new tent topper design

Hey everyone! Happy, Happy Birthday to my hubster Eric! In celebration, I'm going to get my hair done today in the city and then head to a quilt shop and antique shop. I love birthdays! LOL!!

I also love these little cards I made for the Papertrey release this month. I was working with Sending You and Ribbon Tails but didn't have a real plan for a card design. So I just started die cutting and stamping some elements. I also ended up stamping the flower from Flower Fusion #2 and another larger flower from orange felt. Love the orange and gray color combo with the Vintage Cream buttons.
Next I just started layering pieces and stamping on images. This new rounded die cut from Sending You is so fun to work with. Something new and a little different. I kinda liked the Ribbon Tails accent under the flower and then loved the stamped leaves with the sentiment below.
Then I had these Fine Linen pieces sitting nearby. I cut four from one 8.5 x 11 sheet....so each one measured 2.75 " x 8.5", then folded in half.
I added some old book print to the front for a nice background.
And then it came to me to make mini Tent Topper cards. I came up with this original design years ago and have been using the design over and over again ever since. You can see many of my other Tent Topper card designs by clicking the *Tent Topper* label at the end of my post today.
By aligning the focal piece above the top of the card, this acts as the topper to the tent folded card, hence the name Tent Topper. As long as you keep the total height of the card under 5.5" it still fits in an A2 sized envelope. Can't wait to make a few more of these. I might try a version of these for Easter cards.
Hope you enjoy! Have a great day. I'm off to the city!

Make + Save: Creative Card Packaging

Hi there. Today I have another Papertrey Make + Save project for you. It's all about Creative Card Packaging and some tips on creating my signature Tent Topper Cards. (Note: If you click on the *Tent Topper Cards* label at the bottom of this post, you'll be directed to all of my blog posts that feature Tent Topper Cards). My Make + Save feature is exclusively for Papertrey Ink. I'll feature the projects here on the blog and links will be provided for the project supplies over at the Papertrey website. You'll be able to easily access all my Make + Save projects in one place. And for your convenience, you'll be able to order the supplies right from the Make + Save links.

On to today's project. Today's Tent Topper Cards feature the Rustic Snowflakes Patterned Paper and the Signature Series Cupcake, Flower and Dress form stamps and dies.
I began by stamping and die cutting the dress form, flower and cupcake images. I also die cut some XL Pure Poppy Felt, cut some Aqua Mist Twill Ribbon and cut strips from the Rustic Snowflakes Patterned Paper. Tip: At this time of year I choose to use colors that could easily be used for the holiday season...but could also be used for every day occasions. Notice that the colors used in my projects contains red and greens, but that I didn't use any actual snowflakes from the patterned papers.
To create Tent Topper Cards, the idea is that the card base is a smaller square and some sort of image sticks up above the card, thus creating a topper to the tent folded card. My card bases are usually 4.5" square when folded. The topper can be any size you want depending on what you will be using for embellishments on the square. If you zoom in, you'll notice that I used Guide Lines I Grid Sheets to add some visual appeal. If you want your Tent Topper Card to stay an A2 size card you just need to make sure that the finished card height is not more than 5.5" tall. I keep a ruler handy when making my Tent Toppers and adhere the topper portion slightly below the 5.5" measurement.
I chose to make 2 of each Tent Topper Card design. The basic layout is the same for each card. The tent topper part has a raised die image, some twill ribbon, tied Vintage Buttons and a stamped sentiment. All of the stamps are from the Signature Series sets. The base cards have various Rustic Snowflakes patterned paper along with strips of patterned papers and the Rick Rack felt borders.
Here I've taken photos of each design. The cute dress forms....
The flowers.....
And the sweet cupcakes.....
All of these cards are generic enough in nature that you can use them for a variety of occasions including birthdays, thank you notes, etc. This little stack of 6 cards with simple white envelopes would make a great gift for someone who loves homemade cards. And I haven't met a person yet who doesn't go ga-ga when they get a gift like this.
What makes giving cards as a gift even more special is the packaging. Using Papertrey's Clearly Creative Card Boxes are one of the easiest ways to package up pretty cards. And since they're clear, your beautiful work shines through. You don't need much else to make the finished packaging look really nifty.
The six cards and envelopes fit easily into my box. Just be careful that you don't use too many dimensional elements on your cards if packaging them into the clear boxes. I used some Aqua Mist Swiss Dot Ribbon to tie around my card box. Then I added a stamped and die cut cupcake that was fancied up with glitter, buttons and baker's twine. A simple eyelet through the top of the die allows it to be tied to the Aqua Mist Ribbon.And that's it. These little gift boxes travel well and look so cute tucked in with other presents under the tree. I hope you give them a try. Tip: Save a few cards from each stamping session and store them in a nice basket. When you need a gift, grab a variety of cards and tuck them into a clear box, all dolled up with ribbon and a fun embellishment. It makes for some very easy gifts that are always appreciated.

