all shook up

this week's challenge at shopping our stash... have you guessed from my title? ...is to make a shaker card. i have to confess that i'm not what you'd call a natural engineer, so i do need a push to create anything more interactive than a card that opens in the traditional manner. but i always love the end result!

patterned paper: pebbles, sei, heidi swapp and best creation white glitter paper for snow + scraps of glitz design, studio calico and elle's studio for the diecuts; snowy transparency sheet: hunkydory designs; reindeer dies: impression obsession; tree die: echo park; sentiment flag: elle's studio; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape, sewing machine

yes, i've made a holiday card. for some reason, all of my shaker ideas revolved around snow this time. and let's face it, you can NEVER have too many xmas cards done early. at least i never can. i've used some ancient pebbles paper for the front of the card, and inside the shaker window there is even ancienter paper from a springy SEI collection that i always think looks like gusts of snow, so my last few scraps are stored in with my holiday stuff. my window is made from awesome heavy duty, snow-patterned acrylic that stephanie found for me. inside it are tiny clear microbeads from a jar that has the name of the LSS near my mom's house, which closed at least ten years ago, so i think it's safe to say i don't make enough shaker cards?* i've trimmed out with a bunch of the diecuts i made from my smaller holiday scraps at the beginning of the year. it's really handy to have a bunch of basic shapes ready to roll!

need more inspiration? there's nothing shaky about my SOS design team darlings... except their cards this week! ♥

*because it's not even a very big jar of microbeads... and there are still some left, lol!

the end is near...

...the end of 2018's 61-day index card a day marathon, that is. we finish up on tuesday, after what has been, without doubt, the FASTEST june and july of all time: yowza! here are a few more cards, and i'll post the final wrap up the middle of next week.

day 54: tide pool

this year i haven't often used the (entirely awesome!) prompts that tammy generously devised and provided for the group. some years i do every single one, either because i'm enjoying the challenge of figuring out how to approach them, or because i'm not sure where to go on my own. this year i seem to have had (admittedly bizarre) ideas burning holes in my brain all summer, so i've mostly followed whatever i was "into" at the time. i think that's probably a good thing...?

day 55: circuit or network

a truly ODD one-staple collage, made entirely to show off the fact that i found a diagram of an electrical circuit to collage around! also: some rhinos, a bridge tally, a piece of magazine paper with a drawing of cassette tapes and a couple of unrelated stickers! 

(as random and unfocused as it is, i do really like this tho, lol)

day 56

a verrrrrrrry loose colorburst floral, made using the "smoosh" technique. with LOTS of doodles on top.

day 57: typewriter

this prompt was actually from monday, but i like to post mandalas on mondays, so i skipped past it. here's a flashback, lol. lots of typing-related goodies, including a dictionary illustration, a page from a typing exercise book and a torn, reversed, bit of an old-school mimeograph copy, cloaked the stainy purple ink of my 1970's elementary school days! :)

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getting ahead(er)

this fortnight at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ we're inspired by our blog header, so we invite you to choose as many (or as few) elements as appeal to you, and make a holiday card or two. 

i chose to use the basic color palette of neutrals with pops of lime green and teal blue, and made the reindeer and tree --which are supporting characters in the header-- the stars of the show!

patterned paper: blue fern studio, prima, glitz design, pink paislee, graphic 45, plus scraps of india paper and colorbursted watercolor paper for the snowflakes; reindeer, tree and snowflake dies are all oldschool sizzix steel rule dies that i still use constantly; sentiment sticker: creative imaginations; snowflake stickers: martha stewart; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape, sewing machine

i used this week's sketch saturday layout pretty faithfully, although i rotated the elements but accidentally forgot to rotate the strip, so i will understand if i am disqualified; but i was definitely inspired by the sketch!

hop on over to ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ and check out stephanie's beautiful card, then start planning your own holiday masterpiece, darlings!

I Can Never Resist a Pun...

