Maile Belles Returns!

Yep! Your eyes do not deceive you. Today marks the start of my comeback! After taking last year off to enjoy my new baby boy, I am thrilled to be back for 2015 as a Papertrey Ink product designer!  And I'm starting the year off with a bang!  This year my product lineup consists of stamps, dies and pattern papers.

This February I bring you...

• Watercolor Wonder paper pad
• Beautiful Butterflies Layers stamp set & dies
• Swoosh stamp set & dies

All the details on these products can be found on the Papertrey Ink blog.  But since you're here already, I have a few samples of my own...

Here's a simple card featuring a sheet from the Watercolor Wonder paper pad and a sentiment from the Swoosh stamp set.  This paper pad features a color combo of melon berry, sweet blush, harvest gold, aqua mist and ocean tides.  Do any of you recognize this pattern?  Well, this pad of paper was created using images from my previously release set Watercolor Wonder!  This sheet in particular was inspired by a hand stamped pattern I created on this card.

Swoosh is a stamp set full of wonderful script sentiments that stretch across your card front, complete with smaller companion sentiments that you can add in.  I've used the "thanks" image (along with a few rhinestones) to finish off this simple card.

Again, here is another sample of the Watercolor Wonder paper pad and the Swoosh stamp set.  This sheet features a cascading effect of painted dots.

I chose to trim by hand along the edge of "hello" to 1. create a unique border and 2. as a fun way to incorporate the companion phrase "darling".

I'll end today's samples with a look at the Beautiful Butterflies Layers stamp set.  Now, I know some of you have been waiting for a stamp set like this for a long time...  This new set is designed to be used in conjunction with my original Beautiful Butterflies set.  It includes layering images that let you add detail to the butterfly silhouettes included in the original set. 

The butterfly showcased here uses two of the layering images, these are the watercolor strokes.  Each butterfly features a different design and I'll be sharing those with you as the anniversary festivities continue. Being able to add these details will add so much to your projects! There is also a new die that will cut the bodies separately to give you more design options.

Well, that concluded my first look at the Watercolor Wonder paper pad, Swoosh and Beautiful Butterflies Layers stamp sets. Just remember... all that you have seen today will be available for purchase through Papertrey Ink, beginning February 15th.   I'd love to know what you think so far, so please feel free to share!

Now, be sure to visit the Papertrey Ink blog for all the details on these products.  Also, Danielle Flanders has even more samples to share with you today.  You won't want to miss any of it!

Thank you all endlessly for your continued support, shared excitement and kind comments.  I appreciate it all, more than you will ever know.  So glad you could stop by!  

Maile


Thanks Card
Stamps: Swoosh
Ink: True Black
Cardstock: White
Pattern Paper: Watercolor Wonder paper pad
Other: gray gems

Hello Darling Card
Stamps: Swoosh
Ink: True Black
Cardstock: White
Pattern Paper: Watercolor Wonder paper pad
Other: gold glitter dots (SEI)

With Love Card
Stamps: Beautiful Butterflies Layers and Swoosh
Ink: True Black, Harvest Gold, Sweet Blush and Berry Sorbet
Cardstock: White
Pattern Paper: Watercolor Wonder paper pad

Papertrey & 8 Project Favorites

Papertrey Ink is celebrating there 8th anniversary!  And it's going to be quite the party!  Today kicks off the 10 days of festivities. For me, my five years with this innovative and trend setting company, as part of the design team, has flown by. It's been an amazing journey!

My experiences from being part of this company and part of this design team has made me feel like part of the PTI family!  Many great memories come to mind when I reminisce over the last 5 years, but my fondest memory during the last year was the day I came back from maternity leave.  I took two months off and it was worth it!  But honestly, I did miss my usual PTI routine and (gasp!) last year anniversary festivites.  

During this time off my fellow design team members were so sweet, offering me congratulations and then a warm welcome back.  Not much can beat the warmth and support felt right here with this design team.  These ladies are amazing!

In lieu of the approaching anniversary, I was able to step back and take a look at my earlier creations.  In the graphic above are my top 8 projects from last year, in no particular order.

1. Wish Upon A Star Card  This cover plate and cardstock ombre technique... too cool for words.
2. Feather Friends Forever Card  Another one of my favorite techniques, that uses the Tipped Tops die.
3. Heard It's Your Birthday Card  A one layer wonder.  The On the Farm stamp set is not a typical favorite for me, but I fell in love with these little critters once I stacked them into their own special herd.  
4. Blessings Today and Always Card  I love it when I make a linear stamp image (from Autumn Hills) pop with out the use of markers.  A one layer wonder yet again!
5. Feel Better Soon Card  This is one of my most recent creations, but I get the feeling I will be remembering this one for a long time. Simple images, simple sentiment, simple card, and it doesn't get any better than that. Gotta love Cuppa Love!
6. One Kind of Beautiful  This Life Is Beautiful butterfly is stunning - enough said!
7. Hello Peony Card  I have two favorite cover plates... and this is one of them!
8. With Sympathy Card  Stamped layers take a card to a whole new level! Every bit of this card was stamped by hand, and of course... the butterfly takes the show yet again! 

