April Papertrey Ink Countdown - Day 4

Good morning, Everyone! Welcome back for Day 4 of this month's Papertrey Ink countdown. Thank you so much for your kind notes and comments over the past few days. I can't tell you how excited I am that you are all enjoying the festivities. The only thing better than knowing you're all excited is getting to see what you create with the stamps once you've received them yourselves. It's so rewarding to see people making wonderful things with images that mean so much to me. Yay!

I thought I'd start today with a little gift set I put together using Handy Hardware.

This set would be perfect for any Do-It-Yourself fella in your life. I started with the pillow box. I die cut the box and then added texture with the Woodgrain impression plate (keep in mind that the box is too large to do all at one time, so start with the back and do the front second).

I wrapped the box with a bit of Ripe Avocado twill that I had stamped with the bolts image. I ironed the ribbon immediately after stamping to make sure that the ink dried quickly and didn't bleed too much. That was layered with a Rustic Jute twine bow. I adhered a sentiment banner and a two-tone hammer with a bit of Scor-tape overtop of the ribbon and twine.

A note about the sentiment: I designed this sentiment as two parts. There is the "to a very special" beginning and "guy," "grandpa," and "dad" endings. That way you can cover just about anyone from friends to family and beyond.

I started the card by stamping the bolts in Spring Moss over the bottom third of the base and wrapping the whole thing with a bit of Ripe Avocado saddle stitched ribbon and Rustic Jute twine. Then I set about making my focal point. I die cut the Mat Stack 1 Layerz shape from Classic Kraft cardstock and stamped the "Happy Birthday" in Dark Chocolate before adding texture with the Woodgrain impression plate.

Next, I die cut the letters and the screwdriver for my sentiment. I stamped the screwdriver with some easy masking and adhered all of the small parts to my Mat Stack shape. The focal point was then added to the card base with a bit of foam tape.

Today's final project is my attempt at taking 7th Inning Stretch in a slightly vintage direction (or at least as vintage as I ever go). I began by stamping a panel of Fine Linen cardstock with the Background Basics: Postmarks strip in VersaMark ink.

Next, I took a bit of Ocean Tides cardstock and textured it with the Aida impression plate. I hand stitched the two together and adhered them to a Rustic White base. Next I die cut the baseball bat from thin birch veneer, lightly sanded the edges, and stained it with Classic Kraft ink. I stamped the bat onto the wooden cut out and colored in the tape on the bat's grip with a white pen. I die cut my banner and stamped my sentiment in Dark Chocolate ink before adhering the banner and the bat to the card front.

The baseball was created by taking a small button and threading it with red embroidery floss to look like the stitching. I saw Betsy Veldman do this with paper buttons a little over a year ago and it just stuck with me. It adds such a fun dimensional element to the focal point.

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope to see you back here tomorrow for more projects featuring these two new sets. Have a wonderful day and I'll see you then!

Special Guy Pillow Box
Stamps: Handy Hardware (available April 15th) - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado - Papertrey Ink
Other: Handy Hardware Die Collection (available April 15th), Sketched Shapes Die Collection (available April 15th), Woodgrain Impression Plate, Essential Pillow Box, Ripe Avocado Twill, Rustic Jute Twine - Papertrey Ink

MR. DIY Card (A2 size)

Stamps: Handy Hardware (available April 15th), Rhythm & Soul - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Rustic White, Ripe Avocado - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss - Papertrey Ink
Other: Handy Hardware Die Collection (available April 15th), Woodgrain Impression Plate, Headline Alphabet, Mat Stack 1 Layerz Die, Ripe Avocado Saddle Stitched Ribbon, Rustic Jute Twine - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape - Scotch


Way To Go, Slugger Card (A2 size)

Stamps: 7th Inning Stretch, Background Basics: Postmarks - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Fine Linen, Ocean Tides, Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Classic Kraft, Dark Chocolate - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: 7th Inning Stretch Dies (available after April 15th), Sketched Shapes Die Collection (available April 15th), Vintage Button (white) - Papertrey Ink; Tan and Red embroidery floss - DMC; White Pen - Sakura; Foam Tape - Scotch