JB40: peace on earth

this week at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ we are attempting to create peace on earth!!!

ok, that might be a bit ambitious. howsabout we attempt to create christmas cards with a "peace" theme, instead? that's a bit more do-able! :) all you have to do to join in is make a holiday card that features a peace sign, the word "PEACE", or evokes a peaceful feeling to you... as conveyed by woodland scene, maybe? or a starry night? or a dove? feel free to go as wild or as tame as you like, just make with the peace, baby!

i went with the word "PEACE" mostly because i found this gorgeously rendered version in my stash of vintage cards:

(vintage christmas cards; patterned paper: my mind's eye, scrapworks; adhesives: tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

i cut out the center of the letter "P" in order to incorporate an element from a second vintage card--the beautiful dove! i fussy cut his wings and tail so that it would seem like he was emerging from the card. after that, i *tried* to add a bunch of embellishments, but the card resisted such blandishments and asked to be left in... well, PEACE... so i just stuck on a couple of coordinating mats and called it a day! :)

if you stop by ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ you can see miss stephanie's card and peruse the gallery... a trip that is always well worth making! if you'd like to participate, inlinkz will be open until next wednesday! see you over there!

SEPT--instant accordion booklet

possibly my favorite project from september's pixie dust paperie kit, TECOLOTE, is the mini-accordion book i made for my friend paul's birthday:

it holds a hand-stamped poem called "field guide" by paul's favorite american poet, tony hoagland. it's an unusual project, but i think it's really fun and sort of different, and i hope you'll hit the pixie blog and check it out today! ♥

do we really need a monday EVERY week??!?!

surely twice a month would be enough. seriously. i say we take a vote. in the meantime, here is a cheezburger to start your day off right:

you're welcome, darlings!

♥♥♥

burlap background card

today on the pixie blog, you can see one of my favorite cards i made from this month's TECOLOTE kit. it's got butterflies and blossoms; punched circles and inked edges; pearls and organza and burlap!

my favorite part is the contrast between the various elements... and the sort of "funky elegance" it has. there's a bigger picture of the entire card on the PDP blog. where, at the same time, you can see a lovely card by my very dear fellow pixie, cheryl nelson... which makes the trip AT LEAST doubly cool, dontcha think??! ♥

JB39: here come suzy snowflake!

this week at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ our lovely guest star did something i was not sure anyone COULD do at this point: she came up with an absolutely *wonderful* 1950's christmas song i had never heard (!!!) ...and suggested we use it as inspiration to make our cards! the lady in question is the mega-talented marie bingaman, and the song is suzy snowflake, as sung by rosemary clooney! you can hear it at youtube by clicking the link, meanwhile here are the lyrics:

Here comes Suzy Snowflake

Dressed in a snow-white gown

Tap, tap, tappin' at your windowpane

To tell you she's in town.

Here comes Suzy Snowflake

Soon you will hear her say

Come out ev'ryone and play with me

I haven't long to stay.

If you want to make a snowman

I'll help you make it, one, two, three.

If you want to take a sleigh ride

Whee! The ride's on me.

Here comes Suzy Snowflake

Look at her tumblin' down

Bringing joy to ev'ry girl and boy

Suzy's come to town.

If you want to make a snowman

I'll help you make it, one, two, three

If you want to take a sleigh ride

Whee! The ride's on me.

Here comes Suzy Snowflake

Look at her tumblin' down

Bringing joy to ev'ry girl and boy

Suzy's come to town.

so this week we're asking for holiday cards that capture any aspect of the song that inspires you; just off the top of my head, i can think of: snowflakes, wintery landscapes, sledding, sleigh rides, and snowmen... but i am sure there are plenty i am missing out! i went with the eponymous snowflake motif, but as i worked i realized that another aspect of the song which had inspired me was the "vintage" angle, so i kind of used that as a secondary theme:

(sheet music & sled image from t'internet; patterned paper: bo bunny; cardstock: core'dinations; sparkly vintage inspired snowflakes: k&co; heart gems: recollections; inks: ranger & colorbox; adhesives: uhu gluestick, tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

i downloaded a facsimile of the sheet music for the song, printed it on creamy paper, then distressed it up with inks. i had an unopened packet of those sparkly silver snowflakes which i broke into joyously; i just needed a focal point, but a google image search spoilt me for choice! the result is a card that doesn't actually look like i thought it would... but is maybe EVEN BETTER! :)

and now, why not pop over to JINGLE BELLES, see the amazing cards that marie and stephanie have made, and start thinking about your own inspiration for suzy snowflake!!! ♥

summing up all of literature with admirable brevity...

so what are you reading right now?

alternately, what's the last thing you read that made you want to walk up to strangers, thrust the book at them and say, "READ THIS! g'head, i'll wait!"*

i'm reading arrow of the blue skinned god by jonah blank. it's a half a re-telling of the ramayana** and half a travelogue by a man who re-traced rama's journey in modern times. it's very cool, if you like india and/or hindu mythology. (which i do!) :)

i'm listening to in the garden of beasts, which is quite wonderful but rather depressing, being set in berlin, 1933, where the nazis are gaining power, the holocaust is brewing, and our luxurious 20/20 hindsight tells us that the worst is yet to come. (a much less horrifying book by erik larson is the devil in the white city!)

but i am still looking for a few good reads, so i'd ♥love♥ to hear your input!

i may be spending a bit of time on airplanes in october... and on the beach... good readin' venues... just sayin'... :) :) :)

*i mean metaphorically. irl, this would probably be a bad idea. unless you're oprah, in which case, carry on!

**speaking of the ramayana... sita sings the blues is one of the best and most original films i have ever seen. even if you're NOT very interested in the subject (india; hindu folk tales) it's arguably worth watching just for the amazing and unique animation style(s)! truly mind-blowing!

a SUPER-adaptable idea!

if this card looks familiar to you, you're not imagining things! i made an eerily similar one earlier this year. but guy cards are *HARD*... and it just so happens that i know quite a few fellas of various ages who really like superheroes... and the paper with the stars is the PERFECT background... so sue me, i "recycled" the idea!

(superheroes illustration from t'internet; patterned paper: my mind's eye; black glossy card stock: ranger; thickers: american crafts; glittery star stickers: ek success, recolored with red copic marker; label: dymo; inks: colorbox; adhesives: tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

to tell the truth, when i sat down to make this, i almost felt a little guilty about the fact that it was not a brand new, completely original idea. and then i thought, "WHY??!" we wear outfits more than once. we use dinner recipes more than once. some of us have been known to watch our favorite films repeatedly. why should i feel it's necessary to "reinvent the wheel" with every single greeting card? so i told myself to lighten up, made the card you see above (quite quickly!) and gave it to my favorite young neighbor, john.

and guess what?! he LOVED it, as did his mama. although he did mention quietly that he actually prefers batman to superman and wished that batman was standing at the front of the group. i told him he'd have to take that up with the superfriends. i just make cards! :)

it's a bird... it's a plane...

...it's a butterfly! several, in fact. and talk about a "teaser"; i'm only going to show you THIS MUCH of today's pixie project:

...because i'm HOPING you'll be intrigued enough to pop over to the pixie blog, check out the rest of the photos, see the whole project, (hint: the post title is "butterfly bouquet by lauren bergold") check out september's TECOLOTE kit, and just generally have a fabulous time.

so is it working??!?!?! :) :) :)

JB38: happy hybrid holidays!

this week at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ we are very excited to be trying something BRAND NEW (to us!) we're delving into the world of digital/hybrid for this prompt and inviting you to make a holiday card that utilizes at least one digital stamp or element. luckily, we have a very lovely and very generous sponsor... robyn's fetish digital stamps and more!

