Challenge : Sensational Silhouettes!!

Hello PI fans and welcome to a new challenge here on A Passion For Papertrey. I don't know about you but I can't believe how quickly this year is flying by! One minute it was the middle of summer and now Christmas feels like it's just around the corner!! Is it just me??

So as another fortnight goes by, we are at the start of the next one and our newest challenge - Sensational Silhouettes. Now don't panic and think "I don't own a PTI set with a silhouette in it"!! Think of flowers, leaves, solid shapes of any kind, dies, etc - all of those could be manipulated in some way to create a silhouette. Let your creative juices run free!!!

My (loose) interpretation of a silhouette is in the form of an aperture made using the Mat Stack 4 die. I cut the aperture from a panel of Simply Chartreuse and then ran it through my Big Shot using the woodgrain impression plate (LOVE!!). This was popped up with foam adhesive and I placed a panel of Pure Poppy underneath it. I am in love with the Stylish Sentiments: Holidays set and used one of the large greetings as my focal point which was stamped in Versamark and embossed with white filigree powder. To give it the country/folky feel (which I love SOO much for Christmas) I added a strip of gingham ribbon and die cut a couple of snowflakes from Kraft and Vintage Cream card using some Sizzlet dies.

{Recipe}

Stamps: Stylish Sentiments: Holidays
Paper: Simply Chartreuse, Pure Poppy, Vintage Cream, Kraft.
Ink: Versamark with White Filigree Embossing powder
Tools: Woodgrain Impression Plate, Mat stack 4 die, Sizzlit Snowflake dies, Big Shot
Other: Button (Pure Poppy), Gingham ribbon (John Lewis)

Over to Aimes:
"Hmmm well when I thought of silhouettes for this challenge I decided to play with a set that I haven't played with nearly enough:

Card Deets
{A Bird...}
Stamps: Happy Trails (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Pure Poppy Grosgrain Ribbon, Happy Trails Bird Die, Text Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug/Gem (Stash!)

I'm ashamed to admit that Happy Trails is a set that I *had* to have and has hardly seen so much as an inkpad since being introduced to the rest of my stamps! Now I may be bending the rules slightly with that bird but I'm stickin' to my guns and sayin' it's a silhouette: I'm not sure if the lined details mean it's not one...

...oh well seeing as now I'm not sure if that bird counts as a silhouette, I have another card up my sleeve that I created a while back but haven't shared here that definitely features a silhouette:

Card Deets
{Just Because}
Stamps: Iconic Images, Round and Round (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Spring Rain, Kraft, Orange Zest (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug (Provocraft)/Mat Stack 2 Die, Linen and Canvas Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Flower Paper Punch (X-Cut)/Pearl (Hero Arts)/Circle Nestabilities

Now I know for sure that this is a silhouette! :)

Sadly poor Kate is suffering from a trapped nerve problem this week (ouch) and has been unable to upload her card today. Hopefully she will be back on form later in the week and will share her creation with us then.


So what's the prize up for grabs this time? The stunning Mehndi Medallion stamp set (lush!)

Now for the all important challenge guidelines:

* All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify (please state what is PTI as sometimes it's hard to see :D)

* All entries must be newly created (well, new to Blogland anyways!). Please don't link to old posts that might happen to fit the brief of the challenge!!

* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post. Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.

* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!

* Challenge closes on Monday, October 31st 2011 at 9.00am GMT (oooohhhh!)

* As well as a randomly picked winner, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Challenge: Sweet, Sweet, Summertime

Hey Everyone!

Ready for a brand spanking new challenge here on A Passion for Papertrey? I hope so!

For the next fortnight we're thinking of summertime. Whether it's the colours you associate with summer, items associated with summer or anything else that reminds you of the sweet summertime, make a creation out of it and join in the fun!

