Pages

12 Kits Of Occasions {January 2014} + Guest Designer

Friday, January 31, 2014

 
Today is the day!
Today is the day that all of the 12 Kits group members
share their projects with you and with each other.
We don't show each other what we've been up to.  From time to time we will share a peek with each other, but we are just as excited to see each other's work as we are to share our own.  This month we have a beautiful kit perfect for Valentine's Day.
Sharron really put together a beautiful kit full of products that I had never seen.
I loved working with it.
This month Sharron shared one extra kit with Michelle {Pretty Periwinkles}.
Make sure you head over to the 12 Kits Of Occasions Blog to see what everyone, including Michelle, has been up to with this fantastic kit!
 

 
 

 


 
Thanks so much for stopping by today.
Don't forget to hop over to the 12 Kits Blog and check out all of the other beautiful projects!
 
 
New projects have also been added to the Friday Inspiration File #153.
Have a great weekend!




All supplies listed on the 12 Kits Blog
Supplies used that were not included in the kit:
Stamps: PTI Love Songs
Ink: Versafine Onyx, Versamark
Other: Gold Embossing Powder, Recollections Rhinestones

Brush Strokes

Sunday, January 26, 2014

 
I couldn't let these ink swatches go to waste.
 
 

 

 
Enjoy your day!


Cardstock: PTI White, Black
Stamps: PTI Half & Half, Thanks All Ways, CB Thanks A Million
Ink: Papertrey Ink and Heidi Swapp, Versafine Onyx
Dies: PTI Heart, Star, Butterfly

Tangled Up {Valentine}

Saturday, January 25, 2014

 
Do you love Zentangles?
It's a term I have learned in recent years, but have been doing since high school.
I used to doodle like this on all of my notebooks and folders in school.  Sometimes geometric, sometimes swirly and organic.
 
 
I decided to doodle a little last night while watching TV.
This morning I colored in sections with my copics
using shades of pink for this month's
 
 
 
I can't wait to hop around and see what everyone has done with PINK!

 

Cardstock: PTI White, Black
Stamps: PTI Love Songs
Ink: Memento Black
Other: Copics, MS Multi-liner Pen, PTI Black Satin Ribbon, Wink of Stella Glitter Pen

Fitting In {Adding New Ink To Your Collection}

Saturday, January 25, 2014

 
On a recent trip to Michael's I saw these new Heidi Swapp inks.
I love her Color Shine sprays, but I wasn't sure if I really needed these ink colors.  I have so many already and there's no way of knowing just by the label if they will fit in to my existing collection or not.  The next time I went to Michael's, yesterday, I was still thinking about those inks.
Armed with a coupon and a gift card from Christmas I bought them all.  I didn't buy the black or brown because I have so many already, but thought if I loved the formulation I could pick those up later.

 
I do have a few other inks from brands like Memento and Hero Arts, but the bulk of my inks are from Papertrey Ink, so that's what I used for my comparison.
 
The Blues:
1. PTI Aqua Mist
2. HS Mint
3. PTI Ocean Tides
4. PTI Hawaiian Shores
5. HS Teal
6. PTI Enchanted Evening
7. HS Navy

 
The Pinks:
1. PTI Sweet Blush
2. PTI Hibiscus Burst
3. HS Pink
4. PTI Raspberry Fizz

 
The Yellows/Oranges:
1. PTI Lemon Tart
2. PTI Harvest Gold
3. HS Mustard
4. PTI Summer Sunrise
5. HS Coral
6. PTI Orange Zest
 
I know there are many pros and cons to each kind of ink. 
I'm sure you've tried them all and have a favorite too.
I personally love dye inks. I love that they {typically} don't stain my stamps and they dry quickly. 
The HS inks do stain more than the PTI, but not so much that they make it difficult to see through the stamp so I'm OK with that.  They stamp beautifully and I love the colors.  They actually fit in quite nicely and fill in a few color gaps.  I think Mint is my favorite or maybe Teal.  Have I ever mentioned I love blue?  Only a few times ;)
They retail for $5.99, but with the endless coupons for Michael's you can collect them quickly for much less!
 
Bottom line.....Love 'em!
 

Stamps: Paper Smooches Positive Strokes

Friday Inspiration File #152

Friday, January 24, 2014

 
Happy Friday!
It's cold. There's snow on the ground.
New supplies in hand.
You know where you can find me.
 
 
In case you are in need of a little weekend inspiration, check out The File.....#152
Any crafting goals for the weekend?
Are you getting your Valentine's Day cards done,
participating in challenges,
taking an online class??
Let me know what you're up to.


Geometric Glitter hearts

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

 
Four years ago I created this Christmas card.
 
 
 
 
I created these new cards in the same way {click here for step by step instructions}
 This time creating more random geometric shapes rather than squares. 
I die cut several hearts to quickly make many CAS Valentines.   
 

 
 


 
When I was done, the left over piece was so pretty.
I thought, "Why not!"

