{capture the moment}

1

So tonight is the BIG night!  You can see the all-new Faux Ribbon set, in its entirety, TONIGHT, midnight EST at Papertrey Ink!  We also have another goodie up our sleeves!  We will also be debuting full-size Palette hybrid ink pads in 30 colors!  Many have raved about how well they work with acrylic stamps, and I have to say, their Noir pad is my FAVORITE black.  These ink pads would be a great addition to your collection, even if you just get one to try them out!

On to today's project!  One of the benefits of acrylics is the ability to bend and manipulate them to suit your vision.  Here I have used the scalloped line stamp to create a circle.  I just temporarily adhered a 1-1/4" cardstock circle to my block and applied the stamp around its edge.  You can do this with almost all of the linear stamps in the Faux Ribbon set.  You could also make ovals if you like. 

As you can see from this photo, you will end up being "a scallop short" in completing your circle, just because of the way the ends of the stamp are formed.  You could just ink up one scallop and add it as a second step to complete the circle.  Or you can take the quick and easy route (that's what I'm all about!) and cover the area with an embellishment. (see completed card below)

And here is another quick tip.  The Faux Ribbon stamps measure 4-1/2 inches wide, and work perfectly with vertical cards.  There are two things you can do if you would like to use them on a horizontal card.  You can stamp each element twice, side by side, making the ribbon longer.  When you adhere the ribbon to the card, you can cover up the "seam" with your accent.  Or you can do what I have done here, and just cut the 4-1/2" ribbon, and hide the gap with your accent!

The Faux Ribbon set also included four itty bitty flourishes!  They are perfect to add above and below your sentiment when you need to fill in the "dead space" of a circle or square.   It makes it easy to incorporate your accent color as well.

So I hope to see some of you at midnight tonight!  Don't forget, along with the new Faux Ribbon projects created by our design team, we will also be announcing the two winners of the Guest Star Stamper contest!  Hope to see you there!

ETA: Several of you have emailed me asking exactly HOW you would bend the stamp into the  shape of an oval.  I just played around a bit real quick and found that the large oval punch from SU! provides the perfect template.  The oval is not as easy to work with as the circle shape, but it definitely can be done.

After I stamped the oval, I found that the small oval punch (stamped with a sentiment) can be matted with the large oval punch, and fits in the frame perfectly.  You do have to cut the dotted frame by hand, but that is fairly simple since you can use the edge of the dots as your guide.

2

It is never too early to start on Christmas cards, right?!?!  One of the main reasons I wanted a set like Faux Ribbon is to save money on mass produced cards, along with the flexibility of custom colors. 

Twill tape has been all the rage for some time now and is a main staple that most stampers have on hand.  With this stamp set you can customize the twill just by carrying over the same ink colors that you utilized on your project.  This project also shows that this stamp collection doesn't just have to be used to create ribbon.  You can also use it as a fun border addition.  Here I added the dots stamp above and below the sentiment for a perfect balance.  This particular "holiday wishes" stamp is one of TWENTY perfectly proportioned, small-scale sentiment s in the Faux Ribbon set.  For this project I punched the sentiment out with the 1-1/4" square punch and the red mat with the 1-3/8" punch.  It makes things so much easier to have sentiments work well with supplies you already own.  Perfection is just a punch away!

Speaking of perfection, I always get asked what is the best method to get these long linear stamps straight on a block.  I have tried many methods, but have finally come up with one that is NO fail every time!

Find a straight edge with some kind of groove in it.  (I am using the perfect layers tool marketed by SU! & QVC)

Lay your stamp, image side down, right along the edge of the groove.  (This works best with stamps that have been used a couple times.  When they are brand new and ultra sticky, it can be a little more difficult.) Here's a side view...

and a view from above.

Hold your grid block just above the stamp.  Look down through and be sure that one of the central lines match up with the edge of the groove in the ruler.  Lay the block down on top of the stamp and press firmly to adhere.

Flip up your block, and there you have it, a perfectly positioned stamp!

