Yellow Stripe Stars with Red, White, and Blue

The wide diagonal stripes make an interesting yellow and white variation for the stars.  (There's an A2 piece of stripes layered behind the blue star cuts.)  I like the curved banner and the touches of red.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) blueberry sky (medium blue), pure poppy (red), stamper's select white, and the diagonal stripe print from PTI bright buttercup (yellow) "+ white basics" patterned paper. 
• Dies are PTI cover plate: stars and bountiful banners.  To make the red border, I cut a second banner, split it horizontally, and spread the pieces by 1/8+" with a little strip of card stock.
• The blue is embossed with Dreamweaver faux cross-stitch stencil screen using this technique.
• Ribbon is 3/8" gingham.
• The sentiment "thank you" is from Fiskars so much thanks, stamped with PTI enchanted evening (dark blue) ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Pink Notched Flowers on Yellow Stripes

Bright colors and a simple design.  I've been using more yellow on my cards recently.  Maybe I'm ready for spring to arrive with some bright sunny days.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) sweet blush (light pink), new leaf (green), and the stripe print from PTI lemon tart (light yellow) pattern pack.
• Flowers are stamped with PTI funky florals ( 2012 limited edition) using PTI berry sorbet (medium pink - more of an orangey pink color in real life) and terra cotta tile (deep rusty orange) ink cubes. 
• Dies are PTI heart-2-heart #12 and notched flowers.
• Green centers are punched with EK Success 3/16" circle punch.
• The sentiment "so grateful" is cut with Silhouette Cameo.  I used Illustration Ink's scrap calligraphy font, welded it, then offset a bit to thicken the letters, and closed up some of the inner spaces.  To make a full-length stroke on the beginning of "so," I typed "sso" and used the Silhouette software's eraser tool to remove the first letter.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Big Blue Star with Yellow and Red

Some red, white, and blue with a bright burst of yellow.  I like the big blue star and tiny punched dot to focus on the sentiment, along with the dramatic scale of the diagonal stripes.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) enchanted evening (dark blue), pure poppy (red), stamper's select white, the polka dot print from PTI blueberry sky (medium blue) pattern pack, and the diagonal stripe print from PTI bright buttercup (yellow) "+ white basics" patterned paper.
• Dies are PTI seeing stars (large star), snowflake flurries (medium), and Spellbinders small standard circles (3rd smallest size).
• I used a McGill 1/8" handheld punch for the tiny blue dot. 
• The sentiment circle "thank you!" is from Fiskars so much thanks, stamped with PTI pure poppy ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Red Bird on Yellow Dots

This card just makes me smile!  My very simple scene has a bright red cardinal, perched on a strip of red against a solid yellow tree or cloud, with a polka-dot yellow sky in the background. 

Card details:

• Card stock is My Favorite Things red hot (red), Papertrey Ink (PTI) bright buttercup (bright yellow), stamper's select white, and the bitty dot and polka dot prints from PTI pure poppy (red) and lemon tart (light yellow) pattern packs.
• Dies are PTI winter woods, PTI edger #3 and Savvy Stamps hello.
• The bird is from PTI winter woods, stamped with PTI pure poppy and smokey shadow (dark gray) ink cubes.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Circles and Stars - Red, White, and Blue

Lots of colorful stars and circles.  The circles cover plate gives a unity and structure to the scattered and tilted stars.  After I thought it was finished, it seemed to need more of a playful touch, so I added the small blue stamped circles (imperfect on purpose). 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) spring rain (light blue), enchanted evening (dark blue), bright buttercup (yellow), pure poppy (red), and stamper's select white.
• Dies are PTI double-ended banners and cover plate: circles.
• Yellow stars are punched with a Fiskars 1/4" hand punch.
• Starry circles (inlaid into the cover plate openings) are stamped with boy basics: simple circles (red open star) and confetti toss (1/8" yellow dot and two sizes of blue circles), using PTI pure poppy, bright buttercup, and enchanted evening ink cubes.
• The sentiment "thinking of you" is from PTI keep it simple: thinking of you, stamped with PTI enchanted evening ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Burgundy Butterfly with Pink and White

A dotted butterfly with leaves, on a card base with dots and embossed leaves.  The white rectangle and banner look fresh and draw attention to the focal point. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) lovely lady (medium pink), scarlet jewel (burgundy), stamper's select white, and the bitty dot print from PTI autumn rose pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI double-ended banner and limitless layers: 1-3/4" circles (scalloped).  
• Embossing folder is Elizabeth Craft spring leaves.
• The sentiment "thank you very much" is from PTI fillable frames #2, and the butterfly is from PTI 2009 anniversary set round and round, both stamped with PTI scarlet jewel ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Lattice and Chevron - Embossing with Stencil

