Papertrey's MIM #103 - Die Cuts Within Die Cuts

Hi folks. If you've landed here, chances are you are participating in Papertrey's 6th Anniversary or their 'Make It Monday #103'. The wonderful Betsy Veldman has a video showing how to make cards with die cuts used inside other die cuts, supposedly a fad at the moment, and what I think is just plain fun. You can find the post and video here.    

I chose to do successive die cuts through the layers of the card as well. My first card (to the right) is a two fold card, with the middle panel forming the back of the card. It has a bit of difficulty standing up when it's closed, so this shot is of it slightly open. (The heart at the head of the post is the closed version.)


The new Limitless Layers: 2 1/4" Hearts Die Collection is a scaled down version of the earlier Heart Prints Die Collection, which makes them ideal for layering together. Each fold of the card gets progressively smaller.

 Here I've opened them up so you can see what they look like. On the very back of the card I put a pink and white gingham heart just because I loved the look of it. I will be hand writing the sentiment "I love you to the bottom of my heart, Valentine".

I used papers from various sources, and of course Papertrey's Limitless Layers: 2 1/4" Hearts Die Collection and Heart Prints Die Collection.

Thanks for visiting and taking the time to leave a comment. I read and savor each one. Good luck, too, if you've entered one of Papertrey's contests.

Papertrey's 'It's A Wrap' Challange

Over at Papertrey Ink, they are having their 6th Anniversary party and monthly release, which means they are giving folks lots of opportunities to win terrific prizes; one prize is worth $300 in merchandise. (I didn't get to enter that one, but good luck if you did.)

Papertrey is launching a new section of their on-line store, Boutique Bargains, which will feature ever-changing embellishments and surfaces (i.e. fabric bags and resin flowers) on which to create with their products. To challenge us to start thinking about creating wraps or gift packaging, we were to find an inspirational picture, and make our 'wrap' item using at least one of their items.

I chose this Pinterest picture of strawberries on black. Recently, Papertrey's January Blog Hop featured compositions on dark backgrounds. As a lover of tole painting (doing and looking), bright colors on a black field float my boat. For a long time I have needed to replace an old eyeglasses case that fell apart. By taking apart the case, and tracing around the outside, I was able to make a copy that would accept the hard insert from the original.

The picture above shows die cut felt pieces from the Strawberry Patch Die Collection, case pieces cut from black felt, and Clover's felting needle and felting surface (top left). The strawberry layout (roughly taken from the stamp set "Strawberry Patch"), has had the leaves and berries embroidered with black details and then felted to the front piece.

 NOTE

The back of the felt (image on right) has some of the fibers from the pieces showing through. (If you aren't familiar with needle felting, it involves interlocking felt fibers using tiny hooked needles (think crochet hook), pouncing up and down through both layers of felt.)

Then I embroidered the stems and tendrils, and added the blossoms on top of the berries and in the middle of the top flap.

Here's the finished project. I made a 5/8" strip of black felt, and buttonhole stitched it, from the top of one side of the front, to the top on the other side. I cut the strip even with the top front, and then attached the back.

Papertrey items used: Strawberry Patch Die Set, Strawberry Patch Stamp Set (for composition), Pure Poppy 100% wool felt (sigh).

Thanks for taking the time to look and leave a comment. Have fun and good luck on winning one of the fabulous gifts from Papertrey. There's no such thing as 'too much Papertrey'!

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.