So the big day is almost here! Saturday night, midnight EST, Faux Ribbon will be available for purchase at our website!  We have something else very exciting to debut, and I may let you in on that little secret tomorrow!  So stay tuned!

3

You can't have ribbon if you can't make a bow!  I stamped the stripes from the NEW Faux Ribbon set (to be debuted Saturday night by Papertrey Ink ) to create my custom ribbon on white cardstock strips.  Here are the steps I took to create an adorable bow!

Step 1:
Stamp 2-1/2 strips of cardstock ribbon.

Step 2:
Turn one of the full length strips over, backside up.  Apply adhesive to the center of the stirp and than foam demensionals on either side of that.

Step 3:
Fold the ends over to meet on top of the adhesive.  You now have the "bow".

Step 4:
Apply adhesive to the remaining full-length strip exactly where you would like the center of your bow attached.

Step 5:
Adhere the bow in place.  Apply adhesive to each end of the half-strip of ribbon and foam dimensional in the center.

Step 6:
Adhere dimension to front center of bow.

Step 7:
Wrap ends around to back.  And there is your custom bow!  Think of all the possibilities this easy technique has!

Here is the card I created with my cardstock bow.  I topped off the card with a sentiment from the same Faux ribbon set and utilized it with the large oval punch from SU! A perfect fit! 

Be sure to stop by tomorrow and see the complete tutorial I have photographed for getting these stripe stamps lined up perfectly on your block!

4

Today's project is very simple.  I created faux ribbon (a technique I have done before here) with just some masking tape and ink.  This set was designed specifically for this purpose because I really wanted something to achieve this look effortlessly!  Hence the name of this set is exactly that, Faux Ribbon!

Step 1:
Apply masking tape (or mask or preference) to card front at desired width.  Sponge ink in circular motion at both edges.

Step 2: 
Remove masking tape and viola, your faux ribbon!  Notice how the "highlight" in the middle really adds dimension.

Step 3:
Add stripes and the scalloped edge (how cool is that) with the stamps included in the NEW set!

Step 4:
Add a silk flower and a sentiment (from this set) and you are good to go!  Very quick and easy! And think of all the pretty colors you could use.

ETA: To make the masking tape less tacky (and easier to remove) simply stick it repeatedly to your clothing or carpet before adhering it to your project!  It does the trick every time!

The flower was stamped with the smallest dot from Green Thumb.

5

I apologize for not getting this post up sooner today.  We are celebrating David's birthday and I have had a lot of preparations to complete!  Thanks for being patient!

So, today I offer you a quick tutorial.  The new Papertrey set being released Saturday night at midnight EST, is a super fun "building" set.  It includes several basic elements for creating a a plethora of different techniques and designs.  This project uses a fun "zig zag strip" technique.

Step 1:
Cut a 3 1/2-inch wide strip of white cardstock.  Make matching tick marks at one inch increments on both sides using a pencil.  Connect opposing diagonal marks to form guidelines for the pattern you are about to create.  Use the double line stamp in this set and stamp on top of each pencil line you just created.

Step 2:
Because of the clear nature of these stamps, it is easy to stamp a wide stripe image in between the "double line" images you just created.

Step 3:
Add the dotted line on either side of the wide stripes.

Step 4:
Repeat the same process on a second strip of cardstock, except at the opposing diagonal.  (When completed and the two strips are put together side by side, they will form big "V"s.

Step 5:
Cut the stamped cardstock into strips in random widths.

Step 6:
Adhere the strips to a piece of cardstock the size of your card front.  You should alternate the two different diagonals that you created to get a "zig zag" effect.

Step 7:
Trim top of bottom of strips so they are even with your card front block.

Step 8:
Create your card!  This card also uses a sentiment from the new set.  All of the sentiments are scaled down to the perfect size for use with your small oval, circle and square punches!  They make quick and easy additions to your projects!  As a side note, I used postage stamp scissors (Fiskars) to cut the patterned edge of the sentiment accent.  I'm telling you right now, this set is going to be one of your favorites!