For me, summer is the sweet long six-week holidays I get from work :) We break up next Thursday and I can't wait! When I was a kid the first week off would involve a trip to the sea-side and that's what inspired my creation:


I went with a very graphic interpretation of the sea with those chevrons LOL! I'll be off to the sea-side in Wales at some point in the holidays - you just can't beat a paddle in the sea :)

Card Deets
{Hello}
All Papertrey Ink Supplies Unless Stated
Stamps: Background Basics: Chevron Strips, Modern Basics (Sentiment)
Ink: Hawaiian Shores/Tuxedo Black (Memento Ink)
Cardstock: Lemon Tart, Stamper's Select White
Accessories: Orange Zest Vintage Buttons/Fine Line Black Pen (Letraset)/Chompy! (Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers)

Over to Kate: "Another CAS card from me - this time a bright invite to a summer party, I'm imagining a fun pool party except I don't have a pool!"

Stamps: A Day at the Beach, Polka Dot Basics
Card: Stamper's Select White, Hawai'in Shores
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Hawai'in Shores, Memento Tuxedo Black
Other: Raspberry Fizz ribbon, nestabilities

Over to Caryn:
Nothing says "Summer" to me more than Wimbledon - it kicks off the season for me and although my beloved Roger Federer didn't do all that well this year I still managed to catch a few matches and enjoyed the tournament immensely. As a wee nod to my favourite sporting even of the year I have made a card using the strawberry die and stamp set (Fruit Fusion: Strawberry). With a touch of lace and the gingham at the bottom (reminds me of pots of jam and picnics!!) this card does make me feel jolly summery.

{Recipe}

Stamps: Fruit Fusion: Strawberry, Background Basics: Gingham, Turning a New Leaf and Round And Round.

Ink: Pure Poppy, Spring Moss, Berry Sorbet

Patterned Paper: Pink Patterns Collection (for the scalloped strip)

Other: Lace trim, Strawberry die, medium scalloped border die, red gingham ribbon.

So are we feeling the summertime vibe? I hope so! Now before you come and jump in the pool of creativity with us - check out what one randomly selected European Peep could win:


Yup this sweet mini set, Whale Wishes could be yours!

Here are those all important deets:

* All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify (please state what is PTI as sometimes for us it's hard to tell :D)

* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post. Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.

* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!

* Challenge closes on Monday, July 25th 2011 at 9.00am GMT

* As well as a randomly picked winner, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Aimes, Kate & Caryn
xxx

Challenge - Inspired by a song!

Hello folks and welcome to a new challenge for all you PTI fans to play along with. It was lovely seeing all your sketch inspired cards last week and as always we were amazed by the variety of creations it produced.

Our Kate is sunning herself in Spain at the moment (not jealous at all - honest) so is unable to play along this week. Hope you're enjoying yourself hunny!

So what are we challenging you to do for us this fortnight? Well we want to see your creations inspired by a song or piece of music. This doesn't have to be a literal interpretation of a song and doesn't have to have the title on the card - just share with us something that a favourite song or musical piece has inspired you to create. Once I got to thinking about this challenge and started looking at my PTI sets I couldn't stop thinking of songs to create a card from!! I made two different ones in the end but I could have gone on and on.

Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend - Marylin Monroe

{Recipe:}
STAMPS: A Little Argyle, Round and Round.
CARD: Vintage cream, Aqua mist.
INK: Aqua mist, Enchanted Evening.
OTHER: Limitless Layers 1.75" dies, gemstones

I Love Rock and Roll - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

{Recipe:}
STAMPS: Grunge Me, Boy Basics: Rock On.
CARD: Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise.
INK: Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest, Terracotta Tile, Smokey grey..
OTHER: Guitar die, Glossy Accents


Over to Aimes
For this challenge I thought I'd struggle but actually the hardest part for me was narrowing down my song choice!

I really wanted to pay tribute to one of my favourite songs - Mr Jones by Counting Crows but time beat me once again....(if I ever get the time I'll play along again this fortnight!) so I thought I'd stick with a super cheesy classic, 'Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves' (note: this is not an indication of what is in my music collection!)Card Deets
{Thank you for being so thoughtful}
Stamps: Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Blueberry Sky
Patterned Paper: Distressed Dots - Harvest Gold (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: White Twill Ribbon, White Vintage Button (Papertrey Ink)/Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers)

No literal interpretation here - just the title of the song inspiring my colour choices! This song makes me think of summer and beaches hence my sand, sea and sky colour combo. The good thing is that you can create a card based solely on the mood a song puts you in so the possibilities for getting inked up along to a song are endless!

