Tonight is the night! It's Papertrey Ink December release day! All of the products that have been shared over the last several days will be available tonight at 10 pm ET! This month there is a gorgeous new stamp set that is free with any $80 purchase! The Your Beautiful Birthday set is free for the rest of December or while supplies last I absolutely LOVE the whimsical look of this set! All of the cake elements are separate so you can customize the cake colors and size! I guess I had New Year's on the brain while creating this card. :-) I chose classic and understated colors that would work for feminine or masculine cards. I was also thinking that this cake would make an amazing wedding or anniversary card as well! So many options! :-) Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs, Laurie Continue reading

Good morning! Today is the last day of the Papertrey Ink December release sneak peek posts! All of the new products we have shared will be available for purchase tomorrow, December 15th at 10 pm ET. Today we are sharing projects created with Bear Hugs stamp set, Shape Shifters: Oval 4 die set, and You Make My Heart Soar stamp set. My first car today features the new Bear Hugs stamp set and Shape Shifters: Oval 4 die set. Gah! Betsy has done it again! Isn't this bear the cutest?!!?! And I just can't with that little baby bear...SO sweet! For the center layer, I die cut the inner part of the new Shape Shifters: Oval 4 die and layered an oval frame on top (die cut with the Pierced Feature Frames: Oval die set). Both sentiments are from the Bear Hugs stamp set. I love that Betsy included both... Continue reading

Welcome back to the fourth day of the Papertrey Ink December release countdown posts! Over the next several days we will be sharing with you so many lovely new products perfect for celebrations, parties, and so much more! Today we are featuring XO Skinny Mini stamp set, Corner Adorner: December stamp set, Bold Borders: Love die set, Glorious Globes: December stamp set, and Skinny Mini die set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available December 15th at 10 pm ET. My first card features the new XO Skinny Mini stamp set along with the Skinny Mini die set. I die cut two of the tags from the Skinny Mini die set and embossed the images and sentiment on them. For the background, I pink sponged some Hibiscus Burst ink on and then splattered with ink. I embellished with some stamped and die cut flowers (from the... Continue reading

Welcome back to the third day of the Papertrey Ink December release countdown posts! Over the next several days we will be sharing with you so many lovely new products perfect for celebrations, parties, and so much more! Today we are featuring the Everyday Elixir Labels, From the Heart, Sentiment Staples: I Love You stamp sets along with the Nesting Basics: Circles die set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available December 15th at 10 pm ET. My card features the Everyday Elixir Labels stamp set with the Nesting Basics: Circles die set. I loved the Wicked Elixir set when it released...it's such a fun and unique set! Now, having more label and embellishment options is fantastic! I couldn't help myself...I just had to sponge on some happy, rainbow colors! For the background, I die cut the largest circle using the Nesting Basics: Circles die set.... Continue reading

Welcome back to the second day of the Papertrey Ink December release countdown posts! Over the next several days we will be sharing with you so many lovely new products perfect for celebrations, parties, and so much more! Today we are featuring: Perfect Match stamp set, Love In Bloom Stamp Set, and Nesting Basics: Pierced Circles die set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available December 15th at 10 pm ET. My first card features the new Perfect Match stamp and coordinating die set. My favorite thing about Lexi's sets are how FUN they are! I created a masculine Valentine's card using both the Perfect Match stamp set and Nesting Basics: Pierced Circles die set. For the background, I started by ink blending yellows, oranges, and reds. I splattered it with water and then used a paper towel to dry the water splatters and lift the... Continue reading

Welcome to the first day of the Papertrey Ink December release countdown posts! Over the next several days we will be sharing with you so many lovely new products perfect for celebrations, parties, and so much more! Today we are featuring: Words to Live By: Happiness, Text & Texture: Bokeh, Penned Elegance II stamp sets along with the Delicate die set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available December 15th at 10 pm ET. My first card features the new Text & Texture: Bokeh and Words to Live By: Happiness tamp sets. I started by stamping the background using the Tet & Texture: Bokeh stamp set using Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, and Raspberry Fizz inks. I created a shaker card by layering a Raspberry Fizz Pierced Rectangle Frame backed with vellum on top. I popped it up using dimensional foam after adding a mixture of clear... Continue reading

