Papertrey January Blog Hop Challenge, or I'm In A Black Mood ....... and Loving It

January's PTI Blog Hop was so much fun, I just couldn't help but play..and play..and play. One of my favorite things about Papertrey's stamping line, is the incredible color palette of their inks and papers. Nothing makes colors pop better (in my estimation) than their appearance on a black background.

Tole painting was my passion for ten years, and it was that black stage for colors to dance on, that made it so compelling. This card was inspired by those simple, symmetrical folk patterns, that have been gracing objects for about two hundred years. (Betsy Veldman often showcases her color savvy with folk art designs. You can see two of my favorites here and here.)

Photographing black, well, is a trick I've yet to learn, so the clarity of my colors are a bit muted. (If anyone has any pointers by the way, I'm all ears.)

I used Papertrey's black card stock, with some of their other colors for the design, and mounted that on to a PTI white cardstock card. (The card is a bit heavy with all the layers of paper, so it was very nice to have a sturdy base.)  By die cutting all the shapes, it was possible to flip the second die cut over to make the symmetry. Only the two orange flowers were done with a print. A few extra snips of the die cuts, helped me spread the foliage around to get a balanced look. The design has some nice depth without being too bulky for the mail.

Thanks for taking the time to visit and leaving a comment. I treasure them all.

Papertrey January Blog Hop Challenge, or 'What does that say?'

This is my last entry for this month's PTI Blog Hop (or probably my first, if you are reading this blog from top to bottom. This month PTI has challenged us to design using black backgrounds, and you can find PTI's post here. 

I stepped out of my comfort zone, and discovered that I can't spell in 'Rebus'. By using Tim Holtz's 'Vintage Market' alphabet die, and PTI's 'Strawberry Patch', 'In the Meadow' and 'Wonderful Words: Holiday' dies, I could tell the recipient 'You are very dear to me'. My adorable (but artistically challenged) husband took one look at it, and said "You are strawberry mousse to me?". When I finally stopped laughing, I told him that he was very funny, or very hungry. Not knowing when to stop, I then asked my artsy friend what she thought it said (thinking it would be perfectly obvious to a woman), and again' strawberry mousse' won. What did you think it said the first time you looked? Leave a comment, and I promise not to laugh.

All supplies are Papertrey's except for the alphabet die cuts in white.

Papertrey January Blog Hop Challenge, or "Where's the 'u'?"

 Back again with more black cards having a Valentine theme, just in time for PTI's January Blog Hop. Papertrey's heavy cardstock, in very saturated black, is an irresistible surface on which to put a plethora of bright or deeply hued colors. I chose to do my three cards with die cuts, because they offered the greatest contrast with the backgrounds.

I made a beeline for Terri's post when I saw the thumbnail of what she had done with PTI's 'Get to the Point' arrow dies You can see her inspiring post here. Once I saw her card, it was imperitive to make my own using all the arrow shapes on one card.

 I used PTI's 'pure poppy' and 'raspberry fizz' cardstock, with a variety of scraps (including paint chips), to fill out my color palette.  The 'u' is from PTI's Block Alphabet Dies. To give it some depth, I embossed half the arrows and mounted the top layer on foam tape. (A black marker on the sides of that tape, helped conceal the bright white foam.)
  
In addition to using the black background and arrow dies, I wanted to make a clever Valentine.
Here is where I fell down. :(
I presented this card to my husband (like a five year old, proudly showing their mother a picture drawn in school). Upon opening the card, he pronounced, "I don't get it. Where's the 'u'?". So much for the emphatic 'u' on the face of my card. (By the way, the 'i' is made from the 'l' in the same font as the 'u', which allowed me to match the size to the 'Heart 2 Heart' die, and use a very small heart for the dot .)

Did you get the message "You, I Love"? Thanks for taking the time to visit.

See you at the blog hop, and have a lovely day.