Out of This World

We're thinking universally this fortnight at Shopping Our Stash! For "The Sun, Moon and Stars" we'd like to see projects featuring at least ONE of those astronomical entities. They needn't be realistic though, so if you want to add some smiley Doodlebug stars and moons to a kiddo's birthday card, go for it! I did... see?

stickers, sentiment, star and yellow lined paper: doodlebug design; chevron paper: echo park; frame: sei; birthday and speech bubble stamps: stampin' up; thickers: american crafts; star washi and enamel heart: eyelet outlet; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape

Apart from the glossy black cardstock I grabbed the last time I was at Paper Anthology and the newish Eyelet Outlet Star Tape, there is nothing here that isn't at least two years old. The D-bug alien, moon, stars and sentiment are from the "So Much Pun" collection; the green foam thickers have been around a while; and that polka dot frame is from SEI's "Twitterpated" collection which... if you remember that... you've been papercrafting as long as I have, lol!

Head on over to SOS to see what the design team has made to inspire you this time, then start planning what YOU will make! ♥

I (heart) NY!

This seems like an especially good time to send some extra love to our favorite city, so here's a bold and elegant New York Card featuring Hero Arts' Deco in the City Stamp, from their 6" Bold Prints line; and the I (heart) NY from Michelle Ward's Skyline Stamp Set. Lots more on The Ink Pad Blog!

Since this gorgeous stamp had Never Seen Ink, I'm linking up with the Stay Crafty With Hero Challenge! ♥

A Very Vintage Christmas

This fortnight at Jingle Belles, we're asking you to create a card with a vintage or retro vibe… either by using new products that are vintage-in-style OR by incorporating actual vintage items into your design... or heck, really go for it and use both! 

I went with mostly real vintage because it's sorta my thang, lol! I went collage-y for the same reason. But of course there are loads of fabulous brand new stamps and paper lines that will get you a similar effect; for that matter you could use vintage elements in a CAS card! There are lots of ways to go with this! I've combined a poinsettia fussycut from a vintage Ideals Magazine, a collage of sheet music and text papers overlaid with some fun Red Stamps and at the end I added ancient lace and brand new, but I've had them awhile 7Gypsies velvetty leaves for texture! 

Just in case you have NOTHING at all to use for this challenge, hop over to Jingle Belles where I've added a few scans of vintage items from my own hoard/collection; also there's a chance for one lucky random cardmaker to win a fun prize of older goodies from my Etsy Shop, Just Enough Stuff! ♥

Tulips in Bloom

Arguably the best part of Spring is watching all the flowers bloom, and in a Spring where many things are different, thankfully, that is still true this year! I don't happen to have tulips in my yard, so I made some myself, with Hero Arts' Frame Cuts Tulip Dies. There's more step-by-step detail on The Ink Pad Blog today.

Happy, Hoppy, Easter

Easter is hopping our way pretty quickly, but there's still time to make a few cards for somebunny special! And of course Eyelet Outlet has all the brads, tape, bling and sequins you could possibly need. I am not the best engineer in the world, but I couldn't resist making a fun Easter shaker card:

This might be the deepest shaker card of all time, it can very nearly qualify as a diorama, lol! I was trying to make a little scene for the adorable Rabbit Brads to inhabit, and of course I had to hide some Colored Eggs in the tall grass; so somehow the layers just kept increasing. Plus it was a beautiful day so I needed Sun and Cloud Brads. Then obviously it wouldn't be a shaker card without some lovely pale blue Sequins to match the sky!

Hop on over to the Eyelet Outlet Store where there are lots more Easter treats, like Chicks, Pastel Rabbits, Chocolate Bunny Brads and did I mention the Washi Tape...? ;)

MARCH-ing On

Would this be a good time for a Travelers Notebook update? Because somehow, when we weren't looking, two thirds of March rushed past and the season changed from winter to spring! All of my supplies, of course, are from The Ink Pad.

March 2020 started on a Sunday and uses four full weeks, plus three days. This is not something I would ordinarily notice, but since I'm working in the Free (Blank) Monthly Diary and need to format each month, it's something I had to think about in order to label the days and lay them out correctly. So this month, the title of the month is at the bottom right of my spread, because there was more room to place my overview using Everyday Explorers Co Planner Months set and a bit of handlettering just for fun. The days of the week, from the Calendar Days set, are still up top.