A simple layout with angles and curves.  This card looks really nice (and less pink!) in real life.  The melon berry and terra cotta tile colors are difficult for me to capture on screen.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) melon berry (light orange), dark chocolate (brown), and terra cotta tile (deep rusty orange), bitty dot print from PTI dark chocolate pattern pack, and script print from PTI dearest Jane.
• Die is Poppy Stamps lattice edge.  The "thanks" word is cut with Silhouette Cameo.
• Embossing is done with PTI modern background stencil collection, chevron pattern.  The PTI stencil is thicker material than other stencils I have, and it embossed beautifully for me.
• Technique - see warnings below.  For embossing with the PTI stencil, my Big Shot sandwich was:  
• Multipurpose platform, Tab 1 only
• Cutting plate
• Two layers of lightweight card stock (I used label sheets from PTI card stock packages)
• Both PTI embossing pads
• PTI card stock
• PTI stencil
• Cutting plate
•  Warnings:
• The sandwich felt tight but comfortable going through my machine.  (Like cutting with a PTI cover plate.)  But everyone's machine is different, so please be careful if you try it!  
• Make sure your stencil edge doesn't extend past the side of your cutting plate, or it could be damaged going through the Big Shot, as has happened to me with card stock.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Floral on Gray with Gingham and Dot Prints

My second card with Papertrey Ink's new color pop florals kit, this time sponging the kit's preprinted light gray paper with the stencils and adding stamps for detail.  I really like the colorful floral print I made, though I could have lined up my stencils better to avoid the white showing.  But especially with a white banner, I like the white touches.

My floral design looks very nice with two pattern swatches on a medium gray background.  I tried some different ideas for texture on my card base, but simple looked best to me.  Next time I'll aim for a soft effect, with lighter sponging on plain white card stock. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Ellen Hutson white linen, Papertrey Ink (PTI) stormy sea (medium gray), and the bitty dot and gingham prints from PTI enchanted evening (dark blue) and terra cotta tile (deep rusty orange) pattern packs.
• Die is the long wide banner from PTI sketched shapes.
• The floral design is sponged with a round ink blender and PTI color pop florals stencils, using autumn rose, blueberry sky (medium blue), and new leaf (medium green) ink cubes.
• The flower details are from PTI color pop florals and a solid 5/8" circle from bits & buttons, stamped with pinefeather (dark green), tropical teal, pure poppy (red), terra cotta tile, and summer sunrise (yellow) ink cubes.
• The sentiment "thinking of you" is from PTI keep it simple: thinking of you, stamped with PTI stormy sea ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Papertrey February Blog Hop Challenge: Rectangles, Notched Circle, and Leafy Branch

Some offset geometric shapes, soft colors, textures, a leafy branch ...  a dreamy abstract collage.  In real life, the metallic ribbon is a bright sparkly gold, not silvery like my picture.

For today's Papertrey Ink February blog hop.  The challenge photo below (from Nichole's Capture the Moment blog) inspired me with its colors, shapes, and overlapping layers.  I enjoyed creating my card, and I'm happy with how it captured my inspiration themes.  Thank you, PTI, for the challenge!

Original source: Real Simple Magazine

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) classic kraft, spring moss (light green), simply chartreuse (medium green), and ripe avocado (dark green), and the leaf print from PTI sweet blush (pink) pattern pack. 
• I embossed the kraft card stock with Dreamweavers stencil screen for a woven texture.  See my post here for the technique I used.
• Dies are PTI branching out (top section) and notched flowers (largest size).
• Gold tinsel weave ribbon (3/8") came from PTI but is no longer available.
• Thread is DMC #5 perle cotton in ecru (cream).

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Brown with Flowers

Today's card from a new kit by Papertrey Ink - color pop florals.  I die cut some of the kit's preprinted flowers and leaves, then glued them to one of the brown and white A2 papers.  Embroidery floss and a matted sentiment finish the card.

It was fun to play with the kit.  I didn't really expect to enjoy using the preprinted elements, but they look very nice when die cut and layered.  It felt a bit like cheating ... did I really create this card, or did I just assemble it?  But I did add my own touch with the floss and sentiment.  And I'm happy with the results. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Ellen Hutson white linen, Papertrey Ink (PTI) harvest gold (yellow), and printed papers from PTI color pop florals kit.
• Embroidery floss is DMC 372 and 744.
• Dies are from PTI color pop florals kit (flower and leaf shapes) and PTI my mother, my friend (label shapes).
• The sentiment "thank you" is from PTI keep it simple: thank you, stamped with PTI blueberry sky (medium blue) ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Leaves with Cream and Kraft

A trio of leaf prints on cream.  The simple kraft frame seems to be all it needs.  I tried other card bases - different colors and prints, embossed textures - and chose the cream for its peaceful serenity.  This design would also make a lovely sympathy card.