not only did those wonderful ladies give stef and i some very tasty digi-stuffs to use; they also sent along their very talented and incredibly friendly DT coordinator, susan paulson, to guest design with us; as well as sponsoring a rather awesome prize for one lucky cardmaker who links up with us this week; AND we are especially excited that they have provided a *FREE* image for ANY belle who'd like to use it!

yep... it's a JINGLE BELL!!! :) check out today's official post at for complete details on all of the above!

and now here's my card, i'm pretty pleased with it, actually:

(digital stamps: christmas twee and christmas presents by robyn's fetish digital stamps and more; patterned paper: ki memories, girls' paperie, prima, bo bunny, dcwv, love elsie, anna griffin, mme, basic grey; gems: recollections; inks: colorbox; adhesives: xyron, 3m foam tape, tombow monorunner; other: full sheet clear labels from staples, sewing machine)

you can see that i've done some old school paper piecing. what may be less obvious is the fact that again i've printed multiple copies of my two digi-stamps onto clear inkjet labels; in that way i can use up all my TINY scraps of patterned paper that wouldn't fit through my printer. also, i can print once and then go sit in the living room to make my card. because YEAH... sometimes my "process" is that scientific! :)

i hope you'll hop over to jingle belles and see the gorgeous cards made by miss stephanie and miss susan using images from robyn's fetish and that you'll be inspired to make a hybrid card of your very own this week for a shot at the FABULOUS prize! ♥

home is where the ♥ is!

a little while ago, the lovely and amazing marisol gave me a very cool set of three alterable "art blanche" panels attached by rings, which turned out to be the PERFECT setting for an idea that had been trying to take shape in my head for quite a while. in retrospect i realize the reason it was "stuck" was that up until then, i didn't have the right ingredients for it!

flash forward to the arrival of september's TECOLOTE pixie dust kit... with EXACTLY the right mix of colors and patterns... and SHAZAM! i knew i could finally make it work. the result is one of those rare and cool times when the finished project was actually EVEN COOLER than the version that was inside my head!

not that you can really TELL from this photo, taken in the only spot with enough blank wall, or rather closet door... but not quiiiiiiiiiiiite enough light... to do it justice:

here's a photo that doesn't show the length, but you can see the details a bit better:

but really, you need to head over to the pixie dust paperie blog to see ALL the photos--there are some good close-ups and lots more text! plus, as always, there's DAILY inspiration from m'colleagues, and cool things like challenges and giveaways... you know, if ya like that sorta thing... :) :) :)

SOS17: shabby chic or distressed or vintage

it's not often i get to do TWO IN A ROW at shopping our stash, but miss carla dreamt up a couple of themes i just could not even consider resisting... and you shouldn't, either!!! this week is especially cool!

Challenge 17 - Shabby Chic or Distressed or Vintage

Do you have a plethora of Tim Holtz supplies longing to be used? Or how about some vintage findings, or shabby chic trims? Dig out your vintage-themed papers, stamps, embellishments or go shabby chic- or even just distress edges of your papers!

well you know me... i have ALL of the above, in spades! but somehow i (wo)manfully resisted the urge to use EVERYTHING at once, and chose to focus on the "vintage" aspect:

(vintage: sheet music, butterfly illustrations; patterned paper (mostly scraps): teresa collins, prima, little yellow bicycle & origami paper; stamps: rhonna farrer/autumn leaves; ink: colorbox; adhesives: tombow monorunner, uhu gluestick, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

i've got three kinds of vintage sheet music making up my cake layers, and fussy-cut butterflies from a 1950's nature guide perching happily on top... you know, in the way butterflies usually do perch on cakes... (??!?!) (so sue me... i just liked how it looked!) :) i'm not sure messily inked edges and wonky sewing count as "distressing" but if so, i'm covered there, too! stash-wise i've got candles and flames cut from teeeeeny scraps; and i've used several papers from a teresa collins bargain pack snagged at "crafty steals" earlier this summer.