...and seemingly the more diabolically bad the pun is, the less I can resist it! My card on the Eyelet Outlet Blog this week's card may set the record high (or low, depending on how you look at it?) for puns: "Just CHICKEN in", hahahaha! Ok, sorry, but it made me laugh and gave me an excuse to break out my adorable Eyelet Outlet Chicken Brads and Rooster Brads, so obviously it had to be a card.

As soon as there is any kind of farm theme, I want to break out the red gingham... so I did. I considered making an entire landscape for the Chicken and Rooster to inhabit, but I wanted the sentiment to stand out most, so I abbreviated down to just the diecut fence, grass and clouds, on a tag. I think you still get the feeling of a scene, but without too much detail.

I dotted the "i" with a Heart Pearl, and placed my chipboard letters pretty randomly, for a casual look. I attached the Chicken and Rooster directly to the fence panel, then raised it up on foam tape for a little extra dimension.

Don't like constructing your own sentiments? Check out our new line of EO Clear Stamps! They're full of fun (and punny!) greetings for all occasions, and designed especially to work with so many styles of our fun Brads!

get krafty!

that's the name of the new challenge at shopping our stash and i bet you've already guessed from the spelling what we're looking for this week. yep! we want to see projects which feature kraft paper. here's what i made:

kraft cardstock plus scraps of glossy white cardstock: the paper cut; matte white cardstock: staples; vintage sheet music and ledger paper scraps from my stash; "cool beans" stamp, coffee bean brads and henna style flower tape: eyelet outlet; oversized flourish stamp: tattered angels; inks: ranger distress and archival; paper scraps: photoplay, glitz design, hambly, junkitz; paper flowers: prima; memorydex card dies: heidi swapp; coffee cup dies: stephanie barnard for sizzix; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, scotch/3m foam tape and gluestick

i suspect this needs a tiny bit of backstory, otherwise eight coffee-themed altered rolodex cards might seem like an odd thing to make, lol. this spring, my friend anna gave me a very cool heidi swapp memorydex holder and the dies to make my own rolodex-style cards. so of course we swapped cards, as well. when our fellow junk journal junkies at paper anthology saw them, we embarked on some bigger group swaps. this month's theme is "coffee or tea".

as soon as i heard that, i knew i wanted to use my eyelet outlet coffee stamps and coffee brads, not to mention the cool coffee cup dies that were part of my prize from stamps of life in the last coffee loving cardmakers' bloghop.

when i started piecing the dies in a "traditional" sort of travel coffee style, they were kraft and white, which helped me the rest of my papers and embellishments. since this is a fairly small format, it was possible to use up a whole bunch of paper scraps, which is always fun. i tried out a few different washi tapes, too. and since i was using scraps, it meant that even though i used the same basic design, every single card is unique. which i love!

be sure to check out all of the krafty goodness from my design team sisters over at SOS!

hard to believe...

...we're already headed into the last full week of ICAD. where has july gone, eh?! meanwhile, here are my tiny index card masterpieces from the past week:

day 47: love

in this case i used the day's prompt as an excuse to include all the ingredients i LOVE to use in a collage: a tiny auto from "illustrated motorcars of the world", several varieties of ledger paper, my favorite ken oliver flower mandala stamp, and loads of ancient, imperfect rub-on transfers!

day 48

my found text (in english and french) reads, "and the fish, his name is leblanc" which pretty much sums up everything we need to know about this one!

day 49: 

a one-staple collage of random yellow things. because at 10:30pm that's how scientific my process is, lol. actually, that's often how my process is, regardless of time. in a way, it's based on an actual art principle: the designs we instinctively like have some sort of unifying factor. in this case, it's color. 

day 50

super, SUPER loose colorburst florals, painted "wet into wet" so that the shades blend and bleed into each other. with pitt artist pen outlines, applied after the card was thoroughly dry.

day51: mint

a collage which embodies the day's prompt in a way that makes sense! woohoo!!!

