Make It Stick!

This fortnight at Jingle Belles we're celebrating what may well have been the first "embellishment" we all encountered as kids: STICKERS. Personally, I have never outgrown my love for those tiny bits of self-adhesive joy, and thus I had a huuuuuuuuuuuuuge stash from which to choose. In the end, I  went with these elegant embossed stickers which are so old I'm not 100% certain whence they came:

sheetmusic and lace from my vintage stash; lg ornament sticker: k and co (i think); small ornament: basic grey; all others: ideaology; gold thickers: american crafts; journal card: october afternoon; cardinal and pine cone brads plus evergreen washi: eyelet outlet; florals: petaloo; leaves: prima; kraft cardstock: bazzill; adhesives: xyron, elmers gluetape, 3m foam tape, beacon's 3-in1 adhesive, sewing machine

But why stop with just one? I found an elderly Basic Grey cardstock ornament sticker which coordinated nicely, as well as a few borders and flowers from an Idea-Ology holiday sticker book I got this past December at Paper Anthology. Oh and the gold Thickers are from a set of holiday sentiments of the same source!

Hop over to Jingle Belles and check out Stephanie's card, then start making plans for linking up your own sticker-centric masterpiece!

She Sells Sea Shells by the Seashore

The Ink Pad has not moved nearly as far as the seashore, in fact it's not moved far at all, merely 6 or so blocks uptown to the new digs at 233 West 19th Street; between 7th and 8th Avenues. Technically we don't sell sea shells, either, but we do have many gorgeous Pepin Sticker Books, some of which have beautiful shells, like these... so that sort of counts, right?

If you want to make a SUPER-fast card that looks pretty awesome, you cannot (in my opinion) beat stickers, and Pepin have some of the most lovely. I matted these --from the Marine Label and Sticker Book-- not-quite-two-inch seals on kraft diecuts just a smidge larger, and added one of the tape strips on top of a couple of layers of torn vintage paper. Of course, you could use patterned paper or gel prints, or vellum, or even three layers of kraft paper! I applied gluestick (Coccoina is awesome... just sayin'...) everywhere but the edges of the torn layers, so they'd curl up slightly, and at the end, added just a tiny bit of Stickles to emphasize the curls, so they looked a bit like the lines on the beach where the tide has been. 

The Ink Pad is gearing up to re-open in the fabulous new Chelsea location on 19th Street this Saturday, February 29th. We hope to see you there!

Lauren Bergold

loves the beach

and also 19th Street!

Chick or Treat

Everyone wants to meet some cute chicks, especially at Eastertime, right? So I'm happy to introduce you to our brand new, totally adorable, Eyelet Outlet Chick Brads!

I can never resist a diabolical pun, so as soon as I paired the Chicks with the Colored Eggs I knew what the sentiment had to be! I also added a plain white Egg Brad to which I gave a substantial "crack" with permanent marker, a Mini Stitched Flower Brad and a Heart Enamel. To make a fun coordinating background I neatly lined up strips of Pink and Green ZigZag Tape on some plain white cardstock, then trimmed it to size like any other patterned paper.

Of course, not everyone celebrates Easter, but that doesn't mean they have to miss out on colorful cardmaking fun. For my second card I added more Chicks and Colored Eggs to a journal card with the perfect sentiment, and to turn it into a little scene I punched some grass and affixed Sun and Cloud Brads to the top corner. A small Pink Pearl to dot the "i" finishes the whole thing off nicely.

No matter what holidays you're looking forward to this Spring, I bet Eyelet Outlet has Brads and Tape that will help make your cards EGG-stra special! :)

Another Month Rolls By...

...and it seems like each month goes a little faster than the last one! Which is why it's nice to record life in my Traveler's Notebook from The Ink Pad. I've been using the 2020 Weekly Diary for notes on everyday events and the Free Diary Monthly Insert to keep track of the things I've made. Here's how February looks so far:

An unexpected benefit of using the Free (aka Unlabeled) Diary: I love laying out the pages myself using planner stamps from Everyday Explorers Co! I added the month and tiny calendar with the Let's Be Explorers Planner Months set; and the numerals and days of the week with the Calendar Days set.

I used rainbow shades of Tsukineko's VersaFine Clair Inks for a pop of extra vivid color. Then I filled in my various completed assignments using little snippets of paper and tape, plus specific project items like PaperGame's Boy Stickers or Vellum Flowers. To keep stamps like Michelle Ward's Taxicab inside a single date, I masked with post-it notes and used Memento's Tuxedo Black ink for a super-crisp image.  

I've been keeping up with International Correspondence Writing Month (InCoWriMo) so it's fab to have a little grid from the Planner Months set and some cute little icons from EEC's Choose Your Own Adventure and Passport. There's also a fabulous new Passport New York set that I'm planning to bust out for cardmaking purposes ASAP.

The TN Regular Sized Binder is big enough to hold all three of my current inserts and still has "room to grow"! If I'm going to do a lot of precise stamping (like all the numerals for the entire month) I take them out of the binder, but most days I write, stamp and attach things right there.

Possibly the most important date in my February spread is the 29th because that is when The Ink Pad reopens in the fab new location, 233 West 19th Street (between 7th and 8th aves). Can't wait to see you there!

Lauren Bergold 

has already located excellent coffee and 

delicious falafel in the new neighborhood!

It's a Red Letter Day!

We're still making cards which predominantly feature the color *RED* at Jingle Belles and you still have plenty of time to join the fun, which we hope you will. This week I've combined both old and new products with a vintage vibe:

There are stash items in use here of nearly every age imaginable! So what's old and what's new? The beautiful Santa is an Authentique journal card, which I've framed up with part of an Idea-Ology Vignette Box Cover. Both of the above were post-holiday treats to myself from Paper Anthology. The tiny red star sequins are a brand new item coming soon to Eyelet Outlet which I'm technically not supposed to be using yet (so shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, ok?). The red mat and lightly patterned kraft cardstock are old enough that I'm not sure what they were leftover from. The twine and jute were on a package I unwrapped in December. The sheet music, trading stamps and xmas ornament background are all vintage, plus I've inked, torn and distressed them a bit more, just for fun.

Hop over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's lovely card and link up one (or more!) of your own! ♥

Same Gorgeous Ink; FAB New Pad!

Because YES! The Ink Pad is (finally!) officially moving from the Seventh Avenue store to brand new digs at 233 West 19th Street (betw 7th & 8th aves)! And since that's just six blocks further up town and half a block west, we know you'll still be able to find us when we re-open on February 29th! Obviously an event this momentous needed to be celebrated in card form, so here's one now:

Michelle Ward's Downtown NYC Map Stencil is a beautiful background for all sorts of occasions, but if you're actually moving from one downtown location to another, it's absolutely perfect, lol. I used it to make a bold but more or less solid color gel print and then added an envelope (with typed vintage label!) showing our new address, plus a labelmaker sentiment. The Taxi Cab from Michelle's Skyline Stamp Set, plus the Skyscraper and Postal Cancellation from her Manhattan Map Set add just enough local color on this fun A7 card.

We hope you'll mark your calendar for February 29th and plan to come visit us in the NEW STORE! Here is a map which shows 233 W. 19th Street just in case you need a visual! See you soon! ♥

Hippity Hoppity...

...Easter's on it's way! But there's still plenty of time to make cards, and plenty of Eyelet Outlet Brads to make them extra special! Here's my first Easter card of 2020:

My card features Rabbit Brads, Colored Egg Brads, Stitched Flower Brads with Mini Leaves, Sun and Cloud Brads, plus a couple of Mini Butterflies. But there are many more varieties, including Easter Bubble Brads, Chocolate Bunnies, Pastel Rabbits (currently on sale!), un-dyed Egg Brads, and even Bacon, Egg and Toast Brads which aren't very Eastery but go nicely with the Eggs! Something super-cute which might emerge from an egg is an adorable tiny Chick Brad... coming soon to the EO Store!

There's something for everyBUNNY at Eyelet Outlet! ♥

The Great Outdoors!

We're looking for cards with a nature/outdoor theme this fortnight at Shopping Our Stash. But then, you'd already guessed that, hadn't you?

