Ink to Paper Design Team Tips {Tag Kit for Gift Giving}

Hello and welcome to this week's Ink to Paper Design Team Tips! I've got a bit of an unexpected project to share with you, but something that was so fun to put together and I can't wait to share it with you! As papercrafters we normally give or send a finished card or project, but for today, I am sharing a Tag Kit for Gift Giving! Many of us probably have crafty friends that would love to get something like this or maybe a friend that is new to this craft or has maybe shown interest. There is always something exhilarating about creating, and it can be especially thrilling for someone who is just getting started.

This simple kit contains 8 tags in assorted sizes and colors. I die cut them using the Tagged and Labeled die collection. I kept the tag design very simple, but festive enough to dress up any holiday package! The box I created is one of my go-to designs and I have shared it quite a bit. You can read how to make it in THIS post. You'll need to scroll down a bit, but the instructions are there, I promise!

 

I created a simple divider by scoring Raspberry Fizz cardstock to make three "wells" to place the die cuts, tags, twine, and embellishments. 

I used the Just Sentiments: Be Merry stamp set to stamp an assortment of sentiments and then I used a circle punch to cut them out. I also added some buttons and sequins into the kit so that they could dress up the tags!

I die cut the snowflakes in coordinating colors using the Splendid Snowflakes Dies. I also cut eight lengths of True Black Baker's Twine and gathered it up to place in the box.

Everything fits so nicely inside. Because the box is so deep, you could add a handmade card or even additional supplies if you are so inclined!

I kept the outside of the box simple, but festive and added a tag so the recipient could have an idea how to use the supplies. I die cut an oval using the Geometrix Oval die and added that to the box top using liquid glue. I also added two pink snowflake borders that were die cut using the On The Border: Splendid Snowflakes Border Die and glued them over the oval. I tied it up with some black gingham ribbon and added some sequins!

I finished it off with a tag, of course! I had a lot of fun putting this kit together! Now I just have to decide who to give it to! Ha ha! Thanks for fluttering by!

Ink To Paper Design Team Tips

Hello and welcome to this week's Ink to Paper Design Team Tips! I always love when it's my turn for this feature because it gets me thinking in a different way and hopefully I've provided some informative tips to help you do the same! Rainbow stamping has been growing in popularity over the last few years, but lately it is hot, hot, hot! Traditional rainbows, unicorns, and hearts might not be your thing, but that doesn't mean you can't participate in one of the hottest trends in the papercrafting community! Today I'm sharing tips on how to create unconventional rainbow cards using any stamps you like!

To begin, I die cut the leaves using the Lovely Leaves die collection and then used my MISTI to stamp them using the Lovely Leaves stamp set. The first leaf is stamped in Red/Orange, the second leaf Orange/Yellow and the second leaf has shades of blue and purple. I had originally stamped a few more leaves, but in the end these are the ones that looked the best for today's design. 

You could definitely try this same technique with your favorite flowers or any solid type image to create some fun results. One of my other favorite ways to incorporate rainbows, is to use pastel colors rather than the traditional ROYGBIV! For instance, you could try Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, Pale Peony, Orange Zest, Harvest Gold, Green Parakeet, Aqua Mist, Winter Wisteria!

Another fun way to incorporate a subtle rainbow is to do some ink blending. I took a panel of white cardstock measuring 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 inches and started blending in the same colors I used on the leaves. I started with red in the corner and worked my way around until I had all of the colors represented. This set the stage for me to add the On the Border: Fall For Foliage die over the top of the blended panel.

I die cut the "blessed" word, which is from the new To Die For Sentiments: Sweet Blessings, three times and then glued them together using Tombow Mono Multi glue. I adhered that directly to the die cut panel using more glue.

The "you are such a blessing in my life" sentiment is stamped in black onto a strip of white cardstock and adhered using foam squares. This sentiment is from the new Just Sentiments: Grateful Heart mini stamp set. 

I added a few dew drops here and there for some added detail and dimension.  I had so much fun putting this card together! I hope you get a chance to create an unexpected rainbow card of your own! Thanks for fluttering by!

Ink to Paper Design Team Tips {Three Cheers for the Red, White,and Blue}

Hello and welcome to this week's Ink to Paper Design Team Tips! I hope you all had a fun and safe 4th of July yesterday! I wasn't quite ready for the party to be over, so today I am sharing a few tips on creating cards using Red, White, and Blue on your patriotic or non-patriotic designs! I don't send 4th of July cards but that doesn't mean I don't want to participate in this festive time of year!

