Hi there! I'm back with another Ink to Paper Favorites Challenge! One of my favorite things about Ink to Paper release week, is seeing all of the gorgeous eye candy the design team shares! I am always inspired and find myself wanting to recreate many of the projects I see! So, this week we are challenging you to recreate or CASE a project that was shared during the July release week! For more information on the challenge and to link up your creation, make sure to visit the Ink to Paper blog!! I was inspired by Kelly's beautiful card! You can see her original card and post HERE. I have always been a fan of Kelly's work...she has such an eye for color and design! The moment I saw this card I knew I wanted to create one like it! SO gorgeous! I seriously LOVE this layout! I love this... Continue reading

Welcome back to the fourth and final day of the July Ink to Paper release posts! There are some fabulous new products being released this month and for the next several days we will be sharing projects created with them. All of the new products will be available tomorrow, July 15th at 10 pm ET! Today we are featuring the following new products: Pleasing Envelopes: Special Delivery, Just Sentiments: Birthday, and On The Border: Floral Bliss die set. My first project is a card and envelope set created with the Pleasing Envelopes: Special Delivery set, Just Sentiments: Birthday set, and On The Border: Floral Bliss die set. To create the card, I die cut the card sized border (from the On The Border: Floral Bliss die set) and layered it on the same Pure Poppy colored card base. The sentiment is from the Just Sentiments: Birthday set. I adore the... Continue reading

Welcome back to the third day of the July Ink to Paper release posts! There are some fabulous new products being released this month and for the next several days we will be sharing projects created with them. All of the new products will be available July 15th at 10 pm ET! Today we are featuring the following new products: Beachy Keen, Simply Sweet: Hello, and Inside Greetings: Endearing Birthday. My first card features the new Beachy Keen stamp set and coordinating die set. You all know how much I love layered stamps! They make it so easy to create images with depth! For the background, I stamped the previously released Loosely Woven stamp onto the Tropical Teal background. For the sun, I die cut a large circle and blended some ink on it in various shades of yellow and orange. I love the variety of sentiments included in this... Continue reading

Welcome back to the second day of the July Ink to Paper release posts! There are some fabulous new products being released this month and for the next several days we will be sharing projects created with them. All of the new products will be available July 15th at 10 pm ET! Today we are featuring the following new products: Gift Card Holder: Pencil die set, To Die For Sentiments die set, and Bon Voyage stamp set. I love, love, LOVE this die set!! I have always been fond of gift card holders, especially ones that I can gift to my children's teachers! These pencils are absolutely perfect! And they are SO fun to make! I couldn't decide which color to create with, so I decided to create a rainbow of pencils! I added sentiments from the new To Die For Sentiments collection. In particular, I chose all of the... Continue reading

Welcome to the first day of the July Ink to Paper release posts! There are some fabulous new products being released this month and for the next several days we will be sharing projects created with them. All of the new products will be available tomorrow, July 15th at 10 pm ET! Today we are featuring the following new products: Dandelion Wishes, Dandelion Wishes Sentiments, Simply Sentiments, Watercolor Textures: Abstract, and Banner Builder: Basics die set. My first project features Watercolor Textures: Abstract, Simply Sentiments, and Banner Builder: Basics die set. I created a masculine card using Green Parakeet, Tropical Teal, New Leaf, True Black, and Kraft cardstock. Using a couple of the dies from the Banner Builder: Basics die set I added some flags to the top of the card. These dies are designed to be added to the ends of the banner dies but they work great on... Continue reading

Hi there! I'm back with another Ink to Paper Favorites Challenge! Background stamps have quickly become one of my favorite ways to create stunning backgrounds that are both quick and very easy to do! From full card size images to smaller patterns that you repeatedly stamp, there are a variety of stamps perfect for backgrounds. For more information on the challenge and to link up your creation, make sure to visit the Ink to Paper blog!! For my card, I chose my absolute favorite background stamp! As soon as the Rustic Brick set came out, I knew it would be one of my most used stamp sets! I was going for more of a bolder look, so I stamped the Rustic Brick image in black onto white cardstock. The sentiment, frame, and flowers are all from the Framing Florals stamp set. Thanks so much for stopping by! ~Laurie Continue reading

