{capture the moment}

Senior Design Team Challenge: Butterfly Kisses Revisited

Hello everyone!  It is one of my favorite times of the month once again!  The Senior Design Team Challenge where my gals get to revisit a fabulous previously released stamp set!  This month you are in for a special treat because we are taking another look at Butterfly Kisses!  

This set was one of the first ones we released and I bet many of you have this in your collection!  It has wonderful modern-clean lines and fresh interpretations of the classic butterfly.  One of the great things about this set is that it can be used in 2-step stamping applications or simple single impressions.  Making it totally versatile in achieving SO many looks and styles!

Here are a few of my favorite projects from the original countdown I did back in March of 2007!

I love the color scheme on this project, and what can I say, I've always had a thing for paisley too!  One of the fun techniques I did was punch out holes from the pattern stamped on the bottom of the card and layer turquoise cardstock behind it.  Those bright pops of color shining through are SO textural and fun!

On this project I used Pearl-ex...all of the shimmer and shine is hard to capture in a photo but you can see glints of it here and there.  The butterfly demonstrates one of my favorite looks with the set, overlapping the dotted stamp over the solid butterfly image.  The way all the dots fade out from the center is just so pretty and eye-catching!  The butterfly "trail" was created by piercing holes along a pencil-drawn line which was later erased.

Now how about some new projects from the gals who do it best!

CLICK HERE to read more from Betsy Veldman.

CLICK HERE to read more from Dawn McVey.

CLICK HERE to read more from Heather Nichols.

CLICK HERE to read more from Lisa Johnson.

CLICK HERE to read more from Michelle Wooderson.

If you want to see even MORE great projects, be sure to visit the old InkPad gallery HERE from years ago that features our designers work with the set from 2007!  I popped over there as I was preparing this post and it was SO fun to look back!

I hope you enjoyed this little walk down memory lane!  I know I did!  And I hope we have left you with some inspiration that you can take away with you and apply to a beautiful project or two yourself today!  Thanks for stopping by!!!

P.S. We had previously announced that we would be revealing the 2010 Anniversary set today, April 1st.  Due to some timing issues with getting the set into the Design Tram's hands, the reveal has been pushed up to April 20th.  With all of the release festivities kicking off in just a few short days, the 20th will be here in a blink of an eye, so don't fret!  The anniversary sets will begin shipping out with the May release!  It's a beauty of a set and I can hardly wait to share with you!  Thanks for your patience!

Make It Monday #8: Ink Blending Techniques

Betsy Veldman is bringing her fabulous style to our technique videos today. She'll be featuring some ink blending techniques to add subtle shading and color to your papercrafting projects.  I hope you'll be inspired to play along with us.

Some still images of her project to get your inky fingers itching:

If you are joining along this week, here are the details concerning the Make It Monday Challenge.

--A new Make It Monday Challenge & video will go up every Monday morning at 9am EST.

--Create a project utilizing your take on the challenge.  Your project must use at least one Papertrey product of some kind and ink applied to your project using a tool other than a stamp.

--Post your project on your blog, in your gallery or on any other photo-hosting site (such as photobucket or flickr).

--Add your link to our --->InLinkz List<---

-You will have until 7am, Monday, April 4th, to add your link to the list to be eligible to win.  And you can enter as many times as you like.

--We will be tweeting and posting on our Facebook page every night (between 5-9pm EST) highlighting a Featured Project.  These tweets/Facebook postings will just be a shout-out regarding projects that caught our eye.  The tweets/Facebook postings no longer have any special merit regarding the actual contest.

--One randomly selected winner will be chosen from ALL the entries on Monday, April 4th, after 7am.  The winner will be posted here on this blog post, on Twitter and Facebook.  The randomly selected winner will get to select a FREE Papertrey stamp set of their choice!

 Good luck to everyone and we look forward to seeing your projects!