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! I hope today is filled with blessings, amazing food, and abundant laughter! <3 Today I'm participating in Papertrey's Throwback Thursday feature! We are sharing projects made with the Polka Dot #9 stamp set. The Polka Dot Parade #9 is one of those sets that is a must have! The mix and match patterns, different sized sentiments, and incredible $5 price point, this is truly a set that makes a great stand alone set or one that pairs well with other holiday stamp and die sets! This is my first time creating with this set and I'm completely smitten with the multi patterned tree! Mixing patterns is one of my favorite things to do so this set is perfect for me! I started by stamping the Cover Up: Grid stamp onto a piece of Kraft cardstock. I wanted a subtle look so I used... Continue reading

Welcome back to the fifth and final day of the Papertrey Ink November release countdown posts! Over the next several days we will be sharing with you so many lovely new products! Today I'm sharing projects created with the new Expressions of Empathy stamp set, Corner Adorner: November stamp set, Words to Live By: Caring stamp set, and Bold Borders: Polka Dots die set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available November 15th at 10 pm ET. My first card features the new Corner Adorner: November and Expressions of Empathy sets. I am so glad to have the Expressions of Empathy set. The sentiments are succinct and heartfelt, not to mention beautifully scripted. The Corner Adorner: November set is a definite must have for me! Although they are meant to go in the corners of a card or project, I think they are also perfect to... Continue reading

Welcome back to day 4 of the Papertrey Ink November release countdown posts! Over the next several days we will be sharing with you so many lovely new products! Today I'm sharing projects created with the new Home to Roost stamp set and Shape Sifters: Circle 4 die set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available November 15th at 10 pm ET. When I saw the new Home to Roost stamp set, I couldn't wait to create a bright and cheery card! We actually have a new family that moved in near me (well, near is a relative term out here in the boondocks LOL) so I created this card for them. I am thrilled that this set has the welcome to the neighborhood sentiment! I combined the Home to Roost set with the new Shape Shifters: Circle 4 die set. I can already tell that... Continue reading

Welcome back to day 3 of the Papertrey Ink November release countdown posts! Over the next several days we will be sharing with you so many lovely new products! Today I'm sharing projects created with the new Sentiment Staples: Warmest Wishes stamp set, Skinny Mini Banners die set, and Fence Line: Winter stamp set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available November 15th at 10 pm ET. My first card features the Sentiment Staples: Warmest Wishes stamp set and Skinny Mini Banners die set. I am crushing on this die set SO much! I love adding thin banners to my cards and find it's the perfect way to have a smaller sentiment stand out and not get lost, especially on a colorful or busier design. After creating an ombre (of sorts) background using one of the Skinny Mini Banner dies, I added the sentiment from the... Continue reading

It's day two of the Papertrey Ink November release countdown posts! Over the next several days we will be sharing with you so many lovely new products! Today I'm sharing projects created with the new Glorious Globes: November stamp set and Nesting Basics: Pierced Rectangles die set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available November 15th at 10 pm ET. My first card features the new Glorious Globes: November stamp set along with the Nesting Basics: Pierced Rectangles die set. I love how many of the Glorious Globes stamp sets can be used independently from the Glorious Globes: Basics stamp set like I did on this card. I used four different images to create this wintery card. For the background, I started by sponging the background with Lovely Lilac, Amethyst Allure, Spring Rain, and Blueberry ink and then splattering it with white and dark blue paint.... Continue reading

Welcome to the first day of the Papertrey Ink November release countdown posts! Over the next several days we will be sharing with you so many lovely new products! Today we are featuring Enchanted Forest stamp set, Floral Fantasy: Christmas stamp set, and Nesting Basics: Rectangles die set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available November 15th at 10 pm ET. My first card features the new Enchanted Forest stamp set, illustrated by Betsy Veldman. My first thought when I saw this set was how versatile it is! Much like leaves, I think trees are always always always in season! :-) There are a ton of Papertrey sets that this would work so well with! I combined this set with the new Nesting Basics: Rectangles die set. After using the largest one to cut out the top gray layer, I nested two more and embossed them... Continue reading

Happy Wednesday! Today I'm sharing three cards I made for this week's Simple to Spectacular post, featuring the Fall Florals stamp set. If you are not familiar with the Simple to Spectacular posts, we create one easy card, a second card that is stepped up a bit more, and finally the third one that is stepped up even more. For my easy card, I die cut the Scallop Stackers: Small die out of Dark indigo cardstock. I die cut and stamped the flowers and layered them underneath the sentiment. To step up the design a bit more, I used more dimensional foam as well as adding an oval frame, die cut from one of the Pierced Feature Frames: Oval. I embossed the sentiment using white detail embossing powder. I really like how the colors pop against the Dark Indigo background. For my detailed card, I added some ink sponging on... Continue reading