 
 
 
Thanks so much for coming by today!!



Cardstock: PTI White
Stamps: PTI Love Songs
Ink: Versafine Black Onyx
Dies: PTI Heart Prints
Other: Thermoweb Double Sided Adhesive Sheets, Martha Stewart Glitter

Want To Win A Kit?

Monday, January 20, 2014

 
Renee is inviting one of you to join us in February!
I'll let her give you the details........
 
"Hello, Hello!
Renee here and since I am hostessing for February and am busy getting kits packaged and ready to hit the Post Office the last week of the month...
and though we honestly did not collaborate on the idea Sharron and I both thought of offering a kit for giveaway...
she's just way quicker than I am and also thought of having the winner guest with us too...
so I'm borrowing that idea and offering up another chance to be a guestie here with all of us in February!
The little graphic above should give you a clue as to the theme...
Snowblind...
and if you would like to win your own kit and be our honored guest here on 12 Kits...
just leave a comment below telling us your favorite winter activity (if I could get away with it mine would be hibernating till spring because I don't like the cold so I guess instead my favorite activity would actually be complaining about the cold! *giggle*) before Saturday, January 25th at 11:59 CT and I'll announce the winner here on the 12 Kits blog Sunday January 26th!
Good luck and can't wait to see who's going to be joining us next month!"

Head over to the 12 Kits Of Occasions Blog and leave a comment.
Good Luck!

White On White {Cardstock Comparison}

Monday, January 20, 2014

 
I finally gave in and purchased several other brands of white cardstock.
Until now I had always used Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select White Cardstock.
 
I just received my first order of  Neenah Solar White
and decided to do a comparison and once and for all decide
which is the right white for me.
{White is so difficult to photograph!}
 
Cost
As you can see, PTI offers the best price at only $0.15 per sheet.  Neenah Solar White is a close second with only $0.16 per sheet. However, I have placed a little asterisk there because in order to get that price you must purchase 250 sheets @ $39.99.  Otherwise it comes to $0.23 per sheet.  The same is true for all companies listed.  The smaller the quantity, the higher the price.  Wplus9 for example can go for up to $0.27 per sheet.
But price isn't everything!
 
Color
All of these are great whites.
If you looked at them alone you would think they were....well....white!
When you look at them together you can see that, obviously, Avery Elle is the truest white of the bunch, followed by Neenah, PTI, and then WP9.
However, they are so close that this will not be a factor for me in determining my favorite.
 
Weight
Weight is something that is very important to me.  I often use white as my card base and I like it to be nice a sturdy.  Papertrey Ink wins in this category for me.  At 110lbs. it is the heaviest of the four.  I like that it will stand up on its own and it has a very high quality feel to it when you are holding a completed card.  WP9 and Avery Elle are a close second at 100lbs. Neenah Solar White is 80lbs. 
Now if you are someone who likes to fussy cut your images as opposed to using dies the lighter weight would be easier to use.  Also, if you like to use a Silhouette you may have more success with the lighter weight paper.  I do own a silhouette, but have not used it in over a year because I was never successful in getting it to cut PTI cardstock.  I plan to try again with some of these lighter weight papers and perhaps find reason to keep more than one white in my collection.  However, I do not like Neenah SW for card bases or popped up panels on the front of cards.  It is too flimsy and dents too easily.
 
Feel
The Neenah SW is super smooth. I think if you are someone who enjoys calligraphy and/or hand lettering this cardstock would be great for that.  Avery Elle is very smooth too.  I would say that the PTI and WP9 feel very similar to one another.  They are not rough, but not particularly smooth enough to make it noteworthy.
 
Have you tried all of these?
Do you already have a favorite?
 
I wrote this post a few weeks ago.  Since then I have also tried Recollections {from Michael's} white cardstock.  It's 110lb, the color is comparable to PTI, it costs approx. $0.08 per sheet.  The only negative is that the paper is not free of imperfections, meaning that some of the pieces have a small dark fleck here or there, but not so much that you can't turn it over or cover it up.  I have used this cardstock here, here, here, and here.  The flecks are very small and not every sheet has them.  Kristina also mentioned in one of her videos  that Neenah now carries a 100lb paper, but I have not tried that.
 

{Stamped} Navajo Prints

Saturday, January 18, 2014

 
Hi
Long time no see.  I'll tell you about that another day.
Today I have some fun patterns to share with you.
By now I'm sure you've noticed I love my geometrics.
This time I've used large and small triangle stamps to create a Navajo pattern
 
 
This is the pattern I used on this card with the designs off-set.
Below you will see a few more variations that I tried out, one with a larger triangle.
 

 

 
Thanks for stopping by today.
New projects were added to The File this week.


Cardstock: Recollections White, PTI Smokey Shadow
Stamps: ME Trifecta, PTI SS Birthday
Ink: PTI Enchanted Evening, Smokey Shadow, Spring Rain
Proudly designed by | mlekoshi playground |