Challenge: 'Inspired by a book'

Welcome to another challenge here on A Passion for Papertrey! One of my New Year's resolutions in January was to read more, if only there were more hours in the day!!

So for all you book fans today's challenge is a literary one... we're asking you to make a card inspired by a book. Any book! Or if you can't think of a book maybe it could be book-related.

This is how I interpreted the challenge - I was looking through my PTI stamps and looking for inspiration but kept on coming back to my All Booked Up set, that hasn't seen much love for a long time. I love this quote and will be sending it to a friend who loves green and loves to read:

Card Deets: (PTI unless stated)

Stamps: All Booked Up/Polka Dot Basics
Card: Stamper's Select White/Simply Chartreuse
Ink: Spring Moss/True Black
Other: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug)/Ric-Rac Die/Copic Markers



Over to Aimes:
"At first I thought I'd struggle with this challenge, but when I started to think about my favourite reads it seemed that the hardest part about the challenge was narrowing down which book to choose!

Card Deets
{let your dreams take flight}
Stamps: Happy Trails (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento)/Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Spring Rain (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Fine and Dandy True Blue Collection (My Mind's Eye)
Accessories: Twine, Ribbon Scraps, Clouds Die, Linen and Canvas Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug

This card is inspired by the book, The Kite Runner, which was a book that I couldn't put down. (I'm yet to see the film; I always prefer to read the book first!) The kite was made with scraps of patterned paper and a couple pieces of scrap ribbon provided the perfect kite tail combined with a piece of twine :)"

Over to Caryn...

Well, predictable as I am the only book I could use as my inspiration is my beloved Twilight by Stephanie Meyer! I immediately thought of the book cover and out came my Fruit Fusions Apple die. Cue lots of red stickles and voila - a juicy red (and sparkly) apple. The sentiment is actually from a Walzting Mouse set but thought it was perfect for this card! I'm not sure when or why I would send this card but it may be useful around Halloween time!

{Card Deets}
Vampire Bites
Stamps: Midnight Feast (WMS)
Ink: True Black
Tools: Mega Mat Stack 4 die, Fruit Fusion: Apple die, Linen/Canvas Impression plate,
Cardstock: Vintage Cream, True Black, Pure Poppy
Other: Stickles glitter glue.

Here's what the lucky winner will win: PTI's Flower Fusion 1 set.

And here are the challenge deets:


* All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify (please state what is PTI as sometimes it's hard to see :D)

* All entries must be newly created (well, new to Blogland anyways!). Please don't link to old posts that might happen to fit the brief of the challenge!! Please leave a link back to this challenge on your entry too :)

* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post. Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.

* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!

* Challenge closes on Monday, February 6th 2012 at 9.00am GMT

* As well as a randomly picked winner, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.

Have fun!

Kate, Aimes & Caryn xxx

Our winners!

Greetings all, and thank you for joining us to find out who the winners of our last challenge. So we won't keep you waiting!

The winner is....

Here are your random numbers:

1

Timestamp: 2012-01-24 23:45:03 UTC

.... Debby! Congratulations Debby! Please email your postal address to apassionforpapertrey@yahoo.co.uk and we'll get your prize in the post to you asap!

Now onto our fabulous top 3 PTI Passionistas... what a wonderful collection of cards to look at and here are our top three!

1) Joyce - Wow! Joyce's rainbow card jumped off the screen at us! What a fabulous idea to match the rows of hearts with the pattern of the balloon!!

2) Monika - Monika's card just had to win a blinkie - such an original card with its mini tags hanging on paper clips and its embossed background - so much inspiration, great job!

3) Levana - We just loved Levana's super-cute card with its boy-car and girl-car side by side! Check out the twine border around the sentiment too, what a lovely idea!

Congrats, ladies! If you'd like a blinkie to blink with pride then pop us an email too and we'll email the code you need!

 Don't forget to check back later for an all-new challenge!

Kate, Aimes & Caryn xxx

Challenge - Valentine's!