I thought that this sentiment from the new It's a Sign: Beautiful stamp set is perfect for this time of year!  I ended up by making two cards, which use the same design elements, but different color bases and flower layout.  I did die cut and stamp equal numbers for each card.  To begin, I die cut the frames using the It's a Sign: Beautiful die collection and then stamped them using Cocoa Bean ink. I set those aside and got to work on the sentiment portion. 

I used to work in fashion which required me to do a lot of merchandising. I got a chance to work with the reps from many of the different companies like Ralph Lauren, Nautica, Calvin Klein, etc. Anyway, one of the tips that I learned for fashion merchandising was to always put the color Red in the middle. So...when laying out the sentiment colors, I chose to stamp the "smarter" in Pure Poppy ink . 

Red is obviously the brightest and boldest in this design, so I used it in smaller quantities so that it didn't overpower the card. I used it on the largest blooms to pack a bunch without being "too much"!

The other flowers are stamped in Blueberry Sky ink, and Spring Rain ink to keep the design light and fresh! The leaves are stamped in Simply Chartreuse ink,which is one of my favorite greens! For this lighter card, I used a Spring Rain cardstock panel that has been die cut  using the Nesting Basics Pierced Rectangles die collection to give it a nice detailed edge. I did the same thing on the Blueberry Sky cardstock panel as well.

For the lighter card, I arranged the flowers in the top right and bottom left corners, and on the darker card, I switched it! The two red flowers draw your eye towards the red center as well.  I tucked the leaves here and there and added some White Nuvo drops here and there for added dimension. I'm really liking the centers of these particular flowers left white, but by adding the White Nuvo drops,it makes it feel more intentional and special! I hope that you get a chance to put together some Red, White, and Blue cards this month! Thanks for fluttering by!

Papertrey Ink Design Team Tips {Store Front Window Cards}

Hello and welcome to this week's Papertrey Ink Design Team Tips! I've got a trio of fun cards to share with you which I am calling "Store Front Window Cards". I had so much fun creating these and I certainly hope you enjoy them as well! My inspiration for today's cards and today's tips came from the new Inspired By Challenge for this week! I unfortunately got my dates mixed up and thought these were both posting the same day, so...you are getting a two for one today! I hope you'll join us for the challenge this week!

As you can see from the awesome inspiration photo that the theme this week is windows. I decided to use some fun elements to create today's cards!

I absolutely love charming stores lining Main Street in any quaint town and especially the fabulous lettering that can be found on the windows! The fonts and layout of the scriptures from the New Every Morning stamp set reminded me of such windows. I took a risk doing some white heat embossing on Clear Cardstock but I was successful. I DO have heat resistent acetate, but wanted to see if this would work. It did warp a little bit, but since I was adhering it to the Pierced Feature Frame, it worked out perfectly.

Oftentimes you will find window boxes bursting with flowers as well, so I thought that the flowers from the Seasonal Borders: Spring would look nicely below the frames to give it just the right touch. I used this same stamp set recently on THESE cards and I just love how the borders turn out.

Of course, the border is a little too long for a vertical card, but I just simply trimmed it to fit. As I mentioned earlier, I adhered the heat embossed acetate to the back of the frame that is die cut out of Weathervane cardstock. I used 1/8 inch scor tape for a secure application.

Once that was done, I adhered the frames to a piece of 4 by 5 1/4 inch Bitty Big: Pale Peony pattern paper using foam squares to give dimension. I really wanted them to look like windows. The flowers are adhered with even more foam squares to give the illusion of them growing right under the window.

The addition of the awning is just so fun! When I was originally thinking of how I would execute these cards, I didn't think of the awning right away, but when the light bulb went off, I was hoping I could pull it off. I knew there was an awning die included in the Make It Market: Market Street and I was thrilled to see that it worked perfectly! It is meant to be used in conjunction with the included stencil, but I found that the Bitty Big: Green Parakeet striped pattern paper was perfect! No, the lines don't match up perfectly, but I think it still looks awesome!  

I used a combination of different stripes for the awnings and a few different pattern for the backgrounds as well to really give these cards a fun feel! The awnings will fold flat for mailing, but since they are scored, the recipient can do some quick fluffing and have them pop up in no time! Or...you could hand deliver them as well! It's totally up to you!

I finished off the cards with a trio of sparkling clear sequins nestled in the flower borders form some shine! I have all kinds of new ideas to add to these cards so stay tuned for a future post! Thanks for fluttering by!

Design Team Tips: Mass Producing Cards

Welcome to this week's Papertrey Ink Design Team Tips! Thanks for joining me today! I think that no matter how many cards we create, we've all had times when occasions sneak up on us and catch us unprepared! I've been needing to make quite a few thank you cards recently and I had thought about sharing my process with you. One of my sweet blog readers asked me in one of my last posts if I ever mass produced cards, so my decision was made! LOL! I hope you'll find today's information informative and helpful!