Happy Fourth of July to all of my American friends! I hope you and your families have a safe and blessed holiday! Today I'm sharing a card that I created for Papertrey Ink's Throwback Thursday. I'm featuring the Let's Fiesta! stamp set. This fun set is so perfect for just about any celebration: birthdays, anniversaries, and even just regular get togethers! I used bold and bright colors, perfect for a summer party. My favorite thing about this set is how most of the images are multiple step images. This means that it is easy to create multi colored images with depth. For embellishment, I added both jewels and sequins. Thanks so much for stopping by! ~Laurie Continue reading

Hi there! I'm back with another Ink to Paper Favorites Challenge ! This week we are challenging you to create a project using your favorite way to use up all of your scraps! There are several ways to put those scraps to use. Here are just a handful of ideas: paper piecing, make a tag, die cut shapes, create an embellishment, or piece together for a unique background. For more information on the challenge and to link up your creation, make sure to visit the Ink to Paper blog! When I was looking at my scrap paper bin, my first thought was how colorful and happy it looked! I have always had a weakness for all things rainbow colored. :-) I decided to put all the small strips to use by creating a colorful background. After layering the strips together, I added a small piece of patterned vellum (also from... Continue reading

Happy Saturday!! It's time for another Ink to Paper Saturday Showcase and this week we are featuring the Frame It Out: Wishes stamp set! When I first sat down to create card, I kept picturing rose gold leaves. I then decided to create with gold and Sweet Blush, so it turned out to be more rose + gold. Ha! One of my favorite things about this set is the gorgeous sentiments! I love that you can use just the stamps, the detailed sentiment die, or the shadow die...or any combination of those three! I also love the larger size of them! I started by stamping the leaves onto the oval Sweet blush layer (created with the Pierced Feature Frame: Oval die set). I layered that on the card base, decorated with the On the Border: Dazzling Deco die. for the sentiment, I die cut the detail Be Well sentiment and... Continue reading

Hi there! Happy almost Friday! :-) I'm just popping in to share one more card that I created with the latest release from The Greetery! I combined two of my favorite sets from The Greetery! I stamped the jar and string from Just Mason Around and added flowers from the Fleur Impressions set. For the background, I stenciled on some polka dots using soft colors. Thanks so much for stopping by! ~Laurie Continue reading

It's Wednesday again, which means it's time for another Ink to Paper Favorites challenge! If you haven't played along with this challenge yet, you should definitely check it out! One lucky participant will win a $100 gift certificate! In my mind, summer and flowers go hand in hand! My favorites tend to be the more vibrant and bold colored ones. This week, we are challenging you to create a project featuring your favorite summer flowers. They can be your favorite type of flower or, like me, your favorite flower colors! I absolutely love brightly colored flowers! To me, it's one of the best perks of summer! I used the flowers from the It's a Sign: Beautiful stamp set. I love that they are more whimsical looking so I can liberally take creative liberties with them! :-) I stamped the flowers in Raspberry Fizz, Pure Poppy, and Amethyst Allure and layered... Continue reading

Happy Saturday friends! This week the Ink to Paper design team is featuring the Simply Sweet: Thanks stamp set! Thank you cards are definitely my favorite kind of card to create so having a set full of gratitude sentiments is right up my alley! Add to that a wreath of lovely flowers and you pretty much have the perfect set! I chose a very girly color combo of Harvest Gold and pink! I actually created a custom pink color by combining Berry Sorbet and Lovely Lady. I did this by first inking the image in the lightest color (Lovely Lady) and then inking it up with Berry Sorbet. If you use your MISTI, you can keep stamping the same image with your desired ink color to achieve the hue you prefer. Here I ended up inking it up with more Lovely Lady to add more pink to the stamped image.... Continue reading

Hi friends! It's release day for The Greetery! All of the gorgeous projects that were showcased the last several days are now live over at The Greetery store! I have a couple more projects that I created for this release to share with you! My first card features the new Summer Sketches stamp set and coordinating Summer Sketches die set. It is no secret what a fan I am of Betsy's flowers...I LOVE them! These sprigs are gorgeous and so easy to use! With multiple stamps for each image, it's easy to add detail and depth. I started by sponging a background and then stenciling on some diamonds using the same color for a tone on tone look. It's a bit hard to see in the photo, but I added some prisma glitter to the bottom of each of the flowers. The sentiment and tag are from the Sentiments Suite:... Continue reading

