Having Fun with PTI!

I finally got my Papertrey Ink products on Saturday! That is not to say that Papertrey Ink was slow in shipping.... more that I was so excited to get the new stuff that I was growing VERY impatient! So my blog has been silent for a while because I have been using my spare time to PLAY!!!!

I have so many little projects underway right now.(using my new PTI stuff of course!) A few finished and several that are still under construction! Well today I found my perfect excuse to post something new. I went to Nicole Heady's Blog and found a new post with a card she created layering stamped images to create her own background paper.... Funny... because that is exactly what I have been doing with the products I just received... In fact I had already submitted a card to her Guest Star Stamper file at Papertrey Ink (can't share that one yet...) So after seeing her card and a challenge to create something with our own "homemade" background paper, I felt inspired and ran upstairs to create this:

I started by stamping the large solid polka dots from "Polka Dot Basics" onto white cardstock with the new Summer Sunrise ink. I then added a flower in between each dot using one of the flowers from "Garden of Life" and Lemon Tart ink. The little pink dot was done using the smallest solid dot from the "Polka Dot Basics" set and Berry Sorbet ink. The sentiment is from "Garden of Life" and is stamped in White Daisy from Close To My Heart. Other products used: Berry Sorbet cardstock, Summer Sunrise satin ribbon, a chipboard flower (source unknown) and a pink button (CTMH). All products were from Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.

I loved how cheery this card turned out. I must say how happy I have been with all of the supplies I have ordered from Papertrey Ink. If you haven't yet, you must check them out!

Hope everyone enjoyed this little card!

Smiles,

Alisha

Creatively Organized

I made myself a planner to fit my needs in the beginning of the year. I have absolutely loved having it! Well I wanted to do something special for my friend Erin and so I made one for her and sent it about 2 months B.C. (before camera). So I didn't get a chance to take pics of hers. If you would like to take a look, she graciously posted pictures of it on her blog: http://inkysmiles.blogspot.com/
The post is titled: Life Is Orderly.


But for now, check out the planner I made for my friend Michelle today. She picked out the yummy American Crafts paper and with such great paper to work with, how could I mess up?


Here is the front. In each of my planners, I have added a clear vinyl layer to the front and back in order to keep it functional and beautiful. The vinyl I use is the clear type that is available at Walmart by the yard (super cheap!). It is used for table clothes and I just use my cutting mat, blade guide and rotary trimmer from my quilting supplies to cut it precisely.


The cover is held in place by the large red brads and the binding. My planner still looks great after 3 months of abuse!





The entire planner is 8.5" x 8.5". I bound it using the Bind It All with white 3/4" wires. Inside there are weekly planner pages and monthly calendar pages. Each monthly calendar page is matted on colored cardstock with one monthly calendar on each side. I then attached some photohangers (from Close To My Heart) with ribbon so that the monthly calendar could be flipped to quickly. The little white clip at the top is from Making Memories and is clipped to the current week to make it easy to find.

At the back of the planner there are two pockets for keeping miscellaneous notes, receipts or loose paper. I made these by cutting a 12"x12" piece of Cardstock down to 8.5"x12" and scoring the 12" side at 8.5" and folding the flap over.










Well I think that is about all of the information, feel free to post questions. I forgot to take a picture of the monthly calendar part but you can find it at Erin Grotegut's blog. A link can be found within this post or to the right side of my blog.



Thanks everyone for looking! I'll be back with more goodies later!

-Alisha

Up late partying with Papertrey Ink

I was up way past my bedtime last night! I was at the party of the month: Papertrey's monthly New Product Release Party! I think I'm a bit exhausted this morning! I hopped into bed a little after midnight, but it was worth it! I spent some time sharing the excitement with the other PI addicts out there and then wandered over to the gallery and checked out all of the great projects everyone did for the April Guest Star Stamper contest. There were some really exceptional things done! I then placed an order for some things I just HAD to have! I am not so tired because I went to bed so late, but when I hopped into bed, my mind was FLOODED with ideas for my new products!

Funny, I haven't even gotten my new products yet, but I have about 4 projects underway (in my mind!) Well I guess I will have to wait to share what is rattling around in my head... so meantime I will post the remainder of the things I submitted for the Guest Star Stamper Contest at Papertrey Ink!

Here is the first card I made. It was made with Papertrey's Boxes, Bags and Tags set. I absolutely love the "interlocking" versatility of the images in this set! The grapevine type weave in the background was made with one circular stamp interlocked with itself. The colors are Aquamist and Spring Moss. The bow was made using a combination of the Everyday Blessings patterned paper and two strips of white organza ribbon. There is layer of vellum over the background to soften it. All products are from Papertrey Ink except the brads, organza ribbon and vellum.

