Wplus9 August/September 2013 Release Day 1

A little late, but it's finally Release Week! For those of you that are new to Wplus9, we will spend the next couple of days getting up close and personal with the products that we will be releasing this month. All previewed items will be available for purchase on August 9, 2013 at www.wplus9.com as well as at many of your favorite retailers.

We have lots of new product to share with you, however, I will be hosting release week all alone this month. But not to worry, the design team will be joining in with new and fresh inspiration over the next several weeks!

I'm excited to share this release with all of you, so, let's get started!

Fanciful Feathers

• is a 4x6 clear photopolymer stamp set
• 14 high quality photo-polymer stamps; 10 feather images in multiple sizes, both solid and lined
• will be available for purchase August 9th for $14

Fanciful Feathers Companion Die

• contains 4 individual dies wired together that can be easily separated; 2 stamp companion dies and 2 stand alone dies
• coordinates with the Fanciful Feathers stamp set
• will be available for purchase August 9th for $10

Envelope Liner Die

• available exclusively at wplus9.com
• coordinates with our standard A2 envelope
• will be available for purchase August 9th for $20

While we pride ourselves on the classics and not being too overly trendy, this release definitely hits on a few current trends. And little else is more popular than feathers at the moment!

I wanted our feathers to be a little more than just delicate, but not too abstract and graphic. I think the final images are versatile enough to be soft and feminine or bold and graphic.

This first set is definitely bold and graphic! I've stamped the 2 feather styles in their solid states, in two sizes to create this fun pattern. I did give this a trial run on scratch paper before settling on the final placement. I highly recommend it! The envelope liner was cut from our Sweet Gelato card stock and adhered to an A4 envelope in white (more details on these later this week).

While I was at it, I decided to stamp out some quick gift note enclosures. I think the feather images stand up beautifully all on their own as well. The sentiment was added to all using Basic Banners, which I'll also tell you more about later this week.

Wplus9 Supplies:
Stamps: Fanciful Feathers, Basic Banners | Dies: A2 Envelope Liner | Ink: Lake House pigment ink | Cardstock: White, Sweet Gelato

Speaking of gift enclosure cards...this next pair packs a bit of elegance. The feathers are designed straight, but by bending them a little when you place them on your block you can create the look of movement. I stamped down one side of each in a "falling" motion using the larger outlined images in the set.

The sentiments, both from Fanciful Feathers, were added in a simple black. These little cuties measure 4 1/4 x 3 1/2".

Wplus9 Supplies:
Stamps: Fanciful Feathers | Cardstock: White

This next pair of cards shows us just how fancy these modest feathers can be. Again, I've curved the feathers when placing them on my acrylic block for that soft ethereal feel.

Here I've used our Nautical Navy card stock, coming this release, along with a lot of Perfect Pearls. I stamped everything in Perfect Medium and them brushed on the Perfect Pearls. Who said you have to choose between silver and gold, why not use both!

The sentiments, all from Fanciful Feathers, were heat embossed in silver and gold. I love when a simple card, using minimal supplies has such a big impact.

Wplus9 Supplies:
Stamps: Fanciful Feathers | Cardstock: Nautical Navy

These next two projects have a more artsy vibe and pay homage to the water color trend that is so hot right now.

For this one I opted to do a little faux painting with embossing powders. I die cut the feathers using the Fanciful Feathers Companion Die and stamped them in vibrant colors. For the "one of a kind" feather, I did a little gradient heat embossing. To create the "paint splatters", I dropped piles of embossing powder onto my card stock and then heat embossed it from behind. It takes a little longer to melt, but it kept the powder from blowing away and separating.

Wplus9 Supplies:
Stamps: Fanciful Feathers, Written On Ribbon ("one of a kind" sentiment), Quite Like You ("Simply Amazing" sentiment) | Dies: Fanciful Feathers Companion Die, Banner Trio | Cardstock: White, Sweet Gelato

For this one, I used some actual watercoloring via Distress Ink (Ranger).

I pressed the Distress Ink pads onto a sheet of parchment paper to lay down some ink, spritzed it with water, and then painted the same way I would with regular water colors. Once it was dry, I stamped the feather outlines and my sentiment in Jet Black Ranger Archival Ink. The lines on either side of the sentiment were added using Country Charm. I'm tempted to create more of these without the sentiment, scan them and have them enlarged. I think they'd make awesome prints.

Wplus9 Supplies:
Stamps: Fanciful Feathers, Sweets & Treats | Cardstock: White

My last project today is a super simple card. But it just may be my favorite.

I die cut one of the stand alone feathers from Fanciful Feathers twice and tied them with some twine. I scored a line down the center for a little interest since they were staying completely white (these look amazing die cut from water color paper and painted as well!). The sentiment, from Guiding Light Sentiments was embossed in white.

Wplus9 Supplies:
Stamps: Guiding Light Sentiments | Dies: Fanciful Feathers, A2 Envelope Liner | Cardstock: Nautical Navy, White

Whew! That wraps up Day 1! I really hope you enjoyed today's previews. Thanks again for being so patient, I hope it was worth the wait.

Are you ready for a chance to win today's featured products: Fanciful Feathers, Fanciful Feathers Companion Die and the A2 Envelope Liner Die? Just leave me a comment by 9:00 AM EST August 6th letting me know which was your favorite today. Do you like the feathers more graphic or are you preferring the elegant route. I will select one random winner from all comments. Winners will be posted here.

Thanks for stopping by, I'll be back tomorrow!