A few years ago, Stephanie gave me this amazing set of @kohinoor_hardtmuth Tri-Tone Pencils, which I don't use nearrrrrrrly enough, but when I do, it's always a lot of fun. I like to combine them with my original Koh-i-noor Magic Pencil and I often pop in a little more structure by adding outlines with my Letter It Fineliners from Ranger. This creation is in my Dina Wakley 6x6 Kraft Journal which I love for its sturdy, square pages!
I've said this before, but it bears repeating: Doodlebug has really never made a collection I didn’t love; and that goes double for Christmas! I’ve combined a bunch of different Doodlebug elements: the Santa, tree and a few presents are cut from journal cards; the presents and candies are stickers; the sentiment is from a the super-useful page full of tags and sentiments that most D-bug collections come with. The red text paper is Elle's Studio... I think... it’s ancient, and was in the scrap box so I'm not positive. The blue graph paper is Photoplay. There are Eyelet Outlet Enamel Dots and an Enamel Star on the cute Christmas tree and a Matte Dot on Santa's hat.
This challenge runs until May 8th. Hop over to Jingle Belles to see what Stephanie’s made and start planning your own Santa-centric masterpiece.
*Hey, Santa Claus by the Moonglows is a cool R&B holiday song that I really love. Just sayin'... ♥
**For the record The Chenille Sisters do my favorite version of The Man with the Bag in case you need a little extra mojo.
Spring has emphatically sprung in the Northeastern United States, so luckily there are Eyelet Outlet Brads (& Washi Tape!) to celebrate all of the best aspects of this bloomin' beautiful season!
Mother's Day (USA version) is just around the corner, so this fortnight at Shopping Our Stash we've got a challenge called, "Mamma Mia" for which we'd like you to create a Mother's Day greeting or a card for any other special woman in your life. Here's what I made
This Mandala Monday it's just a Whole Lotta Lines... made with my @ranger_ink Letter It Fineliners in my tiny library catalog card book from @millwoodstudioart ♥
At Jingle Belles, we're still celebrating EARTH DAY by creating cards featuring recycled materials. We also encourage you to check out your local Earth Day events on and around April 22nd.
Meanwhile, here's how I recycled this week:
Link your recycling-centric cards on the original Earth Day post at Jingle Belles and be sure to check out the inspiring cards in the Readers' Gallery.
Does anyone know if there's a twelve-step program for embossing? Because I seem to be addicted to embossing with Ranger White Embossing Powder on white Perfect Cardstock... then blending various shades of Wendy Vecchi's Designer Series Archival Inks on top.
This card has a rainbow of Archival Inks (Pink Peony, Sunflower, Leaf Green, Bluebird and Cactus Flower) over Wendy's Perfectly Plaid background stamp; and Cactus Flower over her Polka Dots (both are from the Stampers Anonymous Studio 490 collection). I used the Vintage Florals Die Set from Spellbinders' In the Garden collection to diecut a cascade of flowers, leaves and a sentiment.
Eyelet Outlet's huge selection of birthday-themed brads and tapes is definitely reason to celebrate! This card features Candle Brads (with Heart Pearl flames); an Old-Style Cupcake (they're on sale!); a Rainbow from the Unicorn and Rainbow Set; Sun and Cloud Brads, Lollipops and Pastel Banner Brads (both also on sale!); plus fabulously festive Happy Birthday Foil Tape and Green Sprinkle Washi.
Check out all the brads, washi tape, bling, pearls sequins and more at Eyelet Outlet.
For today's Mandala Monday, I set out to make a mandala with a bit of collage; but wound up with a collage that's reminiscent of a mandala. Having said that, I really love the finished product; both for itself and also because it's another page in the tiny library catalog-card journal that my friend Mary @millwoodstudioart made for me. I wish you a week that's full of creativity, successful acquisition of cabbage (real or metaphorical) and... if you like that sorta thing... 101 polkas!
I may have gotten slightly carried away combining Wendy Vecchi's Vintage Florals die set (from Spellbinders' In the Garden Collection) with some of her older Studio 490 background stamps (Herringbone and Perfectly Plaid to name just two!) and of course I had to try a few experiments with inking the Flowers and Foliage 3D Embossing Folder before running it through the diecutter... but... it's finally Spring and our gardens are full of a riot of real-life colors, shapes and patterns, right? (Not to mention what feels like record-setting amounts of POLLEN; but that's a completely different issue...)
