{capture the moment}

Introducing Vintage Cream Collection

Vintage Cream cardstock was released several months ago while we were still fine tuning the additional portions of what make up a Papertrey color collection.  I am proud to introduce the remainder of the items this month, including an exclusive new ink formula!  The Vintage Cream Collection now includes our beautiful signature ribbons; grosgrain, satin, twill & stitched. The polka dot will be coming at a later date, done up a little differently than our traditional polka dot! 
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We have worked closely with our manufacturer to develop our very own exclusive Vintage Cream pigment ink.  I am so excited about this announcement because this is a product I have been in search of for many years, never finding something that performed as well as I wished.  Our exclusive ink has all of the characteristics that I myself wanted from a cream ink... wonderfully luxurious inking capabilities (no streaking or watery characteristics) & a pretty darn quick drying time.  Our pad fufills these requirements and then some!
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I created a side by side comparison here of a standard white pigment pad compared to the color of our new Vintage Cream pigment pad (you can click the image for a larger view).  Admittedly, the difference in color was a bit difficult to capture on camera, but I think the contrast is still there.  The softer, richer hue of the cream is just the perfect finishing detail for a project where the white might be too harsh.  I hope you will give this new ink a try and fall in love like I did!  It is definitley a must-have basic for any stamper!

Introducing Men of Life

Melissa Bickford's very first stamp set with us was entitled Women of Life and was immediately a best seller.  Everyone loved the way that all the women they celebrated in their lives were included, and also interchangeable with all of the different sentiments.  Men of Life is a highly anticipated addition to the original set, including masculine titles and even more sentiments that can be interchanged between BOTH sets!  Talk about versatility!
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Many of the design elements within Melissa's set spoke so strongly to me that we asked her design a patterned paper collection to compliment it!  I'll never forget the day I saw the files for the first time!  It was truly love at first sight!  The color combos, the bold patterns.  I can see so many uses for them!

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So for my project today, I thought I would marry the two and create a fun project that could be used for a new male addition to the family!  I knew I wanted to do something a bit different with my kraft card base, so I cut a wave edge to the front cover.  The interior of the card is lined with one of Melissa's new papers.  Just divine!!!
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I wanted to create some pop to define the wave edge, so I cut a piece of red cardstock, inserted it in the card and traced the edge of the card front with pencil.
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I was then able to remove the red cardstock and cut along the line with some pinking scissors.
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When the red cardstock was adhered as a lining on the back of the cover, the edges lined up perfectly!
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Included in the new Men of Life set are many bits & pieces to allow you to do your very own boat building!  Fun stuff!  I used the sail outline image, heat embossed with white embossing powder onto spring rain cardstock (more about that later this week!).  The boat base was stamped in dark chocolate ink onto kraft cardstock. All of which were cut out and matted with a white circle.  A bitty red flag was cut from red cardstock as a finishing touch.
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Here's the completed card.  I love the pops of red paired with the light blue.  They are just such a great color combo.  I know I'll be turning to it more in the future. Notice the rule of three?  The pinked edge, the flag on the sailboat and the Nephew block are my three color pops, creating a visual triangle for the eye to follow around the card.
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A new nephew cannot be welcomed into the world without a few little gifts!  I found this great white metal pail at Hobby Lobby for $3 (you can click on the photo for a larger view).  It is the perfect size to hold a few small gifts and can easily be reused.  I embellished it with a monogram letter cut from another one of Melissa's new papers.  Notice the special tag on the pail?  Just a little three-dimensional tag that I'm pretty darn excited about!

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Download boat_base_template.pdf

Here is the template for you to create your very own boats!  As many as you like in any color you desire!  The boat bases I designed are perfectly scaled to coordinate with all of the different sails that Melissa included in Men of Life!

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After cutting on the solid lines and scoring the dotted lines with my Scor-Pal, I applied pieces of Scor-Tape in appropriate areas, leaving the paper backing in place until it was time to assemble.  Have you tried Scor-Tape yet?  It is THE best adhesive for 3D projects.  I use nothing else.  It works just as well as red line/Tacky Tape but is half the price.  We will be starting out with my two favorite widths, 1/4-inch (27 yards for $5! That's 19-cents a yard!) and 1/2-inch (27 yards for $7! Only 26-cents a yard!). 

