Typewriter Hello - Gray with Pink and Navy

The cheerful "hello" typewriter came from the edge of a 6x6" patterned paper.  It was fun to build my card around the gray with pink and navy flowers and a typewriter theme. 

Card details:

• Card stock is My Favorite Things cotton candy (medium pink), Paper Source night (dark navy),  Papertrey Ink (PTI) raspberry fizz (deep pink),  and the leaf print from PTI soft stone pattern pack.  The  patterned typewriter paper is from Pink Paislee pen pals. 
• The embossing folder is Paper Studio typewriter alphabet.
• Dies are PTI heart-2-heart #7 (large flower - navy) and polka dot parade #6 (large flower - raspberry.)
• Embroidery floss is DMC #930 and #3024.
• The banner is notched with scissors.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (428)

Bamboo with Green Gingham

Serene and simple.  The gingham paper was not what I planned to use, but it caught my eye as I tried different backgrounds for the bamboo image.  I like it a lot.
Edited February 25, 2015 to add a brighter version (below) for a family birthday. 

Card details:

• Card above: Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) fine linen (tan), dark chocolate (brown), and the gingham and bitty dot prints from PTI ripe avocado (yellow-green) and fine linen pattern packs.
• Card below: Patterned paper is stripe and polka dot from PTI fine linen and new leaf (bright green) pattern packs.
• The bamboo and sentiments "miss you" (above) and "Happy Birthday!" (below) are from PTI peaceful garden, stamped with PTI classic kraft, new leaf, ripe avocado, and dark chocolate ink.  Note: the stamp set is now in the PTI "Vault," meaning it's a special order and more expensive, but not discontinued.
• The gingham (above) and stripe (below) paper is edged with Copic E29 marker.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them."  (431)

Typewriter Embossing with Red and White - Before and After

"After" with blue

For today's card, I used one of my older designs, but with blue instead of kraft.  It's fun to remake my cards sometimes.  Usually I prefer the new version, but this time I like them both.  See below for the original card.

Card details:

• Click here for the original card post with all the supply details.  The only change is blue vs. kraft.  
• In place of the kraft color, the blues are Paper Source lake and the bitty dot print from Papertrey Ink blueberry sky pattern pack.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (309)

"Before" with kraft

Birthday Fireworks

It looks like fireworks to me, with the patterned paper and the "rocket" arrows.   This card was for a recent family birthday. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) tropical teal, pure poppy (red), summer sunrise (yellow),  the bitty dot print from PTI summer sunrise pattern pack, and a multi-color zigzag print from Echo Park "all about a boy" 6 x 6" paper pad.
• Dies are PTI get to the point and wonderful words: birthday.  I layered two colors of the birthday die cut, and I added a 1/8" strip of teal to the arrows. 
• The sentiment "Happy" is from PTI communique sentiments, stamped with PTI pure poppy ink cube. 
• The little yellow and teal stars are punched with Fiskars 1/4" hand punch.  Under the teal stars, there's a little flower from PTI framed out #10, stamped with pure poppy.  I thought it looked too floral for my overall design, so I added the stars, and now the flowers look like extra rays for the stars.

(417)

Thanks with Dots, Oval, and Chevrons

A mix of basic shapes to give an energy that offsets this card's subdued color scheme.  Polka dots, tiny pierced and printed dots, rectangles, chevrons, and an oval.  The dark green and cream oval and chevrons provide focus.

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

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) rustic cream, canyon clay (rusty orange), pinefeather (dark green),  and the polka dot print from PTI classic kraft pattern pack.
• The sentiment "thank you" is cut with the Silhouette Cameo, same as on this card.
• Dies are PTI diagonals, framed out #10, and stitched rectangle (4th largest).  I put a green rectangle behind the stitched rectangle die cut.
• I inlaid the cream V shapes, which made it easier to adhere the green die cut.  It has Scor tape under all of it, instead of individually adhering each green V shape. 
• The green dots in the oval are computer printed using Courier font.  This is easy to do in PowerPoint, but takes some juggling to make it look nice.  My note says "Dots are Courier 18 pt centered in text box, then using Quick Styles & Effects to curve; adjusted less flat; Used format text 3-D Z rotation to make ends line up." I did the top line of the dots first, and then when it was good, I copied and rotated it to get a mirror image below.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (418)

Valentine Matchbox with Booklet Greeting

Matchbox with heart on outside top, "love" on inside bottom, and booklet with heart cover and ribbon band closure. 

