Introducing postscript press

Dear Reader,

I have been busy making samples for the upcoming Paper Wings Productions website launch (tomorrow March 1st) and I have loved working with designs by people I know.  Sunday was an even more exciting experience: I made samples using stamps I had designed.  I actually did some skipping and a jump into the air.  If I had ever had ballet lessons, I would have done some graceful leaps (as it is I do awkward, silly leaps).  I was over-the-moon- thrilled to be inking up stamps I had drawn...to ink up my handwritten words...to use the stamps exactly how I had envisioned them to work together.

I decided to design under the name postscript press as I love the art of correspondence, adding those little finishing touches at the end and I feel that correspondence is a way to celebrate, develop and strengthen the connections that make life extraordinary and special. 

For some peeks of my stamps sets check out what is framing (and some of the patterns behind) the focal images.  I hope these stamp sets will help to expand the use of and also emphasis the rest of the Paper Wings Productions stamps or whatever else you dream up.  I will be giving you a run down of the stamp sets upon their release.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

Happy creating,
Shay.

What's Brewing?

Dear Reader,

Due to technical difficulties I am only now able to post anything and I am so happy to be back.

I actually have some exciting news to share with you.  My talented friend, Carrie Avery, is getting ready to launch her new company Paper Wings Productions and I am fortunate to be involved. 

I wanted to share with you a couple of sneak peeks of samples I made which showcase the brand new stamps being released. 

This one goes out to all the Texas lovers out there:

You will not want to miss the sneaks another talented friend of mine, Julie Mogford, is sharing on her blog (some of stamp sets she designed!).

If you have any questions, please let me know.   Now that I am able to post, look forward to future sneak posts.

Happy creating,
Shay.

Twin Birthday

Dear Reader,

I thought I would share with you some of my favorite cards I made for my very favorite twin cousins for their 4th birthday last summer. 

Some while ago I bought the Monkey Around stamp set from Basic Grey's Oliver collection because I *love* the stamps and this collection plus its sister collection, Olivia.  There is an adorable rooster (Oliver), monkey, raccoon and tiger in the set.   For these cards I chose the monkey and tiger.  I just noticed that coincidentally the name of one of the twins and their father's name appear as the names on a couple of the papers in the collection.  I suppose it was just meant to be.

In addition to the Basic Grey Monkey Around stamp set, I also used a woodgrain background stamp and cloud stamps from Studio Calico for the sky (another two favorites there) and the cute plane with the woodgrain wing (how perfect!) is from an older Martha Stewart stamp set.  The patterned papers come from Basic Grey's Oliver collection with the exception of the bright pop of orange which is from their Lime Rickey collection.  On the airplanes and animals I did a little watercoloring to fill in the color which gave it an interesting distressed look.  I edged the airplane with markers.

Monkey birthday card:

Tiger birthday card:

The 4 is the negative of a die cut with a Papertrey Ink die backed by a rectangle of white cardstock.  I used the positive of the die along with Papertrey Ink's Big Birthday Wishes stamps inside the cards as shown here:

Thanks for stopping by and have a delightful day!

Happy creating,

Shay.

monkey & tiger birthday cards

stamps: monkey and tiger from monkey around set: Basic Grey; clouds and woodgrain background, Studio Calico; airplane, Martha Stewart Crafts (inside: big birthday wishes, Papertrey Ink)

ink: soap powder, spice tin and seed packet: Jenni Bowlin for Ranger; chipped sapphire, Tim Holtz Distress Ink for Ranger

markers: Memory Markers by American Crafts

cardstock: white, Georgia Pacific; Welsh blue, Neenah Papers

patterned paper: Oliver 6x6 paper pad and Lime Rickey 6x6 paper pad, Basic Grey

punch: cloud large and extra large, Fiskars

die: 4 from By the Numbers, Papertrey Ink

other: dimensional adhesive

February's ATC Trade

Dear Reader,

Yesterday was another Artist Trading Card trade.   February's themes were dangle or undergarments (I know sort of a provocative grouping).  I chose to sign up for the undergarments theme...I thought I would go the corset route.  Monday when I seriously contemplated my design another idea came to me.  I carved out a few simple shapes: boxers, bra and panties (otherwise if I owned it I would have used swimsuit season by Lawn Fawn which would have been perfect!) for a cheery clothesline look. 

The background stamp is one of my all-time favorites by Hero Arts (S5215) as I love clouds (it must be a little of the 80's rubbing off on me).

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy creating,
Shay.

airing the dirty laundry ATCs
stamps: clouds (S5215), Hero Arts; remainder, handcarved
ink: tuxedo black, Memento Tsukineko; speckled egg, Jenni Bowlin for Ranger
marker: soft black, Memory Marker by American Crafts
cardstock: solar white (110 lb), Neenah Papers
patterned paper: love me 6x6 paper pad, My Mind's Eye
die: double-ended banners, Papertrey Ink
embossing folder: retro circles (from rays & retro circles 2-pack), Tim Holtz Alterations Texture Fades for Sizzix
other: baker's twine, Martha Stewarts Crafts; cuttlebug, Provo Craft; Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, We R Memory Keepers; staples and stapler, Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tiny Attacher by Advantus; gems; dimensional adhesive

Connecting and Tearin it Up

Dear Reader,

My mom urged (this is a mild word for what was a very heartfelt pleading as a woman my mom met in jury duty and really connected with a few months ago just had a stroke) my sister and I this weekend to keep ourselves open to others.  Coincidentally, I am venturing further and further into social media.  I finally folded and signed up for Facebook recently.  One of the great things is I am reconnecting with friends.  It has me wondering, should I friend my friend from elementary school that I lost contact with way back in the dark ages?  Perhaps that is a bit of a stretch and yet curiosity has me wondering how this or that person is doing and maybe there are untold possibilities in finding those lost connections.  I know there are a whole slew of people that touched my life that for whatever reason I am no longer in touch with (okay if I am honest a significant reason is I simply am bad at keeping in touch with people).  For my birthday I am gifting myself the opportunity to remember the friends I have had and be open to new friendships in the future. 

Today, I have a card I made for a family friend of ours to share with you.  My mom befriended his wife and we have all been the richer for knowing them.  As our friend is a lover of motorcycles (several are), I pulled out my handy Unity Stamp motorcycle set I bought a while back (it has been retired for quite some time now). 

Dimension shot:

I *love* this border stamp set by Studio Calico.  I think it is one of the coolest things since sliced bread (having cut myself whilst trying to cut a bagel I can attest to this).  The grays are in fact from one ink pad, the lighter gray is simply a second generation stamped impression:

Inside:

Thank you for stopping by!  I appreciate you.

Happy creating,
Shay.


tearin it up birthday card
Stamps: motorcycle, outline flame, bold frame and tearin it up, Unity Stamp Company; graphic border happy and birthday, Studio Calico
Ink: weather vane, malted milk, Jennie Bowlin for Ranger; tuxedo black, Momento by Tsukineko
Cardstock: Neenah Papers and Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper: 6x6 oxford paper pad, Basic Grey
Punches: EK Success
Sprays/Mists: robot blue, October Afternoon; bronze, Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels and denim, Tim Holtz Adirondack Color Wash by Ranger
Other: Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, We R Memory Keepers