How CUUUUUTE is This?!

I'm always looking for a good excuse to break out my favorite Lawn Fawn stuff, and since I had not yet used my Car Critters without the Christmas add-on, the "How CUTE Is This?" challenge, the latest in our Creation Inspiration Weekend on the Paper Anthology Facebook Page seemed like a good time to remedy that.

Those Car Critters really are the cuuuuutest thing on four wheels and it turns out I love coloring the bears who come in the original release as much as their reindeer cousins. My card is a slimline design, because that was the shape of my ancient diagonal blue plaid paper scrap, which I decided was perfect for the sky. The trees and clouds are cut from other ancient paper scraps. The stickers --and the awesome flowery road!-- are from Doodlebug.

Text Me!

It's the last day of February, as well as the last day of our Creation Inspiration Weekend on the Paper Anthology Facebook page. My final challenge is called "Text Me" and (have you guessed already?) I'd like to see create a card that prominently celebrates... text! That might mean a background made of texty patterned paper, doing some hand-lettering, using oversized alphabet stickers or stamps, or just creating a card where the sentiment is the star. 

My card features not one, not two, but THREE texty patterened papers, as well as some older, chunky alphabet stickers. Penny Black's Exquisite Envelope Stamps set the scene perfectly, with the nod to snail mail as well as the vivid pop of the fun-to-color blooms. 

Hello, Sunshine!

Nathalie Kalbach's Deco Summit stencil from StencilGirl is a beautiful all-over pattern in any color, but I especially love it when used with Ranger's brand new Kitsch Flamingo Oxide Ink. This vibrant card is on The Ink Pad Blog today:

Stencil Stunners...

...is the name of the next Creation Inspiration challenge on the Paper Anthology Facebook Page and it's hosted by Elisabeth. I broke out some of my (many!) foliage stencils so I could play along:

Most of my stamps are stored by category, so when I was getting Mythical Grumplings from the Animals and Creatures drawer the other day, I spotted my Dina Wakley Scribbly Birds and thought (as I always do!) that it would be fun to make a card with them. So I did. It's very simple... just leaf stencils, layered in various green Distress Oxides, a Scribbly Bird colored with regular DI's and cut out, plus the sentiment from that same Dina set. All you really need, imo! ♥

Keeping You in Stitches

We're on day two of Creation Inspiration Weekend, and everyone is invited to join us for challenges galore on the Paper Anthology Facebook Page. Next up is "A Stitch in Time" which, as you may have guessed, involves one of my favorite go-to techniques: STITCHING! It can be hand-stitching, machine stitching, or even faux-stitching; although in this situation, stitched dies do not count. Otherwise, use a little or a lot, decorative or practical, plain or fancy, but get ready... and get thready!

I've added quite a bit of machine stitching (around the clouds and the edge of the panel) plus a little bit of zig zag hand stitching on the righthand side of the heart. But the stars of the show are Taylored Expressions' Mythical Grumplings, whom I've stamped, colored and fussycut in all their grouchy glory.

Tons of Tape

This weekend (Feb 26-28) we are celebrating Paper Anthology's Creation Inspiration Weekend on the PA Facebook Page. There will be *TEN* different creative challenges, as well as chats, trivia and more. I'm the hostess for Challenge #2: Washi Wonderland; for which... (you may already have guessed, lol) ...we'd like to see cards and layouts that feature decorative tape. It just so happens I have one or two rolls laying around:

I've used nineteen (19!) tapes on this card, which, on the one hand, is quite a lot of tape; but on the other hand, is a mere fraction of my collection. (I'm never sure if I should be proud or embarrassed about a statement like that?) Your project obviously does not have to feature so many tapes, nor does your background have to be entirely made of rainbow shades, but... if you have LOTS of tape and would like to use a bit, this is a good way to go! :)

 

A Bit Sketchy

Things are a bit sketchy this fortnight at Jingle Belles, but in a *GOOD* way because we have this lovely card map by Stephanie to inspire our cards:

One of the best things about card sketches is how well they streamline the design process, especially if you stick to readymade items, which is what I did this week. I used wintery Echo Park stickers from last year to make up my focal point and the strong horizontal element up top. For the vertical on the left, I used self adhesive, super-thin wood veneer that came in a roll, and I'll apologize in advance for over-using that the next few months, because it's my new favorite thing. A couple of mats and some Eyelet Outlet Snowflake Brads later, I called it a day!

