As I said during sneak peek week, I have been exploring many new (to me!) techniques and skills within the graphic design program that I use to design the stamps we bring you each month. One thing in particular I have been focusing on is hand-drawing with my Wacom tablet.
I drew a lot when I was in school. High school especially. I was in the Accelerated Art Program and got the opportunity to explore lots of advanced studies, one of which was drawing. When I was 15, one of my favorite assignments was selecting a small kitchen utensil from several scattered about the art room and creating a technical drawing of it. I chose a pair of antique egg beaters.
(click on above photo for a larger view)
I loved mentally dissecting all the pieces and figuring out how to translate them onto paper with pencil. I recently stumbled upon the drawing while going through some old papers and it now prominently hangs (appropriately) in my kitchen.
So, this story brings me to today, as I am rediscovering this love I have for the mental dissection of detailed objects that surround us in our everyday lives and turning them into small works of art. I used this process while creating the set I am about to introduce to you today, entitled Autumn Abundance.
Autumn Abundance is a set especially close to my heart. It contains three stoneware pitchers, each filled with a variety of autumnal bouquets. A few beautifully done sentiments round out the set making it perfect for all sorts of projects.
The details.
- Autumn Abundance will be available for purchase on August 15th.
- It will retail for $15.
- Autumn Abundance contains a total of 12 images; 3 pitchers, 1 accent image and 8 sentiments.
- ETA: The pitchers & bouquets are NOT separate images. Each pitcher is already filled with fabulous blooms to allow for quick and easy stamping.
I decided to establish part of the basis of today's post on our new envelopes (see post below!). We have been working SO long on these and I am excited to show you a few fun ideas using them!
My first project uses one of my favorite images from the set, a pitcher of beautiful sunflowers. The pitcher was colored in using my Enchanted Evening Copic Trio, the Sunflowers with Summer Sunrise Trio (centers Dark Chocolate Trio) and finally, the leaves with Ripe Avocado Trio. (All of these trios are available for purchase on the Papertrey website). I also outlined the entire image with a bit of T1.
(click on above photo for a larger view)
This project actually has a little bit of a unique twist. I altered one of our new 5.5" square kraft envelopes to have two separate pockets. One for a card, sending someone get well wishes, with the other holding a tea bag, prefect for sipping while resting up on the couch. The front of the envelope got special treatment so that it would coordinate with the rest of the items.
The label for it was created by heat embossing one of the borders from Borders & Corners Oval onto Ripe Avocado cardstock with White Filigree Embossing powder. I then punched it out with the coordinating Giga scalloped oval punch. I just ADORE using my Borders & Corners sets for labels like this. So quick and easy!
I made my card first and inserted into the envelope. I marked about 1/8" away from where the edge of the card fell with pencil.
I then used that pencil mark as a guide to know where to start my stitching with my sewing machine. I just zipped one straight stitch down the length of the envelope.
The small "pocket" contains a cardstock tag affixed with an herbal tea bag. The "Tea Time" image is from Tea for Two and it is heat embossed with White Filigree Embossing Powder.
(click on above photo for a larger view)
The larger pocket holds the card. The basic design of this is super simple, but I think striking all the same. Polka Dot Basics II was stamped in the background directly onto the Enchanted Evening card base using Versamark ink. The sentiment was heat embossed onto a strip of Ripe Avocado cardstock. The final step was to trim the sunflower image down and adhere it to the cover of the card. This project was SO fun and easy to make! (What, what was that you say? Oh! Your fingers are itching to color in your very own sunflowers! Well, don't worry, you won't have to wait too much longer!)
Next up is this celebratory autumn leaves & acorns bouquet. Now if that doesn't make you think of fall, I don't know what would! Note the sentiment. Doesn't that just make you want to swoon! Love the fonts. Love the layout with the line separating the two. SO fun! There are several different sentiments contained in this set that are similar, so you can use them for several different occasions!