For my husband on Valentine's Day, a handmade matchbox with a tiny booklet inside. 

Many thanks to Susan Raihala for this matchbox idea and for the tutorial on her Simplicity blog!  On my version, I added some patterned paper, to decorate the outside top and line the inside bottom.  (The lining is very flat, but in my photo, a shadow makes it look wrinkled.)

My booklet is about 1-1/8" square.  It's stapled on the spine (one standard-size staple) with one folded sheet inside.  In other words, two pieces of card stock, scored and folded, for a total of eight pages including the cover.  I rounded the outer corners of the cover, but not the inner pages, which are sized a bit smaller than the cover.  The ribbon band, made with a small square of Scor Tape, keeps the booklet closed inside the box.

Note: I found that the item inside (such as my booklet) needs to be somewhat 3-D if it's not attached.  Very flat/thin items can easily slide out of the closed matchbox if it's tilted.  Maybe if my box were more perfectly constructed?  Just something to consider if you decide to try this!

Details:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white, Papertrey Ink (PTI) gold shimmer,  and the bitty dot print from PTI pure poppy (red) pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI heart-2-heart #11 and Elizabeth Craft love.
• The 1/4" metallic gold ribbon was leftover from a gift box.
• Booklet corners are rounded with 1/4" Corner Chomper.

(427)

Blue Ombre Doily - Miss You

A sentimental "miss you" card for today's Papertrey Ink anniversary challenge to create a blue ombre card.  My three blues flow nicely together with the soft gray. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) soft stone (light gray), enchanted evening (dark blue), blueberry sky (medium blue), and spring rain (light blue), with several prints from PTI pattern packs: blueberry sky stripes, enchanted evening damask (for the heart) and gingham, and soft stone bitty dot.
• Dies are PTI trendy tree tops (circle with heart cutout), limitless layers: 1-3/4" circles (pinked circle), and Parisian lace doily.
• The striped banner is notched with scissors. 
• The sentiment "miss you" is from PTI communique sentiments, stamped with PTI enchanted evening ink cube. 

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (426)

Gold with Black and White Shimmer

For today's Papertrey Ink anniversary challenge to use nothing but metallics and neutrals.  In real life, this card has a lot of shimmer and shine.  My picture captures the bold contrasts and textures, while it unfortunately misses most of the shimmer. 

My metallics are gold metallic thread, gold shimmer card stock, and gold ribbon.  My black and white neutrals are also shimmer.  I like all the textures of sunburst embossing, pierced panel, grosgrain ribbon, and stitching.  It's a handsome card, but I found it "challenging!" not to add more color.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) gold, white, and onyx (black) shimmer card stock. 
• Dies are Spellbinder 3-1/2" circle and PTI strip stitch and wonderful words: love.  I used 3 layers of card stock on the word, so it's very dimensional.
• Embossing folder is Lifestyle Crafts stripe.
• Thread is by DMC.
• Ribbon is 5/8" grograin, leftover from a gift box.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (425)

Triple Thank You on Yellow

Another day, another PTI anniversary challenge!  I've kept up with all the challenges so far, and it's been a great way to stretch and try some new things.  Moving slowly through my learning curve as a novice stamper, I decided to try a large stamp in three colors on my card today.  Definitely a challenge for me to get everything lined up and stamped correctly! 

This stamp set was still in the package, perfect for the challenge theme to use "a stamp set from your collection that hasn't seen ink."

The card is simple, but I like the colors, and the "thank you" message is loud and clear.  The dotted paper works well with the dotted lettering of the stamp.

 Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) lemon tart (light yellow), vintage cream, and the bitty dot print from PTI ripe avocado (green), pure poppy (red), and enchanted evening (dark blue)  pattern packs.
• The sentiment "thank you very much for everything" is from PTI wonderful words: thank you, stamped with PTI blueberry sky (medium blue), pure poppy, and ripe avocado ink cubes. 
• The arrow die is from PTI sketched shapes.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (424)

Flower Bouquet with Yellow and Red

My card today is for the Papertrey Ink anniversary challenge to create a bouquet using more than one floral stamp set.  In my case, there was an additional challenge - no floral stamp sets!  Although I've been making cards for years, I'm just starting to dip my toes into the waters of stamping.  I have only a handful of inks and stamp sets, all of them sentiments with a few extra elements included.

But I thought I'd still give it a try and see what I might come up with.  Yes, it's a bouquet of flowers!  In a vase!  And I needed bits from four different PTI stamp sets to put it together.  Though I didn't have any floral stamp sets to work with, I think my card fits with the spirit of this challenge. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) harvest gold (yellow), pure poppy (red), ripe avocado, stamper's select white, and the polka dot print from PTI harvest gold pattern pack.
• The bouquet is made with PTI stamps and inks as follows:
• Vase - Oval from framed out #10, with the top center masked to make an opening, stamped in Hawaiian shores (turquoise)
• Stems - Portions of the frame from fillable frames #2, stamped in ripe avocado
• Large leaves - The loop of the script "y" from keep it simple: thank you, stamped in ripe avocado
• Small linear leaves - The "I" from simple alphabet, stamped in ripe avocado
• Red flowers - The "@" from simple alphabet, stamped in pure poppy
• Blue flowers - The flower from framed out #10, stamped in blueberry sky, with the "O" from simple alphabet, stamped in Hawaiian shores
• Water is colored with Copic marker BG000, blue flower centers with Y13, and leaves with G43 and YG91.
• I fussy cut the bouquet to eliminate a few stray ink smudges.  
• Dies are PTI double-ended banner and fillable frames #8.
• The sentiment "thinking of you" is from PTI fillable frames #2, stamped with PTI bueberry sky (medium blue) ink cube. 

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (423)

Red and Aqua - Gift Bag with Tag

Not a card!  My papercrafting is almost always cards to send to our family and friends, or blank cards for Operation Write Home (for our deployed troops to write home on.)   But yesterday's Papertrey Ink anniversary challenge was to make a tag with a matching gift bag, and I thought a "love" themed set would be sweet for Valentine's Day.

The tag is simple, with three rows of hearts.  The kraft gift bag (about 5" wide) is much busier, with a bright variety of die-cut streamers on the red and aqua panel.  My tag and gift bag share a color scheme, patterned hearts, and red "love" words.  I'm happy with their "similar but not the same" look.  Thanks again, PTI, for nudging me out of my comfort zone! 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) aqua mist and pure poppy (red), with several prints from PTI pure poppy, raspberry fizz (pink), Hawaiian shores (lighter turquoise), and tropical teal (darker turquoise) pattern packs.
• I don't know where the kraft gift bag came from.
• Dies are PTI one liners (love), heart border, small scallop border, super star borders (solid stars), eyelet lace, chevron stripes (narrow chevron), and fillable frames #9 for my gift tag base.
• The sentiment "love" on my tag is stamped with PTI simple alphabet, using PTI pure poppy ink. 
• Twine is maraschino stripe from The Twinery.

(422)

Diagonal Stripes - Red, White, and Blue

A very bold impact with stripes and stars in red, white, blue, and kraft.  I made this card for Papertrey Ink's 200th Make It Monday challenge: layering Cover Plate die cuts with a small offset. 