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You also want to put to small pieces of tape on these two tabs on the reverse side.

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To begin assemble, you want to adhere the two side tabs to the interior of the boat base.

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Then the front end is adhered together.

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Finally, the two large side tabs are folded in and adhered.  This step is a bit tight.  You will want to use a stylus to help get the corners of the sides all the way in at the points.  You want this tight fit because it helps reinforce the sides and adds strength to the structure.

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The sail is adhered to a lollipop stick (you can get a package of 50 for just a dollar or two).  I had to cut it down a bit to get the height I wanted.  I used a hot glue gun to adhere the mast to the inside of the boat bottom. 

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I threaded a button with twine and adhered it to the top of the mast with a glue dot, leaving extra long ends to form my hanging loop.

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So there you have it! The little name strip was created with the Simple Alphabet; it's a perfect fit!  Now you may be thinking that this set is cute and all, but how often am I going to make projects for little boys?  What about all of the older men that this set is intended to cover?  Be sure to read onto the next post to see what else I've cooked up for you!

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So, what so you think of the November countdown so far?  Are you in love with Melissa's new offerings as much as I am?  Let us know what you think!  Leave a comment on today's post and you will be eligible to win...

Men of Life stamp set

AND

Men of Life 8x8 patterned paper pad

This is a combined retail value of $32!  Contest closes at noon EST on November 11th.  Winner will be chosen shortly thereafter and announced here at the end of this post.  Please play nice, only one entry per person.  Winner is responsible for contacting Customer Service with shipping information in order to receive prize package.

Thanks for playing and good luck to everyone!

ETA: This contest is now closed!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

229 

Timestamp: 2008-11-12 14:29:20 UTC

Comment #229 belongs to:

OMG!!! I absolutly LOVEEE this set!!
Melissa has definatly outdone herself on this one! I think this set and woman of life have to be my 2 FAV PTI sets!!!

I am sooo excited for this release!! I can not even wait to put my order in now!!!

WTG PTI Gang!
~Monica~

Posted by: Monica Bender | November 10, 2008 at 08:42 AM

Congratulations, Monica!  Please email customer service with your shipping information so we can get your package out to you!  And thanks to everyone else for playing!

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Lauren has a few things up her sleeve for using Men of Life as well! 

Melissa has been busy with her new stamp set too.  Check out her blog for details!

Lisa has a new set being released this month as well.  See what she's been up to!

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Stamps: Men of Life (available November 15th), Simple Alphabet

Ink: Dark Chocolate Palette, Versamark (for embossing)

Paper: Spring Rain, Classic Kraft, Stamper's Select White, Pure Poppy, Men of Life patterned paper collection

Other: Filagree white embossing powder, paper piercer & white gel pen (uniball), Swiss Dots embossing folder(Cuttlebug, Provo Craft), foam dimensionals, button from Buttons Galore, Circle Nestabilities, white lollipop stick, hot glue gun, Scor-Tape, pinking scissors from Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby)

Men of Life with another twist...

I just couldn't resist going in a whole other direction with the same stamp set as above to show you a completely different perspective.  And to also demonstrate how the styles of projects created with it can vary widely.
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My color scheme for this project was Ocean Tides, Dark Chocolate & Vintage Cream. Wowzers!  Just so in love with this combo!  I used the Houndstooth Cuttlebug embossing folder.  I think that texture was perfectly suited to be used on a card for Grandpa! A detail I wanted to point out with this card is that I had fun mixing two different patterns of sails.  Adding those kinds of combinations into the mix, you have dozens of new possibilities with just this one set!
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I pulled out the golden oldie, Borders & Corners Squares, to create a fun mat for this project.  The stitched square border from this set coordinates with a 1-3/8 inch square punch.  I stamped the images in Dark Chocolate ink onto kraft cardstock and punched them out.  I then sponged the edges with Frayed Burlap Distress ink.  The four squares were assembled on a larger kraft block.  I was really happy with the slightly vintage/rustic look I achieved.
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Instead of knotting the ribbon, I pulled it to the side and tied the ends together with twine & a chocolate button.  Is that vintage cream grosgrain I spy?  *wink*
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I thought this snack mix recipe I stumbled upon would the perfect little thing to whip up to be included in a gift set.  The small window kraft coffee bags are the perfect size for a hefty individual serving.  The nuts & popcorn tend to be a bit greasy, so the wax lining of our bags really come in handy.  Notice another bitty boat 3D tag?  Throw in a different color scheme and it takes on a whole new look!

