Two-Step...not what you think

In honor of the slower pace of the holiday, I'm posting a long post. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and find a comfy spot. Trust me, this is worth the read! You've got to see this.

It all started sometime ago when I stumbled across the blog of Nichole Heady, an amazingly talented stamper who started her own company, Papertrey Ink. I was stunned--I mean jaw-droppingly stunned-by this woman's creativity, and when she opened her cyber doors for business earlier this year, it was quickly apparent to me that I was not the only one who thought this way about what Nichole had created. So, after stalking her blog and watching longingly as each new set was revealed, I asked my dear mother-in-law to get me a gift certificate for my birthday. I wanted in on the hype, and I was not disappointed. This post will show you what goodies I purchased and how they're used.

After much pondering of all the options, I finally decided to purchase the latest release, Spiral Bouquet. My box arrived yesterday, and when I opened it, this was the first thing I saw. Awwww...who doesn't like pretty?

What was enclosed was a small set of acrylic blocks which I was going to use to hold my stamp images. What, you say? These aren't wooden rubber stamps? Nope.

These stamps are made of clear acrylic that clings to the surface of the blocks without any special adhesive. Since both are see-through, making sure the image is fully inked and placing it right where you want it is supposed to be easy peasy lemon squeezy. Well, I was about to find out.

After following the stamp prep instructions so that I would be set up for the best possible experience, I was rarin' to go. I peeled up the first stamp and placed in on the block. I loved that I could put it just where I wanted on the block.

See how easy it is to see where the ink is?

Here's where the two-step comes in (no honky tonk music, please). All of Nichole's designs have multiple layers, so that you can create depth and dimension and different looks with just one set of 24 images. That girl thinks of everything! Anyway, it may be a little challenging to see in this photo, but I've inked up a thicker "shadow" image and I'm hovering it right over the line art image I stamped earlier. What a wonderful thing to be able to easily see where to align it so that it goes where I want it to go!

Here's another photograph that shows me adding a little twirly accent piece and being able to attach it to the original stem because I can see the stem while I'm stamping! You can also see how the flowers have two layers--a detail and a solid base.

Here's the finished product! I can't wait to send it to my mother-in-law! Thanks for making this fun possible, Mom!!

Here's another one I did yesterday with the same set. Isn't that fern leaf detail cool? And the sentiment, "with Gratitude", is one of several, and they're all that beautiful! The "with" and the "Gratitude" are separate stamps, so I can determine where I want them to go in relation to each other. Cool, huh!

For those who may be worried about my loyalties to SU!, let me put your mind at ease and share that Papertrey Ink does NOT have demonstrators, so I'm not going to jump ship! But I do think you deserve to know when someone's doing something excellently, and Nichole is not only a talented artist (she creates all the stamp designs by hand), but she's a businesswoman who has thought through how to best serve her customers. Kudos, Nichole, for bringing such a great product to market!!