 EDITED TO ADD RANDOMLY SELECTED WINNER:

Congrats, Chupa!  You get the opportunity to select a free Papertrey stamp set of your choice!  Please be sure to email customer service with your selection and shipping information so we can get that out to you!  And thanks to everyone else for playing along!  All of the entries this week were truly spectacular!!!

Papertrey Radio Podcast #4

 

Nothing makes Fridays any sweeter than a new Papertrey Radio Podcast to listen to. Click on the link below for another informative and fun episode.

Papertrey Radio - Episode 4

or you can download the mp3 file below to save it to your iPod or mp3 player

-for Mac, right click on link below, select "download linked file"

-for PC, right click on link below, select "save target as"

Download Papertrey Radio 4

 

 

Be sure to call into our Google Voice account (301-799-8338) with your comments and questions. If Erin selects you to participate in the next Podcast (airing on April 8th), you will be entered into a drawing for a free stamp set of your choice.

A special thanks to LeAnn Joliff for speaking to us about  her organizational methods. Check out her blogpost for more details.

March 2011 Blog Hop

Welcome everyone to the March Papertrey Blog Hop!  We are so thrilled to see you here!  First, the challenge...

For the March Blog Hop we are challenging you to use embroidery floss in a fun and inventive way on your project.  This could include stitching, wrapping it around and tying it like ribbon, braiding, accenting tags, embroidered patterns or anything else you can dream up!  We look forward to seeing your creations!

I have included an inlinkz list below for you to add your link to your blog hop project.  This new type of link list will allow you to select a thumbnail to go along with your link, making it easy to go back and find a project later that might have perked your interest.  

You have until 11:00pm EST tonight (March 25th) to add your link to this list.  THREE random participants will be selected to win a FREE Papertrey Ink stamp set of their choice.  They will be announced and highlighted here, on my blog, tomorrow morning.  We look forward to seeing all of your creations!

EDITED TO ADD RANDOMLY SELECTED WINNERS:

I sincerely apologize for the error that occurred with the early closing of the link list last night. The closing time information programed into the list somehow became misrepresented and I was not near a computer yesterday until very late last night due to some other commitments, so I was not aware of the issue until it was too late. I have reopened the link list today so anyone that wishes to can add their link to the archive.  Once again, I apologize for any disappointment anyone may have felt regarding our error.

Crazycurl created a crocheted flower with embroidery floss to accent her heat embossed vine images.  I think this is a fantastic use of a border stamp and can really bring new life to many of the ones included in the Papertrey collection!

Amanda Profumo used floss to stitch a beautiful border that repeats the bright pink used on her butterfly.  Not only does this create balance, but it also adds texture that makes the project unique.

Cristina made a frame with embroidery floss using brads at each of the four corners.  This is a fantastic way to add focus to a focal point rather than just adding a standard paper mat or stamped frame!

 

March Blog Hop Tomorrow!

Tomorrow we are excited to present the BIG monthly Blog Hop that Papertrey Ink hosts for all of it's talented customers to show off their skills! 

The Blog Hop is an ALL DAY EVENT!  A new link list will be posted here on my blog at 10am EST and you can add your link anytime up until 11:30pm EST.  And don't worry if you aren't going to get a chance to make a project and play along, there will be a contest for non-participants as well over in our forum in the designated thread. I hope that I will see many of your familiar faces over here tomorrow! I look forward to seeing all of your creativity!

 
All of our customers who enjoy sharing inspiration & artwork with their peers through their personal blogs.

 
The actual Blog Hop will take place tomorrow, March 25th, beginning @ 10am EST. 

 
You will explore individual blogs through a thread here, on my blog, beginning at 10am EST tomorrow. 

 A day dedicated to seeking inspiration through projects utilizing Papertrey Ink products. 

 

For the March Blog Hop we are challenging you to use embroidery floss in a fun and inventive way on 
your project.  This could include stitching, wrapping it around and tying it like ribbon, braiding, accenting tags, embroidered patterns or anything else you can dream up!  We look forward to seeing your creations!

