Let's Flamin-GO!

Where do card ideas come from? EVERYWHERE!  In this case, a friend sent me a Star Trek meme (see below) that I realized would make a very fast and easy card featuring an Eyelet Outlet Flamingo Brad, a Sandcastle, Tall Palm and our Sun and Cloud Brads with an accent of Sequins and a mat of Pink and White Dot Tape: 

The sentiment is formatted in a font called In Your Face Joffrey, which was free at DaFont.com; all I had to do was print it out, add brads and embellies et voila!

Whatever joke, quote, saying or motto YOU would like to re-create in card form, I'm pretty confident that the Eyelet Outlet Online Store has all the Brads and Washi you'll need to make it work!

It's ICAD Time Again

Thursday is June first which means the Index Card a day Challenge, devised and hosted by Tammy Garcia, will kick off its thirteenth season! You don't need ANYTHING special to participate, just some index cards and a way of making marks of some description upon them. This is my twelfth year participating and since I happen to enjoy making little books (and having a dedicated little book for each year's index card art has kept me motivated!) I converted my favorite ever Wendy Vecchi card into a cover; admittedly mostly so I could keep the card for myself! :)

Let me address one really common question right up front: YES, the index cards you work on really should be the cheap, flimsy kind from the office supply store and not high-quality watercolor paper trimmed down to the correct size. This event is about showing up for yourself and doing SOMETHING creative every day, to establish or re-boot your daily art practice. This is about PROCESS more than OUTCOME... and a big part of the point is that you really truly do not need fancy supplies to participate. You also don't need to achieve a finished, polished piece of art each day. Think mark-making, think ink-swatching, think random collage; consider trying a new technique, or getting out those watercolor pens, or inking up those stamps that are still in their packages. Visit the ICAD Base page at Daisy Yellow Art for lots of pre-season activities as well as tips, techniques, badges, ideas and (once we kick off) there will be (100% OPTIONAL) weekly themes and daily prompts for those days when you don't have something in mind. One of the pre-season activities is to make a title card, and here's mine:

Another excellent idea is to assemble a little group of supplies that can sit in a basket or box or tray that you can easily access each day. Because, if you're anything like me, when you suddenly remember ICAD at 9:30pm and you have to go and find your index cards, your pens and your adhesive... that's going to seriously take the wind out of your sails. Since my niece, nephew, sister and mom have all participated in ICAD for the last few years, we've amassed and shared quite a few styles of index cards and dividers, so I have choices! Some years I've focused on one style or technique: collage, lettering, doodles, etc; but mostly I go with the flow. I use the prompts when they appeal to me, though generally not on their specific day; if I really love a prompt I might do it a few times... some I don't do at all.

If you're thinking about joining the fun (it IS fun, I promise!) you really should visit the ICAD Base at Daisy Yellow, and I also humbly recommend this "tips and advice" post that I wrote a couple of years ago. You might like to follow Tammy G on Instagram (she's @gypsy999) for lots of inspiration and for advance peeks at the prompts. If you post on IG, the best hashtag is #dyicad2023 and I think you'll be delighted at the sense of community and camaraderie that surrounds this inspiring event. Oh and yes, I post my cards daily on IG (I'm llaurenb) and then do a weekly round up here on the blog.

Splish Splash (Again!)

It's a Multicolored Memorial Day Mandala Monday, featuring another super-splashy array of Tombow Dual Brush Pens (nearly 100 colors of which are available at Paper Anthology!) and Posca highlights!

 

(Still) No Stamping

It's the second week of our No Stamping Christmas challenge at Jingle Belles and this time I've approached the assignment with patterned paper:

This card has four different patterns (including TWO red and green plaids!) as well as a journal card that I diecut into an oval and matted to give it a little more visual weight. I'd love to take credit for the dynamic placement of elements, but in fact, I used an ancient (circa 2012, I think!) but very inspiring layout from the late great Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge:

I'd love for you to visit Jingle Belles and see Stephanie's fabulous card, then start thinking what YOU will make... without stamps... to link up with us.

Suits You to a T(-Shirt!)

