Wednesday, October 31, 2012

grateful for family...

I have a couple of fall cards to send out to my family - these are made with Lily Bee Designs' Autumn Spice line of papers and stamps.
On the first card, I used Papertrey Ink's Melon Berry ink to first stamp the circles, then Canyon Clay ink to stamp over the top with the hearts. I wasn't sure how these two colors would look together, but they turned out pretty cute. Also stamped the heart, circle and family from the Autumn Spice stamps and popped it up for dimension.

The "so grateful for you" was cut with my Cameo. I'm getting more and more use out of it, and am not so scared of it anymore! :) The doily was cut with the Doily Details die - I'm so addicted to that die set. Button is from A Flair For Buttons.

On the second card, I stamped the circles with Fine Linen, the outer rings with Classic Kraft and then the hearts with Canyon Clay ink. Family is stamped with Dark Chocolate ink. After all of the stamping was done, the card front was embossed with a Swiss Dots embossing folder and the Cuttlebug.

Speaking of the Cuttlebug machine, I used that along with Papertrey Ink's Counting My Blessings die collection to trim out the word from the Autumn Spice papers. A quick tip: you are probably wondering how I got the heart punched from papers that is the same heart that I stamped? I stamped the heart on the back of the patterned paper and cut it out.

Swing over to the Lily Bee blog to see a beautiful fall card by Andrea, as she shares a clever way to make a pumpkin from a doily stamp. :) 

Monday, October 29, 2012

perfect day together...

I'm back today with another layout made with the Cocoa Daisy kit for November called Navy Pier! I cut the title out with the Cameo and used the negative. Pics are of my girls throwing leaves at each other. Love the action shots. Which reminds me, I really need to get my camera fixed!
My favorite paper in the whole kit was the teal polkadot! On the backside was the teal chevron. Awesome.
I made my own little sunburst out of patterned paper and angled it a bit for a more interesting look. The bird paper in the background was a perfect addition with the teal and yellow!

We are waiting out the "Frankenstorm" here in upstate New York. So far it's windy, but that's it, no rain yet to speak of. We brought in all of our outdoor patio furniture, the gazebo, took down the trampoline, etc. We do that every year to winterize anyway, so now that is done for the winter. Stay safe out there fellow east coasters. :)

Saturday, October 27, 2012

make your own chevrons and a challenge...

Are you up for some scrapbooking fun this weekend?

Cocoa Daisy is having a crop all weekend with challenges, mini classes and prizes! I was asked to guest design for them for November, so I played along with one of the challenges for the crop.

Here is my challenge if you want to play along: Create your own chevrons using my tutorial below on a layout or card!

Tutorial: make your own chevrons very quick and easy with a square punch...



Easy, right? You can see on my layout that I used this technique on the left side of the page and adhered them onto my page...then on the right side of the page, I used the same technique except I misted over the chevrons and removed them from the page, journaling over the design after it was dry. Love how it extends the chevron look!

I used the papers and stamp from the main kit and the Dear Lizzy tags from one of the add-ons to create the title work, then I journaled about things that make me happy today! I don't often do layouts about myself, so I really had fun with it.

Create a layout or card, or anything you dream up with this technique and post it over at Cocoa Daisy! We would love to have you play along with us!



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Using index journaling cards...

Two posts in a row for me, I'm on a roll!

For my cards today on the Lily Bee blog, I chose to use the Christmas Cheer line, as I just can't get enough of this line! Red is my favorite color, so I keep coming back to these products. I love to layer the Lily Bee journaling cards, so here I've layered a chevron card under the "25" card. (The chevron card is actually upside down, but I love the design of the chevrons and wanted to use that in my card design.)


I used a snowflake punch, along with the Christmas Cheer stickers to create a dimensional snowflake, and popped up the sticker in the center.


Supplies: Christmas Cheer line by Lily Bee (12x12 paper, index journaling cards, stickers, 6x6 Tiny Tablet). Other: red cardstock.

On the next card, I made the beautiful  Lily Bee journaling card my focal point. 


To highlight the journaling card, I placed a punched 2" circle from patterned paper behind it and added some die cut holly, cut with the Holly Jolly die collection by Papertrey Ink.

I saw a greeting card in a store that had 2 shades of holly for each leaf, and I loved how it looked, so I trimmed the holly in half and pieced them back together with light and darker green patterned paper from the Christmas Cheer line. The card front is then wrapped up like a little gift with twine before adding it to the cardstock base.