The regular sized TN insert is slightly bigger than my MISTI, but by flipping it around and letting the book hang off the non-hinge edge, I could still use it. Which was nice, because I wanted to neatly line up a bunch of the faux postage icons from EEC's Choose Your Own Adventure set in the margin, and frankly, I would not have had the confidence to do that freehand.

I had finished my entire spread and was getting ready to put the Free Monthly Diary back into my Regular Sized Binder, but there just seemed to be something missing. I auditioned more stamps, and several styles of MT Washi Tape, but nothing seemed quite right. In the end, it turned out what I needed was just a nice bright border around the month, which I made using a Zig Dot Marker in Kiwi!

I considered not showing my TN Weekly page this time, because honestly, it's such a JUMBLE! Lots of info and updates about CoViD-19; a record of things that got cancelled, mingled with random positive stuff I made a point of noticing... really there's much more here than a well-composed page should ever have. But then it occurred to me how well this reflects exactly what this week was like!!! Which is the whole entire point of journaling, right? So here it is, warts and all:

And finally, though I've shown my cover before, I do still love the collagey goodness and especially the 2020 library card in its pocket, which will allow me to update and reuse my personalized Regular Sized Binder for years to come!

The Ink Pad's Chelsea Store is still closed for a bit, but so be sure you've signed up for the newsletter to get updates as they happen. Meanwhile, stay well and stay crafty!

Still Singing!

We're still celebrating music, instruments, song titles and song lyrics in holiday card form at Jingle Belles and of course we'd love for you to join the fun! Here's what I made this week:

I've had this "Fa-la-la-la-la" chipboard from My Mind's Eye "Sugar Plum" collection for ages, because honestly, it's a little big for cardmaking. But as the anchor for my A7 card, I think it works, and it really didn't need much else. I fussy cut a few elements from the coordinating patterned paper, added a Lawn Fawn music paper accent and threw in a scatter of Eyelet Outlet sequins just for fun!

Head over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's musical masterpiece and link up one of your own! ♥

Unbe-LEAF-able!

We're living in particularly "Interesting" times right now, but one of the nice things is that many of us are enjoying more home time, which might equate to more crafting time, which can't be bad, right? Hero Arts' Plant and Stand Dies from The Ink Pad plus a bunch of cardstock scraps add up to a fun and easy card with a nice fresh vibe:

I cut out all but the smallest of the leaves, from three different shades of green cardstock. I adhered the lightest shade leaves to the medium shade ones, placing them slightly offset, to get the effect of a drop shadow. I cut the plant pot from woodgrain paper and the stand from a scrap of dark brown cardstock and added just a tiny bit of shading to the edges with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. I affixed the darkest green leaves flat, but left the edges slightly loose so I could curl them up a bit. I adhered most of my double leaves with one layer of foam tape, but popped a couple of them even higher on two levels. I creased all of the leaves down that center score line for additional dimension.

The background paper is an index page from an old, falling-apart plant book, matted on terracotta cardstock. If you look closely on the lower righthand side, you can see the name of this species, Monstera Deliciosa! I borrowed a sentiment from Hero Arts' Bookcase Peek-a-boo set and trimmed it into a little pennant. An Eyelet Outlet Mini Ladybug Brad adds just a tiny bit of whimsy and a fun pop of red.

Just a reminder that due to the current conditions, The Ink Pad's Chelsea location will be closed at least for the remainder of this week, and online orders will ship on Saturday. Click the "subscribe" tab on The Ink Pad's Welcome Page to get updates on store hours and other news as it happens!

Unicorns, Rainbows and Sunshine

Even if none of the above are in the actual forecast for this week, I'm happy that I can produce such a combination in card form, using the brand new Eyelet Outlet Unicorn and Rainbow Brads!

I used Gina K's awesome Wreathbuilder Template and Mandala Maker stamp set to construct a basic mandala, then added punched circles and hearts to make the design even more color. In addition to the Unicorns and Rainbows I placed a Sun and Cloud Brad in the center medallion. I also placed a strip of Confetti Washi across the base to anchor my mandala, and flanked with with strips of Skinny Tape.