Remember, the links at the top of my post will lead you to supply lists and one stop shopping, all in one convenient place. Thanks for stopping by today. :)

Trick or treat group post

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I love the colors, the decorations and of course the treats. Our Papertrey group post this month is focusing on an adorable new set called Tiny Treats: Halloween. Just like the Tiny Treats: Valentine set, there are small images and sentiments that fit inside a frame. And this month, Nichole has designed a fabulous frame die to coordinate with this set.

Our challenge this month was to create a treat package with a coordinating card. We don't get too many trick or treaters out in the country but I still like to have treats ready for our Fall guests. This year I'm going to display a Trick or Treat tray, complete with all sorts of goodies that guests can package up on their own. Kind of like the ultimate candy buffet. :)
Using some of my recent vintage finds, I reached for silver trays, a mercury glass vase, tin jello molds and antique spoons to set the scene. Very spooky and goth like when paired with black tulle and vines.
Old mirrors from an auction along with woodsy decor add to the Halloween theme.

My Trick or Treat tray was lined with a vintage doily and then filled with candies, orange slices, mixed nuts and my fun ghost cookies.
The ghost cookies are simply Nutter Butter cookies that are dipped in melted white chocolate and topped with two mini chocolate chips for eyes. So cute and always a fun treat for the little ones. And the big ones like me. :) A simple votive in a vintage zinc jar lid makes for some perfect candle light.
Old jello molds grouped together on a silver tray lined with a vintage doily make the perfect dishes for guests to scoop up their candies using old silver spoons.
Tags for the goody bags and some coordinating tent topper cards are nestled into the decor.
The cards feature Papertrey ribbons in black and Orange Zest along with Vintage tied buttons, some new Halloween paper designed by Pine this month and the adorable label image that I used for the topper portion of my cards.
Isn't the label the cutest thing ever? I used a tiny ghost image along with the coordinating sentiment for the center of the labels. A few Copic markers in warm greys really make the ghosts pop. By leaving ghosts white and coloring around them with another color, they really stay white and pop off the page.
I also made some coordinating gift tags and nestled them in and about the Trick or Treat tray.
These feature the same label from Tiny Treats: Halloween stamp set. I embellished the tags with Vintage Buttons tied with baker's twine. The base tags are a medium orange parcel tag and a large manila parcel tag from my Etsy shop.
The tags are tied up with black and white PTI gingham ribbon.
After filling their vintage jello tin with treats and candies, the guests can munch on them for a while during our visit. Then when the guests are ready to leave, they can refill their tin and dump all the goodies into a Papertrey Large Glassine Sack.
The sack will be secured with a tag that each guest can take and add to the sack with a miniature clothespin.
They can also take home a Halloween card.....if you write your message on a sticky sheet and leave the card blank, the guest can use the card for another friend or relative. The gift that keeps on giving. Can't wait to set recreate this again for my Halloween guests.

• Be sure to check out these Papertrey designer blogs for more Tiny Treats ideas.
• Nichole Heady
• Heather Nichols
• Lisa Johnson
• Betsy Veldman
• Debbie Olson
• Dawn McVey
• Kim Hughes
• Niki Estes
• Melissa Phillips
• Erin Lincoln
• Maile Belles

2009 Holiday Card Making 101

It's that time of year again when we start creating holiday cards. I love when Nichole issues this challenge to the Papertrey Design Team because it really is the jump start to the holiday season for me.

For my holiday cards, I'll be using my good buddy Heather Nichols' set called Holiday Tree. Heather's sets are always so cute and easy to use and I love this little snowman image featured on my cards. I'm using one of my Tent Topper designs and lots of punches to make quick work of my set of cards. If you'd like to see more samples using this set, visit Heather's blog and just scroll away.....she's been showing sneak peeks all week long.
Here's a closeup of one finished card below. Be sure to visit Nichole's blog today because she has a listing of the supplies needed to finish the cards I've shown today.

And remember...if you use my tried and true method of separating all the little pieces and parts of your cards...then using an assembly line fashion to assemble your cards, you'll make easy work for yourself and be able to finish lots of lots of cards in a short amount of time.
For my Tent Topper cards, I always use a base card size of 4.25" square. Next, I went to work and punched out scalloped squares on which my main snowman image from Holiday Tree was stamped with Fresh Snow and Dark Chocolate ink. I also used a polka dot square image from Borders and Corners Squares to add a finishing touch to my main focal image. I also stamped a little leaf image from Borders and Corners Squares in Ripe Avocado so that the snowman looked like he was holding a little branch. I then matted my main image onto a Ripe Avocado square. For a fun twist, I adhered the tent topper portion of my cards to the right hand side of my card base.

The embellishments for my cards came together very quickly by punching out one inch squares of patterned paper from the Holiday Cheer collection. Simply line them up along the bottom of the card base. Strips of Ripe Avocado Saddle Stitched ribbon line up right on top of the squares. Then I stamped the border image from Holiday Tree in Scarlet Jewel ink. And as you can see in the photos, I finished off my cards with a simple sentiment and Scarlet Jewel Buttons tied with Rustic Cream Twine.

For my holiday card envelopes I stamped the border in Scarlet Jewel along the side of my A2 size Kraft envelopes. I then stamped a circle sentiment and snowflake onto Ripe Avocado cardstock and punched them out with a circle punch. Punch a larger half circle out of the envelope flap...then adhere punched circle. It's just a fun way to fancy up your envelopes.

Be sure to do a little blog hopping today so you can see all the other Designers creations:
Nichole Heady
Becky Oehlers
Heather Nichols
Lauren Meader
Lisa Johnson
Dawn McVey
Debbie Olson
Geny Cassady
Betsy Veldman
Melissa Phillips
Niki Estes

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're motivated to start your holiday cards early this year. You'll be glad you did it!

Holiday Jumpstart

It's that time of year....the kids are back in school, the leaves are starting to change, the weather gets cooler. And although we're not even past Halloween and Thanksgiving, my mind starts thinking about the holiday season. I love to start planning gifts and cards in advance..and today the Papertrey girls have some great ideas to jump start the holiday season.

My motto for the holiday season this year is: Keep it stylish, keep it simple. You'll hear me repeat that lots because I want to keep reminding myself. Today I have a gift ensemble that I can start assembling early on. It's a card with matching jelly jar. I worked hard this summer canning lots of jellies..they'll make the perfect little gift for neighbors, teachers and for guests that just drop by.Here's my cute card. I used my Tent Topper design (click on the label at the end of the post to see more) to create a card that can be made assembly line style. You can work on this type of card in steps, a little at a time. The new Papertrey set I'm using will debut this month and it's called Tree Trimming Trio.

There are different trees that you can stamp for the main image. Then there are lots of cute little circle stamps with various designs that fill in blank circles on the trees. It's a very fun, interactive type stamp set with dozens of designs you can create. I used Kraft for my card base, added some material that matches my jelly jars, Aqua Mist ink and cardstock for the tree, Dark Chocolate for the circles, tree base and sentiment, Vintage Buttons tied with Rustic Cream Twine, and Green Tea Leaves patterned paper. The main tree images was matted with Spellbinders Rectangle and Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities die templates. I finished up with some machine stitching to give my card a homespun feel.

My half pint jelly jar is covered with striped green material cut with pinking shears and tied with Dark Chocolate Swiss Dot ribbon.

