Saturday 13 April 2019

Blossoms and putting Paperbox products through their paces


Morning Peeps, time for our new Allsorts challenge and this week I am your host with a two week challenge to carry us over the Easter holiday and the theme I have chosen is Blossoms, Butterflies and Bugs and we have a new sponsor this week The Paperbox.

Recently the Paperbox offered to send me a package of their products and invited me to write a review of them, we chatted and agreed that it would be nice if they were to sponsor Allsorts this challenge and I would use some of their products to create my artwork.

Their web site offers a wide range of card, paper, vellum, envelopes, embellishments, weddings stationery and more and card and paper can be purchased in packs of just ten right up to bumper bundles of 250.

So being the inky crafter I am I was keen to know how their card stock stood up to different treatments and for my first creation decided to stamp directly onto one of the Paperbox's A6 Bright White Card Blank and Envelope's. Placing the card blank into my stamp platform I used a Penny Black stamp called Blossom Branch, inked with Distress Markers and yes..........spritzed with water just as I would if I were creating a piece to be be matted onto a card blank. After stamping my first impression I then re-inked and stamped a couple more times to get more colour definition and now the telling time, removed the card from the stamp platform and here you can see the reverse.....no bleed through.


I'll be honest and say I was sceptical because the weight of the base card does not feel as heavy as I would usually go for, I tend to use 300gsm minimum and I would guess this is 280gsm max, but it took the ink and water remarkably well and as you can see there is no evidence of any colour stain on the reverse. As those who know me are aware I'm not a colourist so not able to say how the card would react to different types colouring pens. 

I masked the envelope with a post it note, inked the edges with distress ink and followed the same process for stamping as with the card, although only added a very light spritz of water as obviously the envelope is paper as opposed to card, but it stood up to the treatment I gave it very well.

The Butterfly on the card is made from the A4 White Iridescent Vellum sheet that was in the pack sent to me, it's a nice weight of vellum and held up well when I stamped with the Chocolate Baroque Butterfly using Versafine Black and heat embossed with details clear EP. At £3.41 (offer price and normally £4.01) for a pack of 10 it represents good value compared with what I usually pay for stamping use. I coloured in with with Distress Markers to coordinate with the flowers, cut out and added to the card along with wire antenna. The sentiment is also from CB.


For my next card I really put the card stock through it's paces deciding what I had in mind would either work or it wouldn't and I was amazed with the outcome. The soft shades of the A4 Matt Card stock (300gsm) are such pretty colours so I went through my Distress Oxides to do some colour matching and found Cracked Pistachio and Squeezed Lemonade matched the Mint Green and Pale Yellow perfectly. I took half of the sheet of Matte White (also 300gsm) from the same collection and gave it the normal Distress Oxide treatment, ink, water, heat, more ink and water and more heat and it took it all in it's stride, the ink distributed nicely without any 'persuasion' and was still pretty flat at the end of the process and no untoward buckling. 

Next I stamped the inky panel with a Chocolate Baroque stamp and coloured in with sparkle pens, then die cut a frame using the two coloured sheets, ran the yellow one through an embossing folder  with no cracking and mounted with foam pads onto an A6 Bright White Card Blank. I have tried an awful lot of different card stock over the years for inking and many have failed dismally, but I would happily buy the Matt White specifically for this purpose.

I also tried the Matte White with with Brushos which requires the use of ample water and was more than happy with the results. At £9.83 for 50 sheets it compares well with the card that I currently buy for my inky activities and the 150 pack at £19.83 even more so.


One final share using a sheet of A4 Dusky Pink Paper which is a lovely colour and has a nice textured finish to it along with a matching envelope. I decided to see how it took a juicy ink so decided on Versafine Clair and a Heartfelt stamp and it drank up the ink really well without any bleed sidewards, it comes in a range of colours so would certainly use it again for stamping. I cut the flowers with the matching die and layered, stamped an Inkylicious sentiment and created a fairly quick and simple card, adding some Tattered Lace Ivy. I also added some of the flowers to the envelope.

I still have a few sheets to try out and will share those at a later date, I am very impressed with a sheet of Silver Glitter Card also yet untested but it is the smoothest I have ever seen, they say it's non shed and having given it a good rub it certainly shows no sign of any loss as many makes tend to, so if you are in need of some take a look on their web site as it comes in a range of colours.  One thing I would love to see added to their range is black cardstock, I use black a great deal and probably 50% of the cards I make uses black as the base card as well as lighter weights for matting and layering.

I am grateful to the Paperbox for allowing me to try their products and give you my thoughts on them, whenever I am asked to do this I always endeavour to offer an impartial viewpoint which is what I have done today.
 
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39 comments:

Cath Wilson said...

I love seeing products put through their paces, so this is a great post for me, Brenda. Great tests! The only other question I would ask, is does the ink 'move' or stay in one place? I use two kinds of card and one gives me much more interesting results because the inks spread when sprayed. No matter how much I spray the other one, they stay in one place - both have their uses, as we both know, lol, but I do love it when the inks go their own way and surprise us :-)
Love all your cards, but the first one is wonderful and I have those stamps. Love your butterfly and you've got a great impression with the floral stamp. I've never been happy with my results with that stamp...I really should try again and you've inspired me to do that.
Thank you for sharing your experiments - very useful!
Cath x

kiwimeskreations said...

Now that sounds amazing card stock!! Love all that you did to it to find out how durable and friendly it is, and it came out trumps.
Love your finished results too :-)
Blessings
Maxine

Sandma's Handmade Cards said...