GRANDPA'S SNACK MIX
popcorn
pretzel sticks
mixed nuts
dried cranberries
dried bananas
chocolate chips
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So now you've seen the sailboat images from Men of Life used for both little boys and grown men!  I hope you are as excited about the versatility as I am!  Don't forget to tune into Melissa's blog the rest of the week as she reveals more tips & tricks for using her new set!
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Stamps: Men of Life (available November 15th), Borders & Corners Square,
Ink: Ocean Tides & Dark Chocolate Palette, Frayed Burlap Distress Ink
Paper: Ocean Tides, Classic Kraft, Vintage Cream
Other: Vintage Cream Grosgrain ribbon, chocolate button from Foof-a-la, small window coffee bag (kraft)

Honoring Women in Amercian History...

This morning I wanted to focus on a little American history, in honor of Election Day tomorrow, November 4th. The following is an excerpt from a piece found on the History.com website...

"In the early nineteenth century, women were considered second-class citizens whose existence was limited to the interior life of the home and care of the children. Women were considered sub-sets of their husbands, and after marriage they did not have the right to own property, maintain their wages, or sign a contract, much less vote."
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"It was expected that women be obedient wives, never to hold a thought or opinion independent of their husbands. It was considered improper for women to travel alone or to speak in public. With the belief that intense physical or intellectual activity would be injurious to the delicate female biology and reproductive system, women were taught to refrain from pursuing any serious education. Silently perched in their birdcages, women were considered merely objects of beauty, and were looked upon as intellectually and physically inferior to men. This belief in women's inferiority to men was further reinforced by organized religion which preached strict and well-defined sex roles."
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"The Women's suffrage movement was formally set into motion in 1848 with the first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York."

"The catalyst for this gathering was the World Anti-Slavery Convention held in 1840 in London and attended by an American delegation which included a number of women. In attendance were Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who were forced to sit in the galleries as observers because they were women. This poor treatment did not rest well with these women of progressive thoughts, and it was decided that they would hold their own convention to "discuss the social, civil and religious rights of women."

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"Using the Declaration of Independence as a guideline, Stanton presented her Declaration of Principles in her hometown chapel and brought to light women's subordinate status and made recommendations for change.  Resolution 9 requesting the right to vote was perhaps the most important in that it expressed the demand for sexual equality. Subsequent to the Seneca Falls Convention, the demand for the vote became the centerpiece of the women's rights movement."

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"Six years later, in 1878, a Woman's Suffrage Amendment was introduced to U.S. Congress. With the formation of numerous groups, the women's movement gained a full head of steam during the 1890's and early 1900's. The U.S. involvement in World War I in 1918 slowed down the suffrage campaign as women pitched in for the war effort. However, in 1919, after years of petitioning, picketing, and protest parades, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed by both houses of Congress and in 1920 it became ratified under the presidency of Woodrow Wilson."
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AMENDMENT XIX

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this Article by appropriate legislation.

Ratified August 26, 1920
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I wanted to bring this important piece of history to your attention today to remind you all how important it is to exercise your right to vote.  Our ancestors fought so hard to bring women equality and give us a voice in the political decisions that are made in our country.  This election especially will be such a close race, and each vote counts!  No matter your party or your beliefs, please be sure to visit the polls tomorrow.  And as you cast your vote remember the women, like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others that are pictured here.  Proudly participate in our democracy and make our ancestors proud!
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Not registered to vote?  Or you need to update your information?
CLICK HERE for a super easy online process!  It only takes a couple minutes!

Don't know where you are supposed to go to vote?
GO HERE and just type in your address to find the exact location you are registered to participate at.

Have questions about poll hours, ID requirements, etc. for your state?
You can visit HERE to find out everything you need to know.

So what are you waiting for?

VOTE!