Thinking Inking

Felt Flowers Tutorial

Welcome! I had used a felt flower on one of my posts last week, and someone had asked about how to make them. I had pinned some really sweet felt examples to one of my Pinterest boards HERE, but it took me a bit to figure out how to make some. (Mine aren't as varied and lovely as THESE from PetitCalla's Etsy shop--she's amazing, and you'll enjoy her site!) 

While there are plenty of ways to make felt flowers, I can show you how I made mine. Maybe that will jump-start your own thought processes.

Here I have used a Spellbinders S4-312 Blossom Three die template to cut SIX pieces for the blossom. One piece forms the base. Four pieces are folded in half, and then in half again (in quarters), and stitched shut at the point. The sixth piece, I folded in half, and then rolled and stitched so that I would have one more tightly rolled piece to form the center of the flower. Please note that you can use ANY circular shape--plain circle, scalloped circle, pinked circle--different circles for different looks. 

This is what it looks like after I stitch the four quarters in place on the base, and then the center rolled portion. You could also use hot glue if you don't like stitching. 

Here I've added a leaf using a die template from the Spellbinders Foliage set. I usually tuck the leaf between the base and one of the bottom quarter-pieces so that I still have a smooth base to attach to something.

The smallest flower here uses the Blossom Three die template, but the larger ones use a Scalloped Circle die template. The Pinking Circle die make a flower that looks more like a carnation.

Finally, a word about felt: most of my felt is from Papertrey Ink. It is a very good quality, tightly woven 100% wool felt. I have order wool felt online once since I wanted some colors that Papertrey Ink didn't carry yet, and it was a bit thinner and a bit more loosely woven. It still worked. However, I have not had good results with kraft-quality felt from my local big box store.( It tends not to cut cleanly.) So, the quality of your felt matters.

That's it for today. I'll have several Papertrey release pieces later on this week. Have a great week!

Happy Mother's Day: PTI Sketch 1

Welcome! Today I have a sketch card using one of the five sketches posted today on Nichole's blog. Although Valentines Day is nearer than Mother's Day, I thought I had enough Valentines cards made. After all, I have just one husband, and one son; and since we home school, I don't need to make thirty Valentines! I knew I would need Mother's Day cards in the next few weeks, however, and I have a lot of traveling to do between now and then. So, I'm ahead of the game now!

I printed out the pdf sheet and will probably use others in the future, but for today, I chose Sketch 1, shown below. I used a couple of stamp sets, Happy Day and its coordinating Happy Day die, and well as Tiny Tags and the coordinating Tiny Tags die.

I added a little gift box using a PTI small heart box, paper from an October Afternoon 8" x 8" Sidewalks pad, and a felt rose. (I'll try to get a stepped out picture of how to make the roses very soon!) Felt is PTI's Harvest Gold and Simply Chartreuse Wool Felt. 

Feeling sketchy? Check HERE for five great sketches to choose from, and play along for prizes!

Flowers for You

Good morning! If you haven't been to Nichole Heady's blog for the last day or two, you might want to stop and see what's happening there! There are some fabulous challenges and chances to win great prizes. While I didn't turn in a favorite color combo, I thought I would post a simple card using some of my favorite PTI colors here today--Kraft, Cream, Sweet Blush, Aqua Mist, and Spring Moss.

I used three different Papertrey Ink stamp sets, Flower Fusion #8, Tiny Tags, and Background Basics: Gingham. I also used two PTI dies, Tiny Tags and Flower Fusion #8. Some stamping, glitter, distressing, and stitching, and that's it--one more card for my stash!.Thanks for stopping by, and go PLAY in the Papertrey Ink challenges if you get a chance!

Evangeline. . .

Can you handle one more day of CHA projects? This is all I have--honest! Today I have a few Cosmo Cricket Evangeline cards to share with you. Besides the Evangeline papers, chipboard, and sticker in the card above, I also heat-embossed a sentiment from Papertrey Ink's Half and Half set. The doily is cut with PTI's Parisian Lace Doily, and taupe pearls are from Zva Creative.

Ohhhh, I like buttercream yellow and roses! 

Ooo-la-la! Okay, a digression: I saw a lady walking around at CHA with this kissy image on a vinyl bag--wish I had gone by and asked for a bag, because they were neat! The English Lace Paper Doily is from StarLit Studio, and ribbon is Papertrey Ink's Kraft Satin--a perfect match!

Finally, my last Evangeline card, with a bit of Prima lace (I think--not sure), and some Copic-dyed ribbon. That's the extent of my Evangeline samples. I'm still working on release pieces for later this month, and I hope that tomorrow's more productive than today was! Thanks for stopping by.

Baby Jane

Welcome! I'm working on some new releases over the next few days, but I realized that I had a couple of days worth of CHA pieces that I hadn't shown you yet. Today I'm sharing a few cards from Cosmo Cricket's new Baby Jane line. On the card above, the blossom is Baby Jane chipboard, but the stem is from Papertrey Ink's Rosie Posie set--they look like they were made for each other, don't they? The little Enjoy sentiment is cut with PTI's Tiny Tags die collection and stamped with Tiny Tags as well. I dyed the ribbon with a Copic R27 reinker. The die behind the flower is JustRite's new Nested Medallion Labels die.