Welcome to our first challenge of 2012 here on A Passion for Papertrey! We hope you can ink up and play along with us :)

For this fortnight's challenge we're looking ahead to the next occasion in our calendars after Christmas: Valentine's Day! That's right, it's never to early to make a card to show someone you care about them:

Card Deets
{Love You}
Stamps: Wonderful Words Additions, Heart - Around and About Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)/Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: White, True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Canvas and Linen Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug, Olivia Alphabet Dies (Provocraft)/Novelty Paper Clip (Office Supply)/Gem (Stash!)

This design was totally inspired by some novelty paper clips I had in my stationary stash and will hopefully suit my guy; he's not one for a huge slush-fest on a piece of card - LOL!

Over to Caryn ...

Hello all and Happy New Year! Hope everyone's creative juices are flowing for our new challenge! I have to say I am in a bit of a lull with my mojo at the minute and really struggled getting this card together! Maybe it's that post-Christmas lull?!  My inspiration came from my red polka dot table-cloth (I guess it has to come from somewhere!!).

  

{Recipe}

Stamps: Heart Prints
Card: Pure Poppy, Hibiscus Burst, Stampers Select WhitInk: Pure Poppy, Fresh Snow
Tools: Woodgrain IP, Scallop edge punch (SU!)
Other: Ribbon from stash

Over to Kate: "Happy 2012 everyone! I'm still loving the new PTI inks and used them to whip up this CAS card, enjoy the challenge!"

Card Details: (All supplies PTI unless stated)

Stamps: Heart Prints
Card: Stamper's Select White
Ink: Raspberry Fizz/Hawai'in Shores/Basic Black
Other: Adhesive gems (Hero Arts)/Corner Chomper

So, are you ready to get loved up and ink along with us? We hope so! Up for grabs for one randomly selected European PTI Peeps is this sweet stamp set:

Flower Fusion #11

Just before you dash to play - take a peek at our challenge deets:

* All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify (please state what is PTI as sometimes it's hard to see :D)

* All entries must be newly created (well, new to Blogland anyways!). Please don't link to old posts that might happen to fit the brief of the challenge!! Please leave a link back to this challenge on your entry too :)

* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post. Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.

* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!

* Challenge closes on Monday, January 23rd 2012 at 9.00am GMT

* As well as a randomly picked winner, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.

Have fun!

Aimes, Caryn & Kate
xxx

Winner, winner...

I dunno about you but I think I've eaten and drunk enough to last me 'til next Christmas - ha! I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas!

I'm popping by here a bit later, due to not being able to move from the sofa, to announce some winners from our past challenge. Thank you to everyone who joined us on the green Christmas - I hope you had as much fun playing with green as I do :)

So without further ado, the winner of a sweet li'l stamp set is:


Number 3 which is super lucky for Vannessa! Congrats, Vannessa! Email us your postal addy and we'll get that set out to ya.

Now for our Top 3 PTI Passionistas. Well even with the lower turnout for this challenge it was still a super tough decision to make but nevertheless, we decided:




Ingrid embraced not only gorgeous green, but her fabulous PTI dies to come up with this beauty! We love dimension the layering of the dies adds to this gorgeous card!

Steph warmed our hearts with those cute mittens hanging from the sweet holly! The sentiment ties in perfectly too :)

Shannon embraced green in the form of a gorgeous tree contrasting against navy card. The layout and colours really caught our eye and we especially loved the use of vellum for the sentiment.

Congrats, ladies! If you'd like a blinkie to blink with pride then pop us an email too and we'll get that code out to ya!

I hope you can all join us in 2012 when we kick off another year full of fun challenges :)

Aimes, Kate & Caryn
xxx

Happy Happy Happy Holidays

Are you ready yet? Can you believe how quickly Christmas is creeping up on us? I hope your preparations are going well!

I'm popping in to wish you all a very happy holidays, whatever you're doing!

Card Deets
{Happy Happy Happy Holidays}
Stamps: Modern Basics, Stocking Prints (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)/Fern (a muse)
Cardstock: White, Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Twine (Papertrey Ink)/Apron Lace Border Punch (Fiskars)/Cuttlebug, Swiss Dot Embossing Folder (Provocraft)/Chompy! (Corner Chomper)/Gems (Stash!)

Modern Basics has proved to be my saviour with my Christmas cards this year! It's posed as a wreath and now holly! Whatever next.....?

How about a poinsettia?