(click on above photo for a larger view)
This card is an A1 size so a matching A1 Kraft envelope was in order. I created a small seal for the envelope by stamping a small acorn cluster (which is also included in this set) onto white cardstock and punching it out with a circle punch. I even inked the edges of both the card and envelope with our Vintage Tea Dye Duo ink. In this photo you can see how well the envelopes match the cardstock! We really made sure to orchestrate nothing but the best when it came to these new envelopes!
As a fun extra I decided to line my envelope with some of the Autumn Abundance patterned paper that coordinates with this set. Lining envelopes like this really adds a touch of class and sophistication to your finished product.
To make it EASY for you to line ALL of our envelopes in the future, I have created a FREE download that contains liner templates for all 6 types of envelopes we are now carrying!
Download Papertrey Envelope Liner Templates
Print the templates onto cardstock, cut them out and save them for future use. Then whenever you want to line one of your envelopes, all you have to do is pull out the coordinating template, trace it onto the back of your patterned paper, trim & adhere inside your envelope! Easy Peasy, as Mish would say!!!
I kept the card here super simple too. The bouquet was trimmed down, leaving a bit of extra space at the bottom for the sentiment. Rustic Jute Button Twine was wrapped between the two and tied off in a knot. The entire piece was adhered in place with foam dimensionals onto a kraft card base. Once again, quick and easy but still managing some major impact.
Next is a pitcher of mums. David and I have always enjoyed going to pick up three or four pots of mums each year as part of our fall decorating routine. They serve as a sign to me that autumn has officially arrived. The pitcher here was colored with Pure Poppy Copic Trio (with the stripes colored with our Scarlet Jewel Trio). The mums were colored with Summer Sunrise and the leaves with the Spring Moss Trio. Once again, a bit of shading with a Copic T1.
After coloring I decided to get out my handy 1.75" circle punch (which will be available through PTI on the 15th). Sometimes I forget that using a partial image like this can have just as much impact, if not more, as a full image.
I wanted to curve one of the plain text sentiments along the circle I punched out. One of my little "tricks from the studio" is to place my block on top of my finished image and place the sentiment along the curve of the circle by looking down directly through the block. Works like magic every time!
(click on above photo for a larger view)
Here's the completed card. It's just a bitty 3 x 3 creation, prefect for including with a gift, a lunchbox note or just a little something for someone at the office or whatnot. The image is matted with a scalloped circle mat created by our new EK Success Scalloped Circle Punch. Scarlet Jewel Bitty Dot ribbon and In Bloom (ripe avocado) paper create borders along the center. The In Bloom strip was punched with one of Martha Stewart's Border punches. Bitty Box Basics (pure poppy) is used for the background layer.
One of our new little 3x3 Stamper's Select envelopes was the perfect fit. To dress it up a bit, I added a strip of the leftover "lace" border to the edge of the flap. IT made for a really elegant touch!
I hope you enjoyed my presentation today. And I also genuinely hope you will feel the love put into the creation of these images each and EVERY time you use them! I am so anxious to see what you create with it! Here's your chance at winning our Autumn Abundance prize package!
- Autumn Abundance stamp set
- Autumn Abundance patterned paper
Just leave me a comment letting me know what you love about this stamp set and why you would like to have it. Maybe even tell me a bit about what you look forward to most about autumn. I really enjoy reading over each of your comments in the morning when I first get up. It's such a treat for me and I truly look forward to it!
You have until 8am EST Friday, August 14th to leave your comment. One winner will be randomly selected from all those comments left. The winner will be announced shortly thereafter (by noon EST) on our August Prize Page which can be found HERE. Please remember to play nice, only one comment per person please. Good luck to everyone and thanks for stopping by today!
Be sure to stop by tomorrow for one more blog post during this countdown week!
Michelle has created a wonderful technique tutorial for you using Autumn Abundance!
Heather has more projects to share with you today using Boo to You!
Melissa has some fun things that she created with Sign Language.
Dawn has some amazing projects & ideas using Scattered Showers Additions.
Tiffany shares another Fall Elegance project with you today.
Lauren is keeping you inspired with more template details!
Complete supply lists for all of today's projects can be found HERE.