It's my turn to post for Transformation Tuesday! This is such a great challenge, perfect for those of us who have cards that need to be tweaked, changed up, or completely remade! This is definitely one of the cards that fell completely short of what I envisioned it to be. I adore all of the individual elements and colors but when combined all together, they just didn't work. Okay, first I have to fully confess to having an addiction to adorning my cards with greenery. I realize that I do this a lot...tuck greenery around the sentiment of focal image. I can't help it, though. I mean...who wouldn't want greenery on their card? :-) So, on my remake I changed up quite a few things. I chose different colors, added patterned paper, sponged some darker ink on the die cut sentiment, and switched up the accent images. I used the... Continue reading

Hi there! I'm participating with this week's Papertrey Ink Throwback Thursday and today we're featuring Harvest Berries! Harvest Berries is one of those classic and elegant sets that can be used for almost any occasion...in short, my favorite kind of stamp set! :-) As it gets closer to the Holidays, I tend to turn towards making easy to reproduce thank you cards. For me, this means cutting back on the layers and embellishments but still wanting to create something that will make an impression. The leaves in Harvest Berries are bold enough to take center stage, making it the perfect set for creating these kinds of cards! I started by stamping the large leaf image using Weathervane ink. I stamped and die cut another image in black to layer over the gray one, creating a shadow effect. I die cut the berries (using the Harvest Berries die set) out of... Continue reading

Happy Friday! It's my turn to share some tips for this week's Papertrey Ink Design Team Tips. I'm sure a lot of you already know this about me (mostly because I say it every year Ha!), but I love Fall! It is hands down my favorite season. One of my favorite things about it is the warm and cozy colors. I love to wear them, decorate with them, and create with them. Sometimes, though, I find myself wanting to shake things up a bit. I have noticed that some of the most popular Christmas color combos are in the same family but just different hues. For example the classic colors of red, green, and dark blue can be lightened to get the more fun combo of pink, light green, and Aqua. I thought that it would be fun to try this same thing for my favorite Fall colors. For my... Continue reading

Welcome back to the fifth and final day of the Papertrey Ink October release countdown posts! Today we're featuring the Potbellies Die Collection, Potbellies Sentiments stamp set, and Twinkling Trees stamp and die set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available October 15th at 10 pm ET. My first project is a gift and card duo created with the new Twinkling Trees stamp and coordinating die set. When I first saw this set I really couldn't wait to create a modern/graphic looking card. The two large tree dies (from the Twinkling Trees die set) are absolutely perfect for decorating gifts!! They are small enough to fit onto a card but large enough to be a focal image on a gift. This one was so quick and easy to create. I die cut the large tree outline from white cardstock and ran it through my die machine... Continue reading

Welcome back to the fourth day of the Papertrey Ink October release countdown posts! For five days we will be sharing with you so many lovely new products perfect for all of your Holiday projects and more! Today I'm featuring the Winter Window stamp and die set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available October 15th at 10 pm ET. Ooooh, talk about a stamp set filled to the brim with details and customizable options! The new Winter Window is a set that can be used in so many different ways! I chose to create my card with the perception of the inside looking out. For the background, I wanted achieve a wallpaper look so I stenciled on a pattern (using the Stencil Basics: Diamonds) and then added a scored piece of cardstock along the bottom. I added the sentiment on top of the card using... Continue reading

Welcome back to the third day of the Papertrey Ink October release countdown posts! Over the next several days we will be sharing with you so many lovely new products perfect for all of your Holiday projects and more! Today I'm featuring the Bold Borders: Flurries die set and Warmer Together stamp and die set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available October 15th at 10 pm ET. Penguins!! Ack!! Is there anything cuter than these sweet guys? I love them! The new Warmer Together set is perfect for both holiday and winter projects! For the background, I die cut and layered the new Bold Borders: Flurries die using Pure Poppy cardstock. I die cut the Joy sentiment (also included in the Bold Borders: Flurries die set) out of Pure Poppy cardstock as well. Using the Warmer Together stamp set, I stamped and die cut two... Continue reading