Eyelet Outlet Brads work beautifully with lots of different stamps, dies, stickers, papers and of course diecuts! These cute little shirts are the second smallest in Hero Arts' T-Shirt Infinity Die Set; each one has been cut from a different EO Washi Tape Style and the pairings are as follows: Sky Tape with a Flamingo Brad; Orange Fan Tape with a Beach Umbrella; Green Sprinkles Tape with a Chick; Green Dot Washi and the blue gecko from our Reptile Set; Rainbow Tape with a Sun Brad; Heart Tape and a Heart Brad; Star Night Star Bright Tape with a Unicorn; Chicken Washi with a Lady Bug; and Blue and White Dot Tape with a Monster Brad.

Visit the Eyelet Outlet Online Store to shop our amazing selection of fabulous brads, tapes and embellies; then check out the Tradeshow Schedule to see when the EO Booth will be coming to your town!

Hello, Sweetie!

This fortnight's challenge at Shopping Our Stash (#497) is called "You're So Sweet" and, as you may have guessed, we'd like to see cards and projects featuring sweets and treats, like ice cream, candy, fruit or maybe CUPCAKES?!

Several years ago, I was given this beautiful set of Stephanie Barnard oversized cupcake "Fold It" dies (the finished cards are just a hair under A2-sized) which I'm ashamed to say had not been used or even opened until now. Not sure HOW such a glaring oversight could've occurred... but I've made up for it by making THREE delicious cupcake cards using nothing but ancient patterned paper scraps, sparkly Eyelet Outlet Sequins and 1.5 sheets of kraft cardstock.

Head on over to SOS to see what the rest of the crew have made to inspire you; then take a little stroll through your stash of older goodies to see what unused treasures might be lurking there!

Splish, Splash!

It's a wet and wild watercolor Mandala Monday, featuring one of my favorite color combos (orange and pink!) applied by picking up color from my Tombow Dual Brush pens with a waterbrush. And adding LOTS of splattered color and plain water on top. Hope your week will be bright and beautiful!

JB-23-11: No Stamping Christmas

It's *nearly* anything goes this fortnight at Jingle Belles: you can make a card of using any color palette and arrangement you like, any theme you choose, and any combination of products you have on hand. BUT... (you knew there had to be a BUT, right?!) ...you can't use ANY rubber stamps! So break out those stickers, diecuts, designer papers, journal cards etc; but close up the ink pads and let them have a little rest. Here's my card:

I absolutely love diecuts, so that's the basis of my card this week. I've used Memory Box's Serene Bird and Branch die set as well as Penny Black's Peaceful Pines plus a few papers from Photoplay's 2022 It's a Wonderful Christmas line, all of which came from my favorite papercrafting store, Paper Anthology. As a matter of fact, this card is doing double duty, as it's also the official sample for the May Edition of Paper Anthology’s Holiday Jumpstart Card Kit, Peaceful Dove, which you can read all about on the Paper Anthology website; but here's a little sneak peek. As you can see, the Memory Box Serene Bird and Branch die set comes with the kit, as well as all the pre-made parts and pieces you'll need to assemble five copies of this design. Just add adhesives and envelopes and you'll see why we call it "Holiday Jumpstart"!

The NO STAMPING Challenge runs through 6pm (Eastern) on May 31st at Jingle Belles. Hop over to see Stephanie's beautiful card and start planning what you'll link up with us this time.

NOT Just for Cards!

Eyelet Outlet Washi Tape, Paper Flowers and Brads, that is. You can also use them to make customized gift bags, like this one. Just cover plain white cardstock with neat strips of tape (this variety is Happy Birthday Foil Washi)... print out an initial in your favorite font (this one's called Chicken Pie and was free on dafont.com)... trace and cut. Embellish with a few shades and sizes of Solid Color Paper Flowers held on with Candle, Party Hat and Cupcake or Cupcake Swirl Brads. For even more color and pizazz, diecut hearts from a coordinating tape, like Pink Checked Washi and use one repeat of the Birthday Tape to create your sentiment strip. Scatter a few Round Sequins and you're good to go. And yes, all of the above looks pretty good on a matching birthday card, as well!  

There are brads, tapes, flowers, sequins, bling and more for every style, theme or occasion you can possibly imagine in the EO Store... you should probably check that out!

