Designing With Papertrey

Good morning, everyone! Today is Stamp Designer Intro Day in the Papertrey Ink 7th Anniversary festivities. You'll definitely want to check out Nichole's blog post introducing the stamp design team for this year. You may even see a new face. Go ahead. I'll wait...

Anyhow, I am so excited to be continuing with the team this year! I'm still a little bit astounded that I get to do this job (and by "a little" I mean I'm completely gobsmacked). It's an absolute joy to get to illustrate for Papertrey Ink and I am so grateful every day. I feel like I've really come into my own as a stamp designer and this year's sets hopefully reflect that growth. I have a deep appreciation for clean, versatile imagery that is truly timeless. It's so important to me that the things I design are not only cute, but also practical and fun to use. I can't wait to share my newest designs with all of you! It's going to be a great year!

While I'm on my bloggy soapbox, I'd also like to thank Nichole, Julie, and Jane for giving me this opportunity. Their support and confidence in me is more than I could have ever imagined. These are three truly smart, kind, and classy ladies, folks. I also wouldn't be where I am without all of you. The Papertrey Ink community has been so encouraging and enthusiastic and I can't thank you enough. I'd better share my card before I get all gooey.

So, all of the stamp designers have contributed to a free download that you can find on Nichole's blog post today. My contribution for this year is a circular birthday image.

To create my card today, I started by printing my image onto white cardstock and die cut it with a 1 3/4" circle die. Next I die cut a Wine Bottle Tag from both Limeade Ice striped paper and white cardstock. I trimmed the Limeade ice a smidgen and layered the two before die cutting a circle from the center. I adhered that to a Classic Kraft card base that I had stamped with polka dots using Fresh Snow ink.

Next, I die cut a handful of Balloon Bash balloons from white cardstock and stamped them with a coordinating image in Berry Sorbet ink. Next, I stamped the strings with VersaMark and heat embossed them with clear powder. Then, I adhered by balloons into place and embellished them with a bit of fine crystal glitter (on the dots and swirls). Finally, I mounted my freebie image into place with a couple layers of foam tape.

Thank you for joining me today and thank you again for celebrating the Papertrey anniversary with all of us. I hope you'll play along with today's contest! Create your own project with the download images for a chance to win a one of seven $70 gift certificates to the Papertrey Ink store. Enjoy the rest of the festivities and I'll see you again soon!

Recipe:
Stamps: Balloon Bash, Polka Dot Basics - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Limeade Ice Pattern Pack - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Berry Sorbet, Fresh Snow - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: 2014 Anniversary Freebie Download (see Nichole's blog), Balloon Bash Die, Wine Bottle Tag Die - Papertrey Ink; Nesting Circles Dies - Quickutz; Clear Detail Embossing Powder - Filigree; Fine Crystal Glitter - Martha Stewart Crafts; Foam Tape - Scotch; Glue Pen