HOME · MOUNTAINCOW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER (SEPTEMBER 2009)

Going batty
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, which makes it the perfect year to throw a Halloween bash! Gather all the kids in the neighborhood or just a few friends for candy apples and games before heading out for some group trick-or-treating! We have spooky and adorable designs to suit your style, and we’ve created Personalized StationeryStamps for an extra spooky delivery.

An adorable black cat cozies up to a jack-o-lantern at the top of our PrintingPress design. We added the invitation text in black using the Girls are Weird font from the Easy Invitations Bonus Content CD. We used a corner punch to round the corners of the invitation. Then we used double-stick tape gun to adhere the White 3.75 x 5 inch custom cut invitation to a Black 4 x 5.25 inch custom cut card which also has rounded corners. We mounted the set to a Mandarin Orange A2 card with rounded corners. Send in a Mandarin Orange lined in Black, and add black cat Personalized StationeryStamps in the Small size.

We love candy.  If you love candy too, try our PrintingPress Platinum design. We added a graphical border with candy corn scattered across a field of black to a White A7 card. We added the invitation text in black using the Colin font from Fonts & Graphics 2 and set the card’s bottom margin to 2.25 inches so that the text cannot overlap the candy. Since the border goes all the way to the edge of the card, we used our printer’s borderless printing feature. We paired the invitation with a Mandarin Orange A7 envelope lined in Black. For extra fun, add candy corn Personalized StationeryStamps.

Our PrintingPress Extreme 5.0 design features a chilling tombstone against a night sky. We added the tombstone image to a White A7 card and floated the image behind the main text area of the card. For tips on the different layers in your stationery, review the Extreme Tip from the June 2006 issue. Next, we added a custom background and filled it in black. Then we added an image of a full moon as a floating image and placed it in the top left corner of the card. We enabled the Make white transparent setting on all of the images so that you can see through the blank areas of each image to the design elements underneath the image. We adjusted the card’s margins so that the text falls within the blank area of the tombstone and then added the invitation text using the Times New Roman font with the text case set to Small Caps. We set the Emboss text style to make the text look as if it were carved into the stone. We added a few floating images of blades of grass in front of the base of the tombstone to make it look more realistic. Since the design bleeds all the way to the edge of the card, we used our printer’s borderless printing feature. We lined the Pewter envelopes in Black and added tombstone Personalized StationeryStamps to complete the eerie ensemble.

PrintingPress sample
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PrintingPress Platinum sample
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PrintingPress Extreme 5.0 sample
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An upcoming union
A wedding is a wonderful excuse for extravagant invitations. Pocket invitations allow you to include additional information elegantly and neatly stored along with the invitation. Our new Pocket Folder designs keep all the important details handy in a gorgeous package.

For a modern twist on tradition, try our PrintingPress design featuring a Complete Pocket Invitation set in the A7 Portrait (rounded point flap) size. We added the invitation text to the Ecru invitation card in grey using the Arial font in all caps. We added the bride and groom’s names in all caps using the Times New Roman font, and added the initials joined by an ampersand at the bottom of the invitation. We used double-stick tape gun to adhere the invitation to the Sky backing card and then mounted the set to the Metallic Slate Pocket Folder. We used the same grey text for the directions on the Ecru enclosure card and the Ecru response set. We lined the Ecru envelopes in Sky for a splash of color. We created 3.125 x 2.25 inch cards in PrintingPress and used the 4-up feature to print four seals onto a single Ecru A6 card. Then we used a rotary cutter to trim the seals down to size. We stuck the seals onto Sky 3.375 x 2.5 inch custom cut cards and mounted the set onto the flap of the Pocket Folder.

If you’re in the mood for romance, try our PrintingPress Platinum design featuring an Avocado Pocket Folder in the A7 (rounded point flap) size. We added a background image with a periwinkle silhouette of jasmine atop a field of green to a White 4 x 6 custom cut card. We added the invitation text in brown using the Times New Roman font in all lowercase letters. We added the bride and groom’s names in white to make them really pop off the green background. Since the green background runs all the way to the edge of the card, we used our printer’s borderless printing feature. We used double-stick tape gun to stick the invitation to a Metallic Twilight 4.5 x 6.5 inch custom cut card and then mounted the set to the Pocket Folder. We printed the directions onto an Avocado 4.75 x 6.75 inch custom cut card. We added another floral background image to the response card, and used our printer’s borderless printing feature once again. We created 3 x 2 inch seals with the floral background, and used the 4-up feature to print four seals onto a single White 4 x 6 inch custom cut card. We taped the seals to Metallic Twilight 3.25 x 2.25 inch custom cut cards and then mounted the set to the flap of the Pocket Folder. We lined the Avocado envelopes in Metallic Twilight and added jasmine silhouette (willow & periwinkle) Personalized StationeryStamps.

Our PrintingPress Extreme 5.0 design is another fun mix of classic and fresh, featuring an Avocado Pocket Folder in the Square (pointed flap) size. We started by creating a White 3.875 x 3.875 inch invitation using the Label stationery type so that we can print four per page. We filled the background with light green and gave the card a 0.25 inch overprint to allow a bit of bleed for a perfect cut after the card is printed. We added a scattering of white flower blossoms along the left side of the invitation and added the invitation text in gray centered along the right side of the card. We used the Times New Roman font with the text case set to Small Caps and the Alyssa Afternoon font from Fonts & Graphics for Weddings. We created a 5.25 x 5.25 inch backing card and filled it with a new mod circles pattern in grey. We used the overprint feature to print the backing card onto a White 6.25 x 6.25 inch card and then trimmed it down to size using a rotary trimmer. We used a used double-stick tape gun to adhere the invitation to a Slate 4.125 x 4.125 inch custom cut card. Then we mounted the set to the patterned backing card, and then mounted that to a Slate 5.5 x 5.5 inch custom cut card. Finally, we mounted the group to the Pocket Folder. We printed the directions in grey on a White 5.5 x 5.5 inch custom cut card and tucked it into the pocket. We added a custom border with the border shape set to Line (Bottom) to the White 4-bar response card. We filled the border with the mod circles pattern and added light green inner and outer lines. Since the border runs to the edge of the card, we used our printer’s borderless printing feature to print the response card. We paired the response card with a Slate 4-bar envelope lined in Avocado. We used the label feature to print twenty 2 x 2 inch seals onto a single White sheet of 8.5 x 11 inch card stock and trimmed the seals using a rotary trimmer. We stuck the seals onto Slate 2.25 x 2.25 inch custom cut cards and mounted the set to the flap of the Pocket Folder. We lined the White Square invitation envelope in Slate and added Custom Image StationeryStamps.

Custom transfigurations
If you see a custom pattern that you like in an Extreme newsletter project, but the colors aren’t exactly what you need, don’t worry. PrintingPress Extreme 5.0 lets you modify custom patterns from imported projects, so you can swap in your color scheme and you’re good to go. The first thing that you need to do is download the newsletter project. Next, select Create / Edit custom pattern in the Color menu where the pattern is used. The custom pattern window for this month’s Favor Gift Wrap is shown below. The pattern repeats a white graphic on top of a colored background. To modify the background color, click on the Background fill color or pattern button in the Background section and choose a new color. That’s it!

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In the example below, we are modifying the striped pattern from the custom border from July’s Platinum Clam Bake project. To change the color of the blue stripe, click on the Fill color button in the Shape details section. To change the color of the white stripe, click on the Background fill color or pattern button in the Background section.

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