Yup - Modern Basics has definitely shown me that sometimes there's no need to buy new sets to get the mojo flowing :)

Card Deets
{Happy Holidays}
Stamps: Modern Basics, Stocking Prints (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: White, Pinefeather (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Bling (Zva)/Button (Papertrey Ink)

Wishing you all a fabulous Christmas!

Aimes
x

P.S If you've got a spare moment, why not indulge in a spot of green on your creations and share the inspiration for our current challenge? *wink*

I'm dreaming of a GREEN Christmas!

Greetings all and welcome to this, our last challenge of 2011! In keeping with the festive season we're giving you another excuse to make one more Christmas card for this challenge, the only stipulation (at Aimes' insistence!) that you include green in your project.

I do love making monochromatic cards (think quick and easy for mass producing!) so made a card in green....

Card Recipe: (All supplies PTI)
Stamps: 2010 Holiday Tags/Peaceful Poinsietta
Card: New Leaf/Vintage Cream
Ink: Vintage Cream/New Leaf
Other: Mat Stack 3 Die/Vintage Cream grosgrain ribbon


... then made a few others in different colours!

Over to Aimes
"OK, I 'fess up, so I stomped my feet and demanded a challenge with green in it! But you have to admit, that a spot of green on a card is so suited to Christmas:


Card Deets
Stamps: Modern Basics, Stocking Prints, Holiday Tree (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Pure Poppy, Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink)/Fern (AMuse Ink)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug/Linen and Canvas Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Ribbon (from stash coloured with Promarker!)

I had an inky session playing with Modern Basics (it's finally getting some much needed inky love) and came up with a wreath. Admittedly it's a very modern, graphic wreath but I kinda like the tradition juxtaposed with the modern on this design!

I can't wait to see what gorgeous green creations you whip up to inspire us. And remember, a splash of green on a card is not only for Christmas, but for occasions all year round *wink*"

Over to Caryn...
So we thought it only fair to include a "green" touch to our challenge this week seeing how it must've been KILLING Aimes to create a card without it last time!! Not that I'm complaining, it's still a Christmas card and to be totally honest, I could do Christmas all year round!!

{recipe}
Stamps: Peasceful Poinsettia, Big and Bold Holiday Wishes, Background Basics: Music (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Pure Poppy, Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink), Versamark
Cardstock: Rustic Cream, Kraft, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Gingham ribbon, button (PTI)

So do you like my Christmas setting? Cosy isn't it? I thought it set the foliage on the card off too! The sprigs are from the Peaceful Poinsettia set and I've paired that with the fabulous Big and Bold wishes: Holidays set. I used a kraft card base and stamped the musical background from Background Basic: Music on it. Right, off to make a few more before I miss the postal deadlines!! Looking forward to seeing your green-themed cards.


Here is what one lucky randomly drawn winner will win:




And here are our challenge deets:

* All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify (please state what is PTI as sometimes it's hard to see :D)

* All entries must be newly created (well, new to Blogland anyways!). Please don't link to old posts that might happen to fit the brief of the challenge!!

* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post. Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.

* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!

* Challenge closes on Tuesday, December 27th 2011 at 9.00am GMT

* As well as a randomly picked winner, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.

Have fun!

Kate, Aimes & Caryn

Our winners!

Hello everyone! I hope you're not too stressed in the run up to Christmas! So it's time to announce the winner of our Red and White Christmas Challenge, congrats to all the fabulous entries!

Here we go then...


Here are your random numbers:

2

Timestamp: 2011-12-13 22:54:11 UTC
(Random.org)


Congrats Dawn!! Please email your postal address to apassionforpapertrey@yahoo.co.uk and we'll get your prize in the post asap!

And now for our top three PTI Passionistas:

1) Lynn -Lynn's card immediately caught our eye! So elegant and a fabulous design - a CAS card at its best!

2) Beth - Look at the Christmas message Beth spelled out on her card! What a fabulous idea, well done Beth!

3) Cara -We loved Cara's modern snowflake card - such a great idea to die cut the snowflake and then stamp the sentiment, thanks for the inspiration Cara!

Well done ladies! If you would like to grab our blinkie for your blog please email us at apassionforpapertrey@yahoo.co.uk and we'll send you the code.

Check back tomorrow for a brand new challenge!

Kate, Aimes & Caryn xxx

Polka Dot Snow

Hi!

