It is time for another group post from Papertrey!  This month we are focussing all of our attention on our Moms!  My Mom is an incredible worker and extremely creative.  She can take a business from nothing to everything in a matter of weeks.  She was a self-taught chef who had not only created her own catering company where I grew up in Pennsylvania when I was five and my brothers 3 and 1, but has also headed a famous Bed and Breakfast in Charleston South Carolina and opened her own restaurant in Little Deer Isle, Maine called “Sisters.”  She has now decided to venture into real estate and take it easy from her stressful years as a chef.  Since she and my Dad live in Charelston, it is a far cry from their grandkids who all live up north.  So when I was thinking about what to make for my Mom as a gift, I thought some pictures in a scene she is now unfamiliar with nowadays… (SNOW!) would be a fun idea!  Just going to show how you can use this Mother set so well with different occasions, and just not Mother’s Day.  Here is the frame I made her with some close-ups of some of the different scrapped openings!

And now for the card.  When I thought of how I wanted to make the card, I thought it would be so nice to tie it in with another photo of the girls, so I used a photo on my card as well!

  I just ADORE that sentiment, don’t you?  If you are a Mom, you can relate to that sentiment so much, because it is so true!  I hope you have been inspired by the frame and the card!  If you are worried about taking pictures like this, let me tell you my secret.  I had them done at Target.  YUP!  Target now does digital pictures and they actually HOLD the camera which gives them more play in depth and posing!  These were all snipped from my Christmas card that went out this year.  It was a collage of pictures.  Just something for you to think about when you take your kids for their pictures next time.  The more poses the better for crafting opportunities!  For the full supply and cutting list for these projects, head to Nichole’s blog for a full PDF of all of the projects from the design team.  To see the other girls’ fabulous projects head over to visit them!

Nichole Heady
Debbie Olson
Genevieve Cassady
Heather Nichols
Lauren Meader
Lisa Johnson
Michelle Wooderson
Dawn McVey
Niki Estes
Betsy Veldman
Melissa Phillips

And don’t forget about all of the cool templates from Lauren coming out this month too!  WOW!  Haven’t you been LOVING her samples??  So many fantastic things toget your hands on this month!

Spring is around the corner and we have been busy around our house trying to get started organizing things around here after the long Winter.  For us right now this means organizing some new bookshelves we painted for our office.  These mostly hold John’s books, and he has been moving some off of my bookshelf which is in the entryway of our house.  I came across some inexpensive clear file folders which I thought would be wonderful for holding all of my photocopied music and loose scores which I have a LOT of, not to mention all of my favorite magazines that I want to keep in which I have been published.  So this prompted me to think about how to make these Plain Jane plastic holders more appealing for my space.  I could have gone and bought the new designer ones in the store, but…

#1: They are expensive

#2: They are great for now, but what about when they go out of style?

#3: Will I get the “perfect” colors I need?

So come with me as we explore a great way to use your stamps in your home, and something you can change out easily when you get bored…oh and how much fun would this be to hold your cardstock?!

You will need the following supplies:

Stamps: Damask Designs

Paper: True Black, Stamper’s Select White, Spring Rain cardstock

Ink: Spring Rain

Ribbon: True Black Stitched Grosgrain, True Black Twill

Punches: Marvy Super Jumbo and MegaCircle Scalloped Punches

Other: Plastic FIle Folder (Preferably one with a flat front.  This was from Rubbermaid.  I bought it at Wal Mart. Fiskars Cutting Wheel With scalloped blade, favorite adhesive (I used red-lined tape, but you can also use scor- tape)

First cut your Stamper’s Select White cardstock to 3×11 inches.  (This will cover most of the front panel, but not all of it, so you will need a coordinating color for the top and bottom of your file folder.)

Begin by stamping your Damask Designs backround stamp.  I start at the bottom and move my way up.  I always start on the same place on the stamp, so when the file folders are lined up on the bookshelf, it will look as close to a continual pattern as possible.

Using your cutting wheel and cutting mat, roll wheel  to create a scalloped border and then cut.  You will need a 3×2 inch piece for the top and a 1 inch piece for the bottom.

Before adding the border pieces, add your True Black Grosgrain ribbon (but only go slightly under where the bottom of your border is.  You do not want it to look lumpy.) Add your top and bottom borders.   

