Papertrey Ink's January 2013 Blog Hop!

I'm so excited to be joining Papertrey Ink's blog hop this month!  And nervous, too, because it is my very first time joining a blog hop!  In the past I've always drooled over everyone's creations, not to mention their crafty ways of using PTI's awesome products, but I've always been too busy (or too shy!) to ever post anything.  I've decided, as part of my new year's resolution, that I would be a little more active in Blog Land, especially when it comes to challenges and participating in events that bring the crafting community together.  It truly is a golden opportunity to learn more and be a better crafter!

So here is my take on this month's Blog Hop challenge: black backgrounds......

For the card base, I used PTI's Sweet Blush - great nostalgic pink that isn't *overly* pink.  I used Scrolled Blossoms by Stampendous for the image on the black panel (stamped with PTI's Perfect Match Hybrid Ink in Vintage Cream - very nice alternative to a plain white ink) and die-cut Memory Box's Grand Heart using BoBunny's Love Letters 6x6 pad paper collection.  I then folded (as best I could) and glued down a grosgrain ribbon behind the heart....that kind of reminded me of those lacey little chocolate-filled heart-shaped boxes from the 80s.  Anyone else remember those?  I was chuckling the entire time I was gluing, heh.  

To top everything off, I die-cut some Sweet Blush paper using a Photo Finish strip die, then stamped my oh-so-pretty sentiment from the Everyday Photo Finishers set.  I completely missed out on the Holiday Photo Finishers this past Christmas season, so I never really bothered to get the dies, even though I thought they were so cute.  So of course, once the Everyday Photo Finishers set came out, I was so glad I had a legitimate reason to get the matching dies, heh.  It'll be so nice to be able to use the Everyday Photo Finishers set throughout the year - it's such a nice little mixage of sentiments, from thank you, to happy birthday, to get well soon, to wedding wishes....ugh, I just love this set!!  And the matching dies are a must-have, as are pretty much all the dies at Papertrey!

Anyway, happy hopping!  Thanks for stopping by... enjoy!