Wendy Vecchi Colorful Cake Cards

Head on over to the Ranger Blog and follow along as I use Wendy Vecchi's "Birthday Bash" and "Merci and More" Stamp, Die and Stencil sets with coordinated shades of Archival Inks and Liquid Pearls to add as much color as possible to a pair of mini slimline birthday cards. I'm kinda proud to have thought of another way to use coordinating dies, as well... for making the perfect aperture to hold fussycut stamped elements! Check out this post for all the details.

It's a Flamboyant Flamingo Mandala Monday

I used two sizes of circle craft punches, two sizes of heart punches and a bunch of little stickers to make this fun-in-the-sun mandala card for my niece Maddie's nineteenth (19th?!!) birthday.

 

Make Your Own Rainbow!

Flashing back to the autumn of 2012: Hurricane Sandy left us without electricity for eleven days, and pretty much the only thing I could accomplish in the evenings, by candlelight, were very simple (and BRIGHT!) crochet projects, so I made a few of Caitlin Walker's beautiful Rainy Day Scarves from a free pattern she had posted on her blog. A few weeks ago I stumbled upon the pattern again in one of my yarncraft notebooks and thought it was exactly what I wanted to make for my niece Maddie's birthday. So I did.

I changed the clouds from grey to white... less realistic, but better with this lighter palette, I thought. One my Maddie's favorite colors is aqua, so I chose the other shades to incorporate it. Lion Brad's Vanna's Choice is a medium weight acrylic with a huge palette, so it tends to be my go-to for amigurumis and other colorful projects. In this case I used Periwinkle, Colonial Blue, Aquamarine, Radiant Lime, Mustard, Goldfish and Raspberry for the rainbow and a J hook to keep the stitches loose and the fabric comfortably pliant.

Slightly tangentially to the above, is an idea about keeping a record of one's yarn creations. If, like me, you're a crocheter or knitter who makes mostly gift items, you probably already photograph and post your projects, so it might seem silly to also PRINT the pics and put them all in a little book together. but... I highly recommend it! Not only is it fun to look back on allllllllllllllllllll the things you've made, but it's incredibly helpful for remembering what you've made for whom and when; as well as what pattern you used, which yarn and needle/hook size, and any changes or adjustments you made to the pattern; specific colorways, etc.

You obviously don't need to make a special ATC book (hey... I'm a papercrafter... it's what I do, lol) it could be as simple as pasting pictures into a blank book and writing the date with a few notes, or using index or rolodex cards in a little filing system, but I believe you will find it as helpful and inspiring as I do to have ALL of your previous projects in one handy place! 

I'd write more about this idea, but it'd be taking away time from working on my next yarn creation, which is an amigurumi ice cream cone! ♥

PS: Blogger is another great record-keeping tool, especially since it's searchable; a quick check of tags reveals that I originally made and posted this Ami Minibook in August of 2010 and you can read all about it right HERE! :) 

Yeti, It's Cold Outside

At Jingle Belles, we're still playing our crafty holiday version of Tic-Tac-Toe and you still have time (until next Wednesday evening 5/17/23 in fact) to join the fun:

This week I chose the left-hand column, which gave me DESIGNER PAPER + XMAS TREE + DIECUT OR PUNCH. Since, technically speaking, I fulfilled all of those with my cluster of punched patterned paper trees; I decided to grab the middle column, as well, for which I added SNOWFLAKES (Eyelet Outlet Snowflake Brads) + SILVER (two retired EO Washi varieties... silver metallic and silver glitter) + STAMPING (paperpieced Lawn Fawn Yeti & sentiment).

Once again the gang at Sketch Saturday provided the perfect sketch (#725) to get me going, for which I thank them! This challenge runs through lunchtime, next Friday, May 19th.

Why not mosey on over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's beautiful card and check out the Readers' Gallery, then start planning what YOU will link up with us this time!

Dino-Mite!

Eyelet Outlet Dinosaur Brads make any day both DINO-mite and REX-cellent, as this pair of adorable minicards will attest. Small shapes like these two inch circles are brilliant for building little scenes at brad scale, with just enough room for a Dino, a Tall Palm and Sun and Cloud Brads and yes, a stamped and paper-pieced volcano courtesy of Avery Elle's adorable Dino-Mite Day stamp set from Paper Anthology!