I'm back with more projects to share with you for The Greetery's June release! The sets being revealed today are: Katie's Cuties: Feelin' Fan-Sea, Sea Scene Die, Pot-Pourri, & Marca-Made For You. All of the new products will be available on Friday, June 21st at 10 pm ET. Betsy is giving away some amazing prizes, so make sure to leave comments on all of the participating designer's blogs! Check out all of the details on The Greetery's blog. Oh my goodness, I am seriously in love with the Pot-Pourri stamp set! I especially love the variety of images included. The Macra-Made For You die set adds the perfect touch of vintage! I created a soft and subtle background by "smooshing" some coordinating ink onto white cardstock. I added some texture by splattering some darker ink onto the background layer. To ground the hanging pots I added a couple of strips... Continue reading

I'm back with more projects to share with you for The Greetery's June release! The sets being revealed today are: Blooming Branch, Robin & Wren, & Sentiment Suite: Birthday. All of the new products will be available on Friday, June 21st at 10 pm ET. Betsy is giving away some amazing prizes, so make sure to leave comments on all of the participating designer's blogs! Check out all of the details on The Greetery's blog. These new sets....happy sigh. Crafting bliss! First, Robin & Wren is THE best! These chubby, sweet faced birds...gah!!! As with so many of Betsy's sets, the birds have several stamp layers making it so easy to create multi colored images! I paired the the sweet robin with the Blooming Branch set. The sentiments are from the Sentiment Suite: Birthday set. I love that these sentiments fit into the Sentiment Suite Basics die set! My next... Continue reading

It's Wednesday again, which means it's time for another Ink to Paper Favorites challenge! During release week, I am always so impressed with all the eye candy the design team shares! Seriously, I am always SO inspired! I thought it would be fun to dedicate the challenge following a release to choosing a favorite project shared by the design team. So we are challenging you to recreate or CASE your favorite project shared during the release! I chose Rebecca's card that she shared on day 3 of the release countdown. I adore the fresh colors, touch of gold, and lovely frame and flowers! For my card, I copied Rebecca's layout, color scheme (just switched the orange out for red), and all the white space. I used gold glitter paper to die cut the Geometrix: Hexagon. For the flowers, I die cut several flowers and leaves from the Tag Creations: Blooming... Continue reading

Hey friends, today I'm sharing projects for The Greetery's June release! The sets being revealed today are: Lemon Blossom, Just Mason Around, & Oopsie Daisy. All of the new products will be available on Friday, June 21st at 10 pm ET. Betsy is giving away some amazing prizes, so make sure to leave comments on all of the participating designer's blogs! Check out all of the details on The Greetery's blog. My first project features the Lemon Blossom stamp set. Fresh citrus and flowers, what could be more summery than that? I chose a bright color combo of red, pink, green, and yellow. I just adore the citrus details Betsy added to this set! Not only can you add more depth to the solid images by sponging on some ink but you can also stamp the detail image in a darker color. My next card features the new Oopsie Daisy... Continue reading

Welcome back to the fourth and final day of the June Ink to Paper release posts! There are some fabulous new products being released this month and for the next several days we will be sharing projects created with them. All of the new products will be available tomorrow, June 15th at 10 pm ET! Today we are sharing projects created with the following new items: Framing Florals, Tag Creations: Lemon, On the Border: Dazzling Deco. I absolutely love the new Framing Florals stamp set! I have a definitely weakness for ALL the frames! Ha! This set has two beautiful ones that will work for so many different sets! And bonus, the flowers and sentiments included in this set are gorgeous! I embossed the leaves and flowers onto watercolor paper and then added some quick color using various watercolor paints. For the sentiment, I stamped and die cut the frame... Continue reading

Welcome back to day three of the June Ink to Paper release posts! There are some fabulous new products being released this month and for the next several days we will be sharing projects created with them. All of the new products will be available June 15th at 10 pm ET! Today we are sharing projects created with the following new items: It's a Sign: Beautiful, Geometrix dies, and Simply Sweet: Thanks. My first card features the new It's a Sign: Beautiful stamp set. This is such a lovely set full of different sentiments that can be mix and matched to create many new ones! I started by stenciling the background (using the Stencil Basics: Diamond stencil and Soft Stone ink). I combined three of the sentiments, using both Weathervane and True Black inks. I embellished the frames with stamped and die cut flowers (included in the It's a Sign:... Continue reading