Then I took my Spring Rain cardstock and using the “Arial” font on my computer, typed the names of the files I wanted to create.  I made sure to leave enough space around each word for punching.  This is extremely important!  If you are unsure, do a test run on typing paper!  Then I punched the titles out using the smaller punch, and to keep my accent colors, I used the larger punch with True Black card stock.  To add a finishing touch, I chose the True Black Twill ribbon to tie bows and adhere them with a large glue dot.  Now I have the perfect colors to match my blue walls in the entryway.  A color that otherwise may have been hard to find in a pre-bought folder, but was so simple to create using all of the Papertrey Ink colors to choose from.

I chose the black as an accent because I also have many performing folders which are black.  Try and pay attention to other colors around the environment you want to enhance to aid and assist you in your color choices.

 (click to enlarge all photos)

While they may not align “perfectly”, they are very close, which is why it is important to try and start in the same place on your stamp at the beginning of your stamping.  The best part about this, is that it was pennies to create, and you can always start again if you choose to redo your decor!  What will YOU do with Papertrey to enhance YOUR home?  I would love to know!!  For more Papertrey Inspiration in home decor, you can visit my sidebar in my {Hemidemisemiqauver Home} section!  Have a great day!  OH…and I ALMOST forgot!  Wait until you see one of the new Timeless Templates coming out from Lauren this month!  It will be a perfect way to complement this project!!

Good morning everyone!! NO…I DIDN’T fall off the face of the earth. It just happens to be December and I am busy with concerts. I just sang the alto and soprano II solos in the Bach Magnificat on Sunday night and it went well. I had juries for all of the voice students at Drexel today, but now I am free! Well…if you don’t include a Messiah next weekend, another gig on Sunday morning with full orchestra and up to NYC to see a concert of another Messiah the following weekend. I am so excited to go up and hear the best voice in the world right now in my opinion at the end of the month. I get to hear Andreas Scholl. I am waiting to be lifted up by the most genuinely beautiful singing known to man! So great. I have seen Andreas sing before at the beginning of his career. What a treat for John and I. Yes, he also loves his voice and we are wholeheartedly looking forward to going to this concert together.

OK…on to my project for the day. This ended up being pretty special! I knew it would be, but I really enjoyed the process of creating during this one. I will be bringing this to my family Christmas party the day after Christmas to be entered in one of those many “gift-giving-type-game-things” that you play at family parties. I wanted the gift to be special. So let me know what you think!

When using Papertrey Stamps, I love mixing and matching sets. The embossed emblem in which the sentiment sits comes from the “Sweet Love” set. The sentiment itself comes from the “Take a Bough” set. See how well it fits? PLEASE don’t just look in one of your cases when working with stamps! Look and see what would make a nice accompaniment with other sets to see how well they integrate together! This is so much more fun, and you begin to build different uses for different sets! Now for the inside:

These duck eggs were blown out and cleaned, the painted using Pearl Ex pigments 6 pack starter kit mixed in matte finish mod podge. You must wear a dust mask when using these pigments, as the dust is very fine and can easily be inhaled. Just mix the two together in a small bowl as to not waste anything, and paint as desired. I finished the egg ornament off with a nice small copper bead and some pretty cord for hanging. I got both of these items at my local bead store. I would love to know the color combo you like best, as I am having a hard time choosing which one is my favorite. Really…I would love to hear. Gold egg with copper on top, copper egg with gold on top, or copper egg with antique silver on top?  It will help me make decisions of how to paint them next time. The special paper used on the Papertrey Egg box is stunning Windsor foil paper by SEI and can be found here.

Stamps: Take a Bough, Sweet Love

Paper: SEI Windsor Foil, Dark Chocolate card stock

Ink: Versamark

Ribbon: Dark Chocolate Grosgrain

Other: Papertrey Egg Box, Gold Filigree Embossing Powder, Duck Eggs (thanks to my sister-in-law who has like 1,000 ducks), Red line Tape (seriously, this is the biggest role of tape I have ever seen, and that is good, because I go through this stuff like it’s water!) Pearl-Ex pigment