Visit the Eyelet Outlet Online Store for more brads, tapes and embellies to Make a Scene of your own; and check out our Tradeshow Schedule to find out when the Eyelet Outlet Booth will be coming your way!

She's a Lady

You may already have guessed from the title that this fortnight at Shopping Our Stash we're making cards that feature a woman OR making cards for special women in our life. Which is excellent timing if you haven't quite finished making Mother's Day cards; but also flexible enough to cover lots of other situations too, such as colorful random collage cards with stickers, washi and Sewing Pattern Ladies!

In addition to some extremely elderly Jen Hadfield flower stickers, I've added ancient floral washi tape under that wide band of Pavilio White Lace Tape and used a set of turn-of-the-century Fancy Pants swirl stamps to add a little more color... which... admittedly is hard to see in the photo and it's fairly low-key irl too. That accounts for all of the "product" on these cards, but since I personally also have a HUGE supply of vintage paper, sheet music and trading stamps (the last is thanks to the amazing ninja thrifting skillz of Miss Stephanie!) so these genuinely are masterpieces of stash-shopping!

Head on over to Shopping Our Stash for more fabulous design team inspiration and a place to link your own "She's a Lady" creations.

Mandala Monday: Ink Over Collage Tutorial

It’s an ink over collage mandala Monday featuring all my favorite Wendy Vecchi Archival Inks… with photos to show you all the steps!

Step one: Make a random collage of vintage text paper, keeping the paper patinas fairly light and consistent.

Step two: Scribe a circle at the center of your collage and fill it with the ink of your choice; in this case Wendy Vecchi Orange Blossom Archival from Ranger.

Step three: Add petals, circles, hearts and other shapes in rings, working outward, using the Ranger Archival inks of your choice.

Step four: Use a fine tipped black pen to outline the basic shapes. Use Ranger Detail Applicators to fill in any blank spots with ink.

Step five: Add additional line details and, if desired, add some additional color contrast or shading with markers. And maybe a little white with a Posca pen...?

Step six: Trim the completed mandala into four equal pieces. Mat the four quarters on a coordinating color of cardstock and adhere to four A6 white cards. Stitch around the edges of the Mandala panels if desired.

Holiday Tic-Tac-Toe

It's an extra-fun fortnight at Jingle Belles as we make cards based on this fun, crafty version of Tic-Tac-Toe. Just pick any row, column or diagonal... incorporate those three items into your holiday card... then come and link up with us!

I chose the center column, which gave me SNOWFLAKES + SILVER + STAMPING and here's my card:

I've incorporated the SNOWFLAKES via a well-hoarded Hambly Transparency as my card base AND with some Eyelet Outlet Snowflake Brads. The SILVER metallic cardstock mat and silver and white washi tape I used look a bit taupe in the photo, but they really are silver, I promise! For STAMPING I chose my favorite Wendy Vecchi poinsettias from Ranger's Doodle Christmas stamp set, which I stamped in Red Geranium Archival, then painted (using a waterbrush filled with rubbing alcohol) in Carnation Red and Fern Green.

It's worth a trip over to Jingle Belles to see what Stephanie has made to inspire you; you can also find all the challenge details there as well!

Cheers!

Did you know that some Eyelet Outlet Brads have coordinating Washi Tape? Case in point, Beer Brads and Beer Tape were quite literally made for each other (there are Beer Stamps, too!) and thus work perfectly for the fastest ever card... just add a few diecut letters, some Round Sequins et voila! 

Cheers to Beers! And cheers to the Eyelet Outlet Online Store which is open 24/7 for crafty shopping joy!

Collaged Mandala Monday

It’s time to FACE a new week… with a collage mandala in my Dina Wakley Blue Journal from Ranger. Dina Wakley Media Collage Paper layered over Dina’s Typed Ledgers; with punched heart and circle accents of vintage paper and flowers from a falling apart book of Cath Kidston fabric illustrations. Enhanced by lots of glorious Peat Moss Archival from Wendy Vecchi. 

Inspired by the collage on the facing page from a couple of weeks ago: