The holiday season is right around the corner and the team at Ink to Paper is excited to create and share projects. Fall is the season of gratitude, which leads right into the Christmas season of giving. We wanted to dedicate the month of November to a marathon of creative inspiration using our holiday themed stamps and dies. Crafting during the holiday season is very popular, and our collection of stamps and dies will surely inspire you to create along with us throughout the month.
Get ready to learn some fun facts about the company, designers, and of course amazing new ways to create cards, gift tags, and more!
Learn a little more about how Papertrey Ink got started in an interview with one of the owners, Julie.
Let’s take a closer look at the fall themed product collections we are featuring for today’s CreateAthon! Laurie Schmidlin and Melissa Phillips have shared amazing cards to celebrate autumn.
Thankful Thoughts Stamps + Dies
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Lovely Leaves Stamps + Dies
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On the Border: Fall Foliage Dies

“With Fall being my favorite season, it’s no wonder that I absolutely adore both the Lovely Leaves and Thankful Thoughts stamp sets! In fact, I think both of these sets can be used year round, just by changing up the colors used! The On The Border: Fall For Foliage die set is such a great set to layer with, especially the border. I kept my colors neutral and layered them in a cluster to leave plenty of white space. I find that this ensures the overall look is not to busy or visually overwhelming. One thing that I find helpful, especially with intricate dies like the one in Thankful Thoughts, is to die cut first and then stamp using a stamp positioner. By using a stamp positioner, it really does help to get the images centered on the die cuts.”
“I find that if I stamp the detailed, outside images from the Lovely Leaves stamp set, that it’s a bit easier to line up the solid leaf images. Also tucking in additional foliage or florals from other sets is a great way to add filler and get more use from several stamp sets, such as I did here with the addition of the Floral Christmas stamp set.”
PRIZE
During Holiday CreateAthon, we are offering a weekly $100 Ink to Paper Gift Certificate!
RULES
Participants may enter the challenge once a day. To enter, participants are required to answer the contest challenge question (posted below) in the comments of the daily post. HINT: Answers to questions may be discovered by reading a designer’s blog post from the respective day. A randomly selected winner with the correct answer will gain an entry to be eligible for the weekly prize. Participants can receive an entry each day a Holiday CreateAthon post is published.
This post will be updated with the randomly selected winner who gains an entry for this week’s prize.
Weekly winners will be posted on the Holiday CreateAthon page.
CHALLENGE
Answer the following question: How did Laurie Schmidlin start stamping?
EDITED TO ADD THE RANDOMLY SELECT WINNER:
Congratulations to storymusicgirl! You will be entered to win the weekly prize!
She was invited to a home based stamping party and that started it all.
Laurie got started by attending a home stamping party from which she and a friend became demonstrators. She has been stamping ever since. Love today’s cards. Thank you for a chance to win such a generous prize. Cheers.
Oh, this is such a lovely surprise – love the idea of a Holiday CreateAthon. Laurie started stamping 22 years ago when she went to a home based stamping party and decided, with her friend, to become a demonstrator. Fingers crossed we have to make something for some of the entries….
Laurie began stamping after being invited to a home-based stamping party.
Laurie started 22 years ago when she was invited to a home based stamping party then decided to demonstrate stamping with a good friend.
Laurie started stamping 22 years ago when she attended a stamping home party and then became a demonstrator.
Laurie started stsmping after attending a home stamping party, then became a demonstrator 22 years ago.
Laurie attended a home based stamping party. Then she became a demonstrator.
Laurie started stealing2l when she was invited to a home based stamping party.
How fun! Beautiful designs! I LOVE Laurie’s! Laurie started stamping 22 years ago when she got invited to a Home Based Stamp Company party with friends and babies.
She was invited to a home based stamping party. She partnered with someone to be a demonstrator and has continued to teach and stamp for 22 years.
22 years ago when she was invited to a home based stamping party.
She and a friend were invited to a home based stamping party 22 years ago.
Laurie was invited to a home based stamping party with a friend.
