Happy Halloween!

BOO!
Did I scare ya?! LOL! Probably not but I was never good at tricking - I'm more of a treater than a trickster!

Talking of treats, my nieces and nephews should be in receipt of these treats today that I rustled up over the last week:Now I'm no Lauren Meader but I have to say I'm secretly proud that I managed to design this template myself so it held just the right amount of treats in! It's like a small popcorn box. Once I'd designed it on the PC, it was simply a matter of print onto PTI card, decorate and stick together! One thing I'd recommend is that you print the template onto the bitty dot basics paper too rather than trying to be frugal and use scraps - it took bloomin' ages to measure, cut and find scraps big enough!

Now there's no PTI stamps on these sweet treats, but all the basic supplies are PTI so I thought I'd share them with ya:

Orange Zest, Plum Pudding and True Black for the ghoularific gals:White, True Black and Orange Zest for the gruesome guys:
And a little scare and treat on the inside of each one:
Box Recipe
Cardstock: Orange Zest, Stampers Select White, True Black, Bitty Dot Basics in True Black & Plum Pudding
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Halloween Die, Nestabilities, Orange Zest Polka Dot Ribbon, Orange Zest Button, White Button Twine, Velcro Dots, Promarkers, White Gel Pen, Chocolate Treats!

That's all for today! If you want the template to play with at all just get in touch either via comment or email - I'd be more than happy to share the creativity!

Oooh and remember there's still time to enter our Current Challenge - Goin' Dotty...!

Hope y'all have a Spooktacular Halloween!

Aimes
x

Yummy Colours...

Hey!

Happy Tuesday! This week is flying by for me! I've been busy busy getting all those jobs done that I can't do during term-time including taking my car to the garage and it getting repaired for FREE! That's right, F.R.E.E! What PTI goodies shall I purchase next month with the pennies I put aside for the car?! ;D

Today I'm posting my entry for Dawn's Raspberry Suite Color Challenge. I finally got to play along with this one and I'm so glad I did as I just LOVED working with these colours:I'll confess that I CASEd myself for this one! I really liked the layout of my anniversary card for my honey that I wanted to play with it again!Went a tad overboard with my Distress Inks I think! I wanted to a achieve a rustic/vintage look contrasting against the modern colours - not sure I quite got it but as it's stuck down it's stayin'! LOL!As I was playing with my Friends 'til the End set I figured I'd show you what I think is the cool difference between just stampin' on plain coloured cardstock with that gorgeous flower and adding detail with a Versamark Pen:Pretty cool huh?! I think it really brings that gorgeous flower to life and the best part is - it sooooooo easy to do! I do plan to trim around the plain flower more and add the same detail btw - I just got kinda bored cutting this for a second time in a day!

Card Recipe
Stamps: Friends 'til the End/Fancy Flourishes
Inks: Vintage Cream/Dark Chocolate/New Leaf/Raspberry Fizz/Distress Inks Antique Linen & Vintage Photo
Card: New Leaf/Dark Chocolate Bitty Box Basics/Kraft/Raspberry Fizz/Vintage Cream
Accessories: Raspberry Fizz Polka Dot Ribbon (Reversed)/Dark Chocolate Twill/Vintage Buttons Cream & Dark Chocolate/White Button Twine/Versamark Pen

And on another note entirely...does anyone fancy being a featured stamper here on the PTI Blog?! Have you got a creation you think is totally fab and you'd like to share the inspiration with us? Or do you just fancy showing us your PTI style? Pop us an email if do because I'd love to make it a regular feature and don't even dare think we wouldn't be interested in YOU because we ARE! I know there's loadsa blogs/galleries out there adorned with PTI goodness that I truly admire and frequently drool over!

Right then gotta dash, off for a hair cut - I've booked a restyle but I know I'll end up with the usual trim! Typical me!

Aimes
x

My First...

...Christmas card!

Yup, today I made my first Christmas card of the season! Pretty amazing for me as I usually start making them mid-December! The thing that made me finally get crafting for Christmas is the PTI Blog Hop. This month it's a Holiday Hop so everyone is sharing their creations for the Holiday season - I'm hoping to get a good dose of inspiration from this month's hop!