Supplies: Christmas Cheer line by Lily Bee (12x12 papers, Index Journaling Cards, 6x6 Tiny Tablet). Other: twine, holly die by Papertrey Ink, tinsel, 2" circle punch, corner rounder, hole punch, white cardstock.

I hope you enjoyed these journaling card ideas today! Don't forget to check out my City Sidewalks Christmas card kit in the post below. For only $23, you get a ton of full packages of products, along with a lot of extra goodies put together by me! I have 5 card samples you can make with the kit to give you ideas as well. LOVE this line!

Be back soon!



Tuesday, October 23, 2012

a new Christmas card kit available...

As the the title of my post suggests, I have another kit available for purchase! This time it is a Christmas kit made with the City Sidewalks line by Pink Paislee, along with some fun things I put together to add to the kit!

Take a look at what you can make (and you'll have a TON left over to make more)...

On the Peace Love Joy card, I have included the sentiment for you in your kit, and put together a quick and easy card with the little City Sidewalks banner pieces. (Everything is in the kit.)

All you do is thread them onto the twine and staple the banner to your card front, easy peasy!

Next, a little cardstock tree I've included in the kit. I decided to wrap twine around the tree, then added some embossing powder to the edges to appear as if snow has fallen on the limbs. A few dots from the Chipboard Snowflakes, jewels, tinsel and a handmade crepe paper rose finish it off nicely. (Everything you see here is included in the kit, except the embossing powder I used on the branches of the tree.)

Just tuck in some die cut candies to decorate the tree, and you have a fun little card! You can decorate your tree as much or as little as you want. The tree is cut with the In The Meadow dies by Papertrey Ink.

On the third card, I used one of the larger tags as a card base, wrapped tinsel around the big tag and tied the tinsel in a knot on the bottom before adding the rest of the goodies on the card. The die cut reindeer is from the Ephemera pack. He's just popped up with dimensional adhesive a bit to make him stand out from the white background. (Everything here is in the kit with the exception of the little red berries, which I just punched out of red cardstock.)


To create the "Merry" card, I just added 2 of the tags layered together with a die cut word ( included in kit), a punched circle, snowflake and holly die cut from the Ephemera pack.

I tucked another little circle die cut under the bottom.

Last is a pocket on a pocket. :)
I decorated the kraft pocket and attached it to a card base, then stitched up the sides. You could hang it on a tree as a gift card holder. Or you could just leave it as a card without adding the glassine bag...

Now for the kit reveal! Here is what you will get in the City Sidewalks kit:

($23 + shipping) NOW SOLD OUT.  THANK YOU!
  • 6 12x12" City Sidewalks papers
  • 1 pkg City Sidewalks Ephemera
  • 1 pkg City Sidewalks Paper Garland
  • 1 pkg City Sidewalks Parcel Tags
  • 1 pkg City Sidewalks Chipboard Snowflakes
  • Extras:  1 Melissa Frances kraft envelope with tag, MF tinsel, twine, 1 die cut word "merry", 1 die cut Christmas tree, 1 strip MF clear jewels, die cut holly from green crepe paper by Melissa Frances, 1 glassine envelope, 2 crepe paper flowers, peace love joy stamped sentiment.
Here are some pictures of the kit contents:


I do still have a few of the Portfolio Kits! Thank you so much for supporting a fellow crafter! XO,


Wednesday, October 17, 2012

boo to you...

It's hard to get back to Halloween after making Christmas cards, but I have a Halloween card to share with you that was on the Lily Bee blog today.
I punched out two circles for the O's and used an Upper Script Alpha die for the B in boo. A heart cut from the Tiny Tags dies is layered over the boo also and hooked on with a little pin. The pin is tucked into the felt, so it doesn't poke the recipient!
Combining patterns on your card and layering a stamped image like I did here with the Persnickety chevron stamp really adds detail to a card! Setting the focal point at an angle also helps the card to be a little more unexpected and interesting. I used Lily Bee's Autumn Spice 6x6 Tiny Tablet, Lily Bee's Persnickety Clear Stamps, Lily Bee's Autumn Spice ABC Cardstock Stickers, a Canyon Clay ribbon, and a Soft Stone button.
What are you working on today? I can't believe Halloween is almost here. This fall is flying by! We're making a trip to the pumpkin patch tomorrow after school, since it's supposed to be a nice sunny day. Have a good one!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Release day...

Today is the 15th, and that means the new products for October go up for sale tonight at Papertrey Ink!

