Thursday 25 July 2019

Paperless Post

Hello blog friends!

My post today is something a little bit different from my usual fare. 

I was approached by the Community Manager of Anagram Interactive to try products from a company called Paperless Post who specialise in online greetings. They offer designs from well known designers and life style companies such as Kate Spade New York, Oscar de la Renta and Rifle Paper Co.

I know my blog posts are usually about hand made cards but we all experience a time when we either forget someone's birthday or simply don't have the time to sit down and create. 

This is where Paperless Post comes in. You can send anything from greetings cards to flyers all of which are fully customisable. You also have the options of adding and envelope, with or without a liner, plus you can also send reply cards. The site is easy to navigate, there are hundreds of designs and combinations to choose from. 

After registering with Paperless Post you purchase 'coins' - in the UK you can buy 25 coins for £8.00 up to 1000 coins for £90.00. 

I decided to send a card to a friend just to say hello.

I chose a cute nature design called Hello Friend (Christian Robinson) by Red Cap Cards. This cost 2 coins.


After I selected my chosen card, I clicked on the customise button which tool me to the next stage. This is where I selected a backdrop. I chose Coldpress - Charterhouse a simple green backdrop to compliment the colours on the card  - 1 coin.


I then edited the text. There are several fonts to choose from and you can alter the size, format and colour. I selected Bodoni Black.

The next stage is choosing my envelope and liner. I selected an envelope in Burnt Caramel and the liner in Airy Dots - Charterhouse - envelope 1 coin - liner 1 coin.


The stamp and postmark stage is next. A free stamp is provided or you can choose a different one. I selected the Paperless Post Black Stamp and the Paperless Post Watermark. Stamp 1 coin - watermark free.

I then changed the design of the reply card. I selected a torn edged effect Papier D'armenie - 1 coin.


The last thing to do was to add the recipient and send. It is as simple as that. The total cost of the card was 7 coins. I also created a BBQ invite, which again was simple to create.

All along the way they keep you up to date on how many coins you have spent for each card. After completion of your card the total amount of coins spent will be per card sent to each recipient. My BBQ card cost 7 coins, if I had sent the invite to 5 people it would cost me a total of 35. You can add as many recipients as you like.

Mr friends who received the BBQ have already responded using the reply card.

I will definitely be using Paperless Post in the future, it will be especially handy to send cards at the last minute or for those far away in another country where you can't always guarantee that they will get a postal card. Plus it also makes sending a personal email much nicer.

The hardest thing I found about the site was which design and colour scheme to choose. Your coins will not expire, so you don't have a time limit on creating and sending your greetings.

Please pop in and check out PaperlessPost by clicking on this link https://www.paperlesspost.com. You won't be disappointed. 


Wednesday 3 July 2019

Thanks a Latte

Hello blog friends!

It has been some time since I last posted. We've been on holiday, had a few classic car rallies and I've been busy with magazine work. I've been doing Christmas stuff since May and the last half of the year is always extra busy as we have a couple of extra issues to get out, so that means tighter deadlines.

I made a fun little card for some dear friends, so this is what I want to show you today.



What you need...

Cardstock: Kraft, white

Stamps: Cool Beans ST-17-43 - Avery Elle; Breakfast Club - The Alley Way Stamps; Shadows - Paper Smooches

Dies: Cool Beans Ellements D1743 - Avery Elle, 3 Nested Squares Small 18009 - Gina K; Stitched - Paper Smooches

Ink pads: Smokey Gray, Vintage Sepia - Versafine; Extreme Black - My Favorite Things

Copics: E23 Hazelnut, E25 Caribe Cocoa, E27 Milk Chocolate, E29 Burnt Umber, B0000 Pale Celestine, B000 Porcelain Blue, R24 Prawn, R27 Cadmium Red, R29 Lipstick Red

Adhesives

What you do...

1 Stamp the cup, labek, large heart, a double and a single coffee bean in black ink onto white card and colour in.

2 Die cut the stamped images.

3 Die cut the largest of the stitched squares in white card. Stamp a shadow in Smokey Gray at the lower right corner and a coffee stain at the lower left and upper right in Vintage Sepia. Stamp the sentiment in black in the upper left corner.

4 Assemble the coffee cup and fix to the lower right over the shadow, place the coffee beans around the base. 

5 Die cut two stitched lines approximately 1cm and 2cm up from the bottom of an 11cm x 13cm top fold Kraft blank. Fix the coffee panel above.

6 Finish with two coffee stains at the lower right corner.

And there you have it, a perfect card for coffee lovers. Sadly The Alley Way Stamps is no longer in business, so this stamp set is no longer available. You could draw in some coffee stains or dip the base of a small glass or espresso cup into brown ink and 'stamp' the stains.

John & Peter were thrilled with the card as I was thrilled with the handmade chocolates they got me for my birthday.

Well, that's me for now. I will try and post again soon, thanks for stopping by!