Sun Rays - Yellow-Orange with Orange or Blue

Bright sun rays with some extra shine - clear heat embossing over all the stamping, and a clear domed sticker in the sun's center.  Two colors of ink make for a variegated look.  The dotted line, ray triangle, and circle came from three different stamp sets, working nicely together here.  I used several different patterned papers for the card bases; these are two of my favorites.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) lemon tart (light yellow).
• Patterned papers are from PTI orange zest and blueberry sky (medium blue) pattern packs (tone-on-tone prints - retired). 
• The domed sticker is from a very old pack of EK Success Sticko brand epoxy dome stickers.  It's very shiny and clear in real life, though a bit gray in my images. 
• The sentiment "sending you sunshine" and the dotted ray are from PTI hello sunshine (retired); the dotted circle is from Inkadinkado patterned circles; and the dotted line is from Hero Arts everyday sayings, all stamped with PTI bright buttercup (bright yellow) and summer sunrise (yellow-orange) inks, then restamped with Versamark and clear heat embossed.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Birthday - Green and White with Blue Plaid

Bold and simple for a masculine birthday card.  I like the two shades of green with two shades of blue, lots of crisp white, and sentiments big and small.  

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) new leaf (green) and stamper's select white.
• Patterned paper is from blueberry sky (medium blue) bitty big pattern pack.
• White panel is edged with Copic marker YG23.
• Twine is denim stripe from The Twinery.
• The tiny repeating sentiment "happy birthday" is from PTI fill in the blank (retired), stamped with PTI green parakeet ink cube.  
• The large "happy birthday" is from PTI think big favorites #12, stamped with PTI fresh snow (white) pigment ink cube and white heat embossed.

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Black and White Dots with Teal

Black and white sentiment strip on black and white dots, layered on a textured teal background.  The lattice pattern of the embossing folder works well with the tiny, evenly spaced dots.

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source peacock (teal) and Papertrey Ink (PTI) true black.
• Patterned paper is from PTI comic strip A2 paper pack (retired).
• Embossing folder is Stampin' Up square lattice (retired).  I used the debossed side of the card stock.
• The sentiment "thanks" is from PTI limitless layers: labels (retired), stamped with PTI fresh snow (white) ink cube, then white heat embossed.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Purple Butterfly on White Doily - Before and After

After

For today's "transformation" challenge on the Papertrey Ink (PTI) blog, I chose a card from 2013 as my "before" card (below).  Though it has some nice elements, they just didn't work together.  The soft paper doily got lost in the mix, the butterfly looked too small and too heavy, and my overall design felt very disconnected.  

When I reworked the design today, I kept the same color scheme with a butterfly on a white doily and a dark horizontal bar.  But I changed the patterned background to embossed texture, and I used a larger and lacier butterfly, placed on a much more visible white doily.  The "after" version (above) works for me now, and I'm glad I tried the transformation!  Thank you, PTI, for an interesting challenge today!

Before  
(Note: the gray border is background, not part of the card)

Card details for "after" card:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white and Papertrey Ink (PTI) lilac grace (light purple) and plum pudding (medium purple).
• Patterned paper is the leaf print from PTI winter wisteria (light purple) pattern pack (tone-on-tone prints - retired).
• The lilac grace card stock is embossed with PTI cover plate: twist.
• Dies are PTI Parisian lace doily and life is beautiful.
• The sentiment "with sympathy" is from PTI communique sentiments, stamped with PTI fresh snow (white) pigment ink cube, then white heat embossed. 

Card details for "before" card are in this post.

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Yellow Stars with Black, White, and Rusty Red

Fiery hot colors, grounded with black and white.  The yellow patterned paper (thanks, Vicki!) adds some interesting variation to the star shapes. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) terra cotta tile (rusty red) and true black.
• Patterned paper is from Craft Smith flower market 12 x 12" collection.
• Twine is PTI true black baker's twine.
• Die is PTI cover plate: stars.
• The sentiment "thanks" is from PTI limitless layers: labels (retired), stamped with Hero Arts unicorn white pigment ink and white heat embossed.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Teal and White Stars on Text Background

For the Papertrey Ink "Create Along with Us" July challenge, I chose the first project in this post by Nichole Heady as my starting point.  As she explained it, "Stamp any kind of text or sentiments and then add a bold clear embossed image on top.  Follow this with sponging with the same ink color you used for stamped text."

I like the results on my card today, and I'll try this technique again sometime.  Thank you, Nichole, for your inspiration!