The next card was made using the same set: Boxes, Bags and Tags. I had so much fun exploring (with stamp in hand) how these images could interlock! The background for this card was made with the large flower and snowflake type image. The snowflake image fit perfectly between the petals of the large flower and I was able to create a hexagon tpye pattern. I added the pink center to the flower by using the small flower image. The pattern just seem to need something more... so I used the looped rounded square image that you see in the focal point and stamped around the large flower in Spring Moss. Colors used were Spring Moss, Sweet Blush (from Papertrey Ink) and Chocolate (Close To My Heart).

Okay, last one! This was a little birthday card with a gift card holder inside! Let's start with the front of the card. Again, I loved playing around with the different images to see how they interlocked. But this card was made using the "It's A Celebration" set. The little triangles are the banner image from that set! The colors are Spring Moss, Berry Sorbet, and Sweet Blush.

Now for the inside! I made a little popup present. Originally I was just going to pop up the stamped "present" image from the "It's A Celebration" set. But then I decided to created a gift card holder. So I just wrapped a gift card in the polkadotted patterned paper (Papertrey Ink) and then added a bow (Papertrey Ink ribbon). The finishing touch was the banner behind it. It really tied in the images and paper used on the front.

Well that's all of them. They were so fun to make! I can't wait to get my hands on all of the new stuff!

More to come!

-Alisha

Easter..... a little late

Yep! It's an easter card! Even though Easter was a few weeks ago, I couldn't resist sharing this card! Plus, I believe that Easter should always be celebrated in April! What's up with a March Easter?

Loved how this card turned out. I wanted to use my Making Memories grommets for something more than just setting them. I thought this cute flower made a perfect "buckle" for my bow! I did another version of this card with a cracked glass effect over the egg. But I gave it away before I had a chance to take a picture.

The patterned paper is Chatterbox and the ribbon is American Crafts. The texture on the white cardstock courtesy of Cuttlebug embossing folders! The Happy Easter sentiment is from Close To My Heart stamps.

Stay tuned! I have several more Papertrey Ink projects to share with everyone! I am counting down the hours until their next release (tonight)!

I already have my eye on several things that I just have to have!

'Til next time!

-Alisha

Inspired by Spring!

Spring has finally arrived in Oregon! My FAVORITE sign of spring are these puffy light pink trees. I was driving my daughter to school and we saw some of these trees and I told her how much I loved the light pink against the dark brown wood of the trunk. She said that they looked like chocolate cupcakes with fluffy pink frosting! Instant Inspiration!

I had been having so much fun playing with my new Papertrey Ink stamps, inks, papers and ribbons and I knew the perfect card to make! One of the sets I ordered was "It's A Celebration." There are some delicious little cupcake images in this set that I had been dying to use!

Now I had the perfect project to use them on. Here are the results:

I took the cupcake stamps and stamped them in black on a plain piece of paper. I then used my scanner/printer to enlarge the image to the size of a card and used it as a template. The frosting and cake base form two separate flaps that open in the center. I used Papertrey Ink's awesome pink patterned paper to create the frosting and sprinkles. And Bazille textured cardstock was used for the cake base. I used a stylus to create the creases in the cake. The ribbon is from Papertrey Ink also.

Now I have always heard the phrase "You can't have your cake and eat it too." But on your birthday that just can't be true! So I decided to tweek this phrase a bit and use it with my card.

Here is the inside ( the cupcake image is stamped using Papertrey Ink's "It's A Celebration"):

Well I hope everyone one enjoys this little spring inspired birthday card! I have a few more Papertrey Ink projects to share with you later so check back in!


-Alisha

I'm Back with a Camera!

I haven't blogged much because I didn't have a digital camera..... But yesterday I finally got one! YAY!!!! I bought myself a Nikon D60! I am so excited! Now I can take pictures of all of my fun creations and share them with you all on my blog! So I thought I would start by sharing a few cards that I made a while back that I love!

This is a baby boy card that I made with My Minds Eye paper. The ribbon is American Crafts. The stamped circle image is an acrylic stamp from Inkadinkado. I made the star by running a foil sheet through the cuttlebug in one of the star embossing folders and then cutting out around the embossed image. The congrats tag is from Making Memories. I just loved how this card turned out. Hope you all enjoy it.

Well I can't show a baby boy card and not share a baby girl card! So here is one that I created with this awesome Cosmo Cricket paper! I just loved how soft it is! I again used American Crafts ribbon and my Cuttlebug and embossing folders to create the focal point. The grommet in the center is from Making Memories and I punched holes in the sides with a nail and hammer to make a place to insert the pink brads. The little footprints are a stamp from Close To My Heart.

Well I hope you all enjoy these cards. I have several more pictures to post! Including some of the projects I have been working on recently after getting my first Papertrey Ink order. I have been an avid fan for a while now, but only recently finally ordered! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their stamps, inks, paper and ribbon! I have had so much fun working with their products! But I decided to submit my artwork for their April Guest Star Stamper contest so I will wait until the deadline passes to share it with you!

Off to the dugout! I am the Team Mom for my son's Teeball team this year! I am taking my new camera!