For my part of the hop I made a Christmas card:
This card was made using the super fun Stocking Prints set. This is such a fun set that I could be tempted to make many more Christmas cards well before December approaches!

Now this card isn't just a card...just pull out those candy canes and satsumas....

*****Ta-Dah!*****

Yup it's a Couch Surprise Card converted into a Stocking Surprise Card LOL! Had to fiddle a little with the original concept to get it to work for a stocking but it works! I have to say it made me giggle the way the sentiment worked with the idea - now that's my kinda stocking exchange LOL! The fireplace is hand drawn, I'm hoping the glitter I applied to make the flames sparkle will avert your eyes from my drawing technique ;D

Card Recipe Stamps: Stocking Prints Card: Pure Poppy/Ripe Avocado/Vintage Cream/Kraft/Vellum from Stash Ink: Pure Poppy/Ripe Avocado/Distress Inks Antique Linen & Vintage Photo Accessories: Promarkers/Stickles Glitter in Red and Crystal/3D Foam Pads/£10 note LOL!

This card will be for my bro - I certainly don't plan on making a load of 'em as I'd not only be poor but I'd have no time to go Christmas shopping! We always exchange some money and treat ourselves to something we really like. Put it this way, after we've both shopped for our family (7 nieces and nephews!) we're too pooped to find a gift for each other!

I hope you all had a super weekend (and an extra hour for us in the UK!) I'll be back soon as I've got the week off work and I'm hoping to get inky fingers - hurrah for half term!

Aimes
x

Diamonds are forever...

This was the hardest card to photograph as you can probably tell - it's much better in real life believe me!


Recipe:
Stamps - Damask Designs
Ink - Encore Metallic Silver
Card - Silver Shimmer
Other - Fiskars border punch/silver ribbon/silver embellished heart/adhesive gems/corner rounder punch

It was a commission from a friend to make a Diamond Anniversary card - I immediately thought of Damask Designs because it's such an elegant set. The background damasks were stamped with Metallic ink which is why I couldn't photograph it well! I couldn't help but add lots of sparkly gems - well anyone who's been together for 60 years (OMG!) deserves it I think!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a great rest of the weekend!

Kate x

Going Dotty

Good morning! I'm so sorry this didn't go up last night as promised but I couldn't get online - anyway better late than never, welcome to our new challenge!

For this challenge we're going dotty!! Polka dots to be precise - we'd like to see some polka dots on your creations, this can be polka dot stamps, dotty ribbon, punched dots, doodled dots or any other interpretation of polka dots you can think of!

To be in with a chance of winning a randomly drawn PTI goody bag create a project with polka dots on it that uses at least one PTI product.

For my sample I used the polka dot Christmas tree from the 'Tree Trimming Trio' set, and made it in three colourways - it's a simple design so great for mass production.

The tree was embossed with Versamark and White Embossing Powder onto Kraft card - the ornaments were punched out then covered with an clear epoxy stickers:

Recipe:
Stamps - Tree Trimming Trio
Ink - Versamark/Enchanted Evening/Aqua Mist/Sweet Blush
Card - White/Kraft/Enchanted Evening/Aqua Mist/Sweet Blush
Ribbon - Swiss dot - Enchanted Evening/Aqua Mist/Sweet Blush
Other - Epoxy clear stickers/corner rounder punch/whit embossing powder

Enchanted Evening:


Sweet Blush:


And my favourite (of course!) - Aqua Mist:



And here's Aimes' card - "made for my very own honey for our anniversary - he really is my star and he really does send me dotty at times ;D)"

Recipe:
Stamps - Star Prints/Fancy Flourishes
Ink: New Leaf/Dark Chocolate
Card - New Leaf/Kraft/Vintage Cream/Dark Chocolate Bitty Dot Basics
Other - New Leaf Button/Dark Chocolate Button/New Leaf Twill/Jute Ribbon Twine/White Gel Pen

To enter the challenge leave a link to your card in the comments section below by 9am GMT, November 2nd 2009. Your card must use at least one product from Papertrey Ink. While we love to see entries from around the world I'm afraid we can only send prizes within Europe.

