I Feel Like a Cheater

Or...as one blogger, the famous Jan Tink calls it....I've committed "Rubbah-dultery"!!! LOL Or in other words, I purchased another brand of stamps and "cheated" on my Stampin' Up!. I fought it. 99.9% of stamps I own are SU. I am not a big fan of acrylic stamps, but I loved the stamps offered by Papertrey, Ink and finally caved last fall and ordered a set that was great for making nugget tins and treat bags/boxes for the holidays. I hated the acrylic stamps at first, but I forced myself to keep playing with them and finally got to like them. For the most part. They have their pros and cons and I still prefer wooden block/red rubber stamps over all, and am still loyal to SU, but there are so many fabulous acrylic stamps out there that I just can't totally resist!!!

The best part about acrylic stamps is that you see through your block and everything is SO much easier to align. That is an awesome quality, I must say. It's just a whole different "feel" than the rubber stamps and they do take some getting used to. So I suggest that if you've purchased acrylic stamps and tried them out and got discouraged with how they stamp for you, don't give up on them...keep playing with them and I'm almost certain you will get better results after a while. And I must also say the Papertrey, Ink acrylic stamps are of awesome quality compared to other brands I've tried, and while I've only tried a couple other brands, from everything I've read in all my blog-hopping and forum-browsing that is definitely the consensus out there.

And Papertrey's designs are so clever and practical and GORGEOUS!! I ordered two sets a while back, Everday Blessings was a "must have" for me, love the cross images and the scripture sentiments, and that is one area I've been a bit disappointed in with SU is their selection of Christian or spiritual themed stamps. I wanted to make Easter cards that featured more of the true meaning of the "holiday" which is the Resurection, not chicks and bunnies and eggs. Not that those aren't cute and lovable, as you will see in some of prior and future posts. I just wanted something different as well.

And since Papertrey generously offers FREE shipping (and it comes Priority Mail too, I got it in two or three days, I sure wish SU was up to that par when it comes to shipping!) on orders over $40.00, I "had" to add on another stamp set, and some of their new Perfect Match card stock, ribbon and ink. If you've never checked out their website you really must. But all of you who are my SU customers, don't look TOO close!! ;-)

So the other set I ordered was one that was released a couple months ago, and I have seen so many awesome projects made with it - Out on a Limb. I love how the different leaves and blossoms and berries all align so easily on the branch. It really makes very simple and elegant cards. I made two cards with this set last week but have been unable to post them until now. Why, you ask? Because I wanted to surprise my stampin' sis and send her a card made with the set, along with a sampling of the papers and ribbons for her to use. And since she reads this, I had to wait till she got it in the mail before I could show it. It was very hard to wait, but I did manage to surprise her, so it was worth it. But without further ado, here is the card I made for her and the other one I used this set on was my husband's anniversary card and I haven't photographed that yet, but I will tomorrow when there is natural light in the house.

My pictures are getting a little better, don't you agree? As long as I take them by our patio door with the light shining in. Anyway...

This card uses Papertrey card stock Stampers Select White (thank you Kathy), Aqua Mist, Spring Moss, and Everyday Blessings Patterned Paper ( I got the 6x6 pad because the patterns are at a smaller scale which is perfect for cards), and Aqua Mist Topnotch Twill ribbon. I also used SU! Chocolate Chip card stock and ink, and the Aqua Mist Papertrey ink. I used the SU! slit punch to create the scalloped border and a hand-held hole punch to make the holes in each scallop (which I see I didn't get very even!) I didn't purchase the Spring Moss ink (yet) but SU's Certainly Celery is a close match so I used a marker to color in the center of the blossoms and then I also used a Sakura stardust glitter pen to highlight the centers and give it some shimmer. Oh, and I used the SU backgroung stamp "Weathered" on the top half of the card, using the Aqua Mist ink. I was very pleased with how the card turned out, even though I spent A LOT of time on it, but it was one of the few times I started completely from scratch and didn't have a card in mind to "CASE".

Oh boy, I just pulled up the Papertrey website to create the link here for you all, and saw that tonight was their monthly release party and oh my goodness....there are some more awesome new sets, and colors and papers!! Arghhhhh! I need to win a lottery!!! Seriously though, I'm still going to mostly stick with Stampin' Up and not only because I'm a demonstrator - I love thier stamps and love the value in their sets, but I have to say Papertrey is definitely a close second choice for me and they just keep getting better and better. Check out Nichole's Blog for some awesome ideas and just to see what a fabulous person she is.

Here is a much better picture of the easter card I posted a while back. And stay tuned over the weekend, I have several more posts planned and *should* be able to make time to do them. This past week was a rough one, it started out great with our anniversary trip, but the rest of the week was stressful and frantic. Tomorrow I should be able to get a lot of stamping and blog work done, IF I drag my butt to bed soon, it's after 1:00 a.m!!! Ughhh!! But I do have some exciting (at least I think they are) things to share so please come back soon. I know it's frustrating when I don't post very regularly, but I'm doing the best I can with the "free time" I have! I am still working to try to figure out how I can set it up for subscriptions too. I haven't forgotten.

Well, I'm off to bed...hopefully I don't sleep TOO late tomorrow so I can get everything done (well I'll never get *everything* done) that I want to tomorrow. I have to get Joe up for work at 4:00, in less than three hours, but trust me, I'm going back to bed after he leaves this time!!! ;-)

Thanks for visiting and I'll be back with more real soon!