Introducing Gem Inspirations

Welcome to the first group post for Papertrey's December release. This month's countdown began on the 10th, continued yesterday, and now the whole gang is together for Day Three. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the links on Nichole's blog HERE and HERE.

We have the pleasure today of introducing some new gemstone-themed products that are sure to WOW!

Today's featured products, along with the rest of the December release, will be available at 10 pm EST December 15 in the Papertrey Ink store.

Each of the Papertrey designers is focusing on a different birthstone, so you'll have a whole year's worth of gem inspiration! I chose September, which is the sapphire, and which also happens to be my birthstone.

For this first card, I wanted lots of white, with one very saturated bit of color. I watercolored a patch using the ink from an Enchanted Evening reinker. For some shimmer, I dabbed on a little adhesive and sprinkled on some superfine glitter. Last, I filled the painted area with rhinestones, sequins, You're A Gem die-cuts (our of a Luxe Silver Adhesive Sheet) and stamped the sentiment from the You're A Gem stamp set.

STAMPS: You're A Gem

DIES: You're A Gem

INK: Enchanted Evening, True Black

PAPER: white card stock, Luxe Silver Adhesive Sheet

OTHER: clear sequins, clear rhinestones, foam tape

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The Gemstone Cover Plate is a beautiful addition to today's collection. I die-cut a cover plate out of Enchanted Evening card stock, then gave it a coating of superfine glitter. To do that, I used a make-up sponge to apply multi-medium to the back, then just poured over the glitter. (I also used a spray fixative to make sure the glitter stayed in place.)

I glued the glittered layer to two more die-cuts to make it super sturdy, then cut a fourth die-cut out of fun foam to add dimension. On the foam layer, I trimmed out the inside gem part, leaving just the outer rectangle. The effect is a floating interior, which adds interesting shadows and another dimension to the facets. 

(I hope I explained that well enough! You could also apply foam tape just to the outer rectangle.)

For the sentiment, I stamped the words from You're A Gem in Enchanted Evening and Blueberry Sky. The gem is embossed in white. I watercolored over the gemstone with Enchanted Evening ink refill. Once again, the reinker is key for getting that deep, rich blue.

STAMPS: You're A Gem

DIES: Gemstone Cover Plate

INK: Enchanted Evening, Blueberry Sky

PAPER: white and Enchanted Evening cardstock

OTHER: fun foam, clear sequins, Ranger Multi-Medium Matte, Martha Stewart Blue Sapphire Glitter 

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Last is a look at Erin's Charmed stamp set, coordinating dies, and frame. First, let me say I love this unique way to personalize cards for the recipients! For this card, I began by creating the Charmed Frame. I die-cut a frame out of white, Enchanted Evening, and and a Luxe Silver Adhesive Sheet, then, using the inlaid die-cut technique, I put the different colors together. I love the part of the frame that looks like a gem setting, so I made sure to use the silver adhesive sheet for that portion, and then filled each of the holes with blue and silver sequins. I love how it really resembles jewelry!

I adhered all of the frame pieces onto a wide-striped foiled silver pattern from the Silver Luxe Foil Patterned Paper collection. I trimmed down the inside white panel about 1/4" on all four sides, just to allow some of that silver foil stripe to show through.

On the inside panel, I stamped the sentiment components in Enchanted Evening and Spring Rain. The gemstone die-cut is part of the Gemstone Cover Plate (there are two sizes of loose stones). I did some ink blending on it using Spring Rain, Blueberry Sky, and Enchanted Evening, then painted on a coat of clear Wink of Stella.

Here you can see the shine of the foil and the Wink of Stella. Along the bottom, I stamped "Sapphire," using a stamp positing tool to achieve the ombre effect. I stamped first in Spring Rain, then stamped a second and third time, applying Enchanted Evening ink just to the bottom and the very top of the "S." I adhered this layer with foam tape for some dimension.

STAMPS: Charmed

DIES: Charmed Frame, Gemstone Cover Plate

INK: Spring Rain, Blueberry Sky, Enchanted Evening

PAPER: white and Enchanted Evening card stock, Silver Luxe Foil Paper Collection, Luxe Silver Adhesive Sheets

OTHER: blue and silver sequins, clear Wink of Stella, stamp position tool, foam adhesive

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Thanks so much for stopping by! Visit the Papertrey team for lots more gemstone inspiration:

Nichole Heady

Ashley Newell

Betsy Veldman

Danielle Flanders

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Lizzie Jones

Melissa Phillips