March Papertrey Ink Countdown - Day 3

Good morning! Welcome back to Day 3 of the March Papertrey Ink countdown. I'm so glad to see you all have been enjoying the new products I have coming out this month. I'm having such fun sharing with you and I have a couple of additional projects on deck today. Let's get to it!

My first project for you today is a little gift ensemble for a new neighbor. You could easily tailor this same idea for a birthday or Mother's Day occasion though, too.

I began by assembling a basket using the Berry Basket Die using Classic Kraft cardstock and a few strips of Scor-tape. Next, I created a basket liner with an 11 1/2" square of muslin. I pulled a few threads around the outside to give it a little bit of a casually decorative edge.

Then, I stamped the cactus image and sentiment from Putting Down Roots (I didn't worry about using waterproof inks since this isn't the sort of thing that would be washed). I stitched on one of the pots using Aqua Mist felt and some embroidery floss and finished it with a Melon Berry button that had a little bit of a floral burst pattern in the center.

Next, I made the coordinating pillow box.

I started by die cutting a box from Rustic White cardstock and stamped it with the same cactus and sentiment as the basket liner. I adhered a felt Aqua Mist pot onto the box with Scor-tape and stitched on another Melon Berry button before assembling the box. You could include a gift card to a local nursery, home improvement store, or home decor shop for your new neighbor in the box. Alternatively, it could be a great way to give someone new to the area a handful of business cards for convenient dry cleaners, landscapers, banks, markets, and other local shops or necessities. Just a thoughtful way to welcome new people to the neighborhood.

I finished the ensemble by tying a bow around a potted cactus (inexpensively purchased at a local nursery - Sean was pumped that this new set meant a few new plants around the house) and filling the basket with a bit of crinkle shred. All in all, a new neighbor gift that totaled between $7 and $35, depending on whether you go the gift card or business card route. Not too shabby!

My second project for you today uses the new Text Block: Friends Die. I knew I wanted to incorporate stripes of color and I figured the easiest way would to be the old Build-A-Pattern-Then-Die-Cut-It route. So that's exactly what I did.

I started by cutting strips of cardstock in varying widths and played around with them until I had an arrangement I liked. Then, I stamped a few of them with polka dot, striped, and argyle patterns for a little added interest. I laid them all out on the sticky side of a piece of label paper and then ran the whole thing through my Xyron.

Note: The label paper (or similar text weight paper) is important for this step! If you use cardstock your finished piece will be too thick to die cut all the way through. Ask me how I know. I die cut the striped panel and adhered it to a piece of vellum cardstock.

Then, I textured a Classic Kraft card base using the Sunrise Impressions 2 Impression Plate, doing my best to center the pattern widthwise. I finished the card by mounting the sentiment panel to the card base with narrow strips of foam tape. The simplicity of the card really lets the pattern of the die cut take center stage.

That's all for me today. I hope you've enjoyed today's projects! I'll be back to share again tomorrow, but in the meantime Nichole Heady, Danielle Flanders, Dawn McVey, Erin Lincoln, Heather Nichols, Laura Bassen, Melissa Phillips, and Melissa Bickford all have more inspiration for you. Have a great day and I'll see you tomorrow!

Recipes:
New Neighbor Cactus Ensemble
Stamps: Putting Down Roots (available March 15th) - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Limeade Ice, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate - Papertrey Ink
Other: Putting Down Roots Die Collection (available March 15th), Berry Basket Die, Essential Pillow Box Die, Aqua Mist Felt, Melon Berry Button, Aqua Mist Saddle Stitched Ribbon - Papertrey Ink; Embroidery Floss - DMC; Scor-tape; muslin

Sunrise Friend Card
Stamps: Background Basics Retro, Background Basics Super Stripes, Polka Dot Basics II, Polka Dot Basics, A Little Argyle - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Summer Sunrise, Hawaiian Shores, Terra Cotta Tile, Simply Chartreuse, Harvest Gold, Orange Zest, Limeade Ice, Aqua Mist, Vellum, White Adhesive Sheets - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, Canyon Clay, Terra Cotta Tile, Hawaiian Shores - Papertrey Ink
Other: Text Block: Friends Die (available March 15th), Sunrise Impressions 2 Impression Plate - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape - Scotch; Xyron