April 22, 2024 marks the 54th celebration of Earth Day, so this fortnight we Jingle Belles are asking you to help us celebrate by creating holiday cards that feature at least one recycled element.
I managed to incorporate quite a few recycled items into my card, and am thus feeling quite obnoxiously proud of myself: the pink leopard tissue and snowflake paper were saved from holiday gifts (I backed them with plain white cardstock run through my Xyron machine to make them sturdier); the white and silver layer is the front of a greeting card I received last year; and I made a shaker box using Hero Arts' Woodgrain Frame Infinity Dies cut from the backs of old greeting cards, covered with a piece of clear plastic packaging. In fact, the stamped Sunny Studio Holiday Hugs bear and cup, ancient glitter snowflake, and Eyelet Outlet Snowflake Brads (plus Sequins) are the only new items I've used.
Eyelet Outlet Classic Car Brads let you cruise into any birthday or occasion in fine style! Paired with our Driving Brads and set atop Tire Track Washi, Road Tape, Wide Map Tape and Car Washi, you've got a card that's ready to race off to your favorite Birthday Guy... or Gal!
You may well have guessed, from the title, "Shower Me With Sunshine" that the brief this fortnight at Shopping Our Stash is to make a Bridal Shower or Baby Shower card. I chose the latter, see?
It's a Marvelously Modular Mandala Monday featuring three of my favorite new Ranger Archival shades... Aubergine, Beach Cruiser and Mountain Lake. I painted one large mandala using my Archival Reinkers and a waterbrush filled with rubbing alcohol; added random patterns with Dina Wakley Coaster Stencils; did some outlining with Letter It Fineliners; used the leftover diluted ink to add splatters galore; et voila!
After I finished the one big mandala, I sliced it into four ATC-sized quarters, added a few color-coordinated mats and made them into four A2 cards.
Say hello to Paper Anthology's April Holiday Jumpstart Card Kit: SNOW Much Fun, named for the adorable snowperson and sentiment! Jumpstart your holiday card-making with our latest kit; all of the composing, compiling and diecutting are already done; YOU jump right to the fun part: Assembling the sweet snowpersons and deciding to whom you will send them!
Paper Anthology’s Holiday Jumpstart Card Kit is our pre-packaged kit that includes everything you need (except adhesives) to complete FIVE copies of this new original holiday card design. It’s called “Snow Much Fun” because the star of the show is the adorable frosty friend made with Spellbinders' Huggable Snowman die set. Bright colors and fun patterns make this the sweetest snowperson on the block! Visit the Product Page for all the details!
Over at Jingle Belles, we're still creating holiday cards inspired by this fabulous collection of holiday cookies from Kristen's Cookies, and you're still invited to join the fun. Remember, when you share your card, we'd like for you to let us know which cookie you chose, and how it inspired you!
Did you know that Ranger Archival Inks emboss beautifully? Not that there aren't enough gorgeous Ranger Embossing Powder shades for nearly every project, but if you want to use a specific Archival color (like my current favorite Graphite!) being able to emboss with Clear Powder gives you even more options. Ranger's six bold new Archival Ink Shades (Cayenne, Wine Cellar, Mountain Lake, Beach Cruiser, Aubergine and Graphite) with coordinating Stickles Glitter Glues are bound to inspire lots of beautiful palettes. I'd love for you to hop over to the Ranger Project Page to see a card tutorial in which I've paired Beach Cruiser and Aubergine (with YES, plenty of Graphite!) to create a bold all-occasion card; be sure to read all the way to the end, there's a surprise involving a few extra shades, as well. Oh and don't forget to visit Scrapbook & Cards Today's feature on the new Archivals for a chance to win the complete set AND a $50 Ranger giftcard!
Would *YOU* like to win a $50 Ranger giftcard AND the six gorgeous new Archival Inks (& Stickles) shades?! (Who wouldn't, right?) Check out my tutorial on the Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog and be sure to leave a comment on their post naming your FAVE of the new colors! (Giveaway ends NEXT Wednesday 4/10.)
There's nothing better than a nice cup of coffee to start the day, unless it's a trio of Artist Trading Cards featuring Eyelet Outlet Coffee and Donut Brads studded with Heart Pearls and atop backgrounds made from Brick Tape, Giraffe Washi and Donut Tape!