 

 -Participating bloggers can add their link to the appropriate list here anytime between 10am EST and 11pm EST on March 25th within the link list that will be posted.The title of your post should be "Papertrey March Blog Hop Challenge".

-Customers & participants alike can peruse all of the links and absorb all of the amazing inspiration that will be shared!

-After you have made your way through the list, simply return to our forum and participate in all of the fun!

-You can chit chat with everyone in the Blog Hop forum! Take this time to praise your peers efforts, discuss anything new you might have learned and which projects really offered something unique!

-The three random blogger participant winners will be announced Saturday morning on our forum and highlighted here on my blog!

-You can enter our Blog Hop Forum contest. There will be a special thread posted in our forum specifically for this purpose asking a question. Please only post once, as the winner will be picked via the Random Number Generator. The forum contest will end at midnight EST and the winner announced in the morning within the thread.

-Create a project while you are here, using the new inspiration you have gathered from the Blog Hop. You can post your projects in the gallery, even if you do not have a blog! We are looking forward to all the fun tomorrow and we hope to see you there!

 

Make It Monday #7: Adding Color to Non-Neutral Cardstock

Happy Spring everyone! This week's Make It Monday Video is a nod to all the color that will soon be brightening up our surroundings. Jennifer Ellefson, Nichole's Gal Friday and PTI's Customer Service Liason, is busting out the Copics in a fresh way. We all know they look great on neutral colored cardstock (think white, cream, and kraft), but they can add shading and depth to colored cardstocks with almost no effort. Click the play button to learn more.

 

If you are joining along this week, here are the details concerning the Make It Monday Challenge.

--A new Make It Monday Challenge & video will go up every Monday morning at 9am EST.

--Create a project utilizing your take on the challenge.  Your project must use at least one Papertrey product of some kind and add color with markers or colored pencils to non-neutral colored cardstock.

--Post your project on your blog, in your gallery or on any other photo-hosting site (such as photobucket or flickr).

--Add your link to our ---->InLinkz List<----

--You will have until 7am, Monday, March 28th, to add your link to the list to be eligible to win.  And you can enter as many times as you like.

--We will be tweeting and posting on our Facebook page every night (between 5-9pm EST) highlighting a Featured Project.  These tweets/Facebook postings will just be a shout-out regarding projects that caught our eye.  The tweets/Facebook postings no longer have any special merit regarding the actual contest.

--One randomly selected winner will be chosen from ALL the entries on Monday, March 28th, after 7am.  The winner will be posted here on this blog post, on Twitter and Facebook.  The randomly selected winner will get to select a FREE Papertrey stamp set of their choice!

 Good luck to everyone and we look forward to seeing your projects!

EDITED TO ADD RANDOMLY SELECTED WINNER:

Congrats to Joy Taylor!  She is this weeks randomly selected winner!  Joy, please be sure to email customer service with your free selected stamp set and shipping information!  And thanks to everyone who played along this week!  All of the creations were absolutely stunning!

The Morning After...

As tradition holds, I always like to stop by the morning after the release to share my favorite design team creations with you.  I hope you enjoy this month's picks and perhaps you will leave inspired to go make something beautiful today yourself!

Betsy Veldman created this stunning piece using the new Flower Fusion #2 in a bit of an unconventional way.  She used the stems to create a frame and then added in the flowers and leaves to create this beautiful pattern.  Almost a bit folk-art in nature.  Can't wait to try this out myself!

Danielle Flanders made an adorable project with the Tiny Envelope die along with bits and pieces from Sending You, Ribbon Tails & Background Basics: Twinkle.  The background combination in Smokey Shadow is just amazing.  And I have to mention how clever her felt flower creation is with the combination of Flower Fusion #2 die for the petals and a scrap of Harvest Gold felt for the center.  So pretty!

Dawn McVey used Tag-its #2 as her focal point paired up with Label Basics.  I love the way she layered everything with the Limitless Layers 1.75" Circle dies and the new Turning a New Leaf die.  The background she created with Background Basics: Twinkle really helped to balance the project out and provide a wonderful backdrop for her focal point.