Thanks and I hope you have some dotty fun!!

Kate x

1. Laurel (Thanks for joining us from the USA!)
2. Linby
3. Taheera
4. Valerie
5. Antje
6. Katie
7. Mandy
8. Lesley
9. Ann
10. Vicki
11. Laurel (with a FABULOUS second entry!)
12. Hannelobbestael
13. Dana
14. Chris

A winner!

Thank you so much to everyone who played along with our Autumn Challenge - what a fabulous collection of autumn-inspired cards! And we have a winner!

Here are your random numbers:

14

Timestamp: 2009-10-19 11:25:34 UTC

(Random.org)

.... Nina! Congratulations Nina - please email you postal address to apassionforpapertrey@yahoo.co.uk and we'll get your PTI goody bag in the post to you asap!

Don't forget to check back this evening for an all new challenge!

Kate x

A Freebie!

Hey!

Well I dunno about you but a freebie always grabs my attention LOL!

Now I do have something free for you but I'm sorry if you'll end up disappointed that it's not something physical or edible! Y'see this weekend I've been playing on the PC, being the true PC geek that I am! If you haven't already noticed, take a peek at the right hand side column of this blog or just look below and you'll see the result of my geeky session...



I've created a blinkie!

Now I know it's not amazing but I'm kinda chuffed that I managed to make it with only the tiniest amount of help from my resident geek, Chris ;D

If you would like to decorate your blog with this lil' blinkie and spread the 'Passion for Papertrey' then it's easy! All y'need to do is add the gadget entitled HTML/Javascript on your blog layout and copy and paste this piece of code into the text box:

<a href="http://apassionforpapertrey.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" > <img border="0" width="200px" alt="PTI Blinkie!" src="http://i921.photobucket.com/albums/ad56/Aimes_pics/pti.gif"/ > </a >

Now if you find that when you post it, the width is slightly too big just change the number 200 in the code to a smaller number, you can try as many different sizes as you wish (BUT DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING ELSE!):

If you have any technical problems just pop us an email and I'll try my best to help!

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend so far! Remember, there's still time to enter our current challenge!

Catch ya later with a new challenge on Monday!
Aimes
x

My Fab Friend...

OK, time to confess! Who got totally drawn in with the PTI release this month? Who spent way more than they could really afford and bought yet more Christmas stamp sets that they don't need?! LOL! I'll be brave and raise my hand (though don't tell anyone!) I've not even made a single Christmas card yet unlike the super-organised Kate!

Speaking of Kate, here's a card that I made especially for her! Anyone who knows Kate will know that she has an almost unhealthy obsession with anything turquoise and so PTI's Aqua Mist is bound to be in the spotlight when making a card for her!

Just a tip I thought I'd share with you when playing with the Friends 'til the End set. When I stamped my flower it looked pretty flat (yes, I know it's literally flat before you comment!) so to add more depth, I shaded it with a Versamark pen around the centre and any area I thought would be in shadow. I loved the effect it gave - wish I'd done a before and after pic but you'll just have to take my word for it! I also added a touch of sparkle (couldn't resist!) with a Copic Clear Spica Pen. It so preddy IRL though my photography skills can't catch it!

Recipe:Stamps - Friends 'til the End/Background Basics:Text Style- Card:Aqua Mist/Aqua Mist Bitty Dot Basics/Dark Chocolate/Kraft/Ripe Avocado Vintage Cream - Ink:Dark Chocolate/Versamark - Other:Aqua Mist Button/Vintage Cream Satin Ribbon/Crop-a-dile II/Gromlet/White Gel Pen/Copic Clear Spica Pen

Well another week draws to a close and I can't wait for the weekend! Nothing super exciting planned - just a chance to put my feet up and chill! If you're not busy this weekend then there's still time to enter our current challenge to win some PTI goodies - deadline is on Monday!

Aimes

x

Saviour!

Happy Monday everyone!! I hope you're loving this month's PTI countdown! Just when I thought I had quite enough Christmas sets to last me a decade I see the October sneak peeks..... I wonder if one or two might find themselves in my shopping basket on Thursday hee hee?!!