i made my card in honor of the festive thirteenth "stampiversary" being celebrated at the ink pad in nyc, i shall be sending it in to their card contest which runs through september 30th. if you're within traveling distance of the city i highly recommend stopping in; they've got a new location, but luckily the lovely and amazing personnel roster has not changed--anna, barbara and the gang are still ready to help you with their encyclopedic knowledge of all things inky and artsy! i've recently been lucky enough to attend *TWO* of their classes at the westbeth center, taught by the awesome kelly kilmer (in august) and my idol dina wakley (this past weekend). i'll be talking more about both of those-- and showing photos of what we made--at a later date. i'm also putting the finishing touches on a very cool new project that i'm hoping to tell ya about later this week! (eeeeeeeeek! i am very VERRRRRRRY excited!!!)

in the meantime, why not stop over at SOS and see the amazing cards, and welcome our new DT members?! i bet you'll be inspired to conjur up your very own "shabby chic, distressed or vintage" masterpiece! :)

PIXIE DUST shaker card

remember shaker cards??!

they were "HOT" for a while and then sort of faded... but i never understood WHY. i, for one, still love them, and i've never EVER given one that was not marveled at and passed around the entire room, with even the least crafty of curmudgeons asking for detailed info about the construction! so i'm still making 'em at intervals and today's pixie project is my latest version:

the TECOLOTE kit includes--amongst much other divine & luscious goodness--the elegant my mind's eye transparency frame with the brown scallops around the edge. it was the thing that triggered the idea in my head, but really, i just used it as an excuse to pile on as many layers as possible of gorgeous prima, melissa frances, and american crafts papers and embellishments!

hop over to the pixie blog to see more photos, other pixie projects, and the full kit; plus you can check out all the fun stuff that's going on this month... for example... this giveaway runs until september 18th! :)

JB37: DECK the halls!

this week's JINGLE BELLES guest star is one of my lovely blogging friends, the uber-talented sue culotti whom i first met last year when she was hostess of the 52-card pickup project. admittedly i followed "from afar" much more than i participated; but she's too nice to hold that against me, and since then she's been a very encouraging and lovely presence in my comments and inbox! you should head over to JB in a bit, where there's more "bio" on sue and links i hope you'll click!!!

but first, let's get to this week's theme... here's what sue said in the email she sent about this week's prompt, DECK the halls:

"My first thought was playing cards, but it somehow seemed sacrilegious to incorporate something so closely identified with gambling (sinful!) with a holy day, so then I though maybe ATC cards - the cards themselves, or add one to a card front."

being "more is merrier" kind of gals, we decided to incorporate ALL of sue's "card" ideas... and we even added one of our own! so this week you can do any or all of the following:

make a freestanding (2.5 x 3.5") xmas-themed Artist Trading Card

OR

add an ATC-sized element to your holiday card

OR

incorporate a playing card in your design

OR

use a recycled xmas card (or an element from

one!) on your (newly made) holiday card!

i managed to do 3 outta 4--woohoo! first, i made a holiday ATC... using ONE playing card as a base and another (the cute tree) as an element on it:

i trimmed down the tree just a bit so it fit better, but other than that i didn't alter it, just added a cool re-sized bit of greek text behind it, a few paper scraps, and some tiny stickers. i LOVE making ATC's and this one was no exception, but i also need to complete send-able christmas cards, so i used this month's sketchy thursday GDT sketch-- (which just happens to have the perfect-sized rectangular element as a focal point!) --to give it a home:

(patterned paper: love elsie, echo park, daisy d's, k&co, dcwv; stickers: love elsie, creative imaginations; ink: colorbox; punches: ek success, recollections, martha stewart; adhesives: tombow monorunner, uhu gluestick, 3m foam tape; other: rectangular & tree-shaped playing cards, 2 sizes of greek text paper, sewing machine)

you can see i didn't need much for the "upgrade"... just a few more paper scraps punched into circles and a few more additional tiny stickers. EASY PEASY! ♥

there are some lovely examples of trading cards here, here and here, should you need inspiration; but remember you don't HAVE TO make an ATC, you could use the "playing card" aspect, or even work bits of a recycled card from xmas past into your design! whatever you decide, link it up by next wednesday; i cannot wait to see what you will do!

