Introducing Seeds of Knowledge

Welcome to Day Four of Papertrey Ink's April release countdown. All of the new product will be available Wednesday, April 15, at 10 pm EST in the Papertrey Ink store.

Today, we are introducing a few more teacher-friendly products, Seeds of Knowledge stamp set and dies, and Pencil Blooms dies. Teacher treats are some of my favorite projects to make. I've helped with, or been in charge of, the teacher appreciation committees at my kids' schools ever since my now-8th grader was in kindergarten, and so I'm always on the lookout for cute ideas. Easy to mass-produce and extremely economical are musts too!

Today's gift idea meets all of those criteria. I've used the Pencil Blooms dies to turn an ordinary pencil into a flower stem, and Seeds of Knowledge stamps to add a sentiment. This couldn't be any easier to create. I diecut three flower layers out of Papertrey's felt using the Pencil Blooms dies, slipped them over the eraser end of the pencil, and used a little touch of hot glue to hold them in place. The leafy sprig is part of a larger diecut from the Songbirds die set. It was cut from card stock and adhered with hot glue as well. 

I stamped the word "teacher," from Seeds of Knowledge, onto a Double-Ended Banner die-cut, then wrapped it around the pencil and secured with adhesive. Next, I stamped the "thank you for helping me grow" sentiment, also from Seeds of Knowledge, to a Tiny Tags die-cut, and tied it on with some linen thread. (I stamped the words individually, so that I could ink in multiple colors and so that I could rearrange the sentiment to fit the tag.)

I was searching my stash for a clay pot to use as a base, and came across these extra tiny ones. At first I thought they'd be too small for the tall pencil, but after trying it out, I thought the tiny size with the tall pencil stem looked delightfully whimsical. The pencil is held in place by the drain hole in the bottom of the pot, as well as a little hot glue.

The coordinating card shows off more of the Seeds of Knowledge set. I stamped a cascade of flowers onto a Fresh snow linen panel, then split the panel Maile-style.

The sentiment is stamped onto a Fillable Frames #11 die-cut and adorned with a button and hemp cord. To add a little color to the sentiment, I stamped the highlighted words in coordinating colors, trimmed them out, and adhered them with foam dots. 

In the flower pot above, the pencil isn't really intended to be used - it's all just decorative. But this next ensemble shows a bouquet where the pencils can actually be used, too.

The pencil tops are done exactly the same as in the first project -- with the three flower layers die-cut using the Pencil Blooms dies and the leaves cut with the Songbirds die.

The "vase" is just a pint mason jar wrapped with some floral mesh and hemp twine and adorned with more Pencil Blooms felt die-cuts and a sprig from Songbirds. 

The pencils are loose inside the jar -- easy to access and easy to return, and you'll always know where these pencils are supposed to go.

The coordinating card picks up on the same color scheme. I had fun stamping a background pattern using stamps from Seeds of Knowledge. 

The vertical image/sentiment panel was fun to stamp, too. Some of the individual components are stamped a second time and popped up with dimensional adhesive. Along the bottom, I added a curvy Melon Berry tab accent using just a partial piece of a Mat Stack 4 die-cut.

That's it for me today! Be sure to visit the other design team girls for lots more Seeds of Knowledge and Pencil Blooms inspiration.

Nichole Heady

Ashley Newell

Betsy Veldman

Danielle Flanders

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Laura Bassen

Laurie Willison

Maile Belles

Melissa Phillips

Clay Pot Teacher Treat Supplies:

STAMPS: Seeds of Knowledge

INK: Simply Chartreuse, Melon Berry, Terracotta Tile, Ocean Tides

PAPER: Fresh Snow Linen and Simply Chartreuse card stock

OTHER: Aqua Mist felt, Terracotta Tile felt, Limeade Ice felt, 

1 1/2" clay pot, standard No. 2 pencil, kraft shred, hemp cord, white linen thread, hot glue

Every Child Card Supplies:

STAMPS: Seeds of Knowledge

DIES: Fillable Frames #11

INK: Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides, Melon Berry, Terracotta Tile, Simply Chartreuse, and Ripe Avocado

PAPER: Fresh Snow Linen and Ripe Avocado card stock

OTHER: Ocean Tides button, hemp cord, dimensional adhesive

Mason Jar Pencil Bouquet Supplies:

DIES: Pencil Blooms, Songbirds

PAPER: Simply Chartreuse card stock

OTHER: Aqua Mist felt, Terracotta Tile felt, Limeade Ice felt, Ocean Tides felt,

mason jar, floral mesh ribbon, hemp cord, Terracotta Tile button, Limeade Ice and Aqua Mist felt

Watering Can Card Supplies:

STAMPS: Seeds of Knowledge

DIES: Mat Stack 4

INK: Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides, Melon Berry, Terracotta Tile, Simply Chartreuse, and Ripe Avocado

PAPER: Ripe Avocado, Melon Berry, and white card stock

OTHER: enamel dots, dimensional adhesive, corner rounder, Rustic Jute Button Twine