Hop over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's beautiful sketch card and start planning what you will make!

If it Rains...

"...look for the rainbows" is my favorite sentiment in Picket Fence Studios' "After the Storm" Clear Stamp Set from The Ink Pad. But if you don't love that one, no worries... there are also four additional sentiments, in a variety of attractive fonts; as well as three lovely images. I've used two of the latter on this card; the details of which are on The Ink Pad Blog today:

Seashore Garden...

...is the name of this beautiful tape from Eyelet Outlet and the only thing I love more than the name is the tape itself!

The Seashore Garden Tape is interesting for its style as well as its look; instead of being a continuous long repeat, the design is actually six different boxes, in which there is a coordinating scene that has fish, sea creatures, shells, coral and flowers. So my first question was, "Do I use this in long strips, or do I cut it down and use the individual boxes?" but pretty quickly I realized the answer was: BOTH! For my first card, I made a note-quite-A2 sized background by lining up three strips of this inch-wide tape, which I matted on a panel of Glitter Copper Tape, mulberry cardstock and a soft mottled lavender paper. I diecut and matted an oval, as well as a strip to hold my Lawn fawn stamped sentiment, "I *sea* it's your birthday". I filled the oval with some trout from the Trout and Bass Brads and accessorized with Shell Corner Brads as well as starfish and sand dollars from the Sea Shore Brad Set. 

For my second card, I applied a long strip of Seashore Garden Tape to plain white cardstock, then trimmed it down into the six individual boxes that make up the entire design. I matted each one on a rich kraft cardstock, scattered some Trout, Shell Corner, Sea Shore and Shell Brads to a few of the squares and affixed them to a white A6 card with a torn bit of the leftover lavender paper from the first card. 

I love that both of these cards use ALL the same ingredients... but each is quite unique! I'm anxious to try this two-fer method on some of our other Eyelet Outlet Washi Tapes.

Face to Face

I'm a HUGE Dina Wakley fan, I've been lucky enough to take both real life and virtual classes with that always-inspiring lady, and thus I'm absolutely always excited to get my hands on some fabulous Dina Wakley Media products and start creating! This card and tag are made with Dina's Vintage and Sketches Collage Paper and her Collage Words (Pack #3) from The Ink Pad; I hope you'll hop over to TIP Blog and read a bit more about the process!

Text Me... Again!

We're still celebrating all the fun uses for text on holiday cards at Jingle Belles: texty patterned paper or book-page backgrounds, oversized sentiments, creative use of letter stickers, or... well, however you would like to interpret this fun prompt! Here's what I made this week:

I found this fab black-background scrap of Pebbles paper, so of course I went with the "texty background" option, as you can see! I've added a few pre-made diecut elements on top, with some handcut snowy hills and a cute car I fussycut from jounral cards that came in an older American Crafts collection.

Hop over to see Stephanie's awesome card at Jingle Belles and link up your own!

Sealing Wax Adventures (Part 1)

I love everything to do with snail mail: from typewriters, to vintage paper and envelopes, cardmaking, pens, handwriting and more; but one thing I have never tried (until now!) is sealing wax; but I'm pretty sure I'm already HOOKED! In this post, I'm using Glue Gun Sealing Wax and a variety of seals; however, The Ink Pad does also carry traditional Wick Wax, as well as a Sealing Wax Set with small wax beads and a melting spoon, which I will save for another post. In the meantime, my preliminary thoughts, tips, tricks and links are on The Ink Pad Blog today!

"Plant a Garden...