bestest: (FREE!) i-phone apps

having had the i-phone for a couple of months, you'll no doubt be as impressed/relieved as lovely husband jeff to hear that i am now occasionally capable of putting it down for anything up to (a few) MINUTES at a time!!! which doesn't mean i don't still adore it and regard its many capabilities with the excited prideusually associated with a particularly clever first born child! :)

apart from being the best and clearest cellphone i've ever had* my favorite part is, of course, the app store! here are some apps with which i am particular impressed, addicted, or in love; i decided to start with the ones i find especially useful, without getting into games**; most of these i use on a daily basis. and yes-- all of them are completely FREE!!!

instagram:
elsie flannigan has called this the best of the free camera apps, and who am i to argue? it's easy to use, has a slew of fab filters, and can give the most mundane of phone photos a cool hipster edge in one step... what's NOT to love??!***

wikipedia mobile:
maybe the best example of a fabulous, useful website paring down to absolute essentials to make an equally fabulous phone app. streamlined without being dull, it loads fast, it's easily searchable, the text is 100% readable (this can be an issue for us presbyopic 45+ types!) and "extras" like a daily featured article, plus links to current news stories are welcome without being intrusive.

hello kitty images, wallpapers & backgrounds by 8-bit factory

does one *NEED* access to hundreds of hello kitty photos easily adaptable to the home and lock-screens of one's mobile phone? some people--such as LHJ!--would argue, "NO!" ...but they'd be really realllllllllly totally WRONG! :) :) :)

the weather channel
i-phone comes loaded with a basic weather app powered by yahoo, which is very nice, but there's a reason that the weather channel is the standard, imo. open the app and instantly you get a summary screen with the basics in your location (temp, humidity, heat index, etc); switch screens to get 36-hour expanded forecast, hourly, or 10-day. you can also save as many additional locations as you'd like... which is terrific for traveling.

the daily digi

so far this is the best of the free apps i've found that's art/papercrafting related. (i'm sure there are more--shout if you know a great one!) again, it's based on a popular website, and it is devoted to scrapbooking, specifically, and particularly creating digital layouts... but... there's plenty of just good basic design ideas and inspiration here, that you can use for any type of project, using either cyber- or "real" supplies. as the name suggests, they post every day, and while there are quite a few features on specific digital designers, shoppes, or products, they're never just "a commercial"; they always contain luscious illustrative layouts, a bit about technique, software, problem solving... SOMETHING you can take away thinking, "i have to try that". this is the ultimate app to have when you've only got five minutes on the run and know it'll be hours before you get home to your supplies; it's like a papercrafting "booster shot"!

flixster

there are quite a few good movie apps, but this is my fave because you can do so many things: see what's coming out in theaters & on dvd; read film reviews (& get a consensus via rotten tomatoes); watch trailers; find a venue based on what film you want to see & choose a restaurant nearby... OR... look up what's playing at your favorite theater, and get showtimes. you can even keep track of the movies you want to remember to see, and there are interfaces with netflix and facebook for posting and queueing! just so very USEFUL.

imdb

on the other hand, sometimes you need to know immediately , "who's the voice of GRU in despicable me?" (steve carrell) or "where else have we seen the actor playing aurelio zen?" (rufus sewell from knight's tale, cold comfort farm, middlemarch); often this occurs while we're watching a video or tv show and we're too lazy to go look stuff up. internet movie database is a great online resource, and the app has been pared down brilliantly to get you such info quickly and easily!