First of all…..THE PHILLIES WON THE PENNANT!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh the loveliness of Christmas!  Doesn’t it make you joyful?  I really think we should remember how we felt as children at Christmas time.  So excited and full of awe at its very meaning.  I really wanted to capture the childhood whimsy of Christmas and yet make what was inside special with a little more elegance.  Don’t you think that polka dots never go out of style?  I feel like polka dots and stripes are one of those things that always work in any kind of design.  Trendy or classic, it can be everything I suppose.  It is all in how you use them.  So here is my whimsical elegant box.  A sweet reminder of the first day the tree gets put up at home and all of the ornament boxes come out.  Such a joyful time for a joyful reason.  I hope you try this yourself.  It would be a wonderful gift for anyone.

these small ornament balls were found at Michaels for I believe $3.99.  There are enough ornaments in the box in which it came to make two of these gift boxes!  So the egg box is only $4.00 and the ornaments for this project is roughly $2.00.  Not too shabby for a gift that looks like it costs a fortune.  If you have any questions, please let me know.  I will be happy to answer them in the comments section.  Thanks!  Have a great day!  I will be speding my day with Cindy Lyles!  How fun!

Supplies:

Stamps: Take a Bough

Paper: Polka Dot Parade, Ripe Avacado, Aqua Mist

Ink: Versa Magic Chalk Ink, Palette Noir

Ribbon: Ocean Tides Satin

Other: Papertrey Egg Box, Clear Frame with Polka Dots, EK success 1 3/8 inch punch (for inside of box for the circles), 3/4 inch EK success circle punch for the ornament balls. Nestabilities, We R Memory Keepers Hardware.

Designer Note: To make the circle punches on the paper inside where the holes are in the cardboard, Cut your Polka dot Basic paper to size for the insert in the box, then flip around and trace holes.  Use the 1 3/8th inch punch centering it in the trace marks just made.  The punch is smaller than the traced circles to hold the balls upright.  This assures the perfect size holes for the small ornaments.

I got these amazing little frame ornament wall-hanging thingies at Michaels for $2.00 I think!  I got three of them and I have to say I am in LOVE with them!  Aren’t they the cutest?  Of course as soon as John saw the picture he says “the bottom loop is crooked”.  I bent it back.  What can you ask for for $2.00!  lol.  Seriously though, they are primed wood and wire.  Fabu.  Love it.  What else will you use those tiny pictures they put into your photo package on?  These are those “keepsake” photos…the thumbnail type ones they stick into your package from Target now.  It was a perfect fit to add some other stuff with it. I know you are probably sick of this photo, but it was perfect for the colors I wanted. I am actually going to get the girls Christmas pics done soon this year.  They will be more casual.  Cute sweaters with matching scarves.  I chopped off Sophie’s hair in the summer, so she looks so different now from this picture!  She wanted to look like Lucy Pevencie from “Narnia”.  She is too cute. 

SO… have you all been thinking about how everyone is partying away on the big stamping cruise?  Man I wish I was there, but since I am fat and hairy (well at least right now), it may be best that I am home as not to scare everyone!!  LOL!  Have a great day!

Stamps: Snowfall, 2008 Holiday Tag Collection (Noel sentiment)

Paper: Pure Poppy, Stampers Select White, Sky Blue SU!

Ink: White Chalk, Pure Poppy

Ribbon: Pure Poppy Stitched Grosgrain

Other: Marvy Super Jumbo Snowflake Punch, Buttons, Martha Stewart Clear Glitter

A quick post for now as I am on my way to work, but who says your cards can’t match your home and even better, fit right in! Check this out!

If I left this on the top of my dresser, nobody would even realize! Don’t you love how the sheep match? Here is the card and ornament in real life…

I love these CHF stamps. I have been drooling over them for a while now! I finally broke down and got them as a birthday present to myself! I stamped right onto that muslin! Isn’t that fun? I cut it..(and it doesn’t matter if it is wonky) with pinking shears. primitives ARE wonky, so there is a lot of room for error! Good for me! I grunged up this Purely Pomegranate ribbon and cardstock so it wouldn’t be too bright. I also used Ranger Antique Distress ink. Thanks to Debbie Olson. She added it to her sheep at it made them just perfect!! Big surprise from Debbie!! There are a TON of stamps in this set and I can’t wait to play with them. Especially the crows. They are so creepy…yet fun! Did you see the projects for the sneak peeks of Papertrey today? Go to Nichole’s Blog and look at what the team was busy doing for todays post! Mine was so simple and fun! It would be so easy to make a ton of these for shower favors! Take a look!!! Please also read my post below and join this AMAZING challenge for an AMAZING woman!!! Thanks!!!! I Still need MANY more people to help out!!!!