The topper to my jelly jar is created with punches, a PTI Christmas sentiment and a little punched circle that matches my card.

I think while I have my supplies out, I'll go create more cards and jelly jar gifts. I can't tell you how good it feels come December when I see a big stash of gifts already wrapped and ready to go. Stylish and Simple...that's my motto!

Click on the links below to for more holiday gift giving inspiration:

Nichole Heady
Becky Oehlers
Heather Nichols
Lauren Meader
Lisa Johnson
Dawn McVey
Debbie Olson
Geny Cassady
Betsy Veldman
Melissa Phillips
Niki Estes

I just loved it...thank you cards

Hello everyone, it's a busy, busy week at our house. Lots of family events and stamping projects going on. Before I put away all my supplies for my last project, I decided to make up a few thank you cards for some birthday gifts I received. I used my original Tent Topper design (click on the label at the end of the post for all my Tent Topper related posts) and made quick use out of some leftover Papertrey supplies. My card base measures 4.25" square with the topper finishing off the card length to under 5.5"...so it will still fit into a standard size card envelope.

I used two heart punches to punch out pretty hearts using the Green Tea Leaves patterned paper. The stamped outline heart is from Borders and Corners: Hearts. Sentiment is from Handwritten Notes. I love that saying for a thank you note! Card bases are finished with some Ripe Avocado ribbon and Vintage Buttons tied with Rustic Cream Button Twine.

I fancied up the inside of the cards with some more sentiments and heart punches.

Lots more to come this month but it's back to the drawing board first. See ya soon!!

Tea for Two

A couple summers ago my good friend HB (Carol) sent me this adorable vintage strawberry teapot. Jordan and I had been having little tea parties out on the porch, using a bunch of other strawberry themed goodies and HB thought this would make the perfect addition. I adore this tea pot and I think of HB every time I see it. Well, as you know by now Papertrey is introducing a cute new set this month called Tea for Two, designed by Nichole. I immediately wanted to create something for a strawberry themed tea party. So I got out my tea pot, some vintage rick rack, some fabrics I purchased to make a table runner or something cute...and I found these three pages below from my Inspiration File. Zoom in to see the photos, I particularly love the red and white vintage fabrics in that cute table scape.

I went to work right away, starting with some home made patterned paper. I used Guidelines and Guidelines 2 to make some vintage looking patterns, using inks in Pure Poppy, True Black, Aqua Mist, Ripe Avocado, and Spring Moss. These stamp sets remind me of Frank Lloyd Wright patterns (Arts and Crafts style architect). Zoom in to get a good look at the colors.

Here's my finished cards...perfect little invitations for a couple of girl friends. I used my original Tent Topper card layouts for these, putting the teapots front and center.

Here's a close up of the tea pots. I first outlined the inside edges of the teapot image with a tan Copic marker (E31), then blended it with a Colorless Blender(0). The red I used for the details is a Copic red (R29). The teapots are accented with the small strawberries from Green Thumb. Tiny vintage rick rack from my stash is along the bottom of the teapots. I cut and embossed the teapot images with square Spellbinder's Nestabilities and matted the images with a Pure Poppy square Spellbinder's Nestie.

For the bottom of the cards, I used a fun sentiment from Tea for Two, stamped onto a strip of cardstock. I embellished the strip with a Vintage Button (guess the new color), tied with black twine. Vintage yellow and red rick rack from my stash finishes off the sentiment piece.

As a little party favor for my tea party, I made some homemade tea bags using my mom's Orange Spiced Tea recipe. I spooned some into tiny zip lock bags (available at craft stores)...

...and then inserted the bagged tea into Small Glassine Sacks. I punched a scalloped square, then stamped on the *tea for two* sentiment from Tea for Two, and the cute little tea cup from Everyday Expressions(PTI's anniversary set). I finished off the little squares with some tiny red rick rack and then messy stitched the tag right onto the glassine sack.

And here's all my goodies together. Now who could I invite over for a little tea party??

Be sure to check Nichole's BLOG to see more of Tea for Two. I know many of you are already excited...the entire set is so darling and as usual Nichole has added in the best sentiments. I can't wait to see more creations with this set. I know they will be tea-riffic.