Onto our featured stamper Jen,

The song that just kept coming to my mind and having so much meaning to me was a new one by Chris Tomlin (I LOVE his music!) called "Symphony". Here are a few lines from the song (if you'd like to hear the song and see the entire lyrics, feel free to visit my blog):

Shining wonders, fields of splendor; how they sing Your symphony
The deepest oceans, rising mountains; how they sing Your symphony
Let the earth fear the Lord, and all the people of the world; stand in awe, stand in awe
In symphony with all created things, sing the song that we were made to sing
We stand in awe, we stand in awe
In the skies and in the oceans, everything that's living, breathing
A symphony to You

I live in Kansas , in the United States and right now the fields are full of the splendor of God. I love, LOVE this time of year as the fields begin to grow, the trees are all turning green & flowers are blooming. The other day we were coming home from town and as we turned onto the road that leads to our small town, the fields were literally dancing (it is very windy here a lot!!). It was one of the most beautiful sights and I was very much in awe as I told my husband to slow down and just look! That is what this song says to me. The fields seemed to be dancing for the Lord and in that moment I was able to sing the praises of God and stand in awe. It's amazing what a little wind and some tall grasses/crops can do for my soul! I also love when the wheat begins to turn golden. It is such a beautiful picture and another one that makes me sing a symphony of praise to the Lord. That is how this song inspired me to create this card


Supplies (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps: Spiral Bouquet, Background Basics: Sheet Music, Everyday Blessings
Paper: Rustic Cream, Smokey Shadow
Other: Vineyard Impression Plate, Labels 1 Nestabilities, Ribbon, Pop Dots, White Pearls, Copics, Crop-a-dile

So off you go and start going through your CD collection, iPod or vinyl (for you golden oldies out there - lol) and create something inspired!

Up for grabs this week is....

Signiature Series : Cupcake stamp set.



Here's what you need to know:
* All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify (please state what is PTI as sometimes for us it's hard to tell :D)

* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post (be aware that we've had a few niggles with it!). Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.

* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!

* Challenge closes on Monday, May 30th 2011 at 9.00am GMT

* As well as a randomly picked winner, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.

Looking forward to seeing all your fabulous sketch interpretations!
Caryn, Aimes, Kate & Jenxxxx

Celebrate today....

Celebrate today...

....because it's the weekend!

Hope you all have a super weekend - shame it's not a bank holiday (I was getting a little too used to having Fridays and Mondays off work!) I have nothing planned myself, but sometimes I think that's the nicest kinda weekend to have :D

If you've got nothing planned, why not check out our current challenge? *wink*

Aimes
x

Button Love...

Happy Sunday! Hope you've all had a great weekend so far...maybe even squeezed in a few fireworks and got your teeth stuck around some bonfire toffee....*wink*

I'm stopping by today with a card that I've been itching to share on here for ages! So without further ado, here it is:


Would you belive that I made this card about a month ago?! This was made for my very own gorgeous guy to celebrate our 10 year anniversary on October 14th. No, we're not married but we count the years from that fateful night I made him ask me out he asked me out LOL!

This card certainly shows how much I love him so: I mean, who else could I create a card for using not only so many of my precious buttons, but my precious green buttons! Oh if only his favourite colour was Melon Berry: then I wouldn't be feeling slightly anxious about just how many buttons I used on his card...

Wishing you a relaxing Sunday!

Aimes
x

Card Deets
{Live laugh Love}
Stamps: Text Style, Round and Round (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento)/Versamark
Cardstock: Fresh Linen, Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Mixed Green Vintage Buttons (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug/Concentric Hearts Die

Anything But a Card Challenge!

Hi Papertrey fans, it's Caryn here. Kate and Aimes have thrown me in at the deep end and have entrusted me with writing the post for our new challenge. Hopefully I won't miss out anything important - don't want to be sacked on my first week in the job, lol!!

So onto the challenge details. We want to see you create ANYTHING but a card. It could be a scrapbook page, a tag, gift packaging or any other creation you can think of - just not a card. All we ask is that you use at least one Papertrey Ink product in your design - simples!

When I found out what the challenge was going to be I decided I would create a gift to give my sister-in-law for my little nephew's baptism. I'm not a fan of the generic baby gifts you can buy in jewellers shops (you know, those little trinket boxes and ornaments - not my thing at all) so I bought an inexpensive box frame from Ikea and thought I'd make a little picture for his new bedroom (they are moving house after Christmas). Aimes has kindly loaned me her Tiny Treats: Valentine stamp set and I thought the cute little images in that set would be perfect for a little 1 year old.



I used a base of Pure Poppy card and the dotty distressed paper from the Pretty Pastels collection and my EK Success star punch to make the stars (from Vintage Cream card). The images are coloured with ProMarkers and the letters (my nephews initials) are stamped in Pure Poppy using a Banana Frog alphabet set.

Over to Kate: "I love stationery sets so I decided to use one of Lauren Meader's From The Desk Of' Timeless Templates to make a set of notelets to have on my desk whenever I need to scribble a quick note. Excuse the picture - I will take a better one in daylight!

Kate

Recipe:
Stamps: Take Note/Mega Mixed Messages/Round & Round Anniversary Set
Card: Hawai'in Shores/Stampers Select White
Paper:Green Boutique
Ink: Hawai'in Shores/Versafine Black
Other: New Leaf ribbon/Circle Nestabilities

Over to Aimes:
"Well life is pretty hectic still, so I'm gonna 'fess up that I'm featuring something for this challenge that I made the other week, but haven't shared here yet; hope you can forgive me!

I just adore these treat boxes - I think I'm addicted! So cute, so sweet and oh so simple to create! Now that's my kinda crafting when you can only squeeze in tiny amounts of inky therapy time!"
Treat Box Deets
{Thank You}
Stamps: Star Prints (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Black (Memento)/Antique Linen (Distress Ink)
Cardstock: Kraft, Raspberry Fizz (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Dotty Biscotti (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug/Treat Box Die (Papertrey Ink)/Star Punch (SU!)/Raspberry Fizz Button (Papertrey Ink)/Fineline Pen

And here's what our wonderfully talented Bev, our November Featured Stamper has created for us using some of the latest products:
For my 'Anything but a Card' project I decided to use some of my new PTI goodies. They are the Favour It 2 Box Die, The Limitless Layers Dies, Holiday jar Fillers and Holiday Tags 2010.






And so what can you win?



Some luscious Raspberry Fizz yumminess. 2 sheets of Raspberry Fizz cardstock, one sheet of each of the 12 designs in the Raspberry Fizz mix paper collection, 3 foot-long samples of Raspberry Fizz ribbon (Satin Dots, Satin and Twill) and a few Raspberry Fizz Buttons.

So here's the serious bit!!

* All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify

* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post. Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.

* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!

* Challenge closes on Monday, November 15th 2010 at 9.00am GMT

* A winner will be chosen at random to receive some PTI goodies!

* In addition to this, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Kate, Aimes, Caryn & Bev

Thank You

Hey, it's Aimes here - I'm still lurking around Blogland when I get the chance!

Whilst I've got a spare moment, I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you all for the really sweet comments/emails about my dad. For those of you who don't know, my dad was rushed into hospital last week and will be staying there for a while until we can get him on to the road to recovery.

This means that inky time is very restricted for me, but boy, am I glad I now have not one, but two fabulous PTI partners in crime to cover for me now! (No pressure though, ladies *wink*)

So it's not a new creation I've got today, but it's one I've not shared here on the PTI blog and I feel it suits the occasion:Thank you to all of you for your support - it means so much! Keep on sending those positive vibes if you've got 'em!