I'm flying by (or should that be sliding along with today's snow and ice!) to share a card with ya:

This card could pretty much qualify for our current challenge with it's red and white combo. It's also a pretty fitting card to share on here today considering the snow and ice we've had here in the heights of the Peak District! I love snow, but I sure don't love driving in it!

Stay safe and warm wherever you are and while you're at it, why not join in this challenge too? :)

Aimes
x

Card Deets
{Happy Holidays}
Stamps: Holiday Tree, Polka Dot Basics II, Holiday Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: London Fog, Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Gems (Craft Supply)/Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers)

I'm Dreaming of a {Red and White} Christmas Challenge!!

Ok, we know - our last challenge was also a "Holiday" based challenge but with Christmas just around the corner and a myriad of cards and gifts still to make we thought another Holiday-inspired challenge wouldn't go amiss!

This time we're putting a colour theme into the mix and are asking you to create a Christmas/Holiday card using red and white {or cream} as your main colours. Can't wait to see what you all come up with!

For my card I automatically reached for my Stylish Sentiments:Holidays set. I love this set so much!! The base white card is stamped with snowflakes from the Tag Its #9 set in Pure Poppy and the flourish under the sentiment is from Big and Bold Holiday Wishes stamped in Versamark and then embossed in white filigree powder). I so love this colour combo :0)

Caryn xxx

Over to Kate: "I agree with Caryn, this colour combination is SO fabulous for Christmas! I came across my Rustic Snowflakes set, which sadly has been pushed to the bottom of my pile of PTI sets so grabbed my new Pure Poppy ink and gave it some inky love! It was a long wait for the first batch of new inks but they looking great so far!"

Card Recipe: (All supplies PTI)
Stamps: Rustic Snowflakes/Rustic Branches/Tiny Tags
Ink: Pure Poppy/Basic Black
Card: Vintage Cream/Pure Poppy
Other: Tiny Tags Die/Take Three Die/Pure Poppy Baker's Twine


I'm afraid our poor Aimes is suffering from a badly injured ankle after a tumble playing football (rolls eyes!!) so she will be back soon with her sample when she's able to move again!!

***Edited to add***

"I'm here *waves!* Yup, I may be on the sofa with one foot raised in some considerable pain but I'm here!

Not only am I here, but I'm also here with a red and white themed Christmas card for our super challenge:

Card Deets
Stamps: Stocking Prints (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Stocking Die, Bakers Twine (Papertrey Ink)/Felt (Craft Supply)/Cuttlebug

I decided to play with my Stocking Die for this challenge and added some texture to a very CAS card by cutting my stocking from felt.

Admittedly I did keep having the urge to add green to this combo but luckily Caryn and Kate are so right in thinking that red and white make a fab combo alone for a Christmas project. And anyways, I can also insert this into a green envie, right? *wink*"

One lovely crafty person will win this....

Here are our challenge deets:

* All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify (please state what is PTI as sometimes it's hard to see :D)

* All entries must be newly created (well, new to Blogland anyways!). Please don't link to old posts that might happen to fit the brief of the challenge!!

* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post. Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.

* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!

* Challenge closes on Monday, December 12th 2011 at 9.00am GMT

* As well as a randomly picked winner, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.

A winner - at last!!

I'm so sorry everyone - we have been having intermittent issues with our broadband and when I went to do the winners post yesterday - disaster - no internet!  It (appears) to be running ok now so here I am to get those lucky names posted for our Christmas challenge.

The lucky winner of the Medhi Medallion stamp set is.....

16

Random numbers generated Nov 28 2011 at 14:53:14 by www.psychicscience.org 

Which means Steph is the lucky girl this time.  Get in touch hun and we'll get your stamps out to you toot sweet!

Steph - This is so elegant, the traditional colour scheme is perfectly festive and the sentiment across the centre is the perfect focal point.

Jen W - We loved the warm and cosy fel we got from this card and the clever stamping on the die-cut tree is fabulous

Cecilie - Cecilies card is just oozing with festive cheer - the ruffled ribbon and cheeky little tag combine together so beautifully.

Well done ladies - pop an email to us if you'd like a Passionista blinkie for your blog.

I'll be back later with a brand new challenge too.