Stay tuned for more inspiration on the Eyelet Outlet Blog!

Butterflies, Fluttering By!

We're stocking up on that most common and useful of cards at Shopping Our Stash, so here's your chance to choose any colors, theme, shape and size, as long as you make a birthday card! Here's mine:

I've combined some of my oldest and most beloved patterned papers (the last few bits and bobs from K and Co's Madeline collection of years (and years!!!) ago) with some of my newest and most beloved, Blue Fern Studio's Eclectic Charm, which is new to Paper Anthology. Plus I think my trusty old Movers and Shapers butterfly dies look really well with that brand new scripty "happy" from Sunny Studios. I've spelled out "birthday" with some fab PinkFresh alphas from last year and inked up everything around the edges. Not the fanciest card I've ever made but it's hard to go wrong with such pretty ingredients!

Be sure to check out the rest of the gang's birthday greetings at SOS and then start making one... or more... of your own to link up!

Hippity Hoppity...

...Easter's on its way! But there's still time to make some cards and The Ink Pad has everything you need, including Tim Holtz's fabulous Spring Shadows set from Stampers Anonymous. Here's an assorted bunch of parts, most of which went into the card which is on The Ink Pad Blog this morning. Note: NO chocolate bunnies were harmed in the making of this post! :)

Fa-La-La-La-Laaaaaaaaa!

We're celebrating music at Jingle Belles this fortnight, so we'd like to see (...you've guessed already, right?) cards that feature sheet music OR song lyrics/titles OR musical notes OR instruments! Trust me, even if you don't obsessively hoard vintage sheet music you've got plenty of choices on this one!

As a matter of fact I *do* obsessively hoard vintage sheet music, so this was pretty much a no-brainer for me, lol. I chose some medium-patina paper without lyrics as my base and a fabulous Authentique vintage-style journal card with bells and birds and little swirls of notes as my focal point. Plus an appropriate sentiment from my Idea-Ology holiday sticker book. Nearly everything on this card came from my LSS Paper Anthology, though I am honestly not sure if the Authentique was from a 2019 collection or a 2018 one. 

Be sure to head over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's beautiful card and link up your own musical masterpiece! ♥

The Power of *Negative* Thinking

When it comes to diecutting, "negative" thinking can be quite an advantage. When you think about it, each cut actually results in TWO pieces: the shape itself, plus the remaining cardstock with an aperture in it, which is known as negative space. More about that on The Ink Pad Blog today, where there's also a second card I made using the negative space from the diecuts on this one!

I (Heart) Silly Cards!

I often see funny sentiments on t-shirts, bumper stickers, or as memes on social media. Being a cardmaker, my first thought is often, "Hey! That would make a fun card!" Being an Eyelet Outlet design team member, my second thought is usually, "Hey! We have the perfect brad for that!"

In this case, the perfect brads are the super-fun Yoga Cats from a couple of years ago, which coincidentally happen to be on sale! I formatted the text in a free font called Ziggy Standard, printed it on a clear inkjet label, then added the cats, part of a Bling Strip and a bunch of mats. Et Voila! 

I will put a jpg of this sentiment on the Eyelet Outlet Freebies Page, just in case anybody else is feeling silly today too!

Best Buds

Despite the fact that we've had quite a mild winter here in the Northeastern US, I think by now we are all longing for Spring to arrive and flowers to bloom! For those of us who are especially impatient, luckily there are Rubber Stamp Tapestry Peg Stamps, with which we can produce our own blossoms, on demand! Hop over to The Ink Pad Blog to read all about this bloomin' card:

Stuck On You

We're still STUCK on stickers at Jingle Belles and you're still invited to join our holiday card fun! Here's what I made this week:

I combined stickers from a few different Doodlebug holiday collections into a little scene on a sweet little journal card with a background of Lawn Fawn patterned paper. Oh and there's a bit of Eyelet Outlet Washi Tape just to ground the whole thing. Such an easy card and so much fun to put together!