Well, I'm off to enjoy today's festivities.  I hope you are too!  I look forward to another year of sharing inspiring Papertrey Ink product with you for yet another year!  Be sure to visit the Papertrey Ink blog to see more favorites from the rest of the design team.  You won't want to miss the celebration, the challenges or the prizes!

Thanks for stopping by!  See you tomorrow.

Maile

With All My Heart Revisited

Thanks for joining me today for the February Papertrey Ink Senior DT Challenge. This time around we are bringing back With All My Heart! 

This is one of my favorite love sets!  Valentine's Day is just around the corner and this set is perfect for the occasion!

These two cards would be perfect for the love of your life come this February 14th, or for another special day that the two of you share.

 I used the same sentiment treatment I share with you earlier, here.  

Chopped the "LOVE" to fit in the rest of the phrase. Then finished the card off with a few glitter dots.

Each letter of "LOVE" is a separate stamp, allowing you to stamp them in your own formation.  I stuck to the same placement as above but stamped it three times in the colors harvest gold. sweet blush and raspberry fizz. 

I completed the phrase with a true black "you" and then embellished with more glitter dots. If you haven't noticed already... I'm kind of hooked on the use of soft stone for my card bases.  It's a nice change from my typical white.

Well, that's it from me today. Hope you enjoy this month feature! Now be sure to visit the other Papertrey Ink senior design team girls for more With All My Heart goodness...

• Dawn McVey
• Betsy Veldman
• Heather Nichols
• Melissa Phillips

Thanks for stopping by today!

Maile



With All My Heart Card
Stamps: With All My Heart
Ink: True Black and Sweet Blush
Cardstock: Soft Stone and White
Other: SEI gold glitter dots

Love You Card
Stamps: With All My Heart
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Sweet Blush, Harvest Gold and True Black
Cardstock: Soft Stone and White
Other: SEI gold glitter dots

Sentiment Treatment

Thanks for joining me today for this weeks Papertrey Ink Design Team Tip!

Sentiments can be handled a number of different ways....stamped, embossed, written by hand.  These are just a few of the basics treatments.  In today's tip I've put sentiments to the test!  My treatment towards them these days have been pretty rough.  I love a good sentiment strip or two, but I love it even more when I can add a sentiment strip to a simple card in an unexpected way.

I take a good look at the phrases included in a stamp set.  Any with fun flourishs, swashes, shapes, extended ascenders or descenders, multiple lines of text and such get me thinking. These type are perfect for the butcher block!  Or the blade of my paper cutter for that matter, to chop them in two.

Here's a fun round sentiment with a deep descender featured in the capital F of "Feel".  After stamping the floral images over the sentiment, I hacked that baby into two strips and attached the two pieces leaving a slight gap.  It adds just a touch of the unexpected. 

I could have left things alone and kept the stamped panel in one piece, but it just wouldn't have made much of an impact to the design. Both the sentiment and floral images are from the Cuppa Love stamp set.

Large and bold sentiments are great for this technique too!  Usually they are big enough to not be effected by the slicing and are still legible. 

A touch of color using a few Copic markers, inspired by Laura's card.

Here's a second take on the card above.

These large sentiments are very versatile!  This one is from the Big Hugs stamp set.

For more sentiment treatment ideas check out these blog posts... first and second cards here and last card here. 

So what do you think?!  Might you take a second look at your sentiments?   I sure do hope so!  Well, that's it from me today.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Maile

Papertrey Ink January Release Projects

The Papertrey Ink January countdown is about to come to an end and I'm here to share my final projects with you today. But, before I do, let me remind you that everything you've seen peeks of will be available for purchase through Papertrey Ink beginning 10 pm EST tonight.

Now, let me get right to it!...

 2015 Birthday Tags by Dawn McVey.

Paired with the previously released Mini Blooms stamp set.

 Phrase Play #12 by Nichole Heady.

Paired with previously released Birthday Style stamp set. 

Happy Notes by Melissa Bickford, Keep It Simple: Belated Birthday by Nichole Heady and Stitched Swirls by Erin Lincoln.

Cable Gram by Dawn McVey.

Well, that about covers it.  Be sure to check out the rest of the design teams fabulous projects as well...

• Nichole Heady
• Betsy Veldman
• Heather Nichols
• Dawn McVey
• Melissa Phillips
• Erin Lincoln
• Laura Bassen
• Danielle Flanders
• Ashley Cannon Newell
• Laurie Willson

Thanks for stopping by!