First, I want to apologize for the photos...my good camera is broken, so I'm using a camera that is not as good, and it's been raining and raining here, so these were taken in my basement with florescent lighting...so sorry. I will take new photos soon. Also, I kept some of my cards on the simpler side this month, since I spent so much time on the December Daily! :) I ran out of time to make them more elaborate. I hope you like a simple card now and then.

This card is made with Layered Postmarks: Holiday.


I cut out the tree with the Layered Postmarks: Holiday die and stamped the tree in the center of the opening.

A Merry Christmas to You card:
STAMPS: Layered Postmarks: Holiday
INK: Ripe Avocado, True Black
PAPER: Jillibean Soup - Christmas Eve Chowder (dot) and Pink Paislee's City Sidewalks (stripe), Ripe Avocado Pattern Pack by PTI, Pure Poppy Pattern Pack by PTI
DIES: Holly Jolly die collection
OTHER: twine, brad by MME.

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I really like how this one turned out, it's made with the new Peaceful Pinecones stamp set. I used a Mat Stack die to cut the center out and popped the Ripe Avocado cardstock up for dimension. It's all stacked onto a Card Base-ics die.

I also used brown flocking on the tops of the pinecones. Remember flocking? A little bit of glue was dabbed onto the tops of the pinecones and then the flocking was sprinkled over the top. Let it dry before adding it to your card!


Merry Christmas Pinecone card:
STAMPS: Peaceful Pinecones
INK: Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado, True Black
PAPER: Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate Pattern Pack, white cardstock, LilyBee (stripe)

DIES: Mat Stack 4 die, Card Base-ics #2 die
OTHER: button, twine, flocking.

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Here's a quick card made with Heart-2-Heart #9 for a wedding or anniversary. I stamped the little pink heart string three times and die cut the birds, stamped them with Soft Stone ink and popped them up for dimension. Added a saying and two little hearts from the set also. Everything is on cream cardstock for a soft look.










Mr. and Mrs. card:
STAMPS: Heart-2-Heart #9
INK: Soft Stone, Sweet Blush, True Black, Pure Poppy
PAPER: Vintage Cream cardstock
DIES: Heart-2-Heart #9
OTHER: none.

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This one is made with Snowflake Flurries. I used them as ornaments instead of snowflakes and stitched the strings onto the card with my sewing machine.

Pink and green make a cute retro-looking card. My girls saw a pink Christmas tree at Target the other day and want one for their bedrooms, which was the inspiration for this card!

Have a Joyous Holiday card:
STAMPS: Snowflake Flurries
INK: Raspberry Fizz, Harvest Gold, Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest, True Black
PAPER: white cardstock, Limeade Ice Pattern Pack
DIES: none
OTHER: twine, Melissa Frances pearls.

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Snowflake Flurries was used once again as pretty accents to a birthday card, along with the Over Under Easy set. This set has many nice sentiments with some pretty swirl accents to add!


The Best is Yet to Come card:
STAMPS: Snowflake Flurries, Over Under Easy
INK: Enchanted Evening, Spring Rain, Pure Poppy, Harvest Gold, Sweet Blush
PAPER: Enchanted Evening, Pure Poppy, white, Aqua Mist
DIES: Layerz Mat Stack 1 die, Pinking Shears Border die,

OTHER: Doodlebug brads.
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Last is a Hanukkah card, and I struggled with this one a little bit, because I am not very familiar with this Jewish holiday. I wasn't sure if the Star of David should be a particular color? Forgive me if it is. I thought the Enchanted Evening, Aqua Mist and Autumn Rose colors were pretty together.
Happy Hanukkah card:
STAMPS: Menorah Medley
INK: True Black
PAPER: Aqua Mist, Enchanted Evening, Vintage Cream
DIES: Menorah Medley
OTHER: Autumn Rose button and felt, Vintage Cream ribbon, Lily Bee paper, corner rounder, floss.

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Visit the Papertrey Ink team to see more projects made with October's new releases. All of these products will be available tonight at Papertrey Ink.

Ashley Cannon Newell 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Countdown to Christmas...

We're back with another Papertrey Ink countdown post featuring the new stamp sets called Countdown to Christmas and Countdown Details! I've always wanted to create a December Daily mini album to record all of the fun happenings leading up to December, and I've finally tackled one (well, I have a good start on it)! These two new stamp sets have numbers and some cute little sayings that you'll see in my book...

It's another post with LOTS of pictures, so grab your coffee!



