Papertrey News!

I have some exciting news to share — today, I am joining the Papertrey Ink release team! I could not be more honored! (And surprised and anxious and humbled and excited and a whole bunch of other things!) 

When I got the email invitation from Nichole, I was sure her email account had been hacked, and the next message would read, “We’re so sorry. Nichole’s email was hacked and hundreds of DT invitations were issued. There are actually no design team openings. (And we sincerely regret any soreness or injury caused by the backflips you've been doing.)” 

But that wasn’t the case, it’s all very real (surreal is more like it), and so here I am today, helping to kick off Papertrey’s EIGHT-year anniversary. First and foremost, congratulations, Nichole, on the successful company you’ve built! And congrats to the veteran designers as well!

A little background on me: I got my stamping start way back in 2003 as a Stampin’ Up demonstrator. A few years later, in 2007, I started a blog to share my creations. My focus quickly changed from making cards for classes and workshops and sales to creating for the pure joy of it. I also started venturing out into the bigger stamping world and exploring other companies. It was truly a creative awakening for me. 

Papertrey was the first company to catch my eye. No surprise — Nichole was one of my first stamp crushes, since even before she started Papertrey. Time and time again, I would see a project that was just magical; time and time again, the designer was Nichole. I love how she’s brought that same class and style and magic to Papertrey, and I’ve loved watching PTI grow and grow over the years!

I’m excited to jump right in, and what a fabulous month to start! I made this "hello there" card especially for today:

The other designers are posting their eight favorite PTI projects today. You can find all the links on Nichole's blog. These girls are wildly talented and put on quite the show with each new release, so you know their cream of the crop picks are going to be sensational! 

The 8th anniversary celebration continues tomorrow and every day through the 15th. Be sure to follow along on Nichole’s blog for all the exciting new product introductions, contests, giveaways, and eye candy. It’s going to be HUGE!

Sprinkles in the Works

Sprinkles here, sprinkles there, sprinkles sprinkles everywhere! 

Please join me on the Reverse Confetti blog today for the latest Wednesday in the Works segment. I'm focusing on two fun ways to use the sprinkles from the DONUT YOU KNOW Confetti Cuts die set (neither involving donuts!). Hope to see you over there!

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge: Kissing Booth

It's time for a new Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge!

photo source: thetomkatstudio.com

The LEAD of the Kissing Booth challenge will be invited as a Guest Designer in a future Curtain Call challenge!

So much to be inspired by in this week's photo: the colors, the banner, chevrons, candy, wood, kissing, lips, Valentine's Day in general!

I started out wanting to use the hugs & kisses sentiment from one of Reverse Confetti's very first stamp sets, I LIKE YOU. Then I remembered (how could I forget??!) the ampersand die-cut in the new DOCUMENTED Confetti Cuts die set. To mimic the red headboard behind the banner, I used the STRAIGHT STRIPES PRETTY PANEL, leaving the cut-outs in place.

I hinted at the triangle banner pieces with my triangle theme background panel.

A metal clip, a twine bow with long tails, doily, vellum, and distressing for finishing touches.

Make sure you visit each of the designers' blogs for more inspiration!

Kissing Booth Designers

Guest Designer, Joanne Basile

Amy Kolling
Amy Sheffer
Amy Tsuruta
Gayatri Murali
Kim Singdahlsen
Lisa Henke
Marisa Ritzen
Maureen Plut
Monika Davis
Sarah Gough
Sheri Gilson
Stacey Schafer
Tenia Nelson
Tracey McNeely

Follow us!

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge Facebook Page

Curtain Call Pinterest Boards

Stop by the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge for the challenge details and to play along with us!

Confetti Camera: All Things Grow With Love

It's Confetti Camera day over on the Reverse Confetti blog! Confetti Camera is the weekly segment that features one of the Confetti Crew designers, along with an exclusive, themed project created just for this feature. Our theme this round is INSIDE & OUT. I hope you'll join me over there!

Here's a little peek:

 Have a fantastic Thursday!

Hearts A Flutter

Please join me over on the Taylored Expressions blog today! Here's a little peek at my project, featuring the gorgeous Hearts A Flutter cutting plate from Taylored Expressions.

And if you're as smitten with this cutting plate as I am, you'll definitely want to enter the giveaway on the TE blog!

Have a super day!

Valentine Tag Trio

I was browsing around my bookmarked challenges this weekend, and Tag, You're It caught my eye. Check out Heather's awesome inspiration tag:

Reverse Confetti has a new floral set, LOVE BLOOMS, that I thought would fit perfectly. Turns out, as I got going, I kept gravitating toward hearts. 'Tis the season, I suppose!

 All three tags were first cut with the TAG ME Confetti Cuts die using two different patterns. Tag 1 also includes a pair of hearts from the HEART TO HEART Confetti Cuts, along with the word "love" from the HEART LOVE PRETTY PANELS Confetti Cuts. I added a little gold splatter and some gold metallic stitching for fun.

Tag 2 has a large heart (also from the HEART TO HEART Confetti Cuts die set) and an ARROW Confetti Cuts die-cut in place of the loops and heart pair. 

And Tag 3 is just like Tag 1, only in different colors:

CONFETTI CUTS DIES: HEART LOVE PRETTY PANELS, HEART TO HEART, TAG ME, ARROW

PAPER: designer paper scraps, Crate Paper Open Book 6x6 collection, red card stock, dark gray card stock

OTHER: gold cord, ivory thread, gold metallic thread, Heidi Swapp gold and black mist, foam squares

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On a different topic -- I always enjoy the variety of crafty things my fellow card-makers also do, so I thought I'd share a sewing project I was busy with last week. My daughter's 5th-grade class put on an Aladdin Jr. performance, and so naturally, the parents were busy with all kinds of things: costumes, painting sets, gathering props, and such. 

My husband and parents got a kick out of seeing our old brass dining room chandelier, which had been gathering dust in the garage for a few years, as part of the Cave of Treasures set. And I told my mom and dad to be on the lookout for the magic carpet costumes, which I warned might have a lot in common with my old window treatments! It's not a very good shot, but here are my daughter and younger son modeling the magic carpet costumes I made (sadly, I didn't get a photo of the two girls who played the magic carpets [and did a fabulous job!]):

This was one of those things where I found some spare fabric in my basement and some basic instructions online (thank you Lori Hart Beninger), and thought 1) I know how to sew; and 2) it's just a flat piece with a border and layers, right? I do that ALL the time with paper ... how hard could it be? Turns out, it wasn't hard, just time-consuming. The first carpet probably took me 12-14 hours. The second one went much more quickly -- maybe only 2 hours, 'cause I knew what I was doing by then! 

And if you ever need magic carpet costumes, I now have two!

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Penny Black Guest Designer - Final Day!

Here we are at the end of the line for my guest designer week with Penny Black. Please join me over on the Penny Black blog today for one final project, featuring the gorgeous Cupid's Wish die and a heart-shaped text collage stamp from  So Very Much. Both products are from the new Love & Friendship catalog.

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the fantastic variety of Penny Black products - stamps, dies, and stencils. It's been such an honor!

Thanks for visiting!