Of course, with all of these vintage paper swatches, I had to make a quilt card! Paired with the Baby Jane papers and chipboard, I used Papertrey Ink's Quilter's Sampler Sentiments on my wavy banner.

No stamps here (since the sentiment is from Baby Jane paper), but I used PTI's Filigree Border, along with some sweet little Maya Road Wood Skinny Spools.

On this card I have mostly Baby Jane collection, with the addition of a Filigree die cut and an Aqua Mist Vintage Button. Well, that's it for today--thanks for stopping by!

Hello: Designer Freebie Challenge

Welcome! Are you following the festivities on Nichole Heady's blog? Today's challenge involves printing out a page of free images and choosing one to work with. The prize is BIG! (Go HERE for details.) I chose Maile's little "hello" image--it was sweet, and I could color it. :-) Maile is best known for her fabulous simplicity and modern graphic qualities, so I kept it clean and crisp, for Maile. 

These are the Copic markers that I used to color the image--all but two are in PTI Copic combos. (I needed a couple of lighter markers for blends.)

The strip of patterned paper is from PTI's Funky Town pad. I cut and embossed the image with a Spellbinders Classic Circles Large die template and added a fuchsia rhinestone and some Prisma glitter for sparkly accents. So, are you ready to go pick an image and participate in the contest? Check HERE, and have fun!

Papertrey and My Favorite Things

Welcome! Did you know that February is Papertrey Ink's fifth anniversary month? Well, it is, and that means a LOT of contests and giveaways over the next several days! For today's post, all of the Papertrey Ink design team were asked to choose our favorite piece from the last year. Nichole has compiled all of these on her blog and will be offering a chance to win win a great prize--read HERE for details. 

After mulling it over for a while, I chose the card above as my favorite, linked from HERE. (I put a few runners-up below; if you click on the thumbnails, you should go to the linked post.)

Now, the next thing I wanted to share is a list of my FIVE Favorite Papertrey Ink Products. Whew--that took a while to decide upon, I tell you! With no further waffling, here's my list:

1. Tiny Tags Collection: This was an no-brainer choice! I love Tiny Tags on absolutely everything. Really.
2. Stampers Select White Cardstock: I know, the next two items are "just cardstock." But what do you need to make every single card? I love the weight of the PTI cardstock. When I stand a card up to take a picture of it, it doesn't sag, even with a lot of foam tape and layers.
3. Kraft Cardstock: Ditto from choice #3--love the weight of the Kraft cardstock too!
4. Aqua Mist Vintage Buttons: It was either Aqua Mist or Sweet Blush, but the buttons had to make the list. . . 
5. Parisian Lace Doily Die: Okay, I could put a doily on almost every card, or at least half of a doily! I love that I can cut white or cream, or whatever-color-I-like doilies with the Parisian Lace Doily die. 

And, finally, I wanted to relate one of my favorite PTI memories: I've been blessed to be with Papertrey Ink from the beginning, way back when there was only ONE stamp set a month! My favorite PTI memories have been when the whole team is together--not only the designers, including Nichole, but also Jane and Julie, whom most of you have not met. That first CHA Consumer show was QUITE a memory-maker. Seeing the crowd lined up outside the PTI booth, and helping in the never-ending restocking efforts, I began to see what a creative force Papertrey Ink had become. It was wonderful to meet so many customers whom we'd "met" before only in the forum or on blogs, but who seemed like friends we'd always known. The consumer shows were quite an adventure!

Don't forget to check out Nichole's blog for instructions on how to enter today's contest, as well as all of the PTI girls--it will be a treat, I promise! Thanks for stopping by today.

Nichole Heady

Ashley Cannon Newell

Betsy Veldman

Danielle Flanders

Dawn McVey

Debbie Olson (here)

Erin Lincoln

Heather Nichols

Jessica Witty

Lisa Johnson

Maile Belles

Melissa Phillips

Michelle Wooderson

Simply Jane Meets Rosie Posie

Welcome! I got one card made today--not as many as I'd hoped, but more than the past several days anyway, right? Today I pulled out my Papertrey Ink Simply Jane set and its coordinating Simply Jane dies, along with Rosie Posie for the background.

I did a bit of stamping, distressing, sewing, and mounting with foam tape. That's it--one card that I hope will be an encouragement for a friend who needs it. Thanks for stopping by today!

Music

Welcome! I'm back home--great to see my guys again. I haven't gotten back downstairs to work again yet, but I'm hoping to do so tomorrow. In the meantime, I had one card that didn't auto-post while I was gone for some reason, so I'll share it tonight.

Do you love music? I do! I took [enforced] piano lessons for about six years, though I confess that I didn't practice a third as much as I make my own son practice. (You won't tell him, will you?) Anyway, I like music-related stamps.Today's card uses JustRite's Musical Notes Labels Twenty, paired with Shabby Music background . I made some little rolled paper flower with the new Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms set, while the card base is made with Romantic Rectangles.

 

The sentiment is cut with a Labels Twenty die template, while the mat layers are cut with the new Labels Twenty Five set. I used patterned papers from the Melissa Frances Fifth Avenue line. A bit of sewing and sanding and foam tape, and that's it--one music card! Thank you for stopping by.