We're so excited that we're going to meet so many PTI friends at the Christmas Make and Take!! We're fully booked now and can't wait for the 28th November to come around!

In addition to doing wonderful things like the Make and Take, I'm so lucky to have Steph as such a wonderful friend - a few weeks ago she got me out of a right pickle by lending me her Boards and Beams set at the very last minute - I had a commission from a friend for a new home card only to find that, despite owning a few (hundred lol!) stamps, I didn't have anything suitable for her card.

Steph to the rescue!! In the middle of her last minute holiday prep she rushed off the set to me and I managed to get my card made and delivered... phew!!

Here's the card:


Recipe:
Stamps - Boards and Beams
Card - Stamper's Select White/Dark Chocolate/Spring Moss
Other - Copics/brown ribbon and brads/sewing machine/Cuttlebug embossing folder/computer for greetings

This is such a fab stamp - a really good size and fun fun to colour! Thanks for coming to the rescue Steph - you're a star *mwah*

Thanks for visiting - oh and you still have a week to enter our current challenge!!!

Kate x

Ooops I forgot...

Hey!

I dunno about you but I'm still so hyped up about the exciting news of a PTI make and take!!! A HUGE thanks to the PTI Fairy God-Mother herself, aka Steph *mwah!* Honey!

Today I'm bringing you a card that I realised I'd posted on my own blog a while back but had forgotten to post here - tut tut! I thought you may wanna check it out as it's yet another creation oozing PTI goodness and was for a past Raspberry Suites Colour Challenge: Recipe
Stamps: Star Prints
Ink: Dark Chocolate
Card: Vintage Cream/Kraft/Summer Sunrise Bitty Box Basics
Accessories: Dark Chocolate Twill/Rustic Wood Button/Jute Rustic Twine/Nestabilities

This card was made with yet another male birthday in mind (too many males in my family for a girly crafter like me! LOL!) and the scalloped edge of the DP was made by drawing around a circle nestability repeatedly (you can use the grid on the DP to measure which is very helpful!) as I don't own a border punch like this yet!

I'm still itching to play along with the old RSCC as I ADORED that colour combo. Kate totally rocked it don't ya think? Definitely got me tempted to start on some Christmas card designs anyways....

Oooh and hands up - who is totally hyped up about the new PTI release countdown? Silly question I know but how adorable were those Holiday Button Bits samples?!?! Also, what an amazing idea to sell a jar of buttons with a mixture of colours in. Fab for all newbie (and old!) PTI addicts!!

Thanks so much for stopping by - hope y'all have a super duper weekend!!

Aimes
x

Exciting news!!

We have something very exciting to tell you about today!!!

Do you love Papertrey Ink? Would you like to spend a fun afternoon crafting with other PTI fans? If you do, and you can get to Essex on Saturday, November 28th then we have a treat in store for you!!!

Our wonderful Steph has decided to run a Christmas PTI afternoon, and we will be there to help out!!

We'll be doing four make and takes (3 cards and one 3D project), there will be a prize draw and goody bags, a buffet lunch and refreshment... and guess what... it's all free!!!

So here are the details as quoted by Steph on her blog:

Date: Saturday 28 November 2009
Time: 12:00 - 16:00
Venue: Felsted Memorial Hall, Essex
Theme: Christmas
Projects: 3 x Cards & 1 x 3D Project using a Lauren Meader Template
Other: Free Prize Draw

All supplies & tools to complete the projects will be provided but you are welcome to bring along your favourite 'tools of the trade' if you wish.

A buffet lunch & refreshments will also be provided & the whole thing is completely FREE of charge. This is purely just for fun & I'm afraid there will NOT be any products for sale on the day - I am not affiliated with Papertrey Ink in any way!

Isn't she a star! If you would like to join us for an afternoon of Christmas PTI fun please email Steph at stamp.share@yahoo.co.uk by Wednesday 14th October 2009.

We hope to see you there!!

Kate and Aimes

xxx

Raspberry Suite Challenge

Just in time to enter Dawn's current color challenge! (Cutting it fine again!)