 I made 8 cards in total and I do suggest that you make an even amount of cards since you get 2 card bases from one 8 1/2 by 11 piece of cardstock. If you don't need an even amount, just make it anyway, because it will definitely come in handy later! The first thing you will want to do is decide on the design you'll be making. You don't need to reinvent the wheel if you are struggling to come up with something; maybe tweak an old design or use one of your favorite standbys. If you use someone else's design and are planning on sharing it on your blog or social media, remember to give proper credit.  Tip #1- Start with a clean and tidy work space and gather all supplies that you will need. Make sure you have enough of everything before you begin. There's nothing worse than finding out in the middle of a big project that you don't have everything you need. I also like listening to music while I create. Make sure all of your ink pads are juicy so that you can stamp quickly and get good impressions.

Tip #2-Once you are all set, score and cut all of your card bases. Use a bone folder to get a smooth crease.  I like to add a "handmade" type image to the back. This only adds a minute to the total time, but it really gives your cards that extra special touch. 

I also like to add a greeting or sentiment to the inside of my cards as well. After you have stamped the back, quickly stamp your sentiment on the inside. Once again, this doesn't take up much time and really makes your card seem put together.  The "handmade" sentiment and this greeting on the inside are both from the Better Together stamp set. Another thing I'd like to mention is that I put everything away as I go. I knew that I wouldn't need this stamp set any more, so I put it away. This really helps keep your work space tidy and uncluttered. 

Set the card bases aside and begin working on the elements for the front of your card. Tip #3- pick images with a wow factor or that give you some bang for your buck. When you are mass producing, you definitely don't want a design with a million steps. By picking a beautiful flower, it really helps make my design stand out without a ton of work. I die cut enough of everything for 8 cards at one time. As you can see, I've left these dies connected. I can't imagine a time when I will need one without the other and it makes placing it inside of my die cutting machine so much quicker. I like to arrange each type of diecut  in a stack or pile so that I can grab them easily during the stamping session.

A MISTI or other type of stamp positioner is such a time saver, but not mandatory for these cards. Make sure to take the time to align your stamps properly. It really doesn't take much time at all and in the end, you will have nice results. Also, I had originally planned on making all of the flowers the same color but as I went along, I realized that it would be fun to make some other colored tulips as well. It didn't take any extra time, except to clean the stamp and grab a new ink pad. I'm glad I decided to this as it really gives a fun variety. Tip #4-Don't hesitate to mix up your color combinations if they will work together as a whole on the final result. I used quite a few ink colors for the flowers: Harvest Gold, Lilac Grace, Winter Wisteria, Bright Buttercup, Simply Chartreuse, Ripe Avocado, Pale Peony, Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, Americana, Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides, and Weathervane.

And the results are beautiful and so worth it! Like I mentioned earlier, these tulips are just breathtaking and are a show stopper all on their own. The stamping portion took me about 2 hours total, but the rest of the design elements only took and hour or so. I find the stamping to be therapeutic and enjoyable. It is always fun to see the flowers come to life as each layer is added. If you can't commit to that much time in one sitting, break up the stamping on one day and then come back on another day to finish up the rest of the elements.

I chose to use the Tag Sale: Quilted die as the backdrop for the tulips. Tip #5- Pick a second element with some texture or special detailing that will make your design interesting without having to do any additional work. I love the scallops and stitched detail that this tag provides. I also used the MISTI to stamp the sentiments on the tags. They are all from the Never Enough: Thanks stamp set. I love all of the different fonts so I couldn't pick just one! LOL! I stamped them in Weathervane ink for a soft look. 

If you like this design, you could make an entire set of cards with different greetings; 2 birthday, 2 thank you, 2 thinking of you, and 2 sympathy. All of these types of cards would work well for this particular design and it wouldn't take much effort at all to switch out the greeting. Honestly, part of me wants to make 8 more to create a fun mix like I just mentioned. Heavens knows I could use them in my stash!

 Tip #6- Cut your papers in dimensions that will get you the most from one sheet of paper. If I use a 6 by 6 paper pad, I like to cut squares that are 3 by 3, or 2 by 3 so that I can maximize one sheet. Just try to keep in mind ways to getbas many cuts from one piece of paper. For today's cards, I cut the Bitty Big: Simply Chartreuse pattern paper in panels that measured 4 by 5 1/4. This is a standard size panel, but it gives me 4 card fronts from one piece of paper. The Bitty Big:Pink Posey paper is cut 2 by 4 inches which maximizes one sheet as well. Hopefully that makes sense.