...Feed a Bunny!" is yet another sentiment that I saw on a t-shirt, and immediately had an entire card idea, featuring my Eyelet Outlet Rabbits and some other garden-related brads. Since it was just before Valentine's Day, and I had heart-y cards that made more sense, I sketched it on a piece of scrap paper and set it aside. I'll show you that sketch in a minute, but first, let's see the card:

Generally, when I sketch an idea, it's just visual notes of things I want to remember; often the card I wind up making doesn't look much like the original sketch, but this time it really did!

My diecut circles are cut from a piece of watercolor paper on which I had painted green grass and blue sky and then... for some reason... abandoned. I adhered a piece of picket fence diecut to the largest (2") circle and added the Rabbit Brads and a Heart. The upper of my two 1.5" circles holds a Sun and Cloud Brad as well as a rainbow from the Unicorn and Rainbow set; the lower has a Gnome Brad (they're on sale!); a trowel from the Garden Tools set and a Mini Butterfly, which I hadn't realized was discontinued, but you could swap a full-sized Butterfly, or a Mini Bee. The two 1" circles feature a Sunflower and Mini Ladybug; and the carrot and broccoli from the Vegetable Brad Set (which is also on sale) respectively.

With a change of sentiment, this design could easily translate into an Easter card, a fun birthday greeting for a gardener, or maybe even an anniversary card? That's the great thing about creativity, when you plant an idea, you never know what you might harvest later!

SOS439: All About Family

This fortnight at Shopping Our Stash we're "All About Family"! Whether that's a card for a special family member's birthday, a jumpstart on Mother's or Father's Day, a memorykeeping project featuring family photos, or just a word like family, dad, mom, brother, niece, etc, appearing somewhere in your sentiment... there are lots of ways to go!  

I realize my project looks like a scrapbook layout, but it's actually a 6x6 card. As the sentiment implies, it's for my father-in-law's birthday; and the guy on the lawnmower is my husband, Jeff, circa 1962. I had been sorting through some older, duplicate pictures and thought my FIL would get a kick out of seeing this one again. And let's face it "guy cards" are hard, so whenever I come up with an idea I haven't done a hundred times, I just run with it! Apart from the photo I've got a Dymo Label sentiment and a mix of reallllllly old papers: the background with the houses is either Amy Tangerine or Maggie Holmes; the stars inside of circles I think might be Scenic Route; the rulers are so old they don't even have a tearstrip or a name!

Be sure to visit SOS and see the amazing design team creations, then start thinking about what you will make that's, "All About Family"! 

It's the 14th of February!

I hope you'll receive your fair share love and treats today, whether they be from a Valentine, a GAL-entine, or something special from you to you! Here's a "HEART-y" shaker card featuring Avery Elle's Oval Burst Elle-ments Die which I talk more about on The Ink Pad Blog today.

Yeti or Not?

Apologies for a slightly misleading title, because this fortnight at Jingle Belles the challenge is actually called "Text Me" for which we'd like to see (can you guess?) holiday cards that celebrate text. Which might mean prominently using letter stickers, dictionary pages, texty patterned paper, or just creating a card where the sentiment is the star. Here's my card, and you'll see where the yetis come in:

Ok so, clearly I have made my punny sentiment and gigantic alphabet stickers the stars of the show, but I also wanted a text-centric patterned paper with an old-school typewriter font on a white background. Yes, I realize that's VERY specific, which might be the reason I discovered I didn't have such a thing. So I made my own. See?

Yep, I got our my trusty Royal and typed, "yeti or not" over and over (and over and over!) until I filled a 4x6" area of white cardstock, which I then layered with snowy hills and populated with adorable Lawn Fawn yetis. I wanted to include some Christmas trees too, and started with minty green ones; but they just sort of faded into the sentiment, so instead I went with pink ones. (Like ya do, lol...) A few Eyelet Outlet Snowflake Brads complete the scene.

Hop over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's fabulous TEXT-y card and start planning what you'll link up with us this fortnight! ♥

Hogs and Kisses

Valentine's Day is Sunday, but there's still time to make a funny, punny card, especially if you have some Eyelet Outlet Pig and Sheep Brads!

I made a fast background with Tiny Heart Tape and then chose cardstock colors to coordinate. I made my "Hogs and Kisses" sentiment using chunky foam alphabet stickers and added two adorable Pig Brads to the letter O. Finally, I scattered a few Heart Brads and I was done! Super-fast, super-fun and super-cute; what else do you need?

Butterflies Everywhere

Transfer Me transfers from Dress My Craft are new to The Ink Pad, and come in four styles: Vintage Butterflies (used here), Queen Birds, Be Mine and Roses. Each sheet is 8.5x11" so you get a lot of good-sized images to work with. They adhere beautifully to glass, wood, plastic and metal, so they're excellent for decor items. Because these are not ordinary rub-ons; they're the sort of transfer that you need to dip into water (there are complete, easy-to-follow instructions on the package). However, as you can see, I've also used them on some cards, and if you hop over to The Ink Pad Blog, I'll explain the twist that makes that work easily! 

StencilGirl® Stencils on Collaged Postcards

As a StencilGirl® superfan, I'm thrilled to be on the StencilGirl Talk Blog again, with a brand new project, that's full of vintage flair. This time, I made a set of travel-inspired 5x7" postcards, and a special little folder to hold them. I used four of Mary Nasser's beautiful designs: Map Stencil, Metro Map, Map with Roundabouts and one of her travel word stencils, Let's Go 2, which has the best typewriter font ever! There's more pics of the project, the stencils, and the process over at StencilGirl Talk. I hope you'll hop over and check it out!

Boho Inspo (part 2)

 We're still making cards based on this fun Boho Christmas Decor from Love the Day at Jingle Belles and you're still invited to join the fun!

Just choose any elements from the photo that appeal to you, then interpret them as part of your card. This week I was inspired by the bottle brush trees on the the mantel and the cute deer. I've also brought back the color scheme of lots of white with "bright pastels". And plenty of sparkle is ALWAYS a good idea, in my opinion!

Hop over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's beautiful card and start planning what you will make!

It's Almost Friday!

So this seems like the perfect time for a card that celebrates the end of the work week! Picket Fence Studios' Here is Where I Work cling stamp set from The Ink Pad has other sentiments, as well; covering everything from encouragement to congratulations to employee appreciation... and in a variety of interesting fonts. But this week, Friday is definitely looking good to me! I'd love for you to hop over to The Ink Pad Blog and see a few more pics, and read about my process!

Roll With It

I suspect that one of the things we will always remember about the year 2020 is the Great Toilet Paper Crisis! Luckily we now have Eyelet Outlet TP and Tissue Brads to commemorate this event and to perpetrate some fairly diabolical puns, like these:

My first pun idea involved the TP, so I used the labelmaker to say, "just roll with it" and affixed the text and the brad to a faux polaroid cut from some older patterned paper. For some reason the idea of fluffy white clouds popped into my head, so my background and diecuts are clouds.

I suspect I will use the Tissue Brads most in the context of get well cards, but for this first time out, I wanted something that sort of went with the encouragement theme of the first card; so I went with, "it will blow over".

Stay tuned to the Eyelet Outlet Blog for the next few weeks, I know all of the designers will have their own unique ideas on how to use these fun brads!

A Heart-y Hello

"Love is in the Air" at Shopping Our Stash, so we're making cards with... (can you guess?!) ...HEARTS on them!

Lots of old and assorted items on this baby: the typewriting girl and the other stickers are from October Afternoon's "9 to 5" collection, which is going back a bit, eh? There's some long-hoarded Basic Grey "Out of Print" collection paper; ancient SEI hearts; and seriously elderly Studio Calico woodgrain butterfly stickers (that I still totally adore, actually). The young'un here is the Doodlebug paper with the typewriters on it, which is not more than a year or two... practically NEW, lol! ;)

Hop over to SOS to see the LOVE-ly cards from the design team and start plotting your own heart-bedecked beauty!