PTI 2017 anniversary festivities!

Hello, friends! Long time, no see, huh? Well, we have spent the last several weeks prepping for and moving to our new house, so my crafting and blogging have been on hiatus. I was sooo happy when I learned that Papertrey Ink was going to move their anniversary festivities to March, because I knew at that point my new craft room would certainly be completed (at least to the point that I would be able to participate). Well, the stars aligned just right (aka, my children were little angels and my hubby was tolerant of the boxes o'stuff that lay untouched for the last week) for me to be able to play along for a few of the challenges for their anniversary festivities for THIS month, so here are my projects! I kinda went backwards, starting with the more recent years (I only got up to 2012) and going back towards 2007.

2012/2016

This one was inspired by the pretty project that Nichole showcased for Sentiment Signs. Since I don't have that stamp set, I decided to use a similar layout and colors to Nichole's pretty card. One thing I love about the PTI challenges is that it gives me an excuse to ink up sets that have been sitting on my shelf unloved. In this case, last year's anniversary set: Painted Petals. (This also fits the requirement for the 2016 challenge with the use of the Painted Petals set!) 

2011

This project was inspired by the post revisiting the Year of Flowers collection. I don't have that set either (I sold it long ago... how I wish I had it back! Wah.), but I found the lovely posies in the Botanical Blocks series to be quite similar in feel. I watercolored a pretty pink peony, then layered it on some Amethyst Allure Bitty Dot patterned paper. 

2010/2015

This project was inspired by Wreath for All Seasons. I recently purchased Twig Wreath set and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to put it to use. I love the fresh, springy colors in this one! It also works for the 2015 challenge with the use of the Twig Wreath set that was showcased for 2015! 

2009

I don't have many, if any, of these older sets. Most of them were sold off to fund my new purchases (haha!), so I have been "inspired by" the anniversary projects for most of my projects today. This one is no exception; I used the Make It Market Summer Fruits mini kit as a replacement for the First Fruits set released in 2009. I simply die cut several of the pretty, pre-printed images included in the kit, layered some plaid patterned paper and a strip of orange shimmer card stock. The Smokey Shadow background was looking a tad bare, so I used a white Prismacolor pencil and my T-ruler to draw a chalkboard-esque rectangle around the edge. 

2008

For this project, I was inspired by Birds and Blooms, released in 2008. I don't have this set, either, but I was reminded of the pretty branches and birdie in the Spring Woods set that has, sadly, lain untouched since I purchased it. I really love the Spring Rain and Berry Sorbet color scheme on this project. The background was blended with some Spring Rain ink around the edges, then the lattice stencil from the Garden Gate kit was placed over the top and some more Spring Rain ink blended to create a very subtle background. This set is definitely going to get some use now that I've inked it up! I might just have to get Winter Woods, too! 

2007

For this challenge's final project, I was inspired by the nautical themes of Out To Sea to pull out and ink up my Guiding Light set. These lighthouses are so beautiful in their graphic simplicity... Just love them all. I die cut a stitched oval from one of the Noted die sets, then subtly blended some Spring Rain and Blueberry Sky ink towards the top. The lighthouse was die cut and stamped using Soft Stone and Smokey Shadow inks. I added the sentiment and some seagull silhouettes, then finished it off with a little white twine bow to really give it a nautical feel. 

 Well, that's all for me today! I know I should feel lucky that I got any time at all after just having moved a couple of weeks ago, but I am still a little disappointed that these cards were the only ones I got to make. I actually have several of the stamp sets shown for the more recent years! Oh well, hopefully I will get to play along with next month's festivities, as well! And I plan to do a craft room tour of my new room as soon as I get everything looking the way I want it... which is taking longer than I anticipated, because I get distracted by things I find while I'm organizing! Yikes.

Hope you all are off to a wonderful start to your week! See you back here soon!