Welcome back to the second day of the Papertrey Ink October release countdown posts! Over the next several days we will be sharing with you so many lovely new products perfect for all of your Holiday projects and more! Today I'm featuring the Corner Adorner: October, Sentiment Staples: Season's Greetings, Warm & Fuzzy stamp sets along with the Shape Shifters: Square 3 die set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available October 15th at 10 pm ET. My first card features the new Corner Adorner: October stamp set. The sentiment is from the Sentiment Staples: Season's Greetings stamp set. The Corner Adorner stamp sets are so fun, and at only $5 they are incredibly affordable as well! I love how this month's edition is designed to be a holiday set but has some images that can be combined with other sets year round! I stamped and... Continue reading

Welcome to the first day of the Papertrey Ink October release countdown posts! Over the next several days we will be sharing with you so many lovely new products perfect for all of your Holiday projects and more! Today I'm featuring the Sending Joy stamp set, Folded Pocket Tag die set, Pleasing Envelopes stamp set, and Fawn & Flora stamp set. All of the new products being showcased today will be available October 15th at 10 pm ET. Oooh, I absolutely LOVE pretty envelopes! There is just something so special about seeing a beautiful envelope in your mailbox! So you can imagine how excited I was to see the new Pleasing Envelopes stamp set! Even though there are many holiday images and sentiments, there are others that are perfect for year round crafting as well. For my card, I combined some images (the watercolor stripe and larger greenery image) from... Continue reading

Hi friends! It's that time of year...the release of the latest Make It Market Christmas Kit from Papertrey Ink! The next Make It Market Kit, "Fairy Tale Christmas" will be released tomorrow, October 1st. Betsy's big holiday kit is one of the most highly anticipated releases for our customers each year. Each and every piece has been thoughtfully designed and selected to give you an endless amount of design options as you prepare for the holidays. As in years past, we will be offering two separate kits, one full of the essential tools (main kit) and one with fun extras (trimmings kit). The Fairy Tale Christmas Main Kit will be available for sale from October 1st at 10pm ET through December 1st 10pm ET or while supplies last at Papertrey Ink. It will not be available for sale after the December 1st deadline. While we normally are able to ship... Continue reading

Hi there! It's Throwback Thursday over at the Papertrey blog! Today we are featuring the Mighty Oak stamp set. Leaves and trees are some of my favorite images! They are perfect for year round occasions, not just Autumn! I especially love how many different leaf patterns included in this set! I chose to create a graphic card with more modern colors. By changing up the accent color (Terracotta Tile), this would be a great combo for just about any occasion or recipient! For the white background, I die cut the Mix & Mat: Pinked Edge Die. I framed that by die cutting the Pierced Feature Frames from True Black cardstock. When creating more simple cards, I love the option of adding die cuts with details like the piercing on these. :-) For the sentiment, I stamped one of the included sentiments from the Mighty Oak set onto a die cut... Continue reading

Good morning! For this week's Make It Monday, I'm sharing a technique called Faux Gilded Leaves. With just a few different embossing powder needed for supplies, this is something every stamper can make! For my card, I used the Leaf Prints stamp set for the focal image. This set contains both the bold and detail leaf images, which work perfectly for this technique! I used platinum, gold, and copper embossing powders on the leaves. For the background, I stamped the new Text & Texture: Wood Slices stamp onto Kraft cardstock using Kraft ink. The sentiment is from the Words to Live By: Gratitude stamp and die set. If you want to play along (and be entered to win a $25 Papertrey gift certificate) head on over to the Papertrey Ink blog for all the challenge details and to link up your project! Thanks for stopping by! ~Laurie Continue reading

Welcome back to the fifth and final day of the Papertrey Ink September release countdown posts! I hope you have enjoyed all of the projects you have seen over these past several days! Today I'm sharing projects created with the Seasonal Borders: Winter and Penned Elegance: Christmas. All of the new products being showcased today will be available September 15th at 10 pm ET One of my favorite things about Betsy's Seasonal Borders series is that she not only includes the die for a long border, but also includes several smaller images such as the ones I used to create this wreath with! It makes the kit so versatile! I stamped and die cut quite a few of the holly and pine sprigs and then adhered them in a circle using the Shape Shifters: Oval 3 die cut as a guide. For some added color, I tucked in several of... Continue reading