Maile



Wishing You A Lovely Birthday Card
Stamps: 2015 Birthday Tags and Mini Blooms
Ink: melon berry, ocean tides and smokey shadow
Cardstock: soft stone and white
Other: Mini Blooms Die Collection

Let's Party Card
Stamps: Phrase Play #12 and Birthday Style
Ink: melon berry, ocean tides, limeade ice and smokey shadow
Cardstock: soft stone and white
Other: Phrase Play #12 die

Belated Birthday Wishes Card
Stamps: Happy Notes, Keep It Simple: Belated Birthday and Stitched Swirls
Ink: melon berry, ocean tides, limeade ice and smokey shadow
Cardstock: soft stone and white
Other: Happy Notes die collection and black rhinestone

Frantastic Day! Card
Stamps: Cable Gram
Ink: limeade ice, ocean tides, soft stone and true black
Cardstock: soft stone and white

Introducing Baker's Dozen

Welcome to the final day of the Papertrey Ink January countdown. 

Today's post is all about the the new Baker's Dozen stamp set.  What a sweet set!  It's been such a pleasure to work with this delightful set.  With its many possibilities and adorable images, a stamp set doesn't get any sweeter than this!

So, let me get started...

The Baker's Dozen is a collection of thirteen cupcake images, one for each month of the year plus a versatile extra!

Here's a birthday card featuring the March cupcake.  I paired it with the previously released Beautiful Butterflies stamp set.

I stamped a beautiful butterflies backdrop for the pretty cupcake and frame in a color combo of blueberry sky, sweet blush and harvest gold.  I then attached black glitter tape along the bottom edge and finished the card off with a couple large gems.

This one is for celebrating a birthday, no matter the month.  A fun selection of cupcakes were stamped one on top of the other in a colorful combo of raspberry fizz, plum pudding, hawaiian shores, orange zest and limeade ice. 

The stamped panel was trimmed apart by hand to fit the sentiment (from the soon to be release Layered Banner Banter stamp set) perfectly, revealing the limeade ice card base below.  Here's How: First, create a template by stamping celebrate and trimming a curve by hand that follows the bottom edge of the sentiment. Trace the template edge onto the desired spot, trim and erase. It could't be easier!

Well, that's all I've got for you today. Just remember... everything you've seen peek of today will be available for purchase through Papertrey Ink, beginning January 15th. 

Now, be sure to see what the rest of the Papertrey Ink design team has in store for you today...

• Nichole Heady
• Betsy Veldman
• Heather Nichols
• Dawn McVey
• Melissa Phillips
• Erin Lincoln
• Laura Bassen
• Danielle Flanders
• Ashley Cannon Newell
• Laurie Willson

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Maile



Butterfly Birthday Card
Stamps: Baker's Dozen and Beautiful Butterflies
Ink: blueberry sky, sweet blush, harvest gold and true black
Cardstock: soft stone, white and smokey shadow
Other: Studio Calico gems

Cupcake Celebrate Card
Stamps: Baker's Dozen and Layered Banner Banter
Ink: raspberry fizz, plum pudding, hawaiian shores, orange zest, limeade ice and true black
Cardstock: limeade ice and white
Other: Studio Calico gems

Introducing Secret Agent & Zappy Birthday

Hello and welcome to the fourth day of the Papertrey Ink January countdown! 

Today's group post is all about the new Secret Agent and Zappy Birthday collections! My son, he thinks these are the coolest cards I've ever made! That says a lot about the products featured today.  Totally boy approved.  Hope you enjoy what I have to share with you today too...

First up, Secret Agent.  My focus for this first card are the cool shades.  These are not your typical glasses.  In fact, you can't read the message on this card without them.  I've tucked an arm behind the top layer so they're easily accessible.  Here's How: All I did was leave a space between the dimensional adhesive I've attached to the backside, these sweet shades slide right in from the top.  Another idea would be to cut a slit, wide enough to allow one arm to side on through, at the top edge of your card base. 

This undercover card was stamped in a color combo of spring rain, orange zest and smokey shadow. 

Here's a look at Zappy Birthday in action!  I combined this set with the Tipped Top die collection.  These dies helped me create a sort of a "sneak peek" at a hidden superhero cape underneath the top layer.

A mix of patterns, colors and shapes keeps things exciting.  Colors used... blueberry sky, pure poppy, spring rain and true black.

Well, that concludes my look at the Secret Agent and Zappy Birthday collections. Just remember... these products will be available for purchase through Papertrey Ink, beginning January 15th.

Now, be sure to see what the rest of the Papertrey Ink design team has in store for you today...

• Nichole Heady
• Betsy Veldman
• Heather Nichols
• Dawn McVey
• Melissa Phillips
• Erin Lincoln
• Laura Bassen
• Danielle Flanders
• Ashley Cannon Newell
• Laurie Willson

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Maile



Confidential Card
Stamps: Secret Agent
Ink: smokey shadow, orange zest and spring rain
Cardstock: spring rain, smokey shadow and white
Other: orange zest transparency and secret agent glasses dies

You're Super! Card
Stamps: Zappy Birthday
Ink: blueberry sky, pure poppy and spring rain
Cardstock: soft stone, blueberry sky and white
Other: Studio Calico black stars