Hey there!
Happy October 1st! OCTOOOOOOBER....holy cow!! October officially means all of the fun fall and winter holidays will be here in no time and that makes me pretty darn excited! I have to say that I've been having way more fun than usual this year, creating for the holidays. I'm not sure why that is, but I'm loving all of the great holiday goodies we've been releasing over at Papertrey Ink and just you wait....this next month is gonna be FUN!!! ;) That's all I'm sayin'. I've already said too much. You're not gonna get anything else outta me. {insert ornery grin emoji!} Haha!
Anyhoosie, as you surely know by now, the first of the month means it's also time for the Senior Design Team Challenge at Papertrey Ink and this month, we're busting out Stylish Sentiments: Holiday, designed by Nichole Heady, which is a great set because it virtually goes with any holiday image you may have in your stash. Those are my kinda sets -- the ones you get a ton of mileage out of!
Not only that, but Stylish Sentiments: Holiday has so many pretty sentiments for the typography lover in us all, and some of them are even large enough to serve as the main focal point on your card instead of an image! I did that on my second card today, which I'll show you in just a bit. And the other nice thing about these sentiments is that they could be used inside cards as well. I was happy to pull this set out this month and play! First up, my favorite of the two cards I made.....
I mean, come on.....this sentiment will always and forever make me smile! Who doesn't love a little Elf movie quote now and then?!! It's a perfect fit inside the Monthly Moments: Slide Frame Die, which I will also love forever and always. :) Know what else I love now? How well Peaceful Pinecones pairs with the holly image from Enclosed: Bell!! GAH! I totally didn't do that on purpose when I designed the sets -- several years apart, in fact -- but they work beautifully together and I just love that! Do you have these sets? You should totally pull them out and try them together!
To get the variegated color on both the holly leaves and the pine branches, I inked them up with ripe avocado ink first, and then used an ink blending tool to "stipple" on some Tim Holtz Peacock Feathers around the edges. It's just another way to add more interest to your images!
The above photo just gives you a peek at how all the layers are stacked up in case you want to make this one yourself. I stamped some of the pinecones directly on the card base and then stuck another piece of white card stock on top, with the sentiment on it. And then, of course, I put the die cut pinecones and holly on top of the frame. Lots of dimension on this one, which I love. This card is one of my favorites so far this year. Don't tell the other cards. ;)
Next up, is one where I let the large sentiment be the focal point and just accented with some holly. In order to make the sentiment panel more interesting, I used a blending tool and did a bit of ink blending with pink and red inks on some white card stock before die cutting it with a Moments Inked journal card die.
The holly again, is from Enclosed: Bell -- that holly can be added to just about any holiday card -- and the "Merry Christmas" sentiment is another from Stylish Sentiments: Holiday.
I did the same technique with the ink on the leaves here, inking them up with new leaf ink and then sponging on some ripe avocado down at the bases.
Also, did you see the team announcements in the newsletter? Danielle Flanders is joining us on the Senior Design Team, so be sure to pay each of the girls -- including Dani -- a visit and give them some love!
Betsy Veldman
Melissa Phillips
Danielle Flanders
Heather Nichols
Have a great first day of October, friends!
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{The Best Way... supplies -- click on thumbnails}
{A Time of Love & Cheer supplies}