Hi, Friends!! Welcome back! Can I just say that I've been sooo excited for this day of the Countdown to get here, because I had soooo much fun creating with today's new products?!! Seriously, there are just some products that the other girls design, that make me giddy to play with and today's products are totally that way! Betsy has created some beautiful things for this month that just speak of so many of the things I love about Christmas.....they have a slightly vintage vibe or they include elements that are always a part of our real-life Christmas here at the McVey Ranch (we don't really live on a ranch - ha!) and so these new products just give me all the happy feels. Let's get right to it, shall we?
All of the new products you're getting peeks at this week will be available for purchase at Papertrey Ink beginning TOMORROW, September 15 at 10pm EST.
So I showed you the other day, how I'd stamped a few different panels with Betsy's Text & Texture: Wood Slices and I used another of those here. If you've been following me for long, then you already know that "firewood delivery day" is one of the happiest days of fall for me! Haha! We wait until after the first hard freeze, so all the bugs that might want to hitch a ride on the wood, get killed off, and then Bart orders a cord of firewood. And the day that wood gets delivered is like Christmas itself for me, because I know it means hours and hours of cozy time spent in front of crackling fires in the wood-burning fireplace in our family room (and occasionally even in the fireplace in our bedroom!)! I LOVE our fireplaces! We didn't have one growing up and so having two now, just feels so luxurious to me. I know it might be no big deal to a lot of you, but I love them so much. Love.
Also, if you've been following along, you've probably seen me post pictures year after year, of the firewood all stacked up nice and pretty the day it gets delivered, and that wood pile totally looks like these wood slice stamps! So obviously, I was already loving this set.
But then, add to it Betsy's new Seasonal Borders: Winter, with it's totally vintage-y feel and I'm completely smitten! And I was talking about these types of colors with someone on instagram the other day, and I know these may seem like "non-traditional" Christmas colors to a lot of you, but the fact is a lot of my actual vintage ornaments and decorations include these colors! A lot of those items are 70+ years old!! So to me, these are really classic Christmas colors! Haha! Anyway, traditional or not, I LOVE them! Our Christmas here, always includes so many more colors besides just red and green! And you KNOW, there's always a lot of pink! Heck, I have three huge apothecary jars full of pink vintage ornaments on my shelves in the studio, that I keep out year-round just so IO can enjoy them! You can see them up behind me, in a lot of the Stories videos I share from my desk! Anyway.....another side-track. :)
So I stamped one of the borders with all of my favorite Christmas colors and then added a strip of kraft card stock along the bottom, on which I'd used the Sweet Stitching Impression Plate again. Love that little bit of texture!
And lastly, the sentiment is from Jennifer Campbell's new Penned Elegance: Christmas set. So pretty!
{Joy to the World supplies}
Ok, and last up for today is another group of products that are, in my humblest of opinions, MUST HAVES this year. Friends, do yourselves a favor and add these to your wish list right now! This is Betsy's new Poinsettia & Pine Mini Kit and I am in LOVE with it.
So, a little reminder for you, or perhaps some back story if you're newer around these parts. I LOVE POINSETTIAS! Lol! It was a few years back, when it occurred to me one day that I love going to the nursery so much in the spring and summer just to look around, and even in the fall to see all the gorgeous mums, but I realized that I'd never been to the nursery in the winter. Do they even HAVE anything at the nursery in the winter? Would there be anything at all to see? Why had I never even thought about this before? So one winter day, we went to the nursery and do you know what we found? Row after row, section after massive section of poinsettias! A SEA of poinsettias in so many different varieties that I'd never even known existed!!! Different colors! Different shapes! Different textures! But all poinsettias! Bright red ones and dark red ones and orange-red ones and white ones!! Even pastel pink ones. And do you know what other ones? BRIGHT PINK ONES!!! GAH! I had no idea! My whole life.....I never knew actual bright pink poinsettias existed! SO, we brought home....ahem....several....that year and every year since! :) Well, until last year when I was, of course, recovering from my transplant in D.C. I couldn't be around flowers or plants of any kind at that point, so I missed out on them last year. But this year? Look out, baby!! I can't wait for our annual trip to the nursery for $5 poinsettias which I will put all over this house!!!!
So back to Betsy's mini kit! Haha... It has gorgeous printed papers and printed tags, too. But the beauty of them is that the coordinating dies, stamps & stencils allow for lots of fun ways to use these! First up, let's talk about the card....
I die cut a tag from aqua mist card stock and it has that darling stitched frame. I stamped a sentiment from the set at the bottom, and then die cut a rectangle piece of white card stock that fits in the frame on the tag. I stamped it with a few of the poinsettia images from the set and popped it up with some foam adhesive. I trimmed down one of the patterned papers, to fit inside a Scalloped Stackers: Medium die cut and popped it all on an aqua mist card base.
And now, the tags. UM, hello. Are those not ridiculously pretty?! Wanna know how to make them? Die cut each tag from the pre-printed papers and then use a second "detail die" to cut out the bits around the poinsettia! That's IT! Gorgeous Christmas tags couldn't be any easier than that! I LOVE, love making my own tags....you know that. I do it every year. But man, when you want to add some really beautiful tags to your stash in a hot second, use these!! LOL. It doesn't get any easier than this! I can't wait to go back and die cut all the other tags from the collection. There are even some that could be used on masculine gifts.....they've got a bit more masculine vibe to them with more blues and greens and pine trees. Very pretty.
You know I'd love it if you purchased my Raspberry Suite goodies from each release (obviously!)......but I'm not about to steer you wrong when it comes to what I love and will be using a lot more of! These new releases from Betsy this month have me swooning and itching to play with them some more. I need to get back to designing products for upcoming releases though! I need more hours in the day! Haha! But when I get a sec, these goodies are hanging out on my desk waiting for a bit more attention!
Be sure to check out the Papertrey Blog for lots more inspiration featuring this month's new releases!
Have you made out your wish list yet? Do you love creating for Christmas as much as I do? Do you use pink and turquoise in any of your Christmas crafting or decor? Let's chat Christmas!
Oh, and come back tomorrow because I'm working on some new Favorite Things posts for you that I think you might enjoy. Yes, I said POSTS because there were quite a few items to share this month, so I decided to split it up into a couple of separate posts to make it a little more organized for you! I'll also have another Book Report post for you soon, because so many of you keep asking for new book recommendations, too!
Lots of you have been shopping through the links I've shared in my Favorite Things posts in recent months and I so appreciate that. But even more than that, I'm glad these posts have helped you to find some new products for yourself or gifts for your loved ones. It makes me so happy when I hear from you guys about how you've been able to put together gifts for family members or friends, and are grateful to have those personal recommendations about the items so you're not just shooting in the dark, about how well things will fit or wear or look when you get them home. I'll keep these posts coming, as long as they're helpful to you! Thank you for sharing your feedback! I appreciate you!
Much love, friends. See you tomorrow!
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{Merry Christmas supplies -- click on thumbnails}
(Affiliates Disclaimer: Just so you know, I sometimes use affiliate links here on my blog, which means that I participate in several affiliate programs, in which I may receive a small commission when you click one of these links and purchase a product at the corresponding product site (usually within a certain amount of time). There are no additional costs for you as a result of these links, but by shopping through these links, you are not only supporting me and the work I do here in the Raspberry Suite studio, but you're also helping me to continue to bring you beautiful content and inspiration here at my blog, for free! Please know that I share products with you that I use and enjoy and I make every effort to represent those to you honestly. Thanks so much, friends, for your support! I appreciate you!)