Debbie Olson created this beautiful vintage piece using the new Postmarks stamp set & patterned paper collection.  I love how she was able to echo the accents in the patterned paper onto her little stamped postcard.  Her layering of both papers and stamps is, as always, simply amazing.

Erin Lincoln made this simple little card by pairing up Turning a New Leaf & Ribbon Tails.  I love her layered sentiment using the frames from Label Basics as well.  And I can't forget to mention the balance she achieved by adding the postage in the upper corner.  She also used Background Basics: Twinkle on her actual card layer to add just the perfect little something.

Heather Nichols used Background Basics: Twinkle as well on this wonderful masculine project.  I love the sentiment layers she was able to create with the Ribbon Tails, Postmarks paper and Label Basics.  And the banner created with the Double Ended Banner die?  Amazing!!!

Jessica Witty created this bright & bold card suing Flower Fusion #2 & think Big Favorites #2.  So incredibly simple in design, yet so much to keep the eye interested.  The colors just pop from the page, making you smile!  The layering of her sentiment by using a clear cardstock overlay is simply genius as well!

Lisa Johnson made me fall in love with Flower Fusion #2 all over again with this spectacular project.  I love her color scheme using the new Postmarks paper pad as well a the simplicity of all those flowers lined up in a row.  The balance she created with the sentiment block using Label Basics is just the perfect finishing touch!

Maile Belles used her new set, Modern Basics, to perfection with this project.  I love how amazing these flowers turned out.  The clean lines with the simple stitched button detail is just fabulous.  And I also love how she created "grass" with one of the border stamps turned horizontally.  Perfection!

Melissa Phillips created a stunning pocket card using Think Big Favorites #2 & Ribbon Tails.  The leaf paper she chose is from last month's Pacific Vineyard collection.  I love the "tails" she created on the flower by die-cutting sheet music with the Double Ended Banner die.  So pretty!

Michelle Wooderson made this spring-like care using Sending You paired up with a Beautiful Blooms die.  I love the combination of her Background Basics: Gingham background and the Ribbon Tails border.  They complement each other perfectly!  And I can't forget to mention her background paper!  She stamped images from Sending You onto Bitty Dot paper to create this custom look!  Will definitely have to try this!

I hope you enjoyed all of these amazing creations that the team made this month!  As always, they leave me itching to get a bit inky!  Have a wonderful rest of the week!  And don't forget. our new Make It Monday Challenge & Video went live yesterday and we would love to see you play along sometime this week!!!!

*Official* March 2011 Release Party Contest

I am absolutely smitten with all of this month's new releases and I can tell by the excitement that some of you have shared with me that you are too!  A big thank you to each and every one of you who have joined us tonight during release festivities as well as the last five days of countdown fun!  

To finish up this exciting celebration, we're giving away a fabulous prize package tonight!  Practically the entire March release!  All you need to do to have your chance to win is post an answer to the following question in the comments section below.

A big congrats to Stephanie P!  You've won the "I Want It All" package for the March Release!  Please be sure to contact Customer Service and provide them with your shipping information so that we can get your package out to you!  And thank you to everyone else for playing along!  I loved all of your stories and you've truly warmed my heart tonight! 

Tonight is the Night!

The night we have all been waiting for is finally here!  Can't you just feel the anticipation in the air!  Now is your chance to be one of the FIRST to get to play with all of the amazing paper crafting goodness that we are offering up this month!!!  I wanted to let you know a few things about tonight so you can know what to expect!

The release party begins at 10pm EST on our forum.
Be sure to stop by our forum and enjoy the camaraderie and chit chat about all of our new products.  It's fast-moving and a super duper way to pass the time until you can begin filling your cart.

You can't have a party without a contest.
Tonight we will feature a contest, HERE ON THE BLOG.  There is a post that will go live @ 10:30pm EST entitled "OFFICIAL Release Party Contest" with a question for you to answer.  Share your answer with us and you will be eligible to win:

Our "I Want It All" package
this includes almost the entire March Release!