(incorporating, and pictured atop, a whole entire box of vintage slidemounts that my aunt judie gave me, do i even have to mention how much i looooooooooove them?!)

day 52: postage

another vintage ingredient i love, that's easy and inexpensive to collect: old stamps. again, i composed the background more or less by color. 

day 53: mandala monday

ledger paper, graph paper, notebook paper, text paper... i love paper... 

have i mentioned that recently??! :)

♥

i love mandala monday, also, and i hope yours is a particularly good one!

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still bundling over here

we're still making "all bundled up" cards at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ by which we mean cards with three or more layers. here's what i made this week:

patterned paper and bird image: craft and you design; plaid paper: graphic 45; lace and sheet music from my stash; ink: prima; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape, sewing machine

i love layers, generally and torn layers, in particular. in this case i've combined the fronts and backs of two of my favorite papers in the "silent night" collection from craft and you design and used a round icon from the same set as my focal point. i can rarely resist a bit of vintage sheet music and some old lace... so i didn't even try to leave them out!

stephanie also has a beautiful bundle of awesomeness to show you. why not head on over to ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ and check that out right now, darlings?

What's Brewing?

Generally, at my house "What's Brewing" is coffee or tea, but it occurred to me the other day when I saw that sentiment in our Coffee Stamp set, that *beer* is also brewed. You may know that Beer Brads and a coordinating set of Beer Stamps were part of the newest release in May. But it's entirely possible to use the former without the latter, so of course I had to make a couple of cards to celebrate!

My first card could not be more simple: Beer Brads and the "brewing" sentiment inside a label shape, on a great coordinating piece of ledger style paper, and a few coordinating washi tapes (Love Tape and this fab Skinny Plaid that I adore) are really all you need!

I confess that I have been wanting this Pizza Tape since I first saw it, but held out because I honestly wasn't sure what to do with it. Once I saw the Beer Brads, however, it seemed like a match made in heaven. The "Everything I Brew..." sentiment is also from the Coffee Stamp set, but again, it multitasks really well here. I set off the sentiment panel with some teeeeeeeny but truly useful 1/16" Mini Round Brads in the corners.

I hope you'll be inspired to think of alternate ways to use your own EO Clear Stamps, and that you'll brew up some creative cards of your own.

xmas in july

this week's challenge at shopping our stash is that old seasonal favorite, "xmas in july". this is one of those things that people have strong feelings about. some folks hate making holiday cards out of season and refuse to haul out the appropriate supplies until sweater weather has arrived. and some --a crafty friend recently referred to us as "crazy people" lol-- are partners in a blog like ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ with their craft bestie, and make one card every single week to be *done* with xmas cards by december first. it takes all sorts, right?

i've been trying to emphasize the "stash" part of SOS lately, so i dug deep to find some ancient items. these ki memories chipboard letters must be at least ten years old. i'd be embarrassed about that except: i still really like them! i think the reason they've gone unused is that they're on the large side for cardmaking... even for ME, lol! but as soon as i saw them i was determined to build my card around them. by virtue of constructing an A7 card, choosing a short word, and strategically overlapping the "m" i think i made it work. bonus points for finding (in my xmas scraps folder) some little strips of paper from the same collection, as well as a bit of "love elsie" goodness and a tiny piece of sei pink that i fell in love with when my nieces were little! the felt bird is slightly younger than the rest, but not by much... he's a basic grey dimensional felt sticker, from that year when felt was The Big Thing! ;)

there are many other inspiration projects, featuring "classic" products, on the SOS blog. you should really stop by and see what my design team darlings have been up to! ♥

index cards for everybody!!!

this summer could be subtitled, "more ICADs, less prompts" lol. i don't think there's ever been a year when i've so seldom worked with the themes that tammy g generously develops for us. it's not that i haven't liked them, i just seem to keep having ideas that are burning a hole in my brain, creatively. i *guess* that's a good thing, right?

day 40

another attempt at a collage adhered with washi tape. my favorite version so far, and much the closest to the idea i was going for... but still not quite exactly IT...

day 41

inspired by my friend susan's tiny, amazing, painted floral ICADs i had a go with colorburst, on a nice strong tabbed divider card. i forced myself NOT to outline... 

(but yeah: i still want to go back with a fine point pen and outline!)

day 42

a one-staple collage i really like!

day 43

i've been fascinated with mosaics lately. as in, "i'd love to take a tile mosaic class" but meanwhile, i think i'll play with bits of colorbursted watercolor paper. this is my first attempt to make a mosaic pretty similar in technique to the way you'd actually do it with tile. i think i might be cured, lol. it's just. sooooooooo. fiddly. ack. 

 day 44

collage cut-out flower with doodled leaves? yes, please!

day 45

i sat down with my colorbursts thinking, "abstract florals". well, i was half right!

day 46: mandala monday

i didn't set out to draw a peacock mandala, it just sort of happened, and i'm fine with that.

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have an excellent day and KEEP COOL, darlings!

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all bundled up? in JULY??!

ok, yes, it's a bit of a counter-intuitive theme this fortnight at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ but bear with me while i explain that when we say, "all bundled up" we're actually looking for holiday cards with *LAYERS*... three or more layers, to be specific. that's do-able, right? even if where you live it's too hot for anything but shorts and a t-shirt! here's what i made:

poinsettia panel made with colorburst and poinsettia stamps by ken oliver crafts, plus some wendy vecchi and impression obsession cover stamps added lightly in the background; ink: versamark; embossing powders: wow; gems: eyelet outlet; rub-on sentiment: making memories; patterned paper: daisy d's, craft and you design, graphic 45; glossy white cardstock: the paper cut; distressing tool: tonic; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, sewing machine

ok, so, everyone knows that using lots of layers isn't much of a challenge for me, lol. but in this case i've got four layers of paper and still come out with a flat card, which i'm kind of psyched about! in addition my poinsettia centerpiece kind of has a few layers of it's own: its got colorburst, then background pattern stamps, then embossed poinsettia stamps, and finally a rub-on transfer sentiment and a few gem centers!

stephanie also has a gorgeous "bundled up" creation to show you, why not hop over to ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ and check that out before planning your own layery masterpiece!

What's Better...

...than that first cup of coffee in the morning? Ok actually that’s a trick question, because there’s really NOTHING better than that, is there? But cards made with Eyelet Outlet Coffee Stamps and Coffee Brads come pretty close. See?

I love that our stamp sets were created especially to work with our brads, but they also have brilliant sentiments that stand alone AND some fun images as well. For this card I used the little coffee bean stamp to create my own custom patterned paper, then used a brown Tombow Dualbrush pen and a waterbrush to color them in a watercolory style. Then I used some clever dies from Stephanie Barnard to construct the coffee cup, whose carrier band is made from our gorgeous henna-inspired Wide Flower Washi. I embellished with a few Paper Flowers, added my favorite sentiment in the Coffee Stamps set, and called it good to go!

I hope you'll be inspired to think about making your own patterned paper with your favorite EO Clear Stamps. But first... why not help yourself to just one more cup of coffee... :)

did she say, "cupcake mandala"??!

yes, i did say that. and yes, i've made a cupcake mandala, in card form! but first i should explain that this week's challenge at shopping our stash is called, "feeeeeeed me, seymour" (...ok, technically, it's just called, "feed me" but who can resist a gratuitous "little shop of horrors" song cue?? well, not ME, anyway...) and the brief is to make a project that features food. it doesn't have to be cupcakes, of course. but it could be. and mine is. see?

