track of leaf/petal/background, so I start with a very light green (G000) to outline all of my leaf shapes.  It's an easy way for me to avoid some coloring mistakes.

Card details:

• Top card: Card stock is Neenah solar white, My Favorite Things red hot (red),  Papertrey Ink (PTI) smokey shadow (dark gray), and the bitty dots print from PTI smokey shadow pattern pack.
• Bottom card: Card stock is Neenah solar white, Paper Source poppy (light orange), Papertrey Ink (PTI) new leaf (green), and the bitty dots print from PTI new leaf pattern pack.
• Both cards: Embossing folder is The Paper Studio script (retired).
• Top card: Copic colors are R02,35,39, Y08,21, YR04, YG05,61, G000,07, and E84.
• Bottom card:  Copic colors are Y21, R02, YR04,09, E84, YG61, and G07 on Y21 (marker tip-to-tip blending).  Note, the flowers are lighter and more yellowish in real life.  
• Bottom card: The white rectangle is edged with black Copic multiliner for more contrast with the green mat.  I used a Brush Small (BS) size multiliner.

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