Hugs,

Caryn, Kate and Aimes.

Apologies!

Hi all, just to let you know we're having a few internet probems behind the scenes so there will be a delay in posting the winners of our previous challenge and our new one. We'll be up and running asap!

Kate, Aimes & Caryn xxx

The girls!

Left to right: Kate, Caryn & Aimes

Happy Monday all! I hope you're all set for a brand new challenge tomorrow but in the meantime I just wanted to share a picture of the A Passion for Papertrey girls! It was taken last weekend during a fabulous few days together - here we are getting (just a bit!) excited before the showing of the new Twilight film!

We're so lucky to have become such good friends through our hobby, and love bringing you challenges here on the blog. Thank you so much for supporting us, we really appreciate it and love seeing your wonderful projects!

Kate, Aimes & Caryn xxx

Challenge: Christmas

Hello!

Welcome to a fabulous new challenge!

So if you didn't guess from my hint in the last post, this fortnight we wanna see you craft with Christmas in mind (or any other type of holiday you have in mind for the season, e.g Hanukkah) Let's face it, Christmas is only 39 days away and so it's time to start whippin' out the cards!

I started well this year; creating a couple of Christmas cards last month, but I'll confess that I've hit a bit of a dry spell right now....but after creating a few different cards, I now know that my final design will feature the following elements:

Firstly, it has to be CAS! Not only to satisfy my CAS lovin' side, but also for the convenience of mass production:
Card Deets
{Merry Christmas}
Stamps: Holiday Tree (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Fine Linen (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug (Provocraft)/Linen and Canvas Impression Plate, Pure Poppy Buttons (Papertrey Ink)/Promarkers/Gem (Craft Supply)

It has to have a good ol' traditional colour combo. If red and green don't sum up Christmas, I've no idea what colours do!

Card Deets
{Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year}
Stamps: Holiday Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)/Musical Background (Kaisercraft)
Ink: Versamark/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Hunter's Green (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Pure Poppy Saddle-Stitch Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)/Gems (Zva)/Promarker (to colour gem!)

...and finally, it has to be a design that uses my existing stash (no new crafty Christmas goodies for this gal this year - not that I've been a bad girl of course, just that my stampy budget had to be spend on a new tyre the other week!)

Card Deets
{Season's Greetings}
Stamps: Holiday Signature Greetings, Background Basics: Chevron Stripes (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento)/Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Dark Chocolate, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Tickets from Daily Junque Collection (Pink Paislee)
Accessories: Shimmer Chalks (Dovecraft)/Gems (Zva)/Mat Stack 2 Die (Papertrey Ink)/Grand Calibur (Spellbinders)/Twine from Daily Junque Collection (Pink Paislee)

Those baubles have been cut from Mat Stack 2! When I saw the shape of it, I immediately thought of a bauble. The subtle one in the background is created by using the negative shape of the die-cut as a stencil with my chalks.

Over to Caryn:
I am super-in-love with this challenge - there is no other time of the year I love more than Christmas so making this card was no challenge for me at all!! I am looking forward to your entries more than any other time too - can't wait to see your festive creations!

For our challenge I have cracked open and lavished some inky attention on my new Holiday Lights set as well as the Stylish Sentiments: Holidays set. I just adore both of them – think they’re both going to feature heavily in this years cards!
I LOVE Pure Poppy and for Christmas there just is NO OTHER COLOUR!! I have paired it this time with Hawaiian Shores and Raspberry Fizz – yum!

Here's Kate: "Thank goodness for this challenge to get me kick-started into making some Christmas cards! I have to say it made me want to play with all my Christmas sets but for this card I decided on my Wreath for All Seasons set for a good old CAS card!"

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Wreath for All Seasons/Think Big Favourites 8
Card: Stamper's Select White/Pure Poppy
Ink: Pure Poppy/Ripe Avocado/Basic Black
Other: Scallop Die/Ripe Avocado Twill

So now it's your turn! Just to tempt you some more, up for grabs for one European-based peep is this li'l stamp set:

Mehndi Medallion!

Here are our challenge deets:

* All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify (please state what is PTI as sometimes it's hard to see :D)

* All entries must be newly created (well, new to Blogland anyways!). Please don't link to old posts that might happen to fit the brief of the challenge!!

* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post. Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.

* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!

* Challenge closes on Monday, November 28th 2011 at 9.00am GMT

* As well as a randomly picked winner, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.

We can't wait to be inspired by your creations :)

Aimes, Kate & Caryn
xxx

A Winner!

Well you certainly got busy with the berry for our challenge! I'm feeling so much more inclined to use that colour I was so petrified of before this challenge! Thank you to everyone who entered and shared the inspiration :)

Time to draw our random winner of a sweet li'l PTI stamp set. Do your thing, Random.Org....

So our randomly selected winner is Antoinette! Congrats, Antoinette! Please email us your postal addy to us at apassionforpapertrey(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk and we'll post that mini-set out to ya!

Now for our Top 3 PTI Passionistas. I have to confess that every single entry inspired me us in some way to embrace the melon berry more so, and you all demonstrated that it can be suited for just about any occasion! But as you know, we have to narrow it down to three and those three are:



Kate - (no, not our Kate!) - embraced the melon berry to produce this beautiful sympathy card. That colour combo is so soothing and warm - just the kind of emotions you want to evoke in such a card for such an occasion.

Sharon proves that no-one is too old for a bit of berry-lovin, even if your age is three digits long! We loved the CAS layout and the way those Melon Berry digits totally steal the spotlight!

Chris produced these gorgeous tags that are bound to make any one's day! Chris may be in the minority by confessing her love for Melon Berry but it's easy to see why she loves it so once you've checked out her work with it!

Congrats ladies! If you'd like a Top 3 Blinkie to blink with pride on your own blogs then pop us an email and we'll give you the code.

Thanks to everyone who played along with our challenge! Stay tuned for tomorrow's shiny new challenge...you could say it'll be as shiny as a bauble...oops! have I said too much?!

Aimes, Kate & Caryn
xxx

A colourful challenge!

Hello there! Pinch punch, first of the month... is it November already?! Indeed it is, and with it time for a brand new challenge! This fortnight we're giving you a colour challenge:

Now, don't worry if you don't have any PTI colours - you can use any make of card/ink etc as long as you (loosely!) stick to the colours above.

For my sample I used one of my favourite layouts (or go-to layouts if I'm short of time or mojo!) to make a thank you card. I used my fabulous new Harvest Berries set - great for background stamping - and added some pearls that I coloured green with a Copic marker.

Card Recipe

Stamps: Harvest Berries/Think Big Favourites no 2
Card: Vintage Cream/Dark Chocolate (PTI)
Ink: Melon Berry/Ripe Avocado/Dark Chocolate (PTI)
Other: Corner Chomper/Pearls/Copic Markers



Over to Aimes
"Did you hear me scream when I heard about this challenge? Talk about a challenge with a huge obstacle to tackle; no, not the dark chocolate and most certainly not the green but...melon berry!!! Eeek! Just the name of that colour makes me shudder! OK so I'm over-reacting slightly, but honestly, it's the one colour I really struggle to work with.

But a challenge wouldn't be a challenge if it didn't stretch me in some way, so I learned to love a li'l bit of the berry and got on with it:


Card Deets
{I'm so Grateful for you}
Stamps: Signature Greetings/Background Basics: Chevron Stripes
Ink: Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink)/Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Melon Berry (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Dark Chocolate Buttons, Cream Button Twine, Linen and Canvas Impression Plate, Mat Stack 4 Die, Fillable Frames Die (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug, Distressed Wood Embossing Folder (Provocraft)

Combined with the other two gorgeous colours (and cream!) I may have a tiny soft spot for Melon Berry after all (just don't tell it that though! )

And here's Caryn:
Well I had the same flicker of dread as Aimes when I realised I was going to have to use Melon Berry!! It's not that I hate it - it's just that I NEVER use it! In fact when I went to reach for a sheet of MB card I discovered the pack was still sealed!! This is officially my first ever card using Melon Berry. The thing is - I actually really like the colour combo!! There isn't a "whole lotta stampin" going on on this card but it makes good use of some fabulous dies and the woodgrain impression plate (which I can't stop using at the moment!

I apologise for the poor photo - seeing as we were burgled last weekend (fuming) and the kind thoughtful thieves stole my Canon SLR camera (seethe) my only method of photography at the moment is my iPhone (recently upgraded as they took that too!!).