ancient dimensional resin-like cupcake stickers: mambi i think... at least, they were in a pack of mambi stickers of similar colors but different material... it's possible they just got put there, but again, they are ANCIENT and even if we knew who made them, we couldn't find them again, luckily ANY cupcake stickers will work!; large center stickers: pebbles; other small stickers: sn@p planner, pipsticks, recollections and some teeeeeeeeeeeeny nail art stickers from the dollar store; patterned paper from top to bottom: basic grey, sei and echo park; glossy white cardstock: paper accents; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape, sewing machine

this thing is a veritable treasure trove of ancient (but still awesome, imo) stash! but then, the thing i love about sticker mandalas is that they are the best vehicle ever for using up bits and bobs. because you don't need a lot of any one thing, and nothing needs to match or even make sense together, really. something that's a bit important, however, is *SCALE*. because if you use stickers that are all the same size, the mandala will feel... un-dynamic? i'm not sure what the word is, but your eye will just sort of get stuck, if that makes sense. having larger things in the center and moving out towards smaller ones, just looks better. i do also like the precision of starting with a perfect circle, so i traced a roll of washi tape with a pencil to make the ring where i placed my cupcakes, then covered it with the large center stickers. for the "rays" of the mandala, i didn't measure, as such; but you'll notice i used a gridded paper, which is an excellent way to cheat in this sort of situation!

there are loads of delicious food-centric projects just waiting over at SOS to inspire you... grab a spoon and dig in, darlings! ♥

ICAD roundup: now even ICAD-ier!

would you like to see more index cards? because i just happen to have some right here. no pressure...

day 33(a and b): denim or blue

a couple of experiments with a new waterbrush featuring all of my favorite shades of blue and indigo colorburst. one is outlined with a pitt artist pen and one with machine stitching.

(for the record, ranger's TH waterbrush with the medium fine tip is still my favorite.)

day 34

random colorburst patterns with pitt pen (xs and s nibs) outlines on top. one of my "default modes" for nights when i have no particular idea to try out.

day 35: mosaic

this is the scrap of watercolor paper on which i used up my leftover colorburst from the "blue prompt" on day 33. i always wind up with a little too much CB out of the bottle, and i always have offcuts of watercolor paper, so i store the latter with the former, paint off the leftovers, and use them for diecutting or other essperiments. like making a mosaic, lol. i did a bit of random machine stitching after i had adhered all my "tiles" to the gridded index card, just to make sure they were all really going to stay. on. there.

day 36

it's orange... it's doodle-centric... it's vaguely leafy... with shadows! :)

day 37

as much as i love the cards that turn out beautifully, i kind of almost love the "not quiiiiiiiite makin' it" cards even more. in this case i was trying to make a collage using washi tape as my only adhesive. it wasn't an entirely successful idea, but it was really fun!

 day 38: palette

ok, technically the spectrum, but it's the basis on which many palettes are built. btw, i still love old school, analog, cut-stuff-outta-magazines collage. just sayin'... 

day 39: mandala monday

a scrap of colorburst watercolor flowers, some layers of gel print deli paper and a few posca pens. on my very last purple index card from a pack of funky assorted colors i got at target last year.

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have an AWESOME monday!!!

♥

stripes and stars

we're still celebrating both of the above at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ and you still have plenty of time to join us by making a card with stars or stripes or both! here's what i made this week:

chipboard station wagon sticker: mme; sentiment stickers: photoplay; patterned paper: echo park, photo play, basic grey; star die: nestabilities by spellbinders; glossy white cardstock: paper accents; ink: prima; adhesives: elmers brand gluestick 3m foam tape, sewing machine

since june 30th was the 5th saturday of the month, we could choose ANY sketch from the sketch saturday archives. i chose #283 because it had a star already onnit AND two great places to put strips of stripey paper. so i did! i flipped the sketch horizontally to suit the direction that cute my mind's eye chipboard station wagon was driving, but otherwise i was quite faithful. easy, peasy!

stephanie has another great card to show you this week, why not jump on over to ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ and check it out right now!