Sorry I don't have a new card for our fab CASE challenge; I've actually CASEd myself here after taking inspiration from this card of mine. If only I was on the PTI DT myself then I could use this as my example for our challenge LOL! A girl can always dream, right?! *sigh*

Aimes
x

Card Deets
{Thank You}
Stamps: Turning a New Leaf, Round and Round (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Hint of Pesto (Versamagic)/Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Dotty Biscotti (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Seam Binding/Chompy (Corner Chomper)/Vintage button (Papertrey Ink)/Apron Lace Border Punch (Fiskars)

Awesomely Autumnal

After being all 'squared out' with out last challenge, I hope you've got enough mojo left for this fortnight's challenge!

For this challenge we want you to be inspired by the season of Autumn. I myself will confess that autumn is my favourite time of the year - I adore the colours, wrapping up for walks in the bright sunshine, collecting conkers and of course, the yummy comfort food too!

But don't restrict yourself to these things only - you can use holidays such as Halloween for your autumnal inspiration or anything else you can think of!

For my example I didn't find inspiration from the wet and windy autumn that's occurring outside my window right now, that's NOT inspiring me at all! I instead, focused on the colours of autumn and the beautiful colours of autumnal leaves:



Card Deets
{Thank You}
All PTI Supplies Unless Stated
Stamps: Turning a New Leaf/Round and Round
Ink: Pure Poppy/Dark Chocolate
Cardstock: Dark Chocolate
Patterned Paper: Dotty Biscotti
Accessories: Fine Linen Grosgrain Ribbon/Jute Ribbon Twine/Autumn Mix Vintage Buttons/Fiskars Apron Lace Border Punch

Over to Kate:

"While we don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in the UK, I've always thought it such a wonderful autumnal celebration so I took this opportunity to make a thankful card for a dear friend in America. It also meant I could use my fabulous new leaf dies!"



Recipe:
Stamps: Leaf Prints/Rustic Branches
Card: Kraft/Vintage Cream/Ripe Avocado/Terracotta Tile
Ink: Spring Moss/Ripe Avocado/Dark Chocolate/Memento Black
Ribbon: Ripe Avocado
Other: Leaf Dies/Distressing tool

And as our featured stamper for October , here's Debby's take on the challenge with not one, but two inspirational cards!

"Well autumn is definitely here. The days are darker, the weather grey ........ but leaves are crisp and crunchy and colours are rich and bright. I have two autumn themed cards today and first up is a Halloween one. Where I live Halloween is a big deal; the houses are decorated, everyone dresses up, all the neighbours participate and we have lots of visitors from dusk until late. It's a lovely time of year with a great party atmosphere. This year I wanted to send a few Halloween greetings to my friends and neighbours. I used Halloween tags on this card. I wanted to keep the card bright and cheerful, so went with plenty of colour with just a touch of black to make the colours pop.

Here's a close up where you can see a bit better the results of the swiss dot embossing folder on the white layer.

Next up is an autumn card of a different theme. As anyone knows who drops by my blog (www.limedoodle.blogspot.com) regularly - I do looove leaves! I cut out some leaves from possibly my favourite set - Turning a New Leaf and glittered them until they sparkled so beautifully. It reminds me of the frosts that we are just starting to get in the mornings.

I cut some harvest gold felt with a mat stack 1 die then added the leaves and sentiment with lots of dimensionals before finishing off with an aqua mist bow. Boy, the felt and layers add a lovely depth to the card.

I hope you enjoy this challenge as much as I have and make the most of all autumn has to offer before our attention is all too quickly diverted to the next big holiday on the calendar."

So fancy playing along with us? Here are the deets:

• All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify

• To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post. Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.

• Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!

• Challenge closes on Monday, October 18th 2010 at 9.00am GMT

• A winner will be chosen at random to receive some PTI goodies!
  

• In addition to this, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.

We can't wait to see how autumn inspires you!

Aimes, Kate & Debby
xxx