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

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) rustic cream and classic kraft. 
• Die is PTI take three.  It cuts the three windows; the outer edges can be any size.
• Frame corners are rounded with Crop-a-Dile 1/4" corner chomper.
• The frame and leaves are popped up with Essentials by Ellen craft-a-board (similar to PTI coaster material) for some dimension.
• The sentiment "thinking of you" is from PTI keep it simple: thinking of you and the leaves are from PTI peaceful garden, all stamped with PTI simply chartreuse (medium green) and ripe avocado (dark green) ink cubes.  

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Red Polka Dots with Yellow and Teal

Today's card is for this week's Papertrey Ink Make It Monday challenge: customizing patterned paper.  I like the red and white polka dot paper with the extra pops of yellow and teal stamping.  With some embossed dots for the card base, striped twine, and a diagonal "hello," it makes a bright and cheerful card.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) summer sunrise (yellow), tropical teal, and aqua mist, and the polka dot print from PTI pure poppy (red) "+ white basics" patterned paper.
• Embossing folder is Darice dot point. 
• Die is PTI wonderful words: hello, with two colors layered and offset a bit for a shadow effect.
• Twine is marigold (yellow) and Caribbean (turquoise) stripe from The Twinery.
• Yellow and teal circles are stamped onto the red and white patterned paper.  I used large dots from PTI confetti toss, stamped with summer sunrise and tropical teal ink cubes.  
• Technique:  Since there's no individual stamp for the open circle (teal), I used a cluster stamp and tried to ink just the one circle.  To catch any stray ink, I made a mask by punching a 1/2" circle in scrap paper to lay on top of the red patterned paper. 

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Yellow with Blue, Pink, and Leaves

For today's Papertrey Ink 9th Anniversary paper crafting alphabet challenge.  Using my first name and the alphabet list, my challenge was to make a card with at least five colors, dry embossing of some kind, and a new product that I had purchased but not yet used.  It didn't work as I planned, but I'm happy with the end result.

My five colors are yellow, two shades of green, blue, and pink.  After I tried in vain to stencil with my new product (a Dreamweaver stencil screen), I thought of dry embossing my yellow card base with it.  I love the crisp, fine woven texture it gave me!

And later, after I finished my card, I found the problem with my stenciling efforts ...  But I'm glad it didn't work for me at first, because then I tried an "off label" technique with the screen, and now I have a new embossing look that I'll enjoy using.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) lemon tart (yellow), berry sorbet (pink), limeade ice (light green), simply chartreuse (medium green), and stripes print from PTI spring rain (light blue) pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI branching out (I used partial cuts) and Elizabeth Craft hello. 
• Technique: To emboss my card stock with the Dreamweaver faux cross-stitch stencil screen, I used this sandwich on my Big Shot (starting from the bottom): Multipurpose platform (all tabs), cutting plate, PTI card stock, screen, thin PTI embossing pad, cutting plate.  It felt tight going through my machine, but not overly so.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Bird on Teal Wreath - Two Versions

A soft and pretty card, sending my thanks to everyone behind the scenes at Papertrey Ink, for all their hard work to bring us the beautiful PTI products.  For today's PTI 9th Anniversary challenge "to create a thank you card and mail it to our warehouse staff."

Edited February 15 to add a second version with a dark base.  I like them both!

 
Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) stamper's select white, vintage cream, melon berry (light orange), and tropical teal (dark turquoise), the leaf print from PTI melon berry pattern pack, and the pale aqua print from PTI pretty pastels 8x8" paper pad.
  Note: for the cream card, the light gray is background, not part of the card.
• The second card is the same, except I used PTI smokey shadow (dark gray) instead of vintage cream.
• Dies are PTI rustic wreath and winter woods.
• Small dots are punched with EK Success 3/16" circle punch.
• Corner rounder is Crop-a-Dile 1/2" corner chomper.
• Embossing folder is Darice honeycomb. I used the debossed side.
• The chickadee from PTI winter woods is stamped with tropical teal and Hawaiian shores (medium turquoise) ink cubes.
• The sentiment "thank you" is from PTI botanical silhouettes, stamped with PTI tropical teal ink cube.

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Yellow, Orange, and Red Flower - Thank You

For today's Papertrey Ink 9th Anniversary challenge.  My folded "fortune teller" gave me three very bright colors, perfect for a simple flower design. 

Card details:

• Card stock Papertrey Ink (PTI) orange zest, summer sunrise (yellow), and pure poppy (red), with the damask print from PTI summer sunrise pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI wonderful words: thank you, PTI beautiful blooms II #3 (largest flower), and Avery Elle icon fill in the blank (star).
• I used my very old 1/4" circle punch for the red dot.
• The flower is popped up with Tombow power tabs - not as thick as foam tape.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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