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Today is a big day! Today marks exactly one year since I started blogging and it just so happens that today’s occasion coincides with the Papertrey Ink monthly blog hop – so of course I’m playing along.

Before I get to the projects – and boy are there some projects – I wanted to share some more of my ramblings about the oh so wonderful world of crafting. Yesterday, I brought up my struggle with competition and letting it take over my passion for this hobby. It was great to read everyone’s thoughts and insight on the topic. I loved the dialogue! As frustrating as it is to feel my competitive nature creep up when it comes to crafting – there is a much bigger and better side to this hobby that makes it easy to stay motivated!

I have been 100% amazed at how supportive, friendly and kind this community is. I’ve certainly come across my fair share of nasty commenters, nay-sayers and generally unpleasant people – but those experiences are in the minority, by far – although they do make for a rather amusing stories! (Some people can get really nasty about cardstock and stamps! Geez Louis!)

I’ve come to “know” several crafty people and each has been a true gem! I remember going to Stamp-A-Faire and having dinner with a room full of crafty ladies. We had the best time and it was wonderful getting to know everyone! I truly get the sense that this crafting community is full of cheerleaders and go-getters who enjoy encouraging each other – I love it!

It’s a blessing to have found this creative outlet and a community of supporters who are always ready to lend a hand, give a compliment or simply come by the blog to say “Hi” – it’s positively fabulous!

Now onto today’s projects – this is a long post so I hope you’ll hang in there!

The  assignment for this month’s Papertrey Blog Hop is to pick a favorite project from the past year and use it as inspiration for a second card!

This challenge totally fits in with my recent “Project Do Over” posts. Today, though, I’m taking a break from the projects that I don’t like and choosing two do-overs that are favorites of mine.

First up is a card I made for another PTI Blog Hop:

I had such fun stamping out this folk artsy pattern and I was so proud of my bow! Bows are just not my thing, but here it worked and I love it!
For my makeover card, I stamped a similar folk artsy design using several stamps from several different sets. I used a softer, more muted, Valentinesy color scheme this time around.

It’s so much fun to play around with stamps to see how they can be combined!

To create the symmetrical design, I started by using a pencil to divide the piece of cardstock into four  quadrants, with the top two quadrants being a little bigger to account for the twine I planned to tie at the top. Then I stamped the design using the pencil lines as guides for keeping things even.

My second project is a card make-over and a CASE – I’ll explain:

This card is one of my all time favorites:

I love the colors and the layout, with the blooms all gathered on the side of the card. For my makeover of this card, I’m actually CASEing a card that I saw on the Snow & Graham site. (P.S. If you’re not familiar with Snow & Graham – you will love it! So much beautiful stationery and so much inspiration)
This is the card that I saw and loved:
Similar to my card, this one has the flowers sort of gathered onto one side with a simple sentiment perched within the white space.
So, with this card and my card in mind, I did something that I try to avoid. I CASED this card. It took a little creativity to recreate this layout, which made me feel a bit better about replicating the design.
Here’s what I did:
Using PTI’s Beautiful Blooms #1, I die cut flower shapes from Post-Its to create masks. For this project, I opted for using the Post -It Full Adhesive notes, so make sure I got a good “seal” when adhering the masks.
Next, I simply adhered the die cuts on the cardfront.
I needed to create solid leave stamps for this card and since I don’t own any, I made some using the PTI Sending You dies and fun foam. Just die cut the shapes from the foam and adhere to an acrylic block.
I used the foam stamps to stamp solid leaf images all around the die cut masks. When doing this, be sure to stamp all edges of each mask to leave a clean, crisp negative image when they’re removed.
Once removed, I stamped the sentiment and centers on the flowers using the small dandelion image from the Botanical Silhouette Anniversary Set.
I know it’s a lot of photos and words – but I promise this is a really quick card to pull together!
Okee Dokee – I’m done (finally, right?!)
I hope I haven’t annoyed you with today’s long post. I love both of these projects and I hope they give you some ideas for creating fun cards of your own!
Have a great day!
Supplies:
 
Folk Art Card #2:
Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Mat Stack 5 {red flourishes}, Christmas Friends {bird images}, Sending You {green leaves}, Botanical Silhouettes {small pink flowers}, Mat Stack 1 {pink flourishes above and below sentiment}, Love Birds {sentiment}) Hero Arts (Sweet Hearts {heart images})
Ink: Impress Fresh Ink (Basil, Pink Lemonade, Sugar, Strawberry, Fuchsia
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink: Rustic Cream, Fine Linen, Vintage Cream)
Other: Pink baker’s twine
 
Masked Thank You Card:
Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Inside & Out Thank You, Botanical Silhouettes)
Ink: Impress Fresh Ink (Basil),  Ranger Industries (Jet Black)
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream)
Other: Papertrey Ink (Sending You Die collection)

Keep on crafting with these other posts

63 thoughts on “Papertrey Ink January Blog Hop & Another Blogiversary Post

  1. Congratulations on your one year anniversary, Amber! Your artwork style and creativity continue to inspire me. Thank you and here’s to another GREAT year! 😉

  2. OMGOODNESS! I love all the cards old & new! I especially love the last one with the negative images. I only recently found your blog & I’m enjoying reviewing all your old posts! What a great inspiration! TFS

  3. SERIOUSLY!!?? That masked card is as gorgeous as it is clever! Absolutely amazing and SO CREATIVE!!! Your work is stunning….love, love, LOVE!!

  4. I totally meant to comment on this at the time Amber, but y’know how life gets in the way! Anyway, your final card, using the fun foam, did and still does completely blow me away!! Nothing short of amazing and I knew I’d have to steal the technique from you!!

    Your work has come on so very much in the short time you started this hobby. You’ve probably matured several years’ worth in just one year, it’s unbelievable just how amazing you are after such a short time!! If this was year one I truly can’t wait to see year two!!

    Hugs in anticipation of the Big Day – it’s coming fast huh?

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