restaurant nutrition

i am always on a semi-diet, or at least, i'm always trying to eat fairly sensibly. and while LHJ and i are quite big fans of fresh food, home cooking, and non-chain restaurants, let's face it, sometimes we all have to choose between hitting the drive-up or going hungry! it's easy to think once you're in "fast food land" it doesn't matter what choices you make; for example at breakfast, an egg mcmuffin and a sausage mcmuffin are nutritionally, about the same right? (wellllllllllll, no, the sausage is only 70 more calories, but has an additional 10g of fat!) when ordering a sandwich or salad, chicken's ALWAYS the healthiest choice, obviously! (ummmm... not if the chicken is fried! which "crispy" & "buffalo" are code for!) if you splurge on a DQ blizzard, will it really make much difference to get a medium instead of a small? (YES! 300+ more calories!) i love that i can hop into this app while i'm in line and get a "reality check" BEFORE i order. from applebee's to white castle, they've got me covered!

stumble upon

my (non-blogging) friend kim got me hooked on this one. she uses it on her laptop, but generally, if i'm at a "real" computer i've probably got "real" work to do! in an "out and about" context, however, this is BRILLIANT! basically, you sign up for a free account and choose things you like from their extensive list of categories (arts, literature, philosophy, history, puzzles, etc); then you press the "stumble" button and you're sent to a random website, article, photo, (or whatever) that's based on something you like! refine future choices by pressing the thumb's up or thumb's down button from any page; instantly send stuff you love as a link via email or post it on facebook. just enough internet to while away the time in line at the bank, or waiting for your prescription to be filled.

audiobooks by cross forward consulting

i am completely addicted to this and no longer sure i could fall asleep without it! you'll have guessed that it's "audiobooks" from the name and these are all FREE! what's the catch? well, the titles are public domain (thus older works to which copyright no longer applies); and the readers are volunteers from the librivox project so the quality of the performances can vary. while an impressive number of the readers are at or near professional levels (some even do different voices and accents for the various characters!) there are a few whose generosity exceeds their ability. luckily, you can start listening as the book downloads, and the voice or the content does not appeal, it's easy to delete the title! you can search by title, author, narrator, genre... or... hit the "surprise me" button! so far my favorites have been 20,000 leagues under the sea by jules verne, whose body by dorothy l. sayers (version 2!), and cleek of the yard by thomas hanshew; but i've hardly scratched the surface!

so what are YOUR favorite apps? what do i need to get next? what should i avoid at all costs? i still love researching different categories, and i'm fully prepared to PAY for things, too, at some point!!! :) share! share!!! ♥

*i've never actually PURCHASED a cell-phone before; my procedure up until now was to go into verizon every couple of years and ask, "what's the nicest phone you will give me for free??!" (no, i'm not kidding; what can i tell you, i am CHEAP!) having said that, i've found this object to be worth EVERY PENNY and even three months later i'm still excited about it on a daily basis; if anything it is BETTER than i hoped/imagined!

**i figure we already know which games we like... for the record i'm a fan of good old solitaire, mahjong, and, occasionally crostix! :)

***except for the lol at the top, all the photos in this post... and also my new profile pic... were taken on the iphone and instagrammed! hello kitty is one of the wallpaper pics from that app, with an instagram filter applied, as well! just b/c I COULD! :)

SOS16: birds or bugs or beasts (no people)

hello, all! it's tuesday and time for another fabulous challenge at shopping our stash! this week miss carla has asked us to take a walk on the wild side, in a way that's completely inhuman!

well, sorta... :)

ok, ok, what she actually SAID was,

"For this challenge we want to see your birds, bugs or beasts (animals, critters, insects, creepy crawlies, fishes, monsters, etc. Just no people!"

i had intended to use vintage bird images for this one, but whilst re-reading the brief at the very last minute, suddenly the word "monsters" caught my eye and i went off in a COMPLETELY different direction! these cute digis are called "monstrous stamps" by jesse edwards altho i can not currently find them on her website; perhaps they're no longer in print? (sorry!)

i printed them on clear labels; did some old school paper piecing (using only SCRAPS!); and popped them into the ready-made carnival "landscape" on this paper by ta-da creative studios.