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) tropical teal, stamper's select white, and a striped print from PTI pure poppy (red) "+ white basics" patterned paper (retired).
• Dies are PTI seeing stars (medium and small sizes) and stitched rectangles.
• The sentiment "thank you" is from PTI fill in the blank, stamped with PTI tropical teal and pure poppy ink cubes. 
• The stamped stars are all from PTI military stars (retired).  I used the backs of three stamps for my large stars, which are stamped with Versamark, then clear heat embossed.  The small star under the red sentiment is stamped with PTI Hawaiian shores (medium turquoise) ink cube.
• After heat embossing my three large stars, I added a turquoise background with PTI Hawaiian Shores ink cube, using an e.l.f total face brush to apply the ink.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Leafy Green on Cream

While I was working on this card posted earlier today, I stamped and embossed a second leafy panel. This one is stamped with green ink, then with Versamark, and heat embossed (clear).  It's a simple card design with some nice texture from the inlaid die cut and the twine.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) vintage cream, new leaf (deep green), and bitty dots print from PTI new leaf pattern pack.
• Twine is PTI rustic cream button twine.
• Die is PTI sketched shapes (long wide banner) and Elizabeth Craft thank you.
• The leaves are from PTI turning a new leaf, stamped with PTI vintage jadeite (medium green) ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Leafy Green with Teal

For this week's Papertrey Ink "make it Monday" challenge:  ink blending over heat embossing.  Just doing heat embossing is a stretch for me, and then adding ink blending?  Not in my comfort zone.  But I kept going with it.  I'm glad I finished the card, though I can't really say I enjoyed the process.  I'll try it again sometime though.  And I did put white embossing powder on my shopping list!

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) tropical teal (dark teal) and mint julep (light green). 
• The leafy panel is stamped in Versamark ink on mint julep card stock with PTI turning a new leaf stamps, then heat embossed (clear), and sponged/blended with PTI tropical teal, Hawaiian shores (medium turquoise), and new leaf (green) inks.
• Dies are PTI double ended banners and stitching lines.
• Corners are rounded with Crop-a-Dile 1/4" corner chomper. 
• The sentiment "thinking of you" is from PTI keep it simple: thinking of you, stamped with PTI tropical teal and new leaf ink cubes.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Leafy Sampler Square

My leafy sampler card was created for yesterday's Papertrey Ink 9th Anniversary challenge.  Here's the challenge:  "In honor of our 9th Anniversary, you are challenged to cut nine 1-1/2” squares from white cardstock, then alter all nine of the squares using a variety of techniques, colors, stamps, etc. Be sure to do something different to each square!  ..... adhere the nine squares to a 5-1/2” x 5-1/2” square card front ..."

So I decided to use 9 different ink techniques, all of them new to me.  I'm not a "get inky" kind of crafter.  Even the inky basics of blending, smooshing, and splattering were new experiments for me.  I was surprised at the nice results I got on my first try, which will encourage me to do more with these techniques, and my squares even look pretty good together!

I chose just a few stamps and colors to give my design some unity.  My nine different techniques were ...
Top row: Doodling on a stamped image (with white gel pen and Copic olive 0.3 multiliner), ink splattering, sponging on a stencil
Middle row: Emboss resist, ink smooshing, watercolored background with reinkers and a stencil
Bottom row: Ink blended background, multicolor stamping (reinkers dabbed onto the stamp), and shadow stamping with two colors of ink.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) mint julep and stamper's select white.
• Twine is shore (light blue) stripe from The Twinery.
• Stencil is by Crafter's Workshop.
• Inks are PTI blueberry sky (medium blue), new leaf (medium green), and pinefeather (dark green).
• Stamps are from PTI turning a new leaf.

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Pink and Black Heart with Stripes Card

A small pink and black heart with stripes of ribbon, card stock, and faux stitching. In real life, the light pink is much brighter, and the colors work well together.

I drew the heart on a white Inchie (1" square matboard) and colored it with Copic markers RV02,06,34 and 100 black. I added clear embossing on the heart, to give it some shine, and dots of fl. pink Gelly Roll pen on the black area.

The 5/8" stripes are satin ribbon (colored pink with RV34) and card stock (Papertrey Ink true black). I drew the faux stitching with black Copic multiliner and fl. pink Gelly Roll pen. The sentiment "Love you..." is computer-printed on the white card base with Papyrus font (small caps) and underlined with multiliner and RV34.

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." (023)

Turquoise Flower Card with Clear Embossing

A large flower. No sentiment. I made the flower as follows:

• Petals - Three 1-3/4" circles punched from Paper Source peacock (turquoise) card stock. The pieces were cut in half and adhered in a fan-like circle. I used my corner rounder punch to round off the tip of each petal.
  
• Center - A 3/4" circle of Papertrey Ink lemon zest (light yellow) card stock, edged with Copic marker YR15.
  
• Leaves - Three leaves cut freehand from Paper Source jadeite (green) card stock.
  

For the dots in the flower center, and the veins on the petals and leaves, I used a Versamark marker with clear embossing powder. Beneath the flower, the light yellow layer is Papertrey Ink lemon zest, edged with Copic marker YR15. The yellow-orange 2-1/8" stripe across the middle is Hero Arts poppy card stock, and the base card is white.

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." (011)