PTI October Blog Hop

Hiya! It's Blog Hop time at Papertrey Ink. I totally missed it last month, but I managed to squeeze in a project earlier this afternoon. Hooray for craft time! :-) This month, we were challenged to show some holiday plans ... I decided to make a wrap for a super yummy Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark bar.

Here's the chocolate (FYI - it really is amazing stuff!) ... it comes in a pretty nice package to begin with, but certainly you could kick it up a notch to make it a little more personal and like you thought about it. I can see how this would be a great gift to acknowledge someone in the office without being really spendy or making them feel obligated to return the favor.
I cut a piece of Vintage Cream cardstock 6" high by about 8" wide. Then score it like shown. (1-1/8" panel, 3/8" panel, 3" panel, 3/8" panel, 3" panel) and make sure it fits!
Then I stamped up my pattern with Scarlet Jewel & Ripe Avocado inks using the Giga Guidelines and matching stamp from Guidelines II.
Then, I used my Spring Moss stamp pad to add some color to a scrap of Vintage Cream before stamping the stocking in Ripe Avocado.
I cut out the stocking and added it to a chipboard tag covered with Vintage Cream card stock and inked with the Chai & Chamomile as well as some polka dots and sentiment in Scarlet Jewel. After wrapping the paper around the bar, I attached the tag with some burgundy twine and a button along with some ribbon. Here's a close up of the tag.
And here's the finished product. The nice thing is, the candy bar can slip out and be replaced to regift if someone wants to ... and since I did some "quality control" on the chocolate, I will definitely be refilling the packaging! LOL
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed my project :-)

Supplies Used (all PTI):
Stamps: Stocking Prints, Giga Guidelines, Guidelines II, Polka Dot Basics II
Ink: Ripe Avocado, Scarlet Jewel, Chai, Chamomile, Spring Moss
Paper: Vintage Cream
Other: Scarlet Jewel twill, Ripe Avocado stitched ribbon, cream Vintage button; from my craft supply stash: twine, foam tape, chipboard tag

How-To: Stitching Pleated Ribbon

Hi everyone! Well, I have been pretty obsessed with stitching ribbon onto my cards recently. Makes perfect sense because I have been sewing way longer than I have been stamping! Anyway, there are lots of ways to pleat ribbon - many people use adhesive to hold it down; however, I don't use any adhesive - just stitchin'. My buddy from SCS, Banu, asked me for a tutorial, so here you go ...

First, I'll show you most of the supplies I used. The white panel is 2.5 x 3.5 and the purple is 2.75 x 3.75. (I make a lot of 4.25" square cards, so I have lots of 2.5" strips leftover! Perfect for these smaller panels!) I also have a card base, Copic markers, PTI Vintage Picnic stamp set, some ribbon, and ink. (Not shown here, but used in the tutorial: Polka Dot Basics I & II, Spring Moss & Fresh Snow ink, and Chamomile ink - all PTI).

Click on photos for enlarged view.So, go ahead and stamp your image and get to coloring! :-) Notice that I used one brown marker for the basket. To create the shading of the weave, I colored over some spots twice to make it darker. Don't forget to "age" your panel with the Chamomile ink.

Now, cut a piece of ribbon about 3x as wide as your panel. Here I am using grosgrain - my favorite for this, but satin works well too, although its a bit more slippery under the sewing machine.
Now, move to your sewing machine. (I use my regular sewing machine - its a Bernina Activa 210. I do use a different needle (an old one) for my paper projects. Otherwise, nothing fancy/different.)

Leave a little overhang off the image panel. I do 1 to 2 back stitches to anchor the ribbon and then lift my foot, need down as shown:
Now, fold some ribbon under the foot to create the pleat. (Sometimes I rotate my pleat a little to the right or left to give the finished look a little more movement. But I am keeping in straight here.)
Ok, now ... drop your foot back down on top of the pleat. And stitch over the pleat.
Good job! :-) You've done one pleat! Now, let's do it again. Lift the presser foot, needle down.
And make another pleat ....
Continue the process to the end of your panel. I like to do another backstitch or 2 at the end to anchor the threads. Here is my sample all stitched down.
Ok, for the card base, I stamped the littlest dots in Spring Moss ink onto Spring Moss card stock. Then over stamped with the polka dots outline in Fresh Snow ink. Then, I added the sentiment.
Now, attach your image to the mat and then to the card. Here's my finished cards.
Notice the different baskets - just by coloring the opposite weaves. Again, all with one marker. The card on the left with the Ocean Tides ribbon is a little "wonkier" because I rotated my pleats as I was stitching. (Note - rotate before putting the presser foot down.)

Well, I hope this little "how-to" was helpful! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and ask away. I'd also love to see projects you create with stitched ribbon! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used (all PTI unless noted):
Stamps: Vintage Picnic, Polka Dot Basics I & II
Ink: Spring Moss, Fresh Snow; Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic markers
Paper: Spring Moss, Lavender Moon, White
Accessories: Ocean Tides grosgrain, Enchanted Evening grosgrain

Perpetual Birthday Calendar How-To

Happy Saturday folks! I am constantly forgetting birthdays - and that makes me feel like a jerk! LOL I decided to fix the problem by creating a birthday calendar - a perpetual one so that I don't have to add them to a new calendar every year! I thought I'd share a little how-to for you ... Ready?
Start with 12 pieces of white (or other neutral) card stock cut into 3-1/2 x 6" rectangles. You'll also need two pieces of chipboard (or other card stock) for the front and back covers cut in the same dimensions.
Use a binding system, such as Carla Craft, to punch holes in your pages and covers. (If you prefer to use a binding ring, just punch one hole in the same spot on all your pages.) Now, you should have all your pages ready to go! Time to decorate ...

Cut 12 pieces of card stock in various colors. You need 3-1/4 x 1-1/2 inch rectangles. Then decorate as desired. I used the Vintage Picnic set from Papertrey ink to stamp all the images on the monthly titles. I colored the images with Copic markers and a white gel pen. Then I used the Fresh Alphabet set to stamp month abbreviations onto each card. (Tip: Use an acrylic block with grid lines on it to line up the letters!)

Here's January - June:

And here's July - December:
Once you are done decorating your month titles, adhere them to the top of your pages, so they look like this:
Then, add some lines using Faux Ribbon on each page like shown below. (Tip: That grid line block will really help you keep your lines equidistant!)
Then decorate your covers and bind it together with a coil (or whatever system you are using). And here's the finished product!Thanks for stopping by! I hope that you enjoyed my first how-to project! :-) If you have any questions, let me know! Have a great day :-)

Supplies Used (all PTI unless noted):
Stamps: Vintage Picnic, Fresh Alphabet, Faux Ribbon
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, Inkssentials white gel pen, SU! Going Gray
Paper: CS - White, Ripe Avocado, Lemon Tart, Melon Berry, Pure Poppy, Hibiscus Burst, Aqua Mist, Lavender Moon, Spring Moss; Polka Dot Parade patterned paper; chipboard from The Crafty PC
Other: Vintage buttons (New Leaf, Lemon Tart, Aqua Mist) and twine
Tools: Paper trimmer, scissors, Carla Craft binding system & coil, Scor-Tape, Glossy Accents