(monsta digis (out of print?) by jesse edwards, the green pineapple; patterned paper: ta-da creative studios; sei, basic grey, creative imaginations; white pen: sharpie poster paint; ink: colorbox; font: cry kitty; other: staples brand full page clear inkjet labels, ek success corner rounder)

the result is sort of an odd shape, as well as being quite over the top for a birthday card, but then nephew matthew is going to turn *FOUR* in a couple of weeks, an occasion which obviously needs some seriously crazy celebrating, right?!

pop over to the SOS blog when you get a chance, i guarantee the DT's cards are well worth the trip, plus you can get all the details of where to post your very own card for challenge 16: birds or bugs or beasts (no people)! ♥

pixie dust lovebirds card

can you believe it is *SEPTEMBER* already??! where did the summer go, eh? but my calendar assures me this is the case and thus i am excited to show my very first project from this month's pixie dust paperie kit, which is called TECOLOTE:

there are more photos on the PDP blog plus details of the products i've used. while you're there be sure to check out the other pixies' projects, and welcome our brand new lovely DT member, the very fabulous cheryl nelson as well as TWO guest designers for september--viola mahr and sandi taloumis--this is gonna be a gooooooooood month with all that talent around and you won't wanna miss it! something else not to miss is this month's pixie giveaway in which you can win the gorgeous SNOW SHOE kit:

that goes on until september 18th. the current pixie challenge, that's my girl ends on september 5th, so there's still a little time to make a project with the image of a girl or lady on it in order to get in on that for a chance to win a $15 gift certificate to the pixie shoppe! also on september 5th is the big reveal of the TECOLOTE kit, so there's lots to look forward to! ♥

JB36: love's LABOR DAY lost

yes, the title is ALL MINE and no, it's not really very christmassy, but in honor of what is both a 3-day weekend AND the unofficial end of summer here in the USA, we're taking a short cut at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ by creating cards that "CASE" (copy and selectively edit) any card made by ANY belle for any prompt this year! that means you could make your very own version of any of my jingle belles cards, or of stef's ... or any other participant's card... or even re-make something of your own from the last 35 weeks of jingly fun! be sure to mention whose card you've chosen, and link to it, so we can admire BOTH versions!

even though this is a fairly new concept for me, i had a blast... AND i have to say it really, REALLY does "shortcut" your process when you're trying to get as close as possible to one specific finished piece! i'm definitely going to do this again, and with the entire pool of amazing cards we've seen over at JB this year i am spoilt for choice when it comes to inspiration!

here is my "target card" for this occasion, it's by miss stephanie, of course; she made it for the prompt we called baby it's cold outside back in february, using the adorable basic grey "woolie" snowmen that her husband immediately named ren and stimpy! :)

shortly after that i went out and bought my own woolies *JUST* so i could do that with them! and now i have, see?!

(patterned paper: my mind's eye, scenic route; transparency: hambly; felt stickers: basic grey; snowflake stickers: ek success; rub-on: creative imaginations; ink: colorbox; pen: copic outliner; adhesive: tombow monorunner)

ok, i have added a few laureny twists to the design... but that was mostly because i didn't have EXACTLY the same papers as stef, so i had to improvise. i built my card on a white grid transparency and placed the background (sky and a few silver snowflakes) inside, with the foreground (snowmen, hill, and most of a pack of dimensional vellum snowflakes) outside. i wish my card had the graphic POP of stef's bold patterns but i like the increased dimensionality and the way the cloud paper sort of automatically makes ANY scene into a "landscape"! :)

so who will you CASE this weekend? i can't wait to find out!!! head over to JINGLE BELLES for all the details and to link your spectacular LABOR-saving card!!! ♥