{capture the moment}: Introducing Turning a New Leaf & Signature Greetings

One of things I have been trying to be more aware of lately while I am stamping is what type of images I use most often and how they can be improved upon. Paying attention to these "trends" within my own stamping space has really helped me to gain a better perspective as a stamp designer. One image I seemed to go back to over and over again was the large leaf silhouette in Beautiful Blooms. That's when it occurred to me that a set focusing solely on leaves that stay in line with that basic style would be a great addition to my stamping arsenal (not to mention we had quite a few customer requests too!)

The details.

Turning a New Leaf will be available for purchase on November 15th.
It will retail for $24.
Turning a New Leaf contains a total of 14 leaf images.

Another type of image I am drawn to over and over again? Anything containing Dawn McVey's handwriting! Papertrey is super excited to introduce an everyday occasions greeting set that is the perfect follow-up to the popular Signature Christmas!

The details.

Signature Greetings will be available for purchase on November 15th.
It will retail for $24
Signature Greetings contains 15 large sentiment images.

Let's get onto some projects using these two sets together (and more!)

Anyone that visits my blog often knows that clean & simple is my true comfort zone when it comes to stamping. This first card is as clean & simple as it gets and I just LOVE it! I stamped a fern image from Turning a New Leaf across the bottom edge of my Ocean Tides cardstock using Ocean Tides ink. *sigh* don't you just love it! I can see making these in several different colors.

I then stamped the sentiment from Signature Greetings using Versamark ink. I heat set it with White Filigree embossing powder to make it *pop* from the page. Dawn's sentiments work BEAUTIFULLY with all of our Filigree Embossing powders!

This next project uses one of the leaf images to build a background. It started with one of the text images from Background Basics: Text Style II stamped across Orange Zest cardstock with Smokey Shadow ink. I then stamped the leaf image (from the new Turning a New Leaf) repeatedly on top of the type using Terracotta Tile ink. Don't you just LOVE the shape of this leaf! I just want to use it on EVERYTHING! (perhaps it would make a good tattoo! *wink*)

The completed card looks SO rich and elegant with this color combination. Almost like I was able to scoop up some of autumn in all it's splendor and spread it right onto a card front! A strip of Vintage Cream cardstock is added across the cover, featuring the sentiment, border punch (EK Success) and other goodies. A quick little tip that I've been doing lately is creating border strips with my border punches. You can use them in place of ribbon just to shake things up a bit.

The sentiment (also from Signature Greetings) was stamped with Dark Chocolate ink onto the Vintage Cream strip. Do you not just love the combination of Dawn's handwriting with this simple typeface? I just never tire of using them. They add so much style & personality to a project! A few of the leftover leaves were trimmed down and added as accents around the sentiment, paired with a few Terracotta Tile Vintage Buttons. Just wait until you see the Terracotta Tile buttons in person. *swoon* Just to die for!!!!

This next project uses a large flourished leaf from today's set as the starting point. It is stamped in Ripe Avocado, followed by the addition of some floral images from Garden of Life stamped in Aqua Mist. One of the fun things about ALL these leaf images is how you can mix & match them with all of your older floral sets, like this one, and reinvent them!

Now, after all that beautiful stamping, I could just leave this card the way it is, but I couldn't help adding an option to "take it up a notch".

Some 1/4" Scor-tape was applied around the card front like a partial frame, accenting Dawn's handwritten sentiment.

Once the backing of the tape was removed, I sprinkled on a bit of our Prisma glitter. Instant sparkle and shine!

The final effect is a beautiful, subtle border that allows you to see a bit of the image through the glittery effect. And don't you just LOVE that sentiment!!! I know I'll be using that one all the time! That's one of Dawn's knacks is coming up with fun, inventive ways to communicate all of our everyday card occassions! So much more fun than just saying "Happy Birthday!".

This last card is just a simple little thank you card. I wanted to showcase how you can combine sets OTHER than floral sets with Turning a New Leaf as well. Here, I've used Birds of a Feather, a fantastic and versatile set, especially when paired with various leaves from the new set!

The branch/leaves shown above is another image from Turning a New Leaf, stamped in Spring Moss. I paired it with the cute little chick from Birds of a Feather, stamped in Raspberry Fizz. And what's not to love about Raspberry Fizz rhinestones accenting the branch!

This last photo shows you a closeup shot of the background created on the template. Hello, Background Basics: Diamonds! (More about that later in the week!) A little trimming with my handy dandy pinking shears and a beautiful bow with Raspberry Fizz ribbon are the perfect finishing touches to this simple card.

So, are you just DYING to get your hands on these sets after seeing how much versatility they hold? The number of combinations and options with BOTH of these sets is innumerable! So what is your favorite project example from today's post? What speaks to you as a "must try" application? Just for taking the time to do so, we are offering up a generous prize package full of BIG sentiments...

Turning a New Leaf stamp set
Garden of Life stamp set
Signature Greetings stamp set

You have until 7am EST, Thursday, November 12th to leave a comment and be eligible to win. Please play nice, only one comment per person. One winner will be randomly selected and announced the same day no later than noon EST. The winning announcement will be made on our November Release Winners page.