Here's what one lucky randomly-drawn winner will receive!

Now for the all important challenge guidelines:

* All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify (please state what is PTI as sometimes it's hard to see :D)

* All entries must be newly created (well, new to Blogland anyways!). Please don't link to old posts that might happen to fit the brief of the challenge!!

* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post. Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.

* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!

* Challenge closes on Monday, November 14th 2011 at 9.00am GMT

* As well as a randomly picked winner, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Kate, Aimes & Caryn xxx

Our winners!

Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by to see who has won our latest challenge! Firstly, once again a big congrats for all the fabulous entries to our silhouette challenge - there were so many inspiring creations!

So onto our winner.....


Here are your random numbers:

11

Timestamp: 2011-10-31 23:26:39 UTC

..and the winner is Vannessa ! Congrats Vannessa, please email us your postal address and we'll send your prize asap.

As always it was such a tough job choosing the Top 3 PTI Passionistas but finally these are the lovely cards we chose: 






1) Jen - We were wowed by Jen's beautiful use of die cuts and masking - such a unique and elegant card!

2) Paul - Paul's fabulous monochramatic card jumped off the screen at us! Really vibrant and a great shape too!

3) Shannon - We loved Shannon's interpretation of the silhouetted Christmas tree in the forest - a lovely clean design, a mellow wintry colour scheme and some great bling too!

Congrats to you all! If you'd like to grab our blinkie then email us at apassionforpapertrey@yahoo.co.uk and we'll send you the code.

Don't forget to check back later on for a colourful new challenge!

Kate, Aimes & Caryn xxx

No tricks, just treats!

Happy Halloween!

I couldn't resist popping in on this spook-tac-ular night to share some paper-crafted Halloween goodies with you:

Firstly, this li'l tag was sneaked into my guy's lunch today (along with some scrummy treats of course!)

And finally, I managed to whip up seven treat holders for my nieces and nephews after letting my inner-gaming-geek speak to me:

Ahhhh Pac-Man - how I loved that game! Not sure my nieces and nephews will understand the whole Pac-Man concept but I think they're more concerned with the contents of the treat holders to be fair:

Oh and I just so happen to have bought a spare packet of these treats....well it'd be rude not to take advantage of 'em, right?! *wink*

If you're celebrating Halloween have fun and stay safe! :)

Aimes
x

Tag Deets
{My little Pumpkin}
Stamps: Tiny Treats Halloween (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Orange Zest, True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Promarkers/Orange Zest Grosgrain Ribbon, True Black Button, Cream Button Twine, Mat Stack 4 Die, Limitless Layers Die (Papertrey Ink)

Treat Deets
{Boo!}
Cardstock: True Black, Simply Chartreuse, Plum Pudding, Orange Zest (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Halloween Die - 'BOO!', Cuttlebug (Provocraft)/Orange Dotty Ribbon, Simply Chartreuse Ribbon, Lavender Moon Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)

Just a note (and another silhouette!)

Happy Tuesday!

It's proving to be a very laid back week here: although I had lots planned for the half term, an icky cold has made me rethink those plans and has persuaded me to stay curled up with honey and lemon instead!

Well cold or no cold, one thing I do plan to do is get some stamps inked and created some more cards like this:

I made this a while back and haven't shared it here until now. In fact, this card would totally fit our current challenge, sensational silhouettes!

If you've got a few spare inky moments, why not join in the fun with us? You've got until Oct 31st to enter!

Oooh October 31st - Halloween! That reminds me that I've gotta whip up 7 treats for my li'l monsters nieces and nephews so I best get back to my desk and rustle up something spook-tac-ular *wink*

Aimes
x

Card Deets
All PTI Products Unless Stated
{Just a Note}
Stamps: Peaceful Garden, Happy Trails
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Vintage Cream/Kraft/True Black
Accessories: Rustic Jute Button Twine/True Black Vintage Button, Linen and Canvas Impression Plate, Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

Challenge : Sensational Silhouettes!!

Hello PI fans and welcome to a new challenge here on A Passion For Papertrey. I don't know about you but I can't believe how quickly this year is flying by! One minute it was the middle of summer and now Christmas feels like it's just around the corner!! Is it just me??

