Evolution of Cardmaking Over the Past 11 Years

When we started Papertrey Ink over 11 years ago, we had no idea where cardmaking would take us. From basic rubber stamps with wooden handles to ornate card designs, we’ve witnessed the evolution of cardmaking firsthand. Many of our incredible product designers have been integral in creating amazing designs over the past decade to make us one of the top cardmaking companies in the country.

With our 11^th Anniversary quickly approaching, it’s time to take a walk down memory lane and look at how cardmaking has evolved over the years from simple rubber stamps to 3D designs, nesting dies, and more. So, in honor of our upcoming anniversary, we rummaged through our design vaults and found some of our favorite designs from the start.

Beautiful Blooms

Back in our early days of 2007, we only released one new stamp set every month. Oh, the horror! Beautiful Blooms is one of our classic stamp sets containing limitless layering and building possibilities in this 27-piece set. The set included different flower shapes, polka-dots, gingham, and a trendy font. Over the years, we expanded this set to include even more designs in both stamps and dies.

Bitty Baby Blessings

In 2008, Papertrey Ink expanded from one stamp set a month to more stamps, paper, and craft room staples. For those of you who have been around from the start, you might remember we introduced our color collection, including loads of ink, cardstock, and ribbons. Cards are no longer just basic paper stamped with ink!

Our Bitty Baby Blessing stamp set is a timeless stamp set with all the classic baby images you need to make the perfect card. We also designed some of the smaller images to fit within the larger ones giving you a two-dimensional design.

Everyday Button Bits

In 2009, Papertrey Ink was on the cutting edge with a little stamp set called Everyday Button Bits.  This was the first stamp set created that used another medium (buttons) to complete the images in the set. Everyday Button Bits, to this day, is the bestselling stamp set in Papertrey Ink’s history.

Year of Flowers: Sweet Peas

Flowers have always been a popular stamp set for cardmaking. Since the beginning, we have released hundreds of different stamps, dies, and more for all your crafting needs. In 2010, we released the “Year of Flowers.” This monthly series of stamps included floral designs that represented each birth month. April is Sweet Peas and everything about this stamp set is sweet. Many of our customers purchased all 12 and made beautiful calendars!

Winter Penguin

Papertrey Ink continued to grow and evolve in 2011. Our Year of Flowers stamp series was so popular that we created smaller flowers and combined all 12 into one. We also released Winter Penguin, the perfect addition to your winter-themed cards. As you can see, our card designs are getting more creative with the additions of ribbons, buttons, glitter, and more!

Hello Sunshine

Our Hello Sunshine stamp set was one of our top selling sets of 2012. While the stamp set might not look like much, its versatility is incredible. Each of the triangular elements was designed to work perfectly together to create the ultimate “sunburst” background to give all your cards a color pop. With the coordinating dies, you could die-cut and layer colored cardstock and patterned papers to create 100 different card designs.

Pedal Pusher

Does this classic design from 2013 remind you of something? Pedal Pusher was the early beginnings of our favorite Make It Market kits. With two different stamping techniques, you can create fun designs for every occasion. With coordinating dies, you can stamp separate die-cuts and attach them to the bicycle to create 3D wheels that spin.

Life is Beautiful

Next to flowers, we love butterflies. Our 2014 Life is Beautiful stamp set is a classic staple that every craft room should have. The main butterflies can be used alone or for an extra pop of fun with a second layer of color with our coordinating accent stamp. We love seeing butterflies paired with glitter, pattern paper, embossing paste, and more.

2015 Birthday Tags

In 2015, we started branching out from just cards. While we will always love cardmaking, we enjoy using all our stamps, dies, and paper to create gift tags, ornaments, bookmarks, and anything else we can dream up. Our 2015 Birthday Tags is the perfect stamp set to create gift tags, birthday cards, and more. The best part? Our tags coordinate perfectly with our Limitless Layers collection!

Painted Petals Anniversary

Did we mention that we love flowers? Our Painted Petals Anniversary stamp set in 2016 was a simple stamp set that combines classic cardmaking techniques with a modern twist. Sometimes, just a simple stamped card is the way to go. Or, you can add layers to create a beautiful floral bouquet. 

Mix & Mat

In 2017, we introduced the new Mix & Mat die series by Betsy Veldman. These series of dies are all the rage today. Each collection contains three dies that can be used alone or all together to create the perfect card design no matter how and when you use them.

As you can see, our card designs have evolved over the past decade from simple stamped cards to creative, 3D designs using all sorts of materials and techniques. We pride our self on being one of the most innovative companies in the industry so that you can create whatever you put your mind and heart into. Now, it’s your turn to tell us what your favorite stamp set has been over the years!