I loved the look of this combo but struggled a bit putting it together.. anyway here's how my card turned out in the end:


Recipe: (Papertrey unlesss otherwise stated)

Stamps - Vintage Labels/Rustic Snowflakes/Signature Christmas
Ink - Pure Poppy/Vintage Cream/Dark Chocolate
Card - Kraft/Vintage Cream/Aqua Mist/Dark Chocolate
Other - Aqua Mist ribbon/brown brads/Fiskars border punch/Labels One die/Cuttlebug embossing folder/adhesive pearls

Can you believe the Papertrey October sneak peeks have started already?! Some more Christmas sets by the look of it... have I got room for any more?! (Silly question lol!)

Have a good week and thanks as always for visiting!

Kate x

Challenge 15: Inspired by Autumn...

Hey!

Y'all ready for a new challenge? A new season approaches and with it a new challenge totally inspired by it!

For this challenge we want you to be inspired by autumn (or fall to anyone across the pond who fancies joining in!) You may use autumnal colours as your point of inspiration, or leaves, or even an occasion such as Thanksgiving or Halloween! It doesn't matter so long as it's autumn inspired!
Autumn is my fave season of them all; I love the colours, the dancing multi-coloured leaves, the conkers (no-one's too old for a game of conkers right?), and the snug feeling of being indoors when the early, dark nights creep in...ah I could go on and on!

Anyways my card was totally inspired by autumnal colours:Recipe: Stamps - Fancy Flourishes/Damask Designs Card - Dark Chocolate/Kraft/Ripe Avocado/Summer Sunrise Bitty Dot Basics/Pure Poppy Bitty Box Basics Ink - Dark Chocolate/Pure Poppy Accessories - Rustic Jute Button Twine/Rustic Wood Button Other - Martha Stewart border punch/Cuttlebug/Cuttlebug Flower Dies

Autumn a la Kate:


Recipe:
Stamps - Vintage Picnic/Vintage Picnic Sentiments/Vintage Labels
Ink - Plum Pudding
Card - Stamper's Select White/Plum Pudding/Father Knows Best DP
Other - Plum Pudding ribbon and button/Copic Sketch Markers/brads/Labels One Dies/Tags Dies/Cuttlebug/Sewing Machine

So here are the deets: your creations must contain at least one PTI product to qualify. The challenge closes at 9am BST Monday 19th October. The winner will be drawn randomly and will be the lucky recipient of some PTI stash (sorry we can only ship within Europe! However, worldwide participation is very welcome and much appreciated to share the inspiration and our passion for PTI!)

REMEMBER: Have fun and just go with the flow - I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Aimes
x

1. Katie
2. Tina
3. Vicki
4. Mandy
5. Vanessa
6. Linby
7. Claire
8. Lesley
9. Emilia
10. Ann
11. Dawn
12. Anja
13. Hanne
14. Nina
15. Emilia
16. Emma

A winner!

Thank you to everyone who joined in our last challenge, and we have a winner:

Here are your random numbers:

3

Timestamp: 2009-10-05 08:02:25 UTC

(Random.org)

The winner is Clare! Congratulations Clare! Please email your address to apassionforpapertrey@yahoo.co.uk and we'll send your Papertrey goody bag to you asap!

Don't forget to check back later on today for a new challenge! Thanks for visiting!

Kate x

Last day of swaps

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you've been enjoying all the wonderful swaps we've been sharing this week - thank you again to everyone to joined in and to Steph for organising it all. We just have mine and Aimes' ATCs to share:

Here's mine:



And Aimes':


Watch out for an announcement later in the month for a Christmas Papertrey ATC swap! Have a great weekend!

Kate x

A week of swaps - day 4

Here we are on Day 4 of our week of swaps - where we are showcasing the fabulous ATCs from our recent swap.

Here is Shaz's':



Bekka's:



And Hanne's:


Thanks for stopping by today - tomorrow is the final day which leaves just mine and Aimes'! By the way we are planning a special Christmas PTI swap so keep an eye out on the blog for details!

Kate x