A very beautiful star made from very beautiful papers:

I used the “striped serenity” paper on this star.  It uses an 81/2 x 11 piece of paper for this template, so  you will have leftovers of your 12×12 sheet to make a card for someone if you give this as a gift.  After printing out the template, take each square and on the white side where your marks should be,  sponge Papertrey “Spring Moss” ink on the back using a dauber.  Then take your craft knife and cut along the lines making slits. 

1) Take the inner most slits and bring them in towards each other (adhere with double sided tape, I used redline)

2) Take the next pieces and pull them the opposite way and bring them together.

repeat in opposite ways until you are finished.  When you did that to each of the six squares you can put them together at the base using glue dots.  I then used a medium sized eyelet and thread PTI Spring Moss twill through it to hang it.  A beautiful project for beautiful papers.

Template: star_template_sm.pdf

Please take a look at Lisa Johnson’s blog.  She has a cute “Treat a Lope” tuorial.

Using the new PTI limitless labels, borders and corners monogram edition and the Trajan monograms, I made this acrylic block sign for my bathroom.  The colors are creamy caramel and black.  I used matching thinner ribbon to go around the edges of each block to finish off the look.  I used red lined tape for everything.  I used the limitless label set (the circle dot pattern one) to create my background paper.  I want a huge stamp of this…’cause I LUUUUUHHHHVE this pattern.  I then used a “purse handle loop” that I found in the Michaels isle with the purses to hold the rbbon.  Sorry about the lighting.  I just took this picture now and it is almost 5pm, so no natural light.  My walls are creamy caramel, not this weird funky color they are coming up in the picture.  I taught my Mom how to make some boxes today, so I will post her creations tomorrow.  We had fun

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I have started a new category on my blog called “{Hemidemisemiquaver Home}”.  In this category I will feature little tid bits about how you can make sense of stamping when it comes to home decor.  I hope you like it, and when I think of inspiring ideas, I will post them in this category so it is easy to reference back to them later.

These Santas are from the PaperTrey Ink’s “Believe” set.  This was the same color scheme and design of the Santa that I did on my pyramid box.  The colors are perfect for my dining room, so I didn’t change a thing.  The star in his hand is also coordinates with the stars on the candle ring that is on there, so it worked very well.  I used Kraft cardstock and a white gel pen to color his beard.  I have them attached to all five arms using two small dimensionals.

Check back tonight at 6pm eastern time for the winner of the blog candy to celebrate the new Kitchen Sink Stamps release THIS MONDAY!

 ****PICTURES REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION*****

I love how beautiful clear blocks are, so I thought I would make this mantle eye candy that would take these blocks in a different direction.  I used the Giga square scalloped punch and punched some beautiful irredescent paper I got at a paper show.   Then I used the “J” “O” “Y” from the Kitchen Sink “Snow Flurry” set.  The brilliant thing for using these for your own home is that I just used a low stick vellum adhesive.  A little on each corner and so then you can interchange your designs for each season!!!  NOW…you get four blocks in this set, so why not put on the last block what you are so joyful about!  For me…it’s my girls!  See?

I just took a wallet size of their Christmas picture from two years ago and put that through the giga square punch and voila!  A nice addition of the kids!  Do you want more ideas?  How about getting the 2″x2″ blocks and making a gorgeous ornament!  Just do the same thing that is in my tutorial for the coasters, but put a picture hook on the back with crystal effects and add your favorite ribbon!  You could also finish the back with nice velvet paper before adding the hook.  I used the Playful Christmas set as well as the sentiment from the new set coming out Dec. 3rd.  “Never a Loss for Words”.  Also, try and making it a diamond shape, not just square!

WHAT?  ANOTHER IDEA???  OK…How about using that same block size to make a basket tie-on?  Here is another altered block on my Longaberger Apple Basket!

Stamps are Kitchen Sinks “Playful Christmas” and the swirls are from “Backgrounds and Borders”.  Hope you like the new ways to use these beauties!