So as another fortnight goes by, we are at the start of the next one and our newest challenge - Sensational Silhouettes. Now don't panic and think "I don't own a PTI set with a silhouette in it"!! Think of flowers, leaves, solid shapes of any kind, dies, etc - all of those could be manipulated in some way to create a silhouette. Let your creative juices run free!!!

My (loose) interpretation of a silhouette is in the form of an aperture made using the Mat Stack 4 die. I cut the aperture from a panel of Simply Chartreuse and then ran it through my Big Shot using the woodgrain impression plate (LOVE!!). This was popped up with foam adhesive and I placed a panel of Pure Poppy underneath it. I am in love with the Stylish Sentiments: Holidays set and used one of the large greetings as my focal point which was stamped in Versamark and embossed with white filigree powder. To give it the country/folky feel (which I love SOO much for Christmas) I added a strip of gingham ribbon and die cut a couple of snowflakes from Kraft and Vintage Cream card using some Sizzlet dies.

{Recipe}

Stamps: Stylish Sentiments: Holidays
Paper: Simply Chartreuse, Pure Poppy, Vintage Cream, Kraft.
Ink: Versamark with White Filigree Embossing powder
Tools: Woodgrain Impression Plate, Mat stack 4 die, Sizzlit Snowflake dies, Big Shot
Other: Button (Pure Poppy), Gingham ribbon (John Lewis)

Over to Aimes:
"Hmmm well when I thought of silhouettes for this challenge I decided to play with a set that I haven't played with nearly enough:

Card Deets
{A Bird...}
Stamps: Happy Trails (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Pure Poppy Grosgrain Ribbon, Happy Trails Bird Die, Text Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug/Gem (Stash!)

I'm ashamed to admit that Happy Trails is a set that I *had* to have and has hardly seen so much as an inkpad since being introduced to the rest of my stamps! Now I may be bending the rules slightly with that bird but I'm stickin' to my guns and sayin' it's a silhouette: I'm not sure if the lined details mean it's not one...

...oh well seeing as now I'm not sure if that bird counts as a silhouette, I have another card up my sleeve that I created a while back but haven't shared here that definitely features a silhouette:

Card Deets
{Just Because}
Stamps: Iconic Images, Round and Round (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Spring Rain, Kraft, Orange Zest (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug (Provocraft)/Mat Stack 2 Die, Linen and Canvas Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Flower Paper Punch (X-Cut)/Pearl (Hero Arts)/Circle Nestabilities

Now I know for sure that this is a silhouette! :)

Sadly poor Kate is suffering from a trapped nerve problem this week (ouch) and has been unable to upload her card today. Hopefully she will be back on form later in the week and will share her creation with us then.


So what's the prize up for grabs this time? The stunning Mehndi Medallion stamp set (lush!)

Now for the all important challenge guidelines:

* All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify (please state what is PTI as sometimes it's hard to see :D)

* All entries must be newly created (well, new to Blogland anyways!). Please don't link to old posts that might happen to fit the brief of the challenge!!

* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post. Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.

* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!

* Challenge closes on Monday, October 31st 2011 at 9.00am GMT (oooohhhh!)

* As well as a randomly picked winner, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

It's Winner Time!

Yes, we have a winner for the last challenge (Goin' Geometric) here on A Passion For Papertrey...

3

Random numbers generated Oct 17 2011 at 16:12:52 by www.psychicscience.org
Free educational resources for parapsychology, psychical research & mind magic.

And that means our lucky winner of the sweet stamp set is Steph.  Well done girly, get your deets emailed over and Aimes will send your prize off to you.

And now onto the Papertrey Top 3 Passionistas.  Another difficult choice for us this time but here are the three we finally agreed on.

 

Shannon - What a great use of one of the Christmas Labels stamps - very geometric and very clever!!

Emma - We loved Emma's fun card and the colour scheme just shouts "happy".

Lorena - We thought Lorena's CAS card was very elegant and perfect for any number of occasions and recipients.

Great job on those cards ladies - if you'd like to sport our Passionista blinkie on your blog then just drop us a line.

Don't forget to return tomorrow for a brand spanking new challenge - hope you'll join us.

Big hugs,
Caryn, Aimes and Kate xxx