Hop over to Jingle Belles and see Stephanie's super-fun card and link up one of your own! Did I mention there's a little prize this fortnight? You know... if you like that sorta thing... :)

New York, New York

A city so nice, as the saying goes, they named it twice! Everyday Explorers Co. has only named this stamp set once, "Passport: New York" but it is equally fab and very useful for planners, travel journals, or (as in this case) cards! Oh and it's available at The Ink Pad of course! Read more about it on The Ink Pad Blog!

Doggone Cute

That's the way I (Lauren) would describe the Eyelet Outlet Long Dog Brads, but don't take my word for it, have a look for yourself:

These cards are pretty streamlined because let's face it if you have the adorable Long Dogs and an awesome sentiment (in Avery font) you don't need much else really. Ok maybe some fab Geomettic Washi, but that's about it.

I made the background of my second card by alternating strips of Paw Washi with some really fun Skinny Plaid Tape. The Long Dogs have wiggled their way between the two lines of sentiment which is spelled out in a free font called Cafe Rojo.

Not only do the Long Dogs look cute, I think they've given us some really good advice; and also... they're on sale right now!

Lauren Bergold

tries to wag more

than she barks!

Is It Summer Yet?!

Unless you live in the southern hemisphere the answer to that question is, alas, "Nope. Not Even Close." but this fortnight at Shopping Our Stash we're answering YES... but in card form, lol. We want to see bright colors and a summery vibe. Sounds like fun, right? 

Here's what I made:

patterned paper: amy tangerine, echo park; journal cards: echo park, doodlebug, photoplay; stickers: doodlebug, echo park, crate paper, my mind's eye, fancy pants; brads: eyelet outlet; ink for edges: colorbox; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape, sewing machine 

My niece Riley turned eighteen (18!!!) a few weeks ago and thus a very special card was obviously called for. Riley is the original beach baby, so I went with a "fun in the sun" theme and incorporated lots of summery journal cards, stickers and brads from a bunch of olllllllder collections. That orange background grid, for instance, is from Amy Tangerine's first collection, which is now going back... well, not 18 years, certainly, but I think it has to be a good decade old. I had a blast picking things I knew would be special to the birthday girl: fab sunnies, flip flops, ice cream, postcards, a tiara (long story lol) and even what she thinks of as an Instax Camera but which oldies like me see as being a Polaroid! Plus lots of little hearts because Miss Riley was born on Valentine's Day!

I hope you'll check out the DT gallery at SOS and then start making your own tiny little Summer Vacation in card form! ♥

March/April Classes...

...at Paper Anthology. If you happen to be within driving distance of Kenvil, NJ, in Morris County, I'd love to see your face in da place! :)

“I Like Big Blooms and I Cannot Lie!”

A2 cards couldn’t hold this profusion of Dare-2B-Artzy Doodle Flowers, so we’ve leveled up to A7’s! We’ll use Targeted Smooshing (a technique I just made up, lol!) to make two luscious ColorBurst backgrounds and the larger flowers; then switch over to a bit of traditional stamping with solid flower stamps and Archival Inks.  We’ll also get to play with the new flock transfer sheets by Thermoweb!  These cards look equally nice with or without various sentiments, so students can choose to make two spring cards, two Easter cards, or two cards without sentiments which could be sent at Passover or even to mark a spring birthday or special occasion!

Collage Logic Technique Workshop:

I'll share my favorite collage techniques and exercises as well as some vintage and found papers during this workshop-style class. Students will make a book-ring full of ATC’s which illustrate what we learn, as a reminder they can take home, add to, and use in their own work. We’ll discuss supplies, substrates, scale, layout, etc; and address whatever questions individual students bring. We’ll concentrate on techniques which can be adapted to journals and cardmaking, but there will be a little bit of everything, including cut vs. torn paper backgrounds, ink over collage, minimalist layouts, translucent layers, stapled collage and the diabolical “Glue As You Go” Exercise which may become an obsession!

Check out the Paper Anthology Class Page for all the details and for other fab classes taught by Elisabeth Ostrowski and Shari Morris! ♥

Hello!

Hello, March! Hello (Almost) Spring, and most importantly perhaps for The Ink Pad: Hello, Chelsea! As of yesterday, we are officially open in the new location, at 233 West 19th Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. All of which seem like good reasons to celebrate with a bright and cheerful card, don't you think? Luckily there's quite a nice one on The Ink Pad Blog today (she said, modestly)!