Such a simple idea, but I wouldn't have thought of it!  And I really like the effect.  Thanks, PTI, for the inspiration! 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red), enchanted evening (dark blue), classic kraft, and stamper's select white.  
• The diagonal layers in order are blue (bottom layer, one piece of A2, not die cut), white (middle layer, die cut with cover plate), and red (top layer, die cut with cover plate).
• Dies are PTI cover plate: stripes diagonal, super star borders (solid stars), and wonderful words: thank you.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (421)

Inspired by Maile - White with Yellow, Orange, and Red

Today's Papertrey Ink anniversary challenge is to make a card inspired by Maile Belles.  She's a wonderful designer and card maker, so there's a lot to be inspired by!  I chose to work with the upper left card in the group of Maile's 8 favorites, and to use some elements that are not my norm:

• A white cover plate over ombre colors
• A short sentiment placed on two different-length strips
• A black ribbon accent

It was fun to try something new, and I like the result.  Thanks, Maile, for all your beautiful inspiration!

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

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) stamper's select and true black, with bitty dot prints from PTI summer sunrise (yellow), orange zest, and pure poppy (red) pattern packs.
• Dies are PTI cover plate: twist and sketched shapes (long narrow banner, trimmed down.)
• The black banner layer is notched with scissors.
• The sentiment "thank you" is from PTI keep it simple: thank you, stamped with PTI true black ink cube.
• Embroidery floss is DMC #310.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (420)

Circle and Rectangle - Dots and Stripes

It's the beginning of a 10-day anniversary celebration for Papertrey Ink (PTI), my favorite source for card making supplies and inspiration.  My card is for today's PTI challenge posted here.  I'm using the sixth color recipe (sweet blush, melon berry, aqua mist, fine linen, and classic kraft) with the first sketch (a circular element and rectangular element with a sentiment banner) - a fun way to try something new.  Happy 8th Anniversary to PTI!

Card details:

• Card stock is PTI melon berry (light orange) and aqua mist, with polka dot and stripes prints from PTI sweet blush (pink) and fine linen (tan) pattern packs.
• Twine is PTI rustic jute.
• Dies are PTI double-ended banner (trimmed off at one end) and limitless layers: 1-3/4" circles.
•  The sentiment "thinking of you" is from PTI keep it simple: thinking of you, and the little flower is from PTI framed out #10.  All stamped with PTI classic kraft ink cube.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (419)

Two Thank You Cards - Green and Blue

I made this patterned paper for a card three years ago, and since then, the leftovers have been sitting in my stash.  It was fun designing a card to use them up.  I like how the die cut edges look with the pattern dots.  Both cards are nice, but the one on the left is my favorite with its unusual color scheme.  

Card details:

• Card stock is:
  Left - Paper Source royal blue and Papertrey Ink (PTI) ripe avocado (green), ocean tides (muted teal), and stamper's select white
  Right - PTI new leaf (green), enchanted evening (dark blue), fine linen (tan), and vintage cream
• Dies are PTI sketched shapes (the long wide banner) and stitching lines. 
• Twine is from The Twinery:
  Left - Denim stripe
  Right - Seaweed stripe
• Patterned paper is computer-printed on PTI ocean tides and fine linen card stock with blue and green ink.  I used Monotype Sorts and Wingding fonts for my shapes. 
• Sentiment "thank you" is from PTI keep it simple: thank you, stamped with PTI ink cube:
  Left - Ripe avocado
  Right - Enchanted evening

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (416)

Bright Hello - Red, Gold, and Blue with Arrow

A bright hello with two dies from my "unused" collection - an arrow and chevrons.  They are such great shapes, I don't know why it took me so long to pull them out!

When my very-supportive husband looked at my first version, which used all solid red instead of the dotted red, he said "it looks kind of commercial" (aka boring).  So I changed to dotted red for my arrow and bottom strip.  Much better with the playful touch it adds. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source curry (gold), Papertrey Ink (PTI) enchanted evening (dark blue) and pure poppy (red), and two prints from PTI pattern packs: stripes in blueberry sky (medium blue) and bitty dot in pure poppy.
• Dies are PTI wonderful words: hello, get to the point, and diagonals (B).  The diagonals die is only six chevrons long, but it was easy to "chain cut" in my Big Shot for a longer strip.

Created for Operation Write Home, "supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." (415)