Shocking True Confession: this card features some paper that is soooooo new it doesn't technically even exist yet! The pretty background paper with the dangling ornaments is from Blue Fern Studios' upcoming "Eclectic Charm" collection which is coming soon to Paper Anthology. Elisabeth was given some beautiful 6x6" samples at Creativation and somebody was so smitten with them that they begged to be allowed to use them RIGHT NOW! (...mighta been me, lol...) But everything else here is deeply stashy: ancient blue geometric patterned paper from Glitz Design, an offcut of textured, slightly glimmery tan cardstock that I don't think Bazzill makes anymore (...pity...) a little bit of torn book paper hanging out under the edge there; but the piece of resistance (as they say in France) is the trio of sweet bird stickers which came from the old Current catalog in the 70's and apparently my mom still had some until very recently when they mysteriously vanished...

Be sure to hop over to SOS and see what the other lovely ladies have made to inspire you, then start making plans to link up your own nature-centric masterpiece!

A Colorful Life

I was already in love with the special sets of stickers Papergame makes for The Ink Pad, especially the gorgeous flower outlines on vellum. But it turns out I can color them, too, which is even better don't you think? I tried out a few different coloring implements and the results of my experiments are on The Ink Pad Blog today! ♥

Better Off Red

This fortnight at Jingle Belles we're celebrating "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" but what we're after is not cards with reindeer on them, but cards which are predominantly RED! Though of course your predominantly red card can also have a reindeer on it, if you like. Mine does not have a reindeer, but it does have Santa... not to mention one or two (dozen!) other bits and bobs, lol.

plaid paper: my mind's eye "holly jolly"; journal card: lawn fawn; santa sticker: idea-ology; red cardstock mats: gina k; other miscellaneous stickers: doodlebug, making memories, little yellow bicycle, october afternoon, crate paper, photoplay, simple stories and probably a few more i've forgotten; glossy white cardstock: the paper cut; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape

Actually this is a pretty good example of a collage card which has absolutely nothing vintage on it... though admittedly some of the stickers are pretty old! But Santa is from an Idea-Ology Holiday Sticker Book, and the oversized plaid paper is My Mind's Eye's "Holly Jolly" collection; both came from Paper Anthology this past December. The rest were stickers and diecuts and bits of paper from my collection that I punched into circle shapes if they weren't already, and clustered around my Santa-adorned journaling card.

Head over to Jingle Belles and see Stephanie's beautiful card, then start making plans to link up your own Red Masterpiece! ♥

BEE Mine!

It's February 13th, which seems like a good time for one last silly Valentine, don't you think? This one combines Michelle Ward's Hex Pattern Stencil, Eyelet Outlet Heart and Mini Bee Brads, plus a few of my favorite pens. All the details can be found on The Ink Pad Blog, of course!

Hoppy, Hoppy, Hoppy...

...Valentine's Day! Just in case you need a few fast card ideas before Friday, here are three takes on HOPPI-ness, Eyelet Outlet style!

My first card features the ever-adorable Frog Brads, on a background of Cloud Washi and Water Tape, with half a Paper Flower serving as a lilypad. I used nested heart dies to trim my little scene into an appropriate Valentine shape, and added my sentiment with mixed letter stickers. At the very end, I added three white Heart Pearls.

It's less obvious at first, but beer can also be described as "HOPPY" so my second card features one of the bottles and a mug from our Beer Brads on a background of Beer Tape, sitting on a bar made of Hardwood Floor Washi. A few yellow Heart Enamels and we were good to go!

Heading back into cuuuuuute territory, this sweet little pair of Rabbit Brads (the packs contain both styles) is surrounded by diecut hearts made of Tiny Heart Washi and Checked Tape, with a couple of Heart Brad accents. 

Eyelet Outlet has a brad (and a style of tape!) to make a card that embodies pretty much ANY diabolical pun you can devise. For Valentine's Day, St. Pat's, Easter and beyond! ♥

Going a Bit Dotty?

Super-excited to find a brand new, super-easy way to make mandalas: I've combined Rubber Stamp Tapestry's "Perfect Circles" peg stamp set, my Zig Dot Markers and a few stamps from Everyday Explorers Co "School Days" stamp set. Coincidentally I got all of the above at The Ink Pad! Hop over to The Ink Pad Blog to read all about it!