Once I had the pattern papers cut, I did some zig zag machine stitching at the bottom for an additional design detail. This really adds in some extra detail and texture and doesn't take up much time. For me, I try and think of little details like this that I am willing to do that don't make me feel overwhelmed.

 Tip #7-Add in some shine if you can. I decided to do some heat embossing on the banner piece that is included in the tag die. I added this detail to 4 of the cards and added a bow of Jute Button Twine to the other 4. All of the cards will  be spritzed with Shimmer Spray as well. I do this after I photograph them for aesthetics since the tiny specks can show up as a distraction, but in real life the results are wonderful!

 You can see the two different card designs that I ended up with. I hadn't intended on them being different, with the exception of the sentiments, but I really like the two varieties. They both have such a different feel just by changing up the colors. Also, since I didn't end up by using all of the butterflies, I took that opportunity to add them on the inside at the end of the sentiment. That particular sentiment isn't centered, so the addition of the butterfly really feels intended. I also added some Nuvo drops to mimic the look of raindrops or dew on the tulips. This is another one of those easy-to-do additions that can really make the design feel more special.

Tip #8-Keep your mailing needs in mind when adding a lot of bulk or weight. These cards will all be mailed and I don't generally skimp on dimension, but these will still be able to be sent through regular mail without needing any extra postage. The lady at the post office always slides my cards through her little "mail slot" sample to see if they will need any extra postage. I decided to make one of my own so I can check it before I go to the post office! Well friends, I think that about covers it! I hope you've found today's tips for mass producing cards helpful. Thanks for fluttering by!

Papertrey Ink Design Team Tips {Offset Gatefold Cards}

Hello, Friends! I'm so happy to be here today sharing this week's Papertrey Ink Design Team Tips! Do you ever feel like you get stuck in a design rut? I know I do! For today's Design Team Tips, I'm sharing an easy way to create visual movement on your cards using an offset gate fold card! Not only does it create visual interest, but with its unique fold, it gives the recipient a bit of the unexpected as well! 

 I will be sharing all of the measurements that  I used for today's cards as well as instructions on  how I put them together.  They are so easy to assemble, you'll be whipping out a whole set in no time! To begin, I chose a bright and springy color combination that I thought would help us remember that no matter how cold it is TODAY, Spring really will come! LOL! I chose Enchanted Evening and Green Parakeet for the two card bases. The base of the offset gate fold card measures 8 by 5 1/2 inches. The small flap on the right side measures 1 1/4 inches and the large flap on the left side measures 2 1/2 inches. This will leave a small gap between the two flaps.

This gives you a nice visual of how the card looks underneath. I used a 4 by 5 1/2 inch piece of Bitty Big: Harvest Gold pattern paper to place inside the card. This gives just a little peek-a-boo from the front and gives the card some extra visual detail. If you don't like that aspect, you could always just do some stamping along this portion, or leave it blank depending on the theme and feel you want your card to have. I was going for a playful and fun spring-like card, so polka dots were the perfect choice. 

I chose to use one of my favorite stamp sets; Friendly Flowers for this pair of cards. I used the Friendly Flowers die cut and the Friendly Flower Extras dies to die cut  all of the pieces I needed and then got to work stamping them. I used my mini MISTI to make it go quicker.  The ink colors that I used are: Hibiscus Burst, Harvest Gold, Pale Peony, Green Parakeet, and New Leaf. 

 I just love the subtle detail that the Nesting Basics Pierced Rectangles dies add to my designs. You can see how I added it to the edges of the card flaps. I don't use buttons nearly as much as I used to, or nearly as much as I OUGHT to, but they just seemed fitting for today's designs. I attached some Enchanted Evening Buttons using mini glue dots to the centers of the large flowers. I also added some sparkling clear sequins to the centers of the small flowers for some shine.

The sentiments, which are both from the Friendly Flowers set, are heat embossed in white onto strips of cardstock. I used the end of one of the XO Skinny Mini tag dies to give it the notched look. Normally I just use my scissors, but I really wanted them to have nice finished edges. I arranged the flowers and leaves in a zig zag pattern to create the movement I wanted using foam squares.

I decided that I wanted the card to have a white background, so I added the entire gate fold card to a white base. This is not folded or anything, just a backer to give the card a little bit of contrast. You will want to be careful, if you add this, to make sure that your card can still open and that the white portion won't impede any movement from the overhanging embellishments. The leaves on the right side of my card simply fold behind it when it is opened, but I didn't make the pink portion quite long enough, so it catches a little bit. Also, you will have plenty of room to stamp or write your greeting inside, but be sure you don't stamp or write in the gap. I hope you've enjoyed today's Design Team Tips. As always, if you have ANY questions, please leave me a comment and I will get back to you! Thanks for fluttering by!