Stationery & Sticker Set featuring Ephemeras Vintage Garden...

May I share a pet peeve with you today?

You may laugh, as I'm sure I'm probably the only one who would find this frustrating!  LOL

I still enjoy the old fashioned art of writing letters and have several pen pals that I try to keep in contact with!  Do you know how frustrating it is to try to find a stationery set in this day and age?

Our local office supply store carries nothing in the way of beautiful stationery, and once in awhile I manage to get lucky and score some at the local dollar store...but it's hard!

Well, while brainstorming about what new creative twist I could some up with for another design team project for Ephemera's Vintage Garden Mabel's Diary collection, I decided that I would soothe my frustrations by creating my own stationery and sticker set!

I got designing in my Silhouette program and I love the results that came forward!

Allow me to share...

I imported the images to my Silhouette designer studio program and traced and cut the images I wished to use on the stickers and stationery. Then I got playing around deciding on backgrounds and placements of all the design elements. If you're looking for a fantastic tutorial on creating stickers with your Silhouette Cameo, be sure to check out the blog Silhouette School!  There is a wealth of knowledge on that site!

Here's a closer peek at the 5"x7" stationery paper...

I can hardly wait to write my first letter on this vintage inspired paper!

I do hope my pen pals will enjoy receiving my notes on this gorgeous ephemera inspired collection!

...and now for the stickers...

They turned out beautifully, and I even got the kiss cut to work on the Silhouette Cameo, something I've been having some trouble with as the depth settings needed to be adjusted...but I think I've got it now!  I thought these stickers would be wonderful to decorate the envelopes I send as well as to use in my planner! (Stay tuned as I have a whole post and video coming about what I've done with my planner and the Mabel's Diary Collection shortly!)

Well, that's all for me today!

I do hope you've enjoyed the items I've created here and that I've inspired you to give this a try!

I'd love to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to leave me a comment!

Oh...and I should share...the Mabel's Diary Collection is on sale for just a few more days, so don't let it slip through your fingers at this great price!

Until next time...

Old Fashioned Snailmail Stationery...

I'm back today with a post for the awesome online craft store Scrapbooks by Design!

I've recently gotten into the old art of handwriting snailmail letters to several pen pals, and I have to say it's such a nice surprise when you open your mailbox to find "happy mail" that makes you smile...and not just computer generated junk mail and bills. 

However, the problem I have encountered is purchasing cute stationery sets to write my letters on.  

I was browsing the web one day when I came across a stationery tutorial by Under a Cherry Tree.

I started reading some of the tutorials when I came across one that explained how to use your Silhouette Cameo to create your very own and unique stationery.  (You can find the tutorial here.)

Well, problem solved!  The tutorial was very clear and easy to follow and I got about to creating!

I purchased the graphics that I wanted to use through Lettering Delights, and the white copy paper was a Costco purchase.  When it comes to copy paper for a project like this, my suggestion is to go with a bright white and higher quality brand.  The cheap regular Costco brand we use for everyday printing is very thin...this last trip I purchased just one package of the bright white high quality copy paper and the printed designs did not shine through the back of the paper as it did with the cheaper version.  It just looked so much more professional! The remaining supplies I needed I was able to purchase through Scrapbooks by Design...including the white sticker paper that I also had never worked with before. 

Here's how the stationery set turned out...

I created two different paper designs as well as a cute matching envelope.  

Since this particular set was going to be sent out to a pen pal for a birthday gift, I made 4 pages of each design and 8 envelopes.  

Here's a closer look at each of the stationery pages...

I also created a few stickers to go with the collection.  Another tutorial I found at Under a Cherry Tree!  You can find the sticker tutorial here. 

Here's a peek at the coordinating stickers...

I can hardly wait until my pen pal received this in her mailbox and to hear what she thinks of it!
I hope she will enjoy using it, and that the recipients of her letters will enjoy the fun little notes as well.  (Edit:  my pen pal has received the set and absolutely adored it...just as I hope she would!)

That's all for me today!
I hope you've enjoyed my little project!
Be sure to stop by Scrapbooks by Design online store for all your stationery and sticker making supplies!

Until next time...