Release In Review

Well, everyone, here we are. We've made it to the end of this year's Papertrey Ink anniversary countdown. You should see my studio. The word "avalanche" doesn't even begin to describe it. But all that mess has most certainly been worth the fun, friends, and I have a handful of final projects to share with you.

Let's start with a walk through the Spring Woods (designed by Nichole).

I loved the first set that Nichole designed, so this one is going to be a fast favorite as well. I began by die cutting and stamping the chickadee using Bright Buttercup and True Black inks. Then, I die cut, stamped, and colored (with Copics) the Simply Spring Borders eggs. I added speckles to the eggs with a stippling brush and some Tropical Teal ink.

I die cut a circle from Classic Kraft cardstock and trimmed it down using the Pinking Shears Border Die to create a nest shape. I stamped it with Background Basics: Woodgrain for a little visual texture and adhered it to a Spring Woods Patterned Paper panel that I'd trimmed with the Small Scalloped Border Die. I adhered that to a white card base that I'd embellished with New Leaf Bitty Dot paper and tied a crochet thread bow around the front. Next, I stamped the sentiment, from Tulip Time, using True Black ink and attached my bird and my eggs to the card front.

Next up we have Heather's Be and Nichole's Keep It Simple: St. Patrick's Day.

I began by sponging Mint Julep ink through one of the Modern Background Stencils onto a Rustic White card base. I removed the stencil and sponged a bit more ink for a tone-on-tone look. Next, I chose one of the small dots and a stem from Be and used it to create three four leaf clovers in that sponged area.

This particular dot has an ever-so-slightly-teardrop shape, so it worked perfectly. The last step was to heat emboss the sentiment using gold detail powder. Nice and simple.

It's Splits: Just A Note's turn in the spotlight. I love the sketchy feel of this set. It's a great little mini and I'm sure it's going to get plenty of attention around here.

I began by heat embossing the large frame onto watercolor paper using white powder. I watercolored that image using my Zig pens and set it aside to dry. In the meantime, I heat embossed the sentiment onto a strip of True Black cardstock using white powder.

Once the watercolored panel had dried I trimmed a bit off the edges and adhered it to a white card base I used a clear Wink Of Stella pen to add a bit of shimmer to the flowery images before adhering the sentiment strip with foam tape. A few clear rhinestones were the perfect finishing touch.

Both of my final two cards use Dawn's new Peonies On Parade. I love peonies and I was so excited when peony bushes popped up at our new(ish) house last Spring. Thanks to Dawn's new set, I can enjoy peonies anytime!

I began this first card by heat embossing the blooms onto watercolor paper using white powder. I colored the flowers in pale pastels to mimic the flowers in my garden and followed with more saturated greens for the leaves. The background is a pale blue, just dark enough to give the embossed lines a bit of definition. Once it was dry, I attached that panel to a Stormy Sea card base.

Next, I die cut the Layered Banner shapes from Hooray Patterned Paper (the pastel pink) and additional watercolor paper. I stamped the top layer with a sentiment from Layered Banner Banter using Stormy Sea ink an then adhered the pieces together. Those were then mounted to the card front with foam tape. I wanted to keep this design simple enough to let the watercolor shine. I think it worked out pretty well.

My final card for this release is a quickie made with the Peonies On Parade Coloring Sheets. These sheets are wonderful for creating cards in minutes!

I began by coloring the leaves on the sheet with a nice deep green Copic combo. I wanted my peonies to appear white, so I colored them very simply. I sponged a bit of Harvest Gold ink onto the flower centers and then added small touches of warm gray in a few strategic areas. I then outlined the entire image with a pale blue marker to make it pop a bit.

I embellished the flower centers with a clear Wink Of Stella pen before trimming the panel down a smidge and mounting it to a Lemon Tart card base with foam tape. Next, I heat embossed a sentiment from Spring Woods onto vellum using white powder. I adhered it to the front of the card by hiding tiny strips of adhesive behind the embossing. Super quick and easy.

Well, that's it for me this time around. I hope you've enjoyed the festivities the past several days! Make sure to check in with Nichole, Amy, Ashley, Betsy, Danielle, Dawn, Heather, Kay, Laurie, and Melissa as they wrap up this countdown too. See you again soon!

Recipes:

New Beginnings Card

Stamps: Spring Woods, Tulip Time, Simply Spring Borders, Background Basics: Woodgrain - Papertrey Ink

Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Spring Woods Patterned Paper, New Leaf Bitty Dot Patterned Paper - Papertrey Ink; white

Ink: True Black, Bright Buttercup, Tropical Teal, Classic Kraft - Papertrey Ink; Tuxedo Black - Memento

Other: Spring Woods Die, Simply Spring Borders Die, Two Toned Die, Pinking Shears Border Die, Small Scalloped Border Die - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape - Scotch; Copic Markers

Happy St. Patrick’s Day Card

Stamps: Be, Keep It Simple: St. Patrick’s Day - Papertrey Ink

Cardstock: Rustic White - Papertrey Ink

Ink: Mint Julep, Pinefeather - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko

Other: Modern Backgrounds Stencil Collection - Papertrey Ink; Gold Embossing Powder - Filigree

Just A Note

Stamps: Splits: Just A Note - Papertrey Ink

Cardstock: True Black - Papertrey Ink; Watercolor Paper - Ranger; white

Ink: VersaMark - Tsukineko

Other: White Detail Powder - Filigree; Rhinestones - Kaisercraft; Foam Tape - Scotch; Clean Color Brush Pens - Zig

Thanks Card

Stamps: Peonies on Parade, Layered Banner Banter - Papertrey Ink

Cardstock: Stormy Sea, Hooray Patterned Paper Collection - Papertrey Ink; Watercolor Paper - Ranger

Ink: Stormy Sea - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko

Other: Layered Banner Die - Papertrey Ink; White Embossing Powder - Filigree; Clean Color Brush Markers - Zig; Foam Tape - Scotch

Wedding Wishes Card

Stamps: Spring Woods - Papertrey Ink

Cardstock: Peonies On Parade Coloring Sheets, Lemon Tart, Vellum - Papertrey Ink

Ink: VersaMark - Tsukineko

Other: White Embossing Powder - Filigree, Foam Tape - Scotch; Wink Of Stella Pen - Zig; Copic Markers