{capture the moment}: Introducing For the Graduate

Hello, friends! Welcome to the very first day of the April Release Countdown! As I said during the sneak peeks, I am SO incredibly excited to share all of the amazing sets we have coming out this month! We will be focusing on some neglected areas of the stamping world and I am sure you will feel newly inspired by the end of the week!

Today, we are kicking off with one of of the sets that I personally designed for this month, entitled For the Graduate. I've heard it time and time again...

"Papertrey needs to do a graduation set!"

"Please, please design a classic, tasteful graduation set!"

Well, you've waited long enough, and I am simply thrilled to bring you this new offering.

The details.

For the Graduate will be available for purchase on April 15th.
It will retail for $15.
It contains a total of 18 stamps (2 focal point images, 4 sentiments, 1 border and the numbers 1-9 along with two 0's)
The large frame focal point image coordinates with our new Mat Stack 1 die, retailing for $9 .

Graduating of any kind is such a monumental occasion. Whether it be from Pre-school, Kindergarten, Middle School, High School or College, every one of them is a milestone that should be celebrated. It means that the student is taking that next step in life. That they've worked hard, they've dedicated themselves and succeeded at achieving their goals.

I remember graduating from high school and all of the excitement and build-up that surrounded the event. I was SO excited to embark on the new chapter of my life, on my "own", as an "adult". It's really one of those life moments that you never, ever forget.

And then there was Owen's graduation from pre-school. Gosh. I was an emotional wreck! Our oldest child preparing to head off to real school... ALL day... every day! It was hard to believe how big he had gotten. How smart he was. How fast he had grown up. It was definitely a very special, important milestone for not only him, but our entire family!

Now, I'm sure you're thinking, quit the chitchat, Nichole, and let's get to the projects!

But wait a minute. For those of you who may be getting ready to tune out because you don't have any graduates in your life, you just may possibly want to STAY TUNED for some fun you can have with this set for everyday cards as well. Just sayin'... you will most likely need the graduation elements eventually anyway, why not enjoy the rest of the set too while you're waiting? :)

My first project has a bit of a masculine flair, perfect for guys graduating from high school or college. The background is created with Lisa Johnson's new A Little Argyle set. The solid diamonds are stamped in Scarlet Jewel, while the dashed lines are stamped in Dark Chocolate. A little Dark Chocolate Twill is run through the center for a little added texture.

It all started with the sentiment when it comes to the building of the focal point. The sentiment was stamped with Dark Chocolate ink.

I designed this sentiment so that you could easily nest the cap between Hats & Off. The cap is stamped in Scarlet Jewel ink.

This is one of my favorite projects! So simple and easy to replicate in a variety of colors.

This card is a bit more feminine and focuses on the largest sentiment from the set. The background paper is from the Pretty Pastels paper pad. The bottom two corners are rounded for added pizzaz.

The sentiment is stamped in Hibiscus Burt in onto Stamper's Select white cardstock and trimmed into a rectangle. I ran a 2-way glue pen along the edges of the block and sprinkled them with prisma glitter before they dried.

The star was created with Hibiscus Burst cardstock and the Fiskars star punch we carry in our store. I put it through my xyron sticker maker to adhere all the glitter in place.

Now, moving onto a more basic design that could easily be mass-produced as graduation announcements and the like.

The strip along the bottom is one large border stamp, minus the numbers.

The numbers are included as separate, individual stamps. I recommend stamping the number the furtherest to the right, then working your way to the center. Pretty classy, huh?!?!

As I mentioned earlier, the Mat Stack 1 die is designed to coordinate with the frame in this set. It is easiest to die-cut the frame first, then stamp your image. Here, I've done just this in True Black.

The frame image is adhered with foam dimensionals to make it pop. All of this is adhered to a True Black card base.

This card is modeled after the ribbons handed out at county fairs..

Note that you can utilize the graduation image in the center of the frame system, separately, as l show above.

The sentiment is stamped in Ocean Tides, while the focal point is stamped in Aqua Mist. Once matted onto the scalloped circle, I added strips of Aqua Mist Twill from the bottom to help recreate the original "blue ribbon idea"

Now one of the interesting design features about this set that I wanted to point out to you is regarding the graduate frame, the large focal point of the set. I thought of something pretty clever while designing it that I know will leave you reaching for this set constantly.

In fact, I've already received confirmation from a few of the Design Team members that this image, along with it's coordinating die, is a SO great, they can't hardly put it down!

The cap & tassel image in the center is contained in a circle that measures 1.75-inches, which also happens to be the same diameter of elements from several other Papertrey sets.

The list includes...

Now, how many of you own at least ONE set from that list? I know the majority of you are nodding your heads in agreement! With the frame image in For the Graduate, you can complement all of these sets in new and fresh ways that you will LOVE!

There's two ways to use it.

#1: Layer it.

Simply punch out your 1.75" image and layer directly on top of the mat with foam dimensionals, effectively covering up the graduation based images that are part of the frame.

#2: Punch it.

Punch a window out of the center of the frame using your 1.75" circle punch, effectively removing the unwanted graduation images, and layer images behind the opening.

I've showcased examples & step-by-step instructions for both methods in a little video that David and I put together for you today...

So...did I surprise you with just how versatile this set is? Not to mention how many different types of graduations there are to celebrate nowadays, with each and every child in your life! We would love to hear your first impressions of this set! Leave a comment today letting us know what you think and you could have a chance to win a fantastic prize package that will work SO cohesively together!

For the Graduate stamp set
Mat Stack 1 die
Tags for Spring stamp set
1.75" circle punch

This AMAZING package has nearly a $65 value! This contest ends at 7am EST, Sunday, April 11th, so be sure to leave your comment before then! One winner will be randomly selected. Only one entry per person please. The winner will be announced by 10am Monday morning on our April Release Winners page.

Want to see more of For the Graduate?