Summer Inspirations

Papertrey's May release countdown continues today with a fantastic collection of summer-themed products. Heather has designed a most adorable whale set, Betsy is adding summer/pool/beach accessories to her Dress Up Dolls collection, and Nichole brings us a stylish seashell set.  I've got lots to share today!

All of the new products will be available at 10 pm ET on May 15 in the Papertrey Ink store.

Heather's darling whale, which is the centerpiece of her Keep Swimming stamp set, was perfect for my small celebration ensemble. I'm thinking baby shower or birthday party. The card could be used as an invitation and the treat sack could be a party favor. Or either could stand alone! I kept them pretty generic.

For the card, I stamped an Enchanted Evening card base with white doodle waves from Betsy's What the Doodle: Waves set. I love the pattern this adds along the edges!

On the main white panel, I sponged the waves and splashes using a stencil from the new Sun & Surf Stencil Collection. With the stencil still in place, I spritzed on some clear shimmer spray. It came out a little more splotchy than I wanted, but I worked with it anyway. The wavy lines are from Keep Swimming, as is the water spout.

The sentiment is from Erin Lincoln's Colorful Words stamp set. I stamped the word "celebrate" in black ink, then filled in the coloring areas with a dark blue Copic marker. The white dots were done with a white gel pen. I'm really liking this set! Great sentiments in a nice large size, and those open areas are fun to fill with color!

For the treat sack, I stamped a Tag Sale #2  die-cut with the same wave image that I used on the card above (from What the Doodle: Wave), then wrapped the tag over the sack, and topped with a whale and a sentiment strip (from Keep Swimming).

By the way, the little EOS whale in the first photo was a silly notion that came to me as I waited for my daughter to put on some lip balm before bed the other night. She probably thought I was a little nuts when I said, "hey, that could totally be a whale!" 

Stamps: Keep Swimming, What the Doodle: Waves, Colorful Words

Dies: Keep Swimming, Tag Sale #2

Ink: Aqua Mist, Blueberry Sky, Hawaiian Shores, Enchanted Evening, True Black, Fresh Snow

Paper: Enchanted Evening, Hawaiian Shores, Stamper's Select White

Other: Sun & Surf Stencil Collection, white linen thread, Blueberry Sky baker's twine, Psst Shimmer Spritz, gray striped paper sack

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Each month, I fall in love all over again with Betsy's Dress Up Dolls and their darling, DARLING accessories. This month we have Dress Up Dolls: Summer Fun, with super fun things like bathing suits, a snorkel mask, watermelon, a beach ball, sunglasses, and so much more.

This little fellow is supposed to be my youngest son, Gabriel. His birthday was in late April, but he's waiting to have his birthday party until after the temperatures warm and the pools open. These will be cute invitations, even if they are more beach than pool! "Make a Splash at Gabe's Birthday Bash"!

When he saw this, his comment was "I don't have any hair!" I suppose I should go back and re-color the hair for more contrast. I was joking with my daughter (who also likes to color with Copics) that we should give him a sunburn, too (he's never had much of a real sunburn, despite his super fair skin)!

The background was die-cut with the Cover Plate: Waves die. The bottom two sections are lightly inked in Classic Kraft, then stamped in Kraft with sand using the new Sand Swatch stamp set. The middle strips are inked in Tropical Teal, splashed with water and spritzed with white mist. The top strip is inked in Blueberry Sky.

Stamps: Dress Up Dolls: Basics; Dress Up Dolls: Summer Fun

Dies: Dress Up Dolls: Basics; Dress Up Dolls: Summer Fun; Cover Plate: Waves, Fillable Frames #11

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Versafine; PTI Classic Kraft, Tropical Teal, Blueberry Sky

Paper: Stamper's Select White card stock; vellum card stock

Other: Copic markers, liquid glue, foam tape, white embossing powder

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And now to switch gears from all that cuteness! I made this for my dad for Father's Day. I think his favorite place in the world is the beach, so the whole nautical theme is perfect for him!

The sentiment was die-cut with last month's Shaped Sayings: Father's Day, then framed with a stitched circle from Shaker Shapes: Circle. To help with the nautical theme, I wrapped the circle frame with jute twine. The shells are from Nichole's Simple Seashells. These shells are really pretty! Each of the four shells can be completed with just three impressions. I can't wait to play around with all sorts of shell colors!

The background is watercolored Classic Kraft ink. The right edge is accented with jute string and a torn vellum edge.

Stamps: Simple Seashells

Dies: Simple Seashells, Shaped Sayings: Father's Day, Shaker Shapes: Circle

Ink: Ocean Tides, Enchanted Evening, Classic Kraft, Aqua Mist, Fresh Snow

Paper: Enchanted Evening, Ocean Tides, Stamper's Select White card stock; Sheer Basics vellum; watercolor paper

Other: jute string, foam tape, watercolor brush

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For more Summer Inspirations, visit the Papertrey team:

Nichole Heady

Ashley Newell

Betsy Veldman

Danielle Flanders

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Kay Miller

Laurie Willison

Lizzie Jones

Melissa Phillips

Thanks for visiting!