So, what do I think about PaperTrey stamps?

In a few words.....I think they ROCK!!!

Honestly, these stamps really are amazing. I ordered Little Lady, Paper Tray, and Green Thumb last Tuesday, the day Little Lady was revealed. I had finally succumbed to the pressure to buy because of all the adorable cards I have seen made with them! I recieved the stamps on Friday (amazing delivery!), and I tried to stamp with them right away. Unfortunately, I think I had "PaperTrey" block. I had seen so much cute stuff I couldn't figure out anything on my own. That, and the fact that I am not a "cutesy" stamper, these stamps are out of my "comfort zone", shall we say.

The first time I took stamp to paper, I cried "yuck"!!! I couldn't think of what to make. I went blog hopping to see what else was was out there as far as PaperTreyInk designs go. That didn't help because I don't case much anymore and I didn't want to copy someone else's work (please note....I have NO PROBLEMS with casing....I've did a TON of when I first started stamping!!!! But in the last few months I've really pushed myself to create my own designs. Doing Super Sketch Sunday's has really helped me move toward this goal. So ladies, case away if you want!!!!).

Anyhow, to say the least, it took me a while to find my groove with my new stamps. Finally, I finished one set of cards using Green Thumb. Then I made another set of cards using Little Lady, and those turned out ok (I'll show those later this week). I thought I had finished the Little Lady cards, but I wasn't completely happy with them. There was something missing.....I just wasn't 100% satisfied with what I had done. I did a little more blog hopping and ended up at Julee's (Poetic Artistry) blog. And guess what, she had just posted a card using Little Lady. She gave me the perfect idea on how to "finish off" my Little Lady cards. Julee had little flowers surrounding the lady bugs she had stamped and it looked adorable! I added a few flowers to my lady bugs and it was perfect! Thanks Julee! (see, I guess I DO case a little bit still!).

Finally, I wanted to try making a strawberry card. Strawberries are SO cutesy. This set might prove most difficult for me. Everything I'd had seen up until this point was so adorable using the strawberries. But I wanted some sophistication with my strawberries, if THAT was even possible. Searching through my designer paper, I came across some beautiful Crate paper that was lavender with red polka dots. Bingo! Found the paper I was going to use with my strawberries. Bingo! Loved the coordinating green on the BACK of the Crate paper...I could incorporate it into the card as well. Finally, the last paper I chose to use was Real Red cardstock.

I've been loving scallops lately, but thought I'd use my wavy scissors instead of the slit punch to make a decorative border. I cut decorative borders from the Real Red cardstock and the green designer paper. Those borders were attached to the bottom of the card. The polka dot paper took up the top 3/4 of the card. A wide red gingham ribbon was used to tie everything together! After the layout was almost finished, I needed to start stamping.

Can I just share with you that these stamps create the sharpest, clearest, cleanest images I have ever seen using acrylic stamps? Mamaaaaaaaaa Mia.....! I've used alot of acrylic stamps, and none of them come even close to the results I got with PaperTrey. And one other thing.... I got GREAT results using SU classic dye ink pads with my new stamps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not kidding! I can actually say with all honesty that I like how the stamps stamped with the classic inks versus the craft inks. That is NEVER the case with acrylics. Typically they stamp better using craft pigment inks. But notice how bright and vivid my berries and sentiment are...that was using Real Red ink!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few last details about the strawberry card.....I stamped the berries using Real Red and Certainly Celery inks. Then I outlined the whole berry with my Sakura Stardust Pen. I also used the pen around the sentiment, which was punched out using the large oval punch. It's matted using the green designer paper and cut out using my tiny scallop scissors. The sentiment and one berry are adhered to the card using foam tape.

Well, that's about it. Hats off to Nicole and her partners for creating and designing such wonderful acrylic stamps. I am so excited to play with these stamps some more! It might take a while to come up with anything really amazing, since they require me to step out of my comfort zone (cutesy vs. sophisticated), but it will come in time, I'm sure. Just be patient with me:)!!!!

One last thing....I was searching through some photos this morning for my oldest son to take to Graphic Arts today and found one of the Corvette photos I wanted to show you last week. Remember, hubby rented this car for me to celebrate my 40th birthday! The idea was to not feel 40, but to feel 20!!!! And did I ever feel great driving around in this baby! I would love to own one once the kids are on their own!!! If you ever get the chance to do something like this (if you can't afford to buy one like us), DO IT!!!! It was a blast!!! It was a great way to remember my 40th!

Have a fabulous day!