Three Trios

This is our second week celebrating trios at Jingle Belles and you're invited to join the fun! Just make a holiday card that has three... something on it. Three trees? Three snowflakes? Three yeti? All of the above?? It's entirely up to you! Meanwhile, here's what I made this week:

patterned papers: basic grey; reindeer dies: impression obsession; tree punch: fiskars; sentiment: th/ideaology; snowflake brads: eyelet outlet;  ink for edges: ranger distress; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape, sewing machine

I've got three reindeer... three trees... three Eyelet Outlet Snowflake Brads... annnnnnnnd as a bit of a bonus I dipped into my stash of classic Basic Grey and chose three of my favorite blue and green holiday prints to make the background! A sticker sentiment and a bit of machine stitching was all I needed to finish this thing off.

Be sure to visit Jingle Belles and see Stephanie's beautiful card before linking up your own trio-centric masterpiece!

Oh Boy!

What do you get when you combine PaperGame's awesome collection of "Boy" stickers with Everyday Explorers Co "School Days" stamp set? An awesome journal page? A beautiful scrapbook layout? Or possibly a fun card?? Hop on over to The Ink Pad Blog and find out! 

(Hint: in this case it might be a CARD... 'cause that's the way I roll...)

Inspired by... Catalogs?

Ideas can literally come from ANYWHERE, but one of my --perhaps surprising-- sources are the silly t-shirts in novelty catalogs. I can't actually imagine BUYING such a shirt, but it's unusual for me to flick through and not see something I think would make a fun card. In this case, since I knew I had a couple of varieties of Eyelet Outlet Brads which would work perfectly (Kitten Brads and Long Cats) I've made two!

I've used the Kitten Brads as accents quite a few times (especially on Halloween cards!) but I'm glad they are finally getting their starring role. I made a base of Coloring Book Washi, mounted it on a panel of Big Dot Tape and finally added a small pink heart from the Multicolor Enamel Set. My sentiment is in a free font called AR Cena.

My second card uses a free font called AR Bonnie because I liked how its super skinny line paired perfectly with the Long Cat Brads. These guys are on clearance, which is happy because they're only $1.09 but sad because when we run out, they won't be coming back. I matted the sentiment on a panel with Geometric Tape and made the background from Paw Tape.

I hope you'll be inspired by something random and wonderful today... and then I bet there are Eyelet Outlet Brads and Tape that will help make it into the perfect card!

SOS 413: My Heart's On Fire

There are a few ways to interpret this fortnight's challenge at Shopping Our Stash. For "My Heart's On Fire" you can make a card or other project which incorporates a) Hearts b) the color RED c) Valentines d) Fire or e) Any combination thereof. I went with a and b, in gift bag form.

I have probably said this a million times but apparently I'm still going to say it again: I never buy decorated gift bags. It's not that I don't like them, but for the most part I feel they're over-priced and under-personal. So I buy bulk packs of plain ones at the big box store and decorate them myself. One of my favorite combinations of supplies for this is washi tape + dimensional flowers + brads. And bearing in mind the axiom, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" that's what I've utilized here. I basically grabbed ALL of my red and/or heart-bedecked tapes and went to town. The velvetty flowers came from a stem acquired in the floral department of a craft store long enough ago that I had to use packing tape to de-dust them. The paper flowers are annnnnnnnnnnnnnnncient Prima. The brads are a mishmash of older, out of print Eyelet Outlets ones; the tapes are from... well... everywhere, lol! In the interests of full disclosure, I should mention that when I use tapes of unknown origin on a project like this, I wrap them around neatly into the crease at the side of the bag, try to trim them all pretty neatly into a straight(ish) line, and finish off with a small strip of clear packing tape, just in case any decide they might like to unstick themselves at some later date.

Why not treat yourself to the gift of inspiration over at SOS and then start planning your own masterpiece?

The Write Stuff

Just in case you were wondering, I am still very much smitten with my Karin Brushmarkers from The Ink Pad! They have a beautiful brush, come in loads of colors and work wonderfully well on a variety of paper styles, including this page from an old dictionary! Hop over to The Ink Pad Blog to see this piece, finished: