Papertrey April Blog Hop!

Welcome Papertrey Blog Hoppers!

This month’s challenge was to create something using one of Lauren Meader‘s “My Timeless Templates“.  I made 2 things using the “Filed with Flair” template.  This template is like a magazine holder but for cards!

First up was a gift for my friend Maggie for her birthday:

Lauren always encourages us to pretty up all sides of our project so I added a back panel to the project so that Maggie could choose which side to display.  I personalized it with her name:

Inside I put a set of precut cards with some stamped embellishments so that she could make her own cards or leave them blank as she chooses.  I also made a set of dividers to separate each type of card with their embellishments.  Here’s a view of one of the sides with one of my favorite quotes from the “Out on a Limb Sentiments” set:

Instead of using the leaves from “Out on a Limb”, I used an image from “Simply Stationary” to match the rest of the images.

Here is the gift all tied up with chocolate ribbon ready to go to their new owner!

Next up is a card holder I made for my mom for mother’s day:

Inside I made a set of simple cards using precut blank cards so she could have cards on-hand to send as needed.  I used various stamp sets from PTI to add the card categories onto the tabs of the dividers.  I also prettied up the back panel so she could choose which way to display it:

And the set all tied up with gorgeous PTI ribbon:

Lauren’s templates are so easy to work with and make gift-giving so much fun!  Here are some tips I’ve come up with in using the templates:

1. My low-quality printer won’t take the high-quality PTI cardstock because it is too luxuriously thick.  So I print the template onto a thinner cardstock, cut them out, adhering the copyright and template info onto each piece of the template for reference.  Then I store them together in their own file envelope.  When it comes time to make a project, I pull out the template pieces and trace them lightly with a pencil onto the beautiful PTI cardstock and cut them out.  If there are traces of pencil marks left, I can just erase them.  I find that this actually takes me less time than printing the template out each time I want to use it!

2. Stamp and adhere the panel pieces BEFORE you assemble the final product.  This way is much easier to line up the panels and smooth them into place.

Hope these tips help!  Now go get yourself some of Lauren’s amazing “My Timeless Templates“!

Thanks for visiting!

~craftyliu~

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless indicated)

Maggie’s gift:
Stamps: Fresh Alphabet, Out on a Limb Revised, Out on a Limb Sentiments, Simply Stationary, Totally Tabs (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate, Ocean Tides
Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides, Stamper’s Select White
Ribbon: Brown Satin (Offray)
Template: Filed with Flair (My Timeless Template)
Tools: Round Tab Punch (Stampin’ Up)

Mom’s gift:
Stamps: Bitty Baby Blessings, Borders and Corners Monogram Edition, Floral Frenzy, Simply Stationary, Wedding Day
Ink: Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate, Ocean Tides, Spring Moss
Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides, Vintage Cream
Ribbon: Aqua Mist Grosgrain
Template: Filed with Flair (My Timeless Template)
Tools: Round Tab Punch (Stampin’ Up)