I looked around in my scrapbook room and first gathered all kinds of my favorite Christmas items... papers, brads, tags, etc., then began working on the cover. I wanted to use Soft Stone cardstock with white snowflakes. I decided to add a few of the Doily Details dies also - they kind of look like snowflakes too! Then added Soft Stone and Sweet Blush details, like the stamped polka dots and words on the snowflakes. I also added a bit of felt and buttons for texture, and a title with the Upper Script Alpha dies.


You'll notice that my pages are not all the same size. To me, I think that adds character and an unexpected touch! Just go to town and create. Don't feel like you have to make your book like someone else's! I spread them out a bit here, so you can see the fun patterns.

Page one is just the back of the cover with a tag. I trimmed the pink and red stamped tags in half and pieced them back together. I used the Countdown to Christmas numbers for each day! This is the page for Day 1.

On page two, I used a scrap of paper that I had stamped on with Background Basics: Super Stripes! The bottom is a Pure Poppy Patterned Paper, and the tag/snowflakes are from the City Sidewalks line by Pink Paislee. I stamped the #two on the tag.

On page three, I used a piece of Soft Stone cardstock stamped with the Snowflake Flurries with Soft Stone ink, a Super Star felt border and the Countdown to Christmas circle and number. Stripe paper is City Sidewalks by Pink Paislee. Chipboard is Season's Greetings by Echo Park.

On page four, I added a little glassine envelope in between the pages. It's decorated with a piece of washi tape, a die cut snowflake with Aqua Mist cardstock and an Echo Park brad. I intended this page spread to be used for photos on the left and a "making a list" page for my girls to write what they want for Christmas on the right. The stamped lines you see on the Soft Stone cardstock are made with the Desktop File: Inspiration stamp set! Great for making your own notebook paper, but you can use regular notebook paper if  you don't have this set.

(Close up of the stamping)


You can tuck whatever you'd like in the little bags and pockets of the book. Maybe the actual letters they write to Santa? The little "making a list" banner was stamped with Countdown Details.


On the back of page four, I stamped another page of list paper (so one of my daughters could write her list on the front and the other daughter could write her list on the back). I used the Mistletoe & Holly dies with the big red button to dress up that side of the page. On the other side, I stitched a piece of crepe paper (from the party store) and added some Echo Park chipboard. The polkadot paper reminded me of the berries from the holly.
On page the page five spread, I wanted to create an interactive page where we can write down our favorites of the season: favorite decorations, ornaments, music....etc. I stamped the Snowflake Flurries onto Soft Stone cardstock and then ran it through my printer to add the words. I added a piece of Pink Paislee's City Sidewalks to the top and stamped "my favorite" with Countdown Details.

The other side of the page...

Page six is all about holiday baking. I used the older Candy Cane Christmas stamps! The little number is stamped onto crepe paper and stapled onto the page with baker's twine.

Inside this page spread, you could insert your favorite holiday recipes on recipe cards! My girls and I love to bake different kinds of cookies for the holidays, and wouldn't it be fun to add photos of them with the recipes they used.


I have one more page to show you. I have 7 page spreads done so far, but of course I would like to do one for each day of December and continue on with the book! Here I used a Papertrey Ink envelope and filled it with Pink Paislee's City Sidewalks tags. I stamped the banners and December saying onto the envelope. I thought we could each write our favorite traditions on the tags.

What I like about having the book on a ring is that you can move pages and things around if you need to when you start adding photos. You can also add photos right to the rings in between the pages if you have a ton of photos to insert!
Joy December Daily Mini Album
STAMPS: Countdown to Christmas, Background Basics: Super Stripes, Snowflake Flurries, Candy Cane Christmas
INK: Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, True Black, Soft Stone
PAPER: Soft Stone, Aqua Mist and white cardstock, Smokey Shadow Pattern Pack, Pure Poppy Pattern Pack, City Sidewalks paper and tags by Pink Paislee, Portfolio by Pink Paislee
DIES: Mistletoe and Holly dies, Peace Be Still dies, Doily Details dies, Snowflake Medley dies, Script Alpha dies, Super Stars Border die collection,
OTHER: Papertrey Ink felt, twine, envelope and glassine bag, seam binding, baker's twine, Smash tape,   Echo Park brads and chipboard, crepe paper, recipe card, pinking shears, American Crafts chipboard alphbet - Elf.

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So, what do you think? Ready to tackle your own December Daily? Visit the Papertrey Ink team to see the different ways they've counted down to Christmas!

Ashley Cannon Newell 
Nichole Heady