Welcome back to day two of the June Ink to Paper release posts! There are some fabulous new products being released this month and for the next several days we will be sharing projects created with them. All of the new products will be available June 15th at 10 pm ET! Today we are sharing projects created with the following new items: Tag Creations: Joyful Jars, Joyful Jars, and Just Sentiments: To & From Essentials. The new Tag Creations: Joyful Jars die set was love at first sight for me! Layered flower die cuts and the cutest jar...what's not to love!?! I started by embossing the Rustic Brick background using clear detail embossing powder. I then sponged on some white pigment ink to give it a slight whitewashed look. For some added texture, I splattered on some white acrylic paint. I just adore these flowers! I love that they can... Continue reading

Welcome to day one of the June Ink to Paper release posts! There are some fabulous new products being released this month and for the next several days we will be sharing projects created with them. All of the new products will be available June 15th at 10 pm ET! Today we are sharing projects created with the following new items: Garden Party, Watercolor Textures: Dots, More of: Celebrating You, and Confetti & Streamers. For my first project, I created a fun birthday party ensemble! I love that this set has both the upper and lower case alphabet! There is also a full set of numbers making it so easy to customize your projects! This set would be perfect for parties, birthdays, graduations, or even just customizing a card! I LOVE making cupcake toppers! They are so easy to do and really add a lot of happiness! :-) I started... Continue reading

Happy Saturday friends! This week the Ink to Paper design team is featuring the Watercolor Textures: Brushstrokes stamp set. This set has quickly become one of my go-to background sets! There are so many different ways to us this: as a highlight or shadow behind a sentiment or image, used to build a patterned background, ink sponged for a subtle look, or with water and water soluble ink for a watercolor look. Have I mentioned how much I love this set? I adore the watercolor look and the fact that it can be achieved with a stamp set making it quick and easy...genius! I used Distress Oxide inks, a spray bottle of water, and watercolor paper to create my background. Once the background was dry (which I hurried along with my heat tool LOL) I splattered on some black and gold paint. I embossed the happy birthday sentiment (from the... Continue reading

Hi friends! I'm up for today's Transformation Tuesday feature over at the Ink to Paper blog! While I love the neutrals and white flowers of the original card I created for this past release, I really wanted to try this card using brighter colors. I kept the overall design the same, just switching up the colors and adding a few embellishments. I love that these flowers in the Many Anemones set work with just the die cuts or stamps! It gives so many different options when creating! I used the same layout, just changing up the colors. I chose bright and cheerful colors for the flowers. I also stamped the flowers instead of just using die cuts. The flowers and leaves are from the Many Anemones stamp set. Just like the original card, I embossed the Loosely Woven background stamp using white embossing powder. I added just a bit of... Continue reading

It's Wednesday! Yay! Time for the Favorites Challenge! Every Wednesday there is a new Favorites Challenge posted over at the Ink to Paper blog. You can play along and be entered to win a $100 gift certificate. For more details, check out the Ink to Paper blog. This week we are challenging you to create a new card using your favorite way to frame a sentiment! There are so many different ways to do this: stamps, die cuts, frames, or coloring/ink blending. Bonus if you tie in some summer colors or images! :-) For those that know me are probably not surprised to know that adding stamped and die cut flowers is by far my favorite way to frame a sentiment! I decided to add even more with a die cut frame and some ink blending. The flowers and sentiment are from the new You Are My Happy stamp set.... Continue reading

Happy Saturday! Today the Ink to Paper design team is sharing projects created with the new Many Anemones stamp set. This versatile floral set is perfect for so many different stamping styles: bold & graphic, soft & pretty, CAS, and even elegant. Just by changing up the stamping technique, you can create so many different looks! I used one of my favorite stamping techniques on my card. Ink blending s a perfect technique to create added depth, especially when used with solid images. I started by stamping the bolder inside images and then later added the outlines. To stamp the bolder images, I started by inking up the larger solid image with my lightest ink color. I then sponged on some of the darker ink color towards the bottom of the image. I used my MISTI to repeat this until I had achieved the level of ink saturation that I... Continue reading