This all sounds exciting Brands. You cards look absolutely beautiful and I love the watercolour effect on your first card and envelope. Beautiful stamping on your second card and the soft primrose colour that you've used looks lovely, terrific stamp too x

Sue's Crafty Corner said...

Your cards look wonderful using the new card stock Brenda. It was interesting reading what you thought of the different types of card and I shall certainly be bearing Paperbox in mind next time i need card.

Sue xx

Cath Wilson said...

Thanks, Brenda - I appreciate you getting back to me - I'll bear that in mind when I decide where to buy my next lot of card from :-)
Cath x

Gertrude said...

WOW, das ist ja eine tolle Karte, hast du super gestaltet
glg Gertrude

Dr Sonia S V said...

What beautiful floral creations Brenda
Cheers
Dr Sonia

Viv said...

Fab cards B. Nice to be able to test out and great for the rest of us so that we know what can and can't be done!
No 'slips' tomorrow... I hope! xx

Alice (scrAPpamondo) said...

Amazing flowers cards, Brenda!! Love so much the natural feel of the first one and its envelope looks so pretty with the masked frame in the centre!! Amazing sweet colours and the 3D butterfly looks gorgeous!!
Love the sunny feel of the second one, so sweet! And the last one is very impressive with those layered flowers and the ivy branches!
It seems that these papers are so good to work, thanks for your point of view, loved reading about your test!
Big hugs, have a lovely weekend!

Ellibelle said...

Your creations are so beautifully done Brenda, and what a great way to decorate the envelope with the post-it note. Haven't seen that anywhere before and hope you don't mind me doing something similar on a future project.
As always thank you for the wonderful inspiration, and I truly enjoyed this theme!

Kath said...

Beautiful cards and a great review of the products - thank you!
Kath x

Kim said...

fabulous creations and it's always good to try new products!
Kim x

ALI said...

Thanks for that Brenda always worth knowing about inks and papers, you have made some lovely cards.

Kathleen said...

A gorgeous set of cards and a really good great test of the different card, lovel the first card.

Kath x

Mia said...

A great selection of lovely cards, Brenda. Kisses!!!

Greta said...

All beautiful, but wow--that first card & envelope are just stunning, Brenda!

Craftyfield said...

Excellent review, Brenda, it is actually quite difficult to find the best card for the ink/technique/stamp combination! gsm is only one indication but doesn't take into consideration coating (or sizing) or thickness.
As usual, I have been admiring the PB image, so delicately inked and stamped, on this lovely CAS card. xx

Marlies said...

Gorgeous cards Brenda. I love the first one with the matching envelope, a lovely stamp and colours. Lovely happy sunshine colours on the second and the last one in so stylish. All beautiful made as allways. Marlies x

Mervi said...

Beautiful test for the firm, have to look closer!
Gorgeous cards as always;-))m

Wendy L said...

Stunning cards Brenda, and great work testing the products, xxxx

KarinsArtScrap said...

beautiful and gorgeous cards Brenda
Gr Karin

Rainey's Craft Room said...

Beautiful cards Brenda and a fabulous, informative review of The Paperbox card stock too. It's always helpful to hear other crafters findings when using products before we make a considered purchase.
Lorraine

Sarah said...

Wonderful cards Brenda and you have very much put those products through their paces for us!! xx

crafty-stamper said...

Gorgeous cards Brenda but really love the stamps on the first one-the card sounds brilliant and is always good to have a recommendationfrom another crafter who has actually tried and tested the product so sounds well worth buying
Carol x

Marianne's Craftroom said...

Lovely them and beautiful cards especially the top one.

Mrs.B said...

Gorgeous cards Brenda and how nice to decorate the matching envelopes. It was good to read your review of the card, there's nothing worse than putting thinking time and effort into making a card and finding that the cardstock isn't suitable for the inks and water. I'll make a note of the website for when I next order card.
Avril xx

Donna Ellis said...

Hi, Brenda! Beautiful cards of encouragement and support with such pretty colors and FABULOUS sentiments! hugs, de

Inkyfingers said...

What a gorgeous collection of creations Brenda! My favourite is the first one with the beautiful flowers, butterfly and fabulous decorated envelope. I haven't heard of Paperbox before, so I must take a look.
Hope you had a great weekend.
Hugs
Carol x

Carole said...

Producing cards as exquisite as yours is a dream for me! They are all so stunning and that first one really looks so hand painted. xx

Linby said...

I love the delicacy of the card and envelope -just beautiful. Two other lovely makes and nice too to read your review of the products.

KandA said...

Gosh Brenda, how on earth do you manage to keep producing so many wonderful cards? They are all beautiful but I LOVE the first with the matching envelope.... I will definitely be taking inspiration from it xx

Robi said...

Beautiful!!!
Robi

nnalorac said...

Good read Benda and gorgeous cards. Love the first flower stamp, had to have it too, just so pretty, probably not be so colour adventurous as you with it . Card stock, I think Ive got enough to last a lifetime apart from black, I too use it a lot. Carol xx

pinky said...

You got three instant wow's Brenda! Beautiful beautiful cards.

Mac Mable said...

Just popped in to say that I think your first card and envelope is stunning and so very pretty. Glad I popped in and read your post about the different cards etc....Thank you for the information x.

Berina RGA said...

Wow!! These are gorgeous!! I love the first card and envelope so much!! So pretty!!

Gerrina said...

So late in commenting; it is busy here... Love the envelop matching the first card; so light and real Spring! The butterfly card looks so sunny (so different from today here) and is my favorite! Hugs, Gerrina

Stamps and Paper said...

Two beautiful floral cards Brenda and the card stock sounds really good.

Anne

Fikreta said...

Hi Brenda
your cards are gorgeous!
hugs