She was invited to a stamping home based party 22 years ago. She also said she likes to die cut first and then stamp using a position-er.
She started stamping 22 years ago when she attended a home based stamp party.
Great interview on your blog post today! I really enjoyed hearing from Julie and Gaby.
She was invited to a home based stamping party twenty two years ago with a friend which led to them being demonstrators.
Laurie began stamping 22 years ago after attending a home based stamping party. She and her good friend partnered in becoming demonstrators while their husbands took care of the babies.
Love the idea of a Holiday CreateAthon….very pretty cards showcased today by Laurie and Melissa! Laurie started stamping 22 years ago when she participated in a home-based stamping party with a friend.
She started when she was invited to a home based stamping party.
Laurie started 22 years ago after attending a home-based stamping party. I’m looking forward to this month long creative adventure!
At a home based stamping party with her good friend.
Laurie was invited to a home based stamping party 22 years again.
Laurie Schmidlin started stamping 22 years ago when she was invited to a home based stamping party. She stated she became a demonstrator also. Similar story for me!
Laurie started 22 years ago when she went to a home based stamping party with a friend. She and her friend partnered and became demonstrators for that company. That is where the journey began.
Laurie began stamping 22 years ago at a home based stamping party when her first child was 3 months old.
Laurie began her journey into stamping 22 years ago at a home based stamping party.
She hasn’t stopped since and fortunately for her (and us), she has become the very talented designer she is today in some wonderful stamping companies! I love her work! And thank you Laurie! 🙂
Laurie attended a home-based stamping company party. She was hooked. The rest is what we get to enjoy—her amazing creations!!!
This is so much fun! Laurie started stamping 22 years ago after attending a home stamping party.
Loved hearing about your story. Your posts on ink to paper are so inspiring. Most of my supplies come from PTI and now ink to Paper, dispite the high shipping costs (international buyer). Now to answer the question, you started 22 years ago with a friend in which both of your babies were the same age, (what a blessing to share together), and decided to be demonstrators together for stamping paries. I am so glad you are still into paper crafting! We are blessed for it. I am so looking forward to the month of November and all ink to paper has in store! It is such a fun filled month. For me I try and create card set gifts to give out at christmas, so its my favourite month because I have to create lots in order to get enough sets to go around! Can’t wait to see each day’s post!
She was invited to a home based stamping party 22 years ago.
Wow 22yrs of stamping! Laurie was invited to a home based stamping party and became a demonstrator………….the rest is history 🙂 one of my very favourite cardmakers
Laurie was introduced to stamping 22 years ago when she attended a home based stamping party with a friend.
Laurie began stamping 22 years ago when she was invited to a home based stamping party.
Gorgeous layering on both these pretty cards. Laurie started stamping when she was invited to a home based stamping party.
Laurie first got started in stamping 22 years ago when she was invited to a home based stamping party.
Oh I simply LOVE these beautiful cards from Laurie and Melissa made with three of the prettiest sets ~
Lovely Leaves, Thankful Thoughts and Fall For Foliage die set!
Laurie started stamping 22 years ago after attending a home-based stamping party. She and her friend became partner demonstrators, and then later branched out to other companies. She began doing work on design teams on the Splitcoast Stampers dirty dozen, which is also were she discovered Papertrey Ink. Thanks for the opportunity to win – I am looking forward to the month of inspiration!
This is going to be fun! Laurie began stamping 22 years ago when she was invited to a home based stamping party/
She and a friend both had infant children, and they started an at home stamping business while their hubbys watched the babies. 22 year’s ago!
Twenty two years ago, she was invited to a home based stamping party. She and her friend, both with babies, decided to become demos. Laurie’s blog is one of my favorites. Always love seeing her fabulous ideas. I sure am glad she went to that party!
Laurie started stamping 22 years ago when she was invited to a home stamping party.
She was invited to a home based stamping party. How fun! And what beautiful cards!!
What a great way to begin the month! Laurie started stamping when she went to a home based stamp party 22 years ago with a friend.