The contest will close at 11:30pm EST and the winner will be chosen via the Random Number Generator.  I will announce the lucky winner here before midnight!

Stamp Set Reveal @ 11pm EST

At 11pm EST I will reveal all of the stamp sets in their entirety here, on the blog.  This way you can have a little time to look at everything and make informed decisions about your purchases.

Release Ordering 101

I have added a new page of information that will tell you all about the details of ordering during the release, procedures & policies you should be aware of and more.  Whether your new here or a regular, I think you will all find this information helpful.  You can find this information HERE.

As a reminder, which is noted on the Release Ordering 101 page, if you have trouble accessing the front page of the store after midnight, you can try going in the "back door" by using this link:

http://www.papertreyink.com/index.html

March Quick Picks/Collections!

For those of you who want it all with just one click!  You can see the full list of quick picks as well as all of the other new merchandise that will be available tonight, HERE!

March in a Nutshell!

You can always see a linked review list for each release on my Previous Countdown page, HERE.  But I have also added the list below, so it's easy to navigate while you are making your shopping decisions tonight.

DAY 1: Sending You, Background Basics: Gingham

DAY 2: Background Basics: Twinkle, Ribbon Tails, Tag-its #2

DAY 3: Modern Basics, Flower Fusion #2, Think Big Favorites #2

DAY 4: Postmarks & Label Basics

DAY 5: Tiny Tags

And one last thing...

Many of you have patiently been waiting for many of our dies to be restocked.  There was a delay in the reorder shipment due to the manufacturer not having enough materials on hand to complete the order and it has just arrived today.  We also received a small stamp shipment as well.  The new shipment inventories will be updated around 4pm EST today.  

We are currently in the process of counting all the dies/stamps and checking to be sure that everything that is on the shipping invoice is physically in the boxes.  I will provide an update in our Ask the Papertrey Team forum between 1-2pm EST today with what dies will NOT be in stock at 4pm to help you calculate your orders.  Thank you for your patience.

Thank you so much for visiting throughout this exciting countdown and we look forward to seeing all of you later tonight!

 

Make It Monday #6: Impression Plate Tricks #1

Happy Monday! Daylight Savings Time got you down? How about a learning a new technique to cheer you up? Take a look a the yellow rectangle on Erin Lincoln's card. Only half of it is debossed with our Polka Dot Impression Plate. Watch the video to see how she did it and then try it out yourself.

 

 

 If you are joining along this week, here are the details concerning the Make It Monday Challenge.

--A new Make It Monday Challenge & video will go up every Monday morning at 9am EST.

--Create a project utilizing your take on the challenge.  Your project must use at least one Papertrey product of some kind and partially emboss/deboss/impress an element.

--Post your project on your blog, in your gallery or on any other photo-hosting site (such as photobucket or flickr).

--Add your link to our --->InLinkz Gallery<---

--You will have until 7am, Monday, March 21st, to add your link to the list to be eligible to win.  And you can enter as many times as you like.

--We will be tweeting and posting on our Facebook page every night (between 5-9pm EST) highlighting a Featured Project.  These tweets/Facebook postings will just be a shout-out regarding projects that caught our eye.  The tweets/Facebook postings no longer have any special merit regarding the actual contest.

--One randomly selected winner will be chosen from ALL the entries on Monday, March 21, after 7am.  The winner will be posted here on this blog post, on Twitter and Facebook.  The randomly selected winner will get to select a FREE Papertrey stamp set of their choice!

 Good luck to everyone and we look forward to seeing your projects!

EDITED TO ADD THE RANDOMLY SELECTED WINNER:

Congrats to Donna Cole for being the randomly selected winner for this weeks challenge!  Please be sure to contact Customer Service with your free stamp set selection along with your shipping information, Donna!  And thank you to everyone for playing along!  There were some AMAZING entries this week!