PTI Celebrating the Past, Present and Future: 2014

Hello, Friends!

Welcome to the 2014 Celebration of Papertrey Ink's stamp set releases!  Because the trend of Papertrey Ink's celebration seemed to be to pick a favorite stamp set from the year featured and make a card with it, I had already looked ahead and chosen this stamp set, Feather Finery, for my 2014 card.  However, PTI also chooses 5 stamps from each year to revisit and if you have one of those five sets, you're supposed to dust it off and use it instead.  Luckily for me, Feather Finery was one of the 5 stamps they chose!  I was so glad because I really wanted to get this stamp set inky!

I don't have a big thing for feathers.  I know they are really popular, but I'm not particularly into them like some people are.  Don't get me wrong, when I see one, I am amazed at how intriquite they are.  I am awe-struck that God could put a bunch of them together and have an animal use them to take flight.  I'm not diminishing feathers in any way, either, they just aren't my particular thing.  Wiener dogs are my thing.  Also, pretty stamps are my thing which is what led me to get this set.  

I think this feather stamp is gorgeous.  Whether it is stamped in a single color or multiple ones, I think it is beautiful.  So, when I found someone selling this set at a bargain basement price, I got it.  I didn't know how many feather cards I would be creating, but it was just too good of a deal to pass up on such a pretty stamp.  

If you go to Papertrey Ink's blog post on 2014, which I encourage you to do, you will see lots of pretty cards made with it which are much fancier than mine.  When combined with sequins, ribbon, embossing powder or vellum, this set makes one stunning card after another.  I just wanted my card to be very simple though.  I wanted the focus to be on the beauty of the feather and on the message I stamped to go with it.

To get my multi-colored feather, I placed my stamp on my MISTI.  Making sure my card stock would be in the same place each time, I inked part of the stamp with a single color.  I started with the top of my feather, inked it in Simply Chartreuse ink and stamped it on my card stock.  Then, leaving my stamp on the MISTI, I cleaned it off with a baby wipe.  Next, I went to another color of green, Ripe Avocado, and inked my stamp- making sure to get some of the Ripe Avocado on the feather so it would overlap the first green and then stamp some of the feather which hadn't been stamped before.  Even though there's not a lot of Ripe Avocado on it's own on the feather, it definitely added depth to the Simple Chartreuse part.   After cleaning my stamp again with a baby wipe, I overlapped and stamped a little more of the feather further down with Pinefeather ink.  I followed the routine of cleaning my stamp, inking it to cover a bit of what I had just stamped and then some of the stamp which hadn't been seen yet on my card stock.  After Pinefeather, I used Tropical Teal and finished with Enchanted Evening inks.  At the very bottom of the feather, Enchanted Evening is the only ink that you can see.  

I couldn't have done this without the MISTI.  Since my feather lined up perfectly each time, I was able to layer color after color without contaminating my ink pads or having a blurry mess of a feather!  I was really happy with how it turned out!

Also in MISTI territory for people like me who have to stamp their sentiment straight, I stamped part of the scripture from Psalm 91:4 featured in the Walk By Faith PTI stamp set.  The entire verse says,

"He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."

The verses before and after Psalm 91:4 talk about God being faithful to us no matter what bad things come our way.  Using the same concept as a mama bird who gathers her babies under her wings so they are safe, dry and protected, God will do the same for us.  God's faithfulness remains no matter what and He is our protection, just like a shield or barricade would protect us.  

That verse paints such a beautiful picture in my head.  I love the idea of being gathered under God's protection when times are tough, knowing that He will be faithful and help us deal with whatever comes our way.  

This little sentiment went perfectly with my feather, so I stamped it in Enchanted Evening on the lower left side. 

I mounted my white stamped cardstock on Tropical Teal and Pinefeather cardstocks to bring out those colors in the feather.  Then, very lightly, I traced each line in the feather with a clear glitter Wink of Stella pen.  If you look closely at the picture, you can actually pick up some of the sparkle.  In person, the glitter isn't overbearing at all.  In fact, the light will just pick up the glitter when it hits a certain way.  It's like a hidden surprise when all of a sudden the feather sparkles from top to bottom!

Even though feathers aren't my thing, be prepared to see more of Feather Finery and the sentiment stamps from the set, Walk by Faith, in the future!

Happy Stamping!

I used the following Papertrey Ink Supplies to make this card:

Feather Finery and Walk By Faith Stamp Sets

Simply Chartreuse, Ripe Avocado, Pinefeather, Tropical Teal and Enchanted Evening Ink Pads

Stamper's Select White, Tropical Teal and Pinefeather Cardstock

MISTI by My Sweet Petunia

Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Marker by Zig Kuretake