She started out by going to a home-based stamping party and then colaborated with a friend. Similar to how I came to know about stamping!
She was invited to a home-based stamping party where she fell in love with ink.
Laurie was invited to a home stamping party 22 years ago.
Laurie’s love for stamping started when she was invited to a home based stamping party 22 years ago. Love her work!
Like so many others, she caught the bug when she attended a homebased stamping party.
Home-based stamping party!
Laurie went to a home-based party and later became a demonstrator. So glad that she discovered a passion in stamping. She is one of my favorite designers and offers lots of inspiration. Thanks for the anticipation of seeing a month’s worth of projects and for the opportunity to win a great prize!
Laurie got her start in stamping when she was invited to a home based stamping party. She and her friend became demonstrators and the rest is history!
Laurie started stamping because of a home based stamping party 22 yrs ago. You’re certainly lucky to have her on the DT with her incredible talent! Love both Melissa & Laurie’s work including todays gorgeous cards! Always fun to have a chance at a $100 gc, but my favorite contests are ones where we get to enter something we made.
Twenty-two years ago when she was invited to a home-based stamping party. So many of us started that way! 🙂
Laurie was invited to a home based stamping party, and she and a friend decided to partner in being demonstrators. It was love at first inking for Laurie!
Laurie started stamping when she was invited to a home based stamping party, 22 years ago!
Laurie attended a home-based stamping party in 1997 and never looked back. She can pile on the layers but still create clean and simple. Love her style!
Laurie started stamping after attending a home based stamping party.
Laurie was invited to a home based stamping party 22 years ago and Laurie and her friend partnered in being demonstrators.
Laurie started stamping 22 years ago when she was invited to a home-based stamping party.
Laurie got started stamping after being invited to a home stamping party.
22 years ago, she was invited to a home-based stamping party. That’s the way I got started as well, though not quite that long ago! I’ve always loved Laurie’s style since I first saw it !
Home stamping party.
Laurie started stamping 22 years ago after she attended a stamping home party. Then she became a demonstrator.
Laurie was invited to a home based stamping party 22 years ago. I wish I had a local stamping buddy!
Someone invited her & her friend to a home party (perhaps Stampin Up, tho she didn’t say! As they say, all over but the shoutin’ once she got a taste.
She went to a home stamping party. I wonder how many stampers started this way!
being invited to a home based stamping party was how she started…..maybe Stampin Up?? That’s how I got started too!!
Laurie got started after attending a home based stamping party with a friend.
Laurie was invited to a home stamping party 22 years ago. For Laurie it was love at first inking. She and her friend decided to partner in being demonstrators.
22 years ago when she was invited to a home based stamping party, Laurie was hooked. Like me!
So fun to learn more about the background of PTI, Ink to Paper and the design team. Laurie started stamping after attending a home-based party. She and her friend (each with 3 month old littles) became demonstrators.
Laurie went to a home based stamping party and decided to partner up with a friend to become demonstrators!
Lori and her friend, who both had 3-month-old babies, were invited to a home-based stamping party and then they both decided to become demonstrators. That was 22 years ago!
She was invited to a home based stamping party 22 years ago & became a demonstrator.
Laurie started stamping 22 years ago when she attended a stamping home party and then became a demonstrator.
Laurie attended a home based party 22 years ago and then became a demonstrator with her friend.
She attended a home based stamping party with a friend and then became a demonstrator.
She attended a home based stamping party with a friend and then became a demonstrator.
Twenty-two years ago she was invited to a home based stamping party. It was obviously a match made in heaven for her and the rest is creative history!
Laurie began stamping when she attended a stamping party, then became a demonstrator.
She was invited to a home based stamping party! This is how I started 20 years ago, but I had stamps, inks and embossing powders almost 40 years ago, when I had to use the electric burner on the stove to see the magic happen. Rainbow ink and clear emboss was my favorite back then.
After she attended a stamping party she became a demonstrator and the rest was history.
She attended a stamping party with a friend 22 years ago. And she is still stamping.